The Absolute State 173
Posted on
March 30, 2024 by
Chris Cairns
Archive for the ‘scottish politics’
The Eve Of War 174
Posted on
March 29, 2024 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
So, it being Good Friday, we’re definitely not going to receive our legal opinion before Monday now, so Wings Over Scotland will be shutting down, at least temporarily, on Sunday evening. No posts will be visible on the site and our Twitter account will be either locked down or deactivated while we await advice on whether either can return.
In the meantime you can hear of any developments, or get in touch, on my personal account @RevStu or on @TheGhostOfWings, both of which have had, or are about to have, all their old tweets wiped.
We’re not going to overdramatise, because we hope this is only for a few days. We’re optimistic that the Scottish Government’s abysmal, sinister and totalitarian Hate Crime Act, opposed across every sector of Scottish society and even by the police charged with implementing it, will not put an end to 12 and a half years of political journalism.
But you can’t write or tweet from a prison cell.
The Great Genocide 184
Posted on
March 27, 2024 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
Last week SNP MP Fulton MacGregor told Newsnight that the grotesque, draconian Hate Crime Act was necessary because “hate crime is a major problem across Scotland”, which “wreaks havoc on individuals, on communities and on families”.
Now, we have to admit that we hadn’t heard of much havoc being wreaked across Scotland by hate crime. Hate crime stats in Scotland have actually been falling for years – the most recent figures for racial hatred, for example, are 31% lower than the peak year of 2011-12.
If there have been stories of rampaging mobs terrorising gay people, of a wave of violence against Sikhs, or widespread arson campaigns against Italian chip shops, they’ve escaped our attention.
But of course, the onscreen discussion focused mostly on the group that the Scottish Government is obsessed with to the exclusion of all others – transgender people.
Moving Out 123
Posted on
March 26, 2024 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
Alert readers may recall that it’s only three-and-a-bit years since the SNP somehow spent £386,000 of its members’ money fitting out its party HQ at Jackson’s Entry in Edinburgh, a pricey piece of prime real estate just yards from Holyrood, with shiny new furniture while it was sitting empty during COVID.
So it’s a little surprising that they’re suddenly doing a flit now.
We wonder if there might be a downsizing in the offing.
Into Darkness 298
Posted on
March 25, 2024 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
Welcome, readers, to what may be the final week of Wings Over Scotland.
We’ve been covering the Scottish Government’s horrific, draconian Hate Crime Act for almost four years now. But until this month, we hadn’t felt directly under threat by it. Wings is – sorry if this comes as a shock to anyone – based in Bath, in England, and we couldn’t see how the Scottish police could come after us.
And then we read this.
Well, that’s showbiz 121
Posted on
March 22, 2024 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
Fashion is fleeting.
2020 seems a very long time ago, doesn’t it?
The End Of Hate 185
Posted on
March 20, 2024 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
As of last night, the Hate Monster campaign page on the Police Scotland website looks like this:
(Archive version here.)
A Very Dark Place 168
Posted on
March 19, 2024 by
Neale Hanvey MP
I make no apology for what I am about to write because while I’ve said it before, the time to do so is running out.
In a couple of weeks, the Scottish Government’s Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021 will come into effect and my world, and that of women up and down Scotland will enter a very dark place.
Humza Yousaf Fact Check 295
Posted on
March 16, 2024 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
When we read this, our instant reaction was “Well, that’s total horseshit”.
And of course, it is.
Meet The Monsters 105
Posted on
March 14, 2024 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
He’s the cuddly, lovable character all of Scotland’s talking about, but what do we really know about the Hate Monster? Where did he come from? What’s his backstory? Well, the diligent research team at Wings have been hard at work, and we’re thrilled to bring you this rare archive footage of not one but BOTH of his parents.
Both were in the arts. Here’s his mum, Ruda (originally from Eastern Europe, escaping to the West before the Iron Curtain came down) starring in a 1952 Bugs Bunny short:
And this is his dad, in one of several collaborations with the Scooby Doo team in 1976 under his former wrestling persona of The 10,000-Volt Ghost:
Our boy was born for the stage. No wonder he’s made such an impact.
