rocket_scientist

Attended the Houses of Parliament today for the first and last time this afternoon. We spent about 40 minutes in the Commons and 5 minutes in the Lords. The U.K. is in worse shape than I thought. I've never bothered to watch BBC Parliament before. The standard of debater is incredibly poor. The rituals and protocols are ridiculously counter-productive. The "debate" we happened across today was an important one, on Trident but it was a deeply unimpressive performance by all but one of the speakers, the Ediburgh North Aussie SNP lass. Mostly, they're all wankers. Public schooled thick wankers at that. The Lords was considerably busier. Only spotted half a dozen sleepers, one of which I'm convinced must've died. Didn't feel an alien environment. Felt like I had as much right to be in those buildings than any of those cunts. The show of democracy is of sufficient quality. It is of course the substance that is lacking, in every conceivable way.

Yes we probably did overachieve but not ridiculously. It's not like the opposition was good. But if this is a regression to the mean, it's not good enough. For the specific reasons you gave. Shite attitude and commitment. Something is wrong with this squad. They're definitely capable of better than this.

I didn't say bad luck. I agree that you make your own luck, in life as well as performance. Karma is a completely different concept entirely. Not one that most understand far less appreciate.

I doubt that any one individual has "fucked it". It's more likely to be the bad karma that our chairman deserves. The 24 points from 8 was a sick reminder, one that galvanised big crowds and made us remember what capacity lies dormant at this club, potentially the third biggest in the country, a platform from which we should always expect a competitive challenge. It's fucking criminal how the Donald's put in so much thinking that it might make a difference. Under Milne, it will always go pear-shaped.

It is fact that the managers recruited by Milne have been shite. We had thought that McInnes was the exception, the first decent appointment of the last 25+ years. A man is defined by how he performs in adversity. The evidence of the last eight games suggests to me that DM is hopelessly lost.

You're probably the first to say it but I fear that you're right. McInnes is proving hopelessly inept these last couple of months. He doesn't look like he has much about him. Unfortunately the candidate pool for his replacement is shockingly poor. We can't afford real quality. Or more properly, our chairman is disinclined to invest in a decent manager, "the football side of the business" not being his priority.

The biggest failing of the financial mismanagement of AFC plc under Milne is transfers. We haven't been developing young talent that big clubs want to spend big money on. Unsurprisingly for a number of reasons, all relatable back to his business agenda.

Whether income is gate receipts, corporate, prize money, TV, merchandise etc. etc., it only swells turnover. The only thing that matters is spending less than we earn. Something Milne has been spectacularly bad at for 90% of the years that he's been in charge. For reasons one might wish to speculate on.

Income from this, income from that. Whatever. We're talking profit. It was over £2m in 2008 and 1/2m this year (to end June).

There's no probably about it. Only a fucking idiot would state something wrong that is a matter of public record. It is fact that we made more than four times as much in 2008. Not that any of us are complaining. We didn't lose money like we always have for all but two of the last 20+ years. Or it could be three but pretty sure it's only 2008 and 2015. Thank goodness for the Donald's and their investment.

by Dr M Scott Peck. It's sold millions. On the law of averages even, some of you must have read it. Opinions and observations welcome.

The only source there is, the Annual Statement, the accounts in other words, a matter of public record. We made £2.2m or £2.3m if memory serves.

We didn't. We made four times as much profit that year. It was a record turnover, not a record profit. Volume = vanity. Profit = sanity.

Andrew Neil bugs me often but that was a good intro last night. I admire the fact that he gives George Galloway an opportunity where too many treat him like the joke figure that he himself works hard to perfect. GG was surprisingly contrite and un-insane last night, save the hat, the reminder symbol of his screws having been loosened. His giving a voice to an intelligent and creative Muslim good guy was great strategy too. Neil possibly at his best last night. Still an establishment cocksucking prick.

This on the BBC News App just now is just one reason why voting independence rather than choosing to be governed by Westminster might have been best for our country. The French people are increasing "pas de guerre" i.e. no war. Sturgeon has been the first western leader to speak sense. Cameron, like Blair, like the whole political system in England is committed to following the evil that is doomed U.S. foreign policy, another puppet leader (like Hollande and Merkel) pursuing a strategy that has dire and unimaginable consequences for us all. America is bankrupt. They need a Third World War. There is no coming back from their hopeless financial and societal position. We either see this and follow them blindly into disaster or we do what Sturgeon does, like the French population and we ask questions and challenge the lies that we are being fed. Hollande is a fucking idiot. Cameron is a corrupt liar. Merkel is no better than Hitler, the only difference being that her crime is to be so stupid that she can't see that there is no difference between the inevitable failure of the U.S. World hegemony project and Adolf's exact same agenda. He at least didn't hide his madness. This begs the question as to who really is in charge... of Washington, of Israel, of Europe? Certainly nobody is in charge of the Middle East thanks to "our" inept mismanagement and corruption. Syria strikes: Nicola Sturgeon willing 'to listen' to argument http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-34860914

At last. An interviewee on Al Jazeera just now nailed it. Yasser Louati of the Collective against Islamophobia in France. An absolutely brilliant young man He recognises that the Imams that come over are being "supplied" by foreign countries that know nothing of life in France and he's been campaigning for years that muslims need to take more control of their own affairs. He acknowledges that their own mosques are "not doing their jobs" (for corrupt and all-too-human reasons given, the abuse of power by mayors etc. who refuse mosques being funded by the communities) and cites the actual reasons for the overall difficulties, the inability for social cohesion, the fact that the young muslims do not feel integrated and the discriminatory behaviour towards them, some of which is institutionalised in law. This will never go away because the ideal of multiculturalism will never work in practise, certainly not without the muslims having more say and greater control in their own affairs, being shat on by the native peoples and native state alike. You treat people like shit, fail to give them jobs and hope and house them in shit, some of the disaffected are going to behave like shit and vent their hopelessness, frustration and anger whenever the opportunity arises. ISIS is the opportunity and they know exactly what they're doing, because being muslim themselves, they know how to pull the strings. They're also heavily influenced by western corrupt governments killing their own people in their own homes, both directly and previously by supporting "friendly" corrupt governments who know exactly how to divide and conquer the many ancient tribal issues that simply won't go away whilst prejudice and a lack of education persists.

I didn't mean to minimise how poor the most recent failure was. It's just that nine in a row is pretty pathetic, humiliating and the bigger embarrassment. For those who still give a fuck. I was at the Brazil and Norway games in 98. I won't be going to any more Scotland games. Ever. Not after the half dozen in the ArenA.

Nice one. Trust the Aussies. "None of us want to help these bastards". ?

No more embarrassing than not being on any of the lists for 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2014. I'm sure Strachan might make it ten in a row.

Great article minijc. Thank you.

Putin Outed ISIS's G20 Financiers — But Not a Single Western Media Outlet Has Reported It A revealing silence from the “free” western press We've been very patient. For the last 12 hours we've been constantly refreshing Google News for just one — one — western article about Putin's bombshell comments at the G20 summit in Antalya. You would think that the Russian President stating publicly that ISIS is receiving money from 40 different countries, including G20 members, would be “newsworthy”. Right? But the western media has defied even our worst expectations: Not a single mainstream western outlet reported on Putin's comments. Typically, at least the Daily Beast has the common courtesy to distort or misrepresent the most recent Putin press conference. But in this instance, there is literally no written western record of Putin saying anything about who finances ISIS during the G20 summit in Turkey. This is insane. Only cricket chirps from the west. We tried various keywords. Alas, to no avail: Nothing. (By the way, that Reuters article has no mention of what Putin said. But at least it mentions Putin: “Obama met Russian President Vladimir Putin in an informal meeting lasting around 30 minutes at the summit on Sunday, a discussion which Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said had been constructive but not groundbreaking. Obama made no mention of their meeting at his news conference.”) This is beyond shameful. If the west is so concerned about fighting ISIS, surely it would be eager to discuss who is financing these scumbags? Welcome to 2015. http://russia-insider.com/en/politics/putin-outed-isiss-g20-financiers-not-single-western-media-outlet-reported-it/ri11231 Boris on Channel 4 News just now. Just fuck off you lying tit. You evil lying bastard.

Obviously not. If indeed that's what he was doing. I think you're right. It rings a bell. Strachan by the way. The Scottish name.

Pffttt. What have the Bosnians ever done for Tillydrone?

Does it upset you that much you need to specify? It had died a death before you brought it up again. How much more could have been said on the subject anyway? There are more important things in life to comment on. And more entertaining things to read than whinging.

These were quotes from an article in the Sunday papers today: - >>> We have spent far too long tiptoeing around the cultures of those who choose to join us, instead of protecting the culture they have chosen to join. Inadequate passport checks, no holding centres—all to appease a multicultural ideal sold to us by certain elements of our state and its agencies. Jeremy Corbyn says this is an attack on the vibrant multicultural cities we all know and love. No, Jeremy, it isn't. It isn't. You stupid man. It's an attack on France, on French sensibilities and the French way of life. Mostly, it's an attack on parents and children. Don't use this attack to defend multiculturalism. We don't all love multiculturalism. We don't all want equality the way you see it. We don't want to live where we are second-class citizens in our own country. >>> I can't argue with any of that. 27% of UK Muslims had sympathy with the Charlie Hebdo massacarists. I know that the cartoons were grossly offensive and a stupid exercise of the freedom of expression principle but they didn't deserve to die for them.