Music Eurovision 2024

Halftrack

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Ah yes, the whims of collective punishment due to geopolitics extending all the way to .... song competitions, that the average competitor has no way, shape or form or influencing.

The past three months has been very depressing for me culminating with the consulate services ban, especially since i'm starting to doubt if we're any better than the ones we claim are the evil ones.
Hmmm, yes, wanting countries who invade their neighbours and genocide captive populations to face consequences are as evil as actually doing those things.

Fecking hell, man, have a word with yourself.
 

nimic

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If you understood for just a single second what the Ukrainian government has decided to do to its peoples in the past few months, you wouldn't be saying that.
It's exactly what Russia has been doing (sans the invasion).
Take a second and read what you just wrote. This is an insane thing to say, no matter what your point is.
 

Chipper

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My brother cracks me up. Haven't been watching this, but just went into the room where he was watching and I asked him who'd won. He told me Switzerland and he had some scrappy old notepad and was writing down the winner in it.

Asked him how long he'd been doing that - since 1990 and he's kept his little list of winners all this time.

So typical of him, I love that guy!
 

Withnail

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Ah yes, the whims of collective punishment due to geopolitics extending all the way to .... song competitions, that the average competitor has no way, shape or form or influencing.

The past three months has been very depressing for me culminating with the consulate services ban, especially since i'm starting to doubt if we're any better than the ones we claim are the evil ones.
Care to explain your thinking here? I don't understand where you're coming from.
 

nimic

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My brother cracks me up. Haven't been watching this, but just went into the room where he was watching and I asked him who'd won. He told me Switzerland and he had some scrappy old notepad and was writing down the winner in it.

Asked him how long he'd been doing that - since 1990 and he's kept his little list all this time.

So typical of him, I love that guy!
What a legend
 

RedSky

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My brother cracks me up. Haven't been watching this, but just went into the room where he was watching and I asked him who'd won. He told me Switzerland and he had some scrappy old notepad and was writing down the winner in it.

Asked him how long he'd been doing that - since 1990 and he's kept his little list all this time.

So typical of him, I love that guy!
Should be upgrading to a colour coded spreadsheet. Very funny though. :lol:
 

Semper Fudge

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Ah yes, the whims of collective punishment due to geopolitics extending all the way to .... song competitions, that the average competitor has no way, shape or form or influencing.

The past three months has been very depressing for me culminating with the consulate services ban, especially since i'm starting to doubt if we're any better than the ones we claim are the evil ones.
You were cool when you were just doing military analysis.
 
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Ah yes, the whims of collective punishment due to geopolitics extending all the way to .... song competitions, that the average competitor has no way, shape or form or influencing.

The past three months has been very depressing for me culminating with the consulate services ban, especially since i'm starting to doubt if we're any better than the ones we claim are the evil ones.
Who’s “we”?
 

Withnail

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My brother cracks me up. Haven't been watching this, but just went into the room where he was watching and I asked him who'd won. He told me Switzerland and he had some scrappy old notepad and was writing down the winner in it.

Asked him how long he'd been doing that - since 1990 and he's kept his little list of winners all this time.

So typical of him, I love that guy!
That's amazing. He's had the same notepad for Eurovision winners for 34 years.
 

AfonsoAlves

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Take a second and read what you just wrote. This is an insane thing to say, no matter what your point is.
Care to explain your thinking here? I don't understand where you're coming from.
My cousin is dead. He was shot by Ukrainian interior police forces trying to escape to Poland because he was eligible to be drafted with the new law change.
My other cousin has been here since 2019 and suddenly lost all consulate services. When his work visa expires he has no physical way to renew it. He wasn't even dodging the draft, he just came here after university.
Friends of mine have been gestapoed and lost all contact, forced to join the army. Other family members and friends have been drafted despite some of them having absolutely horrendous medical conditions.

Political parties that have any sign of resemblance to not follow Zelensky have been disappeared, quite literally.

Then I have my family in Ukr constantly telling me that I'm not doing enough, that I should be punishing Russians here in the UK, that I must do anything I can to make them suffer. Collective punishment for what they've done to us.

It makes me sick. We're not better than them.

truthfully, i don't want russia banned because the reality is if they are banned for what they're doing, so should we.

EDIT - Maybe i'm too emotionally attached to this kind of stuff, and maybe i'm not seeing the wood from the trees. For that I apologize.

Collective punishment absolutely terrifies me, as i've seen what that mentality has done to some of the nicest and humble people I know. Maybe i'm wrong in seeing banning Russia/Israel as collective punishment.
 
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Withnail

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My cousin is dead. He was shot by Ukrainian interior police forces trying to escape to Poland because he was eligible to be drafted with the new law change.
My other cousin has been here since 2019 and suddenly lost all consulate services. When his work visa expires he has no physical way to renew it. He wasn't even dodging the draft, he just came here after university.
Friends of mine have been gestapoed and lost all contact, forced to join the army. Other family members and friends have been drafted despite some of them having absolutely horrendous medical conditions.

Political parties that have any sign of resemblance to not follow Zelensky have been disappeared, quite literally.

Then I have my family in Ukr constantly telling me that I'm not doing enough, that I should be punishing Russians here in the UK, that I must do anything I can to make them suffer. Collective punishment for what they've done to us.

It makes me sick. We're not better than them.
I'm sorry for your loss and I'm sure you're hurting and I wouldn't be in a good place in your position but we were talking about Israel and Russia being banned for their military aggression. I don't see the relevance.

What's going on in Ukraine and whether or not they are conscripting people or conducting war crimes themselves is a completely different topic. I do empathise obviously.
 

RedSky

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I'm sorry for your loss and I'm sure you're hurting and I wouldn't be in a good place in your position but we were talking about Israel and Russia being banned for their military aggression. I don't see the relevance.

What's going on in Ukraine and whether or not they are conscripting people or conducting war crimes themselves is a completely different topic. I do empathise obviously.
Indeed.
 

AfonsoAlves

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I'm sorry for your loss and I'm sure you're hurting and I wouldn't be in a good place in your position but we were talking about Israel and Russia being banned for their military aggression. I don't see the relevance.

What's going on in Ukraine and whether or not they are conscripting people or conducting war crimes themselves is a completely different topic. I do empathise obviously.
Well, if aggression in war is the main criteria to be nuked from Eurovision, I get it.

But surely how you treat your own peoples should matter in this conversation?

I re-read what I wrote and I can understand why people think that be "we" i meant UK/Ireland etc. I was meaning Ukraine.

In the past 6 months, Ukraine has not behaved any worse towards it's own people than Russia has.
 

nimic

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I'm sorry for your loss and I'm sure you're hurting and I wouldn't be in a good place in your position but we were talking about Israel and Russia being banned for their military aggression. I don't see the relevance.

What's going on in Ukraine and whether or not they are conscripting people or conducting war crimes themselves is a completely different topic. I do empathise obviously.
Agreed on all points
 

padr81

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The point is people voted for Israel's mediocre song purely because of the 'conflict' (genocide)
First year I've ever felt the tele voting was more political to the juries in Eurovision history. I do feel Israel got shafted by the judges (I know they shouldn't be there but the song itself was probably about 8th leaving politics out of it) but the big issues is 12 points in the UK, 10 pts in Ireland and people try to say the Right Wing stuff isn't spreading here. Being British but living in Ireland for most my life with an Irish father, I'm embarrassed for both my countries. I know its only a song contest but it feels a little more than that.
 

Chipper

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What a legend
Should be upgrading to a colour coded spreadsheet. Very funny though. :lol:
That's amazing. He's had the same notepad for Eurovision winners for 34 years.
:lol: He does little things like this. I know he's got a list of whoever is at number one in the charts at Christmas, going back I don't know how long but this first time I remember seeing his Eurovision one.

He's never been diagnosed with being autistic or the like, but then he's never sought out a diagnosis. If I had to guess I would say he is. He was recommended to attend a special secondary school when he was a kid as he struggled back then, but in the end he went to mainstream school. I don't think much was known about autism etc. then, he's 48 now.

Anyway, it made me smile. He loves his Eurovision!
 

AfonsoAlves

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To me, banning Russia from Eurovision was basically the European organizers saying, "Your behaviour on the geopolitical stage is so bad, your artists can't even partake in organized music contests anymore." To me, it was a form of collective punishment, which I abhor, but even if we ignore that, we're judging a country based on its behaviour.

Then I look at Ukraine, and I see thousands of people around Europe supporting us, cheering for us, voting for us, and the reality is, back at home we're brutalizing our own civilians. We hail our heroes who die and then leave their widows to suffer with no support. We pluck men from the streets, hand them a rifle and a few weeks training and throw them into a frontline where troop-rotation doesn't happen. People who disobey are jailed and in some cases executed, some in a state of fleeing, others summarily.

And then I think, how the feck are we being cheered and Russia being banned.

That, guys, that fecking wracks me with a feeling I really do not enjoy having.
 

RedSky

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To me, banning Russia from Eurovision was basically the European organizers saying, "Your behaviour is so bad, your artists can't even partake in organized music contests anymore." To me, it was a form of collective punishment, which I abhor, but even if we ignore that, we're judging a country based on its behaviour.

Then I look at Ukraine, and I see thousands of people around Europe supporting us, cheering for us, voting for us, and the reality is, back at home we're brutalizing our own civilians. We hail our heroes who die and then leave their widows to suffer with no support. We pluck men from the streets, hand them a rifle and a few weeks training and throw them into a frontline where troop-rotation doesn't happen. People who disobey are jailed and in some cases executed, some in a state of fleeing, others summarily.

And then I think, how the feck are we being cheered and Russia being banned.

That, guys, that fecking wracks me with a feeling I really do not enjoy having.
Your country is being invaded, if Russia had it's way Ukraine would cease to exist. Your Government is desperately trying to hold on.

I'm a bit puzzled why you think Russia should be let off the hook here. If they hadn't invaded, if they didn't want to take your land, your life would be normal and your cousin alive and well.

I am deeply sorry for your loss though and hope you have family/friends to support you.
 

VorZakone

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To me, banning Russia from Eurovision was basically the European organizers saying, "Your behaviour on the geopolitical stage is so bad, your artists can't even partake in organized music contests anymore." To me, it was a form of collective punishment, which I abhor, but even if we ignore that, we're judging a country based on its behaviour.

Then I look at Ukraine, and I see thousands of people around Europe supporting us, cheering for us, voting for us, and the reality is, back at home we're brutalizing our own civilians. We hail our heroes who die and then leave their widows to suffer with no support. We pluck men from the streets, hand them a rifle and a few weeks training and throw them into a frontline where troop-rotation doesn't happen. People who disobey are jailed and in some cases executed, some in a state of fleeing, others summarily.

And then I think, how the feck are we being cheered and Russia being banned.

That, guys, that fecking wracks me with a feeling I really do not enjoy having.
How do you feel about boycotting apartheid South Africa?
 

Withnail

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Well, if aggression in war is the main criteria to be nuked from Eurovision, I get it.

But surely how you treat your own peoples should matter in this conversation?

I re-read what I wrote and I can understand why people think that be "we" i meant UK/Ireland etc. I was meaning Ukraine.

In the past 6 months, Ukraine has not behaved any worse towards it's own people than Russia has.
Well if true then Ukraine should probably be banned from these things too. To be honest I don't know enough to comment on that but I will take your word for it.

However, what people took umbrage with was what looked like support for Russia/Israel as opposed to your contention that Ukraine are as just as bad. Now that you've clarified things what you said makes more sense but I still don't think the decision to ban Russia was was wrong or could possibly have been wrong based on anything that happened after they initiated an illegal invasion.

Although, the main issue people have with Russia is not how they treat their own people. I mean you can see how without Russia aggression there is no war, therefore there is no conscription etc? I'm not absolving anyone of anything in recognising that.
 

Withnail

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:lol: He does little things like this. I know he's got a list of whoever is at number one in the charts at Christmas, going back I don't know how long but this first time I remember seeing his Eurovision one.

He's never been diagnosed with being autistic or the like, but then he's never sought out a diagnosis. If I had to guess I would say he is. He was recommended to attend a special secondary school when he was a kid as he struggled back then, but in the end he went to mainstream school. I don't think much was known about autism etc. then, he's 48 now.

Anyway, it made me smile. He loves his Eurovision!
As someone who strongly suspects they're on the spectrum in some way and is in the process of being diagnosed this feels very spectrummy to me but I'm all for it :D
 

AfonsoAlves

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Your country is being invaded, if Russia had it's way Ukraine would cease to exist. Your Government is desperately trying to hold on.

I'm a bit puzzled why you think Russia should be let off the hook here. If they hadn't invaded, if they didn't want to take your land, your life would be normal and your cousin alive and well.

I am deeply sorry for your loss though and hope you have family/friends to support you.
Because I genuinely feel if we apply the reasoning as to why Russia and Israel shouldn't be allowed to compete, the same should apply to us.

It's immense guilt, and I feel we, as we proudly serenade ourselves on the European stage, are stinking hypocrites.

To me, the means do not justify the ends. We were invaded, we were brutalized, but now we're being brutalized both ways, by the Russians and by our own government. What separates us from them now in our behaviors? We feel anger when we see Navalny supporters being plucked from the streets and arrested and jailed, but how is that any different to what we are doing.

I've completely de-railed this convo and I'm sorry. Regardless, my main reasoning for Russia not being banned is I feel it's one rule for thee and one rule for me, partly because of the amazing PR job Zelensky and his government have done, where we do not report or acknowledge any of these horrible things that are happening right now that is entirely the product of our own choosing.
 

AfonsoAlves

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Well if true then Ukraine should probably be banned from these things too. To be honest I don't know enough to comment on that but I will take your word for it.

However, what people took umbrage with was what looked like support for Russia/Israel as opposed to your contention that Ukraine are as just as bad. Now that you've clarified things what you said makes more sense but I still don't think the decision to ban Russia was was wrong or could possibly have been wrong based on anything that happened after they initiated an illegal invasion.

Although, the main issue people have with Russia is not how they treat their own people. I mean you can see how without Russia aggression there is no war, therefore there is no conscription etc? I'm not absolving anyone of anything in recognising that.
That was the exact logic I applied myself with for a very long time, all through 2023 as things got worse and worse. And I'll be honest, I look back now and realize it was pure cope.

I then started to apply that same logic to Israel and I realized that my own justifications for Zelensky doing the things he is doing were flimsy and honestly, delusional.

Nobody says, rightfully, "well it's all Hamas' fault because if they didn't do 10/7, Palestinians wouldn't be being bombed in droves right now." Because that logic means you can justify just about anything.

Nay, the choice we make on ourselves were entirely of our own making and using Russia's invasion is not a valid excuse.
 

AfonsoAlves

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How do you feel about boycotting apartheid South Africa?
In principle, yes, but it depends on the climate of the situation. It's not an easy yes or no answer to be honest. If we were boycotting Aparthied South Africa but allowing in 2024 Israel, I'd be pretty depressed about the double standards and the stance against one thing but turning a blind eye to another.
 

Withnail

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That was the exact logic I applied myself with for a very long time, all through 2023 as things got worse and worse. And I'll be honest, I look back now and realize it was pure cope.

I then started to apply that same logic to Israel and I realized that my own justifications for Zelensky doing the things he is doing were flimsy and honestly, delusional.

Nobody says, rightfully, "well it's all Hamas' fault because if they didn't do 10/7, Palestinians wouldn't be being bombed in droves right now." Because that logic means you can justify just about anything.

Nay, the choice we make on ourselves were entirely of our own making and using Russia's invasion is not a valid excuse.
I'm sorry but it is. Israel's genocide is absolutely disgusting and they should be called out in every forum and every platform where they exist or try to represent themselves in a good light.

I honestly don't see how you can disagree.

If you want to add more countries to the list of evil cnuts then fair enough but you seem to be arguing that Russia and/or Israel should be absolved of wrong doing which it truly bizarre to me.

You're making to no sense. Why are you supporting Israel again?
 

dumbo

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I don't get the sentiments here:

People are saying you shouldn't vote for Israel in Eurovision because of Gaza?

It's a song contest...Israel's song was pretty ... yeah okay whatever, middling. not great, no terrible. 3.6 roetgens
Israel are mutilating children, killing women and children, displacing and starving women and children, with their military might. Some people disagree with doing this.

The Eurovision song contest is being seen by some as a way for Israel to attempt to stop people thinking about the dying, starving, mutilated victims of their aggression. Some people think Israel are trying to wash their reputation through song and pagentry.

Agree or disagree but that's the reason.
 

AfonsoAlves

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I'm sorry but it is. Israel's genocide is absolutely disgusting and they should be called out in every forum and every platform where they exist or try to represent themselves in a good light.

I honestly don't see how you can disagree.

If you want to add more countries to the list of evil cnuts then fair enough but you seem to be arguing that Russia and/or Israel should be absolved of wrong doing which it truly bizarre to me.

You're making to no sense. Why are you supporting Israel again?
What? I don't support Israel. Read what I said.

I said nobody applies the "they started it, so we did bombed the Palestinians to dust" logic on Israel, because its absurd.

I'm not absolving them of wrong in the slightest. I'm basically arguing the counter, that we're not better than them and it makes me so depressed.
 

Withnail

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What? I don't support Israel. Read what I said.

I said nobody applies the "they started it, so we did bombed the Palestinians to dust" logic on Israel, because its absurd.

I'm not absolving them of wrong in the slightest. I'm basically arguing the counter, that we're not better than them and it makes me so depressed.
Pretty much every country in the world is better than Israel right now.
 
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AfonsoAlves

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Pretty much every country in the world is better than Israel right now.
Maybe i'm being irrational then.

But I just feel awful that Russia are not there for being brutal as a nation amongst other things and we're there smiling and cheering and taking all the applause when we're the exact same as the Russians in many regards.
 

Withnail

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Maybe i'm being irrational then.

But I just feel awful that Russia are not there for being brutal as a nation amongst other things and we're there smiling and cheering and taking all the applause when we're the exact same as the Russians in many regards.
This was the comment that started all of this:



I don't get the sentiments here:



People are saying you shouldn't vote for Israel in Eurovision because of Gaza?



It's a song contest...Israel's song was pretty ... yeah okay whatever, middling. not great, no terrible. 3.6 roetgens


Regardless of what you've said about your home country this comment is pure genocide apology. I get that you're conflicted but it's pretty fecked up to downplay what's happening in Gaza.

Like I should give a fuk if the song is pretty.
 

AfonsoAlves

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This was the comment that started all of this:







Regardless of what you've said about your home country this comment is pure genocide apology. I get that you're conflicted but it's pretty fecked up to downplay what's happening in Gaza.

Like I should give a fuk if the song is pretty.
Why is it genocide apology? Sorry, what? How was this downplaying what's happened?

a) Eurovision is meant to be apolitical (even though it's really not). Where that line is drawn is not up to me, but clearly Russia crossed that line. Where Israel sits in comparison and why it's not deemed to cross that line is not up to me to decide.

b) It's the frustrating hypocrisy that gets me. We're all (rightfully) outraged when Israel got votes and when Ukraine does everyone is "yayy Slava Ukraini!" It makes me sick.

Let me be clear, again, maybe it's me not putting enough context into the message. For that I apologize.

The message should read:

"People are saying you shouldn't vote for Israel in Eurovision because of Gaza? So why is everyone happy to vote for Ukraine?"

"It's a songcontest, you can't decide that it's a purely musical thing for Ukraine but has whitewashing for Israel. It's either both, or neither."

Then I realized it was possibly too dark-hearted for this thread so I put the Chernobyl joke.