Force criticised by protesters, who claim they were deliberately led on to road before being penned in and arrested The New York police department has come under criticism for heavy-handed tactics during the Occupy Wall Street march over Brooklyn bridge, after more than 700 protesters were held for several hours. Activists, as well as commentators following the protest against inequality and corporate excess, claim the response of the city’s police force to the peaceful event was vastly out of proportion. Almost 1,000 people have been arrested in two weeks – substantially more than the number of financiers who led the world into the 2008 economic meltdown. As Salman Rushdie put it in a tweet: “The world’s economy has been wrecked by these rapacious traders. Yet it is the protesters who are jailed.” The march began on Saturday afternoon in Zuccotti Park, the Manhattan the base of the core of 200 or so OWS demonstrators. By the time it reached Brooklyn bridge it had swollen to several thousand. Accounts vary as to how about 500 protesters ended up on one lane of the road across the bridge, where they were all penned in with orange netting and arrested. Some accused the police of leading them on to the road as a sort of trap. Video clips posted on YouTube , showing a small body of officers marching on to the road ahead of the mass of demonstrators, appeared to support this view. But the NYPD rejected those claims, saying that many warnings were given by police to protesters to stay on the pedestrian walkway that runs across the bridge at a level above the road. Paul Browne, the deputy commissioner, said protesters were clearly told that if they went on to the road they would be arrested. “Some complied and took the walkway without being arrested. Others proceeded on the Brooklyn-bound vehicular roadway and were,” he said. The police version of events was supported by some protesters. Malcolm Harris, a blogger who took part in the march, tweeted that the police were wrong-footed. “The police didn’t lead us on to the bridge. They were backing the fuck up.” Other participants suggested the confluence of so many on the road was a misunderstanding. Robert Cammiso, 48, told the Associated Press: “We were supposed to go up the pedestrian roadway. There was a huge funnel, a bottleneck, and we couldn’t fit. People jumped from the walkway on to the roadway. We thought the roadway was open to us.” The NYPD was accused of over-weening behaviour towards the protesters once they were “kettled” on the bridge. Video footage showed police grappling with protesters and strong-arming them away, despite no apparent signs of violence http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1tCYAEDl6g. The same footage shows the arrest of a young woman or girl wearing a cloth hat. Her age is not clear – she could be as young as 13 or as old as 20 – but the crowd clearly thought she was a child and chanted: “Shame, shame, shame.” Others chanted: “You can’t arrest an idea” and “Let us out, let us out.” The Battle of Brooklyn Bridge, as some dubbed it, came as protests begun in Manhattan spread across America. There were smaller but substantial demonstrations over the weekend in Los Angeles , Chicago , Boston , Denver , Washington and several other cities. In New York, most of those arrested were released early on Sunday with a citation for disorderly conduct. Brooklyn bridge was reopened by late evening, but the dramatic scenes there and the prevailing feeling that the police action was excessive are only likely to fuel the demonstrations as they carry on this week. Occupy Wall Street Protest New York United States Ed Pilkington guardian.co.uk
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Family of Meredith Kercher will be in court to hear outcome of appeal by US student and her former Italian boyfriend Amanda Knox and her former Italian boyfriend will make a last attempt to persuade the court hearing their appeals that they had nothing to do with the murder of Knox’s ex-flatmate, the British student, Meredith Kercher tomorrow. Members of the victim’s family will fly into Perugia for the keenly awaited outcome, but were expected to arrive too late to hear the final pleas of Kercher’s convicted killers. Their presence, just feet away from the relatives of the two appellants, will add an extra layer of tension to a case already brimming with drama and expectation. The Kerchers’ legal representatives at the appeal have unequivocally aligned themselves with the prosecution’s case that Knox slashed the British student’s throat as she was held immobile by Knox’s then boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, and Rudy Guede, a smalltime drugs trafficker from the Ivory Coast. But the family’s lawyer, Francesco Maresca, told the Guardian: “Just as they respected the verdict at the trial, so they will respect the outcome of the appeal.” Knox attended mass on Saturday in the prison near Perugia where she has been held for almost four years since her arrest. The prison chaplain, Father Saulo Scarabattoli, said she had played the guitar during the service, as she did every weekend. “You can imagine how she is,” he said. “But Amanda evinces great strength and hope.” In June, two independent court-appointed experts dismissed as unreliable key forensic evidence against the University of Washington student and her former lover. Since then, a widespread expectation has built up in the US that their appeals will be upheld. In Italy, public opinion – once largely hostile to Knox, seen as an angel-faced killer – has become significantly more divided. One of the country’s most widely read magazines, Oggi, has campaigned to draw attention to the weaknesses in the prosecution case. And an MP for Silvio Berlusconi’s party, Rocco Girlanda, who visited her on Saturday, has become an important advocate of her cause. But what little evidence there is suggests most Italians believe Knox and Sollecito were involved in Kercher’s murder. In a viewers’ poll conducted by Sky Italia after the prosecution wound up its case, only 27% of respondents thought the couple were innocent. If that balance of sentiment is reflected among the six lay judges who will help to reach Monday’s decision, it could tell against Knox and her former boyfriend, even if the two professional judges are convinced of their innocence. The court president, Claudio Pratillo Hellman, has two votes to cast; the other full-time judge, Massimo Zanetti, one. But the lay judges also have a vote each, and can therefore decide the outcome. According to a local paper, Corriere dell’Umbria, clandestine bookmakers – betting is a state monopoly in Italy – were so uncertain of the outcome many were refusing to take bets. Those who did were offering identical odds of 2 to 1 on both a conviction and an acquittal. The shortest odds – evens – were on a reduction of the appellants’ sentences. Whether that would allow Knox and Sollecito to walk free would depend on how much was lopped off their sentences and the amount of remission they were granted. In any event, both the prosecution and defence can opt for a final appeal to the court of cassation in Rome, though it normally rules only on points of law. Knox, who arrived in Italy less than a month before the killing, was sentenced to 26 years at the trial two years ago. Sollecito, who had known Knox for just six days, was given a 25-year sentence. Their lawyers have argued Kercher was killed by Guede alone during a break-in. They have poured scorn on the prosecutors’ theory of a sex game that got out of hand and highlighted the fact that the prosecutors have failed to come up with a motive for the killing. Amanda Knox Meredith Kercher Italy Europe United States John Hooper guardian.co.uk
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Conditions for remaining residents deteriorating in city still held by Gaddafi loyalists, says doctor Residents trapped in fighting for the Libyan coastal city of Sirte have run out of basic medical supplies and are resorting to drinking contaminated water to survive as conditions deteriorate, a Libyan doctor who was in the city at the weekend said. Dr Siraj Assouri, who was travelling from Sirte to nearby Misrata, said: “The conditions have been getting worse and worse. There is no medicine for heart disease or blood pressure or baby milk or nappies. There is very little water that is drinkable. The water is contaminated with waste oil. Our forces are close to the centre but there are other areas still under the control of Gaddafi loyalists where they have been putting up a very strong fight. They still control 40% of the city.” His comments came as a ceasefire announced by the new government’s forces brought a lull in the fighting and allowed hundreds of residents of the city, whose population is normally around 100,000, to leave via queues at checkpoints. The two-day truce is expected to be followed by an all-out attack on the positions still held by pro-Gaddafi loyalists in an attempt to bring the country’s war to a final conclusion. Residents, many of them supporters of the country’s former leader, confirmed the bleak account of life inside Sirte. Some blamed continuing Nato air raids on Sirte for causing civilian casualties. “The revolutionaries camping at the frontline of Sirte have given residents two days to leave the city, which will allow for the evacuation of large numbers of civilians,” said the National Transitional Council leader, Mustafa Abdel Jalil. The truce was declared by Libya’s new transitional authority, which says it had ordered a halt in operations to allow civilians to flee before it launched a final assault. The depiction of conditions in Sirte follows a warning at the weekend by an International Red Cross team of a humanitarian crisis. The team was able to deliver body bags and war wounded kits but was not able to enter the main hospital itself on Saturday – despite negotiating a safe passage from both sides – because of fighting that flared up. According to the Red Cross, some 10,000 people have fled Sirte. “The hospital is facing a huge influx of patients, medical supplies are running out and there is a desperate need for oxygen. On top of that, the water reservoir has been damaged,” the ICRC said in a statement. The rapidly deteriorating situation follows several weeks of fighting, with anti-Gaddafi fighters now holding positions about three miles from the city centre, according to commander Mustafa al-Rubaie. Last week, the Libyan defence ministry announced that Sirte’s port, airport and military base were all under its control. Rubaie added that fighters had seized control of Sirte’s first residential district and a hotel where Gaddafi’s snipers were based. “There is heavy fighting going on in the streets of Sirte right now,” he said. “The enemy is besieged from the south, east and west but it’s still in possession of highly sophisticated weapons and a large amount of ammunition.” But Rubaie said Gaddafi forces were in control of strategic positions inside the city, including high-rise buildings where snipers are positioned, making the revolutionary forces’ advance slow and hard.”The plan is that the eastern and western forces will meet in the middle of Sirte,” Rubaie said. “When we reach this point, we will celebrate the liberation of Sirte.” Capture of the city – as well as another loyalist stronghold Bani Walid — has become an increasingly urgent priority for Libya’s new rulers who have vowed not to push ahead with plans for new interim cabinet and elections until the country is fully liberated. Concerns have been growing that slow progress against the last holdouts is contributing to increasing frustration among ordinary Libyans and the vacuum of power as different factions and individuals have jostled for influence. Libya Middle East Africa Peter Beaumont guardian.co.uk
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Conditions for remaining residents deteriorating in city still held by Gaddafi loyalists, says doctor Residents trapped in fighting for the Libyan coastal city of Sirte have run out of basic medical supplies and are resorting to drinking contaminated water to survive as conditions deteriorate, a Libyan doctor who was in the city at the weekend said. Dr Siraj Assouri, who was travelling from Sirte to nearby Misrata, said: “The conditions have been getting worse and worse. There is no medicine for heart disease or blood pressure or baby milk or nappies. There is very little water that is drinkable. The water is contaminated with waste oil. Our forces are close to the centre but there are other areas still under the control of Gaddafi loyalists where they have been putting up a very strong fight. They still control 40% of the city.” His comments came as a ceasefire announced by the new government’s forces brought a lull in the fighting and allowed hundreds of residents of the city, whose population is normally around 100,000, to leave via queues at checkpoints. The two-day truce is expected to be followed by an all-out attack on the positions still held by pro-Gaddafi loyalists in an attempt to bring the country’s war to a final conclusion. Residents, many of them supporters of the country’s former leader, confirmed the bleak account of life inside Sirte. Some blamed continuing Nato air raids on Sirte for causing civilian casualties. “The revolutionaries camping at the frontline of Sirte have given residents two days to leave the city, which will allow for the evacuation of large numbers of civilians,” said the National Transitional Council leader, Mustafa Abdel Jalil. The truce was declared by Libya’s new transitional authority, which says it had ordered a halt in operations to allow civilians to flee before it launched a final assault. The depiction of conditions in Sirte follows a warning at the weekend by an International Red Cross team of a humanitarian crisis. The team was able to deliver body bags and war wounded kits but was not able to enter the main hospital itself on Saturday – despite negotiating a safe passage from both sides – because of fighting that flared up. According to the Red Cross, some 10,000 people have fled Sirte. “The hospital is facing a huge influx of patients, medical supplies are running out and there is a desperate need for oxygen. On top of that, the water reservoir has been damaged,” the ICRC said in a statement. The rapidly deteriorating situation follows several weeks of fighting, with anti-Gaddafi fighters now holding positions about three miles from the city centre, according to commander Mustafa al-Rubaie. Last week, the Libyan defence ministry announced that Sirte’s port, airport and military base were all under its control. Rubaie added that fighters had seized control of Sirte’s first residential district and a hotel where Gaddafi’s snipers were based. “There is heavy fighting going on in the streets of Sirte right now,” he said. “The enemy is besieged from the south, east and west but it’s still in possession of highly sophisticated weapons and a large amount of ammunition.” But Rubaie said Gaddafi forces were in control of strategic positions inside the city, including high-rise buildings where snipers are positioned, making the revolutionary forces’ advance slow and hard.”The plan is that the eastern and western forces will meet in the middle of Sirte,” Rubaie said. “When we reach this point, we will celebrate the liberation of Sirte.” Capture of the city – as well as another loyalist stronghold Bani Walid — has become an increasingly urgent priority for Libya’s new rulers who have vowed not to push ahead with plans for new interim cabinet and elections until the country is fully liberated. Concerns have been growing that slow progress against the last holdouts is contributing to increasing frustration among ordinary Libyans and the vacuum of power as different factions and individuals have jostled for influence. Libya Middle East Africa Peter Beaumont guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Dr. Nada Dhaif, and Dr. Fatima Hajji discuss the sentences and give their shocked reactions to them. These doctors, and eighteen more, were sentenced simply for providing aid to injured protesters, the rest of the charges fictitious. It should also be noted that while the U.S. State Department is “deeply disturbed” by these sentences, Bahrain is home to the U.S. Fifth Fleet, and thus a key ally in the region. The U.S. has provided the tiny island nation of Bahrain nearly $100 million in aid since Barack Obama became president. Iran’s PressTV is only too happy to provide (accurate) figures on the contradiction: The Pentagon has cut deals with Bahrain in arms trade, sending dozens of American tanks, armored personnel carriers, helicopter gunships, thousands of .38 caliber pistols and millions of rounds of ammunition, from .50 caliber rounds used in sniper rifles and machine guns to bullets for handguns, some of which were undoubtedly used against protesters. In addition to all these gifts of weaponry, ammunition, and fighting vehicles, the Pentagon in coordination with the State Department oversaw Bahrain’s purchase of more than $386 million in defense items and services from 2007 to 2009, the last three years on record. From the CNN report: (CNN) — A group of 20 doctors who were detained during this year’s protests in Bahrain have been convicted of attempting to overthrow the government and hit with lengthy prison sentences, authorities and a human rights group said Thursday. Thirteen of the physicians were sentenced to 15 years in prison, two for 10 years and five for five years, said military prosecutor, Col. Yussef Rashid Flaifel. The U.S. State Department, “deeply disturbed” by the sentences, said the Bahraini government should provide fair trials, access to attorneys and judicial transparency. Deputy spokesperson Mark Toner said the United States was “concerned about trials of civilians, including medical personnel, in military courts and the fairness of those proceedings.” Charges against the doctors included possession of unlicensed weapons, inciting the overthrow of the government, provoking sectarian hatred and forceful occupation of a public building, officials said. Prosecutors have alleged that, at the height of the protests earlier this year, the accused medical personnel refused to help patients at Salmaniya Medical Complex, the main hospital in the capital city, Manama. Amnesty International called the charges “ludicrous” in their press release . “These are simply ludicrous charges against civilian professionals who were working to save lives amid very trying circumstances,” said Philip Luther, Deputy Director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Programme. “It appears that the real reason for targeting these health workers was the fact that they denounced the government crackdown on protesters in interviews to international media.” “We’ve repeatedly said that Bahraini authorities should never have used military courts to prosecute ordinary civilians, including doctors, teachers and human rights activists.
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Click here to view this media Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain said Sunday that if elected, he would “change the mood” of “Hail to the Chief” by adding a gospel vibe. “It’s traditional and that’s all well and good, but I happen to believe there comes a time when you need to change the mood of it just a little bit, not drastically,” Cain told Fox News’ Chris Wallace. “It’s kind of like in marketing. Periodically, companies that have been successful at branding might modify their logos just a little bit to give it a fresher look. I think ‘Hail to the Chief’ needs a little bit fresher sound.” “Hip hop?” Wallace asked. “I might put some gospel beats into ‘Hail to the Chief,’ OK?” Cain explained. Cain’s three-years-old gospel album “Sunday Morning” was released online in July. “Hail to the Chief” was first played in association with a U.S. president in 1815 to honor George Washington. In 1829, Andrew Jackson became the first living president to be honored with the march.
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Click here to view this media Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain said Sunday that if elected, he would “change the mood” of “Hail to the Chief” by adding a gospel vibe. “It’s traditional and that’s all well and good, but I happen to believe there comes a time when you need to change the mood of it just a little bit, not drastically,” Cain told Fox News’ Chris Wallace. “It’s kind of like in marketing. Periodically, companies that have been successful at branding might modify their logos just a little bit to give it a fresher look. I think ‘Hail to the Chief’ needs a little bit fresher sound.” “Hip hop?” Wallace asked. “I might put some gospel beats into ‘Hail to the Chief,’ OK?” Cain explained. Cain’s three-years-old gospel album “Sunday Morning” was released online in July. “Hail to the Chief” was first played in association with a U.S. president in 1815 to honor George Washington. In 1829, Andrew Jackson became the first living president to be honored with the march.
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The Holy Scriptures – Letters from Home – Ardeth G. Kapp – October 1985 General Conference Ten Gifts from the Lord – Gordon B. Hinckley – October 1985 General Conference Draw Near unto Me through Obedience – Barbara W. Winder – October 1985 General Conference LDSFamily says: The Family: A Proclamation to the World (PDF Document) http://t.co/poyMk0p6 # lds #mormon #faith #Jesus #Christ #God #family #love #home
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• Press F5 or hit the auto-update for the latest • Email simon.burnton@guardian.co.uk with your thoughts • Click here for all today’s latest scores • Follow Simon on Twitter, if that’s your thing 3.58pm: The players are running out, and that can only mean one thing – an ad break. 3.57pm: “I think he runs to the touchline and hugs Wenger à la Balotelli-Mancini last weekend,” suggests Ryan Wakefield. I would love to see Adebayor running down the touchline attempting to embrace Wenger, while Wenger runs down the touchline attempting to evade him. 3.54pm: Interesting if not-that-surprising-when-you-think-about-it stat from Sky: this is the first time in the history of the world Premier League that Tottenham have gone into a North London derby as favourites. 3.50pm: “Hello, Simon!” Hello, Ryan Dunne! “Is it fair to say that most neutrals, like me, are hoping for an Adebayor hat-trick and some ‘get it right up ye!’ fist-pumping aimed at the Arsenal fans? I admired Barry Glendenning for stating last year, in the midst of much Old Firm sixth-form moralistic hand-wringing, that the on-pitch fiery hi-jinks make it more, not less, of a compelling spectacle, and Adebayor’s past triumphant wind-up surely falls within the same category. And, based on past form, he’ll probably stop playing well in a couple of months anyways, so Arsenal fans will surely get the last laugh.” Well I’m all for hi-jinks on principle, and as public as possible, but do feel that there could be public order issues if Adebayor doesn’t control himself today (and heaven knows Tottenham – the area rather than the club – have had enough of those recently). 3.49pm: So, readers, how will Emmanuel Adebayor celebrate when he inevitably scores? 3.42pm: Meanwhile, elsewhere in London: Fulham 3 (Andrew Johnson 38) QPR 0. 3.35pm: Elsewhere, right now, Fulham are 2-0 up on QPR and Swansea are a Scott Sinclair penalty to the good against Stoke. 3.33pm: One change each for our rival combatants, then – Arsenal bring in Francis Coquelin for the injured Laurent Koscielny (Theo Walcott and Gervinho both having passed fitness tests), and jugular-seeking Tottenham replacing Sandro with Jermain Defoe. 3.32pm: Enough of yesteryear, though – here are today’s teams! Tottenham: Friedel, Walker, Kaboul, King, Assou-Ekotto, Van der Vaart, Parker, Modric, Bale, Adebayor, Defoe. Subs: Cudicini, Pavlyuchenko, Giovani, Bassong, Corluka, Livermore, Sandro. Arsenal: Szczesny, Sagna, Mertesacker, Song, Gibbs, Ramsey, Arteta, Coquelin, Walcott, van Persie, Gervinho. Subs: Fabianski, Park, Andre Santos, Arshavin, Jenkinson, Frimpong, Benayoun. Referee: Mike Dean (Wirral). 3.30pm: Hello world! So, the north London derby then. A fixture that has produced all sorts of breathless excitement in the past. So you want examples, do you? Well, here’s a list I made earlier (not exactly by myself, as you’ll notice). The Tottenham Hotspur v Arsenal match kicks off at 4pm BST and Simon will be here with commentary from 3.30pm BST. If you get here before him, read Kevin McCarra’s preview: It is far too early to declare that there has been a shift in power in north London, but a win for Tottenham at White Hart Lane would have an impact. Harry Redknapp’s side would then lead Arsenal by five points, with a game in hand. visitors did not impress in the narrow Champions League win over Olympiakos and the quality of the squad is open to debate. Nonetheless, three wins in a row for Arsène Wenger’s team must have come as a relief, even if those matches were at the Emirates, with Shrewsbury among the defeated teams. Match pointers • Tottenham have kept only one clean sheet in 31 matches in all competitions against their north London rivals • Arsenal have won only two of their last 16 games away from the Emirates Stadium in all competitions • Emmanuel Adebayor scored eight goals in nine games for Arsenal against Spurs • Robin van Persie has scored four times in his last four starts against the hosts • These sides have drawn 17 times in the Premier League, the most ties of any fixture in the competition’s history Premier League 2011-12 Tottenham Hotspur Arsenal Simon Burnton guardian.co.uk
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• Hit F5 to refresh or turn on the automatic widget below • Email your thoughts to evan.fanning.casual@guardian.co.uk • Follow Evan on Twitter, if that’s your thing • More stats than you can shake a stick at • Follow all today’s live scores across Europe 39 min: Sturridge gets in over the top and for a moment it looks like he’ll be able to secure his hat-trick (provided he can beat Bogdan, but I think we can take that as a given at this stage) but Sturridge can’t quite gather until the angle is too tight but which time Bolton have several men back. Ryan Dunne enters the history debate: “Personally I don’t think that 1997 is all that long ago, but it surely depends on how old one is (the office junior-y ‘casual’ in Evan’s email address perhaps suggesting a young and thrusting teenager? ;)). Currently I’m debating whether, as an (early) 30-something, it’s ethically permissible to date someone younger than one’s favourite album (Achtung Baby, 1991).” Unfortunately, despite the ‘casual email address, I was at my peak teenage years in 1997 and that seems like a long time ago. I’m staying out of your dating dilemma. 35 min: Chelsea win a corner which infuriates Gary Cahill – he’s going to solve Arsenal’s defensive problems, isn’t he?. Lampard takes and Ramires nearly meets it on the six yard box. It comes off a Bolton head instead and could easily be an own goal but ricochets to safety. 33 min: Bolton look like they want to go home. Martin Petrov may have already done that. Once again Sturridge is an acres of space on the right flank but he loses his footing before he can inflict any more damage on the home side. This is the first time Chelsea have scored four times in the opening 30 minutes of a match in Premier League history. 30 min: Bolton have pushed Kevin Davies up front with David Ngog. That should do it. It seems my Spanish isn’t any better than wot my English is as Shaun Thompson points out. “Can I be one of 1,056 sad, Spanish-language pedants to point out that when you wrote that ‘John Terry has just felt the full force of David Ngog’s boot in the cajones’, you surely meant to type ‘cojones’. Cajon is ‘drawer’ as in somewhere to put that offensively-worded Christmas card from Wayne Bridge.” Goal! Bolton 0-4 Chelsea (Lampard 25) This is officially ridiculous now. David Luiz marched 50 yards upfield – Bolton electing not to bother trying to tackle the centre back – he fired goalwards. Again it should have been a simple save by Bogdan but it bounced off his chest into the path of the onrushing Lampard who finished neatly. Goal! Bolton 0-3 Chelsea (Sturridge 25) This is getting ridiculous. See entry at 20 minutes for build-up. This time Sturridge cut in from the right and fired a shot which should have been easily saved but Bogdan somehow managed to palm the ball into his own net. 22 min: Kevin Davies comes up with some good work to win a corner on the right. Petrov’s delivery is perfect but Lampard gets the slightest touch which takes it away from Boyata. Petrov scampers to the other side to take another corner which Boyata meets but his header drifts harmlessly wide. Ian Copestake writes: You referred in your preamble to a Bolton win as being “all the way back in 1997.” Now call me age sensitive, but 1997 doesn’t seem that long ago, so I was wondering how you would describe Blink-182 having been formed in 1992? Back in days of yore?” If it only takes a second to score a goal 14 years is a long, long time. 20 min: This might be over-simplifying it a little but Chelsea’s tactic appears to be: kick the football to the right hand side where Martin Petrov isn’t and then Daniel Sturridge has the freedom to do whatever he wants. This time Sturridge finds Juan Mata who blazes a right-footed shot over the crossbar. Petrov shakes his head ruefully. More from Ryan Dunne: ” Isn’t Ashley Cole starting a restaurant with Jay-Z? That suggests that the Chelsea dressing room rocks to the beats of Brooklyn’s finest (perhaps where Ashley got the idea of popping that cap in the work experience boy’s ass from?” 19 min: I might need to put Ryan Dunne in touch with Tom Bryant directly. ” Thanks to Tom Bryant for that!” the Dunnster writes. “Always like Tom the best on the grounds that he was the funniest Boy Band member in the All the Small Things video. I do much prefer Blink 182′s self-titled album to Take Off Your Pants and Jacket, which hopefully bodes well for an appreciation of the new album. And am I the only person alive who thought that Guns n Roses Chinese Democracy was really rather good? It had like a dozen musical genres in each song!” 17 min: This could turn into a rout. Lampard is denied a quick second by Bogdan while moments later Ramires’s touch is heavy when played in by Sturridge and he can’t get his shot on goal. “Being “that guy” I can’t help but marvel at the fact that John Terry has a set of drawers as part of his anatomy,” says that guy Jesse Galdston. “I knew the man was solid and not that fast but I didn’t know he was literally a piece of furniture.” Goal! Bolton 0-2 Chelsea (Lampard 15) It’s beautiful football from Chelsea but it’s far too easy from a defensive point of view. Ramires and Mata are heavily involved before Sturridge squares across the area and Lampard sweeps past Bogdan in the Bolton goal. 13 min: Bolton seem to be pursuing an odd tactic of selective pressing. One minute they’re hounding the Chelsea players’ every move. The next they’re letting David Luiz amble 40 yards upfield before Gary Cahill makes a challenge on the edge of the area. 11 min : Bolton have responded well to going behind and Darren Pratley picks up a loose ball at the edge of the area but is fouled from behind by Meireles who escapes a yellow card. Where is the consistency, eh referees? At least Martin Petrov is consistent – he blasts his free kick into the wall as usual. “David Ngog’s kick to the berries just did what I think half of England has wanted to do EBJT for years,” says Bruce Cooper. 9 min: Gardner makes a break through the Chelsea midfield but good covering defending from David Luiz snuffs out the danger before the Brazilian is dumped on the ground by Ngog who picks up a yellow card. “Does Mr Bryant know what Didier Drogba thinks of Blink-182′s new album?” asks Jon Wilks. “Or is he more of an Usher man (Didier, not Tom)?” 7 min: John Terry has just felt the full force of David Ngog’s boot in the cojones. He’s down on the ground getting treatment. Alan Parry points out that “it’s a female physio as well”. Careful lads. Remember what happened to Gray and Keys? “She’s a lovely girl as well,” Wilkins chips in. As well as what? 5 min: Sturridge’s goal – timed at 92 seconds – is the quickest in the Premier League this season. I told you I’d get a review from Tom Bryant. And I told you he’d met them. “I have indeed met them,” Bryant confirms. “I like Mark the best. He’s normal. Tom’s crazy and Travis is weird. Their new album, should Ryan Dunne like to know, is better than you’d expect from a comeback of this nature – but nothing like as good as their best.” Goal!! Bolton 0-1 Chelsea (Sturridge 1) Bolton have taken one minute to show exactly why they are bottom of the table. Daniel Sturridge is given a free header from six yards from Juan Mata’s corner and makes absolutely no mistake. It’s a simple header for the man who was on loan at the Reebok last season. The corner came after Bosingwa was given acres of space on the right and Boyata was forced to deflect his cross behind. An all-round shambles from a Bolton point of view. Peep!!! We’re underway at the Reebok as Chelsea, all in blue, kick off playing from right-to-left. Bolton, as tradition would dictate, are playing the other way. Ray Wilkins reckons Bolton’s tough start to the season is the reason they are at the foot of the table. “They’ve played everybody,” says Ray. You can’t argue with that. A perceptive email. “I know you’re not in charge of the Guardian’s music section,” writes Ryan Dunne. “But I’ve been browsing and clicking refresh all week and am yet to find a review of the new Blink-182 album! WTF? I’m sure the sports desk are a down-with-da-kidz bunch of lads, so is there no chance of MBMing said album whilst doing the regular fitba commentary?” Having not heard the album I would say there is little chance of that but when my colleague, the aforementioned Mr Bryant, returns from his lunch I will pester him for his opinion. He knows everything there is to know about Blink 182. At a guess I would say he’s even met them. In the Sky Sports studio Gareth Keenan Gary Neville reckons Owen Coyle will be concerned about how easily Bolton have been brushed aside in games this season. Is there a manager more committed to the cause of constantly referring to it as the Barclays Premier League than Owen Coyle? No is the correct answer to that question. Stats can prove anything. My colleague Tom Bryant has tried to convince me that Chelsea have the worst record at Bolton in the history of football or something like that (to be honest I stopped listening halfway through his sentence). Chelsea have won 19 drawn 14 and lost 24 of the previous 57 games keeping 13 clean sheets, he reckons, but I know I’m right. The summer (otherwise known as 1 October) is over. At least it is in Bolton. It’s pouring down. That should suit [insert name here]‘s slick passing game. That should suit [inset name here]‘s tough tackling game. Chelsea always win at Bolton, don’t they? You have to go back to November 2002 for the last time Chelsea travelled to the Reebok and left with anything less than three points, and even then it was a draw. Dean Holdsworth was the goalscorer the last time Bolton beat Chelsea at home in the league all the way back in October 1997. But these are desperate times for Bolton. Rooted to the bottom of the table with just one win all season and 16 goals conceded in six games. Owen Coyle’s side will face a Chelsea side featuring Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba and Daniel Sturridge, who spent six happy months at the Reebok season. Here are the line-ups for today’s game Bolton: Bogdan; Steinsson, Cahill, Boyata, Robinson; Petrov, Pratley, Reo-Coker, Gardner; Ngog, Kevin Davies. Subs: Lainton, Muamba, Eagles, Sanli, Knight, Mark Davies, Vela. Chelsea: Cech; Bosingwa, David Luiz, Terry, Cole; Ramires, Meireles, Lampard; Mata, Drogba, Sturridge. Subs: Turnbull, Ivanovic, Romeu, Mikel, Malouda, Lukaku, Anelka. Referee: Peter Walton (Northamptonshire) Premier League 2011-12 Bolton Wanderers Chelsea Evan Fanning guardian.co.uk
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