Alert readers will of course be aware that a recurring theme on this site is looking for the alleged abusive behaviour by supporters of independence which gets regularly reported in outraged terms by newspapers but is mysteriously almost never supported by any actual evidence of the supposed abuse.
In every case the papers and/or alleged recipients of all these dreadful separatist haranguings screamed “VILE ABUSE!”, swooning at the horror of it all, then suddenly turned deaf and dumb when asked to provide any examples.
So we were quite surprised yesterday when a previous complainant – brutal stickering victim and lonely Scottish Labour MP Ian Murray – actually came up with the proof.
Five minutes and 51 seconds, to be precise, is how long David Mundell, Secretary of State for Scotland, spent frantically quacking out meaningless noise on this morning’s Sunday Politics Scotland in order to avoid answering a simple Yes/No question until the interview ran out of airtime.
We could quibble with presenter Gordon Brewer making the assertion that a Section 30 order would in fact be necessary for a second referendum (something which has never been established in law or conceded by the Scottish Government, with strong and genuine legal opinion on both sides of the argument), and with him letting Mundell get away with the blatant falsehood that an overwhelming majority of Scots don’t want another referendum – in fact, 50% want one within the next two years.
But sometimes you have to let some smaller things slide to avoid distraction and stay focused on your main point, and in our view this was one of those occasions.
Should we check out that link and find out whether the then-FM really DID “claim that the Scottish NHS would be privatised if Scots voted No”, readers? Let’s do!
These are the comments of UK defence secretary Michael Fallon in a short interview with today’s Herald. We don’t know about you, folks, but to us it feels like Christmas.
We think our favourite line is “There are other voices in Scotland now, not least Ruth Davidson’s”, but there are a lot to choose from.
This is Conservative MP Dominic Raab, a member of the Brexit Select Committee, speaking on the BBC News Channel’s “Hard Talk” programme at 00.45 this morning. Perhaps imagining that nobody would be watching at such an ungodly hour, it seems he felt able to be unusually candid.
We left the last bit on in order to demonstrate that he was still talking about Scotland as well as Ireland. (He went on to recite the usual boilerplate about all leaving together as the UK etc etc, you can watch the whole show for yourself on iPlayer.)
But let’s just get that key early exchange down in writing for the record.
Readers familiar with our standing advice to newspaper customers that the headline is nearly always a lie might like to consider today’s Press & Journal.
The word “pyre” comes from the Greek word “pyra”, meaning “fire”. Surprisingly, it’s NOT the same root as “Pyrrhic”, as in “Pyrrhic victory”, meaning one that’s achieved by metaphorically burning your own city down. (Which in fact is named after the Greek general Pyrrhus of Epirus.)
The Sunday Herald ran an extraordinary article on page 2 yesterday, and by the time we’d finished being startled by what nonsense it was, it set us wondering about why.
diabloandco on These Words Are My Own: “Nah! Gruinard not St Kilda – leave it to its lovely natural inhabitants!” Jul 19, 09:08
Aidan on These Words Are My Own: “That is why for example, Palestine, Tibet, the Sioux/Navajo regions, North Cyprus etc. have never been NSGT’s.” Jul 19, 09:01
Hatey McHateface on These Words Are My Own: “Can’t wait until tomorrow, to get some hope in my postcode. I give it a week before normal service will…” Jul 19, 09:00
Andy Ellis on These Words Are My Own: “I notice Alf that you still don’t deign to answer the questions I posed. One might almost think that’s because…” Jul 19, 09:00
Aidan on These Words Are My Own: ““The UN’s decolonisation frameworks don’t begin with a majority vote; they begin with an assessment of conditions: historical incorporation (the…” Jul 19, 08:58
Hatey McHateface on These Words Are My Own: “Perhaps you could clarify, CC. Does that make England First Loser, or Second Loser? 🙂” Jul 19, 08:18
Hatey McHateface on These Words Are My Own: “Ah Wally, is there a sight so delightful, a sound so musical to the ear, or a scent so alluring,…” Jul 19, 08:15
Hatey McHateface on These Words Are My Own: ““then relying solely on normal internal electoral mechanisms to remedy it cannot resolve the issue” Naw? You cannot say that…” Jul 19, 08:01
Northcode on These Words Are My Own: ““God only knows what you think the “laws of decolonization” are, but the UN isn’t going to apply these “laws”…” Jul 19, 06:55
ScotsCanuck on These Words Are My Own: “Holy Crap !!! … it just could be that she is the architect of her own doom !! … she…” Jul 19, 03:28
Captain Caveman on These Words Are My Own: “Oh well, England firing six (yes, you heard it right folks SIX) goals against the French – widely fancied as…” Jul 19, 01:02
Young Lochinvar on A Matter Of Declinature: “HMcH Eh?? No. And your point is exactly, beaching a ship holed badly below the waterline allows repairs then refloating?…” Jul 19, 00:57
robertkknight on These Words Are My Own: “Nah…save the expense of construction and staffing and just dump the bastards there and let them fend for themselves. I’m…” Jul 18, 23:21
James on These Words Are My Own: “Oh, wow. You can tell when something ‘gets’ to them eh? They’re not even hiding it now, reams of unionist…” Jul 18, 22:29
James on These Words Are My Own: “Stupid fucking meaningless interjections is what the Site Prick is programmed to do. All day, every day. Rinse and repeat.” Jul 18, 22:16
James on These Words Are My Own: ““Once a Tory Prick, always a Tory Prick” ?” Jul 18, 22:12
James on These Words Are My Own: “The AI site Prick’s mission is to divert, distract and divide. All day, every day; in the hope that the…” Jul 18, 22:10
Red on These Words Are My Own: “Nicola Sturgeon. John Swinney. Humza Yousaf. Jamie Hepburn. Alex Salmond gave all these people political careers, despite their horrible inadequacies…” Jul 18, 21:53
jimburns on These Words Are My Own: “Puzzled me as well. Private Eye points out that the answer might be that as he wasn’t convicted of the…” Jul 18, 21:24
Tommo on Step One: “Indeed.There is a vague parallel I can offer from here in Wales;some years ago the Bonheddigion (look it up) decided…” Jul 18, 21:04
Saffron Robe on These Words Are My Own: “Nice one, Stuart. Let her try to prove her innocence in court. Surely the fact that all the items implicating…” Jul 18, 20:40
Hatey McHateface on These Words Are My Own: ““Such a fraud cannot be remedied by colonial elections” Havers, Alf. God only knows what you think the “laws of…” Jul 18, 20:28
Hatey McHateface on These Words Are My Own: “It is a bit of a stupid fucking meaningless poem, Onlooker, so just what did you expect? And it doesn’t…” Jul 18, 19:16
Alf Baird on These Words Are My Own: “Andy, Hatey, You are ignoring the greatest fraud against the Scots, which is neither Murrell or Sturgeon, it is the…” Jul 18, 19:04
Red on These Words Are My Own: “Thank you, Reverend. From a grateful and weary Scotland.” Jul 18, 18:59
Onlooker on These Words Are My Own: “What a stupid fucking meaningless interjection from Mr Answer Everything All Day Every Day (I Am Halfwit, Hear Me Roar!),…” Jul 18, 18:15
Carol Neill on These Words Are My Own: “And the place is nearly empty The lion the witch and the audacity of that bitch” Jul 18, 18:08
Hatey McHateface on These Words Are My Own: “Great post, Andy. “a plebiscitary general election fought on a platform that won’t take “No” for an answer” is, of…” Jul 18, 17:42
