Wings Over Scotland

Imagine how advanced we would be as a species if we didn’t waste time on such paltry matters.

We now live in a country where denunciation has replaced debate. We are the Simpsons without the burning torches.

Personally, I don’t mind hecklers… but if you’re going to indulge in it you’ve got to appreciate there’ll be incoming directed straight back at you.

So, whilst this nonsense has undoubtedly been uncomfortable for all concerned, it has also been educational in that the Israeli couple now know the depth of feeling ordinary people outside their bubble might have about the current situation.

If they didn’t like the hurty feels, just think how the innocent Palestinians feel about the actual bombing. Sticks and stones…

A comedian, at a comedy show, telling jokes. do you think he’s joking??

I have to concede, I’m a little confused on the correct etiquette here and would value some guidance which is consistent.

Which is the acceptable response?

Is it (a) that the audience who paid good money to be entertained have as much right as the artist to express an opinion in such circumstances – as claimed in this passage:

“If you go to a comedy show and you don’t like a joke, don’t laugh. If you don’t like ANY of the jokes, get up and leave. What you shouldn’t do is loudly start reviewing the show from your chair, because then everyone else – who paid to see the comedian, not listen to you whinging about them – will want to kick your head in for ruining their expensive evening out.

Though in this specific instance no physical violence, only verbal abuse, occurred.

Is it (b) that only the artist and not the paying audience have the right to express a view? As detailed in this passage:

“An Israeli couple in the audience at one of his Fringe shows reacted huffily to a very mild joke about Israel, Hunter fired back an equally mild put-down, and the couple then decided to announce their nationality to the crowd, which was met with predictable hostility from some awful tedious “FREE PALESTINE!” types accusing the couple of being genocidal psychopaths, etc etc.

Is it (c) that the paying audience only have the right to extract physical violence rather than simple verbal abuse? As detailed in the final part of the first quote, above:

“kick (their) head in for ruining their expensive evening out.”

Or is it (d) that the right of a paying audience to respond in such a situation is restricted and excludes specific groups, as clearly advised in this passage….

“and the people screaming about Palestine at them are wankers (because the problem is that they’re heckling, not that they’re Israeli)”

….which conveniently erases the context of what they were heckling about to deny the relevance of that contextual response.

Thanks in advance.

Perhaps we should make Reginald D Hunter the first recipient of the Thomas Aikenhead Award.

I came to this new article after giving up an online search to find a list of media outlets which Sam Bankman Fried had donated to, it appears to have been memory holed. What I did find was puff pieces on him from at least one of those media outlets, Vox. Other pieces which I am amazed are still up documented his family connections to the Clintons via his parents teaching at Stamford. For those who notice his aunt is a Dean at Colombia. Something which was also mentioned in an article was how his image was cultivated along with donations to woke causes such as LGBTQ+ as a smokescreen for the true purpose of his donations which was furthering the careers of both Democrat and, to a lesser extent as far as numbers of donations went, Republican politicians who were devoted to a certain country outwith the US. The only person who outdid him donation wise was GS.

@Confused, as Len also sang “first we’ll take Ardossan then we’ll take Cathkin.”

Apart from the main point here about the chilling effect of the hate crime movement, we now have a very vocal, and amplified (often by non-Jews who claim to be anti anti-Semitism) group of people in eveyone’s faces telling you constantly that Jews are Israel and Israel is Jews and criticising Israel is anti-semetic. Compare that to Russians right now. Plenty of Russians who criticise the Russian state get amplified or supported. Imagine the opposite; that every Russian who criticised Russia was silenced and the only message we heard was something like “all Russians support Russia” – what would that mean for ordinary, normal, nice, liberal, whatever, Russians?

Republicofscotland @ 13.34.

To be honest RoS, I greatly doubt that Mr Hunter, or any other comic, would dare to make a jest at the expense of Islam.
I recall the “comic” Alan Davis making a crack about the imaginary friend “Jesus Christ” he used to have. Not a word was said or a sentence printed about it that I ever saw. One wonders would he have made a similar remark about a different faith.

I do not get the anglo-american fetish for «comedy» of the standup sort, however, what is considered funny may not travel even a short distance from source.
It does serve to have the skin of an elephant in this naughty world.
Translation is also fraught with the risk of non comprehension.

RUSSIAN JOKE
Yes, I do wear a Russian made watch, I wear one every day.
Think about it.

Republicofscotland @ 14.39.

I fear that “what shouldn’t be the case” and what is, in actuality, “the case” differ greatly in almost every area of human activity RoS. Not merely comedy.
I fear that my own fantastic sense of humour requires a greater authority than Paulo Nutini upon which to hang my unprovable spiritual speculations.

Hatey,

Not sure which word of Helen Yates’ you refer to.

Lots of people think Israel is an apartheid state committing genocide.

The ICJ, in its interim ruling on South Africa’s case under the Genocide Convention (at pgh. 30), found “In the Court’s view, at least some of the acts and omissions alleged by South Africa to have been committed by Israel in Gaza appear to be capable of falling within the provisions of the Convention.”

In some countries questioning some of the details of mass killings by Germany nearly 100 years ago can get you jailed, but in the same countries it’s almost compulsory to question in fine detail (if not outright deny) mass killings carried out by Israel today.

Personally, I’m satisfied that both words used by Helen apply to Israel and I’m free to think that – thankfully – for now.

But equally, I’m thankful that other people still have the freedom to deny that Israel is an apartheid state committing genocide, no matter how repugnant and dangerous I personally find such denial.

“I fear that my own fantastic sense of humour requires a greater authority than Paulo Nutini upon which to hang my unprovable spiritual speculations.”

Sven, far be it – for me to impede upon your spiritual speculations – I’m pleased, that you have a fantastic sense of humour – it really helps in life – knowing that I’m sure you won’t mind me adding this.

“When one person suffers from a delusion it is called insanity. When many people suffer from a delusion it is called religion.”

Robert Pirsig.

—————–

“I fear that “what shouldn’t be the case” and what is, in actuality, “the case” differ greatly in almost every area of human activity RoS. Not merely comedy.”

Such is life Sven, such is life.

@Andrew F 4:27

10+ months. 40,000 dead (Humous figures).

1st July 1916 – Somme – over 19,000 British dead.

3rd February to 3rd March 1945 – Manila – over 100,000 Filipino civilians dead. Plus Yanks and Japs.

Nobody applies the ‘G’ word to my latter two examples, or to many of the other horrors with which history is littered. I’ve done my 30 seconds research, your turn now.

But as you write, you find facts-based opinions dangerous, so I’ll defer to your fragility.

One other interesting wrinkle about the ‘G’ word. It’s vanishingly rare for one side to be able to stop it, just by making a few concessions. Take our current concern as an example. It can be stopped by Monday by releasing around 100 hostages, dead or alive, and by a few hundred terrorist fighters and organisers laying down their weapons and going into exile in a neutral ME country.

The facts lead me to the conclusion the Humous boys want the situation to continue indefinitely. That’s not the ‘G’ word. Nobody ever before was enthusiastic about bringing it down on themselves.

I’ll tell you what is dangerous, Andrew, crossing the road. You be careful out there.

Firstly – we had the SNP government -having secret meeting with that vile occupying force in the Levant.

Now – we have the Principal, of one of our prestigious universities – meeting with a diplomat from that nasty military regime.

Scotland’s name, must surely have been blacked by now – with this lot.

“A MEETING between the principal of the University of Edinburgh and I-srael-i deputy ambassador to the UK has been harshly criticised by academics at the institution.

In May, more than 500 staff at the University of Edinburgh signed an open letter calling on senior management to immediately divest from “any company directly involved and complicit with the dispossession of Palestinians living under I-sr-ael-i occupation”.

The letter came in the wake of a student encampment in the Old College quad, where students accused the university of investing millions in companies such as Alphabet and Amazon, which supply the I-s-rael-i government.

link to archive.is

@Sven 3:22

I’ve always seen humour as one of the few things in this world that are genuinely binary.

Either everything is potentially funny, or nothing is.

I’m in favour of the former. Not only do I believe I have the right to poke fun at your most sacred cows, but I support your right to poke fun at mine.

There can be no exceptions.

Very sadly, we have already imported a culture that actively mocks our own, yet makes it clear there will be trouble if we respond in kind.

That’s not going to end well.

Do white heterosexual straight Christian males or females have any protections under the law , or are they just fair game for ANY of the other ethnicity gay religious coloured trans multi gendered fuckwits to complain about or demand apologies from
It is no wonder the far right are gaining so much attention and interest in so many countries when the indigenous natives of those countries feel marginalised and forgotten

As I have posted on here previously,the Aboriginal indigenous natives of Australia were DENIED permanent representation within the Australian parliament in Oct 2023 to protect their ancestral cultures, the ORIGINAL inhabitants ASHAMEDLY were DENIED that representation by INCO MERS and SET TLERS to THEIR country where MANY of the other minority groupings have more power and protections than the ORIGINAL INHABITANTS many western countries are mirroring Australia’s reprehensible behaviour

Hatey McHateface @ 18.29.

I fear that, despite my fantastic sense of humour, my imagination fails to come up with, for instance, a snappy humourous remark concerning cot deaths. Or some other personal tragedies with which I have been involved over the years.
However I’d not grudge you experiencing any comedic aspects of such occurrences which sprang to your ever agile mind.

More Cancellation Culture. It,s a trend. Who,s behind it?

@Sven 6:53

Understood.

Of course, everybody has their sacred cows. Amalgamate all the sacred cows of everybody and there is no subject whatsoever that can be exempted from protection from humour because otherwise, someone, somewhere will be offended.

As I said, it’s binary. Allow one off limits subject and you prepare the ground for every subject to be off limits.

And hence we are where we are. Sliding down the slippery slope to po-faced, rigidly enforced, perpetual finger-wagging, on pain of state-sanctioned censure and ostracism, or worse.

Republicofscotland @ 6:23 pm

“In May, more than 500 staff at the University of Edinburgh signed an open letter”

While the motive may be right, they don’t necessarily represent the Scottish people as only around 10% of academic staff at UoE are Scottish. Which is similar to the ratio of Scots MPs at Westminster.

“I’m pleased to find that we share this mutual enjoyment of both Zen and motorcycle maintenance in literature.”

Sorry to disappoint you Sven – but I’m not a fan of motorcycles, nor Zen, I only quoted Pirsig’s line – because Richard Dawkins was sympathetic towards Pirsig, and his writings.

But hey, although motorcycles don’t float my boat, they do look the part.

You cannot give offence, you can only take offence. In which case the problem lies with you

Rev. Stuart Campbell
16 August, 2024 at 5:22 pm

““So people who protest a genocide by an apartheid state are awful tedious people in your opinion?”

If they’re doing it at a comedy show, 100%.”

100% if they had gone to the comedy show to shout those slogans.

But they hadn’t – they had gone there to hear the comedy and were doing just that, until their enjoyment was disturbed by hecklers, who announced themselves as Israelis.

Then they responded.

As you stated:

“An Israeli couple in the audience at one of his Fringe shows reacted huffily to a very mild joke about Israel”

“People with no sense of humour – or at least, who have a sense of humour about everything but themselves – shouldn’t go to comedy shows.”

You are wrong to tar them with the same brush.

@Rev Stu 1.58 pm

At no point do you have any legitimate entitlement to start screaming that these people support genocide, unless their heckle was “THIS IS NOT FUNNY BECAUSE I SUPPORT GENOCIDE”.

Any questions?

You are of course correct. I suspect – but absent actual polling evidence obviously can’t prove it – that the overwhelming majority of ordinary Scots would heartily agree with your take on this.

However, this place in particular and the less savoury parts of the movement in general have been awash over the past several months with the kind of unthinking zealots who don’t know the simple meaning of words.

Oddly, it’s a particularly myopic affliction on the part of the usual suspects here bloviating about the uniquely evil nature of one side. On the one hand they are utterly convinced that on this topic right is on their side. Anyone who disagrees with their faulty understanding of a particular word in relation to the scale of deaths in the current conflict is totally “beyond the pale” (a term which I notice has also now been labelled a deeply problematic usage *sighs*).

On the other hand they are (mostly) on what I and most others would regard as the side of reason when it comes to the correct meaning of words like “woman”. It’s passing strange.

Of course, it is a truth universally acknowledged – except by the usual suspects in here of whom nothing better can be accepted – that outside this forum folks who rant about “Free form the River to the Sea” (usually without a clue of the names of either the river or sea concerned) and sport watermelon emojis on the Twitter/X bios are overwhelmingly likely to be on what most of us would regard as the wrong side of the TWAW debate.

Sadly since the event is last October this place has doubled down on its reputation as an echo chamber for a hardened core of tankies which would make 1984’s O’Brien proud. In their woo-woo worldview black is white, up is down and left is right.

It takes a special kind of person not to be able to see the contradictions inherent in simultaneously believing that what is happening in the Middle East now – however frightful – is comparible with the Shoah, what happened to the Armenians or in the Holodomor or in Rwanda, Cambodia or even Bosnia. Shame on all of them and on any of those fluffing for such zealots or kowtowing to their hysterical whataboutery.

Andy Ellis @ 8:16 am

When you refer to “the less savoury parts of the movement”, unlike you most folks here rightly think of the rapidly diminishing SNP colonial payroll which has been ‘co-opted’ and brought ‘under the wing’ of the colonial power.

As for “the simple meaning of words” why not try the word ‘colonialism’, which has a long-established theoretical basis and meaning not entirely unconnected to the most urgent matter facing Scots and Scotland – self-determination (i.e. decolonization) and liberation from oppression.

link to yoursforscotlandcom.wordpress.com

@Alf Baird 9.42 am

The usual suspects in here represent a fringe within a fringe. They don’t represent mainstream opinion in the independence movement, still less in the population as a whole. The fact you’re personally so invested in pedalling the “Scotland as colony” snake oil Alf doesn’t mean that it is either generally accepted, or that it it has any appreciable academic or intellectual hinterland.

If the UN doesn’t accept that Scotland qualifies as a non self governing territory, the chances of persuading others that what passes for your case is true seem somewhat remote.

You are correct that colonialism has a long established theoretical basis and meaning. You are simply asserting that that theoretical basis and meaning are applicable to Scotland’s case however. In reality vanishingly few people in general, and more importantly even fewer legal, academic and governmental authorities and organisations, accept that cases like Scotland or Catalonia or Quebec qualify as de-colonisation.

By all means however, feel free to produce any evidence you have of widespread, or indeed appreciable, support for your position. If it’s so self evidently true and obvious, all those supporters should find it relatively easy to crowd fund polling to back up their views surely?

Otherwise people might just think your constant self reverential spamming of the WoS blog (which has much more reach than your own efforts) with your own output is just a desperate attempt to make a silk purse out of a sows ear.

It may help to spell out the legal definition involved:

“Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of
Genocide” – UN, 9 December 1948.

“Article II

In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as
such:
(a) Killing members of the group;
(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
(d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;
(e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.”

On 26 January 2024 the International Court of Justice ruled that the mass killing being discussed here plausibly fall within the definition and as a consequence ordered that interim measures be taken until a final ruling.

@Robert Hughes 9:22

Outraged beyond reason at the very idea of unidentifiable body parts in the midst of an intensive war zone, as you so rightly are, it seems that in your frenzied horror, you must have hit “Submit Comment” before completing your post.

But dinna fash, I’ll complete it for you.

“We call for an immediate and lasting cease fire in G@za, the occupied territories, and the adjacent affected countries, an exchange of all hostages and prisoners, and unhindered passage for aid of all kinds to those in desperate need.”

Please feel free to cut-and-paste and re-use this text as often as possible.

Thank you.

@Alf Baird 11:30

It’s certainly interesting that so many of the “colonisers”, despite living under identical socio-economic-political conditions, with the indigenous, don’t suffer from a reduced birth rate. In fact, quite the opposite.

Actually, my first statement is inaccurate. They are never done telling us how disadvantaged they are, from poorer job prospects, poorer health and education outcomes, lower wages, systemic racism, etc, etc, yet still they’re getting it up more than we are.

Have you conducted any research into whether the physical process of colonisation gives us humans long-term, raging wood? That might explain a lot of history.

Feel free to explore this idea and if you think it has traction, enhance it within an academic context. Who knows, future historians may name it the Baird Effect in your honour.

Just catching up on some earlier posts

@Peter 16/8/24 1:37 pm

I’m not particularly baffled by the Eastwood Theatre’s cancellation of Mr Hunter. The Giffnock/Newton Mearns area is (or used to be) home to Scotland’s largest Jewish population many of whom are active in the arts scene. If that’s not be the reason for the cancellation it’s quite a coincidence.

Host- I am baffled.

To comply with your request for one link per post, I split a lengthy defence of Craig Murray into two. Part 1 is polished at 12:25 above. The second part did initially appear with the message, that it was being moderated. Now, it has disappeared and entirely.

I would like to know what rule, if any, I have broken

@Cynicus 12.23pm

Mr Murray’s minority views are both obvious and noted. The fact that *some Jews* support his extremist views is really neither here nor there. I’d love to see the polling results if people were asked if they supported his original contention on X on 13th July that the Jewish state be abolished.

Opponents of the two state solution are going to have to come up with something more convincing than chanting for the freedom of “P*lestine from the river to the sea” and pretending that it isn’t inherently anti-semitic and jenocidal, huh?

It is simply a fact that Murray’s views and those of the usual suspects in here simply don’t enjoy majority support.

Republicofscooby

You can grow your numbers by learning to write “Scotland” right.

Almost universally, I’d say it’s a no-brainer, but you’re the exception – it’s a brainer for you.

But I still have faith you can do it.

My thanks to those who have responded to what is effectively half post as explained above. I will tweak the remainder and try again

More recently, CM has written : “the Jewish State” (an official as well as your own designation) ‘has the technical ability to carry out targeted attacks, and that the flattening of entire cities with 2,000lb bombs and the massacre of tens of thousands of innocents has been a policy choice.’

link to craigmurray.org.uk

I personally disagree with Craig and others who use the G-Word. The bar for its use should be set very high: extermination that is deliberately blueprinted -as at Wannsee in 1942. However there is no question that quite disgraceful acts of mass murder and other war crimes have been committed.

The grotesquely disproportionate response to the atrocities of October 7, may well have signed the death warrant of the Jewish State itself.

@Spartan 117 1.36pm

So you think all states and peoples should live in a state of splendid isolation? It’s a view I suppose. You can definitely propose that post indy our new (hopefully?) republic eschews all foreign entanglements, but I hae ma doots that we can somehow be insulated from the effects of the “great out there”.

Let’s say (just as a random example you understand – other scenarios are available) that Mr Murray & his supporters amongst the usual suspects in here get their wish and the Jewish State is abolished. Don’t you think several million homeless and stateless Jewish people will have an impact on our wee corner of the world?

Or should we just leave it to everyone else to deal with?

Doesn’t sound ver progressive or internationalist to me, but then I’ve long thought that some of the zoomers in here would be quite happy with a their tartan Brigadoon resembling Hoxha’s Albania rather than say our social democratic Nordic neighbours.

@RoS 12.44pm

It may indeed be true that Alf’s patent snake oil is lauded by the majority of the usual suspects in here….but so what?

How representative are the few dozen assorted nativists, vatniks, sophomoric Brigadoon marxists and (sadly) out and out racists and anti semites who pollute BTL comments in this place of the general readership?

Forgive us if normal folks think they’re not representative at all. Still less can they claim to represent the independence movement as a whole, or the general Scottish population.

Certainly if they did, we’d be able to see some evidence for it in the mass support for their “cunning plans for indy” (TM).

How’s that going by the way…..?

Perhaps your number will grow, but it all sounds a bit homeopathic to those of us living in the real world.

The SNP complaining -that the English government wants to turn Holyrood, into nothing more than a talking shop.

Of course, if the SNP didn’t sell us out on indy – we wouldn’t be in this position to start with.

link to archive.is

O/T: I can’t find the visitor numbers for Wings anymore – they used to be somewhere under a tab at the top of the page. From memory it was about 40,000 unique viewers.

I was looking because the Holyrood petition to make Angus Robertson resign because of his cosy relationship with the alleged genocidal country has only gathered 1268 signatures despite so many Scots being anti the genocide.

I would have thought a large number of Wings readers would want to sign the petition. The petition link is on Sara Salyer’s facebook – it is Sara’s petition.

Andy Ellis @ 3:36pm

I’m afraid I’ve seen too many times during my lifetime the UK wading into conflicts with Size 12 Clodhoppers, idiot politicians throwing soundbites around without understanding the facts that should be ascertained. Meanwhile, precious lives and resources are wasted in foreign lands for nefarious purposes.

GW1&2. The ‘Stan. Libya. Syria. The various nasty goings on in the Balkans. YooCrane. IzRail.

Sorry not sorry, I remain a pacifist, and firmly believe that if events happen in other nation states, we should remain well out of it. Armed conflict should purely be on a defensive basis, I.e. if we are attacked. Others are free to disagree.

@twatbyname 5.57pm

Trouble is bud, what’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. If it’s OK for you to demand proof of my assertions, the same applies to you and your mucker too, right..?

So on you go…fill yer boots.

We’ll wait….

@sarah 5:45

Maybe most people you communicate with are lying to you.

I would learn to trust the verdict people deliver when in the secret, anonymous privacy of the democratic polling booth.

Luckily there was such a poll just a few weeks ago and its verdict is clear.

The people of Scotland want the policies, personalities and promises of the UK Labour Party. At this time, there is every likelihood that result will be repeated in May 2026 when the people of Scotland will deliver a similarly secret, anonymous and private verdict on the SNP/Green train wreck that still has approx 18 months left at HR to grind Scotland deeper into the mire.

” It’s certainly not reflected in appreciable support, or a mass movement or huge donations flooding in to advance your platform is it? Why might that be I wonder?”

There’s no need to wonder – I already explained why in my previous comment.

——————-

“Perhaps xenophobia, bigotry and fluffing for Uncle Vlad just aren’t that popular after all, huh? ”

None of the above have the slightest impact – when it comes to understanding why Scots are unaware, that the union is illegal – or that Alf’s Determinants haven’t reached a larger audience – just as you – admitting that you are a die-hard Atlanticists, that as well, has no bearing on why the information isn’t as widespread, as it should be.

———-

“Back in the real world, nobody really gives a shit about the Claim of Right”

Again this due to the information not getting out there – it has nothing to do with Scots no giving a shit – how can you give a shit, one way or another, if you don’t know the information in the first place – to make that choice.

—————–

“It doesn’t require bowing down to the false assertion that Scotland is a colony or that we’re being robbed/lied to/repressed”

Again if Scots become well informed – and Alf is trying to do that – on what’s going on, as is the Rev in his own way – and what has gone on – with regards to the illegal union, the Claim of Right – Alf Determinants – which clearly show that Scotland is treated as a colony, even though its a country – the elder of the two-countries in this illegal union I might add – then Scots will be able to make their own minds up, however right now the foreign media – consecutive English governments – their security services, and the vile House Jocks – are doing their worst to keep Scots in the dark on these matters.

link to yoursforscotlandcom.wordpress.com

Looking ahead to a possible President Harris. Could there be a change in US foreign policy toward Palestine? Doubtful considering her husband is Jewish and an activist for the Jewish lobby. 145 UN members out of 193 recognise the State of Palestine already. Spain recently doing so. What about Starmer? He could shift the paradigm by the UK recognising the State of Palestine. Unlikely without US approval although the Labour grass roots would say otherwise. I wanted Scotland to take an even hand. Given firstly Humzas intervention and then secondly Robertsons intervention. I would say balanced to date rather than even. Because these diplomatic meetings were partisan. So where to do we start on redrawing the borders of Israel? Pre 1967, pre 1948 or the Balfour declaration. Throw in Ezekiel and Numbers for a biblical interpretation and it starts to look like a board game. The Oslo Accord was successful because extremist views were not in the room. It’s solvable but it feels like we are back to square one. Tricky game snakes and ladders. Too many deaths already. Condolences to both sides.

@Spartan 117 8.26 pm

Neutrality is certainly an option, but then as our Finnish and Swedish friends recently demonstrated it has its limits in the face of what they considered a fairly significant change in circumstances. I don’t think many folk here realise what a huge step change it was for those in both countries.

Others who loudly proclaimed their neutrality in the past like Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium and Norway found it did them little good in the face of a hostile and determined adversary bent on domination.

It isn’t necessarily just about it not being “our” responsibility to sort everyones crap out either, unless you feel there are never any circumstances which justify force which is probably going to be a hard sell given the realpolitik of the current international system.

Hatey Mchateface @ 20.20.

No authority on voting trends myself, I’d still tend to the view that not that many folk voted for the Labour Party in Scotland because of any great enthusiasm for its’ policies, personalities or promises.
Rather, it seemed to many the least worst option to cast their vote against the discredited SNP. Even the Reform Party (surely an English unionist party if ever there was one) achieved a respectable result.
And, I’d suggest, the reason the smaller and newer Scottish independent parties such as Alba or ISP failed to attract many votes was that only the greatest optimist would have felt that any of them would attract more votes in a GE than even the failing SNP. Therefore it made more sense to vote for Labour to get rid of SNP MPs, even if it was without much enthusiasm.

Doug, bravo – that was probably the best joke you were likely to get at the festival.

Is the Fringe-o-Caust still running? Maybe the RAF should bomb the railway lines to Edinburgh-witz to stop this war crime (- hey palestinos, HIYA!!! – how ye doin? – did ye keep up the house insurance, your fault if ye didnay, ken … all ahm saying … ) – back to “shit that matters”

this is a talk from one of google’s high heid yins – an insider, a guy who knows tech

link to youtube.com

– this is what is coming down the line, techwise; if you want to survive, you need to be on the right side of it; it’s a bit long, but worth sitting through it. There is also the intriguing status of this talk being “banned” (for reasons unknown) – it is quite candid, and here is a major tech investor describing plainly how tech interfaces with high politics, and geo politics. The sums involved are colossal – 300B USD for data “centers”(!) and hooking up Canada’s hydropower to run it. NB the manhattan project plugged directly into the hoover dam.

Scotland – with its huge, cheap, energy resources, cool climate and excess of water, could be an ideal place to get in on this; plus smart people and advanced chip design functions.

– but you need to have imagination and be in control of the country. We need to cut the rope to England, let it sink into the North Sea, to pay for its bad decisions and its historical crimes.

Scotland, looks bad by comparison to Ireland, Norway, Switzerland – but with the right kind of strategic imagination we could be far, far richer than any of them.

Or you can stick, siamese-twinned to a bunch of cunts, forever, these kleptomaniac narcissists and see the whole fucking lot – oil, gas, leccy, water – carted off down south, and the country used as Leibensraum for all the anglo. bastards. Nice. The sea bed will also be mined for exotic minerals, another bonanza we will not see, they are developing the drone tech for this right now.

– the worst thing about the tr4itors who lead us is how little they sell the country out for.

Another observation – note the vast gulf in intellect between guys like schmidt and e.g. politicians in general, our deadwood in particular.

Make no mistake – there is a massive new wave incoming and you either get in front of it, or are left behind; change is constant, and those left behind will struggle – as schmidt puts it “the rich will get richer and the poor will just have to do … the best they can”

Numbers for people who don’t get numbers – what are we talking about? What is 300B USD?

Scotland GDP = 200B

Norway/Ireland/Switz GDP = 600-800B each

200B is also the profit for one year (2023) for Norway’s Wealth Fund (not the value of it, the yearly profit)

UK GDP inc. Scotland = 3300B = 3.3T

US, China GDP – 20000B approx = over 20T
– a basic hospital costs 100M, an aircraft carrier and planes about 4B; nuke power station 10B (if you used the chinese), 30B if the english try to do it

there is serious talk of using nuclear power plants – “small modular reactors” – to power the data centres.

NB any UK civil servant who is in charge of this tech policy will -automatically- be concerned with getting this new “stuff” for London-Oxford-Cambridge and nowhere else. You can never rid yourself of this south east bias if you are in the UK.

“but why can’t we have nice things?”

– get back in your box, Scotland.

Just remembered something – there was some tit posting a while ago who claimed the windpower wasn’t worth anything because of … OHMS LAW … a fucking certified genius. Military man, I think, which makes sense; “dumb stupid animals, to be led by the nose”. I wonder if he got seconded for one of those foreign wars that UK troops are not involved in, as foreigners can be taught how to work all the highly specialised “kit”, in 5 minutes, which takes 3 years for our lads to train on.

Alastair @ 11.26.

Could well be the first Burns Night in history with loads more puddings than haggis.

SNP MSP – John Mason, really is a nasty piece of work – his intransigence, to the utter suffering of women and children in G-az–a, by highlighting that the vile occupying force are not committing J-en-0c-ide – is typical of the failings of this SNP government – and the party overall.

“An SNP MSP who had the whip removed over comments he made about G-a–z-a says he ‘completely stands by’ the remarks.

John Mason said he did not expect his party to suspend the whip due to his tweet and believed he had done the “right thing”.”

Chin up, Dan. Nice to see you posting interesting stuff again re. the biggest theft in history (surely?).

Dan 4.20pm

Good to read your post, Dan. Clear, accurate, relevant and certainly refreshing especially with btl being a wee bit in the doldrums at the mo.