You can almost feel the delight that some of the more self righteous posters are taking in seeing Bush's mistakes in responding to the situation in the South . I can forsee a time when such disasters mean that the US is forced to become a more isolationist nation . Maybe one day they might have to lower their donations to the UN and to aid agencies and to the third world countries in order to concentrate on natural disasters at home . Maybe then the Yankee haters will appreciate that the US gives a hell of a lot more than it takes . As a super power they are slightly more preferable than Russia or China or , God forbid , some Islamic country - whether the Democrats (goodies) or the Republicans (baddies) are in office .

When Mr Repent and his ilk start to blow themselves up and fly planes into skyscrapers I'll start to put him on the same level as some other religious loonies I could mention . Until then he's harmless enough .... (We're slipping off topic a bit now .. )

Bloody hell . Just a day later and it's on the news that LCC and Myerscough College are offering some course on Cricket . Wonderful news . Should boost New Labour's targets in the educational sphere ...

If we put them in , BB , and they get a decent score (350 plus) then the pressure on us will be immense . Better for us to get in first and put the pressure on them . Plus these days both teams are capable of scoring quick - unless rain's forecast time isn't really an issue . I'm getting nervous about this already

In truth this lad may well have a point that the West are interfering unduly in Islamic affairs - just as the fundamentally anti Western doctrine of Islam is undermining our fundamental core beliefs of equality and democracy (Hence ID cards , hence the pandering to Muslims over here in attempts at appeasement ) Those who believe that Muslims can be fully Westernised without shedding their religious beliefs are living in cloud cuckoo land . Unfortunately this lad has taken this realisation to the most extreme level . He is undoubtedly representative of only a tiny minority in that respect ; but there are hundreds of thousands of his fellow Muslims who have realised the incompatibility of Islam and Western values and are living in a void between two worlds . The fact that most are born here and have GB passports is irrelevant . The real root of the problem in all this is that there is nobody to negotiate with - Bin Laden and his terrorist groups do not have enough political power in their own lands to determine policies that would enable the Western powers to "withdraw" . If some Muslim leader did have the power to gather in all Muslims to the East , regardless of where they were born , then I'd be the first to support him ...

You mean they don't vote the way "enlightened" people like you do . Who's doing the witch hunting here - you and Matt or the "religious right" ? As religion has clearly nothing to do with all this , why mention it ?

I take it you mean "biblical" proportions - which makes the rest of the sentence rather curious . All in all a typical Flopsyism ...if I too can make up a word .

Keep on topic , Flops . What is this , Crimewatch...?

You should have studied for an HND in Cricketology , Andy ....(In fact I bet you can these days ...)

So who's the mug ? Wez and his mates for having a laugh - or yourself for paying good money to listen to them all afternoon ? You're better off watching it in the pub , Rev .....

Worth coming over from Malta then ...?

I'll give it a miss then....

Abused by a pepperami ? The mind boggles..... Sounds like a case for Dr Rich

Weather forecast good for tomorrow

It's just a harmless expression over here , USA Blue .

It's similar to - or should be - the reasoning behind most newspapers allowing free access to their papers on the web , presumably in the hope that the punters will then buy their product . Could be a double edged sword in Rovers' case though....

Tony Greig is an excellent commentator - very knowledgable and eloquent . On the radio - it has to be said that Henry Blofeld is way , way past his sell by date . A bit of an embarrasment really ....

A presidential system is preferable to our "elected dictatorship" system of government . At least Bush can claim to have a personal mandate and has to answer directly to the electorate every five years . I reckon the Tories and/or Libs should look to overhaul the whole system from top to bottom and have directly elected and accountable officials in every walk of life from the PM right down to the local mayoral level . Even police chiefs should be accountable (I think they are in the states ?) . INDIVIDUAL personalities with a direct mandate and a fixed term of office , rather than party hacks , should be our reps . At present we are a million miles away from having a true democracy in GB . Why the hell a Tory leader can't dream up something along these lines I don't know . They've nothing to lose and everything to gain by devolving power locally

No it isn't . He must be given more time....

Hammered off 8 quid , Ste ? Meths ..?

Well , we should have kept Stead . For the sake of a mill or so and a (relatively) small chunk off the wage bill ....bad move .

£25 last Thursday for 8 hours watching England v Australia - one of the most enjoyable and enthralling sporting events I've seen . Can't wait til the kids are grown up ......

What ? You mean ending up in a soggy hole on the Mount of Olives ? Sounds good to me ...

Question Time viewers , Theno !! Are you going soft ? They should be first up against the wall .....

I'm well aware that this is the case - there was a fuss at the time but not enough of one IMO . It's only now that the impact is beginning to hit home . HERE is a link that summarises the sell out . Prior to 1999 , the full list of the legally protected Crown Jewels were : Wimbledon Fa Cup and Scottish Cup Final World Cup Derby and Grand National Olympic Games Cricket Test Matches involving England . Presumably , if logic were to take its course , those who have no objection for the cricket to be "de-selected" would therefore have no objection to all of the above to go then same way ....