and Yemeni people seem so loving and peaceful, very welcoming of all nationalities... please log in to view this image
Maybe if this MP wanted to be so helpful, she should return to the country of her birth and ask those kind gentlemen to lay down their knives and guns, and ask them to stop attacking ships of various nationality. I'm sure looking at those people deportation might be the least of her worries. This is an oil tanker attacked, flying under a Greek flag last year... please log in to view this image
The idea of this particular 'visit' was ill-judged ... not sure what they were hoping to achieve by it ... yes I do think the UN should be demanding independent access and coverage of what is happening in Gaza (and the West Bank).. but it's not the job of 2 seemingly gone rogue British MPs ... bizarre...
I'm sure they would welcome you with open arms Fosse. Even so... Since the onset of the war in Gaza, the Houthis have launched close to 500 attacks on shipping and on Israel. Their missiles and drones have hit more than a hundred ships in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and Arabian Sea. They have claimed that these vessels were connected to Israel, the UK or the U.S.
It might have helped if the F.O. had the decency and brains to just wait for their counterparts in Israel to confirm the visit and ok the itinerary. Instead they turned up in Ben Gurion Airport claiming to be a "Parliamentary Delegation", but no one was officially expecting them so they were told to go forth and multiply.
I think Israel were completely correct in their actions, and I'm not overly impressed with two British MP's just swanning off on their own mission. If they really had such idle hands this weekend, there is some ****ing rubbish and rats that the good people of Birmingham would like our politicians to sort out and clear, and thus they leave the UN to do its job. As you can tell I'm not impressed with them at all.
The loudest backbench whiners were the loudest “expel the Israeli ambassador”, “Donald Trump not welcome here” wing of Labour, entirely unpredictably.
It's typical of the arrogance of our politicians to assume that because Suliman from Sheffield voted for me, I am entitled to turn up unannounced in any country I wish and expect a red carpet and 21-gun salute.
Re Birmingham teetering on the brink of a medieval plague. One of Orwell's greatest arguments was his demonstration of how politicians use foreign wars in far-away countries to distract and divert attention away from more urgent local problems. Sadly waving Palestine bunting isn't going to clean the streets.
I thought it was a shame that Yuan Yang allowed herself to get dragged into this, she was born in China and lived there for the first four years of her life, and she was critical of China over Hong Kong. I'm sure she is a well meaning person, but to your point, if she drove two hours South in the UK she'd be in Birmingham. It's great to have diverse politiicians and probably a lot more brains than some of the rabble that have been in power, but put that wealth of experience into the UK not on jaunts to areas that you have no business to be there. If you want to speak out about the plight of the Palestinians or aid workers, that would be better served here at home.
If I was being cynical I’d say a young MP in a new seat with a wafer-thin majority and an unusual demographic mix might see it as in her interests to paint herself as a bit of a martyr for the cause and reduce the chances of having an ‘independent’ come in and steal a big chunk of her vote. But I’m not cynical.
Agreed, they should stick to their own lane rather than sticking their oar in someones business at their house. As for the bin crisis, is it not just a case of them wanting more money. The resolution is simple, pay the people (but not everyone will be happy with that)
Yeah I'm not really understanding what's going on with this bin dispute, I just assumed bin workers these days were all contractors, companies submit tenders to the local authorities and they are paid an x agreed price for x number of years delivery of service. Maybe that's not the case in Birmingham.
She's in the wrong job if her wayward travels are to please the electorate, maybe go join a church mission - and as Mr Terry Waite found out, such missions don't always end well in the Middle East, 1,763 days held captive, four years of which were spent in solitary confinement. Although I doubt the MP's intention (unlike Mr Waites) on this trip was to engage in the release of (Israeli) hostages, so getting sent home on the next plane was probably doing her a favour.
Warning: This article contains distressing content Palestinian detainees released back to Gaza have told the BBC they were subjected to mistreatment and torture at the hands of Israeli military and prison staff, adding to reports of misconduct within Israel's barracks and jails. One man said he was attacked with chemicals and set alight. "I thrashed around like an animal in an attempt to put the fire out [on my body]," said Mohammad Abu Tawileh, a 36-year-old mechanic. Soldiers mixed chemicals used for cleaning into a pot, he told us, and dunked his head in them. The interrogators then punched him, he said, and he fell to the rubble-strewn floor, injuring his eye. He said they then covered his eye with a cloth, which he said "worsened his injury". They also set him alight, he told us. "They used an air freshener with a lighter to set my back on fire. I thrashed around like an animal in an attempt to put the fire out. It spread from my neck down to my legs. Then, they repeatedly hit me with the bottoms of their rifles, and had sticks with them, which they used to hit and poke me on my sides," he said. They then "continued pouring acid on me. I spent around a day and a half being washed with [it]," he told us. "They poured it on my head, and it dripped down my body while I was sitting on the chair." Eventually, he said, soldiers poured water on his body, and drove him into Israel where he received medical treatment in hospital, including skin grafts. please log in to view this image https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn7vje365rno
Birmingham council are facing bankruptcy due to losing equal pay tribunals which iirc contrasted the pay of bin men with that of women in another job .The final cost is thought to be £100s of millions
