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Big Sister Isn’t Watching 46

Posted on April 22, 2023 by

Something to hide 86

Posted on April 21, 2023 by

Alert readers may recall our last foray into Freedom Of Information requests, when a couple of weeks ago we belatedly received a peculiarly evasive response from Police Scotland with regard to a meeting in February between the then-Chief Constable, Deputy Chief Constable and the justice secretary Keith Brown.

We duly followed it up with an FOI to the Scottish Government for Keith Brown’s official diary on that day – just about the most mundane, run-of-the-mill request possible. We expected nothing remarkable, just a short list of meetings, fully corroborating what we were told by Police Scotland.

What we got was rather more intriguing.

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Putting our foot in it 415

Posted on April 19, 2023 by

Goodness knows we could all do with some cheering up at the moment, so let’s have a momentary change of tone and kick today off with a chuckle or two.

We’ve been working a bit too hard lately, and yesterday’s Wings post went to press with an unprecedented FOUR errors in it, including an “is is” instead of “it is”, a “more far” in place of a “far more” and a “strata” where there should have been a “stratum”. We’re deeply ashamed, and thanks to the alert Wings readers – including our mum – who swiftly drew our attention to them.

The most embarrassing clanger was this one, which we fixed promptly:

So imagine our surprise when we were reading this morning’s Scottish press.

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And so far yet to go 199

Posted on April 18, 2023 by

Almost every day is now a new crisis for the SNP.

But it better get used to it.

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At close of day 276

Posted on April 16, 2023 by

Some years ago while working in the NHS I investigated a situation where a group of very senior staff colluded in an attempt to cover up the misdeeds of a colleague, in the full knowledge of the devastating effect their dishonesty would have.

Yet in amongst that betrayal of professional ethical values one person’s integrity could not be swayed and they spoke the candid truth. I don’t know how it affected them in the long run, but it was clear that integrity mattered to them and doing the wrong thing was a burden they were unwilling to carry.

Anyway, their courage  to hold firm to these principles impressed me and chimed with the values I believe are absolutely necessary when you are charged with responsibility over the lives of others: honesty, integrity and a strong sense of justice.

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Fashion And Crisis Hits New York 83

Posted on April 16, 2023 by

As the SNP burns down around their ears, nothing stops the gravy bus. But even as they gallivant gaily around another “Tartan Week” junket in the USA, one might have thought the Constitution Minister would have shied away from this particular photo-op.

Let’s find out why.

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An unforeseen emergency 120

Posted on April 15, 2023 by

A reader has sent us an interesting follow-up to yesterday’s article.

Let’s just check what we’re being told there.

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Clearing the bar 118

Posted on April 15, 2023 by

Progress to nowhere 160

Posted on April 14, 2023 by

Alert readers may be familiar with the market research and polling company Progress Scotland. Readers of The National certainly will be, as the semi-newspaper has run over 120 stories about it, most of them around the company’s creation in early 2019.

The company was formed by Angus Robertson, at the time an unemployed former SNP MP after he lost his Moray seat in the 2017 election, and its stated goal was to persuade those not yet fully decided.

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When you’re already gone 308

Posted on April 12, 2023 by

So it turned out there was very little new information in this story.

But the tiny bit there was raises an extremely disproportionate number of issues.

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Also Humza Yousaf 89

Posted on April 12, 2023 by

7 April 2023: “Your priorities will be my priorities.”

1 April 2023: “Here are our priorities.”

Now for the surprise!

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Standing on quicksand 143

Posted on April 11, 2023 by

So let’s just recap where we are with this.

Because it really doesn’t look very good.

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    • Jon Drummond on All The Dirt From My Eyes: “Sturgeon has proven herself to be no better than scabrous filth. What goes around comes around; her day will come…May 28, 12:46
    • crazycat on All The Dirt From My Eyes: “That Spectator article is interesting. It not only shows Murrell’s spending pattern. It also claims that the SNP admitted it…May 28, 12:37
    • MaryB on All The Dirt From My Eyes: “Izzie, you should read what Robin McAlpine has to say about it all today. You might find his comments a…May 28, 12:30
    • Izzie on All The Dirt From My Eyes: “Are you saying Police Scotland are incompetent? They have investigated. If you are an SNP member you are a victim.…May 28, 12:25
    • James on All The Dirt From My Eyes: “That would be ‘scot-free’. Ok? It doesn’t have a capital as it has nothing whatsoever to do with ‘Scots’.May 28, 12:24
    • TURABDIN on All The Dirt From My Eyes: “A rather romantic interpretation. If the people fail to engage with being «raised up» what then? Ultimately, as Fanon came…May 28, 11:57
    • Aidan on All The Dirt From My Eyes: “Do you think the former party chief exec going to prison for a 12-year campaign of embezzlement which has left…May 28, 11:52
    • Spartan 117 on All The Dirt From My Eyes: “We had our say on 18th September 2014. You must have forgotten. Are you saying blatant corruption is acceptable because…May 28, 11:51
    • James Barr Gardner on The Final Robbery: “Dented buoys an’ Aspro pouder ?May 28, 11:46
    • Geri on No Money Back, No Guarantee: “Bloomberg also mentioned a staggering £177 billion excess profits for Energy firms. So there is more income down the City…May 28, 11:30
    • Northcode on No Money Back, No Guarantee: ““Of course the ONS doesn’t take an institutional view of political questions…” Time for another packet of Tunnock’s Tea Cakes…May 28, 11:28
    • Izzie on All The Dirt From My Eyes: “Im at a loss as to how this endless stirring and poking advances the Cause. The Unionists should be the…May 28, 11:10
    • DavidT on All The Dirt From My Eyes: “The Spectator on X has posted a very good graph showing SNP funds spent by Peter Murrell over the years.…May 28, 11:08
    • Alf Baird on All The Dirt From My Eyes: ““the workings of the state institutions in current-day Scotland” ..is indeed a subject requiring of careful consideration, especially given the…May 28, 11:00
    • Aidan on No Money Back, No Guarantee: “Of course the ONS doesn’t take an institutional view of political questions, it collects, analyses and publishes data. So what…May 28, 10:49
    • Captain Caveman on No Money Back, No Guarantee: ““Unlike you, I’ve never tried “… pushing shite uphill.”” On the contrary, Northy. Most would conclude that’s an activity (hopefully…May 28, 10:40
    • Kate on All The Dirt From My Eyes: “If only we could see front page headlines followed by a full investigation of the behaviour of SNP & especially…May 28, 10:39
    • Nemisis Benn on All The Dirt From My Eyes: “It’s irrelevant whether the accounts are signed off by the Party Leader or the Treasurer – at least one person…May 28, 10:38
    • Northcode on No Money Back, No Guarantee: “I could be wrong, of course… there is always that remote possibility to be considered. But I think this is…May 28, 10:38
    • Northcode on No Money Back, No Guarantee: “Unlike you, I’ve never tried “… pushing shite uphill.” Tell me, is it really a very difficult thing to do,…May 28, 10:31
    • Geri on No Money Back, No Guarantee: “Data shite in = data shite out. A. GERS has been admitted by various ex London MPs that it’s bullshit…May 28, 10:29
    • Captain Caveman on No Money Back, No Guarantee: “Ah, my bad. Of course! The ONS are “in on it”, all part of some grand Fanon-tastic conspiracy – in…May 28, 10:25
    • Spartan 117 on All The Dirt From My Eyes: “Keep digging and asking the awkward questions, Stu. As another commenter stated, it gives a good insight into the workings…May 28, 10:24
    • Northcode on No Money Back, No Guarantee: ““The ONS hasn’t a clue…” On the contrary, I think the ONS knows exactly what it’s doing when it omits,…May 28, 10:18
    • Tinto Chiel on Off-topic: “You’re lucky to be so near the coast to see all those divers. We stayed in a house over-looking “Anthrax…May 28, 10:00
    • Northcode on All The Dirt From My Eyes: “I believe that what Fanon is really doing here is trying to break a psychological chain. Colonised peoples are often…May 28, 09:57
    • Captain Caveman on No Money Back, No Guarantee: ““I wouldn’t trust much of what the ONS has to say” Well, therein lies the problem, in a nutshell. “The…May 28, 09:50
    • Northcode on No Money Back, No Guarantee: “Conclusion This report looks at the social background of the people who run Scotland… Our research suggests that the top…May 28, 09:35
    • TURABDIN on All The Dirt From My Eyes: “«To educate the masses politically does not mean, cannot mean, making a political speech. What it means is to try,…May 28, 08:48
    • Andouillette on All The Dirt From My Eyes: “Thick? Or devious? Maybe both. One thing I am sure of is endless paragraphs of “Oooh look, squirrels” from the…May 28, 07:11
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