Ahead of the Scottish Cup quarter-final against Hibs we discussed our exit at the same stage in 2014 and how that despite the procession towards the league title, it hollowed out the remainder of the season. Match day lost its edge and even a record 29-point winning margin could not compensate.
With a secure-looking 8-point lead in the league, the champions have a Scottish Cup semi-final to look forward to. Only a point separates Aberdeen and Kilmarnock, while Hearts are just three adrift of Killie. It is Newco who look abandoned, out of the Cup and with an 8-point gap above and below them.
You know a manager is struggling when he beings to sound like Gloria Gaynor, “I will improve”, was what Steven Gerrard told reporters after facing up to the prospect of a season which promises no more than a second place finish. Of course he will improve, it is hardly credible to suggest his managerial knowledge and experience will diminish from this point.
Maybe he will get £20m to spend in the summer and be able to beat Aberdeen comfortably in the cups.
Celtic visit Dundee on Sunday, a team with more motivation than any side from Glasgow. They are in the play-off spot, one point above automatic relegation and three from catching Hamilton and safety. Celtic are vastly better than Dundee in every department, but we will have to match them in appetite or suffer the consequences.
Neil Lennon suggested Callum McGregor may feature on Sunday. Our creative resources have been severely depleted with the absence of Callum, Ryan Christie and Tom Rogic. The latter two may be back for the semi-final, but we will need Callum fit and ready for games before then.
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BBC
Van Dijk was spotted by Celtic’s former head of talent development John Park, who has been linked with a return to the club amid speculation suggesting current head of recruitment Lee Congerton will take up a similar role at Leicester City alongside former Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers.
“He did alright,” said Lennon of Park. “He didn’t do badly.
“Lee is here, I’m working with Lee and it’s business as usual. I know there’s a lot of speculation surrounding Lee. We had a meeting 10 days ago, and he was full on.
“It’s a case of maybe watching this space. If he does move on I’m sure there will be a lot of candidates the club have in mind to takeover.”
Huddle
Early u2
Hi mate,I seen them a lot in their early tours,boy,fire albums in Strathclyde uni ,tiffanys,smaller edinburgh vebnuesbefore they got up to Barrowland,
They were tinny at times but they persisted and played live a lot,honing their skill.they were a tight unit as a band imo
I seen them a few years back and they done an updated version of rejoice,which I liked
Hope your good mate
HH
Ozzie Tam back.
A nice wee option for you , Lennie.
https://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/sport/celtic/news/17505191.tom-rogic-will-be-back-for-celtic-v-rangers-game-on-march-31st/
Auld Tims.
The Photo of the guy heading the ball doesn`t look like Caldow to me.
Mudie springs to mind.
https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/4002693/eric-caldow-rod-stewart-tribute-funeral-wreath-steven-gerrard/
“US-based political analyst Randy Martin, in comments for this column, says that what Washington is doing to Venezuela is tantamount to the “rape of democracy”. “American imperialism has no longer any shame,” he said. “It used to rape countries under the cover a seedy alleyway of false excuses and hollow claims of righteousness. Now it has its trousers around its ankles and trying to rape Venezuela right on the global Main Street.””
America’s Puppet: Meet Juan Guaidó
By David Rosen
March 15, 2019 “Information Clearing House” – Juan Guaidó is a useful pawn for U.S. interests in Venezuela, but is he expendable?
On January 15th, the White House reported that VP Mike Pence spoke by phone “today” with Guaidó, the president of Venezuela’s National Assembly. It claimed the call was made “to recognize his courageous leadership following his arrest and intimidation this weekend, and to express the United States’ resolute support for the National Assembly of Venezuela as the only legitimate democratic body in the country.” On the 23rd, Guaidó declared himself interim president of Venezuela.
In its brief statement about the call between Pence and Guaidó, the White House failed to report that the VP “pledged” that the Trump administration would support him “if he seized the reins of government from [elected President] Nicolas Maduro by invoking a clause in the South American country’s constitution.”
This was revealed by The Wall Street Journal and sheds light on what actually was said during the conversation. “That late-night call set in motion a plan that had been developed in secret over the preceding several weeks, accompanied by talks between U.S. officials, allies, lawmakers, and key Venezuelan opposition figures, including Mr. Guaido himself,” it reported. Citing an anonymous administration official, it noted, “Almost instantly, just as Mr. Pence had promised, President Trump issued a statement recognizing Mr. Guaido as the country’s rightful leader.” On the 23rd, Trump twitted, “President @realDonaldTrump has officially recognised the President of the Venezuelan National Assembly, Juan Guaido, as the Interim President of Venezuela.”
The Journal went further, pointing out, “Other officials who met that day at the White House included… [Sec. of State] Pompeo and [National Security Advisor] Bolton, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who presented Mr. Trump with options for recognizing Mr. Guaido.” It added, “Mr. Trump decided to do it. Mr. Pence, who wasn’t at that meeting, placed his phone call to Mr. Guaido to tell him, ‘If the National Assembly invoked Article 233 the following day, the president would back him.’”
On the 30th, as reported by Roll Call, Trump placed a follow-up call to Guaidó. Press Sec. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement, the call was made to “congratulate him [Guaidó] on his historic assumption of the presidency and to reinforce President Trump’s strong support for Venezuela’s fight to regain its democracy.” During the call, Guaidó “noted the importance of the large protests across Venezuela against former dictator Maduro, set to occur today and Saturday,” she added.
Almost on cue, following Trump’s call 11 European Union countries quickly recognized Guaidó as Venezuela’s president, including Austria, Britain, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden. By mid-February, 65 countries had recognized him as president. Quickly thereafter, Canada, Israel and the bloc of right-wing Latin American governments known as the Lima Group recognized Guaidó.
As if they were a Greek chorus cheering from the sidelines, the U.S. mainstream media joined it anointing Guaidó as president. As summarized by GreyZone, “The New York Times editorial board hailed Guaidó as a ‘credible rival’ to Maduro with a ‘refreshing style and vision of taking the country forward.’ The Bloomberg News editorial board applauded him for seeking “restoration of democracy” and the Wall Street Journal declared him ‘a new democratic leader.’”
The innumerable print and media reports about the on-going Venezuela crisis share a common portrait of Guaidó, one in which he emerged, like an innocent new-born politician, from the social chaos to take leadership. More troubling, it presents him as a unifier of large spectrum of political groups in opposition to the Maduro regime. This portrait is not only mostly a fiction but serves to hide not only his history as a rightwing militant but the role the U.S. government has played for a decade-a-half in shaping Guaidó for his current effort to orchestrate a coup d’etat.
In the highly informative expose, “The Making of Juan Guaido,” Dan Cohen and Max Blumenthal, report that as a student, Guaidó strongly opposed Venezuela’s former president Hugo Chavez and supported the 2002 coup attempt against him. He backed Radio Caracas Televisión (RCTV), the privately-owned rightwing radio station, that played a key role in fermenting the 2002 coup by helping mobilize anti-government demonstrations, blaming government supporters for attacks on anti-government forces and blocking pro-government reports about the coup.
Guaidó graduated from Caracas’ Andrés Bello Catholic University in engineering in 2007 and went on for a graduate degree in the governance and political management program at George Washington University. At GW, he studied under the Venezuelan economist Luis Enrique Berrizbeitia, a leading Latin American neoliberal economist.
In 2007, the Maduro regime refused to grant RCTV’s a license renewal and Guaidó helped lead anti-government rallies protests against the decision. Guaidó and some of his closest associates were part of a rightwing youth group, “Generation 2007,” that sought to overthrow the Chavez government. The group included Leopoldo López, a Princeton-education man who came from one of Venezuela’s richest families and was a descended from his country’s first president, who long worked with the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) and was elected mayor of a district in Caracas. López founded the Popular Will (Voluntad Popular) party which Guaidó eventually came to lead.
Two years earlier, in October 2005, some of those who would form the Generation 2007 group – but apparently not Guaidó — went to Belgrade, Serbia, for rightwing insurrectionary training. The trip was sponsored by the Center for Applied Nonviolent Action and Strategies (CANVAS) and largely funded by the NED. Stratfor, the military-intelligence contractor, reported that “[CANVAS] may have also received CIA funding and training during the 1999/2000 anti-Milosevic struggle.”
Stratfor outlined CANVAS’s training program in revealing terms: “Success is by no means guaranteed, and student movements are only at the beginning of what could be a years-long effort to trigger a revolution in Venezuela, but the trainers themselves are the people who cut their teeth on the ‘Butcher of the Balkans’ [i.e., Milošević]. They’ve got mad skills. When you see students at five Venezuelan universities hold simultaneous demonstrations, you will know that the training is over and the real work has begun.”
In 2010, Statfor outlined what one analyst called a plan to “drive a dagger through the heart of the Bolivarian revolution.” The scheme involved upending country’s electrical system, thus leading to a 70 percent in service. “This could be the watershed event, as there is little that Chavez can do to protect the poor from the failure of that system,” a Stratfor internal memo declared. It went on to note, “This would likely have the impact of galvanizing public unrest in a way that no opposition group could ever hope to generate. At that point in time, an opposition group would be best served to take advantage of the situation and spin it against Chavez and towards their needs.” Nine years later, an idle scheme became a threating reality.
In 2010, Guaidó and a handful of other student activists attended a secret five-day training retreat at Mexico City’s Fiesta Mexicana run by Otpor, the Belgrade-based regime-change trainers backed by the U.S. government, notably Otto Reich, an advisor to the Reagan and Bush administrations. Venezuela’s Socialist Party legislator Robert Serra claimed, “Behind this [retreat] are big interests and big finances, we´re talking about an international network which sought to destabilise our country.”
One of Guaidó’s associates, Miami-based Maria Corina Machado, was identified as the key to a 2014 plot against Maduro. She claimed that the plot was OK-ed by U.S. Ambassador to Colombia, Kevin Whitaker. “I have already made up my mind and this fight will continue until this regime is overthrown and we deliver to our friends in the world,” Machado said. And insisted, “If I went to San Cristobal and exposed myself before the OAS, I fear nothing. Kevin Whitaker has already reconfirmed his support and he pointed out the new steps. We have a checkbook stronger than the regime’s to break the international security ring.”
Most troubling, the Popular Will party, including Guaidó, was actively involved in a 2014 campaign known asguarimbas, anti-Maduro street protesters. He tweeted a video featuring himself wearing a helmet and gas mask and surrounded by masked and armed associates. They blocked a highway and had violent clashes with the police. The demonstration also took place at universities where students wore T-shirts embossed “Popular Will” or “Justice First.” The 2014 guarimbas showdown ended with the killing of about 43 people and, in a 2017 incident, 126 people, including many Chavistas and police officers.
In 2015, Guaidówas elected a member of the National Assembly and, in 2018, he spearheaded the opposition coalition named the Democratic Unity Round Table (MUD). As a member of the Venezuelan parliament, Guaido headed an inspection commission investigating high-profile corruption cases, such as the Odebrecht construction company bribery case, involving officials of Maduro’s government. Odebrecht, the largest construction and development company in Latin America, admitted in 2016 to bribing government officials in a dozen South American countries.
As Cohen and Blumenthal report, “Guaidó is known as the president of the opposition-dominated National Assembly, but he was never elected to the position.” They point out that Guaidó was fourth in line among opposition-group leaders for the position but the first was under house arrest, another was hiding out in the Chilean embassy, the third mysterious did not assume the position and the fourth was Guaidó. The Popular Will party represents only 14 percent of legislators.
In late 2018, Guaidó visited Washington, Colombia and Brazil to help coordinate plans for mass opposition demonstrations during Maduro’s second inauguration in January 2019. Leading the anti-Maduro campaign, Bolton screeched, “What we’re focusing on today is disconnecting the illegitimate Maduro regime from the source of its revenues. We think consistent with our recognition of Juan Guaidó as the constitutional interim president of Venezuela that those revenues should go to the legitimate government.” As reported in the Journal, another U.S. official said, “We have been engaged with the same strategy: to build international pressure, help organize the internal opposition and push for a peaceful restoration of democracy. But that internal piece was missing.” A U.S. official said, “He [Guaidó] was the piece we needed for our strategy to be coherent and complete.”
The New York Times confirmed this assessment, quoting William Brownfield, the former American ambassador to Venezuela: “For the first time, you have an opposition leader [Guaidó] who is clearly signaling to the armed forces and to law enforcement that he wants to keep them on the side of the angels and with the good guys.”
Like the tide, America’s political puppets come and go, some last longer while other serve for but an historical instant. Among the many who’ve served U.S. interests and were, in time, swept from the historical stage are Manuel Noriega (Panama), Augusto Pinochet (Chile), Rios Montt (Guatemala) and Anastasio Somosa (Nicaragua) along with the (Shah) Mohammad Reza (Iran) and Saddam Hussein (Iraq). Looking to Guaidó’s fate, Diego Sequera, a Venezuelan journalist, notes, “It doesn’t matter if he crashes and burns after all these misadventures, to the Americans, he is expendable.”
MACJAY1@2.49
John Hewie?
BHOYJOEBELFAST on 16TH MARCH 2019 7:46 AM
Thanks . Spot on .
Same Scotland team as wee Bobby Collins and Eric Caldow.
https://www.google.com/search?q=john+hewie&rlz=1C5CHFA_enAU706AU706&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=FXOhE6p1ygTVEM%253A%252CJU_JLv5Hgo2RqM%252C_&vet=1&usg=AI4_-kQYciO932S-Rkq2ze9OH6rNZxp2nQ&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjywZrtlobhAhXA7nMBHdXrBkoQ9QEwA3oECAAQCA#imgrc=FXOhE6p1ygTVEM:
morning bhoys from a very dreich looking Cheshire, hh,
Jackie Mudie
https://www.gettyimages.com.au/detail/news-photo/blackpool-and-scotland-footballer-jackie-mudie-news-photo/3429774
Happy to help macjay.
MONDAY 16TH MARCH 1981
I had a wonderful visit today with my mother, father and Marcella. Wonderful, considering the circumstances and the strain which indeed they are surely under.
As I expected, I received a lot of verbal flak from Screws going and coming from the actual visit. Their warped sense of humour was evident in their childish taunts, etcetera.
I wrapped myself up well to keep me from the cold. My weight is 58.25 kgs today, but I burnt up more energy today with the visit. I’ve no complaints of any nature.
I’ve noticed the orderlies are substituting slices of bread for bits of cake, etcetera — stealing the sweet things (which are rare anyway) for themselves. I don’t know whether it’s a case of ‘How low can you get?’ or ‘Well, could you blame them?’ But they take their choice and fill of the food always, so it’s the former.
They left my supper in tonight when the priest (Fr Murphy) was in. There were two bites out of the small doughy bun. I ask you!
I got the Sunday World newspaper; papers have been scarce for the past few days.
There is a certain Screw here who has taken it upon himself to harass me to the very end and in a very vindictive childish manner. It does not worry me, the harassment, but his attitude aggravates me occasionally. It is one thing to torture, but quite a different thing to exact enjoyment from it, that’s his type.
There was no mirror search going out to visits today — a pleasant change. Apparently, with the ending of the no-wash protest, the mercenary Screws have lost all their mercenary bonuses, etcetera, notwithstanding that they are also losing overtime and so on. So, not to be outdone, they aren’t going to carry out the mirror search any more, and its accompanying brutality, degradation, humiliation, etcetera.
Why! Because they aren’t being paid for it!
I’m continually wrapped up in blankets, but find it hard to keep my feet warm. It doesn’t help my body temperature, drinking pints of cold water. I’m still able to take the salt and five or six pints of water per day without too much discomfort.
The books that are available to me are trash. I’m going to ask for a dictionary tomorrow. I’d just sit and flick through that and learn, much more preferable to reading rubbish.
The English rag newspapers I barely read, perhaps flick through them and hope that no one opens the door. A copy of last week’s AP/RN was smuggled in and was read out last night (ingenuity of POWs again). I enjoyed listening to its contents (faultless – get off them ! – good lad Danny (Morrison)). I truly hope that the people read, take in and understand at least some of the truths that are to be regularly found in it. I see Paddy Devlin is at his usual tricks, and won’t come out and support the prisoners…
Well, that’s it for tonight. I must go. Oíche Mhaith.
SFtBs @ 11:39 PM,
Well, I’m not sure you have the aul’ CQN debating rules right there;)
Of course I can see the merit of giving examples and quotations to back up ones argument but it can also be counter productive to take part in personal finger pointing that maybe interpreted as slights…
Of course I’ve done this in the past and may well do it in the future but it’s something we could do less of…
If we want to dig out meaningless quotes we can…
“With all this surplus cash isnt it about time we rewarded Peter Lawwell with an increase in both salary and bonus.
The man is worth his weight in gold,”
What Adulation Means – “excessive admiration or praise.”
If you feel that this doesn’t go on with regard to the Celtic Board then fair dos… I’m saying it does happen and often…
The_huddle…
Many years ago I saw U2 at Friars (a small Club in Aylesbury) they were brilliant my musical taste has changed over the years but “Gloria” was incredible as was the whole gig.
It was many years before I saw them again. Twice in one week… Wembley Arena then Wembly Stadium…
Joshua Tree… Rattle & Hum… days…
Wembley arena was a huge barn of an auditorium…
I’ve seen many a huge rock band disappear in its environs but U2 owned it, it was like seeing them in that small Club all those years earlier…
I’ve seen literally hundreds of bands and out of that particular genre Simple Minds was my favourite but U2 were an incredible band… they were up there with the best.
Hail Hail
Good morning CQN from a snowy Garngad
Bring on the Dee.
D. :)
I wonder if the relevant authorities are on red alert at the bigotdome today, to deal with the racist, sectarian, anti Catholic, anti Irish chanting, that will inevitably occur, as Stevie Clark brings his Kilmarnock side to visit.
Eurochamps67
Neil Lennon said: “….little bit of creativity. Tom can bring that. Christie can bring thatlittle bit of creativity. Tom can bring that. Christie can bring that and so can Callum to a certain extent.
That has me a wee bit concerned.
” …. and so can Callum to a certain extent.”
” TO A CERTAIN EXTENT ” ie Calum is fine in that department but not as good as Tom and Ryan.
That is most certainly not how I see things. As far as Calmac goes, you can put me down as an adulator :-))
JJ
EUROCHAMPS67
My belief is that the “relevant authorities” will be in attendance at the bigotdome today, but not in an official capacity.
If you get my meaning.
https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/sport/football/4002121/islam-feruz-chelsea-celtic-release-transfer-news-club-stats/
A salutory lesson about the need to get good career advice for a young player.
Eurochamps67:@8.50
Why refer to ‘it’ as bigotdome.They are bigots no doubt,do not deny what they are.’They’ must look on it as a badge of honour,rather as a slur when we use that nine lettered word.
HOT SMOKED on 16TH MARCH 2019 8:55 AM
YOU should apply for the managers job.
As my oul’ Granma’ often said…
……”What’s Feruz wull no’ go past us!”
SalutoryLesson CSC
EUROCHAMPS67 on 16TH MARCH 2019 8:50 AM
I wonder if the relevant authorities are on red alert at the bigotdome today, to deal with the racist, sectarian, anti Catholic, anti Irish chanting, that will inevitably occur, as Stevie Clark brings his Kilmarnock side to visit.
……………………………………….
They’ll be in Hospitality, savouring the wonderful atmosphere.
Eurochamps67
Bankiebhoy
I would be proud if I had thought up a pun as bad as that!
Jim……………You’re Welcome!
STARRY PLOUGH .
Thanks for the link re Hal’s . Much appreciated .
Saw the reference to Nunzio Rotondo and was reminded of a pal in London who was delighted to see that LP in a second hand shop in London . £ 50 -a bargain -he thought .. He was then mega miffed to learn that there was no record — the guy wanted £ 50 for the sleeve !!!. My old man likes Nunzio Rotondo..
Good morning friends from a white but thawing East Kilbride.
Now, I’m sure he’s not everyone’s cup of tea but Ricki Gervais’s latest effort (After Life) is very very good. Only 6 half hour episodes (via Netflix) so I’ve binged on it since yesterday. Crying (slightly!) on a Saturday morning is a new one for me. Live Every Second.
Right, time to look at a coupon… ;-)
Is Alfredo available for the semi
Asking for a friend
C’mon the 49ers
HAMILTONTIM on 16TH MARCH 2019 8:15 AM
Thank you for that.
Hot Smoked 8:55
Yeah – a bit strange.
I’m as big a Callum fan as you will get. For me he is easily our most creative player.
Jobo
I liked Ricky Gervais in The Office but just thought of him as an actor. Of late, I have watched him on You Tube doing Stand Up and in interviews. I find him extremely funny.
JJ
PS When are you going to Benalmadena? I think my girlfriend and I will be in the area at the same time.
Hot Smoked – I don’t actually love his stand up stuff but was a big fan of The Office (though An American Office was far better), Extras and this latest one.
Heading to Benelmadena for a week from Friday May 10th so keen to know who we’ll be playing in our 4th game after the split. Used logic when deciding on the date – we are due to have 2 home games post split. Think the last game will be one of them (trophy day) and expecting the other one to be game 1 or 2.
With International week just around the bend, Channel four as is its wont has decided on a slightly different tack and is planning to show a wee thinly veiled allegory on Glasgow football life. It will be screened on Saturday the 23rd March as a precursor in particular to the following weekends fisticuffs in Glasgows Green Pastures.
In the broadcast they have subtly changed some names, for instance Celtic Park/Parkhead is called Azeroth, but as you will see the other participants give the game away…..
It’s all here at …. http://alturl.com/n75pr
Hail Hail
Matt
Jobo
Yes, I forgot about Extras. I liked that and The Office but I prefer at least some of his stand up stuff.
We are going on 9th of May and, like yorself, I was trying to guess the games sequence !!
JJ
Matt Stewart
From Gamepedia:
” Although ravaged by inner conflict and external threats, the peoples of Azeroth have, somehow, always managed to survive.”
Hmm…
Chairbhoy @ 8.39
Of course I can see the merit of giving examples and quotations to back up ones argument but it can also be counter productive to take part in personal finger pointing that maybe interpreted as slights…
Of course I’ve done this in the past and may well do it in the future but it’s something we could do less of…
I thought i had pre-empted this difficulty by inviting you to start with WITS or myself, rather than include innocent bystanders.
If we want to dig out meaningless quotes we can…
Well, I was hoping for meaningful ones :-)
“With all this surplus cash isnt it about time we rewarded Peter Lawwell with an increase in both salary and bonus.
The man is worth his weight in gold,”
Now, I may be mistaken, but these see, to carry the style of WITS wind-up replies to the generally wasteful focus on Board issues being responsible for team failure. Am I rifht? Have you provided evidence by giving a tongue-in-cheek post as a seriously meant sentiment?
What Adulation Means – “excessive admiration or praise.”
If you feel that this doesn’t go on with regard to the Celtic Board then fair dos… I’m saying it does happen and often…
No- I’d have to agree. This fits the bill as an example of adulatory praise. It has only one small defect in proving your point…….
It was a piss-take, surely you saw that???
SFTB
There is a dead horse outside my house. I would like to hire you to flog it.
JJ
SFtBs @ 11:38 AM,
No- I’d have to agree. This fits the bill as an example of adulatory praise. It has only one small defect in proving your point…….
It was a piss-take, surely you saw that???
Well yes… Of course, yet there is two blades to that satirical sword he wields…
To my mind there can be something sinister in the way the Board is elevated and are responsible for every success and certain groups and personalities are done down.
For me there is lot of manoeuvres going on that are less than Celtic minded… is it necessary in the cut and thrust of business.!? for me it’s not!!
Brendan Rodgers has been briefed against since the summer, this reached a crescendo on his departure, with his character assination complete a week later.
So Yes, I was using WiT to draw attention to both the particular and wider issue… Great satire can do that you know;)
Hail Hail
No no no no no no I’m sorry but the American Office isnt a patch on the UK version, which is a work of absolute genius
I’m sorry but i cannot let that lie
B-)