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The “foreigner” vote 57

Posted on August 03, 2013 by

Last year’s argument over the referendum franchise saw the Scottish Government’s view win the day – that the matter should be decided according to a civic definition of nationality, rather than along the ethnic lines proposed by some in the No camp.

multiscots

But what of the people of non-Scottish ethnic origin who’ve been thus enfranchised and entrusted with the future of the nation they’ve chosen to make their home?

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Quieter little voices 33

Posted on August 03, 2013 by

It’s been an interesting week for the Scottish media. First the Sun’s website vanished behind the clouds of a paywall, and today the Daily Record unveiled a new version of its tablet app which no longer gives readers the weekday paper for free.

recordipad

(Both papers, naturally, presented these new restrictions as enhancements.)

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The spokesman who won’t speak 236

Posted on August 02, 2013 by

So, slightly to our surprise, we actually just got a reply from Blair McDougall to our email offering to put on a debate between Alistair Darling and Dennis Canavan at a mutually-convenient time and location and with a neutral host.

blairmcdougall24

You can read it below.

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Please do not leave a message 44

Posted on August 02, 2013 by

Obviously we tried ringing “Better Together” ourselves again this morning, just before 10am, but once again Blair McDougall was unavailable, and the person we spoke to couldn’t tell us when would be a good time to catch him as he’d be “in and out” of the office throughout the day.

We took that to mean that he was currently out, so we called him on his mobile.

soundwave2

(We’ve blanked the bit where he gives out another “Better Together” mobile number, as we don’t know if that one was publicly accessible like Mr McDougall’s was.)

We’ve sent an email to the specified address. We’ll try a text after that.

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Behind enemy lines 71

Posted on August 01, 2013 by

Michael Moore is the Secretary of State for Scotland.

michaelmooreedinburgh

Keep that in mind when you read the next line.

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The squirrel parade 40

Posted on August 01, 2013 by

Some of the more cynical independence supporters among our readership may today be asking themselves “What is it that Labour are trying to bury today with all this ludicrously farcical ‘Labour For Independence’ business?” 

skwirl

Allow us to suggest a few possibilities.

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Take your pick 74

Posted on August 01, 2013 by

We’re just going to leave these here, okay?

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Running scared 108

Posted on August 01, 2013 by

Labour voters are going to be key in deciding the outcome of the independence referendum. Even if everyone who voted SNP, Green or SSP in the last Holyrood election voted Yes in 2014, it wouldn’t be quite enough to secure a 50%+1 result.

infiltrator

But with polls consistently showing 15-20% of Labour voters are already in favour of independence, and also that a huge majority are dissatisfied with the status quo, it can be no surprise that the Unionist parties and media are extremely nervous of any growth in the Labour Yes faction.

But while nerves are one thing, blind panic is another.

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The curse of volatility 32

Posted on July 31, 2013 by

volatoil

(Link.)

The pride of Britain 149

Posted on July 31, 2013 by

It’s very rare, viewers, that we get so angry in the course of writing a post that we have to stop.

But when we ran a picture last night of Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander MP, opening a foodbank with a cretinous smile on his face as if being a member of the government of a modern industrial nation in need of foodbanks was something to be happy about, a reader suggested making a gallery of similar images.

fb-aberdeen-johannlamont-lab

This is as many as we could bear.

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Two cousins 36

Posted on July 31, 2013 by

The internet’s been enjoying itself since last night knocking up satirical versions of The Sun’s wraparound cover today. For no immediately apparent reason (except perhaps that it’s a slow time for news) the paper has suddenly decided to give a “State Of The Union”-type address explicitly setting out its beliefs on a variety of subjects.

suncovers1

We thought that it might pass a few idle moments to compare the UK and Scottish editions, and see how closely those beliefs matched up on either side of the border.

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We could do these all day 49

Posted on July 31, 2013 by

spending1700

(Link and link.)

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    • Geri on The Broken Rainbow: “Polling means absolutely zero. It can be manipulated, rigged, depends on how the questions are asked & who exactly is…May 13, 23:46
    • Hatey McHateface on The Broken Rainbow: “@Geri Polling evidence is clear enough. If a Reform government offered us a referendum next week, a majority of Scots…May 13, 23:08
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    • Geri on The Broken Rainbow: “Reform wouldn’t offer Independence. They certainly wouldn’t deliver on it. They’d not let the UK cash cow just walk out…May 13, 22:56
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    • Hatey McHateface on The Hills Of Far Away: “You omitted to say where bare-faced lying fits in, Northy.May 13, 19:27
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