How Scotland Hates Women
Readers may have been baffled by a news story yesterday, in which an event where two men insulted each other in the street (“Deviant!”, “Bigot!”) has led to one of them, but not the other, being arrested and charged with an unspecified crime by police.
In particular, many people on social media have contrasted the situation with one from a month ago, when a large male transactivist violently assaulted a feminist woman at a “Women Won’t Wheesht” meeting in Aberdeen but merely received a recorded warning rather than being arrested and charged.
So we’re very grateful to Roddy Dunlop KC, the Dean of the Faculty of Advocates (the “trade” body of Scotland’s senior barristers), for posting an extremely informative, and disturbing, summary of the relevant laws on Twitter this morning.
Wings wishes to emphasise that, as he stated himself, Mr Dunlop was expressing no opinion about any particular case, merely explaining the law in general terms. We were unaware of many of the facts he outlined, and we suspect you’ll be surprised too.
We reproduce the text below for ease of reading, edited only for obvious typos.
“Police are not obliged to report to the procurator fiscal every alleged crime. They have a discretion to issue warnings. However, that does not apply where there is an aggravation. If there is then, in general, the case must be reported to the PF.
The PF is not obliged to prosecute every reported crime. Again, there is a discretion. Once more, however, the discretion not to prosecute is removed, or at least tightly circumscribed, where there is an aggravation.
An aggravation relates to certain (but not all) characteristics. Thus race is covered. As is religion; and sexual orientation; and gender reassignment. Misogyny, however, is not an aggravation. Likewise, being gender critical may be covered under the Equality Act. But it is not covered by aggravations under the criminal law.
Accordingly, neither an assault on a woman for being a woman, or for being a gender critical woman, is an aggravated crime. A report of such could be dealt with by police warning, or not prosecuted by the PF, under the discretions mentioned above.
On the other hand, an s.38 (breach of the peace) which involves no assault but which does involve alleged hate crime (ie race, religion, sexual orientation etc – but not misogyny) is aggravated and, in general, must be prosecuted and is not subject to those discretions.
What this means is a breach of the peace involving verbal abuse of certain minorities must be prosecuted; but the assault of a woman does not have to be. Whether this is desirable or advisable I leave to others. But it’s where the law stands right now.”
(Below is the full current list of “aggravations”.)
In other words, in Police Scotland’s defence, once a complaint was made – one might reasonably presume by Patrick Harvie, although we don’t actually know that – that a breach of the peace had been committed and was aggravated by alleged homophobia, they had no choice other than to arrest and charge the accused. They are obliged to uphold the law as it stands.
(We should say that we don’t know if breach of the peace was the actual charge here – Police Scotland wouldn’t tell us when we phoned to ask, on the grounds that any charge/s might be amended by the Crown Office prior to any action being taken – but we can’t imagine what else it could be.)
They DID, however, have a choice regarding the violent assault on Julie Marshall, which Wings has seen video of. (The film has not been released publicly for reasons we understand and will not be disclosing here.)
And while we’re very restricted in what we can and can’t say about the Harvie case by Scotland’s draconian contempt laws, we ARE able to say that the decision not to charge her assailant is a deeply concerning one which inescapably sends a signal to women in Scotland that both in theory and in practice they’re second-class citizens, denied for no discernible or defensible reason the protections given to other groups.
The Scottish Government expressly refused to add misogyny to the abysmal Hate Crime and Public Order Act which was passed almost two and a half years ago but has not yet been implemented due to Police Scotland worries about its enforceability.
This site has always been uncomfortable with all so-called “hate crime” legislation, because “hate” is an entirely subjective emotion – and indeed is specifically written into the law as such. One person’s simple statement of fact (saying “Lesbians don’t have penises”, for example) is another person’s “bigotry”.
But when certain groups are explicitly given privileges within the law that are denied to others, an already alarming situation rapidly becomes completely intolerable.
Discrimination on the basis of who someone IS rather than what they’ve DONE is unacceptable in any circumstances, and the law should not selectively identify groups that it’s okay to do it to, whether expressly in law or by implication through inaction.
Because humanity as a species knows far too well where that road leads.
What starts with burning books leads soon enough to burning people – especially if it’s seen as being openly or tacitly endorsed by government ministers and politicians from the governing party, and the general civic establishment.
Justice is at a crossroads in Scotland. Principles enshrined in civilisation for decades or centuries and thought secure – equal treatment for all, freedom of speech, the presumption of innocence, the right to a fair trial by a jury of one’s peers – are under threat, and it is to the Scottish Government’s enormous shame that our country is at the vanguard of the regression to an age of barbarism.
Simply terrifying.
As Robin McAlpine says, such legislation is the outcome of promoting incompetent people who lack strength of principle and character, in the legislature, executive and administration.
Look at the Ministers in the Holyrood Cabinet. What 25 year old should be a Minister? Only one with truly exceptional abilities, in exceptionally desperate times, if then. Yet Emma Roddick is a Minister.
We are gathering more and more momentum on that very steep TransCult slope. The fact that this article can still be read means we have some time yet. However once the Cult crush all comments and criticisms we are lost.
All thanks to the SG and their new mission to creat a TransCult Utopia.
So glad you have reported and discussed this at length.
Just to add the meaning of deviant(noun) with no direct relation to any specific resent charged person but for clarification is ‘those whose actions are beyond most human comprehension.
So with your quotes of statements by a legal expert I am confused as to why a certain jndividual was charged with any crime.
That’s what these deviant bastards want Stu, carte blanched to do whatever they want, with no comeback. I really hate EVERYONE who brought to pass this sorry state.
We must get them out of power & replaced by Alba & pray Alex can halt the madness.
The dangers of list seats. Can Holyrood change the system?
An unelected prick & his minions are passing authoritarian & GRR bullshit on an entire population against their will & without a mandate.
I’ll never forgive the bastard SNP for using an indyref vote to hail in the Greens manifesto.
If this isn’t stopped – soon ppl will be off to jail, sentenced by a judge with no jury FFS..
Sweep every last one of them into the dustbin of history and start over.
First at Rutherglen in October.
Then at WM in 2024/2025.
Then at HR in 2026.
Vote only for candidates/parties committed to equal treatment in law for everybody – no exceptions, no special categories.
Alba, take note, we want our Scotland back.
Met. Police: ‘Though what the perpetrator has done may not be against the law, their reasons for doing it are.’
So you may be prosecuted not for your actions, but for your thoughts? Or what someone, anyone, believes are your thoughts?
In a democracy?
Once upon a time when people asked me where I was from, I could answer with pride that I am Scots, now I would hold my head in shame
Look there’s Allison Thewliss; of the John Smith, Byres Road Gentrified Mafia, preferential treatment lodge.
‘I eat terfs and Tories. Decapitate Terfs.’
Of course she seen the sign. In fact there’s a photo of her holding it isn’t there?
A snoot of the highest order. She doesn’t get Glasgow. The liberals of the West End love the smell of the own farts.
I have said previously that Scotland will never be independent while the left so completely controls the nationalist movement for the simple reason that anybody of even the most moderate, centrist outlook will not vote for it (assuming a vote ever happens) because they know the kind of Stalinist hell an unbridled left will turn Scotland into. I urge people here and otherwise active in the independence movement to pull back and re-consider the vision they have of an independent Scotland. Historically, Scots have always been a little to the left of England, but never so completely off the radar as the absolute fanatics of the “hate speech” credo are. A moments thought should tell you that there should NEVER be any kind of “aggravated” crime or “protected class.” These are weapons which the likes of the Soviet Union used to make dissidents of basically anybody who wasn’t one of the cadre. Ask yourself why it’s not an “aggravated” assault to punch out a woman, but it is if the victim is gay, trans, black or whatever. What you’re seeing is the deliberate division of people for the purposes of isolating them from one another so as to cobble together assorted coalitions of 50% plus one as and when and where they’re needed. Women are a problem because…well…they’re women. They constitute in themselves half the population and the entire group — black, white, gay, straight, whatever — have needs in common that unify them, and a unified group that big is in and of itself a challenge. You need to decide if you want an independent Scotland or a People’s Republic. If you’re serious about the former, then you need to reach out to people on the right and in the centre, and you need to pull away en mass from the absolute fascists — and yes, fascism is a leftist political philosopy — who are weaponizing the political and legal systems to do their bidding.
Well said, sir. Every word the truth. When they refused to add in ‘misogyny’ into the disgusting ‘hate crime’ legislation, it was obvious what they up to: ‘trans’ activists would have filled our prisons and we would have had to build new ones to hold them all. Ergo, women had to be sacrificed (no ‘had to be’ about it because they gloried in the omission) and lied to about being treated as a case on their own (using an English-based barrister, Dame Helena Kennedy, who is, of course, Scots-born). This was always going to be a ploy and another massive waste of public funds, because Dame Helena is, herself, a fully paid up member of the ‘wokerati’, and, although I have no doubt that she embarked on the task with genuine goals, I very much doubt that her report will ever seen the light of day, although I might be very wrong.
They just cannot allow these men who call themselves ‘women’ to be arrested and convicted for their merciless hounding and physical aggression towards women who are trying to defend their basic civil and human rights while, at the same time, they are deliberately and forcefully removing those same rights from women and girls – and all in the sacred names of sexual paraphilia, fetishes, queer theory and deviant behaviours (as in the dictionary definition of ‘deviant’). Beating women and girls to a pulp, and raping them when you are under 25 and supposedly not responsible for your actions, have been decriminalized, to all intents and purposes, in Wester, liberal, civilized Scotland.
Note: you are not really responsible for your actions under the age of 25, but you can have a very high-profile, responsible job in the SNP government where you get to decide policies that affect people’s lives, usually adversely. Oh, and you get to vote at 16 and the GRRB, if passed, will allow 16-year-olds to what is euphemistically called, “change their sex”. You are just not responsible for sex crimes against women and girls or for beating them up if they annoy you by claiming to be human beings.
Can the guy have a defence that ‘deviant’ did not refer to Harvie’s homosexual / bisexual behaviour, but his association with and promotion of paedophiles?
What has Scotland become? I’ve read two articles about Germany in the past two days. One, they have passed a law that “deadnaming” a person can result in a huge fine or a term in prison. The second concerned a writer who tweeted and in the tweet there was an image of a swastika visible through a covid mask. He has been found guilty of a hate crime for tweeting this image and given a €2,300 fine or 60 day prison sentence. No trial, just a judgement against him. Of course he is appealing. Each and every day more draconian laws and rulings are made against free speech and Orwell’s predictions are more true than ever.
welcome to two tier law and a caste system for society
just make sure when you are reporting a crime, you make sure it is aggravated
– some ned smashed your window …
(not much doing)
– well, there’s not much we can do …
(thinks)
– aye … and the wee shite called me a BIG P00F
-WHAT! (helicopter swat team scrambled)
he lives over in the next street, a white tracksuit …
Geri says:
31 August, 2023 at 12:19 pm
We must get them out of power & replaced by Alba & pray Alex can halt the madness.
The dangers of list seats. Can Holyrood change the system?
Yes…They could change the electoral system with a “Supermajority”.
Which would only be possible by hoovering up list seats which , due to the D’Hondt system would only be possible if the SNP were tactically aware enough not to run candidates in the list and support Alba. A joint bill would then pass and absolute embarrassments like Murdo fraser would be consigned to the ignomy to which he belongs.
Spoiler…..they won’t.
That Angela Constance. The one that looks like crazy art teacher that’s now justice minister has appointed Jo Farrell.
An English woman – Joe Farrell – to steal the job of top police officer in Scotland from a Scot.
Farrell loves the rainbows and the alphabet people. Coming to add some rainbows to an old firm game near you…
I fear for Scotland.
link to durham.police.uk
Anybody find it strange that the police have managed to find and arrest the fellow that said a
“Bad” ?.?? Word towards the green goblin but they have failed to find the creature that held up a sign saying “decapitate terfs”
Things in the state of Scotland are not just rotten they’re
«DEVIANT & DIABOLIC»
The coven of grand prioress of the sinister cult still influences.
Professor van Helsing, where are you?
I find it deeply worrying and utterly appalling that men can physically assault woman and warrant no meaningful punishment in law.
Just because the man in question regards being sexually aroused by pretending to be a woman and insists we all share his delusion that he actually is a woman yet patently isnt and the woman disagrees with this sets an almost insane set of circumstances to an already Alice through the looking glass scenario into a whole different dimension of dangerous and potentially deadly outcomes.
Aggravated? Is murder aggravated? I ask because i dont feel how this free reign of misogynistic sexual based violence can end any other way.
Will it take the actual killing of a woman at the hands of a deranged transactivist, and lets face it sex and voilence often go hand in hand with some men, before this insanity is exposed for what it is? A sexual fetish based cult who care only for their own gratifications and not the safety, well being and rights of the women and children of our society.
The only thing i fear more than that of course is any potential backlash that might prove equally deadly.
Our elected representatives, law makers and institutions must do more. They simply must.
I hope the guy pleads not guilty to get that wee bastard Harvie into the witness box for a roasting by a good defence lawyer. Call him out on his well documented beliefs and his associations. (Maggie Chapman and the trans activists in Rainbow greens) His deviance will be there for all to see. However this is what happens when you get into bed with a party whose whole ethos is around sexual gratification. The Greens are the sex party, sex surveys in schools, 8 year olds are not off limits for trans talk, drag artists in schools ffs.
This is why the SNP wanted the Greens alongside them. It created a smoke screen that said we need these laws to protect LGB people and the votes of the greens to make sure they pass.
In reality these laws make criticism of pretty much any SNP & Green politician a case that will be prosecuted. Criticise Yousaf then prosecute based on religion and race, Criticise Graham Campbell prosecute based on race, criticise Patrick Harvie prosecute based on sexual orientation. Almost every one of the SNP grifters has an “aggravating factor” to hide behind.
I believe disability is also deemed an aggravation. Is it too much of a stretch to say this is in part why the SNP changed candidate selection to prioritise self ID’d disabled candidates and BAME? Its now almost party policy that SNP politicians have an “aggravating factor”
Police Scotland deserves a new uniform with big, red, squeaky noses and long shoes.
Because they’re clowns, you see.
link to wingsoverscotland.com
Unfortunately this is all just part of the grooming of Holyrood. I was trying to find the image of Allison Thewliss touching the sign, but I found this fantastic wings article again.
sarah @ 12:11 pm
“such legislation is the outcome of promoting incompetent people”
Yes, colonialism aye depends on its native ‘functionaries’, but this ignores the wider picture the Rev rightly alludes to, in that, within colonial societies:
– a compromised national party elite becomes ‘an instrument of coercion’, mainly through its ‘draconian laws’ to hold the movement back, and;
– fascism lies ‘at the root of colonialism’ and always ‘calls for its punishment’
As Cesaire wrote:
“a civilization which justifies colonization – and therefore force – is already a sick civilization, a civilization which is morally diseased, which irresistibly, progressing from one consequence to another, one denial to another, calls for its H****r, I mean its punishment.”
Scotland needs to replace not just the incompetent colonial leaders and functionaries that keep the plunder going and haud doun oor fowk an naition, but the entire colonial machinery. That is why independence means decolonization.
I know people don’t like to conflate independence and the low quality, activist captured government that Holyrood represents – but bear with me on this thought.
The English are not Tory. The English are occasionally Tory but fickle enough to ensure a pendulum swing between Tory/Labour governments. This acts as a corrective to the self entitled extremism that happens when a party is in power too long.
What Holyrood voting shows is that political choice in Scotland is two flavours of the same basic woke, ideological, ‘we are the masters now’ political thinking and governmental conduct.
Alba is never going to be a force. The centrist approach of Alex Salmond only got its chance because it ran under the cover of the push for independence. The Conservatives will have a voice in a Scottish parliament, but never power.
The current SNP (and previous Labour administration) is the template for the quality of government that an independent Scotland could expect. No better than Westminster. In some ways, worse.
Scotland gets the government it deserves by virtue of what / who the people vote for. The fault lies not with the people in power, but the people who put them into those positions.
“Stupid is as stupid does”
We have only one real issue here. The governing party (parties) are generally put in place by people who desire a specific nationalist outcome. Far too many see ‘SNP’ (or Green) on the ballot paper and place their mark, much like it’s just another re-run of 2014. I’m sure many of us have been there and done that ourselves, post-referendum. However, only a few of us have had the intellect or the foresight, to understand what’s been going-on with this action and remedy it by moving the cross elsewhere.
Until there is a license to vote, which means passing some kind of exam to prove that you are not utterly inept in the machinations of current affairs, this sorry situation is going to continue.
Look not to your elected officials for blame! Look to your left and to your right to see those who are wearing a blindfold and crossing their ballots in the same way as they’ve always done.
It’s the public we need to change, not the politicians, for the politicians will always do what they want regardless.
Its sound to me as if its been open season on women, and it will only continue to get worse, with the further curtailing of free speech in Scotland.
We must get the SNP and Greens out of office, and repeal some of the draconian laws along the way.
If not then its only a matter of time until Scotland becomes a place where people will be afraid to speak out about injustices.
Question: The defence against slander/defamation is that the words used were true.
The dictionary definition of deviant is, “?d?-v?-?nt. : deviating especially from some accepted standard of behavior or morals. deviant. 2 of 2 noun. : a person whose behavior or morals differs from accepted or normal standards.”
So hypothetically if someone were to be gay or even bi would that not fit within the definition of “deviant” i.e. if the majority by numbers are heterosexual?
If so could the defence be that they spoke the truth and therefore there is no case to answer?
If the answer to the above is that it is correct then is calling someone who spoke the truth, a bigot, defamatory?
HTF did these creeps and weirdos manage to get through the door?
The sooner we can vote them away the better.
Looks like the ‘Climate’ is another industry for them to use and abuse.
Apologies for length but I do have something to say…
Scotland has a big problem in that not enough people – me included – knows what the law ‘intends’ with regard to a range of fairly widespread set of behaviours. Scots’ criminal law in my limited experience seems to have a hazy quality to it that is almost entirely absent from English criminal law.
We have all heard of people in Scotland who have been harassed in one way or another – harassment is therefore a widespread behaviour – so let’s take a look at the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 because that includes both of the main areas of Scots’ law – civil and criminal – as it affects individual Scots.
link to legislation.gov.uk
The English part of the Act – the first part naturally – has an ‘interpretation’ section that allows a person to have a pretty good idea of the scope of the crime; the Scotland part has no such section. Unless you have informal access to a criminal lawyer, you will be unable to find out. The major textbooks on Scottish Criminal Law do not bother to cover the Act with any comprehensiveness if at all and there is no discussion of case law. How will an ordinary person know whether they’ve been subject to a ‘course of conduct’, when the act and the academic legal fraternity is so unhelpful. The Scotland section of the Act is so badly written that the separate applications of the civil and criminal law are hopelessly mixed together.
If you then try to find out how the law works in practice and look at Scottish lawyers’ websites, you will find that the fraternity or sorority effectively see the Act as part of ‘family law’ and nothing more.
By way of adverse comparison, the hazy and muddled scope of Scots’ criminal law no doubt deliberately allows a very wide ambit for police and prosecutorial discretion. However, having two layers of discretion is too much for people to have faith in the system. If you’ve been harassed by out-of-control social services (as a random example…cough, cough…) there is NO effective accountability in Scotland. Your search for justice against public bodies will be ‘discreted’ quietly out of the system. To get justice, you need to look outwith Scotland. What does that say about the character of our legal system and the practical functioning of the rule of law in Scotland?
Now let’s return to how the system is supposed to function as described above in Stu’s fine article and take disability as an example of an actual aggravator of harassment. The CPS (England and Wales) guidance gives you some decent boundaries of the scope of the crime, including if a person with a disability is targeted by way of harassing a member of their family. Having a wide scope for this crime recognises that criminal behaviour can be subtle and devious. It shows a kind of legal wisdom in action.
link to cps.gov.uk
In Scotland, it would seem (as far as I can tell), there is no accessible description of the specificity of this particular crime or any obvious or well-known case law that gives as much an idea of the scope of disability as an aggravator of the crime of harassment as the CPS website has. Scotland’s ‘reasonable person’ test is no substitute for a more specific description in law or in accessible guidance. So if a family member of a person with a disability is targeted is that a disability hate crime in Scotland? What would a reasonable person think? Who decides what that reasonable person thinks? Is that dealt with under two layers of discretion? Should I join Twitter to vainly ask around just to find out how loud the Scottish legal tumbleweed is?
Lastly, it’s all very well for Roddy Dunlop KC to lay out what the law should do in Scotland, but what if the police, that caring rights-based organisation, ignores you? Is that discretion in action? At least in England, you can consider a private criminal prosecution…Scotland’s ‘bill for criminal letters’? Hand over tens of thousands of pounds to eager lawyers just to have the door slammed in your face by a judge who already knows the answer will always be a ‘no’.
Rant over…but not quite…I haven’t quite finished…
Scotland’s legal system is yet another McPotemkin institution of state that largely serves our professional elite class very well. It will actually take a determined social movement to sort this dire situation out…so it won’t be sorted out.
Lives ruined, years sometimes decades wasted, and for the legal profession, more yachts and/or country retreats all round. Och aye!
In the early 2000’s the ‘filth’ generally kept out of our way, quietly racking up overtime in their stations, waiting for their pensions to mature.
In the first SNP administration, we had to pay for 1000 excess of them to get the budget passed.
This surplus has been maintained.
When the banks crashed in 2008 they felt that their retirement plans maybe in jeopardy so they put on their costumes and stated ‘walking the beat’ and ‘road blocking to check traffic’.
WOKE pish allows them to return to the pre 2007 grift.
When shouting insults try including the word masonic e.g. “ Ya Masonic paedophile” or “Ya Masonic pervert”.
It might not go to trial.
It’s getting to the point where the only way to be certain of avoiding a criminal record and staying out of jail is to stop saying anything to anybody. Perhaps that’s the idea?
To respond with “Bigot” you are acknowleding the truth of the accusation whilst fundamentally disagreeing with it and stating that the person is wrong to hold the opinion.
This is chickens coming home to roost for many (the great Independence con) The people making these decisions have been put into government on the Indy ticket and have been enabled and emboldens by the fact no matter what they will be re-elected . Even the announcement in the last few days the announcement of a government controlled Indy movement proves that point and shows they still believe that there are enough daftties out there who will vote for them if they profess a fake allegiance to indy . Voters need to wise up and stop putting people into government who may support indy but are clearly social misfits. Start looking a backgrounds of candidates.
One way to characterise the ‘overworld’ of Scotland’s governing class is this:
Scotland does not need a deep state, many of the governing functions here are UK-wide anyway, but for what it does have, it has the next best thing, a ‘silent state’…
I don’t understand this. Surely violence is an aggravation? If a man was punched in the face in a public place would that also be prosecuted only at the discretion of the police or PF?
We are not looking at exactly analogous incidents here. Patrick Harvie was not physically assaulted but was called ‘deviant’ by a person in the street. Presumably a prosecution was decided on due to Patrick Harvie having a protected characteristic which would count towards the aggravation. What protected characteristic would Patrick Harvie have then?
The woman in Aberdeen was physically assaulted by being punched in the face. Had this happened to a man would police have used their discretion to decide not to prosecute?
I am totally puzzled by this advice. Does it mean for instance, that not only is it permissible to insult a woman in public but also to use violence against her? I find it hard to believe that violence against the person would only be prosecuted at the discretion of the police if that person were male. I hope I’ve misunderstood the legal advice.
If this is so, it is a shocking message to convey to people who have already demonstrated the wish to commit violence against women. Posters are bad enough but outright violence against women will only be prosecuted at the ‘discretion’ of the legal authorities? If this is true, then it would seem that misogyny is at the heart of so-called Scottish justice and there is no protection for women. We were all under the illusion that there was equality under the law.
And these women politicians standing there smiling among posters threatening violence against women would be the very people piously condemning the lack of human rights in other countries. They are misogynists as well as hypocrites. I’ve always known that women can be misogynists too. It’s probably the most ancient of prejudices.
Wulls 12:42
Jeez.
I still get mad at a pro indy supermajority being rejected by the electorate. How dumb was it not to seize the chance to drastically reduce the unionists but also to halt the GRR & hate Crime madness from the gimp.
This has been brought about by the SNP & the dictator Sturgeon removing conference & branches from voting. This would never have passed closer inspection but the pack dogs set the agenda.
Jeez, well that’s it ladies & gentlemen.. We thought we were voting for indyref2 but instead we’ve ended up with the fucking Scottish version of the Taliban in charge of the country. Soon we’ll not even be allowed out or, once they get round to it, a university education.
Gallows erected by Christmas. We’ve already got the arts stripped of fun & books being removed..
Soon Juryless trials by a ++qwerty judge.
FFS! Shoot me now..
First rule of the ‘silent state’:
‘Don’t write anything down’ (in case there’s an inquiry…)
Bearing in mind that voter turnout for the Scottish elections in 2021 was around 63% it’s a concerning situation that almost 40% of those eligible to vote are so disillusioned with and alienated from the present political process that they don’t even bother casting their vote.
The main reason given to me when I’ve asked friends and family about this has been along the lines of;
1) They’re all the same.
2) What’s the point, once they’re in they look after themselves and do what they want.
Until this degree of apathy can be addressed I really don’t believe that referencing the politics of ancient Scots history or recommending learning a new “auld Scots” dialect is going to do much more than keep an ongoing debate going amongst a niche goup of political enthusiasts.
link to m.youtube.com
The ultra Conservative family party is taking up the mainstream concensus opinion in Scotland on gender.
There’s a few videos of their activists discussing gender sigh scantily clad drag queens and the rainbow police at Perth pride.
Ian Smith: yes, and his lawyer might do worse than look at Veritas (truth). It is a complete defence in civil cases, and would go quite some way to disproving a criminal case against you. You would have to do your homework, though, starting with the dictionary definition. He/she could start with the Rev’s website archive. Mr Harvie was, reportedly, wrapped in a ‘trans’ flag, so I very much doubt that the man in question was referring in any way to his reported bisexuality (sexual orientation, an aggravation in Breach of the Peace, as the hate crime laws have not been put in place yet, the police being unable to clearly identify breaches), but, rather, his alleged support for less savoury aspects of the LGBT++++++ into infinity. Even that might not wash as gender reassignment is also an aggravation, so he will have to have evidence in picture or written form to prove that he was not impugning Mr Harvie’s sexual orientation, but something else entirely, and that the evidence forms a defence of veritas.
Susan AHF: know how you feel. I think that, when it comes, the backlash will be unforgiving. These people seem too stupid to understand the law of revenge. Not saying that they should be harmed, but they should answer for the harm they have done to others – physically and psychologically.
I posted this on the previous thread unaware that this one had begun and it is relevant here.
I am going to quote verbatim here from Wiki re Patrick Harvie.
“His experience of campaigning to repeal Section 28, led him to join the Scottish Green Party.”
That does not really make much sense, does it, it seems show that his desire to promote homosexuality led him to view the Scottish Green Party as a platform for this, not a desire to promote environmentalism. That his co leader, Lorna Slater, is also gay and there have been rumours as such with regard to the then FM and the over representation within the SNP and prioritising of the brainwashing of children via taking some very suspect characters into their schools and libraries does appear to point to an agenda at work.
To add to the original post I am going to point out that I grew out of using gay/poof as an insult by my mid to late teens due to having gay friends and family. What I do have a problem with is proponents of Queer Theory and what sometimes appears to be an added hidden agenda of normalising paedophilia having access to our nurseries, libraries, schools, colleges, governments, emergency services, armed forces, media etc.
Excellent article Stewart and thank you for publishing it (while you still can). Thanks also to Roddy Dunlop KC for the clarifications of the legal position as it stands.
Interesting that despite all the organisations that chunter on about the protection of women and children from male brutality, all it takes is a man in a frock for that protection to be revealed as an illusion.
A brute of a being attacks a woman and he gets a warning…pathetic but not surprising. In my life time police rarely interfered in a “domestic” unless, of course, the poor lass ended dead. It appears we haven’t moved on much in that time. Women, still the punchbags.
PhilM @ 1:27 pm
“what the law ‘intends’”
Well identified differences between Scotland and the ‘mother country’.
As Frantz Fanon wrote:
“The native loses no time in lamentations, and he hardly ever seeks for justice in the colonial framework”.
And in regard to fascism:
“..what is fascism if not colonialism when rooted in a traditionally colonialist country?”
And so the legal establishment in colonial societies retain an especially privileged position (even via a mankit treaty), but in return they ‘oppress the people’ (Mandela) an haud thaim doun.
Is there a crowdfund to support this man’s defence? I’d welcome a trial where Harvie is cross examined, especially on the materials in recent Wings article.
Indeed if Harvie punched me and I responded with, you nasty wee deviant arsehole, I would be the one arrested and charged.
What a time to be alive.
Not one to take on a KC but in statute law there are definitely statutory aggravations but in common law (as in common law assault) we, as trainee cops back in the 70s were taught, the aggravations are “anything which tends to increase the seriousness of the crime” and the courts, PF and Sheriffs will use their judgement to establish that. In my time as a cop, albeit many moons ago, the assault of a woman by a man was always an aggravation (otherwise why are we arguing men should not be in women’s sports) and would inevitably result in a heavier penalty if the accused was found guilty. This is why I cannot for the life of me see why either, this man was not arrested and charged, or, I have missed a major change to common law, a man assaulting a woman is no longer considered an aggravating factor. If the latter, I am disgusted.
Re the people burning the JK Rowling books, there was also a rumour here in Govanhill that they were smearing shit on the doorhandles of businesses which they felt were maybe politically unsound or something, I heard that from another business owner in the area. At the time of this interview I saw another in which they said, as far as I remember, that if they were not given the old synagogue near Balvicar Street to turn into a power base the same as Govanhill Pool has been that they would ruin anyone who developed the site via protest and smear adding “because we’re good at that.” I am paraphrasing from memory there.
link to archive.ph
Wonder if the main reason Scottish office was unable (or unwilling) to intervene to protect citizens from the hate crime bill was the breach of the peace element.
ie if (sovereign) Scots cannot make a citizens arrest for crimes of breach of the peace or less (breach of peace in scotland being, presumably, a device at police discretion, to enable arrests without a warrant in order to mitigate or prevent a more serious crime IN PROGRESS or IMMINENT)*, then UK government must have even less authority to do so.
* worth noting that the (alleged?) breach of peace charge reported against Alex Salmond doesn’t bear scrutiny in this context either.
Ps, re the article I linked to, as far as I remember one of them had moved to Govanhill from Chicago and the other from Sheffield to be a part of shaping the area into what they felt a Glasgow neighbourhood should look like, a recurring theme, I have found, not from the area/city/country and all look as if they could be related to each other despite all coming from different parts of the world.
I look forward to see someone try this out on a police woman.
If the guy in the Harvie case pleads not guilty and launches a crowdfunded judicial review, I will totally contribute to it.
When we started legislating that two men or two women could have the same marriage status and rights as a heterosexual couple, the damage was done. The public were against this legislation but government forced it through though it contained the same levels of insanity as the proposed legislation on Trans.
We were stuffed and are continuing to be stuffed by politicians who think short term advantage using the evil media as backing.
We will never defeat the media as our young people are completely in thrall they have become automatons, and now that the infants are being indoctrinated the next generation will be deaf or violently opposed to freedom of thought or speech.
Misogyny is called out regularly here, but what I see around me is a growing feeling that men are dispensable, even a nuisance to be regarded with disdain as the equality agenda bites ever deeper. Society of course is the loser as family life disappears from view
I have always viewed “equality” as a double edged sword in which the cut is never equal, one edge always keener than the other. There is no doubt that women have the short straw given their biology but there are compensation which any true mother will know, and as we move towards a childless society nature may level the playing field again. If not the future is bleak and notions of sovereignty or Independence “wont cut it”
The very idea of a “hate crime” is stupid. A worthwhile case for Scottish independence would be based on the argument that being independent would allow the country to ignore all sorts of fashionable pish emanating from California or DC or Brussels or, indeed, London.
But the Scotnaz have amplified and imposed every fashionable, brain-dead, damaging cause.
“Wha’s like us?” All the other stupid countries, that’s wha.
The great devolution experience has shown beyond doubt that there is no longer a sensible case for Scottish independence. Even hanging the bastards is too late – the damage is done and the damage is final. Give it up, boys, and find a new hobby.
This is ALL happening on the SNPs watch! pre 2015, this would have been unthinkable!
MI5 have done a job on Scotland!
Sturgeon the betrayer will be remembered for her treason!
Ach fear not. Half of the new guard of the Indy movement and protector of women, aka Alistair Heather will no doubt be onto this legal anomaly any moment now… Well unless John Nicolson tells him not to that is…
link to twitter.com
NewOrder appropriation is gay» meaning «queer» and «queer» meaning «gay».
Authoritarian systems appropriate words, redefine them, invest usage with their own ideology. Standard usage becomes taboo, at best awkward.
Independence is an appropriated word, the new definition is as substantively lightweight as those who appropriated it.
«When they use a word… it means just what they choose it to mean – neither more nor less.”
Yet another Sturgeon (and her muppet) legacy.
We have to vote out every single nuSNP representative. Every single one.
For the remaining nuSNP members – If you remain in the party then you are directly responsible for this nonsense.
If you turn up to march on Saturday – You are giving total approval to this pish. And you’ll be on film doing it.
And we won’t forget what you enabled.
I understand that it now ok to call a police horse gay.
Can I call a police horse ‘deviant’.
Can the end of a police horses’ leg still be called a ‘horses’ hoof’?
The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment of Women. A work by John Knox, published in 1558,
Now how progressive is that, indeed, and that’s where Scotland still is and always has been and always will be. Remember, it’s the hope that gets you
Anton decadent
The Green party is a front.
Queer theory is protest. Breaking down boundaries. ALL boundaries. Edinburgh Zoo was mightily upset the other day on twitter about beastiality LOL! It was *homophobic*
Ppl seem to have no idea what ++++ really means..it means anything is permitted, including sex with children & animals. That’s queer theory. Deviant sums it up. Deviant = outside the norms of what’s socially acceptable to sane ppl.
It’s no wonder these queer hawks descended on the Greens. The parasite always finds a host & they found it in Sturgeon & the SNP winning party of government.
8 list seats of Unelected pandemonium.
Food for thought today – these freaks have cost us indy so that kiddie fiddler’s can come out from under their rock.
There are female pedos too. Look at those two freaks who willingly sexually abused their own babies to please Ian Watkins..performing sexual acts & filming it. Any hope I have of the female apologists coming to their senses is long gone at this point & we can all assume those freaks are fiddling as well..
They say the Devil loves a vacuum. This shit has replaced religion the cult is in full take over.
@Geri
Preaching to the converted. I’ll go further and express my opinion that Green parties across the West are front operations and part of a web of influence looking to crash and destroy the West as countries, cultures and even people. Charitable status, particularly educational charity, is used as a shield from being called out, as long as the organisations do not express support for one political party they can get away with pretty much anything including the ongoing dehumanisation of white people in preparation for their replacement. Available information on all of this is diminishing as search engines including Duck Duck Go state that they will not allow access to search results which they class as problematic.
Re cults, if you have not already seen it look up the video on the similarity between the trans lobby and cults which was posted on YT by Skirt Go Spinny.
The purpose of Green politics is to provide an entertaining, if grotesque, sideshow to keep you distracted while they sell off your children’s future.
Unfortunately this is also the purpose of SNP, Labour, Liberal and Tory politics.
We cannae even peeble them wi staines anymair.
With regards the Aberdeen incident…
A Formal Police Warning can only be issued if the accused admits the offence, and accepts the FPW ticket, as it goes onto their criminal record as a conviction for several years.
As a procedure… it has its place.
When first brought in – about 10 years ago – certain crimes were considered inappropriate for the procedure (and from memory, I think, initially minor assaults were excluded), but as the procedure became more established more crimes were added for its use.
What was ALWAYS excluded, was the use of FPW issue at Designated Sporting Events ie Football Matches – reason being, a crowd of 10,000 football supporters, and only 20 cops, would have made issuing a ticket very appealing, rather than having minimum of 4 cops leave the area, in order to arrest an individual, and do a custody report. And all crimes committed at the fitba are custody crimes, in order to deal with the larger problem of Football Hooliganism.
So, the circumstances where and when the FPW are issued are important.
It may be that minor assaults (ie, ones that do not result in broken bones, permanent scarring) can now be dealt with by means of a FPW ticket.
But what is more concerning, is, that it may be the officers dealing with the issue, used the lesser charge of a Breach of the Peace (ie, ‘engage in a stand up fight’) in order to ‘sort of’ deal with the matter.
Clarity on what charge was libelled is important in this matter.
If the above is correct, then a male assailant, politically motivated to violence against women, will have been inaccurately recored on the Police system, in terms of the MO and criminal behaviour they displayed.
Equally of importance, is to establish who the Commanding Officer was, for the Aberdeen protest and ask if guidance was issued to attending officers instructing them that the use of FPW tickets WOULD NOT BE APPROPRIATE for ANY Political Rally, particularly where crimes of violence or intimidation were carried out.
If it was not done for this protest, then re-assurance needs to be obtained from Police Scotland, that FPW procedures will be amended to ensure this is installed.
As people on this site are aware, rather a lot of the Woke protesters who demonstrate a hatred towards gender critical women, do not appear to be mentally the most stable, or brave. Cowards of that nature do nasty, nasty things to express their hate, like the throwing of acid.
It would be good if Police Scotland started risk assessing this issue in a more appropriate manner and started getting up stream of the problem.
As for the Paedophiles Friend… meh. Hope I still get to refer to him as a creepy wee git.
Clownworld.
I could see this coming in the sixties and seventies. I recall as a student in the seventies that behind the ordinary common or garden homosexuals (CoGH) campaigning for ‘gay liberation’, there were altogether more sinister groups – including the notorious PIE – who openly distributed their vile literature in student unions at that time.
All they hd to do was lurk, while well-meaning liberals observing the genuine oppression suffered by the CoGH, prised open pandoras box for them. Once one ‘deviance’ was legalised (now clearly compulsory for politicians and media folk) – the rest need only bide their time.
And so shilpit wee oddities desirable to neither man nor beast, press on with their beastial agenda – inclduding the PIE agenda that never went away.
And decent ordinary people, who have no idea what is going on (almost) in plain sight, and thinking they are being nice and woke and kind, act as patsies for their vile agenda.
Their game is becoming daily more obvious as they make it increasingly illegal to even mildly criticise them.
I fear that when they discover too late that it is their kids they are after, the cry for vengeance will be thunderous.
And so decent, smart, same-sex-attracted individuals are really quite savvy to distance themselves from the alphabet soup of LGBTXYZ bams.
Society need to row back – and fast. Sexual fascism is still fascism – thinly – increasingly thinly – disguised as liberalism.
Where the hate speech fetishism leads.
link to adfinternational.org
Burn the books! Burn the churches! Burn those haters!
Scandi (very very) noir.
The best wee totalitarian country in the world.
@ Akenaton 2.48pm there are very few times I agree with your posts, usually about wee Katie and her honesty and integrity, but this time I am in full agreement with you (not that you should care) we can all have disagreements on policies or facts BUT we must unite completely to DESTROY this lunacy being forced upon NORMAL people by DEVIANTS and PERVERTS
I stated previously that IMO Holyrood was INFECTED with hundreds of deviants and perverts exposed by the policies and actions they are pursuing , one has to only look at that miserable cloying arsewipe ACH and his sycophantic mutterings to an abusive man to realise Scotland is diseased and infected by sexual deviants determined to destroy NORMAL family groups
These SCUM are not only out to sabotage independence they are willfully and eagerly engaged in trying to destroy NORMAL society
I tend to agree with you both, Geri and Anton Decadent. The degradation of “the West” is indeed a final aim, justifiable because of all those crimes committed by Whites against non-Whites. I include Critical Race Theory in the same handbasket as Queer Theory.
This country is a basket case.
Thanks SNP. Thanks a lot…
Where’s the door marked “Exit”?
So, in Scotland, the only women assured that the justice system will pursue crimes committed against them because they are women, are the women who aren’t women.
The state of North Carolina has a, perhaps unfair, reputation for being unenlightened. Yet it manages to have coherent, logical laws on aggravated assault: link to criminaldefenselawyer.com for those who care to read up on it. Note that being a female victim is an aggravating factor if the assailant is an adult male. Aggravating factors are not automatic grounds for prosecution although, given the limited categories, it is likely that they would be
What I find interesting is that race is a protected class in Scotland, but ethnicity is not.
“The best wee totalitarian country in the world.”
Present company excluded Scots are weak minded and apathetic, for three-hundred odd years albeit with some co-opted Scots making a good living out of it, the majority of Scots have tolerated the union even though its been bad for them.
Across Africa now we see people overthrowing their corrupt colonial serving governments, they’ve had enough but apparently Scots are masochists, willing to take whatever shite is dished out to them from Holyrood or the foreign parliament in England.
Scots are so pathetic, that we don’t even have the military capacity to make a move if we wanted to free our country from its colonial puppet government never mind our foreign oppressor.
We meekly accept our culture being destroyed and replaced by England’s, we meekly accept a mass influx of English folk coming to Scotland, we meekly accept that we have no tv channels and are propaganised 24/7, we meekly accept a foreign countries political branch office parties that answers to their English HQs to act in our country. We accept nukes in our waters we accept the nuclear subs polluting our waters and we meekly accept nuke carrying lorries to pass through our largest cities.
These are just the tip of huge iceberg of apathy from Scots that no other nation would tolerate, the Palestinians have far more courage and respect for themselves, their people and their culture than we do.
What must other nations think of Scots, knowing that a foreign country England, has a huge say in what Scots can and cannot do in our own country.
Wallace, The Bruce, Muir, Hardie and Baird would be be birlin in their graves if they were alive today in Scotland.
You can sense that normal folks are waking up and the WOKIES/globalists realise that they are running out of road and are becoming hysterical.
Government in the West is in such a mess that it will need to be cleaned from top to bottom.
Change will only come when the people stop complying with policies that do themselves harm.
Every time Government wants something we must make it as awkward as possible for them.
When there are enough of us, then we win.
Their best hope lies in 5G monitoring and control.
Avoid digital options like the plague, even though they explain how much easier your life will be.
Use cash.
Don’t comply.
Isn’t sex a protected characteristic under the Equality Act?
If it is, then upholding “verbal assaults” which posse no physical threat from males to other males, but refusing to uphold physical assaults from males to females comes across, in my personal opinion, as an active discrimination against females and therefore a conscious and deliberate breach of that equality act.
Because it is the police and the PFS who appear to be making this conscious decision of pursuing some cases but not others, in my personal opinion this represents statutory discrimination against females.
Because the Equality Act is part of the body of law, statutory discrimination against females transforms the concepts of “law enforcers”, “prosecutors” and “law” into meaningless terms and the actions of those bodies into a complete and utter farce.
What could be the interests behind this absurd and fabricated situation that is destroying the credibility of those bodies?
Here are some possibilities:
1. An active and desperate attempt to silence dissent and criticism of politicians by force.
This would lead one to conclude the current wave of politicians in Scotland are so embarrassingly weak, so pathetically shallow in their beliefs, and so devoid of charisma and negotiation skills that they can only be taken seriously by voters if any form of criticism, no matter how trivial, is subjected to dispropportionate threats of prosecution by the now totally discredited and politicised police force and prosecution service.
Ultimately, this also represents, in my opinion, a case of deliberately misusing public funds and abusing public services.
2. An attempt to artificially inflate the recorded official figures for assaults on homosexual males.
But for this to stick, it necessary to take at face value and as gospel the interpretation from the “victim” rather than the reality perceived by the rest.
3. An attempt to artificially transform an abusive, unscrupulous, not popular individual into a victim so they can exploit the sympathy card to peddle their own unpopular agenda from a position of strength.
4. An attempt to artificially decrease the official figures for cases where a male assaults a female
5. An attempt to artificially decrease the official figures for cases where a trans male physically assaults a female
Every single one of the above represents the symptoms of a police force and PFS completely politicised and acting as the arms of a corrupt, rogue government.
The actions of the police and PFS seem to reflect the destruction of the barriers that should separate the executive and legislative powers in a democracy and which make those powers “independent”.
This is Sturgeon’s destructive signature. What this tells us is that, under that political fraud and her continuity candidate, Scotland has been deliberately transformed into a police state where the concept of “democracy”, “justice” and “law” have lost all meaning and have became political tools to enforce an unhinged and very unpopular government agenda.
It would be interesting to know what entity is behind the deliberate destruction of the barriers between our powers.
Thanks to a corrupt FM and SNPgov, that such entity has been given control over Scotland’s executive and legislative powers.
There are three very clear signs Scotland is not a democracy:
1. there are no separation of powers – judging by the actions of the police and crown office, this appears deliberate and planned.
2. the legislatie power is no longer controlled by the people of Scotland as it should be in a democracy. It is controlled by the crown. This is another signature job of the political fraud Sturgeon and her continuity candidate Yousaf. Both chose to put an unelected representative of the crown in the middle of the cabinet, effectively giving the crown control over the executive and through the executive, over the legislative body. This was no accident. It was a deliberate choice.
3. the corrupt Sgov appears to be colluding with the police force and the COPFS to knowingly force through toxic, extremely unpopular, dangerous legislation which was never voted as part of a manifesto.
If Scotland is not governed as a democracy and toxic laws are forced on Scotland’s people against their will, then Scotland is not a democracy. It is a colony.
Who is the imperial power deliberately destroying the barriers between our powers and destroying our democratic institutions to force on us toxic, unpopular laws?
Is it the UK, is it USA or is it both?
As far as I can tell, ignoring somebody is not a hate crime. The woke lot cancels people who do not agree with their ideology so do the same thing to them. Do not engage with them, do not debate with them, just ignore them.
The question is how do we deal with? The question is not to debate with these Transgenders but debate with their apologists.
The Transgenders are less than 1% of the population. It is the 99% who are not that is giving them the influence far beyond their numbers. Debate with them and expose their be-nice hypocrisy which in accommodating to the whims of these radical Trans Right Activists, is taking away hard won rights of woman and also eroding the rights of 99% of the population.
Of course, the whole notion of Hate Speech is distinctly Orwellian because, as The Rev has said above, hate is an entirely subjective emotion. It reeks of the manufactured hysteria of The Two Minutes’ Hate in “1984”.
And some crazed types in the Twitler Youth remind me increasingly of the fanatical and obsessive Junior Anti-(Adult) Sex League in the same novel.
Misogyny should obviously be an aggravated offence but of course this would not please the deeply woman-hating elements in the LGBTQ+ (append further fruit-loop initials here) world and Transwomania.
So the Transwoman who punched a woman in the mouth and the detritus MSPs posing in front of a “Decapitate Terfs” poster are not to be prosecuted but someone shouting a logically correct word at The Greenster must be charged.
The Polis are treading a dangerous path when such favouritism is so blatant. This can only undermine any respect for the law which might still linger in this post-Sturgeon country.
“Policing by consent” is a concept increasingly circling the drain and this is very dangerous for any truly democratic society.
Republicofscotland says:
31 August, 2023 at 6:56 pm
“The best wee totalitarian country in the world.”
“Present company excluded Scots are weak minded and apathetic, for three-hundred odd years albeit with some co-opted Scots making a good living out of it, the majority of Scots have tolerated the union even though its been bad for them.”
Many moons ago, I was present at a lecture on the clearances by Tom Devine and had the chance to meet up with him afterwards.
I posed the question, “Why was there no uprising at the time? Could it be that the most perceptive and politically active cohort of the population simply migrated and took their talents to North America ect and left behind the passive and apathetic, or politically incapable?”
I.e. what we geographers call ‘selective migration’.
He thought for a minute and said that it had never occurred to him.
Mind you, he may just have been being polite.
Problem – incompetent and corrupt politicians
Reaction – “we hate politicians”
Solution – let’s do away with democracy. Try Techno-fascism run by WHO, Musk, Schwab, Gates, etc.
Simples!
Not far off now
So, if a person had walloped the transgender individual who hit the woman at Women won’t Wheesht in her defence, would we have the absurd situation of the latter being charged and the initiator of an assault being classed as the victim?
Kafkaesque or what!
The respective populations of Britain, Scotland versus England, at the time of the union / annexation was roughly one third Scots and two thirds English. Now we are less than 10% and falling.
Generations of the best and brightest of Scots have left because they recognize there is no point in living in a colony left deliberately in perpetual economic shadow.
If you can’t beat them join them. Better to colonize, which the talent pool did and does.
So what is left in Scotland is distilled DNA cowardice and submissiveness. All the genetic balls and courage left on boats hundreds of years ago after they were sold out and ethnically cleansed while the toffs did fuck all..
Braveheart left.
Leaving Pussybollocks behind.
Scotland never rioted when Thatcher introduced the poll tax here a year early. It was only a year later when it came to England the riots started and she was ousted. We are pussies and have been for a long time.
Any chance of a correction in the If There’s Time article regarding the number of HIV cases in Scotland? I don’t believe the correct figure affects your point, but I did believe you prided yourself on accuracy and integrity. I have to assume you didn’t see where the article was questioned previously on that article’s comments and Twitter.
Geri @ 4:12 pm
“The Green party is a front”
A colonised people only become nationalists to reclaim their sovereignty. Any nationalist seeking national independence and decolonization is therefore usually motivated and proud to hold aloft their national flag, not least as a signal of intent; after all, what we seek is to remove the oppressor’s flag from our land, and all it stands for.
Whatever they are, the Greens are not nationalists, that’s for sure, they don’t even know what national independence means:
“We invite you to march alongside us in the Scottish Green Bloc. Look for our distinctive green flags…”
@Viscount Ennui says:31 August, 2023 at 7:52 pm
Hmmm.
It most certainly occurred to me. Lang syne.
It’s bleeding obvious to anybody who has ever bred livestock.
@Republicofscotland says:31 August, 2023 at 6:56 pm
the Palestinians have far more courage and respect for themselves, their people and their culture than we do
Sure, and then there’s a far more relevant and similar to Scotland example. Much closer to home too.
But failing your all-important ideological purity test, eh RoS?
“Johnlm says:
31 August, 2023 at 4:10 pm
Can the end of a police horses’ leg still be called a ‘horses’ hoof’?”
No, ‘cos the horse is currently self-ID-ing as a hedgehog…
@ Mac at 8.41pm.
“Scotland never rioted when Thatcher introduced the poll tax here a year early.”
I don’t think rioting is our style, and I see that as a very good thing. We are a civilised people. However, as I recall, the anti-Poll Tax demonstration in Edinburgh on 1st April, 1989, was one of the biggest ever to have taken place in Scotland, at least until that date. I think we made our feelings pretty clear.
Mia says: 31 August, 2023 at 7:32 pm
Somebody from the legal profession will need to clarify that but there has been a recent clarification of it from EHRC:
link to equalityhumanrights.com
For a laymen, it looks like sex being a protected characteristic is a grey area and needs further clarification.
I know there are bad apples in the Police, like any other organisation but I give them the benefit of the doubt. However if I have an interaction with them that I feel isn’t right, it doesn’t mean that I will blindly accept their decision and interact with them accordingly in a respectful manner.
If the situation looks like it breaches sex as a protected characteristic, would it not be advisable to ask the police to intervene just to keep yourselves and the Police officer right.
I mean you wouldn’t want to get the Police officer at the scene into any bother if they weren’t doing their job correctly under EHCR?
Dan:
“protector of women, aka Alistair Heather will no doubt be onto this legal anomaly any moment now… ”
There’s women that wear extraordinary tight clothing at the gym. And then film men giving them a sideways glance. It’s a tik tok trend. And then the men are castigated.
There’s nothing wrong with asking women you find attractive out. It’s not harassment. It’s how the entire human race evolves. You see an attractive woman you go up to her and say hello… Being a man is not a crime.
If you want to meet some woman. Just a poetry club. I went to one last night. Some of the younger women are narcissistic nymphomaniac liberals… They certainly charmed me with their words.
I nearly fell off my chair. There was trannies any everything it was crazy. You must know their politics will change as they get older. I’m glad I didn’t read out unto us by spike Milligan or it would kicked off.
This Alaister Heather character sounds like a man that hates being a man.
This covers the whole UK, not just Scotland.
‘Sex’ is a protected characteristic, but misogyny is excluded from the list of characteristics covered in Hate Crime law.
There have been recent moves to try and make ‘Misogyny’ a hate crime, which most feminists/women, in my experience, have resisted as for a start ‘hate crime’ is a dubious enterprise in itself and secondly because it risks being abused by men.
link to gov.uk
David Hannah says: 31 August, 2023 at 10:29 pm
I’ve been on Youtube quite a bit lately and came across the term Simp. I’ll let posters do an internet search to find out what the acronym stands for but simply it is a stupid man who does anything to please a woman to the point of making a fool of himself.
This Alaister Heather comes across as one. Best to ignore these individuals.
Does this article by Gordon Dangerfield from a while back help clarify matters re. sex as a protected characteristic and the Equality Act.
“…In other words, “sex” for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010 means biological sex. If a provision is made in favour of the female sex, it is made in favour of those who are biologically female, and it excludes those who are biologically male.”
link to gordondangerfield.com
The SNP have turned into the best example of a GIGO organisation. As always, actions (and in-actions) do speak louder than words. It’s just a pity that so many voters are still listening to them rather than looking at they do (and don’t do).
“You can fool some of the people all of the time. Those are the ones you should concentrate on”. – George W. Bush (2001).
In addition to the above concerns reiterated by commentators, I would add a concern that excluding offences aggravated by sex from the Hate Crime legislation has INCREASED abuse of women in Scotland. We are the only “safe” target left for the aggrieved man who wants to get away with a bit of nasty abuse.
Add to that the fact that men under the age of 25 may not be jailed even if they rape a child, I don’t think that Scotland is really a country where a woman can hope to get on in life very well any more. Its so stacked against us. We are unlikely to receive any protection from the state justice system if we are assaulted, abused or raped.
Even more so if you are a blue eyed blond, and the abusive man in question has a penchant for “dusky maidens”. Its become fashionable to abuse women like me. Almost a badge of honour for some men on the internet and in real life.
link to m.youtube.com
As it turns out Alaister Heather is a big fan of the poetry clubs…
He’s pretending not to be that guy, apologies for his past that “made him feel uncomfortable.”
I suspect been chatting up all the crazy liberals at the poety clubs and not calling them back. Pretending not to being that guy… Even though he is. I can spot a joker a mile off.
I see a few comments here about changing the list system. We don’t need to change it, we just need to not vote SNP 1 & 2.
I see that Brian Cox has pulled out of the forthcoming Edinburgh independence rally for medical reasons.
I wonder if the real reason is that the actor is a lurker on this site and he’s seen the light?
Graham @11:23
Thanks… Funniest thing I’ve read in weeks.
I don’t see much to criticise in Craig Murray’s latest post: link to craigmurray.org.uk
He gets it. Well said, that man.
I wonder if the lady that was assaulted could have said it was against her because of religious reasons? There is no reason it couldn’t be. Those who belive the entire truth of the Bible are very much against the whole trans movement.
Just got to frame the attack against your religious rights rather than because you’re a woman.
It’s not an Independence rally, it’s an EU rally for the Inner Party to gather and pray those lovely European Parliament jobs and grants come back (£££££)
We need a new term for this species of neoliberal tankie, because they’re not nationalists. EU federasts, mibbe?
It can not be too often stated that the British state can not afford to lose Scotland, an essential part of its named territory, the island of «Great Britain».
Prestige, credibility, amour propre, economic and strategic necessity demand opposition by every means to renewed Scottish sovereignty over their own territory and territorial waters. An iScotland could not be counted on as a «friendly» power.
The effective corruption of the SNP is a classic divide and weaken tactic in the furtherance of retaining British state mastery of the its northern «regions».
The Scots «élite» was bought in the early 18th century, its clone is for sale in the early 21st.
Conforms to the historic, classic «colonial» model.
Interesting read re. Common Weal and lobbying loopholes, but one might ponder if the setup is specifically designed in the wider scheme of things to hide the lobbying influences of groups pushing so many of the flawed and unwanted policies we are currently enduring.
link to commonweal.scot
Btw, anybody wondering what Police Scotland have got planned for when Humza’s anti-Scottish Hate Act comes into force?
If Police Scotland don’t have anything planned, you can be sure the deviants do.
We’ve had several politically motivated malicious prosecutions in Scotland in just the last few years. Plenty more on the way.
As wasn’t the Scottish Greens who changed Scotland. They are just the new passengers on the SNP Scot Govt devolution gravy train.
It was Alex Salmond’s SNP Scot Govt that brought in gay marriage.
Kenny MacAskill was his Justice minister when the SPS policy was introduced that male prisoners could self-identify as women.
Alex Salmond’s SNP abolished regional police forces and brought in a single Police Scotland.
When virtually every unelected, globalist institution and «influencer» on the planet is happy to carry the rainbow totem and proclaim their allegiance what chance your own elected government might resist the conformist Zeitgeist.
It requires intellect and an iron will for that, few in government anywhere possess those faculties, baggage superfluous to needs on the national systems of gravy trains.
Scotland is just one drop in a bucket of human folly.
TURABDIN @ 8:56 am
Aye, thare’s nae doot Scotland “Conforms to the historic, classic «colonial» model”, like a three hundred year auld manky corset, which is now being tightened as the people get a wee sniff o freedom. Just as well mair Scots are beginning to understand that independence means decolonization.
link to yoursforscotlandcom.wordpress.com
With religion being an aggravation, one has to wonder why the Police never seem to arrest those bigots (especially during orange marches) when they are calling RC’s Fenians and worse.
@TURABDIN says:1 September, 2023 at 8:56 am
Your post started off making some sense, but then lost the plot:
An iScotland could not be counted on as a «friendly» power
Dinna be fecking daft.
Upwards of 60% of our exports go to the rUK, and upwards of 60% of our imports come from the rUK. Nearly 800,000 Scots live happily in England, and nearly 500,000 English live happily in Scotland.
Anybody who looks forwards to or even anticipates some kind of North/South Korean standoff better get real.
If Indy does not work out as a repeat of the Velvet Divorce that saw an end to Czechoslovakia, it will be an unmitigated disaster for Scotland.
Our politicians have spend £1.3 million of tax payers money on their limousine taxi service.
Including on 12 taxi journeys to Queen of Scots Nicola’s farewell shin dig.
Limousine Lorna Slater. We know she likes the first class lifestyle and private chartered yachts.
Another reason not to vote for them!
https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/rutherglen–hamilton-west-by-election/backers#start
“Upwards of 60% of our exports go to the rUK, and upwards of 60% of our imports come from the rUK. Nearly 800,000 Scots live happily in England, and nearly 500,000 English live happily in Scotland.
Anybody who looks forwards to or even anticipates some kind of North/South Korean standoff better get real.
If Indy does not work out as a repeat of the Velvet Divorce that saw an end to Czechoslovakia, it will be an unmitigated disaster for Scotland.”
An unmitigated disaster for Scotland..hmm lets see.
Scotland would have its own trading routes which in the most wouldn’t go through England, Scottish produce would find itself more prominent spots on supermarket shelves and English produce would be reduced, all profits from assets taxes etc would go to our over government departments coffers, no more Westminster accounting tricks to steal our wealth.
The 500,000 figure you quote is from 2014, that figure has been well surpassed hence the hidden census, we would take control of that department as well, infact its almost upsides and very few down sides to dissolving the union.
Oh and the English government (any one) isn’t Scotland’s friend, its remit is to keep Scotland in the union, spy on its people and asset strip it.
“Scotland would have its own trading routes which in the most wouldn’t go through England, Scottish produce would find itself more prominent spots on supermarket shelves and English produce would be reduced, all profits from assets taxes etc would go to our over government departments coffers, no more Westminster accounting tricks to steal our wealth.”
… and the rUK taxpayers will be 37billion quid better off.
Looks like a late start for the dayshift today, then….
Lie in, was it, boys, or a briefing?
Republicofscotland @ 10:52 am
“Oh and the English government (any one) isn’t Scotland’s friend, its remit is to keep Scotland in the union, spy on its people and asset strip it.”
Yes RoC, the evidence is clear, colonialism is primarily ‘economic plunder’, and is also defined as ‘geographic violence’, as ‘a scourge’ (form of punishment), and as ‘force’.
Colonialism is also the reason an oppressed and exploited people seek independence and hence liberation, though they may first have to cast off their ‘colonial mindset’. This requires a ‘new way of thinking:
link to yoursforscotlandcom.wordpress.com
National Records of Scotland are publishing the first set of results of the Scottish Census on 14th September 2023. Despite the fact that the total returns were below the threshold for total confidence, it will be interesting to see how many people completed the gender/sex related boxes. Stu will have a field day. Destroying the social fabric of our communities, for how many percent?
“ Oh and the English government (any one) isn’t Scotland’s friend, its remit is to keep Scotland in the union, spy on its people and asset strip it.”
Exactly.
The John Main Morris dancers don’t believe in history.
But let us keep trying.
link to larouchepub.com
Slaves to US, to produce cotton for India, to produce opium for China, to produce money for London.
those who have twitter or whatever it is now called might be interested in Tribunal Tweets.
The tweets can also be read on Thread Reader which is how I access them.
This public spirited tweeter (endorsed by the Judge has just finished reporting a tribunal case against the Green Party (E&W).
GP witnesses are being roasted by Shahrar Ali’s barrister.
Decision in October.
Richard Walker having a go at the Rev and the BTL commentators. Accused of being hostile to SNP youth. Totally missed the point that the GRR and the other ultra ‘woke’ policies that have seen the SNP crash and burn, haemorrhaging members, are gleefully pushed by the young.
Ergo, the latest intake of youngsters had led directly to the utter mess the SNP is in. Now, they want to infect the wider independence movement that is holding its own. The complete lack of nous displayed by RW is jaw-dropping. Since the synapses do not connect fully till the age of 25, it is obvious that youngsters under that age should not be in any position to decide political policy directly, as they will be prone to naivety regarding the agenda of bad faith actors.
Yet, some adults, down with the cool kids, would open the gates of Troy yet again to the ultra ‘woke’ so that the wider independence movement can be infiltrated by the ideologues just as the dying SNP was.
“If Indy does not work out as a repeat of the Velvet Divorce that saw an end to Czechoslovakia, it will be an unmitigated disaster for Scotland”
You are forgetting, deliberately or not, the unmitigated disaster it will be for England, John Main. If there isn’t a Velvet Divorce with a good trade agrement between Scotland and England, it will be an unmitigated disaster for England too and potentially even a bigger a disaster than for Scotland, hence Englands representatives rushing into terrible trade deals like the ones with Australia and New Zealand to cover their backs.
Scotland might send currently a 60% of its exports to England. But how many of that 60% are products which are only in transit through England and end up somewhere else?
Those products have to go to England NOW because Scotland is being kept deliberately under-developed without decent ports it can use to export internationally.
In addition, we have a brigade of betraying numpties in power and parliament who are far more concerned about ensuring Scotland remains welded to England and subjected to a pillage of its resources than to develop Scotland economically and regaining control over its own assets. They are also far more concerned for the wants of the crown than the needs and safety of the people they were elected and are paid to represent.
For instance, how is it acceptable in any way or form that Scotland holds most of the coastline in the UK and yet has less far less ports than England and most of our product has to exit the UK through England’s ports?
9 years of Sturgeonism and what has her vacuous political-correctness and moral preaching improved in that front?
Not a single thing.
Secondly, while Scotland exports a good amount to England, the actual amount (in real figures, not percentage) that England exports to Scotland is significantly bigger.
In fact, a walk around the supermarket shelves gives you a rough idea of just how much Scotland imports from England. In fact, the gap left by the EU produce after brexit has been mainly filled in by England’s produce, not Scotland’s. In fact, because of the nefarious trade deals with Australia and New Zealand, it is hard now to find Scotch lamb in your average supermarket shelves. Instead, we are being flooded with New Zealand lamb to the loss of Scotland’s consumers and producers. And if the New Zealand lamb does not sell, then they proceed to remove Scotch lamb from the shelves to force you to buy the other one.
There are a lot of those things in the shelves that could be produced in Scotland, but Scotland in this colonial structure is deliberately kept as a consumer of England’s produce and England’s trade deals partners rather than a producer of its own and an exporter.
The only aspect that appears to be welcomed is for Scotland to be a net producer of oil and gas (but labelled as “extra-regio”) and electricity, so England can “import” those at no cost whatsoever and use them or sell them for its own benefit.
Thirdly, it would be the most stupid decision in the entire universe to do a repeat of the VIP taxdoger’s brexit.
By that I mean to ***end the UK without Scotland first having entered another entity (this time entering and remaining as a sovereign state with full control and power rather than as a colony), like EFTA for example, even if only temporarily until Scotland has established its own safe international trade agreements.
In the instance that Scotland re-enters the single market, then its exports can go there and England’s market becomes almost irrelevant for Scotland. However England, in such scenario, will be losing a rather large chunk of what it likes to consider now “its own” internal market.
In my opinion, with comments like yours we are having a repeat of what happened in 2014: bombardement with relentless colonial misinformative by omission propaganda which is intended to turn England’s problem around in the minds of the Scottish people to make the situation look like a hard border and lack of trade agreements between England and Scotland is only a problem for Scotland, so it acts as a deterrent against seeking Scotland’s independence.
In reality, it is a problem for both. And if Scotland joins other international entities quickly, it will become a bigger problem for England than for Scotland.
But ditching the EU was England’s choice, not Scotland’s. This means that should Scotland rejoin the Single Market/EU/EFTA, and it is perfectly entitled to do so if that is what its people want, independently of how much England whines and wishes it didn’t, then if a hard border is implemented between Scotland and England, it will not be Scotland’s fault or responsibility.
It will be the consequence of England’s stupid decision of acting as a bull in a china shop and forcing brexit against the will of the people of Scotland, displaying total disregard for what the people of Scotland actually wanted and voted for.
AT that point, and about time frankly, England will have to live with the consequences of its own actions and the stupid decisions made by the clowns it continues to elect as political representatives, and who have more regard for the caprice of a bunch of VIP taxdodgers and rich elite than for the country as a whole.
***I say “end the UK” because the only possible way Scotland can become an independent state rather than remaining as a vassal one is if it terminates, unilaterally or not, the Treaty of Union and Act of Union with England and regains full control over its own assets and territory, including territorial waters in line with the boundaries recognised by international law.
The ridiculous and absurd suggestions by the now overtly unionist and devolutionist SNP that Scotland can “secede from the UK” represent, in my personal view, either a crass attempt at deliberately disinforming the public or an spectacular display of embarrassing ignorance regarding how this union came about.
They are also an indirect acceptance that Scotland is a “region” of the Kingdom of England rather than a sovereign state which voluntarily united to another kingdom by means of an international treaty, with fundamental clauses and subjected to international law. Such acceptance is unacceptable for a party who continues to position its brand as pursuing Scotland’s independence.
By the way, if I am not mistaken, the separation of Czechoslovakia into the Czech Republic and Slovakia did not need any referendum, did it?
As far as I know, It didn’t even need a majority of the vote in both parts to separate. Yet, it is considered “a velvet divorce”.
It was a reflection of real parliamentary democracy in action, just like the parliamentary democracy some claim “we enjoy” in the UK.
Yet, those of us who seek the exact same for Scotland are considered “undemocratic”. Scotland entered this union despite a majority of the people of Scotland heavily opposing to it. The only reason why it entered was becasue the crown managed “to convince” a majority of Scotland’s MPs to vote to enter the union.
It was never about real democracy, it was always, at most, about faking parliamentary democracy (unless you accept that voting for something after you have been bribed is fully democratic). Therefore, I do not accept that to exit the same union, we are demanded something that was never considered a requirement to enter the union in the first place.
It may be desirable to get a majority of votes in favour of independence, but it is not, and never was, strictly necessary.
As a matter of fact, considering the proportion of people with a different heritage in Scotland and the speed at which the native population of Scotland is being replaced by those with a different heritage and with allegiance to other countries, demanding a majority in favour of independence is, in my personal view and as the time goes by, another way to force the status-quo and denying the natives their right to self-determination. I do not see as democratic either the frustration of the natives’ vote when the subject matter is the self-determination of their own country.
“Looks like a late start for the dayshift today, then….
Lie in, was it, boys, or a briefing?”
Nah. Just popped in for a laugh.
@Republicofscotland says:1 September, 2023 at 10:52 am
Dinna you be fecking daft either.
Scotland would have its own trading routes which in the most wouldn’t go through England, Scottish produce would find itself more prominent spots on supermarket shelves and English produce would be reduced
Yeah, yeah, yeah, heard it all before, got the T shirt. Does “Brexit” mean anything to you? We are still waiting for all the onshoring we were promised for that.
Post Indy, and for many years to come, over 60% of our imports will still come from the rUK. You think we can magic up new indigenous industries overnight? Get real.
The 500,000 figure you quote is from 2014, that figure has been well surpassed hence the hidden census
Don’t you realise that supports my point, not yours? Honestly, RoS, get a grip.
You just can’t deal with the original point, can you RoS? Post Indy, we will have to remain on good terms, economic and political, with rUK. It doesn’t matter that a small number of Indy enthusiasts are motivated only by blind hatred. Pragmatic realpolitik means that none of them can be allowed anywhere near power in iScotland.
@Mia says:1 September, 2023 at 11:52 am
You are forgetting, deliberately or not, the unmitigated disaster it will be for England
Sure.
It will be an unmitigated disaster for both states, Scotland and rUK. I don’t quite understand why you choose to exclude Wales and Northern Ireland.
But I digress.
I was responding to TURABDIN who seemed to be anticipating some post-Indy hostility between Scotland and rUK, by pointing out how counter-productive that would be.
Counter-productive too, to growing Indy support in swithering Scots who may be wondering if they should pick Yes. Enormous population swaps, accompanied by a crash in basic trade, is no incentive to change the status quo. Just look at how that worked out for Greece and Turkey.
Sadly, but all too predictably, the usual comprehensionally challenged piled in, to claim that wishing for realpolitik post-Indy dialogue with the other inhabitants of this small island is tantamount to Yoonery.
Aided and abetted by the EU carpet baggers who don’t want an iScotland at all – they just want direct rule from Brussels.
BTW, I admire your ability to dash off these enormous posts at short notice, but maybes you should work on condensing them a smidge.
Am I reading this right, that Bill has been on the books since 2009? Who were the FM and Ministers who pushed that through and why are we only hearing about it now?
JOHNMAIN
You place the barrier to leap very high, much higher than many a state might be able to handle. By such a standard of perfection independence advocates might as well pack up and retire.
Essentially, England would exercise control over Scotland, even post independence, through its economic and global clout, however much in decline.
Events, influence outcomes, two states in Eastern Europe, with more in common than Scotland and England, once bound by regional politico-economic and cultural ties are moving in different directions and experiencing the pains of territorial acquisitiveness and international meddling in one of those states.
In an ideal parallel universe Scotland and England might be good neighbours, history, and indeed current attitudes, suggest that is rather a pipedream. British nationalism is a mean beast.
An unlikely scenario, however, according to your «ultra purist» perspective.
Rest easy!
Surely the lady should sue for civil damages for assault, if the police and procurator refuse to prosecute. Two punches plus it would seem assault by threat, should be worth £5 000 to £10 000. That would be better than a fine.
“It will be an unmitigated disaster for both states, Scotland and rUK”
Sorry, I do not know what the term “rUK” means. If Scotland repeals the Treaty of Union and Act of Union with England, the UK ceases to exist, rendering two separate states: the Kingdoms of Scotland and England. I see no scope for a “rUK” state.
The Kingdom of England can of course name itself the “United Kingdom of England and NI”, but it will not be the same “UK” state that exists now. It will be a completely different state.
The only perspective from which you can give validity to the term “rUK” is from the perspective of seeing Scotland as a region of the Kingdom of England and accepting the term UK as a synonym of the term “Kingdom of England”. I am afraid that is an anathema to me because that would involve totally disregarding the Treaty of Union and forcing one to see Scotland as the property of England. I cannot accept that.
“I don’t quite understand why you choose to exclude Wales and Northern Ireland”
It is because they are both part of the Kingdom of England.
Wales was annexed, that not united, in 1284 under the Statute of Wales.
Ireland was annexed in the 12th century as per this quote:
‘Sovereignty over Ireland was claimed by England in the 12th Century… From the late 13th Century there existed a Parliament of Ireland, although this was generally subordinated to that of England’ (Torrance, 2022***).
Wales and Ireland entered the Treaty of Union 1706 as dominions of the KIngdom of England, not as independent states. There were no commissioners from any of them in the treaty. The only commissioners were those from the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England.
“I was responding to TURABDIN who seemed to be anticipating some post-Indy hostility between Scotland and rUK”
Sure. I also anticipate hostility between the Kingdoms of Scotland and England during the negotiation for division of assets.
“Enormous population swaps, accompanied by a crash in basic trade, is no incentive to change the status quo”
Is that why the British state establishment is actively promoting both?
There does not need to be a “crash in basic trade”. The only thing you need is vision, leadership (and a backbone) to, in time, create an alternative route for that trade. 9 years should have been more than enough for that. Yet, this is something else the hopeless Sturgeon spectacularly failed to progress during the last 9 years, like she failed in pretty much anything else which moved away from her main focus: the derailing of Scotland’s independence.
“wishing for realpolitik post-Indy dialogue with the other inhabitants of this small island is tantamount to Yoonery”
realpolitik involves looking at all perspectives but keeping focus as a matter of priority on the interests of your own country above those of your opponent or prospective partners in a future trade agreement.
Forcing us to look only at the interests of England or using disinformation by omision as a tool to manipulate public opinion into thinking the problems of England are our own is not realpolitik. It is dishonest, it is setting the progress to independence to fail and it is economic, social and political suicide.
“Aided and abetted by the EU carpet baggers who don’t want an iScotland at all – they just want direct rule from Brussels”
You know very well that is not true. If you are trying to fly the lead balloon that Brussels behaves towards the rest of its partners in the EU union in the same abusive and imperialistic way England treats Scotland, you will fail. They are completely different and we can see and read why they are different.
The EU is a political union behaving like a political union. The UK is a political union where one of the partners behaves as an empire which treats the other as its colony and is doing everything in its hand to hide the fact the only reason why they remain as a union is an international treaty.
Having said that, given the 9 years of time and opportunities wasted by the useless Sturgeon and co, I am now of the opinion that those in control of the Sgov cannot simply assume Scotland wants to join the EU. I however fully support entry of Scotland to EFTA without a vote.
“BTW, I admire your ability to dash off these enormous posts at short notice”
Thank you.
“Maybes you should work on condensing them a smidge”
I will bear it in mind for future reference.
***Torrance, D(2022) “The Anglo-Irish Treaty, 1921”. Commons library research briefing, 5 December 2022. The House of Commons Library
Back in 2014 I had this untenably utopian idea that an independence Scotland might have an American style First Amendment guarantee of free speech, and a guarantee of social rights like housing, a job, healthcare and real education.
What the f*** was I smoking?
PS Roddy Dunlop KC certainly has some courageous views given his public profile. One to watch.
I always thought assault was assault no matter what.
Welcome to Scotland 2023
Patrick Harvie is a politician. We are in a right mess democratically, if somebody cannot shout a one word comment to our politicians in the street. THAT, in many ways is how they are accountable. If they don’t like it, they should not stand for office. THAT is how it has always been in this country.
If we go on down this road, what if somebody shouts fascist at Rishi Sunak?? You see, we live in a democracy, and if people like Harvie or Sunak did NOT pursue hateful discriminatory policies which NOBODY wants, I doubt anybody would have cared.
THIS, is how the erosion of democratic accountability begins. MSPs, the untouchables, who must never ever be criticised for fear of prosecution. They do what they like, free of any accountability??
Oh, and please do not tell me they are accountable at the ballot box, because NOT one green MSP has ever been elected by their voters, they are ALL ‘list’ MSPs. The green gravy train, you might say.
Why is the rev the only journalist with the intelligence and balls to to write articles like this exposing the sinister turn this country has taken under this corrupt SNP government.
The silence is deafening.
“Though what the perpetrator has done may not be against the law, their reasons for doing it are. This means it may be possible to charge them with an offence.”
That has to win a prize for lack of clarity. Trying and failing to parse that in a way that makes sense and might also be true.
@ Confounder at 3.20pm:
“Though what the perpetrator has done may not be against the law, their reasons for doing it are.”
To me, this can only mean that to hold a particular opinion or belief is regarded as a crime. Thought-crime: exactly what the famous dystopian novels warned us about all those decades ago. How the hell did we ever get here, and find ourselves amongst people who actually think criminalising opinions is right and justified?
@ Michael Laing, 4:14 p.m.
Exactly — that’s the logical inference, but we know that’s bollox, right?
I suppose what they’re trying to say, without actually working out how to, is that an action can be rendered illegal BY DINT OF the reason for doing it.