Wings Over Scotland

Should Niall Aslen’s ‘The Big Lie’ and ‘The Great Deception’ be in this list?

@themadmurph.

There is an enormous amount of Scottish stuff on scribd. If you have spare time a browse is well worth it.

Will there be a ‘Hubris’ section for any pre vote Unionist triumphalism in the form of tweets/articles etc ?

This would be an exceptionally useful tool in the early hours of Friday September 19th

I suspect Baron Foulkes, Rear Admiral Cochrane and Fraser Nelson would require their own personal archives.

An excellent report regarding the effects of population size for small countries. Commissioned by Plaid but relevant to Scotland.

link to dl.dropboxusercontent.com

Sorry, Rev, can I point out that your copy of the IFS Report “Fiscal Sustainability of an Independent Scotland” returns only a single blank page? I have tried several times with two different browsers, downloaded the file (0K) rather than try to open it, and get the same result. It seems to be an empty file. I had to get it from elsewhere.

By the time they read all that they’ll need a catch up list

Rev have you seen this document? Annex A Opinion: Referendum on the Independence of Scotland – International Law Aspects. link to worldofstuart.excellentcontent.com

I realise that post is six weeks and more old, but still.

Considering the link goes to “worldofstuart” which is – ta-da – Stuart’s own domain, I’d hazard a guess that he’s seen it. Isn’t is one of the links above? 🙂

@Morag so it does (blushes) 🙂 still got my learner wheels on. ‘worldofstuart’ should’ve been a big clue. Hehe….

Doh!

Thanks I’m 103 you know. You’ve all done very well! 🙂

Hi there, I have been blogging now for just over a month. I am a passionate YES campaigner with YesHelensburgh. My main aim is to engage with the other side of the debate to inform, challenge and listen to their arguments. To date I have about 2000 readers of my blog and around 12,000 per week readers of my tweets. I would like to engage with your site – can you advise please

Dear Wings,

Below you will find a copy of complaint I sent in this morning to the BBC regarding a report by Glen Campbell introducing the news that today is the start of the official campaign. I am prepared to give them the benefit of the doubt that the error was unintentional, bearing in mind that our unintentional errors sometimes give away what is really going on inside us (the Freudian slip etc., but applied to politics and especially to ‘official neutrals’ … or ‘neutral officials’). It was a small and relatively unimportant incident, but amusing – and ironic – that it happened in the very report in which Glen Campbell was announcing the imposition of strict broadcasting rules for the final 16 weeks.

On another point, let me congratulate you on your work which exposes so well what is going on in large sections of the media with regard to this campaign. No doubt many similar things are also going on in other areas of news reporting, although what we are seeing in regard to misrepresentation and downright deliberate falsehood in reference to the independence debate is particularly acute. Even if the issue were something else, websites like yours are absolutely necessary to educate the public regarding how badly they are being misinformed. In that regard I see your work not only as a particularly fine contribution to the campaign you support, but as an excellent adult education project. Whichever way the referendum eventually goes, there will always be need to alert people to the multiple ways in which they are being misinformed, deceived and, quite simply, lied to. Keep up the good work.

It is also interesting, and significant, there is no equivalent Better Together service or website. If Yes campaigners are up to the same tricks that you have identified among their opponents, someone from Better Together should be pointing this out to us in blog/website similar to your own. That should not be difficult for them to arrange. It would also give them the opportunity to refute any of the claims you at Wings, or Newsnetscotland or any other site might make, if they are mistaken. That would help us all to be properly informed, instead of leaving everything to short and usually ridiculous or twisted soundbites in the mainstream media. If no one has done this, it is perhaps a sign that there is nothing they are able to refute, and little or nothing that is genuine misinformation being promoted by the Yes campaign and its allies.

Finally, you may do what you like with this communication EXCEPT reveal the name, identity or even the email address of the provider (i.e. me). I know you will respect my wish for confidentiality and anonymity, so I thank you in advance for making sure that that is respected. Thank you.

Here is the complaint I put in earlier this morning to the BBC:

‘Glen Campbell announced that today was the beginning of the official referendum campaign in Scotland, with strict rules now applying to political parties, broadcasters etc. He gave an overview of the history so far, which contained clips from different speeches etc., including previous launches of ‘Yes Scotland’ and their opponents ‘Better Together’. He introduced Alex Salmond’s previous launch of ‘Yes Scotland’ and went to a clip which was obviously supposed to be from that speeach of Salmond. Bizarrely, what we heard instead was Alastair Darling, saying ‘We are better together’, followed by applause. Glen C then introduced the launch of ‘Better Together’ followed by another clip which was a continuation of the clapping in the first clip, with the voice of A. Darling and others being heard in the background. It made BBC Radio Scotland sound like a cheerleader for ‘Better Together’. Not a very good start to these better, and strictly neutral broadcasting standards which, so G. Campbell told us, are supposed to come into force this very day!

Many people think the BBC has so far failed to be neutral in this campaign, and some that it has been very clearly biased. If they are under an illusion … please try a lot harder to dis-illusion them. There are still 16 weeks during which the BBC could live up to its Charter, and salvage something of its increasingly tattered reputation. I wish you well with that project. Thank you.’

Help please Wings,
Trying to do letters in local paper. Given up wasting time answering looney stuff like “How will we fight off Putin’s Bear Bombers”?

I’m now looking for utterances by Scots MPs during the run up to the Iraq invasion. I’m sure I can remember Darling on TV saying we were all doomed by Saddam’s WMD. Google isn’t coming up with anything. Can anyone help?

William Russell, very powerful prose, any reply from BBC?

William Bolton, Plan B to Z are in the white paper, why should we/Alex aim for less than plan A?
Your question about the future nuclear waste repository is a valid point, has it been answered?

Excellent comments in the Blue Book introduced to Dumfries by Jim Sillars last week.
I agree about the BBC being biased BUT listen to Iain Anderson on Radio Scotland…Mon to Wed 10pm till 1am…..he is a true nationalist.
You have done Scotland a great service.

I am a luddite so dont expect anything clever. I am concerned none the less on media coverage of the referndom which appears akin to political chaos theory being applied.

It is not working on me, as although I am a pensioner I am prepared to take a hit to secure a meaningful future for my children.

I have huge faith in my fellow Scots, but feel that they need to be constantly reminded of who they are dealing with and the lack of creditibility of the elite of whatever nationality soliciting responses to undermine the people.

Although I’m an expat living in Australia I’m trying to follow debate as best I can though it isn’t easy. I’m trying to find a budget that would accompany the “wee blue book” scenario…………..does one exist? I read the IFS paper and of course it’s pro-union but it contradicts positions stated in the blue book! It’s a real pity I can’t vote. I was a potential no but admit I have been turned!!!

@Drew Grozier says: 24 April, 2014 at 1:34 am:

“He also states that independence will destroy England’s standing as a world power.”

Eh!

England’s as a World power?
Now there’s a novel idea?
What will the UK Parliament have to say about that?
Does he mean that England is already an independent Kingdom/country/nation and not part of the UK?

Who’d have thunk it?

Interesting diversion for new posters

Australians can relate! We have tried to become independent of our English colonial and economic ties too. I’m an indigenous aussie and i fully support the YES campaign and its future success! Geet Laldy Scotland – i hope i said that sorta right…
GO SCOTLAND!!

Why don’t we have a directory of Scottish companies who threatened to leave Scotland if it voted for devolution or independence – and then highlight that they subsequently left all the same? e.g.The owners of Shanks Barrhead were very anti devolution in the 1970s and threatened to leave if Scotland voted for devolution in 1979. Here is what happened when Scotland didn’t accept devolution at that time:-
link to 28dayslater.co.uk

Hi Stuart i have posted on the site a few times but unfortunately there appears to be no or very little discussion re Scotlands continued membership of the EU, and grass roots views of the SG’s assertion that the majority of Scots support their view

Would it be possible to set up a discussion or comments board to address this issue, also would it be possible to incorporate a reply button on the site to enable responses to comments, rather than responding and confusing people after a period of time or other multiple postings,the site visitors and comments have grown massively and it can be confusing to visitors to tie in comments relating to the original posting Thanks

So we Scots (at least 62%) of us, don’t want to leave the EU. A very wise decision!.

So let’s look at the huge current and projected expenditures within the U.K that England regards as vitally important to them and which have little or no value to a Sovereign Scotland… as a Social Democratic Republic remaining within the EU.

The Annual UK ‘Defense’ Budget
(Actually the cost of waging seemingly endless wars on other nations) £ 33.0 Billion
Trident annual cost £ 2.5 Billion
Trident replacement cost of £167 billion amortized over 30 years. Each Year £ 5.5 Billion
Annual UK Foreign Affairs Budget (at least)* £ 1.2 Billion
Cost of Monarchy and House of Lords £ .64 Billion
Total £ 42.84 Billion

I say (at least) since there are so many secret deals going on within The British government that we we never know the actual truth. A small example of this is… that on the remote and obscure mid South Atlantic ‘British Possession’ Island of St Helena, the UK built a £200,000,000 airport that is totally unsafe to use and is now quietly forgotten. Imagine how much of Scottish oil was squandered in this fashion.

So for easy maths…let’s round that off down to £40 Billion for the total UK and since the Scottish shared cost of this, is currently assumed to be 8.4%, then immediate sovereignty there apon would yield annually… a saving to the Scottish people of £ 3,360,000,000. Or if you like if when we divide this by the approx. total of the Scottish population (5 Million) then every man, women and child would save £672 a year. What a lovely change from David’s current and most certainly Boris’s future austerity programs.

It’s important to know these things since we hear so many commentators, anti-independence pols and others glibly quoting the lie that Scotland is a parasitic beggar at the English Table we must refute this at every occasion since it can effect even the confidence of many Scots who are hammered daily by the FEAR FORCE of the establishment media even in Scotland.

Another new factor that must be recognised is, that in the last referendum we were obliged to overcome the the fears of English people who having sold their home there, cashed in on a hugely, inflated South England real estate market and retired to Scotland with a fat pension fund in their pocket These people would never empathise with with the Scots long held, natural desire to self govern. They will have to think twice now. Likewise the many EU itinerant workers who always had a back-up plan to skip south for work have now smelled the whiff of xenophobia from the Brexit people
and will rally to the independence cause to to keep their ease of movement safe. Because these two groups of people totalled approx.15% of eligible voters in the last referendum, home grown Scots had to at least achieve well over 60% of the vote to win. Now the tables are turned and we must move fast
to secure this advantage.

Sorry, posted the above on the wrong thread!

Simba Or how about a list of businesses who support independence?
Companies that show the saltire etc. Nae butcher’s aprons. Agreat positive message!

Apologies O/T – can’t seem to remember how to get to the O/T section……………yes I am that stupid!

Can anyone furnish me with the link to the description of the UK (as submitted by the UK) to I think it was the United Nations? Can’t quite recall finer details and have looked through the postings to no avail. Be very grateful if someone could help.
Ta