Some US police have trained in counter terrorism tactics in Israel:
Identifying terror cells; dealing with the aftermath of a terrorist incident; treating; mass casualties; and establishing command and control during a terror attack: Not neighbourhood policing.

I am not sure there is that much difference. They are all trying to surf the wave of outrage. It’s all about clicks not the truth.

They really are desperate. I’d sue the rental agency. The reason you pay them 10 per cent is so you don’t have to worry about stuff like this.

Business as usual? There hasn’t been business as usual since the election of Ronald Reagan. The whole “uniparty” nonsense has helped fuel the fire-state politics now consuming the United States. Consensus isn’t a dirty word - it’s what keeps democracy from burning itself alive.

That’s true, but it is the law is irrelevant if a judge has a gun to his head. The talk about elections is a distraction. The real issue is Trump’s deployment of the National Guard into American cities. He’s creating a climate of fear in an attempt to entrench himself in power and stay in office.

Bring it on! If Trump can run for a third term so can Obama, and there is no contest.

Traditionally, Labour PM’s who play the media game (Blair and Wilson) get softer coverage. When the press aren’t trying to to destroy Labour, it’s time to worry that they aren’t being effective.

This is the is one of the men you call hostages: Yahya Sinwar, convicted by Israel in 1989 for abducting and killing soldiers & collaborators, released in 2011 in the Gilad Shalit swap. He went on to mastermind the Oct 7, 2023 attack that brutally killed 1200 Israelis.

Syria, Iran, & Egypt, Saudi, and the gulf states all detain their citizens, (including children) for equally long period without trial, with NO due process. For Hamas justice is a shot in the back of the head. But we hear nothing about those abuses.

Every country at war has detained people without trial, including children. Britain and the US interned all those of German, Italian, and Japanese origin without due process. Palestinian prisoners, by contrast, undergo a legal process. In wartime, there are often more pressing priorities.

There is a whole spectrum of religious thought among Jews, but it didn’t matter in the extermination camps, or to survivors who returned home to find Germans in their homes, or to Jews expelled from the Middle East. Israel is about SURVIVAL.

Conquest and settlement have been common for millennia. That doesn’t make it right, but it’s not unique. What is unique is that Israel’s very right to exist is constantly questioned - something no other country routinely faces.

Antisemitism shouldn’t be used as an excuse for Israel’s actions, but equally Israel’s actions should not be used as an excuse for antisemitism. Netanyahu throws accusations of antisemitism about too liberally but he often does have a point.

You say that any criticism of Israel is ilabelled antisemitic, but equally, any attempt to call out antisemitism immediately condemned as politically motivated. When people are afraid to discuss an issue, or voice a different opinion, because the debate is so toxic, something is very wrong.

I object to the level of invective being used, and the cherry picking of facts, not the condemnation of Israel. Not just by you, but generally by commentators.

With regard to the West Bank demolitions, Israel is slowly encroaching on the West Bank, but it’s not mainly expansionist. While there’s a biblical dimension, the core reason is security: Israel has no strategic depth, and is virtually indefensible without it.

Israel’s policy of home demolitions after terror attacks comes from Regulation 119 - a British Mandate law from the 1930s. It’s widely seen as illegal under international law. But Israel is fighting opponents who reject international law entirely, making classic legal deterrence formidable.

It is the security aspect that you miss. Nakba refugees were displaced much like civilians in most wars. Many fled in fear, others were expelled during the fighting by both Israeli and Arab forces. Afterward, Israel barred their return, fearing they’d become a hostile fifth column

Before 1948, most Jewish land in Palestine was legally bought, at exorbitant prices. It is not surprising that Israel didn’t want the people who had been displaced by the war back again, as they feared they would be disloyal.

Isn’t that how we all came to be living where we are? I don’t know whether I am Roman, Viking, Norman, or Anglo Saxon. My ancestors came for here power and riches. The Jews only wanted a safe place to live. I don’t understand why you see them as uniquely evil?

How is it we are supposed to believe Greta Thunberg’s allegations, with absolutely no independent corroborating evidence, but not Israeli rape victims? “Me to unless you are a Jew.”

At least 200 of the released prisoners were convicted murderers. Some are held without trial, which is legal in wartime under judicial oversight. Evidence is sometimes withheld to protect sources. If a child threw a Molotov cocktail in Britain, they’d face imprisonment too.

This is an inversion of the truth. Hamas deliberately exploits the value Jewish tradition places on captives by taking hostages to coerce Israel into releasing violent criminals. Israel is justified in detaining individuals without trial during wartime for legitimate security reasons.

Claims that Jews play the “victim card” sicken me just as much as claims that whites are widely discriminated against. Both are false premises: one trivialises centuries of antisemitism and persecution, the other ignores systemic racism and entrenched power dynamics.

If anyone is erasing history it is you. Huge chunks of it: The situation in Europe that led to mass migration of Jews to Israel ; the repeated wars and security threats; the failed peace talks. Coexistence requires cooperation from everyone.

CHATGBT is no different from having your own research assistant and editor, and it is possible to produce much better work as a result - what you get out of it depends entirely on the how much you put into it.

Oh please, people said the same thing when we moved on from quill pens.
If you’re naturally curious, you’ll use ChatGPT to expand your horizons.
If you were the kid staring out the classroom window, you’ll just use it to cheat, and it will be noticed.

Russia’s casualty tolerance has been a persistent theme. 27 million were lost in WWII, and 10-15 million were lost during rule Tzar’s rule, so there is a way to go yet.

I shouldn’t have to explain all this to you if you have a MA in journalism, and you should wish to uphold Equality Legislation if you have an interest in human rights.

By not upholding the law, authorities risk setting a precedent where any group can be excluded based on the behavior of a few or fears of disorder, which undermines protections for all groups facing discrimination. Goodbye.