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A spontaneous outpouring 294

Posted on September 09, 2014 by

Too easy 231

Posted on September 08, 2014 by

blairtripe

We don’t think we understand 329

Posted on September 08, 2014 by

We just watched, jaws agape, as the BBC news channel gave Scottish Labour an uninterrupted 50-minute party political broadcast for no immediately obvious reason. It mainly took place at Loanhead Miners’ Welfare, and featured speeches from a warm-up man, then Johann Lamont, and finally Gordon Brown.

The ostensible event justifying this extraordinary coverage lasted just 2m 36s.

And having sat through the whole circus, we still have no idea what it was for.

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Finding sense to make it work 205

Posted on September 08, 2014 by

The alert readers of this site have encountered currency trader Alpesh Patel of equity company Praefinium Partners before. We were more than a little bit scathing about a previous appearance of his on the BBC News channel back in February, on which it seems fair to say that he nailed his Unionist colours very firmly indeed to the mast.

So this clip from the same channel this morning was interesting.

We don’t think his words need any comment from us, save perhaps that we commend Mr Patel for having learned from his previous errors when it comes to assessing the attitude of businesses to the prospect of Scottish independence. Anyone can make a mistake. The key is to not keep repeating it when the evidence proves you wrong.

The quality press 50

Posted on September 08, 2014 by

You have to laugh.

hoots

Anyone would think WE were the ones who’d had to remove, apologise for and pay compensation for defamatory articles about THEM.

A theme develops 238

Posted on September 07, 2014 by

Save it from what, exactly? Democracy?

theme

(More here.)

The great surrender 70

Posted on September 07, 2014 by

Owen Jones in the Guardian, 7 September 2014:

“New Labour’s surrender to the underlying assumptions of the Thatcherite crusade gave the independence movement its greatest opportunity. Yes, the Blairites could not entirely purge Labour’s traditions, and so the minimum wage was introduced (albeit at too low a level), poverty was reduced and public services were invested in.

Yet they illegally invaded Iraq with Conservative support, killing hundreds of thousands of civilians and 179 British military personnel before handing much of the country over to fanatics. They punished aspiration by introducing tuition fees, saddled public services with long-term debt through the colossal rip-off of PFI, and began privatising our NHS – laying the foundations for some of the pernicious policies of this coalition as they did so.

They allowed the living standards of millions of working people to begin falling years before the crash, even as the coffers of corporate Britain prospered like never before. They failed to solve an ever-worsening housing crisis, leaving 5 million languishing on council housing waiting lists. They cut taxes on corporate Britain while indulging in entirely destructive gimmicks such as scrapping the 10p tax rate.

Many Scots look at the Britain built by this political elite, they don’t like it and they want out.”

Seems to pretty much cover it.

Quack quack quack quack quack 299

Posted on September 07, 2014 by

Here’s what George Osborne actually said on today’s Andrew Marr Show:

“You will see in the next few days a plan of action to give more powers to Scotland. More tax powers, more spending powers, more plans for powers over the welfare state. 

That will be put into effect – the timetable for delivering that will be put into effect – the moment there is a no vote in the referendum. The clock will be ticking for delivering those powers – and then Scotland will have the best of both worlds.”

(From 32m 40s.) It’s not actually very hard to follow.

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All over the place 319

Posted on September 07, 2014 by

So, first this happened:

timesyes

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It’s behind you, Donald 386

Posted on September 06, 2014 by

New YouGov poll tonight. Yes 51 No 49 excluding Don’t Knows. Interesting.

behindyou

The Observer’s front page splash is the No camp’s last-ditch Hail Mary – a new devolution talking shop. They just don’t get it. This is about tomorrow, not yesterday.

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Brian Wilson is a liar 167

Posted on September 06, 2014 by

Alert readers will already be aware that former Labour MP, minister and nuclear-power lobbyist Brian Wilson is one of our least favourite figures in the independence debate.

bwilson1

A man utterly consumed by tribal hatred of the SNP – even by the standards of Scottish Labour, which is no mean accolade – his Scotsman columns are some of the most mendacious, bilious propaganda to be found in the country, to the extent that we don’t even link to them in our “Zany Comedy Relief” section.

Today, however, he’s outdone himself in spectacular style.

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Story of a thought process 98

Posted on September 06, 2014 by

One being shared by more and more Scots.

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    • Aidan on Vibecoding A Better World: “Incredibly helpful comment James, well done!” Nov 8, 07:44
    • Hatey McHateface on Vibecoding A Better World: “Aw, dinna be like that, James. I’ve yet to run this past Northy, but I’m verra confident he’ll agree to…” Nov 7, 21:52
    • Hatey McHateface on Vibecoding A Better World: ““Does this ring a bell” Sure. Reminds me of some of the posts on here within the past 24 hours.…” Nov 7, 21:40
    • James on Vibecoding A Better World: “And you, ‘maestro’, are the visible proof of this. All day, every day, sadly.” Nov 7, 20:41
    • James on Vibecoding A Better World: “Pretty obvious now that the ‘name’ previously masquerading as a Scotsman and independence supporter [“Northcode”] was in fact the “Site…” Nov 7, 20:37
    • James Che on Vibecoding A Better World: “Hatey, Shutting down the questioner, shutting down the discorse, shutting down the narrative. This was planned reactions of the CIA…” Nov 7, 20:20
    • Hatey McHateface on Vibecoding A Better World: ““We explicitly refuse to accept content or articles written or generated in full or in part by AI or LLMs”…” Nov 7, 20:20
    • James Che on Vibecoding A Better World: “Feargas MacFhionnlaigh, Do you know the reasons that the Banks funded The Womens Liberation Movement? 1: Because the Banks realised…” Nov 7, 20:06
    • Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on Vibecoding A Better World: “Bella Caledonia Statement on Artificial Intelligence « As a publisher and a space for creativity, we should be clear that…” Nov 7, 19:41
    • Hatey McHateface on Vibecoding A Better World: “Last words on the McAlpine – Baird debate. 1. It was a debate between two people holding to different views.…” Nov 7, 19:31
    • Hatey McHateface on Vibecoding A Better World: ““Prof. Baird came over as a gentleman,Robin as a cunt” Looks like we have another definition from the Snowflake’s Pretendy…” Nov 7, 19:17
    • Minceheid on Vibecoding A Better World: “There was an article of McAlpine’s a few months ago which really didn’t sit right with me. I forget the…” Nov 7, 19:05
    • Hatey McHateface on Vibecoding A Better World: “@Alf Baird says: 7 November, 2026 at 9:50 am “oppression” As it happens, Alf, you can read about some real…” Nov 7, 18:11
    • Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on Vibecoding A Better World: “PARENTS REPORTED TO SOCIAL SERVICES FOR NOT ‘AFFIRMING’ GENDER-CONFUSED CHILDREN Parents have warned that they are being reported to the…” Nov 7, 18:07
    • CatalogueTrewsers on Vibecoding A Better World: “I’ve been reading Robin McAlpine on and off for over a decade. Feel as if I saw his true colours.…” Nov 7, 18:02
    • Aidan on Vibecoding A Better World: “Unfortunately a lot of the stations in Scotland are unbarriered. I also sense that unlike “James” who is likely to…” Nov 7, 16:57
    • Captain Caveman on Vibecoding A Better World: “@Alf In that case, why don’t you actually “seek the remedy” (in any meaningful, pragmatic, instructive and substantive sense) instead…” Nov 7, 11:00
    • Captain Caveman on Vibecoding A Better World: “Take heart, Aidan. There’s no way Confused would make it past the station barriers. I realise public transportation isn’t what…” Nov 7, 10:32
    • Alf Baird on Vibecoding A Better World: “Only once ‘a people’ truly understand their oppression will they urgently seek the only remedy: https://salvo.scot/scotlands-colonial-status/” Nov 7, 09:50
    • James Che on Vibecoding A Better World: “The Treaty of union between Scotland and England parliaments never concluded to its end date, the progression being halted by…” Nov 7, 09:43
    • James Che on Vibecoding A Better World: “The parliament of England did not cease to exist, it was transferred in its last session into the new brand,…” Nov 7, 09:32
    • Hatey McHateface on Vibecoding A Better World: “Again, Northy, you’re missing a key piece of the jigsaw. For £150 billion PA, Brussels will take all these petty…” Nov 7, 09:31
    • Northcode on Vibecoding A Better World: ““What’s your plan for governing Scotland after independence, Alf?” “£150 billion per year.” “Right… but what about trade, international relations,…” Nov 7, 09:10
    • Hatey McHateface on Vibecoding A Better World: “@Northy I don’t think that’s a complete summary. You must also channel your inner Theresa May: Decolonisation means Decolonisation. And…” Nov 7, 08:58
    • Northcode on Vibecoding A Better World: ““What’s your plan for achieving independence, Alf?” “Liberation.” “Right… and how do you deliver liberation?” “Decolonisation.” “Okay, and what does…” Nov 7, 08:29
    • Hatey McHateface on Vibecoding A Better World: “Before you self-identify, MH, impress upon her that nay means nay. Maybe try ketamine a few times too. I hear…” Nov 7, 08:27
    • Hatey McHateface on Vibecoding A Better World: “Thanks for the link, Fearghas. At least we can now listen to it for ourselves. Up to now, all we’ve…” Nov 7, 08:11
    • Hatey McHateface on Vibecoding A Better World: “An unfortunate side effect of pre-booked, pre-allocated seating. In the old days, regular travellers developed a “sixth sense” that helped…” Nov 7, 07:59
    • Hatey McHateface on Vibecoding A Better World: “Busy week, Confused? The evidence of this post suggests you’ve defo had something on your mind the entire time. If…” Nov 7, 07:50
    • Hatey McHateface on Vibecoding A Better World: “Well then, that’s something, Connie. There’s few on here ever graduated from the primary school playground. Take the comment above…” Nov 7, 07:36
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