Similar to here. Even in the south, the large cities are Democrat, our version of Labour but far more incompetent and spineless, if either attribute can be accused of your Labour, I wouldn't know.

The red states are rural states by and large. However, gentrification is now a realism here and the urban areas are getting moderate Republican mayors. The traditional urban people (black and latino) are now being forced in to ghetto suburbs (Ferguson, Missouri where the protests occurred is such an example, the people were formerly of St. Louis).

You guys seem just almost as polarized as we are. UKIP being your version of our Alt right (which is misnamed, they were neo nazis till about 8 or 9 years ago, and went through a self re-branding for recruitment purposes).

I wonder if Europe will go the same? Or they are there already?

All reasonably good over here thanks Pete. I was a little inebriated (in fact a lot inebriated) when I replied to your comment. Now I'm sober, I agree with you even more!

I was out celebrating the Tories not getting the stunning majority they were hoping for. I am now a little more hopeful that the austerity agenda of punishing the less well off, and those less able to represent themselves, and who haven't had a voice in the debate, (a situation caused by free market economic policies gone mad) can now be modified a lot and the voices of those who have suffered disproportionately will start to be heard. "All in it together" - what a joke.
Not convinced by Corbyn, but I reckon he's not influenced by whispers in his ear from those that are NOT elected to represent us, the vested interests that have way too much influence at the higher levels of government. Many of his policies are attractive to me, and I've been surprised by how many people I spoke to in the pub last night (in a relatively affluent area) who agreed.
My partner has MS; she volunteers for the MS society as a counsellor, and she often tells me stories of people with severe disabilities and financial problems who have been told they no longer qualify for state support. She also hears similar stories through her connections with others in the voluntary sector.
It's time to stop making the less well off in our society bear the brunt of austerity. Austerity as practised by the Tories will never end, and will only exacerbate the gap between rich and poor. We are supposedly the 5th richest economy in the world, and we are telling people who cannot walk that they're on their own, "no state support buddy, you're capable of working for your living". But where are the jobs for them, even if they could work?
Time for change.

Sorry for the rant; I've just realised I'm still a bit tiddly.

So true

The UK idea of democracy is as retarded as the US model.
You people truly are morons.

who the *%^@ are you...

The electoral systems in various democracies were possibly decided long before the majority of the population had any say in deciding it, even if the population at the time it was introduced had any say in it. There are probably pros and cons with all electoral systems. I wonder if those that individuals favour may often have more to do with them perceiving it as benefiting the party they support than anything else?

Wait...is it...is it the Zionists?

Wake up, Sheeple!

The Giroiud back of the heel goal should be goal of the season hands down.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3WzE-FaRN0
This one for France is pretty darn good as well.
http://www.caughtoffside.com/2017/06/10 ... this-year/

Anyway, its going to be interesting (possibly scary) what the next few years will be like with the political shifts going on. Especially in the German election.

Germany fought two world wars trying to rule Europe and eventually did it without firing a shot. Oh the irony.

The election of #45 (for those us who refuse to say the word President and that real estate guy's name in the same sentence) tells the world something important. It tells the world that with his election that America has abdicated its role in the world. Any nation, that can elect/select such a person with the stature of America's political, military and economic might has ceded it's leadership. Even if we eventually elect a more sober minded leader, the fact that the potential to elect such a person and the scary number of people who would ignore all reason, morals and sanity to elect such a person suggests to me we were posers all along. It explains the two wars in Asia.

My advice in the short term for Europe and our allies is to wait him out. Do the best you can till re-election and pray he is out by then or is so unpopular he won't get re-elected. And if he is re-elected, write America off behind the scenes while engaging as best you can because global issues continue.

China must be loving this. It quickens their rise. My fear is that we do what we always do when we have a a major problem: start a war else where. Since WW2 we have never gone a decade without some foreign war. Ironically enough Reagan's '80s, the Reagan the left at the time would start WW3, being the most peaceful (Panama and Granada).

Football still goes on, this summer may be the most expensive in transfers ever by some distance, with the amount of money being banded about.
Morata to Man Utd seems to be taking hold. I was hoping we could have gotten him on loan a few years ago.

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/foot ... 83116.html

So, should we try for the big Swede that Man Utd released as a gap fill for a season if we can't get a striker?

Welcome to the forum. To quote Gaz from Oz, thankyou for your feedback. You *%^@.

Not much to talk about with the football. Found myself looking at various kits for next season. Home shirts for most clubs don't change but designers seem to go a bit crazy with some of the away and 3rd shirts. I quite like the Arsenal ones but Man U's away and 3rd kit are awful.

Also, next season's fixtures are out next Wednesday

Yeah. Authority (with the ridiculous exceptions of Trump and Helen Zille) hates social media. During the protest here last year attitude to social media was as clear a marker of class position anything.

Another thing about these elections: contrary to what Harlow is saying, my impression is that the UK's stock in the world has been boosted. The UK and UK politics had become a bit of a nothing ... faded glory, rather like the FA cup.

Those Man U kits are dreadful. Their 3rd kit is quite remarkable, it is so bad.

Ours might not reach those depths but are pretty manky all the same. That pink effort is horrible. Looks like a shite golf shirt

True blue gunner gooner?

Do we have a vacancy in the oxymorons & redundancy department?

I really hope these paper rumours are a load of nonsense because seriously we would not be stupid enough to sell sanchez to man city.........would we????? Or any english team for that matter.
Arsenal are calling the shots here. Sod what sanchez wants.
If he wants to go its got to be abroad.
Van persie has to be the last.

If City give us Aguero for Sanchez I'd take it. Otherwise no way should we sell to a rival in this country. Wenger already said he'd rather let him go for free next year...of course that means he could go there next year anyway and it would be out of our hands. It wouldn't quite be the same as the RVP situation as we are in a far better financial position now.

Hi Sab
I wondeŕ if wenger would explore that idea. Aguero is more clinical but sanchez all round game is better. Would make sense
I think sanchez is a year younger.
I think if sanchez goes to city tbey win the title

Watching the news, it said over 70% of Brit 18-24 year olds voted. Wish we had that kind of turn out here.

I don't think Sanchez would make the difference for them in terms of winning the league. They already have the best attack. Aguero, DeBruyne, Sane, Jesus, Silva and Sterling. Sterling is the only weakness there. Their defence is terrible in comparison.

City has enough attacking its their team defense and back line that needs strengthening or organizing. Kompany can no longer be relied on to stay fit. Yaya is no longer a force.

Ox scores for England 1-0 then terrible defending allows a free kick goal for Scotland's equaliser. New tactic it seems don't jump or attempt to divert the ball..............

Then they score a second from another free kick.

This time they half heartedly jumped and diverted the ball into the net.

Jesus wept............

Good on ya Arry. Strachan look upset.............

There goes the ever valuable perfect qualifying record...

no problem with the rant Johnny Boy that's the beauty of the Gleiber it isn't just your Joe Average " what team are we putting out this week " oh golly I hope Bellerin , Sanchez , Koshielny whoever is fit " type football forum .
The amount of times I've posted on here semi paralytic .

We've all got our cross to bear , my wife has chronic fatigue syndrome , spends her whole day playing Solitaire , checking her geneology , watching Inspector Morse , Lynley , Poirot , Taggart , Mid Summer murders , house makeovers . I do 98% of the cooking cleaning etc ... c'est la vie . Her sister lives in Kent has quite advanced MS

Had some wonderful news yesterday .... we live down a long drive , the house in front caters for some handicapped kids and comes under the auspices of the NZ Housing Corp . Their path is about four feet higher than my drive so when part of this rotten ivy covered fence [ the sod I was trying to deal to with my homegrown weed eater skil saw ] fell over and constitutes a hazard , Housing NZ have decided to rip out about sixty metres of fence , cart it away and build a new wooden one .... with no cost to me .

No more cutting ivy , loading the trailer , trips to the dump .
Usually where a fence is concerned the cost is shared between both parties . :

One for Hodd if he hasn't seen it already.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lW_C0VguiqQ

I've got a lot of hope for AMN - Every time I see him play, I think he's got something. If he can stay injury free and keep as focused as he is now, he's got a real chance.

Result!
And no more researching how to make a wooden leg in case next time you use the saw you go the whole way through.

Manchester City set to make Alexis Sanchez their highest-paid star ever

http://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/football/621386/Arsenal-Arsene-Wenger-Alexis-Sanchez-Pep-Guardiola-Premier-League-Manchester-City-Transfer

I just can't see how we can sell Alexis to City, not without some absurdly over the top transfer fee or getting Aguero in exchange (why would Aguero want to sign for us at his age and with no CL football).

I do not get the hype surrounding Lacazette either, he's not even a starter for France and if he was that good he'd be the first name on the team sheet.

Hi Soc

I'd imagine it is just standard transfer rumour bs. The links to Munich make far more sense.

As for Lacazette, he scores lots of goals. Deschamps doesn't seem to rate him, or else he wants a bigger player as a partner for Griezman. Deschamps doesn't play Martial either, and while he has struggled this season, he had a very good 15/16 season but never really nailed down a spot in the French team.

Sanchez wanting out is partially Wenger's fault for putting a side that has no fight in them. We didn't seem like we were progressing. We created our own issue. Clubs sense a weakness and are jumping on it.

So the detestable munchen got Gnabry on the cheap a year after sorting his move to Bremen in order to get him our of Arsenal on the cheap. Seriously dodgy dealings.
http://dailycannon.com/2017/06/serge-gn ... door-deal/

I can't believe we allowed Gnabry to leave for £4m when average players like Jordan Ibe moved for nearly four times that amount.

Hi DD, I just can't see this happening but if they are interested then tell them Aguero or no deal. Guardiola obviously doesn't rate Aguero as highly as others. He's a brilliant striker and I'd prefer him over Sanchez but in reality there's very little chance of a swap deal happening.

Really pathetic fee from Arsenal. If the player wanted to leave then sometimes you have to let them go but ensure you get a fee that at a minimum represents their value.
I fear that Wenger has too much loyalty and emotion attached to 'his' players, and so when they want a move or he can't give them minutes he seems to see it as his responsibility to get the player the best move, extracting a big fee doesn't seem to come i to it beca De it might make the move more difficult for the player.
Arsenal have a history of this, too many players leaving for free and reduced fees. Vieira and Henry only moved for £13-16m, Fabregas for £30m was a joke, even only getting £7m out of city for clichy was poor - city were paying £15-20m for every player at the time.
Ok we got decent money for adebayor but only considering he flopped afterwards.
I think we'll see it again this summer. Would it surprise anyone if the fees we got for players leaving this summer was in the region of: Ospina £3m, jenkinson £2m, Gibbs £5m, Perez £10m

He only had a year left on his contract and made it very clear he was going to leave and not sign a new one, having been poised to do so just days before...there is a reason Wenger said Bayern were involved. Basically they negotiated with him in secret while he was away at the summer tournament and not only convinced him to go back on his word re a contract renewal but then to spend a year at Bremen and negotiate a super low release clause that only they could trigger, because they knew Arsenal would never sell to Bayern so cheap, but also to ensure Arsenal's sell on clause meant nothing.

He became a German international and scored 11 goals in a struggling team and yet Bremen made a profit of only 2m for him. The entire thing stinks, but isn't illegal.

Just another reason to hate Bayern and the way they do business.

What's worse is that on top of using Bremen's financial difficulties to keep the fee down, Bayern then also screwed Bremen. Yes, they help out the teams going bust down the leagues who can never affect them (except providing youth players) but they are sharks with everyone else.

What a pathetic, childish post. Bayern have paid £8m for him, and Arsenal sold him to Bremen for £4.25m according to your link. So if my mental arithmetic isn't too unsound, that's a £3.75m difference. Big bloody deal. Aren't there slightly bigger or more important issues to get your knickers in a twist about, especially considering I suspect Arsenal would have bitten the hand off Bayern to get the £8m direct from them last season being a then unproven Gnabry had told us he would not renew his contract?

As you say, Bayern did nothing illegal, so what's the problem? If Gnabry had failed at Bremen last season, I don't suppose Bayern would be interested now. But he did well so they've signed him. It's called Bayern looking after their own interests. If Arsenal were half as good at looking after our own interests as them, I've little doubt we would be a stronger club. Try growing up and acting your age when you write about one of, if not the, greatest club(s) in the world. Bayern Munich are a credit to world football.

Dortmund being one of your little clubs down the leagues I suppose.