This week’s Economist has a most curious article on the football business, entitled “Welcome to the beautiful game. Football clubs can easily be used as stealing machines. Here is an instruction manual. The stories are real, but most details are concealed”.
They assert, “It is a good time to enter the football racket. Banks are less generous and sentimental about loans. Tax officials are less lenient, too, as Rangers, a big Glasgow club, discovered”.
“Set up a holding company (or a nest of them) in a discreet jurisdiction, as many owners do, and you have a money-laundering and embezzlement machine at your disposal.
“Exaggerating the attendance at matches lets you run some of the dirty takings from your previous career through the turnstiles, turning them into legitimate income (this particular ruse works best if you buy a middling club, where games are not routinely sold out).”
They conclude, “Some national associations do a spot of due diligence on new owners, but this is unlikely to interfere with your plans.”
Brazil, Balkans, Russia, Serbia and Bulgaria all get a mention but there was only the one club got a name check.
Nest of holding companies in discreet jurisdictions, money-laundering, embezzlement, exaggerated attendances, dirty previous businesses!! Read it and weep, football fans, just don’t expect the blazers to watch out for your best interests.
[calameo code=000390171b241bb2703f4 lang=en page=132 hidelinks=1 width=100% height=500]
704 Comments- Pages:
- «
- 1
- ...
- 12
- 13
- 14
- 15
- 16
- 17
- 18
- 19
- »
16 ROADS
Magic as ever,bud-thanks for asking!
I was just after a blether re your plans for the game in midweek. Should you bump into any of the lads from April,keep an eye on them.
They might try to do a huddle halfway down The Shankhill,where both sets of bigots can get them!
You not working tonight?
Ffs,forgot-bank holiday…
Been a long weekend,bud.
I hope it finishes at midnight,but I doubt it will
Take care,mate.
FFM – lol yer a poet an ya don’t know it! :)
Now are ye gonna tell me what that ecumenical word means?
I am using a fone and can’t be bothered trying to google it.
Jesus mate if ya can’t laugh at yerself then who can ya laugh at!
Have some powerful Paddy jokes on my fone but can’t post them case a be accussed of being a racist lol
BMCUW,
Am going to take it down a different route from you, ye olde rascal :))
I once watched two Irishmen, one from Mayo, the other from Cork, debate heatedly on the issue of whether or not the UK “got” Father Ted.
The former had spent many many more years here than the latter, and was adamant that, of course they did. The Cork Boy didn’t agree. Of course, the latter was also adamant that Alan Shearer was a better player than Henke. By using the word “sublime” I think you hit the nail on the head :)) It was an ecumenical matter.
Iniquitous is semi cool. Loves the Stones. Did i mention he loves the Stones? Has a bit of a prog hairstyle for his advanced years. He is also from Lewis where he used to eat seabirds. Knows every pub in Glasgow~ that was extant 30 years ago. Good man. Too critical of the Hoops though.
BMCUW / WHINHALLKEV
What I hear from serious left wing thinkers is that the issue comes from division. Us left wingers want the best for all, but will never agree on how best to achieve that.
Thus it’s easy for right wing extremists to come in and divide and conquer, despite their minority support (spot the irony).
Proof is in the pudding. Divide and conquer is STILL the tactic used to control us all.
Would be interested in Macjay’s views on this (if you’re about) – a deep thinker.
Bobby M – Masty posted he was hitting Belfast,seen Tiny Tim and HT earlier saying they are over as well.
They will be like kings chief,you know that.I dare say that i will bump into them on road.
You know this crazy wee town yerself,everything is exaggerated.
Riots? So what? Belfast folk love rioting,it is a normal pastime over here sure.And probably one thing that both sides have in common.
Hate the scaremongering.
Yep. I agree. Life long labor lawyer here. Seen it action as we all have.
16 Roads,
:))
I can’t possibly tell you what it means!…That would be a cosmogonal matter.. :)
It’s always worth asking the local priest – give him a few whiskeys first if you want a decent answer though :))
WHINHALLKEV
INIQUITOUSIV hasnae spoken to me since I posted The Stones. With Rhianna on backing.
Canny blame him,tbh!
I can forgive them for turning into a tribute band as their first fifteen years were largely magnificent.
What dragged you away from Airdrie?
16 ROADS
Aye,I know the place isn’t as bad as is made out.
Only takes a few nutters though.
And that is the same everywhere.
My nephew I’d down for a visit-and a few dayoooots-next week.
No way I’m taking him into town on the Friday night. Too many eejits sniffing the barmaid’s apron.
Or on the daftness potions.
Fortunes Favour Mibbes
03:58 on
15 July, 2013
Neustadt-Braw
:)))
Very true point ! Bawbag Salmond would have to pay for the travel expenses of they puir women and use his Wind Turbine budget to make sure the ugly orcs finally get their end off. Personally, I’d put them in a remote field and let them shag each other. Just the men that is.
…
aye you have a troubled mind ….if your of the opinion that an Orc can differentiate …tis a strange wee place they live in …and it,s getting a lot wee ..er Braw!
16 ROADS
ec·u·men·i·cal (ky-mn-kl) also ec·u·men·ic (-mnk)
adj.
1. Of worldwide scope or applicability; universal.
2.
a. Of or relating to the worldwide Christian church.
b. Concerned with establishing or promoting unity among churches or religions.
FFM – You would make a brilliant Far East i reckon.
There is a shortage of clergy these days.
It is worth thinking about,seriously.
You are a good soul mo chara.
Bobby M – Thanks for posting that chief,but i am half monkeyed now,maybe understand what it means when im sober,but a doubt it.
I am a Catholic,but im not a fanatic lol
Roll on September,try and find a pub with a bookies next door though. :)
Neustadt-Braw @ 04:31
:)) Fair point. Although I think the act of differentiating is their be all and end all, not a missing ability, as opposed to a strength.
It’s a case of when they choose to do so :)))
16 Roads @ 04:34,
That’s a very kind complinent. Thank you sincerely.
I could peddle the old excuse out that a love of burds undone me, but I’d be lying…it was booze :))
16 ROADS
Will do. Meet up in The Horseshoe this time.
Maybe not-reliably informed that huns take it over on a Saturday.
Hoping my Dad is allowed out to play,and he will be thinking along the same lines!
A cold May morn was breaking over Dublin’s weary town
Sixteen brave men had fallen to the rifles of the crown
whinhallkev
03:56 on 15 July, 2013
My view on the Trayvon killing is based on the law in Florida and other states here on a gun carry permit and how you can use it in self defence.
The Florida law allows the use of deadly force if you have a reasonable fear that your life is in danger. Regardless of whether you agree with the law and the carrying of guns that is the law. There is no doubt that the decision to prosecute was a political one.
The state over charged due to pressure from the White House and DOJ.
Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton led and organised protests to pressurise for prosecution.
The state AG, who brought the case, said today that a lot of people arrived at a preconceived judgement based on pre trial sound bites without reading the court papers.
To cap it all the prosecutors were inept and were unable to show that Zimmerman acted in any other way other than out of fear for his life.
That’s my cold detached assessment and in no way reflects how I feel about the lives wasted and the families who suffered.
As a confirmed cynic I lean towards the MSM using the trial to drive viewing statistics and advertising revenues. Throw in a desire from the politicians and race baiters to divert attention from the more damaging gang violence and high minority unemployment in inner cities and you have two good reason why the focus was on a relatively small issue in an obscure community.
As an example there were 72 shootings in Chicago over the 4th of July holiday.
Why are there no comments from the MSM, the Whote Hoise or the DOJ?
FFM – Only windin’ ye up ya wee rocket ye! Yer a credit to the green and white.Ye need to start using them brains ye were born with though.
Too many intelligent Celts that are wasted.
Bobby M – We are gonna go really mental next time chief,ACGR gave me the green light,he said yer on holiday shit for brains,go insane lol
GG
I read that stat in TIME. Although it said 74,with 12 fatalities.
Horrific numbers. I can’t comment on the gun laws and the right to bear arms.
But I’m glad ours are more stringent.
Of course,the drawback to that is that a member of the public faced with a criminal with a gun is in bother.
Fortunately there are fewer guns than criminals….
16 Roads,
FFS, just spent last ten mins on Vatican 2 website and picturing myself managing u and BMCUW as my associate parish priests in the outer Hebrides…and the two of you hiding the furniture polish from me.
Fortunes Favour Mibbes
04:18 on
15 July, 2013
BMCUW / WHINHALLKEV
Would be interested in Macjay’s views on this (if you’re about) – a deep thinker.
Not often I get compliments.Thank you.
Just one question.
Where did socialism/communism/left wing politics work to the advantage of the people?
Marx produced his major opus 1870?Now that`s a long period of time to give it a try.
There`s a tendency to conflate socialism with Charity.
Is there one socialist administration that produced what socialism was designed to produce?
For me,take your example from Celtic.There was a need to provide material assistance
to the needy of the East End of Glasgow.
Capital was raised and an Athletic and Football company formed.A competitive environment if ever there was one.
From the profits,assistance was provided to the needy.
No profit,no charity.
That process continues to this day.
Now,I know that this does not equate to global political systems,but ,for a Celtic supporter,it may give pause for thought.
Cheers.
Tony Watt
Man Up!!!
———————————————————————————————————————
I find it disheartening that these pages of CQN, which I consider to be usually immune from lazy journalism, and so sensitive to the divide and rule strategy, have days like today, when many become victim to the oldest trick in the book.
The Zimmerman trial was manipulated and politicized to the point of absurdity by the MSM. What is really happening in the USA, (particularly with Snowden) was sidelined by the old divide and rule. And Tims should know all about that routine….But some are still suckered?
BTW Zimmerman was in no way racist. His history proves him to be a defender and advocate of the homeless and minorities….The racist angle was simply promoted by the media.
With respect to the Florida verdict…
Read a reaction from a friend of a friend…
Sorry for being harsh, but the citizens of the USA and the UK have far more to be outraged about…Alas, while they have bread…
The Old Divide and Rule still Rules…. The emotional. And aren’t we all?
Anyways…
Author Ivan Sanchez sums it up like this:
“I might possibly be one of the only Puerto Ricans from the Bronx, now living in Virginia Beach, who believes this case was acquitted purely based on the failure of the state prosecutors to prove beyond any reasonable doubt, that Zimmerman was guilty of anything other then self defense. That must make me a self-hating Latino, correct?
I hope all those commenting and preaching about this verdict actually watched every single second of the case, as I found time to, in order to come to an educated conclusion. Not one based purely on emotion, anger, speculation and media hype…
If you watched every single second of the case, you’d know that it would’ve been impossible to prove that Zimmerman had any ill will, hatred or racist feelings towards Martin. “These punks always get away,” Certainly didn’t prove to be a racist statement, more a statement that the people who had continued to burglarize homes in that community always seemed to get away.
(As reported by Human Events.com: There were at least eight burglaries in the 14 months before Zimmerman’s encounter with Martin. Numerous media accounts admit that “most” of these were committed by black males.
Just six months before Zimmerman’s encounter with Martin, two men had broken into the home of a neighbor, Olivia Bertalan, while she was alone with her infant son. She had just enough time to call 911 before running upstairs and locking herself in a room. The burglars knew she was home, but proceeded to rob the place anyway, even trying to enter the locked room where she held her crying child.Bertalan had seen the burglars just before they broke into her house — one at the front door and one at the back. They were young black males. They lived in the Retreat by Twin Lakes.
In another case, a black teenager strode up to Zimmerman’s house and, in broad daylight, stole a bicycle off the front porch. The bike was never recovered.
Weeks before Zimmerman saw Martin, he witnessed another young black male peering into the window of a neighbor’s house. He called the cops, but by the time they arrived, the suspect was gone.
A few days later, another house was burglarized. The thieves made off with jewelry and a new laptop. Roofers working across the street had seen two black teenagers near the house at the time of the robbery. When they spotted one of the teens the next day, they called the police.
This time, the roofers followed the suspect so he wouldn’t get away. The cops arrived and found the stolen laptop in his backpack. This was the same black teenager Zimmerman had seen looking in a neighbor’s window.)
I believed yesterday and will believe always that this was a tragic case of unfortunate circumstance that placed two people in each others path leading to the untimely death of one. But keep in mind that neither Zimmerman nor Martin broke any laws until that fateful moment when the fistfight broke out.
Because there was not one witness who could testify exactly how or why that first punch was actually thrown, there was no way to prove Zimmerman, who no doubt took an ass-whipping from Martin, didn’t act in self defense, in fear of his life.
That will forever be the tragedy in this case, that no one person witnessed how or why that first act of aggression transpired. Up until that moment, Martin was simply walking around a neighborhood perhaps not wanting to be cooped up inside the house, regardless of the weather. And Zimmerman was on his way to Target, when he spotted someone he’d never seen and decided, yet again, to act as a concerned citizen in his neighborhood, one that had a rash of robberies…
Up until that fateful moment that these two engaged in aggression towards one another, no one was acting as a racist or a criminal. Once the fight commenced, a string of tragic circumstances led to the unfortunate death of a young man. And I pray that his family will one day be able to find peace in their hearts. And continue to make positive change in this world in the name of their son.
After watching all the evidence presented on both sides, my educated conclusion is that Zimmerman acted in self-defense. Love it, hate it or want to go to war with it… This is simply the truth…
The media, especially social media, has succeeded in drawing this ridiculous parallel, playing on peoples emotions, people whom are already exhausted with the justice system that fails us far too often… That this is yet another case of a white man getting away with murdering a young black boy. But this is not that…
But this is not, I repeat not, a white police officer (Richard Haste) murdering a black Ramarley Graham in his home in the Bronx in front of his relatives. This is not a white police officer (Johannes Mehserle) murdering a black Oscar Grant on a train platform in Oakland… or the hundreds of other cases of police brutality of white police officers abusing their power and imposing their will over young black and brown boys across the United States…
This simply isn’t that. And to draw that conclusion is to do a disservice to these cases. Cases which I’ve seen far fewer of you ever take the time to comment on, much less want to protest against.
I implore you to use your anger, use your intelligence and use your voice to bring about positive change in your communities. But target those who abuse us on a daily basis…
By Author Ivan Sanchez
16 ROADS
Canny quite go that far,got the oul’ fella to look out for.
As someone with few responsibilities,I take the few I do have quite seriously.
Until I run out of fingers,then it’s anybody’s guess what happens…..
ACGR is the driving force behind this one though. He’s doing all his partying before he retires to the dacha in Spain to batter lumps out of wee white balls.
And his liver!
I would add that this case is not anything like that ofAmadou Diallo, the reaction to I was witness to here in NY.
And, If I may draw a comparison, it is remarkable that we who are so invested in Scottish Fitba, spend the day talking about a media designed ‘outrage’ in the USA, whilst Paul 67 flags up an article, cited by GG a few days ago, that illustrates how misguided our Hopes and Aspirations truly are…
Roll On The Contexts….
bobby murdoch’s curled-up winklepickers
05:07 on 15 July, 2013
The numbers are close enough to reflect the seriousness of the situation.
The guns are out there and criminals are not slow to use them.
Even where strong restrictive gun laws are in place, Chicago and New York for example, the senseless gang violence continues as bad guys can always skirt the regulations.
Today I read of a deadly shooting at a 15 year old’s birthday party near Trenton. It beggars belief and defies understanding.
FFM – Pmsl yer crackin’ me up here crazy man ye are hahahahaha!
Fk that nonsense it’s not for us sinners.
I reckon we should all just get a carry out and a few pints of glue in September,find shelter,a bridge somewhere and stand under it with a ghetto blaster…like trolls – then nip out in between the rain and howl at the moon…like drunken wolves.
PJB
We rather talk about something, anything, else other than our tour of Germany.
Can you really blame us?
Bobby M – i am jesting mo chara.
I will leave you all in peace now.
Goodnight and good luck to all Celtic supporters.
16 ROADS
I might take you up on that-if I miss the train!
GG
FFS,who takes a gun to a 15yo’s party?
Absolute madness.
PJBHOYNYC.
That pretty much backs up my point. That I had no problem with the verdict,but that the case needed to be tried. Based on my admittedly scant reading.
As to the article,I posted a link to it on an earlier page. It makes disturbing reading. Particularly when you consider the allegations about some of the people linked to Ibrox.
‘GG
As long as it is does not follow the Lazy Journalism agenda…
Now what Snowden is saying…?
That may be more constructive and logical.
Or even the Economist article you posted a few days ago….?
Sun’s up.
Off to my cot to prepare for a wee sesh shortly.
MACJAY
Difficult to argue that left-leaning governments have rarely fulfilled their promises.
Maybe the prospect of one is what has passed for progress in the west.
Personally I think that their good intentions are undone externally rather than internally.
Too many vested interests,IMO. On all sides.
Sorry ‘GG
Just read your earlier comments about the MSM and events in Chicago over July 4th.
Totally agree.
But stand by the assertion about the Economist article, and Snowdens. recent revelevations.
SpinCity?Nation? CSC
Snowden. NSA listening in to phone calls, bugging summit conferences.
IRS out of control, ACA falling apart under its own weight.
Unemployment particularly in minority communities.
Violence and the underlying reasons ignored and not addressed.
DOD, DOJ, EPA, State apparently unanswerable to anyone.
http://youtu.be/IFZUDQ85bFU
pjbhoynyc
05:32 on 15 July, 2013
Or even the Economist article you posted a few days ago….?
—————————
No one wants to explore the multiple ways Rangers (IL) cheated and stole.
No one wants to ask what Robert Kelly gained by under estimating crowds before season tickets were the norm or electronic gates gave an accurate count.
I also came across an old, cough, Daily Record article which showed that Gary Gillespie had used Souness to hide assets when he was declared bankrupt.
For anyone who doesn’t know he was part of the Murray circle favored by Masterton and was responsible for the destruction of North Lanarkshire moss when open cast mining and failing to return it to its original state.
BOBBY MURDOCH’S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS
05:37 on
15 July, 2013
Unquestionably external forces have been responsible for the failure of left wing govts.
Chile is the prime example.Nicaragua in the `50s.
Nevertheless,it did happen the other way round as well.
C