Sheaf Saint

All we need now is for BBC to sack Mick McCarthy and the world cup will be watchable.

At the risk of being a bit controversial, the one positive I can think of that would have come out of us siding with the Nazis is that we wouldn't have the problems in the middle east we have now, because the state of Israel would never have been created. However, I'm not for one second advocating that the extermination of an entire race in order to prevent this conflict would have been right.

And that is precisely the reason I detest them so much. So many people just do not realise how these commercial messages creep into their unconscious. It's a form of psychological manipulation used in a low-down dirty way to make people think that companies are actually a lot better than they are. If I ever watch anything on commercial TV now, I hit the mute button while the adverts are on; I refuse to be manipulated in this way. The ones that get me really angry are the ones you see for painkillers like Nurofen (for instance). They make out like their product is the fastest, best and most effective thing for getting rid of a headache, but when you read the ingredients on the box, you realise that they are identical in every way to the supermarket own-branded ones that cost about 30p a pack. When you go and spend £2-3 on a packet of Nurofen tablets, not only are you paying for the fancy packaging, but you are also effectively bankrolling their marketing department which in turn bombards you with even more adverts, and the cycle repeats itself. On this subject I'm in full agreement with the late, great Bill Hicks...

Sheer numbers. By midnight on the day of the landings, close to 150,000 allied troops had made it ashore - not counting the thousands who died trying. 66 years ago this very day. It could so easily have been a different story had certain aspects not worked in our favour. I recently read Stephen E Ambrose's Pegasus Bridge which tells the story of Major John Howard and the British 6th Airbourne's assault and capture of the bridges at Ranville in the early hours prior to the landings that so nearly failed; the consequences of which would have been disastrous for the seaborne assault forces. Anyway, to those on here who lost relatives that day, and to the families and friends of all those who died on the beaches, may their sacrifice never be forgotten. I must admit that I had no interest in WWII when I was younger - I saw it as just some **** that happened in the past and didn't concern me. But as I have grown older I have I have made a point of educating myself on the subject, as I have come to realise just how important in human history those events were, and how different the world would be now had the outcome been different. This is the point I try and make to the younger generation now when they have the same attitude that I used to have, because as a species we have to make sure that we learn the lessons from our history and make sure we never have to make the same mistakes again.

I see from the article that the Israelis are claiming they will transfer the aid to Gaza by land after they have checked it for weapons. If that's the case then I can't fault them, but given their previous form I have serious doubts that the aid will ever make it to Gaza.

I think they both have to bear the blame. Vettel did turn into Webber a bit sharply, but he did already have the inside line and Webber should have recognized this and given him enough room rather than try and squeeze him and run the risk of taking both cars out. Careless from Vettel and unprofessional from Webber is my take on it.

Where The Wild Things Are I loved this animated book when I was a kid, I was always badgering my mum to get it out from the library for me. When I heard that somebody was making a live action version of it I was intrigued though I didn't get round to watching it at the cinema. Just as the book had very little story and was much more about the animations (probably the reason I loved it so much actually), the film does not really have any kind of a plot other than a young kid who feels very lonely and cut off from his family and escapes to this fantasy land where he is made into a king. The cinematography is wonderful, and the soundtrack is absolutely perfect to go with the dream-like visualizations. Some of the dialogue is very odd, and you do find yourself wondering what the wild things are going on about a lot of the time. Also very strange to hear the voice of James Gandolfini as one of the wild things, but overall I found it was a perfect comforting hangover film and well recommended. 8/10

You had to go and say it didn't you! :mad:

I have that on my shelf listed under the 'I'll get round to reading it one day'.

Have the germans invaded yet?

Yeah me too. Depressing isn't it. There is a status update thing doing the rounds which I am ashamed to say a couple of friends of mine have fallen for hook line and sinker and posted as their status... I think it's about time I did some housekeeping on my facebook account and delete some of the morons I call friends.

Interesting that the article mentions that he claims he was told to take them down because they are racist, but he doesn't actually say that at all in the video interview. Nothing like sensationalising a non-story eh? I could well understand this sort of frothing scare-mongering in The Sun or The Express, but I'm actually quite surprised to find the Echo doing it as well. I know it's an utter rag and I would never waste my money on it, but I did not think they would stoop this low.

Well you must be watching a different match because every replay I have seen of it shows that not all of the ball crossed the line, therefore it should not have stood.

I don't see why not. During the 80s and early nineties, the Liberal Party teamed up with the SDP and campaigned as the Liberal/SDP alliance. Granted the two parties had a very similar ethos and ended up merging anyway, creating the Lib-Dem party as it is today, but it is conceivable that two parties could campaign together on the basis of their alliance in this way. Just have to wait until the next GE and find out I guess. We live in interesting times.

There is one thing that the owners of the Barcelona circuit could do which would make the race drastically more interesting, and that is to re-design the first corner like they have done at the Nurburgring. The pit-straight at Barcelona is one of the longest in F1 but the braking zone for the first corner is too short and leaves no opportunity for overtaking. Look at Button and Schumi yesterday - Button was so much faster down the main straight and with a longer braking zone he might have been brave enough to try and stick one up the inside, but there was no way he was going to get past and gave up in the end.

What festivals are everyone planning on getting to this year then? So far I have only booked up this one Been the last two years running and it's an absolute hidden gem stashed away in the valleys of Lancashire. About 20 people I know going this year so should be a great weekend. Might make it to the Big Chill again as well but funds might prevent that.

Why do people continually spew out this drivel that the main parties won't discuss it? I think over the last few weeks it is the one topic, aside from the economy, that I have heard them talking about the most. But of course it doesn't suit the agenda of the frothing far-right to actually admit this, so they (you in particular dune) continue to perpetuate this myth that the main parties won't debate the issue. It's just scaremongering b0ll0cks.

Little Miss Sunshine Seen it a few times but I was in a foul mood and needed cheering up, and this film never fails in that department. If you haven't seen it, it is the story of the world's most dysfunctional family travelling across the US to take their 7-year-old daughter to a beauty pageant in California. Some great performances all round, but it's the overall dynamic between the main characters that really makes it what it is. Lots of genuine LOL moments, but it's the finale at the talent competition that has me LMAOing every time. It's quite tragic in many ways, but it's also one of the most feelgood films I have ever seen. 9/10

Was watching the game with my housemate who is a wednesday fan. I was nearly sending him the cleaning bill for the sofa when Palace had that shot cleared off the line in injury time.

I live in York.... ...shire

The dates you worked for previous companies is actually one of the things an employer can check when they apply for references, so that's the last thing you want to be deceptive about.

Exactly the way I see it. You can't invade another country's land and then complain that it's not fair cos they sunk one of your ships.

Is this a p155-take?

Just finished reading The Storm - Vince Cable's attempt to explain the global economic crisis in layman's terms, and I'm still none the wiser. Now reading Imperial Life in the Emerald City by Rajiv Chandrasekaran. It's a journalist's account of the truly shocking arrogance and ineptitude shown by the Bush administration when it came to post-war planning in Iraq. The words 'p1ss-up' and 'brewery' spring to mind.