The People's Republic wishes its readers a happy and holy Christmas. May you enjoy the festive period with your family and friends.
Showing posts with label Admin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Admin. Show all posts
Friday, December 25, 2009
Merry Christmas One and All
The People's Republic wishes its readers a happy and holy Christmas. May you enjoy the festive period with your family and friends.
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Sie können die Deutschen nicht durchstreichen
Apologies for the lack of updates around here recently. It seems the Promroiship took quite a lot out of me, and combined with Euro 2008 and Twenty20 zonal games which have been taking up a lot of my time, blogging has been on a bit of a back-burner lately.
It was a great weekend of sport last week with Amir Khan fighting in Brum for the first time as a result of pressure from his fans. The fight was one of the most exciting I have ever seen, almost straight out of a Rocky movie, and I felt Khan displayed flashes of brilliance although it was evident that he still has a lot of work to do on his defence. The day before saw Warwickshire beat Worcestershire for the first time in the six years of the Twenty20 competition. The Bears were unbeaten until this Friday, when they lost to a half-decent Northamptonshire team. With the Twenty20 Champions League around the corner, I am just wondering whether the Bears are taking the competition seriously now. They have to be a decent bet to win it outright, but I have said that before.
The jammy Germans. As the BBC commentary-by-cliche team would say, you can never rule them out. Well you can, and I did; and now they are in the final. To be fair I suspected they might make an appearance on June 29th due to the fact they were in the easy half of the draw. Far from being a decent team that has undereachieved since winning Euro 1996 (as the Beeb would have it, although they soon changed their story after their defeat by Croatia), Germany have actually been a very weak team for the last 12 years, going out in the first round of the last two European Championships and going out in the quarter-finals of 1998 to an even better Croatian team than currently plies its trade. They were very lucky to get to the final in 2002, qualifying from a group including Ireland, Cameroon and Saudi Arabia (who they beat 8-0), and beating the might of Paraguay, USA and South Korea before losing 2-0 in the final to the only decent team they played - Brazil (to think we started in the Group of Death with Argentina, Sweden and Nigeria and met Brazil in the quarter final...grrr!). Two years ago, after some very low expectations from the home fans, they made the semi-final before crashing 2-0 to the Italians in extra-time; but competitions on home soil are the exception to the rule (which is the reason we have a World Cup to our name). This year, apart form a great performance against the Portuguese, they have again been pretty average. Despite all the pre-tournament hype, this is the same team that took over from the likes of Moller, Haessler, Sammer, Effenberg, Bierhoff, Kilinsmann and Voller, but had very little chance of emulating their success, except now they are a lot older and I see very little coming through to replace them. However, that is no excuse for them to be underdogs tonight, given that the Spanish have also had a relatively easy route to the draw, with the Russians in their two games not coming close to the performance of the tournament against the Dutch in the quarter-finals, and a win on penalties against an Italian team who are still recovering from their World Cup win two years ago. It would be great to see the Spanish win Euro 2008 (although it would hammer home just how poor England's record is amongst the big European nations, with only one major final in our history), but they have yet to display they have the mentality to do it. Something the Germans do not have a problem with.
One of those quirks of fate that satisfies me for reasons I simply cannot fathom; on the day the Germans played Poland in a competition held in Switzerland and Austria, Robert Kubica, a Pole, won the Canadian Grand Prix in a German car (BMW) which used to be Swiss-owned (Sauber). Apart from the fact that Austria and Canada spoil the symmetry of this, I am sure there is some hidden meaning in this. Or maybe a United double, a Blues relegation and a potential German victory in Euro 2008 after England failed to qualify have finally taken a mental toll.
Worst season ever.
(Headline courtesy of Babelfish)
It was a great weekend of sport last week with Amir Khan fighting in Brum for the first time as a result of pressure from his fans. The fight was one of the most exciting I have ever seen, almost straight out of a Rocky movie, and I felt Khan displayed flashes of brilliance although it was evident that he still has a lot of work to do on his defence. The day before saw Warwickshire beat Worcestershire for the first time in the six years of the Twenty20 competition. The Bears were unbeaten until this Friday, when they lost to a half-decent Northamptonshire team. With the Twenty20 Champions League around the corner, I am just wondering whether the Bears are taking the competition seriously now. They have to be a decent bet to win it outright, but I have said that before.
The jammy Germans. As the BBC commentary-by-cliche team would say, you can never rule them out. Well you can, and I did; and now they are in the final. To be fair I suspected they might make an appearance on June 29th due to the fact they were in the easy half of the draw. Far from being a decent team that has undereachieved since winning Euro 1996 (as the Beeb would have it, although they soon changed their story after their defeat by Croatia), Germany have actually been a very weak team for the last 12 years, going out in the first round of the last two European Championships and going out in the quarter-finals of 1998 to an even better Croatian team than currently plies its trade. They were very lucky to get to the final in 2002, qualifying from a group including Ireland, Cameroon and Saudi Arabia (who they beat 8-0), and beating the might of Paraguay, USA and South Korea before losing 2-0 in the final to the only decent team they played - Brazil (to think we started in the Group of Death with Argentina, Sweden and Nigeria and met Brazil in the quarter final...grrr!). Two years ago, after some very low expectations from the home fans, they made the semi-final before crashing 2-0 to the Italians in extra-time; but competitions on home soil are the exception to the rule (which is the reason we have a World Cup to our name). This year, apart form a great performance against the Portuguese, they have again been pretty average. Despite all the pre-tournament hype, this is the same team that took over from the likes of Moller, Haessler, Sammer, Effenberg, Bierhoff, Kilinsmann and Voller, but had very little chance of emulating their success, except now they are a lot older and I see very little coming through to replace them. However, that is no excuse for them to be underdogs tonight, given that the Spanish have also had a relatively easy route to the draw, with the Russians in their two games not coming close to the performance of the tournament against the Dutch in the quarter-finals, and a win on penalties against an Italian team who are still recovering from their World Cup win two years ago. It would be great to see the Spanish win Euro 2008 (although it would hammer home just how poor England's record is amongst the big European nations, with only one major final in our history), but they have yet to display they have the mentality to do it. Something the Germans do not have a problem with.
One of those quirks of fate that satisfies me for reasons I simply cannot fathom; on the day the Germans played Poland in a competition held in Switzerland and Austria, Robert Kubica, a Pole, won the Canadian Grand Prix in a German car (BMW) which used to be Swiss-owned (Sauber). Apart from the fact that Austria and Canada spoil the symmetry of this, I am sure there is some hidden meaning in this. Or maybe a United double, a Blues relegation and a potential German victory in Euro 2008 after England failed to qualify have finally taken a mental toll.
Worst season ever.
(Headline courtesy of Babelfish)
Monday, April 07, 2008
Downtime
Typical. Had a week off and planned some daily blogging on a variety of interesting topics when my computer decides it has had enough. Luckily, I had already bought a new one. Unfortunately, it runs on Windows Vista which is incompatible with my existing modem. After trying unsuccessfully to find a compatible modem at PC World, I have decided to upgrade to wireless which I can get free if I upgrade my current internet package (it is actually faster and cheaper than the package I am on!). Unfortunately, it will take ten to fourteen days to arrive, which means blogging will be very light for the next couple of weeks, probably limited to updating the Promroiship table. The weekend's results will appear over the next couple of days.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
World Stunned as Death Defeated
"Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated"
Mark Twain Jesus Christ
Unlike the reports of His Resurrection.
Happy Easter!
Unlike the reports of His Resurrection.
Happy Easter!
Saturday, March 01, 2008
New Labour, New Template
Following Hercules at the end of January, I have decided it is time for a bit of a change in the People's Republic and have therefore changed my template following complaints back in November when I joined Blogpower that 'No 897' was difficult to read (yes, planning permission in the People's Republic is as bureaucratic as the old country). 'No.897', which recently has not been showing the banner properly, was originally chosen because I felt it best represented freedom, mainly due to the star in the header. It was also the template of the Cornish Democrat when he applied to Blogpower, but where the wheels of bureaucracy move slightly quicker than the People's Republic (he changed it within a week of joining).
What do you think of the new template? Please leave a comment below and/ or vote in the sidebar. I am looking to make further changes to the layout so any advice would be greatly appreciated.
What do you think of the new template? Please leave a comment below and/ or vote in the sidebar. I am looking to make further changes to the layout so any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Happy Christmas!
The People's Republic would like to wish all its readers a happy Christmas in true West Midlands style:
IT'S CHRIIIIIIISSSSSTTTMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSS!!!!!!
We shall never get sick of that.
IT'S CHRIIIIIIISSSSSTTTMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSS!!!!!!
We shall never get sick of that.
Monday, September 10, 2007
Lend Me Your Years
Can you believe it. Due to Bill Clinton and Oprah, Kiva has run out of businesses to invest in. What sort of world do we live in when we cannot lend to the poor without interest?
The founder of the People's Republic celebrated the passing of another year on Friday. One is feeling rather old.
The good news is he no longer has to spend time in exile in West Bromwich to earn the taxes he is forced to pay to Her Majesty and her government, who do not recognise his independence. A new job has been obtained in the former spiritual and physical home of the People's Republic. I won't mention the organization I work for, as I suspect JRD168 would not be impressed. Maybe more on that later.
While I assimilate to my new job (as part of a foundation which lets just say I failed to get into when I was a bit younger), I am temporarily taking a break from both writing and reading blogs. Hopefully soon I will be back, bigger, better, angrier and more Brummie than ever.
The founder of the People's Republic celebrated the passing of another year on Friday. One is feeling rather old.
The good news is he no longer has to spend time in exile in West Bromwich to earn the taxes he is forced to pay to Her Majesty and her government, who do not recognise his independence. A new job has been obtained in the former spiritual and physical home of the People's Republic. I won't mention the organization I work for, as I suspect JRD168 would not be impressed. Maybe more on that later.
While I assimilate to my new job (as part of a foundation which lets just say I failed to get into when I was a bit younger), I am temporarily taking a break from both writing and reading blogs. Hopefully soon I will be back, bigger, better, angrier and more Brummie than ever.
Sunday, February 04, 2007
Blog Updates
The People's Republic of Birmingham has finally upgraded to the new version of blogger. You may notice some changes to the blog as a result of this over the next few weeks and indeed some changes have already taken place. On the links section of this blog I have removed some of the more right wing blogs that have started to annoy me, and a left wing one which has deteriorated in quality. As a result of the new blogger, you will notice tags which I plan to put on all previous 139 posts so that you can find related topics more easily. Nice to see Google are taking recommendations from the People's Republic seriously.
Also, you may have noticed a lack off updates on this blog recently. This is due to my new pet project, Support City Hospital which is a campaign blog to keep acute services in Birmingham from being damaged by short-sighted government and local healthcare policy. Pop by if you have some time and don't forget to sign the petition.
Some topics PRoB would have mentioned include Lynne Jones unfortunate announcement to retire at the next election as a result of boundary changes, leaving an inferior Blairite (Brownite) MP to "represent" Birmingham Selly Oak, Manchester winning the Super Casino (I wish I had put a bet on that!), the London Olympic finance fiasco, the spare Wembley pitch that Blues tried to unsuccessfully lay at St. Andrews and probably a lot of others that I can't remember.
Those of you who know me probably could guess what I was going to say anyway.
Also, you may have noticed a lack off updates on this blog recently. This is due to my new pet project, Support City Hospital which is a campaign blog to keep acute services in Birmingham from being damaged by short-sighted government and local healthcare policy. Pop by if you have some time and don't forget to sign the petition.
Some topics PRoB would have mentioned include Lynne Jones unfortunate announcement to retire at the next election as a result of boundary changes, leaving an inferior Blairite (Brownite) MP to "represent" Birmingham Selly Oak, Manchester winning the Super Casino (I wish I had put a bet on that!), the London Olympic finance fiasco, the spare Wembley pitch that Blues tried to unsuccessfully lay at St. Andrews and probably a lot of others that I can't remember.
Those of you who know me probably could guess what I was going to say anyway.
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Merry Christmas!
The People's Republic would like to wish all our readers a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Be prepared for more subversive Second City blogging in the New Year...
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Problems on Blogger
Apologies for the strange posts/ removal of posts that have been occurring on these pages recently, I am having some problems publishing with blogger that I thought were due to html errors but are actually issues with the blogspot server. At one point I thought it was the end of the People's Republic. You Cockneys won't get rid of us that easily...
Anyway, hopefully normal service will resume soon.
Anyway, hopefully normal service will resume soon.
Sunday, January 22, 2006
PRoB Blogs Faster
The People's Republic has entered the Broadband age.
Expect quicker revolutionary blogging.
Expect quicker revolutionary blogging.
Sunday, January 15, 2006
London: "Lucky" Again?
Doesn't time fly! One minute you are lounging around during the Christmas holidays and before you know it you're halfway through January and well into the New Year. This is the first post of 2006 and although it probably won't be the last, although I am unsure how often I am going to blog in the New Year.
Over the Christmas period we heard allegations that London only won the 2012 Olympic bid by mistake after a delegate failed to vote for Greece in the crucial third round. This would explain why an inferior bid won, and also is true to form for London as it often has a worse bid and ends up winning (e.g. the Millennium celebrations, and the National Stadium). This time however it appears to be down to sheer dumb luck rather than fiddling the vote, which the city is used to doing.
Speaking of the national stadium, there are fears it won't be ready for the Cup final and reports of the Australian developers losing large amounts of money. Again, not surprising given an inferior bid won.
Over the Christmas period we heard allegations that London only won the 2012 Olympic bid by mistake after a delegate failed to vote for Greece in the crucial third round. This would explain why an inferior bid won, and also is true to form for London as it often has a worse bid and ends up winning (e.g. the Millennium celebrations, and the National Stadium). This time however it appears to be down to sheer dumb luck rather than fiddling the vote, which the city is used to doing.
Speaking of the national stadium, there are fears it won't be ready for the Cup final and reports of the Australian developers losing large amounts of money. Again, not surprising given an inferior bid won.
Sunday, August 28, 2005
Convicts Punished as England Win to Lead Ashes
When I started this blog, I planned to use it mainly as an outlet for venting my views on politics and news stories with perhaps an occasional mention of sport and other topics just to make this blog slightly different and more relevant to the average person rather than mimic the multitudes of political blogs out there. However, recently politics has been increasing turning me off and the excitement of the Ashes has meant that I have dedicated a surprisingly large number of posts recently to the game of cricket.
For the third game in succession England outplayed the Aussies, but failed to win in a convincing manner. The People's Republic is not to concerned however - a win is a win whether by ten wickets or three. The Aussie attack was simply not up to scratch and they showed yet again that they are relying too much on Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath. Even giving Tait the cap of the convict did not solve the problem in the short term.
The player who has really impressed this series for the England team is Simon Jones. After his injury at the Gabba two-and-a-half years ago, he has changed his whole bowling action realising he will never bowl as fast as he did in his youth. As a result he has become a lot more accurate, and I don't think comparisons with Glenn McGrath are over the top at all.
Unfortunately you can't say the same about his namesake Geraint. His place must surely be under question for the next test after numerous dropped catches and missed stumpings. I like to see a keeper who can catch the ball and whip of the bails before the batsman knows what day it is. The only comparison you can make with him is that with David James. The England selectors must realise that Chris Read must get his chance, and they must not continue to make the same mistake they made when they picked Alec Stewart ahead of Jack Russell.
But the People's Republic will not be holding it's breath.
Update: It appears David James has been dropped from the England squad for the World Cup qualifiers against Wales and Northern Ireland in favour of Chris Kirkland. Maybe there is hope for us after all.
For the third game in succession England outplayed the Aussies, but failed to win in a convincing manner. The People's Republic is not to concerned however - a win is a win whether by ten wickets or three. The Aussie attack was simply not up to scratch and they showed yet again that they are relying too much on Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath. Even giving Tait the cap of the convict did not solve the problem in the short term.
The player who has really impressed this series for the England team is Simon Jones. After his injury at the Gabba two-and-a-half years ago, he has changed his whole bowling action realising he will never bowl as fast as he did in his youth. As a result he has become a lot more accurate, and I don't think comparisons with Glenn McGrath are over the top at all.
Unfortunately you can't say the same about his namesake Geraint. His place must surely be under question for the next test after numerous dropped catches and missed stumpings. I like to see a keeper who can catch the ball and whip of the bails before the batsman knows what day it is. The only comparison you can make with him is that with David James. The England selectors must realise that Chris Read must get his chance, and they must not continue to make the same mistake they made when they picked Alec Stewart ahead of Jack Russell.
But the People's Republic will not be holding it's breath.
Update: It appears David James has been dropped from the England squad for the World Cup qualifiers against Wales and Northern Ireland in favour of Chris Kirkland. Maybe there is hope for us after all.
Saturday, May 21, 2005
Welcome!
Well I finally have my own blog! I guess they'll let anyone on the internet these days. Keep coming back for the latest news, views and reviews of... well whatever I decide to write about.
From a Brummie perspective of course...
From a Brummie perspective of course...
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