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Gold-medal hypocrisy

Posted on January 09, 2014 by

Lord McConnell got the velvet-lined kid-gloves treatment from Scotland Tonight last night over his calls for the pro- and anti-independence campaigns to have a two-week ceasefire during the Commonwealth Games. Mysteriously, the programme didn’t feel it was at all relevant to draw comparisons to how the No camp behaved during the last major sporting event that took place in the UK.

teamgb

No, definitely no politicking going on there.

“The way that the Scottish people have embraced these Olympics and Team GB reveals an existing truth about Scottish identity: that the vast majority of Scots see no contradiction between being a patriotic Scot and being part of a greater Britain. Most Scots understand we get the best of both worlds.

The Olympics have also confirmed how much the rest of the UK values Scotland’s contribution to the United Kingdom. The opening ceremony saw Chris Hoy carythe UK flag, Aberdeen’s Emeli Sandé singing Abide with Me. We saw Chairots of Fire, Trainspotting and Gregory’s Girl. We heard Flower of Scotland sung by Scottish children and the Olympic cauldron was lit by young Scottish athletes chosen as the future of Team GB.  And, of course, in the competitions we have seen English, Welsh and Northern Irish fans cheering on Scots as part of their team.

The Olympics are first and foremost a sporting event and the strongest lessons we can draw are sporting ones.  Being part of the UK enables Scottish athletes to shine on a global stage. Our infographic above reveals how the UK elite sport system has enabled Scots to become Olympic champions.

If, like us, you dont want the London2012 team to be last Team GB then join us.”

Certainly no sense there of athletes being “hijacked” for a political agenda.

(We apologise on behalf of “Better Together” for all their clumsy typos, by the way.)

murdotwit

It really is a mystery why the No campaign has suddenly gone all shy about using sporting events to promote their views. After all, it’s not as if the Commonwealth Games is mostly populated by nations who used to be ruled from London but decided they’d rather go their own way and have prospered as independent nations since, with not a single one of them ever pleading to be allowed back under the wing of the UK.

Oh, wait.

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Ken Mac

I was in serious danger of putting a brick through the telly last night. To resist the temptation and alleviate feelings of nausea I had to turn over and didn’t watch Newsnight either.

chalks

‘Join us’
 
(Please, we are struggling for volunteers and have a lot of cash to spend, we might even just fly people up from London to help)

Ekindy

Its the old saying “do as we say and not as we do”
 
Some of the hypocrisy and lecturing is quite frankly becoming disgusting.

HandandShrimp

Daft intervention by Joke and one that will be ignored not only by the Yes side but the No side too. Does anyone seriously expect the No side to stop issuing daily press releases for the BBC and the media to run with, like the lap dogs they are?
More like a smoke screen to give the press something to talk about rather than discuss the fact that Labour voted against free school meals…again. Joke did it himself back in 2002.

chalks

O/T
link to newsnetscotland.com
 
Surely the SSP’s proposals for an Indy Scotland are as a republic?  I’d vote for any party that wanted to get rid of the monarchy in an Indy Scotland.  Not sure how many in Scotland feel that way, I’d hazard only about 25%

Norrie
mato21

Saw a photo yesterday of the grinning Joke standing in the middle of the medal winners from ?2004 Was he not FM around that time?

Training Day

Now come on folks, His Lordship is simply being altruistic here, casting a paternal arm around both sides to urge them to forget their squabbles for the sake of the athletes. Dear Lord, won’t anyone think of the athletes?

It’s nothing to do with the fact that Scotland will be competing as a ‘sheprit’ nation and not as part of the UK. And any perceptions that His Lordship wants to disrupt the momentum of the Yes campaign are unworthy.

Nope, I’d say Jack earned his 350 quid yesterday.

HandandShrimp

I think my message to Mike Dailly and others who share his position is No = never getting rid of the class system whereas Yes may not immediately remove it but I would not rule out changes down the line. Once the current monarch shuffles off this mortal coil there will be some soul searching in an independent Scotland. It may take a generation or two but I think there will be successive re-definitions of the role and status of the Crown in Scottish political life.

Clootie

The better together are just informing the public. The “sepratists” are campaigning. (The latter is working so we need a break to get back in)
 
He could have just said – “Gonnae nae dae that”

Graeme Purves

Jack enjoying a humbug with Scottish medal winners…

Jimbo

Aye, but this time there will be no union jackery for the Brit Nats to boast of. This time were not better together – w’e’re in direct competition against the other UK countries.
 
This time, unlike during the Olympics, the TV pundits will be in no doubt that Scots are not members of the England team. It will be Saltires everywhere you look – That in itself is enough to give the Brit Nats apoplexy.

Iain

The funniest thing about the BT blurb that RevStu links to is that it starts with ‘The Olympics are a sporting event, not a political one’, before going of on its Olympic paean to the political construct that is the UK.
These people have gone through the looking glass, they ain’t ever coming back.

[…] Gold-medal hypocrisy […]

chalks

Back to the story in question, do we not provide our share of funding to this ‘uk governing body facility’  so therefore these athletes are being trained courtesy of our income….and yet they live in England…..

gerry parker

@Ken Mac,
I caught a wee bit of Mewsnight last night, thought Patrick Harvie of the Greens came over well.

Luigi

 It will be Saltires everywhere you look
 
Aye, and quite a few St George’s, I imagine.  The only union jacks on show will be on the corner of the Aussie flags.

bunter

With all the foreign correspondents in attendance, taking a keen interest not just in the sport, but all things Scottish and of course the referendum, you can kind of see why the BT lot and their media lackeys would want to shut down the debate. Wouldn’t want the world to see the state propaganda and lies being inflicted on Scots would they, wouldn’t look very good for GB old chap. There could be a benefit to YES with the debate ongoing during the games as we know that BTs agenda is driven by the media, they might just have to behave themselves for a week or two.

Taranaich

What?
 
Mr McConnell is asking for the people of Scotland to take a break from debating the most important decision they’ve made in 300 years for the sake of some sports?
 
Is he seriously arguing that some games are more important than the constitutional status and autonomy of a country of 5 million people?
 
That a nation’s freedom to decide who and how they are run must come second to a few athletics competitions?
 
Not happening, Mr. McConnell. Of course we all know the real reasons he’s calling for a truce (because we’re less likely to be handing out Union Flags than Saltires at Glasgow; because the Scot gov won’t let Team GB muscle in on Glasgow turf for a repeat of London 2012’s Union Love Train; because it’s a bit harder to sell Team GB to a host of nations which have already cast off Westminster rule decades ago, take your pick), but I do have to laugh at his calls for a truce – as if BT are in any position of trust.

stonefree

That’ll be McConnell who took the peerage “because he can do more good” and the the same Ex first minister who hadn’t the courtesy to congratulate Salmond after the SNP’s first victory
I too would prefer a republic,after all Lizzy is so far removed fro James the 6 she has no relevence

Gayle

Our athletes are told that if they want funding they have to move to England. It is a disgrace. As for refraining from campaigning at any time during the year of the vote, eh no! 

The Man in the Jar

“Give them bread and circuses”
 
link to en.wikipedia.org

chalks

@Gayle
 
Seriously?  Is that because the UK athletics people (forgive my ignorance) won’t pay expenses?  Or is it due to their being no adeqaute facilities in Scotland?

Ally

@TrainingDay
 I’d say Jack (McConnell) earned his 350 quid yesterday
 
More than that surely? Lords fee? Meals paid for? Media appearances? An easy grand more like!!

MochaChoca

Without wishing to overly politicise the games, perhaps a wee questionaire for visiting athletes and officials on arrival could include a question on the value they place on their independence within the commonwealth?

desimond

Does Andy Murray leaving for Barcelonas Sanchez-Casal Academy as a 15 year old still count under “Trained in a UK facility?”

Did Jack McConnell play this headline winning card due to another mistake by Scottish Labour on free school meals??

if so, whats next..Baroness Helen Liddell calls for “Respect during the World Snooker Championships” when Johann Lamont fails to spot a brown sauce stain on her Fuschia jacket during FMQs

braco

Boorach,
I have left a message on previous thread for you.
Cheers!

Ken

As we get closer to the referendum it will become clearer and clearer, especially to Better Together, that they have nothing positive to offer Scots. So; how to stop the debate? Brilliant! Suggest we stop for the Commonwealth Games.
 
Then hit the Scots with the Armed Forces Day and the “celebration” of the start of WW1. Union flags everywhere. Use the ones left over from the last James Bond film because we’re Skintland. Britain waives the rules, God save the union and the Queen of England, the sun will never set!
 
Yes folks, they really do think we are stupid enough to swallow it.

MekQuarrie

Some bare-faced cheek over Andy Murray ‘having a flat’ in Surrey. What does that mean? UK elite sport funding did nothing for him…

FreddieThreepwood

Quite apart from the specific hypocrisy of unionists bleating about the Commonwealth games, the ‘keep politics out of sport’ brigade have always got my goat. What the blue blazes is so precious, so goddam hallowed and pure about sport that mere ‘politics’ should never sully it?

Sport – running about and jumping to see who runs about and jumps better than anyone else.

Politics – the resolution of issues and conflicts relating to the governance of societies, nations and alliances, the very mechanics of ordered civilisation.

Aye, no contest there.

desimond

If you want to feel  a wave of nausea..go to TheyWorkForYou and read Jacks Speech…and then have a look at the various links including Lord Wullie Haugheys maiden speech and Baron Tommy “Shop Steward at the Hoover in Cambuslang” McAvoys name dropping…its just one great big “Old Boys Club”..backslapping and high-fiving in the world of Labour luvvies. 

They even all have the cheek to salute Gordon Mathieson and his “brilliant work” for Glasgow….it looks like he will be put up for a peerage one day…heaven help us if this life continues!

Doug Daniel

“Aberdeen’s Emeli Sandé”
 
The people of Alford will be very surprised to find out they’ve been incorporated into Aberdeen. Although perhaps they agree Alford and Aberdeen are “better together”.

joe kane

Scottish Labour and Blair McDougall’s fellow uber-Brits at the Torygraph failed to even notice Scotland’s contribution to the London Olympic opening ceremony despite its famous director being Scottish. 

Reference –
London 2012: What the world thought of the opening ceremony
 
The world watched as the London 2012 Olympic Games opened with director Danny Boyle’s ode to England, but what did they think? 
link to telegraph.co.uk 

MochaChoca

I wonder if McConnell came up with this himself?
 
I’ve often wondered if these ‘ideas’ are generated by a secret Better Together committee and then they pick some unfortunate dogsbody or has-been to diseminate it to the masses?

Schiehallion! Schiehallion!

Aye, Ermine Jack’s taking a leaf out of the Scottish mainstream media playbook.
 
Keep politics out of the news.

callum

lucky me, I have front row seats at the opening ceremony and was planning to flag-bomb during the event.  Will I be searched for any indyref propaganda before entering the stadium?

NB: I perhaps shouldn’t have used the word bomb and ceremony together. I meant like “photo-bomb” but by carrying a flag. That’s me on a watch list!

Chic McGregor

Who would benefit most from a two week moratorium on referendum coverage on MSM TV and radio and in the press? Where else would the public turn for information but the internet?
 
Which is the last thing the dependence campaign want, so it won’t happen.
 
Outlandish, ridiculous, media-targeted events, multi-pronged if possible, are nothing but a smokescreen technique the BT firefighting team are frequently having to invoke.
 
In this case Labour’s stupidity (being generous) over the free school meals.

Schiehallion! Schiehallion!

Oops, the RSPB sports “wing” is surely off-message here: link to heraldscotland.com
 
These proud wee Scotch champs obviously couldn’t make it anywhere, never mind all the way to the Pacific, unless they were flying for the UK.

Bubbles

In my own wee way I’ve been campaigning all my life and that’s not about to change. Jacko, ram it!

JimW

Although I am keen on most sports, I do not believe that sporting success is a prerequisite for economic success in an independent country. It is more likely that it is the other way round, that economic success can foster sporting success. I firmly believe that an independent Scotland will be an economic success, and has the capacity to be successful in many more areas than at present, sports included.

The statistic that shocks me most about the table in this report is that all but one of the athletes mentioned have had to move to England to access facilities. What a terrible indictment of the UK. Surely we can do better than that.

Weedeochandorris

He might possibly be getting it in the neck from Lady McConnell if she’s still on the board of Culture and Sport Glasgow?  

john king

o/t 
Just followed Derek Batemans advice and wrote to my MP about David Cameron’s refusal to acknowledge the Electoral commissions request to give the public answers regarding what would happen post a yes vote,
 
Dear Gordon Brown,
Might I suggest it is time the parliament insist David Cameron should be required to follow the request of the electoral Commission and answer the question (he already knows the answer to ) which is the democratic right of the Scottish public to know and that is the EU’s position on Scotland’s continued membership of the EU should she vote yes in September,
 
The excuse he uses that he will not pre negotiate is a very thin veneer and if the ordinary man in the street can see that the answer to that question does not constitute pre negotiation it can only be assumed that he (and the labour party ) do not wish the fact that Scotland will continue as a valued member of the EU to be known, this is an absolute disgrace and does Westminster no credit whatsoever.
 
Yours sincerely,
I know I know but somebody had to get him didn’t they 🙁

MochaChoca

Comparing similar sizes developed nations, an independent Scotland Olympic Team will have significantly more athletes than the Scottish contingent of Team GB.
 
Don’t think BT mentioned that in any of their ‘infographics’.

Doug

Ah yes, happy memories. It was the image that led to my ban from Better Together Facebook.  
 
My mistake was to politely argue that it did not “prove we were better together” so much as show that (1) Scots competed for team GB as, at present, we are part of GB (2) Athletes may or may not have done better as part of an independent Scotland team – how can one tell? and (3) that the lack of decent training facilities in Scotland was not an obvious source of pride.
 
I was banned without explanation and my comments deleted. Happy times!

Illy

Lets see, Commonwealth = club for countries that left London rule reasonably peacefully.
 
So since the commonwealth games are intrinsically a pro-independance event, how can there be a ceacefire for their duration without cancelling them?  If there was they’d be cancelled, and then there’s be no ceacefire, so they’d be able to happen, but then they’d be happening, so we’d need a ceacefire, but then they couldn’t…
 
Yeah, a ceacefire isn’t happening.  Even if we trusted Westminster to hold to it, which we don’t.

Stuart Black

I find it impossible to take any of these life long ‘socialists’ seriously, the cognitive dissonance required to square a belief in equality and an empathy with the poorest of our society, and dressing up in ermine and calling yourself ‘Lord’ just seems beyond belief. Speaker Martin, Baron Foulkes, McConnell, and the rest, have a special place in the ‘Utterly Despicable’ section of my world view.
 
I’m not on Twitter, but I follow the Rev’s feed daily, and I note with interest – and loathing – that McConnell’s twitter name is @LordMcConnell. You must be very proud, Jock.

desimond

MochaChoca

Scots representation,  lest  we remember the Team GB Football Squad….no one from Scotland represented as this could have affected members voting rights at FIFA ( politics in Sport anyone?) so only England ( 13 players ) and Wales ( 5 players) chosen and led by a truly inept English manager.

Im sure we were all right behind that Team GB at every kick-off..we were…werent we?

Kev

“Our National Anthem” – I think you will find that is England’s national anthem Murdo, not Scotland’s, what does it tell you about “Great Britain” when its anthem is actually that of just one country in that Britain?

Ellie

I just love the notion in Jack McConnell’s little world that the discussion and debate about the future of Scotland is significantly less important than two weeks of watching people run round tracks or swimming up and down a pool……..One of these things will be forgotten about six weeks after the event has happened, the other will effect the life of every Scot for the rest of their lives. whichever way the vote goes.  I am simply agog that there are still people who don’t seem to grasp this.

Stevie

Get stuffed Lord McConnell of (of whatever – it’s just a way of creating an unelected parliamentarian who gets £70K plus an incredible expense account) BritNat anti-democracy.

Get thee stuffed your lordship.

Illy

Does Scotland even have a national anthem?
 
There are: Flower of Scotland, Scotland the Brave, and “A man’s a man for a’ that”, which all get used when a national anthem would be appropriate, depending on who’s organising the event and how “proper” it’s intended to be.

James Kay

Of course we should agree with The Good Lord’s proposal. It is entirely inappropriate to equate the waving of Saltires (at the Games) with anything political. I don’t know how long the Games last for – perhaps two weeks? With a short extension of the truce before and after, that would give a three week break in the campaign.
 
The YES campaign should, of course, reciprocate by offering a truce around the Armed Services Day celebrations. If the Saltire is to be neutralized during the Games, then so should the Union Jack not be seen to be the centre of a partisan political campaign. Perhaps the truce might extent to a cancellation of Bannockburn Day? That way there would be no Saltires in the field allowing the Union Jack to fly uncontroversially over Stirling at this time.
 
As for the Ryder Cup! This involves Europe, a contentious issue for both sides. It comes a week after the referendum. Whichever side wins the vote, the celebrations should be curtailed before the start of this important occasion. No Saltires or Union Jacks at all.
 
I just cannot see any of these scenarios actually coming to pass!
 
(I can’t help thinking that the NO camp are not going to like the Ryder Cup. Win or lose the referendum, they are going to be reminded that we are Better Together with the rest of Europe. That applies whether ‘we’ is the UK, or Scotland and the ROTUK).

Stevie

It is an odd CC NN LL name for a Jock – I’m alrighr Jackie boy, eh? Fantasy laden mediocre polician whio had his proverbial ass handed to him on a plate by the SNP – but not before he returned £1 Billion of the Scottish budget to Gordy Browny. It appears Jackie just couldn’t think of a darned thing to spend it on… well, when you have such a paypacket as he does you don’t imagine £1 Billion could possibly be of any use to anybody; or is the story dirtier than that? When faced with two possibilities when consideing Labourite BritNats, always assume the dirtiest explanation is the most plausible.
The very dirtiest.

caz-m

North Korea is a good analogy of what is going on in Scotland. The establishment don’t want you telling the outside world of the way they have been treating us.

Of the state broadcaster and MSM who spew out lies regarding Scottish Independence. Of how the UK parliament are determined, at all costs, to deny Scotland Independnce.

Politicians and media from all over the world will be in Scotland and they MUST be told of the lies and manipulation of news that is going on right now in Scotland.

Definition of Indigenous people.

Indigenous peoples are peoples defined in international or national legislation as having a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory, and their cultural or historical distinctiveness from other populations that are often politically dominant.[1] The concept of indigenous peoples defines these groups as particularly vulnerable to exploitation, marginalization and oppression by nation states that may still be formed from the colonising populations, or by politically dominant ethnic groups. As a result, a special set of political rights in accordance with international law have been set forth by international organizations such as the United Nations, the International Labour Organization and the World Bank.[2] The United Nations have issued a Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples to guide member-state national policies to collective rights of indigenous peoples—such as culture, identity, language, and access to employment, health, education, and natural resources. Although no definitive definition of “indigenous peoples” exists, estimates put the total population of post-colonial indigenous peoples who seek human rights and discrimination redress from 220 million to 350 million

ronnie anderson

have a laugh,Democresy Live ,Malcom Chisholm just said the Slab supported the kids school meal,s, didnt take long for a U TURN.

joe kane

Churlish small-minded nationalists have even been complaining about the name of the ermine-enrobed and ennobled socialist overlord McConnell’s beloved Team GB!

Wikipedia has quite interesting entry of this money-making branding exercise by the British Olympic Association whom, in the spirit of British togetherness, don’t seem to have bothered to ask anyone, especially the good folks of Northern Ireland, what they think about being excluded from the title of their own international sports team. More than a few NI sports-people opted to represent the Irish Republic at the London Olympics. An “Olympics NI & Team GB: Better Together” chart would make interesting viewing.

Personally I think the Team GB lion-head logo is a bit off-colour with its overtones of the British Empire and all that. The BOA could easily have adopted image of an English rose to represent the UK squad in the same way McConnell’s foreigner-phobic, internationalist, socialist Labour Party does.

Team GB
link to en.wikipedia.org

Gray

Please don’t give the BBC additional traffic by watching Democracy Live on their site.
 
The Scottish Parliament provide their own excellent coverage of all debates from Holyrood and they can can viewed here :- link to scottish.parliament.uk

Macart

I’m afraid I’ll be totally ignoring Mr McConnell and his plea (boak).
 
After the treatment we were subjected to for the length of the entire Olympics? I see absolutely no reason not to return the favour. We’ve turned more cheeks than is good for us already. My own money would be on the Mail or the Torygraph to fire the first salvo on day 1.

G H Graham

Perhaps the NO camp might explain why Scotland competing as a sovereign independent country at the next Olympic Games means the end of TeamGB?
 
Darling puffed last year that once Scotland leaves the UK, we’ll no longer be allowed to call ourselves British. He did not make the same claim for the other three nations so presumably using his logic, a TeamGB will exist post independence & thus participate in the next Games?

Clarinda

Well thank goodness for a “truce” as Scotland will be spared from the sight of his lordship in ‘that’ pinstripe kilt and Jacobean chemise he sported so fetchingly in the USA in 2004 apparently supporting Scotland.

chalks

This ‘British’ things sticks in the craw.
 
Britain is literally the land mass.  Of course, it didn’t use to be, it used be Caledonia and Britain.  We would stop being British….were we ever?

joe kane

Clarinda, I take it you are referring to this satorial atrocity which was actually snapped outside the side-door of a plush hotel on Glasgow’s Renfrew St/Cambridge St. I see the image, though, is being mistakenly attributed by the Record to a plush do in New York, which I find a bit bizarre –
link to 4.bp.blogspot.com 

Record –
link to dailyrecord.co.uk

ps
The Glasgow man in the bunnet has never been identified.

Jamie Arriere

He’s proving that he’s still the best wee numpty in the world.

Clarinda

Joe Kane – Yup – that’s the very one.
The “man in the bunnet” wouldn’t wish to be identified – did he nick the lord’s sporran?

Kev

To be honest there won’t really be any need for pro-indy campaigning during this period as the national pscyhe will be boosted tremendously just by hosting these games and by having our nation actually represented for once, without being merged into brand Britain.
 
National pride and self-confidence will soar and with it the numbers (mainly of Don’t Knows) converting to Yes. Salmond knows this fine well and thats why he made the referendum date shortly after  the games. As polls have shown, Scots are all for Scotland having the powers of an independent country but are just scared of the independence word. The buzz over the summer in Scotland as our country becomes the centre of attention globally will trigger that confidence amongst Scots at last, just in time for the vote.
 
BT are aware of this and the idea of their fear campaign being ignored and ridiculed at a crucial stage within the backdrop of rocketing pro-Scottish sentiment, truly terrifies them…

Conan_the_Librarian

@ joe kane
 
His expression says it all…

Brian Mark

Bloody Hell here we go again, modern day “games” wither they be Olympic or Commonwealth are just a platform for the athletes to enrich themselves with endorsements and the contractors to enrich themselves in dodgy contracts and ermine. F**k em all! 

Greannach

This is pretty desperate stuff. I thought McConnell was going to be some governor general in Malawi or somewhere. Did he ever go? Did he advise them to give up independence and go back to being ruled from London? Does he know where or what Malawi is? Is he maybe just a wee big thick?

Taranaich

@Kev: To be honest there won’t really be any need for pro-indy campaigning during this period
 
Exactly.

JRH

Are Better Together really stupid enough to beleive their table proves their case when infact it proves we will be better off with independence. Scotland contributes around 10% of the funds for the elite training centres but all of the money is spent in England.
The Olimpic games were a case in point with much of the funds being drawn from accross the UK but the new facilities being built in London and the South. They were the London games so why did London not pay all the costs as has happened elsewhere in the past?
Under the present system sportspeople from Scotland have little choice other than to move South otherwise they will be overlooked for selection or have to train in substandard facilities.
An independant Scotland may only have 10% of the UK’s spending power but it will all be spent here to the benefit of our local comunities.
As for Lord whoever I would not waste any energy worring about him or what he thinks he has reached the promised land of never ending expences, fees and no doubt directorships in the great unionest / socialist paradise to which his like aspire.
Lets make sure the gravy train hits the buffers in September.

bald eagle

illy
national anthem
 
go on to youtube and search for john Mcdermott`s scotland forever with lyrics sung to scotland the brave great words

Appleby

When I read these things the only reason the comment box isn’t filled with c and f-bombs is my respect for yourself and this site. The sheer cheek of it is outrageous and insulting. If this group or campaign was a person it would be the most loathesome, selfish, oily and manipulative liar you could know. I think it does well to imagine each group or campaign as a person and think if they are the sort of person you’d want to know or be friends with.
 
They are the type to lash out but once they get their blows in they wheedle and plead with excuses as to why no one else should do the same to them. What makes it worse is they are professionals doing it in a boxing match.

Boorach

@ Joe Kane, Clarinda
 
Re man in bunnet… is that no ‘Super Mario’? 🙂

Stuart Black

modern day “games” wither they be Olympic or Commonwealth”
 
That’s the worst spell of whether we’ve had for a while. 😉

Les Wilson

Stevie 
He was probably on a percentage of the budget savings he returned to Westminster.

Onzebill

Doug Daniel @ 10.37 am
Doug
I doubt the people of Alford would agree they are better together with Aberdeen given the bunch of self serving misfit labourites running (down) the city at the moment

faolie

Oh dear, according to BT’s wee chart 12/13 don’t get a vote in September. Pity.
 
As for my lord’s plea to suspend campaigning, well I expect he thought he should say something about the referendum campaign. Gets a bit of TV then ignored by everyone, much like he was ignored by Blair and Brown when he was first minister.
 
And since we’re discussing lordships, the aristocracy and the monarch, yes we’ll keep the queen, but after she dies, what’s the betting on a republic referendum and an end to all of this historical tosh? I’d say overwhelming.

Linda's Back

Andy Murray has only used UK training facilities in the last few years and spent all his formative career in Scotland and Barcelona and was very scathing of the elitist All England Club coaching system.

SquareHaggis

My 73 yr auld mum (bless) who’s very cynical about politics tells me she watched this airing last night, this morning I nearly fell over when she erupts with “Cannae staun that mannie”.
 
Well dione Jack, somebody luvs ya!
 
It’ll be frantic zimmers on Sept 18th once she gets the word oot ;-D

Annan Urrahing

Could we not take a leaf from the IOC and forbid flags in the stadium from any country not competing? (Eg the UK)

Boorach

I’ll second that one for you Annan Urrahing… So few words to make the games a butcher’s apron free zone!

CameronB

Come on folks. Have you already forgotten that Scotland was extinguished in 1707. There is no such country as Scotland. The Commonwealth Games is merely another example of the kindness of England, letting us Jocks think we are a real nation and allowing us to show our faces on the international stage every four years.
 
Don’t be confused though, by the other former colonies who will be competing as sovereign nations. I was reliably informed by a very proud Scot, that they are actually all secretly petitioning to rejoin the Motherland.
 
God save the Queen.

Clydebuilt

Union Jacks at Sporting Events:     about 8 / 9 years ago was at a televised  athletics event in the Kelvin Hall….there was a BBC employee going round giving union Jacks to Kids and some U.J painted foam hands.  
B.T’s message is wearing thin already they are minimizing their “ye canny dae it” reports. so they will be glad of a break during the Commonwealth Games, before their final onslaught. Mconnell will also be aware that YES want as much time to get their message over as possible. So a truce of 2 weeks would damage the YES message whilst helping the NO side.

RoughMan

@ joe kane
I think you’re mistaken; one clue is the way the traffic is moving, on the left, both directions; in addition there were film news clips shown on TV of both Jack’s arrival, and during the event, unmistakably NY.

Ken500

Scotland still got enough medals

Ken500

Mo Farah – the US
Bolt et al – the US

Craig

Illy, the British establishment did not let a single colony leave “peacefully”.

Neither will it let Scotland leave “peacefully”.

joe kane

Thanks RoughMan.
I appreciate your corrections.
I’ve perhaps mis-remembered some of the details but I was pretty sure the actual image was taken in Glasgow in the early 1990s at a hotel do where Jack was amongst the great and the good before he was even elected an MSP.
Take care.


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