Wake me up when it's over

[algy]

Why do you support us? That's another genuine question as i'm always curious why non Brummies choose Villa.

My great gran only went to one football match. She’d been asked by a gentleman friend if she’d like to go, she said yes. He said it might be busy, being in London. She told him that she’d been to Cirencester on market day so London would be no problem. The match in question was the 1923 FA Cup Final aka the white horse final - first game at Wembley, estimated 300,000 attendance. She was terrified the entire time, and refused to go to another game.

My grandad always said that if the only match he’d seen was West Ham vs Bolton, he’d refuse to go to football too.

Anyway, my grandad asked to go to watch a game, and my gran thinking that every game was like that said it was too dangerous and it’d be too crowded. This likely to be something like Swindon Town vs Rochdale or some such game.

She never owned a TV, and at least when I knew he she’d only have the radio on for an hour at most - basically she’d listen to the Archers and then the news headlines, to make sure war hadn’t broken out again. But she would let my grandad listen to the football results. This was the 1930/31 season, when Villa came 2nd and scored the record number of goals in a season, so he decided that Villa were the side for him. This was kind of cemented as there were coaches running up from the Cotswolds to see the Villa and to Spurs games. And I think Albion. But anyway, Villa were relatively easy to go and watch. Once he’d retired (was a farmer) he got a season ticket at the Villa and would go to every home game and all the FA Cup games, home or away.

I grew up in Lichfield, so Villa were the easiest team to go and watch anyway, though I’d have been a Villa fan regardless.

[TopDeck113]

It was worth wading through the last fifty-odd posts to get to Algy's story.  Love it! The remark about Cirencester on market day really tickled me.

[Ducksworthy]

You do see the difference between ten adult Luftwaffe pilots in armed aircraft in WW2 and tens of thousands of murdered children though, don’t you?

It’s all fun and games until Carlos Cuellar comes round and shags your wife

[markeeeebeeee2005]

That’s really tickled me. Thank you.

[Ads]

The RAF killed 10s of thousands of children, deliberately. We will have a nice mosaic in the Holte End in a week or two, paid for by the fans, to commemorate the war dead, including the ~600 who were killed in Gomorrah.

This thread is quite the read.

[Ads]

I've forgotten my ear buds and two hours of swimming is dull to watch. So, as a service, I have collated the low lights package for anybody who has yet to suffer the second hand embarrassment of reading this thread in all its offensive glory. Enjoy or be aghast, as you wish:

Why have a Jewish Fan group anyway?

You’re genuinely a little nuts at this stage

I think a lot of this is just bitterness and an old man shouting at the clouds.

Not because you're Jewish but because you come across as a massive twat

Maybe if you didn't write shit like this in your first post so many people wouldn't think you're a twat. But you did, so they do.

What people write on Twitter has nothing to do with us, so stop using that as an excuse to be a twat on here.

Do you possess a brain?

You’re so engrossed in your own paranoia you’re starting to sound quite frankly deranged.

I couldn't care less how many politicians are dripping with Israeli blood money.

No one dislikes you because you're Jewish, they dislike you because you're a deeply unpleasant twat. Your comeback to anyone that points out what a massive twat you are is to call them antisemetic, no, we're simply antitwat.

If you're a twat then you're a twat regardless of anything else.

Do you not think that politicians are being paid to support Israel?

If you're acting like David Irving, you're probably a twat.

I know. He's full of bullshit and double standards.

And anyone that disagrees with him or think that he's a twat does so because they are an anti-semite.

I appreciate subtlety and nuance is lost on you

Are you a Hamas plant?

[dave.woodhall]

If you don't want to read it, or even be on here at all, no-one's forcing you.

[Percy McCarthy]

Is AI anti-Semitic?

Key findings from recent reporting
Several investigative reports, most prominently by Declassified UK, detail the extent of this funding and influence.
Overall funding and influence:
Widespread influence: More than 180 sitting MPs have accepted funding or hospitality from pro-Israel sources in recent years, amounting to over £1 million.
Paid-for trips: A significant portion of this funding, over £500,000, was used to pay for more than 240 trips to Israel. These delegations, sometimes referred to as "solidarity" missions, are organized by groups like Conservative Friends of Israel (CFI) and Labour Friends of Israel (LFI).
Direct Israeli government links: Over 40 MPs have received funding directly from Israeli state institutions, with the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs often subsidizing a portion of the trips.
Cultivating future MPs: Pro-Israel groups have funded trips for prospective candidates before they were even elected, raising concerns about influencing politicians early in their careers.
Funding in the Labour Party:
Key figures: The investigation found that 13 out of 25 current cabinet members have accepted funds from pro-Israel lobbyists or donors.
Major donors: Multi-millionaires and prominent lobbyists, including Trevor Chinn and Stuart Roden, are major donors to the Labour Party and its senior figures.
Keir Starmer: Received £50,000 from Trevor Chinn for his 2020 leadership campaign.
Stuart Roden: Donated over £1 million to the Labour Party and associated groups since 2023.
Labour Friends of Israel (LFI): LFI does not disclose its funders. Undercover footage from a 2017 Al Jazeera documentary revealed LFI's close working relationship with the Israeli embassy in London.
Funding in the Conservative Party:
Widespread membership: Around 80% of Conservative MPs are members of Conservative Friends of Israel (CFI), which does not publicly disclose its own funding sources.
Extensive travel funding: CFI has funded 160 trips to Israel for 118 sitting Conservative MPs, with a total value exceeding £330,000 over the past decade.
Direct arms industry links: One Conservative MP accepted a donation from Elbit Systems, Israel's largest arms firm, and helped open one of the company's UK hubs.
Rules on donations and reporting
UK politicians must follow disclosure rules set by the Electoral Commission and parliamentary bodies, though some loopholes and transparency concerns exist.
Register of interests: MPs must declare gifts, benefits, and hospitality over a certain value (currently £300, or £1,500 for donations). These are published in the Register of Members' Financial Interests.
Permissible donors: Gifts and donations over £500 must come from a "permissible source," such as a UK-registered company or individual on a UK electoral roll.
Transparency concerns: Lobby groups like LFI and CFI are not required to disclose their own donors, masking the ultimate source of their funding for parliamentary trips. This lack of transparency has been noted as a "democratic deficit" by critics.

[eliotpollak]

Is AI anti-Semitic?

Key findings from recent reporting
Several investigative reports, most prominently by Declassified UK, detail the extent of this funding and influence.
Overall funding and influence:
Widespread influence: More than 180 sitting MPs have accepted funding or hospitality from pro-Israel sources in recent years, amounting to over £1 million.
Paid-for trips: A significant portion of this funding, over £500,000, was used to pay for more than 240 trips to Israel. These delegations, sometimes referred to as "solidarity" missions, are organized by groups like Conservative Friends of Israel (CFI) and Labour Friends of Israel (LFI).
Direct Israeli government links: Over 40 MPs have received funding directly from Israeli state institutions, with the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs often subsidizing a portion of the trips.
Cultivating future MPs: Pro-Israel groups have funded trips for prospective candidates before they were even elected, raising concerns about influencing politicians early in their careers.
Funding in the Labour Party:
Key figures: The investigation found that 13 out of 25 current cabinet members have accepted funds from pro-Israel lobbyists or donors.
Major donors: Multi-millionaires and prominent lobbyists, including Trevor Chinn and Stuart Roden, are major donors to the Labour Party and its senior figures.
Keir Starmer: Received £50,000 from Trevor Chinn for his 2020 leadership campaign.
Stuart Roden: Donated over £1 million to the Labour Party and associated groups since 2023.
Labour Friends of Israel (LFI): LFI does not disclose its funders. Undercover footage from a 2017 Al Jazeera documentary revealed LFI's close working relationship with the Israeli embassy in London.
Funding in the Conservative Party:
Widespread membership: Around 80% of Conservative MPs are members of Conservative Friends of Israel (CFI), which does not publicly disclose its own funding sources.
Extensive travel funding: CFI has funded 160 trips to Israel for 118 sitting Conservative MPs, with a total value exceeding £330,000 over the past decade.
Direct arms industry links: One Conservative MP accepted a donation from Elbit Systems, Israel's largest arms firm, and helped open one of the company's UK hubs.
Rules on donations and reporting
UK politicians must follow disclosure rules set by the Electoral Commission and parliamentary bodies, though some loopholes and transparency concerns exist.
Register of interests: MPs must declare gifts, benefits, and hospitality over a certain value (currently £300, or £1,500 for donations). These are published in the Register of Members' Financial Interests.
Permissible donors: Gifts and donations over £500 must come from a "permissible source," such as a UK-registered company or individual on a UK electoral roll.
Transparency concerns: Lobby groups like LFI and CFI are not required to disclose their own donors, masking the ultimate source of their funding for parliamentary trips. This lack of transparency has been noted as a "democratic deficit" by critics.

Add this to your list Mr Ads

[Monty]

No one likes a kiss-arse.

[Percy McCarthy]

Aww. Genocide-denier fweind.

Calm down, it’s only AI. And it’s only the UK.

Don’t forget the AIPAC money. I thought $100m would create too long a list.

[eliotpollak]

Aww. Genocide-denier fweind.

Calm down, it’s only AI. And it’s only the UK.

Don’t forget the AIPAC money.

Wow

[Percy McCarthy]

Aww. Genocide-denier fweind.

Calm down, it’s only AI. And it’s only the UK.

Don’t forget the AIPAC money.

Wow

Gosh! Am I to assume you think the internet is anti-Semitic or something? I realise you have a huge criteria.

[eliotpollak]

Aww. Genocide-denier fweind.

Calm down, it’s only AI. And it’s only the UK.

Don’t forget the AIPAC money.

Wow

Gosh! Am I to assume you think the internet is anti-Semitic or something? I realise you have a huge criteria.

What do you think then about Jewish Villans and our role? Are we a Mossad plant? Paid by Israel? Tell me honestly - I will not react

[Percy McCarthy]

Aww. Genocide-denier fweind.

Calm down, it’s only AI. And it’s only the UK.

Don’t forget the AIPAC money.

Wow

Gosh! Am I to assume you think the internet is anti-Semitic or something? I realise you have a huge criteria.

What do you think then about Jewish Villans and our role? Are we a Mossad plant? Paid by Israel? Tell me honestly - I will not react

No. I have no reason to think that.

The above posts were what came up from Google and Grok. Obviously, lots of people with vested interests have views on the subject, but I tried to avoid bias.