In a post last month we referenced a ZX Spectrum computer game from 1984 called “Worse Things Happen At Sea”. Today as we watched the First Minister on the Andrew Marr Show, we were put in mind of another nautical-disaster-themed one from a great deal nearer to the end of the Speccy’s life.
When’s a Plan B not a Plan B? Well, when it’s something that could and should have been done already, and won’t be anywhere near adequate even if delivered.
Yet that seems to be what some colleagues are now arguing for. It’s welcome that their thoughts are at last turning to the possibility of the Tories saying No to the Scottish people’s democratic vote. But it’s happening dangerously slowly as the dismantling of devolution and reintegration into the UK gathers pace. Which’s why the Yes Movement needs to act now, not after a Holyrood election.
This week on Wings has been altogether more navel-gazey than we’re comfortable with, as various SNP MPs have mounted a series of all-out personal attacks on the site before the weekend’s crucial NEC elections.
So we’ll have a proper article for you a little later on today, but in the meantime it’d be remiss of us not to tidy up the last fragments of shrapnel, so we’ll direct you to the right of reply to Alyn Smith’s column that The National kindly gave us today:
(Sadly they chose to disable comments, we’d quite have enjoyed the reaction from the few remaining diehard leadership loyalists still posting there.)
We couldn’t help but chuckle yesterday when the £100K-a-year Westminster MP and obsessive Wings Over Scotland reader “Pension Pete” Wishart announced – in the space of six minutes – that this site was simultaneously an irrelevance that nobody listened to, but also somehow one of the greatest threats to independence.
Wings Over Scotland marked its ninth birthday earlier this month. To be honest, we totally forgot about it until someone reminded us. Normally we mark the anniversary with a small reflection and taking of stock over how things are going, but this year we couldn’t be bothered – we’d already mentioned readership stats in August.
But today in The National we found out that we were apparently dead.
But reports of our demise have been, as the saying goes, somewhat exaggerated.
Hatey McHateface on Push The Button: “@Aidan Relax. They’d deploy the F16s. They’d never get aff the groond!” Apr 27, 16:31
James on Push The Button: “The comments section on Wings is poor with the repetive, accumulated shite from the likes of Chas, Adrian, Wilma Flintstone…” Apr 27, 16:28
James Che on Push The Button: “Now we know that the UN is not independent as it claims to be, and it will never be allowed…” Apr 27, 16:23
James Che on Push The Button: “Not a rational thinker I note, having difficulties achieving thinking links that join a to b and b to c,…” Apr 27, 16:03
Hatey McHateface on Push The Button: ““There’s no objective evidence that being alive is better than being dead” I believe the Romans had a saying that…” Apr 27, 16:00
Hatey McHateface on Push The Button: “Occam’s Razor says it’s because Independence is but a matter of weeks or months away at most. 7th May. That’s…” Apr 27, 15:53
Athanasius on Push The Button: “You accept it as a foundational assumption. There’s no objective evidence that being alive is better than being dead, but…” Apr 27, 15:20
Hatey McHateface on Push The Button: ““Socialist Norway is one of the richest countries in Europe and regularly voted one of the best countries in the…” Apr 27, 15:19
Chas on Push The Button: “The comments section on Wings is poor with the repetive, accumulated shite from the likes of Northclown, Baird, Confusused etc…” Apr 27, 15:15
Hatey McHateface on Push The Button: ““This is not a black and white dilemma” No, it’s a red and blue dilemma. That means there’s a great…” Apr 27, 14:22
Hatey McHateface on Push The Button: “There are more Scots with their hands out grifting than there are with their hands dirty, grafting. But then you…” Apr 27, 14:12
James Che on Push The Button: “North code, There are an awful lot of leaders and politicians of all ilks in Scotland that never mention this…” Apr 27, 14:02
Hatey McHateface on Push The Button: ““reality is that a people brutally oppressed by an invading alien power are forced to live under the illusion that…” Apr 27, 13:52
Lorncal on Push The Button: “Agreed, Southern. Primo Levi (Italian Jew and author, etc.) experienced just this situation in the camps of WW II. He…” Apr 27, 13:52
James Che on Push The Button: “North code, At which point do you ask the question of the questioner which pill did you take prior to…” Apr 27, 13:41
Lorncal on Push The Button: “It’s called ‘suicidal empathy’ and is not at all like normal empathy, Calum, and it plagues the West right now.…” Apr 27, 13:39
Northcode on Push The Button: “Are the Scots living in a movie? Arnold Schwarzenegger did it first back in 1990. It would take another nine…” Apr 27, 11:55
Alf Baird on Push The Button: ““an absolutely callous vicious and utter hatred for the natives” Of course, being colonised, us Scots are already subject to…” Apr 27, 11:17
Cynicus on Push The Button: “I am kinder than our host who does not mess around eviscerating you with probabilistic logic. I am open to…” Apr 27, 11:00
James Che on Push The Button: “First option-Red or blue button. Third option suicide by sticking a name tag on yourself and country. Forth option,- accepting…” Apr 27, 10:53
James Che on Push The Button: “The two red and blue button options are wether the populations want supposed governing bodies to do it for them…” Apr 27, 10:11
James Che on Push The Button: “Lornical explained Scotlands situation and its people very well on the 25th of April with remarks on subject of rational…” Apr 27, 09:27
Hatey McHateface on Push The Button: “Well, well. I read the question through twice, to ensure I understood it, then I chose Blue. Seemed bloody obvious…” Apr 27, 08:51
Chas on Push The Button: “What a load of shite…………. as usual.” Apr 27, 08:44
Captain Caveman on Push The Button: “*(Sorry, lots of annoying autocorrect gibberish there, but you get the gist)” Apr 27, 08:27
Captain Caveman on Push The Button: “I totally see your logic, but as human beings the situation is surely more nuanced? Speaking for myself, I simply…” Apr 27, 08:15
Angus on Push The Button: “Being a Rev., I am surprised it does not bother your conscience to vote red, given that a red majority…” Apr 27, 03:09
Rev. Stuart Campbell on Push The Button: “Man, these comments are a real disappointment.” Apr 27, 02:02
Rev. Stuart Campbell on The Narcissism Of No Differences: “You know I edited all those front pages satirically, right?” Apr 27, 01:57
Rev. Stuart Campbell on Push The Button: “So, yes, stupid. Willing to risk death to appear “social” rather than actually think about what they’re doing.” Apr 27, 01:54