Jim Field

@MyronGainesX Thank you for such an intellectually sound point of view.

Let’s have an honest, tough conversation. I’m Muslim, I’ll never renounce it, and I need to be better. That said, we need to rethink some practices. In the west, the loud, public calls to prayer five times a day, praying in large groups that block streets, disrupting traffic, and inconveniencing others needs to stop. We’re not doing ourselves or our non-Muslim neighbors any favors by disturbing their daily lives. When Westerners visit Muslim-majority countries, they generally show respect. They follow local customs. Women cover up, men act with honor, and they don’t demand that these nations change their laws, build churches or synagogues, or take in more Western immigrants. Muslim countries enforce strict cultural and religious norms, and visitors comply. Everyone coexists peacefully. Why can’t we show the same respect in America and western countries? Let’s be real: this is a Christian-majority country. Muslims make up 1-2% of the population. We’re a minority, and in many ways, we’re guests here. I don’t see Christians or Jews going to Muslim countries demanding special accommodations or disrupting local customs. If they’re allowed to practice their faith (and pagans often aren’t), they might pay a jizya tax for the privilege, which also exempts them from military service. Non-compliance could mean jail, deportation, or worse. I know the counterarguments: “America has freedom of religion!” or “There’s separation of church and state!” But let’s clarify something. The phrase “separation of church and state” comes from Thomas Jefferson’s 1802 letter to the Danbury Baptist Association. It refers to a wall protecting religious freedom from government interference and preventing the state from controlling churches. It’s not a blank check to practice our faith in ways that disrupt others. We don’t need to “assert dominance” with mass public prayers in symbolic Western locations. That’s not faith...it’s provocation, and it disrespects our host nation. Muslim-majority countries would never tolerate similar behavior from non-Muslims. Why should we expect different standards here? Let’s show the same respect we’re shown abroad. Let’s practice our faith humbly, integrate thoughtfully, and live as good neighbors. That’s how we honor Islam and earn respect in return. If you want to openly hear the call to prayer 5x a day, there's plenty of safe, clean, and beautiful Muslim countries you can visit or even move to (these countries love western expats). Agree or disagree? Comment below. Would like to have a good discussion on this.

@BanburyRUFC @GrafUKLtd @OxfordshireRFU @fyb_rugby That's a sad state of affairs at the START of the season. Getting the W is no substitute for playing a game..

@BurtonRFC @BanburyRUFC All dressed up and nowhere to go....see you at the re-arranged fixture. #BanburyOldFart

Please ignore the previous notice. The 1st XV game is now off against @BanburyRUFC So no rugby at Battlestead Croft this afternoon!

@BanburyRUFC At Banbury 7-0

The Bulls are out here at Syston. Windy with a bit of rain about. Dry for kick off though!

@PoliticsJOE_UK @carolvorders What a staged chortle; utterly false.

Kemi Badenoch has launched her bid for Conservative Party leader, by declaring she is not afraid of...Doctor Who. @carolvorders: "They get no better, do they?"

@Nigelrefowens Thanks for posting this; excellent read, former Sir 😉

This is a very balanced thread. I’d suggest a read for all of you who have watched the Brian May documentary last week on the issue of bovine TB

@RosieWoodroffe What a beautifully balanced perspective on the subject. I doff my cap!

So, please, wildlife colleagues: rise to the occasion and offer farmers help, not condemnation. There is no solution to badger culling until farmers have a solution to TB. Be part of the solution, not part of the problem 🦡💉🐄 25/25

In theory, following culling with vaccination should let the badger population recover while continuing to force down the disease, getting closer to actual eradication journals.plos.org/plosone/articl…

@carolvorders @bristolballoon More hot air.

Hooray 💙 We got our beautiful view of the ⁦@bristolballoon⁩ Fiesta evening balloon ascent I lost count of how many balloons there were 🤍 Everyone chilling on the grass Just so beautiful 💙

@BanburyRUFC @GrafUKLtd @Blu3UK @PersimmonHomes @Bidwells Excellent work! Superb baseline with which to start Centenary season.

🤝 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗠𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗧𝗬 𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯/𝟮𝟰 Huge thank you to all our community sponsors for all they have done this season. The list of achievements reached at the @GrafUKLtd Stadium this season has been phenomenal. banburyrufc.com/news/community… #BanburyRUFC #Rugby #Bulls 🐂

@FiferScot @BluskyeAllison I'm a bloke and I GET it🤦‍♂️

@BluskyeAllison What so he just looked at you? I'm not sure I get what you are saying. It could have just been awkward and silent because him and his ex partner weren't on speaking terms or something?

I made my mind up about Keir Starmer's character years ago. It’s an account of what felt like intimidation by a senior barrister against a pupil barrister - me. It’s a highly personal account I share now for the first time, as Sir Keir is poised to lead Labour into government. My experience may interest those keen to gain insight into the man’s character when he thinks no one that matters is looking. Twenty-two years ago, I was a 32-year-old 'baby barrister'. It was 2002, and I had won one of four places at the prestigious Doughty Street Chambers (DCS) to complete my ‘2nd six’ - six months of training, the last hurdle before becoming a fully qualified practising barrister. The second six months of pupillage is that heady moment when we pupil barristers rise to our feet for the first time in court to advocate for our lay client or on behalf of the state. It’s an incredibly steep learning curve, which one is guided through by a pupil supervisor, pupil mistress, or master in old money. It’s a notoriously difficult and competitive process; in the end, pupils compete for a permanent tenancy or seat in chambers. So, when DSC asked me who I wanted to guide me through pupillage and who I wanted as my pupil supervisor, I asked for Keir Starmer. I was ever so gently informed that Keir wasn’t taking pupils any longer. Honestly, I wouldn’t have been Keir Starmer pupil material. I just wasn’t good enough. So, I requested one of the barristers who conducted my second interview at DSC, the brilliant Philippa Kaufmann. As it turned out, Kaufmann was Keir Starmer’s recent ex-long-term partner, and she agreed to be my pupil supervisor. I wasn’t Phillippa Kaufmann pupil material either, and I will always be grateful to her for taking me on nonetheless. Like Keir, Philippa was on an apparent trajectory to the very top. Like Keir, both would soon take silk and become Queen’s Counsel, as it was known under the reign of Elizabeth II. These were heady days, exciting and utterly terrifying. I was in awe of practically everything and everyone at DSC. I got to experience human rights law as practised by some of the finest barristers in the country. Almost everyone at DSC was friendly and offered to help with any urgent questions or situations a newly qualified barrister was bound to need help navigating, with one standout exception — Keir Starmer. Although I was at DSC for over two years and attended the big bash Keir threw when he took silk in 2002, which was entirely by convention, the pupils were automatically invited; Keir Starmer never once acknowledged me during all of that time, never said ‘hello’ that I can recall. There are things you are strongly advised not to do as a pupil: don’t get drunk at chambers parties and don’t get a crush on your pupil supervisor. So, of course, I did both. I fell in love with my pupil supervisor, Phillippa Kaufmann. It was ridiculous, of course, but at the time, it felt incredibly serious. Just like getting drunk at chambers parties, it was something that was known about at DSC. One evening in chambers, I was in an otherwise empty clerks room at DSC with Phillippa doing some paperwork when we were joined, entirely by coincidence, first by Paul Brooks, who would become Phillippa’s partner and the father of her children and then Keir Starmer. It was awkward, and it was tense. No one was talking. No one was looking at each other. We just got on with whatever we were working on, sitting or standing a couple of feet away from each other. Keir Starmer seemed to me to be quite furious. We all sat silently: the ex-partner, the new partner to be, and the lesbian with a crush. Sometime later that evening, I walked out of DSC onto Doughty Street. As I did so, I encountered Keir Starmer directly opposite, preparing to ride his bicycle away from chambers. When he saw me, he stopped, faced me, and stood there glaring at me, saying not a word. What do you do when you are a pupil and the leading barrister of his generation, a complete superstar, is apparently trying to intimidate you? I imagine the pupil’s handbook would tell me to walk away, now. I stopped, faced him, and glared right back, saying nothing. There we stood, staring each other down from across Doughty Street - Keir Starmer and a lowly pupil, for what felt like minutes. There are some things no amount of education can teach you. I may not have grasped the intricacies of human rights law, but I knew how to stand my ground in the face of what I saw as this man’s attempt to intimidate me. Kier Starmer eventually gave up, hopped on his bicycle and cycled away - and only then did I walk away. Whatever Sir Keir’s many achievements, I will never forget the character of the man I encountered that evening on Doughty Street. Despite this, I would vote for Keir Starmer’s Labour if I believed that women’s rights and lesbian rights were safe in his hands at this pivotal moment in history, but I don’t. I predict that Keir Starmer will sell women and lesbians down the river unless we make it politically impossible for him to do so. We have formed alliances across political lines. This is our great strength. Let us bring it to bear now.

@parchpea @carolvorders Uphill task on personality search...

@carolvorders I understand why most speeches and responses are scripted and rehearsed but Starmer comes off much better using his own words. Final week remove the fear and shackles of misspeaking and let people see his personality.

Don't forget any of it 😡😡 Vote tactically to drive the Tory party to the desolation they deserve I’ve spent today looking at evidence in the VIP PPE Lane My fury only grows 😡 How dare they even try to excuse such corruption?

@BanburyRUFC A slight typo, but is the speedster also an actor?

@BanburyRUFC @OxfordshireRFU @fyb_rugby Real wingers try, and then MillerIce Man required to convert..never in doubt..I heard someone shout!

𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗠𝗢𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧... #BanburyRUFC #Rugby #Bulls 🐂 #EnglandRugby #Oxfordshire #RFU

@OxfordshireRFU @MattGoode13 Matt, many congratulations on an incredible win for your Squad and Coaches at HQ. You should be deservedly proud.

Shoutout to TomW for some great graphics!

@RFU @OxfordshireRFU Brilliant performance and result from Oxfordshire; players, coaches and supporters.

🏆The 2024 Bill Beaumont County Championship Division Two Winners - Oxfordshire! 👏Congratulations to everyone at @OxfordshireRFU!

@BanburyRUFC Absolutely amazing performance from Oxfordshire! Well done all the County players, Matt Goode and the Banbury lads!

Unbelievable!!! What a comeback! Oxfordshire with the most incredible fight back to win 38-37 at Twickenham. What a game of 🏉

@BanburyRUFC @OxfordshireRFU @fyb_rugby I like a bench of seasoned timber 😉Go Well v Stoke. I'll be following you on X.

𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠 𝗡𝗘𝗪𝗦 🐂 Here’s how our Men’s 1st XV line up this weekend #BanburyRUFC #Rugby #Bulls

@historyinmemes At least he remembered to hang his kilt from the curtain rail...

This is a terribly hungover Captain Lewis Nixon of Easy Company, the morning after celebrating V-E Day (Victory in Europe Day) in 1945.

@BanburyRUFC @OxfordshireRFU @fyb_rugby So the Franco-Irish Society have booked the Club..

🏉 | 𝐌𝐄𝐍’𝐒 𝐒𝐈𝐗 𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒 𝗥𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝟭 Due to a private function, we will not be showing the tournament opener between France and Ireland. Live on the big screen at the Graf UK Stadium #GuinnessM6N #SixNations #Rugby #SixNationsFullContact

@Teamgrassroots_ Connor, (and your Mum) well done on your MoM award, BUT you also WON in the match you refereed, the (alleged) ABUSERS were the LOSERS. I'm a rugby supporter, but follower of all round ball sport.

On Saturday an U12s football match had to be stopped, it had to be stopped because the referee (allegedly) was receiving abuse from adults. That referee was my son Conner, he was wearing a yellow armband that clearly stated he was under 18, and that he's a child himself. The adults were parents, parents of children playing in the match. The adults thought it was acceptable to give abuse to a child during this match. I can tell you that the referee was scared and upset, but to his maturity, he carried on that game until the end and kept his head held high. This incident has been reported and he has received overwhelming amounts of support from the football community. He took all that support, got up on Sunday with his head held high -Played for his team & got Man Of Match 📷 #grassrootsfootball #grassroots #referee #respect #RespectTheREF