pap

You're having a laugh, Bazza. Southampton has been a multicultural city for ages, with some of the exact same characteristics, albeit on a smaller scale, as the places you describe. The area by St Mary's Road has been populated with people of Asian and Afro-Caribbean people for as long as I've been alive, and longer. You characterisation of Southampton as "leafy Hampshire" reminds me of occasions when I've met northerners who assume that we all ride to school on ponies, after we've removed the silver spoon from the rectal area, naturally. When were you last down? 1953?

I don't think you're doing too well on the whole "EDL isn't racist" thing when you characterise entire regions of the world as scum. History shows that this won't stop happening until we've addressed the underlying causes. I think for you, and most of the EDL, the problem is that Muslims are here in the first place. I don't buy the spectre of Islamification they're selling, especially as they have to import problems in to have anything resembling a valid point. You might point to the attack in Woolwich as proof that these attitudes are taking hold. In reality, it's an isolated incident. Politicians will still use this exceptional incident to scare you out of your day-to-day rights, which will disappear without you even noticing or complaining. There's a mad rush to give Parliamentary time to the Internet snooping-bill post-Woolwich, which effectively means it'll get rushed through with far less scrutiny than it deserves. How do they get away with it? Simple. They just need enough simple morons pointing the finger at everyone else. They must really love the EDL.

You, er, happy with that?

As you say, foreign policy lies at the heart of the issue. I know that this annoys the hell out of forces/jingoistic types, but under any independent assessment of either "War On Terror", the US and UK look like aggressors, and that's because we were. The situation won't begin to be fixed until some public body acknowledges the truth of the matter. Our governments have made some very poor decisions concerning its involvement in the Middle East, including outright deception for the war on Iraq. Much like any other old wound, it will not heal easily and ultimately, it's going to take a British Prime Minister to stand in front of Parliament and apologise for our conduct. I really don't see that happening anytime soon, especially as the US don't seem too keen on doing so either. We seem to be going the other way. A few of us were chortling at the Americans the other week for their cries of USA, USA when the last Tsarneav brother was apprehended. I'd argue that what we saw last week was even uglier. Seems like anyone with a racist bone in their body took to the public Internet to wave it about. I wouldn't mind, but for a lot of them, there is absolutely no notion of cause and effect. Some are unable to link our heinous actions in Afghanistan and Iraq (if you can stomach it, go seek out some pictures what our "heroes" achieved with Iraqi kids). It is simple good vs evil for a lot of them. Interesting that the BNP's policy is against interference in the Middle East. I'd agree with them on that, at least. It'd be interesting to see how big of a Muslim threat we have domestically when we stop killing them around the world.

Heiling a taxi, apparently.

I can't fault the quality of your bait, mate. I'll wait for someone else to pull this one from the water.

Aw bless. You still think voting matters

And people say the objectification of women isn't a problem...

Palace for me, ta. I've chatted with them on Twitter. It would really annoy Brighton too.

What's really annoying is that Sharp was scoring for fun pre-season last year.

I like JustMike as well, as it goes. Fair play for him for sticking up for his mod mates, but I just can't arrive at the same conclusions with respect to the moderation on that thread.

I don't use the report post function, JustMike. I've always banked on being able to continue a discussion to make my points.

I did not see the PMs or deleted posts. I can however, read what is still there - which is what my criticism refers to. Take a look at that thread beginning to end. Does it strike you as particularly well moderated? A moderator did step in early to ensure that people didn't start making generalisations about the religious group the attackers came from, but that was about it. In my opinion, the mods took the easy way out on that thread, shutting down a discussion instead of sorting out the people ruining it. You didn't answer the question I posed earlier about whether you feel that someone swanning onto a topic, calling someone a cu.nt without justification, is the sort of content you want. For all the PMs and deleted posts you mention, that's still up there. If that's permissible, what did you end up deleting?

As I admitted when I said all bets were off once they were 18. It's my job to ensure that when they reach that age, they have a few more options to choose from.

After 18, all bets are off and I have no say anyway, apart from the values I've tried to pass on. Would you want your daughter on the front of a lad's mag?

I didn't see any evidence of anyone stepping in and moderating. I don't see anyone swooping in when similar stuff is happening on other threads. I think a big part of the reason you don't moderate stuff like this is because you can't. As the closing comment goes, this is a football forum. Then why have the likes of the Lounge, etc in the first place? Take a look back over that thread. Apart from one suggestion that all might not be right, a position I stand by even more now incidentally, everything was one-way traffic - a slew of insults, and I wasn't even the first to get it. My mate Dr Who was getting called cu.nt earlier by VFTT in that thread. It's all still there. Can I take the continued existence of such material to be tacit moderator approval? Is this the sort of thing you like to see on SaintsWeb? Is this the new standard for "serious discussion" in the Lounge? The problem on this site is the same as it ever was, and that thread is a fine example. While you continue to tolerate people coming onto "serious discussion" boards, call people cu.nts and leave that unchallenged and unedited for days, then you've not really got a leg to stand on when talking about administering the appropriate dose of moderation.

Lobotomy is a possible cure for headache, JustMike. Most people reach for painkillers instead.

I know you're trying to be sensationalist, you little scamp - but I have heard worse. When I was still living at my old dears, my mate Stampy was sitting in my room while my mum was hoovering. He said to her "do you want a hand?". She says "No, you're alright, Stamp". Then he says "how about a couple of fingers?" I was not present when he made these remarks ( I think I was having a dump, iirc ). However, I had to deal with a justifiably irate mother afterward, and it's really stood me in good stead for the ol' "people making suggestive remarks about your rellies" lark. Even she saw the funny side eventually ( when Stampy left the country ).

I think they are going to Uni or some sh!t, yos.

Just so everyone is aware that this is a current news story, and not one of Jamie's half-remembered fevered dreams, here is a link. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/sales-of-lads-mags-could-amount-to-sexual-harassment-lawyers-tell-shops-8632909.html I don't expect to see much in the way of reasonable debate from our vigilante submarining mate, but as a dad of two girls, I'm not sure I'd like either of my daughters on the cover of one of these mags.

Super stuff, Sour! I can well see how your usual "one line" approach would be at odds with paragraphs. You ever tried Twitter, mate? Really small messages. I think you'd like it. As for it being a waste of my time, worry not. Seeing you come back and offer your "point" was all the reward I'll ever need. x

First off, you're better off going to a halal butcher than a normal butcher imo. Besides, it's not like these places have been ten-a-penny. I remember going down to International Meats on Derby Road every week for years to get meat as a youngster, and we lived on the Flower Road Estate. I can well accept there may be a few more around these days, but that's surely to be expected with the rise in demand. This is a classic example of ignorance creating a problem that doesn't exist. What is your problem with halal meat, specifically? I can accept that if you are a bacon lover, you're going to be sh!t out of luck in a halal store. You might have a problem with the ritualistic aspects of the killing. I don't. I have a halal store down the road and use it all the time. Excellent quality meat. Clear case of ignorance presented as grievance. Incompatible with British life? Hardly. You point to Muslim schools as a problem. Shall we close them all down as a solution? What about the numerous other faith schools? Do the Jewish ones have to go too? What about the Roman Catholic schools? I don't want to be a tw*t and ignore your point about burkas. I'm deeply at odds with that, and I do think that in general, women get a pretty crappy deal from Islam. Then I remember that it is only recently that we stopped treating our sisters like second-class citizens. That doesn't make "traditional" Islamic countries irredeemably evil; it just means they have got a way to go before they have the sort of parity that women have in this country. The perceived communities of the EDL are not at risk because of Islamic fundamentalism in this country, no matter what they claim. Unfailingly, they have to yank the worst of Islam from around the world to prove their case, which immediately shows that their UK-based concerns aren't justified. I'm all in favour of having an honest dialogue about specific points of pressure. The problem with the EDL is that judging from the comments of their leadership alone, they are so spectacularly ill-informed that they're never going to be able to be part of any conciliatory process. "Send them all back" just ain't going to cut it, I'm afraid.

Can you please then, describe what you mean by Islamification?

We'll know when KD gets back! I bet Essruu is bricking it.

What are you talking about? Is it your view that more people are becoming Muslims? If so, what is your problem with that? Aren't we supposed to value freedom of religion?