NJS

I think the point that the scenario first raised in the 80 when it arose and the ad campaign that went with it in the UK has proved to be greatly exaggerated is a fair one which can be made even knowing the wider worldwide picture. Having said that the number of people including some I know who still don't have safe sex (for a multitude of other reasons than AIDS) is still terrifying - if it had been as "easy" to catch as suggested, the death toll would have been immense.

I'm a huge House fan and can't help thinking that there are so many pathogens out there just waiting for their chance (I know it's dramatic licence and the cases are one in a million but still....) I also think it's well within the stupidity boundary of the human race to release viruses (either deliberately or accidentally) which could seriously threaten the species - as I've said before maybe not a bad thing from a quality of life for the surviving humans but still a pisser for most of us. As you say really good stuff is probably too late for us but I would that that illustrates the ethical side of these advances - I wouldn't mind a life that lasted longer but progressed at a slower rate but wouldn't want to live another 60 years as a 60 year old if you see what I mean.

Renton you seem to be both over and under-estimating the proportion of deaths due to cancer. What I was getting at is that a fair proportion (not sure of exact figures) of deaths are down to cancer of some form. Some will probably be due to "modern" life but I still think its a "natural" killer of all animal life that to some extent we weren't supposed to conquer from an evolutionary pov. I also think cancer is now getting more people who have just survived to a decent age and aren't that unhealthy - my Mam died of lung cancer but my view was that as she was 82 it wasn't the absolute tragedy it would have been if she had been 42 (not diminishing the personal loss of course). However there are atill many other killers out there which would still be around if the magic cancer pill was found. Obviously you and Chez no more than I do but I don't see how "fixing" DNA so it never allowed cells to become cancerous wouldn't help in the defence of viruses or bacteria so "immortality" to me would have to involve some use of a super-efficient immune system (probably via nanobots) to be possible.

Obviously only as interested reader/human, I never assumed there would be a "cure all" for cancer - I assumed the accumulation of all of the different stratagies for all the different types would eventually be "almost certain" to cover everything. I think its also the case that pissers where non-old people get cancers aside, its probably true that our species are "supposed" to succumb to some form of death pretty much before modern medicine now allows.

I don't know what Chez and Renton's take on this is but I've always suspected the limiting factor in the fight against cancer or indeed AIDS is finance - I remember arguing that the £25bn the government wanted to spend on Trident at the time would just about do the trick for cancer. Bollocks or not?

No but perceptually a vaccine which worked as well as the Polio or Smallpox ones would feel the same as a cure to people.

I'd want 33% to increase to 100% before I'd try it. Note also they were all given safe sex advice as well - the danger in a vaccine or cure for HIV is that people will see it as a licence to go bareback again.

Stopping foreclosures would be a good thing in my view - the rabid pace with which the banks pursued so many was the root cause of their downfall. Translating the mortgages to rent until the market picked up again would have been a lot better as the toxic assets would only have been temporarily smelly.

Didn't he give up, then die from cancer anyway? Some punchline that like. Pancreatic cancer though.

It was certainly a shame that after Cole/Ferdinand/Shearer it fell to Martins - not exactly Rob MacDonald but still pale in comparison to the other 3. As long as we get rid of Shola before he gets his hands on it.

Funniest I've seen live or probably on vid - however Hicks is still my favourite because of the edge/cleverness of his material.

There are a few comics who I think are quite funny on panel shows etc but when I've seen them as stand-ups I've not found them funny at all - Noble, Izzard and Moran are examples of those. In contrast I can't stand Alan Carr or Russel Brand on panel shows but have found their stand-up to be excellent.

Nowt compared to when Mirandinha did it...... twice! Another worky little twat (but not as much of a twat as Bellamy) I still consider his riot-inducing badge/kiss wave to the kop in 88 to be in my top 5 moments in Football.

He used to do that for us as well. Yeah but context is everything - don't tell me he doesn't know the context having played for the Scousers.

I'm sure it won't just be me but did anyone else notice a subtle "aeroplane" element to his celebration after the third goal?

Of course the added time is corrupt but how many times did Hughes benefit when he played for the cunts? Roy Keane syndrome I call it - he's forgotten different rules apply for "united" compared to the rest.

Just consulted with my Blackburn workmate: "Good, steady, reads the game well, will be a good player at that level - being kept out by 3 better players".

Yeah but as it happens I'm stuck at work because the trains are completely fucked tonight by a tree falling on the lines

If you appoint someone to a board with the title of executive director (football) then that person has total responsibility for the on field results of the club. Let's cut all the shit about signing players or spotting youth talent or his role in Keegan's exit - that was the bastards title. On that basis relegation is complete and total failure.

I had to switch SSN off when he was on screen - I despise the bastard.

But correct. Genetically we are still mainly "Celtic" - that doesn't mean Irish or anything like that - it refers to the people who populated the Islands after the last Ice Age and as you say haven't been diluted that much by invasion. The supposed Norse influence on the North East is significant in the North of Scotland and the Isles but less so in England. It's sort of funny how the BNP have had to "reluctantly" extend their definition of what is okay beyond Anglo-Saxon to include Celtic - considering the genetics make us predominally the latter.

Fucking shit music. (Decent vid)

The thing is one of the reasons Keegan was so admired (despite the ultimate failure) was that very emotional vulnerability you mention - his passion made the man - much like Robson. What I would say is that most people when they are honest with themselves recognise their own failings which leads me to think that knowing exactly what people were going to say about him it just strengthens my view that the shit must have been mightily bad for him to "bottle it" this time around. I realise there are arguments about his age and his financial status but I still think he wouldn't have gone without an immense amount of consideration.

Anyone planning to go to the game by train should note that National Express East Anglia drivers are on strike on the Saturday. Don't know if it affects anyone going via Peterborough but the Liverpool Street route wil be a hourly and crammed if you're extremely lucky. It's the last day of a 6 day strike (I just remembered as I've just checked with my boss that I can work from home all week) so it may be resolved in time but its still a potentially huge pisser.

Apart from the "pen", none of those 14 shots on target were anywhere near being a goal though.