Uilleam

Frankly, even against this rabble today, San Marino was so disappointigly uncompetitive.

And, per BBC R5, the game is ON....

If memory serves, Mr Kenny McCaskill was a leading light, when he was a leading light, in promoting change to the current judicial system. Nuff said, old boy, 'nuff said.

Aaah, if only the BBC's Tom Sellik wasn't in Japan, reporting, so to speak, on the Rugby World Cup, then we might have a balanced, cogent analysis of this statement to consider. Clearly, the timing of the release has much to do with this.

Cheer up, Steven Clarke, anyone?.........Anyone? Seriously, though, McLeish was vilified -thoroughly, shamefully, vilified- but now, as far as I can see, it's the players, and their manager/coach/leader is, if not beyond reproach, unlikely to receive the criticism heaped upon his predecessor (who was of course, no great shakes, himself). Naturally those who clamoured for Clarke's appointment will be slow to concede even the slightest error of judgement. What did anyone, experts included, really expect of international competition, when the SFA appointed, as National Manager, a man who fielded a well organised team, replete with a sprinkling of officially tolerated hammer throwers, and which played its home games on a truly god awful plastic pitch, a surface which favoured only those accustomed to its vagaries? He achieved relative, limited, and, note, short term, success in the SPFL Premier Division (or whatever it is called), one of the few professional Leagues in Europe -possibly the only such competition- where ' journeyman' is a term of approbation, and where the expression 'It's a man's gemme' is routinely used to approve, and to cloak, what are, frankly, its limitations. The solution is obvious: 1. lobby UEFA and FIFA for changes in the Laws of the Game, and in their interpretation by officials to permit more robust play (Collum and Co could run remedial classes for continental referees). Currently both Laws and interpretation thereof discriminate against Auld Scotia, on the grounds of national characteristics, and, clearly, this is unacceptable in 2019, and must be against some legislation, somewhere. 2. get the crappy plastic surface down at the National Stadium, as a matter of urgency 3. following the savants of the press and the BBC, get that sorcerer Kieran Tierney, a defensive midfield striker, apparently, back in the side.

There were 15 haggises on the pitch against the Micks. Not one kicked up a storm.

I have long thought that the 'Not Proven' verdict, along with the principle of corroboration (also recently under attack), helps to prevent miscarriages of justice. Both aspects of the law also help prevent prosecutions on the basis of malicious 'evidence'. One need only consider the recent farrago involving the Metropolitan Police and the pathological liar and serial fantasist Mr Carl Beech, to grasp this point. To emphasise the potential import, the current brouhaha seems to relate, principally, to the difficulty involved in securing convictions -or even bringing charges- for rape and sexual assault, where, as often seems to be the case, there is only one witness. We should condsider the situation of the 'victim', in such cases, particularly, where a 'Not Guilty' verdict is returned: in effect, the jury is dismissing his/her/their evidence, and, if not exactly marking them as "Liar", certainly is not being helpful to the preservation of their good name. 'NP', perhaps, helps in this regard. (I often wonder, idly, if, in such cases, when the defendant is found 'NG', a charge of perjury is ever considered.) 'NP', of course, leaves a question mark, socially, if not legally, over the defendant. On balance, I think it better to suffer the stigma of 'NP', than to endure a wrongful conviction. I accept that viewed from another perspective, these particular parts of the judicial system may be perceived as contributing to or causing a "wrong" decision. Perhaps, however, as Blackstone declared, it is better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer. The other matters under exercising the great and the good, are the 15 person panel, and the principle of majority rule. Having sat on juries in both The High Court, and the Sheriff Court, I would retain both. I would add that I would never support, unequivocably, a motion proposing that Plod and the PF always get it right.

She should represent the city and the citizenry clad in tracksuit and trainers. In fact, this should be the Provost's official garb. The present incumbent could follow the sterling example of the slag who wore a selliktap into the Debating Chamber of the Scottish Parliament, and make it a sellik tracksuit, coordinated with emerald trainers, and accessories.

"Ojo" is Aruba for "passenger".

Not only is it derogatory, it doesn't even have the benefit of accuracy.

Nor if we play like we did against Ireland.

I saw, somewhere, earlier today, that Senor Diego Costa is likely to leave Atletico Madrid, at the end of the season, for the Persian Gulf, or thereabouts. What tough, aggressive, mobile, highly skilled, South American goal machine could (more than) fill his boots? (If this comes to pass, you heard it here first; if such a move fails to materialise, I would thank you to forget, totally, that I speculated thusly.)

The Torags declare their intention to increase police nos, and to devote £millions to tasers and taser training. I do wonder for what evantualities they wish to prepare.

Thumb down to The Thumb, then. I await the experts declaring, as before, his ommission a mistake; or do even they realise that Moscow is probably the place for for Coke and Lola.

Always a pleasure to beat these swine; to horse them enhances it immeasurably.