So, in accordance with the wishes of the readership (and despite rather peculiar claims on some sites that all polls in Scotland are now commissioned by Unionists), Wings has its first polling data for you in its present form, relayed without comment.
In association with Panelbase, this month we surveyed 2000 Scottish voters (double the normal sample size) on a couple of subjects. The first question was this:
“Barring unforeseen events, next year Nicola Sturgeon will overtake Alex Salmond as Scotland’s longest-serving First Minister. She took office in November 2014, in a Scotland which was evenly split on the constitution. (Average support for independence in polling was at 50%, compared to the current 48%.)
Which of the following, if any, do you personally regard as her greatest achievement in office?”
Right, as promised, one last piece of admin. (This post will be removed in due time.)
We left yesterday’s piece and the associated poll up for two full days to make sure the people who don’t read Wings at weekends saw it and had the chance to vote in it too. But in truth it was pretty obvious how the vote would go from about 20 minutes in.
When the Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts died last month, the first of their songs that popped into my head, for no particular reason, was “Under My Thumb”, a mildly controversial 1966 album track the band never released as a single in the West.
Its most infamous place in history, though, is this.
Until Watts’ death I was only very broadly aware of the events at Altamont Speedway in 1969, a free festival at a racetrack near San Francisco at which four people died in scenes of malevolent chaos and which is widely regarded as the grim headstone of the hippy era.
But on seeing the extraordinary footage above for the first time on the day of Watts’ death – taken from “Gimme Shelter”, notionally the official movie of the show, although the first two-thirds of it are actually a mundane travelogue of the preceding tour dates – I did some proper reading up on it.
And as I did, a horribly familiar feeling started to unfold.
For many years now, whenever I’ve done one of those “Which Political Party Should You Be In?” online quiz things, it always says that I’m a Green, which is weird because I really hate cyclists. Nevertheless, it was still the result when I did one most recently, just last month.
So I decided that for the first time in my life it was finally time to join a political party.
Her Majesty’s Prisoner No. 157095, or Craig Murray as we still prefer to call him, is a fascinating piece of living evidence of the Kafkaesque country Scotland has become under the despotic rule of Nicola Sturgeon.
Craig has a number of serious medical conditions, one of which causes him frequent dizziness and fainting spells. To gauge their severity (because obviously it’s hard for Craig to judge, given that he’s dizzy and/or fainting at the time), his doctor gave him a device called a pulse oximeter. Depending on the readings from it after an attack, Craig’s life could be in danger and an ambulance should be called.
But because presumably even the Scottish prison authorities realise that it would look quite bad if a political prisoner like Craig died in jail, they did offer him an alternative.
James Cheyne on Strike One: “The Scottish judges may be knobbled, however due to the pre terms, conditions and articles, one of the major reasons…” Dec 12, 11:41
Southernbystander on Strike One: “Regarding the fate of comment consigned to the silent void, as Theodor W. Adorno said about music that is written…” Dec 12, 11:35
Captain Caveman on Strike One: “A truly astonishing read (not in a good way). Just incredible. What an utter shit show. Time to clear the…” Dec 12, 11:35
Liz on Strike One: “They can’t blame typos as the stupid judge took notes in longhand, causing everyone to slow down with their responses.…” Dec 12, 11:32
A2 on The ginger stepchild: “thing is , If you realise indi isn’t going to be happening any time soon, then you will prioritise things…” Dec 12, 11:21
Northcode on Strike One: “Associating the SNP with Scottish independence and the independence movement is now a popular anti-Scots unionist tactic. There are only…” Dec 12, 11:08
James Cheyne on Strike One: “The Scottish governance are a public Body, the Scottish judges are a public body, the NHS in Scotland are a…” Dec 12, 10:53
James Cheyne on Strike One: “The NHS is a public Body and cannot overrule Private Rights of the subjects Scotland and neither can judges, Civil…” Dec 12, 10:26
desimond on Strike One: “Is this outside the remit of our Justice Minister?” Dec 12, 10:22
PC Foster on Strike One: “Let em talk- they will fade into the background when they realise you are not paying attention.” Dec 12, 10:13
James Cheyne on Strike One: “It also fails to relate any mention/wording of supreme judgements being capable of overruling it outside the subjects of Scotland,…” Dec 12, 10:12
PC Foster on Strike One: “But the Scottish judges are knobled- so that’s not going to be of any use!!” Dec 12, 10:09
James Cheyne on Strike One: “Corrections to judgement? First of all the right to private rights and private family life which has been amended or…” Dec 12, 09:46
Weary on Strike One: “I was at the Vic A@E the night before the Christmas Eve encounter. (I was held overnight and discharged Christmas…” Dec 12, 09:40
PC Foster on Strike One: “The SG are now using money that was earmarked to support the health of the good people of Fife to…” Dec 12, 09:39
Northcode on Strike One: “Hooray! It looks like I didn’t write my last comment out loud after all! Either that or it has been…” Dec 12, 09:33
PC Foster on Strike One: “The Scottish Government and the Unions are in cahoots about this and have conspired with the Scottish Judicial system to…” Dec 12, 09:25
Marie on Strike One: “I have no trust in the law” Dec 12, 09:15
Northcode on Strike One: “Oops! Sorry, folks. I didn’t realise I’d written my last comment out loud. It’s the voices you see – the…” Dec 12, 09:12
Geoff Anderson on Strike One: “Times https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G77U_GXWgAAFps9?format=jpg&name=small” Dec 12, 08:56
The Flying Iron of Doom on The ginger stepchild: “I am reminded of that Green party wifie Rachel Millward, she being the one who declared that she wanted Wales…” Dec 12, 08:38
Geoff Anderson on Strike One: “A good question https://x.com/blablafishcakes/status/1998747889703477313?s=20” Dec 12, 08:37
Hatey McHateface on The ginger stepchild: “Looks like you’ll have another 5 years of saying it then. Just think how good your cut-and-paste technique will be…” Dec 12, 07:40
Hatey McHateface on The ginger stepchild: “Say what you like about the Covid Spreaders, but they know how to stamp out tranny behaviour. Check out the…” Dec 12, 07:38
Hatey McHateface on The ginger stepchild: “Vast increase in the crime you write of, Willie. Vast increase in the boat people, too, Vast increase in low…” Dec 12, 07:25
Bilbo on The ginger stepchild: “Upon reading a comment in this thread that mentioned PayPal Kavanagh’s site, I made the mistake of having a lurk…” Dec 12, 07:20
Hatey McHateface on The ginger stepchild: “Ah, c’moan noo, Alf. It’s quite incredible that you sit on a claim like this one, that Scotland would be…” Dec 12, 07:15
Angus on Strike One: “The judge who made this judgement has zero integrity and credibility and must be sacked.” Dec 12, 05:41
Peter McAvoy on The ginger stepchild: “It looks like the SNP support for Independence is Not Proven and will soon disappear like the legal safeguard they…” Dec 12, 02:09
Steve a on Strike One: “Poor poor judge keep. I’m reminded of something I read recently. The more eggs you put in your one basket……” Dec 12, 00:34
