Fantasy Island
Posted on
March 21, 2023 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
We can’t even satirise this stuff.
We might have a day off.
If you believe any of the above, please contact a Mr H. Yousaf courtesy of the Scottish Parliament. He’s built a bridge he’d like to sell you.
for someone who bailed rather suddenly, she seems to be getting out and about quite alot..
Définitive proof that the Union is safe in the hands of the SNP. The Hydro in 2014 was the beginning of the infiltration. The NEC is the end. Disgusting!
Think shes having an ongoing breakdown tbh
I guess the gutter press and air aparrent will just follow his mistresses voice.
Let’s hope Ash takes an injunction out against this totally corrupt election process.
You really could NOT make this up, a foundation in the sand exactly where her head is right now.
The gall of the woman is seriously scary.
Hahahaha…oh dear, oh dear.
Quick nurse the screens!
Just who was actually running the SNP for the last few years?
Her or the guy she had breakfast with every morning as well meeting at the office most days of the week.
Believable? Not much.. in fact, not at all.
Bob Mack says:
21 March, 2023 at 2:15 pm
“Just who was actually running the SNP for the last few years?”
Leslie Evans, Sturgeon’s bestest best britnat chum ever.
How long before she accepts a place in the House of Lords?
That last line, absolutely brilliant.
Growing pains? You’ve shed at least 30000 members. Sounds more like shrinking pains to me.
She seems remarkably happy out and about in London. I guess what ever might be coming soon, she’s been assured won’t blow back on her…
I suspect we might see Baroness Bourtreehill being admitted to the House of Lords before too long – the above headlines are straight from the Boris Johnson playbook.
She has done The Establishment’s bidding – now she awaits her payment – a nice ermine cloak and those £300-plus per day expenses.
This is classic getting ahead of the story tactics.
See how The Swam looks majestic atop the water…all the while the Swans webbed feet are going hell for leather and forever on the lookout for danger and opportunity.
Meanwhile…Murrell slips away without any invasive door-stepping …watch as the story slides out of focus…once again all is well in the world.
But wait….is that something or someone coming over the Horizon…
We can but hope.
It really is incredible just how easy they find it to stay yards away from due come-uppance and any sense of a reckoning.
She always seems to be happiest when she’s in London.
This walking word salad is bringing everything she touches into disrepute.
She is definitely not losing it. The ‘delusion’ we think we see is for public show. The reality is a combination of gaslighting and political brinkmanship. She can get her completely false narrative out there because a bunch of mostly ignorant English people don’t know how to question it properly. Left unchallenged, this creates a veneer of credibility which she knows will be reported/repeated by tame journalists. People’s memories of yesterday will be of the simple fact of doing Loose Women and the Beth Rigby interview and this becomes part of the ‘legend’ rather than anything Sturgeotti says. All of this media grandstanding makes it just that little bit harder for the authorities in Scotland to come after her (if that is indeed in the offing).
Hopefully no future politician in Scotland will attempt to be so blatantly corrupt unless this is now going to be the norm because the MSM want it that way.
I almost feel nostalgia for the days of Jack McConnell…
Why don’t we think up a few more and see how many of them she then says?
– Nicola Sturgeon says she’s never visited Lanarkshire.
– Nicola Sturgeon denies ever living in Glasgow.
– Sturgeon ‘can’t recall’ being First Minister.
– ‘I was never an MSP’, says Ms Sturgeon.
– ‘I saw Alex Salmond on television, but have never met him’, claims outgoing SNP leader.
– ‘Scotland is a place I’d like to see someday.’ – Nicola Sturgeon.
– ‘I’ve always preferred flat shoes’, says Sturgeon. ‘I doubt I could walk, wearing high heels.’
– ‘I’m a committed vegan’, Nicola Sturgeon tells us, while munching a bacon roll.
I think we should name this concept after her:
Sturgeon (n): a sarcastic joke or parody involving telling an obvious lie, typically the direct opposite of the observable truth.
“He told me the Sturgeon that he ‘is a woman’.”
“Amongst other Sturgeons, Shell reported zero profit in 2022.”
Not to be confused with a Murrell Number:
Murrell Number (n): a very large and greatly inflated figure, used to both impress and exaggerate.
“I ate a Murrell Number of jelly beans yesterday! Absolutely loads. Actually, I ate more than I should, but only half a packet.”
“The teenage boys were bragging about the Murrell Number of their girlfriends.”
I saw a news story last week that residents of New York are concerned that Vultures are moving in and nesting in some of the tower blocks.
Somehow the farce in Edinburgh reminded me of this – its just a question of who ends up as political carrion. The more the better, perhaps
All this “Sturgeon was a unionist agent” talk is ridiculous, head in the sand denial. The truth is that she was arrogant, out of touch and incompetent and you’re all embarrassed about having supported her for so long.
That’s the problem with single issue parties, the ideology blinds people to everything else.
Baroness Sturgeon of Irvine and Dreghorn
“I’m going to the House of Lords to make sure the SNP has a presence in all of our institutions and to fight every single day for democracy to be respected and for Scotland to become independent”
I’ll give it 3/4 months until the above plays out. She’ll go to the Lords.
Does anyone know when Sturgeon’s speech (and Title) was announced for the Royal Society?
@ Paul Davis, 2.50pm: I don’t agree. Multiple agents of the legal establishment and law-enforcement had to act in concert and collude with Sturgeon and the conspirators against Salmond. That didn’t randomly happen. That, along with all the other actions of the SNP that worked against the cause of independence since 2014, indicates UK state involvement to me. If independence was her goal, Sturgeon adopted precisely the wrong tactic at every turn. There’s no way this was due to mere selfishness or random incompetence. It was clearly deliberate.
Looks like a concerted damage limitation exercise is now underway. One must protect one’s image, after all. Too little too late methinks. Still in the denial phase, I see.
What other meetings did she have whilst in London ? Mi5 ?
That lucky’ red suit is getting a good outing isn’t it?
Are all her other suits in the dry cleaners?
Paul Davis: the SNP was never a single issue party. Before the 2014 referendum, people in the party deliberated on all kinds of policies that would be applicable after independence. Yes, independence was the core principle, but much circulated around that. The deliberate downplaying of independence has led to this mess and all the self-delusion, not that we were all welded to independence and nothing else. As a former member, I well recall discussing many, many policies that would be all but impossible without an independent Scotland. The downplaying of independence suppered many of those policies, too. People are not stupid: they know that independence is just the beginning, not the end. You know little to nothing about us if you don’t know that some of the finest minds were to be found in the SNP at one time. Sadly, we cannot say that now. The concept of ‘standing on the shoulders of giants’ has completely eluded most – not all – of this crop of SNP representatives.
Scottish version of “Comical Ali” “Americans ? What Americans” Camera pans out and the 7th Calvary are about half a mile away 🙂
@ Louise Hogg 2:48pm
Thanks, if you didn’t laugh you’d cry.
She knows the peerage is in the post, Lady Gulaghill.
PAUL DAVIS 2:50
Sturgeon IS a unionist.
Anyone who clings to the blood ties mythology of «Britishness», and she does, is functionally unionist and a potential passive/active «agent» of the British state.
The passive agent, the psychologically «colonized» type, is generally the more dangerous animal to the unwary, the active agent having just the one face.
Independence, single issue? It is the major «issue» on which all other issues depend.
Without it all is much noise, signifying nothing.
Sturgeon’s régime was an exemplar of that.
To those who are saying that Sturgeon thinks she’s got off with everything or that she’s has been told that’s the case, bear in mind that she resigned suddenly and without adequate explanation, as have her husband and several of her cohorts in government. They haven’t resigned for no reason. I think Sturgeon is engaging in a PR exercise. Talking, and giving the appearance of being honest and down-to-earth, is the one thing she is genuinely good at, and she will inevitably use that skill to her maximum advantage. But I suspect that she’s in deep, deep trouble. She seems to be in utter denial of reality. Away with the fairies, you might say.
Paul Davis says:
21 March, 2023 at 2:50 pm
All this “Sturgeon was a unionist agent” talk is ridiculous, head in the sand denial. The truth is that she was arrogant, out of touch and incompetent and you’re all embarrassed about having supported her for so long.
You’ve taken a wrong turn somewhere Paul. This is Wings Over Scotland, where we support Scottish Independence and get routinely vilified and tarred with feathers for NOT supporting Nicola Sturgeon’s lunacy.
If you reverse back down the hill to the roundabout and take a right rather the left, keep going until you come to the traffic lights, turn left for about a quarter mile, and the Wee Ginger Dug Emporium will be on the right. You can’t miss it.
Best not say we’ve spoken or they’ll maybe say some nasty and unkind things to you, but don’t upset yourself, behind the barnacles and gruff exterior, they’re all toothless and pretty harmless, but they probably haven’t realised they’re meant to be embarrassed for supporting Sturgeon as long as they have.
Best take a sou’wester along for all the phlem and spittle because it might come as a bit of a surprise to some.
Louise Hogg @ 2:48 pm
Bravo! Made me laugh anyway and not much does about Scottish politics these days.
You forgot the obvious one though – “I’ve never to my recollection promised another independence referendum.”
panda paws says:
21 March, 2023 at 2:27 pm
Growing pains?
Nose.
It’s Pinnochio Syndrome I think, to give it it’s clinical name.
How telling that Sturgeon scuttles off to London to parade her unique middle class Miss Prim version of the Boris line: “I don’t know anything, nobody told me about that”.
Presumably an ad for employment, she relied on the fact that most English people have no idea of the machinations of the SNP and her colossal ineptitude, not to mention her manipulative, autocratic behaviour.
This was on the same day that Holyrood requested she attend a meeting to answer questions, but she suddenly found she was terribly busy, cosying up to Street-Porter and other assorted airheads. How very Boris too.
Clearly she is desperate to put as many miles as possible between her and whatever comes next as the SNP crumbles and descends into civil war. What a legacy! Such firm foundations she is fleeing from anything to do with them.
Sturgeon says she’s left her successor “a brilliant foundation”…
Jesus, somebody get the ground penetrating radar.
Having starred in the GRR flop ‘The Empress has no clothes,’ Nicola is dusting herself off to have a shot at Panto. First up is an SNP spin on ‘Cinderella’ on the lines of ‘If the boot fits’ instead of the glass slipper. This will be closely followed by an alleged stellar performance as the eponymous ‘Pinocchio,’ having spent the last 8 years in the perfecting of the character. Look out too for the supporting part of Geppetto, played by Peter in his striking pyjama bottoms.
A narcissist does not care about the elephant in the room. They don’t think about the large boulder that is plummeting down the mountain towards them.
They only care about themselves, and simply getting through the minute , the hour, or that day. They will deflect and try to persuade the questioner , that what they are seeing is not real. It’s all in their heads , and that they are they are the good guys , or even the victims.
But the boulder will come crashing down anyway. Don’t be fooled by her act, it’s just part of being a sociopath.
I am unreliably informed that it was Alba wot done it. All of it! Not that there’s anything wrong anyway. But if there was, it would be all Alba’s fault.
Sturgeon: something slightly fishy, often related to gender self id.
Murrell: a very long number, often woven into other things…
I think we should get used to this, because we know, and she knows that we know, that she doesn’t have a serious reputation left to lose any more, her credit has sunk and she can be as loose with reality now as Boris Johnson is. In fact, we’ll look back on these times as the Sturgeon/Johnson Years, her name should be linked with his forever, they both utterly shafted the countries they were elected to lead, and destroyed their parties in the process.
Sturgeon looks like she needs to update her wardrobe for all these media appearances, I know of a guy with a manky jacket who might be willing to donate it to the cause. She’ll be a hero of his no doubt, given how far she’s advanced the cause of Indy in the past 8 years…
This proves (as if we didn’t already know) what a lying b*stard Sturgeon is.
Breeks – I think the building has been subsiding for 8 years , and is almost ready for complete collapse.
This is how I expected Sturgeons tenure to end. Presentation over substance. Doing the rounds grabbing the last selfie. Soon to a forgotten Princess when the real Government record will surface. Darvo never heard of the expression until Stu highlighted the meaning. We start again and the first port of call is recovering our Institutions. Police Scotland being the first one. If the Met are Racist, Mysognist and Homophobic. What are Police Scotland?, forgetful, fearful and a franchise for the SNP.
@paul Davis
Bang on with that and I can see you are getting it back from some people acting exactly as you describe.
Sturgeon achieved nothing in 8 yrs except feather her nest and feed her ego and everyone she lied to and trampled over along the way was there to be used. She’s the most ineffective FM scotland has ever had, the records will show she has passed less legislation than anyone else (which is quite something considering what took place when she was in power) and what she has passed is badly thought out drivel that will soon be struck down or ignored. The hate crime act is a case in point; it’s such a shambles the police can’t even enforce it.
Christ even the LIB/LAB pact gave us land reform and other good things, Sturgeon? Nothing except dragging our country’s good name into the sewer.
We’ll just have to see how this pans out, she deserves jail time but I can’t help worrying that the corrupt crown office and police will do her bidding and let her away with it.
Oh wait. NOW the British media are suddenly doing their jobs?
Is it worth taking the day off – what’s the weather like.
Not had any posts from Smitty in a few days. Does that suggest SNP HQ have identified him/her and plugged the leak?
Smitty’s last predictions appear unlikely to come true. I can’t see anything stopping Sturgeon being FM at next FMQ’s and I can’t see the FM contest being re-run now. So does that mean SNP HQ have the fires under control for the moment?
Given the state of panic at the weekend the only way I can see order having returned is if they have cut a deal with Forbes.
Paul Davis @ 2.50pm
You conclude:That’s the problem with single issue parties, the ideology blinds them to everything else.
Having followed what has been happening through a glass darkly, namely the view from the unionist media, you apparently have no idea what has been going on with sites like this for the past few years, so come up with a distorted and very selective picture.
Had you been following sites like this and those who contribute you would have known that most commenters here left the SNP years ago – not because they have given up on independence but because the SNP under the regime of the Murrells had.
It suited the political purposes of the Scottish media hacks to have the SNP depicted as the sole entity that threatened the Union. The reality of the disaffection of so many independence supporters from the SNP because of its duplicity and authoritarian rule which had alienated so many former activists was either too difficult to fit into a story of ‘the union versus the nationalist dragon’ or they were too close to the SNP to give any publicity to the rest of the independence movement.
That’s why you can come up with something so out-of-touch and facile as your last sentence. If you had been following this site at all you would have learned that it has been detailing the failings of the SNP as to its incompetence, its betrayal of its fundamental principles and its crushing of party democracy for some years while the unionist press has been ignoring what the Murrells and their clique had been doing to what was supposed to be the party of independence. (Hardly blinded by ideology by ideology then.)
Instead, just like all the Unionist parties the SNP had become a vehicle for careerists and supporters of the corrupt status quo of the UK which is why it was losing members. Now that would have been too challenging a perspective for the Unionist media wouldn’t it?
Ash Regan did herself no harm at all on Newsnight when being interviewed by Wark last night (Newsnight BBC2 23:00 20/3/2023). Well worth digging out for a watch. It’s unfortunate, of course, that so few SNP voters live in England.
Boris Johnson is closer to the truth than Nicola Sturgeon.
Christ Almighty could things get any lower
Bunneted FM Nicola Sturgeon is a compulsive liar:
link to youtube.com
Compared to what the English in Westminster get up Sturgeon’s amateur.
This «apostate» ought to carry any blame but it is likely that blame will, in the hands of the «anglo» media, be exploited to signal Scotland’s continuing need for nannie’s «long suffering» oversight.
In the age of downloads, Scotland seems an old 78rpm record stuck in a worn groove of repetition.
Lest we forget:
From the british nationalist daily telegraph [24/8/22]:
In a wide-ranging interview at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival on Wednesday, the First Minister… told audience members at the In Conversation with Nicola Sturgeon event: “So, this might surprise people, but do you know I consider myself British as well as Scottish.”
The anely anes ferlit wur ither britnats.
Have the police seized the computers from SNP HQ yet? or has the late Chief Executive hit all the hard drives with some high voltage? It would be better to secure all the evidence now.
Perhaps the ex FM is in London to get the Whitehall spooks to provide a new passport and a flight to somewhere nice?
I watched the GB News piece with interest, where their ultra-unionist presenter openly stated his disdain for not only her appearance on Loose Women, but the lack of “difficult questions”. However, he fails to ask the obvious question of why the mainstream media has long given her such a relatively easy ride, despite the fact the very idea of Scotland’s independence hasn’t won a single ounce of reprieve from same media and establishment. Not one ounce.
Tide Lines (2022): An Ocean Full of Islands: Any Heart in a Storm:
“…Glasgow behind, London ahead
Your state of mind is better unsaid
‘Cause you’re tired
And that makes perfect sense to me…”:
link to tinyurl.com
It’s so true, this is neither satirisable, nor are there any words to really describe the human emotions in the face of this abomination of a masquerade. I feel a projectile vomit coming on now, I’ll have to go…
Sturgeon has left her successor a brilliant foundation. It’s Max Factor No 7. Wonder if Humza will like it.
“Dictators always look great until the last five minutes.”
some Czech dude in 1936
I honestly can’t stand the sight of her, literally! in the literal sense of that word…
Who would really want to be her successor? She has left them with a collapsing disillusioned membership and I am guessing a huge Party deficit. She inherited a Golden legacy from Salmond and rode on it and then squandered it in her vindictiveness. But worse! She has also done untold damage to the Indy Movement.
I heard that MP John Nicholson has criticized the election process as a mess.
I think he’s the first MP to say so.
But he isn’t too keen on Kate Forbes, either!
Gerry. Same. I refuse to hear her speaking. I know every word is an act. I feel the same about the SNP.
Dream on Nicola.
This is Scotland’s future if run by Brussels instead of ourselves. Why they have been built along the Clyde.
Andrew Wilson’s plan.
link to billmitchell.org
Good riddance to Sturgeon,Murrell, Lloyd, and soon ideally, Swinney, Ruddick, any other cheats that can be identified.
They betrayed the trust of the public.
@ laukat at 4.37
They did try, apparently:
link to twitter.com
WELL ladies and gennelmen is anyone up for giving in and allowing this POISON DWARF and her trai torous cabal of deplorables to walk away unscathed and free
I commented the other day and had done numerous times before that people who were SCAMMED by the FAKE indy ref2 appeal should COLLECTIVELY band together and register a crime report FORCING polis Scotland to act, DO NOT approach the snp for a return of YOUR funds the eagerness which they do so indicates they are shitting themselves that the polis are FORCED to act and they are involved in a criminal conspiracy to defraud
If you want REVENGE against sturgeon and the sturrell corp for the devastation they have heaped on the indy movement this is the way to go , can you think of a sweeter feeling watching her so much treasured reputation being TRASHED by the world’s media for fraudulent activity AGAINST the people of Scotland , she wouldn’t be posing for selfies she would be hiding from ALL cameras
C’mon people do it, if I had contributed to the farce I would have NO HESITATION
My trust in the SNP Scottish Government is minus 273 degree Celsius. Absolute Zero. Take Minimum Pricing Policy. I commented some time ago on academic studies that MUP made no difference to alcohol specific deaths. Today a new quote “Relative Study with England on MUP” says differently albeit with huge research caveats. The trouble is I no longer believe anything the Scottish Government say. I can’t be arsed researching who funded this latest Lancet publication. Nicola’s legacy, profound distrust in Government.
I celebrated when she announced she was resigning. I jumped up out my seat. With pure elation and joy. When I saw the breaking news announcement.
I cant even look at these pictures or bear the sound of her lying voice that woman makes me sick to the stomach
@ George Ferguson: I agree on minimum pricing. I thought it was a stupid policy from the start; something that could only have been dreamed up by people who live comfortable lives and are wealthy enough to be able to afford as much booze as they want, trying to manipulate the lives of those less fortunate than themselves. Nothing is going to stop an alcoholic, or indeed, a depressed person living in poverty and hellish conditions and desperate for some escape from their miserable life, from drinking. I therefore find it difficult to believe that minimum pricing would have any effect on alcoholism. It’s nothing but another tax on the poor; as usual, attempting to treat the symptom instead of doing anything about the actual cause, i.e. poverty and gross inequality.
I think this was the first SNP policy I disapproved of. It’s all been steeply downhill from there.
I can’t wait for her to be led off in handcuffs along with her husband.
Rev. Stuart Campbell, now that you have unretired, don’t let any of the corrupt criminals get away with their crimes.
@Michael Laing 6:47pm
The original research on MUP has been discounted in favour of relative research. And that sums up the SNP Government. If you don’t get the right answer, the first time. Restrict consultation, fund favourable research, limit the research parameters. Don’t get me wrong if bona fide research from multiple resources say MUP saves Scottish lives I would support it. But we have been lied to so many times now.
Gerry McGhee says:
21 March, 2023 at 5:25 pm
“I honestly can’t stand the sight of her, literally! in the literal sense of that word…”
Same.
I wish the Rev would replace her photos with cartoons.
The fit-up queen Nicoliar Sturgeascu has some chutzpah! An utterly moral free creature who did zip for Scottish independence the entire 8 years she was there.
I’ve just had a rush of shite to the brain, can anyone tell me how much a ‘D’ notice costs? and how that cost may relate to £600,000?
For starters the SNP has lost 56,000 member which is almost half and I have no doubt the when Tory Forbes takes over that number will crash again.
Let me be the first to say the SNP its self destroyed Scotland chances of being Independent and it didn’t even take one unionist party to do it, this is Sturgeon legacy.
I know after 2014 I thought we’d lost but the momentum is on our side and there was nothing that could stop Scotland being Independence then came along Nicola Sturgeon how wrong was I.
Ghastly vitriol from the usual suspects. Can’t you people get it into your heads you are damaging the independence cause by attacking the only party which has come close to delivering independence. Alex Salmond is yesterday’s man attempting to get himself front and centre. Innocent in the court of law but discredited.
OT
Tick tock… Interesting example and question relating to community empowerment. Are all citizens adequately informed to make decisions on such important matters relating to health. And of course the other side of the coin was you’ll be pressured into having yer covid jabs.
link to twitter.com
link to wihb.scot.nhs.uk
Ticks are literally everywhere around my rural area now which is a Lyme hotspot, so it’s virtually impossible to avoid them if you work outdoors or have outdoor hobbies. And with our already burdened health services, good luck trying to get proper treatment for Lyme’s disease. 🙁
Doug @ 5:04 pm
“So, this might surprise people, but do you know I consider myself British as well as Scottish.”
A cultural illusion, but an apt illustration of the colonial mindset, only beaten by those Scots who regard themselves as ‘only British’.
She wis a braw colonial administrator aw the same, did a braw job (on us); well worth the UK/US sanctioned UN(?) posting, and immunity…. assuming that all happens. Did somebody say ‘Africa’?
@Alisdair who asked:
” can anyone tell me how much a ‘D’ notice costs? ”
AFAIK a “D” notice doesn’t cost anything.
One just has to tell friends in the right, high places that keeping quiet on an issue is a “matter of national security”.
And Hey Presto . . . .
@gordon bain
The union is safe in the voters hands – a majority of us reject independence. That is the inconvenient truth ignored by all three candidates and most posters on this site.
Sorry folks, but the way Sturgeon was all smiles on Loose Woman means she knows she’s safe.
Smitty has gone silent.
Deals have been done.
Mark . Craig Murray suggested the police had only delayed prosecution until after the new leader was appointed.
Nicola may be just bluffing as usual. I certainly hope so.
The only foundation she has left the snp is the stuff she uses to cover the bags under her eyes
Well Mark in that case you’ll have no worries about a referendum or “any majority vote for independence candidates meaning instant declaration” right?
@MarkH
That’s exactly what I’m thinking
Bit like 2014, the panic set in, they did what needed done and have found a solution to keep the lid on things
Nice top btw
Dead simple folks. Sturgeon and Murrell are agents of the Union.
And the fact that she is being given all these television opportunities by the media reinforces her real status.
But make no mistake Sturgeon, Murrell and others were turned by the British state. They were also supported by the British state actors to prosecute and try to destroy Alex Salmond and others.
This is how Britain holds its colonies. Its what they do, its, what Brig Gen Sir Frank Kitson called everything below symmetrical warfare.
The SNP were hollowed out. And Sturgeon and Murrell were at the heart of it.
MarkH @ 7.46pm
I bet the smiles were wiped from her face by a flurry of phone calls about a certain video.
I see delusional from Dunfermline is back.
Hallelujah!
Time to wheesht for Indy all you boys and girls, assume the position and prostrate yourself before the altar of the Temple of Saint Nicla.
Bow down scum, or we’ll send Wee Ginger Fud to put you to sleep.
So You expect an ego-heavy politician, sitting as the centre of attention amongst four has-beens on a totally lightweight show, to be gnashing her teeth and tearing her power-suit to shreds going ‘It wisnae me. Ah’ no daein’ time. My MI5 handler told us Peter would enjoy prison and its many opportunities for male bonding’. Right. Lots of smiles equals f***all when it comes to an ego that eclipses all known sources of light in the universe.
As for Smitty, who nobody knows anything about, and could be a Smitty pal of a real Smitty i.e. a Smitty at one remove…oor Smitty, if you will, may be keeping their counsel because they don’t want to scupper a live investigation.
Do I believe the above? I don’t know but some smiles on a puff-piece programme and the absence of a BTL commentor barely qualifies as evidence of anything let alone deals.
If Craig Murray has been warned off publishing an article on a currently very sensitive topic then I would say that in itself is more substantial than Empress Queen Diva Sturgeotti’s performance on Loose Women and so on.
Then of course we have the destruction of five or six senior careers within a helluva short time-frame. Perhaps verbal assurances have been given behind the scenes to stop the SNP being completely sunk but a generation of SNP people have gone and that cannot be a coincidence.
Us nobodies are all trying to read the runes but you do actually need runes to read. Some smiling and a Smittyless thread or two are not runes m’lud.
Izzie @ 7.40pm: You just don’t get it, do you? The SNP has not delivered independence during the past eight years, despite inheriting massive popular enthusiasm and having the best possible circumstances in which to bring it about, i.e. Scotland being taken out of the EU when we voted 62% in favour of remaining. Sturgeon and high-ups in the party stated categorically that Scotland would not be taken out of the EU. They lied. Sturgeon and the SNP are patently obviously not a pro-independence party. They never had any intention of securing independence. Also, it’s not people telling the truth about the SNP’s failure to deliver that’s wrecked the SNP, it’s the SNP’s failure to deliver (not to mention the lies, corruption, criminality and undemocratically-imposed, overwhelmingly-opposed gender bullshit) that have wrecked the SNP.
Izzie
Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. Explain to me how the SNP have come close to delivering independence? Since 2014, of course.
Hi Izzie at 7:40 pm.
You commented,
“Ghastly vitriol from the usual suspects. Can’t you people get it into your heads you are damaging the independence cause by attacking the only party which has come close to delivering independence. Alex Salmond is yesterday’s man attempting to get himself front and centre. Innocent in the court of law but discredited.”
You do really have the yellow and black blinkers on!
“the only party which has come close to delivering independence” and “Alex Salmond”, supported by a large grassroots pro-independence movement, took us close to independence but no cigar.
Because you are imprisoned within the SNP bubble, you see Alex Salmond as “yesterday’s man”. The future will prove how wrong your thinking is.
You stated,
“Innocent in the court of law but discredited.”
So an innocent verdict in a Scottish Court should be “discredited” because YOU don’t think the jury’s verdict complied with the plan of the SNP high heid yins?
Your name is Nicola Sturgeon and I claim the mega bag of fruit kudos.
Robertkknight. Why do you keep referring to Ms Sturgeon as nicks. Her name is Nicola dear
So is Nicola saying that a membership driven party lost 30,000 members and nobody thought to mention it to her ?
Who is responsible in the party for recruitment ?
They will be easy to find, as it will be the person walking around with their own personal thunder storm happening permanently over their head
MarkH says:
21 March, 2023 at 7:46 pm
“Smitty has gone silent.”
I hope comments about Smitty’s “demise” are not true and his predictions come true very soon.
Michael Laing 6.47: “(Minimum Alcohol Pricing) is nothing but another tax on the poor; as usual, attempting to treat the symptom instead of doing anything about the actual cause, i.e. poverty and gross inequality.”
And to that I would add simple lack of hope, something former Chief Medical Officer Dr Harry Burns identified as another significant factor in premature death in Scotland.
Remember the first post-referendum cartoon on Wings, the deeply sad one with the candle being snuffed out? We recovered well from that huge disappointment and as a tremendous stiff-little-finger gesture, returned 56 MPs the first chance we got (was this fuelled to some extent by No-voters’ remorse or a sign that Russian Indyref observers had been right in identifying ballot-box security and postal voting as being wide open to tampering to manufacture the “right result”?)
Everything Sturgeon has done since then has been an exercise in Snuff Out Hope 2.0, something for which she should never be forgiven.
My only hope is that her breath-takingly gallus performance recently is simply delusional and that she will not be able to avoid her comeuppance but given the corruption in Scottish civil society which has blossomed during her seedy reign, I’m not so sure.
We remain in desperate need of someone with the courage, honesty, determination and guile to lead the independence movement from the front, regardless of any danger to their personal circumstances.
Someone who, through their own words and action, inspires confidence in the Scottish public and stamps out, for all time, the infamous Scottish Cringe.
That isn’t to say there’s nobody out there who could fit the bill – Ash Regan deserves much credit for making the right moves – it’s just that when it comes to such an important cause as our independence establishment party politics today in Scotland deliberately distorts and disables that courage, honesty, determination and guile.
For what it’s worth any leader willing and able enough to rip up the establishment rulebook and disregard establishment law would get my full support. And not just mine, in my opinion.
Fortune, and Scotland, favours the brave.
I listened to Prism. The general consensus is that we need to stop this election. It has no credibility, and the winner will never be accepted.
This is a public interest issue, and should be appealed on that basis. We just need a figurehead member of the SNP to take it on.
If the election is not stopped, then the cover up will continue.
“the only party which has come close to delivering independence”
I did not vote for the SNP to just get close to delivering independence. I voted for them TO DELIVER independence and given the change in circumstances with brexit, the majorities, the mandates and the one hundred opportunities landed on Nicola Sturgeon’s lap to actually make independence happen, I FULLY EXPECTED them to deliver independence and not to lead us to blind alley full of crap policies for 8 effing years. I feel cheated and I will feel cheated if they now dare catapult their hopeless manchurian candidate to the post of FM.
As far as I am concerned they have wasted, in my opinion deliberately, every single opportunity to progress Scotland’s autonomy. It is therefore safe to say that the only ones who are “damaging independence” and have been doing so for the last 8 years are the self-serving hypocrites currently in control of the SNP and those who chose to look the other way and let them do the carnage.
“Alex Salmond is yesterday’s man”
No, he isn’t. He is still the leader of a political party. Nicola Sturgeon, on the other hand, has resigned and is now yesterday’s woman. And frankly, good riddance. Capitan coward was the first one to grab the life jacket and flee the sinking SNP ship after she ensured it was holed below the waterline. Now she prances around from TV studio to TV studio like a clown entertaining the England audiences. What a (crap) leader.
Izzie, I’m afraid presents you with a situation often encountered when campaigning during the 2014 ref; no matter what arguments and evidence you presented then to a died-in-the wool unionist, their eyes would glaze over until you had finished and then they would simply repeat all over again their favourite Unionist mantras.
At which point you would realise there was no point in engaging because the same ticker-tape phrases would come spooling out of them. You have to learn that with Izzie, the Blessed Nicola is without fault, the SNP has been bringing us incrementally closer with the pace of a glacier to independence, aided by the cherubic Peter and Archangel John. It’s all going terribly, terribly well if we would only just shut up and join the choir.
It’s best just to do what you had to do with the entrenched Unionist and that is to tiptoe away leaving them to their dreams. Nothing is going in.
I’m truly sorry Rev. But Fantasy Island? This is Britain! These Islands are too small got this divisive shit. Scotland is an important component of our great Country. Stop pulling us apart. Switch to glueing us together. Together we are unstoppable! Left us change the dinamic for sure – but TOGETHER – at bottom you know I’m right.
Kate Forbes wants to reach out to No Voters. She’s just won the Times Radio debate by 77 per cent. Well done Kate.
Maybe we can send her around all of the local Kirks with Independence leaflets.
She’s got the No Voter appeal.
“RoyVictor”
What a load of shIt you post.
Roy is a drunk Yoon with a keyboard. It’s either Ian Smart or George Foulkes. Probably Foulkes.
Mia Alex Salmond admittedly is the leader of a political party but they are in my guessimation where the SNP were in the late sixties when I joined. They have a long way to go and he is forever tainted. Can you imagine how the Unionists will use his past? I repeat that the only group who are benefiting from this witch-hunt are the Unionists.
Been reading a few of the loony Sturgeon brigades Twitter comments on SNP aligned sites. The concensus is that Wings is a cult, much like a religion.
Oh the irony. It’s a bit like the residents in a mental asylum, saying the Doctors are in fact the delusional ones.
There is no cure for these poor souls.
Izzie,
The only reason he is “tainted” is because muppets like you toe the SNP line.
OPEN YOU EYES!
Re Izzie @ 7.40
Do you have eyes and ears and have they been functional since 2014? If so then you I can only assume you are either stupid or a unionist plant trying to disrupt this blog.
Lizzie give it up. Salmond was only tainted because Sturgeon lied. Salmond is a giant compared to that imposter.
@Roy Victor 9.43: the UK is not a country, it is a state. It comprises the countries of Scotland, Wales and England and Northern Ireland, of disputed definition.
At the moment it looks like we are “unstoppable” in a race to the bottom: totally corrupt politicians and a tanking economy.
Izzie, something happens when you’ve read Wings for long enough and it becomes very easy to very quickly spot contributors that are “at it” and/or purposefully pulling the conversation in a futile direction away from the main topic, and you sir/madam are either very much at it or incredibly naive with regards what Scottish politics has actually been like since 2014. You can decide.
If I’m wrong, and I might be, I would very much suggest you take a break from posting and go read through the years upon years of archives stored here and on other pro-indy blogs, again conveniently listed by this site for your perusal. But please, stop posting nonsense that will not wash here.
@izzie says:
Are you seriously suggesting we continue the “Wheesht for Indy” strategy? How’s that working out so far?
Alex Salmond may not be able to be at the forefront of a new Independence campaign however his leadership of Alba can get a whole load of Independence MSPs at Holyrood if a sensible SNP focused on Independence stop the mad SNP 1 & 2 strategy.
However beyond all that Salmond was and is a human being who deserves huge respect from SNP members current and past as well as all Yes voters. For that reason alone we should all be getting behind efforts to make public what happened to him. To try to jail a man to silence him is the action of a government that is out of control.
If the state could get close to doing that to Salmond what’s to stop them doing it to you or I?
In response to Mia’s comment – I totally agree with her that Alex Salmond is not a “yesterday’s man”. He fought for Independence during his time as First Minister. He took us far further towards Freedom than Nicola Sturgeon ever did. He also had a far better CV than Sturgeon! SHE was a failed solicitor and she also “failed” at doing the job he had started!
I suggest you all watch “Through A Scottish Prism’s” latest broadcast. Both ex-SNP members – Phil Boswell and Lloyd Quinan are on that site, along with Roddy MacLeod, Yvonne Ridley and Eva Comrie – all peolpe that were once members of the SNP and left in disgust – like many more of us!
@George Ferguson
@Michael Laing
Couldn’t agree more, MUP is the daftest expression of rational choice theory yet.
Addictions are not conducive to rational behaviour, indeed they produce the opposite.
The addict is fundamentally,addictively unable to say to themselves, this is too high a price to pay.
It’s a prime example of demand inelasticity, a term of art mrs forbes will find quite alien to her lay approach to economics.
The latest research is just grasped like a straw by an administration with a quite atrocious goal difference.
Perhaps mrs forbes has been stirred out of maternity leave by a desire to make the nation good, but personally, I doubt it.
What kind of person is she
The deckchairs have been neatly arranged and the band is playing jolly tunes on the SNP Titanic.
All is well
And will be until suddenly it isn’t.
My reading of things.
Useeless is going to ‘win’ by a country mile.
Forbes has been promised DFM.
Regan is the sacrifical goat.
That’s how I see it. They are bluffing, they know the shit is coming, death throws and all that! The MSM are still carrying on as if everything is fine. It feels like a parallel universe.
Humza Yousaf is promoting himself as a leading force for a progressive Scotland and the person who will get Gender Reform working in this country. As a leading Moslem layman has he made any representations to the Moslem authorities that they could set a world wide example of best practice by allowing Transwomen to worship along side the other women in Moslem congregations.
Just watched a recording of tonights Prism, i would be very surprised if there was not a legal challenge by Friday.
@Viscount Ennui
You say ‘reading of things’ but what are you basing that on?
Have you spoken to or read about how SNP members are approaching ranking their preferences?
Or is this a gut feeling or even a belief held by a few that the vote might be fixed?
The idea now that Humza might not make a Supreme Court challenge should be the ‘red line’ that the Groins will not stomach. If they stay true to their red lines then there is no functioning coalition. If that comes to pass and bearing in mind that a Humza win is only part of the first hurdle to cross, we could potentially see a scenario where Humza is reliant on the Holyrood votes of Kate Forbes’ MSP supporters and maybe even on Ash Regan herself for securing the FMship. The stars seem to be aligning so that it is becoming conceivable that the numbers are not there for good ol’ Humza…
64 SNP MSPs is balanced by 31 Tories+22 for Labour+7 Groins+4 BethDems which equals 64. Then we have the Presiding Officer’s casting vote. Ash Regan could have potentially all the power here. Gonny deselect me? OK then FY all. Mic drop…
Somebody who’s going to win by a mile does not forget about his precious defence of Scottish Democracy all of a sudden especially not for the reason given today. Shona Robison said any concerns about the operation of the GRR could be addressed in the accompanying Regulations to the GRR bill. That seems to me a legally defensible position for which the UK govt would need to have its own position.
The path for Humza is not so straightforward as one would think…
Tinto Chiel says:
21 March, 2023 at 9:15 pm
“something former Chief Medical Officer Dr Harry Burns identified”
was the ‘cultural dislocation’ affecting Scots which led to social conditions and health effects similar to those suffered by aboriginal peoples subjected to colonialism.
“Can you imagine how the Unionists will use his past?”
Unionists you say? The only ones I see constantly attacking Mr Salmond are troughers from the SNP, perjurers from the shadows of anonymity and on occassion, and displaying an attrocious lack of professionality and judgement, Sturgeon herself. Are you saying they are all unionists? Well, that just confirm what many of us suspected.
“I repeat that the only group who are benefiting from this witch-hunt are the Unionists”
Nope. This “witch hunt” as you call it is hoping to expose the unionists inside the SNP, those who have been leading us on, thwarting independence and wasting 8 years of our time. May the witch hunt continue.
Of course, but the unionists that are inside the SNP
@Alf Baird. Can confirm. After having the privilege of spending time with a number of “Canadian” aboriginal people, the parallels between what has been visited on Indigenous people, and the resulting epidemic of dislocation, lack of self belief, alcoholism, social dissolution, abuse etc. is precisely the same as my personal experience of being one of the underclass in Scotland. It’s the real outcome and purpose of colonialism, and once you see it, you can never unsee it, and that’s why Scottish independence is an imperative, and that’s why what the Murrells did to that cause can never be forgiven.
@Cherrybank says:21 March, 2023 at 11:38 pm
Careful with that can of worms!
Another interesting question would concern the rites to be followed by transwomen (and transmen) at The Hajj. These differ by sex.
And then there are all of the issues around the limitations on women going out and about with or without a male guardian, extending even to whether a woman is permitted to drive a car unaccompanied.
Such innarestin time we live in!
Here’s a wee quote from an Unherd article about the Dutch Farmer’s Party:
Last week, Dutch voters went to polls to elect their provincial councils and the country’s Senate. The full results are now in — and show that the populist Farmer-Citizen Movement (BBB) has won an even bigger victory than expected.
With over 19% of the vote, the BBB finished clearly out in front in a very crowded field. What makes this triumph all the more remarkable is that the party didn’t even exist four years ago. It has come out of nowhere to redefine the political landscape.
And my point is …
My point is that for a number of years now, in Europe, new political alignments have been coming together from scratch, and in very short time frames, getting themselves voted into power.
So, of course, this could happen in Scotland too.
Four Years FFS!
Big Jock says:21 March, 2023 at 10:21 pm
Sounds like something out of The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether.
Izzie @7.40pm 21/3
Izzie, do you really think your ghastly vitriol is going to make us all go running back to the nusnp? Think again.
John – Alba should build for 2026. No reason they can’t get 10 list seats. Then something might happen on independence.
I don’t think Ash will stay in the SNP.
Let’s all listen to Izzie and wheesht for indy. I think not Izzie, away back to WGD , you’ll be appreciated there.
Susan – There is a guy I work with just like her. He thinks everything that has happened is a media invention. Very intelligent person, but just can’t see past the SNP. I just have to bite my tongue.
Lenny Hartley says:
22 March, 2023 at 12:08 am
Just watched a recording of tonights Prism, i would be very surprised if there was not a legal challenge by Friday.
Or even after the result is declared. We can but hope – it’s up to the voting members now. There’s certainly enough discrepancy and funny goings on, upon which to base a strong legal challenge IMO. I agree with Ash Regan now stepping back – it’s really up to the members now.
Kate Forbes’s decision to accept the process at face value scuppered any direct challenge from the contestants. Note how quickly the SNP managers folded when two of the three contestants demanded the membership figures. The same would have happened had Kate backed Ash again – disappointing that she has since pulled back.
Ah well, we are where we are. I still think this simmering civil war is about to blow wide open (possibly in a surprising way). Popcorn ready, just in case!
I hope the fundraiser has been set up ready to roll tonight and we’ve got the necessary “disgruntled SNP member” at the ready?
I’ve drummed up several committed Independistas willing to donate to the cause, ready and waiting. Just put the shout out!
Yousaf apparently promises going to speak at AUOB rally on same day as coronation of Chic Windsor which he said he would attend if elected FM.
I forsee an urgent appointment being made with the Pakistan embassy any minute now.
Needs must!!
Luigi
A legal challenge after the result would a fatal error. It’s way too easy to shrug it off as sour grapes by the loser. That cripples any hopes that Regan would have of winning the leadership position, now or any time in the future.
With Forbes folding faster than a sheet of rice paper in the hands of an origami master it’s now an uphill struggle for Regan. I think it’s likely that some form of continuity leadership will emerge in the hope that it will quell the chaos. That is a fatal error too as the SNP now appears crippled – by accident or design.
Going by last nights hustings I got the impression Yousaf thinks he’s got it in the bag. The level of arrogance from a dribbling idiot like that made my skin crawl. I also listened to call kaye yesterday during a long car journey and going by the sychophantic drivel being spouted by some of the callers the SNP is beyond saving.
Sturgeon and Murrell have got their man where they want him to be and it would also appear that the pair of them have got away with whatever they have been up to. It would not surprise me if a deal was done between sturgeon and the chief Constable where she agreed to go to avoid charges and he took retirement as well as part of the deal and it would be ensured that his pension is safe. I’m starting ti wonder if the rumours from Craig Murray etc were just hopeful stirring im the hope that something would appear. Disgrace.
As for Ash Regan and maybe even Kate Forbes it would seem that yousaf winning is the end of a least one of their careers and the best move now is to leave the party and go to Alba or become independents if they don’t want that. Regan for sure will never be selected for the SNP again.
One thing for certain is that when yousaf takes charge the SNP is going to collapse, there is nothing likeable about him and his arrogant ways may result in people crawling from the Woodwork to settle scores and blowing the lid right off it. We can live in hope.
Bob – And he will be quite happy for the Stone of Destiny to be stolen again for the coronation!
I have heard it said that this stone has been used since the 12th Century, so that’s the reason. It was bloody stolen and couldn’t be used for the Scottish Kings, because England didn’t return it after we kicked them out of our nation.
For it to be taken away again is outrageous. Make the big eared chap come to Scone , and we can put thistles on the seat to remind him how Scotland treats English Kings.
Alex Salmond was thoroughly investigated over years by the Unionists and everything they had including MI5.
The Scottish legal establishment threw common sense to the wind along with tax payers money to go after him.
The SNP Bitch Mafia tried every underhand tactic they had to discriminate him.
The BBC’ s belligerent biased bile bombarded our TV screens but 4 Judges and a Jury all found that he had no case to answer.
Totally cleared, vindicated, innocent!
The English fascist movement are asking us not to believe our eyes or the evidence against Boris in Partygate as he should be our next prime minister.
What do we know as a fact about Boris-
From his school master- an elitist who thinks he is above rules and laws.
From his first wife diagnosed with cancer when womanising Boris got off his mark.
He has made 5 different women pregnant.
Had an affair with American Jennifer Accura spending tax payers money promoting her business.
Had the police called out when physically restraining Carrie and refusing to leave her home as they argued about Boris and a waitress.
Boris says Black women have watermelon smiles.
Muslim women live life looking through letterboxes.
Scots are a verminous race.
He promised the DUP at national conference that no border would ever go down the Irish Sea and put one there the next week.
He admitted lying about £350 million per week for the NHS after it won disastrous Brexit
Lied over and over about Party Gate
Lied about him paying £200,000 for wallpaper.
Now which of these 2 men should be in politics today?
@Luigi
In Forbes’ position I’d want nothing to do with Yousaf. He keeps saying he doesn’t sling mud but it was his lackey, Gray, who announced to the public that Forbes couldn’t be trusted because of her faith. Yousaf went on to snipe at her throughout the debates. I’d hoped she’d stay alongside Regan.
I felt really sorry for Regan last night. This woman asked a question and, to be fair, I thought it was a bit general and Ash did as well. The question was “How would you address the divisions in Scottish society?” Ash said,”Which particular divisions?” and the questioner didn’t answer. Ash asked for time to consider her response. Later, on the panel, the Hazarika creature ridiculed Regan for “not understanding the question” which I thought was just nasty and not true either!
Elsewhere, Yousaf jumped in all over the place when Forbes and Regan were speaking. When someone mailed in later to say how patronising he’d been, again, Hazarika said he hadn’t done that. He did. He did it to the host, Aasmah Mir, and even attempted her to draw her in when he played the usual race card by saying to her, “You and I know what it’s like to be part of a minority group.” She didn’t look at all impressed.
I have no idea how this is going to pan out. Maybe the best thing is for Yousaf to win and take the whole circus out of office. Lessons still don’t appear to have been learned.
It is worth recalling that the Greens are only there because of SNP 1 & 2.
If we had had a supermajority of genuine, true independence parties, we would not be in this mess. We we also are many fewer Lab Con and other unionists in the parliament
Although, having written the above I immediately see the flaw:
It is a long time since the SNP has been a “genuine, true independence party”!
You can see from America how obvious glaring election shenanigans are brushed under the carpet once a result is declared, and weaponised against anyone trying to shine a light on the faults.
They have already missed the boat to take a stand on this. The moment the evidence that numbers had been fiddled in the past, don’t match up at the present and are obscured then they should have called for a stop.
I watched the Times Radio debate last night. Best comment came from FrankLeeBrian:
“You can polish a turd, but then all you’ve got is a shiny turd. Or Humza, as he’s known.”
Made me smile anyway.
Sadscot- I think I have reached the point where I don’t care. It’s going to be Forbes or Humza. Both of whom I think are compromised. The SNP is falling apart , and neither Humza nor Kate will bring independence.
Unless of course the election can be stopped and the truth uncovered?
Stuart MacKay says:
22 March, 2023 at 9:05 am
Luigi
A legal challenge after the result would a fatal error. It’s way too easy to shrug it off as sour grapes by the loser. That cripples any hopes that Regan would have of winning the leadership position, now or any time in the future.
I’m not sure that’s a given, Stuart (lots of factors involved), but I agree that it would be far better to challenge before Friday (the sooner the better) if those members who are willing to fight this can get their act together in time. It would be a lot cleaner IMO. I don’t think Ash Regan would be involved as it would be unhappy members making the challenge, not Team Regan. She would of course get some of the blame! It’s the blame game, after all. Ash is going to take a lot of flak, whatever happens. Very disappointed that Team Forbes folded so quickly. Kate is also going to feel some pain now, because of recent events.
Humza Yousaf has stolen the twitler youth vote. Now he’s changed his mind about GRR.
The guy is a fucking lowlife cheat.
This sham election must be stopped.
Time for the interdict. Where well find out the real number in the SNP. Now that they’ve all committed to this 72,000.
Big Jock at 09:12. There is another factor to consider, since Charles will be “King of Scots” he should surely have a ceremony here, wearing the full Scots regalia. His late mother showed scant regard for the necessary niceties, merely touching the crown through a gloved hand. It caused a row at the time. Which makes me wonder if our “establishment” have done a better job and showed the necessary gumption to “get Charles telt”. Most likely not.
PS The stone should stay where it is and when Charles comes here to get crowned he can sit on it and it’ll work its Royal “magic” for him right across his Kingdoms.
Humza saying to the host “You and I know what it’s like to be part of a minority group.” is rather interesting considering Scots are presumably a minority group in the UK wide context.
Of course he only uses the Dulux Colour Chart rather than actual cultural and national differences.
As posted before KF has stopped posting on twitter, last post 11:48 AM · Mar 18, 2023. I am sure deals have been made.
Old enough to remember the purge of people in the Labour party, the miner strike, the poll tax, the Falkland war, the rise and fall of the SSP,Gulf war 1 & 2, Covid, the war in Ukraine. The Yes movement nearly brought change, the final nail in the British Empire.
SNP has fallen, nothing can bring it back.
Where do we go, time will tell, not going to happen soon, not in my life time.
The one thing to be hoped for with a Yousaf succession is that he might not have the control that the Murrells had (unless they are going to be ‘ghosting’ his leadership from the shadows.)
Despite some notable departures, there is still a network of cronies and hangers-on who will depend on him for their jobs and careers. He might even have his own circle ( though it’s likely that the Murrells would have been aware of that and made sure they were no threat to them.)
On the whole though, I think that Yousaf would have to have been their creature or he wouldn’t be the anointed heir and I don’t think he is wily enough to have operated a secret court within that poisonous tyranny.
In short, I think he will have to function, at least to begin with, as their man. However, everyone seems to have spotted his vanity which might undo the bonds with the former leadership. If speculations are right about the deal that got him to be the chosen successor, it might be that he begins to chafe under his obligations to them and to think that the burden of obligation can work both ways.
A Yousaf leadership could turn out to be more interesting (in the Chinese sense) than it appears. More volatile but less controlled than the former incumbent could make for an explosive situation at the top of the SNP. Let’s hope that the justly deserved come-uppance for those who ruined the SNP has simply been delayed, not dispelled. The poison stills flows through the arteries of the party and if it hadn’t been for the deaf, dumb and blind loyalists like Izzie, could have been neutralized a long time ago.
Anyway, I think that this site’s host and other watchful blogs will have plenty of material to comment on for the foreseeable future. It’s going to be an entertaining mash-up of Shakespearean tragedy done in pantomime mode by an amateur theatre group with no talent but all the attendant jealousies and (not forgetting) pound shop divas vying for star billing.
What was clear from the Sturgeon years of woe is that the internal democracy of the SNP needs improving so that a leader can never again subvert the party and turn it into their own plaything for a raft of deeply unpopular and insane bills and policies. And rules forbidding husband and wife teams from holding key positions of power at the same time.
There also needs to be improvements to Scotland’s internal democracy, First and foremost a Lord advocate who is truly independent of the ruling party and one who does not sit in the ruling parties cabinet.
And something really needs to be done about the malicious prosecutions by COPFS and Police Scotland. Much more like persecutions than prosecutions. Where are their ethics… they are shocking.
If they fix it for Humza he could be difficult to get rid of. Same as Sturgeon was. But if Forbes gets it and turns out to Sturgeon like she will be really hard to get rid of.
I’ve got a mini devil standing on one shoulder cheering on the fix for Humza and a mini angel standing on the other shoulder cheering on the election of Ash Regan as she might actually save the SNP from themselves.
I think the SNP are going to experience a significant cull at the next available electoral opportunity. And that is probably no bad thing given the current state of them. A political forest fire to clear out all the woke dead wood in the SNP and allow new shoots, new growth, to come through.
I wonder if any legal proceedings and/or potential arrests have be put on hold until this election is in the bag…
Or it’s all just hopeful BS
If Humza does win it, cue a few months of such charming stories of Immigrant coming to this shore and a few genberations of hard work and determination and sitting at highest seat in the land…it could be YOU..blah blah blah
Then reality will hit home. The snarky responses to the press, the snide looks in Holyrood to opposition, and then the clincher, the throwing colleagues under the bus with “I wasnt responsible for that..” disclaimers.
All the while, the deal with the Greens will see Humza doing a moral and poltical tight rope balancing act between his Muslim brethren and SNP NEC demands.
The centre will not hold.
It will be Angus Robertson pulling the strings within a year, 2 max with Kate away having more kids and gently farmed out to some rural minded department.
Ash will be “looking at opportunities outside of poiltics” as soon as her deselection if confirmed.
@Effijy says:22 March, 2023 at 9:16 am
Haha, we get it, you desperately miss Boris, even if you don’t like him.
Here’s a wee bit of advice for when you next list all the “bad” things that Boris has said in the past.
Don’t list the things he said that are true. It spoils the overall effect of your post.
Yousaf’s move on the GRR, the extra activity in his campaign and now the MSM Monitor account on twitter attacking Regan and defending Yousaf are interesting.
Again suggests that Smitty’s last update may not be correct and perhaps Yousaf feels he’s close enough to catching Forbes that one final push might get him over the line.
I hope I am wrong and Smitty is right. I hope the activity in Yousaf’s camp is more to avoid Regan beating him into 3rd place but I’m beginning to fear the worst.
Don’t list the things he said that are true.
You are free to do so in response.
I can’t imagine it will take long.
Big Jock says:
22 March, 2023 at 9:12 am
For it to be taken away again is outrageous. Make the big eared chap come to Scone , and we can put thistles on the seat to remind him how Scotland treats English Kings.
There is every possibility Scotland might have the last laugh with the Stone of Destiny.
The Stone of Destiny is rumoured to be a Christian Icon, the Stone of Jacob mentioned in the Genesis Chapters of the bible, supposedly brought to Ireland from the Middle East by the prophet Jeremiah, and then brought to Scotland by the Gaels into the Western Isles as a cultural icon.
What a strange and remarkable coincidence that there’s somewhere in the Middle East, a stone quarry, which shares the exact same petrology as Scone Sandstone Formation just a stone’s throw from Scone Palace…. I mean, what are the chances? 😉
link to webapps.bgs.ac.uk
There’s also a theory that when the Stone was brought back to Scotland by the daring raid of Scottish students, it wasn’t the same stone which was returned to Westminster, but a fake copy… very doable, but also very testable. I’d like to believe it, but hard to pull it off. Sorry. It’s not true.
However there’s another theory, which I think is much more convincing, that way back in 1296 when Edward I demanded the Stone of Scottish Coronations be seized and taken to London, that fast thinking individuals swapped the original stone of destiny for an alternative block of stone, and that’s what went off to London as a substitute for the real one.
The apparent channel cut into the stone has encouraged speculation the stone was part of a drainage system somewhere around Scone Palace. It’s a seductive notion that Kings of England having been sitting on a Scottish toilet all this time, but speaking as a stonemason I have my doubts. A stone gully just doesn’t look like that, and doesn’t need that depth of stone for a start.
As a stonemason however, I maybe don’t see a drainage channel, but I very much do see a stone horse trough, at least, the beginnings of one, which has been roughed out and is just about to be hollowed out.
In fact, if you really want to know what I think…
Look at this pic…
link to edinburghcastle.scot
Notice that double channel scored into the stone adjacent to the nearest ring?
Do you know what looks like to me? A mistake. A process begun but then halted. He plannned to run furrow beside furrow, to pitch out the stone methodically and repeat the process layer by layer, to hollow out the trough. That’s actually how you’d go about doing it.
It looks to me the Mason had roughed out the line of the horse trough, and had just started to drive the furrows to remove the waste and dig out the trough for the water, when disaster struck. Suddenly the stone revealed a flaw, and maybe part of the edge came away with the waste. Don’t forget, even a minor defect would have ruled out the stone as adequately watertight for a horse trough, so you’d stop dressing it right there.
If I was to dress a horse trough, by hand, today, there would be a stage where it might look exactly like the Stone of Destiny. The only quibble being you’d normally run your furrows long ways, not side to side. A ready explanation for that might be however, the Mason was entirely aware of the flaw, and dressed that weakness first, just to see whether it actually was a fatal weakness. Evidently it was. Nae luck son. Start again.
That stone, thus condemned as no good for a water trough, might then have sat in his yard for weeks, months, years, gathering chips, algae and patina, and looking “old”.
Who knows, but maybe on that fateful day in 1296, the men from Scone Palace arrived in a panic and asked the on-site mason if he could hew and dress a double for the real Stone of Destiny.
“Quick man, help us, the English will be here soon!”
“There’s no chance of a producing double, it’ll take too long and it will look brand new… but well, haud oan… come and have a look. I might have something… But they’ll never in a million years believe it’s the Stone of Destiny…”
Now that I can see happening…
What happened to the real Stone of Destiny? Perhaps we’ll never know. But that piece of stone, to my eye at least, is a horse trough begun but never finished.
Never mind the iron rings. Not relevant. Or rather, not conclusive. Not at all hard to do.
Dramfineday…
“The stone should stay where it is”
The stone, as in the stone, is in two halves; one is in a garden rockery in Fort William, the other…
Either way, what sits in the Crown Room in Edinburgh Castle is not what Edward I of England snatched. Nor was that itself the throne upon which the Kings of the Picts and the Scots were once crowned.
Charles II, King of Scots, was the last to have a coronation ceremony, the last to be crowned at Scone and the last to be crowned using the Crown of Scotland, yet not a Stone of Destiny was in sight.
If Charles III, King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain & Northern Ireland, wants to plonk his behouchie on something found in a builder’s yard, let him.
As with everything surrounding the royals, it’s all about symbols, pageantry, theatre, manufactured tradition and absolutely no substance. Lift up that ermine trimmed gown and not a shred of underwear shall be seen.
The Saxe-Coburg-Gothe Circus may well be back in town at some point in May, but TBH, WGAS…
I read somewhere that the real Stone of Destiny was hidden by monks long before Longshanks got his hands on it in 1296, and the one he actually made off with and dumped his royal a*se on had been secretly and hurriedly taken from a local cesspit. That’s my favourite version of the story!
Smitty and 2 weeks ago Effie Deans attempt at Fairy Tales, both intimated at finanicial scandal far, far bigger than missing £600,000.
What’s interesting about the Effie Deans ‘clues’ were they came from and were clearly echoed from the establishment / tory side. But the players, who may or may not have been mistreated by Nikla and co, were local. If a crime has been committed within these Isles, the British Establishment will have no problem in closing down any investigation of same…. and since then Effie Deans and co have gone quiet on the whole thing.
Smitty on the other hand, intimated fraud on an international scale.
That is much harder for the Brits to clamp down on and control…. (and may have accounted for the worried looks on Nikla and co’s faces)… but they do have a lot of Scottish Oil fields, gas fields, wind farms and off shore accounts to horse trade, and deals/compensation can always be brokered away from the courts and the press. Especially if the right pressure is applied before hand.
Dear me, Stu, you are trawling some murky journalistic depths here. You really ought to interpret for your harder-of-thinking bloodnsoil ALBAists that in several cases, the Tory papers you cite are twisting or misrepresenting what Sturgeon is saying.
Mind you, the vitriol directed at the SNP and Sturgeon here is quite reminiscent of, say, the Mail’s Scottish political ‘coverage’.
Are you proud of the Ukippy hordes you attract BTL, Stu?
@JGedd
“However, everyone seems to have spotted his vanity.”
Not only that. I think his intolerance towards women has become clearer with every hustings and his tendency to want to mansplain to women, even if those he’s talking to are more clever than he is. That definitely isn’t a good look.
He appears to have a short temper too. That was evident last night when at one point he shouted at the audience, “You can shout if you like!” (This was on the GRR Bill.)
He’s put both the other candidates down on numerous occasions, reminding Ash that he’d been her boss. And despite his repeated claim that he’d never made personal attacks during the contest, those of us who’ve listened know he’s lying.
Robert – Breeks . I agree nobody knows where the real stone is for sure.
I suppose it’s more the symbolism of them taking something very important to Scots away to London. It symbolically says that they can do as they please , and we have to come to them. It infers an inferior status of the Scots monarch. Because ultimately it is the King Of Scots , when in Scotland. Albeit he is no King of mine and has no actual connection to the Scots lineage. That was all watered down and lost 300 years ago , when George Of Hanover was installed.
I often hear a lot of crap about the Queen being directly descended from Bruce. My feckin arse she was.
Whatever the truth is about the Stone of Destiny.
If Useless wins then Scotland will have the Drone of Density.
Anyone know what Nicola’s recent meeting with Sunak was about.
Did she leave with a brown envelope.
Here we are Wednesday and nobody has been arrested, no election restart announced.
I got a big bag of popcorn in specially.
Westminster is preparing to normalise overriding holyrood, jack has been appointed viceroy, the Westminster agreement tears up the UK market, the supreme court says we belong to Westminster and have no rights and Humza takes issue with gender rights mularkey.
Are the SNP totally incapable of seeing the cliff edge
@ Big Jock says:22 March, 2023 at 11:44 am
My “signature” 30-second online research reveals that as the father of maybes 12 brats, soz, princes and princesses, legitimate and illegitimate, Bruce might have up to 200 million related descendants.
So, “my feckin arse she might be” is more accurate.
So might I, or you, or anybody else not obviously of a different ethnic grouping.
Yet another reason to support AR or KF, but not HY.
John Main,
Are you allowed internet access by the Matron?
Please post a wee list of your pals Boris’ great achievement and please do list anything whatsoever you think are not facts about the beast that I listed.
Tumbleweed time or just get personal before your medication arrives?
Big Jock says:
22 March, 2023 at 11:44 am
I suppose it’s more the symbolism of them taking something very important to Scots away to London. It symbolically says that they can do as they please , and we have to come to them.
Aye, but that cuts both ways Big Jock. They “claim” to hold something precious to Scotland.
Have them prove it.
I like to believe that as the “Stone of Destiny” was transported to London in 1296, every English / Norman stonemason who laid eyes upon it would have wondered in bewilderment why the Kings of Scotland were crowned when sitting upon a horse trough.
They couldn’t say a word of course, because making your overlords look foolish for stealing a faulty Scottish Horse trough as the spoils of war probably wasn’t good for your health or career prospects.
DMcV says:
22 March, 2023 at 11:43 am
Dear me, Stu, you are trawling some murky journalistic depths here. You really ought to interpret for your harder-of-thinking bloodnsoil ALBAists…
DMcV you’ve got your “seethe” dial turned all the way up to 11, and there’s so much distortion and feedback, it’s kinda difficult to know if you’re trying to say something or if you’re just barking to be let out.
DMcV…
Top tip!
Contribute only to BTLs where readers give an actual shit about your opinion.
Have a nice day.
The real Stone of Destiny was not sandstone at all. It was black and shiny and while possibly granite it was more probably an obsidian like lump of meteorite.
DMcV @ 11.43am
Taking time off from your job at Holyrood or are you just a sleep-walking SNP loyalist (with a vote, no less?)
Apart from the usual insults about UKippers, Daily Mail loyalists etc., from the neoliberal lexicon, you forgot the recent favourite, ‘Trumpian’.
Breeks, best explanation of where the fake stane came from.
The historical sources say it was Black and intricately carved, some have suggested it could have been a Meterorite, general question, does anybody know when and why Stonehaven got its name? Perhaps a connection with Dunnottar Castle?
There is a black stane meeting the ancient description of our Stane at Mecca. It is said its been there since ancient times, maybe a shared belief system of magic stanes back in the day.
link to en.wikipedia.org
DMcV
Described yourself to ah T
(re you proud of the Ukippy hordes you attract BTL,) Stu?
@Effijy says:22 March, 2023 at 12:13 pm
the beast
Careful, you will be giving yourself nightmares!
I conclude, from your rambling, OTT and tortuously worded response, that you were unable to comprehend the gist of my earlier post.
So I will repeat it, this time typing slower, just for you.
Your regular Boris bashing post at 9:16 am includes some things that Boris has said, that any child can see are true.
You can’t make a damning case against somebody you loathe, detest, hate, and constantly see in your dreams, by telling the world that person has been truthful.
Simples.
JGedd @ 10:22 am
“A Yousaf leadership could turn out to be more interesting”
There is a reason Yousaf aye feels the need to stress that he comes from an ethnic minority which has to fight for its ‘rights’. He evidently feels oppressed living in our society.
The SNP appears to have been captured by various minority groups. This reflects its high propensity to introduce laws and allocate funds which prioritise these minority groups, often at the expense of the rest of society.
What he and these minority group interests conveniently forget in the fight for their ‘rights’, is ‘our peoples’ cause. They are also oblivious to the fact that the Scots are an ethnic minority group in the UK context. And Scots language speakers have now been made a linguistic (and hence cultural) minority in Scotland because we still suffer the oppression of Linguistic Imperialism, as well as population displacement; Scots are intentionally deprived of learning even oor ain Scots langage, which is our human right.
Here we need to remember that a national independence movement depends on the solidarity of an oppressed ethnic group, which in our case is the Scots, and predominantly Scots speakers holding to a Scottish identity. This further explains why peoples in self-determination conflict are also linguistically divided.
Yousaf does not know this and does not want to know, and neither it seems do most of those on the SNP colonial administration payroll. Their understanding of our cause remains rudimentary. They clearly have other minority group interests to prioritise. Which explains the needless diversions, the rupture, and the lack of action on our liberation – as well as our continued oppression.
link to bpb-us-w2.wpmucdn.com
“obsidian like lump of meteorite”
Like it! If I recollect the nature of obsidian correctly, there should be a myth that any usurper sitting on the stone gets his/her arse cut to ribbons.
As to StoneHaven. A humongous offshore rock provided shelter to the bay (Norse: Haven) in earlier times. In the 19th century, as fishing boats got bigger, became self-powered, and proper harbours were built, the rock was dynamited as it had become more of an obstacle than an asset.
The stone of destiny would have been removed in 1296 before Edward arrived.
Most other items of value were removed or hidden, when being invaded, the Scots hid the Scottish Crown Jewels for instance more than once.
When it came to future monarchs of Scotland and the process that was included, they thought ahead, protected and hid something so precious.
So I logically think they would have done the same in 1296.
Alf – There are minorities all over Scotland. Catholic, Wee Free, Pro independence, Gay , Islander, Highlander, Gaelic speaking…..we could go on and on.
But what binds us . Is that we are all Scots, and as you say a minority in the UK. He doesn’t need to play the race card, but he does at every opportunity.
People don’t like Humza because he is insincere, thin skinned, humourless and incapable. No other reason.
If yousaf feels oppressed in this country, there are plenty others of a more majority colour or faith to choose from.
@Breeks: your horse trough theory seems quite credible to me but I do think the Scots would have taken great pleasure in letting Edward take a stank-cover back for English kings to sit on.
As both craig murray and Lenny H. have pointed out, at least one early account of the original SoD describes it as black, shiny and finely carved.
The meteorite theory is interesting: surely nothing could be more magical and powerful as something which has descended directly from heaven?
And no, Humza, I wasn’t talking about you 🙂 .
@Big Jock says:22 March, 2023 at 12:57 pm
“People don’t like Humza because he is insincere, thin skinned, humourless and incapable. No other reason.”
Naw.
I have other reasons.
If that puts me in a minority of one, then so be it.
Here’s the thing though, I don’t think I am in a minority of one. Not on this.
Maybes on other things!
Big Jock 11.44
Pay a historian enough an they will say Lizzy was ah sister of Bruce
An a name is on the tip of my tounge
Tinto chiel,
😉
Lorna says: “Before the 2014 referendum, people in the party deliberated on all kinds of policies that would be applicable after independence…”
Well maybe. Where is the SNP Big Book of Independence? The Complete Guide to running Scotland? The very long To-Do List with volumes on, Finance, Currency, Postal Services, Law, Defence, Customs & Excise, Economics, Transport, International Relations, together with the book of Operational Procedures to get all the stuff done, up and alive and working?
There is none of that. Not an iota. They cannot be serious, can they?
Big Jock says:
I suppose it’s more the symbolism of them taking something very important to Scots away to London.
Yes. We also have had the American head of the British Museum stating that the Lewis chessmen will never be returned to Scotland.
Ian Hamilton repatriated the Stone of Destiny in 1950, right; he also built a patio in 1951. nuffsaid/
Stone of Destiny – meh … Spear of Destiny, now yer talkin – we get to rule the world.
According to legend isn’t the Stone meant to wail out when the “true king” sits on it – a kind of whoopee cushion version of the sword in the stone?
Tinto Chiel @ 1.06pm
The black rock could have been volcanic glass or obsidian. In the 60’s I dug up a large chunk while digging in the garden. There are no volcanic activities in Perthshire so who knows where it came from. Black and shiny it definitely was.
A Bruce , how big is it? Big enough for a bum to sit on it ??
Maybe , being in Perthshire , it is the real thing!
I like the idea that the one which Charley boy will plonk down on is actually a cludgie stane.
The Sidlaws were volcanic. Although most of Strathmore is covered by red sandstone there are plenty black igneous rocks to be found as well as agates from the ancient volcanic activity.
In Kirriemuir, which is known as the Wee Red Toon because it is built with the red sandstone, most of the old houses in the centre have a large black stone inset in their walls. It was believed that this warded off or guarded against witchcraft.
The area was a hotbed of witchery as testified by the number of ‘trials’ undertaken in the area during the witch hunting era.
Can credibility attain a sub-zero rating?
Nicola Sturgeon’s like Peter Murrell’s must be in the vicinity of absolute zero (-273 Celsius) by now.
As a Scottish citizen most of my life, and sometimes former SNP voter, I – perhaps like many a taxpayer? – would like to know ALL about the financial and other irregularities of their time in office.
Especially, newly now:
– A detailed item used breakdown of costs and specifics re announced ‘repairs’ ‘required’ to Bute House..
– And why these only became apparently vital once these two were about to vacate the premises.
– Who will pay? Who will be the contractors employed? Will the bidding process be open to all (and only) Scottish-based companies and transparent to the Scottish public?
-Who specifically has determined the ‘need’ for these works, and their nature/extent; and to whom are they and any contractors accountable? How will this accountability be enforced?
-Will the works be limited and fixed-price, or open-ended?
-What is their schedule, and what bonuses or penalty clauses will apply for completion early/under-budget or delayed/over-budget?
Probably more questions, too.. ensure against secrecy/skimming/graft /favouritism/nepotism
/sundry other skulduggery and cover-ups, such as we have regrettably become ysed to and come to expect/suspect.
A wee suggestion: how about auctioning off any items and materials removed as surplus to future incumbents’ requirements, as museum/art exhibits, fan memorabilia, novelty items or for creative and thrifty re-purposing; proceeds to defray costs (or replace
missing ‘ring-fenced’ Indy campaign funds?
Jog on! Meanwhile I’ll not hold my breath.
*
– A detailed itemised breakdown
Izzie,i think you and roy victor have been hitting the buckie. ( smiley face)
DMcV, should’nt you be on a little engerlanders brexit forum like GB news, spouting your hatred about ‘dinghy immigrants’.
@A Bruce 1.50: “Black and shiny it definitely was.”
Yes, I just wish I could remember which chronicle or document I read which had the description of it.
John Main,
I suggest you stop reading my posts as I will do now.
I can’t make out how many moons are on your planet but please do enjoy howling at them.
@ Tinto
A wee article on SoD which contains black and shiny description.
link to windsorscottish.ca
@ Breeks
I’ve to make a 5″ circular hole in a bit of 5″ thick 15″ x 15″ square red sandstone to match another on my building which will be an air vent.
I was looking at just getting a core cut to do it but wonder how such a neat hole would have been done before diamond core cuts were on the scene.
Thanks, Dan. I’m still trying to find which document or record mentions what the black, shiny stone looked like.
There are examples of large stones in Egypt from the time of the pyramids which seem to have machine-cut holes. Goodness only knows how they did it. Plenty of theories and vids on YT.
Puma Punku in Bolivia has machined grooves as well as holes in the stones there.
@ Tinto
Camel powered stone milling machine FTW!
I wondered if they harnessed the power of watermills to bore holes in stone in my locale back in the day.
My house was built in late 1700s and I want to work this stone I have to match an original which has a very neat circular bore with the outer 1/2 inch being dressed to a square shape to take a recessed vent guard.
Dan says:
22 March, 2023 at 8:44 pm
@ Tinto
Camel powered stone milling machine FTW!
I wondered if they harnessed the power of watermills to bore holes in stone in my locale back in the day.
My house was built in late 1700s and I want to work this stone I have to match an original which has a very neat circular bore with the outer 1/2 inch being dressed to make a square shape to take a recessed vent guard with using just a bolster and mallet, and a bit of time.
Worked with sandstone quite a lot and its a great material
Sandstone is probably one of the easist stone to work, can you see lines like the rings of a tree on the face where the hole is, if not you could make the square recess very easily, is the
Stu’s shills:
1 We hate Nikla and da EssEnnPee as much as the Daily Mail!
2 We lie about her and her party not wanting independence!
3 Subtext – we actually believe ALBA (the less than 1% party) are a credible alternative!
4 And our brain-fevered gibbering, if it has any influence, might lead to a Tory Government and a Labour majority in Scotland. Independence dead in the water.
Maybe that’s what you lot really want. After all, like I suggested earlier, you sound like the Daily Mail…