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Our work here is done

Posted on August 28, 2021 by
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Breeks

Nice work Chris, even though it’s grim.

In other news…

link to archive.is

” Edinburgh Yes Hub are holding another “question time” style debate, though without the rancour and BBC bias, on September 21 in the Queen’s Hall in Edinburgh.

SNP and Greens invited, but not seeing ALBA spokesperson on the guest list. Feel bound to ask whether the rancour and BBC bias been replaced by someone else’s?

Robert Hughes

Touch of old Hieronymous there Chris ? Excellent work .

Think you know the answer to your own question Breeks .

The Independence gatekeepers will try to exclude ALBA at every turn . I believe to know avail

” The more you refuse to hear my voice
The louder I will sing
You hide behind walls of Jericho
Your lies will come tumbling
Deny my place in time
You squander wealth that’s mine
My light will shine so brightly
It will blind you
Cos there’s
Something inside so strong “

Ruby

Thanks to Hieronymus Bosch (you Sicko!)

I think that is unfair to Hieronymus Bosch he ain’t no Sicko just no good at painting fantasy!

I think he may have inspired an artist working with an old ripped off copy of photoshop who is currently doing excellent work which features a lot of magpies & ‘Morphy Richards’ irons.

Ruby

I really admire Chris’s patience. It must take ages to draw all this little figures. Bloody well done.

Figuring out all the symbolism in that cartoon could take a lot more patience than I have. I’m still stuck with the ‘Morphy Richards’ iron.

I’m relying on you guys to the work. Cheers!

Ruby

I’m relying on you guys to do the work. Cheers!

Robert Hughes

” ….to NO avail “

Ruby

When you have finished figuring out all the symbolism in Chris’s latest cartoon could you please go back to ‘Behind the Walls’ thread to talk about books?

Do we want the ‘Saughton Prison Library’ to end up with 50 copies of ‘War & Peace’?

Many thanks you are all wonderful.

willie

Good stuff Chris Cairns.

Producing this might get the cartoonist nark of your back. Since you’ve been away he’s been giving it big licks about slacky holiday boy being away etcetera ad infinitum.

Of course we’re glad to see him back of course with his own ghost appearances.

On a much more grave note the cartoon couldn’t help me think about the mighty imperial British having their ass hanging out in tatters in what resembles Suez or the fall of Singapore.

They did not die in vain – aye right. We should all remember that clarion call because Afghanistan has been a terrible, in fact criminal military misadventure. Many poor souls have paid with their lives and or are living with the legacy of disfigurement today.

What did they die for?

Scot Finlayson

Knowing the US and their lap dog UK they will set up and finance a insurgency group in Afghanistan,

cause they don`t seem to know any other way, they are still fighting the Cold War,so called `Communism` versus Greed.

a never ending circle of death and destruction for the citizens of Afghanistan.

Ruby

The big wake up call for me was the ‘Iraq War’ I believe that was also the reason why Humza Yousaf went into politics & supported independence.

I admired him for that and up until recently I had a great deal of respect for ‘Humza Yousaf’ but sadly that respect has been eroded.

Same applies to most of the SNP politicians.

Perhaps politicians should be restricted to only one five year term in office. It seems any longer is damaging.

Frank Gillougley

dear Rev,

any idea when your twitter will be reincarnated as it keeps me sane.

Captain Yossarian

With today’s cartoon and yesterday’s article on Craig Murray, it shows that, even in retirement, WoS beats most of the newspapers.

The problem in Afghanistan now is that no-one knows whether there have been 10,000 hostages left behind or 20,000?

holymacmoses

Well Mr Cairns – you’ve outdrawn yourself. Sometimes it’s words that we need, sometimes it’s an artist and sometimes it’s a bite of music.
In retirement, these pages still manages to provide two of the three necessities to carry on with a little bit of hope.
Thanks a million to you both

Frank Gillougley

Chris, couldn’t tell if you were describing Kabul or the bonfire that is Scotland

Luigi

I would liked to have heard Craig Murray’s analysis of this awful situation. Unfortunately he has been effectively silenced for the time being. I shudder what the situation in Afghanistan will be like when Craig is free again. Awful just awful. The disgusting fact is that those responsible for this neocon debacle will be the last to suffer what’s coming.

Republicofscotland

So much to take in from that artwork Chris, its a cross between a Picasso painting and an image from the long gone South Bank show.

Anyway we know that our COPFS is bent, as is the Scottish government, and that Police Scotland are just as bad, covering up the untimely death of Sheku Bayoh, but there’s far more, as Police Scotland have paid out over a million quid (tip of the iceberg) in hush money.

link to archive.is

Republicofscotland

Edinburgh’s AUOB march has had to be moved from the 2nd of October to the 25th of September, on advice from authorities.

AUOB’s Stirling march will take place on the 11th of September for those that wish to attend either or both if inclined.

Camy

I suspect that it’s a critique on the non availability of German power tools post Brexit

Hatuey

We are assuming it’s a reference to Afghanistan but we’ve created a few “gardens” like that, all over the region, in Libya, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, to name a few.

‘Disaster capitalism’ and ‘disaster foreign policy’ combine well in creating the conditions for terrorism to flourish and the pretext for future defence spending, interventions, and wars.

Further bucks are to be made “reconstructing” the “gardens” we create. It’s ‘Ground Force’ for sociopaths, with scum like Blair and Bush standing in for Titchmarsh and Dimmock…

I’m no knocking it. Well, not entirely. I appreciate that without this “dynamism” the US and UK economies would flatline. More so than ever we depend on sowing seeds of destruction in these gardens of earthly delights.

What else is there for us in a world that’s better than us at just about everything else? Death and destruction is all we are good at. In truth, it’s pretty much all we were ever good at.

Republicofscotland

Its interesting to note as one alert reader in the National newspaper points out, that Sturgeon decided to have her photo shoot op in the Golden Jubilee hospital in Glasgow, where there’s no A&E, so the media wouldn’t see the huge queues of folk waiting to get in, or treated, or those turned away deemed not to be sick enough.

On top of this NHS Larnarkshire, (as Sturgeon was posing with hi-tech surgical equipment) was announcing that it was postponing all its elective surgery. In my opinion the £1 billion pounds investment proposed for the NHS by Sturgeon won’t be enough to make a real dent in waiting times figures.

sarah

@ Frank Gillougley: is this Edinburgh or Afghanistan?

Snap.

Willie

Hatuey, I most certainly would not call Afghanistan an earthly delight. Have you been on the electric soup this morning good Sir.

From what I can see Afghanistan has been a violent brutal country at war with itself for the last few hundred years or so. Of course foreign powers have contributed to that internal dissent by supporting insurgency groups and direct military interventions from back in Victorian times, to the Soviet intervention to the recent US and British intervention. All went sour with the interventionist powers being routed – and this case the British for the second time exposed as a faded imperial power.

And then of course there is the impact of religion. Of course people should be free to practice and worship whatever form of religion they want. But Islam does seem to have a side to it that is incompatible with the modern rights and freedoms of Western society. And before anyone calls me racist for saying that, folks, especially women, should ask themselves if they would like Sharia Law, Taliban, Isis or Saudi Arabian imposed on them. Somehow I don’t think many would and the point is religion, and religions, not just Islam can be unhealthy.

But I suspect Huey that your good self already knows that and that ‘ earthly delights ‘ was a tinge of sarcasm. God forbid that we ever get locked down by a rigid restrictive ideology. Mind you when you look at some of the current political incumbents, their aides, and senior civil servants like Nicola Sturgeon, Shirley Anne Somerville, Leslie Evans, Liz Lloyd, Susan Ruddick and others you do wonder, because Scotland ain’t no earthly paradise!

J.o.e

‘I’m no knocking it. Well, not entirely. I appreciate that without this “dynamism” the US and UK economies would flatline. More so than ever we depend on sowing seeds of destruction in these gardens of earthly delights.

What else is there for us in a world that’s better than us at just about everything else? Death and destruction is all we are good at. In truth, it’s pretty much all we were ever good at.’

Not only does this statement display a stunning lack of economic knowledge it also displays a total ignorance of history and a will to blame us Europeans and European descendants for the woes of the world.

If you want to look at the destruction of middle Eastern countries and the opening of our borders, the growth of the military industrial complex, the neocons etc then the people you primarily need to look at are the Zionist establishment.

Kevin Cargill

Ok I give up. Where’s Cilla?

Oops. Wrong sicko!

Brilliant work Chris.

robertknight

Bloody hell Mr Cairns…

Recon I’ve got PTSD just from looking at the detail.

You deserve another holiday after churning that one out.

Jeez-oh…

SilverDarling

A nod to ‘The Garden of Earthly Delights’.

We have indeed learned nothing and although I’m not religious it does feel a bit like the end of times.

Have a nice weekend everyone!

Breeks

The very last thing I want to be is an apologist for the Taliban, nor do I condone any atrocity or brutality, but I genuinely wonder whether “the West” looking from the outside into a radical Islamist Afghanistan bears comparison beside a Muslim world looking from the outside into a radical Western enclave in Israel, usurped territory which completely disrespects the UN and International Law with impunity, treats Palestinians barbarically while destroying their livelihoods, killing their children, stealing their land, and even ploughing up their basic road infrastructure, and is furthermore routinely used as a base from which the West can launch air strikes, bombings, spy missions, and drone strike assassinations into sovereign states without even any pretence of a trial.

And yet it’s “us” who are meant to fear the Taliban. Just imagine how you’d feel living in Scotland if Westminster, in cahoots with the USA, arbitrarily decreed that all roads connecting Glasgow and Edinburgh had to be ploughed up and made permanently impassable, and deployed armoured bulldozers to make it so. And the kids getting shot for throwing stones weren’t Palestinian children, but ordinary and angry, Scottish kids.

I’ve said as much before, but I’ll say it again, it is us, our collective Western foreign policy throughout the Middle East, which is responsible for the radicalisation of Islam. We created the Taliban. It is our chicken coming home to roost.

We cannot defeat Islam, not because Islam is strong, but because no right thinking neutral can look at how the West abuses the people who live throughout the Middle East and condone “our” conduct and highly selective interpretation of laws, decency, and humanity. Without justice and equity, there will never be closure nor an end to this. Never.

Start being honest about it. The West isn’t seeking peace in the Middle East, it is demanding capitulation and subjugation, – fealty. But surrendering that freedom is that which no honest man Muslim gives up but with life itself. Does that sound familiar to your ear?

I happened to watch that 300 movie last night, the one with Gerard Butler and 300 Spartans in their underpants, and I couldn’t help noticing how Americanised the script was….

The 300 Spartans are styled as “free men” defending a democracy and standing up to an all-powerful Tyrant with unlimited military resource at his disposal. The Spartans euthanise their weak children, submit the rest to a lifetime of violence or prostitution for dirty old men, rolls which they mustn’t complain about, are immune to the seductions of Xerxes, he has nothing they want, and despite the impossible odds and certainty of death, they are ready, willing, and able to forfeit their lives because their warrior society expects that ultimate sacrifice from them.

I’m curious. Why is that act of suicidal sacrifice noble heroism from a Spartan, but it’s radicalised terrorism from a Muslim?

I repeat, I am absolutely not condoning the Taliban, not one atrocity, inhumanity or murder of the innocent, or cowardly suicide bomber do I excuse. I am simply asking the question, what else did we expect to happen?

Dan

SilverDarling says: at 12:01 pm

We have indeed learned nothing…

I disagree! Due to some bright spark discovering pixels we have at least learnt to capture high resolution images, that on occasion highlight that the modern day garden of earthly delights appear little different to what Hieronymus Bosch created back in t’day.

link to bbc.co.uk

J.o.e

@Breeks

‘The west’ acts in accordance with the wishes of the Zionists. Or at least the major governments do.

The biggest player in this is the US, obviously.

Ex congresswoman Cynthia Mckinney once spoke openly about how the Israeli lobby expected her to pledge allegiance to Israel or they would fund her opponents.

The weight that Israel carries in the US is absolutely immense to the point that the US is now pretty much a puppet state.

I refuse to accept this blame for the West in general. It is utter garbage foisted on us by a media who largely rests in the hands of the culprits.

Ottomanboi

While «the West» spirals into panic and self laceration many are welcoming the return of Taliban rule.
Some peace may finally return. So what you cant be a fake American or Brit and western «culture» goes in the trash. The peoples of Afghanistan are tough, they’ll survive.
Not too sure about «the West» though.

Captain Yossarian

“The peoples of Afghanistan are tough, they’ll survive”.

There was a chap on Channel 4 News last night saying that someone the Taliban accused of working for the enemy had both legs broken as punishment. A woman who refused to cook for the Taliban was burned alive. Believe me, this is just the beginning. Afghanistan has turned the clock back to the 7th Century.

J.o.e

‘There was a chap on Channel 4 News last night’

FFS

J.o.e

@Ottomanboi

I want this incarnation of ‘the west’ to die.

We have become nothing short of brain washed consumerist weaklings

Captain Yossarian

Don’t vex yourself J.o.e, I’m not Prince Charles. Folk from Glasgow use words like chap all the time and everyone knows what they mean.

J.o.e

@Captain Yossarian

Quoting the TV is what caused the face-palm

Dorothy Devine

Yes Breeks and we all have to bear in mind we are not shown the strewn body parts caused by our ‘humanitarian” interventions or the wedding parties splattered into pieces by drone attacks – but by Jove those other chaps are terrorists, doncha know.

Palestinian kids being mown down in parks or playing on beaches doesn’t seem to enter the collective western media mind as an act of terrorism.

And no-on has ever explained to me what an ‘insurgent’ is – a freedom fighter fighting for his or her country to be free from outside invasion? or just labelled as another kind of terrorist?

Hugh Jarse

You’re familiar with the scenes at closing time at CC’s when Holyrood is sitting then Chris?

What a shift!
Holiday weekend, at least, is deserved.

Republicofscotland

Captain Yossarian @12.54pm.

Your not related to Zbigniew Brzezinski by any chance are you? for this is the kind of stuff the Brzezinski said to stir up trouble in the region under Jimmy Carter as US POTUS

Hatuey

willie “Hatuey, I most certainly would not call Afghanistan an earthly delight. Have you been on the electric soup this morning good Sir.”

It’s not my analogy, squire. I merely went along with it.

Linda McFarlane

Hellscape right enough Chris.

Republicofscotland

“I’m curious. Why is that act of suicidal sacrifice noble heroism from a Spartan, but it’s radicalised terrorism from a Muslim?”

Breeks @12.19pm.

I’m pretty sure Breeks its based on the Western civilisations choosing the ancient Greek culture and achievements, to then base Western society on them, men such as Socrates, Archimedes, Aristotle etc are, were the basis of our Western learning.

It’s well known that those groomed for high posts learn works such as Homers Iliad, of which its said Boris Johnson can recite it in Latin.

wee monkey

Camy says:
28 August, 2021 at 10:14 am
I suspect that it’s a critique on the non availability of German power tools post Brexit

FAKE.

Just bought “German” cordless tools AKA strimmer and hedge cutter last week and this week.

Hatuey

Joe “Not only does this statement display a stunning lack of economic knowledge it also displays a total ignorance of history and a will to blame us Europeans and European descendants for the woes of the world.”

It is a matter of fact and not opinion that European expansion from the early 16th century onwards depended so much on violence that it is virtually impossible to make any meaningful distinction between that violence and the expansion itself.

If you take the exploits of Cortes in the Americas as a starting point and join the dots all the way through to say The Scramble for Africa, you will see the common denominator is violence. That’s the foundations of our global economy today.

It isn’t in any way controversial to suggest that there would be no United States today if there had been no willingness on the part of Europeans to engage in wholesale industrial violence. The same can be said of many places, including Australia, South Africa, Singapore, etc., and all the central of hubs of today’s global economy.

It’s hard to believe that we could ever have negotiated these sorts of settlements. Impressive as our trinkets were back in the day, I don’t think the 50 millions native American Indians that were wiped out in North America, for example, would have given their lives and land for them.

Christ, even the pathetic Belgians were at it. Do you know they had human zoos right into the 1950s in Belgium?

That’s all pretty basic stuff as far as history goes — anyone can read that and validate it in seconds.

It all gets much more interesting and diabolical when you consider that the era is referred to as the age of “European enlightenment”.

Well, thank fuck we go enlightened. I can’t imagine what the world would be like now if we took one of our dark turns back then.

Republicofscotland

Hatuey @2.13pm.

Lets not forget that the French were still using the guillotine right up until 1977, the same year the film Star Wars was released.

Captain Yossarian

….and let’s not forget, while we’re all putting the boot into the Europeans, that the Taliban are still cutting folk’s heads off with kitchen knifes and throwing folk off roofs.

J.o.e

@Hatuey

An honest look at history will show that brutality was the name of the game with nearly every aristocrat or king (or queen). The Europeans are not unique in this.

When it comes to slavery the Barbary slave trade dwarfs the transatlantic slave trade and was busy enslaving the same Europeans you want to blame for everything. It was the Royal Navy and European descended men who mainly put an end to the transatlantic slave trade.

That’s just one example the people in our midst like to avoid when talking about all the reasons to hate ourselves.

However the contributions we Scots have made to the industrial and scientific world has been immense. No single people have contributed more, particularly on a per capita basis. Europeans in general are intelligent, enlightened and open minded peoples and have contributed massively to human progress. Any other take on it is utter garbage. What we are faced with now is a ‘woke’ movement backed by the corporate world that is fully intent on destroying us as definable peoples.

When it comes to the 20th century I will let 2 different Rabbi’s explain who the main mass murderers have been, who has written our history curriculum and why we are where we are now.

link to youtube.com

link to odysee.com?

t42

Retired generals are appearing on MSM to read the following messages:
-It was an “accident” to leave hundreds of tanks, weapons and helicopters in Afghanistan.
-Russia and China are “celebrating” having a heavily armed, failed state on their borders.

Never trust the MSM. Never trust NATO. Never trust a unionist.

Breeks


Hatuey says:
28 August, 2021 at 2:13 pm

….Well, thank fuck we go enlightened. I can’t imagine what the world would be like now if we took one of our dark turns back then.

We did?

Frankly, I’ve pretty much given up on humanity. All the ingenuity we have and the waste we put it too.

It’s the animals I mourn. The ecosystems nature honed over millions of years which barely survive decades of human contact. Whether it’s the mind numbing insanity of wiping out bison in their millions to deny native Americans food, or factory farming whales, sharks, or even hoovering up sand eels to turn into fertilisers while wee Puffins are forced to starve.

We decry Brazil’s destruction of rainforest, and we’re appalled that lions, tigers and rhino’s are all dwindling through loss of habitat, but “we” speak as a colonial nation who pretty much introduced big game hunting, purged our homeland of all apex predators larger than a fox, yet still persecute the foxes, raptors and fish for entertainment.

We’re enlightened now are we? I don’t see it myself. We are an infestation on our planet that is driving other species past the point of survivability. We fret about our own extinction level calamity but are oblivious to the extinction level events we have suffered on species after species. Even the bees and butterfly’s are dying out because we sterilise their environment with poisons and our bumbling, crass interference.

I hope this a phase humanity is going through, and the collective penny drops that the wonder of our planet is it’s equilibrium and biodiversity, of which we humans are just one small part. Sadly, I think we are already far, far too numerous in population, and our proliferation still grows unchecked. True wilderness and all the critters you’ll find there, are living on borrowed time.

As a species we are looking further and further into space for signs of life on other planets, while at the same time wiping out species after species, and erasing habitat after habitat on the most wondrous, unimaginably brilliant world we could ever hope to discover.

Maybe the reason we can’t find life elsewhere is because it’s all hiding, or maybe these other life forms recognised our potential and banished the blue marble with the naked apes on it to the most remote, obscure and desolate part of the Universe, light years away from all contact because they knew what a pestilence we would become.

There is no human progress, none, not one, that can compare to delicate perfection of the tiniest hummingbird or honey bee who evolve in perfect symbiosis with the plants they depend upon for food. A tiny wee critter that is indescribably beautiful and even defies gravity, has sussed out life on Earth far better than we “geniuses” have.

twathater

To describe this work of art as a cartoon is demonstrably insulting , unfortunately it is a depiction of the depravity and cruelty humans are capable of inflicting on others without remorse
It has been said many times the lessons history is meant to teach us are never learned

The USA and its UK puppet alongside many other supposedly civilised countries put despotic regimes to shame when it comes to destabilising countries and nations they wrote the book

Your art tells stories Chris ,sometimes stories that tell the truth are repugnant

David Caledonia

FFs

Now they’re yapping aboot a fecking cartoon

Mist001

Thing is, it strikes me that the USA is running out of countries to invade. Maybe that’s why they’re talking about going to the Moon, they don’t have anywhere on Earth left to invade.

Ruby

wee monkey says:
28 August, 2021 at 2:05 pm
Camy says:
28 August, 2021 at 10:14 am
I suspect that it’s a critique on the non availability of German power tools post Brexit

FAKE.

Just bought “German” cordless tools AKA strimmer and hedge cutter last week and this week.

Reply

Would that be from a company owned by a descendant of old Hieronymus?

Me too I bought a cordless vacuum cleaner. Did you know the batteries for all Bosch power tools & vacuum cleaners are interchangeable!

Ruby

David Caledonia says:
28 August, 2021 at 5:03 pm
FFs

Now they’re yapping aboot a fecking cartoon

Reply

What’s wrong grumpy?

You could always go to ‘Behind the Walls’ thread and yap about what books would be good to send Craig/’The Saughton Prison Library’.

Yap? Is that a clue to where you normally do your yapping? Woof!

Anne Galloway

Has anyone seen the extracts in the Times today from David Clegg’s new book on Alex Salmond rehashing the allegations from the alphabeties? How on earth can Clegg get away with this given the amount of detail he goes into about the complainers.

sarah

@ Breeks at 4.03: I too have been noticing the brilliant systems of non-human life all around. Without us messing up the environment they would do just fine.

Turning to useless humans, the Green Party members have failed to help us out of a hole and have voted in favour of the Cosy Corrupt not-a-coalition. I am almost in despair.

Republicofscotland

“.and let’s not forget, while we’re all putting the boot into the Europeans, that the Taliban are still cutting folk’s heads off with kitchen knifes and throwing folk off roofs.”

Captain Yossarian.

The Taliban could kill ten folk a day and they still wouldn’t make a dent on the murders committed by the Great Satan, in the false name of war on terror.

link to consortiumnews.com

link to consortiumnews.com

link to consortiumnews.com

You’re either naive, or an apologist for Western atrocities, or you’re getting paid to spout your shit.

Republicofscotland

So it turns out in a report by a war correspondent with thirty-five years of covering wars in Bosnia, Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Syria, Libya, Sudan, that twenty-eight Taliban guards helping the US soldiers to search those coming to the airport in Kabul also died in the blast from a suicide bombers vest, which was unusually heavy at twenty-five pounds.

Some of the other Afghans who died after the explosion died from gunfire from US troops says the BBC.

link to twitter.com

link to twitter.com

Breeks

Mist001 says:
28 August, 2021 at 5:05 pm
Thing is, it strikes me that the USA is running out of countries to invade. Maybe that’s why they’re talking about going to the Moon, they don’t have anywhere on Earth left to invade.

I disagree. They are still spoiling for a fight in the South China Sea… but it’s more likely to be bravado.

What might have the US cooling it’s jets might actually be the assault on the Whitehouse by Trump supporters, and the visceral threat of a US Civil War, or at least, localised anarchies.

I’m not in the US, so might well be reading things quite wrongly, but some of the testimony from Whitehouse Security and Police was powerful stuff, and the assault was seen by some as a failed coup. I think the US, post Trump, is trying to get the genie back in the bottle and harbour a bit more tolerance and moderation.

I think America actually gave itself a big fright on the home front, and a trip to the moon with US flags all over it might heal some of the division.

Captain Yossarian

RoS – I suspect you have some sort of mild pre-condition of OCD re the ‘Great Satan’. Does anyone else in the world refer to them as the ‘Great Satan?’…..other than Iran?

Ruby

Anne Galloway says:
28 August, 2021 at 5:18 pm
Has anyone seen the extracts in the Times today from David Clegg’s

Reply
Yes I read that. Same old same old! Alex Salmond is guilty.

Wonder why this is happening could it be Alex Salmond is on the move.

I have decided not to post an archived link to the article.

Republicofscotland

Captain Yossarian.

Consecutive US administrations or the Great Satan as I like to refer to them, are responsible via their foreign policies, for much of the wars civil, or other, that are going on, and have gone on around the world today or in the past.

Infact America has no allies only hostages, as Australia found out, now it economy is flagging because its the tip of the Great Satan’s spear in the economic war on China.

Now the question is what does this all mean for Australia?” Mearsheimer said. “Well, you’re in a quandary for sure. Everybody knows what the quandary is. And by the way you’re not the only country in East Asia that’s in this quandary. You trade a lot with China, and that trade is very important for your prosperity, no question about that. Security-wise you really want to go with us. It makes just a lot more sense, right? And you understand that security is more important than prosperity, because if you don’t survive, you’re not gonna prosper.”

“Now some people say there’s an alternative: you can go with China,” said Mearsheimer. “Right you have a choice here: you can go with China rather the United States. There’s two things I’ll say about that. Number one, if you go with China you want to understand you are our enemy. You are then deciding to become an enemy of the United States. Because again, we’re talking about an intense security competition.”

“You’re either with us or against us,” he continued. “And if you’re trading extensively with China, and you’re friendly with China, you’re undermining the United States in this security competition. You’re feeding the beast, from our perspective. And that is not going to make us happy. And when we are not happy you do not want to underestimate how nasty we can be. Just ask Fidel Castro.”

Republicofscotland

Re my 6.56pm comment a link would be nice.

link to caitlinjohnstone.substack.com

Shug

Mr Jack and Co might want to take a moment to reflect on how Westminster treats its supporters and place men in Afghanistan

Old Arab saying better to be the the Englishman’s enemy than his friend. If you his enemy he will try and buy you if your his friend he will sell you

I wonder how quickly Westminster will drop Jack and Dross

Should unionists be barred from office in an Indy Scotland to stop them acting in England’s interest

wee monkey

Scottish Justice eh!

link to pbs.twimg.com

J.o.e

‘I’m not in the US, so might well be reading things quite wrongly, but some of the testimony from Whitehouse Security and Police was powerful stuff, and the assault was seen by some as a failed coup. I think the US, post Trump, is trying to get the genie back in the bottle and harbour a bit more tolerance and moderation.’

I would advise you get your head out of MSM or silicon valley. Whichever it is that’s got you this uninformed.

Hatuey

Of course, in terms of moral responsibility, you can’t point to the terrible things others have done as an excuse or justification for the terrible things you do. Kant worked all this out hundreds of years ago and his ideas form the basis of most modern western judicial systems today.

Try telling a policeman or a judge that he should overlook your crimes because someone somewhere else committed comparable or more heinous crimes. In terms of a legal defence, that sort of argument is likely to result in you doing more time, not less.

But this is the whataboutery we are forced to deal with when someone attempts to give an honest account of European history and our relationship with the rest of the world.

It’s possible people like Joe and a Yossarian aren’t even aware they’re doing it, such is the power of propaganda in schools, etc. Thus, like English nationalists when you discuss the misery Britain imposed on India, the focus always switches to talk of railways, industry, and innovation when any mention is made of the brutality that underpinned everything as far as the rise of Europe is concerned.

Hugh Jarse

Since Scotland’s justice is flexible (and failing), and fairness is in short supply, using ‘dirty’ tactics could be forgiven.

Scotland’s Shame!

Just a list, no explanations required.

Only a bit of fun.
Make it so.

Brian Doonthetoon

Hi Ruby.

Why shouldn’t others read the hatchet job in The Times, courtesy of David Clegg and Kieran Andrews? I’m sure there’s jigsaw info in that article, surrounding the April 2014 visit to Brugges.

link to archive.is

Captain Yossarian

@Hatuey – I’ve worked with many, many Indians and they have no problem with anyone from these shores. You’re right, the focus nearly always does switch to railways and bridges, but that focus is shifted there by the Indians themselves, not by us.

sarah

@ BDTT: thanks for the link. What a hatchet job it is, as you say.

If we didn’t know better from the jury’s verdict, and from the reactions from people like Robin McAlpine, Martin Hannnan and Craig Murray who have seen evidence of the conspiracy, one might be duped into accepting this version of events.

Also the Rev’s digging into the links between Clegg and the FM’s inner circle.

Brian Doonthetoon

Clegg = Daily Record ne pas?
Via his girlfriend?

The whole thing stinks.

Ruby

Brian Doonthetoon says:
28 August, 2021 at 8:34 pm
Hi Ruby.

Why shouldn’t others read the hatchet job in The Times, courtesy of David Clegg and Kieran Andrews? I’m sure there’s jigsaw info in that article, surrounding the April 2014 visit to Brugges.

link to archive.is

Reply
Ach I don’t know maybe your right & people should read it but then again it’s pretty desperate stuff. I just didn’t want to give them any publicity. Yes you are probably correct about there being jigsaw info in the article & how much more will there be in the book.

The bit that got me was the following which I thought was desperate stuff:

‘The first sign of trouble came on October 30, when a female staff member expressed discomfort after Salmond asked her to watch a film with him in the study of Bute House. She said he had switched the lights off and pushed two chairs together. While she stressed “no inappropriate contact” had taken place, and did not want to make a formal complaint, she was unsettled enough to share her concerns.’

I suppose I thought I’m not going to post a link & insult people with such garbage.

Also there’s a bit about the civil servant using terms like ‘angry pig’ and ‘disgusting pig’. What civil servant would use language like that?

Hatuey

You can’t be a racist because you have black friends, yosser, is that the idea? And we will just need to take your word for it.

Got it.

The problem, of course, is that it wouldn’t matter if the whole of India was best friends and agreed with everything you said about British India.

Because none of that would change the fact that the average life expectancy of an Indian in 1905 was about 19 years old. None of it would alter the fact that India accounted for about 35% of world economic output in 1700 when the British arrived, and about 2% of global GDP when they left.

As for India’s railways, they were put in place for two principal reasons; 1) to make it easier to get the booty out, and 2) to facilitate moving troops around and putting down rebellions. On those terms, yes, it was a huge success.

Some halfwit earlier accused me of having a flimsy understanding of history and economics. I sincerely wish that was the case.

Hatuey

RoS: “Some of the other Afghans who died after the explosion died from gunfire from US troops says the BBC.”

The only surprise there is who is saying it.

Ruby

sarah says:
28 August, 2021 at 9:15 pm
one might be duped into accepting this version of events.

Reply

Well I suppose you could if you believe every bit of garbage written by folk like David Clegg.

I read the article and immediately thought it was a complete load of rubbish & not worth discussing.

But hey if it’s being discussed I’ll join in.

The other thing I found laughable was Nicola Sturgeon being described as a feminist. What a joke!

sarah

O?T: Books for Craig Murray. Does anyone e.g. Ruby know if we can now send books from any source e.g. secondhand book shop to Craig or must it still be via Amazon, Blackwells, Waterstones?

Ruby

sarah says:
28 August, 2021 at 9:48 pm
O?T: Books for Craig Murray. Does anyone e.g. Ruby know if we can now send books from any source e.g. secondhand book shop to Craig or must it still be via Amazon, Blackwells, Waterstones?

Reply

Sorry I don’t know that Sarah.

There seems to be a shortage of info re sending books.
Isn’t it the case that we are now sending books to the prison library rather than directly to Craig.

We need some proper advice. Properly would be best coming from the prison librarian. It might be possible to contact him/her directly.

President Xiden

Welcome back my friends to the fear that never ends and watch in innocent wonderment as the Covid crisis merges seamlessly into the climate crisis leading to similar restrictions on our freedoms.

Mist001

“All fine,” she replied. “He’s a pig, but he’s not an angry pig today. Just a disgusting one.”

It’s not a complaint, it’s an opinion.

Captain Yossarian

@Hatuey – I didn’t say they were my friends, I said I worked with them. The last time I worked with Indians there were 5 of them. The opinion, passed down from parents and grandparents, is what I was passing-on to you. Take it or leave it. It’s best to hear it from those who know what they are talking about.

Ruby

‘On the 30th October in the study of Bute House Alex Salmond tied a civil servant to a chair, put the lights out and forced her to watch porn on the telly while he sat master-bating in the chair next to hers.
Is what the manipulative Clegg wants you to infer.

If that had been the story then I might have given some credence to the Albabetties accusations of sexual assault.

The truth is probably that on 30th October in the study of Bute House Alex Salmond asked a civil servant if she would like to watch a film. She agreed and Alex Salmond rearranged to furniture so that they both had a good view of the TV screen, he put the lights out to cut out reflections.

If this civil servant was so ill at ease in Alex Salmond’s company then why wasn’t she deemed unsuitable for the post and transferred?

Hugh Jarse

Twa unelected wokies, of the worst, green variety, are now set to rule over us.
Cabinet meetings will need to allow for some extra time, to cover the additional pronoun usage.

Tourism slogan.
“Come to Scotland, we’re giving power away!”
🙁
Flee young sane people of Scotia.
The ba’s burst.

Ruby

Mist001 says:
28 August, 2021 at 10:02 pm
“All fine,” she replied. “He’s a pig, but he’s not an angry pig today. Just a disgusting one.”

It’s not a complaint, it’s an opinion.

Reply

It makes you wonder what sort of relationship there was between this civil servant & Michael McElhinney for her to write in such an informal manner & why anyone thought if was appropriate for her to continue in the post.

Could be we are discussing just a load of made up garbage and none of what Clegg has written is anywhere near the truth.

robertknight

Oh, I dearly hope AS has a legal team in place to de-bag Clegg et al.

Popcorn please…

Hatuey

I’ll leave it, yosser. Reality and truth matters, regardless of opinions. If this place stands for anything, it stands for that.

Ruby

Hatuey says:
28 August, 2021 at 9:36 pm
You can’t be a racist because you have black friends, yosser, is that the idea? And we will just need to take your word for it.

Reply

It could be the term racist is a misnomer. I’m looking for a word that describes people who just like what they are familiar with (which I think is most everyone) xenophobe is a bit too negative.

If you replaced racist with xenophobe or something less negative then you could be a xenophobe and have black friends because it’s not the colour of the person skin that is being objected to but the huge difference in their way of life & culture. A way of life & culture you are not familiar with.

Does that make any sense?

Captain Yossarian

@Hatuey – This site doesn’t stand for the gratuitous condemnation of the English, the Americans or anyone else. Have a look at Scotland at the moment….would you call it a beacon of democracy in Europe, because I wouldn’t. Does any other country in Europe, or the world, jail folk for ‘jigsaw identification?’

Benhope

Ruby and Sarah.

Of course you can send books to the prison library so please cut out all the crap !!!

JSC

There’s a great line in the Amazon blurb for the Clegg book, especially the “access…to the women” part….

“With unrivalled access to both camps and the women who made the allegations, and with rigorously fair-minded reporting, journalists David Clegg and Kieran Andrews go behind the headlines to uncover the truth”

Meg merrilees

Was driving home late tonight and heard the Sunday Times exclusive trailed on the radio. Read all about it, how this amazing relationship between AS and she/her collapsed and then a whole lot of trash.

Does this article arouse hatred? I think they might be sailing a bit close to the proverbial wind and let’s hope Alex does them for character assassination.

Hatuey

Yossarian: “This site doesn’t stand for the gratuitous condemnation of the English, the Americans or anyone else…”

I agree. And nothing I said was gratuitous.

Most British Unionists, like you, are apologists when it comes to these things.

The British Empire was fundamentally rancid and disgusting. None of its relatively trivial redeeming features come close to cancelling out its rancid and disgusting fundamentals.

And nothing is excused by the fact that there were other bad people in the world who were also doing bad things — crime as we define it today would cease to exist if that were the case.

Alf Baird

Ruby @ 10:56 pm

“It could be the term racist is a misnomer”

Not in colonialism, which involves racism, prejudice and worse, and also leads to ‘internalized racism’ where an exploited people view their oppression as deserved. We know the latter condition better as the Scottish Cultural Cringe.

link to yoursforscotlandcom.wordpress.com

Breeks

OT

Just discovered a mini workaround for the new Twitter.

When you click on a link, and it opens their log-in page, but kicks you back to where you were so you can’t follow links… Instead of clicking / closing the log in menu, ignore it, but right click and copy the web page address at the top, open a new page, and paste the link. The page you want then opens behind another log in page, but stays open when you close the box.

Maybe this isn’t news and everybody does it already, but I didn’t know.

Captain Yossarian

“You can’t be a racist because you have black friends, yosser, is that the idea? And we will just need to take your word for it”….Sound pretty gratuitous to me.

Anyway, Scotland currently has one internet blogger in jail, not because the law says he should be in jail but because a Scottish judge says so – two different things; their number-one internet blogger is in retirement because he can see what’s coming.

I’m not a British Nationalist, but Andrew Neil is. Before all of this started, he told everyone that, due to the SNP stormtroopers, Scotland was turning into a banana republic without the bananas.

Now, either he is right or he is wrong and I would say he is right.

Dorothy Devine

How can they get away with writing salacious shite ?

It looks as though juries are now never to be believed or used – just someone’s opinion will do.

Dan

@ Dorothy Devine

With regard to you asking:

How can they get away with writing salacious shite ?

As BrianDtt mentioned up thread, there’s also the aspect of the article jigsaw identifying those with supposedly protected anonymity…

Breeks

It is quite extraordinary the fear and hatred the Establishment has for Alex Salmond, and the extent to which it will sell out it’s integrity, cheat, lie and smear, just to bring him down.

It troubled me at first, can’t lie, I thought it was hurting us, but the more ALBA is ostracised and kept out of the equation, the stronger ALBA gets, and better still, it’s growing it’s strength outside the sandbox of Vichy Scottish Government and it’s pet UK Media. I like the potent mix of a “rebel” ALBA Party and a Sovereign Scottish Constitution, and a UK General Election which can be treated as a Plebiscite Election.

The SNP and Media are making ALBA out to be rebels and non-conformist “outsiders”, and I actually think that will come to suit ALBA just fine, and cometh the hour, it will be Holyrood which finds itself out in the cold and impotent.

I’m not complacent, not at all, but it feels like we have a dog in the race again, and I haven’t felt that since 2014. Better still, this dog will I think bite, and it won’t be so easily muzzled.

Ruby

Alf Baird says:
29 August, 2021 at 6:45 am
Ruby @ 10:56 pm

“It could be the term racist is a misnomer”

Not in colonialism, which involves racism, prejudice and worse, and also leads to ‘internalized racism’ where an exploited people view their oppression as deserved. We know the latter condition better as the Scottish Cultural Cringe.

link to yoursforscotlandcom.wordpress.com

Reply

I’m honoured to get a reply from you Professor Baird. I can’t say that I have thoroughly studied your paper. I am not very academic as you have probably figured out.
I understand about ‘The Scottish Cultural Cringe’ well to a certain extent.

My simple argument was that ‘racism’ is a very confusing label and that you can be ‘racist’ and have black friends.
‘Black friends’ can also suffer from ‘The Scottish Cultural Cringe’

The word ‘racism’ covers too much.
Now it even covers religion.
Next it’ll include transexuals.

I believe we are being oppressed by confusing language.

Ruby

Dan says:
29 August, 2021 at 9:47 am
@ Dorothy Devine

With regard to you asking:

“How can they get away with writing salacious shite ?”

Reply

It’s a money maker and people absolutely love ‘salacious shite’

J.o.e

We can recognise that some terribly bad things were done on a vast scale by our ancestors and horrendous worldviews were held – along with pretty much everyone else in the world.

This constant attempt to burden us with the horrors of the past is merely the ‘woke’ movement giving reasons to us for being forced to accept the total dismantling of our society and them totally changing the demographics of our countries without our consent.

We deserve to give up our countries and idea’s of nationhood you see. Because some of our ancestors might have been tyrants of one sort or another.

What you won’t find in this sickening anti-european movement is them looking through generations of the corporate and financial classes and asking them to give way in the interests of progress. Im pretty sure you could find the actual direct descendants of tyrants, bankers and slavers, still living off the blood money, but I think you might find a worrying trend in them supporting corporations who want to foist this guilt onto all of us and destroy our communities for it.

Its another corporate globalist angle and is supported by the same type of characters who support world government, medical tyranny and anti-nationalism.

Reject it. There is nothing behind it except a will to dominate and subjugate while wearing a progressive mask.

Ruby

The Clegg book could end up being a good read if you want to learn more about the people involved.

I won’t pay £20 for it so I’m hoping some kind person will ‘share’.

Looking forward to learning much more about the Alphabetties & people like Michael McElhinney.

I wonder if Clegg has employed a team of lawyers to ‘legal his work’ or the fact that he is a ‘MSM journalist’ he is exempt from all that legal stuff.

Dan

Alert folk with good memories will recall some btl discussion in 2018 regarding Article 49 and 48 with regard to the mechanism of Scotland retaining EU membership.

link to wingsoverscotland.com

Interestingly, Articles 49 & 48 were being floated way back in April 2014 when the then First Minister Alex Salmond made a speech at the College of Europe in Bruges.
Archived link to BBC page.

link to archive.is

Raises questions as to why so little was done by our current First Minister to protect Scotland’s democratically expressed will when the “material change in circumstances” kicked in.
Had kinda hoped for something with a bit more clout than wind/bawbags exclaiming “Scotland won’t be taken out of the EU against our will”

Hatuey

The first casualty of colonialism is the coloniser’s right to complain when foreigners arrive on their home-shores. That right is left stone dead and entombed; and the curse of shameful hypocrisy awaits anyone who opens the sarcophagus.

Scotland and Scottish people played unforgivable and unforgettable parts in the biggest imperialist project that the world has ever seen. Many eagerly took part, some more reluctantly.

If Scottish people today aren’t willing to accept that, if they aren’t willing to take responsibility for it, then they lose the right to claim they are Scottish.

That’s the thing about nations and nationhood, isn’t it… they’re more or less immortal. And the guilt is immortal too.

If you go around the world today waving your flags and talking about your nation’s proud history, don’t be surprised if one or two people remind you of these things. That’s how it works.

sarah

@ Ruby at 9.55: thanks for the reply about sending books to Craig. I was thinking that if I sent a book to the prison library that I actually intended to be “lent” to Craig, how could I ensure that that happened. But as benhope points out so courteously, perhaps I am over-thinking the issue.

Alf Baird

Ruby @ 10:07

“I believe we are being oppressed by confusing language.”

Certainly agree with you there.

On the matter of colonialism and racism, according to Prof Edward Said: “what was done in Ireland was also done in Bengal or, by the French in Algeria”. And, in the context of Ireland “The idea of English racial superiority became ingrained”. Which in turn led to the desire for independence.

Frantz Fanon and Aime Cesaire expressed interest in the notion that some Europeans considered racism to be mainly colour oriented, pointing to Hitler…

John Main

HaHa Hatuey 28 August, 2021 at 9:36 pm

“Because none of that would change the fact that the average life expectancy of an Indian in 1905 was about 19 years old.
Some halfwit earlier accused me of having a flimsy understanding of history and economics. I sincerely wish that was the case.”

It took me about 1 minute to find that the average life expectancy of an Indian in 1905 was between 22 and 23. Not great of course, but not 19 either. I didn’t waste my time looking at your other stats as you already have a solid track record of writing drivel.

Are you sure it was only a halfwit that called you out Haha? Seems to me like a quarterwit could run rings around you and even an eighthwit would best you more often than not.

When did you ever do sincerity anyway? But here’s an opportunity for you to make a start. The average life expectancy of an Indian in 1905 was between 22 and 23. What do you propose to do about that? What do you want me to do about that? What do you want the people of an Independent Scotland to one day do about that?

And meantime, what do you want the devolved SNP/Green administration currently squatting in Hollyrood to do about the disgracefully low life expectancy of 1905 Indians?

Hurry up Haha. I am sincerely interested to hear your answers.

J.o.e

Thanks Hatuey, for fitting perfectly into what I just described.

And doing it with such a display of twisted logic and on-the-spot Hatuey principles. lol

Does anyone else agree with Hatuey’s 11:00 post?

John Main

HaHa Hatuey 29 August, 2021 at 11:00 am

“The first casualty of colonialism is the coloniser’s right to complain when foreigners arrive on their home-shores. If Scottish people today aren’t willing to accept that, if they aren’t willing to take responsibility for it, then they lose the right to claim they are Scottish.”

Sez you, Haha, and nobody else.

Good night was it? You best get some sleep before posting again.

nevermind

Captain Yossarian says:
28 August, 2021 at 9:38 am

With today’s cartoon and yesterday’s article on Craig Murray, it shows that, even in retirement, WoS beats most of the newspapers.

The problem in Afghanistan now is that no-one knows whether there have been 10,000 hostages left behind or 20,000?

Firstly, thanks for this excellent cartoon Chris, it will take me some time to decipher its intricate details.

Its very easy to sound different to the wider MSM, Captain Y., because their editors are not happy without covering other newspapers stories, ad nauseum, hence they all sound the same and are populated by the MI groomed scribblers who would never jeopardise their lifestyle/income for daring to cover a story which Craig, Julian Assange and or WoS would report about.
Lord Dannant this morning on Radio 4 mused that ‘we can not have a proper relationship with the Taliban if they commit Human rights abuses’.
Well me ol doddery Lordy, you should relax, retire from being an armchair general, because you said no such thing whilst we armed the head choppers of Saudi Arabia who used them in Yemen and dictatorial Bahrain for the last few decades. You are being used to apologize our own inability to be coherent and diplomatic.

If we have a real interest in the future of our relationship with Afghanistan we would offer them support, financially and practically. After yesterdays announcement of an amnesty to all who fought and or served the oppressing powers of a now redundant NATO contingent, the nastiness in the MSM/BBC regurgitating 20 year old stories of a Taliban should stop.
After all it was the CIA and our all knowing Intelligence bods who created it with the help of the good neighborly ISI in madrassas in Pakistan.

Missing Craig, he would have known so much more on this war on terror fiasco, which increased poverty by 62% and increased the opium supply globally back to 84%, after the Taliban banned it at the turn of the Millennium.

Ruby

sarah says:
29 August, 2021 at 11:11 am
@ Ruby at 9.55: thanks for the reply about sending books to Craig. I was thinking that if I sent a book to the prison library that I actually intended to be “lent” to Craig, how could I ensure that that happened. But as benhope points out so courteously, perhaps I am over-thinking the issue.

Reply

I think Ben Hope is a total idiot best ignored. (Thats is me holding back on what I really think of Ben Hope)

Of course we know we can send books to the ‘Saughton Prison Library’ we can send books to wherever we fancy but the question is what happens to these books when they arrive at their destination.

You are correct in looking for answers. Don’t beat yourself up because of some idiot making rude comments.

My advice would be lets wait and see if there is any new info.

I would imagine Craig has plenty to go on with at the moment.
God help him if ‘Ben Hope’ has decided to write.

Andrew F

Thanks Breeks @7:52am.

That has been giving me the sh1ts! This worked so I can see twitter threads without signing up.

Graf Midgehunter

Breeks says: at 7:52 am

OT

Just discovered a mini workaround for the new Twitter.

When you click on a link, and it opens their log-in page, but kicks you back to where you were so you can’t follow links… Instead of clicking / closing the log in menu, ignore it, but right click and copy the web page address at the top, open a new page, and paste the link. The page you want then opens behind another log in page, but stays open when you close the box.

Maybe this isn’t news and everybody does it already, but I didn’t know.
——————————–
Thanks Breeks, I didn’t know it so it’s a big help when you want to go deeper into a topic. 🙂

BobW

OT re twitter preventing thread display, deleting twitter cookies gives access as before until the pop up is triggered again.

Bob W

OT re twitter preventing thread display, deleting twitter cookies gives access as before until the pop up is triggered again.

Bob W

Apologies for double posting, missed the space in my name.

sarah

@ Ruby – 🙂

Breeks

Through a Scottish Prism just finished… quite a good one, but then most of them are.

link to youtube.com

Keep watching right to the end… 😉

Hatuey

“It took me about 1 minute to find that the average life expectancy of an Indian in 1905 was between 22 and 23.”

Actually, if you look in more detail you’ll see that for males it was 19 and for females a few years higher. I might have said the average life expectancy “for a male Indian”. Shoot me.

My source on that is Vinay Lal, btw, who really is a respected authority on Indian history and is Indian himself.

But this is more whataboutery and knit picking. You should simply be shocked and ashamed at this stuff.

Grouse Beater

Your essential weekend reading:

‘A Strategy for Independence’: link to wp.me

J.o.e

‘You should simply be shocked and ashamed at this stuff.’

Shocked yes. Ashamed?

Feel free to feel ashamed.

I have nothing to feel ashamed about except ever having believed the propaganda of the mainstream.

The type you are spouting now

Hatuey

“I have nothing to feel ashamed about…”

You should be ashamed that you’re not ashamed, ad infinutum.

You’re struggling with this but that’s to be expected.

Heavy is the nationalist crown…

Hatuey

John Main, this is misquoted, misleading, and technically illegal:

“The first casualty of colonialism is the coloniser’s right to complain when foreigners arrive on their home-shores. If Scottish people today aren’t willing to accept that, if they aren’t willing to take responsibility for it, then they lose the right to claim they are Scottish.”

You’ve shamelessly taken two different statements and welded them together to suit your tormented ends. The meaning is hugely distorted as a result.

You’d be seriously reprimanded if you did that in any sort of academic work.

It’s a new low.

Republicofscotland

So Sturgeon briefed John Swinney that he should take over as FM if she “had” been found to have broken the Ministerial Code (she did) after the Holyrood and Hamilton inquiries.

There was chicanery afoot, with redactions of documents requested, not producing document and documents produced after they were needed (ie after the inquiries had concluded). There was the multitude of forgetfulness from Sturgeon, such as I don’t know, and not to the best of my knowledge, the stuffing of the Holyrood inquiry with SNP MSP’s, the obfuscation from John Swinney and of course the nefarious roll played in it all by the COPFS and the Lord Advocate.

Not forgetting Sturgeon’s proposed successor John Swinney surviving his second VONC, aided and abetted by the Greens, who now have two ministerial positions.

This lot could teach the Biden’s or Putin’s or the Merkel’s or Macron’s a thing or two about political skullduggery.

link to archive.is

robbo

Look at the state of this muppet. Doesn’t surprise me he’s useless at dancing as he’s useless at everything else!

link to msn.com

Dan

@ robbo

A proper rave would be more BPMs, #TappsAff, sweat everywhere, and you can’t tell what colour eyes folk have.
That’s jist a bit of lightweight clubbing.

Seeing as it’s in Aberdeen, I think Hector Brocklebank would describe Gove’s efforts as a poor rendition of the “Big Fash Little Fash” dance. 😉

John Main

@HaHa Hatuey

Now just how was it that I was able to predict that you would give my question the body swerve?

Never mind. Here it is again.

What do you want the people of Scotland, both as individuals, and as a nation represented by their government, independent or devolved, to do about the appalling and shocking life expectancy of the Indians in 1905?

John Main

Alf Baird

If the Scottish Cringe is an example of internalised racism, then I find I have to agree with Ruby: “racism” is a word so over-used that it has lost all meaning.

Just like Facism, Fascist, etc. have.

You might just be able to make the case that the English are a different race to the Scots, but I have seen plenty of examples of confident, loud, arrogant Scots invoking the Scottish Cringe from their assumed inferiors.

That looks very much like the class divide in action to me.

If you are trying to say that pushing people about because you are posh, impatient, self-righteous and entitled is racism, then I say bollocks. Individuals push others about because of power differentials. Nations push other nations about for the same reason. The rationalisations come after.

Republicofscotland

So where is Humza Yousaf’s HCB now as Rangers FC fans walk through Glasgow’s city centre singing anti-Catholic songs, oh that’s right his legacy on HCB is too busy prosecuting Marion Millar, and Police officers from Police Scotland are/were to busy dancing in Glasgow’s George Sq post when Rangers FC won the football league and trashed the city at a whopping great expense to the taxpayer.

It sounds to me as though the HCB will be selective in nature.

link to archive.is

Hatuey

“What do you want the people of Scotland, both as individuals, and as a nation represented by their government, independent or devolved, to do about the appalling and shocking life expectancy of the Indians in 1905?”

Nothing. What gave you the impression I wanted something?

If you’re a jingoistic nationalist, you could take some responsibility for the role of Scots in these things, or at least acknowledge that role, but you don’t need to. The reality and truth exists either way.

By the same token, countries with an imperial history are hypocritical if they block access to immigrants today. The hypocrisy doesn’t go away because the hypocrite refuses to acknowledge things.

Brian Doonthetoon

More extracted from the Clegg/Andrews book.

An exploding bottle of water and the infamous Glenrothes incident, that we all knew about onnyhoo.

link to archive.is

Dan

David Clegg and Kieran Andrews are really trying a bit too hard using the title: “Break-Up: How Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon Went to War“.

“War”? Really? With all that is going on at the moment in the Middle East? Get a fucking grip and some perspective in your lives ya pair o’ clickbaiting fuds.

Alf Baird

Hatuey @ 7:13 pm

“countries with an imperial history”

You mean England. Scotland and the majority of Scots today themselves reflect a colonial legacy as a people and nation that was and still is used and oppressed and indeed colonised by its larger dominant neighboring power. What do you think independence is and why it is being sought?

link to yoursforscotlandcom.wordpress.com

David Caledonia

I have never used twitter, for the simple reason that any idiot can sign up to these sites and post any old shit as they are not regulated apart from the idiots that create the fecking things
Why anyone would want to read anything from twitter without having to sign up for it amazes me, why would anyone want to read some idiots twittering nonesense without being signed up to it, seems being a twit is not just about signing up to twitter and the twitterites utterings, its just being a useless twit in general

Mist001

There’s an awfy lot of racist shite coming to the fore on this board these days. None of you have the first clue about ‘colonisation’ or what you’re actually saying.

David Caledonia

Not having a clue is not the problem, its the jokers that pretend they do have a clue that get on my tits

David Caledonia

And do my fecking crust in, its not just on here, every joker these days thinks they are experts on just about every fecking topic brought up, boring as feck, most of them

Lochside

Dan@10.48

Thanks for archiving 2018’s contributions. I make no apology for copying and pasting my own contribution from the days when this site actually contained real Scottish sovereign supporters’ contributions.

Lochside says:
14 November, 2018 at 3:34 pm
The English have ruled the Celtic nations for the past three centuries with the velvet glove of an unwritten constitution in their mythical ‘green and pleasant land’ ruled by equally mythical wise patrician leaders . From time to time the iron fist has emerged from the velvet to attempt to crush us and the plebeian English when deigning to show anything less than abject deference.

Since Universal suffrage followed by massive wartime sacrifices and catastrophic emigration, in Scotland at least, we have woken up, and since the turn of this century threatened the Greater English lie hidden under layers of pomp, pretence and political oppression masquerading as a democracy.

Our downright impudence in demonstrating our rejection of their corrupt apparatus of government by voting for Independence supporting parties and nearly ending the union in Indyref1 was enough to unleash the barely disguised, but long harboured hatred and disgust for our very existence. Witness, the 2015 GE using the oldest racist stereotype of the greedy, tight Jock, AS picking the pocket of Cameron. The Pavlovian knee jerk avalanche of anti-Scottish rhetoric and downright abuse has never abated since.

From then onwards, ‘they’, the English elite and a significantly large part of their population endorse our diminution politically and even the visibility of our food and drink under florid Union flags on every carton and bottle. We are written out of every historical event of ‘English’ history. Thus the Romans ‘conquered Britain’..no they didn’t; The First War wasn’t that ‘bloody’ ( quote Dan Snow). Really?… 148,000 dead Jocks says otherwise; Dunkirk was a ‘victory’ ( tell that to the Highland Division sacrificed to fight on for days after the evacuation by Churchill the mass murderer).

And now, the final frontier: their racial superiority and bullshit ‘play fair’ philosophy being called out by bloody foreigners!..and worse the ‘Sweaties’ won’t stay in their natural supine place!

Well hubris is long overdue for these ‘imperial masters’, long sustained by celtic resources both human and material. Let them get on with facing the world on their own for once and see how great they really are. It is time for the SNP/SG to call time on the unequal abusive Union we have had to labour under, restate our democratic right to remain in the EU and Dissolve the UK Union now!’/////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Well, times have moved on: we are out of Europe. But in other ways we have gone back in reverse with Sturgeon and her imperial ‘sleepers’ now fully WOKEn and in poisonous ascendance over us. However, with real political consciousness being informed and based on solid alternatives to pointless useless ‘/referenda and S30 begging bowl approaches being put forward by Prof. Baird’s erudite book and articles from ‘Doun-Hauden’ ( The socio-political determinants of Scottish Independence) we now have a clear path out of this nightmare of colonial rule by tra*tors and qui*lings hiding in plain sight in the SNP leadership.Let’s seize this blueprint forward out of the political paralysis we are mired in!

Andy Ellis

@Mist001 8.32 pm

The spurious “Scotland as colony” narrative and the kind of regressive, unreasoning “little Scotlanderism” behind the nativists and ethno nationalists pushing the franchise restriction plans and “we’re being swamped by furriners” bullshit has given voice to a lot of the sub Siol nan Gaidheal bullshit.

It brings to mind the validation of a lot of similar prejudice and bigotry we saw being validated by the rise of UKIP and the constant fluffing it enjoyed for years in the run up to brexit.

The task the mainstream Yes movement has is to face down these moon howlers. Many of them have spent weeks attacking civic nationalism and saying it makes achieving independence impossible. Of course the exact opposite is the case: nativism is a regressive political cul-de-sac.

It will never appeal to “soft No” voters, will appal some existing Yes voters and cause huge damage to the chances of constructing a coalition (however unwilling) to help deliver either #indyref2 or plebiscitary elections.

Jimuckmac

Can someone explain to me why the ‘Contempt of Court Act’ still applies even though all charges have been dropped in relation to the incident involving Sturgeon’s sister and the other party?

Ruby

Could be ‘The Break Up’ could end up being a fun read still ain’t going to pay £20 but will read if some kind person ‘shares’

Any info on what formats will be on sale?

I love the bit about the Gov driver reporting Alex Salmond to the police due to exploding sparkling water bottle.

Alex Salmond wasn’t half surrounded by a load of very strange people.

Could be the driver was an ‘arch yoon’ and it was torture for him to drive Alex Salmond about.

I wonder if we’ll hear more about the Sue Ruddick story. What/Who made her do it?
Susie sounds like another weirdo.

Ruby

Mist001 says:
29 August, 2021 at 8:32 pm
There’s an awfy lot of racist shite coming to the fore on this board these days. None of you have the first clue about ‘colonisation’ or what you’re actually saying.

Reply

Are you an expert of ‘colonisation’ Misto?

Can you define what you mean by ‘racist shite’?

As I explained earlier I don’t know what the word actually means.

Your expert help would be appreciated.

Pontifex Minimus

To be fair, the 2021 retreat from Kabul went less badly than the 1842 retreat from Kabul.

Alf Baird

Andy Ellis @ 9:07 pm

“little Scotlanderism”

Still searching for your national identity, Andy? Let us know when you find it. A clue may be parental descent according to the ECHR, and James Kelman.

Andy Ellis

@Alf Baird 10.06 pm

Still pedalling the same snake oil I see Alf? Never had any problem with my national identity, or ensuring it wasn’t based on regressive ethno centrism and discredited blood and soil tropes.

Shame the same can’t be said for everyone in the movement, hmmm?

Alf Baird

Andy Ellis @ 10:10 pm

“Never had any problem with my national identity”

What is it then? Its not a difficult question. Tak yer time…..

robbo

Republicofscotland says:
29 August, 2021 at 6:21 pm
So where is Humza Yousaf’s HCB now as Rangers FC fans walk through Glasgow’s city centre singing anti-Catholic songs, oh that’s right his legacy on HCB is too busy prosecuting Marion Millar, and Police officers from Police Scotland are/were to busy dancing in Glasgow’s George Sq post when Rangers FC won the football league and trashed the city at a whopping great expense to the taxpayer.

It sounds to me as though the HCB will be selective in nature.

link to archive.is

——————–

ROS

Cos they’re “Bangers”

link to pbs.twimg.com

Mist001

@ Ruby

Nope, but I can spot racism a fucking mile off. These people are talking about the ‘colonisation’ of Scotland and they’re specifically meaning English people going to live and who are living in Scotland, right?

So, what’s the ratio of English people to Scottish people in Scotland? Now, don’t ask me because I have no idea BUT…

There are many different races, creeds and colour who have made Scotland their home so if these people talking about ‘colonisation’ of Scotland don’t mean the English, then who exactly are they talking about? The Pakistani guys who run the shops? The Chinese people who run the takeaways? The African students studying tropical vet medicine at The Bush?

Or is everybody who isn’t Scottish ‘blood and soil’ a part of the colonisation of Scotland?

These people talking about the ‘colonisation’ of Scotland are fucking loons, paranoid racists, one and all and if I see racism, I’m going to call it out.

Maybe you should do that too.

robbo

Re the gers racist chants and the police facilitators -mostly huns anyhow.

The other thing about them supporters is that they’re thick as fuck.

In a further failure of educational achievement, the anti-Irish bigots shown in the video would do well to read a book about An Gorta Mor. Within its pages they may find that the Great Hunger did not discriminate along religious or political lines. With a bit of further reading, they may even discover that during the 19th century most of Scotland’s Irish immigrants came from Ulster and, between 1876 and 1883, 83% of Irish immigrants came from the North of Ireland – 25% of whom were Protestant Unionists. No prizes for guessing which club many of those people, alongside the immigrant (Govan) shipyard workers, mainly supported in later years. And by extension many of their descendants.

Alf Baird

Mist001 @ 10:45 pm

“I can spot racism a fucking mile off”

So I expect you will know that colonialism is racism:

link to yoursforscotlandcom.wordpress.com

Mist001

Is Scotland still a part of the United Kingdom, or have I missed something along the way?

Hatuey

Everything’s complicated.

When I hear people in the Indy movement talking about what great inventors the Scots were, what great warriors, what great minds the country produced, steam engines, The Wealth of Nations, Walter Scott, etc., I can’t help but think they are idolising the very sort of Scots who got the country into this Unionist mess.

We are a schizophrenic country. Naomi Klein in one of her books, I forget which one, talked about how abuse can cause such problems in people. Maybe it’s the same for countries.

It does no good to pretend Scotland was straightforwardly a coloniser or that it was colonised. It was obviously both. Some people supported the Union, some opposed it.

These sort of things are only antagonisms if you are dishonest about them and want to indulge in simple ideas — Scotland the victim, Scotland the brave, Scotland the country of great inventors, Scotland the exceptional, etc.

You don’t need any of those lies to win independence. The truth is much more interesting and it’s easier to explain; the interests of the people of Scotland will be better served if they run their own affairs.

Al-Stuart

.
Pontifex Minimus,

I was reading your website. With respect it is CRAIG Murray that has been sent to prison.

You have referred to CHRIS Murray throughout your Blog. It’s kind of distracting chief.
Maybe worth running your spellcheck over things so you get Ambassador’ Murray’s name spelt correctly.

Your Blog looks interesting apart from that faux pas.

Cheers,

Al.

Alf Baird

Mist001 @ 10:54 pm

“Is Scotland still a part of the United Kingdom, or have I missed something along the way?”

Yes you have missed something – its called ‘Internal Colonialism’ which as Professor Michael Hechter explains:

“As a consequence of this hierarchical arrangement: ‘Internal structural differences between the Celtic periphery and England are reminiscent… of less developed societies, which arose as a function of their colonial mode of development’. Development occurred in a largely dependent mode… and special diffusion of industrialisation in the Celtic lands was considerably restricted… and excessively specialized. The persistence of systemic disadvantages…from policies discriminating against the Celtic periphery.. has been described as institutionalized racism’. And in this the inevitable exploitative nature of colonialism becomes evident in that: ‘The situation of the Celtic fringe in the British Isles is analogous in several respects to that of less developed countries’. And let us not forget what lies at the root of colonialism, namely: ‘When long-term differences in aggregate rates of development are the result of ethnic stereotypes, it is appropriate to speak of institutional racism’.

Alf Baird

Hatuey @ 10:58 pm

“The truth is much more interesting and it’s easier to explain”

That’s easy for you to say:

link to yoursforscotlandcom.wordpress.com

Alf Baird

Andy Ellis @ 10:10 pm

Did you discover your national identity, then?

Mist001

@ Alf Baird

You describe yourself as a professor. That’s meaningless to me, all it is a title that you use to try and give yourself a modicum of credibility.

It doesn’t work in your case because MY reading and probably anyone elses reading from your post, is that you’re saying that because one side is racist, then that makes it acceptable for the other side to be racist too.

That makes you at the very least, a racist symphathizer which is a polite way of saying that you’re a racist.

Racism is NOT acceptable nor excusable in any form.

Scotland is still a part of the UK and yet, many people here advocate not allowing UK citizens in Scotland to have a vote, they want to chase the English out of Scotland and make no bones about it, it is the English they’re talking about and you’re defending this?

Have a word with yourself, Professor.

robert graham

After midnight so sinders has lost her nice composure

Roll up Roll up Roll up

Step this way for your 6 monthly top up of the blood clot inducing magic serum that offers absolutely NO protection and won’t stop transmission of the Biological Weapon that some clever pathological lunatics have developed as a means of reducing the population of the planet.

Yes its official the CDC in the USA are following Israel as usual because after all they run the USA they now recommend a 6 MONTHLY gap between booster shots . Maybe because they haven’t fulfilled their quota and haven’t damaged enough yet

Hatuey

Alf, I’m sorry, I don’t feel incentivised to click your link. Links are for supporting arguments, not making them.

Willie

To change the tack a little I was in my local Morrison supermarket and have never seen so many empty shelf’s. Fruit and veg, meats, beers, some spirits, and very particularly wine, soft drinks, bottled water, batteries.

Shortages of food are now very apparent, the economic impacts must be huge, and taken together with the quite separate rout from Afghanistan a humbled Britain couldn’t be more obvious. Empty shops, industry shortages, and a military routed like Suez or the Fall of Singapore, the flush down the toilet couldn’t be clearer.

And BoJo, our belligerent British Buffoon in respect of the routed military that the “ sacrifice and hardship was not in vain “. Stirring stuff indeed for the families of the hundreds of servicemen who lost their lives and the many more left horrendously disfigured, our leader certainly knows how to trot out the Brit tropes like you change your underpants. Crikey one of his ministers less than twelve months ago was crowing with Britannic pride as to how the Royal Navy was projection of Britannic Lethal Force around the world.

Doesn’t quite square with a country that can’t supply its supermarkets or a country with it’s military absolutely routed on the World stage.

Ah well, what can one say. Even the big yellow bus that was to be bringing hundreds of millions of pounds of post Brexit NHS money every week, has sunk without ever having arrived. But that’s another story as the queues to see a doctor build

So ,good evening to all. Maybe, we in Scotland shall rout the British from our land too.

Grouse Beater

Warning, moron on the loose: Mist001 @12.17am.

Ruby

Mist001 says:
29 August, 2021 at 10:45 pm
@ Ruby

Nope, but I can spot racism a fucking mile off

if I see racism, I’m going to call it out.

Maybe you should do that too.

Reply

Weird that you can’t explain what you mean by racism!

It’s going to be pretty difficult for me to call it out when I don’t know what racism is.

Could it be as simply as just not liking someone. For example if I were to criticise Humza Yousaf would he immediately jump to the conclusion that I was a racist. Same applies to some arrogant English tosser would any criticism be deemed ‘racist’?

What about having to pay for tomato sauce in Edinburgh while brown sauce is free. Anti-Glasgow racism?

link to archive.is

Ruby

Any criticism of Islam or any Muslim seems also to be ‘racist’.

That is a biggy for me because I have lots of criticism of the Islamic religion.

Criticising other religions doesn’t seem to be ‘racist’.

All very weird!

Ruby

Mist001 says:
29 August, 2021 at 10:45 pm
@ Ruby

Nope, but I can spot racism a fucking mile off.

Reply

What’s the situation in Marseilles re racism?

Still a lot of anti German anti Algerian racism?

Not too certain what caused the anti Algerian racism but it’s not hard to figure out why after the occupation people were anti-German.

There is always a reason why people become ‘racist’

The problem is politicians don’t want to listen to people they prefer to call them names and introduce laws to control them. It started with the PC brigade and now we have the Hate Crime Bill.

Ruby

I’ve been reading some book reviews and came across an author called Nicola Yoon. 🙂

That made me smile.

That’s me contribution for this morning over.

See you later! Bye

Andy Ellis

@Alf Baird 10.10 pm & 11.40 pm

I’m Scottish Alf, never regarded myself as anything else wherever I lived and worked. Even if I’d never come back to Scotland I’d always have supported independence and expected to have a Scottish passport when my country summoned up the courage to become independent.

My national identity and my “legal” citizenship however are two different things. Until the majority of Scots have the political and moral courage to vote for independence, as far as the rest of the world is concerned we are British.

Self identifying as Scottish and correcting people if they call us British or English rather than Scottish may make us feel better, but it doesn’t really signify anything to them other than pretensions that aren’t backed up by action. Granted we may have a more realistic shot at actually becoming independent than Bavarians, Bretons or Californians, but the outside world and the international community only cares when we have the bottle to take not ask.

Alf Baird

Mist001 @ 12:17 am

“Racism is NOT acceptable nor excusable in any form”

You are right, and as colonialism is racism and a ‘scourge’ on a people ‘it should be ended’, according to the UN.

As Albert Memmi said, the colonizer “is a paternalist… who wants to stretch racism and inequality further.”

Scot Finlayson

Iceland was voted the second most Democratic country in the world,

` The general requirement for granting Icelandic citizenship is that the applicant has been domiciled in Iceland for seven years.`

voting rights in the second most Democratic country in the world,

`Foreign nationals are not allowed to vote in presidential elections, parliamentary elections, or national referendums`

jeezo where`s their civic nationalism the bludeboiler moon howlers flecked with spittle ethno nationalists etc etc yawn.

Alf Baird

Andy Ellis @ 8:03 am

“I’d always have supported independence”

It surely helps, then, for people such as you who comment extensively on the subject to actually better understand what independence is and why it is necessary:
link to yoursforscotlandcom.wordpress.com

thomas

@ Mist001 12.17am

Its interesting you talk about “racism” , then go on to link that word with people in scotland not wanting other uk citizens to have a say in scotland ending the uk.

You make no mention though of the fact that is exactly what the defacto “english ” uk government did during the brexit referendum in 2016.

While the uk was still part of the eu , the uk government DENIED EU citizens living in the uk the vote.

So have a word with yourself .

Whats good for the goose and all that.

J.o.e

For me the issue of our current argument over nationality and voting rights comes down to this:

The same governments who are destroying womens rights are:

1 – not only encouraging but are actually facilitating mass migration into our countries
2 – attempting to give these same migrants instant ability to influence political outcomes (already have in Scotland).

These are not normal times and this is not a normal situation.

It is not racism to criticise it. It is not ‘nativist’ to recognise there is a problem.

Those above who are throwing names at people while ignoring those points above are either hard of thinking or have an axe to grind.

Geoff Anderson

Thomas – mist001 has an obvious agenda and it’s not Scottish Independence.

Andy Ellis

@Scott Finlayson 8.21 am

As has been pointed out many times to the nativist die hards infesting the BTL comments here in recent months, deciding who qualifies for citizenship in a state which is ALREADY independent, is NOT there same thing as deciding the franchise for independence referendums. No matter how often you bring this spurious comparison up, it becomes no more convincing or relevant. It’s honestly like watching Dougal trying to understand the difference between “small” and “far away”!

Go and do your research. Check on all the independence referendums since 1945. Virtually all of them used residence as the criteria for having a vote. A few (of a couple of dozen examples from memory) had 24 month residence qualifications. None had the kind of citizenship hurdles (which would only be realisable after independence not before) you and your hard of thinking ethnic nationalist mates are frothing yourselves into a lather about.

Once independence is achieved citizenship criteria are relatively straightforward. If we can’t persuade a majority of residents that independence is in their interests then it hardly bodes well for the future of an independent Scotland which is dependent on the participation of lots of people who weren’t born here or haven’t lived here long enough to suit a minority of nativist extremists who seek to disenfranchise them. It’s probably not the kind of Scotland many of us would vote for.

Ruby

I’m back with one further contribution.

link to archive.is

‘Nicola Sturgeon ‘sacked Chief Constable Stephen House’ despite backing him in public’

It seems ‘THE BREAK UP’ is going to be serialised in The Times.

Andy Ellis

@Alf Baird 8.25 am

The fact that I may not agree with you, doesn’t mean I don’t understand Alf, it just means we don’t agree. Doubtless there are many areas of policy we would share similar views on. I understand your desire to push your “Scotland and colony” narrative, I simply don’t accept it is correct or helpful. However hard it is for you to accept that is the shared view of the overwhelming majority.

Pointing us to links of your own output only takes us so far. Where is the support for your views in the movement (as opposed to amongst a small claque in here)? Even Rev Stu has rejected the nativist prospectus – indeed it was his initial Twitter thread debunking the nativist narrative that started this debate off. Those of us who agree with him are still waiting for the “we wuz robbed” types to answer the points he raised weeks ago.

Unsurprisingly you’re still coming up empty.

Breeks

I have some sympathy for those who are uncomfortable with what they perceive as a non-inclusive nationalism / parochialism which restricts the voting franchise and narrows the definition of Scots. Back in 2014, I was 100% behind the concept that everyone and anyone should have a vote.

However, I’m a little older, hopefully a little wiser, hopefully we all are, and I have to confess, calls to adopt the very same franchise again when we know that franchise weakened the YES vote decisively, this time around sound to me a lot like Alistair Jack saying we need 60%, or Sturgeon saying we need Section 30 consent. We DON’T.

These predicates are more than wrong, they are untrue. A majority is 50% + 1, not 60%. A Section 30 comes from the Scotland Act, the small “c” constitution of a subservient devolved assembly, and that does not in any way bind the will of Scotland’s constitutionally sovereign people. Who is making this stuff up?

Do we need 60%? No, we don’t.
Do we need Section 30 Agreements? No, we don’t.
Do we need an open door voters franchise?….

No. We don’t. And it is NOT petty racism or “blood and soil” nationalism to be saying that. Please calm down at the back there.

That bit wisdom I mentioned that I gathered? It’s recognising the distinction which exists between domestic politics and constitution, in other words, domestic UK (or Scottish) affairs which other Nations can’t properly interfere with, and International affairs, where the actions of one nation have consequences for other Nations to adapt to.

These benchmarks, domestic and international are different.

Domestically, “in your own house” matters, then yes, by all means give everybody affected a vote. Let the dog and the budgie vote if they want and you’re mad enough to indulge them. It’s only those within your own house who are affected by the result. It’s domestic, and the rest of the world can, and by law must, leave you to get on with it.

But Internationally, it is a whole different kettle of fish. The edicts and actions delivered by one Nation, (and it doesn’t even have to democratic), have profound consequences for other nations. Suddenly the vote is not a declaration of the democratic will of the people. It is suddenly bigger than that. It is the legal declaration of a Sovereign Nation. You have to think about that, and understand the profound difference which exists.

The United Nations has existing and established protocols for when and when not to recognise a Nation’s legitimacy, and respect a nation’s voting franchise which will not vacillate with all inclusive pleasantries which have no basis in law. We don’t have to vex ourselves reinventing the wheel here. The people who will get a vote will be Scottish citizens by their legal definition, and nothing else.

For simplicity, look at it this way… The family of International Nations has it’s own “voters franchise” where only sovereign Nations have a vote in their assembly. For Scotland to be recognised as an Independent Nation, then that’s the voters franchise we should be focussed upon. Simple. Uncomplicated. Unambiguous. Binary in Law.

Scottish Independence is all about Scotland’s return to the International family of Nations. It is a definitive change of legal status, hopefully to be followed by an objective readjustment of lawful recognitions by other Nations. Scotland will recognised. England will be recognised. The United Kingdom will no longer exist and cease to be recognised.

The part which democracy plays in this is technically superfluous. If you still don’t see that, then explain to me how Scottish democracy might end the Union, but then what happens if English democracy might vote to keep it? Democracy versus democracy just gives you stalemate. Sovereignty is binary, it breaks that stalemate and determines issues by making definitive judgements which are recognised by protocol.

Ottomanboi

Racist like Fascist is a catch all term for ideas you choose not to like and can’t provide a rational argument against. May as well shout at a stone wall or Stonewall.
Muslim is not an ethnicity anymore than Catholic, e.g in Northern Ireland, is. However, it suits the new «leftists» and «liberals» to regard such terms as a type of ethnicity often having little to do with actual religious observance.
The concept of race, a 19th century notion, has no rational foundation and is an example of «bogus science». We all ought to be aware of the consequences of such notions especially when officialdom politicizes them.

Dan

Andy Ellis says: at 9:07 pm

The task the mainstream Yes movement has is to face down these moon howlers. Many of them have spent weeks attacking civic nationalism and saying it makes achieving independence impossible. Of course the exact opposite is the case: nativism is a regressive political cul-de-sac.

It will never appeal to “soft No” voters, will appal some existing Yes voters and cause huge damage to the chances of constructing a coalition (however unwilling) to help deliver either #indyref2 or plebiscitary elections.

That’s just your opinion, and a flawed one at that because you continue to refer to anyone that doesn’t align with your exacting views and wonts in a derogatory manner, rather than actually interact in discussions to reach a consensus.

Properly discussing and addressing issues relating to migration in a Scottish context can be tricky. This is because, as you well know, Immigration is a power reserved to Westminster, and the way said power has been managed over the entire course of this 300 year Union has allowed The Kingdom of England’s population to grow at a disproportionately faster rate than the Kingdom of Scotland.
The KOE’s population was approximately five times that of The KOS in 1700, but that figure has now increased to approximately ten times larger, with all the economic advantage that gave The KOE over that time-frame.
That aspect in itself is an actual breach of the Treaty of Union because no constituent part of the UK should have an economic advantage over another.
Westminster has not implemented any policy to redress this imbalance, and the stark impact of emigration from Scotland is masked further in our population numbers by the ongoing internal UK migration to Scotland which continues to clear young Scots out of areas because those young folk just can’t compete in the housing market against those incomers.
With that big all-knowing napper of yours, you never did come up with a strategy on how to repair the local areas I described that are failing due to the demographic changes in those areas. Ach, who need firefighters anyway…

Anyway, the legacy of these badly managed migration policies has in various ways tainted folk’s comprehension and views on the whole subject.
Aye, Scotland currently requires a degree of immigration at this point in time. But any sensible self-governing country would have control of ALL powers so would be in a far better position to determine and control the reasons why young Scots folk are forced to leave in the first place, and who and how many migrants should be allowed to come to reside here.
If you actually bother to have proper conversations with folk (both YES and No voters) and discuss the above with them rather than calling them your usual derogatory terms, many actually would be onboard with such a proposals.

The actual matter of eligibility criteria on who gets to vote in the various different types of democratic events in Scotland, is not the same as and needs separated from immigration policy.

Robert Hughes

Andy

” Infesting ” , really ?

That kind of inflammatory language does nothing to move the debate on .

The two opposing arguments have their own coherence : why not discuss them in an adult manner ?

To repeat …..a franchise for any – hypothetical – IndyRef similar to 2014 would be optimum , if it didn’t contain the seeds of a similar outcome . It does

One of your recurring arguments is that if enough native Scots can’t be persuaded to vote for Independence the games a bogey : what then if , like 2014 , the majority of such do vote YES but are again outvoted by a minority of native Scots + non-natives , are we to conclude Independence is a hopeless cause and simply give up ?

Must the desire of actual Scots for Independence forever be secondary to the contrary desire of others ?

Hatuey

Ottoman: “The concept of race, a 19th century notion, has no rational foundation and is an example of «bogus science».”

When I pointed that out I was called a globalist shill…

Breeks: “calls to adopt the very same franchise again when we know that franchise weakened the YES vote decisively”

We don’t know that. It’s pure conjecture. When I point this out and ask for evidence the conversation typically ends abruptly.

If changing the franchise or playing the nationalist card was likely to help, I’d go along with it, or at least wheeesht for indy, but there’s no evidence.

By no evidence, I mean no account taken or given of the negative consequences. All we have is Alf’s back of a fag packet calculations which hinge on a million assumptions.

Anyway, the truth is these aren’t mutually exclusive positions. Not at all. The clever approach is to deploy both arguments and make fine tuned changes to the franchise that are well thought out and guaranteed to help.

Dan
Republicofscotland

“It surely helps, then, for people such as you who comment extensively on the subject to actually better understand what independence is and why it is necessary:”

Alf @8.25am.

Alf, you’re banging your head off a brick wall there.

shug

Virtually nothing on the BBC about mad unionist rangers fans marching through glasgow shouting for blood

Funny that. Do the BBC support them???

All those lovely union jacks and nazi salutes must be just their cup of tea

Andy Ellis

@Robert Hughes 9.48 am

Sheesh: Don’t get your panties in twist Robert. It’s WoS remember, if people are honestly unable to cope with the use of infested as a rhetorical device we might as well all clutch out pearls and retire outraged back to the suburbs. This of all places seems an odd forum to try and tone police contributions on there basis of the use of word “infest” for people who are advancing or at least acquiescing in views many people find distasteful. It may have escaped your notice in the exchanges in recent weeks but some of the usual suspects in here haven’t exactly held back in their critique of my opinions either. Worse things happen at sea.

Of course it’s frustrating if “we” consider we are denied independence because we can’t persuade a majority of those who live here to vote for it particularly if the result is agonisingly close and people are convinced that “we wuz robbed”. Whether that’s the case is of course arguable as others have pointed out. We don’t know what the “counter factual” result would have been do we? The franchise had to be agreed as part of the indyref negotiations: if that had been different how can we predict what the result would have been?

The facts aren’t going away. None of the nativists have answered Rev Stu’s original critique of their proposal. None of them have explained how changing the franchise makes our progress to independence easier rather than harder given the evidence that we would be way out of step with virtually all other referendums since WW2.

What we get instead is the shifting of goalposts to the “it should be decided using (future) citizenship criteria” and the minority “Scotland as colony” narrative which the UN doesn’t accept, the international community will laugh at, and the majority of Scots won’t recognise or actually oppose. If we can’t construct a pro indy majority from the > 80% of native born Scots and the pro indy section of New Scots we might as well give up now. Perhaps our children’s generation will have more bottle?

Robert Hughes

See , there you go again – ” panties in a twist ” .

I’m no shrinking violet in language use Andy , neither do I suffer from contorted underwear : it’s just that ” infested ” is the kind of term used by out and out racists to portray the object of their hate as an uncontrollable plague , best avoided I would say .

Andy Ellis

@Dan 9.40 am

You’re just going round in circles. No progress is made. I’m not here to solve your hobby horse issue of rural firefighters. I’m sure it’s a crap situation, but as pointed out before, it’s hardly unique to Scotland. Rural depopulation, lack of availability of affordable housing, poor infrastructure and lack of jobs and opportunities affect areas all over the world. If we want to deal with them differently we need independence, that much we can all presumably agree on.

Of course there are nuances. Perhaps BTL here isn’t the place for that any more than Twitter. We don’t all have to be buddies or be aligned on all the issues. I’m allowed to think that nativism sucks, to call out what I see as its negative background and potential effects and – if I feel like it – point and laugh at those I disagree with. If you and others don’t like it..? Tough. I’m not here to make friends. Some people will agree with me and others won’t: big deal.

If the past few months have shown me anything it is that you just can’t kill a good idea, and that just because folk on here you thought were decent sorts, they can surprise you by turning out to be anti vaxxers, or supporters of nativism, and this people I’m afraid I’d regard as pretty much beyond the pale ideologically. We’re interacting for the most part electronically. The folk we’re arguing and discussing with are generally folk we won’t meet, or know personally. I’m not interested in trying to convert people who are determined anti vaxxers or nativists: it’s a waste of time and effort. I AM happy to point out what I see as the flaws in their cases, just as they are to do to my arguments.

It’s up to those reading and positing in response what they take out of the exchanges. Some obviously agree with me, some don’t. Some obviously think I’m too abrasive, some agree with me calling out what they see as a minority and pretty suspect worldview. Such is life. There is no one size fits all approach to convincing swing voters.

Grouse Beater

On here and WhatsApp, has anybody asked the garrulous waffler called Andy Ellis if he is speaking on behalf of ALBA or Alex Salmond?

Someone should because his passive-aggressive meanderings would embarrass any party developing its policies.

He has the affrontery to imply those who come to the conclusion Scotland is a colonised country are racist. This is a tactic to shut down honest enquiry, insult the speaker, and smear those who know better.

You can be a civic nationalist *and* understand why Scotland is a colonial territory of England. Th two beliefs are *not* mutually exclusive. You can argue a colonised country loads the dice of the voting franchise because the history of other nations tells us it always does. Scots can do those things without hating English people yet simultaneously warn against the duplicity and mendacity of English politicians and our House Jocks. Only a fool tries to convince all the evidence before him is of no substance.

Barbados is about to become a republic. “We wish to put behind us colonialism, ruled by a Monarch and a nation miles away”, says prime minister Mia Mottley. “We want an end to degredation and humilation.”

I presume Ellis will now do all he can to convince readers the respected prime minister of that country, and the majority of the electorate, a nation that had invading Brits impose slave labour to harvest sugar cane, are somehow racist.”

Frankly, Andy Ellis should find a new outlet of expression because intellectual acumen is not his forte.

Onward!

crazycat

@ everyone talking about 60%

link to inews.co.uk

A second referendum on Scottish independence could take place if 60 per cent of people support one taking place, the Scottish Secretary has said.

Alister Jack said support for having a referendum – rather than independence itself – would have to be at this level in opinion polls for a “reasonably long period”.

(my bold)

That distinction is important, in my opinion, even though I don’t accept his view.

crazycat

Archived version of the link I posted above:

link to archive.fo

James Che.

Grouse beater,

It needed said.
I do not understand his position of arrogance,
it certainly is an attitude that sends potential friends scurrying in the opposite direction.
As does hatuey’s lock citizens up, like ww2 Germany.

The pair of them are trying to run Scotland.

Andy Ellis

@Grouse Beater 11.02 am

I’m sorry to see your (strangely all capitalised) contribution Gareth, as we’d previously been in good terms and you were happy enough to retweet my views and even parts of my comments on your blog posts. I was one of those who very publicly supported you when the SNP treated you so disgracefully and resigned my party membership as a result. I did it because it was the right thing to do as a matter of principle, not because we were friends or anything other than online acquaintances. I was sad to hear of your illness particularly as it seemed with the formation of Alba there was a common cause we’d both be involved in.

I agreed with some of your opinions and not others; that’s just life. After taking offence at my views you went off on one very publicly with some crazy conspiracy theory accusing me of sending DMs to Stu Campbell involving you. When I asked you to retract these totally baseless allegations you simply ignored it and refused to retract the fanciful story. Whether you had me confused with someone else’s were just trying to score cheap debating points is hardly the issue now. Your actions and failure to retract and apologise were crass and did you little credit, which goes in equal measure for your latest post.

J.o.e

‘The concept of race, a 19th century notion, has no rational foundation and is an example of «bogus science»’

Without going into the actual science (which is there):

There are 2 teams of 6 men prepared to have a tug of war. Both teams have been training for 12 months for the match up.

We are forced at gun point to bet on team A or team B with 1000 quid.

The only information we have is that team A is Nigerian and team B is Innuit.

Where are you putting your 1000 quid?

These are conversations for 12 year olds who have been cursed with hyper liberal parents.

James Che.

On the Scottish, gov site,
It rattles on around the subject that the Scots are independent, and have the right to choose whom governs them.

Then goes on to state.
The Scottish government will decide when their will be a referendum.

can see the decrepency?

It is the Scottish people that make that decision,
As it is not the Scottish Parliament that is sovereign.
And WE chose a new government if we want to. Even replacing them.

THE SCOTTISH DEVOLVED GOVERNMENT IS NOT SOVEREIGN.

WE CHOSE.

James Che.

I wish the all of us were a bit more organised.

James Che.

It is agreed by the Scottish devolved government and English government in the Scotland act under the claim of right.

That the Scottish people can choose a new government.

ANYTIME.

ANYWHERE

ANYHOW.

TO CHOOSE A NEW GOVERNMENT, WE DO NOT ASK THE OLD GOVERNMENT PERMISSION FOR A REFERENDUM.

WE DO NOT ASK HOLYRUDE, OR BJ.

WE THE PEOPLE WHOM HAVE THE LEGAL RIGHT TO CHOOSE, SHOULD BE MORE ORGANISED.

AND IF ALBA HAD ANYONE ON OUR SIDE THEY WOULD HELP US ORGANISE IT.
SO WOULD AOUB.

Andy Ellis

@Grouse Beater 11.02 am (Part 2 due to suasage fingers!)

I’m just an ordinary Alba member. Why would anyone think my views were those of Alba, still less those of Alex himself. I’ve certainly never claimed them as such, but it is interesting that nobody in any leadership position in the party that I’ve seen or heard has come out in support of the “Scotland as colony” narrative being advanced by Alf Baird and others, or of plans to restrict the franchise. Why might that be do you think Gareth? I’m sure Alf and others would be shouting it from the rooftops if Alex had come out in support personally, or if it was the official party line. Who knows, perhaps after conference it will be.

As to your musings about Barbados, the problem with the position that you and other nativists have is that not only does the UN not support the view that Scotland is a colonial situation, but that most people would feel decidedly uneasy at equating the experience of “real” colonies with the experience of Scotland over the past 300 years. You’re perfectly entitled to believe they are the same, but it’s not an equivalence many people find convincing or even palatable.

In truth, I don’t think you can be a civic nationalist and assert that since you believe Scotland is a colony, it entitles the independence movement to disenfranchise swathes of the potential voting base contrary to custom and practice in virtually all other independence referendum.

That doesn’t make me foolish Gareth, or a House Jock or mean that I lack intellectual acumen. It simply means I find your arguments unconvincing as do the majority of the rest of the movement and Scots people more generally.

robbo

link to skysports.com

Is this a fecking windup Yousaf ?

The polis escorted the scum to the game.

Willie

I’m sorry but when folks come to swamp your country, support the superiority of a country that exercises control over your country with no democratic mandate, attempts to destroy your culture and language, how on earth can it be that complaint about this is considered to be racist.

C’mon NDLS, what are your posts all about. Methinks you support English / British ethnocultural and political engineering.

J.o.e

1 short but important point when it comes to racism:

Currently the only people you can abuse on racial grounds, attack on racial grounds, criticise on racial grounds, select against in employment, blame for everything and generally detest are people of European descent.

This is observable now everywhere.

The ‘racism’ of a certain people such as Scots wishing to retain their democratic franchise in the face of planned and targeted mass immigration and the easing of voter requirements is absolutely nothing in comparison.

Wakey wakey. Mr and Mrs Scott – wondering if you are being racist at this moment in time is like wondering if the smell from your arm pits might put someone off from sexually abusing you.

Lyn Hay

@Ellis. Your basic problem is that you offer mince as though it’s meat. And it seems to me to be intentional – just like Sturgeon the Betrayer, you keep pushing for Scotland to take the low road to failure. If you’re not of her ilk, if you’re genuinely looking to find Scottish liberation, then you are also betraying yourself by your insistence on the losing strategy.

And as you have brought up your argument with Gareth Wardell over “truth”, it’s plain to all of us that Gareth and the truth come a joint first, with you a distant third.

Pixywine

Ruby. As long as a book has no industrial metal cutting equipment hidden within its covers you can send books to a prisoner. Any book even the Colditz Story

James Che.

Fact and fiction.

Fact.
The Scottish are sovereign

Fact,
The Scottish people have a legal right to choose governs us.

Fiction.
The Scottish Parliament sovereign.

Fiction,
The Scottish parliament choose what date we are allowed to choose who governs.

Fact.
The Scottish Parliament cannot choose when or by what method whom governs us.

As that would make the “ claim of right” the People have, in the Scotland act wrong by the Scottish government.
It is a discrepancy overlooked by the independence supporters, and a deliberate hoodwink by Scottish independence leaders.

The Scottish Parliament, AOUB, Alba, SNP, Greens are all blocking the Scottish people from chosen when it is Our right to choose whom governs us, by seeking the pretence of a referendum.

Breeks

James Che. says:
30 August, 2021 at 11:31 am
On the Scottish, gov site,
It rattles on around the subject that the Scots are independent, and have the right to choose whom governs them.

Then goes on to state.
The Scottish government will decide when their will be a referendum.

can see the decrepency?…

I can, and always have.

Years ago now, way back in the days of Robert Peffers, I made the suggestion we looked upon Scotland’s popular sovereignty as “red” sovereignty (reflecting the blood of the people), and Westminster’s sovereignty as “white” sovereignty (reflecting the divine origin), and asked the question whether Holyrood was “fuelled” by red sovereignty, white sovereignty, raspberry ripple sovereignty, or pink sovereignty.

At that time, I sincerely believe the matter was highly contentious but very debatable, but most importantly of all, it was a matter which demanded more Constitutional clarity. The question needed an answer, because that answer was crucial to how Independence would come about.

The only, ahem, “constructive” achievement of Sturgeon’s tenure has been to prove, or rather concede that there isn’t a drop of red sovereignty recognised in Holyrood. There is nothing but white sovereignty running through the veins of Holyrood.

It absolutely didn’t have to be that way.

Scotland could and should have stood firm, and made certain Holyrood’s democratic component, coming as it did from Scotland’s sovereign electorate, made certain that Holyrood a Scottish Institution fuelled with red sovereignty and token “tolerance” for the bogus convention of white Westminster sovereignty.

Such has been Sturgeon’s Constitutional illiteracy and ineptitude, typified by her cowardly capitulation to Scotland’s Brexit, that she has set such lamentable precedents that there is now little doubt that Holyrood is, and forevermore will be a Westminster puppet “institution” which only respects the white sovereignty of Westminster.

That is basis upon which Scotland should, in my opinion, see Sturgeon’s “Government” impeached, and divorced completely from any responsibility for, or representation of, Scotland’s popular sovereignty.

Holyrood and Sturgeon’s “Government” in it, have turned Holyrood into a puppet assembly for a Vichy Scottish Government which swears fealty to Westminster. It is not fit to serve as Scotland’s leadership, nor lead Scotland’s Independence campaign. She herself belongs in jail.

Andy Ellis

@Lyn Hay 12.19 pm

As I already said I’d always rated Gareth pretty highly and went out of my way to support him, which is why his untruthful allegations that I’d sent Stu Campbell messages about him – allegations which since they were utterly false he was of course unable to substantiate – came as such a shock and disappointment at the time.

It says little for his reputation or his sense of honour that when I quite reasonably asked him to retract and apologise he failed to do so. People can draw their own conclusions from that I think.

If you think I’m somehow advocating for the same as Sturgeon you clearly aren’t paying attention or event tangentially aware of my views, which would tend to colour how much faith can be placed in your contribution.

J.o.e

@James Che

You are making great points.

However the people we are up against are going after what ‘Scottish’ means.

Its very clever and utterly ruthless. They get to promote a poisonous inverted form of nationalism that is distinctly anti-nationalist and take the moral high ground against those who point out that someone’s nation is more than just a piece of government paper. All the while our ability to choose our future as a nation is eroded under our feet while masses of people are imported, housed, helped into jobs and given welfare by the same political players who pointed fingers about food banks, poverty and a lack of housing just a few years ago.

This is one major reason I contribute. In doing so I am part of a general resistance across Europe to what is being done to us.

Andy Ellis

@Wullie

“Swamped”?

Really?

That’s the hill you want the Yes movement to die on?

You’re seriously suggesting that a country where 84% of the population were born in Scotland (2011 census) is swamped?

Do you realise how UKIPy that sounds?

That’s honestly the kind of progressive “better nation” you’re proposing we build?

Aye, right. 🙁

J.o.e

‘That’s the hill you want the Yes movement to die on?’

The Yes movement needs to die.

Real Scottish nationalism needs to emerge

Sensible Dave

Breeks 12.19

You wrote “I’ve said as much before, but I’ll say it again, it is us, our collective Western foreign policy throughout the Middle East, which is responsible for the radicalisation of Islam. We created the Taliban. It is our chicken coming home to roost.”

It was in the 18th century that Wahhab advocated a return to a “purer” form of Islam, focusing on its origins and the absolute sovereignty of God. That meant the banning the cult of saints and forbidding tobacco, alcohol and shaving. At the same time, the standing and rights of females and non-believers were also redefined.

This started in Saudi Arabia and they have spent billions promoting the Wahhabi version of Islam around the middle east and beyond. They fund the madrasas that teach very strict, tough and uncompromising Wahhabism.

You will be very aware that most Muslims do not follow Wahhabism but they suffer the consequences of it – as a result of the more puritanical interpretation that leads to the conflicts with the West and their “guilt by association”.

Wahhabism does not pursue democracy or condone personal freedom of choice where it is at odds with their interpretation.

We in the west are increasingly left not knowing how to respond to our perception of their brutality and oppression of ordinary folk – that do not follow their version of the religion.

I am not surprised that you seek to blame “the West” for all these developments, that’s your “go to” position and you doubtless believe it adds weight to your personal position of feeling oppressed by a typical western government i.e. Westminster (despite indyref1 and the graph shown by the Rev on opinion polls).

You only have to watch the news to see that the “ordinary” folk in Afghanistan are now having their lives turned upside down by an organised, armed, unelected regime.

No Breeks, as is so often the case, problems arise in countries where democracy is challenged by armed groups who seek to impose their views on others undemocratically.

The tragedy unfolding in Afghanistan illustrates that we in the west do not understand the demonstrated degree of commitment to a religion that does not uphold democracy and personal freedom of choice.

For 20 years, many Afghans were able to have a life that was more similar to yours and mine and the freedoms we take for granted. But then, for all sorts of reasons (costs, loss of life, criticism of nation building/colonialism) “the west” decided that we had to withdraw – thus leaving the Afghan people to their fate.

I do not know the answers. However, I know that ordinary folk in Afghanistan were able to experience some degree of safety and freedom over the last 20 year period – that they would not have had otherwise. I know that there are girls, that are now women, that received an education and were free to go to work and pursue careers. I know that the law did not allow 12 year old girls into forced marriages and the subsequent repercussions of that degree of control.

We in the west can only hope that this latest incarnation of Taliban rule is more benign than the previous.

It would appear that there is nothing we can do further to support the ordinary citizens of Afghanistan.

James Che.

Breeks .
That is exactly what I am writing about. The hoodwink.
It is not up to the SNp or any other politician.

It is the people’s claim of right,
We can legal hold a vote any time we like. anyhow and any where. It is not necessary to even go through the devolved parliament. It does not state in the claim of right the people have to do it this way.

J.o.e.

That is why it will be necessary to have a residency limit applied to our vote,

Mac

Anyone who call themselves ‘progressive’ has self-identified as a cunt. Pronouns cunto and cunty.

Confused

sensible

who put the house of saud in charge? (-gifting these barbaric nutters the world’s greatest natural prize) hint : peter otoole, david lean, te lawrence

afghanistan was progressing towards a modern, secular state, but the US cold war hawks decided it had ventured too far to the soviet sphere and then decided to “arm up the nutters”, to create islamic terrorism as a geopolitical play to destroy communism; brezinski thought it was a small price to pay for defeating communism, a greater threat, but it is always “my omelette, your eggs” with these people.

these cold war hawks (reagan era) thought themselves really clever to sucker the soviets into the place – a real dumb move; but then they repeated the error 20 years later (tho it was the neocons in charge by then, which supplies you the reason)

– that shitshow is a joint US/British operation, going way back.

James Che.

I would suggest we organised a Scottish sovereign people’s parliament.

NOT a citizens parliament.
NOT a community parliament.
NOT a assembly.

But always a Parliament that remains in the people’s hands, a shared Scottish sovereign people’s parliament,

To eliminate crooked politicians,
No one person will be leader or come from a political party. They would be voted in individually, and would only legally hold office for say, three years at most,
This way no one individual could be corrupt or corrupt politics in Scotland.

James Che.

The people that live in a country should run their country democratically.

John Main

@Andy Ellis 30 August, 2021 at 12:42 pm

“You’re seriously suggesting that a country where 84% of the population were born in Scotland (2011 census) is swamped?”

Two things, Andy, if you would.

1) Stop quoting the 2011 census. Get yourself some up-to-date figures. We are in the second half of 2021. There have been a lot of inner tubes across the channel and a lot of moving vans up the M6 since 2011.

2) You cavil at 84% and that is your right. Tell us what your minimum figure for the percentage of indigenous Scots is so that we can plan. For one thing, that will allow us to do the math, extrapolate forwards, and identify the year at which even your generous red line will be reached.

OK, maybes a third thing. On that happy or unhappy day, (depending on your viewpoint), what’s the exit strategy? How do we go from unlimited open borders to drawbridge up and boiling oil on the parapets overnight? For starters, how will we convince the new “final” percentage of non-indigenes that no more of their spouses, kids, friends, or cousins will be allowed in. Won’t they all have a vote too?

Captain Yossarian

“The people that live in a country should run their country democratically”.

Is that happening just now, James? Is it Westminster’s fault that Craig Murray is languishing in Sauchton Jail? We have all been told several times that this is a world first. An ex senior politician on trial at the High Court? That’s maybe not a world first, but highly unusual, wouldn’t you agree. Malicious prosecutions every 8-10 weeks?…..Democracy?

Mist001

“That is why it will be necessary to have a residency limit applied to our vote”

Impossible. Scotland is still a part of the UK so you can’t deny its citizens a vote.

There are far more native Scots in Scotland than there are non Scots, so if you can’t sell independence to the majority, then you’ve failed badly, especially so in the current climate.

How could an independent Scotland ever claim to be a democracy when it’s denied people living there the right to vote?

You people are fucking loons.

J.o.e

@John Main

Very good points made

Andy Ellis

@ John Main 1.40 pm

1) That was the year of the last full census. NRS Scotland also publishes figures. The last set published in Oct. 2020 covering up to mid 2019 puts Scotland’s population at an all time high of 5.46 million. That shows 7% of the population being non UK nationals. 60% of them are EU nationals. In the year to June 2019 10,000 more people moved from the rest of the UK to Scotland than moved from Scotland to the rest of the UK (47,500 in, 37,400 out). We have no way of knowing how many of the 10,000 were Scots returning or people born in E/W/NI. In the same year 20,200 more people moved from overseas (I.e. excluding UK) to Scotland than moved from Scotland to overseas. Again, we have no idea how they would vote.

2) I don’t really care what the % is John. My point is that the scare stories about being swamped need to be seen for what they are. It’s fair enough if you want to stand with those who oppose any immigration or want it to be severely limited. I believe that’s wrong, particularly in a country where deaths outstrip births. Where do you see future taxpayers and workers coming from to care for our ageing population, to run out services and industries? I haven’t seen anybody advocating open door immigration from outside the UK, but it seems to me that predictions of “real” Scots being swamped by “incomers” – whether English or from anywhere else – are no more valid than the kind of over the top scare mongering we heard from UKIP and (mostly) the further right of the Conservative party for decades. If that’s your constituency then fair enough, but it’s not mine.

3) From memory the planned citizenship qualifications were set out pretty clearly in the White Paper in 2014 and accepted pretty widely. I don’t recall any real disagreement about them as they seemed eminently reasonable and in keeping with international practice. All those born here or wit Scottish born parents automatically qualified. Those normally resident here on independence could opt for Scottish citizenship.

Again from memory the Irish pattern was followed for people with grandparents born here: they could apply. Post independence the new state can apply whatever citizenship criteria and immigration regulations it feels are appropriate, sustainable and have public support. However, the precedent for qualifying for independence referendum inclusion is overwhelmingly residence, NOT birth / ethnicity. Those who are arguing it should be different in Scotland’s case because the overwhelming majority of “born” Scots can’t be persuaded to vote for independence are in the end making the case for unionists and British nationalists who aren’t saying we haven’t made a good enough case, they’re saying there is simply no majority appetite for independence. Cavilling at the influence of a few thousand incomers votes where they may hold the balance of power in a population simply emphasises the point that if we can’t persuade enough native Scots to support independence we can hardly complain when incomers also decline to do so.

Ottomanboi

Huxley’s Brave «New Normal»
link to archive.is
OR
link to off-guardian.org
link to thehighwire.com
La Sturgeon tests negative, figures!
Is there anything positive about her and her crew?

James Che.

Mistoo1.

Of course we can,

It’s in the title. The Claim of right. And wording.
The Scottish people have the right to choose whom governs them.
It does not say other people from other countries. It does not say the uk.

So if the people of Scotland ( not necessarily in Scotland) decide to allow others to vote with a limitation of length of residency,
not only are the Scottish people being democrat, but generous, considerate, and kind.

Robert Graham

Still a few comments about Indy ref2 oh dear stop wasting your time it’s off the menu unless Sturgeon is removed even then the total lack of any move by the SNP MSPs and party in general renders that whole party redundant and not fit for the purpose it was formed .

Alba has years of progress and ground to make up until it’s to be seen a serious contender to challenge this corrupt SNP management as for the members take your party back Sturgeon does not own the SNP the members are the party not Sturgeon and her inner circle that’s just been added to by the inclusion of two bat shit Loony Green Party members who can’t gain enough support to be of any consequence .

I hope everyone is having a good laugh at Sturgeons attempt at a publicity stunt she says it’s just as well she has had 2 shots of the wonder serum or she would have to isolate , Isolation means no treatment given nothing to combat or alleviate any symptoms just keep away from everyone , oh fk anything to attempt to influence the gullible to get the wonder juice that incidentally is still under emergency measures and still has a liability shield for the manufacturers nothing has changed just a play on weasel wording and it’s still in the trial stage and that doesn’t complete until 2022 .

James Che.

Robert Graham.

Why is it of the table?

The claim of right is owned by the people, not NS, not the SNP, not the Scottish devolved Parliament, not politicians.

The only delays are our own.

James Che.

Andy Ellis,

You are a little bit confused over whom has the right to have a vote.

It distinctly says the people of Scotland, in “the claim of right”

It does not stipulate before independence or after independence criteria,

As the claim of right, does not have to follow the criteria of uk electoral roll. The uk government dictates or the devolved Scottish government.
The clues really are there for you to read in the Scotland Act,
It will not be decided by the government, as the government are not sovereign as are the Scottish people are. Instead it say the people of Scotland have the right to choose whom governs us.

We simply might choose to set up a totally new government, that is not devolved,

Breeks

I think people are also mixing up nationality with citizenship.

Your nationality is fixed by birth and unalterable, but Citizenship is different. Citizenship can be earned by naturalisation, bestowed, granted (or revoked), and you can have multiple citizenship… but it remains Citizenship. It does not become your “new” nationality… ever.

I think, though confess I’m not 100% sure, that “dual” Nationality is actually a misleading definition, because you don’t have two Nationalities. Only one is your Nationality, the other is Citizenship. It may be automatic citizenship, and to all intents and purposes effectively function as a second nationality, but it remains Citizenship.

Nationality also doesn’t come from your parentage. Nationality is determined by where you are born. Your parentage might secure you automatic citizenship, but that’s not the same thing as nationality.

I’ll pick up on what James Che has been saying about clarity, and matters like Sovereignty, nationality, Citizenship, etc turn into endless heated debates because there is a desperate lack of clarity and focus about the process, and the very same absence of clarity and understanding about what Sovereignty and Independence actually means.

Only Nationals are born here, (or there, or wherever). That is neither a prejudice nor a racism, it’s simply legal fact. The place of your birth is unalterable.

I suppose that matters even more in Scotland, because Scottish Sovereignty is a birthright that is indivisible from nationality. The terms are mutually inclusive.

Therefore IF new-Scots, immigrants, those earning citizenship are to be included as Sovereign citizens, there are ramifications for Scotland doing that, because we are recreating the same anomalies between Nationality and Citizenship, for those born sovereign and those who have it bestowed on them.

In the eyes of the law, I don’t think that Scottish Nationals and Scottish Citizens can ever be precisely the same thing. There will always be an indelible distinction, and Scottish Citizens will not be automatically sovereign.

James Che.

John main.

When you use logic, you confuse Andy Ellis. 🙂

Republicofscotland

on the new book and its extracts, Alex Salmond takes his gloves off.

link to yoursforscotlandcom.wordpress.com

Andy Ellis

@ James Che 3.17pm

Wind yer neck in James. I know about the claims of right. I know about the sovereignty of the Scottish people. Nobody here is arguing otherwise. Moving from a bald assertion of popular sovereignty to the practical enactment of independence and its international acceptance is another thing.

Again, nobody is saying there is only one route, but I’m trying and failing to see what it is you are actually advocating for? In practical terms the will of the people is enacted either via their elected representatives or via a referendum, unless you’re advocating revolution and all power to the Soviets? UDI is also an option in extremis, but unless and until you come up with something more convincing than airy assurances that the people are sovereign and will somehow magically deliver independence, we’re entitled to ask: “where’s the beef?” As the old Wendy’s ad famously asked?

I’m pretty convinced #indyref2 is a dead duck for the next 5-10 years, particularly as the current SNP will never deliver it as currently constituted, and there seems no real prospect of its membership effecting the necessary changes to overthrow Sturgeon. That only leaves plebiscitary elections in the short to medium term, so we better all hope that Alba makes progress towards holding the balance of power unless we want a real generation to pass before we get another shot at independence.

Breeks

The point I forgot to add… lol.

IF you want to hold a Constitutional Referendum on Scottish Independence, only Scottish Nationals, those people physically born in Scotland, are sovereign.

Citizenship does not bestow Sovereignty.

If you want a simple but robustly legal voters franchise… there you have it.

I’m not saying that’s the best franchise for Scotland, nor am I saying that would be politically acceptable, but it might not be the worst place to start when devising an appropriate franchise for Scottish Sovereign affairs.

Andy Ellis

@ James Che 3.27pm

You’re hilarious. An attack about as threatening as being savaged by the proverbial dead sheep. 🙂

James Che.

Breeks the distinction is well made between bestowed citizenship and where you are born literally.

I myself cannot be accused of being bias, as Andy Ellis would imply.
My younger and older brothers and sisters were born in Scotland,
But my fathers work took him south for a short period, hence I was born in England.

However I believe with all my heart and fight for the right of the Scottish people to decide on whom should vote in their country to become independent,
and also firmly believe that the Scottish people should use “their, claim of right” to their advantage, even if it eliminates my own vote.
Scotland and Scottish people must save their country from the mad mad world and corrupt politicians first and foremost.

That’s democracy. The right to self determination