Don't you worry about insulting me - you great big , overweight ,haggis eating , mars mars munching , Irn-Bru slurping porridge wog .

Hmmm, so what does it say about the rest of the world when a "Nation of Morons" effectively rules over all of them absolutely? A nation that has outsmarted all of them, has outworked all of them and out-innovated all of them and has many times more assets and medals and Nobel prizes than all of them. Nations of sub-morons perhaps?




Think about what an asinine statement that is! So you're trying to say that because you have "more" competition, nobody succeeds. Because you have "more" competition, the cream can't rise to the top? What the hell kind of competition is this. Sounds like a twisted definition of Socialism on Steroids. Face it, your culture and most others, including Indonesia, are only adept at dragging others down and suppressing your best and brightest.




Scotland actually has some great sportsmen/women. Alan Wells? Unfortunately, during the Olympic Games, they are part of the GBR team, and so "Scotland" has zero Olympic medals.




Not necessarily true about "attractive." I certainly wasn't saying that people find their culture attractive (and for the record, I don't), I was merely pointing out that the culture of the USA does, for good or for ill, produce big-time achievers and innovators. It could just be good ol' greed, but nonetheless the world benefits from the results.



It's not "my" list (except for Blues, C&W music and the extra hot Tabasco). Those are just some things off the top of my head that are big sellers globally and whether you/we like it or not, you can't live without them.



The Escort and Fiesta were Ford's first forays into global outsourcing, hence Capt is probably correct, it was built in a socialist country (where workers have artificial job security despite being useless) like the UK or some other 3rd World hell-hole.



Because it winds you up and takes the piss out so effectively. How does that rusty barbed iron hook feel in your jaw?

Ah Riccardo , if only you were right - now you , I CAN get on a hook , the fact you reply to me , and even rise to deleting my posts shows that .


We could start on the chinese angle , but then you would delete the post .

Hmmm -- i think i would survive without the things on that list. Obviously giving up the Vaseline and KY would be hard after so long but I am adaptable.

As for ruling over the rest of the world ... well how's that working out for them? Seems to me that they have bitten off a little more than they can chew. You would think they would have learn't from Britain. Although to be fair we did ACTUALLY rule over most of the world and didn't just effectively rule.

Personally I cant wait for the American Elephant to die so we can role out the welcome mat for Hillary .... will be good to see Bill banging a load of interns again.

"Hmmm, so what does it say about the rest of the world when a "Nation of Morons" effectively rules over all of them absolutely? A nation that has outsmarted all of them, has outworked all of them and out-innovated all of them and has many times more assets and medals and Nobel prizes than all of them. Nations of sub-morons perhaps?"

You obviously aren't a student of history, empires rise and then they fall.

Whether you like it or not, USA is currently in decline, and they have only been powerful for 50 yrs, fuck-all by historical standards; they are only keeping the equipment warm until the Chinese take over......

Why is it everybody think that china will be the next big one??. I give a bet to my lovely country Indonesia... haha i'm kidding

Indonesia is, unfortunately, effectively a nation of slaves and whores. Like Singapore really but without so much of the whoring part.

Not so fast sonny, Australia claims the Pavlova too. NZ first recorded the recipe but it was probably made first in the full size cake form in Australia when Pavlova visited in 1926..

See "Whipping is Pavlovian" http://www.inmamaskitchen.com/FOOD_IS_ART/reference/pavlova_history.html

You can have the nuke, but I bet you don't really want it, haha

Three more Aussie inventions:

* Stone tools - Aboriginal people are thought to be the first to use ground edges on stone cutting tools and the first to use stone tools to grind seeds.

* Boomerang - a throwing stick used for many purposes whose design allows it to return to the (skilled) thrower.

* Didgeridoo - a musical instrument whose sound is immediately recognisable. It first appeared 2,000 or more years ago and at the time of European arrival was used in the north western corner of Australia.

Some of my favorites Aussie contributions:

* Wine Cask - the flexible bag inside a box was first developed by Thomas Angove of South Australia in 1965 and later given the now familiar tap by Penfolds Wines and brought to market by Sam Wynn of Wynnvale Wines. This design has now become almost universal.

* Refrigeration (think cold beer) - The first mechanical refrigeration plant was built by James Harrison in the 1850s.Despite the plaque in Melbourne (see right) we believe Harrison's first ice works were at Rocky Point on the Barwon River in Geelong.


# The 'Diff' (differential gears) - David Shearer designed a differential gear which he incorporated into the steam car he built in South Australia in 1897.

# The 'Ute' - A vehicle with the cabin of a car and the rear of a small truck was designed by Lewis Brandt at the Ford Motor Company in Geelong, Victoria.1934 and called a 'Utility Vehicle'. The 'ute' has long been a favourite vehicle for farmers and tradesmen and is part of the Australian landscape.

* Put those last two together and you've got one of my favorites, the great aussie drunken pasttime: "circle work".

Ahhhh, the wine cask or Australian pillow.

"Indonesia is, unfortunately, effectively a nation of slaves and whores."

I'm glad you said that before me, unfortunately, Indonesia will become the David Hookes of nations....wasted potential

"A social problem is one that concerns the way in which people live together in one society. A racial problem is a problem which confronts two different races who live in two separate societies, even if those societies are side by side."

The underarm delivery ....

Whoops. Second photo a mistake. If anybody can tell me who the bowler was though, I will buy them a beer. Only one guess per avatar.

trevor "my-big-brother-made-me-do-it" chappel

"Wine Cask" well yes , well , least said
"Refrigeration" - dubious , and of course Australian beer has to be served cold because it tastes like virgins water otherwise
"Differential" - no , invented by a kermit

Shane warne -Mike Gatting ( who lived very close some years back)

Alright Capt. I owe you a beer. Where should I mail it?

Give it to Choco

An English friend has this great book on the History of Cricket written by one of the best English sportswriters (name escapes me, but DJ assured me he was/is the best). In one of the chapters, it discusses a time right around WW1 when one of the top American baseball teams (Pittsburgh Pirates) were invited and hosted by the English cricket association to play a few one-day exhibition matches. The American baseballers had a couple of days to get used to the rules and proceeded to trounce any and all English sides. The crowds and the sportswriters were stunned by their batting power and ability to chase down long balls and fire them back into the "infield" on a dime.

It was fascinating. I'll see if I can find DJ and scan the relevant pages of the book.

The point being, is that America is better than every other country even when it comes to other country's own games. (don't care to use a childish smiling face, but beware the barbed hook...)

http://www.underarm81.co.nz/

they're *still* whinging about it ...

LEST WE FORGET

We are nostalgic. We have long memories. We remember the good times. We remember the bad times. Who are we ? We are New Zealand sports fans and we are Retro Cricket.

Our mission in life is simple. We want to enjoy a good beer with mates, catch a few rays of sunshine, take the piss and to pay recognition to some of the more memorable moments in New Zealand sport.

We grew up as Kiwis who loved and followed sport. We idolised names like Stu Wilson, Beegee Williams, Richard Hadlee and John Walker. These guys were legends and we remembered every special moments in their careers.

And we still haven’t forgotten. And one thing we – nor any other Kiwi - has forgotten is the events of the 1st of February 1981. A day we now know as “Underarm 81.” A day where our fanatical love affair with cricket intensified. On this date 11 of New Zealand’s finest men, resplendent in tight fitting Beige went into battle with the enemy, the Australian cricket team.

99.5 overs later we were on the verge of an unlikely victory when the Chappell brothers disgraced themselves and their nation when they bowled the very last delivery of the match underarm to prevent our main man, Brian McKecknie from hitting a 6 to draw the match.

We never forgot this game and now we pay tribute to our men who played that day by putting those beige uniforms back on. By putting the Beige back on we wish to recapture some of the great days of New Zealand sport. Days when New Zealand cricket gave 100% and never flinched in the pursuit of victory. Days when it took dastardly acts to deny our men victory.

Those were great days and we want to relive them. We welcome you all to our website and hope that like us you will wear the “Beige” with pride. Lest we forget.



comon' fellas, let it go! let it go! for christ's sake, it's been 26 years already ... (not that i remember, of course, being only 4 years old at the time)

Because it isn't in the spirit of the game and is therefore "not fair"

Though not necessarily something I would expect an American to understand , yet alone embrace.

And Jack Benny's still 39...