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Bit much to class Tripps as an overseas player mind.

Hamas who were funded/propped up, initially to oppose the PLO, for years by Israel/Netanyahu. As for Oct 7th, I agree with your comments but there is nothing that can convince me that Netanyahu and the so called "best intelligence service in the world" didn't know it was coming and that they let it happen to create that political capital. It's lost in the noise now, but Egypt warned Israel days before it happened but I am convinced Israel knew anyway. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-67082047

palestine was never an independent country. this sometimes gets lost in these discussions. it was part of the ottoman empire, later carved up as british mandate post WWI then as the state of israel by the UN after the brits ended the mandate. i'm not defending the displacement and murder of palestinian people from a region they called home. of course i understand the hatred but israelis are also a product of their situation. the creation of the state of israel was a response to the holocaust, backed by the british and supported by the international community (beyond the arab world). the international consensus was that jews needed a home, a place they could be safe after centuries fleeing persecution, most recently across europe during the pogroms and later the holocaust. that goes some way to explain what israel means to a lot of jewish people. those who live there today do so in fear and paranoia. they know they are surrounded by neighbours who hate them and who hate western style liberal democracy. unfortunately that paranoia has developed into the sort of rabid nationalism we see today in netanyahu's cabinet.

I think the players targeted are open to signing. All the young cheap foreign talent we've targeted in the last couple of years have turned us down eg Etikike and Kushanov. Include Tosin in that although that is slightly different for a couple of reasons. I think he's going for the players he thinks he can get ..

I suspect we just need to check your washing line. White y-fronts, yellow map of Africa.

i don't know who craig is talking about tbh. it's not the first time he has made this point. he ought to NAME and SHAME

Agreed, I don't know what anyone is seeing in that piece of shit. It looks like a Sunday league top.

I think they’re both rancid and look like polo shirts you’d get from asda.

We're buying the players Howe wants, and I imagine he would prefer to get proven PL players in given the season we're about to have. Bringing players in from abroad means extra time and extra work to get them ready for the PL.

I do wonder how their reptile brains cope with "County Durham" places south of the Tyne having NE ones - probably it's the shady businessmen/Magedia/Look North's fault.

I don't understand why we're apparently focused on only PL players. If you look at our best transfers since the takeover they're Bruno and Botman (France), Isak and Trippier (Spain) and Tonali (Italy). Tino and Hall we paid for their potential but they've turned out to be great buys. Howe has shown that he can coach players into the league, so we should be looking elsewhere as well to make our PSR dollar go further. I don't think we should sign Pedro. Elanga I do, as long as the price isn't excessive. Trafford if he continues his trajectory he could be an exceptional long term signing, similar to Hall and Livramento.

Yes, we agree on the latter point. Building a nuclear bomb is not easy. But it is a documented fact (by UN inspectors) that they were/are trying, or at least positioning themselves to have the capability. No other reason to possess these centrifuges or have a stockpile of 60% high grade uranium, would you agree that? Again, your suggesting Iran is just the average Joe autocratic state. It's not, it's a theocracy. The only one in the World I can think of outside the Vatican. It is the embodiment of an idealogical zeal to wipe out Israel. I don't t think coexistence is possible.

There was never any possibility that Iran's nuclear programme could be destroyed because they are a sufficiently educated country that the knowledge is just 'within' the state now. They are not an Islamic backwater. They seem to have decided back in the early 2000s not to pursue this anymore and genuinely must have stopped because if they didn't, they'd have achieved them by now. I strongly suspect the Iranian government uses religion to motivate people in the same way everyone does - that does not mean they would take the same risks themselves. They will see themselves as an entity that safeguards their faith. What is more important to them, preserving Islam or destroying Israel? To me, I agree with you that it's now more likely that they will develop one, but how has Israel's interest been served here then? Trump and Iran were talking, why did Israel even do this? They wanted regime change, it's the best guess I've got, and because they've failed, they've made the world more dangerous. Would you agree with that much at least?

That's not their shirt though. This is and it's even better.

I genuinely used to think they had a DH post code.

You're too posh. But maybe you could educate us 😄

The problem to a degree is October 7th has become something akin to the 'start of history' on this issue now, whereas I would argue Nakba was the start. 700,000 Arabs kicked out of their homes and driven out of regions of Palestine that they lived in. 15k dead. Everything that has followed has been in response to that - Hamas are monsters, but they're monsters born out of a hatred that I can understand - not justify, but understand. If my family, my community, had been purged in the way that Palestinians were - driven from their homes and ethnically cleansed - I would also likely be very hateful. That says nothing about Israel's right to exist, but simply looks at the consequences of their actions. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nakba Since Nakba there have been 140,000 Palestinians killed by Israel. I've seen reports of small children being shot in their mother's arms by the IDF, little girls climbing over rubble and being shot twice (double tap to make sure), 10 year olds being taken out by snipers - all of this before October 7th. Just routine stuff. You do not need religion to make people hate in this situation. You just don't. The hate is automatic in response to the sorts of things the IDF have been perpetrating for decades. And to be really, really clear - if our children and families were suffering random executions, poisoned water supplies, forcible theft of property and so on.. we'd hate them too. Whoever that external force was, we'd hate them. That's why I view Hamas differently - because they're the product/consequence of that situation.

If you were absolutely convinced that the annihilation of Israel would guarantee you an infinite life in paradise, would it not be rational to do this? We've had countless examples of jihadist suicide terrorists giving up their lives for this exact motivation. The prospect of a nuclear Iran is not one that gives me much comfort. I don't understand why you don't get they have a completely different mindset. And no, they haven't achieved this - yet - due to a combination of many external pressures. But they are in contravention of treaties and have a large stock pile of uranium enriched far beyond what is useful for civilian use. Which has gone missing BTW. Comparisons with Iraq are bogus, this forum is old enough to record that most this board, me included, knew the WMD claims the were false (as did the inspectors of the time). Really the US had to completely destroy their nuclear programme. If reports are true they have only caused a minor set back, i think the problem is much worse as inspectors will not be returning.

where the fuck's my invite???

get around CT's gaff for a Friday night bong session on the garden sofa

You had to go into the basement of your mind palace to dig that clue out, huh?

I know nobody asked, but just want to put my cards on the table, I was zen as fuck.

I think we will get a player or two in before we shift anyone then again sign then shift.