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Reply | Trump v Zelensky
at 14:15 2 Mar 2025
Appreciate you taking the time to respond at length, and always happy to engage with alternative points of view in good faith (as long as that goes both ways). There is a lot I would like to respond to there and I will try at some point later - but it’s Sunday and for the next few hours I’m prioritizing time with the family! |
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Reply | Trump v Zelensky
at 12:26 2 Mar 2025
Interesting that you say you dislike analysis which is ‘reductive, simplistic and flawed’, because what you provide in your post is pretty much a textbook example IMO!
It’s undeniably true that Ukraine, just like other post-Soviet fledgling democracies, continues to have big problems with corruption. But it has to be seen in the context of significant reforms since the 2014 Maidan Revolution – including by Zelensky’s administration – that have at the very least moved the country from an ‘extremely’ corrupt country to a ‘moderately’ corrupt one.
As one expert put it: “As Ukraine’s war against Russia proceeds, policymakers and the public should expect further corruption scandals. These must be addressed, and their perpetrators punished, but they must also be seen in the proper context. Occasional lurid headlines notwithstanding, Ukraine has made major progress in tackling grand corruption, reducing the power of oligarchs, and managing a vast increase in defense spending without scandals on a massive scale. That in itself is testament to how much has changed in Ukraine since a decade ago.” Link: https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/03/06/ukraine-corruption-reforms-russia-war/
Moreover, you massively overstate the case for corruption against Zelensky. I agree that owning offshore companies raises questions about transparency, especially for an anti-corruption candidate, but in and of itself it is not illegal. You might argue that transferring shares before the presidency began constituted an effort to hide assets, but it is also common for business owners in Ukraine to protect assets from political instability. There is no proof that these offshore accounts were used for illegal activities like money laundering or bribery, or that Zelensky benefited financially from these accounts while in office. I agree it might make him look a bit hypocritical when presenting himself as the anti-corruption candidate, but his alleged transgressions pale into insignificance compared to what we are seeing with Trump using the presidency to enrich himself and his family members. Link: https://www.citizensforethics.org/reports-investigations/crew-reports/president-
And that’s before we even talk about the criminal conviction for fraud, and how he tried to overturn the results of a democratic election.
The case you make for Trump being pro-peace (interesting that you use a 'hard-left' website to make the case, when sections of the hard-left have been parroting Kremlin talking points for years) is a very kind reading of his administration’s avowed America First strategy, which has nothing to do with a genuine desire for global peace (beyond bagging himself a Nobel Peace Prize) and everything to do with aggressive pursuit of American (and personal) financial self-interest. If he was really pro-peace he would be pushing for a two-state solution in Palestine rather than advocating ethnic cleansing in Gaza; he would be focusing on securing a lasting peace in Ukraine that recognised its status as a sovereign democratic nation rather than a future Russian colony/puppet state. And he certainly would have ruled out, when asked, the possibility of military action in potentially turning Greenland/Panama Canal into a US territory.
The outrage on this thread was a natural response to what everybody could see was clearly happening in front of their eyes – a sickening display of bullying by the ‘strong’ against the ‘weak’ which had the express intent of humiliating Zelensky in front of the world’s media - in the process handing another huge political win for Putin. [Post edited 2 Mar 12:36]
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Reply | LFW Fantasy Football 24/25
at 20:56 18 Aug 2024
Done! Much appreciated!
Good luck to you too elnombre and also the other 250 players signed up  |
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Reply | LFW Fantasy Football 24/25
at 05:32 18 Aug 2024
Thanks for setting up again, el nombre. That was me that won it last season - hadn’t realized there was a prize🙂 |
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Reply | BIden v Trump - and we thought our options were poor !!
at 02:46 4 Aug 2024
“Furthermore, from the aggressive tone of the activist, sorry, journalist asking the question it's clear this was not a genuine attempt to debate Trump but some kind of ploy to entrap Trump saying something that could be used against him.”
Hmm. Let’s look at what that journalist actually said:
“Mr. President, we so appreciate you giving us an hour of your time. I want to start by addressing the elephant in the room sir. A lot of people did not think it would be appropriate for you to be here today” She then repeats/lists Trump’s own words/actions back to him, fact checking where necessary, and finishes by saying “So my question sir, now that you’re asking black voters to vote for you: Why should black voters trust you after you have used language like that?”
Now these are exactly the sort of questions that any political journalist worth their salt would and should be asking someone running for election to high office, and she was using perfectly courteous language. Her tone was assertive, sure, but to me you’d either have to be a complete snowflake or the kind of man who expects women to address them with a deferential and subservient tone to genuinely deem that ‘aggressive’. In DT’s case I think both probably apply. But again it’s just basic journalism to ask “These are the charges against you, how do you respond?” and, in fact, the organizers got a fair amount of criticism (which I don’t necessarily agree with) for actually giving him that platform, considering the lies and disinformation he’s spouted on numerous occasions.
Now if Trump is so thin-skinned that, rather than put on his big boy pants and take the opportunity to set the record straight by directly answering the question, he instead goes off on one about what a ‘horrible’, ‘rude’ question it is, deeply embarrassing himself in the process, that’s not ‘entrapment’. That’s just being emotionally and intellectually ill-equipped to deal with anything other than the usual softball questions he gets to field on Fox and the other pro-MAGA networks that he generally restricts himself to appearing on. He demonstrated yet again, for the millionth time. that he is completely unfit for that job, and that’s why his team pulled the plug on the event halfway in.
By the way, regarding the supposed ‘coup’, here’s an article that might be of use.
https://www.forkingpaths.co/p/maga-corruptions-of-the-english-language?r=rrxe4&a [Post edited 4 Aug 2024 2:47]
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Reply | National league
at 11:07 6 May 2024
Great to hear, thanks for sharing. That nice fella you spoke to actually goes by that name, or at least that’s how he’s referred to by Bromley fans. Olufela ‘Fela’ Olamola, got a pretty decent goal scoring record this season (10 in 20 starts) even though he’s mainly been an understudy/2nd striker to Michael Cheek, who’s a National League goalscoring legend (and scored Bromley’s goals yesterday).
I go and watch Bromley regularly as I live nearby and really enjoy the match day experience there. I was at Wembley yesterday, thinking how it was nearly 10 years to the day since I was last there for a play-off final (I think some of you might remember it☺️) Another brilliant day out - if similarly stressful - but what a moment this was. Love the smirk Byron Webster gives to the Moors fans behind the goal before dispatching the winning penalty!
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Reply | Armstrong...
at 19:57 21 Jul 2022
At National League level last season he played 720 minutes and scored 4 goals. 0.5 goals per 90 mins is pretty respectable for an inexperienced 18 y.o. kid, I’d say. |
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Reply | Non-League 22/23
at 10:08 5 Jul 2022
I’m also a fairly regular visitor to Hayes Lane as they’re pretty local. Nice place to watch football and always easy to park - and not your typical location for a football stadium, being largely surrounded by fields. Watched them in both of their recent FA Trophy finals and think of them as my 2nd team now. |
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Reply | Just back
at 22:47 23 Feb 2022
His best game for the club by a distance. Genuine contender for MOM - and played a big part in our winner. |
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Reply | Deadline day thread
at 13:34 31 Jan 2022
I feel like we're in a much stronger position now at the end of the window than we were at the start.
The main issue for us going in (other than defensive cover which has been addressed by signing Sanderson) was the lack of cover in the squad if either or both of Chair and Willock are unavaliable.
The fact that we subsequently found more than one way to cover effectively in Chair's absence - e.g. having Gray/Austin as a 2nd striker OR playing Luke Amos in a more advanced role - means that signing an extra attacking player is absolutely a luxury rather than a necessity. Just getting Illy back from AFCON feels like a new signing in itself. |
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Reply | Is this site becoming too woke?
at 09:09 30 Jan 2022
This is a bit meta, but I highly recommend Jon Ronson’s excellent podcast series on the Culture Wars: ‘Things Fell Apart’.
Some fascinating historical insights that show the Culture War really is nothing new, but has been raging for decades. |
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Reply | Field
at 21:18 22 Jan 2022
Just back and Field was my MOM. Outstanding - so glad there’s a stat to reinforce what I saw with my own eyes.
And Willock …. wouldn’t swap him for any player in the league.
And our back 3 … immense again.
And our keeper … fair play to the recruitment team to get such a high quality replacement for Seny.
Possibly slightly fortuitous to win today against a very good team but we have a team that now makes their own luck. |
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Reply | robith's 21/22 Promotion/Relegation Index Thread
at 08:45 2 Dec 2021
Great work as always, Robith.
Another little stat to throw into the mix:
In 2021 we have scored a total of 82 points from 43 games.
So we could quite conceivably, in the calendar year, surpass the points total (88) from our 2010/11 championship winning season  |
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