Rape Crisis Scotland, who are almost entirely dependent on the Scottish Government for funding, have chosen this evening to wade into the debate over the wording of a new law which is intended to lessen the trauma of people (nearly all women) who’ve been raped. We can only speculate as to whether they were pressured to do so, but the intervention seems likely only to pour petrol on the fire.
In his evidence to a Holyrood inquiry today, having been asked about some troubling WhatsApp messages concerning the case from 2018 which appeared to suggest the possibility of a conspiracy against the former First Minister, Murrell told members of the committee “I’m not on WhatsApp, it’s not a social media platform I use”.
Alert readers will have noticed a very careful use of the present tense there.
We’ve now filed a formal complaint with the Scottish Information Commissioner about this, because what we’d forgotten last week was that our original request was actually sent in September and it’s now been almost 60 working days with no sign of a proper response, not the 20 it’s supposed to take.
Because for some reason the Scottish Government REALLY doesn’t want you to know what the First Minister and Geoff Aberdein talked about in March 2018, and we think that you probably should.
We don’t normally like to devote much time on Wings to things that have been more than adequately covered elsewhere in the media, which is why you haven’t read much here about eg the Internal Market Bill. Unlike some we don’t see much point spending our limited human resources telling people stuff they already know and agree with.
But we’re going to make an exception for this next thing, which was already covered pretty well by Susan Dalgety in last week’s Scotsman, because (a) a lot of our readers, quite reasonably, will have an instinctively adverse reaction to either anything printed in the Scotsman or anything written by Susan Dalgety, and (b) a number of people have asked us to amplify this issue because it’s so important and so awful.
As well as the SNP NEC elections, the weekend saw the election of the first committee of a new grassroots independence organisation which is unfortunately and hopefully temporarily going by the stupendously terrible working name of “Yes Alba”.
15 people were elected to its ruling body by the votes of hundreds of delegates, with the top-ranked picks including SNP MP Angus MacNeil and former SNP MP George Kerevan. The majority of the successful candidates (eight) were female, even though there were no quotas or women-only shortlists imposed, and a wide range of ages was represented from young activists to former UK ambassador Craig Murray.
(We have no idea about any of their sexualities or gender identities, and also no interest in knowing, because those things have not the slightest bearing on their ability to fight for independence and are frankly none of our damn business.)
But that wasn’t good enough for Team Woke.
On a day when Joanna Cherry had a grown-up, reasoned and constructive column in The National calling for unity in the pursuit of independence, the outpouring of snide, sour sneering from a faction still raging with bitterness about being routed on the SNP NEC is instead curdling Twitter even as we speak.
And embarrassingly, not a single one of them has actually bothered to check even the most basic facts.
Alert readers will recall the deranged open letter released by a group of transactivists last Friday, in a nakedly transparent attempt to influence the SNP’s NEC elections that weekend which backfired on them horribly (and amusingly) when the party’s members instead kicked out three-quarters of the committee’s woke faction and replaced them with feminists, socialists and above all advocates of actually achieving independence.
If you don’t have the time to read Alyn Smith’s astonishing response to the SNP NEC election results in today’s National, we’ve edited it down to 10 seconds for you.
Hatey McHateface on The Idiot Rodeo: “You must be Rev Stu. Pleased and honoured to make your acquaintance at long last. (See fit Ah did there,…” Dec 18, 08:46
Hatey McHateface on The Idiot Rodeo: “What you really saying there then, Dan? The trams were forced on us by the colonialists in Westminster? Every single…” Dec 18, 08:39
DaveL on The Idiot Rodeo: “Fuck off. It’s a fact I just said that and it’s a logical thing to say because you’re still fucking…” Dec 18, 08:37
Hatey McHateface on The Idiot Rodeo: “Socks oan yer feet, Northy, richt this meenit. And mind fit thon Descartes boy said: “Hatey’s still reading your posts,…” Dec 18, 08:15
Hatey McHateface on The Idiot Rodeo: “Facts are neither logical nor illogical, Dave. They simply are. Educate yourself, dude.” Dec 18, 08:00
Hatey McHateface on The Idiot Rodeo: “Wow, Fearghas, our ancestors certainly knew a thing or two about standing on their own two feet, both individually and…” Dec 18, 07:56
Mark Beggan on The Idiot Rodeo: “So another day of the Lefty colonial rant in bed with their death cult chums. Bankrolled to shout in the…” Dec 18, 07:01
Northcode on The Idiot Rodeo: “I made a typo. “It’s comedy is most darkly lit…”: should read: “Its comedy is most darkly lit…” Although, I…” Dec 17, 23:29
Northcode on The Idiot Rodeo: ““Oh, what bitterness cleaves to envy’s sting!” – Dante Alighieri The Union is a monstrous joke, and very far from…” Dec 17, 22:34
Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on The Idiot Rodeo: “Excerpt from Paul Henderson Scott’s book entitled: ANDREW FLETCHER AND THE TREATY OF UNION « A whole succession of events…” Dec 17, 22:26
Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on The Idiot Rodeo: “Maybe relevant to draw attention to the book: ‘SCOTLAND’S RUINE’ : LOCKHART OF CARNWATH’S MEMOIRS OF THE UNION (Edited by…” Dec 17, 22:18
DaveL on The Idiot Rodeo: “Both of you will still be unionist morons, so no change there then. That’s not an assumption either, that’s a…” Dec 17, 21:48
Lorncal on The Idiot Rodeo: “Every law that passes in the Westminster parliament must be passed by a majority of Scottish MPs to become Scottish…” Dec 17, 21:13
Alf Baird on The Idiot Rodeo: ““Aidan bigging up Auld Reekie and the trams!” Aye, anither ‘new Scot’ that disna ken hee haw aboot Auld Reekie…” Dec 17, 20:48
Dan on The Idiot Rodeo: “FFS, just noticed Aidan bigging up Auld Reekie and the trams! Jeezo, yet another ill thought out transport clusterfuck reckoned…” Dec 17, 20:24
Hatey McHateface on The Idiot Rodeo: “Why? What’s he done wrong?” Dec 17, 20:13
Hatey McHateface on The Idiot Rodeo: “It’s a secret. Sorry.” Dec 17, 20:07
Hatey McHateface on The Idiot Rodeo: “FFS Beggan. Round and round the rugged rock the ragged rascal ran.” Dec 17, 20:05
Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on The Idiot Rodeo: “SECRET RECEIPTS that influenced UNION WITH IRELAND | David Olusoga 3 mins video www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzW0GeoO3Ig” Dec 17, 20:01
Hatey McHateface on The Idiot Rodeo: “Looks like it falls to me to once again validate your miserable existence, Northy. Weel done. Guid dug. Here’s a…” Dec 17, 19:59
agentx on The Idiot Rodeo: “If and that is a big “IF”, everything that James Cheyne says is correct, what do people assume, and that…” Dec 17, 19:54
Hatey McHateface on The Idiot Rodeo: “Wow, Alf and Northy, together leading us into the Promised Land. A union that doesn’t exist, a colonial oppression the…” Dec 17, 19:52
Hatey McHateface on The Idiot Rodeo: “Sounds like a nice little earner, sarah. Just mak siccar you declare your profit to the Inland Revenue. They’re an…” Dec 17, 19:39
sarah on The Idiot Rodeo: ““Scum” is the perfect term, Marie!” Dec 17, 19:19
Alf Baird on The Idiot Rodeo: “” proof positive that Scotland is an illegally annexed province of England” Aye Northcode, mebbe the Rev an aw Scots…” Dec 17, 19:06
Marie on The Idiot Rodeo: “@Dan 17.15 How about “scum”? Scum usually rises to the top.” Dec 17, 18:46
Captain Caveman on The Idiot Rodeo: “Ignoramo|, certainly.” Dec 17, 17:46
Dan on The Idiot Rodeo: “I think it is well past the time that we addressed the matter of referring to those in positions of…” Dec 17, 17:16
Alf Baird on The Idiot Rodeo: “Aye, thon Union’s aye a muckle fankle, its aw a massive colonial hoax, James. As Professor Black confirms, England’s pairlament…” Dec 17, 16:37
William G Walker on The Idiot Rodeo: “I hope Mark Beggan doesn’t include Iain Macwhirter in the “fear coming from MSM” about Sandie Peggie as Mr Macwhirter…” Dec 17, 16:03
