kyle04

I have to admit to an "if I'm honest" or "to be honest" tic. I consider myself an intellectual pigmy.

... wearing only his socks and specs, the bounder.

More speculation here, although not exactly a smoking gun : Ukraine: Horror as Dugin 'suffers heart attack' after Putin's 'revenge bomb' on ally (msn.com) IMO, in order of probability : 1) Russian false flag to bolster public opinion, and as an excuse to escalate the conflict, although it seems pretty escalated already 2) Little heard of Russian anti-Putin group "NRA", not much to go on except posts from exiled politician 3) Ukrainian SpecOps, very unlikely, even if Dugin himself was killed it would represent a very low value target, Ukriaine would trade that for a large military strike I'm sure. Zalensky category denies any involvement, Russia are blaming Ukraine so it can't , by default, be them. 4) Those Russian cigarettes again, when will they learn...

What, an actual functioning one, or a trophy in a jar of formaldehyde?

I'd say so 85 mins + stoppage time , against crappy old (9-0) Saints, wheres the faith. I'm sure Gary will explain later on MOTD...

Only listened to the commentary on Solent (Jo Tessam as co-commentator was awful BTW), seemed quite an even low quality affair. Can't really add to what's already been posted other than maybe it seems Ralph is finally listening to those around him and making some successful changes when required - Leeds last week when we were gone, and now this game, despite Leicesters decline still a difficult place to get a result. The new players look promising, pleased with Djanepo who by all accounts is performing well. Mid table beckons?

Yawn.... OK : "By punching through the heavily fortified defenses in Maryinka, Peski, Avdeevka, it appears that Moscow has sealed the fate of Donbass" None of these places have been taken by Russia (Wagner group), they have partial control of Pisky, thats it (they cant even be bothered to spell the place names correctly). I repeat my earlier comment, the Kremlin wants to talk, not the actions of a winning side in war. (The article seems to be 11 days old, and still no change on that front). You keep posting this crap JB, and keep getting slapped down, I'm sure you think it's funny that you get a reaction from the grown ups, like a kid tugging at his dad's trouser leg. Keep at it son.

Yeah, it's getting a bit silly now Alex, you may as well post RT video clips and have done with it. Putin wants to talk, with Erdogan as the broker. What does that tell you?

1) NATO are not going to enter this conflict directly. Putin has blamed the US for prolonging the "conflict" which is true, but regarding escalation Russia has very few options left. It's army and puppet armies of LPR and DPR have been severely depleted and continue to be, the territorial gains have been very slight and at heavy cost this past month. Russia is in trouble, even the hitherto reliable Wagner group are being wiped out. RT talking heads have hysterically called for nukes ages ago, yeah right. 2) The US and Europe remain committed to continue their support of Ukraine, the "ambitions" of both parties have not changed, Ukraine want their land back, Russia want to destroy Ukraine and move on westwards, Nazis and NATO were never the reason Russia invaded. People have to accept this, and also what sort of creatures stalk the halls of the Kremlin at the moment. 3) What "narrative" is being fed exactly? This isn't 1941 with no access to what's happening on the ground. As it stands, Ukraine are routinely demolishing Russian ammo stores, air bases and command centres. Russia are shelling houses and playgrounds for no other reason than they can't locate high value targets so are hitting anything. The list of war crimes committed by Russia grows daily.

The "shut down" speculated didn't involve blowing up the reactors, just stopping the plant from producing electricity. So you think Ukraine plan to target the biggest nuclear power plant in Europe and risk contaminating their own country, most of eastern Europe and probably some of Russia, for decades if not centuries, so NATO can fly some F16's around the (irradiated) country. You'll have to do better than that .

There's no way Ukraine are going to shell a nuclear power station in their back yard full of military equipment. That's one reason Russia put their stuff there, so they could attack Nikopol across the river with impunity. It seems paradoxical but yes Russia are occasionally shelling the plant even though they control it, whether trying to blame Ukraine or just as a posturing excercise who knows. There's also speculation that with winter on it's way, they want to shut the plant down and deprive many civilians of electricity.

Looks like another air base in Crimea hit just now :

They could stop off for a spot of shopping maybe : It would take more than a few HIMARS hits to bring down the Kerch bridge though....

Ukraine claiming it was their strike, Russia saying only munitions had gone up, there's footage of destroyed aircraft though. There was a very large detonation in any case : Reports of many people fleeing into Russia over the Kerch bridge.

Yep : https://www.kyivpost.com/russias-war/pentagon-confirms-ukraine-has-high-tech-harm-missiles-17-kremlin-anti-air-systems-reportedly-hit.html Theres been a few "explosions" at Russian bases recently, well over 120km from the front lines...

It didn't though did it, and Amnesty have since issued a half arsed appology: Amnesty regrets 'distress' caused by report rebuking Ukraine (msn.com) As for the war boner tag it's a little boring now, if you think the Amnesty report is OK given the level of devastation Russia have inflicted on Ukraine and the numerous war crimes committed by Russia you really do have a warped sense of reality.

What a crock of shite. I suppose Amnesty would like the Ukrainian forces to relocate to open fields, wave at the Russian drones yelling "over here". What their report failed to mention is that genarally Russia haven't got a f*****g clue where AFU are gathered, they don't have the technology. Russia's missile strikes are hit and hope, at best. It's been the case that when a village or town is threatened by Russian advances, Ukrainian soldiers have done their best to warn/evacuate civilians, and in some cases have withdrawn altogether to avoid civilian casualties (Lysychansk would be an example IMO). Amnesty are little more the Putin shills now.

Amateur. A real card would have been sick down his suit, just before stumbling backwards into the plant pot, and as guests rushed to help him up aimed a wild punch, missing, with the momentum sending him back into the plant pot again, face down.

Dear me, this happened last season after a poor start, Ralph out, relegation etc. A bottom 6 team beaten away by a top 4/6 team, it's not like Saints often get anything from the first game anyway. Our only hope is we go on a good streak at some point, as last season when we did just enough to avoid being sucked in to the relegation dogfight. We are a poor side with an indifferent manager, it's going to be a long season.

The Ukrainian based representitive of Amnesty wasn't even consulted, and has resigned. I'm sure there's more to it than just the headline but have these people been following the war at all, or just bought into Russia's excuses for shelling residential buildings en masse. This has backfired on them, I think most people instead of condemning Ukraine are pouring scorn on Amnesty, decades of good work undone by one stupid report.

I think if we're relying on Saints to lift our spirits, we're in trouble.

This has happened on countless occasions in Ukraine, where people have refused to leave their homes (mainly older people), despite the looming danger of Russian artillery, they felt that this is their home and they have nowhere else to go, the Ukrainian soldiers would have ensured their safe passage but they were too proud of their modest few square feet of Ukrainian soil. I think Ukraine is starting to be a little stricter regarding evacuation from areas under threat, harsh but necessary.

Trying to manoeuvre ones "gentleman" through the hole in your boxers to take a piss, which have become twisted, to the point of having to de-bag completely and stand there like a little boy , trousers down, to get the job done. Not too bad at home, a little tricky on the common though.

You get this s**t all the time on social media, mainly from the trolls but occasionally from some "academic" types with an axe to grind. US puppet, biolabs, NATO expansion, Nazis, proxy war, large bowl of porridge etc etc. It's well documented that Putin, Medvedev and associated members of the Kremlin asylum want to restore the former glory of the USSR, in whose view the former SSR's have no legitimacy as independent countries. Ukraine was to be first, taken in 2 weeks, just to show the west how powerful Russia is, and despite the debacle this is turning out to be, they're still peddling these ambitions.

I actually hate our national anthem, not what it is obviously but the funereal tone of it, "dirge" being the right word. Contrast it with the French anthem for example, a thoroughly uplifting invigorating number. As to a possible replacement who knows, Stone Roses Elephant Stone would be my candidate, but thus far my tireless campaigning has come to nothing.