Dave78

100% agree. He's so much better than Crocker. And yes, it helps that he's a Scotland fan. He used to post on here when he was just starting out in his career, if i remember right.

I think you're spot on about the mentality change. Clarke spoke about it in the post match interview, saying that's mainly what they worked on during the training camp. When you compare the pathetic June performances against Ireland and Ukraine, and today's, it's easy to see the difference. We matched a fired up Norway in effort and determination. The June Scotland of a year or two ago wouldn't have done that. We limited a fired-up Norway with a world-class front line to one good chance and a soft penalty. Sure, we might not have dominated the game, but i don't think that means we played badly.

I've read all the books so won't spoil it for ye! Probably why i didn't continue after the first episode. TV show is never as good

He's relatively out of form too. 1 goal in his last 8 games. Here's hoping he has a shocker.

Yeah, great documentary. It was especially interesting as it mainly focused on the experiences of the unionist/loyalist side. Most of the documentaries i've seen have tended to be viewed through the nationalist/republican prism.

Finished the first series of 'From'. Pretty good. It's about seemingly random people that get trapped in some remote US town, with monsters that take a human form and come out at night to eat them. Huge 'Lost' vibes from it. Hopefully it doesn't go the same way. Also finished the 3rd series of 'Dave'. Maybe i'm biased because of the show's name, but i really enjoy it. It's a comedy about a jewish rapper and his quest to become a music star. Probably it's just my geeky sense of humour, but i found it funny. Brad Pitt played himself in the latest episode:

Well, i can't remember a time (before Brexit) where MPs were murdered in the street or their surgeries by ideologues. Take your point re the IRA, but that threat was removed in the 90s.

Durham polis seem to be Labour to the core 😬 "Michael Barton, former chief constable of Durham Constabulary, said: "It had all the hallmarks of a political smear campaign, not a fair and justified criminal investigation", and had "taken experienced detectives away from proper police work."[76]"

Have they revealed what the new info is? "They had been initially cleared by police in February of breaking any laws but officers reopened the investigation into the event in May after receiving "significant new information".

Ok, understood. I see the difference between making a direct and indirect threat. Still, you'd have thought the police would issue a warning to the sender, given the recent climate of violence toward MPs.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-65904285 Police Scotland has announced the appointment of its first female chief constable. Jo Farrell, the current chief constable of Durham Constabulary, will replace Sir Iain Livingstone, who is retiring in August. ... Ms Farrell became the Durham Constabulary's first female chief constable in 2019, having previously been assistant chief constable at Northumbria Police. She was in charge in Durham during its high-profile "beergate" investigation into Labour leader Keir Starmer, who was cleared of any wrongdoing following allegation he breached coronavirus rules." Track record of being Labour-friendly then. Anas will be pleased.

"The contents were assessed and it was deemed this did not meet the criminal threshold for an offence." What is the threshold? Has it be clarified? Is it because it was made publicly, and not via a private DM?

😄 Good to see you gotten another apostrophe added! Also good to see you've had a great homecoming Ramy. Mind and stop into Dublin on your way back!

According to the book of revelations (ScottyCTA will confirm) the devil will be re-incarnated with 67 feet, and have a mark upon his skin to signify this. 😜

😄 Have you ever seen the film The Omen?

Certainly hindsight, although if the old thread still existed i'd dig out my posts from years ago questioning the delays. As for the 'revisionism' of doing a deal with May, i'm not referring to a post-election deal. I mean during the 'meaningful votes' on the type of Brexit the UK would pursue. May may have been open to a deal on indyref2. To my knowledge Sturgeon didn't even explore that.

I think you're being way too kind to her CC. I don't necessarily have a problem with the moves she made, but i do with the timing of them. For example, the delay in bringing the indyref2 bill rather than taking advantage of the disarray in the British government in the immediate aftermath of the Brexit result. When the bill was brought, she didn't force Westminster to strike it down and voluntarily went to the supreme court AFTER brexit was 'done' and fading from voter's minds. She didn't countenance a deal with May to give her her preferred Brexit deal in exchange for indyref2, and instead focused on stopping brexit (which was always unrealistic at best and deluded at worst). She allowed the unionists too much time and space to regroup. She was great at winning elections for the SNP, but in terms of securing indyref2/independence, she got the timing backwards and didn't make any progress.

It took 18 years from the gerrymandered 1979 devolution vote, until the 1997 Yes vote. That's the timeline i think we now face for Indyref2 (i.e. an actual generation). My only question is whether the SNP now need to spend a period of time out of power, only to sweep back and force indyref2. What i am sure of is that Nicola Sturgeon was given a good hand post-brexit, and failed utterly to move things forward.

Your Sturgeonite loyalism really has been something to behold over the past month or so.

Of course, Irish GDP is inflated, but the huge surpluses and (soon to be) sovereign wealth fund is very real.

My nephew came over to Dublin for the first time today. Spent the morning wandering round town, and i pointed out the Four Courts, and told him the building was the scene of a significant moment in the Irish civil war when Collins used British-made artillery to shell the anti-treaty IRA. At least the Irish waited until they achieved (most of) their goal before they started (literally) sniping at each other 😄

Ahh, you're channeling your Granda. He used to divide Scottish nationalists over the EU question. Nice to see you've picked up the mantle. 😜 Amen. To be fair, you have a point. You do need someone to push the Overton window in your desired direction. As an example see how Farage's Brexit Party threatened the Tories and bounced them into supporting a hard brexit. I see Alba in that role. But we shouldn't expect it from the SNP until the republican position has more popular support.

They don't get involved, but the ultimate authority resides with the monarch/president. The idea is if the PM (who makes the laws) becomes a tyrannical demagogue, then the president is there to check them.

Have a look at the SNP's current woes, and consider that it might not be a good idea to invest absolute power in one person (or married couple).