A large and imposing statue built in 1974 still stands today on Clyde Street in Glasgow. It depicts a woman called Dolores Ibarruri, known as “La Pasionaria”, who was one of the heroes of the anti-fascist resistance in Spain in the 1930s.
The statue was funded by “the British Labour Movement”, but Conservative councillors in the city protested angrily when it was erected and vowed to tear it down if they ever controlled the council (which cynical readers might consider an empty threat).
That’s a single year’s profits. For a bit of perspective, it’s about four times the Scottish Government’s entire annual budget. Thank goodness we’ve had Westminster to manage our resources for us all this time, eh?
We thought it might be worth going through this in a bit more detail.
The phrase “out of control” is in quote marks in the Herald’s front-page headline, leading readers to believe someone has said it, but who? Let’s investigate.
It also saw the return of ubiquitous Scottish politics scribe David Torrance from a trip to San Francisco, the details of which he shared at stultifying length with the unfortunate readers of The Scottish Review.
Or at least, what he SAID were the details of where he SAID he’d been.
An alert reader this weekend linked us to a 1963 speech by the famed American civil rights and racial equality campaigner Malcolm X.
We’d never heard of it before, which is probably to our shame, but as we read it we were overcome by an inexplicable sense of incredible familiarity.
We present it to you below for your interest, without further comment or editing, but we’ve included a few pictures just to break up the block of text.
We’ll be honest, readers – if this doesn’t make you want to leave the UK all by itself, it may be that there’s nothing that ever will and we should just give up.
(Alternative titles considered for this piece included Live And Please Let Die, Doctor Oh God No, The Barely-Living Daylights and Quantum Of Bollocks.)
Yesterday’s Daily Record (which would increasingly be an accurate three-word name for the paper) ran an innocuous piece of page-filler fluff rubbish, and for once we’re not talking about a David Torrance column.
It featured the “psychic” predictions of a man who, the Record told us – no fewer than FIVE times in the opening few lines – previously predicted Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election, and who had a track record of “incredible accuracy”.
Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on Conspiracies For Dummies: “By (Scottish Solicitor Advocate) Gordon Dangerfield (12 Aug 2021) – LIZ LLOYD’S INTERFERENCE IN THE SALMOND INVESTIGATION: WHAT IT MEANS…” Aug 20, 18:42
Geri on Conspiracies For Dummies: “Yes & I’m sure even the lawyers advised her there was nothing of any substance & nothing to see here…” Aug 20, 18:23
Arthur Martin on Conspiracies For Dummies: “What did Leslie Evans and Liz Lloyd stand to gain from Alex Salmond being incarcerated?” Aug 20, 18:22
Hatey McHateface on Conspiracies For Dummies: “Mills and Boon … only without the sex. We are talking about Scots after all. 50 shades of oatmeal.” Aug 20, 18:20
James on Conspiracies For Dummies: “Why did she jail Craig Murray? I expect both questions have the same answer.” Aug 20, 18:19
Hatey McHateface on Conspiracies For Dummies: ““Greatest Leader we have ever had” Naw. That was Yousaf. At least, alert readers could be forgiven for jumping to…” Aug 20, 18:17
Hatey McHateface on Conspiracies For Dummies: “Quick Barbs. Start pushing the idea we should gift it tae poot! Ye’ll get a double bonus fer that.” Aug 20, 18:10
Callum on Conspiracies For Dummies: “It was always Sturgeon at the heart of the conspiracy – guilty as hell – but extremely worrying was that…” Aug 20, 18:02
twathater on Conspiracies For Dummies: “Alex Salmond in his love for Scotland announced that there were things that should have been aired and exposed but…” Aug 20, 18:00
Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on Conspiracies For Dummies: “Whatever the literary merits of FRANKLY in total, that screenshot double-spread above (beginning with the words “been wrong. Leslie had…” Aug 20, 17:54
Ronnie on Conspiracies For Dummies: “One bit I still don’t understand, given that the Judge heard all the evidence and points that you have highlighted,…” Aug 20, 17:53
Stuart on Conspiracies For Dummies: “As seen over on the Daily Telegraph. “JK Rowling has accused the liberal arts of “the most craven, bootlicking capitulation…” Aug 20, 17:36
Geri on Conspiracies For Dummies: “Jeez, there goes comfy slippers failing to keep up as usual. It’s okay, Dreary, she’s gone now. No need to…” Aug 20, 17:31
Hatey McHateface on The illiterate solicitor: “@ James says: 20 August, 2025 at 12:22 pm “That’s “Reform” for you, Marie. Half wits, bigots and racists.” BBC…” Aug 20, 17:22
Hatey McHateface on The illiterate solicitor: “@Barbs says: 20 August, 2025 at 10:50 am “fuck off” Spare a thought for those unfortunates who go through life…” Aug 20, 17:19
Ian on Conspiracies For Dummies: “As soon as Salmond was publicly named, Sturgeon had done all the damage she needed to, regardless of the outcome.…” Aug 20, 17:00
Anton Decadent on Conspiracies For Dummies: “Thank you for fighting for his name and laying out what was done to him. Over on X it is…” Aug 20, 16:56
panda paws on Conspiracies For Dummies: ““via the sinister Moorov Doctrine” It’s not normally sinister. Serious sexual assaults don’t usually have witnesses, they are the very…” Aug 20, 16:56
desimond on Conspiracies For Dummies: “The difference in Salmond dignified action in reacting to the defeat of 2014 and Sturgeons victorious ascendency is hard to…” Aug 20, 16:29
Alf Baird on The illiterate solicitor: “Lorn, you are perhaps forgetting that the main actors in this case included senior UK civil servants, crown and police,…” Aug 20, 16:29
Oneliner on Conspiracies For Dummies: “Are we even sure that is an original Sturgeon line? Sounds a bit Mills & Boon to me.” Aug 20, 16:23
Skip_NC on Conspiracies For Dummies: “Jim Bowen would be proud of you for this piece.” Aug 20, 16:01
Mark Beggan on Conspiracies For Dummies: “Well put Rev. Yes indeed the end is nigh! The carrot crunchers of the SNP grassroots are now demanding, yes…” Aug 20, 15:50
