Maturin

Haha, I disagree with you Cortes! The Champions League is a joke of a competition. It is set up to favour the big teams only and there is really no point in having teams from lesser footballing countries like Poland, Sweden et al because they do not have a chance against teams like Real and Barca, so what is the point of having them? Well, the point is that by putting the lesser teams in the length of the competition is increased - which gives more sponsorship money to the big teams. But, because of the ridiculous seeding system (that favours the big teams) there is never any real danger of Real or Barca (for example) not qualifying for the knockout stages. It's a big con job! A big con job much like La Liga! ;) There is never any real danger of Madrid or Barca not qualifying for the Champions League and La Liga is set up to help those clubs do so every year. I think something like 80% of the money made by the league goes directly to only those two clubs, which is why there was a strike last year. Is it really a good competition when only 2 clubs are ever likely to win it and week to week they beat their competition by 4,5,6 goals? It's silly! I lived in Barca for 8 years and only went to Camp Nou 3 times. 2 for El Classico which was a good competition of equally matched teams and the football was good. The other time was against Villareal (they were relegated that year) and Barca won 5-0 and it was incredibly boring. If you look at the Premier League today, halfway through the season, only 11 points separate the top 10 teams, that's half the league! I think the PL is the better competition my friend 8)

It's amazing to me to see that some people who believe they are on the ideological right of politics, in a world where neo-conservatism and its adherents have been responsible for; the loss of jobs due to globalisation, perpetual war that benefits only arms and defence industry shareholders, the acceleration of the collection of the planet's resources leading to global warming, the imminent subjugation of the last vestiges of democracy to TTIP and the rise of right-wing nutjob groups like the Tea Party, UKIP and FN, still manage to blame it on people with left of centre politics!!! But then the more I read here it seems to me that being on the right of centre means it is just merely about having someone to blame. Even better if the people being blamed are foreigners or other such easy scapegoats like refugees.

You do know that Greece is the first stop on their transit through Europe and that the EU is provding monetary aid to transit countries right? I mean I was making a joke, but it did open the can marked "Immigration", better go grab my bullshit brolly.

Migrants, especially refugees are my favourite go to blame shoulderers. The cheek of these people, coming over here, turning in a net benefit to the economy to the tune of billions of pounds. Why can't they just continue living in the rubble of their former lives, caught between 3 or 4 opposing armies, instead of coming over here and providing a neat diversion for our politicians to use to get simple minded voters on their side?

Yep, I think it's terrible to see how many corporations Clinton will be in debt to should she win the presidency. That's why I haven't mentioned her at all, she represents the same old bullshit. I mean, Time Warner, Bank of America, JP Morgan??? For God's sake, how and why do people accept the fact of the amount of leverage that companies can have on the American President? Literally, what the fuck?! :D The Koch Brothers on the same side of the coin are the personification of all the worst parts of corporate America distilled into 2 people, and they basically own the Republican party. If I was a Red I would be ashamed of this state of affairs. The only person I've mentioned is Sanders, if you look at his funding it's all from the workers and unions, the majority of American working people. Tell me, who would you trust to make American lives better, the guy or woman who's funded by the corporations that are responsible for the fall of America (through unpaid tax debts, taking American jobs offshore and twisting policy making for the sake of only profit) - or the guy who's only financial responsibility is to the men and women of working America who gave him the financial means to run against the coporatocracy that is tearing America and democracy apart?! https://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/contrib.php?cycle=Career&cid=N00000528 C'mon, it's not hard to see who the good guy is here! :D

It doesn't take a professional economist to see that what he's talking about and what I'm talking about are totally different experiences. "That kind of stupid, pathetic and idiotic statement is sadly what I have now come to expect." Well, I could parrot that simply by stating, "that kind of stupid, pathetic and idiotic statement is sadly what I have now come to expect," and adding, "whenever his world view is challenged." All you've done is moan about the consequences of people's taxes not being used correctly. BBsq9 has stated the figures for benefit cheats, the net gain a nation recieves from immigrants and they are incontestable. I'd add to that that in the UK, I don't have figures for the US or Australia, that the tax shortfall, due to corporate tax breaks and legal loopholes to tax evasion amounted to 34 billion pounds last year. Taxes should give governments the money and means to make sure all the things you've listed are working correctly, surely you get that, right? If you have a smilar situation in Australia and I don't see why it should be so different, then the shortfall in tax revenue is the reason why your infrastructure is shit, the reason why school costs have gone up whilst education standards have gone down, the reason why hospitals are strained to breaking point, the reason why utilities are fucked but get more expensive every year. I can go into more detail if you like, it seems to me that you are failing to see how the taxation system should work and how the reality of it means that the taxation system has been turned into a method to assest-strip nations in order to keep shareholders happy. This has once again made you aggressively spout nonsense. I'm no armchair expert, it's really not hard to research it for yourself. Try it. I for one am willing to pay more taxes but I demand that they are used correctly for the betterment of the nation and its people. How is that Utopian? How is what is actually happening now not distopian? It is fucked and the sooner people realise this then the sooner we can start actually doing fucking somethng about it instead of having the people who see what's going on having to fight against the people who should know better yet can't be bothered to open their flippin eyes and are happy to be the unwitting buffer between the people and the pricks who are running the world into the ground.

Modern examples of socialism are hardly state capitalist systems. For example look at Germany, one of the largest economies, France and the UK albeit on a lesser scale, as well as many smaller countries like Sweden that have things such as: universal health care that is free at the point of need, government control and strong regulation of their banking system (the UK being an obvious exception here), collective workers' bargining agreements across various industries, a healthy practicle and respectful working arrangment between unions and employers, state guarenteed holiday, sickness and maternity pay, a generous holiday allowance (in comparison to the US). These are hardly one party countries in which all economic endeavour is carried out for the profit of the state itself or the state capitalist system you're seeming to reduce them to. Modern socialism protects things that should be regarded as a universal right. All of the above should be universal rights to citizens but where does our right to expect such things come from? From our taxes of course. Do people really believe that our tax money should be collected by our governments and then redistributed to private companies and their shareholders so that they can make a profit from: our sickness, our prison systems, our infrastucture, our utilities, public transport et al? If that is the case then what is a government for? Why don't we just accept that corporations really do control everything and let's just give our tax money directly to them. We're in the begining stages of a corporatocracy and for some reason people don't seem to really mind that our politicians, especially pretty much every Republican and every UK Tory is allowing themselves to be bought by corporations who's only motivator is profit. It is a vote about how we wish to govern ourselves and our shared resources. A vote for any Republican candidate is a vote that says, you don't care that democracy has finally died and that you believe that we're all just parts of a machine that exists to keep people like the Koch brothers in power. Sanders is a democratic socialist, of course that doesn't mean he wants state capitalism, it's silly to think that. A vote for him would give him the power to lessen the hold on American democracy enjoyed by corporations, the media, the banking sector and powerful individuals. His modern, European styled, socialist ideas will redistribute wealth primarily from corporations that have enjoyed huge preferential tax breaks from their payrolled politicians. I'd be very interested in anyone's comments that directly addresses why they think that Sanders' plan to get big money out of politics and raise the living standards of low and middle income Americans is a bad thing but, again, misrepresenting modern socialism doesn't really add to the debate.

I reckon Van Gaal's got one more loss in him then mourinho will be given the job, either him or Guardiola.

Agreed Ozi. It's pointless making sweeping general statements about a country without looking at the whole picture. The ability to analyse that whole picture is something that I don't feel any one person or government is capable of - hence the short-termism and blinkered selfish policies that have been enacted by almost every country and leader throughout history. It is disappointing to see that people still wilfully confuse socialism with communist totalitarinism and that they still believe that making sweeping pejorative generalisations is a valid form of political debate.

That's just not good enough, sorry. You've made a load of questionable statements and called people and political ideologies names and that's all you've brought to the conversation. Indeed that's all you ever do, so if you don't want to argue with a liberal then why do you post in the political forum? At some point a man has to back up what he's saying and prove he's able to support his position by showing he has the relevant facts and knowledge, or else no one will take him seriously. So, in the spirit of debate (I am genuinely interested and want to give you the chance to show that you know what you're talking about) answer the two main questions above: 1) Can you tell me which European countries have been destroyed by liberalism/socialism? 2) What is it, specifically, that you don't like about Sanders' policies? Cheers.

Can you tell me which European countries have been destroyed by liberalism? I take it that by applying the term liberal to European politics you mean socialism - so which socialist countries, there are quite a few, have been destroyed by clinging on to failing socialist ideology? I don't think you understand the roll of the trifecta in destabilising the Greek economy for political ends, but if you feel that you do then I'm interested in your take on how the Eurozone crisis is a direct result of liberal/social policies. Bernie Sanders should be getting the vote of all working class Americans, that's by far the majority of voters. His platform is about reigning in the power of banks and multinationals - bringing jobs back to America, lower taxes for middle and lower income families - paid for by making corporations and top earners pay their progessively taxed way. How is that not fair, and why is such a policy anathema to you? It seems like you believe what Murdoch et al tells you to believe if you think Sanders is deranged. Why is it that you think he's deranged? It's not good enough to just call any politician or a political theory names, thinking that by doing so you are making a decent contribution to a debate, you aren't. What is it, specifically, that you don't like about Sanders and what is it, specifically, about socialism that you think is worse than what America has been suffering under for the past 30 years?

And the prize for today's best Gollum impression goes to...

The GOP have no coherent point of view for sensible right-leaning voters to support. They have clearly and unashamedly sold their political allegiances to the Koch brothers and other multinational companies. Meanwhile they preach the politics of fear and division to the warped/skewed people in the electorate. Those people that are unable to think critcally for themselves and go for this neo-con bullshit because to have those kinds of belief doesn't require anything else from them - just blind faith, the willingness to hate other people and the idiocy to carry on voting for a party that gave them George W. Bush and the Tea Party. Believing that Obama is a communist is absolutely laughable but the worrying thing is is that there are a generation of Americans who actually do believe this because that is what Fox News has told them to believe. These kinds of people are the real threat to America, and these warped people, although they think they are more patriotic, more 'Murican, than the next guy are actually the main reason why over the last three decades America has slipped so far from where it once was.

Not sure how it could have been worked out what floor they are on. But if it's definitely that high then I've worked out where the apartments are. They have those kinds of sunscreens too. Pretty pointless writing this though as I won't say, not casting aspersions at anyone in this thread but there may be a future stalker who would be :woohoo: to get that information.

Aye. I have that issue with large file sizes, they are getting smaller though.

It does look pretty crap. I've found that a lot of Europe is not too bothered with town planning and asthetics nowadays and just build any type of building next to another, creating some real eyesore neighbourhoods. I actually prefer the slat method the girls have in the apartment, as EMike's picture shows it looks a lot better than the traditional awnings on the left building.

L+P Guestroom (The Video Content is no longer accessible and has been removed).

It's a particular type the use in Southern Europe. The individual slats don't usually open but the whole "pane" can slide back and forth to let the sun in. In BCN and a lot of Spain, lots of people choose to completely cover their sunside windows, with doors, blinds or metal shades during the summer to stop the fierce heat warming their apartments. Here's the first picture I found to illustrate the blinds over windows, which is funny because I'm absolutely certain I used to work in the office on the right side! I can't find a picture of the one in the girls' apartment but that style is very common in newer buildings.

Some of the old tenants were actually interesting and did things. I used to find Maya and Stepan so but they don't seem to do much nowadays. I'm looking for interesting people that do stuff, Nora with her dancing, Leora with her art, the parties in the 3 females apartments. Stuff that's everyday but interesting. There's a lack of that. Almost all the apartment tenants do fuck all. I exclude: Nelly's - various parties Zoya - painting Masha - yoga Nina - they just seem like nice people, and they do have the odd argument that keeps things interesting Leora - various things. Paul even plays the guitar (his one redeeming feature). I think it would be excellent if RLC added hobbies to the screening process. Very few of us speak Russian and my Spanish aint great, so they would draw people in if the tenants had a "thing" we could watch them create or practice. Is that real life? Well no, most people don't have a great talent that they practice at home - but a lot of people do - it doesn't have to be great just something! RLC surely screens tenants now anyway, so we're getting their version of "real life" people - why not screen for people that do something that might be worth watching? I just think they could get some real interesting people - who also have great tits and ass :D Hit me up RLC if you're reading this, I have more good ideas - they all start with giving me free premium membership though, mmmkay?!

There's plenty of places all over the internet where one who is so inclined can go to watch girls with model figures engage in sex acts - the vast majority of them are free too. We already know that Leora for example and other tennants in the past have had access to CC, I thought we'd moved beyond calling tenants names based on their body shape? There's no need for it and the only ones who should feel shame are the posters of such childish comments.

Well researched and informative. Thanks.

Is she going out somewhere? She's put the full works of makeup on but has been sat on the couch for the past 2 hours in her PJs.

Here he is talking about our Prime Minister in waiting Jermey Corbyn - but there's also a moment in there where he shows just how fed up he is with the current system.

After reading and nodding my head in agreement to most of your posts TxFeller, I'm wondering what your thoughts are on Bernie Sanders? I think, correct me if I'm wrong, that in one of your posts you said you were a republican voter, is that correct? But I think you might actually be a progressive democrat as most of what you've written agrees with Sen. Sanders position re. fair taxation on the wealthiest. I'm a Brit, so apologies if I get US political terms wrong but I've been following Sanders for a number of years and am delighted that, if the polls are to be believed, he will beat Clinton to the presidential nomination. He has common sense policies, is not financed by big money and is a very believable character who would do credit to the US on the world stage. What I don't understand is why more Americans are not heeding what he has to say, his policies will benefit every working American and every poor American - the only people who will lose out are big corporations and rich people who will have their tax breaks cut - why can't working republican voters see past their tribal allegiances and the lies from their candidates and get behind this guy? To me it's clear that the Rep. Party are working for the big money of the Koch brothers, do Rep. voters not see how undemocratic, anti-American and risky it is to vote for a party that has openly sold itself out? Apologies again if you are actually a democrat voter! :D

He's gone out for dinner and a movie, with his iPad. He washed his onesie specially for tonight.