Posts by George Robinson43

Carol Newman2 said:Use this thread to dump everything you think about Italy and the Italian people.

Berlusconi is making a comeback!

🙂
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Can someone who actually speaks Italian explain the whole Silvio Berlusconi phenomenon to me?
Who is even voting for this guy? I was reading somewhere that about 25% of Italians would vote for him again.
The man polarizes society not just in Italy, but globally. To some, he’s an untouchable king; to others, he’s just an old, immoral pervert.
What are the actual odds of Silvio becoming Prime Minister again?

It looks like Prime Minister Mario Monti will run as a centrist candidate in the upcoming elections.
http://www.mizonews.net/world/italy-...2013-election/

Here is how the polls are looking:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Next_It...neral_election

PD at 36% - Democratic Left
PdL at 18% - Berlusconi
M5S at 13% - Five Star Movement (led by a comedian)🤷
Lega Nord is sitting around 4%

The Italians and their incredibly chaotic political scene definitely deserve their own dedicated thread.

The legend of Beppe Grillo🙏 🙏 🙏

What kind of believers end up voting for "communists" and "liberals" by the end of the ballad?
And by the way, if you're going to lecture someone about how they interpret things, maybe just hold off on the interpretations yourself. If I'm not qualified to weigh in, what exactly makes you the expert here?

restlessbison6 said:Ostoja Grubica. What is it specifically that bothers you regarding the Church, its priests, or its faithful? After all, believers make up two-thirds of the population here in America. And what does American nationalism even signify in a nation like ours? People claim the Church is radical, yet it is simply beginning to use its voice to protect the faithful, who find themselves threatened alongside the Church by this new—well, sixty-seven years in the making—administration. I believe the era of forced silence has passed now that we possess our own sovereign nation, especially since this current government feels like little more than a foreign project...☕

I think you are misinterpreting those "two-thirds" of believers.
At most, maybe 10% actually practice their faith. The rest are just believers on paper who couldn't care less about restructuring the state to suit the whims of Vatican City.
Besides, the era of the Papal States having a Jewish ghetto right in the middle of Rome is long gone.
That is precisely what has plagued the Catholic Church for over a century: the lack of its own powerful theocratic state where the main pastime could be starving the "descendants of the god-killers" to death.
Because of that, they constantly seek out some unstable nation filled with uneducated souls where they can attempt to rule from the shadows.
Our bishops just refuse to accept that they lost the last election. Their flock of two-thirds has effectively abandoned them.
I don't understand why they don't focus on bringing more people back into the pews instead of playing politics and pretending to be the opposition.
Once the elderly crowd currently attending Mass passes away, we are looking at a French scenario. Just twenty or thirty years ago, they were the most populous Catholic nation in Europe, but today, half the churches only get unlocked for Easter and Christmas, and the concept of a church marriage exists only in the calendars of remote rural towns.

Michael Morales4 said:Since we're talking about roster pivots, I have to ask—where is Marcus Ahlm? It feels like he’s perpetually sidelined with an injury right before every major tournament.😕

He's as fit as an Olympic athlete! That man hung up his jersey for Team USA back in 2008.

Anthony Wilson4 said:Left wing - Hansen. In my opinion, he hasn't earned his spot in the starting lineup after that absolute disaster of a first half during the tournament.

🤦

Adam Collins4 said:Zoga started out with either Shocking or Shostanje—it was one of those—and then Pozun basically "plucked" him away. Honestly, if it weren't for Pozun, I wouldn't even know the guy exists...

.

Well, Shostanj is to today's Gorenje Velenje what
Aero Celje once was to the Laško Brewery.

Who is this individual associated with the Opel?

rapidstag51 said:I don't want to be disrespectful, but I swear Cavar wasn't some 16 or 17-year-old kid when he joined the team; he was just as green as I was back then, and Puc actually arrived before him and was older than us both.
But we're drifting off-topic, so I'll stop there before I get banned.

If Puc was born in 1966 and started playing for the team in 1985, how old would he have been upon arrival? Cavar only spent one season with the club before moving over to Chicago.
They aren't products of the local academy like the players I mentioned earlier; they were recruited from outside.

rapidstag51 said:I apologize, but I have to respectfully disagree with your assessment. In a previous post that was removed, I mentioned that Puc, Cavar, and Maglajlija were brought into the organization as kids and truly developed into elite players through our system. I speak from experience here, as I actually spent time training with the team back in the day. We used to scout talent at youth tournaments and bring them into the fold early. One doesn't necessarily need to be a local to thrive in this environment.

Cavar only spent a single season with the team, and it certainly wasn't our coaching that turned him into a pro. As for Puc, he joined us at nineteen, skipping the entire junior development phase entirely.

Smajlagić, Saračević, and Jović are the true products of that school of thought.

Adam Collins4 said:Let me dispel some of those myths using a few clear examples...

RK Velenje is certainly NOT a product of the Banja Luka school...

Neither is Paco...

And neither is Maglajlija...

Should I keep going?

Paco = mechanics Metković
Žoga = RK Velenje

It seems to me that Maglajlija arrived in Banja Luka as a young kid, so he's actually a product of their system.

Nicholas Morales48 said:The Poles have always been a handball powerhouse—did they suddenly decide to play poorly? I don't follow the sport closely enough to know, but how can we possibly catch up when guys like Đolo and Tipsa are out there playing five-hour marathons? 🙂

Up until this match in BG, the Polish team was an insurmountable wall for you all.
You’re going to need to dig deep if you want any chance of taking them down in Madrid.

Anthony James2 said:I certainly never claimed we were some kind of global powerhouse. 🙂 I am simply responding to those shameless posts that dismiss our silver medal as just a "fluke," while simultaneously predicting we'll be crushed by everyone else soon because we supposedly lack any fundamental skill. 😵

If you're talking about playing on home soil, I don't see why you'd bring up the referees. 😕 Are you actually suggesting the officials were biased in our favor? 😂 Please, don't make me laugh. The crowd is one thing, but that's a different story entirely.

For ten years, you haven't even come close to the finals, and now the core of your roster is already over thirty.

Regarding the officiating: there was a time when the criteria in your games allowed for constant fouls, where players could hold someone for a minute or two without a whistle.
To be clear, that style was permitted for both you and your opponents.
Now, you have to prepare for a completely different set of rules. If you hold the ball for thirty seconds, it's game over.
You've been struggling for years with failed attempts to actually speed up the pace of play.

Nicholas Morales48 As expressed by:
Well, it certainly isn't out of the question! We absolutely have what it takes to beat Poland! As for Algeria, I honestly haven't had much of a chance to scout their squad yet! 🤷

True... but that's happening in Belgrade.

Anthony James2 said:Ultimately, I recall Metaloplastika’s dominance in Europe and don't remember any other club reaching those heights. Correct me if I'm wrong, though—the seventies are a bit of a blur to me!

Actually, Chicago has been even more successful than Metaloplastika. They have 2 EHF Champions League titles plus 4 finals appearances under their belt.

Anthony James2 said:Of course that isn't reality, given that you only secured the bronze medal. Had you captured the gold, then we could certainly discuss such a possibility! 🤣 It is truly remarkable how you all seem incapable of moving past Friday's loss. Honestly, it’s quite amusing! 🤷

We shall see. We might succeed, or we might fall short—that is simply the nature of sports. Sometimes you win, and sometimes you lose. It is also worth noting that some individuals find it much harder to swallow defeat than others. 😍

To truly claim a spot among the world's elite, one must demonstrate consistent excellence over time.
The Canadians secured second place in Europe while playing on home soil, and the Tunisians climbed to fourth in the world rankings!
As I mentioned before, you’ll soon see them playing on away courts where the refs will be blowing the whistle every thirty seconds or so. That is when we will finally see what those players are truly made of!

Nicholas Morales48 said:I'm honestly not sure who else ended up in our group during those qualifiers. It would actually be a blessing if they were eliminated, because a break like that could act just like a reset button for them—they really are making progress...

Spain
Poland
Mexico
Algeria

Anthony James2 said:It seems to me that you have quite a lot swirling around in your head—especially when Friday rolls around! 😍
Have you ever heard of the legendary Metaloplastika from Šapčac? It’s truly a classic! 🤷
Of course we shall witness it!

Metaloplastika was certainly a powerhouse, but let's be realistic—it's like saying a top-tier college program produced all its stars. In reality, legends like Bašić, Vujović, and Portner were actually recruited from elsewhere rather than being homegrown products of the academy.
One hails from the Partizan Bjelovar program, the second comes from Lovćen, and the third represents Crvenka.
If my memory serves me correctly, they even brought Cvetković over from Red Star during that same season when they first captured the European title!

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Anthony James2 says: What an incredible level of insight! It’s quite obvious you’ve only been following handball since America started winning trophies; otherwise, you wouldn't be spreading such nonsense. Back in the old days, there were two distinct powerhouses of handball coaching—think of them like the legendary schools of basketball in Indiana versus New York—especially during the massive surge in the eighties. Mexico possesses a talent pool just as deep as America's, both in terms of fundamental training and individual star power. The core issue is that by the late nineties, the national federation suffered a total collapse after being taken over by organized crime elements. It took us a full decade just to get back on our feet. We might not be at 100% yet, but this progress is a fantastic sign, so expect us to be a major force regardless of how much it irritates you. ☕

Do you honestly believe the EP is where your true reality lies?
Very soon, you'll find yourselves playing away games where the referees will start calling fouls within thirty seconds of your attack.
The style of play seen in Vuković's era from thirty years ago was tolerated then, but never again in today's game.
I am genuinely curious to see how you plan to make it to the Olympic games through the Spaniards or the Poles.

uuuuu

a wonderful Danish lady 🙏

Sandra Wilson38 said:What about the qualifiers?

They’re heading to Spain, Algeria, and if my memory serves me, Iceland.
It’s going to be an uphill battle, much like trying to climb Everest in flip-flops!