KwAcKy's Konfessional |
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Nothing of interest; just mindless links to bikes Birmingham City Football Club and useless junk  
  
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26 October 2003
I've not paid much attention to my blog lately due to family and work so I've barely posted a thing about Iraq. I suppose that just reflects the publics attention span on this subject. Iraq has been conquered and is in the process of being divided up by fatcats who cheered on the military might of the US. The people of Iraq however are not taking this without a fight. The army may have been routed (according to US military and press) but there are plenty of firearms and plenty of people willing to use them. The above photo is from Ananova and shows the burning wreckage of an American Blackhawk helicopter, shot down by "ungrateful" locals. Only this morning six to eight rockets have struck a Baghdad hotel used by US military and civilians. A spokesman for US military command says there are an "unknown number of casualties" and a quick reaction force has been dispatched to the Al Rasheed Hotel. It is understood Deputy Secretary of Defence Paul Wolfowitz, who began a three-day tour of Iraq on Friday, narrowly escaped the attack. 10 lies about Iraq Meanwhile a British charity is claiming that billions of dollars appear to have gone missing. No surprises but the US denies this. Paul Bremer, head of the Coalition Provisional Authority, said all funds were being spent or transferred in a "completely transparent" way and that auditors' accounting of CPA expenditures from those funds would soon be posted on the internet and provided to an oversight board. Still believe this war had nothing to do with money? Meanwhile, further up the road, Jews and Gentiles continue to slughter one another. The UN has asked Isreal to tear down its controversial wall but no-one listens to the UN, do they? Even when peace workers are being shot up. Well, its quicker and cheaper than arresting and deporting them, isn't it? Back from Bolton Not the most attractive game if you're a fan of attacking football but 8 clean sheets in 10 games tells its own story. Once again Steve Bruce's men in Blue showed strength at the back. Cunningham is so good at is job he looks casual. Throughout the game he pushed the back line forward and the result was Bolton's only goal was ruled offside. That's not to say that Bolton didn't have a go, far from it. From the off, they set about is if their lives depended on a win and althought it's early in the season this is a team who knows about relegation battles. For me it was Matthew Upson who stood tall at the back. Not only was he reading the game better than usual but his balls out were almost always to a Blue shirt. And some great passes too. Clapham is under-rated and understated and rarely puts a boot wrong. Cisse snarled and prowled like a proverbial lion and made sure that the defence and midfield had support thoughout the game. Tebily did a great job but was replaced by Kenna when Bruce had a change around. Clemence came over to the right, which probably explained Kenna's appearance - his experience well placed in protecting a palyer out of postion. Dunn moved into the centre and showed all why he should play here more often. Dugarry went over to the left and did an excellent job in breaking down some of the Bolton attacks as well as keeping pressure on the home sides defence. My main Dugarry gripe was a lack of communication between him and Forssell with both often going for the same ball. Hughes and Morrison both made short appearances and both looked fairly sharp. Hughes did some fine work on the right which opened up their defence and Morrison made a couple of telling runs but in both instances the goalie or a defender snuffed it out at the last moment. Player Ratings Taylor - 8 - Assured Clapham - 7 - Reliable Cunningham - 8 - commanding Upson - 9 dominant Tebily - 7 - stalwart Lazaridis - 6 - quiet Clemence - 7 - involved Cisse - 8 - snarling Dunn - 8 - midfield engine Dugarry - 7 - polar Forsell - 7 - timely Kenna - 7 Hughes - 8 Morrison - 7 One Bolton player who should get a mention is the Greek player Stelios. He looks a good prospect; was involved in a lot of their play and didn't drop his head even when it became blody obvious that no one could penetrate our defence. Bolton Blues 7 Shots On Target 3 9 Shots Off Target 4 14 Fouls (Conceded) 16 7 Corners 3 1 Yellow Cards 2 0 Red Cards 0 23 October 2003
Well I’m Back! Turkey was great. The weather was spot on; in the high 80’s low 90’s but the sun wasn’t too strong. I’m not much of a sunbather anyway but it did mean that we didn’t have to worry too much about the little one, who seemed to enjoy her first holiday and dip in the sea. Photos to follow! Georgina wasn’t too bad flying out. It was a late flight and we had hoped she would sleep for most of the journey. However, best laid plans and all that meant that she stayed awake and maintained her usual appetite. We ran out of food which resulted in a few moments of noise but apart from that she was fine. On holiday she generally sat and people watched. Her hair went very light which seemed to create great interest amongst the locals. Talking of the locals, I watched the England game in a Turkish bar. Surrounded by mad Turks sporting painted faces, scarves, flags and shirts. These heathens (if you believe the gutter press) were savage enough to discuss the game, made sure I had a decent seat and took turns in complimenting me and Mrs Kwacky about our baby. Barbarians the lot of them! The Bike My bike is still at the dealers. The quote came in at just under £2k but nothing will happen until the muppet who hit my bike completes his accident form. I’ve told his insurance company that I’ll get the repairs carried out myself if they don’t’ get moving within 7 days then I’ll seek to recover the balance. Feckwits. He reversed into my stationary bike, what is there to discuss? Meanwhile I’m stuck with the loan Bandit 600. The brakes are shit but it’s got a loud horn! I still can’t get used to having no oooomph at low revs so some of my overtaking is a bit leery to say the least. Next year I intend to splash some cash on getting some track time tuition, probably with the European Motorbike School. Hopefully I’ll get in a few more track days. The NEC bikeshow is coming up. With a change in job I’ll be doing a lot more commuting so I’ll need to get the right kit. Looks like I’ll be joining the Belstaff Brigade! Footie I missed the Chelsea game (0-0) but was unfortunate to make it to the dourest local derby in decades. The less said the better. I’m off to Bolton on Saturday thanks to the efforts of Nasser (ticket) and IanT (train ticket). I’ll do my usual player ratings on Sunday, once I’ve sobered up! 10 October 2003
I'm off on holiday Yep, I'm going to Turkey. Not to watch the game but to spend sometime with the family before Sam goes back to work. I'm not a big fan of babies on planes but Sam assures me that the wee one will sleep once she's feed. We're staying with my Dad and step-mum at my Dad's holiday home. It's quite large (3 floors plus a basement) so we can hide away from them if we have enough. On the plus side my Dad knows the area and the locals and he's more than happy to babysit. My first priority will be finding a bar which will show the game. A bar I feel safe in. I've been to Turkey before but never had any trouble. I'm sure I'll be fine if they let me into the country. My holiday reading. Bored with "100 years of solitude" and extremely unimpressed with "The god of small things" I had to take a trip to Waterstones to get some books. Tempted to buy some books on ancient Greek mythology to get in some oh-so intellectual jibes at the Turks, I ended up in the History section. Taking me back to my youth I picked up "The Iliad". I think I enjoyed reading it when I was a lad, but I'm not sure. Next up is "The Templars". All about, and I quote, "the dramatic history of the knights templar, the most powerful military order of the crusades". I'm sure that'll impress the locals, the front picture depicts the naughty knights stewing up some moors. I also found a battered copy of "The Soldiers Return" in the bargain bin near the till, so I nabbed that as well. My bike is still at the dealers after some muppet reversed into it. Luckily I caught the culprit who is looking down the barrel of a £2000 repair bill. Serves the daft fucker right. See you in a weeks time. |
