Yet another of the interminable Scottish days, when the slate of the sky seems to weigh as heavily as do those on the roof of a swaybacked cottage.. This is the time of year that brings on the feeling that one can almost sense the true isolation a closed sky affords..
It would appear that public opinion has, for once, had an effect on at least one of our bankers.. The Chairman of the Royal Bank of Scotland has decided not to accept his bonus for last year's work.. Sir Philip Hampton announced he would forgo the £1.4million the Board had opted to award him.. Now this RBS statement came amid continued controversy over the bank's decision to award Stephen Hester, its Chief Executive, a £963,000 bonus.. a bone caught in the public throat when the fact the bank is 82% owned by the taxpayer.. Hester has not declined his whack of the pie..

Now this was only to have been expected..
As Spanish unemployment breaks through the 5 million barrier, the new government of Mariano Rajoy has begun to put pressure on the European Union to ease Spain's deficit targets, which are sending the country tumbling back into recession..
Rajoy's government is demanding greater 'realism' from Brussels as it struggles to rein in a deficit that ended more than two percentage points, or €20billion, above its EU-set 6% target last year..
EU officials are unlikely to greet his message with enthusiasm after continued wrangling in Athens over a deal with private creditors and a torrid day on the bond markets that pushed Portugal closer to needing a Greek-style rescue.. Brussels indicated that talks in Greece would take at least another 48 hours..
Just what they might manage to come up with before Monday's EU Ministers conference, is moot..

Might be interesting to keep an eye on Nigeria..
An Islamic fundamentalist group calling itself 'Boco Harum' has killed over a thousand in it's fight to force the country into a 'true Islamic State', governed my strict Shari'a Law.. Spokesman, Abu Qaqa, says "We will consider negotiation only when we have brought the government to their knees.. Once we see that things are being done according to the dictates of Allah, and our members are released [from prison], we will only put aside our arms.. but we will not lay them down. You don't put down your arms in Islam, you only put them aside."
Now there's a statement which we in the West would do well to remember..
Shari'a law is already in place across 12 states in the Muslim-majority north.. But few believe the group's radical ideology has traction in Nigeria's mainly Christian south, which is also home to millions of Muslims, yet has so far been out of the group's reach.