Happy Face

IIRC Colin mentioned tonight that 75% (rather than the 10% PP states) of the 20 or so people at the AGM were in favour but Shepherd et al still killed it as the major shareholders with the promise of the impotent fans liason commitee.

His mushroom trip with Sasquatch is an unrivalled moment of comedy genius. Really underrated film. I'm a big Tenacious D fan, so I'm not exactly unbiased, but it's one of my favourite comedies. The bit where he's gleefully riding down the joy river in a colourful inflatable with his imaginary buddy then it cuts to him close to drowning kills me.

John Gibson suggested that there's been no bid close to £100m tonight. He also intimated that the malaysians were just casino buddies of Ashley who'd come to put on a show of interest. The only actual interest has been the £55m bid from Shepherd and a US hedge fund.

Just got home from the NUSC gathering in South Shields and wanted to post my thoughts... 1. Colin Whittle (sorry if the spelling is wrong) seems to be an absolute legend in the making. Fantastic speaker and exactly who I'd want representing me. 2. Poor turnout. I reckon 50 people, tops (and 10 or 20 of those were there to put on the show). Lots of space for more. Something needs to be done to encourage more people to turn out for these things. Don't know if it's because it's a school night but it seemed like a lot of it was preaching to the converted. 3. John Gibson is class. Enjoyed his patter. I don't read the chronicle, but couldn't they push the NUSC more? When I mentioned it to my mate he suggested they need to remain impartial, but I thought they were supposed to represent their readership, not the club. Why can't they fully support the NUSC, especially now it has trust status? Do the NUSC advertise themselves in the chronicle? Couldn't they? If I'm mistaken and they are doing so already, then do the Gazette do so too? 4. I'm a bit shy so I don't pipe up in these things. The people leading this seemed to be open to debate with all fans, especially those not supportive of NUSC (and rightly so). In that vein, could the top brass not have accounts set up on every forum and have a stickied thread where they get an email notification about every post and can respond in person? PP does a fine job of responding to posts on here, but do other forums have like-minded advocates? The proposed meeting with naysayers was mentioned, but no-one actually said if they turned up or what the outcome was. 5. On the subject of naysaying forumers, the way I see it, forums have the fewest number of people that are probably the most well informed. The people that need to be encouraged to join are majority who don't indulge in such nerd like dedication. These can be reached only via the national and particularly the local print media, that should be the focus of any recruiting campaign imo. 6. The best way to attract members would be to have a box on your season ticket application saying "do you want to join the NUSC" and the cost gets covered in your season ticket. It would be a long term goal, but I'd hope it's the target. I'm pissed now so I apologise if I've repeated myself in any of those points. I'll remember more later. But the main thing that struck me is that there's still less than 3% of fans who show up for games each week that have joined up. I know it's only been 9 months, but I can't see why any fan that pays £500+ for a season ticket hasn't paid the tenner to support this commendable endeavour. If you aren't a member, join up now!

Why's Downing gone to Villa if they've been relegated.... http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/e...v_1/default.stm

I hope that's photoshopped, because it's appalling if it isn't. Aye, completely the wrong angle.

Grass doesn't grow in Middlesbrough

I see you have mastered the art of irony.

James Maytastic.

Cheap engagement rings, hired suits... Tight bastard tbh I don't really get why folk feel it necessary to blow so much cash on one day?( not a dig at you KD, just a general observation.) My wedding was as cheap as chips, we had a great time, and didn't begin our married life saddled with debt. I watched that new wedding show on living (in the hope that it would be as good as come dine with me...it wasn't) and some daftees claimed to be spending £77K on their wedding. Disgusting.

I could understand this bollocks if we, the fans, had ever referred to either of them as the messiah. Like in a chant or something. Tell the truth, I think Bobby Robson is held in higher esteem than both of them by a wider number of fans. Fucktard.

I've got no idea. I've not seen it and was asking the question. I loved Borat first time around, but I bought it last week, and watching it again I was struck how few of the people are actually shown up as xenephobic by him. A couple are, but most just agree with his crazy views out of politeness....or even put up with him shitting in a bag and bringing it to the dinner table but draw the line when he (appears to) break the law by soliciting a prostitute in their home. Still funny as fuck like.

Fair enough, it's not like you're one to brag, is it? Er no, not really Any particular posts come to mind? I think its a bit of a myth on here tbh, perpetuated by people who brag like Fish and try to deflect it onto people who dont, like me Off the top of my head there's the 'ooh look at my decking', the 'ooh I'm getting married' and the 'ooh, anyone know anything about insuring the very expensive engagement ring I bought my lass recently'. I'm sure there's a few more though 1 - I feel sorry for you if you find decking something to brag about 2 - Ive been getting married for nearly 2 years. The fact that no-one on here knew about it probably goes to show how little ive mentioned it. Coupled with the fact that I could find 20 posts on here off people announcing they are getting married and that isnt viewed as bragging just proves the point in my original post 3 - That was a genuine question, and tbh its at the cheaper end of the scale for engagement rings so once again, not really something to brag about. Im so misunderstood on here Honestly, if Gemmil, Happy, Parky had posted any of those messages it wouldnt enter anyones head to think they were bragging. Merely using a message board in the manner for which it was intended! Me? Brag? The very idea! Suck on my 120GB noob.

Does it show them to be homophobic? Or does it show they don't like dickheads? I reckon if he played a stright American bell-end on the wind-up he'd get as much of a reaction.

Quite reasonable tbf. I paid that in Chiquito over the weekend and that's basically fast food.

His mushroom trip with Sasquatch is an unrivalled moment of comedy genius.

Aye, the public are as well though. Aye. ...Like nazi's... "we knew nassing"

Funny how the media are so fixated on getting to the truth on this one but are happy to let the torture and murder of thousands at the hands of Bush and Obama go without pushing for any sort of investigation. *sigh*

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/13/business...tml?_r=1&hp Superb timeline of how they achieved it going right back to the bailout application here. "at the outset of the crisis, the oligarchs are usually among the first to get extra help from the government. . . . Under duress, generosity toward old friends takes many innovative forms. Meanwhile, needing to squeeze someone, most emerging-market governments look first to ordinary working folk -- at least until the riots grow too large". That "until" provision never seems to be triggered, which is why the behavior continues unabated.

http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/ I'm gay for Greenwald

You catch it...you become immune to it. I don't see the problem.

No-one thought it'd take a week...but it's getting on for 2 months now. And unfortunately, when we all panned her for being a mackem 'mischief making' slag as she tore into Ashley/Keegan etc...she turned out to be bang on the money about everything.

4 cases confirmed where I work. Meh!

"People were not instructed to shoot at everyone they see, but they were told that from a certain distance when they approach a house, no matter who it is - even an old woman - take them down," said another. Many of the testimonies are in line with claims made by human-rights organisations that Israeli military action in Gaza was indiscriminate and disproportionate. Amnesty International has accused both Israel and Hamas of committing war crimes during the 22-day conflict. Israeli officials insist troops went to great lengths to protect civilians, that Hamas endangered non-combatants by firing from civilian areas and that homes and buildings were destroyed only when there was a specific military need to do so. 'Ill discipline' According to testimonies from the 14 conscripts and 12 reserve soldiers: • Rules of engagement were either unclear or encouraged soldiers to do their utmost to protect their own lives whether or not Palestinian civilians were harmed. • Civilians were used as human shields, entering buildings ahead of soldiers • Large swathes of homes and buildings were demolished. Accounts say that this was often done because the houses might be booby-trapped, or cover tunnels. Testimony mentioned a policy referred to as "the day after", whereby areas near the border were razed to make future military operations easier • Some of the troops had a generally aggressive, ill-disciplined attitude • There was incidents of vandalism of property of Palestinians • Soldiers fired at water tanks because they were bored, at a time of severe water shortages for Gazans • White phosphorus was used in civilian areas in a way some soldiers saw as gratuitous and reckless • Many of the soldiers said there had been very little direct engagement with Palestinian militants The report says Israeli troops and the people who justify their actions are "slid[ing] together down the moral slippery slope". "This is an urgent call to Israeli society and its leaders to sober up and investigate anew the results of our actions," Breaking the Silence says. Israel said the purpose of the 22-day operation that ended on 18 January 2009 had been to end rocket fire from Gaza aimed at its southern towns. Palestinian rights groups say about 1,400 Palestinians died during the operation. Thirteen Israelis died in the conflict, including 10 soldiers serving in Gaza. According to the UN, the campaign damaged or destroyed more than 50,000 homes, 800 industrial properties, 200 schools, 39 mosques and two churches. Investigations Reacting to the report, Israeli military spokeswoman Lt Col Avital Leibovich said: "The IDF [israel Defence Forces] regrets the fact that another human rights organisation has come out with a report based on anonymous and general testimony - without investigating their credibility." Thousands of Gazans were made homeless by Israel's operation She dismissed the document as "hearsay and word of mouth". "The IDF expects every soldier to turn to the appropriate authorities with any allegation," Lt Col Leibovich added. "This is even more important where the harm is to non-combatants. The IDF has uncompromising ethical values which continue to guide us in every mission." There have been several investigations into the conduct of Israel's operation in Gaza, and both Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that runs the territory, have faced accusations of war crimes. An internal investigations by the Israeli military said troops fought lawfully, although errors did take place, such as the deaths of 21 people in a house that had been wrongly targeted. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has requested more than $11m (£7m) in compensation from Israel for damage to UN property in Gaza. A limited UN inquiry blamed Israel in six out of nine attacks on UN facilities, resulting in casualties among civilians sheltering there. Meanwhile, a fact-finding team commissioned by the Arab League concluded there was enough evidence to prosecute the Israeli military for war crimes and crimes against humanity, and that "the Israeli political leadership was also responsible for such crimes". It also said Palestinian militants were guilty of war crimes in their use of indiscriminate rocket attacks on civilians. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8149464.stm

Apparently they received the tickets on Monday and they were posted out that night. If they aren't on my mat tonight....