Uilleam

My faith, limited as it has always been, in the will and wherewithal of the Crown Prosecution Service to bring this matter to a trial and to a satisfactory verdict, is disappearing, rapidly. Is there a book on what will happen on July 29?

The jury remains out on Dominic Ball. Let's hope that, if he returns, he can kick on. Obviously W, W, and McP see potential in the lad.

Just ban Hibs. No great loss. Problem solved.

So far, so good: there seems to be some large degree of revisionism with respect to the events within the National Stadium, even from Rangers haters. May we expect a retraction from the Record, and its football fabulist, Mrs Hamilton, of its remarkable story of post match, extra Stadium behaviour? I should like to see a comprehensive apology from that comic, and its employee, for publishing a confection of unverified, unverifiable, nonsense. If it wasn't for the lady's clear bigotry, one could put this down to a mere error, or lapse in judgement. The fact that she has an obvious agenda, identifies her "story" as something quite sinister. It is known as "black propaganda". To suggest that Rangers supporters, and their feral children, with (para?) military precision, effectively Kettled the police on Cathcart Road, allowing those within Hampden to wreak havoc on the exuberant Hibernians is an insult to our intelligence, and an abuse of privilege. It amounts to an abuse of the position of the press, an abuse of its influence in opinion forming, an abuse of what is often referred to as the "Power of the Press", and all done without let or hindrance, and with no professional or social responsiblity whatsoever. As we know, power without responsibility is the prerogative of one trade, and one trade only: that of the harlot.

Windsor Park? Actually, due to the inexplicable split, could we see Dundee FC playing three games v rasellik @Parkheid, one at a neutral, foreign, venue, and one @Dens?

I do not think that an inquisition by a Commons Cttee will put SD out of business, nor do I think that to be the purpose of its activities. I do think that the Cttee members will not be showboating, and and that there will be bad publicity for Gessler, personally, and for SD. I think that his bottom line will be affected. (Not merely by the Cttee's enquiries, but they will reinforce recent and continuing media reports/investigations, notably by The Guardian). Bear in mind that business friends are fair weather friends. So he is commercially, and personally, under pressure. The least that will emerge over the next few months is that his workforce may see a positive change in contracts, and conditions, even in their wages. I do take your point that financial necessity drives people to shop at SD, and that no matter what emerges from media and parliamentary investigations, its customer base may not be hugely eroded. People seem to overrate Ashley to the point of being overawed (Big Mike's tanks, anyone?). I put this down to watching too many episodes of "The Apprentice".

Scott Brown? I imagine that JB will be losing sleep already. Just what do the sellikminded see in this player that I miss, apart from the fact that he plays for rahoops, and must be, therefore, by definition, wonderful? Then again, I never quite "got it" re: Bobo Balde, who if he was not an untalented thug, came a very close second.

Savannah. Then perhaps those impelled to sing Marching Through Georgia could do so with something approaching impunity; unless, of course, Those Good Ol' Boys took exception.

I think that he has to protect his share price. He can't do that by clamming up in front of a govt cttee; that would look like he was guilty as charged, to everyone, lenders, shareholders, banks, finance houses, funds, the City generally, the media, the population at large.....

Taking the fifth, so to speak, would make him appear even worse than he is perceived now, I don't think he can even look as though he has come out on top with that strategy. Of course, he will struggle if he elects to answer, and the Committee members are on their game. I think of Mrs Margaret Hodge, in this regard, although I don't think she is on that particular panel. Damned if he does, and damned if he don't: a damned shame, don't you think?

For God's Sake, RR, rasellik is pure loved all over the world. In Dublin, they would be welcomed with open arms, so long as they came with open wallets.

I think that the fat shit is a bully, one with bucketloads of animal cunning, but a bully nonetheless. It seems to me that he is somewhat loose of bowel at the thought of appearing before people whom he will not be able to threaten, shout down, financially terrorise, or fob off with lickspittles in his employ, all in the full glare of the modern media. I should love to see him in court defending, oh, say, his contracts with Rangers Retail.

I have long held that sellikfootballclub should hold its home fixtures in Dublin.

Imprisonment in the Palace of Westminster seem to good for him. Down the Scrubs with the fat pig, say I.

I don't know what is worse, my friend, the police or the press, The latter, however, do contribute, in no small measure, to the context in which the police operate. We cannot forget politics, and the politicians who gave us the OB Act. All of this makes me less than confident that Police Scotland is, in fact, under real democratic control. Depressing, really. What is clear is that the Club, and the Fans' Organisation, albeit new and untried, must stay on the front foot with press, other media, and politicians.

Yes, but Mr Steele is speaking for, and on behalf of the Police Federation, and not, for better or for worse, Police Scotland. I could be wrong, and the Police Federation is being use to test the water, as it often speaks for, and with the same voice as its employer. I do not know.

I do not know quite what I have exacerbated. I think that the intervention of the Rangers hating, Rangers baiting Mrs Hamilton will make it difficult, if not impossible, for Police Scotland, to even attempt to blame the Rangers support (and their weans!) for deliberately, consciously, cooperatively, preventing officers from attending the Hibernians inspired riot. As far as I am aware, Police Scotland, for all its sins, is not actually peddling the Hamilton clap trap. The handling of the Cup Final, overall, was a clusterfuck; that much is obvious. Of the greatest interest will be Police Scotland's explanation of deployment of personnel, before, during, and after the match. Actually, I don't think that Police Scotland has come anywhere close to Hillsborough levels of conscious, coherent, and organised mendacity. To suggest so is, quite frankly, ridiculous. Mrs Hamilton and the monkey on a stick from the Police Federation will, I hope, be called to defend their assertions at the forthcoming enquiry.

I thought that it was merely the dimwit journalist, Mrs Hamilton, and her unnamed "sources", who have accused the Gers' support of ambushing the police, and preventing them from entering the National Stadium. Has Police Scotland, itself, actually, officially, concurred with her (and her "sources") fantasmagoria?

I think that I should be grateful for such a circumstance, frankly.

He appears also to be a study in smugness, and disdain for others; a smart arse.

The 2016 Scottish Cup Final? Isn't that the one where the Rangers supporters ambushed the police outside the ground, to prevent them entering and stopping their comrades' vicious and sustained assault on the men, women, and children innocently, if exuberantly, celebrating Hibs victory? We were lucky there weren't deaths.......

Some years ago, rasellik played the Dundee Hibs, in an SPL match. The referee was The Rev Michael McCurry, a Baptist minister, whose church was in Mosspark Drive, I think. Anyway, during the course of the game, rahoops support subjected Rev McCurry to a barrage of abuse, much of it founded upon his religious persuasion. This was covered in the press, etc., at the time. On the following Monday, I consulted the sports pages of The Times, to see what this one time Paper of Record made of it. Its correspondent was Graham Speirs. In his match report he did refer to the hostile verbal assaults directed at the match official. However, in an expression almost worthy of Orwell (although with neither ironic nor satiric bent, Speirs having no conception of either), he declared that the fun bhoys merely had expressed "....a natural denominational antipathy..." towards the unfortunate Minister. (My emphasis.) His meaning is clear: when an Irish, indeed, perhaps any, Roman Catholic abuses a person of the Reformed Faiths, because of that religious affiliation, it is neither sectarianism, nor bigotry. Denominational antipathy, religious prejudice to you and I, therefore, is not a social phenomenon but is a product of nature, not nurture; or at least, anti Protestantism is: he fulminates often against reverse traffic, as we all know, which in his eyes is inexcusable, and cannot be, therefore, in any way "natural". This is an astonishing stance for someone, who was paraded as an expert witness, in a ScotGov enquiry into sectarianism, to adopt. I need hardly add that his position has no scientific, sociological, or anthropological basis, which in itself is instructive in understanding the mind of this balloon.

Frankie, In all honesty, I doubt that you and the estimable Ian1964 were "masquerading as sports' fans". (Great work on twitter; keep it up.)

It is all very well to criticise the police, and, frankly, they do not deserve the most fulsome praise for their handling of the post match "events". The blame, however, must lie with the coked-up cretins who invaded the pitch, and sought, and created, mayhem. The dregs of East Lothian, masquerading as sports' fans, were let out for the day, and behaved like the guttersnipe they are. I am a little surprised that I, and everyone else, was actually surprised at this.

I think that JB will play , and will want to play, more often thanpeople perhaps suppose. He has significant experience on, and, ahem, off, the pitch. The former may prove invaluable, the latter, I hope, salutary. One thing lacking on Saturday (apart from water cannon, obviously) was an auld heid, to enable the team to close down, and see out, the match. Rangers were winning 2- 1, lest anyone forget, yet contrived to lose.