No Rooney for Bolton

or Wednesday by the look of it. I hope Berbatov is in the right frame of mind for the game. It doesn't need stressing how desperate we are for Rooney to be fit for the trip to Anfield.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/manutd/6345233/Wayne-Rooney-ruled-out-of-Manchester-United-match-against-Bolton.html

Fergie embarrassed by private letter leak to Belgian starlet Steven Defour
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/manchester_united/article6877321.ece

United have plans to step up their scouting operation in Brazil, i'm not sure about this.
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/united-ready-to-step-up-scouting-in-brazil-1803528.html

A new extensive report savages New Labours record on education
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/generation-of-pupils-being-put-off-school-report-says-1803629.html
Completely agree with most of that, it has always struck me as typical new labour gimmick to use tests and spin the results as a substitute for any proper ideological analysis.

Johann Hari on the case for a proper comprehensive education system, which i totally agree with also
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/johann-hari/johann-hari-from-north-carolina-a-model-of-how-to-transform-education-1803563.html

Edmund Conway is not convinced by David Hare's new play on the credit crunch
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/finance/edmundconway/100001387/what-this-crisis-needs-is-a-the-wire/

Well at least one financial crook looks like getting his comeuppance
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article6873649.ece

Simon Jenkins on our political pygmies who have still done nothing to change the financial system that has sunk us into this recession and who still live the life of Reilly.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/oct/15/paying-price-myth-banks-fail

Tomothy Garton Ash compares the UK to the dying days of the Habsburgs
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/oct/14/constitutional-reform-parliament-electoral-system

An interesting article on a book about communism, looks like a fascinating book. I would go along with most of his thesis
http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/cultural-capital/2009/10/communism-state-communist

It looks like the business friends of the neo cons are just as much a piece of dirty work as the politicians, now there is a surprise.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/oct/15/defence-contractors-rape-claim-block

Remember you can believe everything you read in the tabloids, course you can.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/oct/14/starsuckers-tabloids-hoax-celebrities

Lampard on Rooney

He thinks he is England's main man on and off the pitch. He is definitely right as far as on the pitch goes, that is for sure.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/oct/13/frank-lampard-wayne-rooney-england

Alan Hansen is worried abot Ferdinand's form, not as worried as United fans are
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/international/england/6299457/Alan-Hansen-Fabio-Capello-needs-Rio-Ferdinand-to-find-his-form---and-fast.html

Henry Winter thinks we will miss Fergie when he is gone as he is set to make a second apology apparently.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/manutd/6309675/FA-should-listen-to-Sir-Alex-Ferguson.-He-may-have-a-point.html
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/manchester_united/article6871971.ece
I still think it wasn't the right thing to do.

Ibrahimovic attacks his old team Inter saying there weren't as many good players as there are at his new Catalan team. And goes on to say they didn't have players who could make the difference. Of course the comical thing to me is i would class him as one of those players who didn't make a difference when it came to the big European nights. I know Barca were desperate to get rid of Etoo but that was not a like for like swap in my eyes, Inter definitely got the better of the deal. Though Ibrahimovic got the better of it as a player, lucky man.
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/european/ibrahimovic-launches-attack-on-inter-milan-1801641.html

Steve Richards on the MP's expenses sequel
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/steve-richards/steve-richards-parliament-isnt-corrupt-just-mediocre-1801802.html
A fair enough article. What kills me though is how a paper owned by the kind of big business tax avoiding arseholes that gave us the credit crunch, switched the focus from their own kinds grubby shenanigans of the last three decades and poured all the manure onto our politicians. Who, lets have it right do deserve having le merde poured onto them from a great height, but for giving into the laissez faire agenda of the last three decades, rather than this.

Joseph Stiglitz on bankers, economics and inspiration.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2009/oct/11/borlaug-bankers-economic-theory-values

Stephen King thinks the US is playing with fire with their dollar policy
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/comment/stephen-king-us-policymakers-playing-with-fire-as-the-dollar-continues-to-tumble-1801431.html

Christopher Hitchens on what the credit crunch says about Karl Marx
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200904/hitchens-marx
I haven't read Das Capital but i have read the communist manifesto, and i have to say the best thing about that to me was the foreword by AJP Taylor, which was pretty amusing.

Peter Hook promting his new book on the Hacienda with Gordon Burns
http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/manchester/hi/people_and_places/newsid_8287000/8287584.stm

Music
Bowerbirds - Upper Air: There is a glut of folk pop, rock whatever you want to classify it as coming out of the states at the moment and add these to the list of class acts alongside Bon Iver and Fleet Foxes

Florence and the machine - Lung: I had read mixed reviews of this debut effort so i am glad to say i would side with positive reviews. Some great alternative pop tunes, a great voice and one cracking cover.

Richard Hell and the voidoids - Blank Generation: Supposedly one of New York punk's finest moment, embarrassingly i had never heard it. The description is spot on the money, some great short snappy rock tunes and some great sloppy rock guitar. I just love the guitar sound of Robert Quine on this album.

Terr Callier - The folk sound of Terry Callier: And now for something completely different as they say. Folk, jazz, soul and more this was a one of those unheard classsics from the 60's that passed most people by until the last decade. Great tunes a magnificent vocalist and a considerable guitarist.

The Panics - A house on a street in a town i'm from: The debut album from the Aussie indie outfit part made in Manchester from the 2003. It's got some good moments and reminds me of the Charlatans for some reasons. A bit like them they promisemore they actually deliver. It's a good album but a bit too long for the amount of good material. Take 3 or 4 songs off it and might be a lot better.

White Denim - Fits: The Texas band who had a fair amount of hype poured on them by the music press. And on this showing totally warranted, this a cracking album. This is the kind of rock that really gets me going nowadays. The punk spirit but played by people that can really play their instruments and so make a powerful music that takes the punk energy but with influences ranging from punk itself, blues, psychadelia and you name it could be in there, brilliant.

Radiohead - Harry Patch ( in memory of): Their tribute the last survivor from the great war who passed away recently. From the more experimental side of their ouevre, fitting and moving.

Rooney the stand out

According to Henry Winter, and for the 70 minutes i saw i can't argue, he was the main man.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/international/england/6292794/Ukraine-v-England-Wayne-Rooney-puts-his-heart-and-soul-into-the-cause.html

Rooney to try to qualify for his coaching badges as he plots a future in football after finishing as a player which we all hope is a long way off.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/manchester_united/article6869573.ece

Anfield not the happiest place to be in the premier league, i hope it's even more miserable after the 25th October. We want some pay back after the two dismal performances we put in against them last season especially that debacle down here.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/columnists/matt_dickinson/article6862436.ece

Though Ferdinand's dismal form is perhaps one reason not to be too optimistic. I am getting increasingly concerned we may have seen the best of him. Capello doesn't blame him for the defeat yesterday, but how many mistakes is that he has made this season for club and country that have led to goals against. Ashley Cole was no better but he isn't making a habit of it.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/international/england/6297514/England-manager-Fabio-Capello-insists-Rio-Ferdinand-is-not-to-blame-for-Ukraine-loss.html

As Obama laughingly gets the Nobel peace prize a story about the type of person who should be in for these awards but never get mentioned
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/europes-revolution-the-pastor-who-brought-down-the-berlin-wall-1799976.html
I suppose this was a political decision aimed at the neo cons rather than anything else. But that's pretty ludicrous, i don't think Cheney et al is going to lose any sleep over peace prizes.

Mick Hume argues that the Tories have changed but not for the better, they are just another bunch of accountants along with new labour. That may be the case but a whole article about the tories without mentioning Europe, they haven't changed that much.
http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php/site/article/7504/

David Blanchflower, the only member of the banks MPC to have accurately called the credit crunch lays into Cameron and Osbourne's approach to the economy
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/oct/09/cameron-osborne-recession-recovery-inflation

Will Hutton lays into the bigger vision
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/oct/11/will-hutton-david-cameron-conference

A profile of Robert Harris from yesterday's independent
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/interviews/robert-harris-a-writer-close-to-the-power-elite-1799682.html