NJS

There are a few posters on N-O who do.

Just offered to bet anyone at work who'll take it that he will - I never believed his "injury" from day one - shades of Given. In the cold light of day I still find people believing the club line to be astounding.

It's just a shame we've got 30 points which will be just enough. The only hope for this club is another relegation or a helicopter crash.

I'd also add that David Craigs/Sky Sports part in facilitating the deal is a fucking disgrace as well.

That's my view - I can't believe people are falling for the "transfer request" line from proven liars. Sadly I was also right with my view that we'd sign 2 less players than outgoing ones.

11-8 - look it up - even if you counted titles as worth 2 cups we still have more "points". Also 4 of your 6 were 2 centuries ago. Thats exactly what I'd expect a Sky boy to say, football didn't start in 1992 you know. Think the league is just a tad bit harder to win than the FA Cup, I'd take six league titles over your pathetic total any day. 6 to 4 - what a massive gap (You did actually know we'd won 4 titles didn't you?)

11-8 - look it up - even if you counted titles as worth 2 cups we still have more "points". Also 4 of your 6 were 2 centuries ago.

you're having a laugh are'nt you? clever guy that you are NJS, that view is unbelievably naive. Sorry I meant pre and probably now post-Blair. And to be fair the cunts leadership election are a lot more transparent than they used to be.

The Unions money comes from their members who get a vote - no dodgy backroom committees ditching or choosing leaders.

On the bright side Stevenage and Hereford both lost.

If you considered the carve-up of the Middle East atlas and the installation of several rulers by the US/UK governments and the Oil Companies after the first and second world wars then it I'd say it has been a contributor.

Been out for a lunch for a colleague leaving - to be continued as soon as he gets back to his desk - tomorrow is a write-off.

There are many good things about the UK but one of the worst imo is the deliberate way the rich have engendered such a meek populace, mainly by promoting a "we're your betters" line culminating in an obscene worship of the monarchy. One of the first times I went to London for a match I remember wandering around the West End and seeing the obvious wealth which has been there for centuries (which doesn't even include the wealth in the land) and I couldn't help thinking how much I'd like to travel back in time and put trips on for workers in the Industrial revolution who contributed so much to it to travel down to see it in the hope we'd have had a revolution. In the 20th centrury people did stand up for their rights and begin to fight back but perhaps Thatcher's greatest victory was killing the notion of fighting the system - now thanks to her and her successors the most people aspire to is to join that corrupt system rather than to change it. It's a depressing note for a Friday but it makes me glad to a certain extent I have no kids.

Does Portman get them out? Nope, but there's a nice scene with Kunis as Renton says. Which is available on various sites if you don't fancy a whole film about ballet. (I know it's more than that but still).

That suggests that it's more an engendering of a winning "ethos" that Grammar schools somehow have a monoply on when it comes to "normal" kids. I know full well that that it's one of the secrets of private education both in terms of coaching for Oxbridge interviews as an example and instilling the "right" to superiority perfectly illustrated by Cameron and Osborne. Again that sounds like a non strictly educational more "life skill" issue which I think could be distilled and applied to intelligent kids in whatever context. I think the point of generating "contacts" while still at school to help your career may by real world but its still fucking nauseating - you should be concentrating on proper friendships and maybe football.

Again admitting not seeing it, I'd argue that its not necessarily a failure of the school system that nepotistic systems exist within government and other walks of life. Obviously getting a few "poor" kids into positions of power would be good but going back to a system which simply wrote off the rest is a bit of a high price imo. I still think intelligent kids can make it within "normal" schools and even get as far as Oxbridge realtively easily but its what happens after that which represents the barrier imo.

Pissed off but strangely comforted that idiocy is universal... Went to the dentists this morning - appointment postponed from last week when the dentist was ill and they had failed to let me know. Got there on time - informed computer had crashed so there may be delays - nobody in waiting room at that point so thought it was okay. It turns out the person to fix the computer is of course the dentist I'm seeing so cue 25 minute delay before I get in the chair where the conversation then went: D: You have a huge hole in your tooth. Me: I know that's why I made the appointment. D: We'll need to have a proper examination of it, take x-rays and decide whether we can bridge it or do something else. Me: I know that's why I made the appointment. D: That'll need a 30 minute appointment- there isn't enough time now. Me: You've already proved you don't care about keeping people waiting and the only other person in the wating room is obviously only a student so how about it? D: No, sorry - no can do. Idiots.

I went to a grammar (after passing the 11+) that had just changed to comprehensive and I don't feel they dragged people down in the simplistic way people state. The "lesser" pupils obviously benefitted from the grammar school standard teachers and I never felt held back. I also consider it a good thing that I had to mix with kids from all backgrounds - probably what the programme wanted to suggest but missed (didn't see it). I think we've talked about this before and I said I do support streaming within a comprehensive system as happened where I went - I think that's the best of both worlds but obviously will only work if schools don't hog the best teachers and kids - the latter being the real problem now imo.

I'm going, just need to work out where. don't really know much about The Alarm, were they similar to Big Country ? Ish - not quite as guitar based in the same way but certainly in terms of strong, emotive vocals. Mike Peters was/is certainly a good singer but he tended to stray into iffy lyrics. I'll give them a listen, were they a punk band like Adamson in the Skids ? Calling them punk would be a bit of a push - I'd say more a cross between new wave and what evolved into "Indie" - very much like very early U2.

I'm going, just need to work out where. don't really know much about The Alarm, were they similar to Big Country ? Ish - not quite as guitar based in the same way but certainly in terms of strong, emotive vocals. Mike Peters was/is certainly a good singer but he tended to stray into iffy lyrics.

Will probably go - mentioned before I was a huge fan of theirs as well as The Alarm though still unsure about this now. The reviews are good though.

Just got an email - make that 3 interviews in the next week or so.

Picking up - one definite interview on Monday and almost certainly another one to be confirmed tomorrow. Also have a big piss up on Friday for a lad leaving (which when I add to that will leave them royally fucked).

I know this is selfish but I'd like to see any "attack" on bonuses have the salary level as a starting point. A lot of admin/support/IT workers are used to circa 10% cash bonuses which are taxed at 25/40% anyway and I'd have no interest in a few k (in the vast majority of cases less than 10k) worth of shares in the bank or whatever and would just like to see cash. Actual traders are different but for most staff the "bonus" is just a semi-fixed factor within a salary package.

I will get a new fucking job A nuke will go off somewhere (former Soviet union or maybe Pakistan/India) Shola will do something which actually impresses me. (Third is the daftest)