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Wings Over Scotland


Story of a thought process 98

Posted on September 06, 2014 by

One being shared by more and more Scots.

Something in reserve 81

Posted on September 06, 2014 by

finalbend

*Readers! Meet Chris in person next Thursday as part of the Scottish Cartoon Art Studio. Tickets are FREE but you need to book in advance. – Ed.

Ein Yolk, Ein Reich, Ein Fuhrer 198

Posted on September 05, 2014 by

Because throwing an egg is EXACTLY HOW HITLER STARTED.

einyolk

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Rational thinking will have to be made 220

Posted on September 05, 2014 by

This is Andy Brough, the Executive Director at Schroders Investment Management Ltd, discussing the referendum and currency on the Bloomberg channel yesterday.

He predicts a Yes vote in the referendum, and that Scotland and the rUK will share the pound, regardless of what George Osborne says. He predicts a “chaotic” aftermath, but seems rather relaxed overall at the prospect of an independent Scotland in a currency union. And for a senior City financier, he seems to have a very perceptive grasp on the reasons behind Scottish Labour’s backing for the Union.

Questions and sort-of answers 99

Posted on September 05, 2014 by

Last week we highlighted the dismissive, contemptuous attitude of many Scottish Labour MPs and MSPs to questions from their constituents, an approach perhaps borne of the safe seats occupied by most of those concerned. However, some politicians from the three Unionist parties in Scotland do still deign to correspond with the electorate, and it would be unfair of us not to acknowledge and credit them for that.

Below, then, are the other responses that Wings readers received to a number of questions relating to independence that we suggested they might like to pose to their elected representatives way back in July. (We’ve given it six weeks, and it seems safe to assume that any who haven’t replied by now aren’t going to.)

It’s a lengthy read, but we think you’ll find it enlightening.

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What didn’t really need saying 210

Posted on September 05, 2014 by

Here are two snippets from a couple of recent “Better Together” leaflets:

btshopping

Curiously, that 16% increase has fallen to 13% in their latest “briefing” full of made-up numbers Blair McDougall has pulled out of – well, let’s be polite and say “thin air”. But since they’ve been specifically named, let’s just check the claim with Tesco.

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If you can’t say something nice 502

Posted on September 04, 2014 by

…you probably write for the Express.

Yesterday we posted a couple of tweets observing the fact that the Scottish media had conspicuously ignored the phenomenon that is The Wee Blue Book. (We’d have made more of the total blanking had we been even a little bit surprised.)

benborland

Despite having extensively reported almost every other document published about the referendum debate (such as Sir Tom Hunter’s almost-impenetrable digital-only effort), the press saw nothing at all newsworthy about a 72-page book that’s been downloaded over 400,000 times online and which a small team of complete amateurs had managed to fund, print and distribute more than 250,000 physical copies of in a matter of days, with demand still far outstripping supply.

But it turned out we were being a little unfair.

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On moving to Yes 182

Posted on September 04, 2014 by

Bill Leckie in the Scottish Sun, 4 September 2014:

“I still have a list of nagging doubts, not least over who emerges to lead this new state. It’s just that… well, whereas not so long ago these doubts were what held me back, today they somehow seem exciting.

Will it turn out a Yes vote? Don’t ask me. I’m still too busy trying to work out exactly what it was about that conversation [with my son] that changed my mind on the most important collective decision we will ever make.

Today, I can still only offer this guess. That when all is said and done, maybe it just feels better to believe in something that could be amazing than to settle for what can never be better than OK.”

Time to get busy 609

Posted on September 03, 2014 by

All 250,000 copies of the Wee Blue Book have now left the printers and should have reached their destinations, from which they’ll be spread far and wide. Many are already in Yes shops and on street stalls and thousands are in the hands of the public.

wbbinverness

If you’ve got one, please read it and PASS IT ON afterwards – we’ll print truckloads of souvenir editions after a Yes vote, so you don’t need to hang onto it as a keepsake. It’s no good adorning the mantelpiece, it needs to be in front of undecideds and soft No voters. (Or hard ones if you think there’s even a sliver of light in their minds.)

We don’t have a definitive list of where the books can be found – the Yes movement is an organic grassroots network and there’s no way of predicting where they’ll end up after the pallet comes off the printers’ lorry. We’ve shipped boxes to Shetland, Skye, Stornoway and Selkirk and all points in between. (Some not beginning with “S”.)

But we’ll keep you updated when we hear of sightings. The info hotline is our Twitter feed, and you can also keep an eye on the dedicated Wee Blue Facebook page.

Meanwhile, though, there’s other stuff you can do.

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Love on the rocks 193

Posted on September 03, 2014 by

The neverending plague 247

Posted on September 03, 2014 by

From industry recruitment website oilandgaspeople.com today:

“Scotland could be sitting on more than double the amount of oil and gas reserves currently predicted, a new independent industry investigation has found. The investigation reveals that the scale of Scotland’s untapped frontier West Coast or Atlantic Margin has been underestimated.

The investigation was undertaken by oilandgaspeople.com, the world’s largest oil and gas industry jobs board, and independent North Sea oil and gas industry experts. The investigation included interviews with industry experts and collated seismic and expert evidence from a range of independent sources such as the British Geological Survey, DECC, oil and gas companies, the Institute of Petroleum Engineering and the  Energy Institute.

The findings show that the current predictions of extensive untapped reserves of oil and gas could be underestimated by 100%. The West Coast alone could provide oil and gas for at least 100 years with an estimated value of more than £1 trillion.”

Another 100 years? A trillion pounds? When will this curse be lifted from Scotland?

A matter of priorities 192

Posted on September 03, 2014 by

Here’s the BBC News website quoting defence secretary Michael Fallon today, on the announcement of a £3.5 billion order for almost 600 new armoured vehicles:

“‘Nato was formed on the basis that Europe would pay her way. Like any insurance policy, defence only pays out when you pay in.

US taxpayers won’t go on picking up the cheque if we choose to prioritise social welfare spending when the threats are on our doorstep.’

BBC defence correspondent Jonathan Beale said the comment on threats was a reference to Russian military intervention in Ukraine.”

Let’s study that for a moment, shall we?

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