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You've been discussing taxes in the previous page, which is only part of how companies, and the rich, avoid cost. The largest company both pay little to no taxes, especially local taxes, and the worst offenders do not really pay the cost of their business. Oil companies are notorious in that as they will get bailed out on oil spills. They are free market capitalists when the business is lucrative, but are socialists when it is not. Couldn't agree more. Israel represents western values; women and men are more equal (women even join the military for ex). The geopolitical aspect of the conflict is very important for the US. There is no justification for the Hamas' attack on civilians, so any high ground they may have enjoyed, as underdogs, goes down the drain after that for me. The very long history of that land makes the whole thing even more complicated. Social media has a bias towards the underdog and simple strong arguments; complex nuanced ideas are not liked by the algorithms.

There are coaches who believe that while foot preference plays a part, it’s more about where the CB is used to play. That switching sides for a CB is usually tricky regardless of foot preference, for example. of course it’s far more common to see right footed CBs playing on the left than the other way around… for obvious reasons.

Must have been living under a rock buddy. 🤷‍♂️ Sanchez was called unanimously a bad signing over here and tbf he was a 3rd goalie at Brighton at some point, so not really surprising any way you look at it. Don't think anyone here is expecting him to turn in Cech anytime soon. Think most of us had a slight hope Fillip would've been playing improving enough to become decent/good at some point.

Cute to see Brighton going toe to toe against this Chelsea side at SB. They will learn in time that this side now has way too much quality for that. The cam angle was bad, but I did not see a penalty against Sancho. It looked like a really weird call and I wonder that perhaps VAR also did not have a good angle to dispute the call. Yes, Sanchez was poor once again as was the D, but that’s expected… early days. We may be missing players there too, but how much we will find out this season. Jackson was good! that selfless assist to Palmer alone was enough for me. He should’ve done better on that pass from Neto in the second, but it happens. Enzo had a very good game! Prob his first strong game this season. Or maybe folks simply don’t value thru balls like I do eh. wasnt crazy about madueke today tho. He as a bit selfish and did not work hard enough in D. Palmer does look like a generational talent right there. I honestly think that his skillset is of the type of player that gets you CL, but yeah too soon. 😅

The movie The Apprentice apparently focus on how Trump first learned how to win in politics: Lawyer Roy Cohn’s 3 rules: Attack attack attack Admit nothing, deny everything Always claim victory Sounds familiar.

May require signing up to access The Dangers of Donald Trump, From Those Who Know Him https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/09/26/opinion/donald-trump-personality-history.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Nk4.9Siq.wd5q8xfycurJ&smid=url-share “He will always put his own interests and gratifying his own ego ahead of everything else, including the country’s interest. There’s no question about it.” Bill Barr “He was extremely vulnerable to manipulation. And that became a problem for him as a president. And what I mean by that is, he had a very fragile ego, and he was very susceptible to flattery, as well as taking massive offense, as we all saw, to any kind of criticism.”Fiona Hill “I believe anyone that puts themselves over the Constitution should never be president of the United States and anyone who asks someone else to put them over the Constitution should never be president of the United States again.” Mike Pence “There is nothing ‘conservative’ about Donald Trump. Conservatives believe in the Constitution, not a ‘man’s’ ego.” Adam Kizinger there are SO many other quotes in the article... many come from conservative republicans.

I'd be forced to entertain the possibility that he is indeed "the chosen one" for about 300 microseconds if he gets elected again; I mean I'd have to rationalize how this person had that much support somehow...

Glad I don't qualify then. 😅 I guess my sample is biased given that it came mostly from Israelis who left Israel, but they were true atheist; as in they'd never utter the word "chosen." All believers believe they are the chosen ones... it's a key part of the sales pitch. It's also surprisingly effective when justifying the murder of "infidels." "god give me strength, so that I don't turn to religion when facing death."

Yes, hence the nuanced part; I think Ukraine position is a hell less nuanced. Reckon that perhaps if Palestine leaders were a bit less like religious zealots, perhaps there would be other ways to fight back. I know... the same can be said about the other side, and they currently do have a pretty bad leader, but thankfully that can still? (he was trying to prevent that) be changed via democratic ways. You are the one who used "should" while my point was "does" in the "the strong should just dominate" bit. What I want, or "agree with" is far less important than the realities of the world both past and today. Ignore human nature at your own peril.

"our president and VP" 😆 I think every discussion about Trump should begin and end at, "did he concede the last election where he was soundly beaten?"

It does sounds like you do justify the attack on Israel (which started this particular escalation) when you suggested that's the only way they can fight back. Regarding oppression, while I do agree they are oppressed people, I don't think Israel and the west are alone in that. Their own leaders, esp via their religion, do a lot of the oppressing. Consider someone, actually a large population now, who is *born* in Israel; now "the before," how Israel came to exist, is in the history books, but it is not part of their lifetimes. Now a bunch of crazy fucks (from their PoV) keep making their lives miserable with constant bomb threats and whatnot; once in a while even crazier fucks come and kill and rape a bunch of their friends, sister, families. So, how Israel came to be is irrelevant to this person. The dominance is the real world, just like international laws are ignored in war. Does Putin care about international law? it does not look like he does to me.

You justify acts of terrorism, but they are still that: acts of terrorism. Yes, you can also claim Israel attacks are acts of terrorism, and I justified them the same way you did. I get the nuanced part, which is exactly the reason I disagree with every one-sided view of this conflict. There is no longer a *before* when you are talking about decades of conflict. There is always an attack, justified or not, by a Palestinian group and then an Israeli response, which is justified or not. Every area in the world is dominated by the powers which dominate that region; that dominance is done in a number of ways, and if nothing else works, force can and will be used. "Sorry which 'fabled world order' is that ?" Citing UN and international law esp in the context of conflicts and war. People are typically not very civil when murdering each other.

It's a VERY long and complicated conflict. I just disagreed with your analogy with Ukraine response. You just wrote that Palestinian groups do commit acts of terrorism (or alluded to), but justified them by suggesting that that's the only way they can fight back. So, now we can apply the same logic for Israel as the only way they can "fight back" given that they were attacked first, regardless whether you feel that attack was justified or not. You keep referring to this fabled world order that I simply do not see.

That's because they are, terrorists. Textbook definition of a terrorist is one who targets civilians and without warning. Your argument, that suggests that Palestinians got no other way to fight back, also applies to Israel when they attack areas where civilians may also get hurt. This will only end with either a nuclear strike or a two-state solution, so I think I know what my preference is.

You are right; Trump is a transactional character... he has no ideology. Once registered democrat, not the leader of the Republican Party. It makes no difference who backs him as long as someone does. You are not wrong, but it's irrelevant. Trump is not far-right, but that does not matter nor is it the issue with Trump; MAGA and many of his strongest supporters are absolutely as far-right as it gets though. Suffice to listen to his own VP talk about reproductive rights, or the judges Trump appointed to the Supreme Court (all very right-leaning judges) after all they reversed Roe v. Wade for his religious base (a very unpopular position that may cost him the election). Trump famously once said, "very fine people on both sides" with one side being the neo-Nazis. There are very stupid things that bother me about the far-left, but I never ever hear Democratic leaders talk about them much less actually act on them. Biden did not do it, and Kamala looks even more right-leaning than Biden (gun owner, former Prosecutor). They are all law-abiding people, while Trump isn't... and that is precisely how he's different. Do you know there are a many republicans who do not support Trump and MAGA? the most vocal group is https://lincolnproject.us but they aren't the only ones. It's not because he's far-right, but because they think Trump is a dangerous person who will do pretty bad things like he did in his last month as president. There are SO MANY unprecedented things about Donald Trump that is actually funny to hear the notion he's just like a regular politician we disagree with. As President, Trump surrounded himself with yes-men, not to mention his own family and friends (unprecedented nepotism). That's not an opinion, but what happened. I really like to stick with facts as much a possible. I expect him to do more of the same, but now vowing retribution--he won't accomplish that surrounding himself with career politicians. He already said that he admires Putin because he answers to no-one. He already got some of that power from his Supreme Court (immunity ruling), and he will get a lot more if elected. We seem to be going in circles here. Either you know and care about some of the shit he pulled off and is facing prosecution for, like find 11,780 votes or perhaps you never bothered to really learn about what he did as president; how he operated and who he surrounded himself with. Perhaps you just don't care that much, but then again, you roam this area a lot for someone "who does not care." The third option goes into right and wrong, so I rather presume we are on the same page there.

Yes, I'm aware and I was one of the few people going on and on about the lack of *quality* of our wingers last season. There is a reason the most expensive players on earth are attacking players. There is a reason you will find a lot of these "most expensive players on earth" in the attack of top 4 PL sides. Also, a quick point about injuries: there is injuries which happen, and some issue which is not reported by the club for a reason. Not even going to mention Lavia, but take Carney for a second here: it seems to me that the club may think he lacks in some physical aspect which perhaps makes him vulnerable to injuries.

Yes, depth of the squad is night and day from last season. I'm still quite surprised that folks don't realize how thin the squad was last season and how much different it is today. You could see that very clearly in cup games last season. Now, I'm not sure we will get the same favorable conditions in the final rounds once again like we did against pool and city, but I'd be expecting a win if we do.

Maybe, but just to show that the level of the opposition is determinant esp when it's a wide gap like this. We are pretty similar to Man City in comparing for example... even if we'd likely lose a lot more than win against them. The level of opposition today is as bad as it gets; don't read too much into it.

Friendly reminder that KDH was a pretty effective Champioship mid, and Barrow is nowhere near that level. Good performances from all players are to be expected -- average/decent performances would be worrying IMO.

Send him to the Brasileirao -- they play "flag football" there, so would fit right in.

That'd be way too much money to become a serial loser like Dortmund. 😅 I'm not that worried about the striker position; Jackson is a good player and Nkunku remaining fit would give us options. Once we qualify for CL again, then we can reassess as we'd need more depth in certain positions anyway. The D still looks a bit wobbly, esp Fofana, but I like Colwill I think he has a lot of potential. Honestly, if Enzo can improve his game we'd have very few weaknesses as a team. I think Enzo does deliver good performances, but frankly I expect more from him. It's nice to see how compact the team tries to be. That's benefitting everyone perhaps excepting Madueke with his directness (kinda unsurprising tbh). I am of the opinion that any team who relies on Mudryk as a winger does not deserve a top4 spot, and the fact he hasn't played much this season is very reassuring.

That 500m prob before losing both his knees (worth watching the yt video on that as well):

Really odd game by WHU. I know Jackson is very pacey, prob the fastest striker in the PL, but that first goal was embarrassing... 3+ WHU players jogging back lazily while Jackson is in a full sprint... it was hilarious unless you are a ham's fan or their manager. With that said, the second goal was class; great ball by Caicedo and an even better "outside of the foot" finish by Jackson. That finish says one thing to me: confidence. Contrary to most here I thought Enzo did well. Cuccu moving inside worked well once against giving solidity to the center midfield. It's all adjustment from here and you can see how compact the team tries to be. The 3-player passing from the back is still very erratic, but it's actually good to see the manager isn't forcing this. The one thing I wasn't crazy about was Fofana. He miscontrolled the football a few times and did grab WH player which looked like a penalty to me. I understand the argument that the hold wasn't enough to bring the player to the ground, but wasn't it enough to prevent the player from reaching the football? I wasn't crazy about the theatrics there, but the player was held which prevented him from continuing the play.

Has been injured since he left the pitch in that one game he played. It's a hammy issue, but apparently finally approaching return. This match may be too soon tho.

Caicedo had an excellent game against a very poor WHU (us vs them too soon to tell), but I thought Enzo was also good. Cuccu movement behind them worked last season and seems to be working once again. The trick is to make the midfield look like a five-people midfield without having 5 CMs in there. When I started watching football, teams routinely employed 4 CMs. 2 holding + 2 in more advanced positions with lots of variations of course. That's no longer the case because it's no longer necessary given the intensity and movement from all players. Teams do not end up with fewer players in that area though... quite the opposite esp the better sides. WHU match was very weird like a training session. I think we played well, but WHU did not show that day.