GRIMLY FIENDISH

It must feel like a real sense of achievement for him, to win an "election" where he was the only candidate... I would imagine Iranian President Ahmadinejad, Colonel Ghaddafi, Robert Mugabe and The Crown Prince of Bahrain are calling him up to congratulate him... C/UNT..... -_-

Well, at least you didn't use the "G"-word..... :lol:

You forget, those sponsors are multi-nationals, they dont let concepts such as "Nation State" really come into their thinking... They might take a bit of a dump at home, but if the other world markets get a boost, then they wont care.... I just loved what Blatter said "I am the ship's captain, weathering the storm"... Yeah, but he's Captain Bligh and the "ship" is the Bounty.....

Like I say though, Kosovo isn't really a clear-cut situation... The Kosovars were, to many, a criminal and terrorist army, and their leaders do seem to have links to organised crime, so, I dunno, seems a bit iffy to me, and the conduct of how that conflict was fought left a lot to be desired IMO... And it doesn't exactly help the cause of The Hague war crimes tribunal either, that they seem "incapable" of prosecuting non-Serbs for war-crimes, I can kind of understand how many younger Serbs feel tbh, they had no part in it, but they still seem to be punished for something they had no control over because they were too young to know, or weren't even born..... And I'll never forgive the Western Media or Tony B-Liar for presenting the situation in such distorted black-and-white extremes when it was in fact anything but clear-cut.... I think in a lot of ways Blair should've been a co-defendant with Milosevic over Kosovo and Bosnia, but of course Blair then went on to be an even greater war criminal in Iraq, a hefty proportion of this country supported Iraq and Afghanistan, but that's not necessarily their fault, they/we were lied to....... History is written by the the winners and often distorted for political ends.... I dont think we've even scratched the surface with regards to what really happened in Former Yugoslavia......

Pfffft, dude, they wont give a monkeys so long as it doesn't affect their "bottom-line", and Blatter is all about being friendly to the business people... They dont care about football, only about the money it makes for them.....

..Well, I would say "Robert Mugabe" is probably a slightly better comparison..... :lol: :lol: Apparently now, they're holding a "secret ballot" for one candidate..... PMSL..... What an absolute bloody farce..... Honestly, you'd think this was a joke off something like "10 o' Clock Live" if it wasn't for the fact that the fate of a multi-billion pound/multi continental sporting event was at stake..... :mellow: I keep half-expecting Jimmy Carr to pull off the Sepp Blatter mask and tell us all it's a big wind-up...... You know, the IOC is a paragon of virtue compared to FIFA...... I think that Panorama documentary has now been totally vindicated....

Yes, okay, fair enough... "Alleged".. Pretty sure that £10k is what the Tabloid paid her for her "story" though... Bit of a coincidence innit...? And, she's still a whore regardless, if you have sex and get someone to pay for it, then it's prostitution... It's just a legal form of prostitution if you manage to get a newspaper to pay for it by proxy, and also sell a story..... I really think people who engage in this sort of "Kiss and Tell" thing are of pretty low character generally....

http://rt.com/news/hague-mladic-tribunal-evidence/ Source - Russia Today/rt.com I'm actually beginning to wonder to be honest.. Many things about this make me wonder, and it doesn't really seem so clear-cut as the Western Media first presented the conflict in the Former Yugoslavia.. The facts are that there were Serb, Croat, Bosnian and Kosovan war criminals, but the main emphasis has always been on presenting the Serbs as the "Hollywood Baddies", and everyone else as the "helpless victims" of Serb aggression.. Complete and utter crap frankly, the Croat, Bosnian and Kosovan leaderships were just as prone to extreme, violent nationalism as Milosevic was, one of the Kosovan leaders was a wanted criminal who dealt in organ parts and had suspected links to organised crime, Tudjman, the Croatian dictator, would likely have been indicted on war crimes too, had he not died. But the fact remains that there wasn't really very much said in the western press about Croatian atrocities.. Several cases against Bosnian, Croatian and Kosovan war criminals have been mysteriously dropped because of apparent "lack of evidence", these suspected criminals have now become politicians in their respective States... Far be it from me to cry "Conspiracy" here, but, there is something very hinkey about this..... I have doubts for several reasons.. 1. The current Serbian Government seems to have allowed Mladic to be extradited for reasons of political expediency, they want membership of the EU and access to the many billions of EU grants and subsidies that will come with membership - in short, they're going for the jackpot on the EU lottery.. 2. There are doubts as to Mladic's health. Yeah, I know that this could be a stalling tactic, or else kind of sound like another "Pinochet" or "Al-Megraghi" Get Out of Jail Free Card situation, but it seems like only a State medical has been done on Mladic and passed him fit to be extradited, and not any kind of independent medical tests. 3. They handed over Mladic like they asked, but the French have already said that Serbia has to hand over more suspected war criminals before it will be granted entry into the EU. So, it seems that the "carrot-stick" effect may be in place here, and the West just wants to further humiliate Serbia with vague promises which may not actually come to fruition. This has led to riots and protests in Belgrade over the weekend. Of course, this has been reported as being "Pro-Mladic" supporters, but it's really not as simple as that, there is deep discontent amongst the young generation particularly in Serbia who are not exactly happy about the current Serbian Government for a whole number of reasons, it's just this has brought matters to a head... Many young Serbs are discontented with being made to feel blame for things they had no part in or any control over. And the fact that there is this apparent disparity over how Serbia is treated compared to other countries in the Former Yugoslavia... I have to say, I have some sympathy for this feeling, Serbia is being made the scapegoat when everyone was doing some pretty horrible things, and the younger generation (mainly teenagers and people in their early 20s) are expected to suffer for the sins of their fathers... So, can Mladic get a fair trial..? Actually, to be honest, the question should probably be, will Ratko Mladic even live through to the end of the trial..? Milosevic died during his trial, and he was a lot healthier at the beginning than Mladic is said to be.... But, what can we do..? We cant exactly let him get away with it if he is guilty... This is a real thorny issue, and one which isn't going to have a satisfactory conclusion, I feel....

Dude, I'm pretty sure posting that link up could expose BJ to the threat of being sued... I mean, I'm no legal expert or anything, but..... :mellow:

:lol: :lol: Yeah, that'll be it... Still, I guess there are worse things you can do to get votes... Such as manufacture a phoney, colonial war with a South American country and wrap it up in the flag....

The case of David "Smiley Culture" Emmanuel isn't all that far removed from the London Journalists' "M25 Comfort Zone" though.... -_- I do tend to think a lot of the mainstream media is Pro-Police. You just have to look at how the shooting of Jean Charles De Menezes was reported... Even though you had people coming out of the tube carriage on live TV SAYING that the cops didn't issue a warning and just opened fire, it still became reported as "De Menezes was acting suspiciously" in many of the papers......

"Poor imogen", she's a f**king whore for goodness' sake... She basically blackmailed Giggs, demanding 10k or she'd blab to the tabloids... Money for sex = whore in my book..... And £10K???? Blimey, she does think rather a lot of herself.... Not that I'm defending Giggs though, a supposed "family man", he should've kept it zipped up and not be dipping his wick in skanky whores like Thomas, but blackmail and soliciting money for sex is a slightly more serious matter than an extra-marital affair, certainly legally anyway... Where Giggs went wrong was getting the super-injunction (and, really, the story became a LOT more about the issue of injunctions and "press freedom" rather than where Ryan Giggs chose to stick his prick. I mean, since when did the likes of The Independent, Telegraph or The Guardian give a toss about a footballer's extra-marital affairs enough to stick it on the front page?)... What he should have done is just cop to it and then report Thomas to the cops for blackmail and demanding money.... Then the story would've been about Imogen Thomas, the whore, being nicked for blackmail.... But, really this whole issue has become ridiculous anyway, it's really not the debate we should be having surrounding the concept of "freedom of the press", what we should be discussing in relation to this is the American Govt refusing to release footage or photos of the death of Bin Laden.... As it is, we can only hope Wikileaks gets a hold of the stuff and then gives it to someone like Russia Today or Al Jazeera who would actually have the guts to use it....

It's pretty obvious that nuclear energy is a costly and very dangerous way of going about things... Although, I do have to wonder what has inspired Merkel's rather sudden anti-nuke stance...

That's probably correct.. I note there's still no news on the Smiley Culture "incident"... That's received little or no press coverage at all..... The only place I seem to hear about developments on that is on the Justice For Smiley Culture Facebook group... The media in this country is, by and large, so pathetically pro-Police to be almost blind to their faults....

I don't.... :lol: :P I'm trying to remember if Joe Biden got a "special meeting" with Cameron.....

Dude, the facts are that in the majority of rape cases, the rapist is actually known to the victim (similar to child abuse in fact).. "Stranger Rape" gets all the headlines, but only makes up for about 10% of the stats overall..... So, "Classic Rape" like the type Clarky intimated about, is a relatively rare occurence... There is no one who would even dare to suggest that there are "less serious" forms of child abuse, so why is it seemingly "okay" to suggest that there are "less serious" forms of rape...? Rape is rape, what you are talking about is what the Swedes would call "Sexual Misconduct"...

I would say it's pretty damn serious to the victim mate.... Do you actually know anyone who's had their drink spiked with rohypinol by someone they thought they could trust, and then been taken advantage of while they were completely incapable of resisiting...?? THAT is "Date Rape" my friend, and it's happened to a friend of mine.... I honestly cannot believe I am hearing this nonsense from someone as intelligent as yourself... Ken Clarke is a lawyer.. He SHOULD be able to differentiate between "Statutory Rape" (which is consentual sex with an underage teenager, but still classed as "rape" because a minor cannot give legally give consent), and any other form of rape.. Now, if Ken Clarke wants to make a case for classifying certain "grey areas" under the banner the Swedish legal system uses, ie, create an offence of "Sexual Misconduct", then fine, he should argue the toss for it.. What he SHOULD NOT be doing is misusing terms such as "Date Rape" because it is highly inappropriate, and coming from someone who really should know better, it's unacceptable... As far as I'm concerned, Clarke deserves all the criticism he's getting.... You know, first we have Nadine Dorres' comments (which would make even Sarah Palin blush), and now Ken Clarke... The Tories are completely f**king ignorant on this issue, and very clearly anti-woman...

I'm sorry, I'm just so OVER this franchise... It started out as an original concept, but over the years has just become even more ridiculous than the Mouse Trap game or Road Runner/Wiley Coyote cartoons....

Dimmu and Behemoth can still be seen as part of the Black Metal scene though, surely...? I do like Gorgoroth, Emperor, Darkthrone, Carpathian Forest, etc... Not so keen on the Neo-Nazi stuff though....

Strauss-Kahn 'cannot run' IMF - Treasury chief Geithner Source - BBC News Dominique Strauss-Kahn is "not in a position to run" the International Monetary Fund after his arrest over an alleged sexual assault, US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has said. Mr Geithner said the IMF's executive board should designate an interim head. The alleged assault on a maid happened at New York's luxury Sofitel hotel on 14 May. Mr Strauss-Kahn - who denies the claims - has been put on suicide watch in the city's infamous Rikers Island prison. As a precaution, guards are required to check on him every 15 to 30 minutes. 'Honest woman' The 62-year-old, who had been seen as a favourite in France's 2012 presidential elections, faces seven charges and could be sentenced to up to 25 years in jail. The defence offered to post $1m (£617,000) bail, with Mr Strauss-Kahn to stay at his daughter's address in New York until the next hearing on Friday. However, a New York judge rejected the application. The lawyer for Mr Strauss-Kahn's alleged victim says his client, a 32-year-old hotel maid, is living through an "extraordinary" trauma and is now in hiding. "It's not just my opinion that this woman is honest," Jeffrey Shapiro said. "The New York City Police Department (NYPD) reached the same conclusion. This is a woman with no agenda." Addressing the Harvard Club in New York on Tuesday, Mr Geithner said the most important thing for the IMF was that it found a leader to fill Mr Strauss-Kahn's shoes. "He is obviously not in a position to run the IMF," Mr Geithner said. "It is important that the board of the IMF formally put in place for an interim period someone to act as managing director." It is the first time that a top official from President Barack Obama's administration has publicly spoken about the impact of Mr Strauss-Kahn's alleged sexual assault. However, Mr Geithner refused to comment on the case or the details of the charges against Mr Strauss-Kahn. Since Mr Strauss-Kahn's arrest last Saturday, his deputy John Lipsky has been serving as acting managing director of the global lending agency. Timothy Geithner. Photo: 17 May 2011 Mr Geithner refused to be drawn on the legal challenges facing Mr Strauss-Kahn Washington has a major say in determining who runs the IMF, because it has the largest number of votes in the organisation. Mr Strauss-Kahn is not due back in court until Friday - and there are growing calls for the IMF to fill the leadership vacuum, the BBC's Steve Kingstone in Washington reports. Earlier, Austrian Finance Minister Maria Fekter said Mr Strauss-Kahn was "hurting" the organisation. West African immigrant More details have been emerging about the woman who accused Mr Strauss-Kahn of assaulting her in the suite at the Sofitel hotel near Times Square. Continue reading the main story Charges against Dominique Strauss-Kahn * Criminal sexual act in the first degree, two counts (maximum sentence 25 years) * Attempted rape in the first degree, one count (up to 15 years) * Sexual abuse in the first degree, one count (up to seven years) * Unlawful imprisonment in the second degree, one count (up to one year) * Forcible touching, one count (up to one year) * Sexual abuse in the third degree, one count (up to three months) Jeffrey Shapiro said she was an immigrant from the West African nation of Guinea. She arrived in the US seven years ago and was living with her teenage daughter. Mr Shapiro said her story was "consistent" because she was telling the truth. "There is no way in which there is any aspect of this event which could be construed consensual in any manner. This is nothing other than a physical, sexual assault by this man on this young woman." Mr Shapiro also said that his client only became aware of who Mr Strauss-Kahn was after the police were called. According to the NYPD, the maid told officers that when she entered his suite on Saturday afternoon, Mr Strauss-Kahn emerged from the bathroom naked, chased her and sexually assaulted her. The woman was able to break free and alert the authorities, a NYPD spokesman added. Strauss-Kahn allegations: * 2006: Publication of Sexus Politicus, book by Christophe Deloire and Christophe Dubois, with chapter on Mr Strauss-Kahn and his tendency to "seduction to the point of obsession" * 2007: French journalist Jean Quatremer, Brussels correspondent for Liberation, writes on his blog that Mr Strauss-Kahn "verges on harassment" with his behaviour towards women * 2008: Mr Strauss-Kahn admits an affair with a colleague at the IMF; he is cleared of abuse but admits an "error of judgement" * 2011: Writer Tristane Banon comes forward to say Mr Strauss-Kahn tried to assault her in 2002; she did not go to the police but did raise the allegation in a TV chat show in 2007, when Mr Strauss-Kahn's name was bleeped out Later on Saturday, Mr Strauss-Kahn was detained on board an Air France flight at New York's John F Kennedy airport minutes before take-off. The IMF chief underwent medical examinations on Sunday. Police were looking for scratches or any other evidence of his alleged assault. He was later charged with a "criminal sexual act, unlawful imprisonment and attempted rape". Police say the maid formally identified him in a line-up. Until he was arrested, Mr Strauss-Kahn was considered a favourite to become the Socialist candidate for the French presidency next year. Opinion polls gave him a good chance of defeating President Nicolas Sarkozy. Mr Strauss-Kahn's wife, French TV personality Anne Sinclair, has also protested his innocence. Meanwhile, another allegation against Mr Strauss-Kahn has emerged. French writer Tristane Banon, 31, says she may file a complaint for an alleged sexual assault in 2002. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- So, seems like this bugger has a bit of previous, plus a pattern of behaviour in his general rather mysoginistic attitudes towards women, so the allegations actually seem to have some legs.... Mind you, I suppose he might've gotten a bit confused. I mean, after all the IMF, World Bank, WTO, etc have been raping the Third World economically and in terms of "fair trade" (which is just a joke in itself really..) for decades, Strauss-Khan perhaps took things too literally...... -_-

:lol: :lol: JEESUS, a slow news week or what.... I dont like the Lib Dums (actually, correction, I dont like what they've become...), but even I see that this is just sheer spite to distract us from what the Tory scum are doing to the NHS....

If I was Sinn Fein MP, you'd bet your life I'd do that one.... :lol: :lol:

You hit the nail on the head there mate... So, now you actually know more than at least two of the regular posters on this Forum.... :lol: :lol:

Massive student debt, economy flat-lining, potentially incredibly destructive tinkering of the NHS, brutal cuts to public services, schools in chaos, unemployment growing... ...Yeah, stand up job Clegg is doing of stopping the Tory scum.... -_-

SPOT ON.... The deficit is an illusion... As Johann Hari has pointed out, this country's been in debt since the Industrial Revolution - CAPITALISM RELIES ON DEBT IN ORDER TO FUNCTION, always has done.... So, now all of a sudden, "debt" is a huge issue.... Cobblers.... There is no "huge deficit" because this country is OWED money by banks, tax evading b'astards like Vodafone, Tesco, Lord Ashcroft and Philip Green....