LongTimeLurker

One of the more interesting and almost certainly completely bogus conspiracy theories that I have heard from the Balkans over the years revolves around Madelaine Albright and Hashim Thaci of the KLA: The way I heard it the Kosovo delegation at the Rambouillet Conference coming from a very traditional and patriarchal culture mistook Madelaine Albright for a hotel staff member when she showed up at their room much to her annoyance. Realising that this could have very serious implications for the success of their mission Hashim Thaci sprang into action and went on to perform several extrordinary acts of patriotism on behalf of his would be breakaway republic that helped set the scene for NATO's subsequent bombing campaign against Serbia and pave the way for Kosovo's eventual independence declaration.

...surely (naebdie's being called Shirley) they won't go back to BoJo?

We are just supposed to forget the Budapest Memorandum apparently: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budapest_Memorandum

Surprised by how downbeat Russian TV is about their immediate prospects right now given the way Ukrainian advances seem to have slowed: Can confirm that Russians called Alexander get called Sash colloquially like this which always made me smile when I was in Russia

I see we lost to Ireland. Why is there no Northern Ireland team in this sport even though it's no doubt mainly played by Unionists from NI? Answers on a postcard to Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland, Schomberg House, 368 Cregagh Street, Belfast.

You keep stating that as an established fact, but is it genuinely more than just a rumour at this point? Proper elections held to international standards were part of the Minsk agreements where the so called LNR and DPR are concerned and never happened so I'm skeptical Zelensky would ever have agreed to that.

Taking out the dam would completely disrupt Crimea's water supply because the intake to the canal involved lies on the reservoir near Nova Kakhovka so the Russians are not likely to do this. The more mundane explanation is that they now expect to lose Kherson city in the days or weeks ahead and it will take time to carry out an orderly evacuation by ferry given the road and rail bridges are severely damaged. Anyone who has collaborated with the Russian puppet authorties and armed forces and/or has accepted a Russian passport is looking at lengthy jail time once the boys from Kyiv show up.

Not that I really give a toss but this popped up on my phone yesterday and I found it a wee bit surprising. Are Scotland now test cricket material or are the Windies not what they used to be?

The one detail that has been left out above is that if the club, HL, LL and SPFL don't agree on where Club 42 should be relegated to then the decision is made by the SFA board. The SFA board don't believe in fixed boundaries so elsewhere Threave Rovers from Castle Douglas were able to leave the SoS to join the WoS this season. Doubt we'll ever see Letham in the HL, but Tayport could easily happen at some point given they are already licensed. There's nothing stopping the Midlands League accepting members further south than that at some future point beyond the application of common sense as to what is actually sensible.

The mud season has arrived now judging by some recent clips.

Belgorod is a long way from Belarus close to Kharkiv so not sure that fits but maybe they fly through Russian airspace into Belarus and the Ukraine. I read somewhere last night that the reason they targeted Belgorod was an air defence system that had shot down two Ukrainian planes in recent days.

...especially if they are holding loaded machine guns at the time. That's Darwin Award territory. Son of a top general did it apparently.

Penicuik Athletic at home in the next round of the SCC:

https://spfl.co.uk/admin/filemanager/images/shares/pdfs/SPFL Rules and Regulations 24-Sep-22 (MASTER COPY) CLEAN.pdf (f) In the event that one of the SHFL Champion and the SLFL Champion in respect of any Season: (i) fails to comply with the Membership Criteria in circumstances where it is required to do so as the Candidate Club in terms of the SPFL Rules, and the SPFL Board has not granted any waiver, relaxation or period of grace in respect of that club’s requirement to comply with the Membership Criteria; or (ii) has not played at least fifteen (15) matches against the other clubs participating in their respective league during the relevant Season, there will , subject to rule III(k), be no Play-Off Tie in terms of rule III(a) and the Champion Club in the other of the SHFL or SLFL as applicable, will automatically go forward to the Pyramid Play-Off Tie at the end of the relevant Season in terms of rule III(b). Any team participating in the SHFL and/or in the SLFL, which is a ‘Guest’, ‘colt’, ‘B’ ‘second’, ‘reserve’ or like or equivalent team of a Club participating in the SPFL shall not, under any circumstances, be eligible to receive the title of SHFL Champion and/or SLFL Champion or any other title related to its position in either of said Leagues or qualify for or be eligible for participation in the Pyramid Play-Off Competition at the end of any such Season. In such circumstances, the next best placed club (which is not a ‘Guest’, ‘colt’, ‘B’ ‘second’, ‘reserve’ or like or equivalent team of an SPFL Club) shall be eligible to participate in the Play-Off Tie, subject to Rules III(f), (g) and (k).

Reports of 22 mobilised Russian soldiers dead in Belgorod after a dispute over religion at a shooting range:

Heeps gets to show what he can do:

Offensive in Kherson being talked up in a big way: But the Russians will probably be wondering whether they are being suckered in again with the real target being somewhere else.

Hopefully he gets captured quickly and winds up in The Hague over what happened to flight MH-17.

That's more of a Scottish obsession anyway rather than a UEFA one, who tend to be every bit as bothered about manifestations of political extremism where their regulations are concerned as they are about any religious angle. That leads to fines over stuff that usually wouldn't be viewed as such a big deal in a Scottish context: https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-soccer-champions-cel-idUKKCN11Z2G6 Sport September 29, 2016 7:06 PM Updated 6 years ago Celtic fined by UEFA over supporters' Palestinian flags By Reuters Staff 1 Min Read (Reuters) - Celtic have been fined 10,000 euros (£8,633.11) by Europe’s governing body UEFA over Palestinian flags displayed by fans during their Champions League match against Hapoel Beer Sheva last month...

Would it not make more sense to clear the other bank of the Dniepr starting from north of Melitopol and Tokmak where the Ukrainians are already on the other bank? There are plenty of intact bridges firmly under Ukrainian control in the cities of Zaporizhzhia and Dnipro. If the Ukrainians were able to advance down to the Sea of Azov from there all points further west under Russian occupation would have to be supplied over a less than fully functional Kerch bridge, which hopefully will become even less functional at some point in future.

Think we are being provided with a misleading narrative above: https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-soccer-europe-celtic-idUKTRE7BC0XE20111213 Sport December 13, 2011 3:26 PM Updated 11 years ago Celtic accept UEFA fine for fans' pro-IRA chants By Reuters Staff 1 Min Read (Reuters) - Celtic will not appeal against a fine imposed by UEFA for “illicit chanting” at last month’s Europa League match against Rennes in Glasgow, the Scottish League club said on Tuesday. UEFA’s control and disciplinary panel fined Celtic 15,000 euros (12,700 pounds) on Monday for pro-Irish Republican Army (IRA) chanting during the 3-1 win over the French side on November3....