@jamesdchristie
Semi-retired IT consultant. Experienced in software dev, IT audit, testing, info security management. Still active in whatever engages or angers me (eg #PostOfficeScandal). Match reporter for Dundee FC. Loves writing. See clarotesting.wordpress.com.
This very straight news piece buried deep within the FT never uses words like corruption or insider dealing but every detail is quietly devastating. Why is the FT virtually alone in the UK media in covering this important story?
I didn't believe this and had to google it. If any employer did that to me I'd treat it as cause for constructive dismissal.
It is, however, an interesting reminder of Trump's delusional personality that he genuinely thinks he can accurately assess people's shoe sizes just by looking at them.
Dundee FC 2 Motherwell 1. The Steelmen are a very good team, but not good enough to beat the Dee today. This was a terrific team performance by the Dark Blues. My report for the Dundee FC website.
dundeefc.co.uk/match/mother...
"Unconditional surrender" is a phrase Trump has adopted, like "you're fired", because he thinks it makes him sound strong and powerful. He has no idea what it means and nor does he even care. Trump's constant and desperate attempts to appear strong simply reveal his pathetically weak character. 3/3
Can you imagine the Allies in 1945 simply withdrawing from Germany after enforcing unconditional surrender and telling the Germans to get on with sorting out the mess? "Policy" is whatever Trump feels like saying or typing on the spur of the moment. It could all be different tomorrow. 2/3
This week Donald Trump has announced that the USA has 2 positions regarding Iran.
1- The Iranian government must surrender unconditionally.
2- The US government has no plans for what happens next; the future is up to the Iranian people.
It is a recipe for violent chaos. US policy is incoherent. 1/3
Exactly. Ridley knows that he is spreading misleading nonsense. But he believes that enough people are sufficiently poorly informed to swallow it. He and his like think the electorate is stupid and they can achieve their ends by riding a wave of ignorance. It is deeply cynical.
Falkirk 1 Dundee FC 0.
The Dark Blues find another way to play well and lose. My report for the club website.
dundeefc.co.uk/match/falkir...
It would hardly be newsworthy for Samuel Rubinstein to be eloquently wrong.
I was about to sign off an email with "thank you for your attention to this matter" but realised in time that it would have been in exceedingly poor taste. It would have given the impression I was not taking the matter seriously and I was just taking the piss.
Reform UK invited themselves to Bangor Uni's debating society for a Q&A session. Reform's idea of debate is to issue sound bites, assertions lacking evidence, non sequiturs, and dog whistles, while attacking straw men. Any student debating society would regard a Q&A with Reform as a waste of time.
In fairness to the 1970s it was widely recognised even then that men who behaved like that were arseholes. The difference was that there were no consequences. I grew up then and my parents never tolerated a lack of respect for women from their occasionally obnoxious sons.
Celtic 2 Dundee FC 1
Celtic are through to the Scottish Cup quarter finals by the skin of their teeth, but it's the Dark Blues who take all the plaudits. My report for the Dundee FC website.
dundeefc.co.uk/match/celtic...
So what if it was a staff member? That shows what his staff think is acceptable to Trump, and they would be right.
It's ok. Vance and Rubio just love to encourage free speech in Europe. They won't mind.
One of the lessons I was taught when I started as an IT auditor was always to conduct sensitive interviews face to face.
"Make sure you can look into the bastards' eyes when they are lying to you."
I get that. It's all about eye contact and seeing faces. It's far more stressful for me to give an internet talk from home than to be on stage addressing an audience of a few hundred people when I can see the faces in the front few rows. The instant feedback from listeners' faces is vital.
Today, Jeff Bezos, owner of Amazon, is further eviscerating the Washington Post, & getting rid of its book pages. Thank you to independent booksellers, like this one⬇️ who care for their staff & communities and go out of their way to support writers, instead of trying to make a fast buck out of them.
St Mirren 0 Dundee FC 0. That's pretty much the full story. My rather longer take on it for the Dundee website.
dundeefc.co.uk/match/st-mir...
I've worked on plenty of fraud investigations. 99% of it involved staring at a computer screen, analysing the data. The other 1%, which wasn't my job, was raiding houses at 5am once we'd assembled strong evidence. Even that part was definitely not a job for untrained goons (for obvious reasons).
"The plaintiffs said they suffered 'significant and irreparable harm' to their reputations".
Trump is claiming he suffered massive damage from the world seeing the truth about his tax affairs. I suppose that's as close as he'll ever come to a guilty conscience.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
Sound advice from the RNLI. Take heed. #stormchandra
Offord should read the room. However, if he wants to sink Reform UK by tying them to Trump why should I care?
I would much rather defer to you than delve into such sordid matters myself!
I doubt if it even includes Mr Braverman.
Rangers 3 Dundee FC 0. The Dark Blues were caught out by the sucker punches of two goals in added time as they chased the game. It was largely a decent performance, but the Dee fell short where and when it mattered. My report for the club website.
dundeefc.co.uk/match/ranger...
This is a story from a few days before Trump was first elected as President in 2016. Neighbouring farms? Greenland? The Nobel Peace Prize? If Trump wants something he thinks he is entitled to help himself.
people.com/politics/fil...
Donald Trump was widely known in Scotland to be a deeply unpleasant businessman long before he becamse US President. We saw he was a vain, lying, bully who thought the law applied only to the little people. He demonstrated that he was totally unfit for high office.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You%27v...
Kilmarnock 1 Dundee FC 2. Don't be fooled by the scoreline. The Dark Blues were utterly dominant all through the game and were by far the better side. That's the Dee into the last 16 of the Scottish Cup. My report for the Dundee FC website.
dundeefc.co.uk/match/kilmar...
Other parties should argue constantly up to the next General Election that Reform UK intend to take every mistake made by the Tories and do it all again, but even harder, with greater conviction and complete indifference to detail. They wiill then blame other people when it all goes pear shaped.