Media Thread - 2021/22

[SilvaisSkyBlue]

Exactly the type of deflection that I would expect from Liverpool fans.

It you can't acknowledge the UAE hosting the mass murdering **** Assad on its own merit is fucking atrocious, I give up.

No deflection, he stated the queen only met Assad pre his atrocities, but the truth is the government will instruct her to meet whoever serves their interests.

Assad is a vile murderer, the west though is more interested he is a direct ally of Russia rather than the fact he is an architect of genocide, let’s not forget American troops were also in Syria and did nothing to halt the ongoing genocide.

As for Mansour meeting him, as said by another poster this was part of a wider reintegration of Syria back into the wider Arab world. Assad is a murderer but the Arab world will still make deals with Syria and this is their first step into that, exactly what the west will do with Russia when the war in Ukraine is over.

This holding up of the Arab world to standards not met by the Western world is pure arrogance and hypocrisy.

 

[Blue Mist]

People have been brainwashed by the media. I met someone today who claimed to be a FC United fan who said he hated City because we were "state-owned" and just a "sportswashing project." I asked him who actually owned City and what he meant by "sportswashing." He refused to answer just saying I know it is true. I suggested he should move to Russia because be was a zombie who just believed everything he was told by the media and he would fit in there.
I really despair for the state of this country. No one seems prepared to challenge or scrutinise the narrative they are told. This is how the Nazis rose to power. What the fuck is the matter with these people. They have literally lost their minds.

It is exactly the same with the belief that 'the Saudis and your lot are at war with Yemen'.
Brain dead idiots fed lies by the media.

 

[halfcenturyup]

He seems to have started doing a few more serious pieces and, while the subject matter is fair game, he's just not very good at it. I used to listen to the Guardian football podcast, and he always came across as reasonably thoughtful, but mostly a bit laissez faire on stuff. As in, the world is a complicated place, and anyone looking for the moral highground is wasting their time.

Last week he was writing about Shearer being a hypocrite as he hadn't condemned Saudi Arabia over the Yemen, as this was exactly the same as the Ukraine. On twitter, he admitted that he tried to write a little about the war in Yemen, but it was too complicated, so decided that he may as well make the point that all war is complicated, but ultimately it's all the same, which is clearly simplistic nonsense masquerading as profundity.

If I'm honest, I think the guy is simply struggling for content, now that Andy Carroll is no longer in the Premier League.

I just liked the whole post, because there is no "especially like the last bit" option .....

 

[Ballosteve]

Iam sorry but way off subject but just watching athletics and listening to steve cram and now you can't say fastest loser(because its not politically correct) what the fuck is happening to our society and freedom of speech...this country is fucked.....

 

[KS55]

This holding up of the Arab world to standards not met by the western world is pure arrogance and hypocrisy.

Spot on.

 

[jrb]

If it was Liverpool getting Haaland for a transfer fee of the reported £68m which is his release clause, that would be being lauded as great business

But it’s not £68mill is it.

It’s £68bill with his wages, add ons, Alfie’s cut, and Mino’s cut. ;-)

Looney Ronay does have a point. :-?

 

[Prestwich_Blue]

Yes that was before he butchered hundreds of thousands of his own people

The Assads were always brutal monsters but, like Saddam, they were the rulers of their country and generally kept them stable, albeit you'd certainly question their methods. There was some hope for Bashar Al Assad at the start of his rule, which was quickly extinguished.

Syria is another of those former Ottoman Empire countries in the Middle East that the Western powers carved up rather arbitrarily and handed out to their favoured rulers post WW1. There was a 'line in the sand' drawn to separate French interests in Syria from the British in Iraq, as part of the secret Sykes-Picot agreement. Syria was overwhelmingly Sunni but the Assads were minority Alawite, which is a bit like a non Muslim becoming head of state in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan or Malaysia.

Bashar decided to ally himself with Iran, via support for Hezbollah but it was his brutal put-down of Arab Spring demonstrations in 2011 which really started the current crisis. Things have gone from bad to worse since then of course, with many other actors being dragged in and appalling brutality. The Western powers meddled and, as usual, made things worse rather than better. I actually thought Putin was right to support the established leadership, however bad it was, rather than allowing the unleashing of forces that could seriously destabilise the region. After all, the toppling of dictators in Iraq & Libya worked out so well didn't it?

Like Russia in Ukraine, Turkey occupies large parts of northern Syria. Why is that "right" while the Russian invasion of Ukraine is "wrong"? Double standards again.

Assad, for all his many faults, is still the legitimate Syrian head of state. The UAE is no friend of Iran, which is one of the parties propping up Assad's regime and is the single biggest threat to the Middle East region. If Assad can be weaned away from them, it'll probably be a major step forward in achieving more stability.

But of course all the simpletons in the WhatsApp group, who have suddenly become geo-political "experts", see Assad in Dubai and are crying foul.

 

[bluenova]

Iam sorry but way off subject but just watching athletics and listening to steve cram and now you can't say fastest loser(because its not politically correct) what the fuck is happening to our society and freedom of speech...this country is fucked.....

If that was the worst thing happening in this country then I think we'd be doing alright ;)

I believe it's also the IAAF who made the change, not "this country" - the idea being that if you're at the World Athletics Championship and have reached the final in your event, you're probably not what most people would define as a loser. It's not about everyone getting a medal for turning up, just fixing an anomaly that being designated a loser and qualifying for a final makes little sense.

I believe the current Olympic men's 100m champion was in the final as a "fastest loser".

 

[Bonzo Nododo]

It is exactly the same with the belief that 'the Saudis and your lot are at war with Yemen'.
Brain dead idiots fed lies by the media.

This a natural result of reporters acting as fans, encourage by their editors. The reporters then write the silly things that fans say on social media and in time it is accepted as Gospel.
The empty seats jibe started by rags fans but soon taken up by the MUEN with its infamous red circled heads and then the national media who show pics with a block with no one in apart from two dads with young kids conveniently in opposite corners. Empty because it's an hour before kick off in a youth match.
If the fans can't see that simple deception it's no wonder theyswallow any lie about the convoluted politics of the whole Middle East.

 

[KS55]

But it’s not £68mill is it.

It’s £68bill with his wages, add ons, Alfie’s cut, and Mino’s cut. ;-)

Looney Ronay does have a point. :-?

And the point seems to be football is a business where a lot of people have or make tons of money, much more than us mere mortals. Wow, never realized that; thought it was just bankers, IT companies, social media, on line retailers, drug companies, energy companies, royals, dodgy politicians, singers, rock stars, American football players, baseball players, BBC execs, Netflix, mobile manufacturers...............
and a few others. (Stamps foot). It's just not fair. Jeez.