Intense November starts with the biggest hurdle

Treble yell on this year

1st

First?

Absolutely, the win at Hearts is vital. If we get that, which I know we can, everything else should follow.

Hail Hail and that

Hello aw ye lurkers..... :-)

I hesitated and was lost Gallagher. Lets hope der hun does the same.

we have won 10 drawn 2 and lost 3 of our last 15 at swinecastle.

away win.

Ulster-celt

paul67 from last thread, I haven't heard anything at all about it. But since people's proposed reactions to some mythical silence that nowhere is reporting seemed to be forming the majority of discussion on the last thread, someone somewhere seems to think it's going to happen. I thought someone in the know saying "not an issue, not going to happen" might put an end to it.

Italiabhoy

Haig used an entire generation of working class men as canon fodder sometimes sending thousands of men to their certain deaths in one day.

This was entirely due to the fact that Haig was one of the aristocracy who firmly believed that working class people were worth less than his noble friends watching from a safe distance and expendable.

Their are many war criminals in the world who have not been tried and convicted for many reasons and Haig can, in my opinion, be counted amongst them.

In February 2007 the English rugby team played at Croke Park in Dublin. Given that Croke Park is one of the more prominent shrines to the cause of Irish freedom then there were some misgivings about how the sporting representatives of the former Colonial power, playing one of the proscribed' garrison games' would be greeted.

As things turned out both teams and their respective anthems and flags were treated with the utmost respect.

I am sure there were Irish people there who felt uneasy about seeing the English team running onto the sacred turf but they showed commendable restraint.

I would like to think that if a decision is made to have a minute's silence at Celtic Park our support will show their maturity and basic humanity to mark it properly.

[Reposted FTLT]

Oneantonrogan, thanks for the explanation. Alas, if it is such a mythical concept, all that can be offered is “no info”, as who can deny a myth?

Enough said, I suspect.

I took a break from CQN yesterday; perhaps a wise decision.

I'd say the second of the CL games is important. Win that and we should have European football in the New Year with cash & co-efficient points up for grabs.

oneantonrogan
It was me who started all this off as my 15year old son, who's off to Tynecastle on sunday,raised the subject with me on wednesday evening.I didn't check the dates ie The 11th Nov for the remembrance thing and fearing we would end up with negative press on what i knew might happen,i started the ball rolling at 11:18am yesterday morning.By last night late on i realised it had grown into snowball proportions,which to me is indicative of the need for a debate on the issue.
I don't honestly know what,if anything,our club propose for next sat game at home to Motherwell,apart from the poppies on the jerseys but we should have it established amongst ourselves what is and isn't acceptable to us,the Celtic support, otherwise one day, maybe even next year,we'll find ourselves in a situation where we'll be away to Hearts or even worse them and proceed to sully the great name of our club in the eyes of many.
GreenfieldsoffranceCSC

On a different subject, did anyone else fly with this airline to the UEFA Final? Me and mrs bananas flew with them to Madrid from Gatwick and I've never seen such a ramshackle looking plane. You were even allowed to smoke in the rear 5 rows! Free beer and crisps and £49 return made up for it I suppose.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/7701489.stm

On the poppy issue, I've never really gave it a thought until this debate started up. I sent my bhoys to school at the start of the week with one on their uniform as they had been getting taught in school of the basics of WWI and WWII. I've always just seen it as a way of respecting those guys who gave up their lives without choice in those wars without looking too deep into the issue. The past day or so has got me thinking.

On Rangers' parade tomorrow. Good PR from them like ItaliaBhoy says. It definitely puts the spotlight firmly upon us. I hope we don't give them any ammo to attack us (pun intended) on this. Like others suggested, playing 'The Green Fields of France' is a great idea.

How about the other mythical concept, the Celtic left-back?

'No info' on that either, I expect ;~>

Must be a myth this Famine song thing being Racist,can't seem to find a reference in much of the press?

The poppy debate was started inadvertently but has obviously struck a chord, ergo we should have a debate,otherwise why do we have a blog?

.

I've Posted and Jinksboy Hisnae....

Milk....Lemonade....Choclate.... ;o))))

o1bhoy

Sorry to still be going on about it Friday morning but I watched the game again last night in close proximity and sober and thought we were superb. No JVOH, Samaras, Robson, Mc Manus, Naylor, Loovens in an away tie against third in the league at home with Naka having to be taken off at half time for protection!!!

I´d love to know what that Mc Geady chant is. I haven´t heard that one before and I cant make it out clearly. Anyone help ? he responds on the pitch very well to the adulation. Lets keep that in mind not just for him but all the young bhoys. Lets get back to the days when they were truly adulated. None of these Celtic players have been treated and feted like Tommy Burns was or Frank Mc Garvey or a Mc Stay. Lets take off the leash at Celtic Park and let these bhoys express themselves !

I was also left feeling that Darren O´Dea could be used at left back. He lacks a bit of pace but he makes up for it in height and attitude. Maybe Aiden can give him some of his angel dust. I just love the bhoys attitude. He takes no Shh.... from nobody.
So all those pouring out his tea please back off ... no loan and no more idling on the bench he needs more game time.

I think we have seen that within SPL terms that we can start to rely on other squad members. I´m not sounding the death knell for anyone but WGS has shown that he can rotate and it does work. Maybe the Captain needs to be rotated more often as well as he was notable by his absence - Sorry Stephen.

We are in very capable hands.

Gordon Strachan I Love you

Hail Hail

8 games in 27 days, bring it on. Celtic, for the first time in a while, are worth watching just now.

Not sure what to expect from the ever jovial Jambos on Sunday but Michael Stewart generally remembers how to kick people when we come to town so we better be kicking back.

Yesterday's Afternoon play on radio 4['Memorials to the Missing']is well worth 45 minutes of anyone's time.

It's on the Radio4 website.

It shows the BBC can still do the poignant as well as the peurile.

whoooosh> yo! paul67..a break from CQN can be necessary..good to see you back tho...
Yo! peeps what gives? busy busy aldo...long time no post..

left back problem solved?------------>

'CELTIC have taken Norwegian teenager Alexander Ruud Tveter on trial.

Norwegian Second Division side Follo have allowed the left-sided 17-year-old to train in Glasgow.

"If I'm offered a contract, I will see what happens," said Ruud Tveter.'as quoted in scotsman... hmmm

Awe Naw

'He plays on the left, he plays on the right, Aiden McGeady makes the huns look sh***'. You sing this while moving your hands above your head to the left and right when you sing it!

DBBA............

I heard we're playing a LB who hails from outside our shores.......

poppy_doumbe...

can't spellCSC,,,,I think he comes from the Green fields o......

vmhan aw leaving the room before he's told tae!

.

If It's a "I Love You" Day....

♠♠♠♠I Love You Penders....♠♠♠♠

o1diagramBhoy

donegaldanny ,

You are quite entitled to your opinions , keep them coming.

The hypocrisy around the issue gets me every time. Its as if this establishment event is forced upon you. Last week people condemned Irishmen singing songs commemorating 1916 and the civil war in Ireland , keep politics out of football they say , then they demand you wear or not wear a poppy and respect british state sponsored war dead?

The hypocrisy defies belief. I couldn't care less who wears a poppy or why there is a need to commemorate british war dead continuously but the only issue is why there is a need to ram it down everyone's throat. I sincerely hope Celtic made clear that individuals decide to as whether they wear these things because we have players who may have a different take on commemorating BRITISH war dead.

McGeady chant: "he plays on the left, he plays on the right, Aiden McGeady, he makes the huns s****"

I have no problem myself with people debating the rights and wrongs of poppies/remembrance, but people were asking things like "will the pie stand still be serving during the silence" and stuff so I thought it was getting a bit out of hand with people acting as if it was a given that it would be observed. Saying that, it's stirred up some ill-feeling, with one blogger taking it so much to heart that he's not going to contribute any more, which surely ISN'T what this blog's about?

Paul67, sorry to keep pestering you, but is the "poppies woven into the jerseys" thing actually a thing? I had a wee look via Google and could only find it as a story in the Record and blogs/messageboards quoting the Record - couldn't even find anything on the SPL's site, and it is them who have apparently requested it of all clubs.

oh and its my birthday today...
its not too clever having yer birthday on halloween cos i have lots of kids chapping the door to tell bad jokes for money...

think i will paint my wellies silver and leave them at the front door...they might think gary glitter lives here...and get peace and quiet to eat my birthday cake ..

Aldo- Happy Birthday, peeps

.

Aldo Happy 41st....

BTW It's Better to Spray Paint Them it Makes Less Scuff Marks.... ;o((((

o1paulGaadCSC

lol dontbrattback> bedlam is having an easy day today...i have a day off!!!
was that clip from "pablos big bucket of hits"??? or something similar..
cheers

Flying in from the USA,landing Sun morning around 6.30,just got the call to say my ticket and transport for tynecastle is taken care of,it's great being BobbyRussell's mate,thanks for listening,maybe i will come along to Babbitys next Saturday,try and put some faces to names.

'Pablo's big bucket of hits' is off-limits, post-wise.

He's gone all Ayrshire on me over it.

01bhoy..thanks.. i might get last years st pauli top with aldo40 spray painted to aldo41....

Aldo, many returnings of happiness.

pablophanque

oneantonrogan

The story was in the Record, I know cos I subbed it. The poppies on the jerseys was a request from Poppyscotland, the fundraising organisation formerly known as the Earl Haig fund. They asked all SPL clubs to either have a poppy woven into jerseys that players wear, as Rangers and Hearts have done previously, or players to wear a stick on poppy. All SPL clubs have agreed to the request.

Aldo67 - happy birthday, and my own costume to scare the teenage guisers in shellsuits turning up at 10pm just demanding sweeties or money with no propsect of a song, joke or dance is Papa Lazarou, the delightful League of Gentlemen nightmare

STANDING UP....Hello, Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaave..

cheers pablo> i will have a "virtual" pint then..will be in touch...
hope you recover from going all "ayrshire"
slan
aldo

I know there is a lot of Neil Young fans on this blog there are two documentries on him tonight on BBC 4, if you don't have BB4 like me you can usually watch it on BBC Iplayer up to 7-days after the broadcast. Oh yea there is also a poxy live concert from 1973 of the very bland Eagles at 21.00.

Neil Young - Don't Be Denied, 10pm
A look at the musician's 40-year career.

BBC Four
Neil Young grants rare and unprecedented access to the BBC for a documentary in which he traces his musical journey in his own words.

The film was made from three hours of interview shot in New York and California and utilises previously unseen performance footage from the star's own extensive archives. It also features cohorts Stephen Stills, Graham Nash, David Crosby, Nils Lofgren and James Taylor.

From his early transcontinental American quest for recognition, through the first flush of success with Buffalo Springfield to the bi-polar opposites of mega-stardom with Crosby, Stills and Nash and the soulful rock of Crazy Horse, Young's career has enjoyed many guises.

Perhaps his most famous period was as a 1970s solo artist making albums that became benchmarks. After The Goldrush, recorded in his Topanga Canyon home, and Harvest, part-recorded on his northern Californian ranch, saw Young explore the confessional side of song-writing. But never one to rest on his laurels, he would continually change direction.

In the mid-Seventies, two of Young's closest friends died as a result of heroin abuse. What followed was music's answer to cinema verite, with Tonight's The Night a spine-chilling wake for his dead friends.

As New Wave arrived, Young was keen to explore new ideas. A collaboration with Devo on what became his art-house epic, Human Highway, saw the genesis of Rust Never Sleeps, a requiem for the Seventies.

In the Eighties, Young explored different genres, from electronica to country and in recent times he has returned to Crazy Horse and Crosby, Stills and Nash, but only when it has suited him.

The film ends with Young still refusing to be denied, on tour in the USA with CSNY, playing anti-Bush songs to a Republican audience in the South.

Deja Vu at 23:00 BBC Four

In 2006, the Iraq War was the flashpoint of the upcoming US election, a subject which divided the country. 1960s supergroup Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, who campaigned against the Vietnam War, hit the road again to bring their anti war message to a new generation.

Keeponrockinginthefreeworld CSC

inkybhoy>thanks! do you tell them " you are my wife now" and suggest they " go into town to sell some pegs"
scary stuff!!

oneantonrogan
I too don't know what's happening, but better a debate on here and amongst ourselves than some edict from on high that's put in front of the support as a Fait Accompli. Would anyone rather have all this emotion played out in public at CP?
Do we have to wait until we're told to have a debate on any given topic of obvious interest to many on here?
Without having a go at anyone who's too upset to return to this blog over the hypotheses of what might or might not happen vis a vis the remembrance issue,what are you actually saying here?
Do you think certain difficult subjects we should steer clear of or worse still censor because some people don't like the subject matter.Life isn't like that and i for one would rather we reached a conclusion through debate than bury our heads in the sand and hope the issue goes away.

Johnnyquest

BR informed me of your iminent arrival. Get my mobile number from him and we'll meet for a beer. BTW found a bar in Rome that sells Anchor Steam !!! Guess what I drank? Correct....Peroni !

Michael Collins,

Haig was not an aristocrat. His family were wealthy businessmen, but not aristocrats. He was enobled after the war, therefore your insight into his "aristocratic" mind is suspect to say the least.

I very much doubt he used the Somme and Ypres to conduct genocide against working people as you suggest. The officer class was decimated during the Somme- there is no evidence that those of a higher birth (so to speak) were held back. Indeed, the gradual decline of the British aristocracy as a political force almost certainly was accelerated in Flanders.

"War Criminal" is an incredibly serious charge. It disturbs me that you appear to make it, and hold to it, on little more than ill-informed prejudice.

aldo67

I make them dance in my Circus Pandemonium...can't help but think it's gonna scare the drawers off the three junior inkys and Mrs Inkyghirl as well...

STANDING UP..this is just a saga now

johnnyquest, from last post.

You cannot deny that it was Donati's run from midfield that forced the first of the two consecutive corners that led to the goal.

It was his contribution that directly led to Celtic being in that position.

Also, I would suggest that Mo was highly influential, particularly in the first half, considering too, his lack of match fitness.

Give credit where it is due.

In the 1914-1948 war 306 british troops were shot on orders of the military command.Each death warrant was signed by Haig who lied repeatedly in saying that the men had been examined by a medical officer and no soldier was executed if suffering from shell shock.

The Germans exucuted 25 of their own men and the Americans none at all.

porridgeandbananas,

I´ll have the family lined up in front of the TV belting it out next time.

singinglessonsCSC

From the official site

show racism the red card weekend of action
Newsroom Staff
Before this weekend’s Clydesdale Bank Premier League matches across the country, players from every SPL club will be united in calling for an end to racism in football and society.

SPL clubs are setting the example this weekend with players warming up in red card t-shirts, showing red cards before kick off, children carrying red card banners on to the pitch and managers wearing badges in support of the action.

Players in over 40 European countries are involved in similar events as part of the Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE) network against racism and discrimination.

Football is a powerful medium to break down barriers and promote tolerance. This united action in support of the Show Racism the Red Card campaign sends out the positive message that football is a game to be enjoyed by all.

Lex Gold, Executive Chairman of the Scottish Premier League, said: “We are delighted to support the Show Racism the Red Card campaign. We applaud the good work being done. But there is no room for complacency and we encourage everyone to support this initiative.”

Billy Singh of Show Racism the Red Card Scotland said: “Once again we are delighted that our leading clubs are taking a united stand against racism. This weekend is the culmination of two weeks of concerted anti-racist activity throughout Scotland.

"Football is leading the way in trying to change people’s attitudes and behavior within football grounds. Our challenge is to spread that message to our communities and everyday lives."

Its going to be tough for Rangers next year...

from the Evening Times..

SPL executive Greg Mailer said: "We are confirmed in 10th place in the coefficient table for access to next season."

The SPL runners-up will enter the Champions League third qualifying round against a third-placed team from Russia or a runner-up from Romania, Portugal, Holland, Turkey, Ukraine, Belgium, Greece or the Czech Republic.

That first leg of that round is played on July 28 or 29 with the second leg on August 4 or 5.

Five winners from that stage then progress to the play-offs', where they will face a side from England, Spain, Italy, France or Germany for a route into the money-spinning group stages.

Paul67,
I have to admit to not really caring one bit about the Man U game. For me its All about the league....and the knock on effects for our dear south side friends...

Hey Johnniequest,
Whats this? you a mate of Kojos now...did he get you a seat on his private jet?.... flying in for the big games! Tee Hee!

Seriously though, enjoy the game, should be fireworks. Enjoy BBs if you make it. From the one time I made it into there (also jetting in from abroad) the lads who meet up are good folk.

Neil Young,apart from the ultimate accolade of being a True Hero of the Kerrang!CSC, has also had a trapdoor spider named after him.

This wee chap[ess?]is Myrmekiaphila neilyoungi

.

"The Friday Effftirnin Project...."

It's Time For....Who Knows The Most Abooot The Guest Host....????

Q. Did Paul67 'Inhale' When He Smoked 'That' Cigartette....????

o1alan&justinCSC

gallagher, I'm all for debate, I said that. I also think that regardless of what's said here, things will still happen elsewhere - we might (and that's a very bit MIGHT) reach a consensus on here, but this is a teeny tiny bit of the Celtic support in here.

Nothing is being put in front of us from on high regarding this issue, because it isn't a Celtic issue. They aren't having a minute's silence. They aren't asking the fans to wear poppies.

All I asked was that people stop debating what they are going to do or not do at Celtic Park next Saturday, because there isn't going to be a public observance of Remembrance Sunday.

I'm not asking for censorship, just tolerance of the views of others. From all sides. On all topics, whether that's poppies, songs, chapels v churches, Catholic schooling or whether Scott Brown is worth £4m. And I know it's not my place to ask for it, so I'll just shut up now.

lamartine
That's why i propose "THE GREEN FIELDS OF FRANCE" and poppies optional, white,red or none at all!

doingnothingisntanoptionCSC

I don't know if the trapdoor spider can play left-back and having to wear 8 boots rather than 2 is extra work for kitman John Clark but she might be worth inviting over for a trial.

Narrowbaot Tim,

Will certainly watch. On a similar note, BBC did a fantastic doc on Phil Spector last week- if it's repeated on digital, I'd certainly recommend watching.

I think that I once had strong views on Remembrance Sunday but I've forgotten them now.

On the subject of the Poppy appeal, both my Grandfathers fought in the wars, one in the first (who I sadly never met) and one in the second. It was my father's father who fought in the second and a more die hard celtic fan you could never meet.
He was a member of the British Legion and would stand at the end of the night for GSTQ even though he despised the concept of a monarchy. He explained to me he used this time to remember his fallen comrades. His wife was awarded, presented by the Queen Mother, for her years of organisation of the fundraising efforts. Funnily enough the award never took pride of place in there house but was given to the local legion to display. He said Remembrance day is not a celebration, it's the opposite it commemorates all those young men who gave their lives for freedom (no matter creed nor nationality)and a reminder of how close this world came to facist rule.
It's motto is not 'we won the war' it's 'lest we forget'.
My Grandfather became quite obsessed about the Great Wars and read everything he could connected to them, including Mein Kampf several times, and his view of Earl Haig was similar to what Michael Collins has written on here.
Several years back in one of the last parades my Grandfather took part in, an orange band joined the end of the march, not part of the official parade. Many of the marchers complained about them but the Police said to stop them could cause a seen and could result in violence so they were allowed to march to the Cenotaph and I believe even laid a wreath. They marched back at the end of the parade and then attempted to come into the British Legion, that is when things got nasty. Old soldiers in their seventies and eighties many Rangers fans barred their way and my Dad said had the Orange band not backed down it would have ended in violence.
I found this site and thought it apropriate. First time I have tried this link thingy so sorry if it doesn't work.
Celtic and the Great War
Sal.

hey Maggie

I bet you didn't expect the IRA to stay undefeated? I am sure the release of their prisoners of war stuck in your craw? and to see their commanders in government!

as british as finchley you said!

and to think your propaganda war had all your followers believing you were fighting criminals and terrorists while at the same time your government were busy negotiating.

you had them all fooled

Ulster-Celt

There are very few among us who can write and articulate what many of us feel. Che Timvara on E-Tims has eclipsed all IMHO.

My thanks to whoever provided the link in the last thread, to Che himself and to Paul for allowing me to bring this to the attention of as many people as I can.

I would urge everyone to take the time neccesary to read the whole article as I believe it is merited and is the least we can do for Che's efforts.

From here...............E-Tims

"THE ARGUMENT’S OVER ……………
Written by Che Timvara
Friday, 31 October 2008
On October 19th something monumental happened in the United States that got me thinking about issues here in Scotland. For the last few months, I’ve been following, with great interest, events in the U.S. as Barack Obama powers towards his destiny as the 44th President. His victory will consign to history the darkness at the heart of the American dream, that great nation’s racist past, and ring in a brand new era and a new kind of politics. Equally important, it will be a tremendous repudiation of the McCain/Palin campaign, which has, in its desperation, attempted to tap into the historical wellspring of hate which once split that country in two.

The McCain/Palin camps’ despicable tactics are the last, desperate act of a belief system that is dying. We are witnessing its final, agonised days of power; from here on in the road is straight down into Hell where such beliefs and opinions belong. This moment has been nearly two centuries in the making, if we are looking at it through the widest possible lens, but in terms of the modern struggle, which began with the civil rights movements in the sixties, we are talking a mere forty odd years, a blink in the grand scheme of things.

Yet, it is entirely possible that the struggle, instead of being advanced to its now inevitable conclusion, could have suffered a major setback during this election. The hate-mongers, as seen at the rallies of Palin in particular, might have found some resonance within the American populace had October 19th not seen an extraordinary and inspired act by a man utterly sickened by what he saw and who, by virtue of his name and his reputation had a platform from which to rail against it. He spoke out, and America took another step forward.

His name was Colin Powell. On that day, he endorsed Barack Obama for the Presidency. Had this been all he did, that would have been a sensation in and of itself, as he is a lifelong Republican who played a major role in the Bush administration, but Powell went much farther than that. He condemned the Republican Party itself, and in doing so annihilated the very idea of that party as reaching out to moderates in this race. He slammed the strategy, yes, but also the way that strategy sought to tap into hatred, and in doing so has sparked a civil war for the soul of the party itself.

Although a supporter of the Democratic Party, it’s a struggle I hope moderate Republicans win, although that would make them a far more potent political force. The hardcore Republican neo-Christian right are the shame of the American political system; their brand of nationalism has sparked wars, fed racism, promoted hatred and divided the most powerful country in the world to the extent even well meaning men and women are pulled rightward out of fear or political expediency, to the detriment of all.

The finest moment of Powell’s interview came near the end, when he talked about the Republican Party’s rumour machine and its efforts to smear Obama, in particular by claiming he is a Muslim. Powell first set the record straight by reminding viewers of Obama’s Christian upbringing, but then he set the cat amongst the pigeons by posing a rhetorical question so profound I gave a gasp of delighted amazement when he said it. “The really right answer (to the question) however is, what if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer is no. That is not American.”

In a single statement, Powell got right to the heart of things in a way no-one else had. He cast a bright light on the last, dark vestiges of the nation’s shame, and provoked a brand new debate which will go on long after this election and resonate much deeper than mere words. At its heart though, it was an awesome indictment of the party to which he has given a lifetime of service, a party to which he remains loyal even now, a party he will fight for, even if it means choosing a side in the internal battle to come. It was a moment that has already seen him branded a traitor by many within its circle, but if Powell had been worried about that he would never have spoken out with such passion in the first place.

Powell’s comments got me thinking about Scotland, and in particular about Rangers. It got me thinking about The Famine Song, and the by now ludicrous lengths some will go to defend it, even now when the argument itself is over and done with, and everybody knows who is right and who is wrong.

The media, whose silence was deafening until John Reid poked them with a stick and brought the argument sharply to life and into a new focus, now concede the central point, albeit without apology or excuse for having gotten it so wrong in the first place. The anti-racism groups, who at first said nothing, now voice their condemnation in the loudest possible terms. Politicians, even the police, have gotten in on the act, because no-one can reasonable argue with a former Home Secretary when he says laws are being broken.

The debate, if ever it could be called that, is finished. Only a few hold-outs, like the discredited and disgraced excuse for a journalist Jim Traynor, remain steadfast in their refusal to see the light. They are the exception to the rule. Even Keevins has the sense to see that this is an argument in which one side’s case has been utterly destroyed, and he has now sought refuge in the winner’s enclosure.

The only real remaining block of the ignorant and unrepentant are those within Rangers itself. Like the Republican Party, the official line is that the world is against them. Like the McCain/Palin camp, they now view the media as overwhelmingly hostile. Like the extreme right, who’s hatred exploded at rallies with calls to kill the Democratic Party nominee, the attention of the police and the authorities is treated as proof not of the wrongness of their action by as irrefutable evidence that they are being singled out and picked on.

And through it all, I keep on waiting and watching for something that thus far has not come. Through the denials and evasions, through the making of excuses and wails of self pity, I watch and I wait and I hope for someone to come to the fore from within Rangers itself and do what Powell has done and condemn, vilify and treat with contempt and shame the direction of not only the support but the club itself. I wait and I hope, but I do not expect, that someone, be it a former player or manager, a director or leader of the fans, will step forward and say what we all know to be true; there is a sickness at Rangers which must be exposed and rooted out, if the club is to have a future at all. And the wait goes on.

Let me say at this juncture that one person of note has done so, and he should be excused blame here and now. Graham Speirs, as on other occasions, has used his public profile to put things sharply into perspective, and it comes across with all the more force because he is a self-confessed Rangers fan, but as he is not widely respected or liked within their support he does not fit the criterion of a Powell-like figure who commands wide respect within their ranks. This is a great shame, as he is intelligent and forthright in his views, and articulates well his arguments. His condemnation of many of their past sins has won him acclaim everywhere, except within Ibrox itself.

From the rest comes only silence, that and a peculiar tendency to mount some kind of defence for Scotland’s Shame. After all, don’t we hear constantly, that these people are a “small minority”? Day after day, no matter the situation, be it riots, or Nazi salutes or hate filled anthems, we hear that time and time again. Yet the main supporters groups at Rangers are now run by men for whom hate is business as usual, men who defend every atrocious act, who excuse every inexcusable thing. They defend this song with digs at McGeady and McCarthy, for betraying Scotland, even as they pour scorn on the national coach and laud a manager who walked out of that job without a backward glance and players who have turned their back on the jersey in petulant rage. They defended the Billy Boys, rebranded Nazi’s salutes celebrating the murder of Jews as Red Hand Salutes celebrating the murder of Catholics and condemned “heavy handed policing” in Manchester amidst scenes where rubber bullets, tear gas and the use of water cannons might have been employed without the authorities stepping over the line. Had police officers been killed during those terrible hours, a scenario that chills me to the bone for how near it came, they would undoubtedly have trotted out that same party line without blinking.

The moderates within the RST have been relentlessly purged. Few can doubt this was done with the connivance of the membership as a whole, and their rightward sweep has been incredible and dispiriting to watch in recent months. Even more worryingly, their brand of lunacy now goose-steps along with the view of those at the very top of the club itself, including the Chief Executive and the Chairman. If there is a voice of dissent on the board, I have yet to hear that voice speak up and speak out.

Their former players and club heroes have been just as silent, and are entitled to be viewed with the same scorn and disgust. Not one former player has spoken out against this new manifestation of hate, though many, like Powell, have the profile to do just that. Take Fraser Wishart, who has at his disposal a national platform with some weight, as he is the chief of the players union. Had he felt strongly about it, he could have spoken out last year when the hate was pouring down on Noel Hunt. His silence then, and now, as the same venom comes down in a torrent on a 17-year-old boy, is shameful. Serious questions need to be asked about Wishart’s role in all this, and about why no-one at the top of the union he represents has taken him aside and told him to get off the fence. Once upon a time, the union would have condemned, in the harshest terms, anyone within its ranks who did not condemn racism wherever they found it. Instead, Wishart is lauded as one of them men at the forefront of anti-racist campaigns, at least in the eyes of the all-too complicit media. The reality is that Wishart’s silence on this issue marks him out as one of two things; he is either a moral coward or he is a closet racist, in full agreement with the hordes who belt out these anthems of hate. Either way, he is, to steal a phrase from our chairman, unfit for purpose and his union should be asking him serious, searching questions if the organisation itself is not to come under the most intense scrutiny.

Wishart is not alone, of course. The head of the SFA is another hero of the Rangers support, and his condemnation might itself inspire other, moderate voices within their ranks to speak up. Instead he has kept silent on the issue save to say that the club, because it has “tried its best” to eradicate the hate mongers amongst its fan base, should not be penalised by SPL regulations.

Whereas Wishart’s silence is embarrassing and shameful, yet also inexplicable, there is no surprise as to Gordon Smith’s failure to give a serious response. His record in defending the worst elements of the Rangers support is unequalled. Even the reactionary clown Traynor once condemned Smith’s pandering when, in the heat of the UEFA led investigation into the sectarianism of their support he first sought to drag Celtic into the maelstrom and then tried to defend the chants themselves. In a now famous encounter, live on radio, Traynor bluntly asked him “which part of F the Pope do you not believe is sectarian.” Smith has long defended the rights of Rangers and their fans, even against the best interests of the organisation he now heads; last season he famously offered to postpone our landmark cup final in an effort to swing the title race.

Mark Hateley has a newspaper column, as does Derek Johnstone, who also has a radio station at his disposal. Numerous other former stars of the blue jersey have similarly ingratiated themselves within the Fourth Estate, and their words carry the power of Holy Writ within the press. Yet not one former player or official connected with this club has acted in its best interests by saying what everyone now knows beyond a reasonable doubt; vast tracts of the Rangers support, aside from being sectarian swine, are also racist scum.

Alcoholics know the first step towards a cure is admitting the problem exists. The silence from those with the power to affect real change here are guilty either of not caring enough about the problem to want to see it solved or, far worse, not recognising it as a problem at all. So, the Rangers fans go on spewing their hatred without as much as a word of condemnation from those who could, if they chose, speak out and set club in a new direction.

Far more important, though, than mere condemnation, would be voices within Ibrox speaking on behalf of the Irish community, as Powell did with America’s Muslims. Why, he asked, should a young Muslim boy not grow up dreaming of being President of the United States? By the same token, will we ever see a Republic of Ireland international feel proud to pull on the blue jersey of Rangers, and, more vitally, would he feel secure enough to do so believing he’d get support from their fans?

Where are the voices articulating positive messages about the Irish community? Would Rangers supporters groups, for example, join with Celtic fans in a petition to Glasgow City Council to build a lasting, permanent memorial in this city to those who died in the famine? And if not, why not? Why are their dozens of similar memorials around the world, in cities that owe far less to their Irish communities than Glasgow does? What’s wrong with this city making a similar gesture, and wouldn’t a united front from the main organisations in our society, including Rangers, not take us a giant step down the path of casting anti-Irish racism in this country to the dustbin of history?

Would Rangers, for example, agree to play a friendly match against the Republic of Ireland at Ibrox, with the proceeds going to anti-sectarian and anti-racist charities? Would they go one step further and, in keeping with custom, do what they have never done before in their history and fly the tri-colour above their stadium? On the very few occasions Irish teams have been entertained there they never have, although on October 14th 1936 they did fly the Nazi flag.

Does anyone at Rangers care enough about the club and its tarnished reputation to act in a way that brings them at least some measure of credit? The country as a whole would certainly applaud them; the press especially would fall all over themselves to shower them with praise, and for once it would be justified.

Colin Powell’s condemnation of the Republican Party’s campaign rings all the more true coming, as it does, from a man who cares deeply about the future of that party. He has acted not against it but stoutly in its defence and because he knows that the damage his words have done in the short term will benefit not only the Republicans but the whole political process when viewed in hindsight years from now. His courage is second only to his conviction that such racism has no place at all in public life.

Is there even one such individual within the ranks at Rangers, one person with the public profile to step forward and condemn them and the direction the club is taking, especially in light of the official statement released this week which makes it quite clear the hierarchy of Rangers does not condemn the song or those who sing it? This club claims to be forward-thinking and free from the detritus of the past; it also claims it is a small minority of fans who constantly let them down. If these things are true, why not confront this minority in the fullest sense by telling it like it is? They are the lowest of the low, the sickest sewer-dwelling filth in our society today.

Why is the one shining light amongst their ranks in the world of journalism, the redoubtable Graham Speirs, treated as a leper, a figure of hate, for daring to do what no-one else has? Why is he persona non grata with Murray, perhaps alone of the assembled ranks of the media? Shouldn’t such a man of integrity, who clearly loves the club, be made an example rather than a pariah?

Where are, to paraphrase Nixon, the great Silent Majority of Rangers fans, if indeed a majority they are? Why, if the number of fans who shame the club is so small, has this tiny group managed to take the reigns of their largest supporters groups almost without a fight? And where are the independent groups of fans who should be springing up to fight for the heart and soul of their club, as is happening within the ranks of the Republican Party in the United States? Where are those Rangers fans who abhor the hatred and wish to see it eliminated from their club before it eliminates the club itself?

If those Rangers fans on the celebrity circuit, ex-players or what have you, wished to, they could support this “silent majority” and give them a standard to rally around. And so I wait, knowing as I do that if the day ever comes when Rangers is purged of the hate-filled trash who shame both that club and this country, they will be stronger for it. I wait and I hope for that day because, perverse as it may seem, as a football fan I can live with that as long as the game is clean and pure. A strong Rangers, after all, would inspire us to greater strength and be for the good of the whole game.

In it’s present form, however, Rangers are a disease and if they were gone from this Earth right now I would not miss them any more than I, watching Sarah Palin’s hate-filled speeches, feel sympathy for America’s racist, great unwashed, who will wake on November 5th to a transformed country, where a black man awaits the formal swearing in ceremony in January before taking their country down a path which, to them, will be just as alien as it must seem to a resident of Larkhall who has to pass under the green Asda sign.

In the end, it will be Colin Powell’s stunning endorsement of Obama’s candidacy, far more than the election result, which will resonate longest and loudest within the ranks of the Grand Old Party. That Rangers had even one such figure within their ranks with the stature to tell the truth and be heard, that club, and this country would be a far better place to live in.

I continue to live in hope. Unfortunately I’m not expecting too much."

pablophanque

oneantonrogan
Is that definite there's to be no minutes silence?
I genuinely don't know but i fear the outcome if there was an attempt to hold one,that's the only reason i'm harping on about it.
Please don't take this the wrong way,i know it's heated but it's civil and IMHO justified and please don't shut up on my account.
If i through the written word have come across as nippy then i apologise as it's not my intent.
Gallagher

.

Margret....

Do You Now....Regret Tellin Your Son Too " Get Lost"....

o1saharaDesertCSC

gallagher, Paul says there isn't, so that's good enough for me. There's nothing on the official site. It's not something we've done as a rule for Remembrance Day, so I don't see why there would be now.

No need for apologies!

oneantonrogan, ok withdrawn :)

The Lhadd who wore the butcher`s apron, that makes total sense to me. It is my choice not to wear a poppy as I believe that it is the function of the british Government to look after injured and ex servicemen and not a charities. The Gov't sends these boys into conflicts, some legal and some not so leagal, and therefor should care for them once they return. As for the symbolic nature of the poppy I feel no real obligation to wear one even though I have a great uncle who died in the later days of WWII. It is each and everyones personal choice and being a Celtic supporter should not deter anyone from acting on their own beliefs.

Paul67, "erase past demons". That clubs demons will always walk with them hand in hand until defunction day which hopefully for them is not too far away.

Yo! Aldo, good to hear from you, happy birthday. Yes, yesterday I decided to devise a plan to solve the country’s economic problems instead of reading CQN; managed it too, I wonder if the Chancellor reads CQN?

Oneantonrogan, inkybhoy seems to have the info on the poppies.

corrib 05. I hear you. We’ll care come the day, of course, but the league is everything.

Pablo, I’ll catch Che’s tombe what I get more time later.

Moonbeams, agree.

I think it unlikely that a minutes silence AS WELL AS players wearing the poppy was ever expected.

Getting a pure silence at any game has proved impossible which is where the minute's applause came from.

Every club has its share of folk who would not observe the silence so why would clubs agree to anything that opens themselves to finger pointing?

This is an excellent example of something perceived as real causing all sorts of emotions to be raised, meanings applied, positions taken, all for NOTHING in the literal sense of the word.

I Thought the article on Etims was fantastic!! Particularly with regard to the players union and their shameful inactivity in their defence of their members against this racism!!
Just a point on the PR stunts orchestrated through their triumphant PR Company who seem to have considerable influence in Media circles. ( Though what happened about Asda in Larkhall lads, how did that get through the net? I have heard it mentioned as far away as London that people are astonished to find that in this day and age such a community exists!!)
And am I the only person who thinks that its strange that Media House do not mention their esteemed clent on their web-site? Why could this be? Are they ashamed of their association with RFC though happy to take some of Sir Mintys hard conned cash?

dreams n songs ...........

hard conned cash......chuckle chuckle

Now then, now then, now then, Goodness gracious! How's about that, then guys and gals? Sir James Wilson Vincent Savile is 82 today! Jim'll Fix our Left Back Problem.

Old Record Club CSC

Ulster-Celt and o1bhoy, you seem to have some hostility to me which suggests that I may have done something to upset you. Unfortunately, due to the onset of gaga-itis (with smelling of pee complications) my remembering thingy (memory?) is not as good as people tell me it was when I was ruling the empire.

Oh, I can remember the successes such as the community charge, the cutting of the top rate of tax a whole 20%,double digit inflation and the raising of VAT from 8% to a more sensible 17.5%. I also remember making good on our manifesto promise of "Labour isn't working" by spectacularly raising unemployment(you all thought it was just a billboard slogan, didn't you?) In this way I created thousands more small businesses (from formerly large ones in steel, coal shipbuilding). The fact that these cumbersome organisations were not in the Home Counties but in places like Scotland is sometimes erroneously put down to coincidence and I feel I do not get the full credit I deserve.

However, I do not remember any of the failures (my son Mark excepted)and would be astonished (but not unduly troubled) if you were to say that my policies caused the ruin of many close-knit and proud families and communities and drove hard working people to the brink of despair and beyond,swallowed up by a sense of helplessness and hopelessness. Certainly, there were a few moaning minnies (and don't start me on the Irish) who were ungrateful about the increased leisure time I created for them (and a few ungrateful Argentinian sailors too) but on the whole everybody south of Watford benefited apart from the beggars who were immigrants from the north so were not important.

As I indicated the other day, Hitler may have been a glorious leader with that kind of evil to which others can only aspire. But I am not one of them and should be honoured and recognised in my own right for an evil that was truly an inbuilt natural talent.

Praise me. Praise me.

Och another story (not as good as the two wolves but useful nevertheless.)

Three guys are waiting for the bus to get to work.
It comes along but even though half empty shoots past the three of them.

The first guy goes ballistic, runs back up the path into his house, picks up the phone, phones the bus company, hurls abuse at the operator who answers and has a heart attack.

The second guy shakes his head, walks back into his house, takes out a pen and paper and writes a strong letter of complaint to the bus company and goes back to catch a later bus.

The third guy shakes his head, looks at his watch, looks at the sky and sees it is bright and clear. He calculates that if he walks (and he could do with the exercise) he will only be 15 minutes later than normal and 15 earlier than if he hangs around for the next bus. So off he toddles to work.

The exact same event triggered of three different reactions/responses in the three guys. That is because the event triggered off something already in them that had nothing to do with the actual event. The reacted to what they percieved the event MEANT for them according to their own experience.

Looking at the meaning we each give something and why is an excellent way of establishing which wolf has the inner ascendancy and then chosing which one to feed.

(manged to work the wolves back in at the end there :)

PS An event can be an imagined one in the future, like the one under discussion. It does not have to be real, we only need to believe it to be so.

Dreams and Songs to sing.

An interesting point to broadcast but are you 100% sure about it?

new article posted.

podium ?

Auldheid,
100% sure about what?

paul67> thanks! did you manage to write down your plans for economic prosperity ?
i think all MP's read CQN... i also wonder if John Park MSP reads another blog after putting wee chick up in the air...in an agricultural challenge...
spoke to a life long jambo down the town there, he reckons celtic will win...happy happy days...cos normally he canny see past the jambos..

Who the Rangers PR company are and that their web site does not list Rangers as clients.

They may not do so for a number of reasons that are conjecture at the end of the day, but as well to establish original facts are accurate.

I never have or ever will wear a poppy. My granda's brother spent 28 years in the army but I will say my own prayers for him as I pray for my famiy dead every day of the year. However I have no objections to anyone else wearing a poppy but to make it an offical thing at Celtic Park when we have Japanese and German players as well as a sizable Irish support is madness, and as has been witness a receipe for division.

With respect to you Scottish bhoys, you can never understand how much the poppy has been politized in NI or you have never been held for hours by the British Army just because of your name, they have not killed any of your family or raided your house in the middle of the might and numerous other things.

I forgive all that happened in NI over the last 40 years but I don't have to stand up in support of them.
I don't know if there will be a minute's silence at CP next home game but I won't be observing it, if I attend the game I won't be in the park until its over.

Perhaps the Irish support should stay at home next Sunday, I for one am considering it.

Auldheid are you a conriocht?

My favourite wolf is Wolfgang Wolf who use to manage Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga. A close second is Wolf Blitzer CNN War correspondent (he sounds like a panzer division).

I use to be a Werewolf but I am alright noooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Lon Chaney Jr CSC

The Gate In The Wood coninueth...

SFA HQ Yesterday

Wilma: ...... anyway you seem very happy today, Sir Gordon, like the cat who got the cream

GD: Yes, today's my last day on the Worcestershire Sauce Crisps anal diet

W: And the whiff of smoked haddock is begining to recede by the week

GD: The credit for the cure goes to Brother Brown Browning. Ensure he receives complimentary tickets for tomorrow's Hampden Homecoming Halloween Hooly

W: Who else merits a place on the guest list, Sir ?

GD: Fridge magnate, Willie Chaughey. Ensure the chill chief receives a VIP invitation for him and his associates.

W: Any others ?

GD: Let me think, Wilma..... Tom Craigson deserves a pair for booking Japanese bad-bhoy, Suzuki MacNamura. Hold on a moment - Wilma, check if that dead-ball-flukester has Scottish ancestry.

W: He doesn't. I investigated already, did the family-tree research.

GD: He doesn't qualify ? With a name like MacNamura ?

W: He's Japo-Irish

GD: What ? Another one ? Like Seansushi Macushla. There's something fishy going on here, Wilma.

W: Tell me about it.

GD: No, you tell me about it.

W(picks up her notes): Suzuki's grandfather, Mick MacNamura, was a Japanese Native American martial arts expert who settled in Limerick in 1916. He was involved in the Easter Rising Sun Rebellion. Cofflick-side, obviously.

GD: A Mick-Mack Indian ?

W: A Limerick man of oriental culture, Sir Gordon; a sort-of Sean East of Garryowen. There's a short verse about him here :

" There was an Indian-Jap-Paddy called Mick
Whose family emigrated to Limerick
His grandson Suzuki
Could hit yir bahooky
Wi a 70-yarder free-kick "

Anyone else for the guestlist, Sir Gordon ?

GD: Is anyone in Scotland eligible for Scotland ?

W: Only Loyola Novo

GD: Invite her. Courier her two complimentery tickets immediately.

W: Loyola is male, Sir Gordon. He has stars tattooed on his arm.

GD: In that case he probably qualifies for the USA instead. Invite US Presidential hopeful Osama Bin Whatsisname.

W: I'm afraid Osama is confined to barracks. What about the other one ?

GD: Clint Billton ?

W: No, John McKane. He's got to have Scottish heritage.

GD: McKane's too old to play for Scotland, Wilms

W: He's not as old as Presbyterian Journal and Wavy Deer. Good lord - will I invite Sir Murray David ?

GD: On no account has David to be invited. He would upset the dookin-fur-applecart. Our job primarily is to entertain Willie Chaughey and his Cofflick companions.

W: In that case the 200-strong guestlist is complete.

GD: Good work, Wilma. Advise final numbers to Brother Ramsay Gordon for catering purposes. Happy Halloween. Will you be in fancy dress, Wilma? I'd love to see you in a ....

W: ... I wouldn't like to spoil the surprise, Sir Gordon. Good things come to he who waits.....

TBC

Hi Auldheid,
PR company is Mediahouse self proclaimed as "Scotlands leading PR Company" Media House specialise in PR and Crisis Management. I am assuming their involvement with Tangerine FC is PR based ( or could it be crisis management??)however they make no mention of their association with RFC on their web-site though are happy to mention other companies both current and past - draw your own conclusions?

Dreams

Cheers. Indeed helping Rangers to change a horrible image without changing Rangers is not something to boast about.

Hartleys my hero

Fair play to you, I think your comments sum up the feeling I was trying to get across earlier. It would be interesting to see the panic on the boards collective face to see the reams of empty seats should the irish fans not attend next weeks game I'd say we'd get a crowd of around 34-40k without the irish fans next week but I can't say for certain.

But then lets wait to hear the abuse McGeady gets from those lovely opponents on sunday and see if anything is said.

DD

It's quiet here, has everyone gone home or is everyone still at the pub since it's Friday?

There were quite a few Celts who should be remembered as losing their lives in WW1 like Donald McLeod, Peter Johnstone et al. And what about Willie Angus VC who was helped round Celtic Park after it was over. Willie lost an eye and had to hobble on crutches. These guys deserve some respect.

Sunday morning up with the Lark