Salt n Vinegar

I wonder if he saw it coming? Seriously though, I wonder if some "psychics" get round accusations of dishonesty by "accepting donations" rather than levying a "charge" for their services. I think I read somewhere that the tickets for "psychic" shows state that it's entertainment rather than claiming it's real.

I fully expect our midfield and forwards to run amok tonight. (Mind you, after the weekend, I'd accept a sh1tey one nil win from a Tav penalty!)

One consequence of folk believing in the supernatural... "A Canadian man was sentenced to 10 years in prison today in the Eastern District of New York for perpetrating a massive psychic mass-mailing fraud scheme that stole more than $175 million from more than 1.3 million victims in the United States." From https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/canadian-man-sentenced-operating-175m-psychic-mass-mailing-fraud-scheme It really is time that this nonsense was put in the bin.

I doubt if there would be any chance that Trump would consider that his family ought to be subject to the same rules as everyone else!

It would be a close run thing, but he is held in such esteem by the embarrassingly deluded that if he told them he'd be made immortal if they sacrificed their first born, some would comply.

James O'Brien has just quoted some bloke responding to a statement by Liz Truss. Apparently she was complaining about unelected people having far too much power in Britain. Says a woman who was appointed by a hereditary monarch to govern a country without recourse to an election.

Having seen some of the TV footage, it looks as if the UK has been running a trial of having the dead in Parliament for centuries. It's called "the House of Lords".

Ok. Rangers good, Celtic bad. All other teams ok-ish, except Raith Rovers who are the best of the rest. That's the big picture. It therefore logically follows that if my previous matches played (NI contributions) haven't been good enough to give me the outcome I want, I can pay a sum of money to play more matches (buy more NI contributions) to allow me to achieve the necessary points total. I think that's pretty clear now.

I don't see the "tobacco lobby" giving up without a fight. I hope that the press pay very close attention to the public statements and voting records of politicians as this develops and compares them with donations to political parties and individuals.

I really can't see a court putting Trump in jail, but if one did manage to do it, it would be one of the highlights of the 21st century so far.

My experience recently was a little different. I'll get a reduced state pension as my NI contributions for the vast majority of my working life were "contracted out" meaning that I have a superannuation pension and also because I took early retirement. I can mostly remedy that by making additional voluntary NI contributions, which I'll financially benefit from if I live long enough to get my state pension for just under 3 years. It was all explained quite logically... One years contributions costs £X, each additional year bought gets an extra £Y per week for as long as I receive it. I'm minded to buy some years, but haven't done anything about it yet as I have until next April (AIUI) to do it. Anyone else doing it? (I should maybe have put this in the "Retirement" thread...)

Could do with making a dent in the goal difference too.

Better. More like it. Scrappy as f but better...

County have started well. They're giving us more problems in defence than I thought they would. It's not going to be one of those long days, is it?

Ok, I've largely stayed out of this, but it has gone on far too long. You have all left me no alternative.... I'm lobbing in the "what about tiffin?" grenade and running away!!

Another person entitled to their beliefs bites the dust (taking others with her)... "An astrology influencer allegedly driven by fears about the solar eclipse went on a horror killing spree, stabbing her partner to death and pushing her children from a moving car before killing herself by ramming her vehicle into a tree. In the days leading up to the attack, Johnson took to social media to voice her beliefs that the solar eclipse would be the “epitome of spiritual warfare”. Posting under the name “Ayoka”, the astrology influencer had over 100,000 followers and often reposted conspiracy theories and antisemitic-filled rhetoric on her page. Prior to Monday’s rampage, she had posted messages on X telling people to “wake up; the apocalypse is here” and warning her followers that they needed to “pick a side”." https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/crime/astrology-danielle-johnson-murder-eclipse-b2526936.html

Mrs Salt and Vinegar just started getting hers... as she's what used to be called a "cradle snatcher" I don't get mine until next year. Bit of concern though. I heard a phone in yesterday where the right of those with private pensions to also get the state pension came up. Means testing etc. If a head of steam gets behind that idea, there'll be trouble ahead.

Some sanity at last... https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-68773119 "The parents of a Michigan teenager who shot dead four students have each been sentenced to 10 to 15 years in prison. A seven-year sentence was recommended, but prosecutors asked for more. James and Jennifer Crumbley, the first parents of a US school shooter to be convicted, appeared together for the first time in months at Tuesday's sentencing hearing. Both expressed regret about their son's attack, as their lawyers pushed to minimise their prison sentence. In a landmark case, jurors in separate trials found each parent of shooter Ethan Crumbley guilty of involuntary manslaughter earlier this year. Judge Cheryl Matthews said that the expanded sentence of 10 to 15 years was "to act as a deterrent" and reflected the parents' failure to stop the attack. "They [parents] are not expected to be psychic. But these convictions are not about poor parenting. They concern acts that could have halted a runaway train."

And in the land of the free (from critical thinking) and the home of the (to say that you've got to be) brave... From the Independent - "A woman accused of going on a shooting spree along an interstate in northern Florida has claimed that God directed her to it due to the total solar eclipse." Further, Fox News rather startlingly linked the eclipse to immigration by claiming that the it would allow all sorts of ne'er-do-wells to enter the country under the cove of darkness, presumably forgetting that rare occurrence every day of that "night-time" thingy. Lastly, on American TV's The View.... "Host of The View Sunny Hostin was criticised after trying to connect yesterday's total solar eclipse and the recent earthquake in New York to climate change. Hostin pulled together different factors including the eclipse, the earthquake, and the emergence of cicadas." Ah, the joys of education.

A bloke at a leaving do at a place I worked was giving his farewell speech, talking about all the folk he'd miss, etc. He kind of blew it when he ended up telling everyone that on the other hand he'd never have to buy another pen, notebook, post-it pad or envelope for the rest of his life.

Don't suppose there's any word on the odd American politician being raptured, bursting into flames, levitating, speaking in tongues, or any of that malarkey? Ah well, maybe next time.

If the alternative turned out to be spending eternity in the company of folk like Jacob Rees-Mogg, Donald Trump and Marjorie Taylor Greene, no ta. Mind you, if Heaven and Hell exist, it would take a brave commentator to allocate these folk between them. I don't see the Donald being content to sit around all day praising anyone else, but you never know.

I'm on a roll now. Apparently Marjorie Taylor Greene said that the New York earthquake was a sign from God that repentance was in order and that along with the coming solar eclipse was a sign of things to come. She's not apparently sure about what should be repented for, or what else is to come but I'm sure she thinks she knows what she's talking about. A representative of the people wouldn't be so irresponsible as to just make religious stuff up for political purposes. Oops. Sorry, source - https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/marjorie-taylor-greene-nyc-earthquake-sign-god-b2524196.html

For more craziness no, I mean for another example of people believing stuff that others might unkindly refer to as "perhaps a bit strange", I would respectfully refer folks to this little beauty - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Disappointment A dude predicted the end of the world by fire in the 1840 and when it didn't happen it was referred to as the great disappointment. Obviously folk are entitled to believe whatever they like...

As an occasional supporter of the mighty Raith, I demand a VAR review of those scurrilous allegations!