Rayvin

Absolutely what NJS has said. They've done such a good job of perpetuating this bullshit about equal opportunities regardless of background, that very few low educated people in the US seem to countenance any alternative thought on the matter. It's actually sort of admirable, after a sense. It's hard to deny that people being prepared to work hard is a good thing. The problem is that they have to work so much harder than the people at the top - who generally don't have to put in much effort at all.

I guess he's trying to suggest that they amend their objectives based on who is in power, as any civil service would. I suspect the reality is that the President pays little attention to what their objectives are, and only considers and acts on information that they selectively bring forward. Are they actually answerable to an elected figure in any way, in terms of reporting? Does an elected politician head up the CIA?

Aye, I'm not sure essembee has grasped quite how shit their first team is Which is actually kind of bizarre.

Thanks, that makes sense.

What I find particularly interesting is that these US government departments act as a genuine law unto themselves. They just continue their policies and goals irrespective of who is in charge. Democracy is just a sideshow to these people.

We need a keyboard term for the centreground as well... For Renton. EDIT: How about Alt-F4

Alex, ahead of the curve as always.

True, but I'm not sure Kim DotCom lives in quite the same world as the rest of us.

Really interesting article here that I think probably is describing my position in the whole current political landscape. And possibly HF. Unsure about Parky, I still think he might be an anarchist. http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/03/why-the-alt-left-is-a-problem We are the Alt Left, apparently. I basically agree, but would stress that this new characterisation has been established across multiple 'Ctrl Left' (for want of a better term) outlets. None credible of course, but it's an interesting assessment nonetheless - just opinion at the end of the day. One I probably agree with, at least in terms of the characterisation. Much of the media spotlight has been on the “alt-right.” But the “alt-left” provides a mirror image distortion: the same loathing of Clinton, rejection of “identity politics,” and itch for a reckoning. Disillusionment with Obama’s presidency, loathing of Hillary Clinton, disgust with “identity politics,” and a craving for a climactic reckoning that will clear the stage for a bold tomorrow have created a kinship between the “alt-right” and an alt-left.

Apologies, thought the highlighting was copied over. Thanks for picking the interesting stuff out. Fascinating that they're able to do this. The thing about Samsung TVs in particular. Incredible.

So this reads to me like a solid confirmation of the sorts of things we already knew? The CIA's whole hacking program effectively leaked to the world. I couldn't read all of it (it's massive) but what is meant by zero day? Is that like some kind of remote device shutdown. I caught the bit about turning them all into spying devices.

Have you looked into it yet? Anything interesting in there?

This isn't the killswitch one, is it?

It doesn't look like it'll happen but it's a shame to see one of the few players who genuinely gives a shit not being able to make the grade.

All of that is going to be cut off at the knees by the reality that Short won't let them reinvest the full sum of funds raised from player sales. And even if he did, they'll get a combined sum of about £20m for the first six players you've mentioned. They'd have to sell Pickford as well, surely, so they can get something like £40m to spend. Also, their scouting is an abomination. They're not going to buy anyone remotely decent, they never do.

Aye but doesn't it feel longer than that? His posting frequency has decreased at least. For instance the belta minge thread hasn't appeared in ages!

Been wondering about MF myself. I think his purpose here was to take the piss out of CT, he stopped posting when the flounce happened.

It arrived after Darlow fucked something up a few weeks back iirc. A miskick that led to a goal?

Dunno actually, I kind of hope they go down so we don't have to play them. Rafa is far better at unpicking courageous attacking sides than he is at unpicking Sunderland style sides. I'd prefer the PL to be more full of Huddersfields than Sunderlands.

But this is exactly why they needed to go down. They've needed to for years. The prestige of being in the PL isn't enough if you aren't going to compete. We were in exactly the same boat in truth, but we actually had a good team (arguably) last year. Our problem was McClaren utterly failed. Their problem is that they're just not good enough, I would argue as a club, to actually be in the PL.

Yeah, not thinking it's likely - was just trying to frame their plight against something familiar. They look fucked to me. Even if they sell their better players, there's no guarantee that any significant portion of the money will be reinvested.

I reckon they have a squad about as shit as Villa did when they went down - so if they manage to raise and spend about £60m, they'll be in about the same position as Villa are presently. EDIT - Probably with Bruce back in charge as well.

I'll google it, see if I can independently verify it outside of the normal channels...

What exactly does telling someone they're a cunt over the phone prove that doing so over the internet doesn't?