The Empire Strikes Back

There were rumours.

Rumours which gave birth to hope, a trait and emotion long forgotten amongst us. In a drought ridden land such hope was akin to the distant peels of thunder from an approaching storm – there was an air of expectancy but no certainty it would come.

There is a whole generation of Rangers supporters who have been reared on the shambolic strategy of “dignified silence”. The know and indeed expect no better. Small wonder then that within the ranks of our support there is an apathy and resignation which is defeatist in nature. Do not condemn them... for not only do they not know, they have not experienced anything else.

Looking back, painfully, on these last 20 years I am reminded of a scene from King Arthur. As his queen's honour is besmirched in public the king asks of his knight's...”Is there not ONE among you who would seek to defend her ?”

Likewise the Rangers support have waited, forlornly, for a champion to step forward and to cast that “favourable eye” towards Rangers Football Club. And then seek with all their strength and might to defend her.

Yesterday that champion rose, and when he struck it was both decisive and unexpected.

Yesterday's Daily Record (Keith Jackson) led with a story that Rangers were in a cash crisis, with new manager Ally McCoist very much looking like the pauper rather than the prince. Within hours however rumours were in circulation that Jackson had been banned from Ibrox and the Daily Record had withdrawn the story.

Unexpectantly, but with precision and guile, the empire had struck back and her victory was not only overwhelming it was also a significant benchmark. Had there been any truth to the story, any journalistic integrity or credibility to the sources then of course the newspaper in question would not have withdrawn the article. The defeat the Daily Record suffered yesterday was a a particularly humiliating one.

The message is crystal clear.

There may have been a day when lies and untruths about our club went unchallenged due to apathy from within. That day is over...the King is dead...Long live the King ! This was was no “shot across the bows” empty warning, it was a full broadside delivered with such force that it sent the recipients reeling. Actions, as always, speak so much louder than words.

Yesterday's events will have reverberated around Scottish media circles like a Taleban parcel at a pass the parcel game. In fact maybe before those “gentlemen of the press” next publish their latest besmirching of Rangers Football Club they will ponder the question...

“Is there not ONE among you who will defend her ?”

Step forward the Whyte Knight.

To Serve and Protect ?

“Evening All”

There is a popular myth that you know you are getting old when policemen look young. For those of us....lets just say of a certain “vintage”..... recognising the words “Evening All” from the iconic TV series Dixon of Dock Green, merely serve to underline that we are, at the very least, in the autumn of our lifetime and negates the need to study the faces of our bobbies on the beat for confirmation.

Just what PC Dixon would make of modern day Policing is another matter entirely of course. DNA , close circuit television, not to mention forensics for example, have completely changed the science of policing and the ever popular police TV dramas have sought to reflect this – The popularity of the Crime Scene Investigation series merely emphasizes this.

Amidst all this change however the popularity of the old fashioned copper remains – the hard nosed sleuth with almost a sixth sense for sniffing out the bad guys. Hence the surprising popularity of DCI Gene Hunt in the BBC drama Life on Mars. As his character bio says of him......

'It's all black and white with Gene; there's no grey area with him. With that style of policing it was much more intuitive and not as scientific as it is nowadays; back then they had to be more instinctive with their approach'

What a pity they aren't a few Gene Hunts serving in Central Scotland Police.

Perhaps then the people of Alloa would be spared the forthcoming Shamrock festival and all that goes with it.

Now I am no Gene Hunt of course but instinct tells me that when an event is organised to celebrate a group of people who can list indiscriminate as well as sectarian murder, torture, punishment beatings and extortion on their curriculum vitae....then well something is amiss. And no....Im not talking about Colonel Mustard in the conservatory with the lead piping.

As if that wasn't enough of a clue to bring the old Jack Regan out in all of us...perhaps a little look at the musical entertainment provided for the evening would suggest to us that something is rotten in the state of Alloa.

The Sean Mcllvenna Republican Flute Band (named to honour an IRA terrorist who was killed after attempting to blow up an RUC patrol in County Armagh) along with a whole host of others described as “rebel bands and performers” will be taking the stage at this festival. Makes you wonder what Central Scotland Police Special Branch are doing – or perhaps they are all to busy attending the latest in house “Diversity Course”.

“Together for safer communities” is the Central Scotland Police logo...perhaps they ought to try listening to those communities, as a number of them have already pointed out to them that these bands sing little ditties which offer praise, support and are sympathetic to terrorist organisations.

For those of you have been following all this perhaps you, like me, are thinking more Clouseau than Gene Hunt.

Perhaps Central Scotland Police missed Gerry Adam's warning that “the IRA have not gone away.” In fact only this year dissident republicans murdered a young Roman Catholic Policeman as he stepped into his car to go to work to protect the community he served. One of the alleged perpretators was arrested in Scotland.

And what would PC George Dixon of Dock Green make of all this ?

The smart money suggests he will be spinning in his grave.

The Council of Shame

It’s remarkable how new language, via social network sites, mobile phones and of course the internet, are causing dictionary publishers to review meanings , add new definitions and words on a frequent basis, which must have rain forest protectors reaching for the indigestion tablets.

Perhaps next time they undertake such an update they would consider replacing the word “hypocrisy” with Clackmannanshire Council.

On Wednesday 22^nd June, 2011, Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Adam Griffiths MBE, will lead the brave men of The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, 5th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland, through the town of Alloa. The unit have recently returned from a deployment to Helmand Province in Afghanistan where they were responsible for training and mentoring the Afghan National Police in the ongoing fight against extremism and terrorism.

Perhaps Lieutenant Colonel Griffiths is unaware, but only a few yards away from where he sips his sherry, on another day, will be held an event which celebrates the activities of terrorist organisations that have murdered British soldiers, butchered British citizens and terrorised communities. And some the same council dignitaries with whom he swaps pleasantries on June 22^nd, have been complicit in this celebration by granting permission and licence to permit such an event to come to fruition.

For those unaware of all of this the attached link to the Alloa Advertiser should bring you up to date with events.

http://www.alloaadvertiser.com/news/councilnews/articles/2011/06/02/413894-licensing-board-has-no-concerns-over-rebel-bands/

For those of us who served in Northern Ireland, and who lost colleagues to the myriad of terror groups which existed, it’s akin in modern day times to an evening celebration of the actions of Al Qaeda.  

At a time when rarely a day goes by without another government warning about terrorism, extremism and the need to be vigilant, it beggars belief to think that a local authority have granted permission to a group of people who wish to celebrate organisations responsible for the horrors of Enniskillen, the carnage of Harrods and the child killings of the Manchester bomb to name but a few.

As if the Glasgow Airport bombing was not sufficient, the murder of Constable Ronan Kerr earlier this year demonstrates that some of those terrorist groups in Northern Ireland remain active, and the subsequent arrest of one of the murder suspects in Scotland shows our country does not enjoy some kind of splendid isolation with regard to terrorism.

With one hand Clackmannanshire Council welcomes the brave young men of our armed forces who risk life and limb to ensure our ongoing freedom and safety, whilst with the other hand they grant provision to those who celebrate groups responsible for the murder of these brave young men.

You wonder how they sleep at night.

Let me tell you – by the brave actions of the young men and women of our armed forces and who deserve better.

Much, much better.

Never mind a Land fit for heroes....  I’d settle for a council fit for heroes.

The Price Tag on Craig Whyte

Perhaps it’s being surrounded by yes men who only tell him what he wants to hear, or maybe it’s the insular nature of powerful men who move through the corridors of power. Either one of the foregoing has caused Alistair to Johnston to completely misunderstand the feelings of grass roots Rangers supporters.

As he attempted to usurp the Craig Whyte takeover at Ibrox with the sudden announcement of a £25 million cash injection to the club, (though - where this money was as we lost our top striker mid-season because we couldn’t afford to offer him a new contract – goodness only knows) an attempt of course which was doomed to failure, he then urged Rangers supporters to carefully “police” Whyte’s tenure at Ibrox. As with his takeover bid this comment was part of a suggestion by Johnston that Whyte lacks the financial clout to take Rangers forward.

Johnston would have done well to listen to the words of singer Jesse J in her song Price Tag...

“It’s not about the money,money,money.

Sure like every other Bear I sincerely hope Ally is given a war chest in order to strengthen a squad which is in dire need of strengthening. But as the saying goes “money is not everything”. But if the Rangers support were to “police” the attempts of the recently deposed and selling members of the Rangers board on their abilities to defend this club there would (if any) be few pass marks. So AJ be careful what you wish for.

The last 20 years or so has seen an increasing demonization of this club and its support and please feel free to correct me if I’m wrong but I can only remember 2 instances when the previous “guardians” of our club actually made comments regarding the vindictive nature of some of the media portrayal of our club and its support :-

1. SDM advising us that if a publication offended – don’t buy it

2. Martin Bain suing a French magazine journo for suggesting he had taken a bung during a transfer deal

Hardly a robust defence of our club or its support. Let me tell you this there is nothing, absolutely nothing dignified about the silence strategy employed by our previous board in “defending” our club. Yes there have been financial hardships in recent years but again this failure was not about the money. It was a failure of passion, of love for our club, our support and everything this club stands for.

The greatest indictment I can charge them with is that they have systematically failed in the duties bestowed upon them in the immortal words of John Allan....

“May all who look upon the old club with a friendly eye stand prepared, by precept and example, to protect its interests and its good name."

It’s not as if these insulated men were not exposed to the grass roots feelings of the Rangers support. Banners within the ground urging the board to defend our club, questions and statements at AGM’s along with the formation of websites such as this are testimony to how important a subject this was for the Rangers support.

Furthermore it would not have been so difficult to expose not just the lies but the motivations behind some of the lies which were appearing about our club and its support. A small dip sample from the last 20 years provides us with considerable evidence of this.

“Rangers cultivated sectarianism” Anna Smith – Sunday Mirror.

The suggestion that Rangers groundsmen cut the grass at Ibrox in the shape of a sash, that we banned Eggs Benedict from the Murray Park menu and of course that Rangers fans doing the “bouncy” were in fact celebrating a sectarian killing in Northern Ireland – all stories which have appeared in time in the News of the World.

“bigoted troglodytes...almost to a man” – Graham Spiers – Glasgow Herald.

Some of you will recognise the name Anna Smith – she was a member of the Troops Out movement and, for a supposedly social commentator, she seems to spend a considerable amount of time writing about Sporting matters (often Rangers related and almost exclusively negative) in her paper – The Mirror – for those of you with short memories that’s the same newspaper which published falsified pictures of British Troops allegedly torturing Iraqi prisoners of war which resulted in the sacking of the now popular Piers Morgan.

On a side note, it’s amazing how forgiving the media seem to be of their own, for as well as the disgraced Morgan, Kevin McKenna, who was sacked for the Celtic View for suggesting the Enniskillen bombing was “a legitimate act of war” now enjoys a privileged position at one of our country’s popular daily publications. But I digress.

The second publication the News of the World has over a period of time released a series of negative and fabricated stories about our club, with their sportswriter Gerry McNee particularly prone to moralising their readership about the evils of the Rangers support. This, for those of you on the dark side of the moon is the same publication which for years denied allegations of phone tapping and hacking. It is now clear from their own admission (made as the evidence against them became overwhelming) that they have been guilty of criminal activity, of abusing the rights of individuals to personal privacy.We should not therefore be surprised that such a publication has difficulty in determining or publishing the truth.

The last example was Spiers – I will return to this individual in due course.

Many years ago I caused something of a controversy when I wrote an article about Allport’s Theory. Gordon Allport was an American Psychologist who devised a scale of discrimination with different levels showing how it escalated until it reaches the final level – extermination. The treatment of the Jews in Germany during the reign of the Nazis offered a perfect example of all the stages of Allport’s theory. Some misinterpreted the article suggesting it was inappropriate to compare the suffering of the Jews with that of the Rangers support. Which of course it would be. What they failed to understand was that Allport’s theory offers an increasing scale of discrimination, not necessarily as extreme as extermination. Let me give you an example. The lower to middle ranges of the scale suggests that an indicator of discrimination is when a particular group of people are not afforded the same rights as everyone else. I would ask you to consider 2 recent events and draw your own conclusions.

Members of 45 Commando Group were paraded last year at Ibrox following a successful deployment in Afghanistan. The day was a resounding success and the enthusiastic reception given to these heroes reverberated around all our Armed Forces. It is a scene which has been repeated around many many football clubs in the United Kingdom. Yet according to Spiers Rangers motivation for parading these brave young men was motivated by nothing more than one upmanship against our greatest rivals. We have been treated differently to every other club in the land as no other had their motives for parading troops brought into question.

On the week of the Royal Wedding Rangers distributed Union Flags to fans to wave before the match. According to Matt Dickinson at the Times such as display was motivated by sectarian intent. During a week when you could not go into a shop, turn a corner without seeing a Union Flag proudly flying Rangers fans have been singled out for waving the flag of their country. Again we have been treated differently to the rest of the country.

Some may even comment on the extraordinary nature of Dickinson who has never before concerned himself with Scottish football, suddenly taking an avid interest and penning not only sporting but also political and social comment to his article. I think we all know the true motivations and reasons behind this.

It is nothing short of disgraceful after the lies and damage Graham Spiers has done to this club and its support that he is still afforded a place in the Ibrox Press Box.

Let us be under no illusions whatsoever the sectarian debate is not going to go away. And despite the excellent article by Opportunity Knox on the Vanguard Bears website I can see a significant escalation in this issue. The academic research by Prof Steve Bruce is going to be ignored as those who wish to jump on the offended bus are going to cause both politicians and plod to take action. The increase in arrests which have a sectarian aggravator will show in statistics and Scotland will legislate and enforce a problem which is almost entirely confined to football.

It will be at times like this that Rangers and our support need both a strong and resolute guardian. Early suggestions are that Craig Whyte may well be that type of chairman, and will not cower from or ignore those who unfairly besmirch our club and its support.

Those cowards with typewriters who for far too long have printed their malicious and vindictive lies about our club have had their 5 minutes of fame. (Longer in fact) Its time this club produced a chairman and a board who are worthy of John Allan’s immortal words and who carry them to fruition with a sense of duty.

If Craig Whyte turns out to be that man....then that will do for this bear Mr Chairman.