The world's most-read Scottish politics website

Wings Over Scotland


An abuse of trust 102

Posted on December 09, 2015 by

We’ve been having some trouble trying to explain the Alistair Carmichael verdict to some English chums who hadn’t been following the case previously and have now just heard about it on the news.

Lord Matthews and Lady Paton in their great wisdom concluded that Carmichael had lied about the “Frenchgate” memo, and that he had also lied to them in the courtroom, and that the first of those lies was intended to help Carmichael achieve re-election, but that somehow his own re-election was not a “personal” matter.

acwhoops

Our friends couldn’t follow the logic of that, and to be honest we weren’t able to help them much. Nevertheless, the judgement has been handed down and the case is closed. It seems unlikely the petitioners could fund an appeal even if one was to be allowed, particularly given that according to press reports Carmichael will be pursuing them for his £150,000 costs as well as their own.

However, in the process of wriggling out of his lie on an obscure legal and semantic technicality, Carmichael appears, so far as we can tell, to have explicitly implicated himself in a far more serious crime.

Read the rest of this entry →

Put in our place 393

Posted on December 09, 2015 by

So now Scotland knows where it stands. Alistair Carmichael is innocent.

There’s officially nothing wrong with a minister of the UK government deliberately lying in an attempt to undermine the democratically-elected First Minister of Scotland before a general election, smearing foreign ambassadors in the process, then openly admitting his wrongdoing but refusing to stand down, flicking two fingers at his own constituents and the whole country.

image

Right you are, then. Duly noted. On we go.

Two countries 251

Posted on December 08, 2015 by

Earlier this year, a Secretary of State in Her Majesty’s Government leaked an untrue memo to the press, with the intention of undermining the democratically-elected First Minister of Scotland and damaging her party in an imminent general election. He then went on national TV and lied about doing so, in order to protect his own reputation.

The newspaper he leaked the smear to printed it without making the slightest attempt to ascertain its veracity, for which it was nominated for an award (even after having been strongly censured by the press complaints watchdog). The “journalist” involved has never retracted or apologised for the story. Others have defended it.

The minister’s colleagues and other opposition politicians gleefully leapt on the smear and propagated it, mostly failing to retract their accusations after they were shown to have been false. Others shrugged that it was normal and fine for politicians to tell “brazen” lies and that complaining about it was “bullying”.

carmichaeljudgement

These facts are not in dispute. Tomorrow morning we’ll find out what they mean.

Read the rest of this entry →

Running on empty 154

Posted on December 08, 2015 by

The National today has a story we’ve been sitting on for several days while we tried to get some verifiable evidence in the form of links or screenshots to back it up.

juneneilson

But Labour aren’t the only people having trouble scaring up a candidate roster.

Read the rest of this entry →

The trouble with Lords 155

Posted on December 08, 2015 by

This morning’s Daily Record, and also some newspapers, report that booze-ruined internet troll and convicted violent criminal George Foulkes – who’s spent several decades of his political career campaigning to abolish the House Of Lords, and all of the last one sitting in it as Baron Foulkes of Cumnock – has dreamt up a wizard new wheeze to enhance the Scottish Parliament by giving it its own chamber of peers.

foulkeslords1

The thirsty noble aims to avoid the undemocratic nature of the UK Lords by making the new “senate” an elected chamber. But in an uncharacteristic development that will shock innocent readers to their cores, he doesn’t seem to have thought it through.

Read the rest of this entry →

The Scottish Media Dictionary 88

Posted on December 07, 2015 by

It’s probably time we had a series of these. So here’s #1.

boswell

scandal (noun) – a situation where no known crime has been committed and nobody has been interviewed by the police, yet which apparently contrasts in some way with other situations about which the exact same applies.

(Can often by identified by presence of Scottish Labour MPs/MSPs describing claims of entirely legal activity as “very serious allegations”.)

The visionary 248

Posted on December 07, 2015 by

As the Scottish media winds itself up to full speed with “SNP BAD” columns about the Forth Road Bridge closure, an alert reader spotted an interesting old quote in Hansard featuring a gentleman you may recognise.

Mr. Darling: Do the Government still want to proceed with the building of a second Forth road bridge, which would devastate the constituency that the Minister seeks to represent at the next election? Have the Government changed their tack? Do they now accept that there needs to be a co-ordinated public transport strategy to deal with the transport needs of Edinburgh and south-east Scotland?

Will the Minister make the Government’s position clear so that we know whether they want to build this ridiculous bridge?”

We invite anyone who may perhaps just be arriving at work after an unusually long commute this morning to imagine a Scotland where Mr Darling had been listened to, and the prospect of a replacement crossing was still several years away.

Altered States 202

Posted on December 06, 2015 by

There’s absolutely no news today – Scottish politics already seems to have packed up for Christmas – so why not watch a nice documentary instead?

Altered States has been available in episode form for a wee while now, but McMaster Media have kindly put together a full-length cut exclusively for Wings Over Scotland.

It’s a fascinating analysis with lots of insightful chat from – among others – the likes of Derek Bateman, Paul “Wee Ginger Dug” Kavanagh, James “Scot Goes Pop” Kelly and Christopher Silver, to whose pre-indyref “Scotland Yet” it’s basically a post-indyref counterpart, and it’s a perfect way to pass a slow, rainy Sunday.

Setting an example 193

Posted on December 05, 2015 by

Tuesday, then Saturday:

Bless ’em.

Cultivating terror 63

Posted on December 05, 2015 by

Order “Welcome To Cairnstoon”, Chris’ compilation of Wings cartoons and more, here.

Technical issues 19

Posted on December 05, 2015 by

We’ve had some gremlins in the works since yesterday, folks. Please bear with us.

An absence of clarity 307

Posted on December 04, 2015 by

On Wednesday the Daily Record ran this story:

mcgarrysyria

It didn’t have to wait long for the “questions” to be answered.

Read the rest of this entry →

  • About

    Wings Over Scotland is a thing that exists.

    Stats: 6,790 Posts, 1,222,569 Comments

  • Recent Posts

  • Archives

  • Categories

  • Tags

  • Recent Comments

    • sarah on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: “Rob, independence is a dead duck only if we all give up. I know it is depressing when the cause…Jul 24, 11:18
    • Stuart on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: ““ But perhaps most of all “the colonizer hates theory”, for theory (such as postcolonial theory) ultimately reveals the colonial…Jul 24, 11:10
    • Northcode on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: ““But perhaps most of all “the colonizer hates theory…” Indeed so, Alf. As is plain for all to see here…Jul 24, 11:09
    • Captain Caveman on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: “Constructive criticism – even if robustly or incredulously asserted – isn’t “trolling”, mate. Are you and your ilk such snowflakes…Jul 24, 10:58
    • Captain Caveman on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: “‘… Sometimes the response to a particularly stupid attempt at making some useless point or other by a singularly dim-witted…Jul 24, 10:55
    • Dan on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: “Well worth a read. https://dearscotland.substack.com/p/why-nuclear-power-in-scotland-isJul 24, 10:39
    • Alf Baird on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: “As Memmi wrote, and as we can see in oor ain laund an among oor ain fowk, a “Colonized society…Jul 24, 10:24
    • Aidan on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: “I will give it to you Northcode, that is quite an amusing post, and a spirited defence of what you…Jul 24, 10:07
    • Rob on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: “I know that I have never “attacked” Alf Baird. Like a number of folk on here I just think he…Jul 24, 10:02
    • Chas on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: “Why is it that the fantasists and cranks assume that any one commentating on the repetitive, self centered dross produced…Jul 24, 09:55
    • Northcode on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: “A staunch unionist (colonialist?), and a proud Ingle tae boot, on here has just re-stated almost the entirety of a…Jul 24, 09:46
    • Marie on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: “My thoughts exactly!!!Jul 24, 08:09
    • Callum on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: “The BIG questions. Should any doctor who is incapable of determining the sex of their patients be allowed to practice…Jul 24, 07:42
    • Young Lochinvar on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: “Quality Doctor eh.. . Did she pass basic biology? Doctor! Doctor! Road traffic accident casualty just in and it looks…Jul 24, 06:02
    • Young Lochinvar on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: “Aha!! P3nisbreath McP3nisbreathface is back after an absence no doubt at Langley and.. T A..v. And upset about a Barbie…Jul 24, 05:51
    • Willie on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: “Reading the various comments it does seem that Alf Baird has very much become the focus of coordinated attack from…Jul 24, 05:19
    • Hatey McHateface on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: ““You’re all afraid and it shows” Sure. I’m forever shitting ma kegs at the idea that TH and ‘Mrs James’…Jul 24, 03:57
    • Hatey McHateface on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: ““There’s barely a comment posted here by a unionist (colonialist?) that is anything other than childish insult, threat, lies, diversion,…Jul 24, 03:44
    • Hatey McHateface on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: ““What does tomorrow hold – an accusation of genocide?” Well, to be fair, the bar for that is being lowered…Jul 24, 03:26
    • Young Lochinvar on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: “Lorn @ 11.32 This deviant crap has been about in Europe for ages. Remember the early 90s Harry Enfield/ Paul…Jul 24, 01:25
    • Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: “Ah! I didn’t know Bill Rolston had died. Tá sé anois ar shlí na fírinne, as the Irish say. Ar…Jul 24, 00:37
    • Lorn on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: “I agree, even if I don’t agree with every word Alf says. He is a distinguished academic and researcher and…Jul 23, 23:45
    • aLurker on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: “@Fearghas Thankyou for that Bill Rolston video, Indeed very interesting to hear the distilled observations from his book: “Ireland, Colonialism,…Jul 23, 23:43
    • Jay on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: “Rob does not think ‘gender woo woo’ was really imported therefore he/she must be able to cite at least some…Jul 23, 23:40
    • Lorn on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: “Mark Began: Scottish, British, European, Scandinavian, Commonwealth, American governments all culpable. Perhaps it is time that we stopped to wonder…Jul 23, 23:32
    • Jay on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: “Rob does not think ‘gender woo woo’ was really imported therefore he/she must be able to cite at least some…Jul 23, 23:08
    • agent x on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: ““Mark Beggan says: Which brings us back to the Scottish government.” ——————————————– No – equality training courses started after the…Jul 23, 21:55
    • Mark Beggan on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: “‘equality training courses ‘ Which brings us back to the Scottish government.Jul 23, 21:19
    • Captain Caveman on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: “‘… Alf Baird puts forward a coherent and convincing argument based on sound and methodical academic research.’ He has done…Jul 23, 21:16
    • agent x on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: “they’re organs but not as we know them Jim.Jul 23, 21:04
  • A tall tale



↑ Top