A world full of philanthropists
To the astonishment of all, it turns out that JK Rowling isn’t going to sue anyone after all. Or, as the ever-reliable-and-accurate Scottish Daily Mail puts it:
(It seems needlessly churlish and picky to also point out that McGarry currently isn’t an “SNP MP”, so we won’t do that.)
Instead, the author, worth hundreds of millions of pounds, intends to try to pressure McGarry into making a donation to her childrens’ charity, Lumos, which we can only presume is happy to receive money generated by what some people might regard as intimidation bordering on blackmail.
So that’s all well and good. If you’re going to bully people, after all, it’s probably best if it’s at least for a worthy cause. Rowling was full of praise for abusive Tweeter “Brian Spanner” when he raised some money for the same charity last year by selling t-shirts mocking the loony “Scottish Resistance” campaign group.
But not all charitable donations attract such gratitude.
Above is a short piece from today’s Herald, a paper which went to extraordinary lengths to remove all mention of “Brian Spanner” from its coverage of the spat between Rowling and McGarry – remarkably, in numerous articles on the dispute the Herald hasn’t mentioned the account’s name once, despite it being at the centre of events, and even went so far as to actively blank it out of screenshots.
The paper’s political editor Tom Gordon also tweeted the Weir story:
The only problem with it was that it was complete rubbish.
The UK Parliament rules for declaring earnings are that members must register income of over £100 in any single payment, or smaller payments totalling over £300 from one source in a calendar year. (Until the 2015 election the threshold was £660.)
And Mike Weir did NOT fail in that responsibility.
The MP for Angus earned a total of £340 from YouGov in the course of 2015, not reaching the £300 threshold until October. During the period under which the £300 threshold applied (after the May election), he only earned £280.
There’s also no requirement for MPs to declare any individual or accumulated payment specifically within 28 days. What the rules actually say is:
Weir’s “interest” in YouGov was not new. It had already been registered by him in 2014, and had not changed – it was still money paid for completing surveys and donated directly to charity.
At the time of writing, the Herald has not corrected its article or apologised for the false statement. Mr Weir’s reward for donating to charity has been to be traduced in print. “Brian Spanner”, meanwhile, has enjoyed the Herald’s protection, despite already being anonymous.
Readers can, as ever, form their own conclusions as to why an SNP MP and an abusive Unionist tweeter get such strikingly different treatment.
The Herald and Sunday Herald must be boycotted by any sensible people who care about journalistic integrity. Shut them down – we dont need the MSM anymore – they are a corporate-directed sideshow to what is actually happening in Scotland.
Rev I read somewhere that Rowling had returned the charity money from spanner my question how did she know where to return it surely if this is the case it would be easy to find out who twat spanner is.
Has she sent her heavy mob down to visit you yet?
YouTube eh? Moonlighting as some kind of film star?
That’s the problem with the scum unionist media, they can print whatever crap they like and there are still some people who believe their crap.
The only way to make these sewer dredgers irrelevant is to vote SNP x 2 come May.
Vendetta against the SNP.
Mike Weir received money from YouTube, did he? Has he got a channel doing funnies or something? 🙂
Its a pity there isn’t a law in place which not only levies a punitive fine on newspapers which peddle these lies.
But also makes them publish a prominent retraction of the these untruthful stories they published.
Maybe then we will have decent and honest journalism
It’s appears you mixed up youtube and yougov. However, living in the UK, it’s easy to see the confusion when you consider the tubes running the UK!!
From this sordid Spanner scandal how are we, the public, supposed to see the Sunday Herald as a separate, distinct newspaper from the weekly Herald?
How can we when, in this instance, the confrontation over a sacked journalist straddles both papers?
As a Sunday Herald reader I perceive them as from the same stable and management. Consequently, the sins of one taint the other.
The editor of the Sunday Herald has a mountain to climb in an effort to convince readers his paper enjoys an unassailable autonomy.
‘Autonomy’ – there’s a topical word.
Stu
“The MP for Angus received a total of £340 from YouTube”
If you add his earning from YouTube to his earnings from YouGov that’s £680. 🙂
These people are so arrogant.
So glad I never read, far less bought any of ‘those’ books!
I dare not write any more ’cause it may be libellous.
Just another day. I am impervious. Determined but impervious
SNP Bad. How’s that impacting on the circulation figures Mr Gardham?
As everyone knows I’m no financial whizz kid but I think this wee piece of information might be useful to some folks.
http://apps.charitycommission.gov.uk/Showcharity/RegisterOfCharities/FinancialHistory.aspx?RegisteredCharityNumber=1112575&SubsidiaryNumber=0
The accounts for Lumos ending December 31st 2014 show that they had a total income of £3,204,192.
From the figures on page 41 of their annual report it can be seen that they have 75 employees and a total wage bill of £1,864,427.
http://apps.charitycommission.gov.uk/Accounts/Ends75%5C0001112575_AC_20141231_E_C.pdf
Now I may be well off base here but for a *ahem* charity to spend approx 58% of its income on salaries seems a wee bit off to me.
I assume the two employees (one receiving £70 – £80000 and one receiving £90 – 100000) are included in the £1.8 Million.
More over I find it *cough* interesting as to where this *ahem* charity operates.
England
Bulgaria
Czech Republic
Haiti
Moldova
Serbia
Ukraine
U.S.A.
http://apps.charitycommission.gov.uk/Showcharity/RegisterOfCharities/CharityWithPartB.aspx?RegisteredCharityNumber=1112575&SubsidiaryNumber=0
There are one or two countries that some folks might be surprised NOT to see on this list, namely:
Wales
Northern Ireland
Scotland
The Herald is descending further and further into a sewer, and seems to be intent on drowning itself in the contents.
Dirty tricks and shitty sticks
From SgP
Why does Spanner – an abusive troll who regularly uses the C-word, and who has a relatively modest 4,622 followers on Twitter – boast such a large number of the unionist establishment (especially the journalistic unionist establishment) among his followers? Examples : Blair McDougall, J K Rowling (who STILL follows him!), Alex Massie, John McTernan, Kenny Farquharson, Iain Martin, Chris Deerin, Stephen Daisley, David Torrance, Kevin Schofield, Alan Roden, Iain Harrison, Ruth Davidson MSP, Harry Cole, Nick Cohen, Gemma Doyle, Melanie Ward, Tom Greatrex, Stephen Hammond MP, Paul Martin MSP, Alex Fergusson MSP, Mike Crockart, Charlotte Wace (Scottish Mail on Sunday), Tom Martin (Scottish Daily Express), Lord Lewis Moonie, Maggie Vaughan (Alistair Darling’s spouse), Murdo Fraser MSP, Paul Sinclair, Rob Shorthouse, Catherine Stihler MEP, Ben Borland (Scottish Sunday Express), Ian Smart, Ian Murray MP, and yes, Euan McColm. Are they ALL fans of deeply offensive misogynistic trolling and the C-word?
So the Herald is effectively censoring any mention of Brian Spanner? It is obvious that Rowling and co are aware of his identity. Therefore, the Herald and other journalists are protecting a vile and abusive person. This is almost sub Daily Mail/Sun territory. What an utter shambles the Herald has become.
Its like watching the Mafia in action, Herald goons strong arm on behalf of a rich goon, lying about that Spanner goon etc.
The real horror is the fact JK Rowling is a very rich and famous children’s author, yet she supports the most offensive tweets imaginable from this Spanner character.
Parents should be made fully aware of the kind of disgusting behaviour their children are coming in contact with via Rowling.
I think an effort must be made to ‘oust’ Spanner.
Once this happens I think it will all fall into place.
Methinks the woman protests too much.
In the ‘full of praise’ link in the the text above, we see JKR thanking Spanner for a cheque to charity. Below that same thread we see a lot of genuine and probably innocent fans responding. They probably have no idea just how vile and obnoxious Spanner is!
L-A,
Nice bit of digging there.
One rule for them… etc.
What kind of person follows a twitter account, and when the tweeter is exposed as making vile misogynistic comments, doesn’t roundly condemn those comments, and unfollow the tweeter?
Well, we’ve got a list of Scottish journalists and politicians and their glitterati friends to be going on with while we wait for further clarification.
Just recently unfollowed the Herald on my Facebook timeline. The bias and propaganda from what was once a very good newspaper became unbearable. I felt like I needed a shower after reading my timeline. Why the Herald has decided to out Daily Mail the Daily Mail is anyone’s guess.
Whether sanity will return after the election is anyone’s guess but I think the Herald has burned its bridges with so many people that the die is cast.
I have never been more determined to vote SNP.
The “birthdaygate” tweets kind of gave the game away as to Spanner’s true identity.
The Herald commits hara kiri, sad for a once proud paper.
Why do these people hate their own country, or is that the problem, in their wee world Scotland is just a wee region of the UK. Rule Britannia and all that stuff.
Truly boak inducing. Scunnered,I am totally and utterly scunnered.
I would suspect someone might have reported the Spanner tweets to the Police then following the investigation the person or people behind that offensive account would be unmasked.
From the rangers article yesterday it is clear that the Herald are more concerned with advertisers than paying customers.
It is therefore long overdue that we start to approach they’re biggest advertisers pointing out this newspapers ethics.
Trouble is I haven’t bought the paper for years or read online, can anyone provide a list of the bigger advertisers?
Most success might be achieved with overseas companies like lidl/aldi, do they even advertise in the Herald?
cearc says:
30 January, 2016 at 12:14 pm
L-A,
Nice bit of digging there.
Wish I could take all the credit there Cearc unfortunately I can’t. ;(
It was Lady Muck o’ Lochay over on Twitter who pointed me to the Charity overview page. 🙂
Naive idiot that I am, I thought, just maybe, the Mail was lining-up to have a go at Jakey for her support of Spanner.
Wrong again, they have, true to form, come out with an “SNP Bad” story about an MP who is not currently a member of, nor taking the SNP whip – whilst totally failing to mention that (insert Spanner’s favourite C word here) Spanner.
These people are beyond shame, or parody.
I reckon Natalie could take on Rowling’s threat with crowdfunding support – and make Rowling look like a spoilt, petulant teenager.
Just truly legendary fail from the Herald this week. From the list above, it’s clear the majority of unionist journalists know who Spanner is, but are closing ranks now to protect him or her. The Daily Rancid’s silence over the Twitter spat between McGarry and Rowling, is telling too.
One thing I find a bit curious in the Spanner thingy, is a cheque was received from the Spanner person to the writer’s charity. The account the cheque came from would have to be from the actual personal account of the troll. So who who sent the cheque?
The Herald needs to close the valve on its waste expulsion pipe
Why the Herald has decided to out Daily Mail the Daily Mail is anyone’s guess.
They’re more than aware of what will happen in the next Holyrood 5 year term, if it is an SNP majority.
From Pacific Quay attack propaganda down, they all have to believe they have just enough time to stop just enough people voting SNP.
I was surprised to find only two comments on Ms Rowlings tantrums in the National and neither mentioned the Brian Spanner QC name.
Surely the National isn’t playing silly buggers too?
Went to Shirley-Anne Somerville’s adoption as the candidate for Dunfermline last night. A great evening begun with a few songs from a young couple – well received. Steven Gethins was the MC and introduced in order Douglas Chapman MP, then Shirley-Anne followed by Nicola Sturgeon. All gave good speeches but Nicola was absolutely outstanding! She reminded us that, despite all the media rant about using your second vote for someone else, we can only ensure SNP Government and Nicola’s First Ministership to continue with 2 votes for the SNP. She mentioned independence a number of times and stressed what we all know, but the media would like to deflect from, that the existence of the SNP is to recover Scotland’s independence. A really worthwhile experience and the two English ladies in my company were delighted, especially with Nicola – my wife described her as “inspiring”. To make it even better there was another Bill McLean and his wife sitting behind us – and the red wine was pretty good too! Pity those haters of Scotland among us can’t see that these people and the Scottish Government are in this for the betterment of our country, not participating in the sleaze and warmongering that emanates from the House of Horrors in London.
BrianSpanner1 QC is spending his Saturday retweeting bits of the Rev’s wings over scotland twitter account.
Apparently a person being occsionaly foul mouthed on twitter is the same as an annonymous Troll who calls a lot of women in public life c**ts, that seems to be his angle.
Its a really, really big fluffy tailed squirrel.
Spanner’s identity needs to be investigated and revealed. If he/she was a nationalist tweeter, there would be an all out effort by creatures like Rowling and her yoon msn and establishment friends to unmask him/her.
Rowling has become a snide bully and those suppressing the debacle in its entirety (failing to mention spanners involvement) are enemies of Scottish democracy.
Listen, I know people have been favouring terms like Unitroll, Yoon or Britnat but for maximum psychological embarrassment can we henceforth refer to every abusive Unionist as a Spanner.
The furious, furious back-peddling by Rowling indicates her wee right-wing clique would rather the can of worms that is Brian Spanner quietly disappeared. Because it is a can of worms, it threatens the Holy Hypocrisy at the heart of every tabloid chimps “abusive cybernat trolls” witch-hunt.
Spanner should be canonical from now on and deployed as freely as the term cybernat.
britnat bricks it.
To: Unaligned.
Reluctantly I have now got to agree with your boycott stance. I have hung onto to The National in the hope that it’s sister newspaper would move to a fairer reporting style, but it seems that the entire herald group (including The National – albeit in a more subtle way) remain relentless in their pro-union agenda.
My National subscription has just been cancelled. And it looks like my £3.99 per month saved would be better spent supporting Wings.
Hope Natalie McG doesn’t give in to this possible ‘demand’ for money for JKR’s charity.
Am quite gobsmacked at recent events, even though JKR talked a lot of ‘nonsense’ during the indy ref campaign, this latest stuff is nuts.
I really do believe if the parents of her supporters particularly in the US heard about this she would lose a lot of fans
Maybe McGarry should sue Rowling for attempting to bring her name and reputation into disrepute. She needs to do it from the secure position of an SNP MP though, and get all this WFI crap cleaned up first.
She should not be blackmailed into making donations to a charity which itself may bear investigation, as all charities might. Where would this all end? Are we all going to be sued or blackmailed if we dare to criticize the actions of anybody at all with money to pay lawyers?
been buying the sunday herald but no more, it funds the daily herald ffs, might give up the national as well
Further to my earlier post, so angry am I now with these “people”, that I would contribute a month’s salary to any fund in defence of Natalie.
I’d love to see Rowling humiliated to the point she fucks off out of my country, along with spanner and all his slimy, bottom feeding followers.
@Marcia
I am not sure the police would be able to do anything in regards to an annoymous Twitter account. It would be good to have the person’s real identity confirmed, because unionist establishment figures in Scotland clearly know who he/she is. I think it would have to be leaked by someone from Twitter or elsewhere.
Wellreadned wrote:
“I know people have been favouring terms like Unitroll, Yoon or Britnat but for maximum psychological embarrassment can we henceforth refer to every abusive Unionist as a Spanner.”
Yes, i like that, it’s a very useful tool, Britnat Spanners!
Natalie should not let herself be bullied into supporting this, or any charity. I she wishes to she could send an amount to a charity of HER choice and make it public. Do not give in to JKR bullying or that of any unionists!
As a weekend reader of the Herald and Sunday Herald for well over 30 years, before they even added Sunday to the title, I have to give up my weekend pleasure. I can no longer give money to what are Unionist lie sheets and would hope all Indy supporters do the same. Let the hordes of Unionists keep them afloat….as if.
Nobody knows the Spanners identity? REALLY?
You’re not going to tell me that nobody connected to the SNP knows who the sewer-mouthed coward is. If the SNP truly haven’t a clue then i’ve got one question – Why are they in power?
The corridors of politics will all know fine well who it is.
Out the coward and sue the arse off it – multiple court cases.
Out the coward and just watch the excrement fly in all directions.
Bill,
She should not be blackmailed into giving money, not a single penny.
I do not like extortion. I do not like bullies. I do not like people who use their wealth to get their way like a spoilt three year old.I do not like people who threaten defamation actions when they are clearly wrong in supporting a Spanner.I do not like Unionists who try to suck the life out of my country.I am not a man of straw so sue me!
As I read it, one of the journo Spanner followers who claims to know people who know the identity of Spanner, (and there may be others) is protesting their deathly silence by saying that “they didn’t support him/her when they made those tweets’, or that ‘they thought it was satire’.
Well that may well be, but the fact that Spanner has been shown to tweet misogynistic abuse should trigger in them a condemnation of such abuse.
Where is it?
Anyone got any examples yet?
It’s not so difficult is it? Maybe for some it is.
Shows where their values lie.
Any chance of asking twitter under the FOI act who Brian Spanner QC is?
http://en.whotwi.com/DrScottThinks
Interesting RT from WoS there for a twitter stats analysis site. That Spanner goon is JK Rowling’s “best twitter” friend” on her twitter stats but look who’s this ragin red tory unionist Doctor Bonkers second best twitter friend?
Wonder why.
Rowling’s a global brand but if it becomes public knowledge the kind of character Spanner actually is and how she supports him, its going to cause damage. Harry Plop plop movies made her rich as god but Hollywood is pretty sensitive to this kind of full on misogyny, anon or not. Which probably explains the Spanner charidy donation and Rowling boosting it all like crazy.
@Stoker
David Halliday made a point on Twitter about Parliamentary Privilege and the protections it gives M.P’s from getting sued the other day. *waggles eyebrows*
Spanner is going to get thrown under the bus. I bet some of the people he was unpleasant to considered him a friend anaw.
I think an old fashioned ‘WANTED £5,000 REWARD’ poster should find Spanner.
Or …..an ambitious ex unionist journalist just might be converted. After all this is now a worldwide story and reputations and lots of lovely money could be made.
@ Dorothy Devine
The National print version has an article by Andrew Learmonth which names Brian Spanner as the tweeter of badly Photoshopped expletive filled tweets against SNP politicians and women. Also mentions he is one of 280 people Rowling follows on Twitter and that they often talk on the platform.
It was not Mr Spanner, whoever he really is, who made the donation to Ms Rowling’s charity – at least according to the Herald story in today’s paper.
The donor was a Mr Alan Ferrier. He had apparently posted something similar to what was posted on Wings, that is Mr Spanner’s tweets and some of JK Rowling’s tweets to Mr Spanner.
She, apparently took exception to this ‘false evidence’ when, if I have read a very poorly written article correctly, Ms McGarry retweeted them.
Mr Ferrier made a donation to Lumos, and to Women for Independence, a wee sting in the tail there.
The repulsive slop Spanner posts is hate speech – a police matter.
let’s say I know someone teaches a large number of University students every year (average 200) and encourages them to think very critically about UK news sources, and provides examples of misinformation from the likes of the Guardian, Telegraph, and Herald, and refers to websites such as MediaLens and Wings, finding out by polling at the beginning and end of the courses that although trust in these media was actually quite low at the beginning, it is even more so after the courses: would that be a bad thing? Would it be bad that these students are going out into the world telling others about the terrible propaganda in our media?
Worldwide interest story.
Big career break
Lots of lovely lolly waiting for the first unionist journalist to break ranks.
Bound to happen soon
This whole thing has played out predictably. And sadly, JKR will feel pretty good about how it went. It reminds me of when millionaire liar not a doctor Gillian McKeith tried to sue well meaning bullshit buster Dr Ben Goldacre. She knew what he was saying was right, and she’d never win..so she made a very public song and dance about suing him aided by a friendly media.
JK Rowling, like all foul mindrd liars who get upset when the truth about them is threatened to come out, has essentially used press release as a proxy to the established legal framework. Time and again rich scum with pr representatives throw toys from pram in papers rather than risk a fair hearing.
The unfortunate truth is that for many people their only knowledge about this will come from the horrifically sub par newspaper articles.
Wellreadnead @ 1.04 pm
I think to claim Parliamentary privilege the statements or accusations have to be made in Parliament. But I am prepared to stand corrected on that.
Unaligned wrote:
“The Herald and Sunday Herald must be boycotted by any sensible people who care about journalistic integrity. Shut them down – we dont need the MSM anymore – they are a corporate-directed sideshow to what is actually happening in Scotland.”
Very true!
The BUM is a massive festering septic boil on Scotland’s progress. We need to savagely lance that boil and expose Scotland to a whole new fresh way of living. Boycott the BUM and give the Spanners their P45s.
Looks like the National has been nobbled too.
@Stoker
The SNP is in power to change Scotland for the better, and to try to achieve independence for said nation. Not sure why you expect them to waste time and effort finding out who an annoymous abusive person on Twitter is, especially when there is an important election coming up.
Unionist journalists and commentators now flailing limp wrist-edly for their media lives.
heedtracker
The best friend thing is surely more a gauge of one to one communication than whether the people like each other or not.
Dr Von Scott and Stu argue. I have seen nothing to suggest that JK and Spanner argue…and I am surprised that Spanner is her top communication link on Twitter. I would have thought it more likely to some book or movie type or Sarah Brown or somebody. Not somebody channeling a deranged anti-Nat/anti-female political activist persona.
Given who follows Spanner the whole Spanner thing is clearly intended to be some in-joke amongst the top level Nay Sayer clique. JK may have broken that wee joke by jumping at the chance of being the victim of nasty nationalists.
Rowling, the bully. McGarry should not pay a penny.
I was feeling quite down yesterday at not being able to help via emergency donation, to rescue animals in the most terrible conditions in a zoo in Albania. It crossed my mind why the rich don’t step in to help, ie the rowlings of this world. The herald story is about her greed as much as their
vendetta against the SNP and their MPs.
Rowling should feel absolutely ashamed, has she nothjng better to do ffs!
I would like to ask a clarifying question. Also I may use words that offend some.
My reading of this incident is that the misogyny is not called such because women have been targetted by using language in an abusive manner such as calling them cunts.
Yes, this may be considered abusive, and certainly the term is generally considered to have come from female anatomy, but as a form of abuse it is directed equally at both males and females and in this way is not inherently misogynistic, though considered foul.
The misogyny comes when the target is abused using language that would only apply to women, in this case references to the Change, and FGM.
This is why the abuse is so abhorrent. It attacks the sex of the person as well as abusing them in general.
It is equivalent to remarks make that are homophobic, racist, or sexist, and other of these types of abuse.
This is why Spanner apologised for certain remarks, but not others that could be seen as equally abusive, but did not include the women-specific terminology.
That he rushed to apologise for these particular remarks, and not others that seem equally abusive unless you appreciate the distinction, suggests to me that Spanner may have had some form of legal or other professional advice about what constitutes misogyny.
Why others don’t condemn it remains for them to answer.
Would they be so silent if one had made homophobic remarks about gay politicians and political activists, or racist remarks against politicians from non-European cultural backgrounds?
Why the silence surrounding hate-speech aimed at women?
I think we need to start a ‘Who is Brian Spanner?’ campaign.
Get tee shirts with ‘Who is Brian Spanner?’ on the front.
Ask the question on every online forum?
I’m off to ask the question on The Scotsman & The Herald perhaps the Guardian aswell.
Marcia 1256 – In principle I totally agree with you. If JKR pushes this and Natalie declines imagine the response from the BUM? If Natalie feels she must she should contribute to a charity of her own choice!
Grouse Beater wrote:
“The repulsive slop Spanner posts is hate speech – a police matter.”
Correct, Grouse, and police do have the ability to confirm the identity of those behind “anonymous” accounts etc. Whether they will be *willing* to is another matter.
Whether that person is prosecuted or not is a decision which can only be made by prosecutors, or Procurator Fiscal if in Scotland. And prosecutors can only make a decision on the evidence presented to them by the police.
Mags Curran lookalike JK Rowling is going to sue the pants off Natalie McGarry.And then she’s not.She’s up to her neck in squalid gutter journalism and politics.She’s pals with foul mouthed Twitter guttersnipe Euan McColl.How sad is that?
Hot off the press…! Just seen this on Stu’s twitter feed. You have to have a look at this. Very illuminating.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CZ-B3hoWQAANRGn.jpg
Rowling herself, from her petulant little foot-stamping, is aggrieved that her strategy of cwwwwwying needily about “vicious cybernat abuse” has crumbled to dust.
Don’t let rich cowards bully you into silence, because for all of Rowling’s cloying “Izit because I English?” passive aggressive shite she is a dyed-in-the-wool Red Tory first and foremost.
The sycophancy which attends her is understandable in children, but creepy in fully matured adults.
Mr Spanner has by the way ,toned down his responses to everyone. I think he is severely concerned.
Another Unionist put back in his box.
I would love Rowling to take this to court.From what I have seen ,read, and researched she would be humiliated in public for everyone to see. Go on JK you know you really want to.
You have been abusing yourself in private by participating with Spanner,so you might as well make it public.
I really hope that Natalie McGarry stands her ground and does not give in to JK but calls her out instead.
JK comes over as a nasty, spoiled brat with too much time on its hands due to the pile of wealth it sits on.
I have far more respect for people like McGarry who enter into public service with the intention of doing good for all rather than a mediocre writer with a huge marketing media behind her to peddle her mediocre wares.
I live in hope that the SNP will make a stand against the MSM for all the lies and smears against their people. It’s time for them to start fighting back.
heedtracker says:
“… best twitter friend …”
That is utterly astonishing.
I believe the slang ‘spanner’ came originally via the phrase
throw a spanner in the works – meaning, to do something that prevents a plan or activity from succeeding
and from that, a person called a ‘spanner’ was someone likely to cause problems.
Well! Perhaps Brian Spanner QC will turn out to be well named !
@ Alan Macintosh Wow! What an eye-opener. Good on Stu digging out the stats.
Hmm… So it appears that BrianSpanner1 is “he who must not be named” 😀
Mike Weir is a good,honest guy and an exceptionally hard worker for his constituents and the independence cause.If our MPs and MSPs follow his example they’ll come to gain the same respect and affection as Mike Weir enjoys in Angus.The Tories mounted a Unionists Must Unite campaign to unseat him last May.He threshed the living day lights out of them.
Utterly disgusting, sickening, vomit-inducing behavior from people who regard themselves as leaders of society. On the plus side, two actions on their part serve to bring independence closer whenever they perform them – one is everything they say, the other is everything they do. Keep ’em under the cosh, Rev.
muttley79 wrote:
@Stoker
“The SNP is in power to change Scotland for the better, and to try to achieve independence for said nation. Not sure why you expect them to waste time and effort finding out who an annoymous abusive person on Twitter is, especially when there is an important election coming up.”
As someone who has supported and voted for the SNP and Scottish independence for over 30-years i certainly don’t need any explanations for their existence.
The point i was making, obviously went right over your head, was that the Spanners identity will be well and truly known. And as a sewer-mouthed coward known for its hatred of the SNP, its identity could be very public knowledge in a matter of a couple of phonecalls.
Exposing and destroying such venomous filth discredits further ones enemy and advances ones own cause. To win the war you must also win the propaganda battles.
That’s the point i was trying to make.
@Legerwood
Exactly. People in the S.N.P already know who Spanner is and can say so in the Westminster Parliament. “Spanner” is going to get thrown to the wolves, mark my words.
After Labour’s demonisation of Neil Hay over much milder tweets how does Ian Murray and would be Edinburgh Southern election agent Hotherall justify backing for Brian Spanner
((((( READ ALL ABOUT IT )))))
The Spanner Exposed As Jakey Rowling’s Sock Puppet Attack Dog
🙂
Following events of this week and being challenged on Twitter myself, I had a look into the depths of Yoonery online.
OMG! HOLY FUCKENORY!
I never knew this Yoonery was on such an industrial scale. Honestly, Cybernattery has NOTHING on this scale and craziness of this black heart of Unionism. And, depressingly, just about all those people, mostly anonymous, have Scottish MSM journos following them. And ‘Cybrnats’ is really conflated and used as a delfection to hide the real rot in society.
I cancelled my Herald online account this week. I now consider all MSM in Scotland as toxic and will give it no quarter anymore. We must put all our future resources in funding alternative media.
The journos are quite happy to hit out at anyone connected to SNP or Indy particularly through their online presence, but the sheer weight of industrial strength vileness from Yoons is wholly ignored. If exposed it would have journos filling pages for months on end.
So the question is why are Journos in Scotland deliberately ignoring the ‘other side’ of the story? And with the Brian Spanner account being just a slight tip of the iceberg, how can this constant Yoonery be ignored?
Conclusion is, worringly, and a lot is to do with the exposure of the Brian Spanner account, is that not only many in the Scottish MSM are sympathetic to the Yoonery but they’re more than likely have anonymous alter-ego accounts themselves to spout off their frustrations and sociopathic abusive tendancies.
HandandShrimp says:
30 January, 2016 at 1:19 pm
heedtracker
The best friend thing is surely more a gauge of one to one communication than whether the people like each other or not.
I think thats undoubtedly the case. What I take from the Doc’s stats is simply that he’s taken on the red tory yoon task of getting in the face of WoS on twitter, was my point.
Rowling wont risk legal action against McGarry purely because it could seriously damage her brand if Spanners abusive tweets became news around the world, in particular the US. Keep in mind the kind of money they make just from Harry Potter World
https://www.universalorlando.com/Theme-Parks/Wizarding-World-Of-Harry-Potter.aspx
Quite a lot of Hollywood brands have gone bad following the conduct of the brand provider. Mel Gibson for example but there are several more. Spanners staggeringly abusive tweets are not that far from Gibson’s rant to the cops. If Rowling’s over blown sense of power in her Scotland region did drag her into a defamation court battle, Spanner and Rowling could easily be the next Gibson.
Her almost uncontrollable arrogance towards McGarry can probably be seen from her hard man lawyers letter, no defamation action but still threaten with it, apology/payment to Rowling charity demands. And this is not the first time the goon has used her charities as political weaponry.
It does look like they are circling the wagons to protect one of thier own. And it doesn’t seem to matter to them that the person in question hurls the most horrendous abuse at women.
As for the Herald lying for the cause of SNPBad… Well does anyone really expect them to change now?
Shameful behaviour.
You can tell a lot about someone by the company they keep.
If the police could track down and successfully prosecute the guy who tweeted the horrible comment after the bin lorry crash about ‘most rubbish picked up’ – surely it should be easy for them to track down this account, even if it a phoney name. Spanner is far more offensive in quantity than that silly lad.
In fact any teenage would-be hacker could follow the IP trail.
Can’t believe that when I studied Politics at Glasgow University, The Glasgow Herald and the Scotsman were the quality press we were expected to get information from. How are the once mighty fallen.
The media is trying to lay the groundwork to smear and discredit the SNP. It isn’t accidental. It isn’t random. It is orchestrated and deliberate.
I have just watched a program where the Jews starving and falling to disease in the Ghettos was spun by Goebbles as vindication and verification of the Nazi’s campaign to smear the Jews as dirty and disease ridden. “Look! We were right! See how disease if rife in their communities”. Before the bestial excesses which followed, it was necessary to subdue and manipulate the sensibilities of the ‘general’ population with a long and drawn out period of pernicious discrimination and incitement to hate.
I am left very troubled by our insidious so-called news industry which sees neither objectivity nor honesty as fundamental requirements of its conduct.
I feel increasingly that it isn’t enough merely to defend those who are smeared and demeaned. The “news industry”, which increasingly has no interest in news, and defies the economic criteria of actual industry, needs to be exposed for what it really is. It isn’t an industry, and it isn’t remotely concerned with news. It is nothing better than an instrument for spreading propaganda hostile to Scottish self determination. It seeks to numb our population to subdue our free thinking and tolerate things which we really should not.
O/t,
Two scottish aussie open champions . Ya beauty.Well done Jamie murray and Weir.
Great article in The National by Hugh McDonald on Iceland’s economic recovery from much worse situation than low oil prices. You will see this stuff in rest of MSM or on TV so thats why we need to support the National and Sunday Herald bur point out their errors of judgement.
Scotland’s second Australian Open Champion this afternoon.
Capella, re Jakey’s best friend on twitter. The Rev gave a hat tip to @traquir obv another alert reader.
What is telling about this is that Spanner is her no. 1 twitter friend. Even her own Lumos charity is only third, with Daisley and Deerin just below that. People need to link this and get it spread far and wide.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CZ-B3hoWQAANRGn.jpg
The press may turn a blind eye to what the U.K. Trowlings do but …
‘In the land of the blind the one eyed man is king’, as Erasmus put it all those years ago.
Unilinged.
I agree and would go further and add the National to that list. For a pro independence paper it doesn’t feel inclined to print stories defending SNP MSP`s who are wrongly accused of various activities while its sister papers especially the Herald produce a daily diet of anti Scottish government bile that seem to be heading for warp factor 20.
Again well done Rev for your tenacity in helping those
who find it difficult to defend themselves, I really wonder what things would be like without this site.
Jamie’s won
galamcennalath at 1:35 pm:
I believe the slang ‘spanner’ came originally via the phrase throw a spanner in the works – meaning, to do something that prevents a plan or activity from succeeding and from that, a person called a ‘spanner’ was someone likely to cause problems.
Actually, the first thing that came to mind when I saw the name was Operation Spanner
A bunch of blokes getting together in private to do strange things with each others’ tackle? Sounds about right for our Mr Spanner and his friends!
I don’t do Twitter but i took a look in. I see the JK’s pals are doing the “I am Spannercus” thing. Even Brian Taylor has done it. I think that just about clinches it that Spanner is a journalist – which one we are yet to see.
Apparently being abusive is fine if you are a unionist and SNPbad bullying if you so much criticise a unionist.
By fuck this is a corrupt rotten shit hole of a union.
Pretty sure HMG’s security services with the assistance of their American buddies will ensure the “SPANNER” is never revealed to their employers and paymasters, namely the people. Is it possible that the “SPANNER” is a creation of their furtive imaginations on behalf of their establishment masters? and helped by a willing idiot whoever that may be, MSM are spoiled for choice.
Well done SCOTLAND at the tennis!
every idiot can f*** the f*** off. they can just go and f*** themselves, the f***ing c***s.
despite a postgrad education, that’s my considered view.
Could someone define extortion?
The Unionist media have behaved despicably over the last couple of years. They have pushed every boundary in terms of decency, morality, and honesty. There was a certain inevitablilty that they would just push it too far. The close association with Spanner and so many of the Unionist media pundits certainly suggests he is one of them.
Their bubble is about to burst and the shite therein is going to splatter everywhere!
Those standing too close, are going to get covered too.
There is no way Rowling wants this anywhere near a court.
She loves getting her name in the papers.. railing against online abuse and civility. Nasty cybernats and division.. Isn’t it terrible, etc etc
Turns out she is twitter friends with a foul mouthed Britnat misogynist. How two-faced is that?
McGarry’s remarks could have been better worded, but she rightly clarified them. However, Rowling is definitely ‘supportive’ of this individual, if not the abusive tweets themselves.
She tolerates abuse on her personal account when it is directed towards the SNP. Turning a blind eye to misogyny when it suits her.
So much for the saintly Rowling. Total hypocrite.
I stopped reading the papers years ago. I could see the collective beasting they regularly dealt to people purely to suit their owners agendas with no care for the consequences to the innocent lives destroyed. They cannot be trusted and are capable of real harm. Even the so-called Independent is owned by a russian gazillionaire. They are all the same, I see no distinction between so called tabloids and broadsheets, Torygraph, Grauniad, left, right, north or south.
A lot of Wings articles could simply be headed ‘Lying press lies again’ or suchlike, not really news.
But, they can get away with such lies and filth because there is no effective regulator. While I dont read these rags, thousands seemingly still do, so its imperative someone somewhere holds their lying propoganda up to the light showing them up for what they are (vehicles for making their tax averse owners richer whatever the cost to the vast majority of the populace, the weak and poor being easiest targets). This should be the job of an official regulator, it seems to me WoS is having to do this rotten job. Call out the lickspittles and lackeys who do their masters bidding, hold up a mirror to their fetid output and ask ‘really?’.
Please keep it up, it is absolutely necessary to improve the lot, not just of voters north of the border, but everyone on this island who is a potential victim of these lowlife organisations.
I was on Twitter, I suspect I’d follow Frankie Boyle, if he’s on too. Wouldn’t mean I endorsed his output, just that he makes me laugh quite a lot (involuntary reaction). From this point of view, Rowling can follow who she likes. But like every scandal ever, what we have developing isn’t the original scandal, but the attempted cover up. Leaving just one question.
WHO IS BRIAN SPANNER?????
Having been on the receiving end of Spanner’s abuse I’m really enjoying all this.
Capella , thanks . I only buy the National on an irregular basis as I have yet to trust it totally, something that may never occur!
Given that the lawyers letter is implying a donation in return for not sueing, is this not blackmail?
Note I havent seen the letter, but the implication is the same is it not?
Who knows what force set the little peeble tumbling down the hillside, all that we know is that shortly thereafter a full blown rockfall was roaring down into the glen, and it looks likely to take some well kent landmarks with it.
Only Natalie will know what the vibration was that set off the original twitter but my goodness it’s (I’m delighted to say) rocking and rolling now!
Thank you Stuart for the mighty shove you gave these connected stories and all the contributers who have lifted my spirits over the last few hours and days with their wit and wisdom.
I gave up on the Herald (all versions)years ago in the aftermath of the Alex Salmond “Infamous behaviour” story. I never regretted it and this latest example of outstanding journalism, coupled to its “lack of moral fibre” confirms I was correct.
Now, I wonder what kind of weekend JKR and BS are having? Reflecting on the damage that original little peeble has and will continue to do to their public persona’s mmmm?
”
“”Stoker says:
30 January, 2016 at 1:16 pm
Unaligned wrote:
“The Herald and Sunday Herald must be boycotted by any sensible people who care about journalistic integrity. Shut them down – we dont need the MSM anymore – they are a corporate-directed sideshow to what is actually happening in Scotland.”
Very true!””
No, that is the last thing you should do. How else do you counter the shoddy journalism and rebut the nonsense they write if you don’t engage with them.
On here you are preaching to the converted but the on-line versions of those papers and their comments sections give you the chance to convert people and to open their eyes to the shortcomings of the Press, and their manipulation.
This Rowling/McGarry story and the Whitford story exemplify perfectly what I am talking about. The stories – a very twisted version – appeared in the papers but with information gained from Wings coverage of the stories lots of people were able to go to the on-line versions and give a fuller and more accurate version and in doing so lay bare the shortcomings and bias of the Press.
The papers need their on-line versions and their comments sections and that can be used to our advantage by using it to get information out to a much wider audience – one that would not come to Wings.
The big question for unionism and it’s media (ok, the media) is why the ‘free pass’ for Brian Spanner?
Why does Brian Taylor tweet ‘I’m Brain Spanner’ as a joke? Why do Alex Massie and Torrance tweet pics of themselves (both retweeted by McColm) in Spanner’s T-shirts, blissfully ignoring the bile he’s dished out? And Daisley, quite happy to go for coffee with him and Rowling all pally?
What is it about this guy that no one on the unionist press will condemn what he’s doing. Kinda sickening if you think about it.
Stew,
I hope that your jaws are still locked onto J.KRowling’s erse, if so, keep tugging away, she’ll eventually squeal .
The Spanner account, along with the initial list of followers, gives a clue as to the cabal who thought it a jolly wheeze to propogate Project Fear.
It appears they continue their nonsense with the ongoing Project Smear.
I suspect I was not the only person achieving new levels of frustrated anger the other night at what happened with McGarry. It was wrong on every level and I fear ‘they’ risk provoking some of the wrong elements of Scotland. Perhaps, of course, that is the plan.
On funny thing, JK named one of the more reprehensible characters in her books after herself. It is only, literally in the last chapter, does the bloke and his family cross over to the side of decency. Maybe she hopes for redemption for herself…
(Okay, alphabet lessons – what comes after JK if you want the initials of the baddy)
We need to get to a point where a clear majority of the people of Scotland see the MSM for what they actually are. Only then can we achieve our goal. Unfortunately, we’re not quite there yet.
Too many people swallow the lies. Or at the very least, aren’t sceptical enough of the claims made by these institutions.
Aye bullying and blackmail is hard wired into the DNA of the Brit Nats.
Tom Gordon is one reason I never bought the Sunday Herald after I stopped buying it years ago, even when it went pro Indy I wouldn’t buy it. I have always regarded him as a nasty piece of Bit Nat work. Well him and some others that get space on that paper.
The money I have saved not buying what are basically rabid Brit Nat rags has gone to various crowd funded projects.
@ Alan Mcintosh 2.50pm
“Given that the lawyers letter …”
from Libby Brooks tweet re Rowling not suing:
“her agent has written to McGarry …”
Is Rowling’s agent a lawyer?
If not, McGarry’s had a letter from Rowling’s agent. Sounds a bit like extortion 🙂
What this highlights is the sheer hypocrisy of JK Rowling. She complained bitterly about online “cybernats” abusing her (did she ever provide any proof of that BTW?). Meanwhile she is best friends with a truly vile misogynist called Brian Spanner.
Well done Natalie for helping to expose this nest of vipers. I hope she resists the demand for money with menaces.
This concerted establishment attempt to protect the identity of the spammer is bizarre. It is almost as if he/she had royal connections! Now that could not possibly be true, could it. 🙂
@ Dorothy Devine at 12:34pm
Dorothy there is an excellent article about JKR and Spanner in The National today. Mentioning Spanner by name, highlighting his despicable behaviour and links to JKR.
It also mentions someone by the name of Alan Ferrier who tweeted what seems to have been the ‘screen grab’ that led to Natalie McGarry thinking that JKR had tweeted ‘good man’ in response to a nasty comment from Spanner about Alex Salmond. The ‘good man’ tweet conversely (it’s said) related to Spanner donating money to JKR’s Lumos charity. Ferrier said it was not meant to be misleading (he left out dates and crammed 3 tweets, one totally unrelated, together) ….. Mmmh …. and apologised yesterday stating that his tweet ”was misleading, crudely represented and Ill-advised”. He’s now ”taking a break from Twitter for a while to regain a much needed perspective”. I reckon he was manipulating the situation and when it became clear it was becoming ‘serious’ realised that he could be dragged into Court hence the apology and going into retreat mode.
The bottom line however is that JKR has been exposed as being an out and out hypocrite by ‘outing’ so-called nasty ‘Cybernats’ and making sure her bleats were broadcast far and wide whilst communicating, amicably, with an extremely disgusting ”Cybernut or nit’ troll. This of course is the essence of the whole saga and exactly what Natalie McGarry was pointing out ‘good man’ tweet or not.
JKR is coming across more and more as being a cruel, power crazy BULLY. Requesting that Natalie McGarry now donate to her charity is sending out a clear message as to how powerful she is ….. and of course attempting to provide proof that Natalie McGarry is in the wrong hence she JKR is ‘in the right’. Trying to rub NMcG’s nose in it, publicly, is reminiscent of the bullying gang in the playground who won’t give up on picking on an individual. Keep on going JKR. We’re all gleaning greater and greater insight into your extremely warped mind.
@ Gillie at 12:06pm
Thanks for that list Gille. VERY interesting indeed however I don’t ‘get’ your later post about The National being nobbled. I buy it every day. Have I missed something?
“What is it about this guy that no one on the unionist press will condemn what he’s doing. Kinda sickening if you think about it.”
Spanner must be the big kid all the others want to be so they fawn over him.
There’s a word for that behaviour.
Fawnication 😀
The horrible thing is, I find I’m not shocked or surprised by any of it anymore. I expect the media and politically motivated media luvvies to act like this toward the independence movement.
Their actions though speak volumes. Media saturation of their narrative, intimidation, turning a blind eye on naked abuse and yes, violence toward independence support. Its what they do and who they are. It has been this way for as long as I can recall and there is no stopping it so long as we remain part of the union. They don’t see that they deny democratic balance, they see themselves defending their way of life, but what a way of life it is.
They are yesterday, our kids are tomorrow and we can be better than how we are being treated by these folk. Let them lie where they are, we’ve better stuff to be getting on with.
@Paula Rose –
Any chance you could share your ‘Spannerisms’?
Come on folks, we all sing from the same hymn sheet on this site.
STOP BUYING the Herald, Sunday Herald and the National..
If you want honest news, sites like this the only place to get it.
Every news???paper printed in the UK is biased shit, I could use more stronger possibly libellous words to describe them, but to be honest it is beneath me.
Someone had a great idea earlier in the thread, if no one in the MSM will out this guy, perhaps someone can request a peek into the books of Rowling’s charity and see exactly who that £548 donation came from. Charities books are a matter of public record by law.
At least we know Massie and Torrance donated in part.
SteveCosmic 2:28pm
“Brian Taylor tweet ‘I’m Brain Spanner’ as a joke” – he probably thinks he’s keeping up with the young team, one of the lads, bit edgy etc..
I think perhaps “Brain three bellies Spanners” would be more apt. Need an XXXL T shirt to get that lot printed or maybe just “Arse” would suffice.
Ian – not at this time of day, families might be watching.
I suppose Natalie McGarry could make a small donation to a Charity that cough cough ahem actually operates in Scotland but no doubt the rabid Brit Nat Press and Media would turn even that into a SNP Bad story.
I wonder why the media is protecting Spanner. You would think he was one of them or something.
Stand your ground, Natalie and don’t let the BratNat Jakey bully you. ‘Bully’ – seems to be something of a Yoon trait. At the end of the day, Jakey will have a lot more to lose in this spat than you and she would be utterly insane to risk going to court. Besides – you may no longer be in the SNP, but we have your back. Jakey won’t just be taking on you. (You catch that, Jakey?)
Stand your ground against the playground bully.
JKR – you ought to be thoroughly ashamed of yourself. Did you really think this one through? Can’t wait for 5th November – bonfire of the Potteries.
In case folks haven’t noticed at the bottom of the Lumos site.
To operate in Scotland a charity needs an SC number. If they had one I’d be contacting the Scottish Charity Regulator as from previous experience they are fairly strict about the ratio of costs to donations.
I wonder if the identity of the troll `Spanner` will be picked up by those in the betting fraternity?
The miserable hack Yoon McColm seems to be favourite,
From my very limited knowledge of legal matters, is it not a stone wall certainty that the Herald could be sued for lying about
the SNP MP not declaring earnings?
These UK Media cretins seem to be demanding that SNP MPs do not employ their life saving medical skills and that they must not make charitable donations??
They must be singled out from other politicians and subjected to malicious lies on a daily basis, I presume because they offer an alternative the the centuries long corruption of Westminster and their quest to make the rich richer off the backs of the “lower”
classes.
I wonder if this situation and the deranged best friend of Jakie
Rollin’ could be brought to justice by a crowd funded court case?
The woman seems to like using her wealth to bully people beneath
her station.
She appears to have cast off all memories of her earlier life
when she couldn’t afford to heat her humble apartment.
now dedicating her time support politicians who want to take meager welfare benefits from today’s single mothers.
@Paula Rose –
🙂
Fair do’s. It’s just good to know that at least one of ‘us’ has had first-hand experience of this character.
Honestly – before this stushie I’d never heard of him.
We lived next door to a wealthy family who owned a rather large fancy breed dog which had the annoying pleasure of pissing on all the little dogs in the street. A new family moved in to the street and they had a wee Scots Terrier who responded to the golden rain by biting the big dogs pecker.
The rich family called the polis and the two constables who attended got complained of for laughing but their pay was not docked as requested by the rich family as we all told their inspector the true story. The moral of this tale is if you take the piss make sure you nip it in the bud.
What exactly do people mean by boycotting The Herald?
Surely it’s good to know what they are publishing?
My suggestion would be one person archives relevant articles and then others can read it without contributing to The Herald.
I had a little trip to The Scotsman to ask ‘Who is Brian Spanner’ and I got banned after about only 10 minutes.
If Rowling goes ahead and sues, McGarry can contest it and have all of the Spanner/Rowling Tweets to each other produced in court. She can also have Spanner summoned to appear in his/her true guise. If summoned he/she cannot refuse to appear.
Wouldn’t that make for interesting reading? What lengths would the tame Unionist media go to not to report it?
Thanks Petra.
Swami , well that statement lets the mad Cochranes off the hook! certainly not the BIG kids on the block – just silly people who write ” we hate the SNP/Yessers/Scots and very particularly Alex Salmond” hardly the zenith of journalism.
There again Brian Spanner QC is nothing more than a cowardly , ignorant name caller with limited vocabulary .
I think that a court case would be excellent – I look forward to it immensely.
A source in the Palace, and another in Downing Street, have both reported the Brian Spanner is in Fact Dipity Dug.
Unionist Bad, Unionist Bad, Unionist very very Bad!
An exact representation of what the Unionist Media are today.
I’m all for referring to the lot of them as spanners.
I had posted a link to a particularly nasty set of rangers supporting spanners to get the ball rolling – but I think the Rev feels its a step too far because it never appeared.
So here’s a nice wee picture of Rowling and her pals instead.
instead.http://c8.alamy.com/comp/B1M3RE/a-pile-of-old-rusty-worn-out-imperial-open-end-spanners-B1M3RE.jpg
I think I’ll stop buying the Sunday Herald from now on. I know the Sunday Herald is not as bad as the Herald, but something must be done about the bare faced lies.
Here’s the Rowling article in The National online. Seems fair and factual to me.
https://archive.is/hQebA
Why is the media protecting Spanner?
If you look at that Japanese Twitter analysis site – the one that shows that JK is actually more friendly with Spanner than anyone else on Twitter – then it appears that Spanner is active throughout the day.
So if he is employed (e.g. as a journalist) then it looks like he is sending his misogynystic abuse FROM WORK.
The question is, do his industry colleagues/bosses know who he is?
Because if they do, then we might actually have a situation here where a well-known newspaper, for example, is not only employing someone whom they know to be abusing women online during working hours, but actively supporting them by staying silent.
If that was the case, the Unionist press would want to shut this down as fast as possible. It would go way beyond someone just losing their job and becoming utterly unemployable.
I mean, just look at the degrading filth this person has written about women.
Closing ranks or what.
JK ‘to sue SNP MP’, while at the same time all of the media, for reasons only known to themselves, pull out all the stops to protect the identity of Brian Spanner, who is central to the case.
Good luck pulling that off.
Ian – a pity you won’t be at the Aberdeen meet-up tonight, I could have given you all the details.
Crisiscircuit I think it was yourself who was asking about a lecturer treating the students with enquiring minds, how the media operates?
I only wish I had known such a lecturer , who was prepared to not just teach but educate .Not just to learn what is put in front of me but to look beyond the drivel my education consisted of.
I take my hat off to your friend the lecturer . I wish there were more like him although 200 will become 400 etc.
In the rush to protect this Spanner guy and JK Rowling, the media have forgotten one thing.
Has anyone asked Roseanna Cunningham or even Margaret Curran how they feel being targeted as a joke across Twitter by this little cabal of the establishment?
If anyone should be donating to a charity it is B Spanner and his supporters, who protected by the establishment have specifically targeted women in politics and particularly women in the SNP.
The FM speaks often about equality but where is the equality when a high profile author and obviously journalists who know the identity of Spanner are sniggering at abusive tweets sent about Govt ministers.
6th year school boys would be berated for something similar, yet these figures have the brass neck to tell the public how they should be governed.
To Roseanna , the other female figures and even Margaret Curran , your patience , tolerance and silence is to be applauded.
Outside of Crammond , other women may not be as tolerant but of course that only shows how detached this cabal is from the rest of Scotland.
Circling the wagons:
Posting a simple comment on the Graun asking why the paper doesn’t consider Spanner’s identity a story given the evidence of his actual identity posted on alternative media sites and the nature of his comments about women is almost immediately replaced by a moderator post that the post doesn’t abide by their community standards.
Sort of amusing that the MSM are so spooked by this one. Maybe they are worried too many people might get to peak behind the curtain and see what their community standard really amount to. I suspect it’s a little late for that.
The Sunday Herald claims to be for an Independent Scotland. Yet they spend a lot of time attacking Tommy Sheridan and promoting Jim Sillars’s attacks on the SNP promoting RISE, with some dubious anti Independence pedigrees, say the least.
@ Alan Mackintosh says at 1:30 pm ….. ”Hot off the press…! Just seen this on Stu’s twitter feed. You have to have a look at this. Very illuminating.”
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CZ-B3hoWQAANRGn.jpg
Brilliant! JKR’s billions wont help to change that now.
All we have to do now is collate Spanners disgusting tweets, circulate and / or send to RT or media abroad such as the USA … and append her ‘friend’ list. And WHAT a friend for a childrens authoress to list as her number one, eh!
galamcennalath I have been searching for a post that you made at 9:10am on the ‘Tweets you wont Read’ article. Searching for it because I came across an absolutely disgusting tweet made by Spanner. Your post seems to have disappeared!
Anyway I remembered a couple of key words from it, googled, and came across it. Just the type of person we’d all love to have as our number one friend online … maybe offline too. Who knows?
https://twitter.com/BrianSpanner1/status/663802375069687808
Alan says:
“Circling the wagons”
Spot on. This really has them spooked. At the moment they are doing what they usually do, close ranks. However, for how long?
Perhaps some of the foreign press might see a good story and tread where the locals refuse to go.
Why the surprise? Have you forgotten our security services will protect known pedophiles and pederasts, to protect the Westminster parties.
SNP x 2
The Worserest Witch – A Fiction (allegedly)
Once upon a time, there was a beautiful storybook (‘The Worst Witch’, by Jill Murphy). It brought joy to children far and near. One day, a witch blew in from the South, a worser witch. “Plagiariziamus”, she cackled. She grabbed the story and flew away. She dropped the story in her cauldron, along with some clichés – randomly culled from proper books. The heartwarming tale about growing up was transformed into grubby nonsense with an elitist subtext, where common folk are ‘muggles’, to be treated with contempt by boarding-school types.
The publishing establishment eyed the new story greedily, from their crystal bubble of Londinium. Oh how it chimed with their mindset! They aggressively marketed the pap. Children everywhere came under the worser witch’s spell, and fell for her disguise as an innocent princess. The witch went to live atop a huge pile of broken piggybanks, guarded by a high briar hedge made of stultified imaginations.
Then, one evening, a brave nat (called Nat) was passing by. She saw the witch dancing with trolls. “You’re not a princess!”, cried Nat… and in an instant, all was dark. The witch sent her flying media chimps to frighten Nat, but Nat was not dismayed. The children discovered the truth, and all demanded a refund. The witch emigrated to the Cayman Islands, and was never seen again. Nat, and all the children lived happy ever after. The End.
[Sorry. And apologies to the Grimm Bros and to ordinary decent witches everywhere]
Mmm oddly enough Molly, I was quietly reflecting on whether or not the Equalities act 2010 could be brought to bear on Mr/ms Spanner especially if the tweets had been done during working hours at his place of employment. But it’ll depend on identifying the blighter first.
Squeaky BUM times when Natalie next goes into the House of Commons?
Petra, once a Lawyer has read that tweet out to give a jury an insight into the character and mindset of Brian Spanner, I really don’t know where they can go from there.
https://twitter.com/BrianSpanner1/status/663802375069687808
I’m sure there are people on this very thread who know who Spanner is…and I’m done wi the National now, I don’t give a fuck whether they have an article about this today, the whole rotten lot of them are involved in this cover up.
The names of those who have followed his account speak volumes, I could now well believe that all Unionist trolling is being orchestrated by the Scottish MSM. And every part of that same MSM is now involved in protecting this ‘person’. He’s not only known by the Unionists, he’s known in the Independence movement too.
It simply cannot be otherwise. The degrees of separation are so minute in the Scottish context. And so those ‘at the top’ and ‘in the know’ in our movement are as much part of this cover up as the so called Unionists.
Beginning to have the sickest feeling about all of this…why not one person has ‘uncovered’ who this prick is yet beggars belief.
As far as Natalie goes: don’t apologise and don’t pay up. Agree with others this is blatant extortion…
Watch a bully burst into tears when someone stands up to them. (Its very funny)
Natalie SHOULD NOT give the hasbeen a penny, go to court and watch her implode in front of the worlds media.
For the record.
Tolkien wrote far better books.
Just started writing my first book.
“Jakey Spanner And The Misogynist’s Mone”
@ Legerwood (2.54pm):
Just popped in to see what’s going on and quickly catch up on the comments before having to go back out. Will get back to you later, or probably some point tomorrow, with a better response.
@ Ruby (3.57pm):
My response to Legerwood tomorrow may also interest you, i will certainly give you a detailed and factual response based on experience.
Take care, troops, and remember to fight dirty!
🙂
Give her fuck all Natalie.
@ Gary45% says at 3:26 pm ”Come on folks, we all sing from the same hymn sheet on this site. STOP BUYING the Herald, Sunday Herald and the National. If you want honest news, sites like this the only place to get it. Every news???paper printed in the UK is biased shit, I could use more stronger possibly libellous words to describe them, but to be honest it is beneath me.”
Gary we all (most of us) sing from the same hymn sheet on here when it comes to achieving our Independence however when it comes to the ways and means of doing so you and I will have to differ.
The Sunday Herald and The National are the ONLY two newspapers that we have supporting Independence following decades of having no one else onside. You’ll find articles in these newspapers that you wont find in ANY other. Additionally The National offers a journalistic platform for individuals that the ScUM wont entertain and never will.
You say ”If you want honest news, sites like this the only place to get it.”
I don’t agree with that statement either Gary. Sad to say not everyone in Scotland visits this site …. far, far from it in fact. Hundreds of thousands of people still buy newspapers such as the Sunday Herald and The National. Are you really trying to say that you’d want to deprive them of that and be left to read WHAT?
What you are suggesting is exactly in line with dearest wish of EVERY biased, lying newspaper out there. That’s EXACTLY what THEY want to see happen. It’s exactly what the bigoted Unionists would like to see happen too. I just don’t get it.
It’s all over Face Book it’s McColm who writes for the Scotsman.
Molly@4.14pm
I can remember – though it’s a long time ago, now – having been set this kind of searching review in a Higher English class. As a project, we were asked to take about three newspapers – one with a recognised right wing stance, one middle-of-the road or liberal in outlook and another with a left wing reputation. ( This was well before the days of the internet.)
We were then asked to follow a particular story covered by each newspaper, with particular regard to how language was employed in each case and consider whether the language used could have been deliberately chosen to influence the reader’s perception of the subject matter.
It was a very instructive exercise and made me then much more aware of the power of language to deliberately colour and manipulate the reader’s understanding. From then on, I subjected the TV news to the same analysis where, of course, visual imagery and selective footage were often employed as well as language to fit a particular agenda.
Scot Finlayson says:
30 January, 2016 at 3:51 pm
I wonder if the identity of the troll `Spanner` will be picked up by those in the betting fraternity?
The miserable hack Yoon McColm seems to be favourite”
Well Scott, you called it
I can’t confirm this but it appears that Brian Spanner has been unmasked and it is alleged that it is Euan McColm who writes for the “Scotsman”.
Scotland goes pop, seems to have an idea who Brian Spanner is.
Having had a very cursory look into identifying any Twitter account behind a screen name it seems it is difficult but using some forensics (and a little help from the darker sides of the Web) it is not impossible. I am no expert, but I’m sure any self respecting 15 year old nerd with a bent toward hacking could solve the problem within a couple of hours, if not minutes.
Brian Spanner QC, whoever you are, your days are numbered.
Posting a link to an essay by George Orwell that discusses “the sinister fact about literary censorship in England is that it is largely voluntary. Unpopular ideas can be silenced, and inconvenient facts kept dark, without the need for any official ban” doesn’t abide by the Guardian’s community standards. In 1945 there was no Internet. The media dinosaurs haven’t quite caught up with the times.
The offending post in it’s entirety:
Alison rollo says:
30 January, 2016 at 5:08 pm
It’s all over Face Book it’s McColm who writes for the Scotsman.
For how much longer, I wonder?
@Peter McCulloch says: 30 January, 2016 at 11:57 am:
“Its a pity there isn’t a law in place which not only levies a punitive fine on newspapers which peddle these lies.”
There is such a law, Peter. It is called, “The law of supply and demand”. It works well unless there is a monopoly of something and there is no monopoly of news outlets but there is a far better, quicker and honest alternative to both newsprint and broadcasting.
The poorer performing or less honest newspapers and broadcasters are feeling the pinch of diminishing returns. Many are already running at a loss. Soon we will see they are rapidly dying out.
We, the public, are the judges, juries and executioners of those publications not meeting our demands.
Swami, yes you’re right. Twas her agent that wrote to Natalie not the lawyer. I just saw on WoS twitter that Jakey has replied to the assertion that she isnt taking legal action, by highlighting the “At present”
Still demanding money with menaces
To be honest, God knows what is happening at The Herald at the moment. For a wee while, it seemed that it was trying to drag itself up from the gutter and portray itself as a ‘unbiased’ media outlet. Was it to do with the fact that 50% of Scotland is now openly nationalist and therefore, it made sense to hedge your bets and play both ends of the political spectrum for a greater set of returns in revenue.
Well, if that was the case, then that theory appears to be toast!
For some bizarre reason, it seems that the owners and directors are now bowing down to Unionist pressure …and from all sides too! The unholy mess that The Herald has got itself in over the Rangers fiasco is surely going to turn off 50% of Scotland. I can see most folk who may buy the Sunday Herald now booting that into touch. After all, why buy the ‘nationalistic’ Sunday Herald if the revenues are just going into end up in the same unionist pockets? Why buy the Sunday Herald when it’s daily editions throughout the week just continually kick six bells out of Scottish nationalism? Sorry, but one day of reprieve doesn’t cut it for me.
Right now, and like all others here on this site, I have no faith in any of the mainstream media outlets. I’m even slightly baffled at The National as I believe it could be better, but for some unknown reason, it always seems to hold back its punches when it could cause real ripples in Scotland if it only had the courage of its convictions. It wants to be a voice for the nationalist movement, but rather than explain to the people in layman’s terms as to what is really going on in the British State within each of its articles, it just seems to gloss over the news in general. Personally, I’ve read a few papers but came away strangely disappointed. I get more political information from Wings in one day than I do from a week reading The National.
Will they change? God only knows. But it will be really interesting to see how the Scottish Editions react if there is ever an UE Referendum. Will they be banging the table saying Scotland must remain in the EU while their English counterparts screech ‘Immigration! Benefit cheats! ISIS! The French! The Germans! The Italians! Corruption! We want out of the EU NOW!!!
Because after all …that’s exactly what they did in the lead-up to the Referendum. They warned us over oil, pensions, jobs, the EU etc if we left the UK, and yet the English editions were full of dire warnings about oil running out, the pensions coming up short, the NHS to be privatised.
Therefore, what is it that the Scottish newspapers are for? Like many here …it isn’t to update us on the news; it’s to tell us how wonderful Britain is; that we are a power in this world, standing up to inequality, and how other nations look up to us …and oh aye …to also tell us that Scotland would be a third-world-rate nation if we should ever become independent. That is what I believe is now their true purpose for Scotland; a determination in telling us that we are British while putting the fear into us at the same time.
I can’t wait for the day when the first of these outlets is declared bankrupt after a long run of poor sales.
It’s unlikely to be McColm, despite some smoking guns.
If it is McColm, then it is a very finely crafted identity. Early exchanges suggest two different people.
Many moons ago, I was subjected to torrents of abuse online in forums/youtube/amazon. The sick individual who did it put in a hell of a lot of work crafting multiple identities and in many cases, actually having conversations with himself. He slipped up of course, logging in as the wrong person and exposing his little charade. It takes a deeply sad person to put that much work into a hate-fest.
Whoever he is, he known to those in ‘that’ circle, and they are keeping schtum. In that circle, he’s ‘hilarious’, just ask Muriel Gray or Stephen Daisley or, indeed, JK Rowling.
Look, I don’t want to take you to court because, well because, there’s the small matter of having no case against you, and I wouldn’t have a leg to stand on, not to mention the fact that it could be a little awkward for me and my chums, but that’s not the point, the bottom line is that I want money out of you, why, well, because money is all I understand and it makes me feel powerful, so pay up now or I will be very very cross.
Yours truly
Brian Ratchets affectionate friend
O/T … slightly
In todays The National ‘You’re not joining our gang – Prescott’
How Alex Salmond puts up with it I’ll never know. Another couple of Unionist bullies … Prescott and Foulkes. I wonder what the representatives of the other 46 countries on the Council of Europe made of it / them? Ignorant wee UK bully boys?
Alex is right when he says ”However Lord John is still living in the past in the bygone days when Labour ‘ruled the roost’ in Scotland.”
Never, ever again we say.
http://www.thenational.scot/politics/youre-not-joining-our-gang-prescott.13090
Petra, I bought the Sunday Herald for the last couple of years, and bought The National from its first edition, up until around October last year.
I appreciate the need for an Independence supporting daily and Sunday newspaper, but I personally found them wanting in the last few months.
I know the two mentioned papers never said they were supporting the SNP, but over the last year, the kicking the SNP received from every outlet of the MSM, these two papers should have grown some balls and stood up for the SNP.
I started to see through them the same way as I did with the Scotsman many years ago, and I hate to admit the Record about 30 years ago.
If The National and Sunday Herald are truly champions of the Independence movement they need to genuinely nail their colours to the mast, rather than pussy footing round the idea.
By all means buy the Sunday Herald and The National, but remember you are helping to pay the wages of the Herald, (and they have turned into gutter press).
I would buy these papers again if they “grew some”, until then I will keep my pennies.
Big sigh……..JK Rowling…..she always looks so happy.
Can’t believe what I’m reading, JK Rowling seems to be a narcissistic bully who is prepared to use her money and influence to try and ruin others.
I’m having real trouble here, what sort of country am I living in – could that not be construed as menace / threat or extortion?
Ms McGarry is an elected official FGS, irrespective of her current status.
This whole spat may however have have offered up the gift of this Spanner character, whoever it is.
Pressure must be maintained, the whole thing stinks – what the hell is going on.
Now the Herald sacking people who don’t toe their line, how far are these unionists prepared to go?
@Marie Clark says: 30 January, 2016 at 12:22 pm:
“Truly boak inducing. Scunnered,I am totally and utterly scunnered.”
Perhaps, Marie, the Scottish language phrase you may be searching for is, “Yon Herald wad gar ye grue”.
For non-Scots speakers, “That Herald would make you physically sick”.
Is not Scots a wonderfully descriptive language?
Wingnut beats Spanner with Hammers
This has been an entertaining spat and quite an illuminating one. I had only sighted my first Spanner tweet a couple of weeks ago and thought it just some random loon and promptly forgot about it but this has turned into a fine can of worms.
For that we should at least thank JK.
@Truth says: 30 January, 2016 at 12:25 pm:
“From the rangers article yesterday it is clear that the Herald are more concerned with advertisers than paying customers.”
Whoa! There!, Truth. Let us not sink to their level with what would be no better than blackmail. Best we leave such matters to market forces. The paper is already in freefall and, by their own actions, are quite obviously alienating a fair section of their remaining readership.
Stu’s current pinned tweet would make a great front page,
‘Steel jobs – gone. Oil jobs – gone. Renewables – slashed. Pensions – doomed. The only thing the No vote actually saved was David Cameron.’
Aye its been a Slow month fur news Rev, hee hee , but its certainly kept you busy. & Us lot well entertained & Informed.
J K no following through in sueing McGarry. Lets hope she takes up your invitation to sue us, WOS always follows through.
Truth or Dare J K , lets play .
Natalie McGarry should not under any circumstances give JKR one single penny – nobody should be bullied by her or anyone else.
Pseudo socialist flexes her well endowed financial muscles as only an affluent attention seeker can and will do.
This is the type of behaviour one comes to expect in a Capitalist Tory society where only the privileged can indulge in this display of power and money to try to deter and deflect criticism , even if true .
If you challenge people like her or suggest they consider taking some accountability for their actions , or with whom they choose to associate with , they resort to threats, and how delicious for her when her target is one who is part of a political party she relentlessly condemns publicly and seeks to undermine.
Badly done , badly done. To threaten someone who you know cannot match your wealth in a court case ,who belongs to a party you despise, winning your apology must surely have been a hollow victory . To then try to get money for your charity, via a threat to sue , only shows the type of person you really are , ruthless and very protective in maintaining your undeserved image as an honest and nice person.
Truth will out .This incident certainly shows you in your true light and your choice of ‘friends ‘ proven to be questionable in character, something which I am sure you are not oblivious of.
She seems to want us to believe that she is a victim . She wants her legion of followers to believe the abuse (Huh ?) she apparently receives from Cybernats is a one way street . Where union supporters are decent folk , who would not dream of trolling anyone who believes in independence .
Unfortunately this myth is also perpetuated by the media and they too ignore the double standards and refuse to report the reality. The reality is that Spanner is an abusive troll who hides behind a stupid pseudonym and that he is not a lone yoon Loony ( let’s call a spade a spade ) in tweeting abusive comments towards the SNP and their followers. And it is to her shame that she associates with, and follows on Twitter , trash like him.
Irony that this episode, which she sought to pursue, could potentially be more damaging to her and hopefully unmask Spanner….what a waste of bloody time she has created.
Well seen where she got her inspiration from for the evil characters in her books .
I wonder what Bible Belt America would make of Rowling and her best friend on Twitter if it were to go public over there?
I’m surprised no one has mentioned that the First Minister had to correct the Herald as well today. Magnus put in his place but that sneevler from Inverclyde Mccabe sticks his oar in. I feel sorry for Taranaich having to breathe the same air as that fuckjobby..
https://twitter.com/NicolaSturgeon/status/693398755639480320
And now, via WOS Twitter, it seems Muriel Gray has decided to show solidarity with JK, Spanner et al by wading into the same cesspool.
WTF is wrong with these characters? Is it a form of collective insanity? Do they really believe that someone like Spanner actually deserves their support?
We’ve seen some strange episodes unfold during the whole indyref ride, but this one is right up there with the strangest.
@Ian
Amazing isn’t it? Into the rabbithole.
@Jimbo
The Bible Belt thinks the Harry Potter books are Satanist anyway.
I use the word ‘thinks’ loosely.
@ Alan McIntosh
thanks for the reply (if I don’t get back to people it’s because I get that delay thing, or I don’t see it – never intentionally rude)
I pointed it out because in legal matters it really is crucial to look at the fine print -and fine wording.
So far I’ve noticed Mcgarry saying she apologised if there was an inference (or somesuch), that Rowling says ‘at present (leaving the threat hanging over the head),and the agent sending a letter – not the lawyer, although it could be that the agent is a lawyer or is sending a letter from a lawyer, – i don’t know, but I reckon Rowling is careful in not wanting this to escalate and reach the Courts.
It’s ironic, I find, that Rowling has done more damage to her reputation by being seen in active cameraderie with a tweeter who tweets rank misogynistic tweets, than by McGarry saying “defending” or “supporting”
Rowling should sue herself for defamation.
J Gedd unfortunately it took me a lot ,lot longer to engage my brain and ask why are they doing that, writing this etc.
Far too trusting and naive, it’s one of the few things that really riles me how manipulated we were.
As I’ve said before, everything ( for an average Scottish lassie) I grew up not believing in exactly but accepting was thoroughly destroyed by the Better Together campaign .
Westminster , the BBC , media, Royalty , C of S – they hit and destroyed all the big institutions I grew up with and when I look back now, I think yup got o levels/highers , I was taught but not educated , if that makes sense?
Then again , a curriculum where you were taught about a world war that only involved 2 countries should have set alarm bells ringing but I’ve learned now.
@Gerry Hassan
Thanks for dispelling any uncertainty, as to your impartiality. When it come down to it, we discover your just another hack wedged firmly up the Establishment’s arsehole. What a surprise. Not.
Total fannybaws.
https://twitter.com/WingsScotland/status/693486940469993472
She must be looking on in horror as this unfolds. If we had a media, this episode would have all the potential to do her public image a lot of damage.
I know she’s invested heavily in ‘the union’, literally, but being seen playfully cavorting with it’s worst miscreants is not a good look for JK Rowling.
Or perhaps she really is arrogant enough to assume she can do anything she wants and never be criticised.
WTF is wrong with these characters? Is it a form of collective insanity? Do they really believe that someone like Spanner actually deserves their support?
Ian
I think the issue is that Spanner is one of their set. Most of them actually seem to know who he is and he appears to be part of their social circle. It is a classic example of trolling being funny if it is one of your own doing it to the “enemy” but an absolute outrage if the “enemy” do it to one of your own.
I daresay some of the Yes supporters have strayed into that territory too at times but in this instance the ridiculous outrage followed by threats and demands is particularly obnoxious, especially when any neutral would look at Spanner’s work and conclude that it is well over the top.
Muriel Gray, has lost the plot. She thinks Spanner’s tweets ‘hilarious’.
I mean seriously Muriel? Are you defending this prick, along with the rest of the Scottish commentariat? And Gerry Hassan weighs in to Stu for actually asking Gray to justify her position, quoting Spanner’s pish to make his point. Hassan goes off on one against Wings?
What the fuck is happening here. Gerry Hassan, put down yer can…Muriel Gray…if your’e a feminist you’ve shown yourself to be one in the mould of Thatcher, she too supported some ‘hilarious’ people like Jimmy Saville.
The Unionists hypocritical colours are certainly being shown through this episode, it’s one law for you lot and another for those of us who support Independence.
We see who the true offenders are and they are the core Scottish lovies and journalists who are shaping public opinion in Scotland. Fucking sickening. Utterly toxic minds spewing the real bile into all social media platforms.
Just remember folks SNP/SNP. GIRUTLOT!
For those who haven’t seen it, Brian Spanner has his own YT channel. It only has one item on it – yet another hilarious ‘Downfall’ parody – but it speaks volumes about the kind of obsessive we’re dealing with, and who his main obsession is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERH0i71o2H4
@ Ian Brotherhood
Maybe Gray feels she’s too important and too in need of attention to be kept out of the hole Rowling is digging for herself? Maybe Rowling is getting carried away by self-importance? She needs to call a halt and take a good look at herself. I don’t think she would want all her child fans (and their parents) to see the kind of crass person she openly supports on Twitter.
Obviously some-one with the knowledge will have saved all of Rowling’s and Spanner’s Tweets. They’d make for interesting reading should Rowling take it to court. I honestly don’t believe she’d really want her best Twitter friend’s smut to be made public. It could do her reputation irreparable harm.
The other point of course is that those Spanner fawnicators, who are still yet realise that they do themselves no service in not condemning the misogynistic tweets whilst they play their silly games, are actively turning off all those who read about their exploits.
It really is not suitable for an intelligent person in this age to prefer schoolyard humour to the condemnation of hate-speech.
I don’t know who tweeter Brian Spanner is, I’m glad to say.
I wouldn’t want to mix with such a person.
Ian Brotherhood says:
“Do they really believe that someone like Spanner actually deserves their support?”
Apparently. Circled media wagons etc..
I am starting to think that they have all let their bitterness and anger get completely out of hand. It’s like some perverse mass hysteria. None of them have seen fit to shut this Spanner character up months ago.
“… this one is right up there with the strangest.”
And strangest of all, I would have thought that a successful children’s author would have want to protect her global brand by staying completely away from this stuff instead of wading in o’er the bit heids.
I can only conclude they put their Union above all else.
Just hear Jakey’s new book title: “Carry Spanner and the Orange Order of the Fee Nats”
Or something like that.
On yer brookstick, Jakey.
Oh! Come on! Wingers. This Spanner guy, or gal, is a great recruiter for the Scottish Nationalist cause. What’s more he/she has, by association, blackened the reputations of several other Unionist posters.
That Gerry Hassan makes my earlier point for me, is he not supposed to be leaning toward the Independence cause?
And yet look how quickly he jumped all over Wings and eventually crawled out of it saying he didn’t see the quotes in what Stu was questioning Murial Gray about and made out that it was Stu who was ‘saying’ the offensive quoted Spannerisms!
Are we fucking kidding…do you get paid to be that fucking stupid?
Aye I’m annoyed, and why shouldn’t I be. The hypocrisy stinks from Rowling to Gray and Hassan too…it’s all one sided, whenever a vague comment is made critiquing journalism or Unionism from the Yes side it can be blown out of all proportion by these same people and yet questioning the connections between an actual abusive bastard like Spanner and Rowling or Spanner and Gray is justified by these self same bastards who run to the Telegraph and complain about ‘division’ in Scotland. When they are the very people supporting abusive and divisive bastards like Spanner?
Fucking truly sickening stuff emerging this evening. So keen are they to protect one of their own…yes one of your own journalists…you shower of fucking weasels, cowards and BULLIES.
Robert Peffers says:
30 January, 2016 at 6:33 pm
“Oh! Come on! Wingers. This Spanner guy, or gal, is a great recruiter for the Scottish Nationalist cause. What’s more he/she has, by association, blackened the reputations of several other Unionist posters.”
Exactly Robert ! You have hit the sweetest nail on the ugly head of the Yoon mentality.
However it feels sooooooooooo good to be able vent one’s anger at the sheer hypocrisy of it all Robert .
So Muriel Gray finds this frat house humour funny? And Gerry Hassan defends her? What an insight they have given us into their minds and that of their juvenile pseudonymous friend. These people must feel untouched by any criticism and smugly sure of their position among their own kind. Clearly a case of Us and Them.
Thanks, Unionist commentariat. It has been very instructive.
So the deal is this. If you want Independence you are fair game to be called stupid, insane or a Nazi. If you complain you are regarded as ‘angry’ or ‘grievance hunting’.You will be hunted down and unmasked for this.
If you read WoS you follow a ‘hateblog’??? Have they read Guido? The Daily Mail? CapX?
Never mind the racist, white supremacist or pro-life stuff, do these people see any of the real hate blogs out there?
Muriel Gray comes across as an insufferable, pearl clutching hypocrite. ‘Can’t we just all get along? We could if only YOU lot would agree with us.’
Anyone who endorses Spanner has no licence to shriek abuse. Their defence now is he is funny.
They just don’t get it.
Be under no illusion, be it unionist politicians or unionist journalists, the British State and its servants will always defend and protect them.
There is only one solution, and it arrives on the 5th of May 2016.
Institute of Fundraising – 1.0 Key Principles and Behaviours
“f) Organisations MUST NOT engage in fundraising which:
– Is an unreasonable intrusion on a person’s privacy;
– Is unreasonably persistent;
Or
– Places undue pressure on a person to donate.”
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
“Places undue pressure on a person to donate”.
This
http://en.whotwi.com/BrianSpanner1
is changing. How?
As all the media types are getting the wagons in a circle he is definitely one of their own.
I don’t think anyone was much bothered by Spanner until Rowling went as self righteous as a God botherer. The faux indignation when it is as clear as day she knows exactly what Spanner posts is the thing that has kicked this off. If she had just said to McGarry “yes, I know he trolls but I only thanked him for donating money to my charity not the dodgy stuff, which I do not condone” the whole thing would have blown over in minutes. Maybe Rowling wanted a drama. Maybe life is dull for her.
@Swami Backverandah says: 30 January, 2016 at 1:20 pm:
“Why the silence surrounding hate-speech aimed at women”?
I would suggest, Swami, the reason for the silence has more to do with the rank, or social position, of the, “Spanner”, who the silent ones quite obviously know the real person to be and who they hope to protect from being exposed.
My finances are non-existent, but I’d find a donation of £10 over the next couple of months for McGarry’s leagal fund, even if it meant doing without food a day or two. I hate bullies, and especially money bullies with no principles.
Years ago I faced up to a money bully and won (never went to court), but it cost money. We should never ever run from bullies. I don’t think I ever have.
Naw, Natalie accidentally trip wired an hidden unexploded ‘hypocrisy grenade’, it’s blowing back into their faces, and that is why they are circling the wagons and attempting to downplay Spanner’s abuse as ‘humour’.
Rowling made a big noise against Natalie to deflect from her Spanner connection ergo the speed at which her ‘version’ arrived to the Independent super quickly, she escalated to de – escalate if that makes sense.
Didn’t work. Isn’t going to work.
Likewise yesindyref2, I would happily sacrifice a meal or two to see these bastards in court.
@galamcennalath
Saved in web archive https://web.archive.org/web/20160130190949/http://en.whotwi.com/BrianSpanner1
As it appeared on January 30, 2016 7:09:49 PM UTC
Web Archive is your friend, folks, there’s a lot of dirty tricks go on, so if you see something valuable, go to
https://archive.org/web/
and put in the URL, with the http:// prefix.
K1
Abusive. Yip. So stop the swearing and you may find the points you have tried to make have more weight.
Cheers
What is a Muriel Gray?
Never mind hasbeen, a total nobody, a bit like a Wullie Rennie, “remember him???”
I suppose spanner thinks he is imperial rather than metric.
@K1
Years ago if I’d won a massive Euro jackpot, apart from giving up struggling in a small business to make ends meet, what I’d have done is set up and fund a charity just for that type of purpose. To represent people who didn’t have the money, to fight the money bullies in court.
Team of tame solicitors for assessment, access to the top solicitors and QCs (Advocates) to fight at any level, input from charities and Citizens Advice.
Big money wins not only because it has money, but because it has departments to write endless streams of letters demanding replies within 7 days, having strung it out themselves over weeks, from people trying to earn a living. And insistging that the victims do all the work of proof thaty they – we – had paid, didn’t owe, had faulty goods, owned whatever it is.
I’d have loved it.
Hamish, my use of the word fucking is not abusive. Now fucking grow up man. If you don’t like my posts, don’t read them. YOUR problem is then solved.
@HandandShrimp
A nice take on what you describe and the moral costs in the first question and answer here: Polemics, Politics and Problematizations.
Yesindyref2
I would think there are some notable unionist folk who are not friends to the person concerned.After all why would you twitter to yourself? Maybe some good worthy can tot up the individuals who are friends to each other and see who Neanderthal man or women really is?
Not on twitter personally. I think used badly it is dangerous…. Are you listening MSP’s, MP’s and councillors.
Lesson learnt?
My reappraisal of the Spanner Incident is that while in theory McGarry could ahve done it better, if she hadn’t it wouldn’t have provoked JKR to threaten legal action, and wouldn’t have generated half the media interest who like nothing better than threats of court action, and wouldn’t have allowed those of us who post in that media, to get the point known, and even just get people to google “Brian Spanner” and click the first link there which happens to be …
2nd link by the way is a Guardian story which though not perfect is way better than the Herald’s fawning offerings. But hey, so far they’ve left a lot of comments up there telling the truth in a carefully guarded fashion. It’s even getting through to the Unionists amongs the regulars.
So McGarry done good.
A noble aspiration yesindyref2…we should crowd fund you 🙂
Trying to get to know JK Rowling better.
https://archive.is/F5mpe
The obsessiveness that makes her censure her characters’ flaws is matched by her willingness to fund a press regulator that will allow state-backed censorship. If Impress, the body she and other Hacked Off supporters are so generously financing, secures statutory recognition, every paper must either join it or face punitive damages and costs whenever an oligarch or MP sues them – even if they have told the truth.
You might find it incredible that writers who rely on freedom of speech are going along with Hacked Off and I remain astonished by the naivety of Ian McEwan, Tom Stoppard and – give me strength – Salman Rushdie. But in the case of Rowling, I am not astonished at all. In life as in fiction, she is all of a piece. Rowling is so used to condemning, it never occurs to her that she may be condemned; when she takes freedoms from others, she never thinks that they may one day be taken from her.
https://archive.is/RyDwR
JK Rowling sues Daily Mail for libel over ‘single mother’ article
If you want to read the Daily Mail article & you have an Edinburgh Library membership go here:
http://search.proquest.com/barcode?accountid=15842&groupid=93264
Search for:
How JK’s sob story about her single mother past surprised and confused the church members who cared for her
There is a Scottish & London edition. I haven’t checked if they are the same.
https://archive.is/HRXmg
Legal fight hindered progress on new book, J.K. Rowling says
https://archive.is/0WAC6
https://archive.is/hVTSy
https://archive.is/obRWI
Oh so all this nonsense with this spanner creep is humour, aye so it is.
Now I reckon I have a fairly keen sense of humour, but that filth that he/she peddles ain’t funny. In fact if anyone spoke either to me, or about me, in that manner, they would never move from the spot. I might forget I’m a lady and punch their feckin lights oot.
But then what do we poor wee plebs know eh. Those superior beings who look down on us from a great height say it’s hilarious, so it must be so. Aye right, away and bile yer big fat heids the lot o ye.
You’ve stirred up a right hornets nest now and a lot of you will be severely stung for your trouble.
As for Natalie McGarry, I would have a wee word in the shell like of your fellow MP Joanna Cherry. I’m sure she would offer some sound advice. Rowling does not want this to go to court, call her bluff, and don’t give her a brown penny.
Worth havng a look at Alan Cochrane’s twitter. Interesting sticky at the top of his timeline (if that’s the correct twitterm):
“March 2014 “FFS Euan”, I said, “don’t tweet that kind of stuff under your own name man!””
There’s brown stuff going to hit the fan, and just sit back and watch the rat-pack turning on each other to make sure none of them get sprayed with it.
Worth taking some screen-shots of journos twitter, just to see if they start changing.
@Alan Mackintosh says: 30 January, 2016 at 2:21 pm:
“What is telling about this is that Spanner is her no. 1 twitter friend.”
There is something about Jaykay and her friendships that is vaguely reminiscent of the old Irish poem by that most prolific of Irish poets, Ann Onomous: –
It was a year ago, September
a day I well remember
I was walking up and down
in drunken pride
when my knees began to flutter
and I fell down in the gutter
and a pig came by and lay down by my side
As I lay there in the gutter
thinking thoughts I could not utter
I thought I heard a passing lady say,
“You can tell a man who boozes
by the company he chooses…”
And with that, the pig got up and walked away
Perhaps we may also judge a Unionist by the friends they make and support.
@Gary45%
“I suppose spanner thinks he is imperial rather than metric.”
He’s adjustable.
Aye the great big vat of shit that is spanner is straining ready to burst and all the little piggies are going to get covered in shit when it blows.
popcorn anyone ,got to say when the unionists put on one of their self harm plays i do get much enjoyment they is so funny,its like being at the circus watching the clowns do the fall to bits car routine,bravo unionists more encore this is better than TV lmao.
Someone should put Spanner’s tweets on T-shirts and sell them to raise money for JK’s charity. I’m sure they’d be thrilled.
yesindyref2 @ 7.37pm
‘Worth taking some screen-shots of journos twitter, just to see if they start changing.’
I also think that this would be a good idea, before all of the deleting starts. It might pay dividends in the near future.
(I don’t have much of a clue about Twitter, never having entered therein. I tend to think of Dante or the Cloaca Maxima when I think of Twitter.)
I know it’s a bit of a cheek to volunteer others when I can’t do it myself but for those prepared to dive into the sewer, much thanks. They might be able to trap some slippery evidence.
Rowling does not want this to go to court, call her bluff, and don’t give her a brown penny.
If I was her, I’d pay Rowling’s charidy what I could afford and apologise to her publicly.
Then see how the great tory press and BBC serve it up to their adoring viewer/reader?
That list of those who follow Brian Spanner QC is fantastic. Every one of them is now wishing JKR had shown more self control and less arrogance.Unlike JKR they do not have the wealth to retire to the Caymen Islands.
They are like a Mafia or Masonry of Unionism living off the back of good hard working Scots folk.
This one cannot go back in the box as I notice from American social media sites there is an awakening. The witchcraft never sat easily with American parents but till now what could they say that exposed the evil. May you live in interesting times JKR.
Robert
I was walking the dog with the wife this afternoon, and trying to describe the tweet about C@@@ as a political term, I didn’t use the word obviously, but even the discussion was to much, and I was castigated for even being associated with this character in discussing him.
So I thought you are judged by association, so I am sure this chap is actually a decent father, daughter son wife, well you get the drift, but unfortunately we, my family don’t associate with his like, to much of the night about him and his tweeting bum buddy.
But a word of warning, you my friend are in a profession where the story is king, one day you are king of the hill, next you are the wrapper for a fish tea!
Under normal circumstances this Spannergate story would have been leapt upon by Private Eye and they would really go to town on it.
Unfortunately as we all no doubt know Private Eye has nailed its colours to the Unionist Mast and prints snidy attacks on The SNP in every issue.
@Bill Fraser says: 30 January, 2016 at 2:38 pm:
“Could someone define extortion?”
I assume, Bill, that was a rhetorical question. However, just by chance I did have occasion to do just that this afternoon. I found this : –
I had received, yet another, BBC threat of prosecution for watching TV without paying for a licence. They now seem to have actually begun a much threatened investigation of their alleged accusations of my criminal activities.
I thought to prepare myself for my own action I intend to begin against the BBC and/or their agents.
First, I knew about the, “Black vs Carmichael”, case and the threats made of legal action also being grounds to being threatened. In fact such legal action threats are indeed illegal under some circumstances and there is legal precedent that they can.
In my case, I’m nearly 80, I qualify for a free licence so have no reason, other than not watching TV or objecting to BBC Bias, for not applying for said licence.
Which does highlight the almost congenital idiocy of the BBC, in first of all assuming anyone without a licence is proven guilty without any evidence, and secondly that the person has a legal duty to inform the BBC of anything whatsoever. Finally the idiocy of spending much time, effort and money investigating and prosecuting someone entitled to claim a free TV licence who declines to do so.
I feel I have the legal right to ask Police Scotland to investigate what I believe to be, “Demanding Money with menace”, and then claiming compensation for all the years of worry and fear the BBC, or their agents have caused me.
At worse all these threatening letters, by their sheer quantity, must certainly amount to stalking a disabled OAP who is completely innocent of the crime the BBC so insistently alleges they are guilty of.
Is JK Rowling’s demonstrably false and very public accusation of defamation against Natalie McGarry not defamatory in itself? Could Natalie sue JK instead? I’m no lawyer but the term is defined (from what i have read) as: “the communication of a false statement that harms the reputation of an individual person”.
Surely JK’s accusation that “You’re an elected politician and you’ve accused me of supporting abuse and misogyny.” is untrue, (well it certaiy is from the tweets I have read anyway). A false statement that harms the reputation of an individual indeed.
O/T enjoy Aberdeen to all Wingers out the night- wish I could have made it.
Anyway, the longer it goes on, the better.
Test for the Sunday Herald or the National.
Undertake a thorough investigation and expose of this whole matter.
I look forward to reading about it.
‘Unfortunately as we all no doubt know Private Eye has nailed its colours to the Unionist Mast and prints snidy attacks on The SNP in every issue.‘
That’s the thing, the Independence referendum has changed the political landscape forever, and there is no going back. There is no Tory Labour divide any more, it’s Independence supporters or unionists.
A battle that will never end until Scotland rejects a corrupt and imperialistic union. And that battle has a date in May
Interesting reading: Euan McColm: How I got onto social media.
Just a thought guys and gals,but would not Universal studios be interested in finding out what sort of social banter JK Rowling enjoys. They are very family orientated.
Considering the UK press are burying the story are there any ways of feeding this whole affair to other outside media ie American.
I’d say, by the way, that the Brian Spanner account is quite possibly a shared one. As I posted in the Grun nearly 4 years ago, the journalists are an incestuous lot, they not only share information and stories, they share opinions. My post was they should go out in the real world and talk to some real people, not prop each other up in their favourite wine bar.
I blocked the moron Spanner over a year ago, but if anyone ever encounters him on Twitter, call him nothing except Euan and tell him ‘Get back to your work while you’ve still got a job’
how do we not know that all the spanners stuff isn’t a ploy for indy supporters to lose faith in buying The National and Sunday Herald? it’s hard to trust anything these days… I just remember oor Alex telling us all to support The National, but one thing is crystal clear and that is there’s a big Snp hate campaign going on because the union is cracking under Snp’s success!!
Another thing that’s going to destroy the Herald and the Scotsman online is the amount of crap their pages load up. On the Herald you can hit (Firefox) the red x button to the right of the URL as soon as the main page has loaded and cur out the constnat refresh that jerks the page around, but on Scotsman and sadly the National, it doesn’t work very well.
It’s over 100 megabytes of gunge it downloads in a short time, I see this as I cclean after every browsing session (then I get 5 articles, another 5 articles, another …).
By contrast the pro-indy sites are fast-loading.
Natalie McGary has one thing Rowling doesn’t… Parliamentary Privilege.
Does anyone think it’s worth using yon pettiton thingy to get a debate.
For me, this will be a big test for the National on how or if they cover this story. Even I could write an article which would avoid litigation based on information already available. Theres a massive shitswirl connecting Yoon journalists, an author and a soon-to-be unemployed c*nt.
The North British Yoon Cartel is Eating Itself
Popcorn, anyone?
Euan McColm: Don’t malign moonlighting MPs:
https://archive.is/ELofq
@StevieCosmic says: 30 January, 2016 at 2:58 pm:
“Why does Brian Taylor tweet ‘I’m Brain Spanner’ as a joke?”
Oh! But is it a joke? Put the fat numptie’s gas at a peep. He is, after all a Journalist, (allegedly), he wouldn’t tell a lie, would he? So take him at his word – far as it goes, if he says he is Spanner, then, by his own word, he is.
“Why do Alex Massie and Torrance tweet pics of themselves (both retweeted by McColm) in Spanner’s T-shirts, blissfully ignoring the bile he’s dished out?”
Quite obviously because they condone Spanner and just lack the integrity to do so outwardly. If you like, they prefer Spanner to speak for them on their behalf.
“And Daisley, quite happy to go for coffee with him and Rowling all pally?”
Indeed, all equally guilty and equally despicable. Many true colours being flown by, arguably, the most despicable group of people in the UK these days.
“What is it about this guy that no one on the unionist press will condemn what he’s doing. Kinda sickening if you think about it”.
They admire him for saying what they think but lack the courage to say for themselves. He speaks on their behalf and says what they dare not say. No one of any integrity defends such a person as Spanner.
They claim it is a joke – it is the same form of joke that saw a cartoon magazine’s staff assassinated in the name of the Muslim faith. In the eyes and minds of this bunch of total idiots, “Its all right folks its only the Cybernats, and they don’t count”.
Well perhaps we don’t count but our votes do.
Charity tries to secure money through extortion, just who do they think they are, the BBC.
Trying to get to know JK Rowling better.
https://archive.is/F5mpe
The obsessiveness that makes her censure her characters’ flaws is matched by her willingness to fund a press regulator that will allow state-backed censorship. If Impress, the body she and other Hacked Off supporters are so generously financing, secures statutory recognition, every paper must either join it or face punitive damages and costs whenever an oligarch or MP sues them – even if they have told the truth.
You might find it incredible that writers who rely on freedom of speech are going along with Hacked Off and I remain astonished by the naivety of Ian McEwan, Tom Stoppard and – give me strength – Salman Rushdie. But in the case of Rowling, I am not astonished at all. In life as in fiction, she is all of a piece. Rowling is so used to condemning, it never occurs to her that she may be condemned; when she takes freedoms from others, she never thinks that they may one day be taken from her.
https://archive.is/RyDwR
JK Rowling sues Daily Mail for libel over ‘single mother’ article
If you want to read the Daily Mail article & you have an Edinburgh Library membership go here:
http://search.proquest.com/barcode?accountid=15842&groupid=93264
Search for:
How JK’s sob story about her single mother past surprised and confused the church members who cared for her
There is a Scottish & London edition. I haven’t checked if they are the same.
Bob Mack @ 8.56
If you know how and want to distribute the story state side, I am pretty sure it would need to go to their alternative media.
Which at this point seems to be Alex Jones at Infowars or Michael Revero at What Really Happend.com
Can’t say for sure of course but I do get the impression that Alex really doesn’t like Rowling and Michael really really doesn’t like Hollywood.
But hey ho what do I know.
liz Gray says:Does anyone think it’s worth using yon pettiton thingy to get a debate.
I think if you look at who proposed it – then its an absurd Unionist joke. So no.
BrianSpanner account and other people have been doing smoke and ‘its all mad banter’ style tweets all day – this morning was an attack on WingsOverScotland twitter account history.
Also by tweeting a lot on specific people it throws the stats for the account.
@ Ian Brotherhood says at 6:29 pm …. ”For those who haven’t seen it, Brian Spanner has his own YT channel. It only has one item on it – yet another hilarious ‘Downfall’ parody – but it speaks volumes about the kind of obsessive we’re dealing with, and who his main obsession is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERH0i71o2H4
Oh well Ian seems that it’s OK in the UK to infer that someone is a Nazi or Nazi like nowadays. Another form of propaganda – demonisation (from a well known journalist?). Defamation of character?
@ yesindyref2 @ 7.37pm …. ‘’Worth taking some screen-shots of journos twitter, just to see if they start changing.’’
We should hold onto this one yesindyref2.
?”@BrianSpanner1 …… ”Imagine a prick. Then multiply said prick by the power of cunt, smear it in diarrhea & decorate with Eck’s pubes.”
https://twitter.com/BrianSpanner1/status/663802375069687808
@ Gary45% says at 5:31 pm ….. ”Petra, I bought the Sunday Herald for the last couple of years, and bought The National from its first edition, up until around October last year. I appreciate the need for an Independence supporting daily and Sunday newspaper, but I personally found them wanting in the last few months. I know the two mentioned papers never said they were supporting the SNP, but over the last year, the kicking the SNP received from every outlet of the MSM, these two papers should have grown some balls and stood up for the SNP.”
Gary I reckon they do stand up for the SNP at every turn. They publish articles that no other newspaper would consider doing for a start off …. quashing ScUM lies. Don’t forget however that they state that they are ‘The newspaper that supports an Independent Scotland.’ They are not the SNP’s newsletter and that’s the way it should be.
I find them to be invaluable as a resource. One that I can use to spread information around online, discuss at meetings or with individuals on their doorstep. You should think of buying it again.
The following are examples from yesterdays The National:
MP Philippa Whitford forced to defend doing life-saving NHS work over Christmas
http://www.thenational.scot/news/mp-philippa-whitford-forced-to-defend-doing-life-saving-nhs-work-over-christmas.13035
Gordon MacIntyre-Kemp: The oil sums don’t add up in Cameron’s measly rescue package
http://www.thenational.scot/comment/gordon-macintyre-kemp-the-oil-sums-dont-add-up-in-camerons-measly-rescue-package.13008
A couple from WGD this week:
Wee Ginger Dug: Twisted tales from Unionist media are laughable
http://www.thenational.scot/comment/the-wee-ginger-dug-twisted-tales-from-unionist-media-are-laughable.13060
Wee Ginger Dug: Oil is not the only wealth to build a new Scotland on
http://www.thenational.scot/comment/wee-ginger-dug-oil-is-not-the-only-wealth-to-build-a-new-scotland-on.12894
There was also a GREAT article (amongst many) in The National yesterday which I can’t find online.
‘Scotland’s A&E the best in the World’ as per research carried out by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine. They found that the UK has the best performing accident and emergency services in the World and that Scotland has the best performing A&E services within the UK.’
Stick that in your pipes and smoke it … Kezia Dugdale and Jackie Baillie.
Oh dear, poor Brian, Twitter may be defending him, but text is not.
Too many redundant journalists with scores to settle, which way will the sord of Damocles fall, my guess is straight down, after all Dionysius won’t let her castle fall for a little boy like you.
Jakey to man going to football match. Mr, watch yir car fir yi, geing the money tae charity.
Another plus from all this is that the Unionists can’t say sweary abuse is not funny any more not that they are so at pains to say it is all mad banter so they can drop their indignant disapproval of Frankie Boyle for a start.
🙂
Trying to get to know JK Rowling better.
He does seem to sue a lot.
https://archive.is/HRXmg
Legal fight hindered progress on new book, J.K. Rowling says
https://archive.is/0WAC6
https://archive.is/hVTSy
https://archive.is/obRWI
Good take in the National on all of this http://www.thenational.scot/comment/the-wee-ginger-dug-twisted-tales-from-unionist-media-are-laughable.13060
@call me dave
Typically it uses a “quote” from 2014 when there were 6 SNP MPs to underpin snide about the position in 2015 with 56 Indy SNPs. Argument by elision.
It is also two faced in that we all hate it that there are now all these political naked rats who slither from intern to spad to MP without ever experiencing the real world or the cost of money and then let ourselves be driven to incensed by all these other MPs “moonlighting” in the real world instead of living the hermetic life of the Westminster Bubble. Divide and conquer, especially if you can divide a person within themself.
If ‘Spanner’ is outed as Euan McColm there would be a certain irony. I’m pretty sure it was McColm (allegedly on tip-off from Jim Murphy) that exposed Mark MacLauchlan – office manager to Mike Russell – as the anonymous blogger behind a controversial blog ‘Universality of Cheese’ which was making offensive remarks about leading politicians back in 2009.
The result of the News of the World expose was that MacLauchlan lost his job. This was the reaction from opposition politicians:
Tavish Scott said: “This poisonous SNP bile attacking anyone who dares criticise Alex Salmond’s nationalists was paid for by the Scottish taxpayer. I want a full investigation by the Permanent Secretary into what other SNP special advisers, researchers and hired hands are involved in this kind of odious politics.
“If Mark MacLachlan posted any of his defamations and smears in office hours, while being paid by the taxpayer and while using facilities provided at the taxpayers’ expense, Mike Russell’s position is untenable and Alex Salmond should sack him.”
Russell’s spokesman has said that the minister knew “absolutely nothing” about MacLachlan’s online activities.
Iain Gray, the Scottish Labour leader, also called on Salmond to apologise. “By his silence Alex Salmond condones it,” he said. “In May, Labour called on him to root out the campaign by cybernats after disgusting attacks not just on politicians but also on journalists who don’t toe the SNP line. As First Minister it is his duty to personally apologise for this filth.”
Scottish Tory leader Annabel Goldie said: “This politics of vile hatred is abhorrent. Behind the smiles, the nasty underbelly of the SNP has been exposed. People are judged by the company they keep.”
Ooops typo.
She does seem to sue a lot.
https://archive.is/1vAc0
‘Although “The Cuckoo’s Calling” received positive reviews, it only sold a few hundred copies following its April 30 release. The book then skyrocketed to No. 1 on sales list for Amazon and Barnes and Noble after word spread that it was actually written by Rowling. That prompted the speculation that her publisher had actually leaked the news to increase sales.’
Jks charity . E Mail Charities Regulator for putting undue pressure on somone to donate.
My take:
@BrianSpanner1 is an account set up by one person, but to which several people have access (sharing login & password).
It is/was an ‘in joke’ between the people involved. It probably started as an ‘ironic’ comment on the general anarchy and nastiness of Twitter.
In the spirit of this – and through a kind of juvenile willy waving – the various owners started to see who could produce the most outrageously offensive tweets.
Those in the know found this ‘hilarious’. The fact that those not in the know just found it offensive made it even funnier.
Now that the lid is coming off, apologies are appearing for the most offensive tweets. The jokers are beginning to realise that maybe the banter they were enjoying does not look so good in the cold light of day.
– It’s a theory – but it fits a lot of the circumstantial evidence. Though what JKR was thinking of by getting involved in this is beyond me…
Test.
http://cybernatclairerobertson.blogspot.co.uk/
https://archive.is/jYLk8
Organizers of a religious event in the city of Kolkata, in eastern India, were shocked to learn that J.K. Rowling-author of the wildly popular Harry Potter books-was planning a lawsuit against them because they had constructed a replica of the fictional Hogwarts Castle for the event.
https://archive.is/jYLk8
Organizers of a religious event in the city of Kolkata, in eastern India, were shocked to learn that J.K. Rowling-author of the wildly popular Harry Potter books-was planning a lawsuit against them because they had constructed a replica of the fictional Hogwarts Castle for the event.
https://archive.is/DbSpB
JK Rowling Sues Mapmaker for Putting her Home on the Map
Scroll down past angry salmond pics for a Brian spanner possible ID.
@handclapping
I’m not a twitterer, don’t like at all. But it’s the trendy way to communicate evidently.
I wish Ms McGarry well and I have learned much about the character of JK and her friends, all to their detriment in my opinion.
SNP x 2 is my only way to express my disgust with them all.
Back to the golf!
Scottish M Laird on leader board for the men as is our stalwart Catriona Matthew for the woman.
PS:
‘elision’ must use that word more often. 🙂
I think it would probably be best not to dress up as any Harry Potter character for a fancy dress party because you could be sued.
I’m not surprised that the Organizers of a religious event in the city of Kolkata, in eastern India, were shocked!
Ooops sorry I didn’t mean to post two links to that story.
Don’t know much about Twitter BUT seems to me McNarry has nothing to worry about from these 2 archives
1. https://archive.is/xm7dq
2. https://archive.is/tFrvJ
Seems totally clear to me
It does beg the question, just how many unionist journalists are partaking in the same practices as Spanner.
Is he a looner, or is he just the tip of giant pile of sick and twisted journos.
Brian Spanner, CovertUnionistNutterTroll?
Is there any sewer that the britnat’s will not plumb to try to undermine the cause of Scottish freedom. We must and will win,defeat these people of the past. Scottish freedom is the future, the empire will be defeated and these people that undermined Scotland must live with themselves. How are they going to look shortly when their empire crumbles. We are going to win in May and they are not.
What a nasty piece of work The No Bully is.
Asked by Ian Macwhirter to provide examples of racism within the SNP, The No Bully backed up her view with quotes from Gordon Wilson and Jim Sillars. So that’s at least two racists in the SNP then? Well no. It turns out The No Bully wasn’t insinuating that Gordon and Jim were racist at all, despite answering a question which explicitly asked about racism. The two aforementioned fellas merely used “anti-English rhetoric” and in no way did The No Bully suggest they were racist. Phew! That was a close one. Perhaps her defamation expert was on the phone.
Wether this makes Gordon and Jim anti-English by extension, who the fuck knows. And I’ll bet her agent is glad of that. That and the dismal pension rates in this country.
Iain Macwhirter @iainmacwhirter 18 Jun 2015
@jk_rowling Making unsubstantiated and unjustified claims about racism and ethnic nationalism in SNP is hugely unhelpful in this debate.
J.K. Rowling? @jk_rowling 18 Jun 2015
.@iainmacwhirter I questioned *your* claim of total non-existence of anti-English prejudice in the SNP. I made no claims. You did.
Iain Macwhirter? @iainmacwhirter 18 Jun 2015
.@jk_rowling So guilty until proved innocent? You may not like SNP but can’t just accuse them of anti-English racism willy nilly.
J.K. Rowling @jk_rowling 18 Jun 2015
.@iainmacwhirter You genuinely stand behind your statement that there hasn’t been ‘a trace’ of anti-English prejudice in the SNP in 40 yrs?
Iain Macwhirter ?@iainmacwhirter 18 Jun 2015
.@jk_rowling As a matter of fact the SNP does not tolerate anti-English prejudice. To suggest otherwise is irresponsible.
J.K. Rowling @jk_rowling 18 Jun 2015
.@iainmacwhirter So that’s a yes? You challenge me to find a single example, in past 40 years, of an SNP party member being anti-English?
Iain Macwhirter @iainmacwhirter 18 Jun 2015
.@jk_rowling Again: when have you heard anyone of significance in the SNP making anti-English racist remarks?
J.K. Rowling @jk_rowling 18 Jun 2015
.@iainmacwhirter You’re changing the statement. ‘Not a trace of anti English prejudice’ in 40 years in the whole party is what you claimed.
J.K. Rowling @jk_rowling 18 Jun 2015
.@iainmacwhirter However, define ‘of significance’. A party member? An MP? An ex-leader?
Iain Macwhirter @iainmacwhirter 18 Jun 2015
.@jk_rowling Anyone who would substantiate the allegation that the SNP tolerates anti-English racism.
J.K. Rowling @jk_rowling 18 Jun 2015
.@iainmacwhirter 2013. Gordon Wilson, ex-leader of SNP, who talked of attacking the English southern cancer. Nice language. Very civic.
Iain Macwhirter @iainmacwhirter 18 Jun 2015
@jk_rowling @adamboultonSKY I think you’ll find that he said the “cancer of London and the south East”.
J.K. Rowling @jk_rowling 18 Jun 2015
.@iainmacwhirter “England will put its state interests first, is a truth too many Scots are not willing to face.” Jim Sillars, 2010
Iain Macwhirter @iainmacwhirter 18 Jun 2015
@jk_rowling Eh? Saying a country puts its interests first is not racist.
J.K. Rowling Verified account @jk_rowling 18 Jun 2015
.@iainmacwhirter Racist? When did I call anyone racist?! We’re talking about anti-English rhetoric from ‘significant’ people in SNP.
J.K. Rowling @jk_rowling 18 Jun 2015
.@iainmacwhirter I’m quoting people who I’m sure are robust enough to stand by their views here.
https://twitter.com/iainmacwhirter/status/611500363775148033
Kininvie says: @9:54
That would explain quite a lot. It would be most interesting to find out who used the account and when.
https://archive.is/eSaCc
JK Rowling Sues US Army over Copyright Infringement
LAWYERS acting for J K Rowling are heading for a legal battle with the US army over a training manual that features characters similar to those in the Harry Potter books and films.
https://archive.is/Lvo13
J.K. Rowling Tries Not to Cry in Court, Calls Potter Encyclopedia ‘Theft’
The concept of more than one person having access to the account would certainly explain, ‘I’m thinking of giving up the Spanner account. Too much work.’
There may be more to this than meets the eye.
Was the yoon Murial Gray not The Chairwoman for the Glasgow School of Art and she did not get it appropriate fire protection before the classic building was burnt down by not having appropriate fire protection?
In Scotland the people are surprisingly tolerant. We accommodate people that think we should be ruled from abroad. We put up with a foreign owned press. We hugely subsidize our neighbor nation. But we could rule ourselves, but maybe we are too wee, too stupid, too poor, to do any of that. Then again we could break free, but maybe that’s crazy talk.
I doubt the BUMS can keep the lid on Jakey’s “friendship” with M’learned friend Mr Spanner much longer.
Somebody will break ranks and publish the link – it will be picked-up by media outlets who are not afraid of Jakey, and, she is toast.
Socrates MacSporran says:
30 January, 2016 at 10:39 pm
Somebody will break ranks and publish the link – it will be picked-up by media outlets who are not afraid of Jakey, and, she is toast.
Ruby replies
Having read all about Jakey’s legal actions I doubt if there is anyone who isn’t afraid of Jakey but I’m sure the Daily Mail would love to make her toast!
@Iain says 10:12pm
“Is there any sewer that the britnat’s will not plumb to try to undermine the cause of Scottish freedom.”
NO! and there is nothing they will not do. Absolutely Nothing.
G. Campbell
I had forgotten about her spat with Iain MacWhirter.
Well, it won’t be long, if it isn’t happening already, that we’ll get what I’ll call “the revenge of the character”, where the author gets all but forgotten, but the character lives on for decades, even hundreds of years – take Sherlock Holmes as an example.
Sad (except in this case), but true.
G. Campbell, going by your posted Twitter exchange, Rowling is either quite stupid or ignorant.
Who knows?
Interesting stuff the Twitter Rules especially the Abusive Behaviour section.
support.twitter.com/articles/18311
Alasdair Stephen says:
‘People are judged by the company they keep’
We’d do well to remember that quote from her Annabellness. Indeed, it goes right to the heart of this sordid affair. ‘Keeping’ company has distinct meaning, depending on your politics apparently.
Kininvie says:
30 January, 2016 at 9:54 pm
My take:
@BrianSpanner1 is an account set up by one person, but to which several people have access (sharing login & password).
That’s exactly what I think. This has all the hallmarks of a circle-jerk. I could be wrong, obviously, but the gang-hut mentality is difficult to explain unless they are all implicated…..unless they are all ultimately fucking dimwits. I still tend to favour the latter, dimwitted unionist dildos prostituting themselves for favour; unwitting useful idiots, ripe for the sacrificing when required.
For many reasons I cannot disclose how I know what I have heard about a certain well known author.
She has lost many friends within publishing where she recently left the publisher who took her on when none would.
Similarly her ‘new’ friends in the Unionist social media fulfil a need in her which is not met in real life where it seems, she, for various reasons, makes few true friends.
She seems a very unhappy person, fuelled by a vindictive and spiteful agenda.
Scottish charities have found that out to their cost.
Many people hope that at last the true persona is being revealed.
@Kininvie – that sounds very plausible and that could explain the over reaction and aggressive attack from JKR.
If she ever got exposed as contributing to that account, she could be finished
@Bob Mack says: 30 January, 2016 at 8:56 pm:
” … Considering the UK press are burying the story are there any ways of feeding this whole affair to other outside media ie American.”
Yes Bob, and it is simple to do. Google the USA paper’s name and go to their website. You will find they have contact details. Usually the have News Desk, Editors and columnists email addresses and even email forms where you just fill in the details and your message and click the send or submit button.
Way back when the referendum campaign began I regularly posted stuff to the New Your Times among others.
Here’s a website that list thousands of USA papers – local and national. BTW: you can do the same with USA radio and TV stations.
http://usanewspapers.com/
Can we open a book on how many pairs of underpants a certain journalist has gone through (so to speak) in the last 48 hours?
Or would that be unspeakably vile?
I think Jk is an attention seeker who mixes in very dodgy company. Perhaps a narcissist?
The overreaction suggests a nerve was touched. She wants to hide the truth! The public image doesn’t match the inner self by the looks of it. She is shallow and a bully obsessed with herself. Might be that the truth will out in a way she didn’t expect.
Lords and Knights command their guy
Murdoch rules via Sun and Sky
And from this fact, it’s very plain,
Westminster’s Trolls do the same.
Lib, Lab, Tory, all corrupt,
Invariably they fill from Scotland’s cup
And every common working fool
Is governed by the elitists rule
So when you’re voting please take care,
Let your watchword be, “Beware!”
If in Tweet, they drop Brian Spanner,
they hope to rule us in every manner
Lies, Abuse from Media pore
Scots they hate and Banks adore
For one thing we must be glad,
with the help of Wings we won’t be had.
Don’t believe the UK papers
sponsored lies and Tory capers,
The NATS are here the day to save
and keep us all from an early grave
So best feet forward and take care
About those stories used to scare
It’s better to be safe than Red,
So go and vote, just use your head.
Scotland now you must be brave;
Fight Westminster’s most depraved.
Anyone for some light relief?
The Corries, ‘Who’ll Take The Ball Fae Maggie Thatcher?’ –
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K13m3HlFwjw
Time to flush the Spanner chap out of cover I think
Anyone offering odds on who it is
Finally had enough and cancelled my Herald subscription. I’ve been considering it since Ian Bell died as its gone downhill rapidly since then. Today was the final straw. They ask if you care to give them a reason for cancelling which I did. Pretty much what I’m writing here. I just feel sad that a newspaper I once enjoyed has turned into such a pile of dung. Don’t any of them have the guts to report news properly any more? Are they all running scared of people like Jakey and the second rate bunch of no brains that pass for the Westminster government? Journalism is obviously totally dead.
Mention of press responsibility here – ‘The Power and the Cringe’: http://wp.me/p4fd9j-3PK
…the best revenge is to deliver a SNP government at Holyrood in May…after all this is what they are trying to stop/undermine with this campaign.
The elite may have the money in the bank and the media in their pocket but we have an increasing drive to leave them BECAUSE of the arrogance of entitlement which characterises the unionist cabal.
There is a fine old Gaelic proverb:
“A chlach air ghlugaman, tuitidh I uaireigin”
The unsteady stone will fall eventually.
I reckon that a massive rockfall is about to happen.
Stop a moments!
Why would a middle aged female who has made a £1 Billion
from stories about a private school without fees want to waste
her time on Twitter exchanging notes every evening with a Unionist Psychopath?
Can we look at other people who faught to keep Scotland’s finances in Westminster’s pockets?
To Fanny Alexander for being a Tory Lap Dog a Knighthood
To Mrs Moan, specialist in going Bust in Business and demeaning the people of Scotland, “Lady” and pretend business advisor.
Jakey Rollin in it for services to UK Trolling- TBA !!!!!
(Political Funds available, if required for purchasing a title)
WHR2
Sorry but just because we have a group of sad little boys in the Scottish journalists club, by no means say journalismis dead.
This very morning bravery, fortitude, and sacrifice has and will be shown by brave reporters.
What we have is parody.
And poor parody at that!
In 1936 an 1937, the combined forces of The Establishment tried to keep the lid on the affair between “The King of England”, Edward VIII and Mrs Wallis Simpson – they couldn’t.
In the early to mid-1950s, The Establishment tried and failed to keep the affair between HRH Princess Margaret and the married Group Captain Peter Townsend a secret – they couldn’t.
In the 1980s, The Establishment couldn’t keep the affair between Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles a secret, they failed.
OK, with the help of the Press, they managed to (for a while) keep the fact that Princess Diana was a serial shagger a secret, they failed, although, at least one title is still in denial.
What makes Ms Jakey Rowling think her links to “Brian Spanner QC” can be kept out of the mainstream media.
If the Royal Family and their agents couldn’t keep things quiet, what makes her think she can do it.
The shit will hit the fan, and, when it does – Yippe Kay Hay Mudderfucker.
@WHR2 12.03
Not my Comments at National http://www.thenational.scot/news/rowling-warns-she-will-sue-suspended-mp-mcgarry-in-twitter-spat.13077
But same comments censored and deleted at the Herald https://archive.is/PAo7G
Suggest you replace subscription to Herald with one at the National – excellent value on-line and you can keep all back copies – useful for campaigning
Was it that tosser Hutcheon by any chance ?
Should add that The Herald has become a parody of itself , in terms of poking a stick at the Establishment. It is seemingly fiercely pro monarchy and pro imperialist/unionist. The letters editor has all the control re content of BBC Scotland. The paper is full of filler news from totally irrelevant court cases from England. I ve read it for 30 odd years, recently stopped and now read The National – same publisher , better stories /articles, half the price and the letters page(s) is a hoot.
I think a courageous MSM journalist could really have made a name for themselves by delving deep into the JK Howling and Spanner story.
Where are that Ferret lot who supposedly do investigative journalism? Didn’t they crowd fund on a platform of investigating the stories people want?
I’m not on Twitter as it is horrible but could someone else ask them? It seems there has to be a tipping point soon where Digital Media journalism overtakes Print Journalism in terms of setting the agenda instead of reacting to Print all the time.
I am certainly up for crowd funding a weekly print journal, like say, Private Eye, where Wings and others could choose the stories of the week. Make it free at first and leave it on trains and buses or subscribe online?
Anyone have any other ideas?
WHR2 @ 12.03
I cancelled my direct debit to the Herald by phone in mid-December and I was annoyed they didn’t ask the reason.
I sent back the coupons I had up to March – so glad I did.
If asked, the reason I would have given would have been with the death of Ian Bell there was no reason to buy the paper as he was the only sane voice there.
I stopped reading Torrance and Gardham years ago.
Even stopped doing their crossword recently as it’s rubbish compared to what it used to be – don’t miss it one bit.
Had my last copy on Boxing Day – and the National’s crosswords are streets ahead.
Should also have added that I bought ‘The Herald’ for more than 30 years.
I wonder what Margaret Curran thinks about being described as a victim of FGM by Spanner. Quite frankly I can’t imagine how any newspaper could consider employing such a person if he is who everybody now believes he is.
@ Dave McEwan Hill @ 1.13
.
Totally agree.
Hark the Herald Anglos spin
Glory to our serfdom sing.
Piss on Perth and mair besides
Slab and Tories reconciled.
Let’s all spare a thought for Shereen (or whoever else it may be) who has to negotiate a full two hours of political/topical chat without addressing this Spanner stuff on North Britain Radio, just a few hours from now…
Because, no matter what else crops up ‘news’-wise, it will have to be discussed at some point.
Right?
From this little exchange there seems to be evidence supporting the notion that Rowling, McColm, Hothersall are all in on it. This is the ‘birthday’ tweets, where Hothersall tells ‘Brian’ to sort his logins, then Rowling says ‘Oh damn, have I done it again?”
This all needs to come out. To parody that wee heed nyaff at GCC at the Commonwealth games: Bring. It. On.
‘Cough’…
https://mobile.twitter.com/davidearl73/status/693518277767729154/photo/1
This is the breach in the dam.Here beginneth the end of Unionism.
Looks like the herald is taking a kicking on Twitter.
With the daily sales ofcthe once great Glasgow Herald now down to about 20,000 copies it’s clear that this once great paper is headed for the exit door. Partisan unionist bias will only hasten this demise Only clandestine Westminster support is, like the Scotsman, kneping this paper alive.
Don’t understand why some people think Natale should apologise. She was only telling the truth.
I think a group tweet account was set up
http://www.emoderation.com/grouptweet-how-to-share-company-twitter-account/
when someone used the C word,others in the group were told,follow the leader.
that’s my theory
Some mention of failing Scottish press here: wp.me/p4fd9j-4b8
Whilst all this JK/Spanner tweets unfolded Pete Wishart actually posted a timetable, I assumed spoof, showing the schedule of those involved. It illustrated the hours each one had to partake.
I assume spoof as he included himself ! Got to admire his bravery if not spoof , and his vision if spoof.
I’m no PC geek, anyone who can read / source IP addresses may find a common demonitor?
If as is being claimed that J K Rowling is a feminist why would she be prepared to masquerade as a man?
‘Her publisher did suggest she not use her real name – Joanne Rowling – for her books, because they didn’t believe boys would want to read a fantasy book about a boy wizard by a woman’
‘The circumstances of Rowling’s public outing as the pseudonymous debut author behind The Cuckoo’s Calling, which she penned under the name Robert Galbraith were confirmed at the high court in London on Wednesday.’
Completely off topic: how would I go about watching the tennis?
It is becoming very obvious with each passing day, that how the world’s media portray JK and the actual reality are 2 very different beasties.
Can somebody please tell me, why the world’s media jump through hoops to perpetuate this pretense? I understand that ‘Scottish’ journalists are a craven cowardly bunch (as was clearly seen this week), but the rest of the world?? Do none of them ask probing questions or check facts over and above JK press releases? NY times? Washington post?
A terrible state of affairs.
Thought you folks might be interested in this? I know it’s been covered umpteen times. But anywho…..
http://www.yeswecan.scot/index.php/5-the-scottish-voting-system
Stephen Roney.
@Tam Jardine
You wouldn’t mate. I’ve looked all over to find it and it’s just not there. If you do find it please post a link.
Can you imagine if this went to court and a Lawyer was able to show that the IP addresses that have been used to access the Spanner account are also used to access other Twitter accounts. How #Awkward would that be.
If I recall correctly it was about ten or eleven years ago when Gordon Brown, the then Chancellor, first arranged for some BBC licence money to be diverted to the Herald and the Scotsman to assist them retain journalistic capability. This subsidy will still be in place today under the conservatives.
R-type Grunt
Aye- seems that way. Not quite the same on the radio.
Dinnae worry pal. Murray’s gettin’ humped. Again.
THIS IS ABOUT SPORT
Murray v Djorkovic is live on Eurosport 1. I checked-in and out very quickly, Murray was tailing 0-5 in the first set.
@ Socrates
Thanks pal. I doubt I’ll watch it though as it’s a very fine warm sunny morning here so we’ll go out with the dogs instead.
So three Scots in finals of the Aus open this weekend. In any normal country, the state broadcster would have live coverage pf the finals. Not so, in Scotland. Oh no.
How freaking ridiculous, if Murray wins, we will have had 3 finals at the AUS open won by a Scot, but zero coverage by the BBC.
The BBC = freaking useless, when it comes to Scotland.
I’m using this: Tennis.
You can try it..Ad blocker + usual protection in place.
http://cricfree.tv/watch/live/novak-djokovic-vs-andy-murray-live-streaming
Looks like Spanners tweets are now “protected”
“Only confirmed followers have access to @BrianSpanner1’s Tweets and complete profile. Click the “Follow” button to send a follow request.”
Hmmmmm
“Brian” is a Quantity Surveyor…..
As a hacker, forget about tracing IP addresses. Unless you have Police doing it via their ISP.
As for teenage hackers they’re a myth, they didn’t learn Linux, DNS and IP protocol the hard way, they use pre built tools on Backtrack, Kali or BackBox. (Penetration testing operating systems).
@ Legerwood – 30 January, 2016 at 2:54 pm
First of all i’ll put my cards on the table, i don’t need my daily fix of Rag-tripe. I can be a real news junky at times but have never needed to resort to financially supporting the BUM in a very long time just to justify my addiction.
I don’t agree with your way of thinking, i personally think it stinks of your need to justify your habits of frequenting the BUM, and that applies to quite a lot of others on here too, imo.
Any form of financial contribution to the BUM rags, no-matter how one attempts to dress-it-up, is a contribution of support for the BUM.
Contributions help keep the liars in jobs, the very same liars who help send thousands of people onto the unemployment scrapheap.
Contributions help put bread on the tables of the BUM liars, the very same liars who help remove the bread from the tables of thousands of hard-working people and families.
Contributions help support a foreign hostile media who’s owners have strong connections to the HoL and HoC, our sworn enemies, and that includes The National.
BTW, my views on The National are well known on here and i respect anyones right to judge for themselves and make a decision on whether or not to financially support it.
Just for clarity i will state my stance again. It is my view that The National exists to help keep The Herald in circulation.
And i believe i was the first on WOS to express those views so i’m not just following suit with a certain other Winger who’s made that same point on occasion. Keep up the good work, Rock, and the others 🙂
There was no need to create ‘The National’ – A very well established title had already been in existence for a very long time but is now heading for oblivion. It would have been far simpler to change The Heralds stance to pro independence and that would have guaranteed the titles future prosperity.
Instead, what do we have, we have a rag group who’s owners are playing it very cleverly. They produce ‘The National’ which will not be too hard hitting, for various obvious reasons, and if successful will help keep ‘The Herald’ afloat. If not, they simply pull the plug on ‘The National’ and resort to plan-B, change the Herald’s political stance as a last throw of the dice.
Right now the Herald groups owners are playing it safe and trying to gain the best of both worlds. And being self-minded business people one cannot blame them for that but it’s a strategy that has no long term success and sooner or later something has to give, i just hope it’s not at our expense, at least i can rest assured i never aided and abetted them.
I could go on all day at this but i trust you’ve got my point, besides, i believe your post was mainly focused on the online versions and their btl comment facilities. I’ll address that separately in part-2 after i grab myself a brew.
🙂
Interesting that Guardian allows no comments on articles featuring Rowling
Rarely look at the page, but Kevin McKenna looks like a bit of a UKOK propagandist and things seem to be perennially just about to improve for Labour and unionism in general https://archive.is/JI9lHj
Stoker.
I agree and seen through from the first edition! When will Scots learn? It was so obvious a newspaper sales pitch.
I would suggest this Twitter online App, you can then download all the tweets as a pdf. Target your favourite troll before they delete all their tweets.
https://www.allmytweets.net/connect/
Your Quanity Surveyor friend has already deleted his tweets, I however have them all. I may do a blog page with them!
Good on ye Bill…foresight wi farsight, nice one 😉
Bill
Our of idle curiosity- how did you find out he was a QS?
can you upload the pdf into a differernt/new spanner account?
Someone at HuffPo has mentioned Brian Spanner
http://archive.is/lBRAN
Tam.
My methods are a dark secret.
Hamish?
I was rude and short with you re swearing, I apologise for that. I was extremely angry when I wrote the posts you referred to…you caught the backdraft of that anger.
I still stand by my original sentiments though. Though politely I will say the use of the word ‘fucking’ is not imv abuse, and calling that shower ‘bastards’ is merely an accurate and more potent form of ‘those very nasty people’. I have a fairly typical Glaswegian temper, it’s the way I speak when I’m enraged. You probably wouldn’t like me much in person either, but you’ll never meet me in person, and by the same token you really don’t have to read posts that you find difficult to thole.
Nothing personal, nae harm tae ye.
In the Rangers case and in the Spanner case journalists rally round and protect their own.
You can’t pick & choose where you’ll criticise. Criticising the journalists in one instance and not the other. Either wrong in both cases, or right.
Journalists are the one of the least trusted of the ‘elite’ and for good reason. They are the whores of the print industry.
Your weekend reading.
Please have rotten eggs ready to throw at the Scottish press, herein criticised. Eggs can be bought at the ticket kiosk as you enter the theatre: http://wp.me/p4fd9j-4b8
Why does Scotland attract deranged airheads like Trump & Jakey?
This Spanner business could be the biggest cause celebre since Pushkin & the poison-pen letters & I hardly need to remind the Wings literati how that ended up! 🙂
@ Bill (10.27am): Blog page, go for it, good for a historic record.
@ Legerwood (this is the part which may provide Ruby with answers):
The online rag versions are one of the biggest cons going.
They are designed very deliberately to generate advertising revenues, under the guise and pretence of creating “debate.”
Several years ago i frequented the Dirty Redcoat threads thinking the very same thing as some on here – that i was changing peoples perceptions and correcting the lies they peddled.
It didn’t take me very long to realise it was all a con and all i was doing was helping to put some sort of importance to the guff they churned out AND to pull in advertising revenue, which in turn helps to keep that rag afloat.
The last straw came when the Sevco scandal first started to break and The Dirty Redcoat immediately closed its comment facilities. Several months later when the dust had begun to settle a little they reopened the occasional, selective, thread under a new look set-up.
By then it was too late, all the regular contributors had moved on to new playgrounds, mainly The Hootsman, and i eventually followed suit.
Whilst wasting my time on The Hootsman i witnessed and learned lessons that confirmed my beliefs learned at the Redcoat, beliefs that no amount of feeble justification will shift.
Here is some of what i witnessed:
On the football threads we would repeatedly see antagonistic and sectarian type comments and slogans made by the usual suspects. No amount of reporting these posts would put a stop to it. Occasionally, if you were lucky you may succeed in getting a post deleted but the culprit nearly always survived to post again.
You would also regularly witness comments of a vile child abuse nature aimed at gaining one upmanship. Again, your efforts might see them deleted but the usual suspects continued to post under the same usernames.
The threads were that bad the supporters of other clubs, outwith Glasgow’s arse, tended to stay clear and only frequent the threads which didn’t involve Celtic or “Rangers.”
So much for true debate, eh! I can only ever remember two regular posters, from other clubs, who frequented the Glasgow threads. One was a St.Johnstone fan who i always referred to as ‘Farquhar’ and who’s posts i enjoyed, especially on the political threads. And the other was an Aberdeen fan, can’t remember his username but i think it was something like ‘Red One’ or ‘Red Don’ – it may well have been both over time.
Anyhoo, back to evidence, i eventually got extremely tired of the vile and pathetic sectarian pro union tripe i contacted the Hootsman direct, to complain.
Long story short, i got nowhere, even threatening them with the watchdog for helping to incite hatred etc etc etc had no impact.
I even had the phone abruptly put down on me by the sports section online editor who sighed “look, i’ve no time for this right now, bye” bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
One of the main offenders was a twat who went by the username of “Stevie Blue” – that particular idiots repetitive party-piece was to type ‘WATP’ at the end of every mind numbingly boring post. For those not aware of its significance just google definition of We Are The People.
That particular piece of garbage also regularly posted other sectarian crap i’m not prepared to repeat and it was mainly always on a Friday or Saturday night/wee small hours when he was full of the bevvy.
He was repeatedly reported by many contributors and would get papped from the threads. Now, for those of you not in the know, if you get papped from a site you cannot come back with the EXACT same username but this “Stevie Blue” repeatedly did, time and time again. Occasionally he would temporarily change it but very quickly it would revert to his usual handle.
It is no coincidence that the online editors name is also Steven or Stephan and not only that, a simple search reveals that his CV contains a stint on a newspaper in Northern Ireland prior to his post at The Hootsman.
Another discovery i made when looking into The Hootsman was that they have a very basic team of 2 or 3 who have responsibility for the comment facilities but the biggest load of the work is given over to an outside source. That company is based in England.
So when you think you are changing perceptions and converting folk over to vote SNP, whilst you’re frequenting the BUM threads, think again, you’re persuading someone in England to vote SNP.
The Hootsman also had an approval facility on its comment threads, thumbs up/down, and i’ve witnessed that being deliberately manipulated by one of the regular “contributors.”
If i remember correctly i think his regular username was “Sharknado” (i could be wrong on that), anyway, one night, in the wee small hours he was having a wee ding-dong with someone over the amount (or lack of) thumb approvals. I can’t remember his exact words but he basically told the other contributor to pay attention, and right before our eyes his very own comment which was rated in minus figures suddenly had a positive three figure rating.
Just prior to, during and after our referendum The Hootsman political threads were gaining hundreds of positive votes on comments made by Unionists who, apparently, lived in Scotland and would be voting no etc. AYE, RIGHT. Just like the bus loads of Labour day trippers shipped in for photo ops etc.
The whole online btl set-up is corrupt and routinely manipulated
to throw the gullible the occasional scrap and generate some excitement in order to pull in much needed advertising revenue.
The vast majority of people who are persuadable DO NOT waste their lives on political or news sites. They by their daily rag of choice out of habit, for the sport, the puzzles, the cartoons and THE MOST DANGEROUS PART – THE HEADLINE.
The BBC is the greatest threat to our future prosperity but as far as the war against the print media goes, it can only be won by taking a strict boycott stance against it. They must learn that there are consequences for their actions.
We need to focus on destroying it, NOT SUPPORTING IT, and convincing those who habitually buy into them to walk away and change their habits. To come and see the lies exposed on here. How these outside influences are being extremely well rewarded for keeping them in the dark and destroying Scotland at the same time.
I would much rather use any contribution to the BUM to invest in promoting this site, via business cards, and saturate everywhere i go with them.
And once again, there is absolutely no need to contribute to these organisations and miss out on current news events. Where there’s a will there’s a way. News sources are everywhere.
Those BUM organisations are nothing without their audience and we employ the Rev to attack their lies.
Boycott the BUM, it’s full of crap!
@wusdis
Huffpo covers Irvine Welsh having a go at Spanner and Euan McColm but check Welsh’s twitter feed. He’s now apologized to McColm after a friend he trusts, who knows the real identity but won’t say, has assured him it is not McColm. There’s a lot more to come out on this story. I suspect quite a few people in a certain clique of Unionist journalists know fine well who it is and have for a long time. And as others have speculated Spanner may be multiple people. And if it’s not McColm, at least in part, why is he not denying it?
Robert Peffers says:
30 January, 2016 at 5:23 pm
If these rags had to rely on me financing their survival then they would be out business, as I don’t buy them.
Unfortunately there are still too many people and businesses here in Scotland who do buy and advertise in them.
Brian isn’t Euan, cause Brian is a Quantity Surveyor!
Bill says:
“Brian isn’t Euan, cause Brian is a Quantity Surveyor!”
… and was he just as shite at that too?
Brian Spanner , I personally think this spoof Twitter account was set up by an English ( Labour luvvie ) comedian …… someone like say Matt Forde .
Is Jakey as fragrant as Jeffrey Archer’s wife, and has she been canonised yet?