Wings Over Scotland

Nice one Chris.

Good to have you back. Hope all is well.

Muy buen, Chris.

O/t (already!) but worth reading Chris Deerin’s column in this week’s New Statesman. I was amazed at his all but conversion to Indy in the face of English brexit f**kwittery. A future no to yes film subject?

Nailed it.

Glad to see you back in action, Chris. Nice one on Rajoy. Under pressure and showing his true colours – just like the Tories.
Spain is creating a whole new global public fascist image for itself and what a PR disaster it is.
The EU has a massive problem on its hands here.

Shouldn’t he be beating himself up?

Great cartoon, thanks.

Do I see the shadow of the silent Corbyn?

Indeed, looks like Rajoy does want to imflame the situation. By showing admirable restraint the Catalan people are doing the right thing.

When homogeneous right-wing or left-wing forces rule a nation, or a bloc, social hatred focuses on threats to their absolute power.

When progressive democratically-founded movements threaten the traditional systems of power, they are demonised as unconstitutional.

So EU, are all applications of member-states constitutions to be respected whether they breach human rights or not.

What is the point of EUROPE, if it is not ABOVE the use of aggression?

Neatly done. 🙂

Mr Rajoy isn’t really interested ‘unity’, nor apparently ever has been. So few leaders of ‘the big state’ truly are. They are interested in the continuance of the state, the integrity of what they see as its borders and the adherence to their own political dogma. Difference of opinion from people or peoples which currently fall under the jurisdiction of said state is anathema to their worldview.

I wonder, has it ever occurred to the leaders of these institutions, why do peoples consider secession from their state? Why do countries such as Scotland, have such significant movements considering the dissolution of international treaties? Did it never occur to these leaders that perhaps the state is in the wrong, or has been considered to do some wrong which makes life under their supervision untenable to these peoples, these movements? Apparently not.

The theory and practice behind promoting unity isn’t hard. Just as the theory and practice behind government isn’t hard. You give people a reason to WANT to stay. You can of course, as in the case of Spain and to a lesser degree UKgov, use fear, intimidation, uncertainty, but that however is only ever a short term solution. This tactic builds resentment and anger. This strategy makes it inevitable that people will continue to revisit the need to break away from those they perceive to be their jailer, their oppressor and the source of their woes.

Which brings you back to that phrase ‘want to stay’. Guests, partners, friends, family ‘want’ to stay. Prisoners, hostages, the abused ‘want’ to get the hell out of Dodge.

Still, I’m sure the leaders of big government, the big state, don’t require ordinary folk pointing out the bleedin’ obvious to them. I’m sure they’re perfectly aware that with the application of fear and intimidation to their political opponents they’re not solving problems, or promoting unity. They’re merely ensuring the inevitable further fracturing of their own society and the power of the state they claim to be protecting.

Their choice.

Great cartoon Chris. Spain has at last dropped the veneer thin disguise of being democratic. It has resorted to the old ways of Franco. Crush dissent and neutralise opponents of your aims, by all means necessary.

Fascism never really dies in any society. It only hides amongst crank groups and peripheral nutters until it becomes fashionable again. On my own part, I have spent my last of many holidays in Spain. I shall not return whilst this madness continues unabated.

I am also questioning the EU and their lack of voice at what is happening in one of their member states. They have made much ado about Ireland but nothing about Catalonia. I fear they have fallen into a bear pit with recent events.

If they cannot guarantee the rights of Catalan citizens then why would anyone else trust them with their own freedoms?

He’s certainly got the Brit establishment’s 100% backing. With a little luck, it could be self-immolation. If only our imperial masters would do it too.

What countries have now recognised Catalonia? Slovenia and Finland have said they would, not sure but Iceland may have said the same.
I have seen no headlines referring to this.

Tierra del fuego, Franco-style.

link to bbc.co.uk

The front pages of the press in England are full of MP’s sex allegations. No mention of Catalonia/Spain/EU.

Here is a link the Scottish Independence Convention;

link to trulyscottishtelevision.weebly.com

It is quite interesting.

Fascist behaviour by the state against a people.

… and Labour supports the fascists all because of their hatred of the independence movement in Scotland for not voting for them.

How low can they get? Much lower.

Corbyn appoints someone who allegedly behaves sleazily with a young labour supporter and says nothing but can give advice on how to poach an egg on gogglebox. How the political prisoners held by the Spanish must love the Labour Party of England.

legal, illegal??

every country in the world has laws, even cambodia and nazis germany had laws, but we didnt not execute hitler because it was against german law??? It was illegal as per Ukrainian Law for Putin to annex Crimea but that didnt stop Putin

the moment the spanish military police started beating the Catalan people and arresting their politicians, the spanish constitution became worth less than the paper it is written on.

Spaniards maybe beholden to the spanish constitution but the rest of the world is not. They look at what is happening in Catalunya then look to their own laws and international laws for moral guidance. If they decided that Rajoy and his goons are wrong then it is wrong. end of. screw the spanish constitution and its legal position

at the moment, support for spain is based on the notion that the catalan people who want independence are very much the majority. James Kelly has an article up at the moment which destroys that idea.

the real test for Catalunya will be the elections on the 21st Dec, if their is a majority for independence supporting parties and Rajoy rejects the result, at that moment, Rajoy will begin to heamorage support from many leaders across the world.

this is why I have been hasseling Verhoftstadt to demand that eu/un observers are present during the election on the pretext of protecting voters but also to monitor the count.

I cant verify it but it was tweeted that the electoral register in Catalunya has increased by 300,000 in the past few days!!

I cant verify it but it was tweeted that the electoral register in Catalunya has increased by 300,000 in the past few days!!

Is that Spaniards piling in to vote out vile sep parties in Catalonia?

A lot of voters did that in Scotland too, 2014. They were on telly, to make sure it was clear how to do it, the re registering at the parents house, second home owners, could have had quite an impact.

HandandShrimp says:
4 November, 2017 at 11:20 am
Can’t make my mind up if Rajoy thinks he embodies the spirit of Franco or is just very incompetent (or both).

We have to face the fact that Britnat’s in Scotland and England, in the media ofcourse, would all relish civil hot war in Spain right now.

Look at how Severin of The Graun today for example, is already using Catalonia to monster Scottish democracy and self government. And that crew are the English liberal progressive er, section, they keep telling the world.

“I cant verify it but it was tweeted that the electoral register in Catalunya has increased by 300,000 in the past few days!!”

It wouldn’t surprise me in the least to find out that the statement is true. A couple of days ago Liz Castro tweeted a link to a FAQ about voting in the upcoming election.

It’s in Spanish and a pdf so I used an online translation site so as I could read it.

Here’s a couple of examples and there are plenty more:

Who can vote in this election?

In these elections may vote from abroad:

B) Spanish residents in Catalonia who are registered on the electoral roll of Spanish residents in Spain (CER) are staying temporarily abroad.

3. I will come to this consular demarcation after August 1, 2017 to reside permanently and want to vote in this election, is it possible?

Yes it is possible, fulfilling the following requirements:

Second, during the “consultation period / exhibition”, namely, between 3 and 10 November (inclusive) you must make a claim high for inclusion in the electoral roll, which processed at the Consular Office of their area.

Seems that they are doing all they can to encourage voters from outwith Catalonia to register. The original document can be downloaded here:

link to exteriores.gob.es

schrodingers cat says:

Ref the up and coming Catalonian referendum, on the 21st December.
Rajoy will just rig it, with advice from Cameron no doubt.

EU Presidency Statement in NY – The right to self-determination

link to eu-un.europa.eu

Mr Chairman,

I have the honor to speak on behalf of the European Union on agenda item 118 ?Right of peoples to self-determination?.
The right of peoples to self-determination features prominently in the main instruments concerning human rights, such as the United Nations Charter or the two International Covenants on civil and political rights and on economic, social and cultural rights respectively.

As the United Nations Charter points out, the development of good relations between nations must be founded on the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples. This right has lost none of its relevance in the present international context and continues to claim the attention of the international community as an integral part of those human rights the observance and protection of which must be ensured by States.

This right, in accordance with which peoples freely determine their own political status and freely provide for their own economic, social and cultural development, illustrates clearly the interdependence and indivisibility of human rights recognized at the Vienna Conference on Human Rights in 1993. Making this right a reality requires full observance of all human rights and fundamental freedoms on the part of States.

For this right to be effectively applied, a number of conditions need to be fulfilled. Freedom of expression and of opinion must be guaranteed to allow all individuals to debate public affairs and express themselves freely on the choices made by the State. Freedom of conscience and of religion must be ensured. And the importance of free and independent media becomes evident here. The opportunity to participate freely and fully in public life is also indispensable for the exercise of this right.

A further expression of the right of peoples to self-determination is the holding of free, regular and fair elections, which within the framework of a democratic society allow a country’s nationals to follow and support the action of the political institutions mandated by them to manage their interests and provide for public welfare. In this respect, each individual must be able to benefit from the right to assemble with others to defend his or her convictions. With this in view, the European Union reiterates the importance of promoting and reinforcing the proper management of public affairs, democracy and the rule of law throughout the world. The process of democratisation is an essential stage in the recognition of the right of peoples to self-determination.

For the European Union, respect for this right cannot be disassociated from respect for the freedom and dignity of the individual and for fundamental human rights. The obligation to promote and protect this right is therefore included in full among the commitments given by States in the field of human rights.

Thank you.

O/T:

Wee warning to Wingers. Today my virus protection programs informed me I had a Trojan on my machine.

Nothing odd about picking up a Trojan except my only on-line activity yesterday was to spend some time rumbling up the Scotsman zoomers and a very brief visit yesterday, (and this morning), to Wings.

I made no web searches, had no other email activity than Scotsman replies and no other programs were active.

It may be just coincidence but I advise anyone who, like myself, visited the Scotsman comment columns in response to the Salmond Take-over bid to do a thorough anti-virus and add-ware scan immediately.

Re;Liz@10.52

Ah I also thought it was Ohhh Corrbbyyiiin, at first glance! So Labour are OK with fascists in Spain, abusing people and humiliating them. The EU are OK with Spain in breach of human rights, actually allowing the Catalan politicians be physically abused and imprisoned. Sickening to the core.

What have the Catalans actually done to deserve such hatred and abuse from the Spanish police.
Imagine, as they did on the day of the referendum, dragging a woman down some stairs, three huge guys in armour, breaking her fingers one by one, and still having any kind of humanity? If they can do that to the people that are supposed to want to be Spanish, what would they do to a real potential enemy. Wonder if they would treat an animal so viciously, oh, wait…

These gits treat the people of Catalonia like the dirt on their shoes, but expect them to want to stay part of their fascist, nasty parasitic country. It seems that the hatred of others, and othering among some of those in Spain, has festered and never gone away. The state must have done a major, long term propaganda job on the population to make them hate the people they say should not want to escape that hatred and bias.

The EU needs to get on the case and quick. No civilised collective should allow or accept human rights abuses to take place right under its nose, when they could and should put a stop to it without hesitation.

Makes you wonder if they would stand by if the UKGov decided to treat Scotland in a similar way. I think they would. A very bad look for the EU.

Les Wilson says:
Rajoy will just rig it, with advice from Cameron no doubt.

thats my fear. to that end, pressurising the eu to monitor and observe the election on 21dec is the best way of ensuring that rajoys attempts to do this are limited. Catalunya is a bit like scotland in as much as the population is split roughly 50/50 on the issue of indy

rajoy doesnt need to do much to swing the election.

the eu’s hands are tied regarding what it can say or do vis a vis catalunya, but i think this is something that it can do, is there any reason that it cannot request this from madrid?

as i said, the main arguement from the unionists across the eu is that the indy supporters in catalunya are in the minority. as per scot goes pop, i dont think this is true and while rajoy has said he will reject a pro indy majority, i think at that point he will begin to lose support across the world.

this will be catalunyas best chance of indy and ensuring a fair vote is vital

re;R,Peffers@12.19

O/T

Thanks for the warning Robert, haven’t visited Scotsman, but will keep vigilant.

I once discovered a trojan on an old computer, only because in settings it said I had a video camera connected. The trojan had activated a camera and someone somewhere was freaking watching us! Creepy or what.

Always keep your camera well covered with thick paper, though I think it’s not poss to disable audio, listening in devices, or whatever. Not being a computer nerd at all. We had to change hard drive last time though. Also as my son advises, keep the internet turned off on your device, if on but not using it.

So yes, worth keeping an eye out at all times.

Subtle:D

link to instagram.com

Guy Verhofstadt?Verified account
@GuyVerhofstadt
Follow Follow @GuyVerhofstadt

A “fake independence” is what I call it and I don’t recognize it.
11:37 AM – 27 Oct 2017

Guy Verhofstadt?Verified account @GuyVerhofstadt Oct 27

Replying to @GuyVerhofstadt
As it is based on a referendum that was not only not constitutional, but lacked fundamental democratic legitimacy.

So have it Spain’s riot cops, you have an EU green light. I voted Remain, next time, fcuk that shit.

Seems to me it’s the Spanish constitution that’s illegal.

@Artyhetty

It’s easy enough to switch off your camera and microphone and if you do use then for the likes of Skype then just turn them off as I have done.

In Windows 10 click on the Start button and then select Settings (the little cogwheel icon).

In the Settings window that opens up, select Privacy.
Choose Camera from the left side and click the button to change from On to Off.
Next do exactly the same for microphone. You can always turn them on again if your needs change.

Too many dodgy geezers out there 🙂

Here is a random thought.

Later down the line, might the EU release a statement saying..”if only we had that EU army, we could have stopped the abuses in Catalonia..”

James Kelly of Scot Goes Pop has an article in iScot magazine this month that touches on Catalonia. Following a link from SGP to iScot Twitter page I found that iScot have an “advert” for the magazine in the form of a 2 minute video as the pinned tweet.

The video is by Alex Salmond and he talks of MSM bias in Scotland, it’s a really good wee video, well worth a watch. Buy yourself a subscription for Christmas or give one as a present, it’s a classy magazine and well worth the price of the cover.

link to twitter.com

geek

They could try that line but we have the UN Peace keeping force – don’t we? But I suppose to use that, the UN needs to recognise Catalonia is being wronged….

Someone asked earlier if there was any news on which countries, Finland etc had taken a pro-Indy-Catalonia stance.

Seems that the Finnish MP may have a history of being a bit of a lone rebel and there is a tweet from a senior Finnish gov minister who says that the F Gov is def. behind Spain in this situation.

link to newsnowfinland.fi

Found a map which says that the baltic countries, including GB!!! are supporting Catalonia. It then goes on to say that re GB many people, other than the London Government support Catalonia and Scotland definitely does.

Good advice -re laptop camera etc a bit of masking tape does the trick unless you feel confident enough to change microsoft’s privacy settings,
Most laptops have a tiny little hole for the Microphone ,usually just above the “F” keys thats the very top row of buttons on the keyboard , cover that as well unless you use Skype of course .

Later down the line, might the EU release a statement saying..”if only we had that EU army, we could have stopped the abuses in Catalonia..”

Guy Guy Verhofstadt does want an EU army and airforce. It seemed to make sense, until you see how the shit’s come out against Catalonia. Its not that he’s against it, its that he’s so reactionary, as any red and blue tory roaster here in teamGB.

We’re now being heavily monstered by likes of Graun and BBC tory reprobates, with Catalonia, as they all pray to the great gods of yoon for Spanish civil war.

One of the major blocks to an EU super state is ofcourse that the EU is not like say the USA or China, with all EU 27 members clearly very much still individual nation states, in an EU set up, really to stop us all going WW2 again.

Look at how the EU couldn’t really get the richest EU members to cough up for Greece, for example.

A giant EU army is probably some way down the line, unless a Trident nuke stoner hits the big red button by accident. That might gel EU war mongering a tad:D

schrodingers cat says:

I think that impartial monitors need to be installed on the 21st Dec i Catalonia, but not just the EU, Nana had an article on it and it suggested three sets of monitors.

The UK holds the rights to appoint monitors for our referendum, it is reserved. However I think it is a must, for such monitors to be put in place for Indy2. I have suggested this to the SNP, before Indy1, they said it was a reserved matter.

To hell with that, if the UK did not allow monitors of International standard, then they would have to explain just why not.
If we do not want cheated then we must have these people in place.

@Les Wilson

In my opinion any government or state that refuses impartial monitoring may as well just say ‘We will cheat and we don’t want to be caught doing it.’

Simple.

Meg merrilees 1.45.re john redwood,you have the right to live in an independent country which is run by people you elected to represent you…..AS LONG AS IT ISNT THE SNP.

If the Section 30 is a temporary devolving of power to the Scottish government to hold and run a referendum, then surely the power to request international monitors is devolved with it ?

Perhaps the SG of the day felt they would not need monitors as the uk gov appeared to be playing “fair” ?

I’m sorry but I’ve been listening to Robin McAlpine’s herbal tea and raffia solution to Independence direct from the second hand dusty bookstore of Tweedyness where a full staff of two ladies with their spectacles on a string are waiting to answer all queries with a leaflet on non confrontational discourse and a suggestion to go yoga chanting Ummn Peace and felicitations please vote Yes, Oh you don’t want to, that’s fine then have a nice day

Aye right Robin I’m all stirred up and ready to go

Fascism isn’t only abhorrent it’s insidious. Moderate Scots should take note.

The Impact of Social Threat on Worldview and Ideological Attitudes

Abstract

Research has shown that social threat correlates with ideological authoritarianism, but the issues of causal direction and specificity of threat to particular ideological attitudes remain unclear. Here, a theoretical model is proposed in which social threat has an impact on authoritarianism specifically, with the effect mediated through social worldview. The model was experimentally tested with a sample of undergraduates who responded to one of three hypothetical scenarios describing a future New Zealand that was secure, threatening, or essentially unaltered. Both threat and security influenced social worldview, but only threat influenced authoritarianism, with differential effects on two factorially distinct subdimensions (conservative and authoritarian social control attitudes) and with the effects of threat mediated through worldview. There was a weak effect of threat on social dominance that was entirely mediated through authoritarianism. The findings support the proposed theoretical model of how personal and social contextual factors causally affect people’s social worldviews and ideological attitudes.

link to onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Right wing authoritarianism, social dominance orientation and the dimensions of generalized prejudice

Abstract

Prior research suggests that individuals’ prejudiced attitudes form a single generalized dimension predicted by Right Wing Authoritarianism (RWA) and Social Dominance Orientation (SDO). A dual process approach, however, expects different domains of generalized prejudice that relate differentially to RWA and SDO. To test this, 212 participants rated attitudes to 24 typically disliked groups. Factor analysis revealed three distinct generalized prejudice dimensions. Hierarchical Linear Modelling indicated that attitudes towards a ‘dangerous’ groups domain was significantly related only with RWA, attitudes toward a second ‘derogated’ groups domain was related only to SDO, and attitudes toward a third, ‘dissident’ groups, domain was significantly related to both, but powerfully with RWA and weakly with SDO. These findings have implications for explaining and reducing prejudice. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

link to tinyurl.com

Authoritarianism and National Identity: Examining the Longitudinal Effects of SDO and RWA on Nationalism and Patriotism.

Abstract

The resurgence of right-wing political parties across the globe raises questions about the origins of national identity. Based on the Dual Process Model of Ideology and Prejudice, we argue that people’s tendency to submit to ingroup authorities (Right-Wing Authoritarianism [RWA]) and preference for group-based hierarchy (Social Dominance Orientation [SDO]) underlie people’s belief in the superiority of their nation (nationalism) and attachment to their homeland (patriotism). We examine these hypotheses using three waves of data from an annually conducted national longitudinal panel study of New Zealanders ( N = 3,838). As predicted, RWA had positive cross-lagged effects on nationalism and patriotism. Conversely, SDO had a positive cross-lagged effect on nationalism, but a negative cross-lagged effect on patriotism. Little evidence of reciprocal cross-lagged effects (i.e., national identity on authoritarianism) was found. These results demonstrate that nationalism and patriotism are related, albeit distinct, ways of identifying with one’s nation that are ultimately rooted in authoritarianism.

link to ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Today eight members of the Catalan government woke up in a prison cell for the “crime” of allowing the people of Catalonia a vote on Self Determination. Just imagine if the following politicians were langusihing in a London prison for doing the same.

Alex Salmond
John Swinney
Derek McKay
Shona Robison
Fiona Hyslop
Angela Constance
Fergus Ewing
Humza Yousaf

Not credible is it? Yet that is the reality of what is happening in Spain right now. Where’s Nicola Sturgeon on the list? Well I too would sought sanctuary from a brutal state from where she could continue the fight. Which is what Puigdemont has been forced to do.

Spain is not in any way acting like a fascist government if you believe the UK media and especially the BBC, now is it?

@george wood.

If you believe the postal voting system was not abused during indyref1 then you need to go take your meds and have a wee rest.

Ruth Davidson ADMITTED illegally sampling those postal votes which were sent to ENGLAND ffs…!!

Ruth Davidson ADMITTED illegally sampling those postal votes which were sent to ENGLAND ffs…!!

Its highly unlikely anyone tampered with the 2014 postal ballot papers.

What did happen was, our imperial masters were there as each postal ballot was opened and examined, legally, by the EC ballot counters, and watched by tories etc.

Then they came out with the Vow shyste.

No that cant be right, the postal votes were majority NO, Colonel Ruth announced the historic 2014 Scottish independence referendum result, on the beeb gimp network, to a live studio audience, even before polls stations closed their doors.

Spooky.

Never trust a tory. Especially not a Colonel tory, like Colonel Ruth, I mean why would the British Army promote the leader of the Scottish haha Cons, to the rank of Colonel, in their army?

As Spain riot cops wallop the living day lights out of elderly Catalonians, Catalonian teens, women, girls, and the whole of the EU, UK establishment look the other, wholeheartedly back the brave riot cops of Spain.

Postal voting was definitely abused during indy ref 14. No exit polls taken either,mass influx of holiday home owners in that sep.no neutral observers,the whole think stunk.

alex,
spot on,
i think it was heed who said yesterday that this tact, along with the pound scots will “ring fence” our argument

and you are right, this terrifies the yoons.
it is the winning ticket and it is being accepted more and more by the yes campaign, even on wings

“geeo says:
4 November, 2017 at 2:34 pm

@george wood.

If you believe the postal voting system was not abused during indyref1 then you need to go take your meds and have a wee rest.

Ruth Davidson ADMITTED illegally sampling those postal votes which were sent to ENGLAND ffs…!!”

Both sides were estimating votes from the postal votes as they were going through the usual process.
Ruth Davidson was stupid enough to admit it as you are not supposed to do it.

Ruth Davidson knew the postal vote result because she’d been told by Cameron and/or her MI5 handlers. They didn’t think she would be so stupid as to blurt it out.

Excellent Chris
This has to be kept in the public eye.

Ninja Penguin came up with these lyrics

//youtu.be/xtcr2c9qcqU

@schrodingers cat, 11.13

“It was illegal as per Ukrainian Law for Putin to annex Crimea but that didnt stop Putin”

It was illegal as per Ukrainian Law for the elected government of Ukraine to be overthrown by a violent coup. The new, unelected government ignored the Ukrainian constitution. The Crimean devolved parliament did not recognise the illegal government. The EU did.

The Russian Federation did not annex Crimea. The Crimeans held a referendum and voted to secede and return to Russia. This was the third referendum which they had held on this issue since the break-up of the USSR. The Ukrainian government had refused to release the results of the earlier referendums.

I’ve seen Youtube videos of the Crimean referendum. It was calm, civilised. The contrast between this referendum and the October Catalan referendum is stark.

george wood says:

There was much more wrong in Indy1 than just the votes, black money was flooding into Scotland to assist ” Better together”, ” No Borders” and other things. Then there was huge propaganda within AND outwith the “Purdah” period.

Scottish big Business leaders invited to Downing Street and asked to help the “No” campaign. Too many things. The BBC and English media (who pretend to be Scottish) in fact all media outlets were involved, because as you will know Scotland has no home grown media, the propaganda was huge and also in the joke ” purdah” Look at the Vow or lie as we can say. So you cannot say it was not well rigged against us. Not on any level. It sure was.

If we do not do something about it, like bring in Monitors of International standing, we WILL be cheated again.

A propensity towards fascism is hard-wired into some of us and is intrinsically linked with personality and morality.

Right-Wing Authoritarianism and Social Dominance Orientation

Abstract

Extending previous research on the relation of Big-Five personality with right-wing authoritarianism and social dominance orientation, we examined the relationships of Big-Five facet scores rather than factor scores. The results (N = 332) of stepwise regression analyses showed that Openness to Experience was the only significant predictor of right-wing authoritarianism at the factor level, whereas Values and Ideas were significant predictors at the facet level. A similar analysis of social dominance orientation showed that Agreeableness and Openness to Experience contributed significantly to the prediction at the factor level, whereas Tender-Mindedness and Values were the best significant predictors at the facet level. The prediction based on facet scores was more accurate than the prediction based on factor scores. A random split of the sample confirmed the robustness of the findings. The results are discussed against the background of the personality and the social psychology approaches to explaining individual differences in prejudice.

link to econtent.hogrefe.com

Social brains and divides: the interplay between social dominance orientation and the neural sensitivity to hierarchical ranks

Abstract

Ubiquitous in the animal kingdom, dominance hierarchies emerge through social competition and underlie the control of resources. Confronting the disruptive influence of socioeconomic inequalities, human populations tend to split into groups who legitimize existing dominance hierarchies and groups who condemn them. Here, we hypothesized that variations in the neural sensitivity to dominance ranks partly underpins this ideological split, as measured by the social dominance orientation scale (SDO). Following a competitive task used to induce dominance representations about three opponents (superior, equal and inferior), subjects were passively presented the faces of these opponents while undergoing fMRI. Analyses demonstrated that two key brain regions, the superior temporal sulcus (STS) and anterior dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (aDLPFC) were sensitive to social ranks. Confirming our hypothesis, the sensitivity of the right aDLPFC to social ranks correlated positively with the SDO scale, which is known to predict behaviors and political attitudes associated with the legitimization of dominance hierarchies. This study opens new perspectives for the neurosciences of political orientation and social dominance….

link to ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Effects of social dominance orientation and right-wing authoritarianism on corrupt intention: The role of moral outrage.

Abstract

Previous research suggested that dominance orientation and authoritarianism may be associated with corruption, but little research has verified this assumption or uncovered its psychological processes. In this article, we examined empirically the relationships between social dominance orientation (SDO), right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) and corrupt intention and explored the mediating role of moral outrage on these relationships. A total of 677 college students participated in the study and completed measures of SDO, RWA, moral outrage and corrupt intention. Our findings demonstrated that both SDO and RWA were positively associated with corrupt intention. Additionally, moral outrage partially mediated the relation between SDO and corrupt intention and fully mediated the relation between RWA and corrupt intention. Specifically, the results indicated that higher SDO or RWA was associated with reduced moral outrage and increased corrupt intention. This implies that the enhancement of morality and moral outrage may inhibit corrupt intention.

link to ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

o/t – watching the Independence convention from the Usher hall just now many fine speakers, until I hear the radical left in the guise of Jonathan Shafi & the Greens giving their views, I suppose all have to be welcomed even with arms length scepticism, remember the last Holyrood election, it wasn’t Ruth that posed the problem it was our apparent friends , arms length acceptance I believe.

” Les Wilson says:
4 November, 2017 at 3:32 pm

If we do not do something about it, like bring in Monitors of International standing, we WILL be cheated again.”

The biggest problem we faced was media bias asnd the biggest problem we will face in Indyref2 will be media bias.

International monitors can’t do anything about that and would be a waste of time.

Of course, we could do something about that by buying The National and make it the biggest selling daily.

However, too many people on here would rather see the demise of The Herald than achieve Independence.

link to theguardian.com

O/T Compare the language and style in the following text with what this Tory Government puts out.
Never trust a Tory.

“The CBI’s recent monthly retail survey showed high street sales were falling at their fastest rate since the height of the recession in 2009 as struggling households put the brakes on spending. The grim reading chimes with new figures from Ipsos Retail Performance’s shopper tracker which showed a 9.1% drop in shopping centre footfall in October, compared with a year ago.

“The UK high street is going through the wringer just now, and the last thing retailers need now is for ongoing demand to soften significantly,” said Dr Tim Denison, director of retail intelligence at Ipsos Retail Performance.”

The topic of postal votes brought to mind the disconnect, which always played on my mind.
The UK GE eligibility for overseas UK citizens allowed to vote, against the 2014 indyref, resident only.
Does anyone know if Cameron (I think) ever abolished the 15 year rule? I believe there was a call for it to be “Votes for life” at one point.
Anyway, every time I hear ‘Brexit votes’ & ‘G.E’ votes trumped the Indyref vote and there was a greater majority/ mandate (fill in the blank) statistically – I keep thinking aye really?
There was a huge voting bloc of non-residents being counted statistically for the UK wide votes. We didn’t.

So, I just wondered (statistically) with overseas postal voting stripped out of the equation, just what the G.E results would have looked like.
It’s something to possibly rebutt all the ‘Tory revival /the majority of Scots don’t want Indy or Indyref2 stuff which is spouted.
Maybe it’s been analysed already and I missed it?

o/t – A School in Berkshire has recreated and set fire to a replica of their Graf Spee , oh f/k I give up ,what’s with this obsession with the war , its is really very creepy reminiscing of so much death and destruction , by all means show respect for the dead, but FFS is this way, I imagine Dads Army will be resurrected and possibly updated .

You could buy Estrella beer though. It’s made in Barcelona. Our local Co-Op is sold out – hope they’ve ordered more.

@Ian Mhor,

re Non-Dom expats voting, there was an online poll in the “Gulf News” about 1 week before the referendum that was about 80:20 in favour of independance.

However, the biggest elephants in the room are, as before the WATP/1690/FTP brigade and our Yoonist economic retirees.

Add this to the non-stop drip,drip of SNP bad and I fear we are still no better off now than in Sept 2014 number wis.

I will say one thing though, if I were leader of Labour, Fib Dems or SNP I would be pressing a 3 line whip for every single mp to use their private members bill to push for 16yo voting. Shame those heartless bastards into allowing a vote on it.

Yet again Chris, a brilliant cartoon.
Your picture paints a thousand words
and nails those fascist Spanish turds.

Was in Asda today looking for grapes but unfortunately
they came from Spain.

They can sit there and rot as far as I’m concerned.

Viva Catalonia!

@Al Dossary
Yeah, I always thought it odd the “Votes for Life” movement.
You’d expect a democracy to be pushing the opposite line and abolishing the non-dom rule. I quite expect the numbers have been crunched and the expat voting bloc is heavily influencing UK election results. I recall big Conservative lobbying in South Africa.
I don’t think re-instating it here would do us any favours anyway. Hardly a democratic process either.
Certainly see the argument for shorter term, Job migration etc. but 15 years (or is it life now?) You’ve pretty much emigrated by any definition.
I must look up the numbers some time.

Don’t forget that around 95% of Cava is produced in Catalunya.
Forget the Prossecco for a while and support Catalunya.
You can’t go wrong with either Freixnet (pronunciation challenge)
or Cordoníu

Sorry,al dossary.

Sorry, Mark McDonald was the minister

Resignations all over the place, but this toad stays in place.

Most of us are familiar with the David Porter Frenchgate interview with Mundell, but I hadn’t heard this other interview before – quite literally the worst liar I’ve ever heard, utterly ridiculous performance.

Why the actual fuck hasn’t *he* resigned?

link to youtube.com

Spot on as always! I wonder what he will turn to next to fuel the flames?

@Ian Brotherhood

That’s a beauty! Just listening to it makes we squirm urghh.

“We’ve got to demonstrate our honesty and integrate and that’s the way to restore public trust in politics”

And all the through the interview he was lying through his teeth.

Alex Clarke @ 8.06
RE..the wing’s night..
Do ye have any parking information?

@Alex Clark –

You’ll have seen the following umpteen times,m but I’m linking it for the benefit of those who haven’t. It’s the original Porter/Mundell clip from Politics Scotland as it appeared right here in WOS.

This piece is only 1m 10 secs long, but it is probably one of the most damning minutes ever recorded in Scottish politics, and not just because it exposes Mundell as a blatant and not-very-good liar. I’ve watched this dozens of times since it first appeared and every time I see it I’m more convinced than ever that Mundell did not realise what allies he has inside the BBC, or the relationship was, for some reason, under threat – it’s as plain as day that neither Porter nor the host/guest were expecting Mundell to do anything other than bat away the question. Instead, he tried to cover his arse ‘legally’ and handed them a boiling hot potato which they weren’t expecting and really didn’t know what to do with. Did any of them ever follow-up on Mundell’s evasiveness?

Check the body-language, especially back in the studio –

link to youtube.com

Breeks,

“The EU isn’t covering itself in glory siding with the Spanish government, but at the same time, I wonder whether the instability in Spain at large would be greater or lesser had the EU embraced Catalonia and suffered Spain throwing tantrums against Europe. Sadly, that’s not how it’s reading… the EU doesn’t seem conflicted or reluctant in its support for Spain. It genuinely sees the peaceful Catalonians as the agitators and Spanish as defenders.”

It is clear to almost everyone posting here that the EU has openly and disgracefully sided itself with the fascist Spanish state.

Except for those stuck in the “independence supporting” The National bubble:

Dave McEwan Hill (1st November – “Playing by Madrid Rules”):

“The EU has pointed out that the Spanish Government judges the referendum illegal and the EU has made no statement that Catalonia is not welcome in the EU. The notion that the EU would prevent an independent Catalonia being a member is absurd.”

Went into change-org to make a petition about getting rid of Mundell, only to find I’d started one ages ago but not completed the process.

Well, that’s it done now…

I know, I know – some feel these things are futile. I agree, but still, how would you feel if you knew there was a petition going around with x-number of thousand signatures demanding your resignation?

Even if it has just the slightest effect on some who’ve never really bothered to think about Mundell and his important role in *all* of our lives, that surely justifies the four seconds it takes to complete and forward the thing, eh? Or it could persuade a whistle-blower that enough’s enough…the straw that broke the proverbial!

🙂

link to change.org

Fascinating reading, but before continuing, I just ask what some people are already wondering – who’s behind Rajoy?

Don’t know if anyone in this thread has any clues. Will continue reading with interest.

Interestingly, over the last few weeks, Junker, now Tusk and various other EU high officials are being feted and awarded prizes by Spanish universities and other institutions. And that’s only the softeners you are allowed to see.

What’s happening behind the scenes? Word is that it is Rajoy’s top priority, by fair means or foul, to stop any leaks in the EU posture re. Catalonia. He’s already muzzled the Balkan states, Belgium has had a mouthful, and no doubt the rest are being subject to every kind of pressure and dirty tricks.

Just back from Spain – will report in hours trial of Catalan ‘dissidents’ by remnants of Franco’s ‘People’s Party’ run by Rajoy.

Intrigued while away to read of Westminster sex sleaze … and then I remembered I penned this many months ago:

link to wp.me

Ian Brotherhood

We pay something like 10m for David Mundells ‘office’ .

I won’t expect Gordon Brewer to ask but someone should be,if there is no specific Scotland Brexit analysis been done – why has his office as the Sec of State for Scotland not done any?

This is his responsibility only, as our representative in Westminster, with his access to the cabinet and as his remit .

Not the S Govts, not Scottish business The Sec of State responsibility.

Otherwise lets all ask him what is he spending the 10m on?

@Molly –

Aye, it’s a disgrace – any responsible journalistic ‘business’ would be demanding to know why he’s getting extra staff and funding.

Dunno, maybe I’m just getting old and tired and cynical and unreasonable but I honestly cannot believe that Mundell has lasted in that position as long as he has. Truth is, no-one else wants to do it.

He’s become an actual caricature of the Useful Idiot Jock, and is using cartoonish persona (as Bojo does) as a form of lifebelt.

“Mum’s legacy: she changed Scotland,”

link to snp.org

Disaster, SNP minister resigns from his post over inappropriate behaviour. The Unionist media will splash the usual bad, bad SNP all over the front pages. Another propaganda gaff by the SNP, by now you would have thought they might have realized they must be whiter than white. Nicola must be fuming.

Think Fallon might have to resign as an MP and there might be more Tories and Labour MPs still to be uncovered and they too might have to resign, pity McDonald let us all down.

For an MP to be FORCED to quit as an MP, they must basically get more than 12 months in Jail time.

Otherwise they can stay in place untouchable, even if the party boots them out.

Whilst we continue to talk among ourselves, it seems to have escaped the notice of most contributors here that the war against independence has recently been ramped up to a whole new level…

Celebration of the UK armed forces and illegal wars is compulsory. Poppies are now mandatory. Sky Sports even turned off their microphones at the St. Johnstone v Celtic match today to ensure that the one minute “silence” was observed.

Nobody in Scotland in a position of power appears to have spoken up in support of our friends in Catalonia. All we get is forced ministerial resignations designed to grab the headlines and deflect our attention from the real issues of the day.

Last but not least, the EU has been shown up for what it really is – a private members club for big business with no interest in human rights, self-determination or democracy. So why do we still aspire to be members?

Kevin McKenna really is starting to annoy me, like Sillars who he talks of here in glowing terms he is a fair weather friend to the Independence cause.

“The Scottish Independence Convention must step into the breach and provide the fresh impetus, ideas and leadership that the wider Yes movement desperately craves. It has arrived not a moment too soon. Amongst these people and in this place the ultimate fate of the campaign for Scottish independence will be determined.”

link to archive.is

Total bollocks. He really needs to stop writing so much Jackie Baillie. Hope you are listening Kevin!

OT. Re. the Union Flag appearing everywhere. Might this have something to do with the aforementioned ‘single UK market’ and a ‘One Nation’ re-branding for post-Brexit global trade?

National Identity, Popular Culture and Everyday Life

Recycling Images: The Tourist Industry, Heritage and Film
in Scotland

And again, the selling of Scotland abroad tends to rely on stereotyped images such as kilted warriors, Highland scenery and romantic castles, constructing what Rojek calls ‘an enchanted fortress in a disenchanted world’ (1993:181). Womack has commented that ‘all Scots wear tartan, are devoted to bagpipe music, and are moved by the spirit of clanship. . . all these libels live on as items in the Scottish tourist package of the Twentieth century’ (1987: 25). These representations emerged in the eighteenth century and solidified in the nineteenth century, when they became enormously popular. Serving as an ‘other’ realm on the margins of the United Kingdom, a rugged and ‘sublime’ Highland landscape with its wild clansman garbed in tartan and kilt, Scotland was a romantic dream-scape tailored by and for metropolitan desire. These fantasies were served by the productions generated in the era where folklore and traditions were ‘invented’….

link to researchgate.net,{%22name%22:%22XYZ%22},-80,758,null]

Semiotics of Identity: Politics and Education

Abstract

In this text I concentrate on semiotic aspects of the theory of political identity in the work of Ernesto Laclau, and especially on the connection between metaphors, metonymies, catachreses and synecdoches. Those tropes are of ontological status, and therefore they are of key importance in understanding the discursive “production” of identity in political and educational practices. I use the conceptions of both Laclau and Eco to elucidate the operation of this structure, and illustrate it with an example of the emergence of the “Solidarno??” movement in Poland, expanding its analysis provided by Laclau. I focus on the moment when one of particular demands assumes the representation of totality, which, in Laclau, is left to “circumstantial” determination.

This moment inspires several questions and needs to be given special attention if Laclau’s theory is to be used in theory of education. It is so because theory of education cannot remain on the level of the ontological (which is the core of Laclau’s achievement), but has to theorize “non-ontological” dimensions as well, that is the ontic (i.e. “content” of education), the deontic (duty, obligation, and the normative in general), as well as what I call the deontological—the very relation between “what there is” and “what there is not” (including that which should be) as the locus of education.

link to link.springer.com

The Nation Brand Regime: Nation Branding and the Semiotic Regimentation of Public Communication in Contemporary Macedonia

Abstract

This article analyzes the forms of metasemiotic regimentation that are inherent to any nation-branding project and examines their implications for the organization of publics and governance. Focusing on a state-sponsored nation-branding project undertaken in the Republic of Macedonia, the article argues that nation-branding strategies are best understood as interventions within and across public spheres. As illustrated in the article, the nation-branding project that developed around Skopje 2014—a spectacular urban renovation plan that transformed Macedonia’s capital—included both a public relations effort that targeted several external publics and also a campaign to shape how Macedonia was represented internal to the Macedonian public sphere.

This inward-facing aspect of nation branding in Macedonia manifested through metapragmatic discourses that ascribed meaning to public speech and conduct based on their imagined impact on the nation-branding project. In analyzing how government-produced media sought to interpellate Macedonians as responsible for “living the brand,” the article interrogates how logics of nation branding can organize new demands on how and to whom one performs national identity and argues that such coordinated efforts to regulate public communication constitute a wider program of economic and social governance that can be glossed as a “nation brand regime.”

link to journals.uchicago.edu

ECHR Article 3 Protocol 1 is well worth a cursory read.
You’ll be old and grey by the time you finish it all though.
Suffice to say, Spain, by calling December elections is probably trying to avoid being hauled in front of the ECHR. But frankly, there appears to be no avoiding a legitimate hearing of the case if one is brought by Catalunya. Even ( and probably more relevantly) by the individuals most affected.
National legislation doesn’t preclude a breach of the Protocol.
My interpretation anyway.
Now I’m going to slam my brain with more alcohol, because following up on the example caselaws has burned my eyeballs out.