EtoileSportiveDeDerby

Only one possible outcome. 10 point deduction for Derby. 

Agree, can't understand  why he thinks that. This season has been the best for fans for quite a few years, he has brought all the players and fans together and that takes some doing in the mess we are in. The longer we can keep him the better.

If he can achieve this with his hands tied behind his back, imagine what he could accomplish when given a fair crack of the whip. 
It was a joy to watch today. 

I think this is a very interesting way to look at what is happening with regards to the control of the narrative. Clearly @BaaLocks you are hearing from a side that we aren't hearing. But I'm not saying that the narrative we are hearing is factual either. Where's the truth? My personal opinion is it's probably nearer the pro Ukraine version than the narrative being spun by a leader who does not tolerate opposing views.
It sounds like there's an attempt to find an exit that Putin can call a victory. The mighty Russian war machine has been found wanting so far. 
Honestly I think he's finished, it's just a matter of time. 

News from the rest of the world as I'm hearing it.
More innocent men women and children are being killed by the Russian army
Putin is a evil dictator who doesn’t care about anyone else 
Almost 1.5 million people have been forced to leave behind everything they ever had
Russia controls and censors its media to stop the truth being told to its own people 
Putin says his neighbours need not worry despite invading one
  Not for discussion it is what it is. 
 

Good.

Bit of an update, just telling it as I am hearing it.
News in Russia is that they have no intent of taking Ukraine. The invasion is based around the point that Ukraine broke the Minsk agreement (the one where Ukraine agreed not to apply for NATO / EU membership) and have been compiling military stations in the past eight years. What Russia wants now is to take out those installations, reclaim Donetsk and Lugansk and show Ukraine what happens if they renege on agreements. What Putin wants to do is show what happens if you break agreements, then withdraw. There is nobody, repeat nobody, in Russia saying they have any interest in keeping Ukraine (yes, I know, two weeks ago they were saying they wouldn't invade - but it's hardly the 'rebuilding the Soviet Union / mad Hitler' style rant many would like to think is in place). And then, if they misbehave again (their words) he will come back and do the same again Most of the Russian troops sent in during the first wave are not the 'real' military. Best parallel is that they are the equivalent of Territorial Army. The convoy is waiting further instruction, Russia has been planning this for months - no way has it run out of fuel. Conspiracy theory is that Putin has done this to tank the Russian market. Apparently they are buying up all the shares in BP and western companies who are exiting Russia at rock bottom prices. There's always a winner eh! Mariupol has been targeted as it is the home if Idar / Azov battalion. Nope, don't expect you to have, but remember the story of the Russian citizens being rounded up in the county hall and burned alive in 2014? Well, that was led by the battalion based out of Mariupol, and Putin says repeatedly he is coming after them - to the named person. The post earlier about Kadyrov, the Chechen leader, is true. In Russia they refer to them as 'orcs' - they will fight to the extreme for whoever leads them and at this moment in history they are led by Putin (yup, strange eh, I can't keep up either) Remember, in the Minsk agreement signed in 2014 by all parties Ukraine agreed to being a demilitarised zone and not applying for membership of NATO. Putin believes that one, maybe both, of those terms have been closed. There might not be queues at ATMs as many suggest, but they are queuing up at Ikea before it closes to buy up their flat pack furniture. Dollars are quite hard to find at the moment (point about ten pages back that US currency will benefit from this). You don't know where she lives so I will just say it anyway, but my mother in law has $10k stashed under her mattress for a rainy day. As do most Russians, they remember the 1990s. Final point, story is that Putin dropped out of the public eye in 2019 because he had bowel cancer (I personally think he went for a face lift) and the time along, C-19 and other points is what has sent him acutely paranoid. It's the logic behind all the long tables, apparently if you shake his hand now (weeks prior to this) you need to self isolate to prove you are not carrying anything. Yes, as I have said elsewhere, he is certainly not quite the level leader he might have been (he was, no debate - you might not like the definition of level but we can agree it was level) for the first two decades or so. Couple of other points of interest
As of tonight, Apple Pay still works in Russia. I won't go baiting the biggest Apple fan on the forum over that point but it is. The blocking of international flights is a major issue for airlines. As we all know, airlines don't buy planes, they lease them. Well, once the block was put in place there are still a load of planes stuck in Russia for AirFrance, Lufthansa, BA. Russians are saying they have no responsibility for them and the plane makers (Boeing, Airbus) want to know when they are getting their planes back. And if you think we are better at all of this - oops, bit of politics coming up - just have a look at Carol Cadwallader's Twitter feed tonight. Some might call it BSC (bat and crazy, you've got the other word) but she is posting statements she made under oath in her counrt battle with Aaron Banks showing how Gavin Williamson was the link to the Russian funding that drove Brexit - no, I'm not opening that one up here but I am just saying this has potential to explode a lot closer to home than we might realise. And if you want a clue, VfB the Russian bank has been frozen in all other countries. In the UK they have been given 30 days to exit. Sorry, I almost forgot to mention, the head of VfB in the UK is a Tory party donor. But, anyway, that's for another day. Ah, sorry, that's Sir Gavin Williamson - I do apolgise. Not for discussion, just for your persual. It is what it is.

Many good points and very well put and i appreciate the time taken to respond.
This being said in trying to provide a balanced view, it also feels like your explanations or alternative views could miss the point.
Syria, Putin sided with a man happy to use chemical weapons on his own people. Oh, and provided said weapons.
Skripals, there was enough to kill half of the town.
Putin not a nutter? How about if i qualify it further, an evil nutter?
Everytime i see pictures on TV of those women and kids who are fleeing the war i keep thinking how is this happening in 2022 in Europe

My mother in law, god rest her soul, was born in Persia, now Iran, after her family was driven from her home in Poland.
Her mother miscarried in Russia, while escaping the Nazi's, and to get her out of her grief a Russian doctor recommended getting pregnant asap, then told the family to keep marching as they weren't welcome there, hence she was born in Tehran.
From Persia, they ended up in a refugee camp in Kenya, then another one on the outskirts of Stoke-on-Trent! 
From there, the Mother in Law moved to Nottingham, qualified as a teacher then spent 42 years at the same school, only going back to Poland for a few days once retired.
None of which is relevant I know, but her daughter (my wife), is almost glad she's not here to see what's happening now.
 
 

On Saturday I'm dropping off a car full of supplies to the local Ukrainian centre.
From there, a local Polish owned firm is picking up the gear and delivering it to those who've fled to Poland to shelter, all completely voluntarily. 
Most people, in most countries, and I include Russia in that, are fundamentally decent, not fundamentalists.

I'm not going to say it doesn't happen, but the Polish people's response to the Ukraine refugee crisis has been overwhelmingly accepting. Obviously there will be racist elements in any country - if we had half a million immigrants come here do you think there might be some violence from the far right? - but the Polish people have been welcoming and supportive of the Ukrainians coming to the country. Food, clothing, medicines, medical support, accommodation - all is being given with best intentions. My wife was travelling this week and saw a young Ukrainian man on the plane, nervously looking at his phone. When the stewards realised he was Ukrainian, heading back to his home country to fight, the staff all found what they could to give him to help. This sounds like the reaction of millions of ordinary people across the country. 

@sage - time for a poll? :-)

Here,,,, that’s my job??‍♂️

Good point and well made.
The thing about Putin trying to prevent NATO, EU going east etc...restoring what was once theirs etc...is all the other "misdeanours"
What has he got to say about flattening Aleppo in Syria and  Chechnya, providing nerve gases to Syrian regime  or closer to home, poisoning Litvinnenko with Polonium in the capital or potentially killing many in Salisbury when his minnions visited the "famous cathredral" with a bottle of Novichok in their pockets. the list goes on...
Those 2 geezers were planted there and just smirked, literally taking the pish in front of the camera.
Vlad does not care one bit, proper nutter.

Good point and well made.
The thing about Putin trying to prevent NATO, EU going east etc...restoring what was once theirs etc...is all the other "misdeanours"
What has he got to say about flattening Aleppo in Syria and  Chechnya, providing nerve gases to Syrian regime  or closer to home, poisoning Litvinnenko with Polonium in the capital or potentially killing many in Salisbury when his minnions visited the "famous cathredral" with a bottle of Novichok in their pockets. the list goes on...
Those 2 geezers were planted there and just smirked, literally taking the pish in front of the camera.
Vlad does not care one bit, proper nutter.

yesterday's news ? - do keep up at the back ?

“Tell them they’ll be pleasantly surprised how quickly things will move now” 
“Now tell them the preferred bidder will be announced within 10 days” 
 

Had to go and have a look at the car and it does look impressive but not a patch on the team's principal barnet!
 

 

Apparently Gene Haas has promised Gunther that he'll keep it afloat this season. The car is better this season, not reliable at the first test but not seemingly an abjectly bad car when it was running.
I quite like the Haas team, although the rich energy adventure has seriously screwed them, and now wider circumstances are piling on them.
It's an opportunity to get another sponsor/pay driver as long as they move quick.
I think Andretti will buy the team off Haas - it's a whole lot easier then him setting up a new team.

Interesting stuff trending on French media/tinternet. Interview of the then prime minister in 2018 (Edouard Philippe) when asked a Q he replied perhaps in 5 years time i will be asked about not spending more on medical research and a virus has appeared no one knows about or our defence budget when Russia has invaded Poland.
He might have got the country wrong (for the time being i guess) but his crystal ball is pretty impressive!

Wouldn't threaten the existence of Haas though? not that i am bothered about the team itself but more the fact that I want to see a grid with lots of cars (good ones preferably...)

The general consensus seems to be that Putin has an estimated net worth of c. $200 billion. Even if the exact figure can be disputed, he certainly appears to be a multi-billionaire. Not bad for a former KGB officer who doesn't enrich himself.

Correct. He also poisons some.