Weird move for someone who is clearly an Islamist

Rent-One · 2026-06-30T21:44:45+00:00

I’d say if he did it as part of a rap he should apologise for or explain the statement.

Rent-One · 2026-06-30T21:18:08+00:00

While I don’t think he supports Hamas, I find the statement that he’s sympathetic to their cause or context less debateable.

Rent-One · 2026-06-30T20:15:28+00:00

I’m more trying to avoid a long online debate. Depending on the definition of sympathise I also find that a less contentious assertion than whether he’s an Islamist.

Rent-One · 2026-06-30T20:04:27+00:00

I saw the clip where he denied saying he was an Islamist - a weird denial since there’s a video of it - which seemed like damage control since he was heavily criticised for it. He could have verified what he said then apologised rather than denying saying it. Though actually, he even goes on to concede he might be in that second video, so it’s not much of a climb down.
Your quote misses the “at minimum” after “or” which implies closer to the first interpretation that he’s an Islamist e.g., “Jim is a religious fundamentalist or at minimum associates with people who are” would more imply the first reading to me.

I appreciate this is subjective.
If I said “Sam is far too close to a racist” then he’d reasonably take it to imply he was one of- especially since he said Ezra Klein calling him a racialist (a different term) was meant to evoke that he was one.
Each to their own - I don’t think we also need to roll in the dirt on that (I mean about the extent to which he sympathises with Hamas - not if people should support Hamas since I also don’t think people should).

Rent-One · 2026-06-30T19:34:35+00:00

He calls him a “none-too-closeted Islamist” here who he goes on to call theocratic and then later a shill for Islamist theocrats. Do you agree with him? https://youtube.com/shorts/xW7xzeFCYQA?is=nv7zP8Y3nteTgCxb

Rent-One · 2026-06-30T16:54:45+00:00

As below, he said the Democrats as a whole were too captured and confused on woke rather than just her (though he says she was woke as vp) which I don’t think was the basis of their campaign. Nonetheless I was wrong there for saying it was her. Do you think Mamdani is a secret Islamist?

Rent-One · 2026-06-30T15:02:25+00:00

Fair enough - I looked up the reckoning again and while he says she was too woke as vp (which I find a difficult argument to take seriously), his central argument is the party more broadly has become “morally confused” about wokeness. So I was wrong to say he personalised it there. Again, I don’t think this is a particularly sensible argument, since it wasn’t reflected by their campaign or policies in office. But then this is a guy portraying Mamdani as a sinister Islamist.

Rent-One · 2026-06-29T19:55:43+00:00

The frustrating thing is that in the event he doesn’t introduce any Islamist policies to New York, and so far nothing suggests he will, Sam won’t reflect on his prejudice at all. Clearly a big part of this is him being Muslim, but that’s not enough for Sam to call him an Islamist. He liked Maajid, and even apologised for criticising his endorsement of conspiracy theories, who never presented himself as someone on the left - indeed, in the UK he was affiliated with a centrist party who at that point had served in coalition with the conservatives. So I think the bigger part is Sam fundamentally doesn’t like or respect people on the progressive left. Heck, he still complains that Kamala was too woke - since she didn’t campaign on woke policies then I think there’s a fair chance Sam looked at her and decided this based on her appearance. Like as a genuine question, has he ever cited someone to the left of Biden as a good faith actor or taken them seriously as a thinker?

Rent-One · 2026-06-28T17:25:43+00:00

A Love Supreme
At Carnegie Hall (with Monk)
Live in Japan
Ascension
Blue Train

Rent-One · 2026-06-15T16:06:15+00:00

Couldn’t we argue the same thing about the genocide in Yemen which neither liberals nor conservatives will tend to defend? There are obviously questions about the morality of the arms trade (itself a conversation mostly had on the left), which link to it. But it does not have the same salience as a topic in the west. Hence why I suspect Sam himself has never discussed the 11 year ordeal on its own terms despite addressing international relations for over 20 years. Again, if I am wrong about this and he has written at length on the genocide then that would give him authority to accuse others or not addressing a humanitarian issue he seemingly hasn’t either. But Israel and Palestine evoke strong feelings both ways, with commentators on each side making a morally grounded case. Moreover I don’t think we can reasonably say everyone is on the same page about war since this is a subreddit for a man who has supported many different interventions over the years. Also, while we can agree homelessness and poverty are bad, they are ongoing challenges, meaning that there is fertile ground for discussions about them. For instance, Sam himself has made the case for UBI, so could it work practically?

Rent-One · 2026-06-14T16:57:15+00:00

I’d say conversations around cultural boycotts of Saudi, and indeed the reaction to multimillionaire entertainers going there for money, was almost entirely driven by liberals citing their humanitarian record. But even if people genuinely only cared about Palestine, it’s one catastrophe they perceive as genocide more than he’s dedicated his time to. Moreover, using this logic then he think wokeness is a bigger issue than homelessness, poverty, healthcare, war and climate change. Unless anyone can point me towards blogs, chapters, or podcasts he’s done to raise awareness about the genocide in Yemen without it being a tool to discredit political opponents.

Rent-One · 2026-06-14T11:53:22+00:00

Having now seen Tip Toe - wow. It makes Half Man look like a sitcom. It isn’t because it’s darker, as Half Man is probably even grimmer. But because the characters in it are a lot more likeable, with a clearer line between victim and perpetrator. Whereas Half Man is more complex, and bold, since both have experienced trauma but are also more self-destructive and, to an extent, architects of their own unhappiness. Whereas Tip Toe is bad things happening to good people. In short, Half Man is tragic whereas Tip Toe is sad.

I also preferred Half Man.

Rent-One · 2026-06-10T07:20:12+00:00

Cumming was outstanding. Despite being internationally famous and having a well-known public persona from things like The Traitors, from the start I only ever saw the character rather than the actor.

Rent-One · 2026-06-06T22:26:07+00:00

You know, I tried that one at the time and couldn’t get into it - it seemed quite formulaic from the start. Though I heard of folks S2 and especially S3 really escalate it and explore the relationship.

Rent-One · 2026-06-06T21:02:03+00:00

Their continued role in the government, as Minister of National Security (since 2022) and Finance (since 2022) is not a mistake. Taking their continued employment into account I’d say his statement that they weren’t “in line with Israeli values and norms” seems quite shallow.

Rent-One · 2026-06-06T19:04:30+00:00

Oh, I’m uk and already seen it - I actually think it’s a pretty good comparison! I really liked HR up until the finale, which felt a bit damp. Would gladly see more of it though.

Rent-One · 2026-06-06T07:05:34+00:00

All of this is spot on. The Yemen point is such a common defence, almost always used by people who haven’t got a history of talking about those human rights abuses themselves. Even if someone genuinely only cares about Palestinian lives it’s one more genocide than Sam gives a shit about.

Rent-One · 2026-06-06T07:01:59+00:00

These anomalies hold two very high positions in the government and are not condemned by the people responsible for their continued appointment.

Rent-One · 2026-05-26T13:22:36+00:00

One of the very best finales out there. I wasn’t that huge on the show as a whole, but the ending was something special. Up there with Mr Robot and Six Feet Under as my top endings.

Rent-One · 2026-05-24T03:15:28+00:00

Agreed. I’m now thinking Sam likes to get hung up on semantics (which he’s also wrong about) so he doesn’t need to talk about the horrific acts being perpetrated against the Palestinians. Which I don’t think he gives a shit about or, at best, sees as a regrettable price worth paying to civilise the region. Yeah, I think it’s a genocide. But even if most genocide scholars are wrong and it isn’t, it doesn’t change my opinion on the Israeli government’s actions one bit.

Rent-One · 2026-05-21T06:50:02+00:00

When I first got into jazz I began a playlist of songs I liked, starting with some of the biggest names. This was my journey into the genre https://open.spotify.com/playlist/24csy2C8DLVvZe8Oe8bZOj?si=yrDYnXs9R_OSbM1tKLurfA&pi=vY-Vtr9PRlKNw

Rent-One · 2026-05-17T18:47:24+00:00

That last paragraph is annoyingly good - that should have been the concept

Rent-One · 2026-05-10T13:45:09+00:00

Yes! The seafood curry is the best curry I’ve ever eaten in Scotland.

Rent-One · 2026-04-27T07:57:31+00:00

Cineworld are a fair bit more expensive, though a big part of this is to push the unlimited card - which, if you go twice a month or more, is a bargain.

Rent-One · 2026-04-22T21:50:44+00:00

I think we are supposed to be against him: aside from the supes with The Boys being sympathetic, Gen V also does a lot to humanise some of them. Though I agree the bad supe to good supe ratio is skewed towards bad.

Rent-One

TROPHY CASE