Scarlet Pimple

Scotland is doing better than Canada. Population of Scotland is what?---5-6 million now? The population of Canada is about 35 million!.

Just pay the costs of Independence and use the famed Scottish prudence and thrift to save the bawbees to fund future interest payments. Smile FREEDOOOOOOOOOOM!

Aye. Pride comes before a fall--not suggesting too much but just hoping that the team does not take this match too lightly. These Brummie guys have been to Wembley......! And the pictures of them show what looks like a young and fit squad.

Yep! Some years ago when my wife's son came over to this area we decided to get him a paper round. He was just a young teenager and he worked very hard whilst I drove him and his papers round the doors.. It's a tough job in all weathers and the kids are paid a pittance. Here , in British Columbia, the law is that any worker must be paid a minimum wage. For example, when the min. wage was 8.50 per hour the paper people were paying him about $3.50 or something. which for this job is close to slave labour. So I got onto them and told them thay had better pay him properly or else. Finally he quit and I had to demand the back pay which they were glad to cough up since few if any parents complain and that is why they get away with it. Parents probably really don't know what a slog it is in all weathers and some kids don't even have fathers who drive them around. But this is the Wild West, chums, and it's only the squeaky wheel that gets the oil . Some people, the former Mayor of this city, Maple Ridge, once told me in a rather heated argument over trains blowing their Klaxin horns in the early hours (sounded like a battalion of the Ghurka's passing through and waking everybody up.) that "it's people like you that have convinced me not to run again in the next election:." ........ Ha! Ha! Did he quit? not a chance, Gordie liked the limelight and the fat paycheck too much. And the trains no longer blow their 10,000 decibel horns as they pass through..Whee! Grrrrr! then co mplied!

Big G--interesting if cryptic comment. Do you mean he must have had lots of time off as a youngster to practice his early skills?

Whee! Et Tu Brute- IBM..you're an Internet Ballistic Missile.

Absolutely. The resentment built up from being subjected to the unfair, self-serving and hypocritical acts of these politicians on a long term basis affects mood, your pocketbook and your happiness. This ultimately can lead to depression and stress which leads to chemical changes within the body and thus a deterioration in health....and higher medical premiums. For the more robust individuals in society , those who are sound of body and mind and usually have more interests and outlets for their energy, it can all be shrugged shrug off for time periods which allow them to counter these degenerative changes. But the disabled can't do this due to the fact that they are much more moribund and inactive AND unable to exercise. The latter being the best antidote to the poison generated in uncaring bucketfuls by these parasitic political panderers whom you can usually trust only if they say something that you know will definitely lead to something else that will line their pockets with filthy lucre. So, for those who are still contemplating voting "No", I rest my case. Good luck with that one. But while you ruminate again this evening on the words of the sage Confucious, who sayeth unto thee : ''The river, if taken at the flood, leads on to greatness." do remember also that "He who hesitates is lost". Or, to put it bluntly, chums..."Faint heart ne'er won fair lady." You have got only ONE chance to break the yoke of the new English Hammer of the Scots ..and his name aint Eddy the 1. It's ..."You can Trust Me" Cammy the Cute, who now thinks he's the modern successor to King **** You'll be in fine fettle if you grasp the nettle And dinna run away 'But if you don't, your Master Cameron will make you pay And, even if you enter the fray, youse will never have a say No matter what you do or what you think Your boat willnae float for long but will surely sink.

Don't forget that the attitude of the current administration in Westminster, and that of all their predecessors, is cynical, self-serving and not only devoid of rationality when it comes to being fair to the pensioners who live overseas and who do NOT live outwith an ex-commonwealth country but it's also devoid of any kind of morality. Why should refusing an annual inflation-related pension increase to an ex-Pat who happens to live in an ex-Commonwealth country, whilst at the very same time giving this increase right across the board to an ex -pat who happens to live elsewhere, have any fairness attached to it whatsoever? Why do they do it. SIMPLE! The can get away with it and they admit this freely. And they don't care! Meaning that, so far , after having been on the DSS pension for only 11 years, which was based on my past contributions when I was employed in Britain just like all the others retired folks, I have lost over 20% in real value because of their policy. So if the Scottish people ever think they will get a fair shake after a "NO" vote obliges them to be continue be subservient to the current set of politicians flush with new power, they are terribly mistaken. And from that point on this will be forever, as has been pointed out succinctly above. This is a once-in -a-lifetime chance to break the cycle of power, which will not return , especially when the oil revenues diminish, and forge a new path with riches on tap. Don't blow it folks, please.

Nah! ilPadrino! That would just give me a touch of the Welsh Golfers----Dai-Rees

You guys have missed your avocation. You should have been the film director and assistant of "Slaughterhouse5". Your insights also reveal that you are more suited to posting on the thread of "Butcher Watch". Me? I just stopped eating any type of meat. Now I am just lean and clean and have the spleen of a teen.

I felt Ferguson did well in the preseason games I've seen on our Utube channel. Could be a hard working star in the team's future. When Canada didn't qualify for the world cup naturally there was a loss of interest her in Vancouver. A recent article in the local paper by a local pundit expresses the view that Canadian soccer has quite a long way to go to catch up to the rest of the world as far as training of youngers at a very early age is concerned, general training facilities and preparation. According to him there is simply no depth at the moment. Comment was made that the Germans are light years ahead of us and most other teams, in terms of their preparation for this world cup, when every single possibility was apparently considered to ensure they were totally prepared for any eventuality occurring that might either undermine their chances-- or enhance them.

What we have to remember is also that Butcher's stock had sunk very low at the club (lost the dressing room etc.) that retaining his services as Manager was hardly an option. If they did not foresee such a slide in the club , and his fortunes, then management must take a large part of the blame for ignoring this possibility and drafting terms in the contract to cover such an eventuality such as his early failure and demise. It's likely that a negotiated settlement will result because we are sure that Terry Butcher is unlikely to want to be very difficult about sticking to the very letter of his contract since he failed and doing so might hurt his future chances of another management post. He's a talker so maybe the best bet for him is to find a position on T.V. I don't think his prospects of another management job are rosy in the near future, though.

Inhumane? How can we civilised and superior human beings be inhumane. C.mon .....? Reminds me of the Calgary Stampede in Canada which takes in $500,000 each year for the organisers and sponsors. No wonder the organisers will not stop events like the chuck wagon races. Where 4 horses are tethered together and forced to run as fast as they can dragging this wagon and a driver round a course. Every single year there are animal deaths and occasionally human deaths. This year so far is no exception. Why? Two horses in front followed by two horses in the rear all tethered together. Guess which two horses are the leaders. RIGHT! It's the two strongest horses : meaning the two following have to run as hard as their hearts will allow to keep up and to try to avoid falling down. Result for the animals? -- falls, broken legs, heart attacks and general mayhem when the wagon rolls over on top of all. The organisers protest that the medical attention all receive is top class and, by the way, don't you know that .."the horses love to run." Really? They don't have much choice do they and I doubt that with their heart racing and almost bursting with a heart beat FAR higher than normal, about which they can do nothing otherwise they will stumble and fall, just gives them feelings of euphoria and joy. Another example I detest of the inhumanity to animals is the roping where a cowboy rides like hell and throws himself off his horse to fall on the neck of a calf then violently twists the neck over to fell the calf before wrapping a rope around his legs. How many injuries or deaths have resulted from that I wonder? I'll tell you--quite a few. Still, it's not quite as bad as in Spain where a certain town enjoys their annual festivities by pouring tar onto the heads of young bulls and then setting fire to it. Until the poor animal goes crazy to butt it's head against the boards surrounding the arena in a desperate attempt to stop the terrible pain of this torture. As for bull-fighting--,well, it's business for the townsfolk and for the taxes and bookies too and so it will continue. Regardless...

As I watched Messi's face as he mounted the stairs and moved along in front of the top brass not only did he seem disinterested but also disenchanted....almost sullen and disgruntled that he had not been part of a winning team. At least he could have surely, as a matter of manners, put on a brave face with at least a weak smile. I agree with all the above remarks about him. In fact in the finaI I watched him intently and he never made a move to tackle or dispossess players just stood off and looked at them. In short, I agree his contribution was generally speaking in the Final very poor . Where was the inspiration and leadership to his teammates and fighting spirit there?

Ah, but Mantis, if they can't prise the ball off the opposing players regardless of their speed they will stilll have to hang back ...in case.

Let's hope that he is more consistent and dynamic than Lionel D'jebi-Zade who was more of a warhorse, I think, than a front running gazelle. Maybe this lad will be able to cut the mustard and thrive and a couple of rasping goals early on will help that to happen. Yes!

The Germans plays a waiting game with the emphasis on defence which is fine against stoic teams who don't have great speed in their front line. But Argentina are a team of workaholics and often very skilful on the thrust and parry. If they get thefirst goal I would not be surprised if they run up a couple more in short order. Germany will not fold,they are too good and determined and patient for that. but they could be defeated handily by this team IF Argentina can wear them down in the first half. And, of course, if the Argentinians get the first goal then we assume that the Germans will have to come out fighting? Oh well. All we can really hope for is a great gemme of fitba. The Gerries are toiugh and resilient and their tactics are worked out to a "T" before the match but the Argentinians are more scintillating, more upbeat, more colorful and more exciting to watch so....... ?

Alex that was an interesting post, What I am concerned with is if there is an out and out victory fore the yes voters what will happen to my two small pensions.: 1. The One from the Royal Bank of Scotland --you know that once great establishment who were taken over up to 80% of the shareholding when they were on the downward slide to oblivion. I assume they will still pay me from Edinburgh in pounds but who knows. The last letter I received from them was from London, England. Apparently their desire to save the banks' resources is so acute that they have removed telephones from branches. This means that they must be the only bank now in the entire world who maroons overseas customers with absolutely no means of contacting their branch--no telephone, no fax, no email--nothing. This is absolute truth --I can produce proof. 2. The DSS--will they pay in pounds and, if so, what will the rate of exchange be for clients like me? Will the rate of exchange for Canadian Dollars be adjusted to pounds or to the new Scottish Fiduciary bank issue of whatever they want to call the new independent currency? No one seems to have worked anything out yet ? That's odd isn't it Oddquine?

Er...Charles----- does hubris mean jealousy by any chance?

Maybe JH knows this about Billy's penalties and wants him to get the message early on that maybe he will not be chosen as the first penalty taker when the season starts. You are right, his record is less than stellar. Tansey is the man to look out for. Give him the ball and the opportunity and he will show you the way to go. What a belter of a football he is. Keepers must be shaking in their boots when he takes the penalties.

It seems as if the so-called Refuseniks are just using this type of action to hide their boredom with football and fans in general. Their loyalty must be to their own narrow visions and prejudices, not to our team from Inverness? Hopefully the last 2-3 weeks in Brazil will change all that. Whatever, it's just an excuse for them to seem important and influential. After all if they were a rabid refusenik after the merger then they have to find an excuse to keep the negativity flowing or they may lose face. Goodness forbid that they show up one day and apologise for their previous ignorance. Why are we even talking about them anyway? The future of the team and the positive flow of the energy surrounding ICT is enough for me to keep interested and if the word was never mentioned again then it would suit me just fine. Why continue to beat a dead horse--they contribute little or nothing to the forward progress of Caley Thistle so....?

Dugal of yore was a rabid, rollicking renegade. A near nutcase; and devious and hidden to a fault. Our new and improved Dougal is, well, at least consistent and does appear to be a real fan of ICT. I have wondered where our former squirrell went to though. He was clever--now you see him , now you don't. And I have to admire oor Dougal's persistence, often in the face of adversity. And staying power. The man is here to stay.

Samaras is touted to be back in Glasgow this coming season . Well , well, well, Sometimes the grass is greener over the fence after all. I guess if you are a top player you can get stir crazy once in a while.

I was thinking about him as well. Seems a likely lad.

You could be right about the winner, DD.