Particularly alert readers may recall this excellent documentary from 2017, exposing how Labour’s PFI scandal has cost the Scottish taxpayer countless billions of pounds and crippled local government for decades with its extortionate financial legacy, as illustrated by the case of North Ayrshire.
Well, now there’s another one of it.
The title is self-explanatory, and it’s worth half an hour of your time.
This, frankly, is something that we should have done years before now. But it’s never too late to start.
One of the most annoying and undemocratic things about modern politics is the ease with which MPs and candidates can simply ignore the electorate. I’ve attempted to politely ask my own MP, Wera Hobhouse of the Liberal Democrats, a question on several occasions and had only dead air in response, and many readers report similar from their own representatives.
What that means, among other things, is that it can be impossible to have any idea what someone stands for on a given issue before you vote for them. And that’s plainly unacceptable in a democracy.
However, when there’s an election on, there’s something you can do about it.
A new study reported at the weekend has found disturbing levels of sectarian beliefs among pupils at Scotland’s 357 Catholic schools. But there was an interesting twist – sectarianism was higher among the pupils who WEREN’T practicing Catholics.
We’ve just taken our first week off in eight years, and no sooner are we back than the whole world’s turned on its head. Because this is Brian Wilson in today’s Scotsman.
The only thing we don’t understand is: if a Holyrood majority for independence will be valid in 2021, why isn’t it valid now?
Ashby Computers & Graphics Ltd, better known under their trading name of Ultimate Play The Game, were the most reclusive and secretive videogame developers of the 8-bit era. Almost never doing interviews and giving very little away when they did, they preferred to let their stream of smash-hit games do most of the talking for them. The anti-Bitmap Brothers, if you will.
The games themselves were just as enigmatic, never really explaining your goal or even how to play. You'd be told the control keys, given a bit of cryptically florid plot waffle and left to get on with it.
But even now, 37 years after the last new Ultimate release, remarkably little is known about how they managed to arrive full-fledged on the scene, already making games that most other releases of the time paled and quailed beside.
And as I'd given myself the week off writing about politics and there wasn't a poker game on, I decided to spend last night having a bit of a dig.
The tweet comes days after a Scottish Labour candidate tweeted a meme depicting someone spraying bleach on SNP MP Joanna Cherry with the caption “BANG! and the terf is gone”, despite said candidate being supported by the Jo Cox Foundation – a charity set up after the Labour MP of that name was murdered with a gun.
Mark Beggan on The Land Of No Laws: “International Law. Who comes and arrests you if you break it? Where’s the International Law prison? Who decides what is…” May 19, 00:37
Geri on The Land Of No Laws: ““Football clubs that pay exorbitant transfer fees for prima donnas then complain that they are skint andhave to up their…” May 18, 23:54
Young Lochinvar on The Land Of No Laws: ““Homo” Sacer.. Bound to have peeked Hateys attention that one, and then right on cue.. 🙂 Votes for Reform peeps…” May 18, 23:53
Young Lochinvar on The Land Of No Laws: “I hope Undertaker John Swinney* has read this and actually understood it before going off on one on yet another…” May 18, 23:43
Young Lochinvar on The Land Of No Laws: “Fair point Dan However.. Enjoy driving west on the M8 when a Knockhill Sunday has just wound up? Not really.…” May 18, 23:19
Young Lochinvar on The Land Of No Laws: “TH Sounds like a sound analysis there. What about footie in Engerlund! Engerlund!! Engerlund!!! though? Isn’t that the definition of…” May 18, 23:11
Hatey McHateface on The Land Of No Laws: ““its collapse is expected to set off a domino effect in the entire West Antarctic ice sheet, ultimately resulting in…” May 18, 22:43
Hatey McHateface on The Land Of No Laws: ““offshore tax haven colonial corporates” Do you reckon their boardrooms have libraries of the collected works of Fanon and Memmi,…” May 18, 22:14
Alf Baird on The Land Of No Laws: ““the city is finished” The port certainly is, done in by Westminster privatisation and offshore tax haven colonial corporates, much…” May 18, 21:30
Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on The Land Of No Laws: “BMA U-TURNS ON CASS REVIEW OPPOSITION The British Medical Association (BMA) has backtracked on its opposition to the Cass Review,…” May 18, 21:23
Hatey McHateface on The Land Of No Laws: ““Correspondences with the plight of Scotland (though far less stark) will be obvious to any reader of Wings” Crivens, Fearghas!…” May 18, 19:11
Hatey McHateface on The Land Of No Laws: ““being a colonial nation of porridge wogs has internalised angst, violence and sectarianism” Sure. When we look at former colonies,…” May 18, 19:07
Hatey McHateface on The Land Of No Laws: “So is this a good week to be looking to restore the Stuarts to the throne, Confused? You know you…” May 18, 18:59
Hatey McHateface on The Land Of No Laws: ““It’s not the eighteenth century any more” Quite a lot of the time, on Wings BTL, it is. As Northy…” May 18, 18:40
twathater on The Land Of No Laws: “YL I wish people in Scotland had the same enthusiasm and desire for independence as they do about fucking football…” May 18, 18:14
Dan on The Land Of No Laws: “You should try to get along to Knockhill racing circuit and support Scottish motorsport. There’s just been an excellent weekend…” May 18, 15:06
Mark Beggan on The Land Of No Laws: “The Special Needs Party are to scared to condem the Celtic Thugs. Well let me condem them. Scum!” May 18, 13:24
Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on The Land Of No Laws: “Stuart Campbell writes: THE LAND OF NO LAWS: « But every single person reading this knows that despite the situations…” May 18, 13:03
Confused on The Land Of No Laws: “Hearts are identifying as “trans champions” and holyrood is issuing them a certificate. – there’s a lot of folks “clutching…” May 18, 12:54
Owen Mullions on The Land Of No Laws: “I may be wrong but I don’t think the clock is stopped after a goal is scored so the 30…” May 18, 12:48
Alf Baird on The Land Of No Laws: ““without England’s help we’d have remained a religiously-intolerant backwater.” Should that not read: “with England’s help we remain a religiously-intolerant…” May 18, 12:44
Northcode on The Land Of No Laws: “Since there’s fuckall going on in here I thought I’d follow my last braw comment with a mair chirpy upbeat…” May 18, 12:26
Northcode on The Land Of No Laws: “Ken McGoogan offers a balanced view without ever retreating into neutrality. His work is honest, evidence?driven, and capable of holding…” May 18, 12:06
David Ferguson on The Land Of No Laws: “You claim to be a ref and you appear to know nothing of the laws of the game. The clock…” May 18, 11:56
David Ferguson on The Land Of No Laws: “Here’s an alternative scenario from Saturday: Ni-nil going into eight minutes of added time. 1 substitution and four yellow cards…” May 18, 11:19
Maxxmacc on The Land Of No Laws: “I used to watch Formula 1 until it became obvious that Sky TV were gerrymandering the races to ensure the…” May 18, 11:00
Bilbo on The Land Of No Laws: “Don’t want to be hitting on Glasgow but the city is finished. The main attraction of Glasgow was shopping and…” May 18, 07:52
Willie on The Land Of No Laws: “A most topical article by the Rev. And many very interesting comments thereafter too. Football most certainly invokes popular interest…” May 18, 07:33
Robert Hughes on The Land Of No Laws: “hahahahahaha what joy, seeing all the Glesga haters trying desperately to undermine/tarnish Celtic’s brilliant late season recovery and ultimate League…” May 18, 06:55
GM on The Land Of No Laws: “The richest club in Scotland by a massive distance and that’s 15 out of 16 titles in a row. 15…” May 18, 00:22
