The Apocalypse cometh...

[D'Artagnan 13,319]

I've lost count of the number of times I've watched Apocalypse Now, and yet despite countless viewings, I'm still undecided on Willard's feelings at the end towards Kurtz strategy. Did he sympathise or find the tactics abhorrent ?

For the younger bears out there who may not yet have enjoyed this Coppola classic - the story revolves around a special forces commander Col Kurtz (Marlon Brando) who had gone rogue. Frustrated with fighting an enemy who won't play by the rules Kurtz embarks on an unconventional and irregular strategy of doing unto others as they would do unto you. Except worse. Much worse in fact. Suffice to say that the words Geneva convention did not feature in the Brando's unconventional and irregular strategy. So much so that the Pentagon despatches another special forces operative, Captain Willard (Martin Sheen) to bring closure to Kurtz's regime.

Of course unconventional and irregular doesn't have to contain the element of brutality. During the Falklands war I served in a commando unit who did much of it's fighting behind enemy lines. We operated on a mantra of the three d's - disruption, destruction and demoralising. Post war a summation of our role was described as “unconventional, irregular but highly effective" Without I may add, the element of brutality espoused by Col Kurtz aforesaid.

These last few months have seen the Rangers support face an enemy who, like Brando's adversaries refused to play by the rules. Our club was branded guilty without trial, our chairman blackmailed by those who are expected to display governance, fairness and justice. But injustice did not stop at Rangers doorstep. SFL chairmen were bullied, intimidated and threatened to embark on a course of action which ran contrary to any sense of natural justice. Unlawful and unjust sanctions were imposed upon our club. Shame on them.

The Scottish press participated in the bloodfest labelling us cheats tax dodgers and much worse. Government agencies breached criminal law in the stampede to damage or club beyond repair. Internet bloggers manipulated government agency leaks in an effort to further destabilise or club. This bloodfest became an unstoppable force whose intent was clear – the death and destruction of Rangers FC.

Scotland became the scene of the eternal cosmic conundrum - the unstoppable force versus the immovable object. Two forces propelled by those timeless human emotions – love and hate.

And at at the end of carnage there was only one left standing. The immovable object - the Rangers support. Driven by love rather than hatred, and against all rational thought and soothsayers of doom, the Rangers support proved to be the unflinching and unbeatable vanguard of Rangers football club. Their love for a football club, which for many symbolises their very identity, was put to the test. They were not found to be wanting.

It's perhaps symptomatic of the problem, that press reporters outside Scotland, from far flung continents, want to report on the supporters who would not let their club die. Perhaps those Japanese reporters at Ibrox recently felt the unflinching loyalty and devotion of the Rangers support in the face of adversity would resonate in a culture which still holds the values of the Samurai in high regard.

Its against this backdrop that the boycott of Rangers forthcoming Scottish Cup tie at Tannadice could therefore be described as both unconventional and irregular if not surprising. Dundee United chairman Stephen Thomson epitomised everything which was wrong with Scotland during the Rangers crisis.

http://www.bbc.co.uk...otball/18365480

No Stephen views haven't hardened – unbridled hatred was allowed to replace a desire for fairness and justice. Lack of remorse ? You want us to apologise because you have pre-empted the result of a tax tribunal and declared us guilty ? And how dare we have the audacity to challenge a ruling which the court ultimately ruled was unlawful within the context of the SFA's own regulations.

I become infuriated when I hear journo's, post tribunal verdict, state they “understand Rangers fans anger”. No they don't. They have no idea at all. Only Rangers supporters truly understand the anger. There is a fury within the Rangers support which burns in a manner akin to napalm – it cannot be extinguished. A fire of righteous indignation has spread right through the Rangers support.

If Scotland was to genuinely reflect on it's treatment of Rangers over the last few months, it would quickly realise that the club is due a heartfelt apology. Whether such an apology is forthcoming is another matter. If it was, it would go some way to dousing those flames of anger within our support.

If however, its not then the unconventional and irregular may become the norm, with a brutality which would put Kurtz strategy to shame, and Scottish football will face a financial apocalypse as a consequence. Perhaps as ever, “sorry” will prove to be the hardest word.

We have come a long way from the opening paragraph and the jungles of Cambodia so perhaps it's fitting I close with the words of Lt. Col. Bill Kilgore (Robert Duvall) from the same film....

“I love the smell of napalm in the morning. It smells of victory”.

[Gerwelly 115]

Nice one Very eloquently put D'. :-)

[Redwhiteandblue 3,330]

Great as per D'Art.

I want to hear more about behind the enemy lines in the Falklands though.

[D'Artagnan 13,319]

Great as per D'Art.

I want to hear more about behind the enemy lines in the Falklands though.

Read the Marshall Cavendish "The Falklands War" magazine series - No. 13 I think it is - The Raid on Two Sisters. A certain musketeer gets a personal mention.

And no its not about me deflowering a couple of sisters ;-)

[ritchieshearercaldow 22,450]

Great wee piece D, well said

We'll never hear an apology from any of them.

I notice those who do admit to being wrong are now saying,... Aye but Rangers have to say sorry for not paying Tax and NI and the creditors

Well I can say I'm sorry that Whyte was ever let near Ibrox, maybe if he said sorry that would end it but Rangers the club and the fans have nothing to say sorry about.

[Redwhiteandblue 3,330]

Read the Marshall Cavendish "The Falklands War" magazine series - No. 13 I think it is - The Raid on Two Sisters. A certain musketeer gets a personal mention.

And no its not about me deflowering a couple of sisters ;-)

can I read it online?

[D'Artagnan 13,319]

can I read it online?

I don't think so RWB - they were the obligatory mags which were printed shortly after the war. Don't know where you would get them now.

[WadeWilson 4,670]

The apocalypse has already been...

...the world ended today at 12 noon... on the date of 12/12/12.

Thank god I live on the Internet.

[Thermopylae 15,288]

I thought it was supposed to be 12:12 on 12/12/12 ... perhaps there was a mix up with the time and it never happened

[ritchieshearercaldow 22,450]

The apocalypse has already been...

...the world ended today at 12 noon... on the date of 12/12/12.

Thank god I live on the Internet.

Aw fuck!!!so it was.... that means I'll have to get the wife a christmas present

[Redwhiteandblue 3,330]

I don't think so RWB - they were the obligatory mags which were printed shortly after the war. Don't know where you would get them now.

I just had a quick scan for them on google. You can still buy them, I couldn't see any PDF's or anything though. Bit of a shame, I would really want a read of that as well.

[WadeWilson 4,670]

Aw fuck!!!so it was.... that means I'll have to get the wife a christmas present

But we're all officially dead... Christmas is cancelled! YeeehoOO...!

[gogzy 31,195]

Brilliant as always D'.

[As I Was Walking.... 100]

I always thought it was supposed to be on the 21st? or have i got the wrong end of the world senario ----- am counting on it to be soon as the credit card bill arrives on the 20th

Always get app..... now and platoon mixed up so need to watch it later now to understand D' article better

[Blumhoilann 6,715]

Read the Marshall Cavendish "The Falklands War" magazine series - No. 13 I think it is - The Raid on Two Sisters. A certain musketeer gets a personal mention.

And no its not about me deflowering a couple of sisters ;-)

...and was it Cpl Dave (Scouser)who got the section moving after they were spotted and pinned down under heavy machinegun fire,then the bassas gave the medal to the officer who froze?

[Bluepeter9 5,167]

I thought it was supposed to be 12:12 on 12/12/12 ... perhaps there was a mix up with the time and it never happened

These things revolve around America time so 12:12 of 12/12/12 has not yet happened - (and in the US todays date is the one time they agree with our date format!!!)

[Bluepeter9 5,167]

I've lost count of the number of times I've watched Apocalypse Now, and yet despite countless viewings, I'm still undecided on Willard's feelings at the end towards Kurtz strategy. Did he sympathise or find the tactics abhorrent ?

For the younger bears out there who may not yet have enjoyed this Coppola classic - the story revolves around a special forces commander Col Kurtz (Marlon Brando) who had gone rogue. Frustrated with fighting an enemy who won't play by the rules Kurtz embarks on an unconventional and irregular strategy of doing unto others as they would do unto you. Except worse. Much worse in fact. Suffice to say that the words Geneva convention did not feature in the Brando's unconventional and irregular strategy. So much so that the Pentagon despatches another special forces operative, Captain Willard (Martin Sheen) to bring closure to Kurtz's regime.

Of course unconventional and irregular doesn't have to contain the element of brutality. During the Falklands war I served in a commando unit who did much of it's fighting behind enemy lines. We operated on a mantra of the three d's - disruption, destruction and demoralising. Post war a summation of our role was described as “unconventional, irregular but highly effective" Without I may add, the element of brutality espoused by Col Kurtz aforesaid.

These last few months have seen the Rangers support face an enemy who, like Brando's adversaries refused to play by the rules. Our club was branded guilty without trial, our chairman blackmailed by those who are expected to display governance, fairness and justice. But injustice did not stop at Rangers doorstep. SFL chairmen were bullied, intimidated and threatened to embark on a course of action which ran contrary to any sense of natural justice. Unlawful and unjust sanctions were imposed upon our club. Shame on them.

The Scottish press participated in the bloodfest labelling us cheats tax dodgers and much worse. Government agencies breached criminal law in the stampede to damage or club beyond repair. Internet bloggers manipulated government agency leaks in an effort to further destabilise or club. This bloodfest became an unstoppable force whose intent was clear – the death and destruction of Rangers FC.

Scotland became the scene of the eternal cosmic conundrum - the unstoppable force versus the immovable object. Two forces propelled by those timeless human emotions – love and hate.

And at at the end of carnage there was only one left standing. The immovable object - the Rangers support. Driven by love rather than hatred, and against all rational thought and soothsayers of doom, the Rangers support proved to be the unflinching and unbeatable vanguard of Rangers football club. Their love for a football club, which for many symbolises their very identity, was put to the test. They were not found to be wanting.

It's perhaps symptomatic of the problem, that press reporters outside Scotland, from far flung continents, want to report on the supporters who would not let their club die. Perhaps those Japanese reporters at Ibrox recently felt the unflinching loyalty and devotion of the Rangers support in the face of adversity would resonate in a culture which still holds the values of the Samurai in high regard.

Its against this backdrop that the boycott of Rangers forthcoming Scottish Cup tie at Tannadice could therefore be described as both unconventional and irregular if not surprising. Dundee United chairman Stephen Thomson epitomised everything which was wrong with Scotland during the Rangers crisis.

http://www.bbc.co.uk...otball/18365480

No Stephen views haven't hardened – unbridled hatred was allowed to replace a desire for fairness and justice. Lack of remorse ? You want us to apologise because you have pre-empted the result of a tax tribunal and declared us guilty ? And how dare we have the audacity to challenge a ruling which the court ultimately ruled was unlawful within the context of the SFA's own regulations.

I become infuriated when I hear journo's, post tribunal verdict, state they “understand Rangers fans anger”. No they don't. They have no idea at all. Only Rangers supporters truly understand the anger. There is a fury within the Rangers support which burns in a manner akin to napalm – it cannot be extinguished. A fire of righteous indignation has spread right through the Rangers support.

If Scotland was to genuinely reflect on it's treatment of Rangers over the last few months, it would quickly realise that the club is due a heartfelt apology. Whether such an apology is forthcoming is another matter. If it was, it would go some way to dousing those flames of anger within our support.

If however, its not then the unconventional and irregular may become the norm, with a brutality which would put Kurtz strategy to shame, and Scottish football will face a financial apocalypse as a consequence. Perhaps as ever, “sorry” will prove to be the hardest word.

We have come a long way from the opening paragraph and the jungles of Cambodia so perhaps it's fitting I close with the words of Lt. Col. Bill Kilgore (Robert Duvall) from the same film....

“I love the smell of napalm in the morning. It smells of victory”.

I was also in the Falklands but as a REMF wit a DZ falsh that was Blue (for the seas I had never been across), Red (for the blood I never saw) and Yellow (for the streak down my back) .........

...... and perhaps because I was a REMF I can distinquish between war and sport whereas others cant. What is hapening to Rangers is not 'war' not even close. And being a Rangers supporter I never want to adopt the tactics used by others for their own stupid, wee material gains. I would hate to stoop to those levels.

News of our death is premature!

[Falcoholic 1,348]

No apologies will be received. Charles reckons it's down to the Xmas post but I think he might be just a little optimistic on that score.

Our loathing and abhorrence of these clubs and people will never go away, and our actions may well bring down an odd club or two (here's hoping) but I'm fully expecting to be pilloried and belittled when they do, as once more BIG bad Rangers are held responsible for yet another footballing disaster, albeit this time it's their demise.

Then we can party like we've never partied before while looking forward to the downfall of the remaining poisonous vipers nest.

[D'Artagnan 13,319]

...and was it Cpl Dave (Scouser)who got the section moving after they were spotted and pinned down under heavy machinegun fire,then the bassas gave the medal to the officer who froze?

It was a very very large browning on sustained fire mode......

[Reformation Bear 6,453]

I don't believe the territory we find ourselves in is one where apologies will ever be made. The nature of the active harm agenda they have unleashed has, I believe, produced an outcome for them that was not what they had in mind. A quick victory (Rangers sent into oblivion) has not happened and nor will it. So the battle scene moves on to those who orchestrate the active harm agenda now seeking to make Rangers as weak as possible for as long as possible so that the favourites of those who pull SPL strings are given a free run at trophies without the interference of having to play Rangers. Apologies to Rangers while this scarred football landscape predominates is not, I think, ever possible. The media of course has a vested interest in perpetuating active harm stuff against Rangers because in their collective minds conflict stories are more newsworthy than reconciliation stories and especially when it provides opportunites to have a go at Rangers.

It will take consderable skill and leadership to move away from where matters now stand (bearing in mind it will get much worse when the active harm assault team led by Nimmo publish their title-stripping decision). SPL clubs seem to me to stand full square behind the SPL and all that it has done to Rangers and all that it continues to try to do. Their silence is evidence of this. Did any of them even acknowledge Rangers' 140 Years? So they cannot be trusted or respected by Rangers. The term 'active harm' has been used by Charles, and that some SPL clubs would be less welcome than others at Ibrox. Furthermore, the plain fact is, I believe, all SPL clubs have remained firmly behind the SPL on continuing with Nimmo, and no apologies have been received, and no hint of any acknowledgement that their actions were vindictive and designed to inflict as much harm on Rangers as possible. So while there might be degrees of active harm - all (and I do mean all) SPL clubs are actually tacitly supporting a continued active harm agenda. I would like to be persuaded otherwise but cannot find any facts that would support a different view.

League reconstruction talks may be territory where the view ahead starts to open up ways to move forward. But one thing seems sure to me, while Rangers has a very credible CEO and Board with deep knowledge of Rangers and Scottish football in the form of Walter Smith and James Traynor and Ally McCoist there are absolutely no credible counterparts in the SPL and SFA. So maybe next targets for Charles would be to set the conditions for trying to move things forward on a constructive basis - starting with requiring new leaders in the SFA and SPL so that there are at least people in charge that Rangers could work with.

[baxfanalex 113]

D'Art's posts are always worth a read as he gets past the bs and into the subject matter. I can only see the mood in Scottish Football going from gloomy to desperate as we now have no obligation with regard to the top league so we are no longer paying to arm our enemies. Of course the SFA/SPL cabal will continue to try to wring every morsel from Rangers. They stood idly by whilst an SPL manager conducted his own bigoted dialogue for a full season, bringing more than disrepute to the forefront of his rantings as he single handedly caused a strike then a resignation among Scottish refereeing officials. The charges and resultant shitstorm were another excercise in sweep sweep. The Tynecastle riot was another whitewash and I could go on but, suffice to say, we are winning small victories every week and the battle is swinging in our direction. One day there might just be a set of circumstances that will see Rangers return to top flight football. I, for one, doubt if that will happen under the current regime here in Scotland.

[Graham 3,545]

The horror, the horror

[Non_Sucumbi 876]

Excellent piece D'art --- very succinct and to the point.

For younger readers the commandos in the Falklands went in after the Paras had done all the hard work

[Bluepeter9 5,167]

Excellent piece D'art --- very succinct and to the point.

For younger readers the commandos in the Falklands went in after the Paras had done all the hard work

agreed - airborne!!!!!!!

2 para ? 3 para?

[D'Artagnan 13,319]

Excellent piece D'art --- very succinct and to the point.

For younger readers the commandos in the Falklands went in after the Paras had done all the hard work

Now now NS.....

Lets keep this thread factual !!