Courage Calls To None
We should point out right at the start that a reader donated £12 back in the summer specifically to send us to Nicola Sturgeon’s book event in Bath last night.
We assume it was someone we’d upset in some way.
We arrived bang on 6.30, expecting to be among the first on the scene, but in fact there were already dozens of people inside, although nobody was sat in the front rows, which were all marked “RESERVED”.
The evening’s crowd was approximately 75% female and almost exclusively over-50s, although a very small smattering of students showed up late on and sat at the back.
By the start the two middle columns of pews were pretty much full, with the two outer columns mostly empty, for a total of maybe 120 attendees. (“Early bird” tickets were still on sale on the day.)
Bang on 7pm the event kicked off and we met our host, who didn’t introduce herself but was a moon-faced, blue-haired young woman we’ll call Starsprinkle, reading out her lines from a bundle of sheets of A4.
Any readers who feel at this point that they can already predict the calibre of inquisition that Sturgeon was about to be subjected to from what Starsprinkle called “my own questions” can rest assured that they’re right on the money, in spades. “What’s it like to be a woman in politics?” was as tough as it got.
(There wasn’t a single mention of Peter Murrell, Alex Salmond, campervans or missing money or blue tents, Isla Bryson or even – as far as we can recall – of independence, which one might consider rather odd.)
[EDIT 4.30pm: Reviewing the recording, she does briefly discuss it about 25 minutes in. It was so boring we’d genuinely forgotten.]
Of course, this wasn’t Newsnight. People mostly hadn’t shown up to witness a brutal grilling and Starsprinkle works for a small bookseller, not a national news channel. But purely on a “halfway entertaining and interesting evening for paying customers” level it was bland and anodyne and bloodless well below our lowest expectations.
Most questions weren’t really questions at all, rather invitations to relate some folksy anecdote that people would have already read in the book, such as the gripping tale of when Sturgeon knocked someone’s door twice during the same canvassing session.
(The edgiest it got was probably when Sturgeon suggested that some of the negative reviews of the book had been written before people read it.)
This went on for 40 stupefyingly dull minutes, after which it’d be time for questions from the audience. However, there’d be nothing spontaneous. At the start Starsprinkle had told us – something that hadn’t been mentioned previously – that questions were to be pre-vetted and submitted via QR codes stuck on pillars.
But St Mary’s Church is located in a notorious network desert on the eastern edge of the city, and sure enough there was zero signal for the first 20 minutes.
We’d also been told by email that afternoon that Sturgeon wouldn’t be hanging around to sign books and pose for selfies afterwards, “Due to time constraints”.
But that doesn’t actually make any sense. As far as we’ve been able to ascertain there are no flights or trains from Bath back to Scotland after 8pm, and if she was staying in town, or being taken back by car, or going somewhere closer (though the next book event isn’t until next Wednesday), then half an hour wouldn’t have made much odds.
(If, for example, she was heading to her beloved London to hang out in some gay clubs, the last train from Bath on a Thursday night doesn’t leave until almost 11pm.)
[EDIT: Apparently she was indeed off to London, so she had plenty of time to hang around and sign some books if she’d wanted to.]
However, about 25 minutes in our phone had suddenly managed to pick up a signal from somewhere, so we submitted our question.
We were excited to hear the answer, because Sturgeon had made great play of how important it was to meet people in real life, rather than online, who disagreed with you, and not to live in a political echo chamber, and to actually debate things.
As she chuntered away about her favourite books in response to another penetrating question from Starsprinkle, I had a browse through the list of questions people had sent in, some of which were at least mildly spicy.
Below are all the ones that WEREN’T asked.
Instead, these were the ones Starsprinkle read out:
We’re sure readers can imagine the spellbinding insights that resulted. (Writing a book is “bloody hard”, apparently, you beat Reform by telling people immigration is great and “of course” Scotland will qualify for World Cup 2026, even though the team’s recent performances have been “really really shit”.)
The answer to the Reform question sparked pretty much the only audience reaction of the night – spontaneous applause at the revelation that Nigel Farage and Brexit were bad – and people dutifully laughed a bit at the Category Z sweary words.
And then we were done. On the dot of 8pm she was up and out the door, never to be seen again, leaving only a table full of unsold (but pre-signed) books behind.
Nobody ever came to sit in any of the “RESERVED” seats. Their only purpose seemed to be to act as a firewall between The Great Unwashed and The Sainted Nicola, who had no interactions with anyone other than Starsprinkle.
We did get to sit in her eyeline, though, so we hope she enjoyed the nice t-shirt we had made specially for the event.
Perhaps the most notable thing about “Frankly” (and its promotional circuit) is how closely it mirrors the character of Sturgeon’s time as First Minister, because its recurring theme is cowardice.
She ran away from every fight during her time in Bute House, deleting, denying and forgetting evidence at every turn, and in the book she coyly pretends to say things while actually avoiding giving any proper answers, in much the same way that she used to issue statements that SOUNDED like promises of another referendum unless you actually read them properly.
We don’t know whether Sturgeon stipulated the format of last night’s event and its studied complete avoidance of difficult subjects, or if Starsprinkle and her employers were responsible. (Starsprinkle was intermittently handed more sheets of paper which we assume were the audience questions, but we couldn’t tell if she was selecting them herself from the full list or if they’d somehow found someone even wetter than her to censor them in advance.)
But St Mary’s Church was by no conceivable stretch a hostile room, and we’d be pretty surprised if other authors were so rigorously shielded at every turn from the voices of the overwhelmingly friendly punters who’d paid to come and see them in the flesh.
If it was all done in Bath for our benefit we’ll be very flattered, of course, but we suspect that Nicola Sturgeon just doesn’t like surprises, and isn’t taking any chances with ANY tricky questions from anyone on the tour – even now she’s not in charge of anything, doesn’t need anyone’s votes and has her fat advance safely in the bank.
Despite her extensive wanging on last night about facing down people who don’t like you and winning support by out-debating them, she doesn’t want any of them actually in her divine presence. (Just like as soon as things got a little sticky, she deprived them of the chance to vote her out.)
Because when it all boils down, all she is is a coward.
You’re a way better man than I to endure the self aggrandising woffle of our former FM for an evening.
My sympathies for what you put up with in order to be able to report back.
Rev Stu. You are a very bad man.
Keep up the good work!
If only the tech in the Mission Impossible films was real. You could have attended with an Alex Salmond head on. That really would have livened things up.
Hmmmm..
And you wonder why you are called P3nisbreath!
Boke..
A guid Setterday nicht, YL?
I’m thinking that for anybody hunched over their moby at 12:07 on Sunday morning, posting about penises, the answer is obviously No.
Ask somebody who cares to stage an intervention on your behalf, YL.
And learn to spell penis. Fight to overcome whatever psychological block is stopping you from being able to do that. Penis. Penis. Penis. See? Easy Peasy penis.
Now tell me I’m wrong on all counts.
P3nisbreath @ 8.37
As usual, you are wrong on all counts..
Next?
“wrong on all counts”
My apologies, YL.
It simply hadn’t occurred to me that hunching over a moby until 12:07 on a Sunday morning, posting online about penises, could be anybody’s idea of a guid Setterday nicht.
I live and learn.
And thanks for sharing. As the wise woman said, we must all be prepared to walk a mile in someone’s shoes, rather than judge them harshly.
Thanks again.
P3nisbreath @ 7.38
You couldn’t walk in my boots.
I wouldn’t walk in yer sling backs mong..
Never deny it do you deviant..
Not one of your better efforts, YL.
Best leave it an hour or three and then try again!
The big surprise to me is that she didn’t burst into flames in there.
Everyone has to face themselves at some point in life. When Nicola’s day comes it’s going to be brutal.
Every single question there is about herself, basically, what she is like and what she would do. Which makes sense, to a degree, for an author event. But, as a politician, has she no community-based answers to anything, or any wish to talk about anything or anybody but herself?
I mean, I know she (probably) didn’t choose the questions, but…we know what the answer is to my one above. Hope she’s enjoying her ever-extended farewell tour in the slimelight. Not much more me-me-me attention juice to squeeze out of it. Then I hope we never hear of her again. I know, a vain hope, but I can dream, can’t I?
Well would you look at that . . .Starsprinkle has blue hair complemented with a pink cardigan. Symbolic, eh?
You realise you’re never going to get back the time you wasted in the line of duty saving the rest of us from what sounds to have been as exciting as watching paint dry! What a man!
“Starsprinkle” – classic! And perhaps a teensy bit presumptious of you to assume she identifies as a woman, no? Yes, I’m being sarcastic. Very.
So basically the Shit book, hasn’t sold out. Did Wings have a talk with her and what was her response?
What I’d like to know is, how many of these books has she actually sold?
If this is correct, she had an advance of 300,000 quid from the publishers.
+ the actual costs for the printing of the book. Distribution.
+ promotion, advertiseing, touring costs, hotels and fodder.
That’s a tidy amount of money that needs to be recouped before even one penny of profit is made.
Looking at Stu’s visit to boredom maybe 20-25 books were flogged off.
How many promotional events such as this one are there, 100-150.
She didn’t make the bestseller lists as far as I know. Bin boxes and charity shops probably more so…!!
So, do you think she’ll get to do a sequel???
BTW, where’s the 600,000 gone ya fraud?
“Totally.”
link to thescottishsun.co.uk
It depends who funded the 300k.
That’s the expression of someone who’s thinking “When I got an invite to Bath with a blue haired lady this is not what I was thinking the night was going to be”.
Just a suggestion… Maybe us kind folks can crowd fund the repairs to the church roof at St Mary’s. What ya think eh?
Spare them the humiliating indignity of raising cash from book funerals.
Her constant use of very young women in fawning, supplicant positions is interesting. Imagine a man who was constantly surrounded by young women less than half his age and whst it would say about him. Not that he was an equal opportunities employer, that’s for sure.
Onlooker @ 15.46.
I imagine that the comparable picture involving a man would require him to be surrounded by young men less than half his age.
Ms Sturgeon has, I seem to recall, referred to her groupies as, “The Travelling Lesbians”, rather as if she were a rock star with a backing group … an interesting insight into her possible mental image of herself.
Maybe she’ll just eff off with toxic defenestrated Randy Andy?
Fingers crossed..
This is Alan Partridge levels of cringe. Please make it stop.
I see on ‘Scot Goes Plop’. The blogger is now an SNP candidate or something or other. He is crowing a the SNP being 30% in the UK polls. Feckin hell this is a catastrophe for them. They managed 51% in 2015.
He even had the cheek to talk about 2028/29 being the potential catalysts for independence. He has already given up on a Scottish election that hasn’t even happened yet. Feck sake Jam tomorrow is the byeword for these delusional cult members.
I don’t read the SGP site because pointless dung beetle battles have already wasted yet another summer where more productive work could have been focused on… but did notice the header on the Voices For Independence feed.
TBF, if JK is talking albeit in loose terms about a UK GE being a democratic expression and potential catalyst for returning Scotland to self-governing status, that’s more than pretty much every other supposed pro-indy supporter mouthpiece that seems content to ignore the opportunity and piss away yet more time whilst they are busy creating no end of distractive hurdles and caveats.
A timescale of a few years is a realistic duration to properly organise for a democratic event using a straightforward voting system, unlike the Holyrood election next year, which is compromised for numerous reasons.
Proper planning prevents piss poor performance, but it seems with the rise of ADHD-like internet based behaviour and binary views humans have lost the necessary practical skill-sets, attention spans, and critical thinking to build anything of worth.
Interesting that Norway restrict social media use for young folk, presumably because it has a negative effect, yet adults are “grown up” and can spend as much time as they want on t’internet and there are no ill effects…
It must have been brass monkeys in that church by the looks of the congregation. I think some of those people there were arrested in London a few weeks ago.
So Scottish left Wing politics now seeks sanctuary at a church in deepest darkest Bath! So much for London.
Sandie Peggy will get a lot more media coverage at the end of the month. Worldwide coverage.
I don’t know how you do it, Stu. I really don’t. So mega kudos there.
You use an interesting and pointed concluding word at the very end of your article and i think that this is also what all incumbent SNP politicians boil down to. They are indeed cowards and the best interests of a Scottish state will always be thwarted by them.
Still viewing WoS and all the btl comments from afar, there is a Magyar saying that your conclusion reminded me of:
“Gyavá népnek nincs hazája”
Cowardly people have no country.
Make of that what one will, but for me there is perhaps a very uncomfortable and persistent truth there.
(In spite of all the reasons, the histories, the obfuscation, the colonisation etc. ad nauseum)
Courage Calls to Money a more apt title. A couple of years ago I talked about parts of England being lost already. Birmingham being one of them. At least Bath is an island of rationale in a desert of Absolutism. Or so I thought until they invited Sturgeon to give her money making talk. And to rub salt into the wound, a Church?. After her Leglisative record?. What were they thinking about?. Anti-family, Anti-men, pro- just let’s them be called bad actors.
I take it that you have crossed the ticket price donor off your Christmas card list, Rev?
The whole thing looked dire. Did any of the audience go away thinking it had been worth the effort, and cost, of going, I wonder? I feel a bit sorry for the bookshop, though what on earth they expected from a minor, useless, and tainted politician, I don’t know.
Turning to something more worth donating £12 to, David Henry’s efforts in the cause of ending up with a proper Scottish Broadcasting Company, need another £3600 for the costs of trying to obtain the Scottish TV channel licenses. We are crying out for a full-scale TV channel on the independence side, and David has commercial backers for that, but this first step must be taken before they get involved. His crowdfunder is on link to crowdfunder.co.uk
sarah,
If this chap has “commercial backers” for a “full-scale TV channel on the independence side”, why is he grubbing around for £3600 ?
Surely this is a tiny amount compared to the overall set-up costs ?
Well exactly Insider – we have £3600 is the budget for a minor mid weeks drinks event in the corporate world
Haw haw haw, well said, old boy!
Jeezo.
David Henry, is a bit out of touch in my opinion. Terrestrial TV is dying even the BBC & ITV has written to ofcom stating there ending their support for free-sat and asking for ofcom to conduct a review.
The UKG is looking to make the BBC a subscription based service like Netflix that’s because terrestrial tv is no longer viable everything is becoming streaming based. The best channel we have is The Scotland Channel on YouTube if you haven’t seen it take a look these guys are the best we have and the show are sort and full of Information. I’m sick and tired of donating to cause that are fruitless I want more for my money that why I would rather give to the Scotland Channel its active and is combating the lie with actual facts and the people are professionals.
Sorry David no money from me, your not going to win because your on the wrong side when are you going to realise your wasting your money.
It’s also, as others have pointed out, the fact that he needs to raise £5k to fund the startup costs but apparently has serious corporate backers. For context, GB News initially raised £60m to fund its startup costs, and whilst that’s a bigger operation, it shows the scale of the funding requirement.
If that were not ambitious enough, the route to securing this broadcasting license requires a successful legal challenge against Ofcom to force them to deprive That’s TV of its local Scottish broadcasting licenses. Ofcom are currently applying to have this action struck out. £5k will get a couple of hours with an experienced barrister (the challenge will be in England, nowhere close to what is needed.
I was listening to The Smiths whilst listening to this, the references to time passing, opportunities missed etc. Genuinely wondering what purpose did/does she serve?
Herself.
Ref my post above concerning David Henry’s crowdfunder, anyone wanting to know more detail about the need for £5000 now, and his future plans for a Scottish TV Broadcasting Channel, can see what David says on his crowdfunder page.
Well done Rev in taking one for the team attending an event I would gladly pay £12 to avoid going to. I hope your evening was not entirely wasted and you managed to get the phone number of star sprinkle as she is a real hottie and a bit of a munchkin.
Genuinely surprised that all it took for you to sit in the same room as Blink-ola was the face value cost of the ticket! All the same, hope she knew you were there and that, inevitably, there would be a follow up article 🙂
Every time I see her miserable pudgy wee fizzer I feel an uncontrollable urge to regurgitate my last meal.
Please England… take her away!
Speaking of shite writers. This is from the Scotsman review of Val McDermid’s latest piece of morbid nonsense:
“That body in the motorway, uncovered after a landslide caused by torrential rain, turns out to be that of a journalist who was working on a story about a woman being attacked and possibly raped by a high-profile supporter at a fund-raising party for the Yes campaign. As Pirie realises straight away, the story “could have changed the future of Scotland”.”
I wonder. But not too hard.
link to archive.is
The magic of Wings! Within minutes of my mention of David Henry’s crowdfunder a donation appeared. Keep them coming in order to reach the modest target of £5000 asap.
There are other good independence causes lining up for attention e.g. Craig Murray’s “Scottish Challenge to the Proscription of Palestine Action” – see crowdjustice.com. He has donated £5000 and so has Liberation.scot. The case for judicial review of the proscription is being brought in Scotland under Scottish law. If Craig wins it means that it will be legal to Support Palestine Action in Scotland whatever the position is in England and Wales. [A similar case is being brought in England.]
sarah,
Did you read the transcript of the tribunal ????
extract…..
THE CHAIRMAN: Could I raise another point with you from the That’s TV submission.
8 MR HENRY: Yes.
9 THE CHAIRMAN: They refer to a case in which you were involved with the Inland
10 Revenue Commissioners.
11 MR HENRY: Yes, Customs and Excise.
12 THE CHAIRMAN: They say that following that case, you were subject to an eight-year
13 disqualification from acting as a company director. And they go on to say at
14 paragraph 30 that at the time of the change of control in 2018 that is the foundation of
15 your complaint, you were not legally in a position to act as a director of the company,
16 seeking to operate a Broadcasting Act licence. Even if there had been open
17 competition, no company of which you were a director would have been able to
18 participate in it.
19 And they go on to say that an eight-year disqualification is substantial, reserved for
20 cases of serious misconduct and that that would remain highly relevant to the question
21 of your fitness and propriety to control a Broadcasting Act licence. Why wasn’t that
22 raised by you?…….
Interesting, Insider. Will just have to wait and see the outcome. “That’s TV2”, who currently hold the licences and aren’t meeting their obligation to provide a specified amount of local news airtime, don’t mind throwing the dirt around, do they. Looks like whitabootery.
sarah,
a wee bit mair than “whitabootery” methinks !
Everytime you post, the unionist troll accounts pounce! You must be doing something right.
@ GM: Thanks for the encouragement!
So many doing “something right” yet nothing ever changes.
Considering how the Unionist parties are all doing just about everything spectacularly wrong, the only something right the Indy representatives have to achieve is to turn up, hair brushed, major clothing items not worn back-to-front.
So May 2026 is gonna be a landslide?
It really should be.
Just what we need.
MPs/MSPs for Palestine, based in Scotland, to complement the ones they already have in England.
They must be sick that the war is over. Maybe they could crowdfund agitating to get it re-started.
Sarah
Why has Liberation made contributions to this?
That never appeared in any funding appeals I saw.
It’s a complex and terrible situation over there, but as Liberation have been brought into being to help/ drive a popular thrust to engaging and gaining support for OUR Liberation then why?
I wish our drive for independence would decouple itself from international situations that no matter how needy aren’t likely to do our own cause any benefit.
It’s about our independence front and foremost, not about needy international situations that frankly we, unless our MPs start earning their wages and doing something down there in WM to justify their presence and wages shouldn’t confuse or dilute our focus with.
There’s too many distractions going on; a hard steady focus on Indy first and foremost is badly required IMO.
Woke wokery shoved in a poke and stuck in a waste bin; certainly not the magic roundabout recycle bin is what’s needed to get things up and going again..
Young Lochinvar, I think the reason for Liberation’s involvement is that the basis of the case is the distinct Scottish law principle. Salvo and Liberation are about unearthing and restoring Scotland’s legal principles.
So Liberation isn’t contributing because the case is about Palestine but in order to highlight and enforce Scotland’s existing law.
“Liberation isn’t contributing because the case is about Palestine”
Sure, sarah. Ma heid zips up the back and ma shites smell of attar of roses too.
And I would take 600,000 pounds and I would take 600 more to see the party I adore on the floor, on the floor. When I wake up.
Apologies in advance.
Well done. I can only hope on seeing you she turned white and her next thought was Alex Salmond. She’ll never escape.
@ Insider, I should have said “it could be whitabootery”. Lawyers and defendants will say anything, as we know! 🙂
Would I be censured for saying typical English, charging for this?
Probably by the usual scabies infesting here.
I don’t know if they still do it but while I still worked in Glasgow Waterstones on Sauchiehall Street used to have such author events advertised fairly regularly.
Fessing-up; I never went to them, always seemed to be for the luvvies whereas the technical/ factual authors I WOULD listen to were never booked (no pun intended) however I don’t recall registration/ attendance fees ever!
Maybe someone who actually went will correct me if I’m wrong on that issue.
Aye, so maybe the book shop is so small that they needed to book and pay for a venue; perhaps why SHE whose name shall not be uttered looks so P1ssed aff and clearly couldn’t escape fast enough – no money in it.
It would be interesting to see genuine non partisan analysis of sales in respect of this kind of political biography/ career obituary.
For clarity an that..
Here’s some non partisan analysis, YL.
Sturgeon’s already sold more books than you ever will.
And more people are already more interested in her life story than will ever be in yours.
Now tell me I’m wrong.
Try the decaf P3nisbreath.
Awww, YL.
How the truth hurts, eh?
Now tell me I’m wrong.
P3nisbreath @ 3.06
“Tell you that you are wrong?”
Well you usually are so I don’t see the need to waste time discussing specific matters with you as you’ll just dissemble as usual.
You seem to be a fan so let us know what her books like, I’m sure we are all desperately hanging on by our fingernails waiting to hear your take on it..
Anyway, who am I conversing with today ya aff the spectrum space cadet; Sméagol, Deagol or just plain noisome Gollum?
“Because when it all boils down, all she is is a coward.”
All tractors and bullies are cowards.
Frankly, she is no Anne Frank.
Not that many on here seem to give a shit these days, but things going on in Scotland.
link to isp.scot
Thanks for the link, Dan.
Strathdearn storage scheme? Do you know what’s happening – support from Community Development?
Thanks as usual for that link Dan, Julia Pannell’s revelations always highlight the GROSS INCOMPETENCE of these morons and fuckwits , it beggars belief that anyone could voluntarily vote for these CLOWNS , how ANY islander could vote to be marooned with their constant failures is inexplicable
That’s a very interesting but deadly dispiriting read.
If you have any influence over these people, Dan, here’s an idea.
Why don’t they follow up each story with a summary of what they would do different, and an explanation of why that would be better?
For example, the Chinese wind turbine manufacturing investment and the fish farm escape. What could/should/would be done better to attract inward investment and improve the environmental credentials of aquaculture?
Short of banning both, the usual Scottish default.
As it stands, it’s all a bit whiny and suggestive of people with no ideas of their own.
Re. Salmon farming – There are already environmental and welfare standards in place, but it seems some of the accreditation certifications are meaningless when nothing is done when substantial breaches occur.
link to wildfish.org
Better farming practices should evolve over time, but I guess to make significant changes that would cost money and the controlling corporates are more interested in end product price and shifting large volumes whilst maintaining profits.
I occasionally watch a fishmonger channel, and earlier this year he posted a vid about the Faroe Islands and how HiddenFjord farm their salmon in more open waters, which certainly looks to be a better way of doing it to keep the fish in good health, minimise chemical usage, and disperse the waste generated by the farming activity, when compared to using our sea lochs with much reduced water volumes and flows and reliance on chemical dosing.
10 min vid.
link to youtube.com
With Scotland’s coastline to the Atlantic, would it really be so difficult to move to a similar farming practice.
AHAAA…so that’s what CofE church buildings are for!
QUITE FUNERIAL actually, with the picture of the «loved one» and the sorrowful tone.
Ashes to ashes, remainder bin to remainder bin.
The shielding of Sturgeon can be construed as cowardice for sure, but the elephant in the room was/is that the mainstream media, despite being as hostile to independence as ever (as if that will ever change?!) have always been noticeably soft on her, at least in comparison to her predecessors. The MSM may be many things, but they’re not universally stupid. They knew instinctively she was an asset to the status quo and it was in their best interests to “never interrupt your enemy while they are making a mistake” rather than go on the attack.
“a mistake” is putting it mildly. Salmond’s biggest mistake and undoubtedly his biggest regret was Sturgeon. I hope he haunts her for the rest of her miserable existence.
Salmond’s biggest mistake was allowing foreigners to vote on Scotland’s sovereignty.
Without the EU & English voters, we would be independent.
We must not make this mistake again.
No other country would countenance allowing foreigners have a say their sovereignty.
Morning, everyone. I hope you all have a fantastic (fantastical even for those hallucinogenic pill poppers out there) weekend.
I thoroughly enjoyed a romp with a foul-mouthed rant at the Gaels and Scots and even the Picts on here yesterday – if I offended anyone… I don’t really care.
I don’t know what came over me… possibly the intransigent thinking of Scottish indepudendas who keep banging (or is it whanging?) on about next May’s…
… fake ‘election’ (what a fucking pantomime – oops! My bad, as idiots say when they get stuff wrong.)
Don’t be fooled fellow Picts (or Scots) next years election is a pantomime and participating in it will achieve nothing of real value in Scotland’s liberty quest – it won’t even be a fun afternoon out – Oh yes it will. Oh no… it really won’t.
Hopefully, election day will be a day of torrential rain and the Scots to a man and woman will stay at home. Or, even better, election day will be a beautiful sunny day and the Scots to a man and a woman will stay at home.
“Liberty Quest” is my new name for “Scottish independence” – which I’ve always thought a shite name – not least due to its over-dependency on syllables.
“Liberty Quest” saves 2 syllables worth of saying stuff out loud effort and has the ring of a dystopian Hollywood movie about it.
“Scottish Independence” is a shite name for a colonised nation seeking to recover its sovereignty and escape the evil, grasping – and on occasion, fondling – clutches of an evil imperial power desperate to have its evil way with Scotland, aye, and from behind tae, while whispering breatheless lies of loving in her ear and at the same time evilly pocketing her diamond earrings and snatching her fur coats and jewellery.
I’m bored of writing stuff down (as you surely all must be of reading it) now, so I’m going to stop.
Hoorah! Shout the Gaels… and very probably everyone else – but especially the Gaels; they hate me – Hatey told me so and I belive him.
Only 69 days till Santa does his thing… and 202 until “The Imperial Panto” comes to town.
Gaels used to be so much worse in the autumn.
But now with climate change (something the greatest living half-Scot, President Trump, is unconvinced about), Gaels can be bad at any time of the year.
Let me know if you intend to belive that too, and I’ll do another one.
BTW, nice allegory. My dear, departed Mammie used to say something about fur coats and nae knickers and I allowed that to spice up your already racy picture in my mind’s eye.
A couple of typos in my last… breatheless and belive.
I’m not going to apologise though. I’m done with bowing and scraping to the unappreciative.
At my age ‘be live’ is to be recommended the ‘breathe less ‘ not so much!
Off Topic.
Could independence for Scotland be transforming into “Merge Scotland with Palestine” ?
Strangely unsettling (to this old codger at least) to see the Saltire being blended with the Palestinian flag and being displayed on street furniture in Glasgow.
Can it be that should Scottish independence and separation from the other countries of the UK it will be to become “United ScotPal” ?
I have no doubt that some will be jumping for joy at the prospect, much the same that they will be jumping for joy at a certain football teams supporters are being banned from attending an upcoming Aston Villa game due to safety fears for the local community of Birmingham.
No doubt anybody highlighting such concerns will be tarred as Islamaphobic but imagine if Hibs or Celtic fans were banned from attending grounds in certain parts of Scotland for the same reason?
Not that anyone cares about the Kiddie Fidler but can’t we just feel sorry for poor old King Charlie.
The frankly awful news about his family, how they lie and cheat, and their sexual predilections just keep coming out. I mean when the Airmiles prince gave his address to the nation to say that he hadn’t had anything more to do with the convicted paedophile abuser, that was a downright lie.
Notwithstanding that his wife subsequently emailed to pay tribute to her supreme paedo friend the boyo himself then emailed same paedo to say they were in thigs together and that hopefully they could have some fun again.
Oh the barefaced lies of a lush to his adoring subjects not. And poor old King Charlie didn’t know anything about it. The Hell he did I’d suggest. Anyway, he’s sacked the guy now. But questions remain.
But hey hoe he’s our King along with Queen Cami and don’t we just love them. Far be it for me to say a bad word about them. And as always his royal subject I dutifully remain – scrape, scrape, scrape, bow.
And now back to Wee Nick and her all Britain tour. Dame hood no doubt awaits.
Willie I think the paedo enabler and his bidey in won’t be attending the jobcentre anytime soon , there are still too many senior politicos and aristos who enjoy a wee card game with young rent boys and girls
BTW whatever happened to the removal of Harry’s titles , security and state finances he seems to be able to jet about without any restrictions , is he now a yank citizen if so is his visits counted
Aye and one last thing. Wee Nick scarpered pretty quickly after her talk in Bath.
No wonder I’d say with the Rev Stu sitting in the congregation. I mean he could have asked her a question, and as we know she is not keen on questions.
You bare a bad man Rev Stu. You scared wee Nick away from Bath.
Another thing I don’t understand about all this (a series of many) is that if Gibraltar could hold a referendum on the question of sovereignty when the UK government didn’t want them to, which they did on 7th November 2002, why doesn’t Scotland just do the same thing? No-one is going to rush up from England to grab all the pencils and ballot papers. Why not just do it?
Because the people who say they want independence – including the subject of this (excellent as always) article – don’t actually want independence.
Hear, hear.
ENGLAND WILL NEVER LET SCOTLAND GO, being a strategically important territory to the «integrity» of the British state, without a hell of a fight.
A hell of a fight is what those who call themselves «nationalist» need to provide.
The SNP seems squeamish in the matter.
Pink and fluffy, safety first politics of the SNP leadership cuts no mustard….
‘England will never let Scotland go…without a hell of a fight.’ Hold a your own referendum and find out – why on earth not? There may be no fight needed.
TRAFFICKING SURVIVOR: ‘PROSTITUTION IS COMPLETELY DANGEROUS’
(« MSPs may not have time to pass Bill before next year’s Holyrood election »)
A trafficking survivor has told the Scottish Parliament that proposals to protect women and girls must be based on “evidence showing the realities of prostitution”.
DIANA MARTIN CBE, who was a prostitute in London before she was trafficked to the Middle East, has been helping women exit prostitution for 30 years.
Speaking to the Criminal Justice Committee, she said prostitution is “completely dangerous” and voiced support for ASH REGAN MSP’s PROSTITUTION (OFFENCES AND SUPPORT) (SCOTLAND) BILL.
The Christian Institute has welcomed Regan’s goal of criminalising the purchase of sex in Scotland, but urged MSPs to better assist vulnerable women without legalising the sale of sex.
‘EXPLOITATION’
Martin emphasised that legislation needs to be based on the swathes of women “exploited through prostitution”, highlighting that she had seen 961 women advertised “for sale” on a pimping website earlier that morning.
Speaking to The Scotsman, she explained: “Policy cannot be based on individual experiences and a handful of people who say they are empowered and independent sex workers.
“We need to look at the vast, overwhelming majority of women who are trafficked in from other countries and those from the UK who have been chewed up and spat out by a number of different systems. It is 2025 and I am astonished that we are still having this conversation.”
PUBLIC SUPPORT
According to a recent poll, the majority of Scots support Regan’s proposal to criminalise the purchase of sex.
Of 1,423 adults interviewed by Find Out Now, 67 per cent of those who had an opinion supported the approach while 33 per cent opposed. Nearly three quarters (74 per cent) said that prostitution makes women “less safe” in society, with only 6 per cent claiming the opposite.
Regan, the Independent MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, commented: “Polling shows support from voters of every main political party, sending a powerful message: Scots across the political spectrum want an end to the buying of women’s bodies and they expect Parliament to act.”
‘AMBITIOUS AND EFFECTIVE’
The Bill is currently being examined by the Criminal Justice Committee, and MSPs may not have time to pass it before next year’s Holyrood election.
Jenny Olson, Policy Researcher for The Christian Institute, said: “Politicians across the Scottish Parliament should drive forward a law that is as strong, ambitious and effective as possible in abolishing prostitution.
“We welcome Ash Regan’s goal of criminalising the purchase of sex in Scotland — though we urge an even stronger stance amongst MSPs in helping women leave prostitution behind for good. This doesn’t include legalising the sale of sex.”
(The Christian Institute, 17 Oct 2025)
link to christian.org.uk
How odd that in 2025, people who believe that “criminalising”, “abolishing” and “ending” are synonyms, still exist.
And how depressing that in 2025, these fantasists are still empowered to wreak their havoc and unintended consequences on society, through their unenforceable laws.
Perhaps somebody should tot up all the unenforceable and unenforced laws on the statute books and analyse how much that dead weight of two tier “justice” brings the law into general disrepute. And how much wide spread disdain for the law costs us all.
So Scotland is going to lead the world yet again, this time by ending the world’s oldest profession?
Aye. Right.
Brilliant!
The ‘coward’ is looking right at you Stuey, hehehe
I can`t for the life of me understand why 120 people in Bath would want to spend an evening listening to the sturgeon.
Rev you were very brave attending the evening on our behalf.
Writing a book’s not hard if you enjoy writing, what’s hard is getting it published, unless you’re Nicola Sturgeon. She kind of likes playing the victim card.
@Andy Wiltshire.
THE BRITISH STATE is unlikely to go quietly even if a referendum were to produce a substantial yes majority. It is not in the DNA to submit. The ex colonies all were required to push hard against the intransigeance of an imposed system.
Being prepared to acknowledge the possibility or inevitability of force being needed is what the current Scottish nationalist political psychology lacks.
The SNP is craven in its cowardly cringe before the possibility that London might turn very, very nasty.
It all depends, of course, on how much you want the thing itself.
I don’t think ex colonies who had to fight are the correct analogy though Turabdin? Unless you accept the flawed “Scotland as colony” magical thinking narrative punted by Alf and his mates, the apposite analogy is with Dominions like Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
Although I happen to agree with you that too many who currently self describe as nationalists in Scotland lack the necessary fire in their bellies to bring about the purported desired political end of independence and would in many cases be content with devo-max or Home Rule, I don’t think the majority or even many independence supporters would agree that force was inevitable.
I suppose it IS possible, but we should be careful of conjuring the ghost of civil war à la 1920’s Ireland.
I have my doubts the milquetoast nationalists in the SNP would go to jail for the cause as their Catalan cousins did after their failed attempt to secede, but I also doubt Westminster has either the political cojones or the support domestically in England to put boots on the ground to beat up Scottish grannies going to vote, or to steal ballot boxes as their Spanish equivalents did in 2017.
Time will tell whether demographic changes inevitably lead to independence in future (even if that’s a slower process than many “real” nationalists would with for), but it is instructive that support for the concept of independence has remained pretty stable over the past few years, even as support for the SNP as a party has waned.
The movement has perversely managed to bring about an unenviable political situation where it is incapable of capitalising on that solid foundation because the SNP as the main engine of the movement appears to have blown a gasket.
The way things appear to be going in the UK as a whole, it seems more likely that the election of a Reform government at Westminster will do more to energise the Scottish independence movement than anything that’s likely to happen domestically in Scotland.
It would of course be a sad reflection on the 90 minute patriots and “proud Scots but…” types if independence was achieved by means of the little Englanders declaring their own independence or terminating the Union because the thought the uppity Jocks were just too much trouble or causing them too much grief in a future UK wide parliament.
link to en.wikipedia.org
Shades of colony…
link to grousebeater.wordpress.com
There’s likely a fair bit to unpack from this article and why we find ourselves in such situations.
Factors such as high costs of mortgages and rents in rural areas, wage levels for such work, and the cost of
livexisting, all playing their part in failing rural communities and industries. And the plaster fix of importing labour rather than it being developed and provided by our own indigenous population.Meanwhile, from ISP link provided earlier.
“SNP Wood-Burner ‘hypocrisy’
SNP MSP and Agriculture Minister Jim Fairlie did not hit the right note when he posted on Facebook about how glad he was to have a wood-burning stove to keep the house warm when Storm Amy hit. Last week Fairlie voted with SNP colleagues to defeat a Conservative proposal safeguarding wood-burning stoves for the long term.
Fairlie seems to have been totally oblivious to the furore it would cause for him to take advantage of something he would be denying to others in their time of need. Although safeguarded meantime, it was the SNP’s clear intention to deprive rural homes of what might be their only form of heating. Sometimes the SNP seems as tone-deaf of Scotland’s rural areas as they accuse Westminster of being about Scotland in general.“
Dan; do you think the concern troll will read it?
Similar issues apply to all sectors though Dan, and doubtless to other similar sized countries to Scotland which are already independent.
I’m sure it’s a concern in particular to those who live in rural areas, but given agricultural workers are a pretty small % of the total workforce (2.5% directly employed according to Google) it’s doubtful there’s much electoral advantage to be gained except when parties are looking specifically at getting the vote in rural constituencies.
There are Filipino (and other nationality) welders and other “degree level” skilled workers all over the place in Scotland too, many of them in sectors which are far larger than agriculture.
The trouble is if we’re not training our own folk for the skills required, we have to import them. Either you can offer them a route to permanent residence and deal with the outcomes of that in terms of integration, or you have the equivalent of “gastarbeiter” as they used to have in Germany who had no route to residence or citizenship, but were just there to do a job.
I doubt some of the usual suspects here are too keen on importing lots of workers (however qualified they might be) from “parts foreign”. Gareth Wardell himself is one of the believers in Scotland being a local place for local people, so I’m not sure how they think our cows are going to be milked, our ships welded or our old folk cared for until the system is changed to turn out enough domestic farmers, welders, nurses etc?
“Similar issues apply to all sectors though Dan, and doubtless to other similar sized countries to Scotland which are already independent.”
Nice effort to deflect, But I wasn’t talking about other similar sized countries, and whether their fully empowered governments have been democratically elected to enact policy that continue to create or address these similar issues.
That’s for the people of those specific countries to decide, and I am only interested in Scotland’s predicament because that’s the only place I get a semblance of albeit restricted democratic voice to express an opinion.
So you state only 2.5% of workers are directly involved in agriculture, but how many in our society are reliaent for sustenance on the efforts of that 2.5% that go out to work all year round (and often like now in inclement weather), whilst other far less important non productive professions get paid to sit in nicely heated offices.
A country or state that isn’t motivated to produce and maintain a workforce with the interest and capability to sustain itself is a country or state dying on its arse. Lazily and parasitically using the skills and efforts of workers from far flung lands just means we’re removing those productive folk from their own land.
The only flaw in your analysis Mr Ellis, is Reform could pick up seats in Scotland and not just be a phenomenon confined to south of the border.
If they pick up enough, and given how disenchanted voters are are with *all* political parties, plus demonstrations outside migrant hotels were not just confined to England.
It would seem that this is an issue that crosses political boundaries, and one SNP MP Bob Doris when bluntly told where to go, by nationalists who had previously voted for him, when he objected to Saltaires being flown by protesters outside these hotels.
“When Bob Doris, a Scottish National party MSP for Maryhill in Glasgow, where the flags appeared overnight on lamp-posts, accused the far right of “hi-jacking” the saltire, a community group responded: “The flags were not put up by far right – it was some of your own supporters and friends.”
“The truth is that the flags were put up as a signal to politicians, like you, to start listening to concerns in your constituency,” wrote the organiser of the local Facebook group No1seems2care.
“You have wrongly linked the saltire flags in your area with the far right and in doing so you have attached a perception of shame to those who display it. You didn’t do that in [the independence referendum of] 2014 or at your elections Bob.”
link to theguardian.com
So Reform may yet get a reasonable number of seats in Holyrood.
“So Reform may yet get a reasonable number of seats in Holyrood.”
Let’s hope so eh, with the woke Left consigned forever to the dustbin of history as an abject failure and blind cul de sac.
Time to turn the page decisively, otherwise north and south of the border. Enough already.
Deacon Blue:
“From a pram, called, Milky Toast”..
Still claiming to know what everyone else thinks.
Quelle sueprise.
Show your evidence to the contrary then James.
We’ll wait.
Or of course we can just carry on assuming you’re a bloviating waste of DNA.
There’s no claim in there that I know what everyone else thinks. If you’re so confident your woo-woo views represent more than a moonhowling minority it’d surely be easy for you to demonsstrate: polling evidence, result of elections, mass rallies à la Catalan La Diada.
Otherwise, folk will just assume you’re full of it.
“..I doubt some of the usual suspects here are too keen on importing lots of workers (however qualified they might be) from “parts foreign”…”
Says who? You
And who’s “we”? Just asking,like.
@ Dan 11.38am Unfortunately successive governments both HR and WM have created this problem by PENALISING indigenous families from adding to our population , there has been no proper planning to ENCOURAGE Scots to produce future generations (and NO , sturgeon and company + Holyrood, rebranding males as females doesn’t count ) the cost of childcare is prohibitive and acts as a deterrent to increase family sizes, why would any mother or father go out to work when their salaries are gorged and swallowed up by the cost of childcare , as is the cost of elderly care , it has been the shortsightedness of politicians and political parties that has lead to this stupidity , and greed from the thatcher mindset
Before thatcher economics , childcare , elderly care , mental health and societal necessities were funded from the state purse, nowadays an ever increasing financial burden is being FORCED on to normal working people whilst the greed driven monsters are paying LESS tax and becoming more rich
During covid the screaming and wailing from the privately owned elderly care industry and the privately owned child care industry (nurseries etc) was monumental in its volume , they were DEMANDING and being given financial assistance to address the covid threat , there was never any mention or contrition about the exorbitant profits they were accruing in the non covid era
sunday papers
link to archive.ph
or why not ban halal and kosher food, then it’s job done
now replace Denmark/Danish for Scotland/Scottish
– then for the jackpot we ban HOTPOT and then the nigels all leave en-masse “hoooommme-ward … tae think again … ”
it’s got precedent : “fucking with the food supply” is a great way to deal with troublesome people
like yookie kulaks, or paddies or paj_eets; Stalin and The British Empire set the standard for smooth gena-side, “hands clean”, it wisnae me
Some say Farage’s secret plan is to nationalise Lidl/Aldi, triple the price of food, kill all the poor, then make the money back by selling their organs
link to youtube.com
what we need is a bit of private enterprise free market rule of law (piracy, looting, you keep what you kill) – like my new venture :
I am getting into the organ business : get the law changed to buy and sell organs, and introduce a form of “equity release” scheme whereby folks, of any age, can sell their organs now for cash, which is recouped at end of life; the numbers are tricky to calculate, but that’s why we have actuaries. There will always be room for the members or their families to buy via an option, the contract back, for a fee.
– trouble is though, getting “undercut” by the … “asylym seekers who go missing”
One thing Farage could do is go national on this – collateralise (via a compulsory organ donation scheme) the organs of all UK citizens, so we can get a nice fat loan off the city or IMF
“happy days are here again”
(reality = satire + 2 years)
A post full of great ideas, Confused.
Here is a handy list of thoroughly idiotic voting choices for indigenous Scots to follow in the fake election to be held next year for the sole purpose of reinforcing the illusion that such a thing as democracy exists for the Scots.
IDIOTIC VOTING STRATEGIES:
If you are an indigenous Scot and are driven by some madness or other to participate in England’s electoral pantomimes here is a full list of parties you might vote for without embarrassing yourself in the eyes of your Scottish ancestors:
‘INTELLIGENT’ VOTING STRATEGIES (for those who feel they are compelled to vote in the mistaken belief they are doing their civic duty and that their ‘audience participation joke-pantomime-vote’ will make a difference in the real world outside of the theatre):
Oh, I almost forgot to add the most rational vote any indigenous Scot seeking their people’s liberation from imperial oppression can possibly ‘cast’:
Rational Vote 0: **DO NOT PARTICIPATE in any of England’s fake ‘Scottish’ elections in any way, shape or form.
DO NOT PLAY ENGLAND’S GAME… it’s the ONLY way to NOT win it (the Scots are going to NOT win it whatever they do, anyway) and retain one’s dignity.
Retaining your dignity, Northy?
Isn’t it only a few weeks since you soiled yer smalls over something I posted on here?
I’ve never seen any public incontinent retain his dignity 🙂
I’m even more bewildered. What do the proponents of the UN route to indy think would have happened if the 2014 referendum had gone the other way? British (or English) troops whizzing up the M6? For goodness’ sake either (a) say there should be a unilateral referendum, or (b) say that there shouldn’t be one at all because most Scots are – what’s the term? – ‘Yoons’.
You’re easily bewildered….
True that. But happy to be enlightened. What was the answer?
“most Scots are – what’s the term? – ‘Yoons’”
Naw, Andy.
Most Scots are small ‘c’ conservatives. We don’t like change. We’re deeply suspicious of those who come to us smiling, telling us things have to change.
Not for nothing was the SNP known as the “Tartan Tories”.
There’s a genetic component in play too. Every educated person knows that if you take a small-ish breeding population, and over many generations consistently remove the smartest, most ambitious, most aggressive, healthiest individuals, what you are left with is somewhat whingy and cringy.
The rise to power in Scotland of the SNP coincided with it being carpet-bagged by the worst excesses of wokery and Bolshevik, re-distributive socialism. These policies remain anathema to the majority of Scots.
The big, open secret of Scottish Indy is that despite all of the huffing and puffing, we retain that ingrained suspicion that we really are too wee and too poor to go it alone. For that reason, and that reason alone, the supposed support for Indy never manifests itself in any practical way.
At heart, we’re feart. Feart of change. Feart of taking a chance that might fail spectacularly and destroy what riches and comfort we already have.
‘What riches and comfort we already have’
HAHAHAHAAAAAA.
What riches, poverty is getting close to 1 in 3 kids in Scotland, 1 in 4 Scots working poor. Not much riches to destroy…….
Aye, and 1.1 billion extra barrel’s worth of oil just found in Scottish waters. Worthless unless it’s British, obvs.
C’mon now James B & James you must realise that Hatey MacFuckwit is talking about the beneficence and largesse of our colonial maisters , surely by now you must be aware that that dirty stuff they call oil is running out and it incumbent that we allow our engerlish masters to get rid of that nasty stuff for us
Hatey the bastard tax hater will be quite vexed that this deplorable engerlish liebour govt whose chancellor isnay good at sums is about to raise taxes, he is desperate for wee nige to get into power so he can do away wi taxes altogether
O/T Rev, could you turn your talents to looking at CMK/BiS? Dave Llewellyn is posting some interesting thoughts on the accounts. With your record of analysing SNP accounts, this looks up your street. 🙂
Skip NC might take a look as well.
O/T
UK’aye Adams in trouble at the BritNat Brainwashing Channel over her alleged behaviour.
LOL
HAD A LOOK AND A WEE CHUCKLE MIGHT BE IN ORDER RIGHT ENOUGH. POOR KAYE ADAMS, HO HO HO. THE MONSTER OF THE FAKE WORLD THEY CREATED IS TURNING ON THEM. NOW EVERYONE MIND THEIR STEP, WATCH WHAT THEY SAY AND SMILE EVEN IF THEY DON’T FEEL LIKE IT. HO HO.
I have no idea why certain people have a brain but ain’t able to see that certain causes are fruitless.
I stated years and years ago on here that if the SNP wanted Independence for Scotland the party had to field candidates in England for a Westminster election and appeal to the English nationalist but who’s the person doing that now Nigel Farage.
Regarding Liberation Scotland, for all we welcome the the cause these people who are fronting the movement they aren’t telling us a single thing, yes we are being told what liberation has said to the UN we ain’t being told what the UN is saying to liberation Scotland and why the application has failed twice progress and most importantly we ain’t being told if we have a sponsor yet.
How can we be a movement when the head moves without the body, what I see here is the same that happened to the SNP then Alba and now liberation Scotland. How can it call its self Liberation Scotland when its isn’t working with the people the organization is actively leaving the movement out.
I’ve asked questions and the so called Liberation Scotland and never got back to me and replied with a answer.
“if the SNP wanted Independence for Scotland the party had to field candidates in England for a Westminster election and appeal to the English nationalist”
Precisely.
Not only that, it would have had to ditch the parochial tribalism and work constructively with the English, to establish a “divorce” acceptable to both sides after 300+ years of being joined at the hip.
A “divorce” that English voters could endorse at the ballot box too, as it would offer a smooth transition for the amicable breakup of the UK, and a guarantee that after that break up, the nations sharing this tiny island would continue to work together on the problems we all share.
That was always a dish too rich for the rabid, Anglo haters and multi-generational grievance mongers that infest the movement. “But, but, what about revenge for the redcoats in 1763 …”
And so we are where we are.
England gets to keep the oil and gas revenues, right Tory Boy?
100%Yes;
The application has not failed, it is merely pending other prerequisites that were never going to be instant. Nevertheless, it is making good progress. It is already in a much better position than the team expected to be at this point.
link to youtube.com“>Going International: Taking Scotland’s Case to The World
Xaracen,
Thank you for the video, what alarmed me was the evidence provided to the C-24 wasn’t a priority, it was more important for Craig and other to wine and dine these people than the actual evidence supporting Scotland case to the C-24.
The leadership weren’t forth coming with actual facts about what had taken place so far and the reason WHY the application hadn’t progressed twice? I had never stated that Scotland application had failed, “we are being told what liberation has said to the UN we ain’t being told what the UN is saying to liberation Scotland and why the application has failed twice progress”.
I support Salvo cause 100% its just that I have a HUGE question why all the secrecy, we are supposed to be a people’s movement who are seeking decolonization, when we unite as one that’s when progress will be made. I was alarmed at how much Criag Muarry waffled on about a specific subject which could have been clarified in a single sentence, if I was him I would right down what he needs to say before he says it.
@100% Yes – the contributions have funded a jolly to Switzerland and Alf’s holiday to New York which was spent discussing the Kanak people of New Caledonia. Meanwhile there is still zero interest in Scotland. But do support the latest fundraiser.
“Meanwhile there is still zero interest in Scotland.”
That’s ignorance and dishonesty on stilts, Aidan. If you had watched the linked video, you’d hear the exact opposite. What you know and what you say are by no means as closely linked as you like to pretend; that’s been abundantly clear to many of us here for a long time now.
Feel free to provide some evidence directly from the UN responding positively to the petition and the case by Liberation Scotland. I’ll wait.
Will Liberation be publishing a breakdown of all its expenditure over the last year?
Feel free to provide some evidence directly from the UN responding negatively to the petition and the case by Liberation Scotland. I’ll wait.
Sure – we have that in spades:
– the annual meeting of C-24 in June, Scotland not on the agenda
– the annual meeting of the UN 4th committee in October, Scotland not on the agenda
– No mention anywhere in any official UN documents of the petition.
@Aidan;
The absence of a statement is neither negative or positive, Aidan, depending on the context. You should know that by now, I’ve explained that to you several times.
The only negatives of any significance in the current context would be the vote against recognising Scotland as a territory by the UNGA, or the vote against listing Scotland as an NSGT, and neither of these has happened yet, and may not ever happen. It’s not guaranteed either way, and that is the only truth that matters for the time being.
Did you watch that video I linked to?
Sorry what world are we living in in which the UN ignoring the petition is a good outcome? The UN rejecting and the UN ignoring the petition both ultimately have the same outcome don’t they.
Your framing is dishonest, Aidan.
I never said it was a good outcome and neither did anyone else; you made that up on your own. The petition isn’t being ignored, it is awaiting an existing UN member state sponsoring Scotland for recognition by the UNGA, as I know you know perfectly well, so that is just another of your lies! You’ve racked up quite a few already.
It’s certainly possible the sponsoring might not happen, but the team has so far been warmly welcomed by all they have spoken to, and the signs are much better than initially expected. If you’d watched the video you’d know this already.
No doubt you haven’t the stomach to watch it because of all the sour grapes you’ve swallowed from losing all those arguments, including this one.
You never learn, do you, Aidan? Lying and misrepresenting do not make sound arguments.
Fight! Fight! Fight!. My money is on Xaracen.
Go on, Xaracen. Kick fuck oot the bastirt (figuratively speaking, of course).
Right, so who specifically is looking at it? And who has the team spoken to, President Trump? Anyone who has any authority at all to do anything about it?
I’m reminded of Saturday morning cinema at The local ABC.
A couple of jam jars and you were in.
Stamp our feet and it was all Easy! Easy Easy!
We indpendistas are all stamping our feet for you, Xaracen.
You can join in here, folks – if the link works that is.
If it doesn’t go yatube and type this – “We’re Minors of the ABC!” or copy and paste the link and see if that works.
Don’t forget to stamp your feet at the fight scenes (actually I don’t think there are any in this video – oh well).
link to youtube.com
I know you know the process, Aidan, so you know that the petition can’t be looked at in the sense of formal evaluation unless and until Scotland is recognised as a territory by the UNGA, as I already pointed out earlier today. Didn’t you bother to read it?
If you won’t read stuff, hear stuff, or watch stuff, then you can’t possibly learn stuff, and guess what, Aidan?
It shows!
I’m not spending an hour of my time listening to CM, a well-known crank who’s never seen a conspiracy theory he doesn’t like, confidently bloviating about how many unnamed “people” are warmly receiving the petition. If he was speaking to anyone serious (I.e. not some other weirdo or FSB stooge) you’d be shouting about it from the rooftops and we all know it.
The best indication I have that YOU know it’s dead is that the usual petition spammer has now moved on to support a fundraiser to help another dodgy individual (banned from being a company director for 8 years – a serious penalty) secure a broadcasting license. Of course all he needs to do beforehand is to persuade OFCOM to strip the existing license holder, so it’s as likely to succeed as this is. Maybe one day soon we’ll jump on our flying carpets to a big screen in George Sq to watch the UN declare Scotland an NSGT live on David Henry’s TV channel.
@Aidan
“listening to CM, a well-known crank”
Also an enthusiastic cheerleader for the ham assholes, who even as I speak, are slaying people from their own community who think it might be time for somebody else to be given a shot at running the show.
Considering what an actual shitshow the ham assholes have made of it all.
I’m not going so far as to say that’s the future CM envisages for Scotland. Still though, we all have to ask what it is he finds to admire in them.
And which of their policies he may want to emulate here.
And now you are employing another dishonest rhetorical ploy, Aidan, attacking the man and not his arguments.
Is there no trace of honesty or decency in you at all, Aidan?
I fear so.
Because no evidence is provided (as usual) we are asked to take all of this on trust. Given that fact, it’s entirely appropriate to consider who we bring asked to trust.
Says the man who refused to watch the video, the same man we’ve already proved several times over to be untrustworthy.
After all, Aidan, it’s entirely appropriate to consider who we are being asked to trust.
Oh yes I’ve “refused to watch the video”, everyone has to watch the video, we’re going to start publishing the names of the people who haven’t watched the video in the local paper.
Give it a rest alright, come back when you’ve got something.
How rude they are to the Scots, those colonialists who flounce about this place.
As it ever is… it seems an appropriate moment to remind folk of this:
Ther scarce be a wird pit doun here fae colonialists that’s onythin’ ither than abuise, threit, lie, errure, afftak, diveesion, diversioun, distractioun, logicale fallace, or hatesome antiScot rethorik.
And again… in Ingle tongue:
There’s barely a comment posted here by colonialists that is anything other than insult, threat, lies, error, mockery, division, diversion, distraction, logical fallacy, or hateful anti-Scots rhetoric.
Rude AND thick… what a charming combination. I expect rudity and thickery count as characteristics to be proud of in the world of colonialists.
Oh well, evolution might intervene. And who knows, in a few million years colonialists might be as enlightened as we indigenous Scots are now?
Haven’t you posted this one before? Several times?
I read in the Guardian that a football match in Israel has been cancelled due to the rioting of fans. I wonder if that will influence anyone here to shut up and let the police risk assessment stand without pulling any kind of religious persecution act.
I now can’t find the piece and the lovely photo!
It is at the feet of an imperial England that every difficulty; every issue, worry and complication; every mess, muddle and mix-up; every snag, hitch, drawback, stumbling block, obstacle and hurdle blamed on and despicably attributed to the Scots must be laid.
Laid at the feet of an imperial England who – now three centuries past – bribed or flattered and, ultimately, threatened with force those who were favoured and charged to represent Scotland’s common folk and maintain their people’s sovereignty; an imperial England that orchestrated by nefarious device the illegal annexation of Scotland and the subjugation of her people in the manner of a vicious and corrupt colonising power.
How can the Scots carry the blame for the bleak condition of their nation when for three hundred years they have been beaten down and held as captives in their own land and denied democracy?
It is clear that imperial England is entirely responsible for the decline and degradation of the Scots and their nation.
It is clear that imperial England perpetuates the degradation of the Scots, the theft of their property, and the lie of ‘Union’.
And it is clear that imperial England would flounder and inexorably sink to rags and destitution without those riches – that great wealth of natural resource – that rightfully and legally belong to the Scots and to no other people.
NC says that for 300 years ‘Scots have been ‘beaten down and held as captives in their own land ‘
Absolutely.
Perhaps except for all the millions of Scots who used their freedom to travel and trade throughout the British Empire (playing a significant role as doctor, lawyers, civil servants, merchants and colonial administrators all over the world). Back in the UK, of course, we have thrived in England both in business (where James Watt marketed his steam engines in Birmingham in partnership with Matthew Boulton, for example) and in Scotland (where Glasgow grew to be the Second City of Empire). We’ve also provided a number of Prime Ministers of the UK.
Just imagine how much more we could have achieved if not so subjugated and downtrodden.
The reality is that colonialism – i.e. lack of access to one’s own resources, poverty, deprivation and unemployment etc – means opportunity for socio-economic advancement was and remains closed off to many Scots in their ain laund, which is why many were forced to leave.
And colonialism always has a price – today still costing Scots at least £150 billion per annum:
link to yoursforscotlandcom.wordpress.com
“costing Scots at least £150 billion per annum”
£150 billion PA is at least £25,000 for every Scot, indigenous and New, each year. Excluding the immigrant kiddies, it’s probably nearer £30K for every adult in Scotland.
One can picture the T-shirts and the bus stop ads now:
“Vote Indy to get £25K every year – EXTRA!”
It’s frankly unstoppable. It has got to guarantee a 95% landslide for Indy at every election from now until forever. In fact, it has got to guarantee hundreds of thousands of Scots on the streets this coming weekend, demanding an immediate election so we can vote for Indy. Wait 6 months? No fecking way if it’s gonna cost me £12,500.
At least, it would guarantee these things, if only it were true.
But it’s naw.
Aye Hatey, you must have another explanation why a Scotland ruled by London has a GDP-per-capita less than half that of Ireland, Norway etc. Its just a pity ye canna find it, eh!
@Alf – GDP per capita in Edinburgh is as high as Oslo, as you well know Scotland is a wealthy country with some very poor post-industrial areas within it. Ireland is a tax haven which uses base erosion profit shifting to artificially inflate their GDP. Even the Irish central bank doesn’t use GDP as a measure of the size of its economy.
@Alf Baird
That wasn’t my point.
If the arithmetic is correct, you’re claiming between 25 and 30 thousand pounds for every adult Scot is available, every year.
That’s an unstoppable argument for Indy.
My point is, (as I suspect you well know), just get this information out to every voting Scot, and Indy is a cast-iron, shoe-in certainty.
If your claim is true.
Ah!
“Factchecker/ Scotland hater”..
So that would be the borders, Lowland then Highland Clearances then?
Yes of course the nobs, toffs and them and those of the mercantile class released from piratical English trade barriers made money, not least as that is what those people did back then.
As for the vast numbers of displaced; their destinations- marginal territory far far far away from Leafy Albany and New England as implantees to make (as govt and crown policy) the world England.
People live with the lives they are cast.
To claim they are in some way drivers of this policy is a complete lie.
Most of these colonies started off as English, the slave trade in our orbit started off as English and once crown policy and the nobs and toffs bowed to the inevitable it was a done deal. It existed before their time; simple.
Try he ardent with “facts”..
In the armoury of witless colonialist arguments in favour of the ‘Union’ the “millions of Scots also benefited from Scotland being turned into an oppressed colony” argument has to be one of the most witless; it’s certainly one of the most easily countered and disproved, but all unionist (colonialist if preferred… same thing) arguments in favour of the union are easily disproved truth be told.
The deployment of this galactically flawed and stupefyingly idiotic ‘argument’ is either made in the full knowledge of its duplicity or, worse, is genuinely accepted as truth by those who retch it into public view.
Millions of Scots were forced to leave their own land or die from starvation or from disease or from the effects of harsh, cold and inclement weather because their country was invaded by a foreign aggressive power.
A tiny fraction of all indigenous Scots who by chance or connection or sheer greed (I’ve never claimed that all Scots are, or ever have been, perfect. That would be the Picts) joined the ranks of their coloniser and overlord as 2nd class ‘English’ citizens to extort, steal, threaten, beat or murder those peoples oppressed under the weight of the British Empire out of their lands and possessions.
The colonialists try – on those rare occasions where they pretend to replace insult with genuine argument – but they never manage to produce a winnable argument in favour of the corrupt anti-Scots ‘union’ between Scotland and England… because no such argument exists or can ever exist when the crux of that argument is the subjugation of one people for the benefit of another.
When the core of an argument is founded on greed and possessions at the expense of the hopes and dreams and lives of human beings… there is no logic or reason in Heaven or on Earth or in the circles of Hell that can possibly be defeated by that argument.
Indeen, Northy.
All they can come out with is “naw it isnae”/”naw it disnae”.
If ye love wealth greater than liberty, the tranquility of servitude greater than the animating contest for freedom, go home from us in peace. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you, and may posterity forget that ye were once our countrymen.
I wish these Yoons would take the hint.
An appropriate Adams quote, James.
I find this one fitting, too.
“It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in the minds of men.”
It has been misattributed to Adams, but actually originates with Diane Ackerman, the American author, poet, and naturalist.
My feeling is those little brush fires started in the minds of Scots men (I am one of their number) and Scots women by individuals such as Alf Baird and Sara Salyers and groups like Liberate Scotland, liberation.scot and Salvo are beginning to set vast swathes of Heather alight tae.
“beginning to set vast swathes of Heather alight”
Who’s this unfortunate Heather then? She must be a big lass to possess vast swathes.
But you forgot to mention under crackers, Northy. Frequently on Wings BTL, we find pairs of them in flames. Quite often, yours.
NC expounds Scottish exceptionalist victimhood yet again. Yes, Scots left Britain to have a better life abroad. So did French, Dutch and Spanish in huge numbers. The poor of Europe were poor. Downtrodden. So they left. Scots had started emigrating long before the Act of Union.
New York was originally called New Amsterdam
The USA made the massive Louisiana purchase from France.
Spain had a massive presence to the south.
NC says ‘Millions of Scots were forced to leave their own land’, followed by ‘A tiny fraction of all indigenous Scots who by chance or connection or sheer greed … joined the ranks of their coloniser and overlord as 2nd class ‘English’ citizens’. So ‘millions’ are ‘a tiny fraction’ of the population? How many people do you think were living in Scotland?
As for ‘2nd class citizens’, that is historical nonsense. Scots rose to the highest positions in the Empire. as well as providing a high proportion of high-ranking doctors, lawyers and civil servants in India, for example. They set up hugely profitable enterprises in the USA, the West Indies and elsewhere. When the slave trade was abolished in 1807, Scots owned more slaves per capita than the English (source – National Museum of Scotland).
The poor of England did exactly the same. Perhaps not so efficiently.
Northcode;
precisely – well put.
“beginning to set vast swathes of Heather alight”
Heh. No.
More akin to the weird, shuffling old retiree neighbour who doesn’t talk to anyone and still insists on having a “bonfire” to antisocially burn damp old leaves and other detritus he’s dodderingly swept up, stinking everyone out the whole neighbourhood for hours on end, before leaving a small mound smouldering into the small hours. No actual flames are ever witnessed.
@factchecker – indeed.
I frequently get the impression that the reading comprehension skills of some of the colonialists on here aren’t quite up to the level I would expect of a full-grown adult in receipt of higher schooling in one of the world’s top performing western countries in global education.
I wonder if the lack of understanding exhibited by colonialists when attempting to discern the meanings or sentiments embedded in the, generally excellent, comments posted here by independence supporters is deliberate obtuseness.
Perhaps some perverse, but ultimately unproductive, notion of rhetorical skill on their part.
“No actual flames are ever witnessed…”
Only smoke, I am assuming… like the smoke colonialists (unionists if preferred… same thing) are forever trying to blow up the erses of independence supporters in this place – albeit one is sweetly autumnal and literal and the other sourly unpleasant and figurative.
Ye’re a hertless bastirt, Northy,
Ye divnae gie a toss aboot puir Heather, div ye?
” So ‘millions’ are ‘a tiny fraction’ of the population? How many people do you think were living in Scotland?”
I have come to consider it wise to read a text more than once or twice, or even many times over, before settling on an understanding of its intended meaning.
And wise, also, to approach a given text with a thorough eye bestowing upon its actual words a focused attention as opposed to the words one might twist out of shape in one’s biased imagination by casting an eye over them in haste.
This is, perhaps, especially true if a text invites a more or less immediate response… in a public forum, for example.
Today I have decided to embrace pomposity and to gie ma words a touch, a flavour if you like, of the extravagant quill and imbue in thaim a hint, a flash, a tease of Victoriana.
I might even sprinkle a dash of the Edwardian style ower thaim, tae – and, of course, a smattering – at the very least – of the braw Scots leid woven through.
@Northcode
Hark at you, getting your knickers in a twist over your genius semantic point about not being quoted absolutely verbatim.
Well, for starters, I was quoting Hatey (entirely correctly) and not you, so that’s your 3-legged fox shot. However, to be generous (as I invariably am), let’s ignore that fact and look at your source text, quoted below:
‘… My feeling is those little brush fires started in the minds of Scots men (I am one of their number) and Scots women by individuals such as Alf Baird and Sara Salyers and groups like Liberate Scotland, liberation.scot and Salvo are beginning to set vast swathes of Heather alight tae.
How does “beginning to set vast swathes of Heather [sic] alight tae” materially vary from “beginning to set vast swathes of Heather alight”? Answer: it doesn’t.
Moreover, concerning the germane point which went over your befuddled head, the very notion of Alf and his crew metaphorically setting “vast swathes of heather alight” seems (presently at least) hardly justified? For one thing, how much attention has this even garnered from this site’s host, let alone among the mainstream Scottish media and consciousness. (Youtube videos by Craig Murray hardly qualifies).
It all adds up to yet another example of wishful thinking; hardly a substitute for the galvanising of the electorate through the usual hard graft channels, forming an electable party and financing it etc.
“How does “beginning to set vast swathes of Heather [sic] alight tae” materially vary from “beginning to set vast swathes of Heather alight”?”
I fear the answer is beyond your understanding. It isn’t your fault and I’m not blaming you nor condemning your inability, owing to you not being an indigenous Scot, to comprehend the advanced, nuanced, subtle and, alien to your ears, Scots leid.
It’s a cultural thing… not a smarts thing.
But for those interested the first sentence ending with “tae” alludes to the initial ‘fire’ – the lighted brushes in the minds of men – and extends that metaphor to the vast swathes of Heather (metaphorically, the Scots as a people entire).
It should be noted that the initial ‘brushes fire’ is not the root cause of the ‘fire’ (the fire itself being a realisation in the shared consciousness of a people), but is the vehicle tasked with spreading the metaphor to the ‘swathes of Heather’ who are the Scots themselves.
To leave out the “tae” scopes the entire sentence down to a single anchorless metaphor which has no ignition source (Alf Baird and such) and reduces quite considerably, if not completely, the psychological impact on the reader… the culturally Scottish reader to whom the sentiment contained in the entire comment is directed – a sentiment incomprehensible to non-indigenous Scots.
Northy rhapsodical about the vast swathes of Heather again.
I hope you’re not stalking the poor lass, Northy.
How is she anyway? Hopefully the burns weren’t serious!
You really are quite hilariously patronising, Northcode. In your head, your post represents some grand coup de grâce, whereas in reality it is a hilariously lame, pompous word-salad.
Mate. I think you’ll find that your “setting vast swathes of Heather” metaphor was well comprehended by everyone concerned, notwithstanding your incorrect usage of proper nouns and also regardless of whether or not they’re “indigenous Scots” howsoever defined by the likes of you (good grief….).
“In your head, your post represents some grand coup de grâce.”
Actually, as every indigenous Scot on here who read my comment knew, or probably suspected anyway, it was a device – or piss-take, if preferred – (which has proven fruitful considering your typically Anglo rude and stupid response) to lure you into delivering a rude and stupid response. Job done… next.
You think way too literally, Inglis.
Oh, and if I feel like twisting the English language – a foreign force-fed second language to me that I speak and write far far better than you who were born to it – into whatever rhetorical shape suits me, I don’t need your rule-bound, flat-lining sense of wot was once proper word-speak in the lingo of a dead empire to guide me.
Why are you even roaming about this place insulting every independence supporting Scot you come across?
What has Scottish independence to do with you?
I can’t imagine I would be remotely interested in a site promoting English independence if the chips had fallen the other way – unless I just wanted to point and laugh at England’s misfortune… now that I think about it, though.
I suspect you only loiter here because you’re one of those English who hates the Scots (you probably don’t even know why) and derives some maladjusted twisted pleasure from insulting them.
Well, you have finally enraged me, Inglis.
You have awakened the Nuckelavee in me; forthwith I will crest the digital waves to hunt down and rip apart and scatter the torn and ravaged pieces of every simple-minded, but far worse, tedious and boring, contribution you bowk up on here to the electric winds.
Just remember… ye brought it doun on yer ain heid, cave creature, ye brought it doun on yer ain heid – may God gie mercy tae yer tortured soul… acause a’ll no.
No probs Northy. I’ll keep an eye outside my cave (St George flag flying, natch) for an inconceivably ancient, wild-eyed hag in a disheveled kilt, moth-eaten Thesaurus in hand, during the next Blood Moon.
I’ll be ready. Don’t say you haven’t been warned. 😀
“…inconceivably ancient, wild-eyed hag in a disheveled kilt, moth-eaten Thesaurus in hand, during the next Blood Moon.
Now that is the kind of word-speak I like, Caveman. Keep it up.
Well, I aims to please. 🙂
I’m not worried, even if I don’t see you coming, the unmistakable heady reek of mothballs, old stockings and lavender water will herald your arrival for the ensuing 2-man reenactment of The Battle of Stirling Bridge – which doubtless you recall personally.
“Well, I aims to please…”
Way to go, Caveman. This is perhaps the very first time I’ve enjoyed reading any of your posts.
Northy can I just say hatey MacFuckwit loves to jump on your posts to denigrate and deride sometimes it can appear tiresome and not worth the effort to keep posting , but that’s just what the CRINGING Scotland haters want , they are so brainwashed and captured that they cannot accept what the colonisers have done to them , they are more to be pitied because they think this subjugation is normal
Keep on posting Northy
“that’s just what the CRINGING Scotland haters want”
Naw.
I’m proud of my country, Scotland. It’s the eejits, the liars, the fantasists and the potty-mouthed, tribalist knuckle-draggers that I can’t abide.
I honestly don’t see any hope of building a country that rational Scots would want to live in with cracked bricks like them. Looking around at the deteriorating state of Scotland today, we can all see the rotten fruits of their efforts since 2014. Of course, some big barstart Sturgeon did it and then ran away, will be your response.
Naw. Does not compute.
Of course, if you and the rest were to up your games, the prospects might start to improve.
The question is, can you?
Your words of support are appreciated, TH.
Great quotes, James and Northcode. Good comment, twathater.
Onwards and upwards. Those who are keen and constructive in efforts for restoring Scotland’s nation state must continue their efforts, and encourage others to do likewise.
O/T The Liberation podcast led me to wonder if Captain James Cook had Scottish ancestry. He did – his father, a farm labourer, was born in Roxburghshire but moved to Yorkshire after the 1715 rising.
I wish England hadn’t voted the SNP into power in the devolved administration between 2014 – 2025.
Stop stirring it, Sven. Somebody is bound to notice.
‘Hatey’,
If you truly hate Scotland and its independence as much as you seem to, cunt, why do you bother? Are you one of a team of English wanks paid by their scum government to stir up shite on this site? Or are you just the sad, lonely, maladjusted bastard troll that you appear to be?
Told you, Sven!
Check out the state of ‘Onlooker’.
“cunt”
“wank”
“scum”
“shite”
“bastard”
What do you think? Is this the authentic face of Indy?
“….Told you, Sven!”
Here’s another yin for ye, #SP1;
“Prick”.
P3nisbreath @ 7.19
Oi vey!
You’ve missed out yer unique moniker shit fer brains 🙂
“shit fer brains”
YL converting thousands of undecided Scots to Yes there, but in the process, forgetting what he posted 10 minutes ago:
“Every accusation is a confession”
And I wish the SNP hadn’t brought Maggie Thatcher to power in 1979 by playing silly buggers at Westminster !
Jeezo they’re out in droves today. Maybe the mess room is being painted.
“Insider”;
Bollocks and you should know better.
James Callaghan knew better – try reading his book.
Really Insider?
I remember it well.
Callaghan pointed the finger of blame squarely at this own party (Labour) for the shambles that brought down his government as written in his memoirs.
The long debunked trope you have trotted out is a SLAB party myth perpetuated constantly in the hope of rewriting history..
James/Young Lochinvar…….
Funny how the official voting figures prove you’re talking nonsense….
Yes
Conservative Party (279)Liberal Party (13)Scottish National Party (11)Ulster Unionist Party (5)United Ulster Unionist Party (1)Democratic Unionist Party (1)Independent (1, James Kilfedder)
311 / 635
No
Labour Party (303)Plaid Cymru (3)Ulster Unionist Party (2)Scottish Labour Party (2)
310 / 635
Ah, Jim Callaghan must have got his memoirs wrong eh?
James says…
“Ah, Jim Callaghan must have got his memoirs wrong eh?”
James, don’t you know political memoirs are notoriously inaccurate ?
They’re usually just the ramblings of embittered politicians settling old scores and praising themselves to high heaven.
Ah, so now it’s “…naw, he didnae…”
Jesus.
Insider @ 6.54
So how exactly does 11 SNP votes bring down a government if the overall vote of overwhelmingly English MPs at 310 to 311 bring the blame to the SNP?
Callaghan didn’t even waste time considering it and as memory recalls quite a few SNP MPs just abstained.
Heck, want to get p1ssed about the witch?
Well that would be the Tories who pulled the carpet out from underneath Heath..
Cringe elsewhere Insider, no one buys that canard anymore..
As I recall the only cosying up with the Tories that happened meaningfully was SLAB with the Tories in and during the run up to 2014.
Now that IS real history you SLAB faithful are doing your best to pretend didn’t happen.
“So how exactly does 11 SNP votes bring down a government”
Let me explain it for you, YL.
The votes for (311) included 11 SNP votes.
Take these 11 votes away, if the SNP abstained, say, and the votes for would have been 300.
300 is less than the votes against (310), so the votes against would have won.
Add these 11 SNP votes to the 310 against, and the total against would have been 321, which is even bigger than 300 than 310 is.
You should be able to replicate my workings with a calculator, YL, and as for the logic, that just needs somebody to explain the meaning of the following arithmetic relationship:
300 < 310 < 311 311 > 310 > 300
Anybody with an ‘O’ grade in arithmetic should be able to help.
#YoonsOverScotlandshire
link to wingsoverscotland.com
Note the btl commentary back then in comparison to the shit show it is now.
@Dan – do you think that could be because 70% of Wings BTL is now demented howling or general undirected spam which bears no relevance either to the subject of the post or anything that anybody has been talking about. Normal people don’t want anything to do with that.
Or I suppose it’s the tiny handful of posters occasionally trying to make some reasoned arguments that’s the problem.
Which ya think?
P3nisbreath
What a waste of typing.
Look at Insiders numbers and subtract ANY of the YES voting groups in Insiders list @ 6.54 and what do you get?
So, the trope the SNP brought in the witch is as completely mendacious as your silly post.
It was much more the Winter of Discontent wot dun it than the SNP withdrawing support.
A bitter winter, galloping inflation, strikes leading to unburied bodies and a PM wot said, “Crisis, wot crisis?
Sam
Well said however, remember, opposition parties aren’t there to (by default) support the incumbent party in power!
If they are roasters then suffer the consequences..
Maybe the Unionists on here reckoned everyone else had a crystal ball back then when they could barely tie their own shoelaces and had no clue what monster they had let loose.
Anyway:
Anyone else reckon this place is now y totally infested with Unionist inbreds claiming no one else is “sane and rational” and simply “tin foil moon howlers?”
Hmm..
Every accusation they spout is a guilty confession..
“Anyone else reckon this place is now y totally infested with Unionist inbreds”
Hardly totally, YL.
The male genitalia fetishists continue to, umm, hold their own.
It is of great shame that Alf Baird has reinforced just how devastating colonialism is to a colonised people like Scotland.
The difference in how Norway has fared as an independent country is utterly startling. Or the United Arab Emirates who grew a developed wealthy nation out of a dessert. Or ditto Qatar. Or Ireland just across the water where the Northern British bit, like Scotland is a backwater.
Scotland has the natural resources aplenty. Moreover it has the people. But like all colonies the people are stifled in aspiration, opportunity whilst the wealth around them is plundered.
North American Indians and glass beads, or the Tasmanian aboriginals who were exterminated completely, colonialism is a tried and tested Brit policy.
“grew a developed wealthy nation out of a dessert”
It was just a matter of finding the sweet spot.
Willie comments on ‘the Tasmanian aboriginals who were exterminated completely, colonialism is a tried and tested Brit policy.’
It’s also an activity in which Scots played a full part. Note, for example, the leading role of Angus McMillan in at least six separate massacres of the aboriginal people in New South Wales in a bid to get more land for his fellow Scottish sheep farmers.
link to en.wikipedia.org
link to scotsman.com
My goodness , some football hooligans have been on the lunchtime news – seems like that risk assessment by police was on the right side as opposed to the furore in parliament.
A lie repeated often enough seems to be accepted as the truth. I think however that Wingers aren’t fooled by the repetitive lies on various themes that are unashamedly punted btl.
The UN process for recognising a colony is explained in detail by Craig Murray on an IndyScotNews youtube post yesterday [19th Oct] “Going International: Taking Scotland’s Case to the World” from 24.28.
It is not a quick process but Liberation Scotland have begun which is more than anyone else has done.
Liberation and Salvo are not solely about the UN campaign. The aim is to restore the wonderful elements of Scotland’s constitution – the power of the people as being the sovereign of Scotland, and the aim of the constitution being the common good.
This means that the territory and assets of Scotland belong to the people so they cannot be given away to other countries.
It also means that the people can impeach or otherwise halt the actions of politicians. No more having to accept that politicians can break their campaign promises, and can impose legislation.
What bliss it will be once we get the politicians back under our control. See the Liberation.scot site for all the detail, and Salvo.scot. The word needs to be spread amongst all Yessers as well as to everyone else.
That will be the same CM who supports the ham assholes.
It’s a bit of a laugh to imagine their people ever trying to impeach them. They’d be lucky to be killed quickly and cleanly with a bullet in the back of the head. As we’ve seem on the news this week.
But frankly, it’s no laughing matter that it’s supporters of these kind of people that are claiming to speak for Scotland on the world stage.
Thank you Sarah. Yes. Informative discussion and feedback regarding decolonisation process in wake of the Salvo submissions at Geneva UN.
‘Going International: Taking Scotland’s Case to the World’
with Sara Salyers, Craig Murray, Chris Thomson.
youtu.be/2tfZ6al_Ihk?si=nZqnDtUiuikSocbx
How informative, Fearghas?
Does it name the day? The year maybe? Surely the decade!
OK, but it just has to be this century.
Spill the beans. The UN granting us our freedom is gonna be a humongous event. People need to make plans and prepare.
A long read. A good one,imo.
Perceptions of colonialism in the Troubles, 1969 to 1998.
“The Northern Ireland Conflict and Colonial Resonances”
link to tandfonline.com
What riches, poverty is getting close to 1 in 3 kids in Scotland, 1 in 4 Scots working poor. Not much riches to destroy…….
Figures are wrong, James
This from Child Poverty Action Group Sep 2025
“Responding to the Scottish government’s evaluation of its five family payments, published today, Kirsty McKechnie from Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland said:
Statistics already demonstrated that the five payments are working, as child poverty decreased by 4 percentage points in Scotland whilst rising to record highs in the rest of the UK. This evaluation further confirms the positive impact payments are having for families, including money to buy healthy food and school supplies, enabling children to take part in social and educational activities and improved children’s happiness and parental mental health.
Families have acknowledged the positive impact of the payments on their finances but still report financial difficulties, confirming the need for the Scottish government to increase the Scottish child payment to £40 per week in the lifetime of this parliament and to £55 per week by 2030/31.”
“Latest figures show that in the single year 2023/24, 22% of children were living in poverty against a target rate of less than 18%, but down from 26% in the previous year. The three-year average rate of child poverty between 2021 and 2024 was 23%, down from 24%. Scottish government’s Poverty and Inequality Statistics.”
The rate is too high but in England 31% of children were in poverty in 2024.
“poverty is getting close to 1 in 3 kids in Scotland, 1 in 4 Scots working poor”
As I’ve said before, these stats, even if assumed true, are meaningless without ethnic breakdowns.
For all I know 1 in 3 kids belong to immigrants. For all I know, 1 in 4 working poor are immigrants.
Hell will freeze over before I will become concerned about people who are bloody glad to be here, can’t believe their luck, in fact. But people who I was never asked in the first place if I wanted in my country
People who are very happy to milk us indigenous Scots for a bigger share of a pie they never contributed to in the first place.
Charity begins at home. Reform has this 100% right. Anybody who arrived here in the past 20 years and is now bleating about being poor is welcome to try their luck somewhere else.
#SP1;
“For all I know…”
But….we all know that you know… nothing.
Police drop probe into Graham Linehan after Heathrow arrest.
My God… A ray of sanity breaks through the dark clouds of trans madness.
Alas it is the complaint, arrest and investigation process that becomes the proxy punishment. And plenty know how to weaponise that process. Voluntary attendance for interview, or even simply being interviewed at home or roadside in Scotland became almost impossible after 2016 Act passed. If a ‘suspect’ or non-officially accused person needs their right to legal advice from a solicitor, they must be arrested first (as the former First Minister discovered to the chagrin and howls of protest by her loyal supporters). Although in Scotland that’s highly unlikely to be carried out by five armed police officers as happened in Mr Linehan’s unfortunate case. And proving a complaint is maliciously motivated is very difficult.
100%Yes @ 17.10.
As always with government/establishment bullies, the process is the punishment.
Her name makes me nauseous. My feelings against Sturgeon have become less attractive since Mr Salmond died. BUT we live in a world where despicable liars are empowered – it will change but I don’t know how soon. Thanks for the report – it can’t have been easy
Sam @ 3.51
I read your article about Irish nationalism.
The most interesting part to me was the use of ‘constitutional nationalism’ to neutralise voices who viewed the situation through a lense of colonialism and colonisation.
I was reminded of wee Nicky and her constant talk of constitutional nationalism. Now I realise that this was copied from the same playbook.
What happened in Northern Ireland during the Troubles had many parallels with what happened in other UK colonies such as Aden and Kenya.
Colonel Frank Kitson was involved in military operations in Aden, Kenya and NI. The tactics he developed were used against the populations of all three countries.
The tactics used included controlling populations in order to isolate insurgents. In NI TV ads were used to focus support on the troops and condemn terrorism. Surveillance and infiltration tactics were used. In Kenya it was internment and forced displacement. In Aden, curfews and surveillance.
Meanwhile, Loyalist terror gangs were used to indiscriminately attack Catholics with barbarity. In Kenya, captured rebels were used to attack the Mau Mau. In Aden, counter gangs were also used.
A section of the police, Headquarters Mobile Support Unit operated a “shoot to kill” policy. This resulted in deaths of innocent civilians and lies to cover up the crimes.
Extrajudicial killings,torture and internment took place in Kenya, Aden and Northern Ireland.
Great lengths were taken to cover up atrocities such as the Bloody Sunday and Ballymurphy murders by British soldiers.
Operation Legacy in NI involved the systematic removal of records in order to try to create a more favourable narrative of British involvement.It is clear though there was state collusion with Loyalist terrorists, state secrecy and much violence.
In all three populations the motives for resistance were economic marginalisation, lack of political rights and a wish for independence. ,
It is beyond doubt that colonial practices used in Kenya and Aden shaped what happened in NI and which left a long and unresolved legacy around, justice, reconciliation and accountability.
The Force Research Unit. Brigadier Kerr. The murder of nationalist civil rights lawyer Pat Finucaine. The murder of nationalist civil rights lawyer Rosemary Nelson, the atrocities of Bloody Sunday, and Balmurphy. British agents advancing timers on bombs to slaughter innocents to turn hearts and minds, internment of political leaders, the hooded men, throwing folks out of army helicopters, it was all in play in Northern Irish – as it was in Kenya, Aidan and other colonies before.
And the murder of Scottish lawyer Willie MacRae. Who killed him or did he shoot himself in the head before throwing the gun with no fingerprints away. And what of his briefcase with the papers believed to contain evidence that would have brought down the Thatcher government. Papers that were reported to be evidence of a paedophile control ring at the heart of the Westminster government. Papers that he had taken to carrying about with him on his person due to spook burglaries in his home and in his office. Where did these papers go, where did the briefcase go. And why no enquiry.
Anyone who doesn’t think that the history of the Brit security apparatus is not operating in Scotland is sadly mistaken. What Britain has done in colony after colony it would do again in Scotland in a heartbeat if required.
Just look at the mass arrest of thousands of predominately elderly citizens exercising utterly peaceful cards making comment on Palestine and you realise how the Brit state operates. And now ” diplock ” courts to mass try them.
The facade is gone and the brutal Brit state is exposed for what it is.
“thousands of predominately elderly citizens exercising utterly peaceful cards”
You forgot to add, in support of a group going around vandalising aircraft.
I don’t want to be under or in a vandalised aircraft when it nose dives into the ground. You don’t want that for anybody you care about either.
Actions have consequences, and that doesn’t cease to be true just because you’re doddery, partially senile and 100% gullible.
John Main,
The obvious vandalism of a privately owned aircraft that’s rented out to the RAF and payed for by us is not an accident waiting to happen.
You’re talking nonsense.
The idea that people showing their opposition to genocide is somehow detrimental to our society, and must be punished, is nothing less than thought crime and a massive abuse of state power.
Coming to a cinema near you.
Facts are chiels that winnae ding. Number of people killed by the IRA over 1700 including 644 civilians. Of which over a 1000 serving Army personnel. Number of people killed by the Army about 300. Unless you were there you won’t get it. We were all young 18 and 19 year old guys. I don’t want an Independent Scotland if it is Republican, Trans and anti Brit Nat. Because we have to get on with our neighbours. Of course the IRA got amnesty and are swanning about like it was nothing to do with them. Gerry Adams probably will receive compensation and Soldier F the jail. Good luck with Army recruitment. And good luck with having any sort of credible defence force in Indy Scotland.
Should soldier F not get the jail, then?
Whyever not? Do tell.
@James
The SNP hard man with his one liners is out. Never uses his real name. I am expecting Sam to come along with his daily SNP communique. Is there an election soon? Asking for a friend.
But you didn’t answer.
And I’m still not in the SNP.
@ James says: 20 October, 2025 at 10:46 pm
“I’m still not in the SNP”
Despite all your frenzied efforts, you’re still not hard either.
‘We were all young 18 and 19 year old guys’
So that gave you carte blanche to murder people like 12 yr old schoolgirl Majella O’hare walking to morning confessions, shot in the back by para pvt michael williams.
@Mike D
Typical response. I wasn’t in the Paras and I never discharged my 7.62 SLR once. How about the innocent civilians you killed? Or your representatives. And you want to bring this Sectarianism to Scotland?. Vote SNP and Greens and get it. I won’t stand in the forthcoming elections. If Scotland votes for a Swinney and a Greer Government then Scotland deserves the Government they get. Tears are on the way.
Well said Willie at 8.22 pm.
Some people can’t handle the truth.
Sam 7.34pm, aye, they can’t cover up their dirty deeds anymore.
George Ferguson, only one demographic in Ireland bringing their sectarianism to Scotland, and when Ireland votes for unification you’ll be swamped by them ‘coming home’.
Pizza Hut closing 68 stores and going into administration this is what happens when you look after a small section of your economy, Energy should have been taken and put into public ownership and removed from the London stock market when the cost of living got out of control.
We are now going to witness the destruction Capitalism which has caused its own demise and the planets. Our problem is we have a MORON party (SNP) and its leader who supports Keir and the Labour party and if nothing else brings the destruction of the SNP the REDTORY’S will and at leased well know who to thank won’t we John.
To support the Redtory’s when the leadership in England has shown no leadership at all, god help Scotland.
Reform will not bring about better times how can it the whole party is based on all the nasties in life, but it might just be Scotland exit out of this Union.
“Maccabi fans will not be able to buy tickets to Villa match
The Tel Aviv side won’t sell its supporters any tickets – irrespective of whether the current ban on attendance is overturned or not.”
———————————
Good – problem solved.
Ah c’moan noo, x.
Plenty of us like to see some bonny fechters getting stuck intae the supporters of the “religion of peace” and their witless apologists.
That aside though, there is a serious lesson to be learned from this. As others have noted, the British state is letting it be known that it is relinquishing full control over parts of its territory – specifically, some of those parts that are now majority Muslim, and are now electing themselves leaders openly hostile to the British state.
It baffles me that no-one seems to be able to see what this means, both for Scotland and for Indy itself.
THE PROCESS of islamization is by stealth; how it was modelled, trialed and perfected in the once largely christian near east. First the force operates in the big cities then the towns and villages and in due time job completed, except for the die hards who resist.
It does take centuries but there is an inevitability about it once the political mechanisms are in place. The lazy «tolerance» of the kind found in the modern secularized west is amenable to the process. Ignorance of «the thing» among the same is a useful tool. Sadly, the political élites have that in spades. Politicians seem destined to create those Augean stables which must eventually be the task of the people, the gullible masses, to clear up. YUCKKKKK!
Give it a rest!
Many teams have been banned for violence and thuggery. This bunch are no different. Get a grip.
While playing a victim card – ‘their fans would be unsafe’.
diabloandco says:
21 October, 2025 at 8:48 am
While playing a victim card – ‘their fans would be unsafe’.
————————————————————-
Which is exactly what the Police risk assessment said.
@mike D 10:02pm
Speaking from someone that can’t use his real name. Anywhere near a Unification vote. I thought nought. Frustrating for Celtic supporters you haven’t won the argument here either.
George ferguson, you still have’nt answered James.
Should soldier F get the jail?
The behaviour of some British troops in NI would not justify any IRA atrocity. Nor would any IRA atrocity justify the behaviour of some British troops.
Internment served as a great recruiting tool for the IRA as did “shoot to kill” and the murders in Ballymurphy and Derry.
The origin of the Troubles lay in the job discrimination, housing allocation discrimination and lack of political rights and power done to Catholics by the Stormont Unionist government, in power since 1922.
A peaceful civil rights march was attacked by Loyalist thugs at Burntollet while the police stood by.
In the HoC the marchers were described by the Home Affairs Minister as “hooligans”.
In Stormont, William Craig described the marchers as a front for the IRA which, at the time, was virtually non-existent.
The UK government aligned itself with a corrupt and sectarian Unionist government in Stormont. It did so to favour the Union, to try to maintain control of a volatile situation. Had it taken seriously and addressed the sectarian abuses in Stormont the Troubles might have been avoided.
Fearghal Mac Bhloscaidh, Senior Lecturer in History at St Mary’s University College Belfast, has an article on the background to Partition here:
‘The Government of Ireland Act: making the world safe for hypocrisy’
link to blosc.wordpress.com
Very right in your comments about how the colony of Northern Ireland.
To the British government the Irish nationslis and catholics were just scum people. No differentvreally from what all to many of the English Brits think about the Scots. We too are benefit junkie freeloaders. It’s the same mindset by our colonising neighbours.
Northern Ireland was a sectarian colonial cess put every bit as bad as apartheid South Africa. Time for change before they plantation Scotland with the poison of NI
Yes, colonialism is defined as ‘hateful racism’ and the root of fascism is colonialism (Cesaire); hence a common feature within colonial societies and impacting a doun-hauden people is institutionalised ethnic oppression:
link to yoursforscotlandcom.wordpress.com
Alf,
Here is a link to a piece about Kitson. It is alarming and troubling to say the least.
“An estimated 90,000 Kenyans were slaughtered in the Kikuyu uprising while just over a thousand were hanged on a portable gibbet. Some 160,000 were detained in internment camps where torture was routine.”
“In Low Intensity Operations Kitson infamously wrote that, although the law must be respected when fighting opponents, it can be changed to fit the circumstances so that it equates to “little more than a propaganda cover for the disposal of unwanted members of the public.”
link to declassifieduk.org
I don’t think it can reasonably be doubted that NI was and is a colony.
The Good Friday Agreement says: “…that while a substantial section of the people in Northern Ireland share the legitimate wish of a majority of the people of the island of Ireland for a united Ireland, the present wish of a majority of the people of Northern Ireland, freely exercised and legitimate, is to maintain the Union … and that it would be wrong to make any change in the status of Northern Ireland save with the consent of a majority of its people (Constitutional Issues, 1(iii)).”#
Irrespective of the wishes of the majority of the people of all Ireland, it is the wishes of the majority in Northern Ireland that counts. It is evident that if the views of the majority of all Ireland counted, then Ireland could be speedily reunified.
Meantime, the UK gives no guidance on how it might determine what are the views of the majority in NI.
From Slugger O’Toole
“Is Naomi Long the Politician who will Decide When We Have a Border Poll?”
“Alliance Party leader Naomi Long has called for the Northern Ireland secretary to set out the criteria for when he would call a border poll. The Good Friday Agreement (GFA) says a referendum must be held if the secretary of state believes it is likely that a majority of people in Northern Ireland would vote for Irish unification. However, how that is measured has never been made clear. Now Long, who is also Stormont’s justice minister, has said she believes the British government must give certainty about the process.
“I think it would be helpful for the secretary of state to set out what the conditions for a border poll would be,” she told the BBC’s Borderland podcast.”What I think is toxic at the moment is by not setting out the conditions every single election becomes a kind of proxy for a border poll.””
If NI is a English colony….?
“It is evident that if the views of the majority of all Ireland counted, then Ireland could be speedily reunified”
Sez sam.
Others might wish to ponder that plenty of folks in Scotland don’t want the NI Loyalists that would return here if Ireland were ever unified.
And having realised why, they might wish to further ponder why the Irish Republic doesn’t want the die-hard NI sizzlers who won’t be moving, ever.
Still, sam provides an interesting statement on what purports to be an Indy site. Re-write it slightly and you get:
“It is evident that if the views of the majority of all Britain counted, then Britain could remain unified indefinitely”
The murders at Derry and Ballymurphy by the paras were authorised by those at pay grades well above those of the ordinary squaddie.
These actions were sanctioned at the high levels of government and military though none apart from One I can think of, an ordinary soldier, has been held to account.
You can read about a brave attempt at the link.
link to radicalteatowel.co.uk
O/T Does anyone know why Through a Scottish Prism no longer gets included in the Voices For Independence round up?
THE GOVERNMENT OF IRELAND ACT: MAKING THE WORLD SAFE FOR HYPOCRISY
by Fearghal Mac Bhloscaidh (30 June 2021)
« During the GOIA’s [Government of Ireland Act’s] second reading at the end of March 1920 the Ulster Unionist leader, Edward Carson, gave full-throated expression to partition’s imperial rationale and the general disdain for subject peoples struggling for independence. Recently returned from Belfast, where the Ulster Unionist Council [UUC], formed to resist Home Rule, had accepted their own version in a six-county Pale provided they held the whip hand, Carson poured scorn on ‘sham phrases’ like ‘self-determination in Ireland, for nobody proposes to give self-determination.’
« He proceeded to mock other ‘ridiculous phraseology’ such as Woodrow Wilson’s ‘make the world safe for democracy!’, which he dismissed as making ‘the world safe for hypocrisy’. Within this imperialist mind set, self-determination provided a ‘lever to your enemies by which they may, under the guise of constitutional law, attain results which you know in your hearts will be absolutely fatal to your whole Empire.’ Indeed, Carson rejected the one, never mind two, nation theory, declaring that ‘Ireland never was a nation’!
« During the same debate, the British prime minister, David Lloyd George, freely admitted he had ‘absolutely no doubt’ that ‘an emphatic majority’ in Ireland would demand ‘independence and an Irish Republic’ if granted self-determination. Nevertheless, the Empire would never consent, as it threatened its self-interest.
« As de Valera would later memorably say of Churchill’s attitude to Irish neutrality: ‘Britain’s necessity would become a moral code and that when this necessity became sufficiently great, other people’s rights were not to count.’ »
« […] When Gladstone failed to implement home rule his Tory adversary Salisbury famously quipped that the Irish, like the Hottentots and the Hindus, were unfit for self-government. During the crisis surrounding the Third Home Rule Bill, Milner formed the Ulster Union Defence League to rescue ‘the white settler colony of Ulster from submersion in a sea of inferior Celts’. »
link to blosc.wordpress.com
You wait all day for a post about male genitalia, and then two come along, almost together!
Haha, just my little joke. I don’t think anybody is really waiting to read about male genitalia.
Some of the regular posters though. Male genitalia seems to be never off their minds.
This must be part and parcel of the Indy movement, for some unfathomable reason. But at least it goes some way to explaining the behaviour of the movement since it took over Scotland’s governance.
Pervy Hatey MacFuckwit as usual bringing up wee innuendos where no one has said anything about genitalia male or female, in an attempt to cast others like him
Blind as well as senile!
Puir auld Twat H.
Obsessed. The bot is in meltdown. lol
Lorna Slater gave ‘unambiguous and emphatic’ assurance over doomed DRS, court hears
Biffa chief executive Michael Topham told the Court of Session in Edinburgh he was left in no doubt the Deposit Return Scheme was going ahead as £166m court hearings get underway
————————————————–
What chance that the SNP loose another court case?
How will the SNP lose, x?
They won’t be paying the bill.
The taxpayers of Scotland will have to dig deep.
And the services users of Scotland will have to go without.
If this case is decided and the courts finds that ScotGov must cough up £166 million in compo, what do you think are the chances that the usual suspects on here will blame everybody but the guilty parties?
I reckon it’s a racing certainty.
Quite the gesture student politics by SNP today. Why is Stephen Flynn get hung up on the meaningless titles of a meaningless discredited individual? Is this what we elected the SNP to focus on? There are so many more issues that they could & sh
ould have focussed on but, no they jump on a populist bandwagon that will make not one iota of difference to the people of Scotland. The last SNP MP who actually achieved something in the commons was Joanna Cherry.
“The last SNP MP who actually achieved something in the commons was Joanna Cherry.”
Yes, unfortunately for some bizarre reason she sought to prove that the England-as-UK parliament was sovereign over us Scots, when any Scottish nationalist might instead have endeavored to prove the sovereignty of the Scottish people amidst the many violations of the Treaty of Union.
YES Alf Joanna Cherry gave bojo and WM a bloody nose in PROVING that they could NOT prorogue parliament and instead of carrying on with a sovereignty challenge she sat back down on her arse
@TH/Alf – that’s again flat out untrue, you need to read Miller No.1, the UNCRC and the Reference re the powers of the Scottish Parliament to hold an independence referendum cases. Arguments around Scottish constitutional history, the claim of right, and of the right to self determination were all made in court by very experienced counsel both sides of the border. It’s just that the Supreme Court in particular did not rule the way that you would like.
“prove the sovereignty of the Scottish people”
Looks like it can’t be proved because it doesn’t exist.
And naw, endless bloviating about it on here doesn’t count.
If it did exist, some clever clogs would have long since sorted it all out.
He (or she) might be King (or Queen) of Scotland. His/her head would defo be on every Scottish banknote. There would be statues of him/her in every town, and his/her name would be the first choice in the minds of expectant parents across Scotland.
It’s a nice fantasy, but no more than that.
And always, without exception, every time the myth of Scottish Sovereignty comes up, the inconvenient facts are conveniently ignored.
Such as that if a majority of Sovereign Scots democratically vote to remain in the UK, then their decision is Sovereign.
Scottish Sovereignty, if it really existed as you describe it, could never mean that only the decisions you approved of were valid.
“Arguments around Scottish constitutional history, the claim of right, and of the right to self determination were all made in court by very experienced counsel…
In my experience ‘experienced counsel’ are pretty thick… aye, and cheats anaw.
I was once, a half century past now, forced… aye, forced a tell ye, by all that’s richt and dacent tae blooter a thievin’ advocate’s auld reekie gairden wi straight Paraquat ower a sum o’ money he owed me but refuise tae pay on some feingt excuise – chancin’ bastirt.
Thon advocate turnt mi intae a herbicidal maniac… a still feel guilt aboot aw thae wee bushes and flouers a kilt fir nae mair than the lummie o’ ma rage at bein cheatit oot o’ whit wis rightfu mine.
A wis nae lawyer… but guess wha won that ‘legal’ argument?
What has the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) to do with Scottish independence?
And anyway, why should the Scots care about the anti-Scots chunterings chuntered oot by the ‘Supreme Court’ of a foreign nation?
“Supreme Court”… a name that might work in the Federal United States of America, but is ridiculous for a wee singular state like England?
“High Court'” as a name for the highest court in England would have sufficed and been more fitting… and a hell of lot less US ass-kissin’.
It’s said that imitation is the sincerest kind of flattery.
Well, England appears to be attempting to flatter the fuck oot o’ the good old US of A.
Having never been much of a user of sweary words I have found a new joy in the occasional scattering of such ‘swears’ aboot ma comments… just for rhetorical impact, ye ken.
As I understand it, what Joanna Cherry achieved was Bojo could not arbitrarily prorogue Parliament because doing so would remove the actions of MP’s from public scrutiny.
That presented no problem under English law where the people and Parliament are constitutional subjects in a Kingdom where the monarch is sovereign, but cut no ice under Scots Law and Scots Kingdom where the people are sovereign, not the Monarch. A Scots Parliament, or Westminster Parliament with Scots in it, therefor answers to the people and cannot shirk that chain of command.
Thus, Cherry’s victory over Geoffrey Cox and BoJo was a constitutional victory for a principle of Scots Law which had no equivalence in English Law. That I believe is why the English Lawyers couldn’t contest the issue, because they had no jurisdiction.
They dressed it up to mean other things, but the UK Establishment cannot overrule Scotland’s sovereign constitution when the issue forced to a conclusion. All they have is chicanery and bullshit to obscure the validity of the Claim of Right and sovereignty of the people… but they do it very well.
Had BoJo continued with the Prorogation, it is my understanding he could have been arrested on a charge of Contempt of Court under Scots Law. Imagine that spectacle… Never going to happen, but the stakes were that high.
It also in my opinion the whole process exposed Westminster’s casual propensity to interpret ambiguity or lack of precedence in whatever way best suited their interests, but Cherry’s Action bound them to respect Scots Law, and they had to concede.
I’m no lawyer, I don’t know the principles in detail, but the above paragraphs describe my understanding how a case brought under Scots Law compelled the Premier of England and his arrogant Advocate General to abandon their slipshod unconstitutional misadventure and respect the law of Scotland, or be arrested for Contempt.
So much for Parliamentary Sovereignty of Westminster, – apparently not quite as sovereign as it thought it was.
As Twathater says, why this constitutional victory was downplayed and led to nothing more is totally beyond me. Why Cherry stopped there, I do not know. If the SNP was worth it’s salt, (spoiler alert, it isn’t), then Westminster’s ephemeral concept of sovereignty should have been tripped up at every opportunity until Westminster was all but crippled and unable to rule Scotland against the will of the people. – Brexit being a seminal case in point.
Not lightly do we accuse the SNP of betrayal, injuring Scotland’s interests where Westminster could not, but I cut Joanna Cherry some slack. There arent many who challenge the Establishment and humble them like she did. I just wanted a lot more of the same, because the trail was emphatically blazed…
Cherry couldn’t topple Westminster by herself. Who knows, but maybe Westminster, the Faculty of Advocates and SNP ganged up to keep her quiet. I don’t know. But the principle stands, and just like SALVO at the UN won’t deliver Independence we don’t claim first for ourselves, these Constitutional principles are solid blocks which make the wall we build that much stronger.
This Constitutional impasse in my opinion is insurmountable for Westminster, because there can only be one sovereignty; having two is a blatant contradiction of what the word literally means, and there is nothing whatsoever, anywhere, which confers Scotland’s sovereign integrity onto Westminster except falacy, deception and bluster. Unless justice is confounded, to the extent black is white and night is day, they cannot win this fight. The sovereignty of Scotland is not theirs to command.
NC that is because, and I quote from wikipedia:
‘The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom is the final court of appeal for all civil cases in the United Kingdom and all criminal cases originating in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, as well as some limited criminal cases from Scotland.
As the United Kingdom’s highest appellate court for these matters, it hears cases of the greatest public or constitutional importance affecting the whole population. Additionally, the Supreme Court hears cases on devolution matters from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. As a consequence, the court must include judges from the three distinct legal systems of the United Kingdom – England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, made up collectively of twelve Scottish, English, Welsh and Northern Irish judges’
So I do not know where you get the idea it is the Supreme court of England only from.
Aye, Northy, your recent discovery of potty mouthed infantilism will be you imitating the potty mouthed knuckle draggers that infest this site and besmirch the reputation of the Scottish Indy movement.
Perhaps if you sincerely flatter them enough they won’t turn on you for being a pretentious pseud, suffering from irritatingly smug delusions of superiority.
But I wouldn’t bet on it.
What news of Heather?
“…delusions of superiority.”
Not delusions, fact… my intellect far outstrips those of mere colonialists. I suspect the intellects of most indigenous Scots do, too – especially those Scots smart enough to know their country has been colonised and turned into an illegally annexed non-self-governing territory.
“So I do not know where you get the idea it is the Supreme court of England only from.
See my response to the Creature from the Cave regarding the taking of piss and the dangers of thinking way too literally.
“…irritatingly smug…
I am a bit up ma ain erse, I’ll admit tae that.
It’s one of the unavoidable flaws in the characters of thae folk, folk like masel, blessed with an intelligence beyond the ken of ordinary mortals.
Aye, it’s a burden right enough… and lonely, tae.
At least a hiv ma 16 dear wee cats tae keep me company as I ponder whit the mind o’ God is aw aboot.
In your experience counsel are pretty thick – alright well I’m sure someone like yourself would know. I’m sure you’ve been writing big checks to fund expensive litigation or advice so obviously you’re best placed to pontificate on whether the cognitive ability of your counsel met your expectations.
The UNCRC case was about the powers of the Scottish Parliament. You should read it, you might learn something.
NC: ‘See my response to the Creature from the Cave regarding the taking of piss and the dangers of thinking way too literally’.
Okay, trouble is I cannot tell the difference between your piss-taking and being serious and literal, no doubt due to my naturally inferior English intellect. Therefore, going by the example set by Aesop’s famous fable, there is no other way forward for me than to just assume everything you say is unserious piss-taking and never to be taken literally. This will at least make things funnier.
Aidan says: “Writing big checks“…
Hmm, bit of an Americanism slip there. But guess that’s him and his muckers fucked for pointing out how illiterate and or stupid at typing everyone else is now…
“… no doubt due to my naturally inferior English intellect.
I don’t believe the differences between the Scots and the English are related to intellect particularly.
To an advanced alien species visiting our planet the difference between the smartest human on Earth and the dumbest would likely be negligible from their viewpoint.
I think what my ‘piss-taking’ shows (and one of the reasons I deploy it as a rhetorical device on occasion) is the substantial difference between our two cultures.
The Scots and the English are culturally very different… we are not the same.
I’m not saying the one is better than the other – I leave that judgment for each to their own – only that they are different.
I’m reasonably certain that the Scots on here, most anyway, cotton on to my ‘piss-taking’ pretty quick, but the English who visit this place won’t necessarily ‘get it’ and will interpret my scribblings either literally or just be confused and dismiss them as the chunterings of a madman.
I am not concerned for the English who might wander aboot this place, I don’t care if they comprehend the meaning in my comments… the audience for my posts is made from my own people.
Persevere, Southernbystander. At some point my gibberish might suddenly click thegither in yer heid and you will have begun your exciting journey into the mind of the Scots.
Prepare to be amazed, for we are a great people; a generous and friendly people; an enlightened people; a people like no other – and we are all this despite suffering three centuries and more of oppression.
The English have no idea – they are utterly clueless – just how fortunate they are to have the Scots as neighbours.
If only the same were true for us Scots.
‘… I am a bit up ma ain erse, I’ll admit tae that.’
Hmm, the word “bit” is doing quite a lot of heavy lifting, Northcode old boy. 😀
(*Disclaimer: “heavy lifting” is a metaphor in this instance and as such not to be taken literally by “indigenous Scots” or anyone else for that matter. For the avoidance of any doubt, I’m not suggesting you’re attempting to lift a solitary 1kg dumbellette with your elderly arse. ‘Owzat for non-literal humour, perhaps there’s hope for me yet, eh?)
“…perhaps there’s hope for me yet…
Much as I might wish that your hope should reach fruition … I’m afraid – owing to unsurmountable cultural differences – you can never aspire to the magnificent heights of Scottishness.
Perhaps if you spend 300 years or so among my people you might arrive at the edge of our world and from there steal a glimpse of what might have been had our two peoples shared these islands as friends than as enemies.
“Owzat for non-literal humour…”
Not bad… not bad at all. A noble attempt, Caveman.
“At some point my gibberish might suddenly click thegither”
Things have defo looked up a smidge since you abandoned posting in a language not even a majority of Scots understand. I wrote “a smidge”.
Why did you stop though? Was it because the effort taxed your “superior intellect” too much?
Or was it that despite your boasting of the superior intellects of us Scots, virtually everybody on here couldn’t be arsed to fathom out what you were wanging oan and oan aboot?
Haha, rhetorical question again. Nobody posts stuff others won’t read, not even you, eh, Northy?
NC – I am perhaps less ignorant than you imagine as though I have never lived in Scotland, I have visited numerous times for work and pleasure and also have known and still know several Scots pretty well who live in England. I have no qualms at all about agreeing that the Scots are, in general, a ‘generous and friendly people’. I noticed that the first time I ever set foot north of the border in 1983. It is totally part of my attraction to the place and indeed, partly why I am here. I don’t expect any great care or even interest about what I understand or think on a pretty hardcore nationalist website.
And besides, the written word is always more difficult to decipher in tone, regardless of who is speaking and one can misinterpret even long-standing friends in that format.
But when it comes to the appreciation I do actually feel about my Scottish neighbours and your statement, ‘if only the same were true for us Scots’, then I would suggest you might look try looking more inward than out sometimes to address that ‘if only’.
Flynn and others are bringing up the paedo enabler as a diversion from their fuckwittery and incompetence , but there again the Scum Nonce Party are well versed in recognising paedo enablers
The paedophile prince and his position as a man of titles is the focus of the SNP. What else have they to do with their time other than to slurp at the political trough.
Prince Andrew, or is it Air Miles Andy or is it Randy Andy is, like his wife and odious piece of work. And entitled individual above and beyond the law.
Where does he get his money, who does he participate in orgies with. Recent reports suggest that he and Jeffrey Epsteein had it off with around eight young ladies, many of whom spoke no English.
And now it appears that he asked public paid protection officers to investigate his accuser in the court case against him for sexual abuse. And how did he get Ms Guifre’s US social number. And who paid his legal fees. Who paid his settlement to Ms Guifre widely reported to be very substantially more than £12million.
And who pays for his 30 roomed house. And how much money did he and his wife trouser from Jeffrey Epstein. Criminality is at the heart of this individual and allegedly his big brother knew nothing about his behaviours.
Well if the SNP were of any relevance they would be pushing for him to be criminally prosecuted and not raising motions about titles.
But that’s the SNP for you.
“if the SNP were of any relevance they would be pushing for him to be criminally prosecuted”
Would they, though?
Fa aboots this Epstein’s Island then – is it the ane next tae Barra?
In what way is this story of any relevance to advancing Scotland to Independent status?
Naw, don’t answer. I already know. It’s simply that it’s a hell of a lot simpler to bandy about allegations caveat-ed with “suggest”, “appears” and “allegedly” than it is to do an honest day’s graft on the near-to-impossible, competent government day job.
Where “potty mouthed infantilism” is concerned, no-one can match that hypocrite.
Only saw it by accident having virtually given up reading comments.
Still look on ‘Wings’, occasionally, for news from Rev. Stu, concerning various legal cases involving governmental corruption and maybe some progress fot the Nationalist cause.
Wish there were more journalists and analysts of your quality, Rev.
I added the ‘analysts’ to cater for the psychology of one commenter in particular.
‘Byee for anothe month.
Bye Jay.
There’s never a day goes by without nobody missing your contributions.
And, of course, as everybody fixates on Randy Andy, the scandal of the grooming gangs continues. On our streets, in our towns, involving the collusion of our elected representatives in turning a blind eye in service to their totemic greater good, their mythical “community integration”.
But hey, the religion of the perpetrators instructs them the groomed victims are inferior twice over.
And we must all learn to value and celebrate that diversity.
Who’s “Randy Andy”?
As to child abuse, the evils of Kincora are not forgotten.
“For over four decades the story of the extraordinary evil that occurred at the Kincora Boys’ Home in East Belfast in the 1970s, and the shocking attempts by MI5 to cover it up, have haunted our political and social terrain.”
link to belfastmedia.com
IN THE SCOT.NAT UNIVERSE what has happened to localism and the concept of civil society which in the old days apparently were intellectual drivers of the cause.
The nationalists, so called, who sit in the other palace of Holyrood are smitten by the same purblind condition as those in Westminster’s crumbling gothic pile.
Neither seeking to know nor caring to know how their country «is», the res publica, is common to both assemblies.
Imagining and theorizing as a democracy is not the same as manifestly being one in praxis.
Confused again as usual. The ‘indigenous Scots’ get mentioned a lot on here, but who are they? Can you settle in another country and still be one? Can you come from another country and become one? Is it something to do with ‘blood in your veins’? I’d quite like to know.
Indigenous Scots are the people who voted Yes in 2014.
Turns out they’re also the same people as the Sovereign Scots.
That leaves around 55 per cent of Scots who, according to the usual suspects on here, are neither indigenous nor Sovereign. Accordingly, they can be discounted as of no relevance.
Of course, the flaw in that “cunning plan” is that the 55% stubbornly refuse to support Indy. As poll after poll shows. While the Indy supporters refuse to dirty their hands trying to win hearts and minds and convert No voting Scots to Yes.
It’s a spectacularly blinkered policy, but it appeals to the ideologically pure. They’ve been pushing this policy for over a decade now, it hasn’t worked, but admitting it is wrong is just too big a step for them to take.
Indigenous: originating or occurring naturally in a particular place; native:
Scot: a native of Scotland or a person of Scottish descent.
Pit the twa words thgither and ye get… “Indigenous Scot”.
Andy asked a very pertinent question.
NC has provided a simplistic reply that presumably excludes all those Scots who are descended from the Irish colonists called Scots, as they did not originate or occur naturally in Scotland.
If we also exclude on NC’s same basis all those of Germanic descent in the Borders and Lothians, and all those of Scandinavian descent in the North and Islands, indigenous Scots are a very exclusive group indeed.
“…indigenous Scots are a very exclusive group…
Aye, it’s a sad business richt enough fir thaim desperate tae be cawd Scot, but if thae dinnae hae the genetic marker thae’ll no be coded tae board, let alone fly, any of oor hidden interstellar spacecraft.
If I had my way nobody could be considered a Scot unless they could prove they were a Pict. And nobody could be considered a Pict unless they could prove they were a Scot.
Also, if folk aren’t descended fae thaim wha cleaned up the mess just efter the ice meltit 10,000 and mair year ago then thae canna caw thersel Pict or Scot… and certainly not Atlantean – who are the folk aw true Scots (see above) are ultimately descended frae onywey.
Those folk descended fae the Scotti wha came ower fae Ireland are definitely Scots – the clue is in thair name and in the fact that Scotland didn’t exist as Scotland until the Scots arrived from Ireland and renamed ‘Scotland’ Scotland.
Actually the Scots, with the agreement of the Picts, renamed Pictland Scotland hence the Picts bein Scots – aye, thaim folk descended fae Picts are definitely Scots and the clue is in thair name anaw… albeit by thaim followin’ a mair convoluted path tae arrive at that designation.
Now what’s so difficult about that to understand?
« Now what’s so difficult about that to understand? »
_____________
Any link to the language you champion.
Good call, Fergus. Thanks for reminding me.
Dictionars o the Scots Leid
Or to be more precise, the following ‘Dictionars o the Scots Leid’ entry:
SCOTS: AN OUTLINE HISTORY
link to dsl.ac.uk
Thanks, Fergus. Once you actually get around to telling me what the wee point is you’re trying to score, I’ll blow your argument away… if I can be ersed.
Gaelic is shit btw.
Neat pun.
My goodness it is getting a tad messy in here as the troll collective starts to try to muddy the waters about the prince of the realm who is supposed to have stumped up £12 million quid to a young lady he had never met for something he never did. Call me old fashioned but that does not seem to be value for money. I miss the good old days when we only had to put up with yoon’s cum and the late John Main. The standard of trolling in here has let standards slip. Try harder guys you are getting a bit boring.
David you may not be aware of it but John Main just morphed eventually into Hatey McHateface he changed his nom de plume twice , I myself prefer to call him Hatey McFuckwit for the constant DRIVEL he and his fellow Scotland HATERS excrete over Scotland and WOS