Bananas republic
We’ve noted recently how the No camp likes to huffily deny that it ever portrays Scotland as incapable of thriving as an independent country. Here’s a fairly typical example from the Scotsman back in April (our emphasis):
We know they’re not great at counting, but they might want to check that figure.
Because the fount of energising positivity below is our old friend Labour councillor Terry Kelly (pictured here, in the fetching yellow t-shirt, at a “Better Together” event in his Renfrewshire constituency with local Labour MSP Hugh Henry), in today’s Herald:
Now, we have to admit it’s not the exact phrase “too wee, too poor, too stupid”, but that seems a bit like desperate semantic hairsplitting to us.
Unlike No campaign director Blair McDougall, Terry Kelly is an actual elected Labour Party in Scotland representative. We can only pray that the good and decent people of Renfrewshire didn’t vote on the basis of his demented blog, or the Scots really AREN’T to be trusted with choosing their own governments.
Terrys blog is required reading for any Psych students.
Have a shower, and a change of clothes ready for post reading.
Elected by whom? We’ve heard that there’s internal wranglings in Labour, but this blog in itself is enough to suggest this seat requires investigation.
I note Kelly says on his blog, which, as you say, is totally demented:
“I represent Ward 4 Paisley North West. I’m a Socialist who believes in equality, peace and the redistribution of wealth, I oppose Racism, Sexism, Sectarianism, Nationalism and any kind of discrimination. Best wishes for a Socialist future.”
He then repeats, under his photograph, that he is a socialist.
Soooooooo….I was wondering what he was doing in the Labour Party.
Another fucking spineless sheep following the pied piper of Westminster.
These people seriously need to to piss off and let the rest of us with a spine to get on with building Scotland for our kids & grand kids.
He can’t even get his story right FFS!
We’ll be too poor so let’s keep Westminster and be…………………fucking well poor!
Mr Kelly, you’re a fucking idiot and EXACTLY the reason SLAB are the pitiful pile of steaming shite they currently are!
Grow a set of balls man.
I always get the two Terrys mixed up…
http://tinyurl.com/nhhnezx
Do any readers have any tips on how to tell them apart?
Seasick Dave says:
I always get the two Terrys mixed up…
http://tinyurl.com/nhhnezx Do any readers have any tips on how to tell them apart?
Aye. Kelly is the one writhing around the floor like a snake cringing over jimmy hats and shortbread. And he’s a cock!
A comprehensive study of Mr. Kelly’s output would make a detailed and helpful outline of the background to cognitive dissonance for Psychology students. save the Uni’s some money too.
Or to put it more bluntly, the man is barking….
How could we aspire to be a banana republic if we elect people like Terry?
Heaven help Paisley NW but someone must have voted for him.
Growing bananas in Feg’sie must be tricky.
Aw fuck, just checked the photie! The very picture of an internationalist socialist…
Better Together, eh Terry? How do you see that working out at the minute? Happy?
I apologise for my two “fruity” outbursts above folks.
I am in pain after overdoing on the beach on holiday on Saturday and burning myself to a crisp and in no mood for people like Kelly.
He is a cock though!
Stuart Black,
suave and urbane.
Just had a quick look at his blog. Demented is being much too kind.
Terry’s the man who took to the Herald’s comments section a while ago – he seems to have instant accesss, something denied to me – to compare the success of the Olympics with the election of the ’66 Labour government on the back of (close yer eyes if sensitive) the 1966 World Cup success by England.
In one of the very few comments of mine that have survived moderation – I have had more letters published in the print edition than comment online, rather astonishingly – I pointed out that the election took place a full three months before the Cup final. Despite in his initial post referring to what he described as “many serious commentators” agreeing with him on this, he failed to respond to my challenge, no doubt retreating to whatever cave he nurtures his Empire fantasies in.*
*See Cognitive dissonance, above.
I suspect Terry Kelly is largely reflecting his deep rooted insecurities by seeking to grasp on to his perceived saviors and/or superiors in the South of Britain. I’m sure it doesn’t matter if they are Tories or UKIP. He is the classic follower of Conservative Westminster governments as a price worth paying while he conveniently makes a living out of slagging them off when required.
It would be good to see his life time list of socialist achievements – things he has actually done to make a difference.
I’d never heard of this blogsite, but wow, the man is deranged!
He’s against every “ism” except libellism of AS (I know that should be defamation).
I will never click on to his site ever again and urge everyone else to do the same.
@Braco: suave and urbane, LOL. Thanks for that, I can go to bed with a smile now (different time zone).
Cheers 🙂
Oh, and one other thing Terry, if you are reading this, I know you have the same sympathies for pensioners in Bradford and the like as you have for pensioners in Bathgate or Hamilton.
Where do pensioners in Baghdad and Basra fall into your internationalist outlook?
O/T (yet again) Joyce Mcmillan worrth reading on how people’s perceptions about everything are completely wrong, and how she fears perception is the new reality:
http://joycemcmillan.wordpress.com/2013/07/12/wrong-about-everything-or-how-the-british-people-have-lost-the-plot-and-their-leaders-fail-to-challenge-a-politics-based-on-lies-column-12-7-13/
Unfortunately, she does not extend her thinking to Indyref, and conclude, as she should, that the false perceptions are being challenged here in Scotland, as nowhere else.
TK: I oppose Racism, Sexism, Sectarianism, Nationalism and any kind of discrimination.
Presumably he was a fan of the British Empire then; being against all nationalist movements for independence including peaceful ones such as that led by Gandhi.
The same would apply for WWII. The above suggests he would have supported retention of the German Reich once it was up and running. After all, I understood the allies were fighting to gain national independence for invaded countries such as France from the German Reich.
Think of all the hundreds of countries he must hate globally.
I posted this on the Interpreter Required piece so, in case anyone has a faint recollection of Terry’s previous incarnation;
During the old Herald days when commenting was allowed and robust, Terry (Cooncilor) Kelly used the soubriquet of Baffled.
Never was a moniker so well honed.
He was disabused of his opinions hourly and well abused by all.
O/t, ICM showing Labour and Cons neck and neck, first time for a while. Probably an outlier but things bubbling up quite nicely.
Guardian/ICM: CON 36 (+7) LAB 36 (nc) LD 13 (+1) UKIP 7 (-5)
Six months ago I read Going South a book by two senior English financial journalists The basic premise of the book is that the U.K has been in decline for 100 years and next year 2014, the U.K. will finally cross the line from being a developed country to joining the ranks of the developing economies.Too Poor, Too Stupid , Anyone ?
Just as well Terry is wearing a yellow t-shirt in that photo. If he’d had a red one on I might have mixed him up with his Viz character namesake.
http://0black0acrylic.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/terry-fuckwitt.html
Seriously though, I reckon Terry is probably part of a clever ruse by UK Labour in Scotland, essentially a self-sacrificing sabotage strategy, based on the premise that if Scots are stupid enough to elect councillors like Terry….
Hi Bugger, yes I have (very) faint recollection of ‘Baffled’ on the old Herald threads, I was in Dubai at the time and fairly immersed in beer, but I do feel a vague sense of disquiet when reminded of Baffled. Makes sense now, that was Terry, eh? Radge!
I always enjoyed Observer’s input, she posts now on CiF as Kristine Kochanski, and I also have the odd fond memory of Wardog, Scunnert, and Los Angeles, no idea if they are still on the scene. I believe LA had some input to SNP PP broadcasts. There was a chap from ABZ posted as Wullie as well, after banning I think he was re-incarnated as Kaiser Wilhelm, he was a pure nutjob too!
@Scottish Skier
Presumably he was a fan of the British Empire then; being against all nationalist movements for independence including peaceful ones such as that led by Gandhi.
The same would apply for WWII. The above suggests he would have supported retention of the German Reich once it was up and running. After all, I understood the allies were fighting to gain national independence for invaded countries such as France from the German Reich.
Think of all the hundreds of countries he must hate globally.
I suspect he does not hate nationalism. He certainly hates Scottish Nationalism though. Kelly strikes me as a massive British Nationalist, who either pretends to be a Socialist, or actually does not know what the word means. These self styled ‘socialists’ are getting found out.
Hi
I was Faux Cu.
Eventually I was banned for having an inappropriate moniker.
I was Lobey Dosser, though someone else has taken that name now!
Ah dear old Councillor Kelly. I think my favourite Terry episode was when he thought Scottish Nationalists were impersonating him on websites to land him in hot water with sinister pro-zionist and anti-socialist forces. This led to him applying his hilarious babbling to not at complex or remotely sensitive issue of Israel and Palestine. Unsurprisingly it ended in something of a car crash.
http://councillorterrykelly.blogspot.co.uk/2010/01/they-say-that-imitation-is-sincerest.html
A list of the worst, anti-Scottish quotes by unionist politicians should be compiled and printed on a leaflet for distribution in their constituencies. Let’s see what the voters think of them insulting Scotland and the Scottish people.
Terry Kelly has no country, no party, no vision, no hope, no aspiration; and he doesn`t want you to have a country, a party, a vision, hopes or aspirations.
He`s a sad man.
Stuart Black
I always imagined you lived in Woodlands Road.
I remember Wendy writing a piece for the Herald and I had a real go at her; a real splean job, questioning if she had been awake at INSEAD. She had reportedly a brain the size of a planet, according to Jackie Baillie, and I made some pretty astringent points about there being no real benchmarks to judge a celestial brain size in Slabour unless it was Jackie Baillie’s arse.
It was shortly after that I was retired to an early bath.
In those days these comments were printed, and sometimes replied by the authors, except Douglas Fraser, who no allows no comments on his BBC performances, and Alf Half Truth who now moonlights on Inverclyde job creations committees.
To those who think that Scotland is a bastion of common sense in this sea of austerity cock-measuring, we should send a lifeboat south for Owen Jones who is being beasted by the neocon establishment in England.
Terry Kelly is yet another unedifying example of a SLAB nemotode dangling off the ugly arse of Brit Labour. A spineless scruple-free parasite with no brain, just a basic life-form sucking on the ordures issued from Ed Milliband and his crowd of toon clocks. People like Kelly, Lamont, Curran, Murphy, Baillie et al have no belief or principle within their calculating self-seeking existences other than self advancement at all costs ( as for them there are no costs at all) and combined with it, a deep ingrained fear and loathing of being mistaken for actually being Scottish.
Don’t hold back Lochside.
Smiley thingy
Aye Lochside, you might gie yer game away wi comments like that!
I won’t hear a word against the man. He said a post I had on the Herald forum was “priceless”, mind you that’s all he said.
I’ve only ever read a few of his comments and listened to a few cringe-worthy waffling diatribes. That was basically enough. No redeeming qualities I could detect and as for his claims of socialism and inclusion? Clearly that’s a self assessment.
If the No camp truly believed that Scotland wasn’t too wee, too poor and too stupid, they’d be making damn sure folk like Terry aren’t spouting this kind of guff in public. He’s not some random internet nutter after all, he’s an elected politician. He can be reined in if they so wished.
That they choose to let him carry on as he does tells you all we need to know.
Now that the pain of my sunburn is subsiding I can be a tad more objective.
Does anyone else find Kelly symptomatic with everything that’s wrong with New Labour in this day & age? His blog appears at face value as nothing more than a spiteful hate fueled rant against the SNP & Alex Salmond.
Now, as your average non politically aligned member of the public I feel qualified to asses New Labour & their bitter hatred toward the SNP.
Kelly and his cronies are wholly consumed by this blind hatred to the point that they have completely lost the plot.
They despise the truth because it exposes them as the parasites they have been on Scotland for decades. They’ve been pigging off the blood of Scotland’s impoverished for generations. Holding them down and sucking the very fucking life out of them and blaming those Conservative types whilst promising “we’ll protect you from them”.
At least the tory toffs don’t hide the fact they despise the poor and vulnerable! They suck the fucking life out of us all in broad daylight and have no shame in doing so.
New Labour are just tory toffs without the fucking balls to do it in front of you!
They cannot accept that the people of Scotland have woken up to them and flicking off the parasites in swathes. The last two SG elections are the proof.
To quote Tertullian
“Truth engenders hatred of truth. As soon as it appears, it is the enemy”
Mr Kelly, you and your party are socialists my fucking arse!
“Does anyone else find Kelly symptomatic with everything that’s wrong with New Labour in this day & age?”
I’m not sure he’s anything to do with New Labour. I think he represents Idiot Labour.
Labour aren’t all idiots. But honestly, the likes of Terry Kelly should have live-in care. It’s nothing short of mind-boggling that anyone would vote for him. I’ve seen pitbull terriers taking smarter people for a walk.
He has nothing but tribal hatred for the SNP, and that dates back a long way before 1997. He’s the living embodiment – to the point of caricature – of everything that’s venal and toxic about the party in Scotland.
Sorry but I am of the opinion that that Kelly and those of his ilk are best ignored
@Rev Stu
I’ve seen pitbull terriers taking smarter people for a walk. 😀 😀
He has nothing but tribal hatred for the SNP, and that dates back a long way before 1997. He’s the living embodiment – to the point of caricature – of everything that’s venal and toxic about the party in Scotland.
That is the thing though, Kelly appears so ludicrous that you actually hope for his sake that he is a caricature. Then you realise that he is not…
What I don’t really get about SLAB (the non-independence supporting ones) is, if there is a No vote (god forbid), will they truly be happy? I mean they will have consciously told the people of Scotland that they are incapable of running their own affairs. How can people live in such an ambition-less, negative minded society, and nation? How can you expect to produce positive, happy people, when you deliberately undermine a whole nation’s collective confidence? I just do not understand SLAB’s mentality, and I really do not think I want to either.
o/t Newsnight Scotland, Whistlebinkies lol, unionist creatives fight back. Desperate or what?
@Rev – “Labour aren’t all idiots.” ?????????????????? Examples please on the back of one of those stamps that Vince says we will not be able to afford but have rocketed by 39% under his government.
muttley79
Taking into consideration that Labour have carved out a gravy train by demoralising Scots and keeping them under the thumb, the simple answer is that their more than happy with cascading that message.
There is an emotional reconciliation for those they leech from that SLAB were correct all along and can be trusted to continue “looking out” for them. Sadly a fair number of Scots (mostly West of Scotland) have accepted that fate and their lot in life.
If these people were given a poke and woke up then independence will be won at a canter.
@benarmine – “o/t Newsnight Scotland, Whistlebinkies lol, unionist creatives fight back. Desperate or what?”
Wiz wee Eddie McGuire just no a cracker? Wae that posh voice and all that old school Labour crap about workers all over Britain uniting blah, blah, blah. Alan Bisset was excellent, again another no contest.
benarmine says:
o/t Newsnight Scotland, Whistlebinkies lol, unionist creatives fight back. Desperate or what?
His appearance and arguments were from the middle of last century. Not an original thought in his head.
Most musicians must be too busy to go to meetings if McGuire ended up being their leader in Scotland.
And it must be time for an independent Musicians Union in Scotland rather than a mere Scottish and Northern Ireland Region.
Yeah. Well done, Alan Bissett on Newsnight Scotland. Cool, calm and very persuasive for Yes Scotland.
The Whistlebinkies (phew, hip, new & happening man!) dude lost it with talk of Greek orchestras falling apart due to it`s financial crisis (aha, that`s right), and that Scotland will have the Euro imposed on us with independence. The inevitable Project Fear pish was a bit rushed at the end and he sounded like a bassoon, sorry, buffoon.
Terry has spawned his own tribute site. I suspect some leg pulling.
http://theterryboys.blogspot.co.uk/
@Betsy – Simply superb!
Is it possible to retrieve all of Cllr Terry Kelly’s posts from the Herald? There are a few were he puts the boot right into his own constituents, something along “the most narrowminded people in the world” or something simliar. I wish that I’d kept a note of them, would be good to put them through the doors next time his job comes up for grabs. A choice selection of his lowlights on Facebook, might just go viral in Renfrewshire.
@betsy superb link, wasn’t expecting our terry to make so much sense. Brilliant, and here was me thinking the man was a fanny.
Analysis on Radio 4 tonight was probably aimed at listeners furth of Scotland, but I think it’s worth the listen. Douglas Fraser on Scottish Nationalism: From Protest to Power, better than it sounds: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b036twtk/Analysis_Scottish_Nationalism_from_Protest_to_Power/
And if you didn’t catch it before, the A Scottish Pound episode is worth hearing too: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01q8lj0
Yep, Alan Bissett did fine but he really had the chance on two occasions to kick that ” Scots workers must save British democracy ” bollocks right out of the park. Didn’t hear me shouting obviously.
@Betsy I had tears of laughter just with opening Readers Letter.
Terry Kelly has been a councillor for Ferguslie Park in Paisley for many many years, he is old school Labour, he keeps his flock deprived of decent housing, keeps the majority of them on the dole, keeps them under educated, but blames it on everybody else and kids these poor people on by saying he is fighting for them all the way, he is a fat, greasy, useless, selfish bastard. He got that triple chin living off all the freebies that go with his job, He also has his whole family working in the background for him, deceiving the good people of Ferguslie. I do hope during this independence debate that it highlights what Labour have NOT been doing for them and they kick this parasite and all his family out on their ear. Wake up Ferguslie, the grass is greener on the other side.
@betsy – I’m confused now. Which one is the parody site and which one is the real thing?
Loved this line: Last night Terry Kelly said “When you have the biggest cock in Renfrewshire you expect a bit of jealousy.”
@muttley79: “What I don’t really get about SLAB (the non-independence supporting ones) is, if there is a No vote (god forbid), will they truly be happy? I mean they will have consciously told the people of Scotland that they are incapable of running their own affairs. How can people live in such an ambition-less, negative minded society, and nation? How can you expect to produce positive, happy people, when you deliberately undermine a whole nation’s collective confidence? I just do not understand SLAB’s mentality, and I really do not think I want to either.”
Remember that one of the core tactics used by Kelly’s kind is to accuse their opponent of that which they themselves are guilty. That’s why SLAB types are so fond of accusing the SNP of peddling in “grievance politics”, to try and deflect from the fact that grievance is their bread and butter.
Folk like Terry Kelly have no interest in improving people’s lives. They’re more concerned with having someone to blame for things. Who can Terry blame for the failures of Labour once the Tories are no longer able to exercise power over Scotland?
It’s why Labour were quite happy to hand the keys to Downing Street to the Tories in 2010, so the Tories could get all the blame for the years of financial disasters that were going to follow. I suspect it’s partly why the party is happy to stick with Ed Miliband, despite the fact he will quite obviously lose them the next election, as the economy is clearly still going to be fucked in 2015, and they don’t want to be the folk left holding the bag, having to make unpopular cuts. Far better to let the Tories take the blame, hence Miliband’s “we’ll do everything they’re going to do, so there’s no point looking to us for an alternative” masterplan.
Labour types like Terry Kelly depend on the Tories to take the blame when things start going wrong. That’s why they’re desperate for Scotland to stay in the union. After all, imagine what’ll happen when Scottish voters suddenly realise Labour are useless…
Still reeling (geddit?) from the attitude of that Musician’s Union guy on Newsnight.
Does he really think that Northumbrian and Scots pipers would be unable to play together in the absence of a unified Parliament?
The Northumbrian smallpipe existed before the Acts of Union, and was known to Scots musicians from the start, so God only knows what he was getting at with that point.
I assume he’s not a fan of Celtic Connections either. If he was, he would know by now that musicians from North America, the Basque country, Scotland, Ireland, etc. are all perfectly capable of playing together despite being under different governments.
As for the idea that we would be betraying and abandoning the working class of England by becoming independent… well, what good has our compliance with the Union done them so far?
Not much that I can see.
Haha Terry Kelly,
I have recently posted a few comments on the Herald site, some have even got past the mods.
Mr Kelly has jumped onto a few with his ramblings and I have answered, I then see a ‘Terry Kelly has responded to your comment’ but when I go to look it says ‘comment deleted’
Me thinks Mr Kelly looses his temper when you point out to him that he is basically a Tory lackey.
o/t
oh so o/t
I’m laying in bed in a semi torpor,in the half light with thoughts dreams, call them what you will, roiling around in my head like a kaleidoscope morphing from one thought to another, I’m thinking they, them, us, we? then I thinking about my my beloved wife laying next to me and wishing I could steal something from her, and then wondering (in a different state) why would I wish to steal something from my own wife, then the thought crystallizes and I realize with a sob I wish I could steal away her the constant pain from a progressive arthritis which leaves her crippled, and my anguish at being unable to help other than try not to add to her pain leaves me feeling helpless,oh how I wish to be able to take the pain onto myself, even for a day, to give her some relief.
My thoughts move on and I see young American soldiers corpses floating on a slack tide and wonder, what the hell?
then, again, the thought gels into a half remembered story, which I thought the only way to get to the bottom of this is to get up out of bed and go down stairs and find out what was troubling me so much on the computer,
My cat downstairs on her bed, senses my restlessness, and the little creature appears on my bed and lies directly on top of me, shes not heavy, probably not more than a bag of sugar, and I sense her motives are pure, she just wants to settle me back to sleep, but her instincts kick in and she starts to knead my chest and knead and knead,until I am risen like a tin loaf, her need to play is greater than my need for sleep it would seem.
Anyway I make my way downstairs with all of these thoughts still playing around in my head, it’s 4.30am
but before I can investigate the deeply troubling half remembered story with the young dead Americans, I recall something else, it was a post on National collective made by a chap called Wayne who without meaning to, offended me into responding when he bemoaned the lack of reader comments on that site while wings has a boisterous list of respondents comments for what he perceived to be of a more light weight nature, and I have to admit I put up rather a stout defence of this site feeling personally (for no good reason) slighted, in fact the poor chap had the decency to respond to me and acknowledge my (mild) complaint and we’re good friends now, (whether he likes it or not), but the we, us, they, them character of my dream still came back,
and it was then I recalled a keenly anticipated holiday in Devon my wife and I are really looking forward to , she booked a cottage in a place called Slapton, which rang a bell, and it was this morning when I logged in and google the place when it became so apparent why I had such a terrible confusing dream,
I’ll let wikipedia tell you
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exercise_Tiger
the loss of so many young Americans to (friendly fire) was kept quiet by (THEM) during the war for fear of causing despondency amongst the population, it would appear (WE) are not adult enough to take bad news, but hey what do I know? I was born 10 years after the war ended,
I will pay a personal pilgrimage to the memorial to those young Americans who came thousands of miles to defend (US),
then again the dream started to bulk out and take form we, us, they ,them?
It was about how I personally see the UK we are and always will be us whether we be from Brighton, Bolton, Ballingary, or Benbecula (or in some peoples cases Bath)
noone can or should attempt to take away our sense of oneness we are a people who will forever be identified as British, no matter what we are told to think by others,
But that’s just it though isn’t it, Alex Salmond (I believe) genuinely DOES wish to retain the uniqueness of the British Isles while at the same time allowing the disparate parts of the UK to go their own way without rancor or hatred, family doesn’t stop being family just because they move away and get a home and a lifestyle of their own do they?
But then there is THEM , the unseen faceless people who’s names we never get to know, but who control every aspect of our lives, the ones who think Cameron et al are big left wing jessies, which is why THEY are necessary because the undiluted nature of the ultra right wing unseen’s policies would turn even the most rabid of EDL, UKippers whatever, into gibbering wrecks , so THEY are needed to spoon feed a policy just about too right wing for most of England but their misjudgment (again) of the Scottish public was that we are the same and will (just about) suffer those disgusting policies, but we are NOT the same we come from the same stock but just like families we have a different outlook to our parents or even our own siblings and that is where THEY and THEM have so badly misjudged,
there was a comment made in the msm last week? that the Scots do not (in spite of SNP policies ) dislike the austerity measures as much as the SNP would like to think,
clearly a commentator with his finger on the pulse there then, so Im assuming because (where he/she comes from (London) no doubt where people may well be accepting of the tories slash and burn policies of hate and spite, he/she obviously thinks that venal party is secretly supported in Scotland,
for anyone who has taken the time to read all of this you have my heartfelt thanks and for the others who looked at the length of it and said sod that , well hell mend me, now I know how Hen Broon feels when people (like me) skip past his post which are admittedly lengthy tomes, usually 4 a4 pages FRONT AND BACK, but now I realize WHY he does it, its for catharsis.
rant over
@john king
My thoughts are with you and your wife, John. Take care and think of what a better future a free, independent Scotland can leave to our children’s children.
Hail Alba
thanks for the sentiment tony I appreciate it
O/T I see Lord Reid of Cardowan and Lord Robertson have signed a letter in the Telegraph supporting a replacement for Trident. Nice chaps! It will be interesting to see how the MSM in Scotland will comment on this.
So Lords Reid and Robertson reject the UN’s non proliferation treaty. Tut tut. Well, with moral guidance like this from our ennobled betters, I suppose there is only one thing to do.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ux1Za8Wmz_s
Vote Yes for the children.
Totally O/T but always relevantData collected by the European Banking Authority (EBA), the EU agency that serves as the sector’s watchdog, notes that 2,346 British-based bankers earned more than €1 million in 2011.
I wonder how much tax they actually pay?
Soylent Green anyone?
http://euobserver.com/economic/120877
@John King
Amen.
I’ve toyed with the fantasy theory for some time that there is no party system in UK government, there is only the Westminster machine. That effectively the sham of parties and elections is a poor piece of theatrics just to keep Westminster and all it represents running the show. Don’t get me wrong of course there are parties and of course many of them believe they are still separate entities. But really, today who could tell? They really have become one seamless amorphous blob sucking the life and joy out of the rest of the country. As my old dad used to say, ‘you couldnae pit a fag paper atween em’.
Your sentiment on the population of these islands? Right behind it. I had a bizarre encounter yesterday with a poster who was utterly convinced that post independence Scotland would become as right wing as the rest of the country with a resurgent conservatism and that only Labour could save the day. Well I don’t like to be rude to anyone so its just as well he couldn’t hear my braying laughter at his oh so serious theory. Clearly he did not do irony or that even should his theory prove correct in the smallest degree, that party would still be considered left wing pinko tree huggers by W1 standards.
Anyhoo, I digress. My point being of the many unions which go to make the entity known as the British Isles, we’re only interested in ending one of them. The political ball and chain that is the treaty of union. The by far and away more significant union, the social unity of these isles is both literally and figuratively untouchable. Any politician who tries to damage that union should receive nothing but utter contempt from the electorate. Near as I can tell Alex Salmond has done absolutely nothing to endanger the ties that truly bind. Project fear however has spent every waking moment creating foreigners, xenophobes, demons and divisions. They’ve smeared, lied, terrified and insulted. They have in effect quite calculatedly set about the social division of these islands with a will, working to the old maxim divide and rule/conquer. I don’t think I have the vocabulary to accurately describe what I think of pond scum capable of those tactics toward their own electorate.
Not long now. September 2014 isn’t so far away.
Oh and enjoy the holiday. 🙂
Why do you keep typing “anyhoo” in the middle of otherwise serious and non-cololloquial posts? I ask merely for information.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2013/jul/15/tories-labour-ukip-guardian-icm-poll
Tories and Labour neck and neck in the polls as UKIP support falls, so expect more appearances by UKIP and Nigel Falange on BBC as they try to shore up Labour’s chances of winning the next general election.
Ed Miliband is now toast. The Tories are going to win in 2015, and we know what they have in store for Scotland if we vote NO.
I was in Norway last week with one of my Company’s directors who is originally from northern England, he and his family live in Scotland and have done for many years but he for one has not integrated, very clever and professional man but probably doesn’t have a Scottish friend which I find in the petrochem industry based in Abz is not particularily unusual.
We got talking about the differences between Norway, UK, Scotland, England etc. and the upcoming Referendum. He intends retiring in around 18 months and returning to England to live but before they leave he and his wife will both vote No in the Referendum.
He admitted this may not be particularily fair but that their vote wouldn’t make a blind bit of difference because he is of the opinion that there is a majority in Scotland who do not have the courage to walk away from the “comfort blanket” of the Union. He was quite openly laughing about it when he said it i.e. there are too many people out there who don’t have the balls or self belief to go for it…………………. as somone who has wished for us to be independent all my adult life, has given money to this and other sites and the YES campaign, and has converted a very few No’s to Yes’s I hope that we can prove him and other naesayers wrong in September next year and we do not end up looking like fearties and idiots to the rest of the world.
@Morag
No idea.
Perhaps I’m a lighthearted bod trying to express himself in a serious subject matter. Or conversely a doleful old bugger trying to lift himself. Either way, my poor English grammar aside, I’m hopefully reasonably earnest in my thoughts. 🙂
There was a well known comment – perhaps apocryphal – in the Vietnam War by an American soldier that they had to save a village by destroying it. Given the toxicity of Scottish unionism towards the referendum and independence, I think they might similarly save the Union only by destroying it. They have already got the English thinking they subsidise Scots, and the consequences of that are ever present in the British media including BTL online comments.
ubi solitudinem faciunt, pacem appellant as Tacitus makes Galgacus say re Roman victory in his “Agricola”
Hail Alba
I note we have a new peer, Lord Livingston of Parkhead. If we must keep the monarchy for now, what’s the thinking on the honours system in an independent Scotland?
@Onzebill ,
Scotland I think personally your English Director guy has a point. Its the easy option to just sit back and continue to blame London and being independent might require us to really get off our collective arses.
Personally my YES vote is probably lost as I’ve just moved abroad again with work and will likely not be in Scotland next year. Most people I know seem to be taken in by the papers and news negativity. Hopefully says more about the people I know than the reality. Most of my friends pretty well off, double incomes and into last 5 or 10 years of their mortgage.They work between London and Scotland or in my case Europe and Scotland Why would they risk it, they seem to be getting everything they need ?
Personally I’m voting YES because its time to grow up as a country and I want Scotland to be a bit old fashioned when it comes to society values. Things like free education and jobs are important to setting the right tone about the place.
Read an Economist article last night, going on about the better Jobs situation in Scotland versus UK as a whole, it was heartening to read. Then at the end says its all probably due to independence now being a busted flush , so investment has picked up as a result….I kid you not…
Benarmine
I sincerely hope that they are consigned to the dustbin of history along with the forelock tugging and knee bending
No honours system – certainly not titles and enboblement. We’ve had quite enough of this corrupt system of rewards for services rendered, or to be rendered. I’d favour a referendum on the monarchy too once we’re Independent – and we’re certainly not going to pay for their upkeep whilst we still have them.
@benarmine
Hopefully the monarchy will be a temporary thing in Scotland. In the meantime I would like to think that NO ONE in the SNP would ever propose anyone else for a “Knighthood”. or any other vain-glorious label – e.g. OBE – in the future. As for the existing Scottish “peers”, they are out of a job, and out of a cushy expenses scam. GOOD! Hell med them
@Benrmine …
I’m quite happy for the whole archaic trinket and ermine Establishment to be consigned to history. The House of Lords takes democracy away from the people and the sight of so-called socialists like Reid, Roberston, Foulkes et al, who have campaigned for votes on the back of social justice and an equal society for all, just makes me boak.
@benarmine;
Good point, probably an expenses-gate and second house-gate. Unless Queeny chooses to domicile more oft in Scotland to chat to her newbies.
Macart, I just wondered, It’s something I’ve only seen one or two Americans do, and usually when they were “speaking” in a casual, colloquial style. It’s not bad grammar, it’s just a strange spelling considering that nobody in Scotland seems to pronounce the word that way even when they are speaking casually.
Kenny C
I’m sorry you may not be around to vote yes but it is your I’m all right Jack friends that I find most disheartening and although the following few lines I wrote a couple of days ago is not a masterpiece it would be doing them a favour to tell them to read it
One Step
You’re one step away from poverty
no matter how rich you may be
So where has this notion come from
that it just couldn’t happen to me
We should always be able to offer
to anyone down on their luck
But what right do we have as a people
to treat our neighbours like muck
Don’t we know when we open a food bank
it shows how far we have failed
To protect the poor and disabled
even those who may have been jailed
We have slithered so far down the slippery slope
that it’s even thought of as good
To strip decent folk of their dignity
as we hand out a parcel of food
You too are one step from poverty
no matter how rich you may be
As a nation our heads should be hanging
we should be filled with horror and shame
On the streets we should all be out shouting
This is not being done in our name
But we meekly accept what’s going on in our midst
for we have enough don’t you see
And we think with an inbred arrogance
that this couldn’t happen to me
Till one day we trip we falter and fall
and get caught in the trap that was set
Then we have to acknowledge how easy it was
to take that last tiny step
So now with head bowed we’re standing in line
with feelings of shame and despair
The price we must pay for ignoring the weak
As a nation we just didn’t care
For no matter how rich you might be today
You’re one step away from poverty
Not much of a royalist here I’m afraid. Not because of any ill feeling, I simply just don’t think about them much. They are a leftover from a bygone era where we called national leaders Kings and Queens. Well new name same old, same old. President, Premier or Heid Bummer. Several layers of it is seems excessive. As for the honours system itself? Bin the bloody corrupt thing and the robes. Let them eat mince and no name beans like the rest of us.
@Morag
Did live over there a few decades back. Could be I just picked it up unconsciously and it stuck.
Oh Gawd! 😮
Some depressing posts this morning. I’ve thought for some time that it would be a good ongoing morale-booster for folk on here to detail any converts they’ve made to Yes in a running thread. For instance, a barman in our local pub is now a Yes voter – took less than 30 seconds to win him round once his query about the NHS was answered. Rev, a possibility?
Kenny Campbell
I have been under the impression that, ever since 1992, some expats retained voting rights for several years. This paragraph seems to bear that out:
If you are moving away from the UK, you will still be entitled to vote in elections. Provided you have been included on an electoral register within the past 15 years (reduced from a previous 20), you will still be entitled to cast your vote. If you remain away from the UK for any more than the 15 years, you will then automatically lose your right to vote in British elections. More information on this subject can be found through the Electoral Commission’s main website: http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/
Taken from:
http://www.expatinfodesk.com/expat-guide/nationality-specific-information/british/voting-rights/
I hope this is right, and that it helps you.
I’m not sure about the honours system. Certainly there should be no more lords, earls, barons or any of that pish. But what about the lollipop lady who gets an MBE or such like? I think any attempt to remove the honours system will see people try to replace it with some other way of “recognising people’s achievements”. Most countries seem to have some form of Order of Merit, although I note that Sweden all but abolished theirs some time ago.
Of course, Order of Merit systems are just asking to be abused in the form of awarding the honours to people in exchange for favours, monetary or otherwise. If we truly aspire to a society where “a man’s a man for a’ that”, then I think we need to say that if a person’s achievements are truly worth being “recognised”, then no doubt the community they serve already recognises them, and that it’s unlikely someone becomes a lollipop lady or whatever in order to get an award at the end. The simple act of giving people some sort of title just reinforces the idea that some people are better than others in society.
Or if we really must give people something for years of service to the community, then do as Alan Partridge would say: “give them a picture of a Spitfire and let them go.”
James Kay – that’s only applicable to UK elections. Scottish elections don’t take the 15 years expat thing into account, as they’re essentially glorified local elections, and that’s the grounds on which the referendum will be voted on.
Unfortunately for Kenny, if he’s nae in Scotland on 18th September 2014, he won’t be getting a vote. Unless he can keep himself registered at a family member’s address somehow and uses a postal or proxy vote…
@ Training Day
I am outwith Scotland just now, working in the Balkans. (Unlike our Slovene “friend” Jezerna over on CiF / herald etc. EVERYONE I meet wishes us well) So no converts, but maximum moral support.
I think that just covers General Elections, Scottish Parliament elections and Referendum’s I’m pretty sure you are excluded from as essentially you then get to vote in ‘local’ elections elsewhere in the EU. You need to be on the register to get a vote. I won’t be as I’m giving up my house.
I could never support a House of Lords. Even the name makes me want to boak. I’m looking forward to independence in the hope it will bring equality for all of our people. And I’m not supporting a system that allows some to be “more equal” than others. At the end of the day we’re all Jock Tamson’s bairns and that’s all there is to it.
@Doug
Tread carefully on the ‘registration’ at a family address, I think that is verboten! I read about some English resident ‘voters’ who suggested such a thing in on-line blogs. Pretty sure it would be construed as illegal/criminal.
Read somewhere UKIPs poor showing in an opinion poll would have the BBC giving Nigel more coverage Guess who just popped up on BBC oor Nigel
@Training Day – Just a wee story to cheer folk up. My son and 9 of his teammates went for a pint on Saturday after playing a pre-season ‘friendly’. The discussion turned to the referendum within seconds, 8 declarations for YES and 1 don’t know. My son is obviously a YES as he lived with me for 20 odd years. Not that I indoctrinated him you understand.
Training Day..my 72 year old Aunty stopped me at a family Party and said “Right then, convince me, why should i be voting for Independence?”. I gave her some “Would you rather have..” alternatives and she concluded “You’ve made me consider reconsidering at the very least”. All we can do. Once people open formerly closed minds, the choice is clear.
@Doug
re: recognition of exceptional work. I suppose I have no difficulty with that, so long as there were no “benefits” from the award. And I would expect that a Scottish Order of Recognition (call me “SOR”!) would NOT be given to someone just for doing their job! (e.g sport persons, civil servants, artists, actors etc.)
If we had such a system, then it should go to people who have actually DONE something extra. e.g. charity workers, the little woman who spent her life looking after a sick people in her community and such like.
I despise all these puffed up nobodies with their OBEs and MBEs and Sir this, and Lord that that did NOTHING except grease the pole and make money. And THEN have the temerity to lecture to the “plebs” about how we should act/behave.
I think I will stop now – blood pressure rising!
Hail Alba
Some interesting comments from US Defence Secretary, Chuck Hagel, not least;
“I strongly support the United Kingdom’s decision to maintain an independent, strategic deterrence. Strong alliances and partnerships are becoming even more critical, more critical because both the United States and United Kingdom face the challenge of meeting global threats in a new era of constrained resources.”
Money matters more than morals, in the new and improved Cold War 2.0, ‘virtual reality’ game.
http://www.defencemanagement.com/news_story.asp?id=22863
What was it that President Dwight Eisenhower warn us about?
http://www.npr.org/2011/01/17/132942244/ikes-warning-of-military-expansion-50-years-later
Sorry, wrong thread.
@mato21
Love that poem. If people would replace the “I’m all right, Jack” attitude with “There but for the grace of God go I”, we might stand a chance of creating a compassionate society and actually manage to reduce poverty and inequality rather than endlessly talking about it.
Professionally, I’ve seen at close hand and on many an occasion just how quickly and easily someone’s life can fall apart. And I’ve lost count of the number of times someone’s said to me, “I never thought it would be me sitting here”.
I want to see an independent Scotland built on a bedrock of belief in and support for the common weal and the equality of all citizens. That way we can protect the arrogant from themselves and protect ourselves from the arrogant.
@mato21
Right to the heart of it mato. Fully agree with Jeannie’s excellent post.
FM to dub BT Project Dracula.
http://img819.imageshack.us/img819/7528/e2z.gif
A bit early for a song perhaps, but this one says it all
http://youtu.be/S4BYOJ1tc-k
@Tony Little – that’s the thing though, I reckon such a system invariably ends up being used to inflate the egos of sportsmen, artists and civil servants rather than to genuinely reward people going above and beyond the call of duty, especially if they become part of some annual award ceremony which then necessitates the finding of people to give the award to, rather than simply giving the award when someone comes along who deserves it.
I suspect we’ll have something, but hopefully it won’t include lords, sirs and that pish.
Thanks everyone, so we’re almost all dismayed by the honours system and hope the lot comes down after independence. It always saddens me to see Scots I thought sensible accepting these trinkets. What are they thinking? A lack of self respect always comes to mind.
A conversion story here too!
Of my pals, there are two voting no, we’ll now I know just the one. He was a soft No/undecided – fancied it etc, but didn’t think we could afford it. Had a few beers and blethers over the weekend – he was bemoaning the lack of opportunities in Scotland/UK as whole and told him of here, a few sites to check out, and the Govt we vote for – we’ll always get etc. I also said that I don’t believe Scotland has any right to call herself a nation and compete in football etc, if we vote No – there could be a ludicrous scenario where Catalonia votes Yes, and are outside UEFA for football, and we stay part of the UK – he agreed on this issue too. Although, I doubt it would come into play.
He says he’s now going to vote Yes. Out of 12 close friends, 11 are now Yes supporters – all types – 3/4 prob would have voted Devo, and the 1 No – will be my greatest ever achievement in life.
Dig in there, lads and lassies. Bit by bit the opposition to Independence is being erased day by day and month by month as the referendum inches closer – the Tories are now level pegging with Labour and England will vote again in a choice between Cameron and Milliband, for Cameron – this can only help our cause too.
I see James Naughtie has been given a key role in the BBC’s NO campaign. He is to present Good Morning Scotland two days a week in the run up to the referendum.
@shinty
Aw Shinty, that’s one of my favourites. Fair takes me back to a time when we had nothing but we campaigned for civil rights and we spoke up and stood together against unfairness and oppression……before money and possessions became more important than people. I can still shed a tear when I hear to that song.
By the way, on another note, you’ll be pleased to know that a tour bus pulled up across the road from my house in Argyll yesterday and one of the tourists jumped up and took a picture of my saltire in my garden. Permission to enter “smug” mode?
I think Luigi has it right. Yes Scotland need to take that quote from Better Together and just take a pile of these statements from the likes of Kelly and other bona fide BT supporters and show it for the lie it is. The too wee, too poor, we would make Albania look like a super-power are all over the shop. Grahamski, the numerous Kellys, Martins abd various ermine clad types blog, tweet and comment on newspapers all the time and they inevitably degenerate into Scotland is useless and would fall flat on its face mode.
The thing is I think they imagine themselves running the country…so you can see how they come to this conclusion so quickly….just saying like 🙂
Theres a Saltire flies in a back garden that butts onto Kings Park Station, always makes me smile as I stand there waiting for the train watching the Saltire blow in the wind.
Maybe we could hijack Twitters #FF for FollowFriday as Flag Friday!
James Naughtie is a Fellow of the British-American Project (BAP) whose alumni include: George Robertson, David Miliband, Peter Mandelson, Douglas Alexander, Sadiq Khan, Jeremy Paxman, Stephen Dorrell, Jonathan Powell, Lord Carrington and Matthew Taylor.
from wiki … “BAP operations are funded by donations from major corporations.” and “A US BAP organiser describes the BAP network as committed to “grooming leaders” while promoting “the leading global role that the US and Britain continue to play”. Says it all really, corporatist, globalist warmongerers and also making sure they have the MSM on their side too.
@Desimond
Maybe we could hijack Twitters #FF for FollowFriday as Flag Friday!
What a good idea! I don’t know if it’s just my imagination, but I do think I’m seeing more Saltires appearing in people’s gardens than before. Between Dunoon and Inverary, there’s quite a few. I was expecially impressed by the person who lives on the main road just at the Holy Loch who has not one, but two flagpoles in his front garden, side by side, one with the Saltire and one with the Lion Rampant, just so there’s no doubt! If you’re reading this, you know who you are 🙂
It always saddens me to see Scots I thought sensible accepting these trinkets. What are they thinking? A lack of self respect always comes to mind.
This.
Certainly there should be no more lords, earls, barons or any of that pish.
This.
I could never support a House of Lords. Even the name makes me want to boak.
And this.
I could go on…
On the Saltire, my wife wanted one for her birthday last month, and was duly presented with a fully stitched four x two, I am now looking forward to erecting a flagople to accommodate it next time home, don’t know what douce Milngavie will make of it all though…
@Dcanmore
Says it all really, corporatist, globalist warmongerers and also making sure they have the MSM on their side too.
What makes it worse for me is how it links to the sentiment in the song, “There but for Fortune”, as mentioned a few posts back. I’ve been both a teacher and a counsellor and have friends who are foster carers, so I’ve come across many of these “young men with so many reasons why” in my time. I can think of two in particular right now and it breaks my heart when I think of their stories. The outcome for them is that they’ll probably join the military and wind up being cannon fodder to boost the profits of the military-industrial complex. And it makes me sick to think of the likes of Lord George Robertson of the Labour Party supporting the British-American Project when his support should be going to the young men I’m talking about. They’ve had hard enough lives as it is, without facing the horrors of conflict and, if not early death, a lifetime of disability and psychological distress.
The Lord Robertsons of this world should hang their heads in shame.
@Stuart Black
I’m told the Yes East Dunbartonshire stall was very successful at the Milngavie Gala Day in June. Unlike the one in Kirkintilloch where the local Labour council leader tried to have the couple of Yes people who were handing out leaflets ejected from the park.
Jeanie – ‘smug’ well and truly earned!
Really good idea to start putting them up now during the ‘tourist season’. A flag pole would be the answer, but for now I will need to improvise, should have it up for the weekend.
“(Unlike our Slovene “friend” Jezerna over on CiF / herald etc. EVERYONE I meet wishes us well)”
I’d be fascinated to find out who that really is. There’s no way on Earth a Slovenian cares that much about preserving the Union.
Thanks to those above who corrected my misunderstanding of the electorate for the referendum.
On reflection, I can see why expats, even if registered for a GE, cannot vote in the referendum. It would create a difference between someone who had moved to England and another who had moved to Norway. The former could vote in the GE in an English constituency, and so would be ineligible to vote in the referendum. The latter would have a GE vote in whatever Scottish constituency was ‘home’. It would be unfair to the former if the latter were also to have a ‘home’ vote in the referendum.
Sorry, Kenny Campbell.
@shinty
I have to say, mine looks great just on an old bit of tree stuck in an old tree trunk. It’s got that lovely “home-made” look about it.
@Rev Stu
Could it be Hermione? Just wondered about the penchant for unusual names.
Over on cif she/he is called Abbiesalba. I have no idea who Abbie is or why Alba is his/hers but they haven’t been on cif much of late. To be perfectly honest the pedantic legalese nonsense they pedal would bore the pants off paint. The argument that Scotland doesn’t exist and therefore it is an affront to the rest of the world if we are allowed to vote for independence is mentalist enough to be Mundell. But then it could just as easily be Cockers or Dugdale 🙂
I think that all the Labour MSPs should be given a hearty pat on the back and told what a wonderful job they are doing. Not to change their thinking or course of action at all.
They don’t seem to realise that they are up to their necks and sinking fast never to be seen again. I hope.
@Jeannie, yes I had hoped to go to that, being home on leave at the right time, but unforseen circumstances prevented it. Also didn’t make Elaine C Smith and Dennis Canavan speaking in Dennistoun, shame…
@Handandshrimp
Abiesalba, I think is another name for Silver Fir. A middle european tree.
Wouldn’t swear to it mind.
According to his blog profile, Terry lists Astronomy as one of his interests. I can just imagine the sort of astronomy he is into:
“Ah can see a big Moon oot the windae. Ah’m gonnae howl at it right now!”
James Westland says:
According to his blog profile, Terry lists Astronomy as one of his interests. I can just imagine the sort of astronomy he is into:
Oh fuck! I need to find a new hobby now. Anyone interested in buying a telescope?
maybe he is just one upside down person or is really a weird voyeur?
@James Westland
LOL
@Morag
Re “anyhoo”
Perhaps he has caught an embarrassing disease from Grahamski:
http://wingsoverscotland.com/teaching-sleeping-dogs-dirty-tricks/
http://wingsoverscotland.com/careless-torc-tells-lies/
http://wingsoverscotland.com/blair-mcdougall-is-a-liar/
Perhaps he is Grahamski.
@Macart – I wouldn’t “anyhoo”, if I were you (unless you are Grahamski, in which case, please feel free).
@NorthBrit
I wouldn’t “anyhoo”, if I were you (unless you are Grahamski, in which case, please feel free).
Seriously? Wash yer keyboard out. 😀
@Macart
Sorry. I felt dirty even pointing it out…
@NorthBrit
I’ve come over all self conscious and dirty myself now and I’ve not had ma tea yet. Put me right off.
Nae worries. 😀
I see our terry is trying to comment over at the Herald story “Independent Scotland can keep pound” he is getting absolutely no takers. Can just imagine him sitting severely pissed off because No ones biting. Someone send him a Dora the explorer video so he can study a real troll in action.
Some of you have commented on the “honours” system. I think the problem in the UK is that some “honours” carry lucrative perks, e.g. the undemocratic House of Lords. Also, the British seem obsessed with letters after a name (that OBE wan on the Hootsman, anyone?) and “titles”. Baron of Somewhereoranother, Sir Thisandthat.
Finland has an “Order of Merit” system, created when Finland became independent in 1917, and it is a bit old-fashioned, and lots of “merits” are inevitably given to superannuated politicians on a crony basis (boak) but the “merits” carry no financial rewards or power.
Many “merits” are awarded to people who’ve made outstanding contributions to Finnish society in industry, arts, charity (NGO) work, or sports (outstanding, not just an Olympic medal or two – hell, Matti Nykänen, one of the most successful ski-jumpers of all time, with 4 Olympic golds and 5 World Championships, never got a trinket – might be something to do with his shambolic private life ;-)) People awarded “trinkets” usually never advertise the fact (no letters after name!)
In Finland, the Orders of Merit are given once a year, on Independence Day (6 Dec), not all through the year on New Year, Queen’s birthday, Queen’s official birthday and whatever else you have in the UK. The press usually highlights the “ordinary people”, charity workers, and long-standing, accomplished artists in their coverage.
I think it’s good for an independent country to nationally recognize its citizens who have made an outstanding contribution. The downside is that many politicians inevitably will end up with a “merit”, but I don’t think our Finnish system should be scrapped just because of greedy, ego-hungry politicians. Ordinary people should be able to be given national recognition.
Maybe I should declare an interest here. Both my parents have been “decorated”. I think they deserve it for their hard, dedicated work in their fields over several decades. My mother for her artistic, design and art university teaching career, and my father for his decades with the original Finnish hi-tech company (Vaisala https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaisala ) and being personally responsible for establishing the company in the hardest market in the world, the US (our whole family lived in the US for a year while this Finnish engineer (BA in radio engineering) did it.) My parents don’t advartise these “honours” though they have the diplomas on their bedroom wall. They’ve worn the trinkets only once, when my mum was invited to the President’s Independence Day Ball and dad went as the avec. My mum constructed her “ball gown” from some stretchy black undershirt and floaty, pleated scarves and looked absolutely fabulous, and I and my brothers and our friends had a chuckle that our mum meets the President in underwear and bits of self-made fabric! 😀 (Some female guests spend thousands on designer, bespoke gowns, mum spent maybe 20 euro.)
Sorry to have gone so tangential and longwinded again.
@ Rev,
“(Unlike our Slovene “friend” Jezerna over on CiF / herald etc. EVERYONE I meet wishes us well)”
I’d be fascinated to find out who that really is. There’s no way on Earth a Slovenian cares that much about preserving the Union.
I Tried to point out that Jezerna had impeccable English for someone from a foreign country and asked him where she had learned to write and understand English. I pointed out that he understood all the intricacies of the Language, as well as the Scottish slang, as I’d never heard him asking a commenter to explain what they meant by any comment.
Strangely, the comment was deleted by the mods.
as someone who Teaches English to people overseas I come into contact with people from other countries who are brought up speaking English.
they speak the language well, but have to ask what certain things mean and certainly don’t understand if I forget where I am and use a Scottish term.
Her use of statistics is bizarre as well.
So at a guess, I would say she is a politician from Scotland with a lot of time on his hand and has a lot of statistics that they can access.
If I was a betting man, my money would be on our very own Lord Foulkes.
@Patrick
Now THAT would be a good thing to uncover 😉 I wonder quite how you can find such a thing out. An a non-techy maybe there is a way via the IPS (?) that she uses? Would be a great “expose” don’t you think?
Certainly would Tony, But I’m not a techy either.
Jezerna seems to have the protection of some Herald Mods though, so this might be another clue.
He definitely has the thought processes of the typical unionist politician, in as much as he simply ignores any challenging question then unashamedly makes another comment.
I have saw threads in which he is challenged several times by different posters to say why he is so interested in the Scottish referendum since he has no vote or no stake, but he simply lows on with his stats and more than not he will sidewind, some otherwise positive comments.
There’s one thing he does do though and does it very very well.
He makes sure that anyone who is an undecided, but has started looking online to find out more and may be looking at the comments section in what has become a more positive leaning Herald, doesn’t keep reading.
One look by people who fit into the ‘low information bracket’ and they wouldn’t come back.
So if the Unionists want to make sure that the people who a recent survey indicated wanted to find out more, don’t find out more, then Jezerna is doing a first class job.
It lets us know one thing though, that BT know that when people start looking on-line for information, they become more likely to vote Yes.
“He definitely has”
Like others, I’d assumed Jezerna Rosa was a female name, though for no solid reason. But in fact I can’t find a single person named “Jezerna” anything through Google. It’s the name of a place, whose location is rather difficult to pinpoint, but not of any human I can trace.
http://micronations.wikia.com/wiki/Jezerna
I have a suspicion the Herald’s commenter has never been near Slovenia.
@Rev
Me too.
I have a number of friends in Slovenia. Generally nice people – unlike the Croats. Not a typical Slovene name by any means, but then it is a blogging nickname, so who knows.
I wanted to ask her/his opinion about Brina. I will not say why, in case they (he/she/it/them) read these pages. But the answer might be interesting 😉
EDIT: Lakes in Slovene is Jezer? “Lakes in/of” is Jezer na
And “Rose lake” would be Jezera Roze. So maybe a non-Slovene might mistake the comprehension of “Lake of” = Jezer na, and add “Roze” to = Jezerna Roze.
This is fascinating stuff, even if somewhat trivial 😉