As Twitter followers will have noticed, we’ve been busy this week with an extensive remodelling of Wings HQ, which involved the main computer being out of commission for several days while the office was basically torn down and rebuilt from scratch. (It seemed a good time to do it, given that there’s nothing remotely of interest happening in Scottish politics.)
Unfortunately the lack of activity on the site caused the comments on the last post to degenerate into the most wretched playground shrieking match, so let’s see if we can’t distract the children and talk about something else for a bit.
Particularly alert observers will have noted that Kezia Dugdale, the most spectacularly inept and unsuccessful Scottish political leader in history, this week demitted her role as Director of the John Smith Centre, which she was handed as an incentive to quit Scottish Labour after dragging it to 14% in the opinion polls.
We long ago ran out of words to express the magnitude of the contempt in which the SNP now hold the people of Scotland. Which is unfortunate, because this probably calls for the invention of a whole new scale.
Shall we go through just a few of the more crassly insulting holes in this pitiful excuse for a cover story, just to pass the time while we wait for the former First Minister to appear before the COVID inquiry? We don’t know about you, but we’ve got nothing better to do.
Nicola Sturgeon is due to give her evidence to the COVID inquiry tomorrow – if, of course, she remembers anything. We’re awaiting, open-mouthed in genuine shock, her explanation for this.
Because try as hard as we might, we cannot for the lives of us bring to mind a single possible legitimate justification for a First Minister to do such a thing.
Alert readers may however note that 19 March 2020 was just four days before Alex Salmond was cleared of all charges, and might find themselves pondering the reasons why she might want to be in possession of a cheap disposable text-capable phone at that particular point in time.
There are many people in the world deserving of sympathy at the moment, readers, but spare a thought in your busy day for Scotland’s Lord Advocate, Dorothy Bain.
Just two and a half years into the post (most incumbents post-devolution have served around five), she’s already had to deal with a lot of what sports people call “hospital passes”. But she’s about to find herself in another nasty spot not of her own making.
On Tuesday 16th January the UK parliament put beyond doubt that their claims down the centuries that the UK is a respectful union of equals is, and always was, a lie.
This was the second time I’d brought my Scotland (Self-Determination) Bill before the house and there are various opinions floating around about the reasons for, and implications of, introducing the legislation as drafted. Wings kindly suggested I set out my reasons for bringing it forward for a second time, and why I consider Tuesday’s defeat in the chamber as a Pyrrhic victory for the union.
We make no apology for returning once again to the depressing subject of the Scottish Government’s proposed new law to ban “conversion practices”, because it provides such an illuminating microcosm of how far a once competent and widely-respected administration has fallen since 2015.
Emma Roddick, who is piloting the bill towards the statute books in much the same way that Mohamed Atta piloted American Airlines Flight 11 towards the World Trade Centre, is a 26-year-old who by her own admission suffers from a serious and debilitating mental illness that any sane country would regard as an insurmountable bar to political office.
Hatey McHateface on According As We Need Them: “C’moan Mark. No civilised country would put Edinburgh people in Govan. Or vice versa.” Jul 17, 19:31
Mark Beggan on According As We Need Them: “I will sleep like a sedated log. Knowing that those three self appointed terrorists are locked up in the Govan…” Jul 17, 19:21
agent x on According As We Need Them: “@ breeks “Super-container port plan at Scapa Flow wins backing Plans to build a container ship gateway to Europe in…” Jul 17, 19:15
Hatey McHateface on According As We Need Them: “Ah, c’moan noo, Aidan. Stereotypically, we Scots are famously lacking in teeth – what we could perhaps call “dentally challenged”.…” Jul 17, 19:12
Hatey McHateface on According As We Need Them: “You don’t know what “hight” means, NC? Odd. It’s easy enough to find online. But do tell us true. Are…” Jul 17, 18:59
Aidan on According As We Need Them: “I appreciate that what I said may seem like a personal attack even though I didn’t name you. I’ll leave…” Jul 17, 18:50
Northcode on According As We Need Them: “My Tercet – almost – of the Day: AI Dan; The clue is in the name, the artifeecially smert; Artifeecial…” Jul 17, 18:43
Northcode on According As We Need Them: ““…your posts will achieve new hights of wonder and delight for us readers” Envy is a terrible sin… and a…” Jul 17, 18:39
Hatey McHateface on According As We Need Them: “I missed this earlier. Strong, the disappointment is, in me. Still, NC, why not use “thocht” or even “ween”? Even…” Jul 17, 18:28
Hatey McHateface on According As We Need Them: ““an alley to trans people but also an alley to women” The seeker after [REDACTED] would do well to stroll…” Jul 17, 18:20
twathater on According As We Need Them: “You Posted, “You’ll just look like the other unemployment daytime drinker shopping channel serial masturbaters that seem to lurk on…” Jul 17, 18:16
Hatey McHateface on According As We Need Them: ““don’t … contribute financially or socially to Scotland or Scots” And you do, TH? You’ve really swallowed the “assistance” line…” Jul 17, 18:12
Hatey McHateface on According As We Need Them: ““as a wee mid-week treat for one” There ye gang, NC, fixed it fer ye. Pamper yersel soon!” Jul 17, 18:07
Hatey McHateface on According As We Need Them: ““Governments aren’t really interested in the health and welfare of the poorest” By a remarkable coincidence, neither are most people.…” Jul 17, 17:58
Hatey McHateface on According As We Need Them: “But first we have to understand why the oh-so-nice, touchy-feely, generous, warm, welcoming BRICS luvvies would be so mean as…” Jul 17, 17:47
Hatey McHateface on According As We Need Them: “Sam always likes to fret about this kind of thing, all the while choosing to ignore the immense and accelerating…” Jul 17, 17:29
Hatey McHateface on According As We Need Them: “@Northcode Strong, the fight is in this one, while the pseudonym holds fast, and the bedroom curtains tightly shut out…” Jul 17, 17:13
Hatey McHateface on According As We Need Them: ““moved to Glasgow” Are there no depths of hideous depravity to which the abusive, coercive state apparatus will not sink?…” Jul 17, 17:02
Northcode on According As We Need Them: “In the interests of harmonious relations between the two parties to a hoax union, or alternatively ‘The Union That Never…” Jul 17, 15:52
Northcode on According As We Need Them: ““…so you are willing to say to the face of any English neighbours ‘you are a plundering colonial occupier please…” Jul 17, 15:10
Rev. Stuart Campbell on According As We Need Them: ““The latest poll (IPSOS) of voting intentions for Holyrood has the SNP at 31%, “Other” (Alba, Liberation, ISP, etc.) at…” Jul 17, 15:02
Aidan on According As We Need Them: “@Mark – I love the way it’s described as “damaged a fence” as if it was some kind of innocent…” Jul 17, 14:57
Northcode on According As We Need Them: ““But to most people I suspect, what you are rationalising is bigotry, plain and simple. This is why I find…” Jul 17, 14:43
Mark Beggan on According As We Need Them: “It’s reality time for the Lefty do gooders. Terrorists forfeit their rights.” Jul 17, 14:02
Southernbystander on According As We Need Them: “Right, so you are willing to say to the face of any English neighbours ‘you are a plundering colonial occupier…” Jul 17, 13:33
Aidan on According As We Need Them: “That’s a fair summary – Xaracen is at least engagable, if wrong” Jul 17, 13:32
Marie on According As We Need Them: “Correct. I remember reading The Black Report decades ago about the shocking differences in morbidity and mortality between rich and…” Jul 17, 13:31
Aidan on According As We Need Them: “Even if we took your view that life expectancy dipped from 2011 rather than 2010 (although the data does not…” Jul 17, 13:22
sam on According As We Need Them: “Aidan You say: “namely that the causal impact must at least in part be caveated against the fact that life…” Jul 17, 12:39
Captain Caveman on According As We Need Them: “Sam’s a dullard cut ‘n paste merchant and troll, but he’s actually one of the “better” correspondents if you can…” Jul 17, 12:33
