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Wings Over Scotland

Claimed in full 54

Posted on January 20, 2014 by

Much gratitude tonight to alert reader “Albamac”, who’s not only compiled the whole of “The Claim Of Scotland” into a single very small (1MB), easy-download PDF file but has converted it in the process into one with cut-and-pasteable text for quotability. We’ve uploaded it to the Repository, and you can also download it from this direct link.

claimed

Big love once again too to Wilma Watts who made our serialisation possible in the first place, and to the sadly-deceased Herbert James Paton for writing a book that for the most part could have been released yesterday. We highly recommend it as a starting point for any undecideds you know who might not want to jump straight into the debate with something as openly partisan as this site. Having read it, we suspect they’ll be hungry for more truth, and then you can send them our way.

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Category culture, history, scottish politics

Casting the clout 71

Posted on January 20, 2014 by

The latest in the UK government’s “Scotland Analysis” series of independence briefing papers was released this week on the back of William Hague’s visit to Glasgow.

haguealexander

At 119 pages, the EU and International Issues paper is nobody’s idea of a slim pamphlet, but it’s remarkably light on meaty content.

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Category analysis, scottish politics, uk politics, world

When it’s horrible being right 59

Posted on January 20, 2014 by

Me, writing in April 2010, before there was a Wings Over Scotland:

“Brown doesn’t have a pig in a sausage factory’s chance of still being PM in a month’s time. So all he’s doing with this disgusting, desperate attempt to grab a few Mail-reader votes in marginals is setting a tone of contempt for the poor that the Tories will seize on, and thereby triangulate their own position to somewhere even more loathsome. God help the poor if Cameron gets in.”

Once in a while it’d be nice to get it completely wrong.

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Category uk politics

Good morning, Britain 68

Posted on January 20, 2014 by

Welcome to another glorious new dawn in the Union.

benefits4

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Category comment, culture, disturbing, uk politics

Something to look forward to 32

Posted on January 19, 2014 by

ftgap

#ukok #bettertogether

Category uk politics

Fairness In The First Year 88

Posted on January 19, 2014 by

For those of you wanting to look at the report on broadcasting bias from the University of the West of Scotland, we’ve uploaded it to the Repository, and you can also grab it directly from this link. Thanks to the alert readers who sent it in.

Category analysis, media, scottish politics

The illegitimacy klaxon 76

Posted on January 19, 2014 by

We doubt if anyone is going to faint with amazement from the discovery that an academic study has found TV news coverage of the independence debate was biased against the Yes side by a 3-2 margin between September 2012 and September 2013.

klaxon

But what’s useful about the University of West of Scotland research is that it sets out the exact nature of the various types of biases, and gives a precise number for how many times each type occurred. This moves us on considerably, because complaints can no longer be dismissed as nothing more than (to misquote Derek Bateman) the paranoia of nationalists obsessing over how many times Jackie Bird raises her left eyebrow while reading from an autocue.

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Category comment, media, scottish politics

Subsidy junkies 101

Posted on January 19, 2014 by

We can’t be the only people, surely, to find the latest “Better Together” gambit one of their strangest yet. Never mind the made-up figures or the spurious assertions or their usual habit of having headline amounts which use cumulative sums over many years to make numbers sound bigger. Just look at the barely-concealed subtext here:

subsidyjunkies1

“Don’t leave the UK, or you’ll have to give your money to the English! Eurgh!”

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Category analysis, comment, europe, scottish politics, uk politics

Has the lovebombing started yet? 181

Posted on January 18, 2014 by

Peter Hitchens in the Daily Mail, just discovered:

“It’s such a pity that nobody knows any history, or it would be quite obvious what so-called Scottish ‘Independence’ is about. Our continental enemies sought for centuries to detach Scotland from England, to weaken us. Now they’re doing it again. 

If Scotland breaks away from England, it won’t be run from Edinburgh, but from Brussels and Frankfurt, and Scots will discover what it’s really like to be someone else’s subject province. I’m sure they’ll have more sense.”

God DAMN it! Who knew we were just the unwitting dupes of the Belgians all along?

Category comment, europe, idiots

The classic double whammy 145

Posted on January 18, 2014 by

Step 1: Write an offensive, provocative piece of trollbait for the Daily Mail, describing your opponents as “kilted bum-barers who bellow ‘freedom’ whenever an English person hoves into view” and suggesting that a Yes vote is an abdication of morality.

(If you can then somehow get the Guardian to reprint it, bonus!)

deerinisatwat

Step 2: Whine like a baby when you get the response you wanted all along.

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Category comment, media, scottish politics

Panic stations 115

Posted on January 18, 2014 by

When we started the week with news of the UK government’s statement on debt, we wondered aloud whether it would be a game-changing moment. Judging by the No camp’s reaction since then, shrieking and flailing and lashing out blindly in all directions simultaneously, our question’s been answered.

paniczombies1

It’s been hard to keep track of it all, but we’ll have a go.

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Category analysis, comment, media, scottish politics, wtf

Bigger and better than this 88

Posted on January 17, 2014 by

Some loony posted this to YouTube on Christmas Eve, so we’ve only just stumbled across it. It’s the speech given by Scotland’s Sweetheart (and Wings Over Scotland contributor), the estimable Saffron Dickson, to the Radical Independence Conference back in November, and it’s seven minutes of your life well spent.

We hope to live long enough to see her as First Minister.

Category scottish politics, video

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    • Hatey McHateface on Anything But That: “Most admirable, Spartan. Is your brand of committed pacifism reciprocated by the people you call puerile, shite-posting idiots, or do…” Sep 10, 19:54
    • sam on Anything But That: “Northcode, You say: “In informal settings — interviews, videos, conferences — he [Robert Black,KC] sometimes uses the word “annexed” as…” Sep 10, 19:48
    • 100%Yes on Anything But That: “Have a listen to Gayle Miller on this Wednesday of Scottish Prism and the lady has posted a more detailed…” Sep 10, 19:42
    • Spartan 117 on Anything But That: “A good post Mark (and James above). Destructive unnatural ideologies specifically designed to break the Human spirit and democratic rule…” Sep 10, 18:47
    • Spartan 117 on Anything But That: “Good post. Well said.” Sep 10, 18:42
    • Northcode on Anything But That: “My earlier comment was referring to Professor Black’s formal legal argument (for example in “For England, Nothing Changed”). In that…” Sep 10, 18:02
    • Mark Beggan on Anything But That: “The key to that holding is teaching the children. Teach them the truth. Teach them the christian principles. Teach children…” Sep 10, 18:01
    • Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on Anything But That: “AN TEACHDAIRE PÀRLAMAIDEACH Naidheachdan Pàrlamaid na h-Alba Scottish Parliament news 10/09/2026 https://campaign.emailblaster.cloud/MjQwNDM/58.html” Sep 10, 17:41
    • Mark Beggan on Anything But That: “The two sovereign nations sign a Treaty of mutual respect in practical terms that will be the envy of the…” Sep 10, 17:35
    • Captain Caveman on Anything But That: ““My point? Most of these common labels have been overused and mis-applied to the extent they’re now useless. Essentially they…” Sep 10, 17:30
    • James Che on Anything But That: “Mark Beggan, Ideology seems to being doing a lot of damage nowadays, Because Scotland does not run the Government in…” Sep 10, 17:25
    • sam on Anything But That: “Northcode In the youtube video linked up thread, at 18 minutes and 47 seconds Professor Black states that Scotland was…” Sep 10, 17:13
    • Hatey McHateface on Anything But That: “To be fair to BP, if believing there’s only two sexes and that they differ in many fundamentals from the…” Sep 10, 16:43
    • Aidan on Anything But That: “@James – firstly thank you for engaging rather than just projecting, but secondly what do you mean by sovereignty?” Sep 10, 16:42
    • Mark Beggan on Anything But That: “Why don’t you just get an AK47 and a few stun grenades and be done with it. Storm Starbucks.” Sep 10, 16:30
    • James Che on Anything But That: “Aidan, Surely a supposed created State hundreds of years ago is still relevant to both Scotland and England today.as neither…” Sep 10, 16:26
    • Mark Beggan on Anything But That: “I watched the footage of the 2025 meeting. You only see the back of the heads of the audience. Very…” Sep 10, 16:20
    • Mark Beggan on Anything But That: “You will not get a referendum but what you will get is more government and more civil servants. Burnham is…” Sep 10, 16:11
    • Mark Beggan on Anything But That: “It is even more frightening when the government try’s to change history to fit their ideology.” Sep 10, 15:58
    • James Che on Anything But That: “North code. Indeed, Prof Black does not go as far as Westminster parliament in 2026 in Stating there is Not…” Sep 10, 15:55
    • Captain Caveman on Anything But That: ““Labour and the Tories are right wing parties,” was as far as I got.” Sep 10, 15:45
    • James Che on Anything But That: “The English people are not the enemy of Scots. Nor are the Scots the enemy for England, Think about it,…” Sep 10, 15:36
    • Breastplate on Anything But That: “Labour and the Tories are right wing parties, so much so that Thatcher took credit for the creation of New…” Sep 10, 15:36
    • Aidan on Anything But That: “@Northcode – you’re generally right, however Professor Black contends that because Scotland was effectively amalgamated into a greater England, this…” Sep 10, 15:33
    • Northcode on Anything But That: “I’ve read Black’s legal opinion in detail, and he doesn’t argue that the Union is invalid or that Scotland was…” Sep 10, 15:17
    • Willie on Anything But That: “Most interesting comment about the legal position of the so called union. Professor Black is absolutely clear on the matter,…” Sep 10, 15:13
    • James Che on Anything But That: “Spartan 117, All responses are appreciated thank you, And no I do not get paid to post, which is the…” Sep 10, 15:10
    • Aidan on Anything But That: “Well that’s great news – I appreciate you aren’t able to respond to even the most mild of challenges so…” Sep 10, 14:58
    • James Che on Anything But That: “Mark Beggan. Also many thanks for your response on my behalf, I had visitors in so was a bit occupied.…” Sep 10, 14:42
    • James Che on Anything But That: “Sam, I had read the gist of that history, but many thanks for providing more details.much appreciated as all history…” Sep 10, 14:37

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