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By their works shall you know them

Posted on November 16, 2013 by

Something rather odd happened over on our Facebook page this week. It’s the most sparsely-populated outpost of the Wings empire, (because it’s mostly just links to articles here), and the average post there is doing well if it’s seen by 2000 people and gets five or six comments.

But yesterday, after running this article, we thought it might be fun to turn the two maps into one of our celebrated series of “leaked Better Together posters”, so we quickly knocked up this image and posted it on the Facebook page accompanied only by the words “Another Union dividend”:

btbest

And then things went a bit mad.

As we write, the image has been viewed 34,560 times and rising, with 143 comments. It’s been shared 236 times. The comments come from Yes and No supporters alike. And almost to a person, every one of them thinks it’s a real Better Together poster.

Here’s No voter David McCrea, for example:

“I’m very disappointed by this post! I’v campaigned to save the Union, and you now insult me with this rubbish!!

Inverness and Morayshire one of the worst places to live? Are you mad? Keep posting shit like this and you’re pushing the unsure towards the nationalists! The person responsible for this post should have there admin status removed, taken out the back and slapped across the face!!!!”

Others disputed the findings of the research done by uSwitch on which the Metro piece was based, or claimed the entire thing was made up. But the key thing that caught us by surprise was that practically nobody questioned that the poster could really have been put out by the official No campaign.

We hadn’t signposted the satirical juxtaposition of the maps and the BT slogans because frankly it seemed unnecessary – to us it was so staggeringly obvious that the poster was fake, because it’s such a bludgeoningly crude piece of “too wee, too poor, too stupid” propaganda that even Blair McDougall would balk at it.

But such has been the tone of the real “Better Together” that thousands of people just took it at face value, seeing no fundamental difference between our lump-hammer irony and the sort of stuff that BT has been churning out daily for the last 16 months.

We’re pretty sure there’s a message there.

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135 to “By their works shall you know them”

  1. Cankert Callan
    Ignored
    says:

    Oh Rev. I’m stuck in on a Saturday night but man, you’ve cheered me right up!
    Top marks!

  2. Horacesaysyes
    Ignored
    says:

    That is both slightly worrying and absolutely hilarious at the same time! 🙂

  3. Stevie
    Ignored
    says:

    PROJECT:
    Fear
    Smear
    Farce
    Wnkr (there are various subsets and categories within categories of this particular genus)
    Lies
    False statistics
    Bomb the bstrds

    Rubbish their history
    Rubbish their parliament

    Too wee, too poor, too stupid
    … the list does go on and on and on and on
    Of course they believe it’s a Project Fear BritNat special because all they do is rubbish Scotland and the Scots.

  4. Jimbo
    Ignored
    says:

    What’s known as, Hitting them with a ball of their own $h!t.

  5. Stevie
    Ignored
    says:

    I have previously released pics myself that were so obviously ridiculous that one was wide-eyed in surprise that people took them on face value but given Project BritNat’s (because this was over a year ago) then tone,it was easy to see why they believed them. 

    Then again, those pics were obviously ridiculous a year ago – now they might just look ordinary.

  6. James Westland
    Ignored
    says:

    There is a clear need for a new “Internet Law” here, along the lines of Godwins and Poes.
     
    “No matter how ludicrous or satirical a posting is, without a smiley or an overt “THIS IS HUMOUR” , people will think it is the real thing”
     
    Or something like that.
     
    Also a Law needed for the fact that , as an indy debate gets heated, it is inevitable that someone will get called “separatist” “cybernat” or a  reference to Braveheart. in some cases , within a couple of posts….
     
    🙂

  7. Tearlach
    Ignored
    says:

    Or the number of folk who think that the ADarling Twitter account is real…

  8. handclapping
    Ignored
    says:

    Oh dear. Waahahahahahaha … /composes self/
    Powerful stuff, satire.
     
    Has there ever been a satire on the Yes campaign?

  9. Alba4Eva
    Ignored
    says:

    This reflects perfectly, the understanding that the pro-union MSM have about propaganda and the unquestioning acceptance of the uninformed and dis-engaged section of the population.  

    …on a positive note, we also know that this dis-engaged section of the population only become engaged in the discussion in the final weeks… and even days before voting.  As was seen in the 2011 Scottish election, it was the final fortnight in which the result was decided.

    The Referendum may not be quite as reflective of this phenomina as the 2011 election, but the same principles persist.

  10. Rod Mac
    Ignored
    says:

    Methnks Rev you could be in for some serious attacks and smears from our pals in BT.
    Made me smile ,however I doubt anyone in No Camp will find it funny ,they hae no sense of humour

  11. Iain Hamilton
    Ignored
    says:

    Personally, I think it’s a shame you show such disregard for your Facebook presence. I found you through Facebook and 17 friends have taken my advice to check out and like your page. I don’t tweet. Tried it twice: first  time I was sick and the second time my hat blew off (thanks to Mr Corbett for that one). Admittedly, I now have the website on my bookmarks toolbar and check for new articles a few times a day. It also stands as a good balance for such dismal pages as “Alec Salmond is a deluded w*nker”. I came across this sweet spot of civilised debate earlier. I presume neither Carmichael or McIntosh has seen it as neither has denounced the bile spouted on there. Photoshopped pics of our FM “heiling” and pics of North Korean leadership with the Scottish cabinet faces photoshopped in. I don’t know if visiting their page gives them “hits”, but a wee expose of their nonsense would put or SoS’s whingeing in perspective.

  12. Roddy Macdonald
    Ignored
    says:

    Utterly brilliant, Tick VG! I’ve just shared it on my Better Together Scotland PussJotter page. See what else we can hook if it gets enough shares.

  13. cath
    Ignored
    says:

    Doesn’t surprise me.  When you posted it my first thought was that it could easily be taken as the real thing. Many of those still no are very open that they basically think Scotland really is poor, crap and stupid and their no is based on the fact an independent Scotland will be a shit place. 
     
     Also things like BBC  Scotlandshire are frequently taken as real by both sides when they get posted. 

  14. kininvie
    Ignored
    says:

    Godwin’s Law: “As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches 1.”
     
    Westland’s Law: “In any discussion of Scottish independence, the probability of Braveheart being mentioned is in direct proportion to the ignorance of those involved.”

  15. Ian Brotherhood
    Ignored
    says:

    Rev,
     
    The Fraud Squad will be at your door any minute…shame on you for recklessly overestimating the intelligence of the average punter.

  16. ronnie anderson
    Ignored
    says:

    Rev, The  Deils  in  You,,  ah  posted  up  on  they  maps ,  pmsl  nice  one

  17. Marcia
    Ignored
    says:

    Delightful satire. You know the No campaign are getting jittery when the ordinary person cannot distinguish between satire or their lies. They just assume it is their normal guff. Brilliant.

  18. ronnie anderson
    Ignored
    says:

    Handclappin  hiv  a  look  at  my  profile  page  Ma  Wee  Shed  satire  is it  ye  want  its  there,  al  gie  themmbliddy  satire  when ah git  better
    Stuar Black  ,  see  whit  you ve  done  wie  yer  string  vest  rip am  turnin intae Rab  lol

  19. MajorBloodnok
    Ignored
    says:

    Oh you are awful.  But I like you.

  20. ronnie anderson
    Ignored
    says:

    Handlappin ,  im on YesScot  site   Ronald Anderson  ( sunday  name  lol  )

  21. Macart
    Ignored
    says:

    Oh dang. 😀
     
    I knew that most folks who support BT were, shall we say, a bit open to misdirection and snap judgement (too kind?), but oh dear. 😀 LOL

  22. MochaChoca
    Ignored
    says:

    Rev, turning that into a BT poster is a piece of genius. Looking forward to BT trying to explain/discredit this as it will just quadruple it’s exposure. BTW your previous piece is one of the very best indy articles I’ve read. Superb

  23. Donald Mallard
    Ignored
    says:

    Try this one to see what commenst you get.
    http://twitpic.com/co5ap0
    They can hardly repudiate it since it is what she would want and it would protect her legacy.
    A question could be WHY the Tories don’t use it since they can’t deny any of it.

  24. James Westland
    Ignored
    says:

    kininvie – “hat tip” 🙂
     

  25. Iain Hamilton
    Ignored
    says:

    @ Donald Mallard
    Love it!. Posted to Facebook  😀
     

  26. MochaChoca
    Ignored
    says:

    BTW Business for Scotland have a couple of maps on their “Where does Scotland’s wealth go” article which would look bloody good given the same treatment.

  27. Yesitis
    Ignored
    says:

    Tsk Separatists…can`t live with `em, can`t live without `em.
    🙂
     

  28. Morag
    Ignored
    says:

    Try this one to see what commenst you get.
    http://twitpic.com/co5ap0
    They can hardly repudiate it since it is what she would want and it would protect her legacy.
    A question could be WHY the Tories don’t use it since they can’t deny any of it.
     
    My God, I thought that was another very very dry spoof.  I see it’s someone’s actual contribution to the debate.  Apparently sincere.
     
    How soon can we get that on billboards all over Scotland?

  29. ronnie anderson
    Ignored
    says:

    MajorBloodnok, ah hope  that  comments  fur  Marcia  am gittin  worried naebodys telt me they liked me before lol

  30. MajorBloodnok
    Ignored
    says:

    @ronnie anderson
     
    Well, it was actually aimed at the Rev, but I’m very broad minded …er…

  31. Stuart Black
    Ignored
    says:

    Morag, please tell me you are joking, that is never a real poster, is it?

  32. Boorach
    Ignored
    says:

    Ronnie, if this was a facebook page you’d have more likes than yon mannie Fry! 🙂

  33. MochaChoca
    Ignored
    says:

    Morag, I thought the same thing when I seen it was apparently put up by a “young conservative unionist” sort. But now I totally can’t tell if that’s part of the satire or not. FFS is there a word for something that’s so satirical that it goes full circle and becomes ‘real’?

  34. Luigi
    Ignored
    says:

    You can fool 34,560 people some of the time, but you cannot fool 34,560 people all of the time.
     
     
    Or can you?

  35. Seasick Dave
    Ignored
    says:

    FFS is there a word for something that’s so satirical that it goes full circle and becomes ‘real’?
     
    Any Johann Lamont speech.

  36. kininvie
    Ignored
    says:

    @MochaChoca
    The twitter a/c for @campbellfletch does not exist – if it ever did.  So I guess it’s a superb spoof. Just like @A_DarlingMP….
     
    The problem for Wings is: can it be both a truth-telling lie-savaging site and a site that uses misrepresentation as satire to the point where people can’t tell which is which?

  37. MochaChoca
    Ignored
    says:

    Looked through some of the ‘young conservatives and unionists’  tweets and cannae tell if he’s rippin the pish or not.

    Edit: it does exist, maybe the spelling?

  38. Marcia
    Ignored
    says:

    The Sunday Herald tomorrow;
     
    http://twitpic.com/dljg21

  39. ronnie anderson
    Ignored
    says:

    Boorach, am  giein Yes  Scot  facebook  a  rest  they  csss  in hope st  put  me intae moderation  fur  rantin at a BT er   twice times  the bsss  banned  me  awe  weekend  wan  week  oonywi  theres  nice  people on here better debate  mair  info

  40. Hetty
    Ignored
    says:

    Confused, what?
     

  41. ronnie anderson
    Ignored
    says:

    Major bloodnok, noo you hiv  me worried , time tae git up  n  bar  the door  triple locked, yer no gittin in 

  42. Hetty
    Ignored
    says:

    I think we could easily get sidetracked here, what Are the establishment up to? have your wits about you at all times, only way to survive and be one step ahead. 

  43. Morag
    Ignored
    says:

    The twitter a/c for @campbellfletch does not exist – if it ever did.  So I guess it’s a superb spoof. Just like @A_DarlingMP….
     
    OK, fair enough.  I was taken in by the corroborative detail which provided verisimilitude to an otherwise fairly blatant satire.  I didn’t know you could post from spoof twitter accounts.

  44. MochaChoca
    Ignored
    says:

    I suppose the point is whether these info graphics are so real they could be spoofs or so ‘spoofy’ they could be real is that they expose the ridiculousness of voting NO. And the thing is there are probably dozens or hundreds of such examples that could be exploited. Whereas it’s difficult to think of anything from the YES side that could be satirised in such a way (in reverse of course).

  45. BBC Scotlandshire
    Ignored
    says:

    Welcome to our world, Rev.

  46. kininvie
    Ignored
    says:

    @Morag
    Easy enough: just open an a/c, tailor it to your desire, post a picture & close the a/c. The account disappears, but the graphic remains on Twitpic. (I think)

  47. theycan'tbeserious
    Ignored
    says:

    “UNIONISTS FOR INDEPENDENCE”!

  48. Daughter of Evil Reindeer
    Ignored
    says:

    Blair McDougall will be angry! Especially if he has already been taken out the back and slapped around by pissed off Invernesians!

  49. Mr Angry
    Ignored
    says:

    I now look forward to this being exposed in the Daily Record, The Scotsman and the Herald. Bet they come out and say it is yet another YES trick backed by the SNP.
     
    Brilliant.

  50. MochaChoca
    Ignored
    says:

    The twitter A/C does exist (https://twitter.com/CampbellFletch) a string of tweets to various politicos with links to the twitpic and a few other tweets. Apologies for link maybe not working, on ipad.

  51. Morag
    Ignored
    says:

    So you’re saying it is actually serious?  Or just that there are even more layers of fake verisimilitude?

  52. HandandShrimp
    Ignored
    says:

    I have been saying for a while that Better Together have gone so far past the pale that their scare stories are no longer credible… would seem that even their supporters are no longer are able to tell fact from fiction…although the Mail producing this I suppose makes it fact rather than fiction.

  53. Cankert Callan
    Ignored
    says:

    O/T, sorry. Is there a commonly used hashtag on twitter for us not wanting to support BBC licence fees?

  54. Jon D
    Ignored
    says:

    The Thatcher poster is a spoof and has been downloadable from the Indyposterboy site for about a year now. 
    Clever stuff, eh.

  55. lumilumi
    Ignored
    says:

    This is getting just bizarre!
     
    NO people taking Rev Stu’s spoof at face value, and STILL intending to vote NO…
     
    And now this lovely Maggie poster, as linked by Donald Mallard @ 9.40pm.
    http://twitpic.com/co5ap0
     
    Really, when reality and satire cannot be distinguished… There must be something wrong.
     
    Reality is satire! Satire is reality! Bread and circuses! Ho-hum!

  56. AnneDon
    Ignored
    says:

    @kininvie – this was proposed on The Guardian a couple of years ago as Gibson’s law – any debate about independence that mentions Braveheart is lost.
     
    Then as now, it’s invariably a unionist who does it. I find it a useful way to decide whether or not to bother responding. 😉

  57. Thepnr
    Ignored
    says:

    I know some of you post occasionally on the Herald etc, so too do I. I have rarely posted on the DT though but have got into a one man fight against the foaming at the mouth rabid types lol.
     
    I’ve decided not to lie down, just try my best to combat their shit. We shouldn’t let their crap become mainstream. Anyone fancy a look and help defeat their really pathetic comments?
     
    http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/iainmartin1/100246275/as-the-scottish-referendum-looms-a-beautiful-friendship-risks-being-replaced-by-bitter-emnity/?

  58. Ellie
    Ignored
    says:

    Well reading some of the Better Together supporters turning somersaults trying to spin that positively has made my night…….even better are the reaction posts when they eventually work out (are told) that it’s a not actually a real Better Together post……Priceless.   Do it again!!!!
     

  59. James Westland
    Ignored
    says:

    AnneDon
     
    Here it is:
     
    http://sco.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibson's_Law
     
    🙂 🙂 🙂

  60. MochaChoca
    Ignored
    says:

    Morag, hard to tell if it’s serious or not.

  61. HandandShrimp
    Ignored
    says:

    Thepnr
     
    The Telegraph is just too weird for my taste. I do participate on the Guardian and one or two other places but he journalism in the Telegraph is rancid. I like to think they are doing their bit to split the Union without any help from us.

  62. caz-m
    Ignored
    says:

    @Kininvie O/T

    Are you from Dundee?. If so, can you explain why BBC Scotland and Dundee city council are pushing so hard for Dundee to become “UK city of culture” 2017.

    After all we won’t even be in the UK in 2017. Seems a right waste of money IMHO.

  63. caz-m
    Ignored
    says:

    O/T
    David Cameron orders independent enquiry in to Unite Union regarding bullying and intimidation at Falkirk. Should bring wee Johann out the “bunker” to explain what HER union have been up to.

    Can only help the YES campaign. The more muck the better.

    Link:-
    http://news.sky.com/story/1169667/independent-review-into-union-intimidation

  64. James Morton
    Ignored
    says:

    Basically rev your satirical wheeze fell foul of poe’s law: Without a blatant display of humor, it is impossible to create a parody of extreme views that someone won’t mistake for the real thing. I other words your carefully constructed joke was indistinguishable from the sort of trash that BT actually punts out there.

  65. kininvie
    Ignored
    says:

    @caz-m
    Dundee? Me? No. But there are plenty of Dundonians here who can answer better than I.
     

  66. Thepnr
    Ignored
    says:

    @HandandShrimp
     
    Too weird for mine too, it is disturbing though the bile that they can come out with. Still takes all sorts I suppose and my time might be better used elsewhere. Just reading many of their posts though has me shaking my head in absolute disbelief.

  67. west_lothian_questioner
    Ignored
    says:

    Does Gibson’s Law also apply to mentions of Culloden?

  68. lumilumi
    Ignored
    says:

    On a more serious note, and going back to the original WoS piece on the Metro article on this and their actual data that they used to decide “the best” and “the worst”.
     
    http://uswitch-wp-blog-assets.s3-website-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Qualityoflife.jpg
     
    The biggest differences were in employment and disposable income; crime rate is a blanket figure for the whole of Scotland, council tax is the highest in Glasgow, where they also have the highest paid council officials even on UK scale… Car and home insurance is cheaper in Scotland…
     
    Broadband speeds in Scotland are the worst – but then, that’s a failing of the union, is it not? For the state not providing adequate infrastructure in all parts of the country. (All the broadband figures were shocking. I live in a small town and I get theoretically 100M, effectively 45M – 87M for the same price my 1M cost four years ago.)
     
    And that thing about sunshine… 😀 OK, sunshine is nice but some places cannot help it that their climate is cloudier. It’s just a geographical and climatological fact.
     
    Scotland has more daylight hours than rUK from March to September. It’s a latitude thing. Where I live in southern Finland is about the same latitude as Shetland. The further north you go, the lighter it is in the summer, the darker in the winter. Annual average of daylight is the same no matter what your latitude is.
     
    Cloud cover of course differs. The obsession with sunlight is just plain silly – many of the sunniest places on Earth aren’t very nice (Sahara, Gobi etc.). It’s better to have a mixture of sunny days and cloudy/rainy days. Water is an important resource, and will become increasingly important.
     
    The Metro article was just silly column filler stuff, or promotional stuff for that online price comparison outfit. It did, though, highlight some of the “benefits” of the union. Lower disposable income, worse broadband connections. Better together!

  69. call me dave
    Ignored
    says:

    Another labour domino decides for YES  (two now from the same stable)
    http://archive.is/FaxKv

  70. Scotia Libre
    Ignored
    says:

    @caz-m
    I was originally from Dundee, and know that Dundee will vote YES.

    …….BUT if the rest of Scotland also votes YES next year, we will still be in the UK in 2017. 

    The UK came into being in 1606 with the Union of the Crowns. The vote next year is effectively to repeal the 1707 Act of Union (the union of Parliaments).
    ……AND if Scotland votes YES next year, we will still be part of Britain, because Britain is the name of the island(s) we live in.

    We would however no longer be part of GREAT Britain – it won’t exist any longer.

    SO…. even after a YES vote, Dundee can still be ‘UK City of Culture, 2017’ unless of course in 2016 we vote for Scotland to be a republic.
     
    Clear….ish?

  71. call me dave
    Ignored
    says:

    This move looks a bit sinister, devolving powers to Scottish Cities.  Hopefully too late to be worth implementing. 
     
    http://archive.is/teihN

  72. Thepnr
    Ignored
    says:

    Dundee seems to be a bit of a “hotspot” for Wings and Independence supporters. When I grew up there it was very much a Labour town, very left wing. Ah that’s what happened, Dundee is the same, Labour isn’t.
     
    Just need to get Glasgow next.

  73. Edward
    Ignored
    says:

    call me dave
    You can almost hear the cracking as the glacial plate is shifting

  74. twenty14
    Ignored
    says:

    O/T ( unless its already been pointed out ) – The dam is slowly crumbing ”
    A SCOTTISH Labour grandee has declared he will vote for independence next year, insisting that the referendum is “not a time for party politics”.
     
    Alex Mosson, who was Lord Provost of Glasgow between 1999 and 2003, said he will back a Yes vote because he believes that Westminster is “holding us back”. – The Scotsman

  75. Thepnr
    Ignored
    says:

    Something all of us readers of wings should not forget. Changing traditional Labour voters from No to Yes is the key to success. We are winning the argument.

  76. lumilumi
    Ignored
    says:

    @ call me dave 12.49am
     
    The dam is getting more and more leaks, when will it burst? Because then it will be a deluge for YES.
     
    How long can the UK state hide the truth from the people?
     
    Labour stalwarts like Charlie Gray and Alex Mosson coming out for YES might wake up some of the traditional Labour voters.
     
    And that former BBC lassie, too, I’m sorry I forget her name but read about her conversion here on WoS. This is what YES needs, not just “typical nats” but ostensibly “normal” people turning to YES.

  77. lumilumi
    Ignored
    says:

    @ call me dave 12.57am
    This move looks a bit sinister, devolving powers to Scottish Cities.  Hopefully too late to be worth implementing. 
     
    http://archive.is/teihN
     
    Now, I’m all for local democracy, but the problem is that to avoid really horrible and cruel postcode lottery, there has to be a nationally set standard in every aspect of the councils’ powers (education, health, social, infrastructure, whatever) that no council is allowed to go under. Councils should be allowed to raise local tax income in order to spend it on the residents – not council heads or aleo bosses, mind. This will be a problem for Glasgow.
     
    This “devolvement to council level” is just a devious plan B by SLAB to bypass Holyrood and get their grubby hands on more taxpayers money.
     
    I was struck by this quote:
    [George Black, Glasgow’s chief executive] says the model could lead to councils being given “cash-back” from Westminster if they are found to have slashed the benefit bill and boosted tax revenue.
     
    Chilling. Financial rewards for punishing the poorest and most vulnerable in society.
     
    For god’s sake, vote YES, Scotland! Escape while you can!

  78. Quinie frae Angus
    Ignored
    says:

    As another Dundonian, I can vouch that I (and I think, we,) will be voting “Yes”. I managed to persuade two other “Undecideds” tonight. But the best thing is for people to go quietly, on their own, and read quietly, on their own.
     
    That’s why aforementioned business-card sized “flyers” of all our favourite websites are so crucial – more powerful than any video, I think. It’s now about persuading our family, our friends – with the intellegently resourced Wings as our back-up; our PROOF – to go away and read stuff – like WE all did, a year or two ago. This, and legwork, and stalls. But the catalyst is Rev Stu and his unbelievable community website of Wingers!  

  79. Dan Vevers
    Ignored
    says:

    Hahahaha! That is just surreal? Even No campaigners seriously believe Better Together would casually slag off loads of places in Scotland as part of official literature… I’m honestly just blown away.

  80. Marker Post
    Ignored
    says:

    “The person responsible for this post should have there [sic] admin status removed, taken out the back and slapped across the face”.

    I think he means you, Rev 🙂
     

  81. john king
    Ignored
    says:

    Seasick Dave
    “Any Johann Lamont speech.”
    splutter,
    cheers Dave, 
    have you any bleedin idea how hard it is to clean porridge off your screen?

  82. john king
    Ignored
    says:

    Stuart Black says
    “Morag, please tell me you are joking, that is never a real poster, is it?”
    Now now Stuart,
    its what she would have wanted (in hushed reverent tone)
    besides its already on my facebook page bwhahahahaha
    cheers for that Morag 🙂
      

  83. john king
    Ignored
    says:

    BBCScotlandshire says
    “Welcome to our world, Rev.”
    Ooh I don’t think someones best pleased at you cutting their grass rev 🙂
      

  84. john king
    Ignored
    says:

    AnneDon says
    “this was proposed on The Guardian a couple of years ago as Gibson’s law – any debate about independence that mentions Braveheart is lost.”
     
    I think that could have been me who said that, I seem to remember making a comment of that nature but I thought I did it on the Telegraph?

  85. ronnie anderson
    Ignored
    says:

    GBlack,  as  with  many  Chief  Exc  of   Local   Authority,s   will   e   more  than   welcoming   in   gaining   more   tax  raiseing   power,s   ANOTHER   SHOWER   OF   ROUGES    ON   THE   GRAVY   TRAIN   Cheif  Exc,s   in   Scotland   EARNING   more   than   a  FM   running  a   Scottish   Gov   ie   THE   COUNTRY   methinks  the FM   /   DFM   /   Scottish   Gov   Ministers  are  Worth  MORE     how   much  does   Mr   George   Black   earn   /   Mr   Gavin   Whitfield  N L C     18/10/2014    Time  for   Change   That  Gentelmen    CHANGE   FOR   THE   BETTERMENT   OF   THE   SCOTTISH   PEOPLE   not  Closet  committee,s   AWARDING   YOU   LOT   A   INCREASE  IN   GRAVITAS

  86. ronnie anderson
    Ignored
    says:

    Edward,   (  glacial  plate  shift  )   The  BT  lot  have  done  that  bit   even   floods  /  plagues  of  locusts   ah  wuld  settle  on  a   sysmetic  shift   o people   getting   the  message   tae   vote  YES

  87. Roll_On_2014
    Ignored
    says:

    Well who would have thunk it, Rev has joined the BT truth team.
    Stick it to em Rev… the truth hurts at times.
     
    @ronnie anderson
    Aye Ronnie you and me both……. YES

  88. Linda's Back
    Ignored
    says:

    More bad news for Johann Lamont  as Sunday Times reports Labour’s Scottish chairman played a key role in support of the Unite union activist at the heart of the Falkirk vote-rigging scandal, emails seen by The Sunday Times indicate.

    Jackson Cullinane, who is also a senior Unite official, also appears to have bolstered Karie Murphy’s position despite warnings from the party’s top Scottish official.

    The emails show he was involved in the campaign to sign up union members to the party to boost Murphy’s prospects in the race to succeed Eric Joyce as the area’s MP.

    They indicate that he also suggested that Brian Roy, at the time Labour’s acting Scottish general secretary, drop plans to bar these new recruits from voting — warning that to do so would anger Len McCluskey, the leader of Unite, which is Labour’s biggest donor.
     
    Meanwhile The Herald reports Jackson Cullinane has blasted Labour MPs and MSPs for getting  into bed with “the toxic Tories” in Better Together which will damage the Labour Party at the next election.   So more bad news for Johann Lamont.

  89. ronnie anderson
    Ignored
    says:

    Mosson  ,  an  the  rest  of   the  hasbeens  are   queing  up  tae  get  a  front  row   seat   on   Independence  Day  ,  GET   YE   BEHIND   US   LATE   COMER,S

  90. fairiefromtheearth
    Ignored
    says:

    The murder capitol of europe in 7th place,things are looking up Glasgow 😉

  91. david
    Ignored
    says:

    im getting a bad feeling. Andy Murray on the Marr show. Hope its not to declare for a no vote. Would the BBC have him on a politics show otherwise?   I hope not.

  92. Rather than just posting links to your FB page you should try posting the picture as a photo and then adding the link and text as a description.

    There are two reasons for this, firstly pictures tend to get more views on FB than links (even though the link has a picture), videos or anything else. Secondly, the text for photos can be edited indefinitely where as links cannot they can only be deleted.

    So you may stick a picture on there and it may be extremely popular, in which case you may decided to do a blog about it. In this case you can then add the link to the blog to the picture.

    One thing you can also do is add your page name to the text of the picture so that it becomes a link. Often when pictures are shared it doesn’t show up where it came from.

    And I’d also suggest adding a FB like box to your site too. You have to win the battles across every front.

  93. Edward
    Ignored
    says:

     lumilumi
    “And that former BBC lassie, too, I’m sorry I forget her name”
    That will be Louise Batchelor, former BBC reporter/presenter who was at the Green Party launch of their independence campaign. But Ms Batchelor strangely ignored by her former colleagues. BBC don’t want anyone to get the idea that support for indy is growing and is normal

  94. Edward
    Ignored
    says:

    Slightly O/T but related to the comment I juts posted and on the subject of broadcasting the independence message here is the web page for Louise Batchelor http://www.louisebatchelor.co.uk/

  95. call me dave
    Ignored
    says:

    Too late, the day they all got their photo taken on the balcony with Darling etal was a big mistake.  Lamont regrets?
     
    http://archive.is/bIbGR

  96. steviecosmic
    Ignored
    says:

    2 predictions on the Mosson defection:

    1. BBC Scotland will completely ignore it.
    2. The Labour friendly media will use his ‘criminal record’ to rubbish him now that he’s broken ranks.
     
    let’s see…….

  97. Robert Louis
    Ignored
    says:

    John King,
     
    I think you have misunderstood the comment by BBC Scotlandshire.

  98. call me dave
    Ignored
    says:

    Headlines BBC have already given it a whole 20s  this morning.  (Mossan)
    Who is that woman on the show, she can hardly put two words together to express a sensible opinion without a hum, er, well, and two false starts. . . and can’t find the story in her papers. 
     
    Bedroom tax story mentioned too in  NNS but nothing re: Sarwar. . .close but no cigar!
     

  99. Roll_On_2014
    Ignored
    says:

    @call me dave
    It appears that Anus has reappeared and is quoted in the article you linked to a couple of comments ago.

    He said:

    Responding for Better Together, Anas Sarwar, deputy leader of Scottish Labour, said: “Better Together is a cross-party and no-party campaign which brings together people who share the view that the best future for Scotland is working in partnership with our friends and colleagues in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

    “However, we recognise we need a distinct Labour voice in this campaign and that is why we launched United with Labour.

    “The Labour movement has always believed in an idea bigger than independence and that is the pooling and sharing of resources so that we have services based on need, not nationality.”
     
    Aye United with Labour and Capability Brown (AKA) Midas in reverse… cannot wait for Brow to start… The No side are already fvcking it up but I feel sure he will help to push their boat out even further.

  100. call me dave
    Ignored
    says:

    Headlines (cont)  
    No show for  labour story bedroom tax story, explained away slightly, by pairing.  Labour shot themselves in the foot and not all of them were paired.  D. Alexander exempted. the rest may be dodgy. Davidson embarrasses labour and a new chair required for his committee!
     
    Lamont, debater year… ‘her greatest speech, something for nothing’ now deleted from labour web site… that says it all.
     
    Very short comments on the programme but there is a wee thread running this morning.
    Worth a listen later for you sleepy heads   😉

  101. Ken500
    Ignored
    says:

    Scottish Independence on Parliament Channel

    Dr Andrew Murison telling it like it is.

    Unemployment Portsmouth 3%

    Unemployment Govan 15%

  102. call me dave
    Ignored
    says:

    Roll_On_2014
    He can easily make a quote or three from the bunker but will have to come out into the sunlit street at some point and look his constituents in the eyes!

    Brown and others launched their separate labour campaign a while ago now but has sunk without trace, it is only a thin veneer front put on to cover up the rotten core that the labour leadership has become.

    Mr Mossan and others are beginning to jump ship.

  103. Ken500
    Ignored
    says:

    Dr Andrew Murrison

    Tory Andrew Reevell Dewsbury – stirring it

  104. Ken500
    Ignored
    says:

    Carmichael on the case

    All’s well

    Davidson’s there

  105. gordoz
    Ignored
    says:

    Maybe we should focus on the facebook page more to counter the BT supporters ?

  106. thomas
    Ignored
    says:

    @ scotia libre
    I think that might be a wee bit confusing. heres my wee take on what you are saying.

    We live on an island called great britian. Its called great britain , not as a cock measuring contest of englands imperial might that many unionists would like us to believe , but because there are two britians , one great and one small.

    The name originates from around the 6th century , when many brythonic celts fled what is now england , under threat from invading angles and saxons ,  to settle armorica in north west gaul , now france. Armorica then became little britian , and we became big or great britain.

    The name pre dates both scotland and england , and was re invented by jamie baggie breeks the saxt as a sop to celtic sensibilities in the 17th century to which he added the united kingdom to define his new kingdom.

    Scotland will most certainly always be in the geographical great britian , hopefully not the political united kingdom and for the moment post yes the monarchial united kingdom. Confused?

    Right , am away back tae my bed.

  107. Ken500
    Ignored
    says:

    The Clyde is best place to build warships

    Davidson’s campaigning against

    Article 346 excludes contracts from European Law to put out contracts throughout Europe. Place the Order anywhere.

  108. thomas
    Ignored
    says:

    @ david
    saw the tail end of the murray interview. murray looked uncomfortable , am sure theres a yes jist lurkin under the surface waiting to come out.
    As for marr , that guy gets right up ma wick with his unionism oozing out of every pore in his body.

  109. Ken500
    Ignored
    says:

    Tory wants to build warships in the Port of London.

    No so keen on siting Trident there?

  110. Ken500
    Ignored
    says:

    Never have so many been promoted above their capabilities

  111. TheGreatBaldo
    Ignored
    says:

    saw the tail end of the murray interview. murray looked uncomfortable , am sure theres a yes jist lurkin under the surface waiting to come out
     
    Maybe there is and I’ve been told there are members of his family who are on the YES side…..but I genuinely feel the guy should be left alone…..does he even have a vote ?
     
    Regardless of which side he comes down on he’s going to get it in the neck from the other side……..given the way he was treated when he supported Anyone But England at the World Cup he knows full well what will happen if he comes out for YES.
     
    I just want him to concentrate on doing what he’s good at and what all Scots regardless of Indy preference support him for…..winning Tennis matches and Grand Slams

  112. david
    Ignored
    says:

    @ davidsaw the tail end of the murray interview. murray looked uncomfortable , am sure theres a yes jist lurkin under the surface waiting to come out
     
    totally agree thomas

  113. Dorothy Devine
    Ignored
    says:

    All Andy Murray has to say is that he hasn’t made up his mind  – all any Scots celebrity has to say is that they haven’t made up their mind but can access a great deal of material via the internet as opposed to the MSM.
    I am surprised young Mr Murray agreed to appear on the Marr show – I thought he wasn’t too fond of the BBBC after their stitch up over anyone but Scotland.
    I always enjoy his monosyllabic interviews post match – they fair cheer me up.

  114. a supporter
    Ignored
    says:

    Ronnie Anderson
    Your posts on my browser  are virtually unreadable, I think mainly because you are using right adjustment of text and having lots of mixed upper and lower case. Do they look OK on your browser?.

  115. CR
    Ignored
    says:

    very exciting news via STV:
    ‘Hundreds of people are being invited to quiz First Minister Alex Salmond and his team of ministers about the SNP’s formal plan for independence.
    Businesses, trade unions, volunteers and others from “civic Scotland” will be able to ask about the content of the White Paper two weeks after it is unveiled.
    The event in Edinburgh will be held on December 10 and will be broadcast live.’
     
    http://news.stv.tv/scotland/248919-alex-salmond-to-be-quizzed-on-formal-plan-for-independence/

  116. a supporter
    Ignored
    says:

    You know the No campaign are getting jittery when the ordinary person cannot distinguish between satire or their lies. They just assume it is their normal guff. Brilliant.”

    The trouble with satire is that it is frequently mistaken for the truth unless it is blatant, and sometimes even then. Satire and irony are difficult concepts for some people to grasp. For that reason in my view it is a poor tool for the home team to use for propaganda purposes in political campaigns. On the other hand it is excellent for attacking the enemy, like Stu’s was.

    The Onion, a famed satirical magazine in the USA, is a notorious case in point. Polling has shown that more than 50% of Americans believe some of the most outrageous of its articles particularly about Iran.

  117. kendomacaroonbar
    Ignored
    says:

    I wonder if Andy has been told that if Scotland choses independence then his top 5 WTA ranking won’t apply and he’ll drop to 850 ?

  118. Bill McLean
    Ignored
    says:

    Andy Murray should just inform interviewers that he is there to talk about tennis and that his political views are private!

  119. David McCann
    Ignored
    says:

    Im laughing like a drain. ive shared it all over the place. Brilliant!!

  120. Calgacus MacAndrews
    Ignored
    says:

    it is inevitable that someone will get called “separatist” “cybernat” or a  reference to Braveheart. in some cases , within a couple of posts….
    I seem to detect a decline in BT’s use of the term “Cybernat” recently.

    Wonder why?

    Could it be because they have twigged that every time the term is used it inadvertently points another bunch of information-hungry undecided Scottish voters in the direction of the cyber world.

    As soon as the undecided start Googling, they find the Referendum-related facts and figures that the MSM are shy about conveying.  Then they start their journey to the YES side …

    As for Braveheart, this is another BT shoot-the-foot scenario.

    Those that seek to use the term in a derogatory manner are demonstrating how out-of-touch they are with the reality of the Scottish psyche.
    When Braveheart was show in UK cinemas in 1995-1996 the takings in Scotland for the movie was 28% or the UK total, as opposed to the normal 8%.

    Why?

    One reason was that loads of people in Scotland went to see the movie again and again and again, because they found watching the movie an incredible experience. I was one of them. The movie was a phenomenon at the time and fed into the run-up to the devolution vote in 1997, which was held on the 700th anniversary of the Battle of Stirling Bridge.

    So every time anyone from BT use the Braveheart jibe, they are unintentionally further distancing themselves from a significant part of the constituency that they are seeking to persuade.

    Which is what BT seem to be doing however on multiple fronts at every turn at the moment. Watch for more defections …

  121. Dave McEwan Hill
    Ignored
    says:

    I wonder when they’ll start being really nice to Scotland.That is the next stage and it will be difficult to counteract. It has started already here and there

  122. Marker Post
    Ignored
    says:

    Urge everyone to watch Louise Batchelor’s presentation on renewable energy in Fife. That single video by itself should be enough to sway a few undecideds. The energy, the vitality, the investment in renewables and marine engineering, the research. All happening under our very noses, and a program that would never be broadcast on the BBC.

    http://www.louisebatchelor.co.uk/

  123. BBC Scotlandshire
    Ignored
    says:

    john king says:     
    BBCScotlandshire says
    “Welcome to our world, Rev.”
    Ooh I don’t think someones best pleased at you cutting their grass rev
    ————————————–
    No, John, we genuinely welcome more parody and satire, particularly from the Yes side. This is one of our most powerful weapons when trying to overcome the blatant bias of the MSM. As commented earlier, we regularly see infographics, and even stories, being attacked by people who assume they are real. In truth it is becoming increasingly difficult to parody a self-parodying UKOK campaign.

    When posting BBC Scotlandshire material on the big Yes FB page (Yes to an Independent Scotland) we always prefix the postings with “Warning: may contain satire” to head off the majority of complaints. And all our pages have the following footer:

    “This site contains news items which are often ridiculous, generally fictitious, entirely ill-informed and simultaneously biased in favour of the status quo and against the Scottish National Party, the Scottish Government and Scottish Independence in particular. Any similarity with other national broadcasters is entirely unfortunate.”
     

  124. A2
    Ignored
    says:

    “Alex Mosson, who was Lord Provost of Glasgow between 1999 and 2003, said he will back a Yes vote because he believes that Westminster is “holding us back”. – The Scotsman”
    Hmm Not sure about that given how unpopular he made himself, is that a cynical labour ploy to get people to vote no?

  125. velofello
    Ignored
    says:

    One of your best Rev., some folks must be feeling at bit sheepish.Any thoughts on the billboard project as aired by Morag? And well spoken BBCScotlandshire.

  126. Calgacus MacAndrews
    Ignored
    says:

    Westminster is “holding us back”. – The Scotsman”
    This is the essence of what 18th September 2014 is about ….

  127. Chris
    Ignored
    says:

    I was just thinking that maybe you could create more fakes and publish them with the real better together posters and ask peple if they can determine the real from the fake.

  128. James Westland
    Ignored
    says:

    We’ve had Gray and then Mosson. Who’s next to skip? Lally?

  129. john king
    Ignored
    says:

    Robert Louis says
    “I think you have misunderstood the comment by BBC Scotlandshire.”
     
    I think you misunderstand when ones tongue is firmly in ones cheek 🙂

  130. Illy
    Ignored
    says:

    Ahh, Poe’s Law is alive and well.
     
    Fun times 🙂

  131. John Northcote
    Ignored
    says:

    It’s that bad up here that we are being invaded by English people moving here to escape their terrible existence down south and make a better life in the Highlands of Scotland. They are very welcome here as long as they don’t bring Westminster politics with them and try to assimilate us.

  132. Yeti
    Ignored
    says:

    So… you concocted an image using the Better Together logo, which is inherently copyrighted…

    I hope you have a good lawyer.

    In related news, it is nice to see a Yes supporter posting facts instead of fiction for a change.

  133. Rev. Stuart Campbell
    Ignored
    says:

    You’re funny. I like you.

  134. James Westland
    Ignored
    says:

    @Rev Stuart Campbell
     
    “Youre funny, I like you”
     
    I immediately though of gunnery sergeant Hartmann there …..

  135. Fudgefase
    Ignored
    says:

    So apparently the union isn’t working for Scotland anyway – better apart!



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