Mr.Smoketoomuch

Yes. That's what I read into Rafa's comments last week.

Great day when he scored against Wigan. I defended him a lot back then, against attacks from United, Chelsea and Liverpool fans. I also have fond memories from the overhead-kick goal against Bolton on newyears day last year, when I was sat on front row on The Kop just a metre from the post where the ball went in.

It is indeed. I only started to listen to it (and 'Everything all the time') properly this week. Some good epic songs and great vocals. I really look forward to see them live next week. I also look forward to see Radiohead, Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen within the next 9 days.

You can't change the team you support. At least you should teach your daughter that as of today.

Boumsong....

Looks like he will not be sold this summer.

Evra playing for Abidal apparently.

YouTube - 'Deliverance' - 'Dueling banjos' scene

Ace show. And our own Rafa is in it as well!

I used to love "By my side". And just realised I still do. I remember a very intense live version of "By my side" being played a lot on the telly in them days.

Went there two years ago, in february/march. Two wegians, three english, three germans, one american and one brazilian. Day 1: Whenever one of us, apart from the germans, tried to talk to a girl they thought we were british and didn't want any further conversation. Outside one bar a group of youths - whom we asked for directions (not to a strip club I hasten to add) called us sex tourists. Day 2: Bemused by this we did some thinking. In the same hotel there were quite a few groups of male britons. We talked to some of them and it seemed like Riga was the new favoured destination for stagnights and w/e trips. Prague had become too pricy. These groups of lads can, understanably, make the locals feel intimidated. And like GUS said: customer service is not the best. But in my experience thats the same in other east-european countries. 40 years of communinsm does that. So we decided to find some more relaxed bars. It worked well, our non-drinking and smooth talking american, smooth talked some local girls who joined us for the night. They again, attracted more latvian girls, so in the end we had a cracking night and even one of the germans pulled. Make of this what you want but don't expect any customer service or fat girls.

Alright. I thought you could get a penalty if it was clear cut.

Indeed. Hockey should have a similar rule as football when fouling someone with a clear scoring opportunity.

Some good fighting now...

WaltonRed: Which facts do I get wrong? You're naive if you go around and believe that America is the great evil in the world. I know left-wingers defending Pol Pot, claiming he was "forced" to mass murder his own people because of U.S bombing them a few years earlier. They also refuse to acknowledge any wrongs done by any left-wing regime. They are either not done by "real" communists; Stalin and Mao, to name two, or they defend suppression of your own population as a necessary evil to defend the country against the evil capitalist world outside; Cuba and the east block countries. I know about 9/11 in 73. I know about the support of para-millitary groups in Guatemala and their CIA-trained dead-squads. All wrong, of course. As for attempts on Chavez, I don't know. I won't deny it, but I will not make up my opionion based on what that Chavez claims. He is a democraticly elected populist moving towards dictatorship. For the record: Obviously, the 9/11ers were motivated by hate towards U.S foreign politics. But I do think it's far fetched to believe that wrong-doings in Latin-America in the 70s and 80s made them sacriface their own lives and 3000 others. They were arabs, the majority Saudis, from what I remember. Maybe some of their anger should have been directed towards their own government.

That's not even remotely true. Though they have made some 50+ interventions since WWII, and supported some bad regimes and dodgy characters, they have also fought some. It's not like the people in those countries were united in their opposition against U.S intervention. As for the monopoly on nastiness (post WWII), I give you Stalins Gulag camps, second only to Holocaust in this line of business, Maos land reform and the great leap forward, Rwanda, Srebrenica, apartheid in South Africa and the list goes on. But back to the topic of this thread: I am also struggling to find out what Obamas political programme actually consits of apart from "change". I guess that Gordon Brown was very, and sadly, wrong when he a few years back predicted that the era of stardom in politics was coming to an end. Obama and the recent election of Boris Johnson as mayor of London, goes to show that. About six months ago I thought about betting on Clinton as the next president. The bookies were offering about even money. It's amazing how Hillary has squandered her great position and in the process throwing the Republicans a life line for the next president.

Seriously? Racist remarks about white people? You might say they weren't, but if a white man had made general judgements and comments about colored people like Wright did about white people, no doubt he would be classified as a racist. U.S government created HIV to kill the black man? Whites to church in the morning and Ku Klux Klan meetings at night? Right. They deserved it? Ok, as a 23 year old, naive and pretty left-wing student in 2001 I wasn't far from having similar thoughts. No doubt the U.S has done some nasty things around the globe since WWII. This has to be judged in the light of the cold war, though. No doubt the paranoina made them use some power that wasn't right, but the alternative was far worse. After 7 years you still believe that?

Amongst his base, yes, due to the brilliant speech. But not amongst nervous white voters. And he need them to win against McCain. Obama will struggle to deliver if elected and McCain is not that bad for a republican.

I don't think that's true anymore. She does better than Obama in desicive swing states for the Democrats. Furthermore the damage she has inflicted on Obama due to pastor Wright and his elitism will only get worse once the repuplicans get going with their campiagn. A democrate candidate without pulling power amongst the blue-collar workers will struggle against any Republican candidate. However, I agree, it's time for her to give in. But that's what her mother thought her not to do, wasn't it?

Yessire Bob!

I've promoted The Wire to friends and colleagues for 18 months now and talked quite a few into buying it. Most people seem to need between 6 and 10 episodes to get excited, but then they are hooked. Nobody has not been fans by the end of season 1. The last few episodes in season 1 seem convince the non-believers. Been a while since I watched season one for the first time, but I remember thinking it was nothing special after episode 1.

Amen to that.

I know now that my life is fulfilling. Did we have a few drinks as well? Or am I drinking alone, whilst chilling with you?

Fuck me. I live a sad life these days. Alone, DVD and internet yet another weekend.

Snooker now. Indiana Jones on DVD later. Possibly a beer or two.