Rayvin

I don't think we'd be involved in this conflict. Can we even project power that far any more? This is the US' issue alone - NK are no threat to Europe whatsoever.

I think their best hope is that NK totally focuses on the US. Having said that, if this kicks off SK might go straight over the border themselves. The sooner they take the regime down, the fewer casualties there'll be.

Was just reading that they're undertaking an urgent review of their capabilities to intercept missiles. Seems certain that they'd be in trouble. In fact, there seems no outcome from the whole thing that would be beneficial to them, even if the US won with minimal casualties.

Yeah but see NK's response. They've stated they'll launch a pre-emptive strike against any US aggression. Interesting that they've made no threats beyond self defence. The thing is NK must know that there's no endgame where they win. They won't want war.

Ok, further reading tells me that NK have managed to attach nukes to ICBMs. There's no benefit in attacking them on that basis, the opportunity for Western involvement has been missed IMO. Doubt anything will come of this.

I still don't consider the taking down of NK to be a bad thing. They're a constant antagonist in the region and even China would want rid of them if it didn't mean a war on their doorstep. Unlike Syria, they've not got a Western instigated civil war going on. Having said that, Trump is going against his word in getting involved in all of this. He was supposed to be isolationist. While not being blind to the global apocalypse scenario, if he actually solves the NK problem then he'll have accomplished something undeniably positive.

Aye, I think we can all agree on that.

Yep, and so again, it's totally normal to want engagement. I thoroughly enjoyed the debates I had with people on here back before Corbyn was cool, so I can relate.

I'm not having a go at you with that statement, but I'm afraid I can't agree that you're interested in the truth. I don't see why you can't retain a skeptical outlook on everything and still take up the position that is supported by the largest amount of factual evidence. That would be an act of associating yourself with the truth. The reality is, you'd love to find the truth if it's the truth you believe in. Otherwise, you don't want to know. And that's fine - but it does rather mean that we should stop discussing this with you in a debating sense, and should simply only understand what your views are and leave it there. Ultimately, for us, this is like arguing the existence of God with someone of religious convictions.

At the risk of going fully armchair psychologist, I would suggest that his posting output would be less engaged with by the community if not espousing this particular position, and that this engagement is something he finds nourishing on some level.

I think we have to accept that Wolfy isn't interested in the truth. That's where we're struggling here. He's not bothered. He just wants to see the world in the way he wants to see it, truth be damned. It's not that he doesn't understand the points we're making, it's not that he's ignorant, he just doesn't want to know.

Plus you'll need it for your porn from next April

I use my proxy for streaming - too risky not too now IMO. All the tech savvy guys I know switched to proxies some time ago.

Agree with this. I think people are panicking a bit too much off the back of some snippets in the media. Also worth remembering that the media fully expect the whole Rafa project to fall apart because at Newcastle, that's how it always go. It's a safe bet for them to write the sorts of things they have done. Doesn't mean it's written in the stars though. Every direct quote from Rafa though shows little more than a general frustration with the situation concerning transfers. Add to that the fact that I read somewhere that he'd never walked away from a post before, I don't think we have to worry too much. I also don't understand why so many people think we're going to struggle to avoid the drop. The team we have may not be as 'high quality' as the one that got relegated, but they're harder working and with a better attitude. At the lower end of the PL, that stuff matters.

As opposed to the invisible kind? Visible Panties Network is definitely what I'm going to call it next time someone asks me what it means though

FWIW Wolfy, if you had spent a significant amount of time in the politics threads over the past couple of years, you would see frequent arguments and debates about everything from terrorism to governance to economics to media coverage. It's a wonder Gloom even still speaks to me at this point So we're not all here just slapping each other on the back and agreeing with the consensus. I've had my views changed by discussions with people on here before, and I've seen it happen to other people too. As far as the internet goes, this is a pretty open minded forum.

Do you mean a proxy server for masking online activities or a VPN for connecting to a network inside a business or something like that? If the latter you can set it up through Windows normally. If the former (which I assume) then I'll send you the link to the guys I use when I get home. Costs $36/year.

I think the lowest grade club in the PL with a manager equivalent to or better than Rafa, is Liverpool. The only thing I think might make us appealing to another manager post-Rafa, is that they'd come into the job knowing that some solid foundations had been laid by someone who knew what they were doing. But I think it's highly unlikely we'd get anyone anywhere near as good. This could be our last chance to make something of ourselves for the next 10 years or so.

I know what you mean, she writes like a local journo rather than a national one. Having said that, the 13th prediction is apparently the consensus across the Guardian staff as a whole.

Agreed, but we don't know much about him really so it's too early to say if he's a problem. Clutching at straws, I know.

The Guardian predicts we'll come 13th, which sounds slightly optimistic to me, but not too far off. Granted, it's reliant on Rafa hanging about, but I'm not convinced that he's on the cusp of leaving at this point so I think we can afford to be cautiously optimistic. Unless we lose all our games before the transfer window closes. https://www.theguardian.com/football/2017/aug/08/premier-league-2017-18-preview-newcastle-united

Still don't see why so many people think we're going to struggle even with the current squad. We're not going to be challenging at the top end of the table but ffs, we're good enough to end up around 15th or so, certainly with Rafa at the helm. He doesn't seem to be indicating he's leaving here either. Really not sure what to take from that statement. Actually sounds like he's planning to handle the season ahead with what he's got, which sounds like encouraging to me. You sure he isn't just managing expectations here?

Me too. Not going to predict a loss on our first game of the season even if it is on the cards. 2-1 for me as well.

Some journo said it at the time but then later admitted he made it up.