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Remember what they think of you

Posted on March 04, 2014 by

Prominent New Labour writer Dan Hodges has a piece in the Telegraph today (because where else would a New Labour commentator have a column?) about UKIP now being an openly racist party. It contains the following passage:

“Last May Farage visited Edinburgh, where he was met by a small but aggressive mob of protesters. Eventually he had to be escorted from the scene by police for his own safety.

Directly accusing the SNP of being behind the protest, Farage described the protesters as ‘racist Nazi scum’. The incident was, he said, ‘deeply racist and displayed a total hatred of the English’.

And he’s right. He wasn’t targeted on the basis of his race, but on the basis of his nationality. And as he said, that was racist.”

We’ll leave aside that the protest was nothing to do with the SNP or Scottish nationalists, that it was organised by a radical left-wing group and that one of the two men arrested in connection with the incident was in fact English himself. None of those factual inconveniences are allowed to get in the way of Hodges’ bigotry.

It’s not racist when protestors in England attack Farage, of course. But if it happens north of the border, it can only be because Scots hate the English. We’re incapable of being angry that someone is a racist if they’re from England, because our hatred of the English overcomes our hatred of racists.

Vote No for solidarity with your Labour brethren in Britain, readers. They love you.

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David

Hope Mr Hodges checked that non of his Labour pals were at the demonstration. What was his explanation for what happened down in Kent or was that the SNP away team.

Chris Cairns

C’mon now Rev – Melanie Phillips said we hate the English last week and now this. It must be true, surely.

We hate the English and we’re only doing this for the money ‘cos we’re ‘canny Scots’ … except it’ll make us poorer (so we can’t be that canny) which means we’re left with just hating the English.

Obvious, really.

SquareHaggis

A totally staged event wi plenty cameras in a very PUBlic place.

Don’t ye just love the daily-tel-a-lie.

U Kin Ie Pretend…

Greannach

Surprised to see this expression of Labour philosophy appearing in the Daily Telegraph. I thought the Daily Mail was the Labour Party’s journal of choice these days, given its wide circulation among the party’s core voters. At least now, Labour voters in Scotland know what their party’s theorists think of them.

Doug Daniel

Yeah but Stu, we’re all drunk, overweight, unemployed racists, remember? That’s what all Scotch people are like.

James Kay

David

The incident in England seems to have been caused by a man named ‘Scott’, so it is not unreasonable to assume that he was a member of the SNP away team!

Craig P

Well if Farage’s receptions are any barometer, then the people of Kent must hate the English even more than we do!

Trumpet.

Nkosi

The Telegraph is a labour rag, you just have to look at the comments against our beloved FM. If they were directed at Moslems the poster would be arrested for racial and religious bigotry.

Seasick Dave

At least tramps weren’t mentioned.

Marian

It takes a particularly nasty turn of events for the Project Fear campaign to blame the YES campaign for the vicious racist hate campaign against Scotland and its people that Project Fear has itself created and nurtured.

We never hear a unionist politician and newspaper condemning the torrent of racist hate of Scotland and its people that pours forth each day from the pages of most of the London press, yet Project Fear are now trying to tun this around by blaming the YES campaign for it, without providing a shred of evidence to back up their claims.

Project Fear are trying to rewrite history by blaming the YES campaign, and this is in order to give Project Fear an excuse to say that Westminster must legislate to prevent Scotland from having a referendum ever again if it remains in the union.

mogabee

Oh dear, Labour truly have nothing left so are forced to reveal their true nature!

What happens when even this stops being offensive?

Alexandra-M-

He was targeted because he’s a vile little cretin. I’m sure if Nige was Scottish, he would have received the same “welcome”. What a ridiculous statement.

Barry

Is it okay to not hate the English people but despise their government and their upper crust?

Tamson

So, in summary, Dan Hodges prefers Nigel Farage to Scots.

mogabee

Gosh golly

Effective not offensive!

Really need my breakfast…

Grouse Beater

Had it been a mob of Scots, Farage would have been pelted with a volley of deep fried Mars Bars. Stands to reason, dunnit?

Take a look in the Mail

Dan Hodges is a racist

Linda's Back

Aberdeen City council is an excellent example of Labour’s tolerance of someone else’s political viewpoint.

Meanwhile more financial observers think an independent Scotland would be successful.

Following recent endorsements in February from Financial Times and Standard and Poors, a “Money Week” article on 28 February 2014 entitled “Scotland is right to break away” concludes thus

“The Evidence suggests that a small rich country has a big advantage. It tends to put up with less nonsense than a big one. Where do taxpayers get the best deal from their government? Our guess is Switzerland. Their trains run on time. The airports are clean and efficient. Towns are idyllic. The public health system works………..

“Small states do a better job of controlling their government, their military forces, and their debt. Not because they are smarter or more peaceful, but simply because there is less distance between the governed and their governors. Citizens can see what their leaders are up to. If they don’t approve, the politicians can be beaten in the next election..or in the street. “

It’s usual to use these references and arguments in the leafy suburbs or among financial sector workers.

msean

Heard Mr Farage on tv the other day talking about a train journey.Don’t need to say anything else.Seemed to be overall unchallenged on it,although maybe reaction was lost in the Crimean Incident.

Craig Brown

O/T already Rev sorry. How is the Wee Blue Book coming along? ETA?

Clootie

Dan Hodges is another product of Labour spin school.

It doesn’t matter if it is true as long as the message is “Labour good, others bad”

Oh for the days when Labour speak reflected Labour policy.

Watching Douglas Alexander this morning trying to invent a new language for war threats (Ukraine) shows how far they have sunk.

Why do we pretend to be a world power and why always in support of the USA.

Can we not let the UN take the lead for once?

bunter

@ Marion

Its quite clear that all things which project fear and their media mouthpieces wrongly accuse YES and the SNP of, is actually what the NO lot are doing themselves.

Huge lies and misinformation are at work in this so called debate. Black is white, and vice versa.

Lanarkist

Glenda Jackson’s son pigeon holes both UKIP and Scots as racist!

Based on a protest against Farage spouting his racist nonsense in a pub in the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, unannounced and 170 miles away from the bi-election they were contesting in Aberdeen!

This would be thrown out as a pitch for a movie in Holywood and they deal with crazy all the time.

This man needs a holiday or a change in prescription.

Has he ever been to Scotland?

Juteman

Bastards. I’m so angry that i dropped my heroin into the chip pan!

A small minority of bigots

The vast majority in the UK do not read the Telegraph. ignorant, arrogant biased ‘Journalists’ writing themselves out of a job.

Bigbricks

He could do with getting himself a dictionary if he fancies a career in journalism. Both English and Scots are (as a racial classification) Caucasians. Racism requires a member of one race to hate or be biased against a member of another race. Although I still think he’s completely wrong, if he used the words xenophobia or bigotry he would at least have said what he thought he was saying and been semantically accurate.I think he possesses the raw talent needed to do well in BBC Scotland though. As the Rev says, a telling sign of national politics when the Telegraph is the mouthpiece for a Labour activist.

DaveyM

When he was writing for The New Statesman I would often read Hodges’s column with a feeling of bewilderment. The guy is clearly deluded/misinformed on a whole range of issues, and the continued fawning adoration of Tony Blair was more than a wee bit sickening.

jim arnott

O/T waiting on 10:00am to see if the fundraiser has broken £100k

tartanfever

Farage was attacked in Margate, Kent.

During the protest, he was walloped over the head with a placard and the man was arrested.

Farage said :

‘Asked if he thought such protests would become the norm, Mr Farage later told ITV Meridian: “Well I hope not. It happened in Edinburgh and this was worse than Edinburgh.’

link to kentonline.co.uk

Les Wilson

The duplicity of the press backed but by the tv media,and all the rest of the Unionist Conspiracy against Scottish democracy, is truly shameful.
If we are as bad as they portray, why they want to “keep” us?

They are stirring resentment in England in order to have more and more virulent outbursts against Scotland, their aim is of course to attempt to overwhelm us with negative insults which they may think will frighten us from becoming a truly democratic country. They fear that,for it is actually the reverse of what the unhealthy British state has become.

They are deliberately creating division, yet, they are not held to account for what they are doing. Yet, they have a bigger reason than just to frighten us, they FEAR change, and don’t they just. Real democracy and accountability is exactly what Westminster does not want. It scares the hell out of the privileged, who are desperate to retain their elitist lives. Scotland might upset that across the whole of the UK.

Desperate people do desperate things,and they are fearful and desperate now that a YES is a real reality. Unfortunately in trying to stop our democracy in any way they can, they risk accelerating the demise of the British State as it is now.But hey, they can always go stay in Switzerland or Singapore, as their pockets are well lined.
England will be left with the mess they create.

Ghengis D'Midgies

The Scottish identity is forever under attack in the shitty little UK. It would not matter so much if it was not part of the imperial project to grab Scotland’s wealth and kill us off. The anti-Scottish racism will slowly die only after we are independent. Otherwise it will be the Scots who die out.

CameronB

I don’t dislike Englishmen such as David Starkey because they are English, I dislike them for bearing the burden of being English with such little grace.

Only kidding. 😉

caz-m

@Clootie

You could give Douglas Alexander an hour to talk on any subject he wanted. And by the end of it you still wouldn’t have a clue what he said.

The guy is a waste of a suit.

heedtracker

That Farage event in Edinburgh was UKIP’s campaigning for last summer’s Donside by-election in Aberdeen, so bonkers from the get go! UKIP then lost their deposit. BBC, Press and Journal darling boy Willie Young lost very badly mainly because he started thinking out loud but BBC handed UKIP a great boost too and all of them were as furious as a Farage that Aberdonians wouldn’t vote the way they were told. Good times:-)

Macart

Been feelin’ the love for months on pretty much every major media forum. They certainly don’t do irony, but are past masters at hypocrisy and projection.

You and My Comb

My daughter received a joke in her email this morning.

There was an Englishman, and Irishman and a Welshman..

It used to be a Scotsman but he wants to go it alone so fuck him

This constant low level abuse runs though her work in the City of London. Sweaty sock, jock and beyond. Not a mention in the press but it exists.

Colin Templeton

It’s only Nigel Farage & UKIP I don’t like. I like the majority of English people I know. The only one’s I don’t like are the one’s that don’t like me. I nearly forgot to add that I hate some of their politicians. Dont get me started on IDS & his Tory pals. (IDS sounds like some sort of disease, doesn’t it.)

CyberNiall

@Rev Stuart Campbell

Congratulations on passing the £100k mark! Pat on that back all round.

Taranaich

Both English and Scots are (as a racial classification) Caucasians. Racism requires a member of one race to hate or be biased against a member of another race.

It depends heavily on one’s definition of “race.” If you’re using the colour terminology (black, brown white, yellow & red) then one “white” ethnoi attacking another “white” ethnoi isn’t racism. But if you’re using ethnic grouping which considers the Scottish ethnicity distinct from the English (ignoring for the moment that the Scottish and English ethnoi have mixed and merged with dozens of different ethnicities over the millenia, not to mention the distinction between Scottish nationality and Scottish ethnicity) then it can be racism.

This is why it doesn’t bother me overmuch when people use racism in regards to anti-Scottish sentiment: because “race” is a subjective social construct as it is. Don’t forget the vast majority of Jewish people targeted by the Nazis were ethnically European rather than Semitic: would you fail to call the Nazis anything BUT racist? Likewise, look at the lot of the Irish in 19th Century America and Britain.

Right now, it’s mostly certain commentators in England which insist on making this an ethnic, rather than national, issue. Thankfully the Yes campaign are happy to rise above such nonsense, and we must continue to do so.

Annibale

@Juteman:

Deep-fried heroin? That’s so Dundee it could eat a peh roll at the tap o’ the Lah while wearin’ a Timex overall! 🙂

heedtracker

Constant low level abuse is right here in Scotland day after day in the UK press. After last summer’s Donside defeat for Labour and Farage to Mark McDonald MSP, the Press and Journal went on a really ugly smear Alex Salmond campaign, accusing the Scots FM daily of being a real threat to local school children and in ways that don’t bear thinking about. When they get angry at YES voters in Aberdeen and the north east, the P&J will routinely go back to this horrific smear.

If there is an even lower point in British journalism still to come during this amazing period of Scotland’s history, it’s quite a worry to think what these newspapers have in the pipe line.

Hetty

O/T

http://scotlandsoutlook.org

I had this from Shelter Scotland in my inbox today, Scotland’s outlook re poverty levels.
I hope to contact them to see where they stand on Independence and if they would adjust their outlook according to how the vote goes. I know that some charities have indicated their support for Indy, but generally they are staying quiet about it?

Oh and Farage’s spouses past and present, according to wiki, don’t having very English sounding names…

robroy

There is no doubt about it. The NO campaign has formed a hate campaign against the Scottish people. Just look at the sick comments and cartoons coming from both the BritNat papers and their readers if you still have any doubt.

galamcennalath

I read Wings to cheer myself up, then make the mistake of reading something like this Guardian article …

link to tinyurl.com

… depressing reading on multiple levels. On the subject of this “Remember what they think of you” thread, the comments on the Guardian are a revealing mix. Some commonsense and an awful lot of nonsense. Who are all these anti-independence people and where do they get those standpoints from?

Meindevon

Farage showed what a very poor politician he is after this incident. What he should have said was ‘This was just a few nasty leftie activists, I know the majority of Scotland do not feel as they do. The Scots are lovely and loved all over the world and I will continue my campaign here’. Instead he alienated the whole of Scotland by his comments. He is a fool with nothing to offer Scotland (actually the opposite as he wants to be rid of the SG),Wales or NI. God help us here in England if he gets any power.

caz-m

Debate on right now on Democracy Live at the moment about welfare reform.

Guy from “Loaves and fishes” on and getting tore into the committee about food banks.

link to bbc.co.uk

jon esquierdo

Dan is a fuckwit. Like the rest of the unionist media he is the racist

Susan

Dan Hodges should worry more about “Scotland is facing a “humanitarian crisis” caused by poverty, according to a coalition of charities.” than why Farage was chased out of Edinburgh!
link to news.stv.tv

Grouse Beater

Farage is a weak leader. You wonder what will happen to Ukip when all the emigrants from the BNP and EDL revolt.

theycan'tbeserious

I don’t hate because of a persons race. I just hate liar’s and bullies…no matter what country they come from, or colour of their skin nor religion. A liar undermines the foundations of civilisation itself. “Hell awaits a liar”!

Gillie

On the day when we discover nearly 1 million Scots live in poverty, whilst the UK Treasury filches another £1 billion from the North Sea.

People like Dan Hodges don’t have a clue what is happening in Scotland.

heedtracker

“Who are all these anti-independence people and where do they get those standpoints from?” I used to vote YES CiF Guardian and got to know Riderooo aka AgentC aka John Macintyre OBE Woking, quite well and he says he’s a millionaire in Shropshire with a horse riding wife. How he’s got so rich when all he does is endlessly attack Scotland’s democracy, we’ll probably never know.

The CiFer Nationwide with the Andy Warhol avatar that got several hundred vote NO recommends today with his “the more Scottish people actually learn about what the nats want, the more they don’t want it. Thank god for real world politics.” lives in Brighton, as he links his blog to this happy little spot link to nwide.blogspot.co.uk
Oh dear.

Alt Clut

Being still relatively recently back to live in Scotland, a lot of this, media and modern Labour, virulent anti Scots stuff is very educational for me.

In 45 years in England I never met it from ordinary people once – honestly ! I used to read The Guardian, The Independent and vote Labour. Every one of the above has irretreivably alienated me by the venomous, reactionary way in which they are handling the attempts by a small nation to put right the democratic deficit it suffers and assert its distinct preference for social justice.

They demonstrate how completely they have become cheer leaders for little England jingoism, elitism and xenophobia.

You only strengthen our resolve you fools !

Edward

slightly O/T

Can someone throw me the link to the WOS article that had the information regarding Norwegian tax.

Cant remember where it was 🙁

Grouse Beater

@ Heedtracker

I might be able to claim I induced Rider to state he was a “millionaire and a businessman” with “many employees.” Judging by the hours he spends on the Guardian the only contact they get from him must be by memo.

Rider posts hatred and lies. Nasty piece of work. Got the distinct impression his world is bright orange.

You’ll note the Guardian has removed many of his critics leaving him free to continue spouting ad hominem attacks and goading Scots with fabrications and infantile jeering.

jingly jangly

Surely as we are all British on our passports, then you cannot be racist to others on the basis of their nationality!!!

According to the passport there is no such thing as English, N Irish,Welsh or Scots

The Rough Bounds

Regarding all this stuff about the SNP, Alex Salmond, Yes voters and all the rest of it supposedly hating the English, it might help if some of our English incomers who have made Scotland their home and intend to vote Yes were to become a little more vocal in defence of the Yes campaign by declaring themselves to be English and explaining their reasons for supporting Scottish independence.

A few letters, emails and tweets from them to the press etc. might just shut the No campaigners up regarding this nonsense.

Come on English friends. Tell ’em off.

SquareHaggis

Aah Juteman, ah smiled fae lug tae lug…

Still deain it – Barilliant!!

James Kay

Edward

If you go to the search box, (top right) and type in the words:

Norwegian tax

then you will be given a choice of several relevant articles. I think that the first, Deal or No Deal, is probably the one you want.

john allan

I am voting yes and i hate the English wait a sec i am English blah and i am still voting yes.

Ghengis D'Midgies

Norway – Deal or no deal: link to wingsoverscotland.com
“But Norway shows that it’s simply a matter of which choices you make.

So that’s the reality. Vote Yes next year and you could find yourself paying 6% more tax, but in return for a 65% pay increase. Sound like a fair trade?”

Norway – Preparing fro project blue – link to wingsoverscotland.com
“So there you have it. Despite their pricey booze and their higher tax rates, the average Norwegian is still roughly 43% better off than the average UK resident – or in stark financial terms, by £158.38 a week. (£8,236 a year.)”

Weedeochandorris

They’re definately trying to whip up a frenzy and hope that somebody will do something stupid that they can really roast Scots for. All the negativity and insults do get your back up but we need to keep the heid and deny them for just a while longer. Hold…

Anyway, wee bit O/T, but I clicked on the link re Farage getting it over the nut and I noticed a rather nice story on there (worth a gander) about Andy Murray having a hosta named after him “How to grow your own Andy Murray” . 🙂 link to kentonline.co.uk

Only three comments but needless to say they bring the tone of the whole piece right down. Shame they can’t control the urge to try to denigrate Scots at every turn. Never mind they’re only showing themselves in a bad light.

Ghengis D'Midgies

English yes voting writer in Glasgow: “Open Letter to England”: link to stringerville.com

heedtracker

@ Grouse Beater, Riderooo is quite the vote NO phenomena. He’s got more vote NO popular recently but the Guardian’s got more and more vote NO Cond/Dem swivel-eye loony too. So he’s bound to attract the “right sort”. I think he popped in CiF up years ago raging at a Scots CiFer that pointed out the higher proportional war time Scottish casualty rates. He didn’t like that but a whilee later he said he only CiFed vote NO out pathological hate for SNP.gov and Salmond. Him and vote NO Severin Carrell make a lovely couple of pseuds now anyway. Their efforts today really puts the boot in.

Also, if you want to get instantly kicked off CiF Guardian, try calling Severin Carrell the Guardian’s foreign correspondent, in Scotland. Carrell loves that:D

Grouse Beater

The rise of Ukip is almost wholly based on very successful neo-con and neo-liberal smears anybody with a skin colour darker than a caramel infects English towns and cities.

You wonder how they’d get along in (say) Los Angeles, where every race and religion is represented, that live in co-existence, and are governed by Mexicans, in the main.

The anger from Farage and echoed by the man in the street, the phrase you hear most often is that “whole areas are unrecognisable, not at all English.”

Now, it doesn’t need an historian to point out how England controlled those people’s countries, taught them the ways of the English, and then gave them a “British” passport as a sop, only to see them taken at face value and emigrate to merry England, and proliferate.

The colonial mindset happily ignores the enclave of ex-pat Brits in Spain, for example, for England’s woes are blamed entirely on foreigners, including Europeans, the world a better place without such peoples.

English distaste for anything foreign runs to anybody they consider unEnglish, to Gypsies, Irish travellers, and now Scots. “Onion Johnny” was once looked upon as a sign of the onset of autumn and good quality onions, so long as he rode home to France again.

Until English rid themselves of the ingrained bigotry they demonstrate so often, they really can’t call themselves a tolerant, peaceful nation.

They answer in admission, if Scotland had as many “foreigners” we’d be just as bigoted s they. Well, proportionally we have, and we have a surfeit of English, all of whom settle in well and add to the diaspora of life, as do the Italians, Spanish, French, Polish, Chinese, and so on, and so forth.

Last time I visited Orkney it took a while to come across a non-English accent! They find Scotland a pleasant land to live.

Grouse Beater

@ Heedtracker

I agree. (You did a great job kicking his ass, as does Schrodingers Cat now.

You and My Comb

The Guardian’s foreign correspondent in Scotland is, apparently, visiting the Helensburgh Yes meeting tomorrow night! Also expected is the BBCs Laura Bicker. Should be a fun night.

Vestas

Dan Hodges is universally loathed – by his ex-union buddies for being a ("Tractor" - Ed); by NewLab for being a tory and by tories because he’s clearly not one of them. Maybe LibDems like him but given their track record of lying nobody much cares.

I wouldn’t take any notice of anything he has to say, he’s employed more in the role of the “house lefty freak” at the Telegraph rather than as any sort of sensible columnist.

tl;dr nobody listens to Dan Hodges anyway so don’t give him publicity please.

It's best to agree with the wife for a contented life

The E? & PJ campaign against Alex Salmond and the SNP is because the Editor is married to Sarah Malone. Sarah Malone is Trump’s PR manager?. A large salary flows into the Editor’s household courtsy of the Trump Organisation. It is so transparent the biased Editor rubs his hands with greedy glee , in an anti Alex Salmond SNP stance but loses readers. A decline in readership.
Cuts off his nose to spite his face.

Trump can’t get investment for the Hotel & Timeshare development, but could be helped by the Scottish gov, helping to encourage investment. The Trump Development depends on the Hotel to generate successful business. There is a shortage of (luxury) hotel space in the North/East which deters visitors/tourism in the area.

Trump uses the Wind turbines as a ‘false flag’ excuse because of lack of the investment needed. The houses can’t be built until the Hotel and timeshares are complete. (Estimated 9 years from Inquiry date) . The housing construction was only given planning permission to mitigate the cost of the Development. The Planning permission timeline is running out. It could be re-applied.

Edward

Thanks James Kay & Ghengis D’Midgies

Appreciated 🙂

Another Union Dividend

I see the BBC is giving UKIP equal airtime with “the other three main parties” in their Euro election coverage.

But don’t expect to see the SNP featured on “national TV”

This political distortion which flows into our homes every day is exactly when should have has a “Scottish Six” (and Ten) years ago.

The BBC’s “national” coverage allows regular anti independence remarks from “neutral commentators” and unionist politicians without any comeback from the YES side.

Re comments above re anti independence Emails in the workplace. We have received several from “colleagues” who post a version of the Skintland map of poverty Scotland after independence but the sad thing is that some folk actually believe this nonsense.

heedtracker

“The Guardian’s foreign correspondent in Scotland is, apparently, visiting the Helensburgh Yes meeting tomorrow night!”

Lucky them. If its a good meeting, he certainly wont mention it in print. Oor Severin telt his Guardian readers that he was doing a thing about YES Scotland people ages ago but it never happened. In fact Carrell CiFed that non exist progressive liberal Guardian reportage to the same American YES voter and Wos reader in Edinburgh that the Daily Mail went after.

Whatever happens, after their ghastly vote NO hit today, I’ll never buy the Guardian and that’s over 30 years buying their phoney lefty liberal grot.

Paula Rose

@ the rough bounds – I find my english accent goes down a treat on the doorstep.

You and My Comb

I too gave up on the Guardian after their front page the day after the White Paper launch. Andrew Mitchell was there in his full, nationally important, statement about a couple of police at a gate. My money now goes to Wings and Yes.

heedtracker

I buy the Times now, if its nice out and too far from any wifi. At least you know where their right wing neo-con vote NO bleh’s coming from and its cheaper. Hey come on I’m canny Scotch, mean and thrifty, see you jimmy etc

Independence Press conspiracy

RiderOO claims to support a YES vote, but can’t count either. Writes a load of nonsense, equal to Severin. The hypocritical ‘Guardian’.

ronnie anderson

CameronB,Im just catching up on all the posts,that Osbourne ( pugwash vid ) had me in stitches,you need tae get oot mair ( kin you take me with you )lol.

Stephen Bowers

Pure class anawthat Juteman, pure dead brilliant so it is

call me dave

It was a slip of the tongue! Seems Aberdeen council will not discuss a ban on SG ministers entering council premises. But a review of protocol will be looked at. Jackie Bird tried to play it cool as she reported it on BBC.

Archive facility no longer works on Herald site. As from yesterday getting ‘error occurred’ notice.

Arbroath 1320

Following last nights “revelation” that the First Minister and government ministers were to be banned from council buildings, schools, libraries, parks etc in Aberdeen it would appear that someone in the council has had a wee re-think. I posted this over on Munguin’s earlier.

I’ve just heard good old (dis)reporting Scotland say that the ban on the FM and cabinet will no longer be banned from council buildings in Aberdeen. Apparently Willie Young is unavailable for comment, I wonder why. According to an independent committee vice chair the claim to ban the FM and co was only a “slip of the tongue”. 🙂

Ghengis D'Midgies

On the matter of banning certain Scots from entering Aberdeen City Council property. Was it not just a big squirrel to distract from Labour idiocy in COSLA costing councils millions just last week?

Patrick Roden

“Yeah but Stu, we’re all drunk, overweight, unemployed racists, remember? That’s what all Scotch people are like”

…And we have all got ginger hair!

…and stink!

Sunshine on Crieff

Not only was one of the people arrested during the Edinburgh protest English, I’m pretty sure he was a member of the Labour Party. It was either him or another one of the organisers.

When I received the notice of the protest, I looked at the facebook pages of the organisers and this guy had just announced his membership of the party. Although calling himself left-wing, he actually referred to his joining as ‘entryism’. 🙂

Cindie

@The Rough Bounds I have an English accent and regularly tweet, share articles and discuss Independence. I live in the Highlands, which as Iain Macwhirter (I think!) comments ‘speaks with an English accent these days’. Many of my friends English in origin or otherwise are voting Yes and these nasty slurs against Scots really make me cross and I do call people on it, whenever I come across it.

Where I live is pretty remote, so I don’t get much chance to discuss the issues face to face that often but, at the request of Rev Stu, I wrote about my reasons for voting Yes and my experience of so-called Scottish anti-Englishness here: link to wingsoverscotland.com It’s a pretty long article, but if you don’t want to read it all, this quote is probably enough:

‘I watched everything I could on the mainstream media, but balanced, informative articles were few and far between. I couldn’t quite square what I was being told – nats are nasty, nats are scary, nats are anti-English etc – with my own experience. I’ve never experienced anti-Englishness here, not once in twenty-five years, even though I still have an English accent.

So I object to the claims and insinuations that the Yes movement is anti-English or racist. Nationalism is a very emotive term, linked so often with the far right of politics, but the Scottish version is different: it was and is simply about self-determination. I know what racism is like and the SNP and the Yes campaign are not it.’

Patrick Roden

@Grousebeater, you make some good points mate, but I lived in the West Mids for 15 years or so and I have to say that Farage has tapped into a political ‘seam’ that had been just waiting to be exploited.

He is very mush like George Galloway, in that he has saw a political opportunity and has exploited it to perfection.

Just because someone is a good politician, it doesn’t make their politics good and that is what NF is all about.

He has made a strongly held viewpoint (racism) that in the past has always been deemed unacceptable, an acceptable branch of English politics.

ronnie anderson

@juteman 9.52, ur you tryin tae start a new

trend,heroin n deep fryed Mars bars,( business in

Scotland at record levels )do you want any contacts

in getting supplies from Colombo. hand me that rain

coat am gone oot.

Geoff Huijer

‘Labour’ and ‘Conservative’ are interchangeable as
far as I’m concerned.

Anyone claiming to follow one or the other are the
same albeit the Tory knows he his and you know where
he stands; the Labourite doesn’t know/won’t accept his
Party is Right Wing and you no longer know what he stands
for other than ‘it’s not the working class or the poor’.

Squirrel Towers

@The Rough Bounds. I’ve said it before I’m up for an ‘English People for Yes’ group. Blinking annoys me all this drivel about ‘Yes’ voters being anti-english, god knows how Scottish people cope with it all. I am out manning our local Breadalbane Yes stall on Saturday and hoping my english accent stands out!

Squirrel Towers

Mind you (sadly) sadly I am hoping UKIP do REALLY well in the European elections in May, which I think they may well do. Hopefully people living up here will realise the direction of travel the rUK is going in and understand that they have to vote Yes.

Rick Guthrie

O/T Ref:- Wee Blue Book. If you have the WOS logo on it, would you consider a motto ” FREE TO SAOR ” REspect.

Appleby

” FREE TO SAOR ”

Nicely done.

ronnie anderson

@Cindie,twenty five years living amongst the native,s

and you still speak with a English accent,ah think its

aboot time you were taken tae the Indoctrination

Facility LOL,so were no awe bad Cindie, I wish we had

More people like You to speak out, weil done Cindie.

Cindie

@Squirrel Towers, I completely agree. The stuff about anti-Englishness is nonsense! Of course there are folk who are racist, sadly that’s all too common in every culture, but this country-wide racism rubbish that is whipped up by the media is particularly noxious. It’s also very difficult for Scots to overcome because they can deny being racist and then be told, well you would say that wouldn’t you!

It’s a very effective tool for shutting down debate though, because most folk feel very wounded and hurt, because they’re NOT racist and therefore don’t argue and also don’t tend to want to listen to someone who’s accused of being racist either. I think Rough Bounds is right, we ‘Other British’ in Scotland do need to speak out because these bigots are insulting a country that has made us welcome and that has become our home. Good luck on your stall on Saturday!

@Ronnie, I’m afraid the Highland accent is far too gentle to have had an effect on my accent, though I do use the idioms all the time I’ll just have to visit my children in Aberdeen or Edinburgh more often. You’re pretty inspirational yourself, sir btw x

Debbiethebruce

Farage was not targeted because he is english,i know someone english who was at that demo.
If i had known about it i would have joined in too,and im english.
Farage is causing hatred in england,im so glad i have the chance to vote yes in september,Dan Hodges is talking bollocks!

Grouse Beater

@ Patrick Roden

The English have many good qualities but forbearance, a lack of suspicion of non-English, isn’t one of them.

Unionists tell Scots we benefitted from the Empire – well, only a few did, but most were subaltern, working to the diktat of the English government, never, ever part of the power structure either of the colony or the homeland.

The English colonialist did not teach the “natives” how to play shinty. They taught them how to play cricket.

James Westland

O/T this, but an eye-opener as to attitude. In a BBC article about post-codes and how some people seem to have a thing about them (first I’d heard) We find this gem:

“As a result, aggrieved groups who feel their postcode somehow doesn’t reflect their sense of place are campaigning for change with a separatist zeal that mirrors the decades-long crusade for Scottish independence.”

link to bbc.co.uk

FFS “separatist zeal”?

BBC – shouldnt really be surprised.

Juteman

Are fowk kiddin? They huvnae trehd fred heroin?
Yi dinny ken wut yir missin!
Eh fell doon the Wellgate steps, ‘n meh peh went flehin skeh hey thi last time eh tred it. 🙂

Juteman

For sweet toothed Dundonians. 🙂

Juteman

And Gary, the poet, is a proud Yes.

James Westland

Juteman

That is pure comedy gold, both your fried heroin comment and that video clip. LOL. Thats a keeper! Glad the poet is a YES!

john king

Juteman

“That is pure comedy gold, both your fried heroin comment and that video clip. LOL. Thats a keeper! Glad the poet is a YES!”

Aye but he didnt tell you what he was frying,
I think it was a Mars Bar 🙂

Dal Riata

@heedtracker @Grouse Beater @other Guardian commenters

The Guardian used to be one of my daily go-to sites. Even after this September’s referendum was announced and loads of troll-nutters poured onto CiF I still kept at it as once the pro-independence posters continued to leave comments full of true facts and figures – despite the bile – most of the troll-nutters left for pastures new. There then followed a period of ‘stability’ on CiF BTL where the comments would number about 300-odd with plenty of comments from the ‘pro’s and the usual rubbish from the ‘anti’ regulars.

Then the Guardian became ever more virulent in its Scotland must vote no Better Together-ness. Then the comments BTL did likewise. It was about this time that I ended up on their naughty-step! I believe it was for ‘criticising’ yet another 5000-word comment from the fake Slovakian… You will know the one I refer to, I’m sure!

And now, ever since Gideon’s currency threat-speech, the Guardian has become more vote no than the Daily Mail. The comments BTL on their regular Scotland-is-shite articles are innundated by barely literate flamers and hate merchants. Just an ugly cesspit. There are a few ‘pro’ stalwarts keeping up the good fight, but even their numbers are dwindling. And no wonder. It would be quite amusing if every ‘pro’ commenter left CiF… leaving the angry Britnats to voice their ignorance at no-one except themselves. (It would be a right good GIRFUY! sign to the ever so precocious Guardian, too.)

Today’s Project Fear pish-as-an-article, followed by its ‘comments’, by faux ‘journalist’ Severin Carrell is just another example of what the Guardian has become – a right-wing, reactionary, hardline British Establishment lackey. They laughingly call themselves “left-leaning… Aye, right! Hypocrites. Total hypocrites.

Grouse Beater

@ Dal Riata

Ah, the phony Slovakian. I managed to unmask the pretence of “her” impartial but keen support of independence as completely bogus. What a temper she had; rebut the reims of verbiage and you got double the amount in return. She posts the same flim-flam on other sites.

Like you, I’m left with a rancid taste in my mouth from the Guardian’s alleged liberal prolactivities.

I took on a former political editor, Michael White, now a columnist, on an associated article on Venezuela, likening his attacks on that country and its former elected leader (by two landslides) similar to those the Guardian fires at Scotland and its First Minister.

He was quick to respond – always the gent, prose, barbs and moustache studiously clipped – utterly patronising, finally resorting to trollisms.

His attacks on our administration’s political ambitions echoing his newspaper in general were very disappointing, no understanding, no curiousity, the archetypical English observer, “research” that of the accidental tourist, a quick study, and buy a mass produced gift to take home.

The Guardian’s editorials set hard against any sort of autonomy for Scotland are as close to racist as they dare get, fire and brimstone indistinguishable from any southern preacher’s pulpit.

Grouse Beater

proclivities…(tendencies)

Grouse Beater

The Dundee Poet – fazers tae malky!!!

Dr JM Mackintosh

This talk about about Nigel Farage and his visit to the Canon’s Gait pub reminded me of one of my best jokes.

(Canon’s Gait is good pub – I can recommend their regular Bothan nights on Fridays – top gaelic performers, Scots and sometimes Irish, pipers and great ceilidh bands).

So here it is…
—————————————————————————————–

Man walks into to pub in Scotland with a crocodile under his arm.

Walks up to the bar man and says

“Do you serve Englishmen ?”

Bar man replies

“Off course we do. We are very open minded here.”

Man says –

“That’s great. I will have a pint of lager and can I have an Englishman for my crocodile.”

Crooks, bigots and hypocrites

Fradge has been embezzling from the EU for years. Making £millions (if not £Billions) out of an organisation he wishes to destroy. It is illegal. Fradge has been funding a Political Party illegally. It is illegal to fund a Political Party without a mandate from Public (tax payers) money. Fradge has been funding his minority Party from EU expenses and salaries, without putting the Parties finances up for scrutiny, as is lawfully required. Fradge is protected from the Law by Tory bankers and Grandees. They despise and fear the EU because it can challenge their corrupt power. Fradge is corrupt. If Fradge enters British politics, his minority Party and it’s non mandated nonsense policies will fail.

Fradge is not just a liar, a thief, and bigot. Fradge is a crook. A Con man, supported by the
crooks in the Tory bankers Party who are above the Law. Fradge should be in jail. Rumour has it Cameron is negotiating a deal for a place in tb HoL for Fradge, to get them out of a hole. Fradge will once again be causing trouble, milking the Gravy train for as much as he can get, just like the rest of them, while the vulnerable starve.

morgan mc

Farage never said thst his trouble in Edinburgh was indicative of “all nationalists”. He said there was an element within it. He was subject to anti english sentiment from Scottish voices within that gathering. The fact that two people arrested were English is irrelevant. They were Labour sponsored footsoldiers probably from the minority SWP UAF. HNH.

His appearance on Questuon Time a month later outlined that view. He had many messages from people in Scotland condemning the ugly incident as not the view of the majority of Scots.

Farage has been coming to Scotland for 20 years as UKIP. Just shows that when UKIP started getting into double figures in polls the old order don’t like it.

The incident in England was organised by the SWP it also had animal rights activists who later apologised to Farage and UKIP. They wrongly thought UKIP stood for live exports (they don’t). The person was arrested for assault.

The fact that our English friends do not have their own parlaiment whilst the rest of these islands do factors into the UKIP mold. However it should be noted that in 2010 Farage was not leader of UKIP or that manifesto. Was only a candidate. He advocates home rule, thinks that DEVO MAX will be the end game if there is a “no”.

As for all the nonsense about hating foreigners. It is the westminster elite that say that because they like the non eu foreigner hating EU border rules and cap on non EU migrants.

Thats the thing about the EU. Free movement and permanent settlement if your EU. If your non EU get in line for a work permit and visa. Ukip isn’t anti immigration its about who runs the country and who decides policy. The EU or us.
“Ukip have never advocated repatriation for anyone who has come to the country legally under treaty”.

The fact UKIP has candidates and members from all areas of the UK and ALL ethnic minorities. Should put paid to the lefty nonsense. Given also that Bulgarian MEP sits in the Europe of Freedom and Democracy(EFD) group that UKIP is part of.

The proof in the pudding is this Bulgaria has been putting up a fence along its border with the non EU Turkey. The EU dictating xenophobic policy along her borders to prevent non EU from entering her territory. The very thing that UKIP is accused of the EU does with support of the 28.

I am voting “yes”….No to EU.

Murray McCallum

Some facts and figures on Forage and UKIPs voting record in the EU on C4 news website. They take the pay but don’t do the work.

Nigel Forage only bothers to participate in about 45% of votes.

link to blogs.channel4.com

I find it worrying that UKIP may be representing the UK (and thereby Scotland’s interests) following the May EU elections. I would think Scottish businesses must be worried by this.

morgan mc

Murray
Farage is leader of a national party lives 8 hours from Strasbourg so 45% is pretty good.

Nick Clegg a national party leader lives in London yet his voting record in Westminster is just 22%.

However given that the EU is in charge of the UK hardly surprising. Why should Farage support the implementation of EU law over our country?

Caroline Corfield

I’ve just had a wee look at the UKIP site, perhaps you could furnish us all with the evidence that UKIP is for home rule as you call it, because I couldn’t find any on their website. What I could find is that they want one set of laws for the UK which doesn’t sound very Scotland friendly, and they call Scotland a region., which is a bit of a giveaway about what they think to the national feelings of 70% of the Scots who call themselves Scots. I also notice they’ve pinched a goodly few of the SNP policies as things they want to do in the UK, like free eye tests and dental care on the NHS for example, he’s certainly resourceful.

My English husband, as I have said elsewhere, says the English don’t need a parliament as Westminster is their parliament. And that sentiment is the real reason why they don’t have a devolved parliament. What they should have done to get around that sentiment was create a proper UK parliament maybe near York, and had a constitution written up. But London can’t see that power leave, the whole of the UK is being farmed to service the beast that is London.

Murray McCallum

“Why should Farage support the implementation of EU law over our country?”

Forage could vote maybe use his vote against it? I think that’s how elected democracies work.

morgan mc

Caroline
“Devolution has happened and there are two referendums in Wales that have confirmed that, so we should just jolly well get on and accept the fact that the whole of the United Kingdom is changing” Nigel Farage to BBC Wales last year.

The Scotsman was reporting before Farage’s Edinburgh trip that UKIP wanted to field candidates for Holyrood.

Farage was not in charge of the last manifesto and was not leader of UKIP at the time of its publication. He also advocates home rule in his biography.

David McNarry is in Stormont as an MLA in the devolved assembly as Ukip.

England should use the Westminster building for its parlaiment. The westminster uk politic should be desolved if a no vote for a federal uk. Elected leaders of devolved assemblies the collective PM of the UK.

Murray McCallum

I think Nigel watches Top Gear, has a few pints and then writes that week’s manifesto.


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