Black-Is-White World
One of the uglier facets of opposition to the hugely-popular but now-repealed Offensive Behaviour (Football) Act was the 100% uniform stance against it in the Scottish press. Despite the Act being backed by a large majority of voters across every demographic and political divide, not one print or broadcast journalist ever stood up for the public.
The reason, of course, is that bigots (and lurid stories about them) are a large part of what keeps the Scottish media’s life support machine functioning, and so the media panders cynically to the extremist sections of the Celtic and “Rangers” support who still buy papers for the latest transfer gossip and soft-soap interviews with ex-players.
And so it is with a remarkably mad front-page lead in today’s Sunday Herald.
The paper reports that “over half” – 44 out of 86 – outstanding OBFA charges have been “converted” into other types of offences and are still being prosecuted by the independent Crown Office, claiming without explanation that this is “an embarrassing move for the SNP Government”.
But it rather seems like the opposite is true.
The repeal of the 2012 Act clearly specified that the possibility to transfer offences to a different charge would remain an option, and it’s being exercised in 51% of cases. But bizarrely, the piece then asserts:
…when the exact reverse appears to be plainly true. What those figures suggest to any logical interpretation is that existing laws only covered about HALF of the offences, and in fact the OBFA was necessary to bring the other half. Otherwise all 86 would have been transferred to existing offences, not just 44. Like, duh.
The paper then wheels out the usual anti-OBFA suspects – ie James Kelly MSP and poisonously partisan Labour activist Jeanette Findlay – to whinge about the statistic without actually offering any argument for why the prosecutions are now inappropriate.
Which is strange, given that their argument was never “people shouldn’t be prosecuted for sectarian behaviour”, but that “people can be prosecuted for sectarian behaviour without this specific law”.
In a further two pages of coverage inside, the paper inexplicably repeats the irrational claim that the Crown Office transferring half of the charges somehow proves the case that all sectarian offences were covered by existing legislation:
Andrew Tickell – lecturer in law at Glasgow Caledonian University, and no fan of OBFA – pointed out the somewhat gaping hole in reasoning on his Twitter account.
In fairness, since we know that James Kelly has a lot of trouble with basic counting, it’s possible that he simply doesn’t understand that 44 is only half of 86. The inhabitants of the Herald offices famously aren’t all that great at identifying how much a half is either.
Nevertheless, it’s a grim state of affairs that a newspaper at the supposedly “quality” end of the spectrum could spend three pages on such an open perversion of the facts, flatly claiming that two plus two equalling four somehow proves it also equals eight.
But maybe it goes part of the way to explain why the Scottish media shows no sign of changing its ways in the face of sales figures that are falling faster than almost anywhere else in the world. Perhaps they show so little concern because they think that if your circulation is cut in half, it isn’t actually dropping at all.
The Sunday Herald focus on this is easily explained.
Their ‘News Editor’ is Angela Haggerty, who is a Celtic supporter, like James Kelly. The Celtic Family’s objections to OBFA were largely driven by their annoyance, when they discovered the Act caught-out some of their naughty songs and behaviour as much as it did those of ‘Ra Peepul’.
In their eyes, OBFA was only meant to refer to the other lot.
It also hinders the Sunday Herald that Haggerty has been promoted way above her capabilities.
@ Socrates MacSporran 12:46 pm :
Well said & I couldn’t agree more.
Bigots are bigots on both sides of the godbothering idiots divide & Haggerty is most certainly a sectarian bigot.
The SH is a unionist rag, same as the daily version.
[…] Wings Over Scotland Black-Is-White World One of the uglier facets of opposition to the hugely-popular but now-repealed […]
I always was under the impression that you could and should be charge under the law pertaining when the crime took place. So if these people where charged under the OBFA when it was still in operation could surely be prosecuted under it?
The Rev says
That would be the spectrum of British Nationalist propaganda printed materials?
I agree the double quotes are needed on the word quality because it is difficult to attribute a measure of merit to such divisive and corrosive activities.
I don’t think we (ie the Yes movement) should write off the Sunday Herald, as there are precious few newspapers that are even remotely sympathetic towards Indy, and we should be careful with what we wish for in terms of the ones that exist.
I also think there’s definitely room for a newspaper that is a bit less of a fanzine than the National, ie one that still holds to account the SNP government and asks difficult questions.
Having said that, as Wings demonstrates here, I don’t think this is a sensible or helpful article. It certainly doesn’t stand up to scrutiny. Another mistake from Sunday Herald. Where is Richard Walker when you need him?
It could be argued that the OBFA was set up to fail by those bringing the prosecutions. If you don’t think a law should exist, make sure you undermine it by sloppy procedures and aiming at soft targets enabling like-minded judges to call it ‘mince’.Test the boundaries by targeting t-shirts and flags highlighting causes generally thought of as ‘good’ to get people not associated with football riled up.
The fact that individuals of all affiliations were seen to break this law shocked those of a certain inclination. Just look at who the main critics both politically and journalistically were, bleating about all those ‘poor young folk with their lives ruined’ for breaking a law they knew full well existed.
If you want to make a political statement at least have the courage of your convictions – most of those convicted were not of that persuasion, they wanted to sing their offensive songs and behave in a way they would not elsewhere with all that entailed and get away with it. The protection of the crowd was taken away and they did not like it.
The Sunday Herald appears to have handed the bulk of the paper over to Paul Hutcheon. I remember years ago he was given Ian McWhirter’s space when McWhirter wasn’t available. His contribution was a naive anti-“nationalist” rant which wouldn’t have passed muster as an S2 school essay. Whatever his qualities as an “investigative reporter”, it’s a mighty odd strategic decision by Scotland’s only “independence-supporting Sunday newspaper”.
“a newspaper at the supposedly “quality” end of the spectrum”
Note also that “quality” is unqualified…
News paper, two words made one, but yes they are indeed made of paper
The first word?.. well
Stopped buying SH or its daily offering.
Watched Sunday Politics: an anti-SNP par-excellence:~
A Slag off SNP’s shelved education bill
B Slag off Gillian Martin & highlight Jackson Carlaw’s ‘outrage’
C Slag off SNP not backing 2nd EU Ref – non-story
BBC complete silence on:
A Mundell opens huge new office & 5000 new civil servants. Why?
B Ex Tory (Scots branch) vice chair’s DUP ‘dark money’ funding.
C 28 June deadline breached so Brexit 2yr transition in doubt
Why the shit hits the fan, it is going to come as a nasty surprise to any depending on the BBC for their news!
The clue is in the ink used to print the papers title
Herald. Is RED
The paper is WHITE
Sunday is BLUE
Staring us in the face.
The SH is a Unionist rag just like its sister paper – don’t buy it Jules compares the National to a fanzine when clearly he hasn’t read it. I urge him to buy it and compare it to the Unionist newsapers including the Engish comics such as the Mail and the Express.
I occasionally bought the SH, not now though I’m done with it. As I suspect are many other readers.
Captain Haggerty’s stewardship, will see the SH go down without a trace, in the not too distant future.
The Sunday Herald is just another British nationalist propaganda rag. Don’t buy it.
Another article the proves this paper is anti Scottish Government, Independence and decency. Liars and manipulators of fact. They are an embarrassment to themselves.
Never a twinge of regret at stopping buying this paper.
Jules @ 13:20,
Sorry, can’t agree. The Sunday Herald is obviously a lost cause, with Hutcheson and Haggerty now in charge. The owners are clearly trying to boost their BritNat readership, possibly on the expectation that they will produce a Sunday National to gather up the pro-indy readership.
The old “corn flake” marketing ploy: sell the same product under two different brand names and thereby capture a larger market share. (Or so the theory goes.)
As for having a paper “that is a bit less of a fanzine than the National, ie one that still holds to account the SNP government and asks difficult questions”, I can’t agree with you on that either. If The National is a “fanzine”, it is for the radical left RISC types, not the SNP. And it’s not exactly short of concern-troll-type articles about the SG either.
What we need is a quality newspaper worthy of the name, which just tells the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. So people can draw their own conclusions.
A reformed Scotsman anyone…?
Re;Jules@1.20pm
Oh fear not, for the whole of the UK media and their pals abroad don’t leave the SNP alone, unless of course they have a long winded, day in day out, on the hour SNP bad story to tell, or should ‘we’ say, make up.
The National is no ‘Fanzine’ if you are inferring it is pro the SNP, it’s not particularly pro, at all. It’s mainly pro independence, that is all. No ‘news paper’ is pro SNP, and as we all know the BBC have even been proven to lie through their teeth re the SNP.
No, the ‘yes movement’, ie the independence supporters, movement if you like, should call out the media for their daily onslaught of SNP bad while not even remotely ‘holding to account’ the Tories’ branch in Scotland, or Labour branch in Scotland, for their work in undermining Scotland, Scotland’s communities, and especialy Scotland’s democratically elected government.
I won’t go on, but you ask anyone who is not in the habit of reading past the daily made up Britnat headlines, about the hugely concerning issue of say, the power grab, and they will be guaranteed to say to you, ‘eh, what power grab?’
I really don’t think that taking the likes of the Sunday Herald to account is even remotely taking their (imo faux) independence support for granted.
Scotland’s alternative media is essential, and as you will know, broadcasting, is a reserved power, ie, Scotland is banned from having it’s own broadcasting facility for the general population. The SNP, yes that party never being ‘held to account’, have repeatedly requested that broadcasting be devolved, and the UKGov have repeatedly refused to hand over that power to Scotland, ever wonder why?
Those that control the media, controls the population, as the saying goes.
I have always been of the opinion that these rags are not really required to make a profit (nice if they do but) their real function is government mouthpiece no matter what the cost.
Robert, Hetty,
I respect your different opinions, but respectfully disagree. Of course we need to call out the media’s non-stop SNPBad.
But that doesn’t mean that pro-Indy papers need to feed us a constant, unquestioning diet
of SNPGood.
Look, for example, at (sorry) the Telegraph. It’s relentlessly pro Tory, pro union…
but it pursued and broke the MP expenses scandal that was damaging to the Tories and the union. I’m just saying that a paper doesn’t have to be unquestioning of governments, even if they broadly support that government. That’s all.
I think, as I said earlier, that the Sunday Herald has
made another bad choice in terms of its lead story today. But do you really want to go
Back to the days of 5 years or more ago, when there wasn’t one single paper in favour of Indy? Do you wish that the Sunday Herald dies? Seems counter-productive to me…
This is the calibre of British Nationalist journalism, an argument that black is white indeed.
How different it would be if the journalist wrote the truth.
“Only 50% of those charged under the withdrawn “OBFA” act will have the case against them taken any further due to there being no existing laws that they could be tried under in Scotland and that would have allowed the cases to proceed.”
“Those politicians fighting for the scrapping of the law appear to have allowed lawbreakers to have escaped justice.”
Of course there is no room for the truth in Scotlands MSM.
Jules, nobody on the indy side of things has viewed the SH with anything other than suspicion for some considerable time.
My personal opinion is Haggerty is being promoted by the press/BBC precisely because of her divisive views. That’s all “Better Together” have left – try to start religious sectarian division to split the vote.
Others may differ but the Herald (both of them) are lost causes to the indy movement.
The National (being part of the same group), well we’ll see won’t we? Once upon a time it’d have been frowned upon to even suggest the SH wasn’t pro-indy so things clearly change….
Jules- “also think there’s definitely room for a newspaper that is a bit less of a fanzine than the National, ie one that still holds to account the SNP government and asks difficult questions”
Remind me again when the BBC & MSM have ever held the Westminster government to account?
Point to me one interview when Ruth Davidson was given the ‘mics not working, time delay response or voice over by British Nationalist reporters.
However, I do agree we just want the media to tell the truth.
Newspapers should have one simple aim. To make money by reporting accurate events. Post referendum this country is roughly divided into two camps. Those who support indy and those who do not. That is the target audience for news.
If you choose one side ,you alienate the other. Sales will irrevocably fall, and your business will eventually collapse.
Somewhere along the line the owners,editors, and others have decided to back one side against the other in order to survive. Backing the Union seems to be their fallback position, which may have financial incentives we do not know about. Including I. E. BBC money for local media.
It is what it is and we must live with it I suppose. It clearly hasn’t reduced the desire for another indyref.
Their position is ultimately untenable in any case.
Excellent piece as usual Stu cutting through the crap and stating the facts.
As for the Sunday Herald, I don’t buy it, and won’t even consider doing so whilst there’s a danger of paying Haggarty’s wages.
I think Scottish Indy actually NEEDS a fanzine newspaper, why not, all the other rags are totally for the opposition so why not one for the Indy side because the National doesn’t fill that role, the National says it supports Independence in a rather dull wet and boring way waiting for the moment when NO voters might pick it up for a read, which they won’t no matter what it says or what truth it contains
Independence needs an Independence rag like the Daily Mail only the opposite to give back some of the horror headlines the Mail and their pals indulge in
Maybe Grandmaster Clegg’ll change his position eh?
I doubt it though
These people are an embarrassment, their job titles are fraudulent , they should be ashamed to call themselves journalists or INVESTIGATIVE reporters , the perfect example IMO Haggerty as news editor , real journalists must be SOOOOO ashamed of their profession and the presstitutes who currently inhabit it .
No wonder the likes of John Pilger is revered , news and current affairs presented honestly and with integrity
Jules @ 15:59,
I just don’t recognise your characterisation of the National as being slavishly pro-SNP. The other day, for example, the paper ran an article by economist prof. Richard Murphy very critical of sterlingisation. (OK, that was the Growth Commission rather than the SNP, to be exact, but he was disagreeing in particular with Ivan KcKee, who is SNP.)
The National has also featured many articles by Haggerty’s old pals in CommonSpace who aren’t by any means uncritical of the SNP.
So I can’t for the life of me see any indications of it being “SNP Pravda” as it has been called by the BritNats.
As for the SH, when a fruit’s rotten, you throw it in the bin, not eat it. Lately the paper has been anything but fair, which is all we have a right to expect in general. (Example: the notorious Glasgow march photo.) And we expect better than that from a paper that claims to be pro-indy.
You can only judge it by its works. We have enough false friends as it is. (eh, Mr. Sillars?) I honestly wish it were otherwise, I really do, but there it is.
I can”t trust what I read in the papers or see on bbc or stv.
I look back over the years and the trust factor, or more precisely lack of trust, has always been there. As a result, I don’t buy papers.
The too poor, too wee and too stupid has been spoon fed to Scots since the seventies. A significant proportion of people living in Scotland still believe this falsehood. But key to Indy Ref 2 is that this number is diminishing as people get news from alternative sources.
The press, bbc and stv will still punt too, poor, wee and stupid, but they will open up new areas of attack such as demonising Sturgeon, lauding Davidson as a rock star, religion, racism, isolation and security. All this will be done whilst ignoring and diverting Scots attention away from the shambolic chaos of westminster under the tories and dysfunctional labour. Also the origins of and continued imposition of austerity from westminster will be missing from our screens.
Expect the onslaught to ratchet up soon!
Dr Jim says:
1 July, 2018 at 4:54 pm
I think Scottish Indy actually NEEDS a fanzine newspaper, why not, all the other rags are totally for the opposition….
Please no Dr Jim. That’s the kind of thing that makes us, us, and them, them. You don’t counter Propaganda shite with more shite, but truth and stubborn objectivity instead.
Besides, how do actually satirise Unionism? I mean literally, it’s so utterly “through the looking glass”, and so ridiculous and absurd reality that it’s a tough thing to send up. What is actually happening goes way beyond any comedic plot covered by Yes Minister. The biggest joke about Brexit is the fact it’s really happening.
I wouldn’t call for a fanzine, but what we do need, and have needed since 2016, is constructive engagement and progressive dialogue with Europe, and steadfast communication of progressive ideas with our people throughout, with the overt objective of building ProEuropean support and undermining Euroscepticism. Both the EU, and Independence, have been smeared by the same houses of UK Propaganda and prejudice for decades, and both causes ought to compliment each other, so why aren’t they?
Why the fk are we watching fat pricks with Orange waistcoats humiliate our country before the eyes of the world? Wasn’t the xenophobia and bigotry of Brexit embarrassing enough? Didn’t we just dodge a bullet with Xenophobia and sectarianism? Those are the buttons Farage and Boris were pushing, and what they earned for Britain was Brexit. If these Orange feckers demand the right to march, let them march up and down the thoroughfare every day… on Gruinard, beside all the other toxic residue tipped on Scotland by Britain.
This country of Scotland needs to be judged by its patience, integrity, stoic resolve, its inclusive ideals and respect for others, our creative imagination and our Nation’s modest magnanimity in its strengths. These arsehole bigots in the Orange don’t belong in the same century as the rest of us, and it’s a national embarrassment that they claim belong to Scotland.
It’s bad enough that Scotland is marketed as a “tourist” destination where visitors can come and slaughter our wildlife for fun. If we really do want our Independence, and to prompt a Second Scottish Enlightenment, then we have some long overdue housekeeping that needs to be done before our country is fit and ready for inspection.
A National Newspaper allows someone with Hutcheon’s pedigree ie none to turn its paper into a laughing stock, Do they really think some of us would not dissect the details of what is written?
I think the SH owners are not interested if it fails only that it attacks the SNP at any cost.
I said I would give it a chance. It will not now be delivered to my door every Sunday with my morning rolls.
I’ll still buy the National.
Sorry o/t Brill russia through on penalties.
Dr jim 4.54pm. I agree we need a pro indy newspaper that’ll scare the bejasus out of no voting pensioners. Lurid headlines telling them their pensions will be slashed, bus passes phased out, winter.fuel allowance to be abolished. Give these tory voting blue rinse britnat brigade a taste of the post brexit fear.
Breeks 5.35pm. Ah but our news wont be propaganda,It’ll be the truth. Which they will quickly and painfully find out for themselves
Yoo-hoo… peek-a-boo:
link to youtube.com
Or try:
link to youtube.com
Black and white… opposites attract each other mwah xx.
Fine fine fine.
Ha ha ha…
Aye can see you. 😉
@Breeks
I don’t mean to imply a fanzine should tell lies, the truth’s perfectly fine by me
But in BIG GIANT LETTERS and BIG GIANT PICTURES showing the opposition up for the liars they are, and you know what I bet it would sell more than the National’s wet attempt at being intellectual
Why do the Sun and the Record sell more than anybody else,
they’re drivel magazine comics and people like to read drivel as long as it looks good, so give them something that looks like a comic magazine but tells the truth as well, you can’t inform people by excluding what they’re used to and the National sales figures confirm its own failure to do that
The National fanfared its arrival by proclaiming it was the newspaper that supported Independence now that was dumb to start with because they just laid themselves bare to being denigrated by the opposition before it even got started
No other papers admit to being on anybody’s side but we know that they are, so who advised the National to shoot itself in the foot before the ink was even dry on the first run
You don’t tell your enemy you’re their enemy before the fight starts you hit them when they’re not looking as hard as you can so they don’t get up and fight back, it’s kinda how you win, no other newspaper plays by Marquess of Queensberry rules here so why on earth should we when all the judges and the ref’s are on their side
Unfortunately we’re not in a movie where the good guys win in the end, the bad guys won last time because we were too nice and if we keep being nice they’ll win again and our great grandchildren can talk about how we blew it when we had the chance, no doubt on the revs great grand childrens blog *Butterflies over North Britain* formerly known as….well
I get over aerated, (must calm down)
Wheeeeeeee
link to youtube.com
Hehe nice song RN, interesting background…
Cheers.
Enjoy the continuing sunshine 🙂
And football.
Bought the Sunday Herald for the last time today.
Bitter “reporting”
I will sell buy the National tho
Yeah, I thought the background was apt!
Breaks at 5.35pm
Nice one
Sorry BreEks
Any bigot who makes racist or abusive remarks to another in a public context deserves prosection under applicable laws.
As for defending these racists and abusers by certain MSPs, maybe they should be suspended from public office by Scottish Parliament presiding officer.
He would have my respect if he did.
The Scottish Government should implement a law, that every party putting up members to stand for election to the Scottish Parliament, must be Registered in Scotland and list all donations received, and by whom.
….or they good have had 3 pages on the Tory dirty money scandal!!! That was never going to happen.
Ulster and the Orange Order Caliban is beginning to bite in Scotland
link to caltonjock.com
Getting back to the main article, I still can’t understand the twisted non-logic behind that front-page story. It’s laughable to any fair-minded observer.
It can surely only be regarded as an attempt to shore up sales by appealing to the hoped-for sectarian Labourite masses.
Though I’ve lately began to wonder if Orange Order influence is seeping into the editorial decisions of the paper, possibly via advertising pressure if not in even more insidious ways. The Herald titles get way more advertising than The National, which may be as much of a weakness these days as a strength.
You should expect nothing less from the North British Labour Party/STUC Branch Newsletter, a.k.a. The Herald.
More recycled SNP-Bad followed by a doze of Glesga-oriented fitba.
Keech in print form.
To respond to Stuart Campbell’s observation that only 44 of the 86 outstanding charges under the OBFA legislation have been translated into charges under alternative law, anyone who had been charged under OBFA with singing a range of songs that will have been belted out in Cowdenbeath yesterday and on the streets of Glasgow next Saturday will not have been charged under the alternative legislation. This is because the criminalisation of those particular songs ONLY applied to people attending football games who the police “believed” to be causing fear or offence. A much lower level of proof than applies in ALL OTHER CIRCUMSTANCES.
If there were an “Offensive Behaviour in Politics” Act I suspect the Fiscal would be arranged an appearance for Gillian Martin on charges of inciting racial hatred. Nicola Sturgeon needs to take more care when promoting her chums. Did her party learn nothing from the Bill Walker affair?
One of the best things about football (for the unfamiliar) is that they now put the COLOUR of their teams shirt underneath their country’s name on a guest tv.
Otherwise… who’s who.
Football good.
Score a goal!
Penalty shoot out it is.
Good save Denmark.
The Sunday Herald also had an article today about unions, including GMB, asking for Mr Mundell to help for BiFab.
Apparently they have had meetings with Ruth Davidson and asked her to use her influence (sic) with the UK Government to get help for BiFab.
The article did acknowledge the earlier help from the SG.
Will be interesting to see if anything happens. A wee bone given to the company to boost Ruth Davidson’s profile perhaps??
Interesting to see how this plays out.
Ra team wae the couple of Wingers wins!
Good luck in the next round Croatia.
SCOTLAND is on the Green xx.
John Connelly @ 21:00,
Yes, fair enough comment. As far as it goes. Which is not that far, really. Now that OBFA has been repealed, nobody at all it seems can be charged with inciting fear and hatred on sectarian grounds.
Not even when dressed in military costumes and proudly marching behind a banner dedicated to a sectarian terrorist murderer.
A big win for tolerance there (not).
I would be more convinced of the bona fides of the noisy minority of serial grumblers if there wasn’t a Red/Blue Tory alliance quietly conniving to appease the least savoury of their own hoped-for voters by ensuring that there isn’t a replacement of any kind in prospect.
Who gains from the present situation? Not the public who are heartily sick of this infantile tribalistic posturing from an unpleasant, arrogant and self-entitled minority, nor the police who have to keep the peace with these arrogant fools now assuming they can go back to doing whatever they damn well please with impunity.
As for Gillian Martin, you obviously haven’t read her piece, which was saying nothing derogatory at all about the disadvantaged but rather commenting on the PC establishment who prey upon them.
But then, what are facts for the sectarian-loving BritNats but mere playthings?
John Connelly at 9.00
Could you perhaps reference the the behaviour of Gillian Martin that incites racial hatred or perhaps you haven’t actually read what she said ( or maybe,didn’t understand it).
Not a a real Connolly like James Connolly then?
Clutha… ahm a comin’ for ye…
Ahm body-bound again.
Hey Laura xx.
Aye’ve got ur number.
White is black.
John Connelly @ 9:00 pm
You write: “If there were an “Offensive Behaviour in Politics” Act I suspect the Fiscal would be arranged an appearance for Gillian Martin on charges of inciting racial hatred. Nicola Sturgeon needs to take more care when promoting her chums.”
Mr Connolly, as I of course assume you’re an honourable man, then I must also assume that you have read both of the contentious blogs with due care and attention – and with a degree of objectivity – before making such a remark!
IMHO you have, for reasons known only to you, completely misinterpreted Ms Martin’s intention as is plainly evident from her prose. It was to satirise.
It may not have been the finest writing; it may have used overly colourful descriptive language to illustrate the targets of her satire but if you do have a true concern for the upholding of the law (do you?) – and also for fair play (do you?) – then I suggest you read these blogs in full (for your second time?) and reflect and re-consider. Thank you.
“One of the uglier facets of opposition to the hugely-popular but now-repealed Offensive Behaviour (Football) Act was the 100% uniform stance against it in the Scottish press.”
Also in the “independence supporting” The National, sister of The Herald and The Sunday Herald?
Like the “independence supporting” Green Leader Harvey who sided with the unionists to bring about the repeal of the ” hugely-popular” Act.
Feel Oor Pain. 2nd July 2018.
There’s nothin’ here that she’s produced
A’ her attacks are self-induced
Seductress or the ane seduced,
Send her hame tae roost.
Let her survey her sordid mess
Let her deny oor deep distress
Let her escape while we protest
Back tae her viper’s nest.
She’s the ("Tractor" - Ed) wi’ the killing smile
Another ane just like Argyle
They’re a’ the same, her rank an’ file
A’ bitter, curt an’ vile.
She does nothin’ but berate
We Scots are burdens on the state
These thought oot words will seal her fate
She’s the ane we rightly hate.
She wid be oor wreckin’ chain
For she’s the ane that stauns tae gain
Ah wish her heart could feel oor pain
As she eyes her London reign.
Paul Colvin.
©
@Cactus: 10.17
We are all pilgrims. We share the YES journey. YES!
Stay safe.
Andrew effing Wilson came into view as I was looking at the SH graphic there.
How on earth can Andrew Wilson talk about the softest Indy whilst tethering our economy to one which is sliding off to the extermities of rampant neoliberalism.
Andrew Wilsons report isn’t SNP policy, neither is he a member of the government, he was commissioned to send up smoke signals and everybody’s looking at them puffing away into the sky and wondering what they mean
The only tethering that’s being done is folk tethering themselves to the idea that the report could be policy which it never will be
The SNP can do mirrors as well as smoke, UK does it so can we
stewartb says:
1 July, 2018 at 10:21 pm
John Connelly @ 9:00 pm
You write: “If there were an “Offensive Behaviour in Politics” Act I suspect the Fiscal would be arranged an appearance for Gillian Martin on charges of inciting racial hatred. Nicola Sturgeon needs to take more care when promoting her chums.”
Mr Connolly, as I of course assume you’re an honourable man, then I must also assume that you have read both of the contentious blogs with due care and attention – and with a degree of objectivity – before making such a remark!
IMHO you have, for reasons known only to you, completely misinterpreted Ms Martin’s intention as is plainly evident from her prose. It was to satirise.
It may not have been the finest writing; it may have used overly colourful descriptive language to illustrate the targets of her satire but if you do have a true concern for the upholding of the law (do you?) – and also for fair play (do you?) – then I suggest you read these blogs in full (for your second time?) and reflect and re-consider. Thank you.
Anonymous Says:
stewartb says:
1 July, 2018 at 10:21 pm
John Connelly @ 9:00 pm
You write: “If there were an “Offensive Behaviour in Politics” Act I suspect the Fiscal would be arranged an appearance for Gillian Martin on charges of inciting racial hatred. Nicola Sturgeon needs to take more care when promoting her chums.”
Mr Connolly, as I of course assume you’re an honourable man, then I must also assume that you have read both of the contentious blogs with due care and attention – and with a degree of objectivity – before making such a remark!
IMHO you have, for reasons known only to you, completely misinterpreted Ms Martin’s intention as is plainly evident from her prose. It was to satirise.
It may not have been the finest writing; it may have used overly colourful descriptive language to illustrate the targets of her satire but if you do have a true concern for the upholding of the law (do you?) – and also for fair play (do you?) – then I suggest you read these blogs in full (for your second time?) and reflect and re-consider. Thank you.
In the spirit of the OBFA legislation (and the existence of an Offensive Behaviour in Politics Act) I have absolutely no doubt that Nicola’s Finest, in using the same discretion they habitually used when on duty at football grounds, would have looked at both Ms Martin’s comments about transgender people, people with disabilities, and those of the tipping habits of Jews and Black people, and ensured that she would be obliged to defend her tweets in Court.
By the way, Anonymous, congratulations to you for hiding from view.
John Connelly @ 23:28,
Cut-and-pasting gibberish multiple times then tacking on the same baseless allegations afterward is the mark of the true seeker after untruth.
You really haven’t read Gillian Martin’s blog, have you? (It shows.)
(And who the h*ll is “Anonymous”, anyway?)
Evening frogesque, keep on keeping on…
Aye’ve just diffused a heated Tory situation in de bar…
All it took was 4 words and a close eyeball.
“Come and join us”.
Toon-boond…
Now is the time to gamble.
@Sharny Dubs says: 1 July, 2018 at 3:36 pm:
“I have always been of the opinion that these rags are not really required to make a profit (nice if they do but) their real function is government mouthpiece no matter what the cost.”
If you want the stark cold truth, Sharny, it is that the new BBC TV channel that began in 1952 signed the death warrant of the newspaper industry. In 1952 I was serving an apprenticeship in HM Dockyard Rosyth but lived in Edinburgh. The Yard had a very early clock-on time and there was no Forth Road Bridge. I had to be on my way to work before 05:00AM for either Waverley or Haymarket station for I lived on Edinburgh’s (then), outskirts.
It was usually the Suburban Line platform at Waverly and the Scotsman/Evening News building was just by that platform so we early birds would pick up the latest copy of the morning from the rear entrance of the Scotsman/News building. I can still smell the pungent and unique odour of hot lead and newsprint today.
I used to pass the time of day with an old dispatcher who loaded the vans with newspaper bundles and the old guy bemoaned the fact that he foresaw the death of the newspaper industry as that new-fangled TV would kill newspapers off. He was right.
In those days the papers relied upon the fact that every household and often every member of a household bought at least one daily paper every morning and every evening.
In a very short time those papers were no longer reliant on sales to the public but instead selling adverts for both personal & business’ and that is where they get their money from now but now the internet and commercial radio & TV are getting the advertisers money and that is why they do not give a damn if the public are slowly giving up reading newspapers.
Of course there is a hidden agenda – the Local Unionist political parties, when in power locally, choose to throw advertisement money at newspapers that support their unionism. However, even that is drying up and councils almost all have websites now.
Apparently, Trump tried to buy a hotel in St Andrews using his typical hardball tactics. This story is being punted around as Pulitzer prize worthy as if we don’t know Trump does this type of stuff. The writer is being lauded as he did more than cut and paste Twitter or submit an FOI.
Meanwhile, The DUP and Scottish Tories’ dark money story is buried in the depths of the BBC Scotland website after being given 15 minutes on Newsdrive.
I am so sick of being told what is news and what I need to read about by the corrupt and arrogant Scottish MSM. How do we buy the Scotsman?
Now rooting for Croatia.
Even though I don’t follow football.
Didnae make it intae toon, still south side, in the bar wae the Wings logo… it’s a material kinda thing… Linen like.
Gamble tomorrow.
Where aye end up nobody knows…
Noir is blanc.
Visa V.
Probs back at my tree on my Glasgow Green… tis yours too.
Give it time, about 3 hours…
Submit when posting…
NEVER!
Hey Chris.
@ScottieDog / @Dr Jim
I’d defend Wilson’s report, while largely disagreeing with it. It’s touted as being up for debate, and it’s certainly caused a lot of that already. I suspect it’s genuine in itself all the same, as kind of like an ultimate backstop, almost worst case scenario. Drawing the Unionists’ fire – and at the same time dividing them as others hasten to applaud it.
It’s an effing big magnet.
The GCR actually has unionists saying that both sterlingisation (or dollarisation) AND own currency is a bad thing, which is interesting news for the 196 countries in the world who do one or the other, including the UK. Or to put it another way, it has them doing this:
link to youtube.com
I notice John Connelly’s writing is very similar in style and content ( SNP very very BaDDDDD ) to some of the other bacon rolls who attempt to disrupt the site , is there a whole regiment of the 77th brigade and an endless money tree to spew out their froth .
Alternatively is SIU or their dark money partners recruiting clones to augment their green ink brigade , notice all these brit nat organisations love to infer a militaristic connotation , do they feel that this lends them gravitas or reliability .
Gillian Martin in my opinion has done NOTHING wrong but the ever whiter than white brit nat parties are desperate to weaken the SNP SG by any means and they will use any method to do so
I’m sure some diligent investigative internet savvy winger could maybe accidentally come across similar faux pas committed by the innocent outraged brit nat reps , but unfortunately their faux pas or racism or sectarianism or paedophilia is not newsworthy
Hey TJenny mwah…
Ahm atta party in a top floor flat, somewhere in G.
Glasgow looks cool frae here.
Kissin’ the girls.
Love you Ghillie girly xx.
Good morning Breeks…
Are you here?
Aye am.
All we need is the appointment/transfer of that guy McEneny to the Herald staff to complete the dream team of anti-SNP apologists. The Herald is scoring own goal after own goal and it may find itself playing in the amateur leagues sooner than it thinks. Sad.
Oh Dear! Another unchallenged outpouring of shite from the worst Prime Minister in UK history – and “The North Briton” happily prints it.
But, the trouble is, the gullible, the dyed-in-the-wool, grey-haired “Proud Scots But” will swallow it whole.
The “Scottish” media – the thin red line of last resistance for this busted Union.
How do we beat them? That is our biggest problem.
Secretes it’s time the SNP had proactive rebuttal of the kind of nonsense spouted by Brown and other mad Yoons who claim everything is sh*t under the SNP.
However smiled when poor loser and Team GB football bigot Lindsey Sharp complained about Laura Muir winning 800 meters
Tesco to merge with French giant Carrefour
says it all frankly!
sinky @ 7.41am
Fair point siny, except, all the rebuttals in the world do no good whatsoever if you cannot get the press or the broadcast media to publish them.
The media today is uncontrolled and the big owners can have their minions do as they please. Rigid and enforced media standards should be an early result of Independence, but, they will not half scream before and after it happens.
As for Lynsey Sharp. I fear she is, like the team she supports, burdened by a sense of entitlement. I once had high hopes for her, but, she now appears to be going backwards at pace.
Two wrongs don’t make a right, How can others be called out? A tight ship for the voters to take the moral high ground.
No doubt Alex Salmond will still be involved any Scotsman deal. When the time is right. The debts have to be reconstructed in 2019. Then it will probably going for a song. They will be trying to give it away. Or it will just go under. A phoenix rising from the ashes. Ashley Highfield, chairman is gone from JP paid off.
When JP took over the Scotsman in 2006. There were issues of monopoly in the right wing Press. No lawful balance. Without a free and fair Press there is no Democray. In the UK the Press is controlled by the Westminster Press Office, illegally. Neil is a crook and a liar. Lying incessanty about Scotland. Thatcher’s henchman. Destroying the Scottish economy for money.
Alex Salmond is broadcasting to a potential billion+ audience. Supporting Scotland’s case worldwide. The UN already recognised the deficit in democracy in the UK regarding Scotland affairs. That is the only reason Westminster unionists had to support Devolution. With totally limited powers.
Any attempt to take powers away will make Westminster unininists accountable to the UN. They are breaking International rules/Law and will lose membership. If the Democrstic deficit in the UK is not retormed and changed. Another case will be made and presented by people in Scotland, To the UN.
Vote SNP/SNP. Vote for Independence.
Brown must be worried about his big fat pension. Having destroyed the pension of others and ruined the economy. illegal wars, financial fraud and tax evadion. Blair and Brown should be put in prison with the rest of them. Westminster is corrupt and there is no deterrent. They are above the Law. A disgrace to the human race. Killing and maiming millions. Sanction and starving people. Causing the worse migration crisis since 11WW. Lining their pockets with other people’s misery. Foster et al should be in jail for fraud.
sinky says:
2 July, 2018 at 7:41 am
Secretes it’s time the SNP had proactive rebuttal of the kind of nonsense spouted by Brown and other mad Yoons who claim everything is sh*t under the SNP.
IMO the SG, the SNP and indy campaigns have been far too reactive to events and accusations, and spent so much energy fighting fires started by the british nationalists. With BREXIT, the vow, evel, power grab etc etc (the list is endless), there is now so much ammo to attack with.
Time to take the gloves off and start setting the narrative. If we don’t, the BritNats will set it for us (yet again). Let’s stay ahead of the game this time. 🙂
Socrates MacSporran says:
I would say, though, they aren’t winning. We have had three years of relentless ScotlandBad/SNPBad from them and it has made no impact. They certainly haven’t rolled back Indy support at all.
Their guff will convert no one back to their Union cause, IMO it’s an attempt to keep as many “gullible, the dyed-in-the-wool, grey-haired” on their side.
And … all this has to be seen in the context of their relentless campaign versus our slowly smouldering efforts. What will happen when IndyRef2 is announced and YES2 hit the streets, pubs, workplaces, and homes with a vengeance?
And what have the BritNats got left? SIU fancy dinners and a new set of Duracells for Broon? Visions of a UKOK land of milk and honey after Brexit?
I’m optimistic, this fine Scottish morning 🙂
What I want to know is when do we get a Sunday National?
Well the dinosaur raises it’s head and roars shite again.
The shite of course are lies by the minister’s son.
This guy is a creep of creeps, and one of the worst and most devious of Unionist types in Scotland.
He is never brought to account face to face about anything he has said in the past, but we remember very well.If things go well for Indy2 I suggest he moves lock stock and barrel, to where his heart really is, England.
I noticed that, “The Scottish Government, Health & Sports Committee”, have published a highly critical press report and it is now the headline item on Radio Jockland.
So, of course, the newly appointed Health Minister was invited to speak on BBC Jockland and, Surprise! Surprise! At such short notice the lady, with a packed schedule, was not available – but a member of the committee was – Now wasn’t that lucky?
So I thought I’d run a wee check upon the membership of the SG Health & Sports Committee. Here is what I found on this Holyrood webpage:-
link to parliament.scot
Lewis Macdonald – Labour, (Convener);(1).
Miles Briggs – Conservative and Unionist Party, (Depute Convener);(1).
Emma Harper – Scottish National Party;(1).
Alison Johnstone – Greens;(1).
David Stewart – Labour;(2).
Sandra White – Scottish National Party;(2).
Brian Whittle – Conservative and Unionist Party;(2).
Which, on the face of it looks fairly well balanced.
That is until you consider the current actuality at Holyrood is in practice Independence vs Unionist and then the balance is Unionists 4 independence 2.
Strangely I didn’t hear Garry or Hayley mention the SG have appointed a minister for protecting Whistle Blowers – May have perhaps slipped their minds.
@ Robert Peffers – I think Gary Robertson did mention the existing measures introduced to assist whistleblowers. But Miles Briggs, Tory, dismussed it as not good enough.
I think they want complaints blaring out of every broadcast medium 24/7 until indyref2.
Frankly, tbe only way of stopping this relentless barrage of bilge is to vote SNP, and vote INDEPENDENCE till we achieve it. Then maybe we will develop a press worthy of the name.
There are several “ain’t it awful” SNHS scandals in the press today. Gordon Brown’s is the actual front page headline in The Scotsman. It’s a trailer for a longer whine to be published later in the week.
He says that, in spite of the billions May has promised for health, of which Scotland will get £2 billion, we are STILL short of staff etc.
So, in spite of the money we haven’t yet received, we are still spending as if we hadn’t yet received it.
Demonstrates the brilliance and financial acumen of the man who gifted us PFI debt from here to infinity.
Interesting thing I have noticed, people stating they have not been able to discuss issues on the BBC (London version) if there is nobody from the government to provide balance.
BBC Scotland have no qualms about running a SNP bad story even if there is nobody to balance the argument. In fact there is rarely a balance, more often than not their panels are loaded with just unionist commentators, at best it will be 3 to 1 unionist.
Have they changed recently as I have pretty much given up on their political coverage. I do catch the odd news prog if there is nothing else to do, you do have to keep an eye on them to see what they are currently spouting about.
Also I see Davidson getting excited about an Alex Massie piece stating that inequality is no worse now than in 1990. Nicely cherry picked dates of course, I feel if he had picked 1980 (just before the Thatcher money grab of the general public got into full swing) the result may not have been so rosy. The facts that Davidson is so keen on, the party that has made food banks a part of life for many.
From the Herald:
“THE culture of the NHS in Scotland must be overhauled to make it more transparent and accountable to patients, with greater help for whistleblowers, MSPs have said.”
“The committee said Scottish Government oversight of NHS boards was “inadequate”, and it needed to improve an annual review system that seemed to have little follow-up.
“MSPs also said patients and families felt health boards erected barriers to complainants, and these had to come down, to make the process simpler less defensive.
“There was also scepticism among patients that complaining would make any difference.”
I’ve been telling readers this for months. But have been slagged off by those who want to make Wings their pro-SNP equivalent of Unionist propaganda, rather than providing facts and truth, that if genuinely debated would show where improvements could be made to make Scotland even better and so encourage more confidence in Scotland as we move along the road to independence.
We should introduce a posh and glamorous annual YES awards ceremony..
We can have Gordon Brown Award for the year’s most disingenuous intervention.
We can have Ruth Davidson Award for the year’s most breathtaking and brazen act of hypocrisy.
We can have the Jamie Green Award for the years greatest inattention to detail.
We can have the James Kelly Award for the years most profound act of bigoted ignorance.
We can have Richard Leonard Award for the years most amateurish question asked in the Chamber.
I find this typically analytical WoS piece most helpful.
I access most online versions over breakfast (am a Guardian supporter) but even with a Doctorate can’t often spot the skewing which the hacks achieve.
@Breeks 9:35
Brilliant!
Perhaps it should be the Wings Awards?
Ah, but would any of the winners turn up to receive their awards in person? Or, would just be a good piss up for Wingers?
And what would the awards themselves look like? Something very Proud-Scot-but and cringy would be appropriate. Instead of an athletic guy with a globe, it could be a Harry Lauder type with too long kilt and stupid tammy holding up a tea cake.
RP @12.05
In 1952 The Edinburgh Evening News was not owned by The Scotsman.
The Scotsman owned The Evening Dispatch.
It was after Roy Thompson bought The Scotsman that he bought the News and shut down the Dispatch.
The News building was on the corner of Market St and Cockburn St.
A letter in the National suggests the SNP ought to drop the national in its name because nationalism is seen by some as bad. Small country nationalism is concerned with survival, freedom and sovereignty. It is the big stuff, from bullying imperialists that is dangerous.
If anything the Scottish might be dropped. We know the country and nation the party defends. The style The National party would mischievously play havoc with the grey cells of those who promote the UK as a surrogate nation. Bring it one.
The UK establishment received a massive shock in the 2015 General Election, they thought they had slayed the SNP in 2014. Hence the budget for the 2016 Holyrood elections was massively boosted for the unionist side, probably 2017 too but I haven’t checked that one.
The MSM was put on high alert and any negative SNP story was to be followed up, no matter how little evidence or how trivial the event. Hence a string of SNP MP’s was paraded through the print media and every one diligently reported in depth by the BBC Reporting Unionism programme.
This will continue until either Scotland is independent or the SNP are removed from government at Holyrood, and have a minority of Scottish MP’s at Westminster.
Is it little surprise the media are not interested in the Tory ‘dark money’ but are extremely interested in a 11 year old blog (over egging what it actually says). Or how little interest in the truly hateful blogs/tweets that seem to emanate from various unionist politicians. It is not the agenda they have been tasked with.
The reason the Mark McDonald story can run for months is because they can always link it to the SNP, other parties negative stories are lucky to make the headlines or if they do are dead within 2 days (the acknowledged life of a bad unionist story by a BBC reporter).
Why is it the case that Appointments to the SG have to be approved by a vote of the whole Scottish Parliament?
Just imagine, given the current state of the Tory party at WM, how May would get on appointing cabinet members under that system without even considering the votes of opposition members.
All this talk of the nhs staff shortages and the same in teaching,
Who in their right mind would want to take up a post in either just to be worked to death and treated like a stock item on a shelf.
Employers in many industries squeezing every last bit of effort out of their employees with no thanks at the end of the day. It seems that they just want to bleed the poor buggers dry and if they don’t like it they can be replaced.
@gus1940
I don’t think the Westminster system is that different, they can still have a vote of no confidence in a minister I believe. It is the election voting system that normally stops this as there is a majority for the governing party (or you bribe someone like the DUP).
Because the SNP are relying on the unreliable Greens for a lot of legislation then they have to often compromise. Hope those that split their vote last time are happy with the outcome.
NI is a economic basketcase where civil rights and freedoms are ignored. £Billions have been spent bailing out the Troubles that have been caused by unionists breaking UK/EU/International Law for unionists votes at Westminster.
Total corruption buying up elections with public money of which everyone else is paying. Some with their lives. Millions are being killed and maimed by Westminster unionists so they can illegally line their pockets. They are an international disgrace. Lying crooks and parasites. Most of them should be in jail. Brexit is a disgrace. It will cost even more ruining people’s lives. The Tories + unionists and others are a disgrace. Completed and utter liars, along with the sycophant Press.
Gordon Brown, ultra Unionist North Briton, says Scottish independence would be bad…in other surprising news scientists say gravity is a thing and people shouldn’t jump from high buildings.
Still if they are wheeling out the clunking fist so soon after the last foray it means they know that the fan is about to be hit.
@Capella says: 2 July, 2018 at 9:09 am:
“I think Gary Robertson did mention the existing measures introduced to assist whistleblowers. But Miles Briggs, Tory, dismussed it as not good enough.”
Either I missed it or it was added in later broadcasts but the whole subject is utter mince.
There have been more than enough SNHS complaints made of recent years. Who can forget the exposure on Wings of the, “Ordinary”, Nurse claiming to have to use feed-banks who turned out to be an active political activist with a political agenda.
“I think they want complaints blaring out of every broadcast medium 24/7 until indyref2.”
That is already the case but the truth is that the SNHS by far surpasses any other NHS Service in the entire United Kingdom and especially that of England. The whole truth is that the Britnats have nothing left to fight with and are reduced to attempting to put down anything Scottish with the exception of Brit/English nationalism.
“Frankly, tbe only way of stopping this relentless barrage of bilge is to vote SNP, and vote INDEPENDENCE till we achieve it. Then maybe we will develop a press worthy of the name.”
There is no way of stopping the “relentless barrage of bilge”, than the time honoured method of starving it of oxygen until it dies and, if all reports are correct, we are already getting close to the point of total collapse of the dead tree press and the latest closure of STV2 indicates the TV Broadcast faction are also feeling the pinch.
he people of Scotland are indeed, “Switching Off”, both mentally and physically from the obviously fake news SMSM and broadcasters. Which is why the Westminster funded BBC are diverting taxpayer’s money to subsidise Scottish Media reporters. Then there are the unionist controlled local authorities that overspend on adverts on Scottish Media in order to help finance the Westminster propaganda.
Think about it – what is the point of a local authority placing, for example, information about bin emptying services, on local dead tree newspapers that are serving an ever decreasing readership? Most Councils have their own websites and most mobile phones can access the internet.
The Britnat propaganda is failing and their own, probably doctored, opinion polls prove the point.
‘Inequality no worse than 1990’s’. It was a disgrace then and a disgrace now because of a succession of unionist government whose policies have been an absolute disgrace. The only slight respite Scotland has had is Devolution 2000. SNP mainly minority gov because the Unionists mucked up the Scottish Parliament electoral system to try and keep them in control. Scotland would be Independent and more prosperous now without their wilful, lying interference in the Scottish economy. Dangerous liars.
The Tory unionists are a danger to society and the world economy. Cause unnecessary human strife, deliberately to cause inequality and debt. The UK is one of the most unequal places in the world with the most pro rata debt. Scotland has been depopulated and had it’s resources illegally and secretly taken by Westminster for hundreds of years. By total corruption at Westminster and a lack of democracy. From 1928 Universal Suffrage and before. Scottish votes did not count and were deminimished over time. By corrupt Westminister mismanagement and governance. The criminality kept secret under the Official Secrets Act. Iraq, Lockerbie and Dunblane kept secret for 100 years.,
@
gus1940 says:
2 July, 2018 at 9:57 am
” … The Scotsman owned The Evening Dispatch.”
I should know by now not to comment too soon after getting up a bit late after a bad nights sleep. You are correct and my memory played tricks upon me.
” … The News building was on the corner of Market St and Cockburn St.”
Aye! That was the one I commented about. It was just across the road from the Waverley Suburban Line platform. Anyway the essential part of the comment was that the newspaper industry knew in 1952 that it’s domination of the propaganda narrative was on the way out. It is testament to their endurance that they have lasted as long as they have and in 1952 there was only the BBC Kirk o’ Shots transmitter and a single TV channel.
uk.businessinsider.com/theresa-may-warns-her-cabinet-there-is-now-no-chance-of-a-bespoke-brexit-deal-2018-7
The essential thing about traveling to and from a football match is that it’s a time when travelling support do so en-mass. OBFA wasn’t perfect but it was less draconian than an outright ban regardless of circumstances. The essential principle was of “There’s a time and a place” rather than “Ye Canny”.
Not a great supporter of the OO in practice rather than in principle. Doubt they’ll ever convince themselves that a change of tack towards the a Golden Rule, freedom of worship as long as it doesn’t impinge, will meet their protection of the Protestant Faith criteria. So they probably won’t convince others that they mean it if they do reform.
Gillian Martin might have made a mistake in taking her blog down that’s only being saved by wayback archives. In context it’s obvious she’s being critical of things and how she intends it to come across. She starts off with the holy grail description of the stereotypical multi minority. Also the description of a transvestite is a riff on Little Britain which was off the time. Same with the relaying information from waiters about their observations on how people tip. Context is King and removing it opens up more avenues of attack.
Re Gillian Martin.
Perhaps Nicola should have a rethink and consider the comments that have been made by those who have studied the blogs (ignoring the predictable British Nationalist feeding frenzy).
If she could bring the Greens on side she should reinstate Gillian and tell the British Nationalists to get stuffed.
Incidentally why did Rowley not receive a ban and suspension of pay as has been done to McDonald?
As you say Rev, Every available piece of evidence showed overwhelming support among both the public and fans for the OBFA yet the Sunday Herald’s Paul Hutcheon still insists that fans opposed it.
Hutcheon seems to have a blind spot when it comes to facts.
He’s in danger of becoming the new Magnus Gardham. What happened to him?
Everything they said about this law was a lie.
I cannot for the life of me understand why anyone would back it’s repeal.
There is only ONE reason I can possibly think of why anyone would push for it’s repeal, and that is when the Labour Party pushed for it in order to get some of the Orange vote which the Tories had so successfully managed to employ.
Would the Labour Party that I grew up loving and respecting actually do this?? Yup, I’m afraid they did exactly that.
Football matches are where bigotry is learned. The Old Firm are complicit in this too. They’ve had various schemes allegedly aimed at preventing bigotry and ‘keeping religion out of football’ BUT in the real world we have my local ‘Old Firm Supporters Club’ (I won’t say which one) I live across the street from it, they have drinking and run buses to their games from it as you’d expect BUT despite ALL their fine talk they have the Orange Band marching from it and the band practises there every week.
Now, with the best will in the world, the Orange Order (OO)describe themselves as a ‘religious political oranisation’ which is clearly incompatible with this ‘Old Firm Supporter’s Club’ alleged attitude in keeping religion out.
Supporter’s of this particular team will OBVIOUSLY see that their team aligns itself with OO when it sees the OB’s (Orange Bands) walking from the clubhouse!
It’s clear then that both Conservative and Labour Partys wish to see us divided along religious lines rather than united to do something positive for all of us.
They should hang their heads in shame…