Counting with Johann
Posted on
March 20, 2014 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
For those who missed it, Labour’s official explanation of the “40%” figure.
You’re right. She CAN’T have really said that. Watch it again.
It’s like Blackadder trying to explain counting to Baldrick.. If I have 2 beans and add 3 beans what does that make..a small casserole!
Looking around Europe for similar situations? I didn’t realise there were other similar unions to ours across Europe? With devolution happening?
Maybe JoLa has a cunning plan…
“It felt right”… I am glad JoLo applies the same skills she uses for selecting her Lotto numbers to what tax figure she thought was appropriate to devolve.
Damn it posted this on the wrong thread…DOH!
“It’s not a matter of arithmetic it’s a matter of judgement.” WHIT?
Surely you have to be good at arithmetic to produce your figures. Using your judgement surely means she is just plucking figures out of thin air…OOPS I forgot that IS what she is doing, my mistake!
There’s apparently something she’s “going to be very clear about”…but we have to wait until the 2016 election campaign for that. Meanwhile, she’ll remain incoherent.
link to youtube.com
Anybody taking bets on when Stairheid gets replaced by Sarwar?
O/T good piece on ITV news at ten with Martin Geisler in Glasgow looking at the grassroots yes and the disenfranchised going back on electoral roll in order to vote in ref, looking good
Arithmetic does matter,only doesn’t matter if you are trying to fool the gullible or covering up causing a huge national debt.It’s all newspeak.
Conversation, think and debate in neverendum circles.
a conversation about what taxation the people of Scotland are prepared to pay
Since when do political parties have ‘conversations’ about taxation?
She really doesn’t have a clue, does she? How in hell’s name did she ever get to be a party leader?
I’m not the first one to mention this theory, and call it arch conspiracy to the highest degree. The intention is to have such a bunch of numpties in the SCOTTISH part of the labour party that the people of SCOTLAND, in complete desperation, would rather have anyone run the country but SCOTS.
Very sorry for going o/t so soon Stu but Labour on the telly (STV) right now appealing to the bigot vote. Unbelievable. How low can they go?
Every time I watch this woman I half expect her to tear a rubber mask off her face and discover that it’s actually been Sacha Baron Cohen all along.
I can just imagine the tears of laughter streaming down Eck’s face as he plays this clip over and over again.
I do love the way Johann uses the word conversation wherever pressed on an issue. I can’t actually imagine a politician less amenable to have a conversation with. It would probably last about 30 seconds before she said “I don’t agree” and shut up shop.
I disagree with Michael Moore, Alistair Carmichael, Ruth Davidson and a number of others but I think they could actually converse….maybe not Danny Alexander he looks increasingly like someone that is being taken over by the Dark Side.
£100M thinks JoLa…No just £10M say IFS just a wee thing then like £90M of a difference.
Oh well whatever it is …it will be well spent. Jeez!
She’s toast! 19th September Taxi for Lamont.
(Streetband 1978 utube TOAST a young Paul Young)
Rightyho Johann, try selling that on the doorsteps. Hear that faint noise in the background, that’s all the newspaper editors in Scotland weeping into their palms.
Vote NO for Devo-fuckall!
Vote YES for Devo-getall!
She actually believes her own crap, her body language and eye movement is consistent with some one who doesn’t really believe what their saying but is trying hard to hide it.
Mum can I get my £10 pocket money?
Here darling
Thats a.pound
I dont agree.
Normally I’d expect some of the heavier-weight papers to be analysing these proposals and explaining just how they would work within the Barnett formula and so on. Maybe explaining how the partial tax devolution was supposed to work in practice and how much the additional administration would cost, as well.
I can’t decide if they’re giving this a body-swerve because they want to spare Labour’s blushes, or because they know perfectly well there isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell of it ever being implemented.
It is not as if she is being torn apart by an interrogator. These are not hostile interviews, this ain’t Paxman- they are fairly straightforward questions which she cannot answer.
Johann Lamont has just risen beyond her abilities… but then no-one could present this guff as the way forward. I certainly couldn’t. I can blag my way through a sale at work when I don’t know all the facts but I am not presenting myself as a the ideal candidate to be the leader of our country, or presenting a political ‘offering’ to the country in order to prevent almost certain economic disaster as she presents a Yes in September.
It feels like she is being walked away from by her party. Who’s got her back? Where are the number crunchers from her team able to lend a hand? It really is kind of sad. I have never voted labour and never will but for those who have, will and shall forever more the last few days must weigh heavy.
For the love of God, what will it take for the natural labour voter to dismiss this drivel, see past their dislike of Alex Salmond and with confidence, uncertainty, bravery say a firm Yes. Labour voters… come with us.
I just hope Scotland is paying attention. Labour are self-destructing. They are clueless, utterly clueless.
sufferin socatash, was like watchin a man drown but more fun.
clear as mud
Johann is just a puppet she has got no say in what goes on in practice unless she agrees with it anyway.
She is parroting a script produced at the behest of the Godfathers of the SLAB gang. Does she agree with it? Doesn’t matter just read the script! Does she understand it? Doesn’t matter just read the script. Does she realise how pathetic she looks and sounds? Doesn’t matter just stick to the script.
The godfathers are proud of you Johann your reward will come.
Tam’s right. Neither this nor the Brewer interview was at all hostile or challenging. You can call it giving her enough rope to hang herself if you like, but in fact these were pat-a-cake questions. Credit to both interviewers for being able to intervene and demonstrate when she got her facts wrong, but she wasn’t pushed into these errors.
I dread to think what would happen if she was actually Paxmaned by anyone. She’d probably go to pieces entirely. She is a sitting duck waiting for an interviewer with an agenda to blast her out of the water. (I’d give my eye-teeth to see her dismembered by Bateman actually, though he probably wouldn’t do it and would prefer to give her space to articulate her feelings these days.
)
She is just train-wreck awful. She makes the Grayman look a model of competence and charisma. And I think it was sheer terror of having him as FM that won the 2011 landslide.
Happy days.
OT just watching Newsnicht and David Clegg of the Daily Record is talking as though he is the official PR man of the Labour Party. Which, I suppose, he is.
Looking at the BBC headline of Milibands speech.
“Tories and SNP in race to the bottom”
Labour are horrified that Scotland might actually compete with London.
Maybe the Tories will look at the polls, and actually offer some significant new powers, whereas labour’s income tax plans are effectively USELESS – whether it is 15% or 30%
It would be something if Labour ended up even more arch-unionist and anti-Scottish than the Conservative and unionist party.
There’s an old story that 2+2 used to make 5 due to the early VAT. 2+2 grains for me and 1 for the temple. The trouble came when the scribes were accounting for the spending of the taxes when it became 2+2 grains for the flood defences and 1 grain for the Labour Party / At*s / scribe. After a few riots the priests decided that truth should prevail and invented 4.
However she’s an English teacher and so wouldn’t know anything about that so we have to assume that this conversation (or was it a debate?) was an attempt to cover up ignorance
Someone kind should escort her off stage left, or is it right nowadays for labour? It will take a great deal of misplaced courage to continue in her present role.
She’s had enough, the wheels have fallen off, labour is in a worse state than they were in 2011. Sad but true
Back to the bunker, chill out, there may be a wee spider there trying to spin a web and if you watch it…Aye right!
Just been on The Guardian’s CiF and read the piece by David Torrance on Labour’s Devo proposals. In the comments section is a chap called tellen1 who seems to be consistently posting “I’m a Yes supporter but … ” then goes onto dissemble the thread by slaughtering Alex Salmond and ‘SNP fanatics’ as well as the Rev and his ‘sycophantic supporters’. Sounds like old Norsewarrior to me, tone, language and style is the same.
link to id.theguardian.com
The problem is that she’s trying to explain proposals that aren’t hers, that probably even she thinks are rubbish, and she just can’t.
Going from devolving just about all taxes to just about no taxes is such an incoherent position. It’s plain she’s been telt that she’s all she’s going to get and she better sell it as best she can because frankly the Labour party’s got bigger fish to fry and it may or may not include Scotland.
She’s not to it and it’s a gift to the Yes campaign.
When did she learn to start ‘signing’ her own words for the deaf ?
If John McKay handed her a bit of paper I’ll bet she could whip together an origami donkey in seconds.
Urgh, damn touchscreens. Incoherent comments about incoherent proposals
Dcanmore –
Yep, this ‘tellen1’ guy is posting on the Gordon Brown story multiple posts claiming that Alex Salmond wanted to deregulate the banks more than Gordon Brown.
No links, no evidence, no quotes.
Thought Gordon Brewer was excellent on newsnicht tonight I believe he described Devo Nano as ‘widely discredited’ (or was it ‘widely ridiculed’)….
Posh guy from Devo Plus was allowed about 5 minutes t explain how pathetic and useless an offer it was as well
It may just be me but ever since they announced Newsnicht was for the axe in May, Gordon seems to have decided to just let rip even with Labour pols….swear I saw him smile as he beat up on everybody bar Hosie last night.
PS
According to the Hootsmon, Millibot is to encourage people to vote NO to honour the memory of John Smith.
Yes they really have sunk that low….
I’m sure all those in LfI who actually knew and worked with John Smith won’t find that offensive at all.
Daily Record editor David Clegg says he has inside information that Scottish Labour have a big surprise lined up for us tomorrow.
Another sleepless night.
I don’t think I can take much more of these surprises.
Paxman interviewed Alex Salmond, would have been good to see him interview Lamont.
Can someone not find a dirge that fits in with her conducting acrobatics. I watched the link posted by Marcia on the Dundee debate and the women Labour candidate is a clone of Johann genetically not suited to make political decisions.
Dcanmore, when “Norsewarrior” first showed up here, a few of us nearly got ourselves instabanned for trying to tell Stu that this was Tellen1 of long notoriety and he was a well-known concern troll. The evidence is probably still in Quarantine. Fortunately Norsie went too far and the scales fell from Stu’s eyes and the right guy got the ban.
Where did the validating squirrel go ?
link to youtube.com
Aye Morag- she must be desperate for the searchlight (if you can call the exposure of this buried policy announcement/pledge/vague idea a searchlight) to pass. Back into the shadow.
The time has passed for an ambitious labour msp to make a bid for the leadership in Scotland. I guess its such a poisoned chalice that no-one wants to step up and risk being tainted by “losing Scotland” in September, even if it means losing the referendum and potentially being annihilated at the 1st indy election. So we have this dead wummin walking. Can you imagine how poor JoLa is regarded by the Scottish labour MPs? Or the English labour MPs for that matter? John Smith and Donald Dewar must be turning in their graves.
Acht- I forget: the labour party is not Johann Lamont and it is wrong of me to focus on her when there is a broad range of people supporting this deception. The silent MSPs and MPs who tacitly approve don’t even have the courage to step up and take responsibility, offer support, criticism or even guidance? She just happens to be the wrong person in the wrong job, with the wrong plan on the wrong side of the argument.
I also forget about Ming Campbell’s offering, which does not benefit from comparison.
On Newsnicht tonight Ben Thompson, Chairman of the Devoplus Group was scathing about Jola’s latest antics. I wonder what Duncan McNeil really thinks seeing as how he is a fully signed up member of Devoplus. But come to think of it, with no political direction of his own he would probably sign up to anything as long as it was not proposed by the SNP.
Interestingly Gordon Brewer was still in demolition mode in being supporting Ben Thompson’s scathing comments.
I liked the bit where wee johann explains to John Mackay that it would save about £100million adopting the higher rate of tax, and she almost apologises because it isn’t that much.
Then John Mackay reminds her that it isn’t £100million she would save but £10million, and without batting an eyelid, she replies that it doesn’t matter what the amount is, she would find a use for it.
Don’t worry folks.
If you want to see more of the biggest idiot in Scottish politics, then pop along to The Concert Hall in Perth.
She’s there all weekend.
You do know that all Labour supporters/activists are oblivious to her faults, they simply don’t see what the rest of us do.
Surely she must feel that her majority is quicker and didn’t people recognise that the more you are the lesser the more becomes. It’s clear it felt right as the conversation started before it finished in the real world where people cook mince. After-all the less you do the more the better.
She started it!
Daily Record’s Friday front page is trumpeting Labour’s vision of a future Scotland on a double page spread.
link to twitter.com
“It’s not a matter of arithmetic it’s a matter of judgement”, she says when talking about our future economy…
“We think it’s something like… a £100 million”, she says convincingly. Except that’s £100 million for the whole of the UK. We make up 10% of the UK tax base, which would make that sum something like… £10 million.
Apparently, £100 million could “get us something like 3,000 nurses” in Labour-land. Except, last week the Scottish Conservative leader told us that 1,000 nurses would cost us £57 million…
I wouldn’t even trust Labour to count me backwards from ten, let alone leave them in control of our economy!
@DCanmore
I call that ‘Doing a Vikki Pollard’…”Im Yeah BUT…”. When you read such posts in a Little Britain accent, they get given the respect they deserve.
Labour have a big surprise…a Secret Squirrel…hooray!!
Help required.
link to twitter.com
If they have a surprise it will be flying in from London where it was thought up and probably be delivered by Ed who is giving a big speech tomorrow.
It will be held high, still wriggling and squealing in a poke, and have lipstick on it.
BBC web site has 5 Devo Facts.
I don’t have a clue as to what she is saying. Pure mince.
Serious question: is there any precedent for a political opponent defecting, but their preferred party saying ‘er, well, no thanks pal’?
Hmmm…think this week-end, the imminent embarrassment and carnage…
If Jackie Baillie or Anas Sarwar got on the hot line to AS and NS’s people tomorrow, what response would they get?
Would anyone countenance the presence of such people in the SNP, let alone the Yes campaign?
Nah. Which means – they have nowhere to go. Nowhere to hide. This weekend (god help ye Perth) they are fish in a barrel, and it’s going to be more a test of the Scottish MSM than the cadaverous, eviscerated, stinking ‘Labour’ party.
Labour in Scotland? We should now be able to say Rest in Peace, but official confirmation of death has to be announced – that responsibility lies with the authorities, and those ‘authorities’ happen to be the high-heid yins in Scottish MSM.
Anyone know much about Voodoo?
O/T
It is still 7/2 for any Yes victory and 7/1 for 55% or more of a YES vote with Ladbrokes.
On today’s Panelbase poll appropriate odds should be about 5/4 or 11/8 for YES and about 5/2 for 55% or above.
Get on while the odds last. They’ll go when Ladbrokes wakens up
IB – I don’t think voodoo works as I’ve stuck a pin into a tub of lard and it didn’t seem to have any effect on Jabba, Carmichael or McDougall.
Whether or not she can count, I wouldnt like to take home an opened paypacket to her
If you replay set to mute she looks like somebody’s Gran explaining how to make scones,describing how to knead and cut out the dough and then swithering about whether to add cheese or fruit. Not to demean the art of making scones, but I would defy anyone to guess the importance of what she’s meant to be talking about. What a washout.
@TJenny –
Well, ye never know – maybe it did work, in which case, imagine what they’d look like if you hadn’t?
Presently, I am conducting some basic experiments using some dried chicken bones and a very old Action Man doll dressed as Ming Campbell (only minor alterations were required) – so far, after lengthy incantations and the burning of small quantities of dried toad/hemp/parsley, I have ‘channelled’ the sounds emanating from the figure, but thus far have been unable to elicit anything anywhere near as boring as those the man issued in ‘real life’.
Disappointed, weary, but undaunted, I have ordered a second-hand Spacehopper – the experiments will continue as and when the thing arrives, but only if I have recovered my (for now!) depleted powers.
Tired now…must rest…damn ye, eyelids!
Asked where the figure of 40% came from:
“I think the report sez it’s not really a matter of arithmetic, it’s a matter of judgement. I think that’s right, but that felt right to us.”
She Thinks the report said that? – She Thinks it’s right? 40% feels like a good number for the numpty public so we’ll go with that.
Asked how much would be raised by increasing taxes for high earner from 45% to 50%:
“Well we, what we said, we think it’s something like a hundred million pounds.”
They Think? She doesn’t know? They haven’t a clue. They made it up. They’ve plucked a big number out of thin air.
When told the IFS predict it would be a hundred million across the UK.
“Well those are the figures we had and we whatever the monies were I’m sure that we would be able to find good use for the money
The suggestion from that [£100 million across the UK] is it’s £10 million [in Scotland].
“Well the point I’m making to you is, I don’t think it is ten million, but the point I’m making to you is this. We want the parliament to have the power but we decide how we use that power by having a conversation with the people of Scotland about what taxation they’re prepared to pay, and that is certainly something we would be very clear about ahead of two thousand and sixteen.”
Brilliant – they’re going to have a chat with us about what we’re prepared to pay in tax. I know what the answer they’ll get to that is. Two years in the making and all they can come up with is fudge.
Pray to your Gods that this hapless, innumerate crew never get their hands on Scotland’s purse strings.
Baldrick has more savvy in his pinky
Here is a bit of fun. (sorry Herald wont allow archive)
link to heraldscotland.com
Help has been delivered Highlander
@ Alexandra
“Help has been delivered Highlander
Beat you to it, Alexandra. -)
@Ian brotherhood
Wee Senga McGlaikit must have clangers the size of Spacehoppers to put herself up for this constant mocking and ridicule.
Or maybe it’s the Avocado seed sized brain?….Boy is she thick.
‘I’ll govern like Tory leader Margaret Thatcher,’ says Ed ‘Red’ Miliband
only said it about 4 weeks ago
What can you expect from a woman who has her ‘opinions’ communicated to her from UK Labour headquarters in London?
The woman then has to memorise them while in her bunker.
She is like a student who memorises a subject without understanding it and then can only write the memorised stuff in the exam whatever the questions may be.
How on earth did she manage to qualify as a teacher?
An English teacher? Could we find out what results she got in English in her Standard Grade and Higher English exams?
She releases a supposedy crucial document about tax rates and revenues and then says it is not about arithmetic!
What a disgrace!
@Dave McEwan Hill:
Interesting that “the Lads” are still offering the same odds. I sorted out a wager with them a couple of weeks back – equal sums on those two outcomes – thinking they were about to wake up. But they haven’t.
BTW, it’s a measure of my supreme confidence in a YES vote that I put anything on it all, because – please excuse me while I shout this from the rooftops – I DON’T GAMBLE!
Two Ed’s are not better than one.
Milliband struggles in budget response speech and Balls didn’t help out say observers.
link to archive.is
Its no Arithmetic Johann,its Artmatic ( drawing with crayons)
ah wuld hey said painting by number,s, but you wuld be feked
as it involves counting.
More ‘considering and discussion’ from labour on the SNHS.
They need to be elected first of course. Herald no archive.
In his speech to the Scottish Labour party conference tomorrow, health spokesman Neil Findlay will promise to set up the wide-ranging review that is being dubbed Beveridge 21 – suggesting it will be the biggest catalyst for reform since the Beveridge report, which paved the way for the creation of the NHS and the welfare state in the 1940s.
The commission, to be set in train from day one of a Scottish Labour government, would consider with the public how the NHS and care services need to change to look after the growing elderly population. It would also discuss what Scotland should do to tackle the poor health entrenched in deprived areas. Any privatisation of the health service would be ruled out from the start.
Could I put in a request to the Techno dept,
All Those Little Things, by ONE DIRECTION,
with all Wingers Love Johann, noo you have a very nice day
oot in Perth n mind try the stovies fae Shore Rd Bakery.
A conversation with the people of Scotland on what Taxation
their prepared to pay,Wtf there,s your parity with the Uk
Taxation system oota da windy,Johann mind git they stovies
ah mentioned, fill yer gub it,ll keep yer mooth accupied n
taste better than foot in the mooth.
Why would you even go on telly and embarrass yourself like that. Talk about a brass neck.
There certainly has been a ‘dumbing down’ of political talent in Scotland. Tick tick Labour …tick tick.
Hootsmon article on the visit of Milibot appeared on ma newsfeed, where he invokes the memory of John Smith to vote naw. To say that the comments at the bottom are hostile, would be an understatement.
I have to say that from what I remember of Smith, I think if he were here, he may have been sympathetic to YES.
Remember folks, Lamont’s purposes are (1) to make Holyrood appear Mickey Mouse & (2) to alienate the electorate. She does it well.
This woman is actually beginning to piss me off. This is no longer a laughing matter.
For literally two years, she and her acolytes (and I include Ruthie and Willie in this) have screamed, foamed at the mouth, shouted, bellowed, derided Alex Salmond or any nationalist by demanding that we have concrete evidence and the proof in the formulae to prove that all costs in raising and spending taxes are legitimate.
So, what do we get from her? Complete fabrication of figures.
– 40% …’it’s not a matter of arithmetic, it’s a matter of judgement’
– a £100 million pounds’ (No, you mean £10 million, IFS have said so) ….’Well …well ..those are the figures that we have’
– and breathtakingly …’well, whatever the monies were (the £100 million), I’m sure we would be able to find good use for them’ (WHAT! Is she actually and completely delusional. We’ll make up a £100 million, pretend it exists, and then spend it! – Is this not the crap that brought down the financial system. Lets spend money we don’t have!)
– ‘The point is I don’t think it is £10 million…’ so confirmation there when you think about it that there has been no consultation with any experts. What Johann and Labour say …is gospel according to …well …them!
– ‘consult the Scottish people on what taxation they are prepared to pay’ …aye, right …consult us, my backside …you might only do that, after you consult London first.
This woman is an insult to the Scottish people. I’m really hoping that the likes of Ponsonby, Brewer, Bird, Magnusson and a few others are getting really angry with Labour. After all, these are the horses that they decided to back in this debate, and to be honest, they have even put the credibility of their journalistic careers on the backing of Labour and a ‘No’ vote. For Lamont to come on twice this week; waffle a load of mince; pull figures and stats out of the air; and basically tell them that this is what Labour’s devo plans are, which are hee-haw, and it really will be the status quo, then to be honest, I would be absolutely f****** seething.
To me, sooner or later, one of these reporters is going to round on her, and absolutely savage her in front of the public.
CarmichaelMoore and civil servant giving evidence to the Europe and External affairs committee regarding the briefing of embassies around the world of the UK government’s position in the referendum issue. Flatt admits to visiting “dozens”, and here’s a telling wee paragraph.
“Mr Flatt added: “I’ve had that conversation with Russian officials, American, Canadian, Belgian, Philippines, Kurdistan, Italians – I mean it goes on because everyone’s interested.”
The official was then cut off from relaying further details by Carmichael, who said he didn’t know “that that’s really something for us to give an answer to”.”
The Secretary of State for Portsmouth, fighting Scotland’s corner, as usual.
Full article on Newsnet.
…and why, during the interview, is her hands either pretending to dice up carrots, or milk that invisible cow?
Great post JLT, bang on.
The longer one, I mean.
Unionists can count on increasing the YES vote.
Osbourne/Alexander are deliberately trying to ruin Scottish economy, especially the Oil sector, for political purposes.
Disreporting Scotland Catriona gives it let’s cross to Brian at the Labour Conference..f all happens..oh well we’ll bring you that later on..thinking and hoping this won’t be the last f*ck up this weekend..
From the Herald on Ed’d planned love bombing (the thought of Ed loving me is so weird/creepy):
His [Blue Ed’s] speech comes as Coalition sources indicate that they plan a new phase of positive campaigning.
A senior Whitehall source said that repeated attacks on independence, dubbed the “Dambusters’ strategy”, had been judged to be effective, but there was a growing view the approach had been too negative.
Translation:
Leaks say a senior Whitehall source told ministers that repeated attacks on independence, dubbed the “Dambusters’ strategy”, had been judged a f’ing disaster, with polls apparently boosting Yes.
Oh and I wonder if Milibot, who will invoke the memory of John Smith to vote NO, has discussed it with his daughter first, that’s the daughter who the BBC is employing to cover oor referendum. I wonder if she agrees?
While idly flicking through ‘Lord’ Foulkesy’s Twitter (on a whim, I must be in a masochistic episode) I stumbled on this from Adam Tomkins (03.29 – 16.Mar.2014).
“I hear Salmond’s rattled:#Marr. His worst nightmare is coming true: the Unionists are setting out big, bold policies on taking devo further.
D’ye think many of his people survived when the home planet was destroyed?
There is no surprise in the fiscal deficit of Unionist accounting, they have been economic with the truth since 1928. Trying to keep it secret. The McCrone Report, the illegal wars, the poverty and fraud, the misappropriating of revenues. Accounting Day is fast approaching. Vote YES on the 18th September. Hold the Unionists to account.
John Smith changed the rules of the PLP. This enabled the Illegal Wars etc.
Oh dang! I’ve watched this one twice now and Brewer’s interview three times and I’m still not getting it.
The proposals are fine. They’re a pile of unworkable, poorly thought out, hashed up mince, which will cause untold damage if ever they were in danger of being implemented. No, what I don’t get is just how Johann Lamont ever made it past a selection process to represent anyone? FFS, ‘a matter of judgement’.
Surely anyone can see from those two interviews alone what a catastrophe waiting to happen this person is. My God the thought of Johann in charge of a budget… (shudders).
@JLT 7.20am post.
I very, very rarely swear online, but in regards to your 7.20 post…
… Fucking ‘A’ with a fried egg on top.
Well said.
I wouldn’t vote No if John Smith had personally told me to do so when he was alive.
Now that Johann has laid out exactly what a No means, I’m sure that John would be voting Yes.
Those were the days my friends
link to bbc.co.uk
How times have changed.
By the way she was a history teacher apparently, some keep saying english teacher, now I’m confused.
According to Ian Smart on GMS,
“the polls aren’t closing”.
FFS everyone of them have lost the plot.
This on Ed’s speech from the Herald but I keep hearing there will be some sort of earth shattering surprise announcement in Perth today, anyone know what that is?
link to heraldscotland.com
Stuart Black says:
CarmichaelMoore and civil servant giving evidence to the Europe and External affairs committee regarding the briefing of embassies around the world of the UK government’s position in the referendum issue. Flatt admits to visiting “dozens”
Flatts admission was right after Carmichael sitting beside him appeared to be rubbishing the story, challenging the committee to give names.
Around 1hr31m in:
link to scottishparliament.tv
O/T
Anyone else growing increasingly concerned by the way the MSM (ie the Better Together campaign) talks casually of ‘No looking likely to win’, as Brewer and the political editor of the Daily Record did last night?
This seems absurd, not to say bizarre, on a day where a poll shows a 3 percent swing needed for Yes to win; in the context of the polls being hopelessly wrong in 2011; and the referendum is still six months away, for God’s sake. What other test of public opinion would get talked about in this way?
Unless of course the MSM knows that No will win regardless of votes cast.
Labour want to “have a conversation with the Scots about how much taxation they are willing to pay”! WTF have I been paying for the last 38 years?
Had a look at the Scottish Daily Mail yesterday and read a pretty gushy report on how Jim Naughtie feels he’s slotting in and right at home on GMS. He claims also to have a vote in the referendum since with his wife they keep an Edinburgh home, which clearly is not their main residence. Can this be right? Do second homes count as bringing voting rights?
He also claims to be sure of how he’s going to vote, but is keeping schtum on it, which seems to be a quite redundant notion given his previous with UK Labour.
Something else I can’t get my head around is since she’s a family woman and married, why she uses her maiden name in public? Why she doesn’t wear her wedding ring in public?
Are we looking at a non-representative representative doppleganger?
Albalha… my Guess is ‘Santa says borders will affect business’… ‘Tooth Fairy says teeth are better together’… ‘Scary Monster in bunker wants Johann Lamont to stay’
Unless my shell-likes deceived me, Ian Smart also admitted that Labour will (or was it ‘can’?) ‘never win’ the constitutional debate – that they’re putting their efforts into winning the next GE.
@GordonMcA: Thanks for that, I’ll get a look later (at work
).
Oh the shame, Oh the indignity.
link to bbc.co.uk
o/t
hows this grab you
I just noticed an alert in my (overfull ) inbox from a comment I made on “Our Kingdom”
see for yourself
Duncan Hothersall • a month ago
“I think one the main reasons my work has upset the BBC so much has been because I am not easily linked to an ideological position. … I do favour independence for Scotland.”
Yeah, there it is.
jdmank Duncan Hothersall • a month ago
“Yeah, there it is.”
Keep digging Duncan
My keep digging comment was in response to a comment made by Hothershall which he has since (curiously) removed
but the point made in the new post is clear ”
I DO FAVOUR INDEPENDENCE FOR SCOTLAND”,
the rats are deserting the sinking ship!
check it out for yourselves its still there
link to tinyurl.com
I’ve just had a call from my bank telling me it’s going to repay mis-sold PPI.
I’m soooooo disappointed; I thought it might be Johann wanting to have a conversation about taxation.
Labour with JoLa in the position they were with Brown. Crippled leader, but when’s the right time to ditch him/her? No option looks good for them. Zugswang in chess: any move weakens your position but, hey – it’s your move.
Miliband himself slipping towards same zone of horrible uncertainty, just in time for the GE. Nice.
@Training Day
That caught my attention too. But I think Brewer was taking a line I sometimes take myself with Nawbags: if you’re so sure you’ve won already, wtf are you fretting about? As for the Record man’s view, WGAF.
Does your mother know you’ve come out of the closet Duncan ?
welcome to the right side.
@ Bunter
Who’s daughter? Who is she?
@ SquareHaggis
No confusion. Our history was English. At least was when I went to school (pre – Google, obviously).
Ed Miliband will present an idea ‘bigger than Independence’.
So, what’ll that be then? Anarchy? Get in there Ed! (Where’s me old Crass records…)
@Trainging Day
The first one of them that breaks ranks and actually admits they might lose will be turned on by the rest.If they are having to change tactics, well they couldnt be any less positive , then we are on the right track.
Another 3 months of progress like the last three and hopefully they will be turning on each other with fear and recriminations.
CITY A.M front page today ‘Labour in Turmoil over Pension plans’.
Wonder if anyone will ask the the 2 Eds ( Dedward?) about this after the glorious leader makes yet another “Cost of Living Crisis-Stay with us Scotland-One Nation blah blah blah” speech later today ( with Maggie Curran clapping madly like a Sea-Lion and Douglas Alexander smiling whilst wishing he ‘could just get the votes to overthrow him’ in the background of course)
Please, please, get the latest “mathematical genius” of Johann Lamont onto every social media outlet you can access.Tell the “don’t knows” this is what will be running Scotland if you vote NO! Can you grasp what a disaster this will be for our country. The campaign against Salmond has resonated with some but had it not been for his political genius and the SNP Team and Supporters we wouldn’t now be in a position to have a democratic Referendum for our futures. Salmond has given us that chance. Independence is about the future of Scotland not the future of Alex. That will come later.
Joyce McMillan in the Hootsman on Devo.
link to archive.is
The quotation marks in Hothershalls response refer to Professor Robertson’s acknowledgement that he supports independence, suggestion that only a non aligned commentators professional views should be considered,
kinda like saying that a lawyer saying he thinks murder is wrong should be an automatic bar from him defending a person accused of murder,
good luck with that one Duncan.
@Training Day 08.34
Yes, I have a little worm in my brain area that also discomfits me as to how these presumably competent people are able to ignore the trend of the polls, or, when it comes to it, to be as smugly confident about the referendum’s outcome as Cameron and his gang seem to be.
The howlers that freely emanate from the union side are absolutely reckless, but are, as of no matter to them and one wonders if the card deck’s already stacked in some way.
We know the propaganda machine that is the spinning BBC and MSM. We see it turning white to black or at least into shades of gray and savvy people like Derek Bateman, Craig Murray and the many independence bloggers, who collectively ain’t daft, can’t be alone in noticing what’s going on, so what’s going on in these other folks minds?
If psychologically, we, each of us, need triggers for happiness and safety, just how can mass delusion be a safe harbour, unless there is only one secret way through already planned for and if so that ain’t looking too democratic in my book.
It doesn’t help my paranoia to see the wholesale vilification and downright slander of one of the most able politicians on this planet simply because he’s a Scot fighting for independence for his own country. It stinks!
TJenny@12.39am
well that’s the bacon roll sprayed all over the place!
Does anyone know the origin of that Lamont soundbite GMS used earlier i.e. ‘This is about Scotland versus Salmond, and Scotland will win.’?
From the Joyce MacMillan article:
“To talk about the UK as a “sharing union” dedicated to ensuring social justice might have made reasonable sense at any time between 1945 and 1974. Forty years on, though, it seems almost politically illiterate to launch a proposal for the future of the UK which does not even acknowledge, never mind tackle, the grotesque and worsening structural inequalities that disfigure our national life, after a generation of neoliberal consensus at Westminster; or the democratic deficit caused by UK Labour’s historic shift to the centre-right, including its acceptance of the present UK government’s flawed austerity narrative.
That’s Lamont telt…
Listed to the unionist fest that is GMS with Naughtie this morning.
They really cant help themselves can they.
They played a recording from the last Labour conference in Brighton with Curran (or was it Lamentable) spouting that it was about Salmond versus Scotland and Scotland will win.
Then we had Douglas Fraser spouting on about how Danny Alexander will be guest of honour at Maersk Oil’s place as they are going to be developing an existing difficult field thanks to new tax breaks (actually I had read up on these fields a few months back and it was already in the ‘pipeline’). Then another comment regarding charter companies reluctant to take part in the North Sea due to a ‘tightening up of tax loop holes’ and somehow segwayed into something about Starbucks and other non oil related tax avoiders.
I really look forward to the day when Scotland is independent and the likes of Fraser are no longer polluting the air ways with their twisted crap
Ian Brotherhood
Ah it was Lamentable – GMS attributed to the last Labour party conference in Brighton (last year)
@john king Wow checked your link re Duncan Hothersalll but the biggest surprise for me was the positive (as far as independence is concerned) comment above from Obewan frae Woking (john macintyre) taking the bbc to task re bias!! Can’t believe it!! There’s a difference between bias and lies. Having witnessed various Indy events and then listened to BBC coverage just minutes later … there is no doubt in my mind that their reporting would by any normal standards be classed as lying and not simply bias! I hope people in the employ of the BBC read this. . Omg I’ll need a lie doon after that
@Edward –
Cheers.
Wonder if she’ll try that line this weekend?
The worrying thing about what appears on this clip is not simply that JoLa is clearly hard of thinking, she firstly was voted to parliament and then she’s somehow become leader of the Scottish branch of Labour! What does that say about many of our fellow Scots!? I suppose they must be the same people determined vote No without even trying to understand the issues.
Clootie @ 12.05am
Priceless.
O/T.
Ladbrokes – Yes vote now at 4/1 (prev 7/2)
Ian Brotherhood
Glad you are around as I wanted to clarify why I was poking around Lord Milner. I am not some NWO conspiracy freak, I simply wanted to highlight that Labour has never been a socialist organisation.
It is not possible to be socialist and practice liberal capitalist imperialism at the same time. The underlying philosophies of each are mutually exclusive.
Labour’s socialism is the same as the claim that Britain has a free press. A smoke screen.
Independence referenda of Veneto and Scotland being discussed on Rai News now. Wish my Italian was up to it.
Salmond scares them shitless, and they know they must take him down. Their efforts are like watching a mouse climb the tail of an elephant with a view to rape.
Salmond is a great man, but (or because?) he knows that he simply and truthfully reflects mainstream Scottish opinion. The Unionists don’t get it that when they attack Salmond they’re attacking all of us who connived, campaigned, consented and voted to put him where he is. He’s ours: attack him, you attack us.
That’s a bad idea, you’ll make us angry.
john king says:
Duncan Hothersall • a month ago
“I think one the main reasons my work has upset the BBC so much has been because I am not easily linked to an ideological position. … I do favour independence for Scotland.”
Duncan Hothersall was quoting John Robertson’s words from the article above. I don’t think he’s ready to come over to Yes yet!
cauld tattie
O/T.
Ladbrokes – Yes vote now at 4/1 (prev 7/2)
That is nuts!
Somebody is betting on No?
@Ian Brotherhood
Ed Miliband spotted selling T-Shirts in Perth Market
“Revolution NOT Devolution!”
Boston Tea Party 1773
The Boston Tea Party was a political protest by the Sons of Liberty in Boston, on December 16, 1773.
The demonstrators destroyed an entire shipment of tea, which had been sent by the East India Company, in defiance of the Tea Act of May 10, 1773.
The British government responded harshly and the episode escalated into the American Revolution.
The Tea Party was the culmination of a resistance movement throughout British America against the Tea Act, which had been passed by the British Parliament in 1773.
Colonists objected to the Tea Act because they believed that it violated their rights as Englishmen to “No taxation without representation”
Labour Home Rule Bill
The nation of Scotland will have a the power to raise tax but not the freedom to lower.
So Johann, the conference attendance was poor. How many do you reckon?
100 million!
But the City Hall only holds 2000
I dont agree!
The big Idea: Joine the Labour party for a fiver up to 18th Sept.
“JOIN”! Blast.
Miliband selling t-shirts eh?
link to bealing.files.wordpress.com
Seats look about half empty when camera pans.
@Hotrod cadets
re my post @ 09.22 thats what I said,just yanking his chain but Im sorry to bring you down weedeochandorris but the comment attributed to John MacIntyre M.B.E. are not by him either, thats a doppelganger
@Desimond –
Miliband would probably look quite good in a balaclava, for the simple reason that it would conceal most of his face.
Right said Ed to Johann, “I am the number 1 and you are the number 2. You are programmed to do as I say. I am inspired by Thatcher, so our Demolition Commission Report to destroy devolution will reflect that, are you with me?”
His thoughts are captured in this Daily Telegraph interview:
link to telegraph.co.uk
There are two phrases which are significant:
“Sense of purpose” is used to describe his admiration for Thatcher. This was amended by Write said Ed to headline the Demolition Commission Report- POWERS FOR A PURPOSE.
“So just as it is One Nation Labour’s cause to tackle unaccountable power in the private sector, so too in the public sector.” This was considered too complicated for us Scots to understand, so Write said Ed changed it to ”Strengthening Accountability and Empowering People” for the subheading of the Demolition Commission Report.
The remainder of Right said Ed’s ideas were transmitted via thought control into the Demolition Commission Report. The rest is hysterical.
@CameronB –
Agree. Totally. Blair’s shite about a ‘Third Way’ was an exercise in sophistry.
Aye, there was a ‘Third Way’ – the personal ongoing ‘Journey’ which has seen that war criminal trouser, what, £70,000,000?
Bookie Odd’s
The risk managers are based in London. Tory bankers. Bets elsewhere are calculating the Odds.
She must learn to stop doing that think where she pauses at the start of a sentence, tilts her head slightly, half shuts one eye and looks towards the ceiling for a second or two before continuing. It’s a dead giveaway.
According to Wikipedia JoLa was indeed at first an English teacher, however the final stage of her career involved chasing truants around Castlemilk.
@Albert Herring
A friends wife recalls being taught by JoLa. Her wonderful teaching resulted in a pupil querying her motivation skills. “what?, You lot will never amount to anything” was the dismissive statement made by JoLa.
There has been no confirmation that she was actually looking at a mirror at the time.
Maybe she just knew she’d be Labour (in Scotland) Leader one day and she was practising addressing her subordinates.
Last post re. Milner’s Kindergarten.
Alfred Eckhard Zimmern was a member of the Kindergarten, a Zionist and is credited with coining the phrase the “welfare state”.
link to en.wikipedia.org
link to youtube.com
This makes more sense.
Speed-reader Flipper seems awfully quiet at this juncture (raises mousy brown eyebrow).
Maybe too much white paper in this white paper for his vacuous mind to digest?
Bookies odds on him having written it?
She must learn to stop doing that think where she pauses at the start of a sentence, tilts her head slightly, half shuts one eye and looks towards the ceiling for a second or two before continuing. It’s a dead giveaway.
In Neuro Linguistic Programming terms, she’s a visual learner and depending whether she’s looking up and to the left or the right, she’s either trying to remember what she’s seen (in her script) or she’s picturing something which doesn’t yet exist. Also known as lying.
Embarassing stuff.
They fail to realise that the logical conclusion that people will come to, is if 40% is good for Scotland, then why isn’t 100%?
Brotyboy,
Ah..nowt to do with squirrels then?
@Training Day, better they keep on thinking and saying they are winning because I am sure a lot of NO voters will decide to just stay at home, well after all they are going to win. The YES voters will not stay at home, it is always better strangely enough to be voting for something positive.
As for Ms Lamont, well I thought she would be an excellent leader for Labour in Scotland and an excellent spokesperson for Better Together, looks like I was right.
@Square Haggis, she is reported to have taught English in Wikipedia, she is also a native Gaelic Speaker, well her parents both were, she had such a cringe she gave it up as she felt she was rotten at it. Yet another thing she was a failure at it seems.
@MochaChoca
Could have been one jumping around just out of shot.
Since her train of thought is by Hornby that’s all it would take to disrupt it.
john king says:
re my post @ 09.22 thats what I said,just yanking his chain
Oops, sorry for the misunderstanding!
Brotyboy
If I remember correctly its goes something like this
Everybody has different ways of recalling past events, JoLa
visualises , and if she is right handed her eye going up to the topright , signifies a bad experience or lies. If her eye goes to the top left it is a good past experience so probably not lies.
Its a technique we were taught at Management training to see if Salesman were talking porkies or not.
it doesn’t work for everybody but Jola certainly seems to be a dead giveaway. Now my recollection could be wrong or she could be left handed and its the other way about, maybe somebody else can confirm…
jingly jangly
That’s how I remember it too, for right handed people. For left handed people it may be the reverse, but don’t quote me. It is less strongly correlated for LHanders I think.
In any case there’s nothing definitive about it.
Well.. erm…we said.. erm.. that we think that…erm….experts say erm..
Thick as mince.
I think we need to stay alert to this developing MSM narrative that No ‘is likely to win’ , to which they will stick regardless of evidence.
We know the tide is with us, but the MSM attempts to keep the ‘No’ vote artificially miles ahead could ultimately cover a multitude of sins come the result on September 19th.
I think Johann’s on to something here. If the Inland Revenue question my next statement, I’ll tell them, “It’s not about the arithmetic, it felt right”. If challenged I will tell them Lamont says so.
i take it they did their figures over a pint at the pub….it definitely looks like someone peeled the back off a beer mat and they got stuck in….the pitfalls of “10 pinter” arithmetic
Training Day says:
“the MSM attempts to keep the ‘No’ vote artificially miles ahead could ultimately cover a multitude of sins come the result on September 19th.”
I keep on saying this, there is a smugness and certainty from the unionists that worries me they have a plan to rig the referendum somehow. Rigging the polls to support their plan would be a ‘wee thing’ to their black ops dept.
We should be demanding UN and/or EU oversight of the referendum, especially postal votes.
X_Sticks says:
We should be demanding UN and/or EU oversight of the referendum, especially postal votes.
Good idea. Although a good alternative would be to make the Yes vote so overwhelming that no amount of fiddling would work
@Dick Gaughan, 3.03pm
Aye, but naw Dick – let’s not leave it to chance. Let’s get a maximum YES vote out and also have it monitored by an independent outside body. With these trends showing always for YES, the unionistas should be manning the parapets, not letting numpties like Sarwar, Lamont and Carmichael be their vanguard. And as was said, sometime and someplace else, ‘…it’s quiet out there, too damn quiet for my liking!…’
“Gandhi says:
First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they come to fight you, and then you win.”
Turning this around, LondonLabour feel defeated already because they know their supporters are moving to Yes, and don’t seem capable of putting up a fight. So we have no choice but to laugh at them. After 18th Sep we can then ignore them!
In response to X_Sticks above, there is no question that the pro-union parties are an unscrupulous lot. I, too, am suspicious of a large increase in postal voting. Returning Officers for each Scottish constituency have been warned to look out for this, but I think a better way to combat electoral fraud would to send in an FOI asking each constituency to provide figures for the number of postal voters in the 2010 and 2011 Parliamentary elections. A similar exercise must then be conducted after September 3rd this year, when voter registration has been closed. Any constituency with a spike in its numbers should be required to investigate the authenticity of these postal voters as a matter of urgency in order to obviate any such irregularities in the referendum vote.
is anyone else haunted by the memory of the ’79 Devo Referendum, when you here Labour talk about 40%. aaaaahhhhhhh
Johann demonstrates a possible negotiating position for anyone dealing with the HMR&C regards a tax return.
“I have calculated my tax liability at a marginal rate of 25% on my total earnings of £7.5 million. This is not a matter of arithmetic but judgement”.
She may be angling for a job at Amazon?
The £10 million or £100 million (what does it matter, eh) shows how wee things like sums can get out by a factor of 10. I guess that’s how you end up owing £1.3 trillion.
So they plucked 40% out their arses then because it felt right?
This is as bad as Margaret Curran’s plan to sort out the UK’s £1.2 trillion debt crisis by saving £200 million. Andrew Neil almost had a stroke when she said that!
Oh and let’s not forget the £20 million pound a year the queen brings into the UK economy. Without that money we’re all fucked and will be living on £10 giros like the Irish.
I see a pattern…………
This is Leader Jo to ground control, I’m standing up to speak
And I’m floating in a most peculiar way
And the polls look very different today
Here am I standing in a bright light far above the world
Labour is blue and there’s nothing I can do
Ground Control to Leader Jo
I am so embarrassed to think of people from other countries watching this and equating her with Scottish womanhood or any form of intelligent being, please please please Scotland, vote YES YES YES on 18th September and make all the nae sayers disappear from our land for ever, ALBA GU BRATH