The world's most-read Scottish politics website

Wings Over Scotland


Something from the crank file

Posted on February 11, 2012 by

When you hear an organisation is “linked to the Taxpayers’ Alliance”, you don’t build your hopes up too high. The TPA are a bunch of Tea Party-esque loons at the best of times, and the phrase suggests some sort of renegade splinter group too crazy even for that particular nut-house. We’re probably still just about entitled to expect fractionally higher standards from the Telegraph, though.


We were directed to this piece yesterday by a Labour source who really ought to know better, and who was citing it as conclusive proof that an independent Scotland’s economy would be crippled by debt repayments. (Our source later admitted to not actually having read the article before linking to it, which perhaps tells you something about the quality of debate one tends to get from Unionists.)

That anyone at the Telegraph, a once-respectable newspaper, actually thought this rubbish was worth putting its name to may be even more instructive as to how desperate the FUD camp is for scare stories which might frighten Scots away from independence. You can scour the “story” all day looking for how it arrived at the headline figure, or trying to piece it together yourself from the random fragments of made-up “data” scattered through the text (a spurious £9bn here, an invented £7.5bn there, a pulled-from-thin-air 30% somewhere else), but you’ll be out of luck.

If in occasional moments of weakness over the next two and a half years you doubt our chances of success, glance back at this and see just how afraid of us they are.

9 to “Something from the crank file”

  1. Iain says:

    Yes, Der Telegrapher's relationship with the truth is becoming more strained by the day. They seem to be constitutionally (!) incapable of saying anything positive about Scotland or the Scottish, unless it's telling us what a bloody sensible cove that Lord Forsyth is.
    Compare and contrast two headlines on the same RSA report on standards of Maths education in England (compared specifically to Hong Kong & Scotland). One is the Telegraph, the other BBC, no guessing allowed.
    'University maths 'too difficult' for British students'
    'Scotland may have answers to English maths problem'

    Reply
  2. Shodan says:

    They have been stunned and in a panic since Alex got in and made it clear he was going ahead with it and they've been reeling from that blow and scrabbling like headless chickens ever since. All the London establishment (from media to government) has gone potty and their wide-eyed tales of doom and gloom get more unhinged and biased as they days go by. It can only be a matter of time before they claim the whole chunk of tectonic plate that we reside on will spin off into the sun if independence happens.
     
    They know they have no good arguments against independence, that's why they are so frightened and desperate. If they had a good case they would have made it long before now, instead of dribbling and embarrassing themselves. The only thing that has kept them going this long is the extreme bias in the media in favour of unionism and the two main unionist parties and against the SNP especially. Otherwise they'd be reporting the positive cases for independence every day and showing the unionist idiots stumbling and stuttering and failing to come up with their own positive case day after day.
     
    The extremely biased and untrustworthy media is one of the greatest crimes against us as they deliberately choose to hide and spin the truth and bury the crimes of their chosen party. Once the people of Scotland overcome their "too wee, too poor, too stupid" broadcasts they'll be able to soar again.
     
    I saw someone point out the way that the LBC Scotland had pounced on a story about Citigroup expressing concern about the referendum's impact on business while they ignored or buried Citigroup expressing positive expectations for Scotland's future when independent. It's like someone asked over the Soviet state media to work for the unionists. Reality need not apply when that sort of broadcaster or journalist is at work. Their problem is that it looks rather out of place when people are able to look behind the curtain or see the lies in the light of day thanks to the internet and free communications. It does fool some of the people some of the time, but not all of them, thanks to the internet and alternative sources or direct access to the source. They are running and working very hard just to keep the plates spinning. Eventually it'll all start falling down. Hopefully right before the final vote when Scotland finally frees itself from the London madness.

    Reply
  3. Shodan says:

    I really can't wait until 2014. I can't imagine the level of fruity madness that will be flowing from the Telegraph and the rest if it is like this already. Cockanapes will be on life support due to his strained ticker and foaming at the mouth as claims the world is ending in the pages of the Torygraph and still deleting comments that link to this site or mention his hypocrisy. The stories will be so bizarre, so out there, we could repackage them as some kind of sci-fi pulp fiction.

    Reply
  4. Longshanker says:

    King Alex and the crue should commission an updated indpendent equivalent to the age old McCrone report.
     
    Incidentally, have you read the excellent document attached to the foot of the SDA's website?
     
    link to scottishdemocraticalliance.org
     
    Stirring stuff indeed and remarkably deficient in hyperbole.

    Reply
  5. Erchie says:

    Aw fuck, are those spamming SDA fuckweasels here to?
     
    Is no nationalist site to be spared these right wing masturbators and their dreams of adequacy?

    Reply
  6. Longshanker says:

    "Is no nationalist site to be spared these right wing masturbators and their dreams of adequacy?"
     
    Check the top right hand corner of this site Erchie.  Well done for so effortlessly fulfilling stereotypes of a nationalist though.

    Reply
  7. Erchie says:

    Thank you I do take on the role of a typical nationalist.
     
    I be live in open an honest debate, coming out into the open and making your arguments in the full light of day, risking examination by others. Putting their view to the test of an electorate
     
    Something the SDA sock puppets are loathe to do. 

    Reply
  8. Colin Dunn says:

    Erchie says:
    "Something the SDA sock puppets are loathe to do."
    ??
    I know nothing about thew SDA, but doesn't the fact that they have their individual names clearly displayed on their site show that they aren't sock puppets?
    Colin

    Reply
  9. Shodan says:

    You can make yourself a thousand names on one PC and then post everywhere about yourself on the internet using sock puppets. It's a cheap way of making yourself look important and the SDA have gone out of their way to try and claim credit for things they seem to have little to no right to. All too often I've seen there "LOOK AT ME!" posts in comment sections.
     
    Yet when a commenter here did pay attention and start looking into them and asking for more information abuse and disturbing stalking behaviour is given in return.

    Sock puppets and paper thin boasts and they know it at heart, judging by their behaviour. Talk can only get you so far, but they are determined to stretch the limits and steal as much glory as they can.

    Reply


Comment - please read this page for comment rules. HTML tags like <i> and <b> are permitted. Use paragraph breaks in long comments. DO NOT SIGN YOUR COMMENTS, either with a name or a slogan. If your comment does not appear immediately, DO NOT REPOST IT. Ignore these rules and I WILL KILL YOU WITH HAMMERS.


  • About

    Wings Over Scotland is a thing that exists.

    Stats: 6,931 Posts, 1,244,859 Comments

  • Recent Posts

  • Archives

  • Categories

  • Tags

  • Recent Comments

    • Chas on Response Level Upgrade: “I assume that you would include the esteemed professor in the group that seek to ‘polish their own reflection?Jun 16, 13:58
    • Hatey McHateface on Response Level Upgrade: “Another critic of poot killed. We don’t have to look far to see real oppression, real tyranny, real denial of…Jun 16, 13:48
    • Southernbystander on Response Level Upgrade: “It’s a famous quotation from a quintessentially Scottish film, as you know, Nothcode, and a silly play on words of…Jun 16, 13:23
    • Hatey McHateface on Response Level Upgrade: ““It’s clear that the Americans love the Scots” It’s wonderful what you can imagine if you pretend no Americans are…Jun 16, 13:11
    • Ebok on Response Level Upgrade: “‘Trying to bring all those figures under one umbrella is always going to be a doomed enterprise…’ Evidently, my sarcasm…Jun 16, 13:09
    • Hatey McHateface on Response Level Upgrade: “Perhaps you have missed those occasions when “real folk” exemplar and champion, Northy, self-identified as a thousand year old, space…Jun 16, 13:03
    • Confused on Response Level Upgrade: “your reading comprehension does you shame, as usualJun 16, 13:02
    • Hatey McHateface on Response Level Upgrade: ““word-salad nonsense” Brilliant. But not for the reason you will assume.Jun 16, 12:51
    • Northcode on Response Level Upgrade: ““It’s shite being Scottish (Fanni)” You must be very proud of your magnificent contribution to this thread’s ‘conversation’, Inglis. Racism…Jun 16, 12:50
    • Hatey McHateface on Response Level Upgrade: ““independence not as a matter of politics but as a matter of national culture; which is what we see in…Jun 16, 12:48
    • Hatey McHateface on Response Level Upgrade: “Wow! A raft of educational and informative posts since 10 AM this morning, mapping out the route to Indy, along…Jun 16, 12:44
    • Northcode on Response Level Upgrade: “Well, that’s very kind of you to say so. However, I couldn’t care less about England’s self-inflicted woes and am…Jun 16, 12:39
    • Northcode on Response Level Upgrade: “Aye, Alf, it is a joy to see Scots fans enjoying themselves and showing Scotland in such a magnificent light.…Jun 16, 12:33
    • Confused on Response Level Upgrade: “The cry of the middle class everywhere seems to be : I’VE GOT A GOOD JOB – THE SYSTEM WORKS…Jun 16, 12:22
    • Spartan 117 on Response Level Upgrade: “The above groups you list are part of the Soviet-style State Culcha Engineering who’s aim is to tell us and…Jun 16, 12:13
    • Alf Baird on Response Level Upgrade: ““the complete failure of the members of his illustrious roll call” Fanon explains independence not as a matter of politics…Jun 16, 12:03
    • Spartan 117 on Response Level Upgrade: “A good post Northcode that sums up my perception also of the political classes and their supporters both in the…Jun 16, 11:49
    • Northcode on Response Level Upgrade: “Watch out for this bunch… the cultural-NGO-creative class. Because whether they know it not not this is the layer of…Jun 16, 11:44
    • Southernbystander on Response Level Upgrade: “‘It’s shite being Scottish’ (Fanni)Jun 16, 11:30
    • Northcode on Response Level Upgrade: “I have been moved to pen my deeper thoughts on Scottish independence after reading the Mark Saunders piece that was…Jun 16, 10:55
    • Hatey McHateface on Response Level Upgrade: “Memmi to the rescue! You haven’t addressed Ebok’s point, Alf, which is the complete failure of the members of his…Jun 16, 10:30
    • Aidan on Response Level Upgrade: “Whilst there are some serious and competent people on that list (e.g. Joanna Cherry) there are equally quite a number…Jun 16, 10:28
    • Southernbystander on Response Level Upgrade: “You’re imagining a Springtime for Hitler scenario, hmm yes, it could be a disaster, securing the Union forever. Maybe in…Jun 16, 10:25
    • Alf Baird on Response Level Upgrade: ““our latest convert: George Galloway” Yes, in a colony even ‘the more assimilated native starts to become uncomfortable with events’…Jun 16, 10:08
    • Cynicus on Response Level Upgrade: “your list omits our latest convert: George Galloway.Jun 16, 09:32
    • Hatey McHateface on Response Level Upgrade: “@Southernbystander I note you completely ignore the issue of religion. Yet religion is the most important characteristic of any person,…Jun 16, 08:20
    • Captain Caveman on Response Level Upgrade: “Oh do fuck off, you thick fat twat.Jun 16, 07:21
    • Aidan on Response Level Upgrade: “Have you actually seen this above? “James”, who has never posted anything that hasn’t been demonstrably and obviously false is…Jun 16, 06:52
    • Cynicus on Response Level Upgrade: “Including lesbian couples?Jun 16, 00:09
    • Mark Beggan on Response Level Upgrade: “The march to Fenway park is now part of Bostonian folklore.Jun 15, 23:34
  • A tall tale



↑ Top