While we wait for the full detail of what look like being even more watered-down and insipid “Devo Lite” proposals from Labour than we were expecting, we suppose we might as well spend a minute on last night’s big “Better Together” announcement that Eddie Izzard was going to hold a benefit gig for the No campaign, putting the Union on a par with starving Ethiopians and earthquake victims.
Einstein is claimed to have said that the definition of insanity was doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results (and readers hopefully already know our views on Quote Nazis), so we found a line attributed to Izzard in the press release particularly striking.
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Category
comment, culture, idiots, scottish politics
Can you spot it?
Glasgow Caledonian University sponsored David Cameron’s recent “lovebomb” speech in London. We’re sure this is just an unfortunate misunderstanding, though.
Category
culture, pictures
We’ve been writing for quite a while now about the absurd-yet-deathless “Project Fear” scare story that an independent Scotland would lose access to BBC broadcasts (and thereby shows like Strictly Come Dancing, Match Of The Day, EastEnders, Doctor Who and, we dunno, Homes Under The Hammer or something), which was given another tired run-through last week by UK government culture secretary Maria Miller.
We’ve pointed out in some detail that it was complete nonsense, because the BBC is a commercial organisation which would actively seek to sell the rights to its output to Scotland, but what we haven’t been able to do previously was put a figure to the likely cost. Thanks to an alert reader, though, we can now fill in that gap.
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Tags: project fear
Category
analysis, culture, reference, scottish politics, stats
A chance comment on Twitter this afternoon gave us a fun thought – with over 230,000 readers a month, could we get a song to No.1 in the charts by ourselves now, as both publicity and a rallying call for the Yes movement?
We got lots of suggestions for songs with apt lyrics about Scotland’s relationship with the UK and catchy tunes, so as democrats we’ve decided to have a poll to pick what would be the best choice if we should decide to attempt the project.
You can cast your vote below.
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Category
admin, culture, music
From today’s Telegraph.
And there’s plenty more where that came from.
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Tags: cartoons
Category
culture, media, uk politics
SATIRE:
REALITY:
At least, we THINK we’ve got those the right way round.
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Tags: project fear
Category
comment, culture, music, scottish politics, video
So we’ve now had David Cameron, David Mitchell and David Bowie all “lovebombing” Scotland with pleas to stay in the Union (as assorted Tory ministers and their Labour and Lib Dem hangers-on lurk in the shadows a few feet away tapping knuckle-dusters into their palms and making throat-slitting gestures in our direction).
But the big question is, which David would you like to see try it next?
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Tags: and finally
Category
culture, scottish politics
We wouldn’t like to suggest Unionists are clutching at straws this week, but:
Number of words actually spoken by David Bowie about independence: 4
Number of words written about it so far by major news outlets: 3,916
To be honest we stopped counting after that.
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Category
comment, culture, media, scottish politics
One way or another, pretty much the entire history of mankind has been that of a struggle for power. Whether military conquest to secure resources, religious crusades to impose ideology or the fight for individual human rights, people across the globe have constantly striven for power over themselves and each other, and do to this day.
Scots seem to be the only exception.
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Category
analysis, comment, culture, scottish politics
A poll conducted by a Scottish Asian radio station and reported in today’s Sunday Herald offers the encouraging news that 64% of its listeners back a Yes vote in the independence referendum, exactly twice as many as those planning to vote No (32%, for those of you with hangovers).
But in a week which seems to have left Yes supporters excited and buoyant – despite what the media has frantically attempted to spin as bad news – the piece also contained a few sobering quotes that illustrate the nature and size of the wall the Yes campaign has to scale if it’s to emerge victorious.
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Category
culture, scottish politics
Okay, readers, there’ve been quite a few 18-hour work days recently, and an awful lot of pain-in-the-arse stuff to deal with. Tonight I’m kicking back, cracking open a smooth and spicy Bundaberg Ginger Beer, and playing TxK.
Talk amongst yourselves. Normal service will be resumed tomorrow.
Category
admin, culture
