Wings Over Scotland

Definitely a rash decision

I read someone’s Daily Mail yesterday, against my better judgement. What a pile of Right Wing extremist tripe.

Against all of the evidence, they accuse the First Minister
of killing that toddler in Fife, through the Scottish Governments desire to have such children protected by a Named Person.

They have a fantasist writer, definitely not a journalist, Emma Cowling, who seems to have found the key to success is through outrageous, unfounded, extremist remarks against SNP.

“Evidence” to support their slander always begins with, a source says! My arse a source says, their made up nonsense
just needs that shred of possibility while closing the door on any checks or question’s on its origins.

I’d like to take you to another page where yet another English Toddler appears to have been neglected, abused, and murdered.

Young Harry House from Dorset is yet another victim of neglect, incompetence, and austerity by David Cameron, the Tory Government, Papers such as the Daily Mail, and fantasist propagandist writers like Emma Cowling.

Let’s employ that papers’ format in creating a story.

“A very reliable source, used for years, with contacts in Downing St, and Buckingham Palace, has reported that none of those based there could give a damn about 200 English Kids per annum being abused and killed by their parents, as protecting them would take new measures to be put in place, time, effort, and above all money.

They like to think that these circumstances free up the need for on-going costs to the Social Work Dept, another less place to provide at school, and if they were being regularly injured, it will save valuable funds for the NHS.

An advisor to the Prime Minister has allegedly said that it was preposterous to even consider that they would spend
money on new protection legislation when covering up abuse and paedophilia my Westminster MP’s, Senior Judges and the Police is taking up so much time.

DM finds it hard to understand why so many of his Private School chums want to keep up with child abuse in later years as it was such a regular practice at boarding school.
Much easier to keep a pig’s head under your bed as they don’t talk back or want to give evidence against you.

He also proposed that Wee Ruthie likes to dress like a wee naughty boy in order to catch the eye of the party leaders”

Isn’t it strange how she wants children from the most deprived and abused homes to go on to university, but she doesn’t see a need for their lives to be saved first.

PS The Paper did dedicate a couple of pages on the biggest tennis story to hit these shores in many years.

The Player concerned is called Andy Murray, but they managed to avoid any controversial words like Scottish, Scotland, but he could become the first British Player in 81 years to win the French Open title.

What a Racket, What the Deuce, Same old Balls!

Do not believe the Polls. They will be being used to manipulate the vote.

Tory tax (Gove) has made thousands of Oil & Gas workers lose their jobs. 60/80% tax when the price had fallen 75%. It is still 40%. The Tories are trying (deliberately) to destroy Scotland’s industry. Westminster policies cost Scotland £10Billion+ a year, which could be better spent.

£1Billion lost on ‘loss leading’ cheap alcohol. £1Billion lost on Trident/illegal wars, £4Billion a year lost in Oil & Gas revenues, (£24 Billion). £3Billion? lost on tax evasion (eg whisky companies pay no tax), Scotland had to pay £4Billion in loan repayments Scotland doesn’t borrow or spend. There is Oil & Gas in the West. There is no commercial activities on the Clyde because of Faslane.

The EU costs Scotland nothing and brings benefit. CAP payments, EU Grants, and shared Defence costs (less conflicts). If Scotland is out of the EU in a UK Union, the Westminster liars will destroy the Scottish economy. Scotland will lose the ‘right to self determination’ enshrined in European Human rights Law. Devolution and a right to a Referendum. The Unionists cheated and lied to win the last one. Breaking every election rule in the book.

Westminster has caused the biggest migration crisis since 11WW and refuse to take responsibility. Westminster intends spending £20Billion a year (for ten years) on Hinkley and HS2. A disaster waiting to happen with no business case. The Tory slush fund to pass £Billions of public money to them and their associates. Like the RSB and the Royal Mail pension grab. Osbourne’s best man and brother in law (bankers) made £Millions. Cost the UK £ Billions.

The Tories are cutting funding for the NHS and starving vulnerable people to death. Coming out of the EU in a UK Union is the worse case scenario for Scotland.

The Tories are throwing good people out of Scotland, who came here legitimately, and have a right to stay.

Its the only argument they have but doesn’t effect Scotland, the largest immigrants come from RUK to here.
700,000 left between 2003 & 2013. the clearances are still happening. The population of Scotland 1707 4.5m, 2016 population of Scotland 5.3m.

Immigrants; Ruk .5m
EU .15m
Non EU ?

The only country in the world where the population has not increased in 300yrs. Not exactly a sign of success/endorsement for the union.

link to catalogue.nrscotland.gov.uk

Rancid The Graun, also very keen to get Scotland to vote out too, BetterTogether style

“The leave campaign has picked up momentum and taken a three point lead over remain in the latest Observer/Opinium poll on the EU referendum. The Brexiters now stand on 43%, while 40% say they support the campaign to keep the UK in the union.

The poll suggests the remain camp has lost four percentage points in the last two weeks, during which Boris Johnson and Michael Gove have relentlessly campaigned on the theme of immigration.”

Massive YES Scotland switch, also explains UK media’s BetterTogether’s Brexit Scotland gerrymandering.

Biggest Scotch whisky distiller Diageo won’t argue for Scotland remaining in UK in event of ?#?indyref2? after Brexit reports Sunday Times

Good cartoon. Highlights a sad reality.

The English (media and politicians at least) seem awfully het up about the EURef.

I get the feeling that a lot of people in Scotland think we will be staying, one way or another.

So if there is a Brexit, the case for indyref2, is that Scots are leaving the British Union to join the European Union.

I would imagine we wont be keeping the pound then (why would we shackle ourselves to a members currency outwith our trading partners ).

And will there be a border control between a NON- EU country and one that’s in ?

Surely the EURO will make the most sense,if we are going to share a trading union , and some political sovereignty, we are as well going the whole hog.

Unless RUK establishes some connection to the EU similar to Switzerland and Norway, where they still pay in, and still have to implement there laws.

Not exactly a Brexit then though.

TV is the opiate of the masses. Prolonged exposure dulls the analytical left side of the brain and inhibits critical discrimination.

That is said about “normal” TV, not the rabid politicised propaganda we are routinely exposed to here in Scotland.

Doing nothing, and placing your faith in the public’s growing dissatisfaction is the Scottish Government’s most reckless and dangerous policy in my humble opinion.

We have truth on our side, but the propagandists have tapped into our physiology and routinely use it to their advantage. It empowers them to distort the truth and thus misrepresent our strength, diminishing our voice while empowering them.

I am at a complete loss to reconcile the SNP’s reluctance to do anything about it. It “reads” like the SNP is out of its depth and has no effective countermeasure because it cannot think of one.

Is that too harsh? In my humble experience doing absolutely nothing is the SNP’s preferred policy of choice. They are free to pursue their own policy of course, but I find it increasingly frustrating, and less convincing too, that they insist they’re the only show in town.

If in doubt do nothing eh? My, my, such sullen confidence.

The Eurozone is in less debt than the UK Treasury, pro rata. The EU has 27 member States. 18 members in the Eurozone. 2/3.

And now for some good news – only 14000 misguided individuals are now prepared to shell out the full cover price of The Scotsman so that they can writhe around in ecstasy in the biased filth excreted over them.

There is, however, a black cloud looming over us – the 2nd. episode of the new Top Gear will be on tonight.

After last week’s opening episode can it possibly get any worse or more boring? Still, The BBC seem to be so proud of it that not only did they repeat it once but it was shown a 3rd. time – either they are proud or desperate.

Excellent cartoon.
Effijy @ 8.03

That’s how so called journalists are nowadays. An article in the Sunday Post about Stewart Hosie two weeks ago was full of unsupported sources. Paragraphs all begin with the examples below.

The SP has been told by a senior nationalist

Rivals are understood to be preparing to topple him

The episode has reportedly left NS livid

It has been widely tipped

A party source told the SP

One senior party source told the SP

An SNP MSP said

It was reported that the party’s female MPs

A Westminster source said.

None of these above have been verified although I am a bit worried that the SP has many moles working in and around Holyrood.

Utter garbage reporting that’s what I think.

Scotland should vote to remain and decide about its fate in Europe when Scotland is independent .

yup

scot in uk out is scotlands best chance of indyref2 and ultimately indy scot.

voting remain in the eu isnt a permanent situation, once indy this can be reversed.

voting for an indy scot is permanent

I want out of the Union and I also want out of the EU as it has become far too big, laden with tiers of burocracy and fat cat politicians inventing more red tape.
Sorry to buck the trend but I`m voting out.

@ Breeks: Perhaps the lack of firebrand politics by the SNP frustrates the Establishment the opportunity to act against them on trumped up allegations of “dark forces of separatism”?

The performance of the SNP group at Westminster is outstanding – eloquent, well-informed, and with a level of individual professional expertise way beyond the Tories and Labour groups.

I’m on alert waiting for the SNP to start their campaign on independence, and I’ll be out campaigning again, venting my frustration at the inequalities of UK governance.

The spiteful cold treatment of the Brain family by Westminster, withdrawal of Renewables support, Oil and Gas industry taxation, Trident, HS2. there’s plenty of ammo for us to use when campaigning for independence, and with a bit more emphasis than the SNP are constrained to do.

John Major is livid. How dare Brexiteers lie to the public in a referendum campaign! It’s “nonsense on stilts”.

link to bbc.co.uk

@Petra

in reference to Andy Murray not being Knighted,

one of the Lizzy`s lacky`s will have sounded him out to see if he would accept a Knighthood,

if he said that he would not,Lizzy would not officially ask him and he would not be seen to be refusing the glorious monarch,

Earls,Lords, Barons and Knights in the 21st century,

what a backward elitist country the glorious UK is.

Legerwood, this graph from the ONS, compiled from census results, tells the story of Scotland being held back.

link to ichef.bbci.co.uk

Legerwood at 11.27

But as a result only of inward migration, mostly from England (480,000, economically non-active retirees)and 100,000 from the EU.
Scotland’s present population is marginally above its levels the start of WW1. England’s population over the period has more than doubled – as has Norways, Denmarks,etc, etc, etc. New Zealand’s has quadrupled. The population of the island of Ireland which was about a million and a half below Scotland’s in 1910 is now bigger.

When Scotland joined in union with England in 1707 one person in five in the UK was Scottish.(It rose to one person in four by the late eighteenth century) It is now one person in twelve.

The population figures tell you all you need to know about the “benefits” of the union.

As a Sunday rant I’m getting fed up with the “I’m a member/supporter of the SNP but I’m voting OUT because because etc etc etc”

The greatest advantage to the independence cause and the SNP is if England votes OUT and we vote IN.
What a huge opportunity – for anybody that actually supports/is member of the SNP and wants independence

Why FFS would I then vote OUT

@Velofello 11.22

Nope. Not buying that. There is very broad spectrum of opportunity to do something measured, effective and rational in between doing nothing, and firebrand politics.

I’m glad to hear SNP conducts itself with professionalism in certain quarters, I cannot say the same in my own experience, but nevertheless, given the daily propaganda-fest of Unionist TV, what good is it actually doing them?

If a tree falls in the forest, does it make any sound? If an SNP MP performs well in office, when and how will we hear about it? That narrative simply isn’t going to reach the ordinary people of Scotland who don’t routinely scan the small print for objective political news about Scotland.

Almannysbunnet 12:10

I agree. There is no way that Andy hasn’t already been offered a knighthood, or they’ve been told in advance that he wouldn’t accept it.

Nice one Chris.

The eventual destination of a runaway narrative of fear and othering.

Good toon, Chris.

And talking of poison, we will have to endure the debasing spectacle of poor Liam Fee getting dragged through the mud next week, for the Opposition’s pleasure, as they try to hammer the NP legislation.

I left my local anti fracking group last night. It’s a big thing for me, but after two years, and nothing but getting hammered by the Green and RISE screaming at me for being stupid in the last year, to support SNP, I’m done with the level of stupidity.

Apparently Ross Greer knows more than independent planning lawyers, and we can ban fracking. So that’s the law now, get it out there.

They hate facts, they hate evidence, which means they are more interested in fighting and SNP bad, than actually engaging on the issue of fracking.

Why is England so insecure, in general?

There are 50 million of them, in a green and pleasant land.

Why, if not for financial gain, should they meddle in others’ democracy?

Why, over hundreds of years of advancement has Scotland seen NEGATIVE ECONOMIC GROWTH within a UK relative index.

Why oh why oh why…?

For all the folk living in England Wales and Northern Ireland you should definitely vote OUT without question it’s the best thing for you and you know you want to get rid of all these horrible foreigners and be in control and all those really really good things

For us in Scotland IN IN IN and then we can get OUT OUT OUT of the United England of Great England and be normal folk who vote our own people to get our own say in what the hell goes on in our own country and stop being told by England that we are ONE Fukcing country until it comes to democracy and then we’re told there’s more of them than us so shut the Fukc up Scotland

A word for thick fishermen, it’s not the fault of the EU things aren’t right it’s the fault of the A,Holes in Westminster London England who won’t let your own Scottish politicians represent you in Brussels, maybe you’ll consider voting YES next time to Independence while you’ve still got any fishing left, because if you leave it to Westminster they’ll sell it to somebody, or deal it away

If you voted NO you’ve got no right to moan or blame the SNP
You would only have had that right if we’d been Independent

re legal advice on fracking
have been asking for clarification from local snp branch, and from lallans peat worrier, none so far. not sure why snp reluctant to release legal advice, it only leaves idiots like ross greer to spout rubbish.

re, mckenna, i think he still is labour, i think eventually, slab will support his position of indy scot

re, named person discussion. the journo was ill prepared and very weak. he should have said that since the details are unknown, he was railing at ruthies slurr. she got off scott free in that interview

re- brewer interview
quite a lot of mistakes from all of them,including brewer,
the senario in question was as i pointed out earlier. the entire interview was a complete cluster f**k

@louis b. argyle
at 1pm: 05/06/2016

“Why is England so insecure, in general?
There are 50 million of them, in a green and pleasant land.”

Well according to a quote by Thomas Carlisle when asked the population of England. “Thirty million, mostly fools”

(Does not account for population growth, obviously)

link to goodreads.com

@Fran, the population of Scotland in 1707 was NOT 4.5million! Historians do not have accurate figures, only guesses, as the first official census did not take place until 1801. But it is estimated that the figure in 1707 would be around one million.

An unofficial census was organised by the Rev Webster in the middle of the 18th century which estimated the population of Scotland using parish records, at about 1.2 million. Scotland was one of the first countries in Europe to develop an interest in demographic information and Rev Webster’s initiative was followed in the 1780s by the First Statistical Account of Scotland, using the Church of Scotland’s parish records. Ministers sent in detailed accounts of their parishes.

One thing is for sure though, and that is that whereas in 1707 this was around 20% of the figure for the whole of the UK, today it is only 8%.

Although a vote to remain is still the bookies favourite I can see the Brexit vote winning this referendum. I was looking at the results from the latest Yougov poll for the Times and there are some very interesting numbers in there.

Remain and leave both polled 41%, 13% don’t know and 4% would not vote.

The interesting figures though are only 36% of those that voted Tory in the GE back Cameron and will vote to Remain 50% want to leave. We all know that older voters are much more likely to vote, worryingly for the Remain camp a massive 58% of the 65+ age group want out and only 27% back staying in.

The momentum seems to be with the Leave camp, when will Cameron unveil the EU Vow to limit immigration to the UK with all the EU leaders signatures on parchment?

Better remember to stock up on the popcorn early before the shops run out!

I thought Tam Baillie was very poor and for someone who was very vocal in his article when he obviously had time to think about it ,but when harangued for an answer continued to repeat the same line very unconvinicly .

@ Breeks: Seen the Vimto clip on the YesRegistry? It’s on Twitter.

Wings, Newsnet, WGD, Derek Bateman, Peat Woorrier the SNP, dish the Unionist lies, provide the ammo, Yes Registry do the talking to the public via street stalls, social events etc.

@heedtracker

“Project Fear 2 reaches same Scots ref terrifying levels in their 2 week time, so same as Scotland, remain win 55/45.”

Yep, very plausible. It will all come done as to the typical type of voter that bothers their arse to turnout. I think the Tory voter (mostly Leave) and the older voter (mostly Leave) will have the biggest turnout of all groups.

Squeaky bum time for Cameron, so your surely right heedtracker. The dirty tricks department of the Establishment will be pulling out all the stops in the last couple of weeks.

Like others. I noticed McKenna giving himself away. He probably ‘lent’ his vote to the SNP in 2007 and has been regretting it ever since, Either that or he saw independence as a way for SLab to regain its previous glory.

I utterly despair of our press. Angela Haggerty’s piece was welcome but far too late to do anything except provoke another perfect response from You know who.

Anyway speaking of Rowling. Is there anyone else in the UK who can shut down a discussion like her? She is the worst thing to happen to free speech in this country. Her stranglehold on the press is both sinister and baffling.

That ScottishPEN have her as a spokesperson is completely ludicrous.

The dirty tricks department of the Establishment will be pulling out all the stops in the last couple of weeks.

Thepnr

Yes, when the non political queen makes her, “England should think very carefully about going it alone” threats from her Balmoral palace, church car park or where ever, they’ll have reached the peak of Project Fear terrify the electorate.

Although the queen’s probably not that bothered either way in this ref. That lot do get millions of euro’s in EU subsidies too though, free money is still free money, who ever gives them it.

I may be imagining it but radio shortbread seems to be increasingly leaning more towards Brexit.

I am mildly surprised but I suppose they could be hedging their bets now Out is in the lead in the UK as a whole.

Risky strategy though.

Do not thrust the Polls. They are used to deceive, manipulate and illegally gerrymander.

For a organisation of 500Million people the EU administration is better and more open than Westminster. How much does it cost with the unelected Lords?

I may be imagining it but radio shortbread seems to be increasingly leaning more towards Brexit.

I am mildly surprised but I suppose they could be hedging their bets now Out is in the lead in the UK as a whole.

They’re NOT supposed to be a UKOK political party. They are ofcourse and they blatantly lie to us and the whole world that they are so apolitical, impartial and trustworthy.

the pnr

there are a few results of this ref which favour indy scot

im quite up beat

if the indyref split scotland and intensified a division then this eu ref is doing the same for the uk
the uk is disintegrating
bbc pravda is being damaged too,

good, keep it coming

regardless of the result
tories in melt down, majority threatened by election fraud investigations, blair about to face the publication of enquiry

snp as popular as ever and the unionist discredited and facing another wipeout in 2017 local elections

whats not to like?

Fair do’s Legerwood at 1:40… I let Frans figure slide, as the principle of relative lack of Scottish population growth was not in debate. 😉

Thepnr says:
5 June, 2016 at 3:43 pm
@heedtracker

I think they hate Britain more. Understandable really.

Maybe. Its just rich Paris.

Saw a Hibs shirt in the Paris crowd though. Uh oh.

Capella 11.30

Here’s John Major contributing to Project Fear during the Scottish Referendum

link to archive.is

Loved this.

“And, is it not bizarre for the SNP to campaign to leave one highly successful Union, whilst applying to join another far less successful one that is seen – even by its most ardent advocates – to be in serious need of reform?”

bjsalba

22 countries and growing, that’s big even if you don`t think so. But maybe you could enlighten me as to when you would consider “too big“, 30? 50?. As far the multi lairs of burocracy are concerned perhaps you could provide me with the evidence that it is not the case.
At the end of the day its just my opinion, its called free speech.

As far the multi lairs of burocracy are concerned perhaps you could provide me with the evidence that it is not the case.

If you think comments like there’s too much EU “multi lairs of burocracy” without anything to back it up, you’re probably on the wrong site.

Just listening to Magic Radio this very moment, when the DJ announced about the SCOT Andy Murray who WASN’T DOING VERY GOOD at the moment.

So if he was getting along dandy would he be the BRIT Andy Murray?

I’m getting fecking sick to the back teeth with this pish.

Stephen Roney.

Material changes in circumstance do not come any more material”

Its really wrong to think proud Scot buts will switch to YES if its Brexit, for all kinds of reasons. If they didn’t think Scotland could run its own affairs 2014, Brexit will frighten them them even more and they’ll cling even harder to England running Scotland for them.

If you’re a YESer, vote EU, for Scotland’s sake.

The only time in the last 300 years there has been a Partnership Union was within the propaganda of BT during IndyRef.

On the 19th Sept, London reverted to the imperialism and exceptionalism of Greater England.

And, it is with that framework they view EURef.

Legerwood at 1.40

No problem

While it is certainly mathematically possible that a Scottish Remain vote could keep the UK in the EU and I would laugh like a drain if it happened….(doesn’t make you a bad person) but it is starting to look like Out is gaining traction in England.

In still has to play its trump card though…an out vote would invite alien invasion and mass anal probing.

Nice one Chris.
As the Yoon media blatantly make up bollocks every day,
would it be ok to start accusing and naming Yoons of paedophilia ,rape, murder etc ?

Would it be ok to take them on at their own game, but ramp it up to 11?

Just asking like.

McDuff,

You’ve got to do it in the right order.

1. Remain first,

2.Yes to Independence,

Then, and ONLY THEN,

3.Leave in a Scottish EU referendum.

Anything else and you blow this chance for us to get out of the UK. Of course, I’m assuming you DO want to get out of the UK, don’t you?

I have enjoyed the Naw Bag UKOKer tearing lumps out of each and kicking seven bells out of each other and it is getting worse.

However I cant wait to get this EU Referendum nonsense out of the way. My gut tells me that Ingerland is going to vote to Leave and Scotland will vote to stay in the EU, hence the increasingly hysterical outbursts from the UKOK Remain Campaign. The Brit Establishment is well fucked in that scenario so they will rig it one way or another.

I am more looking forward to meeting up with my old Yes group again once this EU Referendum is out of the way and firing things up again for a Referendum that is about us and not some Eton schoolboys fight going public. Tick tock as somebody keeps saying!

OT

EU vote has both sides going into meltdown
Andy Murray not English shocker!
Hopes of Engerluuund winning Euro 2016 fading after Portugal friendly
Farage doing some dodgy scaremongering
Riots at Epsom Derby

How can it get any worse?

Original Stonehenge was dismantled in Wales and moved to Wiltshire, archaeologists believe
link to telegraph.co.uk

Calum McKay@6.53
Gordon Brewer was doing what Gordon Brewer does best , tries to totally confuse any SNP voter , just like BC did telling SNP voters to vote Green during the election .With all his mumblings , his if’s and buts , and a little innuendo here and another there ,at the end of his program you can be tearing your hair out looking for clarification on anything he has been discussing . Anything he says is best completely ignored .He was trying it again by telling us we should be voting leave . Common sense tells you if we vote stay , and RUK vote leave , it could lead to indy2 .

On the other hand!

”We’ve had our historical troubles to bear. The Caledonian influences on the Ku Klux Klan – founded by emigrant Scots cavalry officers within the Confederate Army in 1860, its oaths taken from the Society of the Horseman’s Word in North East Scotland, its burning cross taken from the call to arms by Scottish clans in the 14th century, the Confederate flag formed in a saltire shape – are lurid enough.”

link to thenational.scot

heedtracker @ 14:03 said:

Big worries for red and blue tory yoon culture, Scotland votes stay and its enough to keep England in too.

This is the golden result. Not too likely, alas, because the exact balance is hard to achieve, but (as I was saying in a recent earlier thread) the implications for indy are immense. Here’s what could happen:

+ Cameron resigns, the Tories have a leadership election, and Boris wins.

+ The Brexiteers are almighty miffed – the “tail wagging the dog” once again – until they realise there is a way out.

+ Boris offers Nicola a deal: English independence, ie. a mutual agreement without a second referendum to separate, Scotland to continue as successor state to the UK re the EU, and England+Wales to negotiate its way out of the EU in parallel with breaking with Scotland.

It has only a slim chance of being possible, but surely one worth voting “Remain” in Scotland for!

Scott Finlayson
Remember Rome in May ? , straight sets win for Murray over Djokovic !

Pat Kane: pseudo intellectual arsehole with an inbuilt cringe:

”We’ve had our historical troubles to bear. The Caledonian influences on the Ku Klux Klan – founded by emigrant Scots cavalry officers within the Confederate Army in 1860, its oaths taken from the Society of the Horseman’s Word in North East Scotland, its burning cross taken from the call to arms by Scottish clans in the 14th century, the Confederate flag formed in a saltire shape – are lurid enough.”

The KKK were not formed by emigrant Scots. Brigadier George Gordon and General Bedford Forrest were of Scots origins…but so was John Brown the abolitionist who tried to free slaves, unsuccessfully, in the pre-war. Confederate veterans were responsible,but they were not Scottish born.

Walter Scott was a favourite author in the Old South and plantations and other aspects of Southern society modelled themselves on Scottish history…hence the fiery Cross adoption. Southerners were by and large of UK stock with Scots and Ulster Scots over-represented in the Rebel Army. This was why they chose the Saltire for the Confederate battle flag…during the war and long before criminal elements created the KKK in post war South.

Incidentally, West Virginia came into being because that part of Virginia, predominantly ‘hill-billy’ Ulster Scots, decided to side with the Union against the aristocratic slave owners ( mainly of Anglo-Saxon) descent in the rest of the state. Pennsylvania was similarly ethnically Scots and remained in the Union.

Why oh why are we overloaded with chattering empty vessels like Kane, who are ready to denigrate Scotland and its history at the drop of a hat? He and Rise and the rest of the Liberal Left are basically parasites who despise the rank and file YES people. They think they are an intellectual elite..but have nothing to add to our cause except self-loathing.

Kane is a verbose poseur without an original thought or idea in his baldy head. His knowledge of History is as about as thorough as his understanding of dialectical materialism.

Gordon Brewer, should start to make his Sunday Shite more plausible by wearing his pants on his head whilst broadcasting.
It would still be mind numbingly shite but you would at least get a laugh at his incompetence.

Regarding SCOTLANDS Andy Murray.
Better to lose clean than win a cheat.

Djokovic is clean, it just happens to be,that he is the greatest tennis player ever.
Fact.

In and out of the car today catching segments of the French Tennis Open.

I could only listen to the match on EBC Radio.
Nothing to do with the match outcome, I’d consider this to me the worst sporting radio commentary of all time.

I think they hired a Serbian Parrot that kept saying with suppressed glee “Another mistake from the Murray racket”.
For me another mistake from the EBC!

The co-commentator I feel certain was the Rev I.M.Jolly.
I lost count of the number of times he didn’t finish his sentence, only for silence to follow?

To make the broadcast complete, they filled in their lack of enthusiasm and lack of tennis knowledge by sharing text messages from listeners who were willing to share that they were listen from outside the Vets, from the garden, from the garden while drinking beer?
Who would have thought such things would be going on?
We really need this info when the world number 1 & 2 meet.

Absolute dross from EBC, I’ll take back that 1 out of 10 score I had rated then at before the match.

I’m with you McDuff,for once i’ll be voting against Nicola’s wishes, my postal vote is away to leave the EU, nothing to do with immigrants,it just seems to be a club for big business. All this claptrap about protecting workers rights, try asking 65,000 redundant offshore workers plus those that are left offshore with work rotas changed T’s & C’s reduced, and up to 35% wage cuts. Or maybe ask the workers at Grangemouth who got a take it or you’ll be closed down, or the steelworkers who are getting shafted, all good paying jobs who are joining the race to the bottom on the wages front, like the rest of the country!!I haven’t met any SNP/Labour/unknown voters who are voting to remain, but it’s easy for folk to say that.One thingn that has amused me is the amount of bigwigs/mp’s/MD’s who for so long have been telling us how great Great Britain is are now telling us that we’ll be “down the swanee” without the EU”.

Brexit.

Uh huh. See under Tory power struggle, or rather the struggle for who controls the city and the south east. Who gets to decide on the British Bill of Rights. Who gets to decide on who profits and who doesn’t.

The last bit would mainly be everyone north of the M25 ring road.

Brexit may be using a lot of the YES campaign’s language and argument, but the resemblance ends there. This isn’t about democracy for these folks. Its about money and the ‘freedom’ for the select few to make more at other people’s expense.

The only sensible conversation the people of Scotland will have on the issue of the EU is the one we have amongst ourselves after we’ve dealt with the EU directly as a sovereign state. Right now we’re being rail-roaded into a conversation as a third party participant.

Whether we stay or eventually decide to leave, wouldn’t people rather be making that decision from the first person perspective? Dealing with the EU heid bummers directly rather than farming out the responsibility to another country to make the decision for us?

In short, I’m not thrilled at being rushed into a decision because some over privileged Tories are having an in house spat about how to screw folks over for yet more centralized control and raw cash. A decision which deserves a damn site more consideration than who can out ‘fearmonger’ the best.

Dave McEwan Hill and Brian McHugh

Thank you.

As Brian said the lack of growth in Scotland’s population is not in doubt but I just think the point is best served by using the correct, or as near correct figures as the data gathering of the time was capable of, to underline the point.

I don’t think there can be many families in Scotland that has not had family members who have emigrated. In my own family the peak emigration time was the 1950s and now I am the only one left in Scotland.

Lochside

If anything Scots should feel pissed off that such an important and significant symbol from our past (the fiery cross) has been distorted and bastardised by the KKK.

highseastim @ 22:43 said:

my postal vote is away to leave the EU

Duh. “Act in haste, repent at leisure”, then!

There’s a lot of people hurting right around the globe due to the downsides of globalised capital, but anyone here foolish enough to think that a bunch of Tory spivs selling their snake-oil Brexit panacea are on the side of the ordinary working stiff is going to get a very nasty shock indeed in very short order, if the spivs win!

These people are the ultras of yoondom, and in no way whatever are they the friends of an independent Scotland.

Tam Jardine @ 10.55

OK. My bad – this time.

The internal migration betwix the rUK and Scotland is one of the reasons why any strategy based on the balance of yes/no in oaps natuaraly changing over time might not working. Retiring to sunny Scotland might be more attractive when better health and welfare provisions sweeten the deal. Not only that but there’s no guarantee that yes and no supporters will die at the same rates. In addition any perceived deliberate abandoning of any attempt at persuading a given group based on wealth, age, education or any other categorization risk backfiring and turning it against independence.

Tam Jardine said:

As for this pretendy war and the two schoolchums, Dave and Boris falling out I just don’t buy it. Whoever wins, the tory party wins- they have a leader in both camps!

I agree with much of what you say, Tam, but not this part. Like the indyref, it’s the law of unintended consequences. There will be a lot of sickening pretendy bonhomie for the cameras afterwards, but it will all be wafer-thin, and the knives will already be buried in each others’ backs as they smile.

If Brexit loses, there will be far more seriously disgruntled Tory backbench MPs than the current Tory majority in WM. A recipe for ongoing Unionist disarray.

“Whom the gods wish to destroy, they first make mad.”

More bad poll news for the Stronger in Europe Campaign again today. Things are just going to get more vicious with the Eton and Oxford boys, lovely!

Just another 17 days of deception, deceit and obfuscation to come from the BBC. It looks like the little Englanders at least aren’t listening to them. It could be them getting a REALITY CHECK on the 24th!

@TamJardine

That’s pretty much my feeling on it too Tam. We’ve had generations to experience the workings of our own Westminster government and there are still folk out there who don’t understand how committees work, parliamentary legislation is formed, votes are proposed and the constitutional issues decided. Hell, most people still struggle with what powers are devolved to our own parliament and what’s reserved.

How can the majority possibly decide on an issue without even basic knowledge of the machinery of EU decision making process to hand? Certainly no one from either camp has even taken the time to inform the electorate. Too hard I suppose (shrugs).

Anyroads, I’m looking at this issue through the lens of our own constitutional first and foremost.

‘…human organs, ultimately inside a pig. How controversial is this?’ asks Gary Robertson, who has only just heard about Oinkgate.

What’s best for Scotland as part of the UK and as an independent nation as far as the EU goes aren’t necessarily the same thing. There’s no guarantee that we will be independent in the foreseeable future.

Expanding on what I said before, given the official Holyrood line from all parties is Remain there’s little doubt that public opinion in Scotland is firmly pro-EU as otherwise Davidson would be hedging her bets. In that light any suggestion of a tactical Leave vote might get the desired split between Scotland and the rUK with Scotland being “dragged” out of the EU. On the other hand it might also reduce the Remain majority by enough that it can simply be dismissed as a regional variation. Add to that that it might be why the result is a narrow Leave. Obviously the fact that some independence zealots are willing to vote Leave in order to achieve a scenario that might trigger indyref2 will be portrayed as a kind of “the lady protests too much” kind of thing.

I’d rather risk all the fun to be had from Scotland swinging the result to Remain rather than a Leave and no indref2.

YouGov poll

Remain 41% (n/c)
Leave 45% (+4)
DK 14%

fat lady not singing yet but the few % points from a scotland in vote may well affect the over all result. 🙂

one thing that did emerge this weekend was the leave campaign are all now saying that they WONT get access to a free market.
some had been punting the line that the uk would get access to the free market but all now accept that such access would require the uk to be part of an open eu area with no control over eu immigration. not something brexiters can accept, since stopping immigration is their raison d’etre

much has been said about the economy during this euref,
“of course we can survive” “uk worlds 5th biggest economy” ” 50% of our trade with the eu” ” no one really knows what will happen with the economy etc”….

I had thought, if brexit, then we should move to indyref2 asap incase, apart from a small temporary GBP blip on the money market, nothing much in the economy changed. Any increase in support for yes, from the no voting pro eu voters in scotland, might be frittered away as the new status quo was accepted.

However, we now know what will happen post brexit. the tariff barriers will be erected between the eu and the uk. 50% of uk trade with the eu will become 10% more expensive. (only 5% of the eu trade is with the UK) Indyref2 will be fought with the economic fallout as a backdrop.Regardless of how this will effect scotland directly, the effects of this in england will be reported uk wide. bingo.

Oddly enough, scotland with 8% of the uk population has nothing like the diversity of business that england has, it is top loaded by a few huge industries, but as such, working out the effects of brexit here is a lot easier than in the rUK.

Tourism
not an export and a drop in the value of the GBP would make visiting scotland cheaper.

Fishing
it is an export, but not one that can be reproduced elsewhere. the loss of access by the eu to fishing grounds will be a boon to scottish fisheries, a 10% eu tariff wont affect this business, just make it more expensive for eu citizens

oil
a commodity whose value to our economy is dictated by global oil price, which is rising. and a 10% eu tax will have little effect.

Whisky
reassuringly expensive 🙂 and scotch can only be made in scotland. cheaper brands are already available in the eu but the producers dont want an additional 10% tax imposed. Diagio have already said if brexit, they will not support No in indyref2. 🙂

Financial services
Scottish companies already punch above their weight, but the City is implacably opposed to brexit. a 10% eu tax will hammer them. forget screwing brass plates to doors, they can change their trading location with a click of a button faster than you can say “offshore account” . oddley enough, a brexit followed by indy in scotland, may be londons loss but edinburghs gain.

agriculture
a 3rd of barley goes to make whisky and beer, the rest to feed cattle
almost all wheat goes to make biscuits
Oats, rapeseed, fruit make up the remainder of production
100% of potato crop in scotland is for seed potatoes for the rest of the uk.

livestock
Sheep. a 10% eu tax will damage them. but im not sure how much real value the duke of athol, the largest sheep farmer in europe, is to the scottish economy
beef, 33% is used for stud for the ruk and 4% for eu stud. the rest is a top quality product sold in top class expensive restaurants worldwide. A 10% tax may cause a limited impact on this industry
milk, these producers get shafted anyway, difficult to say how it will be effected
chicken and egg producers, any loss in eu trade could be offset in an increase in uk trade created by a reciprocated tax imposed on eu goods in the uk

IT
Wolfson products in Apple iPod, iphone series, Sony’s PSP Microsoft Xbox Logitech Squeezebox Duet and the PalmOne Treo smartphone, Samsung Wave S8500, Samsung i9000 Galaxy S smartphones, LG phones including the LG-LB4400 music phone and the Android-powered LG Optimus GT540 smartphone.
Wolfson Microelectronics produce the Audio Cards for Raspberry PI

basically all the clever stuff that makes your smart phones work.

other manufacturers in scotland
Aggreko plc
Albion Motors (axles for us market)
Alexander Dennis (falkirk electric buses)
BVT Surface Fleet – part of BAE Systems and VT Group
Doosan Babcock
Edesix ( body worn video cams)
Kelvin Diesels
Linn Products(top end hifi equipment)
Pelamis Wave Power
Pringle of Scotland
Robert Noble
Spirit AeroSystems (Europe) Ltd
Wavegen

other major businesses
AG Barr, Irn Bru
Baxters
Highland Spring
Robert Wiseman Dairies
Tunnock’s
Walkers Shortbread
Edinburgh Woolen Mill
Jenners

there are other companies, eg tennants lager, who will be effected but since the bulk of their sales are in the uk, to a much lesser extent.

its a long list but not as long or as complexed or varied as englands, where bmw moving their carplant to spain etc, would dwarf any effect in scotland.

Am I alone in becoming increasingle bored with the continuous ding dong of lies and scare stories excreted over us by the 2 competing Tory groups.

My boredom with this contest is only surpassed by the boredom induced by the revamped Top Gear.

If you though that last weeks’ opening edition was bad you aint seen nothing yet if you didn’t watch last night’s episode.

I was so glad that I recorded it before viewing as that allowed me to alleviate my boredom by using the Fast Forward Button.

Twisted Kenneth Roy is having another go today at throwing mud at The SNP’s Named Person Legislation by trying to blame it and the party for the tragic death of Liam Fee.

I have been a regular reader of The Scottish Review for several years and for much of that time considered it to be a reasonably fair commenter on Scottish Affairs.

However, it has now become a faithful supporter of The Guys In The Black Hats with Roy leading the charge supported by others such as Torrance.

I’ll continue to read it for the same reason as the only paper I now buy is The Daily Mail namely to keep myself informed of all the lies and scare stories the bastards publish.

It can’t be long before Roy joins the other unionists
who masquerade as political pundits – Gardham, Massie, Torrance, Clegg et al as regulars wheeled out to mouth their propaganda on the late night Scottish Political
Programs.

Why would we get independence from Westminster only to give it up to the undemocratic EU superstate? The same monster that simply ignores your country’s vote if it dares to disagree or simply demands you vote again if you vote the “wrong” way. A small country like Scotland would simply be stomped down and used and abused like the rest if it dared to do anything that wasn’t in line with the EU’s demands.

What is going on now with the anti Brexit campaign makes the dodgy stuff against the Yes campaign look like small potatoes, yet so many hypocrites turn a blind eye to it as they believe it suits them for the moment. We are seeing Project Fear ramped up to massive levels from Westminster and the EU pockets and mouths.

Rule by the unlected commission is not a good future for Scotland, every bit as bad and possibly worse than rule by Westminster. If Westminster had simply forced Scotland to revote again after a Yes vote there would have been literal riots, with many here probably sympathising with such a reaction, so why run to the bosom of the EU which has shown itself to be willing to employ such behaviour whenever it suits it? This is no small issue to be easily ignored, this is rotten foundations and core.

This gives the measure of Michael Gove, and the rest of his Brexiteer cronies who were also cheerleaders for Bitter th’Gither…

Michael Gove says Scottish independence would invigorate Vladimir Putin (The Telegraph: link to telegraph.co.uk )

David Cameron says British exit from EU would please Putin (CNN: link to edition.cnn.com )

Michael Gove today clobbered the Prime Minister for using “bogeymen” like Vladimir Putin to scare voters into staying in the EU (The Sun: link to thesun.co.uk )

Somebody care to remind me what the definition of a Hypocrite is? Second thoughts, no need.