My first contribution to Wings Over Scotland appeared last May and gave an account of my then-current undecided stance on Scottish independence. Savaged mercilessly in the comments as “A bit of a long-winded ‘don’t know'”, in summary we learned three things from it: I’m crap at making decisions, the media coverage of the issue upsets me, and I wasn’t convinced of anything changing for the better after a Yes vote.
Nine months later, only one of those feelings has altered.
Try as we might, we’re only one small website and we can’t track every last news story in the world. So we’re not sure who died and made Calum Cashley chief of the Internet Police. But whoever it was did the cause of independence a great disservice by not clinging to life for a couple more years.
The Herald’s front-page headline this morning – that is, the most important thing the newspaper considers to be happening in the world today – is “Yes campaigners launch bid to silence cybernats“. We won’t insult our readers’ intelligence by naming its author. It exists solely as a result of the actions of Calum Cashley, and it manages to turn an event of such microscopic non-significance it wouldn’t have raised a gnat’s eyelash into a bilious spew of toxic No-campaign propaganda. Nice work, officer.
One of the problems for anyone highlighting media bias is the “invisible hypothetical”. Take, by way of example, this snapshot of today’s Scotsman website front page:
The headline on the first piece especially is an astonishing piece of work. Rather than report that Parliament had passed a motion criticising the UK government’s welfare reforms (something given extra poignancy by the article below it, and despite Labour voting with the Tories and Lib Dems against the motion), the paper mind-bogglingly manages to twist the story into an attack on the SNP for not explicitly providing an alternative plan – even though Holyrood has no powers over welfare.
We invite any Wings Over Scotland readers with an idle moment to ponder what the headline might have been had it been Labour attacking the SNP in similar circumstances. We’ll get you started – you’ll be wanting the word “ACCUSED”.
We hadn’t previously bothered commenting on the Guardian cartoon by Steve Bell that had a lot of independence supporters hot under the collar this week. We’d assumed, as seemed the most likely explanation, that it had actually been a comment on what David Cameron was alleged to have mouthed to Angus Robertson at Prime Minister’s Questions, and that Cameron was therefore the main intended target.
We worried that the nationalists who beseiged the paper with angry comments were perhaps being a little oversensitive and looking for offence where none had been meant. Ironically, the cartoon happened only days after we’d highlighted our own habitual inability to understand what Bell’s cartoons were supposed to be about, and that comment turned out to be prophetic, because we had indeed called it wrong.
In the light of the Electoral Commission setting higher limits for referendum campaign spending, Labour’s Richard Baker, Dr. Richard Simpson and Alistair Darling embark on an urgent fundraising drive outside The Rangers’ next away game in SFL 3.
(We might have gone with this, but it doesn’t seem to be possible to embed YouTube video at a specified starting point, at least in so far as we don’t know how to do it.)
Alex Salmond’s appearance on Scotland Tonight this week raised an issue we’ve been meaning to address for a while, so let’s do it now before we forget again.
Of the numerous polls of the last few months, the most encouraging for supporters of independence was the one conducted by Panelbase for the Sunday Times in late October. It showed a pretty tight race at 37% Yes to 45% No, but the most interesting aspect was how the numbers changed when voters were asked for their opinion in the hypothetical scenario that they expected the Conservatives be returned as either a majority or coalition government at the 2015 Westminster general election.
In that scenario, independence leapt ahead with a massive 10% swing, to lead by 52% to 40%. But much less reported by the media was another finding of the poll.
diabloandco on Push The Button: “Thanks Cynicus – like all three renditions but Paul Robson was the one I remember from my youth and my…” Apr 28, 15:42
Aidan on Push The Button: “It’s funny because I don’t remember supporting Reform at any point. However, if I did support Reform I might be…” Apr 28, 14:40
Geri on Push The Button: “Cave dweller “Also, using China as an example for the success of Socialism, as opposed to free market economics….. priceless.”…” Apr 28, 14:05
James Che on Push The Button: “Scotland does not need to appeal, beg or fight for what has already taken place hundreds of years past. Recorded…” Apr 28, 13:44
Geri on Push The Button: “You are shitting yourself, AI Dan. What else brings you here? No one here is interested in Reform. In fact,…” Apr 28, 13:27
Captain Caveman on Push The Button: “I find myself in agreement with you Northcode! If I were an AI, the “logical” action would be to press…” Apr 28, 13:20
Athanasius on Push The Button: “Here’s the problem, though. When I initially read the question, my immediate reaction was to go blue. It was only…” Apr 28, 13:12
James Che on Push The Button: “Here is the evidence for independent thinkers that my repetitive posts hold merit for Scotland and its people, The unionist…” Apr 28, 12:52
Northcode on Push The Button: “Yeah, that’s right… I posted my last comment twice on purpose coz it was sooo good! If you don’t like…” Apr 28, 12:44
Northcode on Push The Button: “Only a very few folk know that the song, “Ol Man River” – music composed by Jerome Kern and lyrics…” Apr 28, 12:28
Northcode on Push The Button: “Only a very few folk know that the song, “Ol Man River” – music composed by Jerome Kern and lyrics…” Apr 28, 12:28
Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on Push The Button: “Thanks for that link, Cynicus. Brilliantly resonant poetry brilliantly sung. Ol’ Man River had been notionally on my mind for…” Apr 28, 12:11
Northcode on Push The Button: “In the blue button red button dilemma the correct choice depends on whether one loves humankind, as God does, or…” Apr 28, 11:57
Aidan on Push The Button: “I admire your optimism but nobody, anywhere thinks that a referendum is happening at any point soon. I don’t see…” Apr 28, 11:42
Cynicus on Push The Button: “Seconded! Fearghas’ clip also contains a rendition by Welsh bass baritone, Bryn Terfel, renowned in the opera world for the…” Apr 28, 11:13
Jamie on Push The Button: “This just goes to show you. Despite the snp being a bin fire. The unionists have that rubbish an argument…” Apr 28, 10:49
Minceheid on Push The Button: “TimePilot says: 28 April, 2026 at 10:11 am BY IGNORING THE SPECIFICS OF THE SCENARIO THEY HAVE NARCISSISTICALLY MADE THIS…” Apr 28, 10:41
TimePilot on Push The Button: “In the scenario: 1. THERE IS NO FIRE 2. THERE ARE NO RELATIVES/INNOCENTS ABOUT TO DIE WHO ARE UNABLE TO…” Apr 28, 10:11
Geri on Push The Button: “You aren’t Scottish, Shiteface. Stop pretending that you are, it’s embarrassing. No self respecting person disses their own country in…” Apr 28, 10:00
Captain Caveman on Push The Button: ““You must get quite the internet service providings in Englandshire if you can sniff yer monitor and discern that much…” Apr 28, 08:30
diabloandco on Push The Button: “Thanks Fearghas, lovely to hear the rich voice of Paul Robson first thing!” Apr 28, 08:24
TURABDIN on Push The Button: “NIX, NIX, NIX FOR SCOTLAND! Or here comes that tired old referendum shit again, Or never, never, never, never ad…” Apr 28, 08:22
Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on Push The Button: “An effort at Scottish Gaelic lyrics for “OH SHENANDOAH” – https://gobha-uisge.blogspot.com/2026/04/oh-shenandoah-paul-robeson-bryan-terfel.html” Apr 27, 23:51
Willie on Push The Button: “The charges relate to three incidents: a vehicle fire in Kentish Town, a fire at the prime minister’s private home…” Apr 27, 22:52
TimePilot on Push The Button: “You are missing the point of what is otherwise a straighforward rational logic puzzle by imprinting it with your own…” Apr 27, 22:30
Alf Baird on Push The Button: ““oddball ragtag of misfit Yoons” The colonialists aye noo suffer fae anxiety near every Scottish election, because they ken fine…” Apr 27, 22:01
Southernbystander on Push The Button: “It was and I’m a Ronnie fan. Great match and Higgins came on really good towards the end of the…” Apr 27, 19:44
Dan on Push The Button: “CC says: “B.O. that could make a grown man weep – and breath that could strip the fur from a…” Apr 27, 19:23
agentx on Push The Button: “Great win by the “Wizard of Wishaw” today 🙂” Apr 27, 19:23
Lorncal on Push The Button: “I meant that ‘suicidal empathy’ must be excised, not liberalism and tolerance. The ‘suicidally empathetic’ regard all old-style liberals (small…” Apr 27, 19:18
