Hamilton Saint

I remember when our school football team (a Catholic school) used to play a team of young seminarians (boys training to be priests) in the mid-60s, their team used to huddle before the match and say a Hail Mary prayer. I always thought that was very strange and presumptuous - why would the Blessed Virgin Mary intercede on behalf of one group of young Catholic boys against another, in order to decide the outcome of a football game? I always cringe when a sports figure thanks God, or Jesus, or Mary for helping them win some sporting event. It really is so sacreligious and simple-minded.

The "elephant in the room" here, of course, is the link between government policy and terrorist activity. Although terror against innocent civilians is always barbaric and immoral, it is not irrational. The media (especially the corporate media) tends to demonise terror by individuals, but excuse terror by states. The heavy use of drones, for example, is an example of terror that is often accepted as a legitimate tactic - regardless of the fact that innocents are killed in the process. And when people raise the issue of the "causes" of terrorism, they are invariably excoriated as apologists for terror - as "bleeding-heart liberals" who don't understand that "we are at war with terrorism". Any strategy or tactic by governments that targets an innocent population is going to create "blowback"; one element of that "blowback" is terrorism. To repeat: considering and investigating the causes of terrorist activity is not intended to excuse it, but to understand that it is often the warped consequence of warped policies.

You've got J Rod twice there!

BBC Football's preview of the match includes this interesting piece of trivia: "No side has ever previously avoided relegation from the Premier League after losing their first three games of a season; Southampton lost their first four and yet only a mathematician would quibble now with the notion that they are safe with four games still to play." [Of course, what was unique also was the quirk that saw us get three of the best teams in those first four games.]

Did you read my post? I said "Each incident should be considered on its own merits. The past behaviour and character of the culprit needs to be taken into account. It is often unhelpful to compare one case with another."

Committing assault is not a matter of degree. Grab a policeman - that's assault; you don't have to punch them in the jaw. It's the aggressive motive that matters, not the severity of the effect on the victim.

Interesting how some law-and-order types are quick to criticise the legal system because - in their opinion - thugs and punks are treated too "leniently", but then attack another system of correction (the F.A.) for being too harsh (and not, for example, considering mitigating circumstances). Each incident should be considered on its own merits. The past behaviour and character of the culprit needs to be taken into account. It is often unhelpful to compare one case with another. Ultimately, though, you have to accept the view that the system is operating in good faith and doing its best to police things in a fair and consistent manner. And dealing with some individuals who are immature, self-centred and constantly breaking the rules and looking to get an illegal advantage.

The best single thing we did: took the subway over to Brooklyn and then walked back across the Brooklyn Bridge into Manhattan. Other highlights: walking for a couple of hours in Central Park; walking along 42nd. St and seeing the UN, the Chrysler Building, Grand Central Station, Times Square; walking around Greenwich Village.

That's a very good summary. I would add that the defence has improved significantly as the season progressed - thanks to the choice of Boruc as goalie and the emergence of Shaw as an excellent, up-and-coming left back.

Come on, Saints!!

Finally --- 13 minutes before!

Where is Saints Player?

Still waiting for Saints Player to kick in!

Really, it's such a hypothetical and, frankly, illogical question, that it's not worth an answer.

Don't let facts get in the way of vague impressions and knee-jerk bias. I'm happy to see him predict a loss - that means we get at least a point!

How solipsistic can you get? You weren't alive then, but there were lots of us who were. Do you understand how this time thing works?

I strongly disagree. We've had a change for a couple of years. Now it's time to get back to the red-and-white stripes and black shorts - as a definitive message that says, "Hey, we're back, and we're here to stay!"

This is such an arbitrary, random dichotomy - if this, then not that. Why? How about both? That was then; this is now. We don't have to give up what we once had in order to get something new. We can do both.

http://www.google.ca/imgres?q=shave+beaver&um=1&safe=active&sa=N&rls=com.microsoft:en-us&hl=en&biw=1280&bih=770&tbm=isch&tbnid=bNswVdqMCb2OvM:&imgrefurl=http://www.overclock.net/t/1303492/freebie-amd-athlon-64-x2-4200-am2/20&docid=DIA6xm8sH-FHiM&imgurl=http://regretfulmorning.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/shave-beaver.jpg&w=300&h=380&ei=EdVuUfj1MYG4yQHI8IC4Dw&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=125&page=1&tbnh=135&tbnw=107&start=0&ndsp=32&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0,i:82&tx=56&ty=77

I was there in 1958. Nice swimming pool, where I learned to swim under water.

Police spokesmen who inflate their language to make it sound more important: "At this particular juncture in time [now], we intend to ascertain [we're gonna find out] whether or not [if] the perpertrator resides in any of the domeciles in this area of the city [the suspect lives here]."

No to mention the harm that the US's "permanent war" policy does to their own economy - and to their civil society. There has been, since the 50s, an unholy alliance between government, big business, and the "defence" industry. Eisenhower warned his country about this when he referred to the "military-industrial complex".

I think you'll find that the break-up of the Soviet Union had more to do with resistance from within - especially in Poland (remember Solidarity?) and Czechoslovakia - and the impact of key individuals with real influence, like the Pope and Mikhael Gorbachev.

He did admit, did he not, that he made a mistake coming to Southampton.

Swansea (A) - Draw WBA (H) - Saints win Spurs (A) - Saints lose Sunderland (A) - Saints win Stoke (H) - Saints win