Even the Merlinite Disciples are getting carried away with themselves, believing that they're going to get to the bottom of Craig Whyte's purchase of Rangers. Unfortunately for them, nobody's even mentioned that; all the case is concerned with is the purchase of the assets in 2012 and nothing more. Besides, there was actually nothing wrong with Whyte's purchase of Rangers; the fraud bit came in with how he raised the cash and that's already been dealt with. There'll be no further probing in that direction, especially since it could result in the bank having to hand back that cash to Ticketus and then wait in line with everybody else until BDO is finished. There is no way in hell that the Establishment is going to allow that to happen!
Anyway, the big question on everybody's lips should be why this has taken so long to get to court. There were serious illegalities perpetrated at the time, which our judiciary saw fit to stand by and let happen. It is illegal for administrators to set up a new company, in which to dump all the debt and it's not an administrator's job to sell assets; if they can't get a buyer for the company, then everything should be handed over to the liquidators. The fact that Duff and Phelps, as a company, is not in the dock is clear evidence that these issues are not within the remit of this case.
Make no mistake, this is nothing more than a show trial. I remember, about twelve years ago, somebody from Bristol saying to me that it was obvious that Rangers was the Establishment club in Scotland. This is still the case. Everybody with any authority has bent over backwards and twisted themselves in knots to perpetuate the myth that Rangers didn't die and that the club now operating out of Ibrox is 'still Rangers'. Does anyone honestly expect this court case to show differently?
In an uncharacteristic piece of honesty, the Daily Record says, "After failing to negotiate a successful sale, it (Rangers) was placed into liquidation. A consortium, led by Green, purchased its assets in 2012 in a £5.5 million deal." The official police statement about their investigation, however, says that it is into the "alleged fraudulent acquisition of Rangers FC in 2012". I think that says it all, really.
I think I've mentioned this before, but it's definitely appropriate here. The historian AJP Taylor said of the Nuremberg Trials at the end of WWII that a few Nazis were hanged and then it was assumed that the rest of Germany had been somewhere else at the time. This is what I'm expecting of this court case. A few individuals will be thrown to the wolves, while it'll just be business as usual down Govan way. Anyone getting their hopes up that it's going to be about exposing the truth is, I believe, going to be seriously disappointed.
Meanwhile, I've been reading about ISIS destroying Palmyra, an ancient temple and a world heritage site. Everyone's up in arms about this important historical and artistic monument being obliterated by religious fundamentalists. I agree wholeheartedly. I also feel the same about the Iconoclasts that destroyed many religious works of art in Constantinople, and the religious fundamentalists that did the same during the Reformation. Strangely, though, I've never seen anyone mourn the treasures lost in those particular bouts of destruction.
On a similar theme, I've had somebody on Twitter going on about crosses, halos, sun symbols and, that perennial favourite, Dagon fish hats. I think the guy's a Jehovah's Witness, many of whom are absolutely obsessed with the Catholic Church. They're not the only ones. I've read plenty of stuff by folk that would be perfectly willing to destroy St. Peter's and the Vatican. And then there's the likes of our old pal, the Derry Dinosaur Jockey, who wants to enforce the teaching of Creationism in schools. Could somebody explain to me the difference between these characters and Islamic State? I certainly can't see any.
"Hello, playmates! It's your old pal, Big-Hearted Bill Struth, here again. Now, I don't understand all this business with court cases and the like. That's not the Rangers way. In my day any differences were settled by just going on a short boat trip. We soon got any problems sorted out without the need to bring lawyers and all the rest of them into it. Ayyyyyyyyyythenkyaowwwww!"
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