Thanks to the dedication of our legal team in working over the Easter holiday, Wings has unexpectedly received the formal Opinion of legal counsel (hereafter called “the Opinion”, capitalised to avoid confusion with the ordinary use of the word in the article) with regard to the standing of the site in the light of the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021, which comes into force tomorrow.
We publish the Opinion below, partly to assist those worried about the Act’s impact on them but unable to afford their own legal advice.
But we also do so to place Police Scotland on notice that anything published by Wings Over Scotland is done in the light of the greatest possible care having been taken to ensure compliance with the law, and that in such a context any future attempt/s to improperly interfere with our rights of free expression under Article 10 of the European Convention On Human Rights (ECHR) will be viewed with regard to pursuing the maximum available recourse for wrongful restriction of our lawful activities.
We have both funds and the will to pursue such action.
There’s a Calvin And Hobbes cartoon we like to post on social media when someone’s got themselves in such a pickle that they’re just flailing around desperately firing off every slogan, argument or insult they can think of to get themselves out of it.
The Scottish Government have just launched yet another nanny-state “healthy eating” intervention, and to be honest, readers, the cheap-shot open goals just queued up.
Our first instinct was to do a simple picture gallery of some of the insatiable pie-hounds squeezing their expenses-fed backsides onto the groaning, creaking benches and chairs of the Holyrood and Westminster parliaments, such as Kirsten “Elbows” Oswald (pictured above, slumped back under the sheer weight of her neck) – so known to other MPs because you get between her and a buffet at grave peril to your ribcage.
(And no, we’re not telling you which ones told us that.)
We’re reluctant to even mention the farcical, embarrassing goings-on in the House Of Commons last night, but the very short version is that the SNP somehow contrived to save Keir Starmer from an embarrassing mass rebellion of Labour MPs.
And in so far as anyone cared about them at all, the people of Gaza were the losers.
If there’s ever been a (branch office of a) political party that could somehow manage to blow it in Scotland against the burning trainwreck in a ditch full of sewage that is the SNP right now, it’s definitely Anas Sarwar’s hapless Scottish Labour.
Honestly, this stuff is comedy gold. But in a winner-takes-all dumb-off with Humza Yousaf’s SNP, it’s way too close to call.
As Twitter followers will have noticed, we’ve been busy this week with an extensive remodelling of Wings HQ, which involved the main computer being out of commission for several days while the office was basically torn down and rebuilt from scratch. (It seemed a good time to do it, given that there’s nothing remotely of interest happening in Scottish politics.)
Unfortunately the lack of activity on the site caused the comments on the last post to degenerate into the most wretched playground shrieking match, so let’s see if we can’t distract the children and talk about something else for a bit.
Particularly alert observers will have noted that Kezia Dugdale, the most spectacularly inept and unsuccessful Scottish political leader in history, this week demitted her role as Director of the John Smith Centre, which she was handed as an incentive to quit Scottish Labour after dragging it to 14% in the opinion polls.
We make no apology for returning once again to the depressing subject of the Scottish Government’s proposed new law to ban “conversion practices”, because it provides such an illuminating microcosm of how far a once competent and widely-respected administration has fallen since 2015.
Emma Roddick, who is piloting the bill towards the statute books in much the same way that Mohamed Atta piloted American Airlines Flight 11 towards the World Trade Centre, is a 26-year-old who by her own admission suffers from a serious and debilitating mental illness that any sane country would regard as an insurmountable bar to political office.
agentx on Binfire Of The Vanities: “I predict that SNP and Reform UK Ltd will not perform as well as the polls predict.” May 5, 20:48
Jamie on Binfire Of The Vanities: “If you have so much pity for the people of the flag on my profile, why don’t you go and…” May 5, 20:33
Hatey McHateface on Binfire Of The Vanities: ““each one is free and independent when he/she realises it” Let me start a wee list: 1) Destroy your UK…” May 5, 20:27
Hatey McHateface on Binfire Of The Vanities: ““at least put some effort into it” You’re flying the flag of a country whose leaders have pursued policies that…” May 5, 19:53
Sven on Binfire Of The Vanities: “Mark Beggan @ 19.18 “Indy is finished before the vote begins.” To be is to do, Mark. The practise is…” May 5, 19:47
100%Yes on Binfire Of The Vanities: “I see Ali hasn’t returned your call. I’ll answer for him, their not and never will the SNP & Greens…” May 5, 19:36
Northcode on Binfire Of The Vanities: ““assimilation aye fails when peoples remain, even ‘the dregs of a rusted culture’ (Fanon) enough to breath life anew.” I…” May 5, 19:21
Captain Caveman on Binfire Of The Vanities: “On the contrary YL. The Welsh are a lovely, friendly and most welcoming people (as indeed are the Scots, present…” May 5, 19:20
Mark Beggan on Binfire Of The Vanities: “Indy is finished before the vote begins. Gloating is for fools.” May 5, 19:18
Jamie on Binfire Of The Vanities: “Hatey, your trolling is really low effort and lame. I was trolling people and got bored of trolling online before…” May 5, 19:17
Hatey McHateface on Binfire Of The Vanities: “But. But. The Union is a hoax! A never was! A myth! Scotland is already independent! Haven’t you learned anything…” May 5, 19:13
Bilbo on Binfire Of The Vanities: “Convince me that the SNP and the Greens are going to deliver independence in the next Holyrood term and I’ll…” May 5, 18:59
Hatey McHateface on Binfire Of The Vanities: “You got it in one, Twat H. Scotland will be Independent by this time next week. Dinna forget tae stay…” May 5, 18:55
Young Lochinvar on Binfire Of The Vanities: “Fat Slag Wilma Flintstone @ 6.08 Hahahaha! Bet the Welsh just love you rocking up Colonist style with your thunder-thighs…” May 5, 18:51
twathater on Binfire Of The Vanities: “Oh boy the yoonies are out in force today backed up by the resident 77th brigade fuckwit , keep going…” May 5, 18:35
Alf Baird on Binfire Of The Vanities: “Scotti/Gaels assimilation of Picts, followed by English assimilation of Scots: assimilation aye fails when peoples remain, even ‘the dregs of…” May 5, 18:23
Young Lochinvar on Binfire Of The Vanities: “Beggars You forgot to mention snails and puppy dogs tails. Whereas of course the ones made in the west are…” May 5, 18:19
Ali on Binfire Of The Vanities: “If Indy preference is at 55% that was done with Swinney in charge. I’m not waking up to gloating unionists…” May 5, 18:15
Young Lochinvar on Binfire Of The Vanities: “Let’s start a poll. Who looks more like Max Hermann, the father of the vampires in the classic Lost Boys…” May 5, 18:12
Captain Caveman on Binfire Of The Vanities: “Aww bless YL, you STILL having a meltdown?! 😀 It’s GREAT living rent free in your head. I’ve been enjoying…” May 5, 18:08
Mark Beggan on Binfire Of The Vanities: “Made in China with coal,oil and child slave labour.” May 5, 18:00
Young Lochinvar on Binfire Of The Vanities: “HMcH @ 5.28 No. Nobody is saying that, well except you and yer fellow spoilers on here but you don’t…” May 5, 17:52
Hatey McHateface on Binfire Of The Vanities: “Please don’t tell us it’s an electric one made in China. Then again, how could it be a diesel one…” May 5, 17:37
Young Lochinvar on Binfire Of The Vanities: “HMcH @ 5.06 Is that it? Lordy, you’re losing it “old boy”, remand coming up again is it? As long…” May 5, 17:33
Hatey McHateface on Binfire Of The Vanities: ““we are to believe that the Alliance to Liberate Scotland Party is to make an immediate impact” FFS, x. Why…” May 5, 17:28
agentx on Binfire Of The Vanities: “I see Swinney has been using a great big SNP battle coach for campaigning. It makes you wonder why a…” May 5, 17:24
Hatey McHateface on Binfire Of The Vanities: ““a vote to extinguish the Scots as a people” I thought you’d be in favour of that, Northy. Surely, as…” May 5, 17:23
Hatey McHateface on Binfire Of The Vanities: ““actually 4 to 5 % of indy supporters tend to vote reform” Surely, it’s 4.539 % so why don’t you…” May 5, 17:19
Hatey McHateface on Binfire Of The Vanities: ““It isn’t the religion of peace invading other countries spreading tyranny, hunger, petulance, famine & death” Aw naw, spitting dummies…” May 5, 17:13
