Everyone’s having a lot of fun with the farcical Hate Crime Act that will finally come into operation in Scotland in just a couple of weeks’ time, fittingly on April Fools’ Day.
There’s a Calvin And Hobbes cartoon we like to post on social media when someone’s got themselves in such a pickle that they’re just flailing around desperately firing off every slogan, argument or insult they can think of to get themselves out of it.
Many things about the session are disturbing, not least the incredibly one-sided nature of both the witnesses and the committee, none of whom seem to have even a token interest in challenging the claims of the witnesses, however absurd or contentious (eg that praying for someone is basically a form of torture).
The Scottish Government have just launched yet another nanny-state “healthy eating” intervention, and to be honest, readers, the cheap-shot open goals just queued up.
Our first instinct was to do a simple picture gallery of some of the insatiable pie-hounds squeezing their expenses-fed backsides onto the groaning, creaking benches and chairs of the Holyrood and Westminster parliaments, such as Kirsten “Elbows” Oswald (pictured above, slumped back under the sheer weight of her neck) – so known to other MPs because you get between her and a buffet at grave peril to your ribcage.
(And no, we’re not telling you which ones told us that.)
More than three months have passed since Alex Salmond launched a lawsuit against the Scottish Government for its grotesquely botched handling of false allegations of sexual misconduct against him.
With Scottish politics currently in a completely moribund state, as the party of government disintegrates shambolically and the main opposition party keeps its mouth shut and its head down in an attempt to not destroy its newfound and extremely fragile status as a credible alternative, one might imagine that the political media would be desperate for the case to get under way and provide them with some juicy content.
So it’s slightly surprising that none of them has noticed the latest development.
We’re reluctant to even mention the farcical, embarrassing goings-on in the House Of Commons last night, but the very short version is that the SNP somehow contrived to save Keir Starmer from an embarrassing mass rebellion of Labour MPs.
And in so far as anyone cared about them at all, the people of Gaza were the losers.
As the long-running police probe into SNP finances continues, Wings received some slightly surprising news today in the form of an FOI response.
Based on reports from various trustworthy sources we’d expected to hear that the police side of the investigation was by this point winding down somewhat, with most matters of fact already established, detectives assigned to other duties and the ball now largely in the court of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS).
robertkknight on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Rip it up and start again. SNP is lost to the Woo-Woo brigade. They’re welcome to it!” Jul 24, 22:26
sarah on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “O/T but very relevant to the overall theme of why the SNP hasn’t made any progress in restoring Scotland’s independence…” Jul 24, 21:53
Alf Baird on Ain’t it funny how things change?: ““Sometimes I wonder where Scotland would be if we weren’t “colonised” Probably aroond aboot £150 billion a year better aff,…” Jul 24, 21:29
Hatey McHateface on The Wheels Of Industry: ““No one is talking about expunging people” Oh yes they are. Just about weekly. You ignore it, Northy, because you…” Jul 24, 20:48
Hatey McHateface on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “All very well, sam, but what does Cuthbert know of Fanon, Cesaire, Memmi and the rest? That’s the yardstick by…” Jul 24, 20:38
Hatey McHateface on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Cheers, James! Although your obsession with my tackle does raise a few red flags. But hey, a child could see…” Jul 24, 20:29
Southernbystander on The Wheels Of Industry: “Just needs a ‘like’ really as I cannot disagree with much. Just one thing, ‘recover’ is a bit of a…” Jul 24, 20:16
sam on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Jim Cuthbert has a M.A. in mathematics and economics. A M.Sc. in mathematics and statistics and a D Phil in…” Jul 24, 20:01
Hatey McHateface on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “@Onlooker An analysis of Confused’s posts suggests you missed one: Confused’s parent’s home. How else to explain his recurring, extreme…” Jul 24, 19:56
Dan on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “@ factchecker Thanks again for confirming the significant and negative predicaments Scotland endures whilst being in a Union with the…” Jul 24, 19:27
Onlooker on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Lorncal says: “There has never, to my knowledge been a matriarchy in human history…” Wrong. https://www.ancient-origins.net/history-ancient-traditions/ancient-cultures-matriarchal-society-0011588 https://historified.in/2024/12/24/matriarchy-a-historical-and-cultural-perspective/ https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/angela-saini-patriarchy-matriarchy-gender-equality https://www.maloriesadventures.com/blog/the-forgotten-matriarchal-societies-that-still-exist/” Jul 24, 19:26
Hatey McHateface on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Thank the Good Lord ScotGov doesn’t have control of North Sea licensing, eh? They’d have shut in the entire place…” Jul 24, 19:22
Hatey McHateface on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Good post, FC. You’re understanding why, outside of the UK, Scotland is as likely to split apart as it is…” Jul 24, 19:10
Hatey McHateface on Ain’t it funny how things change?: ““tartaned up and kilted bourgeoisie strutting about” Crivens, help m’boab! Some cunning cant maist hae telt them they were aboot…” Jul 24, 19:01
factchecker on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Nothing inadvertent almost it, Dan – just a statement of the obvious. Please name me a democratic union of formerly…” Jul 24, 18:20
Dan on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Well aye, guilty as charged Judge Mark, but when one’s talking about the proper sensible governance of an entire country…” Jul 24, 18:17
Mark Beggan on Ain’t it funny how things change?: ““we have to grow our tax revenues…” You have to pay some Tax in the first place. Talking of which,…” Jul 24, 18:17
100%Yes on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Dan, The funny thing is the Scot hater who where born in Scotland, when abroad call themselves Scottish and when…” Jul 24, 18:04
Mark Beggan on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “For a wee guy you talk really big. You and the rest of the pure Yessers are going to do…” Jul 24, 17:53
Dan on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “^^^ That’s a very lame post, but I guess Mark jist tried to squeeze in as many derogatory digs as…” Jul 24, 16:53
factchecker on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Fair enough, sam; but you are quoting the opinion of Jim Cuthbert, a single civil servant, albeit a well-informed one,…” Jul 24, 16:40
Lorncal on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “I’m not into male-female rivalry, Mark/H McH. There has never, to my knowledge been a matriarchy in human history because,…” Jul 24, 16:39
Lorncal on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Proselytise means to aggressively push your religion/ideology/whatever on to others, not to give them a wee lecture and a couple…” Jul 24, 16:21
sam on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Factchecker says: “Please note: Analysts from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre concluded that the fiscal changes set out in the…” Jul 24, 16:16
factchecker on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “100%Yes says: 24 July, 2026 at 1:36 pm Scotland had a referendum in 2014, I know the Unionist mention it…” Jul 24, 15:24
Mark Beggan on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Colonial. This word is getting thrown about here as if it has some sort of special powers. Just add “colonized”…” Jul 24, 14:15
100%Yes on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Scotland had a referendum in 2014, I know the Unionist mention it all the time. The day before the referendum…” Jul 24, 13:36
Northcode on The Wheels Of Industry: “There’s a lot of interesting history in your comment, but I think you might be mixing together several different concepts…” Jul 24, 12:51