Off Topic Pointless point-scoring thread
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These 56 players refuse a 15% pay cut , admin on valentines day again !! What would the odds be on that ????
Rangers daft ***** Dies
Good.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-25792289
Lord McAlpine, the former UK Conservative Party deputy chairman has died, his family has announced.
The 71-year-old, who was an aide to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, died last night in Italy, his family said.
Prime Minister David Cameron tweeted his thoughts were with his family, adding he was a "dedicated supporter of Margaret Thatcher and the Tory party".
As well as a politician, the peer was an art collector, property developer, author and fundraiser.
He was also part of the McAlpine construction dynasty.
Founded by his grandfather, Sir Robert, the firm is one of the biggest builders in the UK, responsible for the London 2012 Olympic stadium among many other projects.
Lord McAlpine was among Lady Thatcher's closest friends and advisers
He was made a director of the family firm at 21, five years after dropping out of top public school Stowe with three O-levels.
Lord McAlpine then went on to make a fortune of his own as a property developer in Australia, before turning to politics in 1975, when he met Lady Thatcher.
He became one of her closest advisers and Conservative Party treasurer throughout her period in office, from 1979 to 1990.
She made him a life peer, Baron McAlpine of West Green in Hampshire, in 1984.
In recent years, Lord McAlpine was wrongly implicated in a child abuse scandal, when the allegations were the subject of a BBC Newsnight investigation.
The allegations forced the BBC's then director-general, George Entwistle, to quit less than two months into the role.
Good.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-25792289
Lord McAlpine, the former UK Conservative Party deputy chairman has died, his family has announced.
The 71-year-old, who was an aide to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, died last night in Italy, his family said.
Prime Minister David Cameron tweeted his thoughts were with his family, adding he was a "dedicated supporter of Margaret Thatcher and the Tory party".
As well as a politician, the peer was an art collector, property developer, author and fundraiser.
He was also part of the McAlpine construction dynasty.
Founded by his grandfather, Sir Robert, the firm is one of the biggest builders in the UK, responsible for the London 2012 Olympic stadium among many other projects.
Lord McAlpine was among Lady Thatcher's closest friends and advisers
He was made a director of the family firm at 21, five years after dropping out of top public school Stowe with three O-levels.
Lord McAlpine then went on to make a fortune of his own as a property developer in Australia, before turning to politics in 1975, when he met Lady Thatcher.
He became one of her closest advisers and Conservative Party treasurer throughout her period in office, from 1979 to 1990.
She made him a life peer, Baron McAlpine of West Green in Hampshire, in 1984.
In recent years, Lord McAlpine was wrongly implicated in a child abuse scandal, when the allegations were the subject of a BBC Newsnight investigation.
The allegations forced the BBC's then director-general, George Entwistle, to quit less than two months into the role.
Proper journalism from a respectable newspaper.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/rangers/10581698/Rangers-manager-Ally-McCoist-blames-rogue-traders-for-clubs-plight.html
Embarrassed and saddened by the fact that chief executive Graham Wallace had to ask the players in midweek whether they would accept a 15 per cent reduction in their wages â an offer they felt able to refuse â McCoist has come to a conclusion many independent observers reached a long time ago, namely that many of those investors were interested only in their profits and completely unconcerned by Rangersâ losses.
Venture capitalists do what they do: they make money not by providing jobs or generating wealth for others but by exploiting vulnerable companies and individuals. Rangers was a prime case.
Sir David Murray, the prime mover in the clubâs downfall, bought success with the Bank of Scotlandâs money but, when Lloyds took over that failing institution, he could no longer depend on his cronies to continue extending credit with which to fund his lavish spending.
The new fiscal prudence at Lloyds and his decision to sign players he could not afford, brought Rangers to their knees. He then claimed to have been duped by Craig Whyte when he sold the club to him in 2011.
Within a year Whyte â who had sold four yearsâ worth of season tickets to an outside agency in order to pay off the £18 million debt to Lloyds â had driven Rangers over a cliff, wilfully withholding tax deducted from staff salaries and refusing to pay bills in order to keep the club running. They were plunged into administration in February 2012 and ceased to exist in June of that year. However, a new consortium fronted by Charles Green was given exclusive rights by administrators Duff & Phelps to buy the business and assets of the old club for £5.5 million that summer.
A share issue 13 months ago raised £22.5 million which, like Green and his colleagues such as Imran Ahmad and Craig Mather, is long gone.
There is the real prospect of the new club facing insolvency in the near future and last week McCoist asked Wallace where the money had gone.
âThe chief executive at the moment is aware that some of the problems are there because some of the decisions were made for the short term, maybe a year ago,â he said.
Asked whether he believed that those decisions were made for other peopleâs benefit, McCoist replied: âYes. He [Wallace] didnât go into great detail. He just said some mistakes had been made. I donât know enough about it. Who do you blame?â
It was pointed out that someone must have authorised the signing of a host of players on long and expensive contracts and led him to believe that finance was not an issue. âAbsolutely,â he said. âI just went about my business signing players. The chief executives that I have had so far, Charles was the first one then Craig came in. I was wanting to bolster the squad and thatâs what I did. No one said it was a problem.â
The thought that Rangersâ budget in the third and fourth tier of Scottish football was not only unnecessary but unsustainable never entered McCoistâs head.
âNot really,â he said. âNot being an accountant. Maybe I have it totally wrong but, with the player budget coming down this year, I was looking at it â wrongly, obviously â season tickets, costs Iâm doing on the back of a *** packet and it kind of fits.
âWe had a lot of money in from an IPO [share sale] and we had two amounts of season tickets but I was obviously wrong and I obviously am wrong.â
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/rangers/10581698/Rangers-manager-Ally-McCoist-blames-rogue-traders-for-clubs-plight.html
Embarrassed and saddened by the fact that chief executive Graham Wallace had to ask the players in midweek whether they would accept a 15 per cent reduction in their wages â an offer they felt able to refuse â McCoist has come to a conclusion many independent observers reached a long time ago, namely that many of those investors were interested only in their profits and completely unconcerned by Rangersâ losses.
Venture capitalists do what they do: they make money not by providing jobs or generating wealth for others but by exploiting vulnerable companies and individuals. Rangers was a prime case.
Sir David Murray, the prime mover in the clubâs downfall, bought success with the Bank of Scotlandâs money but, when Lloyds took over that failing institution, he could no longer depend on his cronies to continue extending credit with which to fund his lavish spending.
The new fiscal prudence at Lloyds and his decision to sign players he could not afford, brought Rangers to their knees. He then claimed to have been duped by Craig Whyte when he sold the club to him in 2011.
Within a year Whyte â who had sold four yearsâ worth of season tickets to an outside agency in order to pay off the £18 million debt to Lloyds â had driven Rangers over a cliff, wilfully withholding tax deducted from staff salaries and refusing to pay bills in order to keep the club running. They were plunged into administration in February 2012 and ceased to exist in June of that year. However, a new consortium fronted by Charles Green was given exclusive rights by administrators Duff & Phelps to buy the business and assets of the old club for £5.5 million that summer.
A share issue 13 months ago raised £22.5 million which, like Green and his colleagues such as Imran Ahmad and Craig Mather, is long gone.
There is the real prospect of the new club facing insolvency in the near future and last week McCoist asked Wallace where the money had gone.
âThe chief executive at the moment is aware that some of the problems are there because some of the decisions were made for the short term, maybe a year ago,â he said.
Asked whether he believed that those decisions were made for other peopleâs benefit, McCoist replied: âYes. He [Wallace] didnât go into great detail. He just said some mistakes had been made. I donât know enough about it. Who do you blame?â
It was pointed out that someone must have authorised the signing of a host of players on long and expensive contracts and led him to believe that finance was not an issue. âAbsolutely,â he said. âI just went about my business signing players. The chief executives that I have had so far, Charles was the first one then Craig came in. I was wanting to bolster the squad and thatâs what I did. No one said it was a problem.â
The thought that Rangersâ budget in the third and fourth tier of Scottish football was not only unnecessary but unsustainable never entered McCoistâs head.
âNot really,â he said. âNot being an accountant. Maybe I have it totally wrong but, with the player budget coming down this year, I was looking at it â wrongly, obviously â season tickets, costs Iâm doing on the back of a *** packet and it kind of fits.
âWe had a lot of money in from an IPO [share sale] and we had two amounts of season tickets but I was obviously wrong and I obviously am wrong.â
.
That this?
Absolute ****ing jokeshop of a piece of legislation.
Student convicted under controversial anti-sectarian laws but sheriff says he should not have been dragged into court
19 Jan 2014 07:36
ADAM RICHMOND walked away from court without a criminal record after a sheriff gave him an absolute discharge, prompting criticism of the law that led to his arrest.
Partick Thistle fan Adam Richmond.
Tom Ross
A STUDENT held after chanting abuse about the Pope and the Queen at a football match has been convicted under controversial anti-sectarian laws.
But Adam Richmond, 19, walked away without a criminal record after a sheriff said he should not have been dragged into court.
The case has sparked a fresh wave of criticism over the Government’s Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications Act, driven into place two years ago after a bad-tempered Old Firm match and designed to clamp down on sectarian abuse at games and online.
Football fans, lawyers and civil liberty campaigners have branded the legislation unnecessary and confused after cases have been questioned when they reached court.
Richmond was arrested after police heard him singing “F*** your Pope and f*** your Queen” as Partick Thistle played Celtic at Firhill in October.
Thistle fans sing the song to distance themselves from Rangers and Celtic.
At Glasgow Sheriff Court, he was found guilty by Sheriff Norman Ritchie QC of behaviour likely to incite public disorder by singing sectarian and offensive remarks.
But he told the teenager: “You are not the sort of person who creates the problem and needs this legislation.”
He then discharged him absolutely. That means Richmond, from Penilee, Glasgow, has no criminal record despite being found guilty.
Yesterday, solicitor advocate Chris Fyffe said: “I struggle to see the point of this Act. One of the major concerns was it had an extremely long reach and was very vague in its terms.
“This seems to be being borne out to a certain extent by some of these decisions, suggesting there is a reluctance on the part of the sheriffs to find one person in a crowd of 3000 guilty.
“Because of its vagueness, you can have a situation theoretically where somebody is saying something which is, on the face of it, offensive – it doesn’t have to be sectarian or racist and people do shout things at football matches – so there’s a potential there for criminalising football fans for what they have been doing for the past 150 years.
“These cases seem to be reflecting the concern a lot of lawyers – and not just defence lawyers but sheriffs as well – are having regarding this legislation.
“What it really seems to be doing is focusing on football behaviour as opposed to what many people see
as the real concern, which is sectarianism in Scotland.
“It seems we are criminalising people who are letting off steam in a relatively secure environment.”
Product design student Richmond was told he was a credible witness until he was asked about singing the song, when his evidence turned “decidedly lukewarm” and his confidence “evaporated”.
The Thistle song is supposed to celebrate the club’s neutrality from Old Firm bigotry with the line: “We hate the boys in royal blue, we hate the boys in emerald green, f*** your Pope and f*** your Queen.”
Richmond told the court that the song is only sung when Thistle play Celtic or Rangers and the lyrics represent taking a stand against religion in football.
Richmond, who has been going to games with his dad since he was six, said: “To me, from my understanding of the song, I don’t see how it can be offensive.”
But anti-sectarianism charity Nil By Mouth said they hoped that Richmond had learned his lesson.
Campaigns director David Scott said: “The use of this type of language at a match is no longer acceptable no matter what the context.
“Fans at all league clubs are warned on the back of their ticket and before the start of games that offensive singing or chanting is not allowed.
“Clearly, if this man wants to keep religion out of football, he should not have been singing what he did.”
When we contacted Richmond at his home, he declined to comment.
But a family friend said: “Adam has never been in trouble in his life. This has been hanging over for him for months and has been a terrible strain.
“He was the only one arrested even though he was in a group of about 300 fans.
“Adam has been told he will not have to declare this as a conviction when he goes for a job, which is a real relief.
“This is a song that the Thistle fans have been singing for years without any previous complaints.
“There is no intention of causing offence. All it really does is poke fun at Celtic and Rangers fans.”
Partick Thistle declined to comment on the case.
Absolute ****ing jokeshop of a piece of legislation.
Student convicted under controversial anti-sectarian laws but sheriff says he should not have been dragged into court
19 Jan 2014 07:36
ADAM RICHMOND walked away from court without a criminal record after a sheriff gave him an absolute discharge, prompting criticism of the law that led to his arrest.
Partick Thistle fan Adam Richmond.
Tom Ross
A STUDENT held after chanting abuse about the Pope and the Queen at a football match has been convicted under controversial anti-sectarian laws.
But Adam Richmond, 19, walked away without a criminal record after a sheriff said he should not have been dragged into court.
The case has sparked a fresh wave of criticism over the Government’s Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications Act, driven into place two years ago after a bad-tempered Old Firm match and designed to clamp down on sectarian abuse at games and online.
Football fans, lawyers and civil liberty campaigners have branded the legislation unnecessary and confused after cases have been questioned when they reached court.
Richmond was arrested after police heard him singing “F*** your Pope and f*** your Queen” as Partick Thistle played Celtic at Firhill in October.
Thistle fans sing the song to distance themselves from Rangers and Celtic.
At Glasgow Sheriff Court, he was found guilty by Sheriff Norman Ritchie QC of behaviour likely to incite public disorder by singing sectarian and offensive remarks.
But he told the teenager: “You are not the sort of person who creates the problem and needs this legislation.”
He then discharged him absolutely. That means Richmond, from Penilee, Glasgow, has no criminal record despite being found guilty.
Yesterday, solicitor advocate Chris Fyffe said: “I struggle to see the point of this Act. One of the major concerns was it had an extremely long reach and was very vague in its terms.
“This seems to be being borne out to a certain extent by some of these decisions, suggesting there is a reluctance on the part of the sheriffs to find one person in a crowd of 3000 guilty.
“Because of its vagueness, you can have a situation theoretically where somebody is saying something which is, on the face of it, offensive – it doesn’t have to be sectarian or racist and people do shout things at football matches – so there’s a potential there for criminalising football fans for what they have been doing for the past 150 years.
“These cases seem to be reflecting the concern a lot of lawyers – and not just defence lawyers but sheriffs as well – are having regarding this legislation.
“What it really seems to be doing is focusing on football behaviour as opposed to what many people see
as the real concern, which is sectarianism in Scotland.
“It seems we are criminalising people who are letting off steam in a relatively secure environment.”
Product design student Richmond was told he was a credible witness until he was asked about singing the song, when his evidence turned “decidedly lukewarm” and his confidence “evaporated”.
The Thistle song is supposed to celebrate the club’s neutrality from Old Firm bigotry with the line: “We hate the boys in royal blue, we hate the boys in emerald green, f*** your Pope and f*** your Queen.”
Richmond told the court that the song is only sung when Thistle play Celtic or Rangers and the lyrics represent taking a stand against religion in football.
Richmond, who has been going to games with his dad since he was six, said: “To me, from my understanding of the song, I don’t see how it can be offensive.”
But anti-sectarianism charity Nil By Mouth said they hoped that Richmond had learned his lesson.
Campaigns director David Scott said: “The use of this type of language at a match is no longer acceptable no matter what the context.
“Fans at all league clubs are warned on the back of their ticket and before the start of games that offensive singing or chanting is not allowed.
“Clearly, if this man wants to keep religion out of football, he should not have been singing what he did.”
When we contacted Richmond at his home, he declined to comment.
But a family friend said: “Adam has never been in trouble in his life. This has been hanging over for him for months and has been a terrible strain.
“He was the only one arrested even though he was in a group of about 300 fans.
“Adam has been told he will not have to declare this as a conviction when he goes for a job, which is a real relief.
“This is a song that the Thistle fans have been singing for years without any previous complaints.
“There is no intention of causing offence. All it really does is poke fun at Celtic and Rangers fans.”
Partick Thistle declined to comment on the case.
Yep, knew you would like it. If judges are saying it is a waste of time we really should look at scraping it.
A judge said it before and the police just appealed and got it heard again.
I suspect they won't take the same approach this time as it was a nice wee jag saying **** the Pope and not one of those nasty Williams saying......ee erm.....**** the pope.
I know I'm fairly predictable, but that **** drives me crazy.
I suspect they won't take the same approach this time as it was a nice wee jag saying **** the Pope and not one of those nasty Williams saying......ee erm.....**** the pope.
I know I'm fairly predictable, but that **** drives me crazy.
They were actually told before the legislation was brought in that it wouldn't work. Salmond is nothing more than a crowd pleasing fud.