While this site remains mothballed, it’s nice to keep a steady trickle of traffic going just in case it ever needs to spring back to life, eg if someone actually interested in independence suddenly somehow becomes leader of the SNP again.
So we thought it might be fun to just briefly link to some old articles as and when they became topical once more, and as luck would have it tomorrow is such an occasion.
Because that’s when the SNP will launch the first of a series of new papers outlining the First Minister’s “vision” of independence by waffling on about how it would be a jolly good thing, in the unlikely event that she ever got off her extremely well-paid arse and achieved it.
15 years ago this week (today if you’re counting strictly by date, Thursday if you want to go with election days) the SNP came to power in Scotland for the first time ever. The media operating in Scotland is full of retrospectives and polls on the period, but as usual they’ve missed the real story, as a reader pointed out to us a few days ago.
So for old times’ sake, let’s do their job properly for them one more time.
We’ve observed that over the last few days a number of Unionists, led by tuba-honking dunderhead Blair McDougall (the man who turned a 30-point No lead into a 10-point one, who lost Labour 5000 votes when he stood in East Renfrewshire in 2017 on the basis of being the guy who saved the UK – trailing in an embarrassing 3rd in a seat where Jim Murphy had once won over 50% of the vote – and who is probably more responsible than any other individual for the utter destruction of Scottish Labour as a political force), have revived the ancient “Better Together” scare story about pensions in an independent Scotland.
When the Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts died last month, the first of their songs that popped into my head, for no particular reason, was “Under My Thumb”, a mildly controversial 1966 album track the band never released as a single in the West.
Its most infamous place in history, though, is this.
Until Watts’ death I was only very broadly aware of the events at Altamont Speedway in 1969, a free festival at a racetrack near San Francisco at which four people died in scenes of malevolent chaos and which is widely regarded as the grim headstone of the hippy era.
But on seeing the extraordinary footage above for the first time on the day of Watts’ death – taken from “Gimme Shelter”, notionally the official movie of the show, although the first two-thirds of it are actually a mundane travelogue of the preceding tour dates – I did some proper reading up on it.
And as I did, a horribly familiar feeling started to unfold.
Although we’re retired we already wrote this, so we may as well put it up for the 99.9% of Scots who don’t read the comments on David Leask‘s columns in the Herald.
It’s a claim he’s been banging on about since at least 2014, without ever providing a scrap of evidence to support it (his standard modus operandi), and yesterday was no exception. So let’s show Little Dave how proper big-boy journalists do it.
Our always-alert readers will probably have noticed that Nicola Sturgeon’s constant catchphrase this week has been how Yes supporters still need to “build the case for independence”, rather than actually do anything to achieve it.
But the thing is, she’s the leader of the SNP. Building the case for independence is literally her job, and she’s now been doing it for six and a half years. So how much progress have we made?
Holiday Boy is on holiday. But remember in 2018 when Nicola Sturgeon was going to use next week’s election as a de facto referendum if the UK government hadn’t given her permission for one by now, readers?
It’s almost like you can’t ever believe a word she says.
Hatey McHateface on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: ““Is there anything more boring and irrelevant” Sure. Any number of things.” Aug 5, 20:21
Hatey McHateface on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: “You need to spend a lot more time in Middle Earth, Confused. It obviously calms you down, even although Da…” Aug 5, 20:17
Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: “Christine, thank you for your comment (5 Aug, 6.37 pm). It brought to mind this powerful extract from an interview…” Aug 5, 20:16
Hatey McHateface on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: “That’s the great thing about the internet, YL Sah! War correspondents can do it all from behind the closed curtains…” Aug 5, 20:10
George Ferguson on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: “@Christine Yes and the said troika would reinstate the 16th Century fig leaf that so damaged the original work of…” Aug 5, 19:14
agent x on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: “During the leadership debate it was only Forbes that said something sensible about independence. Something along the lines of -…” Aug 5, 19:13
Alf Baird on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: “Yes James, if colonialism is allowed to continue the oppressed group culture and nation ‘will ultimately perish’ (Fanon). Ethnic oppression…” Aug 5, 19:06
agent x on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: ““When Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) leave office, they are entitled to a leaving payment to help them adjust…” Aug 5, 18:48
agent x on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: “Is there anything more boring and irrelevant than watching interviews with other people’s children getting exam results. “Look at my…” Aug 5, 18:38
christine on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: “Yes, I’ve heard it all before from this troika of victim feminists. I guess there’s nothing else going on for…” Aug 5, 18:37
Mark Beggan on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: “They just can’t help themselves. Media spill on women politicians unable to balance work with motherhood. The dwarf is doing…” Aug 5, 17:57
twathater on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: “Anyone who thinks Kate Forbes was an asset to Scotland and independence is a Daftie, Forbes was just another trougher…” Aug 5, 17:47
James Cheyne on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: “If politicians spend their time trying to intergrat nations an blend Countries, How will they hit their diversity agenda, They…” Aug 5, 17:33
Dan on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: “Muckle gusts here so I hud tae batten doon the hatches and even tether ma corn on the cob plants…” Aug 5, 17:17
Young Lochinvar on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: “In reply to P3nisbreath McP3nisbreathface @ 7.11 Just in from our correspondent with Scottish forces: And he (Douglas) has bunt…” Aug 5, 16:34
Confused on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: “The use of mythology to create a shared national identity is not some trivial matter; we have the example of…” Aug 5, 13:28
Confused on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: “windy today, maybe windy tomorrow. very interesting https://archive.ph/4pM3p now imagine a community owned company setup to create energy in Lewis?…” Aug 5, 13:25
Marie on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: “Thanks for info. Very interesting to learn the names of the various Lowland clans involved in the battle. A bit…” Aug 5, 13:14
Hatey McHateface on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: “Are you sure about Khan Yunis? They might be deep underground in a tunnel, being “entertained” by some teenage lassie.…” Aug 5, 12:38
agent x on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: “She’ll also get a substantial payout for leaving office – the first £30,000 is tax free.” Aug 5, 12:05
anniethenoo on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: “Thanks Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh, will watch. I notice Darren McGarvey is putting his non-invite to Embra Book Fest down to being…” Aug 5, 11:13
James Cheyne on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: “As long as we lack understanding of the larger picture and the introduction of deliberate senseless topics into our world…” Aug 5, 11:07
James Cheyne on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: “To begin sorting out Scotland politically the requirement would be to have a Scottish government. Not a devolved government that…” Aug 5, 10:54
Achnababan on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: “Anyone who thinks Kate Forbes resigned because she was scared of losing her seat is a daftie…she won more votes…” Aug 5, 10:47
James Cheyne on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: “The pattern is the same world wide, confusion. Add a little gender problems, just stop oil, blm , extra people…” Aug 5, 10:46
James Cheyne on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: “Jist all part of the Scottish blob, And who the blob chose for puppet politicians. England has recognised the same…” Aug 5, 10:29
TURABDIN on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: “SILLY SEASON BREAKING NEWS….mega dangerous storm Floris hits land. During which some umbrellas blew inside out and a few trees…” Aug 5, 09:16
