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Everything posted by DoofersDad
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The one that really annoys me is the teams that fail in the earlier rounds of the Champions League getting a place in the Europa league. What easier way is there to distrubute the pot a bit more widely than filling these slots with teams which currently just miss out? Presumably the rationalle here is that teams dropping out of the champions league will be "big fish" in the Europa league and attract bigger TV audiences. I can understand that - but it still stinks!
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What has the SNP done for the Highlands
DoofersDad replied to Alex MacLeod's topic in Serious Discussion
A very legitimate question because I really don't see any solution emerging from that half billion pound talking shop at Holyrood. The problem with politics far too often is political parties. People vote for candidates to "represent" them but the reality is that the successful candidates are simply functionaries of their party whose will they are content to serve in the interests of their own reselection and political survival. As a result the governmental process takes place not for the benefit of the people but for the benefit of the political parties. In earlier decades Labour, its strings firmly pulled by the trades unions, governed through a network of party fiefdoms while the Tories have always looked after the interests of their posh chums. Nowadays in Scotland the SNP, which rivals the Masons in its internal party control freakery, is only interested in separation and allows the manner in which it administers various devolved matters to be dictated totally by what is likely to con as many of the people as much of the time as possible into support for that. So ironically here we have a Scottish National Party which doesn't actually give a toss about the lives of the Scots because it regards that as wholly secondary to its obsession with separation. A very legitimate question which you haven't answered! Of course the SNP has separation as it's key aim but they will only ever achieve that if they govern a devolved parliament well. There will only ever be a referendum if the Scottish Parliament agrees there should be one and that will only ever happen when the SNP has a majority in a Parliament which is elected on a PR basis. That's a big ask and they will only achieve that if they are perceived as making a good job of being a Government at Holyrood. At the last Scottish election there were a lot of people who do not want an independent Scotland but who voted SNP because they felt they had done well in their previous term of office as a minority Government. To be fair, I think they have done a pretty reasonable job on the whole, although what they are best at is trying to be all things to all men (and women) and then blaming everyone else and particularly the UK Government when things go wrong. The NHS is an example of that. Despite the fact that Scotland receives significantly more resource per head for public services than the rest of the UK, the SNP claim they are being starved of funds for the NHS by Whitehall. However, NHS managers argue that it is not so much the level of funding but what the SNP Government expect the NHS to deliver that is the problem. For instance, the Scottish Government sets targets for orthopaedic waiting times which Health Boards can only meet by buying packages of care from private healthcare providers. That's an expensive way of addressing something which is prioritised not for good clinical reasons but because it is easily measured. But the SNP have a dilemma that if a devolved Parliament is delivering good government, the electorate may not see the need for independence. The SNP need a devolved Parliament not to work too well. Can they keep their broad appeal and continue to blame others when things go wrong? Frankly, I doubt that many who voted SNP at the last Holyrood elections and who voted NO in the referendum will vote SNP again. Meanwhile, the surge in SNP membership may well force the party into a more left wing stance than the current leadership would like. They may win the next election but they'll not be able to keep their balancing act together for long. But back to the original question. I think the impact of the SNP Government on the Highlands has been pretty neutral and I'm not expecting it to get better than that. -
Saw this on the BBC website http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/29683379. Taarabt of QPR getting paid between £60k and £70k a week and can't be bothered to train properly and keep himself fit enough to play. His annual salary is not far off ICT's total annual turnover. Whilst not wanting to get into a debate about just how much the very top players are worth, there is clearly a huge amount of money in the game squandered on wages which are not justifiable. Put into perspective, if Taarabt's wages were instead given to ICT, the club could offer free admission to all games and double the players wages - if that didn't bring in the crowds, I don't know what would! We can tinker around at the edges to try and improve things but the root problem is the current pattern of distribution of money in the game. I know some will argue that what we have is what market forces dictate, but as with the economy of society in general, there is a need to redistribute some of the wealth for the wider common good. It may be that the big audience for football world wide is a TV audience who want to watch Barcelona, Bayern, Man Utd etc, but the fact remains that these clubs are dependent on the grass roots to develop the players who the big clubs buy. The distribution of money within the game gives absurd amounts of money to a very significant number of players in the big leagues (and not just the elite teams) and this seriously threatens the viability of the game at lower levels. This can't be good for the long term future of the game at any level, but the trouble is that the power is in the hands of those making mega bucks in the short term. Things need to change but sadly, I can't see it happening.
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HT: 0-1 FT: 0-2 ICT: Mckay Opp: N/A Time: 38mins
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You'll have to tell me your secret, I now drive from Inverness to Aviemore or Kingussie (and back) everyday. Apart from the times later at night i.e.after 9pm. It's only short stints I get to sit at 60 on the single carriageways mostly been 45/50mph behind lorry/caravan/tourist/Sunday driver. I bought a car with cruise control to help keep myself safe with the big brother ASCs, barely get to use it! I guess I was lucky that I missed any really slow moving lorries. It was by no means 60mph all the way but when I did hit traffic it was still going at a decent enough pace to avoid the need to change down gears. I also just kept to 60 on the dual carriageway sections which, if you are not in a hurry, simply means that it takes you longer to catch up with any slower moving traffic further ahead. It also saves on fuel. I arrived in Inverness about 16.30. I appreciate it is not always like that, but my point is that journey times down south for comparable distances tend to be significantly longer.
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Back on topic. We may complain about the A9 and the A96 and the congestion in Nairn but really we don't appreciate how lucky we are up here. I was down South these last few days and on Monday drove via the M25 from a relative in Hertfordshire to one in Surrey. The distance was 72 miles and it took me three and a half hours. Coming back up the A9 today, apart from a couple of bits of road works at Dunkeld the first time I had to change down gear was at the approach to the Kessock Bridge.
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You'ld better Adam and Eve it.
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Apparently in Uganda they think Billy Mckay is a cool and exotic name.
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A guy close to me was questioning why the pitch was being watered. He said they would be better painting arrows on the grass to show the team which way to kick the ball!
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Of course! My point is to ask why we played the way we did in the first half.
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We were very lucky to get a point today. County should have been out of sight at half time. Nobody seemed to pick up Quinn on the left and he alone had 3 glorious chances to score but fluffed the lot. Our goal then stemmed from County copying us and playing tippy tappy stuff in their own half. They got punnished and then it was game on. A much more direct approach gave us the level of superiority County had in the first half and it was only a combination of fine keeping from Brown and other players getting blocks in that kept the scores level. County are not a good side. Had we played in the first half the way we played in the second, we might have taken them apart. Hopefully the club will use the international break to analyse the reasons why the team were booed off the pitch at half time and do something about it.
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There was no plan B. The plan was to kick the ball toward the North Stand.
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It was less than that last year at New Year so if we get 4,500 it could be seen as a good crowd. But if we can't attract more than that to a derby game then you can kiss goodbye to any thought of regular attendances of more than 3,000 regardless of how successful the team are on the pitch. Anyhow, I'm looking forward to it even if the majority of the Inverness population couldn't care less.
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Take consolation from the fact that if they had anything worth saying, they would say it. A lack of respect for other posters is the refuge of those who don't like what you're saying but can't argue against it.
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I see Salmond is now defending his proposal to introduce legislation to make it illegal for councils to pursue poll tax arrears by saying that because of a 20 year rule, it is actually illegal for them to chase these debts now. So, he's introducing new legislation to stop councils doing something which is illegal in any case. If indeed the 20 year rule does mean that councils can no longer chase these debts, all that is required is a routine Government letter to Council Chief Execs reminding them of that fact and telling them not to do it. Instead he wastes public money with a political stunt. It seems the guy has completely lost the plot.
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The legislation to stop collecting the poll tax was enacted years ago. This new proposal is to prevent Councils from pursuing debt from people who owe the councils money. Granted that if it is passed, it will also be a result of the democratic process but that is simply not the point. The point is a matter of principle. What this proposal does is to say to those who refused to pay that not only do they not have to pay, but that it will be illegal for Councils to ask for the debt to be honoured. I can see people who did pay it now saying that if legislation is passed to say people do not have to pay it, their payments should be refunded retrospectively with interest. The reality here is that the amount of money raised by Councils in pursuing outstanding debts is unlikely to be much more than the cost of pursuing it. They might put a few letters out but if folk continue to refuse to pay (as they will) then the Councils will not be able to afford to pursue debts through the courts. This is a proposal which the Government has not even bothered to discuss with the Councils before making the announcement. It is a proposal which protects those who broke the law at the expense of those who faced up to their legal and community responsibilities. It is simply a vindictive, unnecessary and inappropriate proposal.
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HT 0-1 FT 1-2 ICT Mckay County Carey Time 18 Yellow Raven
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That's a matter of some debate, the poll tax was introduced here by Scottish Ministers - who happened to be Tory, while the preceding general election result returned the following in Scotland: Lab 50 Con 10 All 9 SNP 3 I wasn't quite old enough to vote in the 1992 General Election, but through the period of the Poll Tax when the Scottish Grand Committee sat in the parliamentary chamber of the Old Royal High School I new there was something fundamentally wrong as far as democracy goes when nearly all the elected representatives are on the opposition benches, and it was not possible for Scotland to democratically remove the Scottish Ministers from post - their party was rejected at General Election after General Election but they remained in post accountable to no-one. People seem to forget that even before the Scottish Parliament Scottish Ministers wielded huge power - that was an enormous democratic deficit. We can't simply ignore the law just because we don't like the democratic system that is in place. Are you saying the people of the Northern Isles should be free to ignore the legislation passed by the SNP Government on the basis that they voted overwhelmingly for the Lib Dems in 2011? Unless there is a judicial ruling that demonstrates a Government exceeded it's legal powers in drafting or implementing legislation then the law is the law.
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Yes it's very possible, but for the opposite reason which you argue - Labour's proposed devo-nano on the face of it seems halfbaked, look a bit deeper though and what you see is a series of fiscal traps Labour wants to set for the Scottish Government. Damaging Scotland in the hope the SNP gets the blame seems to be the game in town for Labour, I do think though that balance of where this commission on new powers goes will depend which side the Lib Dems come down on, standing behind their long standing policy and principles which would see them back the SNP and Greens for very substantial constitutional change, or keep together with their Better Together buddies. Why would Labour wish to set a fiscal trap for the Scottish Government when they hope to be the Scottish Government in 2016?
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Whatever you think about the poll tax, it was a tax imposed as a result of due democratic process and it does seem a quite extraordinary bit of ill-judged political pettiness to make it illegal for councils to chase people who have failed in their legal obligation to pay it. Having said that, it should be recognised that huge sums of money are lost to the public purse by businesses and the rich finding various ways to avoid paying tax. Some of the things that can be wrapped up as legitimate business expenses are quite absurd. Government should close some of the legal loopholes for tax avoidance and they should chase anyone, rich or poor who does not pay their taxes. Particular effort should go into pursuing those who owe most, but enough should be pursued at the bottom end to make people think that tax evasion (or benefit fraud) is simply not worth the risk. There is nothing vindictive in this approach. Every penny not paid by the tax dodgers or claimed fraudulently by benefit cheats is a penny extra that the law abiding have to pay or the lost revenue is a contribution to cuts in public services. We look to our political leaders to uphold the law, not to protect those who cheat the rest of us. It really is quite extraordinary that he should propose to ban councils from collecting taxes which have been devolved to them to collect. Imagine the furore if income tax was devolved to the Scottish Government and then the UK Government were to make it illegal for the Scottish Government to pursue those who chose not to pay their tax bills! Whilst the reality is that Councils are unlikely to be pursuing poll tax debts to any extent, it is the principle that is the issue here. Legislating to prevent Councils from collecting debts from tax cheats is simply outrageous. Salmond's proposal is probably intended as a fingers up to the Conservative Government, but in reality it is an affront to all decent law abiding citizen's. It is a clear example of Salmond pursuing a political agenda rather than doing what is good for Scotland. Hopefully sufficient of Salmond's own party will have enough sense of public duty to ensure this absurd proposal is not written into legislation. As for the man himself, this is further evidence that not only is he no longer fit to be First Minister, he is not even fit to be an MSP. It is time for him to quit and spend more time on the golf course with his good mate Donald Trump.
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Really ? Watch this space.... Of course! Are you seriously suggesting that any of the unionist parties who wish Scotland to remain in the UK are going to deliberately produce policies which will alienate the Scottish voters and which will thereby stoke the fires of independence? What is far more likely is that the SNP will do their damnedest to make sure any additional devolution of powers doesn't work too well - and you can be sure they will blame the UK Government for it rather than their own failure to use the devolved powers effectively. In 2016 we really need to elect a Holyrood Government that has a genuine wish for devolved powers to benefit the Scottish people rather one which has a vested interest in them failing. In observing the political debate in the coming months it will be important to recognise that one party (or 2 if you count the greens) will be seeking a package which they can use as a stepping stone to independence. The unionist parties will be seeking a package which is in the best interests of Scotland.
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I keep saying that I can't understand why anyone would have changed from YES to NO because of this. If what was offered in the "vow" was what you wanted i.e devo-max within the union, why would you be thinking of voting YES in the first place! Voting YES would be the only sure way not to get what you wanted. If devo-max is what you wanted then a NO vote would secure the union and then you can discuss changes to the level of devolution. I do however know one person who was so irritated by the stupidity of the vow that she switched from NO to YES at the last minute and was then mightily relieved when the result was NO. I also fail to see the purpose of all the conspiracy theories about what level of additional powers might be devolved to Scotland. There are two very good reasons why UK politicians will not be shafting the Scots. Firstly, the political parties need to win Scots votes to form a UK Government. Secondly, assuming they genuinely want Scotland to remain part of the UK, they will be wanting to ensure the electorate continue to feel "better together". They will not want to fuel the fires of independence by making life difficult for the Scots.
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Those would be the contributions made by opponents of the union, I take it?
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The Smith Commission is likely to produce proposals for some significant increase in devolved powers for Scotland. I wonder what people think about putting any proposals which emerge to the people in another referendum? There is talk about obtaining political consensus but I have heard no suggestion that the outcome will be put to the electorate. We have had a referendum which led to the Holyrood Parliament with limited devolved powers and we have had a referendum at which independence has been rejected. What we might end up with is "Devo-max" which is the one option the electorate has not had the opportunity to vote on. That strikes me as fundamentally undemocratic.
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On the face of this is a game we should win. Our home record this season against their away record; our settled side against a team still getting to know each other. But as Aberdeen discovered last night, there are no easy games in this league - and this is a derby. Anything could happen. Despite their lowly position, I have spoken to County fans who are quite relaxed about that and who say that County have been playing pretty well. Their view is that as the team gels together and with the new manager the results will come. The stats show they have created more chances that us this season so there can be no complacency here. I think it will be a pretty tight match. County will be in our faces, closing us down quickly and trying to disrupt our passing game. I think we need to make it a fast expansive game, stretching them from the start. That style suits us better than County but I'm not sure Yogi will see it that way. I wouldn't be surprised to see County edge it, but on the other hand it will maybe be the day the ball runs kindly for Billy and he gets a much needed hat-trick. My prediction? Lots of talking points.