Spain blames separatists in car bombing, 64 injured

The Spanish government accused the Basque separatist group ETA of trying to kill women and children Wednesday in a car bombing outside a police barracks in northern Spain which wounded more than 60 people.

About 120 people, one-third of them children, were sleeping inside the barracks in Burgos when the bomb went off at around 4:00 am (0200 GMT), blowing off most of its facade, Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba said.

The blast left a big crater in the street outside the barracks which filled with water from broken pipes while the walls of several rooms were blasted off with damage visible up to the 14th floor of the building.

Rubalcaba charged that ETA was "undoubtedly trying to kill" people with the blast as it had not issued any prior warning as it often does when it strikes.

"It was not just aimed at those working in the Civil Guards but also at their families, which makes this particularly despicable. Fourty-one children could have been killed," he said at the scene of the bombing.
"When we deal with ETA we know we are dealing with murderers and savages and now we know that they are also crazed. This does not make them stronger, but it does make them more dangerous," he added.

Of the 64 people who were injured, 49 required hospital care, mostly for cuts from broken glass and bruises, and have already been released, the director of the regional health service, Francisco Javier Guisasola, told a news conference.
Police earlier said at least 22 women and six children were slightly injured in the blast.

ETA, considered a terrorist organisation by the European Union and the United States, has frequently targeted the Civil Guard in its 41-year campaign to carve a Basque homeland out of northern Spain and southwestern France.

The latest attack came just two days before the 50th anniversary of ETA's founding, on July 31, 1959, by nationalist students inspired by Marxist-Leninist teachings, at a time when Spain was still run by rightwing dictator Francisco Franco.
The group carried out its first planned killing on August 2, 1968 with the shooting of a policeman. It is blamed for the deaths of 825 people.

Spanish public television last month said a new road map of strategic plans by ETA reaffirmed its commitment to violence to achieve its aims.
"The terrorists believe that Basque independence is their irreversible goal. Only then will ETA no longer kill," TVE said, quoting a document that it said outlined the group's strategy put together over the past three years.

The newspaper El Mundo said on Sunday that security forces were on the alert after receiving information from France that ETA planned to bring three vans packed with explosives into Spain.
Rubalcaba said it was likely that the remains of what appeared to be a van destroyed by "a very powerful bomb" in Burgos had come from France, which has traditionallly been used by ETA as a rear base to prepare attacks in Spain.

Media reports said the van contained at least 200 kilograms (440 pounds) of explosives.
The last ETA attack took place in early July when a bomb exploded in front of the office of the Basque Socialist party.
That came two months after the Socialist Party scored a historic victory that gave the regional government its first non-nationalist chief, Patxi Lopez, who has vowed to make the fight against ETA a priority.

The last fatal attack blamed on ETA was on June 19, when a policeman was killed in a car-bomb blast near the Basque city of Bilbao.
In mid-2007 ETA called off a 15-month-old ceasefire following a deadlock in tentative peace talks with Madrid.

Since then the Socialist government of Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has taken a hard line against it, repeatedly ruling out any new negotiations, while a string of operations by Spanish and French police have weakened ETA's leadership.

-Nathan133

Iraq police clash anew with Iran rebel camp residents

Clashes flared for a second day on Wednesday between Iraqi security forces and residents of a camp housing Iran's main exiled opposition, a day after violence left two policemen dead. Skip related content

Around 420 people were also wounded after Iraqi soldiers stormed the camp on Tuesday, sparking unrest that prompted the deployment of riot police to quell resistance from Camp Ashraf's residents

"Fighting resumed when Iraqi police established a police station and hoisted the Iraqi flag," police Lieutenant Colonel Ibrahim al-Karawi said, adding that Iraqi security forces were controlling about 75 percent of the camp.

Another police officer said clashes continued into the evening.
The opposition People's Mujahedeen said seven residents of the camp, in Diyala province northeast of Baghdad, were killed but there was no independent confirmation of those deaths.

Doctor Abdullah al-Timimi from the main hospital in the nearby town of Khales said the two policemen died on Wednesday from injuries sustained the previous day.

One suffered internal bleeding following a blow to the head. The other was stabbed in the neck, he said.The Iraqi defence ministry was unapologetic about the raid against the camp, saying it was justified under a November security agreement with Washington.

"It's our territory and it's our right to enter, to impose Iraqi law on everybody," defence ministry spokesman General Mohammed Askari told Al-Arabiya television.
"They (camp residents) have to submit to the law, and to Iraqi sovereignty. The SOFA (Status of Forces Agreement) authorises us to do what we did."

Under the pact, Iraqi security forces took over responsibility for the camp three months ago from US forces, which had disarmed the 3,500 or so residents following the 2003 invasion which toppled Saddam Hussein.

Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh insisted in a statement that Baghdad "will not force anyone to leave Iraq against his will" after a Mujahedeen spokesman expressed concern that camp residents who were arrested would be handed over to Tehran.

A government committee, established on Wednesday to oversee the camp, said in a statement that authorities were aiming to close it and transfer its residents to another location in Iraq or help them leave the country if they wished, but noted that those were long-term goals.

A police official said 300 camp residents, 25 of them women, had been wounded along with around 120 security force personnel. More than 50 camp residents were detained.
The Mujahedeen said seven camp residents were killed and 385 wounded.

Karawi said negotiations between Diyala provincial police chief General Abdul Hussein al-Shamari and the Mujahedeen, which began on Tuesday evening, had stalled.
A US administration official said that Washington -- which still blacklists the Mujahedeen as a terrorist organisation -- had received assurances that camp residents would be treated in a "humane" manner.

The storming of the camp coincided with a visit to Iraq by US Defence Secretary Robert Gates but the top US commander in Iraq, General Ray Odierno, said the US military had no advance warning.
Iran's parliament speaker Ali Larijani welcomed the seizure of the camp, describing the action as "praiseworthy" albeit "rather late".

Maryam Rajavi, the head of the exiled National Council of Resistance of Iran which includes the Mujahedeen, condemned the raid and accused Baghdad of doing Tehran's bidding.
"This aggression is a flagrant violation of international conventions and the assurances given by the Iraqi government to the United States about the protection of the residents of Ashraf," Rajavi said in a statement.

She later told a news conference in Rome: "I ask the American government and those of the European Union to strongly condemn the actions of the regime.
"The American government must assure the security of the residents of Ashraf."
The People's Mujahedeen was founded in 1965 in opposition to the shah and has subsequently fought to oust the clerical regime which took power in the 1979 Islamic revolution.
The group set up Camp Ashraf in the 1980s -- when Saddam was at war with the Islamic republic -- as a base to operate against the Iranian government.

-Nathan133

Rivers swears at morning show host during live broadcast

Comedian Joan Rivers turned the air blue during a live US TV interview on Tuesday morning when she swore at a presenter for cracking a joke about her daughter. Skip related content

The 76 year old appeared on Good Day Sacramento to promote her new show How'd You Get So Rich?, but the funnywoman wasn't laughing when one interviewer made a quip at her 41-year-old TV presenter daughter Melissa's expense.

The male TV host asked Rivers, "Ever run up to someone and say, 'Hey, how did you get so rich?' and the woman replied, 'By riding on my mum's coat tails!'"

Rivers snapped and cut short the interview - but not before scolding the presenter and dropping the 'F' word.
She snarled, "I don't think so. And I think we're gonna end the interview right now. Don't get so f**king smart."

Rivers' microphone was immediately cut off and the reporter's co-hosts were left to apologise to viewers for the foul language.
Melissa Rivers has carved out a career for herself as a TV personality and an actress, with small roles in now defunct TV shows like Beverly Hills, 90210 and The L Word

The mother and daughter duo also appeared together on Donald Trump's reality show Celebrity Apprentice earlier this year and once prowled the red carpet at big awards shows for US TV specials.
It's not the first time Rivers' language has caused controversy on live TV - last year she swore on daytime talk show Loose Women during a chat about a red carpet encounter with Russell Crowe.

She called the actor "f**king s**t", prompting the flustered presenters to apologise for Rivers' foul language. The comedienne issued an apology for her expletives - but then revoked it, insisting the public had overreacted.

-Nathan133

Barclays Premier League - City sign Toure

Manchester City have signed Ivory Coast defender Kolo Toure from Premier League rivals Arsenal for around £16 million.

Toure, 28, whose team-mate Emmanuel Adebayor joined City earlier this month, has signed a four-year deal with Mark Hughes' side, the club said on their website.

City are in the market for defenders after compiling an impressive forward line in the close season.
"It is no secret that we have been looking to strengthen our defence and in Kolo I feel we have recruited a world-class player," said City manager Mark Hughes.

They have also had bids rejected for Everton defender Joleon Lescott and Chelsea and England captain John Terry.
The big-spending club have already signed striking trio Roque Santa Cruz of Paraguay from Blackburn Rovers, Argentina's Carlos Tevez and Togo international Adebayor.

England midfielder Gareth Barry has also joined from Aston Villa with the club having now spent over £90m.
Toure joined Arsenal from Ivorian club Asec Mimosas in February 2002 and won the FA Cup at the end of his first season in 2003.
Originally a utility player, he quickly emerged as a first choice centre-back alongside Sol Campbell in a 2004 season which saw Arsenal win the Premier League undefeated with a team dubbed 'the invincibles'.

A second FA Cup the following season was to be Toure's last winner's medal for the north London club, although Arsenal came close to success in the Champions League before losing 2-1 to Barcelona in the 2006 final.
Toure, who made 326 appearances in all competitions for Arsenal, suffered a dip in form last season playing alongside Frenchman William Gallas and British media reported he had a transfer request rejected which he then later withdrew.

"Kolo has been a central figure in a very strong Arsenal team for many years and I have been an admirer of his for a long time," added Hughes. "He is strong, quick, reads the game well and will be an influential figure in the dressing room."
Arsenal have since strengthened their backline with the signing of Thomas Vermaelen from Ajax Amsterdam in a deal worth £12m and Swiss defender Philippe Senderos has returned to the club from a loan spell at Milan.

City, considered the richest club in the world, are bankrolled by wealthy Arab owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al Nahyan and are expected to compete for Champions League qualification next season.

-Nathan133

NOTE: SORRY ABOUT 2 POSTS ABOUT TOURE MOVING!

Toure follows Adebayor to Man City from Arsenal

Manchester City returned to Premier League rivals Arsenal Wednesday to sign Ivory Coast defender Kolo Toure for an undisclosed fee.

Toure, 28, whose team mate Emmanuel Adebayor joined City earlier this month, has signed a four-year deal with Mark Hughes' side, the club said on their website (www.mcfc.co.uk).
City are in the market for defenders after compiling an impressive forward line in the close season.
"It is no secret that we have been looking to strengthen our defence and in Kolo I feel we have recruited a world class player," said City manager Mark Hughes.
They have also had bids rejected for Everton defender Joleon Lescott and Chelsea and England captain John Terry.

The big-spending club have already signed striking trio Roque Santa Cruz of Paraguay from Blackburn Rovers, Argentina's Carlos Tevez and Togo international Adebayor.
England midfielder Gareth Barry has also joined from Aston Villa with the club having now spent over 90 million pounds.
Toure joined Arsenal from Ivorian club Asec Mimosas in February 2002 and won the FA Cup at the end of his first season in 2003.

THE INVINCIBLES
Originally a utility player, he quickly emerged as a first choice centre-back alongside Sol Campbell in a 2004 season which saw Arsenal win the Premier League undefeated with a team dubbed 'the invincibles'.

A second FA Cup the following season was to be Toure's last winner's medal for the north London club, although Arsenal came close to success in the Champions League before losing 2-1 to Barcelona in the 2006 final.

Toure, who made 326 appearances in all competitions for Arsenal, suffered a dip in form last season playing alongside Frenchman William Gallas and British media reported he had a transfer request rejected which he then later withdrew.

"Kolo has been a central figure in a very strong Arsenal team for many years and I have been an admirer of his for a long time," added Hughes. "He is strong, quick, reads the game well and will be an influential figure in the dressing room."
Arsenal have since strengthened their backline with the signing of Thomas Vermaelen from Ajax Amsterdam in a deal worth 12 million pounds and Swiss defender Philippe Senderos has returned to the club from a loan spell at AC Milan.
City, considered the richest club in the world, are bankrolled by wealthy Arab owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al Nahyan and are expected to compete for Champions League qualification next season.

-Nathan133

Football - Hull City v Beijing Guo`an Result.

(FRIENDLY MATCH)

This match was a very good match. This went to penalties.

Hull City 1-1 Beijing Guo`an
(Hull won 5-4 on penalties)

Hull have now won against a Chinese team.

-Nathan133

New Club Penguin Servers!

There are new clubpenguin servers, check them out.

Just a note,

-Nathan133

Former world champ Forrest shot dead

Forrest was best known for causing an upset in 2001 against then WBC welterweight champion Shane Mosley - regarded by many as the world's best fighter at the time - and beating him again six months later.

Forrest, who was based in Atlanta, was a world champion in the welterweight and light middleweight divisions and also fought for the United States at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.

"The cause of death is multiple gunshot wounds involving the torso and thigh, and the manner of death is homicide," the chief medical examiner of Georgia's Fulton county said in a statement.
Forrest was shot on Saturday as he attempted to prevent people from stealing his car at a gas station in southwest Atlanta. His girlfriend's son was in the car at the time.

The case is being investigated by the Atlanta police, according to the medical examiner and local media.

-Nathan133

Note: Please comment about this if your interested!

Sorry for not posting

Hi Peeps,

Sorry for not posting I have been on holiday. I am now back posting so check out my site daily!
Also Dont forget mmopuck`s site please.

Thank you for all your patience,

-Nathan133

TV Guide for Wednesday 22nd July 2009 (BBC 1 ONLY)

TV Guide. NOTE: TV GUIDE FOR ONLY SOME CHANNELS!

bbc1 - 7pm-7:30pm The One Show - 7:30pm-8:30pm Wildest Dreams - 8:30pm - 9pm Seaside Rescue - 9pm-10pm Who Do You Think You Are? - 10pm - 10:25pm BBC News - 10:25pm - 10:35pm Regional News and Weather - 10:35pm - 10:45pm The National Lottery Draws - 10:45pm - 12:35am Chicago (2002).

This may not be right it is off here.

Thanks,

-Nathan133

UK 'is losing 52 pubs each week'

UK pubs closed at a rate of 52 per week in the first half of the year - a third more than the same period in 2008 - the British Beer & Pub Association said.

Local pubs were the most vulnerable as communities were hit by the fallout of the economic downturn, it added.

The research suggested businesses that provide food were far more resilient to the recession.

And branded pubs and cafe-style bars were opening at a rate of two a week, according to the report.

"Pubs are already diversifying, but unfortunately if you are a community pub, you can't transform yourself into a trendy town-centre bar," said an association spokesman.
"The biggest impact is the recession. There are fewer people out and fewer people spending money in pubs and bars, regardless of where they are," he said.

Job losses

The rate of closures was the fastest since the number of UK pubs began being tracked, in 1990.
The number of pubs has dropped by 2,377 in the past year, to a total of 53,466.
The association's chief executive, David Long, said that the economic pressures of the recession had been added to by the smoking ban, tax rises on alcohol and "regulatory burdens".

Pub closures had cost 24,000 jobs, he added.
"Government should look at valuing and rewarding pubs as community assets," Mr Long said.
"Not only would this have social policy benefits, by supporting a hub of community cohesion, but financial policy benefits in terms of tax revenues, particularly at a time when the public purse is stretched."

A number of pub firms have said that they have been offering financial support for tenants, in an effort to enable them to stay open.
Last month, pub and brewing company Marston's said it wanted to raise £176m in a rights issue. Most of the funds would be earmarked for buying land and developing pubs in densely populated areas, with a focus on food

-Nathan133

Do you work in the pub industry? Are you affected by the issues in this story? Send us your comments

Premier League - Gerrard 'like a boxer' in brawl

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard lashed out at a man "with the style and speed of a professional boxer" after losing his cool in a bar brawl, a court heard.

The 29-year-old England midfielder is accused of being part of a group that injured businessman Marcus McGee, 34, at the Lounge Inn nightclub in Southport, near Liverpool in December last year.

Gerrard was celebrating Liverpool's 5-1 win at Newcastle United at the time. He denies the charge of affray. An initial charge of assault was dropped at a court hearing in March.

"Mr. McGee took offence at his attitude and the expression 'lad' and he refused. Not many people on Merseyside, or indeed anywhere else, would refuse a request from Steven Gerrard but Mr. McGee did," said prosecutor David Turner.

Gerrard was left fuming by the exchange, and six minutes later came back over to Mr. McGee, swearing and squaring up to him "in the sort of hostile confrontation that is often seen between professional footballers."
"Steven Gerrard had clearly lost his cool: he was angry with Marcus McGee," said Turner.
Gerrard's friends came over to help, and one of them, John Doran, pushed McGee away and "could not resist following through with his right elbow into Mr McGee's face", said Turner.
"We say at this stage Gerrard totally lost it.

"Within seconds, Steven Gerrard joined in the attack with a succession of well aimed uppercut punches delivered with the style and speed of a professional boxer rather than a professional footballer."
Turner said the key question was whether Gerrard was acting in self-defence.
"Steven Gerrard is a world class footballer. He has the honour to be captain of Liverpool FC and to play for England. He is a star. He is Liverpool born and bred and here on Merseyside is a hero," he said.

"We do not say that Mr. Gerrard is normally an arrogant man, we don't say that he is a bully.
"What we do say is that that night he just lost his self control and joined in an attack which should never have taken place. He let himself down."
Gerrard is facing trial alone, after five co-defendants admitted affray, and one admitted a lesser charge of threatening behaviour.

-Nathan133

Call to close schools to curb flu

Ministers have been asked to consider closing schools this autumn to help curb the number of swine flu cases.

Scientists from Imperial College London say studies suggest it could reduce the number of infections by up to 45%.

Professor Neil Ferguson and Dr Simon Cauchemez, who put forward the idea in a paper in the Lancet, say the move may buy enough time to produce a vaccine.
Schools Secretary Ed Balls said closing schools would not contain the virus's spread as it was already established.
In their Lancet paper, the scientists wrote: "The [swine flu] pandemic could become more severe, and so the current cautious approach of not necessarily recommending school closure in Europe and North America might need reappraisal in the autumn."

'Strong arguments'
Professor Ferguson and Dr Cauchemez quoted a recent French study which suggested "proactively" closing schools could reduce flu cases by 13% to 17% overall, and by between 38% and 45% during the outbreak's peak.
There were "strong arguments" for ministers to close schools because children appeared to be more susceptible to the virus than adults, they said.

Rise of the round pound

Over the past year, the four largest UK grocers have been swapping their 99-pence price tags for round-pound sales. In bad economic times, consumers may just be willing to fork out an extra penny at the till. But why?

Everyone is familiar with the ubiquitous 99-pence price tag. Just last year, a report highlighted the sales tactic as a successful way to draw in customers.

But in the past few months, shoppers may have noticed some rounder prices at the store.
The "big four" of supermarkets, Asda, Tesco, Morrisons and Sainsbury's, have increased the number of £1 promotional price tags 150% over the past year. This compared with a 6% increase in their general promotions, according to a report compiled on behalf of industry magazine the Grocer.

Tesco has designated a "pound shop" area in its stores and Asda features 7,000 £1 lines.
So what's the reasoning behind the shift?

NOTE: DONT FORGET TO COMMENT ABOUT IT!!!

-Nathan133

Profile: Mohammad Ajmal Amir Qasab

The image of Mohammad Ajmal Amir Qasab clutching his gun at Mumbai railway station last year became a symbol of the attacks that horrified the world.

Prosecutors say the 21-year-old is the only surviving member of the group that launched a bloody rampage across the Indian city in November 2008, killing at least 166 people.
In the immediate aftermath of the attacks, security forces struggled to collect information about the young man.

Only after several months did Pakistan admit that he was their citizen, from the province of Punjab.

More specific details are hard to pin down. Indian officials originally portrayed him as a middle-class boy who spoke good English.
But subsequent reports suggested he came from a remote village called Faridkot, where his father sold food.

He had received little education, the reports said, and had spent his youth alternating between labouring and petty crime.
In an interview with Pakistani media, a resident of Faridkot identified Mr Qasab as his son. He said that he had left home four years before the attacks.
"He had asked me for new clothes on Eid [the Muslim festival] that I couldn't provide him. He got angry and left," Dawn newspaper quoted the man as saying.

NOTE: DO NOT THINK THIS IS FUNNY.

-Nathan133

BREAKING NEWS: Solar eclipse sparks tourist fever in China

HANGZHOU, July 20 (Xinhua) -- The longest total solar eclipse of this century has triggered tourist fever along China's Yangtze River Valley as astronomy enthusiasts from home and abroad flock there to watch the event on July 22.
The total eclipse, which lasts as long as six minutes 43 seconds, will be visible along the river valley on Wednesday morning.

Wang Sichao, an expert with the Purple Mountain Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences based in east China's Nanjing City, said the eclipse will not be surpassed in duration until June 13, 2132.
"The number of people watching the solar eclipse will make a historical record, since previous solar eclipses can only be best observed in desolate regions," said Wang.
The total eclipse is expected to begin between 9 a.m. to 9:38 a.m. (Beijing Time), the expert said.
Viewers in Chinese regions beyond the river valley, including Beijing, can observe a partial eclipse, he added.

The National Astronomical Observatories has recommended eight sites in eastern China that the agency believes are the best places to view the event.
Among the sites is Jiaxing, a city in Zhejiang province.
All the hotels and inns in Jiaxing are fully booked by eclipse watchers, 6,000 of whom traveled from abroad, said Zhou Hongxia, deputy director of the local tourism administration.

"The number could be much bigger on Wednesday," she said. "Many of the watchers started to book rooms more than a year ago."
The city is under severe pressure as it strives to accommodate the influx of visitors, traffic, emergency care and translators.
Local authorities are also working to ensure against A/H1N1 flu outbreaks and to avoid traffic jams and stampedes.

Nearly 3,000 astronomy enthusiasts from Japan, the United States and Europe have also flocked to central province of Hubei, the provincial tourism administration said Monday.
The crowd brings the number of foreign visitors to about 10 times more than the same period last year, a manager at a local travel agency told Xinhua.

About 500 visitors even rented a football pitch at a local college to better view the eclipse, said Cao Fushan, director of the provincial administration's general office.
As astronomy lovers around the world flood China for the solar eclipse, the National Meteorological Center Monday warned of rain and heavy cloud cover in the area where the total eclipse will be most visible.

Thundershowers or thick clouds may overcast many cities in the Yangtze River Valley, including Shanghai, Chongqing and Wuhan as well as the eight sites with the best views recommended by the National Astronomical Observatories, according to local weather stations.
National Astronomical Observatories have placed a number of live studios within the totality path. In the worst case, people can watch the scene via live coverage on TV or on the Internet.

-Nathan133

Sudanese president cancels trip to Uganda

Uganda news round-up: Omar el-Bashir seeks to avoid 'diplomatic incident' over ICC arrest warrants; university department praised for journalism programme; calls for Ugandans to support domestic violence bill

A woman holds a poster of Sudan's president Omar al-Bashir at a demonstration in Khartoum against the international criminal court. Photograph: Reuters/Zohra Bensemra
The Sudanese president, Omar el-Bashir, has cancelled his trip to Uganda to avoid a "diplomatic incident" over whether he would be arrested under warrants issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The president has been accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur.
Last Monday, ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said Uganda, a signatory of the Rome Statute that established the court, had a legal obligation to arrest the president if he attended a Smart partnership conference, due to begin on Sunday. Reluctant to upset the African Union, which is currently reviewing the allegations made against Bashir before deciding whether to support the ICC warrants, Ugandan president, Yoweri Museveni, has not given a clear indication of whether his Sudanese counterpart would face arrest if he visited the country.

However, Museveni has apologised to the Sudanese leader for comments made early last week by the Ugandan minister for international relations, Henry Okello Oryem, that Bashir would be arrested if he arrived in Uganda.

"The two presidents spoke on how to solve this issue in a diplomatic manner," said foreign ministry permanent secretary James Mugume. "The president was sorry that the media made it appear that Bashir would be arrested upon arrival in Kampala."
It is believed that Bashir will now send another minister to the conference.


-Nathan133

Should we send astronauts to Mars?

Apollo astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins are calling for a new wave of space travel. "The best way to honour and remember all those who were part of the Apollo programme is to follow in our footsteps; to boldly go again on a new mission of exploration," said Aldrin on the eve of the 40th Anniversary of the Apollo landing.
But they're not talking about the Moon. They want to see Man on Mars.
Their call for a new highly ambitious programme of voyage and discovery will strike a chord with people around the world who recall the first Moon landing, which took place at a time when a sense of real excitement and thrall accompanied shuttle launches.

This time has long passed.
The to-and-froing of astronauts to the International Space Station has plodded along, met with increasing public ambivalence. Endeavour's launch last week provoked little more than a shrug. There is an appetite for something more exciting, more final frontier, and more heroic. A Mars mission would certainly tick these boxes. But would it be worthwhile scientifically, politically and economically?

For a start, it is by no means clear that current space technology would permit a Mars mission purely from the perspective of astronaut health. Even a few months in space has left a number of Russian cosmonauts bedridden for months, struggling to readjust to the affects of gravity.
A there-and-back mission to Mars would take around two and a half years, during which time the muscles of astronauts would become significantly atrophied. Exposure to high-energy cosmic radiation would also present serious risk. Spacecrafts can be shielded to a degree from cosmic radiation, but any mission would have to be carefully timed around the 11-year solar activity cycle. Spending an extended period in crowded stressful conditions would undoubedly take a pschological toll on even the most disciplined, levelheaded individual.

Would we be celebrating the Apollo landing with the same enthusiasm if its heroes, Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins, had died on their return to earth? Probably not. No matter how glorious the prospect of a Mars mission, we have to be confident that its crew will make it back in good health.
Despite the significant risks, a 2006 report by the Royal Astronomical Society concluded that astronaut health would not be the fundamental limitation for a Mars mission. And in a provocative article in The Telegraph today, Boris Johnson accuses today's society of having a spineless mentality towards the physical risks of space flight.

Scientifically the case for a Mars mission would be two-fold: searching for life and gathering evidence to further our understanding of planetary formation and the history of the solar system. Regardless of advances in robotic technology, there is no replacement for having a conscious, thinking human present to explore, gather samples and make on the spot decisions, argue manned mission proponents.

However, at least in the search for microbial life beneath the surface of Mars, there is also a cost. Contamination is a serious problem in any search for new types of life and it is almost impossible to decontaminate a spacecraft containing humans, food and waste. That's not to say that humans could never contribute to the investigation of life on Mars, should it ever show up. But they are not best qualified to carry out the initial search.

The cost of a manned Mars mission needless to say would be enormous. One optimistic proposal,
Mars Direct, estimated the cost at $55 billion over ten years. It's hard to say whether, from a technological point of view, this would be money well spent. The US administration has frequently cited the Apollo program, which helped deliver shuttle launch technology and satellite technology, as one of the best national investments ever made. But, perhaps more frequently, major projects such as the EUs Galileo satellite system, end up being criticised for gobbling up resources that would be better spent on smaller, more focussed projects. What is clear is that a Mars mission would divert a vast amount of money away from other space science projects over a lengthy period of time.

The 40th Anniversary of the Apollo landing is an apt moment for Nasa and other space agencies to reflect on the need for inspiring, adventurous missions that people feel part of. A widespread misconception is that a human presence in space is the ingredient that gives space science a wider appeal and that unmanned missions fail to capture people's imagination. This isn't true. One of the most inspiring missions of the last few years was the Mars Exploration Rover mission, in which two small robotic rovers covered vast areas of Martian surface.

Space agencies need to fund more high quality scientific missions like this one that push the boundaries of our appreciation and understanding of space. Sufficiently compelling arguments are yet to be made that a manned mission to Mars is the best way of doing this.

Note: This is my 100th post!
Note 2: I am going to start posting about news, I am to sporty!

-Nathan133

Mido still away from 'Boro

Egypt's Mido will continue to be fined by English club Middlesbrough as long as he fails to report for training.

The Egypt striker did not arrive back for pre-season training with the rest of his team-mates a fortnight ago, and has already been fined two weeks wages.
"It's very simple - Mido has to get himself back and into training with us," Middlesbrough manager Gareth Southgate said.

"This club will not be paying anybody who is not in training with us."
Southgate also insisted Mido, who spent the end of last season on loan at Wigan, must return to the club before his future can be discussed.

"We will deal with what happens after that as and when he's ready to join in with that training, but nothing will knock us off what we want to achieve," Southgate added.
"The players that want to be here have to have the focus they have showed so far and put the other distractions to one side."

Nathan133: "Oh deer. If I had a chance to be a footballer I would go to training all the time and probably be there training early! let hope there is nothing wrong with this Star!"

-Nathan133

Monday's football transfer rumours: Andriy Voronin to Hull City?

'Hull is that way.' Andriy Voronin gets directions to the M62. Photograph: Robert Holles/Reuters

Like an obnoxious city banker who's half cut, tie undone, creased-shirt billowing out of trousers with drool dripping from his sticky red lips eyeing that 28-year-old brunette sat with her lover at the bar, Manchester City will not give up the chase for John Terry – no matter how much self-respect they've frittered away after again slapping their bulging crocodile skin wallet in front of the pair and winking furiously at the increasingly irritated other half.

Not content with having had the knock back at first £30m, and then £32m, Mark Hughes will now wave £40m in front of Roman Abramovich's blank face and dare him to pluck the cash out of his hands in return for the Chelsea captain. Quite why Hughes has never considered the unloved curly-haired bit of talent called Ricardo Carvalho is a mystery which will trouble the Mill for at least as long as it takes to finish this sentence. Anyway, the Portuguese has accepted he won't be able to join up with Jose Mourinho at Inter and is duty-bound to stay at Stamford Bridge so that boat may have already set sail.

If City fail in their relentless pursuit of JT, they will likely leave £15m in Everton's car park and race off down the M62 with Joleon Lescott tied up in the boot.

In other Merseyside-related news, Hull City fancy a piece of that blonde with the ponytail at Anfield. Well Andriy Voronin to be precise. Having managed to put one foot in front of the other regularly at Hertha Berlin, thus giving the impression of a functioning striker, they reckon he's the man to keep them up next year.
And in the daily Xabi Alonso-to-Real-Madrid-does-anybody-really-think-it-won't-happen saga, the Liverpool midfielder has said he reckons Madrid have an "impressive project" going on but he does not know how things will turn out because he's not a "fortune teller." Which is strange, because when Florentino Perez digs deep enough to offer Rafa Benítez a fortune for him – around £35m – the Mill's got a good idea where he'll end up.

Arséne Wenger intends to fill the Emmanuel Adbeyor-sized hole in his Arsenal front line with Toulouse striker Andre-Pierre Gignac. He's young, he's tall, he's French, he'll cost £18m, but of course, Wenger being Wenger, he won't budge from £13m.
Tottenham manager 'Arry Redknapp is wearing a balaclava and stalking the A1 where he hopes to intercept the delivery of Portsmouth's Peter Crouch to Sunderland and drag the big man back to White Hart Lane. He'll have to post a cheque to Fratton Park for £12m mind, to avoid kidnap charges and what-not.

He'll raise £4m of that by offloading Chris Gunter to Preston North End.
Having been subject to barbarous text-speak such as "Is evil something u are ... or something u do?" from a boy band called Riot Squ ... oh from La Galaxy's really scary hardcore section of fans called the Riot Squad, David Beckham will try to hug as many Milan players as possible until every one of them tells their manager Leonardo that he's such a nice guy that they don't mind doing all of his running for him providing he kisses them when they've scored a goal.

Blackburn's Sam Allardyce has sent the soon-to-be fossilised trialist Christian Vieri packing after realising the former Italian international striker's waist was almost as big as his own. Manchester United bean-counters haven't got the £21m worth of beans required to bring Gremio's 18-year-old striker Douglas Costa to Old Trafford. They managed to count £8m before resorting to looking down the sides of the couch.

Having not been able to tempt West Brom to part with Jonathan Greening for £2.5m Fulham will dig £3.5m deeper to sign Juventus's Danish midfielder Christian Poulsen.

NOTE: I did not write this article Myself.

-Nathan133

The Netherlands National Circus!

I`m not going to this but It looks cool so I am posting it! Hopefully the clowns will be funny! If your going please comment and tell us that!

Mon 27th- Thurs 30th July! So It`s not on for long!

According to the poster: Tickets available online www.netherlandscircus.eu - Ticketline: 0870 444 1505.

I dont know where the circus is taking place.

-Nathan133

Bopara in need of an Ashes score

The weekend before the Ashes began, Ravi Bopara gave a fascinating first-person account of how he felt going into the biggest Test series of his career to date.
Explaining how he was unimpressed by Australians, past or present, trying to intimidate England's players through words alone, Bopara said: "Whether the words are from Shane Warne or whoever, how are they supposed to hurt me?

"Is he trying to intimidate or put pressure on me? Pressure? Pressure is when you've got a knife in your face and someone says, 'Give me what you've got'."
He went on to explain how exactly that had happened to him when he was 12 years old, growing up in the mean streets of east London.

That kind of anecdote might explain why he often wears a carefree expression as he marches out to bat, whatever the situation, and why he betrays so little emotion in general on a cricket field.
It is clear that he is blessed with enviable talents, and had been in terrific form all year - in all formats of the game - until this series. But he has now hit a small crisis, with scores of 35, 1, 18 and a particularly scratchy 27 behind him.

It might only be a temporary blip, and I think he is certain to keep his place in the side when England head to Edgbaston despite Ian Bell hitting a century for Warwickshire on Thursday. But if Australia were to find a way of winning the third Test, with Bopara struggling again, then the difficult number three spot might have to be re-assessed.

Part of the attraction of selecting Bopara in this England side is the knowledge that he does not come to the crease riddled with nerves or the fear of failure.
But some commentators have accused him of being a bit too casual at times - and he certainly fell to a loose stroke on Friday when he popped up a catch to short-leg off Australia's admirable, though injured, spinner Nathan Hauritz.
It was, frankly, a painful innings to watch. He was dropped on nine, and was inches away from giving mid-on a catch on 19. It must have been infuriating for him to occasionally see a number of his cuts and drives middled, but hit straight to fielders.

Nevertheless, his entire innings contained just 13 scoring shots from 93 deliveries - at a time when he and Kevin Pietersen should have been batting Australia out of the game.
Bopara is the role-model for the next generation - a boy who scrambled 10 team-mates together from his inner London state school to enter a Capital Kids competition run by the Lord's Taverners, which they won.

The England and Wales Cricket Board must be thrilled at his achievement in reaching the highest level at a time when they are stressing their various pledges to funnel cash into exactly the sort of scheme Bopara profited from.
He is one of the first to do so, and it is indicative of the strides that must still be made as the other three members of England's top four went to private school.
For what it's worth, my money's on Bopara's current malaise being a temporary problem. But it would be great if he got past 50 at least in his first innings in Birmingham.

1969 Fast Facts: Sports

New York Jets Super Bowl Victory

• January 13, 1969 New York Jets Def Baltimore Colts 16-7 to win Super Bowl III

• Jets quarterback Joe Namath "guaranteed" victory on the Thursday before the game.

• Jets win led the AFL (American Football League) to its first Super Bowl victory.

• Before Super Bowl III Baltimore had lost only once in 16 games all season.

• Namath was chosen the outstanding player of the game

• Namath completed 17 of 28 passes for 206 yards.

• Jets' defense intercepted Colts quarterback Earl Morrall 3 times in the first half.

• The Jets had 337 total yards, including 121 rushing yards by Matt Snell.

• Johnny Unitas came off the bench and led Baltimore to its only touchdown late in the fourth quarter after New York led 16-0.

New York Met World Series Championship

• New York Mets defeated Baltimore Orioles in 1969 World Series 4 games to 1.

• Series played October 11-16, 1969

• Mets lost opening game of series but won 4 consecutive to win Series.

• Mets started the 1969 season as 100-1 longshots.

• Mets won final series game, 5-3, before a record crowd of 57,397 in New York's Shea Stadium.

• Total attendance for the five-game series was 272,378.

• Total receipts for the series was $2,857,782.

• The teams shared a pool of $1,142,200.

• Each Met received about $20,000, while each Oriole received about $15,000.

• Met first baseman Donn Clendenon was named the outstanding player of the series.

• Clendenon set 3 individual records for a five-game series.

• September 10, 1969 Mets reach first place for the first time in franchise history.

• September 24, 1969 Mets clinch first National League East Championship in franchise history.

• October 4, 1969 Mets play first postseason game in their history, a 9-5 victory over the Atlanta Braves in Atlanta. It is also the first Championship Series game in National League history.

• October 6, 1969 Mets win the first National League Championship in their history, defeating the Braves at Shea 7-4, to complete a three-game sweep.

• October 11, 1969 - The Mets play in the first World Series game in their history, a 4-1 loss to the Baltimore Orioles in Baltimore.

-Nathan133

Tour de France - Cav disqualified from sprint

Britain's Mark Cavendish was disqualified from the Tour de France 14th stage's bunch sprint after shoving off green jersey rival Thor Hushovd.
Cavendish crossed the line in 13th place but he was eventually placed 154th and credited with the same time as Hushovd, five minutes and 36 seconds behind stage winner Serguei Ivanov of Russia.

The Isle of Man rider did not score any points in the race for the green jersey awarded to the Tour's best sprinter.

He now trails Hushovd by 18 points -- 218 to 210 -- going into the Alpine stages of the race, where the Norwegian is expected to bag more points.
"Mark Cavendish was disqualified because he did not stay on his line while he was next to Thor Hushovd," said race jury director Martin Bruin.

"When Cavendish saw that I was about to go past him on the right flank, he pushed me towards the barrier," Hushovd said.
"His disqualification is logical. I can appreciate that he is faster than me but what he did is not normal."
Cavendish won four stages in this year's Tour de France, taking his career total to eight.
Cavendish's Team Columbia were not immediately available to comment on the incident

I will post updates on Tour de france.

Football:Friendly - Rapid Vienna v Liverpool

This friendly is a good game. Liverpool I thought should be winning about 3-0 atleast and Rapid Vienna are currently Winning 1-0 I think. I cant get live commentry or "watch it" so I dont know much about who scored. I think the goalscorer for Vienna was Hofmann. Like I say I dont know. This match can be payed for and you can watch it onLiverpoolfc.tv but you will have to pay I wouldnt I would just get the score and see n"who" scored. Plus its more lightly the result will be in the newspaper. I ONLY read the sport Newspaper lol. If there is a good article I would have a peak at the newspaper which has ALL the news.

-Nathan133

Tour De France Fan Killed By Police Bike

The woman, in her 60s, was crossing the road when she was struck by the bike.
The policeman then fell off and his motorcycle slid and hit the other victims, tour organisers said.
The three were treated by paramedics and the woman died at the scene.

She was crossing the road after a breakaway group of riders had passed when she was hit by one of the several police motorbikes which accompany the race.
The two survivors, a 37-year-old woman and a man in his 60s, were taken to hospital but do not have life-threatening injuries.

One of the wounded was a mother with a child in her arms, but the youngster was not hurt.
Commander Christophe Blanc said the officer could not avoid hitting the woman.
The accident happened on the 14th stage of the world famous cycling race.
It took place in the village of Wittelsheim, about 40km from the start of Saturday's event in Colmar. The finish was in Besancon.
"We can confirm that one person has died," said Alain Fontaine, a spokesman for the gendarmerie military who police the area.

"A woman crossed the road and was hit by a Republican Guardsman on a motorcycle then the motorcycle slid and hit one or two more people."
The Republican Guard are the ceremonial unit of the gendarmerie.
It was the first fatal accident on the Tour since 2002, when a child died after being hit by a car from the publicity caravan.

Nathan133: This is very sad news! I really think there should be barriers so fans don't accidentally go on the road and like this get hit at the speeds they go.

-Nathan133

The Ashes: second Test, day four, tea report

Graeme Swann starred in the second session for England, confirming his reputation as a fine bowler against left-handers by dismissing both Mike Hussey and Marcus North.

Hussey's dismissal - sharply caught by Paul Collingwood at slip - continued the day's theme of controversial decisions in this compelling Ashes Test.

Replays suggested that the ball had not touched his bat, but instead had diverted dramatically out of a footmark at the same moment that the bat flashed past.

Still, there could be no doubt about North's wicket, as he played outside a quicker ball that rushed between bat and pad and into the stumps.

The other wicket in an excellent session for England was the biggest, and the earliest. It came shortly after lunch, when Ricky Ponting tried to force a ball from Stuart Broad through the off-side.

The ball seamed back slightly and did not bounce as high as expected, with the result that Ponting chopped it onto his leg-stump. He had made 38.
Ponting's dismissal brought in Michael Clarke, who batted with positive intent from the start.
At one point, he took 14 runs off an over from James Anderson, driving with fluency through extra-cover. But then Hussey fell, and North looked out of his depth in the face of another hostile burst from Andrew Flintoff.

Australia reached the tea-break on 178 for five, needing another 344 runs to win. Clarke stood on an impressive 60 not out from just 65 balls.
The concept of playing for the draw is clearly not in his vocabulary.

Related Articles

Lunch: Flintoff rocks Australia
The Ashes: live scores
England lord it
Ashes video highlights
Second Test: day four preview
England squeeze life out of Aussies

Missed Open cut leaves Tiger Woods quids out due to stealth tax

Tiger Woods was left counting the cost on two fronts after missing the cut at Turnberry.
The world No.1's huge ego took a battering as he was forced to take his first unwanted weekend off in 15 visits to The Open stretching back to 1995.

And as he boarded his private jet back to Florida he had good reason to curse Gordon Brown.
His Open prize-money of £3,200 for finishing joint 76th was dwarfed by a tax bill running into hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Woods is the highest profile victim of a little-known government stealth tax which robs British sports fans of the chance to see many of the world's top stars in action.

very time he visits the UK Woods is not only forced to pay 40 per cent tax on his winnings, but also gets landed with a huge bill for his off-course earnings.
Although all his estimated $80million-a-year endorsement income comes from the American's company, the taxman wants a slice of it.

Even if he had picked up his fourth Open Claret Jug today and the £750,000 winners cheque that goes with it, Woods would probably still have ended up out of pocket.
His tax bill stems from a landmark test case in the House of Lords five years ago where American tennis star Andre Agassi (right) lost his fight to avoid paying tax on his tennis racket sponsorships while playing at The Queen's Club tournament and Wimbledon.

The taxman now works on a formula that if a sportsman like Woods, as an example, plays in 25 tournaments a year worldwide and one of them is in the UK he should pay tax on a pro-rata basis on his sponsorship income.

To see Tiger Woods`s profile click here

-Nathan133

The Open - Day 4

The final day of what has been an incredible Open is here.Can Tom Watson complete a fairytale victory, will Matthew Goggin finish top of the leaderboard, can Ross Fisher end the British major drought or will he be called home to witness the birth of his first child, or will someone else lift the Claret Jug this evening?

Just a Little Update.

I`m sorry I have been posting about mainly football so now I am going to start posting about other stuff. I am going to be doing news on Golf, Rugby, Cycling, Football, Cricket, Tennis this will be coming in a few days.

Thank You,

-Nathan133

Liverpool boss Benitez ready to give Voronin chance

Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez says he's ready to count on striker Andriy Voronin this season.
He told Liverpoolfc.tv: "Voronin is doing really well in training. The last pre-season he was good, then he played really, really well in Germany and now he is showing he has the game intelligence we are looking for.

"It is good to have him back. When we signed him we were looking for a player who could play between the lines as a second striker with quality.
"He told me he wants to stay and fight for his position. I told him it will be difficult with Torres and Gerrard playing together. He realises this but knows we have 60 games a year and wants to fight for his position."

Voronin scored 11 goals and provided nine assists in 26 appearances for the Bundesliga outfit.
Benitez added: "In this moment he's a Liverpool player and it depends on him. If he works hard and plays well he will have a chance."

New Lyon Signing Cissokho Slams 'Bad Experience' With Milan

Lyon left-back Aly Cissokho is pleased to have joined his new team from Porto, after his move to Milan failed earlier in the summer. The starlet did, however, express disappointment towards the Serie A giants."It was an awful story that I lived through, it was a bad experience," he explained, according to tuttomercatoweb.

Everything looked in order, but Milan then announced that the player had failed his medical because of a problem with his teeth and the move broke down.

However, the defender has suggested that the problem was not physical but financial in nature."Sometimes in football, problems arise for economic reasons, but now I am at Lyon, a club that I immediately agreed to join," said Cissokho.

The French giants signed the former Vitoria Setubal player for €15 million, the same price as the proposed deal with the Rossoneri.Another Milan target, Luis Fabiano, recently made similar statements, saying he was 'taken for a ride' by the Italian club, who at one point looked sure to sign him from Sevilla.

See the post Properly here

-Nathan133

Arsenal's Arsene Wenger Targets Obafemi Martins - Report

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is targeting another African star in the shape of Obafemi Martins, after Emmanuel Adebayor departed for Manchester City, according to The People.The Togolese forward left to join the revolution at City of Manchester Stadium on Saturday in a deal thought to be worth around £25 million.

It is now thought that the money raised by the Adebayor sale will be used to fund other Arsenal signings.The Gunners have been linked with a move for Newcastle United striker Martins for the last year, and it was reported that Wenger had made bids for the Nigerian.However, no such move has yet taken place, but the rumours still circulate.The latest speculation to hit the headlines is that the Gunners are willing to pay a cut price £7 million for the Nigeria international.The Magpies were relegated on the final day of last season, and this has led to much speculation about the futures of their top players.

Martins moving would allow a massive deduction from the wage bill at St. James' Park, and the club are reportedly eager to sell him to the Gunners.However, Wenger has stated that the club have ample resources to cover for Adebayor, and he will not rush into any transfer this summer.

See the Post here.

-Nathan133

TITLE FULFILS KHAN'S DREAM

Amir Khan fulfilled a lifelong dream by winning the WBA light-welterweight title on Saturday night before insisting this is just the start.

Just 10 months after suffering a shocking defeat by Breidis Prescott at the same MEN Arena venue in Manchester, the 22-year-old completed his redemption by comprehensively out-pointing Ukrainian champion Andreas Kotelnik in his first fight at the 140lb limit.

Now Khan, who is based in Los Angeles under renowned trainer Freddie Roach, wants to fight in

America for the first time and begin using his champion status to attract big fights and unify the titles.
Americans Timothy Bradley and Kendall Holt hold the WBC and WBO titles respectively, Colombian Juan Urango is IBF champion and Khan's gym-mate Manny Pacquiao is the unofficial undisputed light-welterweight champion.
In Khan's old lightweight division, Juan Manuel Marquez - whose super-fight with Floyd Mayweather is still in some doubt - is the recognised champion and willing to move up to light-welterweight.

After his impressive win over Kotelnik, Khan said: "It was a great fight, it was tough but I've won the world title and that's what I've wanted to do my whole life since I was eight.
"I've achieved my goal - at a new weight, too - and the WBA title is a good title.
"I'm going to have a few weeks off and then set new goals.

"We want to fight big names, fight in America. I thank (promoter) Frank Warren for getting this fight in Britain and now I think it is time to go to America and fight over there. Frank is a great promoter and he got me this fight.
"Next I want to be fighting the best out there. There are some big fights there and that's what we want to do."

Khan added: "When you are a world champion, fighters come to you. When you win a world title, you're no longer chasing others and the chasing is the hardest bit.
"Now I've won the title and proved myself, we'll get people knocking on our door saying they want to fight me.

"There are some big fights there in the future. I want to fight the likes of Marquez and those guys because I think my style will work against theirs. We'll give it a few weeks and see how we go."
Promoter Warren is happy to showcase Khan in the United States as part of his development into Britain's latest boxing superstar.

"We'll sit down and see," he said. "Obviously Amir wants to go to America and I don't think that will be a problem but it's something to talk about in the next couple of weeks.
"To all those people who last September (after the Prescott defeat) said it would never happen when I said he'd win a world title, well, he did it! I've always had confidence in Amir.
"He's going to go on and do bigger things, he is going to reign for a long time."]


Click here to bet on boxing with Sky Bet!
Click here for more boxing news

-Nathan133

Harry playing waiting game

Spurs boss may not spend this summer

Harry Redknapp insists he would have no qualms bringing no new faces to Tottenham this summer.

Redknapp is known for his ability to wheel and deal in the transfer market, but despite the transfer window opening over two weeks ago, Spurs' chequebook remains locked away.

The Spurs boss is open to bolstering his squad if the right quality becomes available but he says there are no deals on the horizon for the White Hart Lane outfit.

Redknapp splashed out on the likes of Jermain Defoe, Robbie Keane and Wilson Palacios in the winter transfer window and Spurs' manager would be happy going with what he has.

Football: Moyes rules out Lescott Sale

Everton boss David Moyes has reiterated Manchester City target Joleon Lescott is not for sale.

Lescott has been strongly linked with a move away from Goodison Park this summer with cash-rich City thought to be lining up a bid for the England international.
Speaking to shareholders at a fans' forum Moyes insists no one at Everton is for sale.
"I have already said there will be no players sold at Everton and I do not feel I need to say any more," said Moyes.

"The board have never sold a player from me, it will only be at my discretion.

"I said it at the end of the season and I do not need to say any more."

Everton chairman Bill Kenwright insists Moyes will make the final decision on any transfers.

"You heard what he [Moyes] said and he said it right at the start of the summer - 'none of my players are going' and I think all of this speculation doesn't do anyone any favours," Kenwright told Sky Sports News.
"David Moyes, and only David Moyes I promise you, will make the decisions on the playing staff at this football club.

"He said, and he means it, nobody is for sale."

-Nathan133

Football: Sunderland confirm Crouch Talks

Sunderland are wanting Portsmouth Striker Peter Crouch according to sunderland boss (new) Steve Bruce.

This talk has just been confirmed, so will Peter Crouch go??

Peter Crouch was at Liverpool and he was playing good BUT Fernando Torres came to the club so Crouch had to leave and then he went to portsmouth now will he go to the black cats`s squad? Without Peter Portsmouth Will be in trouble.

Just in:

Emmanual Adebayor has apparantly granted a new work permit! This means one thing:Adebayor is on his way from Arsenal.

Cricket:Flintoff news a HUGE! shock

After a lot of brilliant Cricket matches for England Flintoff will retire after the ashes has FINISHED!

Andrew Flintoff knows he has had too many injury problems to play - and not playing will have to cause him to retire. As usual, England Team were gutted to see the news. Even I`m sad and I`m not really into cricket that much. Flintoff will always be with England Cricket Team but without Flintoff actually playing England will have a struggle in the future. England need more experienced players in and it would be better if they could get some young ones lots of players are getting on.

-Nathan133

Davis Cup Update (Tennis)

Last year's Davis Cup finalists Argentina were dumped out by the Czech Republic in the quarter-finals after Radek Stepanek defeated Juan Monaco in the deciding rubber.
Stepanek, who was brought in for the final match in favour of Ivo Minar, dropped his serve in the ninth game of the first set but immediately broke back, won the ensuing tie-break and never looked back, winning 7-6 6-3 6-2.

He broke Monaco in the first game of the second set and cruised from there.
The Argentine had a chance to get back in the match after breaking for a 2-1 lead in the third, but immediately lost his serve and was then broken again to trail 4-2.

Stepanek converted his first match point when Monaco send a forehand volley wide.
"It's unbelievable," Stepanek said. "And this is not the end. We'll do all we can to get even further."

Christiano Ronaldo Is happy at Real Madrid

Christiano Ronaldo Is happy at Real Madrid now.

Picture - Christiano Ronaldo.

-Nathan133

Football - Rafa reveals Torres Offers

Rafa Benitez has revealed Liverpool have rejected a number of offers for Reds ace Fernando Torres.

The likes of Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United and Real Madrid have all been linked with a big-money move for Torres, while team-mates Xabi Alonso and Javier Mascherano have also been in demand this summer.

Benitez is not surprised his players are in demand, but he always knew Torres was happy to stay at Anfield.

Fernando Torres (pictured) Is in very good form and next season will hopefully be even better!

-Nathan133

Football - Bolton seal Robinson Deal

Bolton have confirmed the loan signing of West Brom defender Paul Robinson.

Bolton have been chasing him all summer and Megson has finally had his wish granted.

"I`m delighted we managed to get him" said Megson. The him meaning Robinson ofcourse.

-Nathan133

(Sorry about the SHORT post)

Nathan133`s Thoughts: First Ashes Test - DRAWN!

After a brilliant match it has been confirmed that the First 2009 Ashes Test has been DRAWN! I have just been watching the end of that cricket match and it was soo cool!

James Anderson and Monty Panesar SAVED England in this First Test. Australia made England having to bat the HARD way. It was a very entertaining match. At the end the commentators were more interested with the time.

Anderson:Heroic with bat

After Australia`s jaw-dropping 673 (along those lines) how could you guess England could pull it to a draw. Rickey Ponting did have a few words with the umpire at the end. At the end England deserved to make a draw.

-Nathan133

Premier League - Sunderland snap up Campbell

Fraizer Campbell has chosen Sunderland over Hull City after signing from Manchester United for what could rise to £6 million.

The 21-year-old agreed a four-year deal after he passed a medical at the Stadium of Light.
The initial fee will be £3.5m but add-ons could see United earn almost double that for their academy product.

He spent the 2007-08 season on loan at Hull, helping them win promotion to the Premier League, and was widely expected to rejoin them permanently before new Black Cats boss Steve Bruce made his move.

Campbell, an England U21 international who missed the European Championships final after being sent off in the semi, spent most of last season on loan at Tottenham where he helped the team reach the Carling Cup final.

The terms of his loan ruled him ineligible to face the Red Devils, who won on penalties.

-Nathan133

Ruby and the Ruby - Stage (CP)

Hey guys,

I made a video for the ruby and the ruby! its to slow!

to put videos on this blog is hard. It is incredibly slow at uploading! arghh..

This is just soooooo slow! I guess I have to do more writing.

The old ruby and the ruby play is exactly the same as this one accept for the back page of the script (director). There is the same Ruby pin, which I show you how to get in the video. I got every costume in the costume trunk for Ruby and the Ruby. Even the hidden "Noir" background!

Also When Music Jam starts (17th july) the Member penguins will get an all-access pass. I am NOW a member! Last year I was nonmember.

The video uploading is even slower than uploading a video on youtube!

-Nathan133

Davis Cup - Croatia dominate USA

Croatia took a commanding 2-0 lead in their Davis Cup quarter-final by winning two five-set marathons in Porec.

Ivo Karlovic put Croatia one up after coming back from two sets down to beat James Blake 6-7 4-6 6-3 7-6 7-5 after three hours and 38 minutes.
Croatia's number one Marin Cilic then prevailed 4-6 6-3 6-7(3) (6-1) 8-6 over a gallant Mardy Fish, who was brought into the US team to cover injured Wimbledon finalist Andy Roddick.
After narrowly winning the first set, 17th-ranked Blake broke Karlovic early in the second to rush to a two-set lead.

But the towering Croat clubbed three winners to break Blake in the second game of the third set, and closed it out as his serve and volleying came to the fore.
Karlovic took the fourth in a tie-break then broke his opponent in the 12th game of the final set to make sure of the result.

"I was a bit nervous at the start, playing before the home crowd, but I became more relaxed as the match went on, and I managed to turn it around. This is surely one of the biggest matches in my career," Karlovic said.
After losing the first set in a hail of unforced errors and poor serving, world number 15 Cilic broke Fish twice in the second to square the ledger.

After losing the third in a tie-break, Cilic appeared to have all the momentum going into the decider, steamrolling Fish 6-1 in the fourth, but the American dug deep, breaking back after surrendering his serve at 4-3 in the fifth.
Fish eventually capitulated in the 14th game, however, to put the hosts in the box seat ahead of the doubles on Saturday.

Croatia's Ivo Karlovic and Lovro Zovko are set to take on the world's number two pair Mike and Bob Bryan.

The United States, 32-times Davis Cup winners, have lost both of their previous encounters with Croatia.
"It's been two great matches, and two tough losses. Both Croatian guys played great and managed to come back, but hopefully we'll get the doubles tomorrow," US team captain Patrick McEnroe said.

-Nathan133