Best ask those who fund their activities…

https://www.thenation.com/article/world/why-netanyahu-bolstered-hamas/

Wars help hide political scandals. The ongoing Israeli assault on Gaza has been singularly useful to prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu in sidelining popular anger at his government’s numerous failings. The massive protests against Netanyahu’s authoritarian attempts to weaken the courts dwindled after Hamas October 7 attack, although there are signs they are resuming force. The intelligence failures that allowed the October 7 attack to take place have received some press attention—but have yet to be the focus of sustained political ire.

The same is true of Netanyahu’s longstanding policy of bolstering Hamas rule in Gaza, including encouraging Israel’s de facto ally Qatar to finance the terrorist organization. While the much-respected Israeli newspaper Haaretz has covered this issue, it has been largely ignored by the international press.

On Sunday, The New York Times gave new prominence to the long-standing Netanyahu-Hamas connection in a detailed and lengthy report. According to the newspaper:

Just weeks before Hamas launched the deadly Oct. 7 attacks on Israel, the head of Mossad arrived in Doha, Qatar, for a meeting with Qatari officials.

For years, the Qatari government had been sending millions of dollars a month into the Gaza Strip—money that helped prop up the Hamas government there. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel not only tolerated those payments, he had encouraged them.

According to the Times, Israeli intelligence agents traveled into Gaza with a Qatari official carrying suitcases filled with cash to disperse money. Retired Israeli general Shlomo Brom described the logic of Netanyahu’s position: “One effective way to prevent a two-state solution is to divide between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.” If the extremist Hamas ruled Gaza, then the Palestinian Authority—a compromised comprador government with a tenuous hold on the West Bank—would be further weakened. This, according to Brom, would allow Netanyahu to say, “I have no partner.”

I applaud your efforts to root out corruption and seek out misappropriation of funds!

https://apnews.com/article/middle-east-jerusalem-israel-benjamin-netanyahu-42d795e65dc14376ad6301aa99275987

Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit’s recommendations of fraud, bribery and breach of trust charges on Thursday concluded a two-year investigation into a range of corruption allegations against Netanyahu. The cases centered on the leader’s backroom dealings with Israeli newspaper publishers and a telecom company aimed at scoring more favorable coverage, as well as with a Hollywood media mogul who allegedly showered him with hundreds of thousands of dollars in illicit gifts.

These may be the weightiest corruption allegations against Netanyahu, but they are hardly the first.

Throughout his decade in office, the embattled Netanyahu has encountered a series of embarrassing scandals. He and his wife Sara, who has been separately indicted for alleged overspending, have gained a reputation for leading indulgent lives at public expense.

They destroyed around 1000 villages and killed half a million Jews, ethnically cleansing the region, which was then colonised by people of Greek origin.

In that case, all civilized nations should join the US in prioritizing arming Israel over domestic healthcare henceforth, in case any Palestinian familes who happen to be minding their own business escape punishment for crimes of the past that they had absolutely no part in.

In terms of places to stay, Llanthony Priory is just up the road from Dirt Farm… besides the hotel, there’s also a campsite

And yep, there’s scenic riding to be had nearby too:

https://www.trailforks.com/region/abergavenny/routes/

Fear not, South Wales can accomodate your need to be enveloped in rural splendor; the most obvious choice being the gap:

https://www.mbwales.com/listings/the-gap/

Other options exist, such as that one out the back of Dan-yr-Ogof which is still very much on my to do list

South Wales and Forest of Dean is rammed with primo riding; you can mix and match between pedaling and uplifted days, with plenty of civilization and culture nearby.

Hard to list all available venues; Besides the obvious uplifted venues: Bike Park Wales, Dirt Farm and the soon to be open Hafod Bike Park, there’s trails scattered everywhere in a wide range of flavours; here is just a few

Cwmcarn (Risca)
Barry Sidings
Tirpentwys Trails
Machen
Afan

As for Forest of Dean, besides the cycle centre itself (which is well worth a visit), there is a wealth of sublime off piste

Between the 2, there’s more than enough for a week’s riding with plenty of variety; 2 weeks and you could venture more northward for the delights of Dyfi, Gwydir etc etc

Pound for pound, I honestly think Wales is among the best in the world right now for trails that don’t require uplifting, whilst also offering plenty of uplift venues on top.

These days, warfare is something taxpayers subsidize in other countries

on which note:

Whilst a lot of this debate is complex, there  is one thing which is not – there is no excuse for genocide.

These days, warfare is something taxpayers subsidize in other countries

Aye, if everyone veers off course sufficiently, no one has to fumble for an excuse for genocide…

“there are actually some cave paintings showing people pierced by either arrows or darts although without context of why”

Could it be something along the lines of

‘I am heavily armed and this is my cave now, take your family and belongings (I’ll keep what you can’t carry) and go out into the cold’

After her family has been mutilated and killed, how does the Grandmother (who has seen her homeland constantly shrink, before being walled in and kept under military blockade) go about retaliating against those who encourage and supply Israel’s constant need for heavy weaponry?

“You mean people, right? Good old people, causing carnage around the world for millennia.”

Where once a dispute could be solved by the volume and intensity of grunts, or basic physical strength, over time the art of war has evolved to encompass the whole of society, from mass media spewing propaganda to justify and instigate the invasion of entire countries half the world away, to mass production of weapons and ammunition, which need to be used to keep the production lines running.

The share prices of many corporate giants rely on constant war and help to prop up the constant economic growth to which we’re so accustomed; whilst at one end, it employs people and feeds their families, at the other, it mutilates and destroys life from newborn infants all the way through to grandmothers, who’ve seen their families grow, only to be torn apart on the whims of men in suits.

Hey ho, it’s just collateral damage at the end of the day and let’s not forget, between the valuable data gained from Israel’s weapons program and the leverage gained on securing valuable resources, human lives are plentiful and not nearly as important as the profit they stand in the way of.

That’s a NATO standard machine gun support, as used by the Operation Gladio stay behind networks in case of democractic election resulting in a government that falls behind the standards of the overlords

For the most part, a hardtail frame is more about feel than weight; hence why despite the weight penalty, steel is a popular choice; however, for xc, you’re probably better with Alu or Carbon; on balance, best bet is focussing on wheel and tyre choice, as that is where weight savings are most noticeable.

Sounds like a keeper; you know the history and the faults (which all cars have in one way or another); with a bit of maintenance (which all cars need), you should be able to squeeze a good few more years from old faithful… you may even find if you keep it going long enough, its value increases 😉

So if Netanyahu is ousted, will that mean a swift end to the bombardment of Gaza and an end to the violent and coercive displacement of people from their homes?

(which has been happening since the state of Israel was founded in 1948)

Furthermore, how has Netanyahu and Israel in general bolstered such consistent international support, despite regular violations of international law?

So if Netanyahu is ousted, will that mean a swift end to the bombardment of Gaza and an end to the violent and coercive displacement of people from their homes?

(which has been happening since the state of Israel was founded in 1948)

Once things become too complicated, no solution will ever be found…

Is Israel an apartheid state that since formation has been colonizing lands, and displacing people from their homes through violence and coercion?

Well yes, but it’s more complicated than that etc etc

bonkers the Hamas leadership’s plans for the October attacks were – dividing up Israeli land into cantons and planning out which administrators were going to be appointed

If Hamas are indeed a product of the Israeli intelligence services, that’s an understandable aim 😉

So if Hamas aren’t the solution to resisting occupation, how are the Palestinians supposed to oppose the apartheid state of Israel and the ongoing theft of their lands by colonial settlers?

Whilst there is all this (justified) focus on Gaza, what is happening in the West Bank?

Hamas are clearly not ‘allowed’ weapons… after all, they are terrorists, resisting occupation, who just happen to have a history of covert support from the Israeli intellgence services.

Meanwhile, as mentioned above, weapons supplied to the Palestinian Security Services are heavily vetted by Israel and are not to be used for the purposes of resisting occupation

Bloody hell, so Gazans and Palestinians are armed to the teeth then?

Maybe we should join our special relationship buddies in the US and forego our healthcare system to free up enough taxpayer money to ensure Israel has enough weapons to stop the Palestinians escaping in dinghies and coming over here and killing us all with their advanced automated drones integrating into society with their strong work ethic.

Ah yes, silly me, and there was I thinking it had all the hallmarks of a co-ordinated purge of territory for colonial purposes, but let’s not forget, this is a war and even children may have dangerous thoughts of seeking freedom from occupation…

That’s odd…

The State of Palestine has no land army, nor an air force or a navy. The Palestinian Security Services (PSS, not to confuse with Preventive Security Service) do not dispose over heavy weapons and advanced military equipment like tanks.

In the Israeli–Palestinian peace process, Israel has consistently demanded that the Palestinian state would always be demilitarized. Israeli negotiators demanded to keep Israeli troops in the West Bank, to maintain control of Palestinian airspace, and to dictate exactly what weapons could and could not be purchased by the Palestinian security forces.<sup id=”cite_ref-carlstrom_2011_4-0″ class=”reference”>[4]</sup> In June 2009 at Bar-Ilan University, Benjamin Netanyahu said: ″We cannot be expected to agree to a Palestinian state without ensuring that it is demilitarised,″<sup id=”cite_ref-carlstrom_2011_4-1″ class=”reference”>[4]</sup>

Meanwhile…

the main options are not so far apart with their political ideas ?

Isn’t that why the whip’s office is overseen by the Royal Household…

My bad, as usual, I’m just seeking out the facts and seeing where they lead…

On which note:

are Palestinian authorities allowed any access to military hardware to resist the occupation?

So essentially, the Israeli intelligence services helped form a militant ruling faction that not only supresses the occupied population of Gaza, but gives Israel’s leaders the perfect excuse to bolster support for continued genocidal bombardment and collective punishment, allowing Israel to expand it’s territory in pursuit of it’s ongoing colonial settlement policy…

Given the vast amount of military aid Israel receives:

are Palestinian authorities allowed any access to military hardware to resist the occupation?

In much the same way that Al-Qaeda and ISIS owe their origins to western intelligence services (and helped fuel profitable wars), Hamas wouldn’t exist without the influence and funding of Israel’s own covert programmes.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2014/07/30/how-israel-helped-create-hamas/

It also obscures Hamas’s curious history. To a certain degree, the Islamist organization whose militant wing has rained rockets on Israel the past few weeks has the Jewish state to thank for its existence. Hamas launched in 1988 in Gaza at the time of the first intifada, or uprising, with a charter now infamous for its anti-Semitism and its refusal to accept the existence of the Israeli state. But for more than a decade prior, Israeli authorities actively enabled its rise.

This isn’t just distant history though, the relationship continues to the present day:

https://www.thenation.com/article/world/why-netanyahu-bolstered-hamas/

The same is true of Netanyahu’s longstanding policy of bolstering Hamas rule in Gaza, including encouraging Israel’s de facto ally Qatar to finance the terrorist organization. While the much-respected Israeli newspaper Haaretz has covered this issue, it has been largely ignored by the international press.

On Sunday, The New York Times gave new prominence to the long-standing Netanyahu-Hamas connection in a detailed and lengthy report. According to the newspaper:

Just weeks before Hamas launched the deadly Oct. 7 attacks on Israel, the head of Mossad arrived in Doha, Qatar, for a meeting with Qatari officials.

For years, the Qatari government had been sending millions of dollars a month into the Gaza Strip—money that helped prop up the Hamas government there. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel not only tolerated those payments, he had encouraged them.

According to the Times, Israeli intelligence agents traveled into Gaza with a Qatari official carrying suitcases filled with cash to disperse money. Retired Israeli general Shlomo Brom described the logic of Netanyahu’s position: “One effective way to prevent a two-state solution is to divide between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.” If the extremist Hamas ruled Gaza, then the Palestinian Authority—a compromised comprador government with a tenuous hold on the West Bank—would be further weakened. This, according to Brom, would allow Netanyahu to say, “I have no partner.”

If you have chonky legs and bad taste/poor eyesight, Endura Singletrack II knee pads can be had for a mere £19.99 (though you’ll need to find some other fantabulous bargains to bump your order over £25 for free postage)

https://www.cyclestore.co.uk/endura_singletrack_2_knee_pads_lime_green-ID_86702

If you have a loving of the obscure and brands so underground they will bamboozle (and possibly alienate) your friends, you could plump for these ALAUDARK PLUME for a similar £19.99 price tag, albeit with free postage and a bit more size flexibility to boot!

I took the gentle juxtaposition of the tower block in the background, combined with the familiar red and white so embedded in collective Christmas consciousness to be a timely message of how similar residential blocks in the Holy land are under constant bombardment by an apartheid regime with the full taxpayer funded support of those who apparently go to war invade resource rich countries on the other side of the world in the interests of freedom and democracy…

But anyway, peace on earth and goodwill to all

I know, from personal experience in the industry just how easy it is to insert or remove people from photos using appropriate technology, because I did it.

That says more about your integrity than it does mine…

Who will be on the Epstein List?

Latest odds ? https://t.co/vUlNFfKAp3 pic.twitter.com/vXXlIZAP7O

— BetOnline (@BetOnline_ag) December 23, 2023

To be fair, Trickstuff have done a great job of creating the emperor’s new clothes buzz… the same kind of thing you see in the exclusive watch market, or the limited edition trainers market, where demand oustrips supply and before you know it, second hand prices exceed new prices as people clamour to be part of the it crowd.

Seems to me like though the design cues Lewis have used are questionable, since there is no actionable infringement, as long as their quality is sound they’ll be here to stay and perhaps even provide some healthy competition…

Quite a political sort that Banksy…

Whoa now, steady on, let’s not rush to judgement!

Legend, that’d be wonderful, as long as it’s not too much trouble; if they are still there, it’d save them from being shared out among badgers, owls and baby robins looking for some winter warmth.

You beauty Paul, thank you!

It was the side near the Mytton Arms with the long narrow lane that looks to have come under sustained heavy mortar fire

The fact he hung around with Epstein at all and especially went and stayed with him after the first case makes him completely unsuitable to be representing the country in any form.

Say for example there was evidence the yet to be be crowned king had gone out of his way to defend a child abuser against abuse allegations, would that have any bearing on people’s opinion?

Perhaps these images were faked too? 🤷‍♂️

Cycling is all about self-reliance. Carry a mobile workshop in the form of a multi-tool and ensure you can deal with the majority of issues on the road or trail and enjoy the rest of your ride.

Essentially, you can’t rely on the Giant Approved Retailer to have the necessary Giant Approved tools to hand; however, when you, the valued customer, purchase said tools and get in the habit of carrying them with you at all times, on the road or trail, you can enjoy the rest of your ride safe in the knowledge that when the time comes, you can hand over the tool you’ve purchased to the Approved Retailer and as long as you have all the receipts to hand along with DNA samples of the qualified mechanic who made the necessary adjustment, you can then be fobbed off as there is no Giant Approved TIG Welder available to the dealer network.