Scottish Mag

To be fair to Bridget, i don't think her point was was meant to be taken the way you have read it.

In the land where the smurfs were actually born, Belgium, Unicef has just run an ad that depicts the poor little blue men only three apples high being bombed. The Telegraph reports that the Belgian audience was in shock after the ad aired on the evening news last week, and while some people approved of the tactic little children who saw the ad by mistake were wailing in terror. In the video the normally idyllic smurf-village is attacked and the smurfs take cover from whistling bombs as their little mushroom houses explode all around. Philippe Henon, a spokesman for Unicef Belgium, said his agency had set out to shock, after concluding that traditional images of suffering in Third World war zones had lost their power to move television viewers. "It's controversial," he said. "We have never done something like this before but we've learned over the years that the reaction to the more normal type of campaign is very limited." You can see the Video of the bombed smurfs here (.wmv file) courtesy VRT news. The Smurf-bombing is about 40 seconds into the clip as this is a snippet from the actual newscast. Peyo's family, the smurfs original creator, agreed to let the smurf be bombed.

Where will we be going after the game as i`ll no doubt need to go drop my bags off first if i don`t get the chance to before the match..

Q - How many times have you wanked in the last week A - Irn Bru

Q - How much were your silicone implants? A - Big yellow taxi.

who is newcastle biggest legend?

World class for me is players of the standard of Van Basten, Pele, Maradona, Eusebio, Cruyff, Beckenbauer etc To hear so many of todays players called World Class is ridiculous.

Many of those mentioned are certainly good players but IMO certainly not world class (a term that is used to often by many supporters)

As would Dean Saunders..

http://www.lightordark.com/illusions/en/

NEWCASTLE chairman Freddy Shepherd has warned Graeme Souness he MUST get the club back into Europe next season after splashing out £40million in the summer. Souness was given phenomenal backing during the transfer window to land Michael Owen, Albert Luque, Scott Parker, Emre and Nobby Solano - and knows the pressure is on to bring back the extra revenue that European football offers. Injuries have so far stopped the United manager from picking his first choice eleven but the message from Shepherd is clear. "Our ambition for this season is to certainly finish in the top six,'' said Shepherd. "Once we get the players back in the next few weeks we will be able to mount a great effort to get up there. "We want the European nights back at St James' Park. That is why we have invested a huge amount of money to land the players we did in the summer to get us there. "We are a big club, a worldwide club, we need to be in Europe. "It has been a very expensive period in terms of transfer. You can see the difference on and off the pitch. "You cannot beat quality. No one can question the desire to be successful here. "We will be a match for anyone when we have everyone fit.''

An ad encouraging men to get checked for prostate cancer, starring Ricky Gervais, comedian with a past as a new wave popstar now most famous for his role as David Brent in "The Office", has banned from radio waves before nine pm as it was too offensive.. A soundeffect has also been removed from the ad - a 'squish' noise - to santize the ad. Why? Well it's a touchy subject (pun intended) I guess. The sound effect is in the ad as Ricky who plays the doctor is inserting a finger to check the prostate. Ricky is not at all happy with the squish sound being removed: "It's pathetic. One of the reasons that people die of cancer is that they don't get themselves checked. One of the reasons they don't get checked is embarrassment over the issue. The radio authority has actually enhanced this as a taboo." The Prostate Cancer Charity never intended the ad to run during the day anyway, John Neate chief executive of the charity called the decision to remove the squish 'a disgrace'. You can listen to the ad un-cut in real audio or mp3 from here. http://www.prostate-cancer.org.uk/ricky.asp

He's spent £40m+, and has managed to take Liverpool below a Rooney-less Everton, and now into a 5th-8th place team. 43124[/snapback] How can they be below the "Scouse Mackems" when Everton are bottom of the league?

To be fair to Moore, and i am his biggest critic, he didnt fail at Palace. He actually done well enough for a few teams to show an interest in him (i think Leeds were one). Rangers took him back up north as Palace went into admin and couldnt pay the 800,000 for him. That being said i don`t think he is good enough for Newcastle United.

Without sounding to "cliquey"... This is proper old Skool!

On the Celeb v Legends programme tonight it said that the celebs will play the Newcastle first team sometime this week. Considering the amount of injuries we have its not really clever to put our only fit players out against their Sunday league standard players... With our luck its a stick on someone will get crocked.

Do the pubs not shut really early on a Sunday in England? You`ll have plenty of time to be fit for work.. 41825[/snapback] Aye half 10. Then I've got to be up and sober enough to drive to work 7.5 hours later. 41850[/snapback] Thats plenty of time... God half ten isn`t half early for a pub to shut. I live in a small town and the licences here are 12 on a Sunday with one that is open until two.

NEWCASTLE boss Graeme Souness will go for Nicolas Anelka in the January transfer window to form a dream double act with Michael Owen. Souness tried for the French striker in the last window, but most experts reckoned the deal was dead when Fenerbahce said 'no' and Owen signed from Real Madrid. But Souey still wants Anelka to be the talk of the Toon beside Owen. Alan Shearer is in his final year at Newcastle and will possibly be replaced before the end of the campaign, especially as Souness knows he needs a top-six finish to keep his own job. Shearer is such a hard act to follow Souness has decided he needs two goalscorers to do the job - and there is no point in the manager waiting until the end of the season to do so. Anelka was a Newcastle summer target but several offers were rejected by the Turkish side, who even threatened to report them to FIFA. However, on the day before Newcastle signed Owen there was a £10million bid made that almost went through. Owen finally said 'yes' hours after that move was made and Anelka was off the agenda - but he's back on it for January. Strike twins Owen and Anelka played together at Liverpool for a brief spell - and did not always work as a partnership. But the idea of having two quick-witted forwards appeals to Souness. It will be down to chairman Freddy Shepherd to give the go-ahead for a £10m plunge and that will depend on how Newcastle go in the next few months. Souness also wants two or three new defenders and is on the trail of Deportivo La Coruna midfielder Aldo Duscher. The Argentinian, whose tackle injured David Beckham before the 2002 World Cup, is keen to quit Deportivo to further his international career and Souey has heard rave reports about him from former team-mate Albert Luque. Keeper Shay Given is ready to commit the rest of his career to Newcastle. The Republic of Ireland keeper, whose deal runs out at the end of next season, said: "Ideally I would like to be offered a new contract and win a trophy."

Do the pubs not shut really early on a Sunday in England? You`ll have plenty of time to be fit for work..

Big Rambo McInally has said on sky that we are not at the races and are getting a "right doing" from Pompey...

To tell his critics that Titus Bramble has become a movie buff since moving to the North-East would be to invite jokes of horror shows, comedies and the documenting of disasters. Yet the Newcastle defender - for whom the cinema screens of Tyneside offer welcome respite from his life in the sporting spotlight - the pastime he ranks as his favourite is all about seeking a happy ending. "My lifestyle has changed - it had to," admitted the 24-year-old, who credits Graeme Souness with rescuing his career with the frank exchange of views which followed the United manager's arrival at St James's Park. "I don't go out much at all these days and, if I do, I just go to the cinema with Kieron Dyer and watch a movie. After training, I have a nap and then we will meet up, watch films, just hang out. "I might go out after a game but not during the week - there's a time and a place for these things. Occasionally I got the balance wrong when I was younger. When I first came here - probably because I was in a new city - I went out too much." The perception that United's younger players spend their evenings trawling Quayside clubs and city bars has been hard to shake but, since Souness arrived determined to shake up the St James's squad, their image has steadily improved. "I feel for Kieron because the perception is that he is a party animal but he doesn't go out much," said Bramble, who, having changed his social life, has reaped the benefits in his job. "If he does, he gets knocked for it, people make big stories of it and that's harsh. It's something we have both had to get used to." It was in an attempt to ensure that, when Bramble featured in newspapers, it would not be on the front pages, that Souness sought talks with the defender following his appointment. "I had a heart-to-heart with him when I first arrived," said the Magpies boss, for whom Bramble has since evolved into one of his most important players. "I knew what a good player he could become, so I pulled no punches. "I told him his future could be extremely rosy, or not, depending on his attitude. Titus has been professional in everything he has done for me, I have been delighted with his attitude." That Bramble listened hard to what Souness said is clear. "He told me things I needed to hear, they were home truths," he admitted. "He said it was my career we were talking about, he was brutally honest. It was good management, it sunk in and I have taken notice. It had added weight because the gaffer has been there and done it. He knows what he is talking about. "The gaffer said it was up to me. I had words with myself, told myself he was right. Since then, the performances have improved." Newcastle's upturn in fortunes this season has coincided with Bramble's return from the fractured elbow which forced him to miss the opening month of the Premiership campaign. A player still feeling his way back to full fitness has yet to reproduce the commanding performances with which he silenced his doubters last term but, with practice, he doesn't doubt he will get there. "Since the boss came in, I think I have done well," said a player who, having suffered a minor problem during a Thursday morning training session, hopes to recover in time to face Portsmouth. Souness now has genuine competition for places at centre-half and, with Steven Taylor available following his suspension, a difficult decision must be made this afternoon. Although Jean-Alain Boumsong cost £8.5m, a fit and in-form Bramble has the potential to become the club's most-accomplished defender. Said Souness: "These days he has to concentrate all of the time in training because he has people like Michael Owen bombing around him. That can only help his progress and aid his concentration when it matters most." Indeed, working on a daily basis with English football's two deadliest strikers of recent years has helped Bramble's development. "I mark Michael Owen in training and that can only improve my game," he said. "Thank God I don't have to play against him every week. "He plays off your shoulder, always trying to get behind you and working with him teaches you that one little mistake can lead to the ball in the net. "It has been a fair criticism that, in the past, my concentration has wavered. But I was 18 when I made my debut at Ipswich and 20 when I came to Newcastle and that is very young. "I was inexperienced and even now I have a lot to learn. It has been a bit of an eye-opener and it took a while to find my feet on and off the pitch, but I am more used to the pressures now."

Newcastle United are on the trail of Deportivo La Coruna midfielder Aldo Duscher. The Argentina international has revealed he has spoken to Magpies boss Graeme Souness regarding a possible move in January. Duscher is open to his departure from Deportivo and had been linked with a switch to Tottenham Hotspur in August. The tough-tackling Duscher was delighted to speak to Souness and praised the Scot's knowledge of the game. "When I heard the news I didn't give too much importance to it but then I received a phone call from Graeme Souness saying that he is interested in having me in the team next year," said Duscher. "I had a very nice conversation with him. I had never spoken with Souness before and he is a very kind person. "In addition, what surprised me most was how much he knew about my career, not only what I have done in Europe, he also knew things about me from Argentina." Duscher is perhaps best remembered in England for being the man who broke David Beckham's metatarsal in a UEFA Champions League tie with Manchester United. The incident occurred prior to the 2002 World Cup but, should Duscher secure a deal with Newcastle, he does not feel it would hinder his Premiership career. He added: "I think that things that have happened in the past are already forgotten and I have already left everything clear when they happened. "Besides, English supporters are different from fans in other countries. They respect you and they exam you for what you do for the team and not for what you did in the past. "Despite all this I know that these are the first conversations and, even though January isn't too far away, there isn't anything signed so I have to keep on thinking of my current team and then wait to see what happens in the future. "It would be very nice for my career history to play in England." Souness is well stocked in the midfield department and admits he is trying to ensure his injured players return to fitness before stepping up his interest in Duscher. He said: "I am a fan of Duscher but at the moment I am concentrating on getting the players we have already brought in on the pitch together."

41291[/snapback] Can the mods kindly remind me why my post count got reset? 41464[/snapback] I have no idea...

Yup! An all day drinking session.