Wings Over Scotland

It’s lost in more ways than one. I’m sick of being shot down by the faithful for pointing out the blindingly obvious. JFC, I though Unionists were hard enough to deal with but cultists in the SNP are something else. Saying you do not think there will be an indyref under SNP/Greens is, apparently, a threatening attack. Disagreement is abuse – did Orwell miss that one?

I agree, Scotland is indeed lost.

I have to say I find it concerning that every time I try to share a post from Wings on twitter I always have problems, the same thing every time, “Oops sorry there was a problem, try again”
it usually takes about 3 or 4 tries before it is posted, this only happens with wings posts and yet I have no problems sharing other posts from people who have been permanently suspended from twitter.

Could it be possible Sturgeon controls twitter too? lol

And readers, it’s increasingly hard to argue that a country whose leader is beyond the reach of the law is a country in any fit state for independence.

Did you ever meet Stephen O’Rourke?

Oops duplicate posts sorry

In fact thinking about it, it was Joanna Cherry who proved Boris Johnson was not beyond the Law.

I suspect Joanna Cherry might also be interested in “reminding” Sturgeon that she isn’t beyond the Law either.

A Banana Colony, without the bananas.

And to think we used to laugh at Trump…

Looks like good news for Natalie McGarry and her case for malicious prosecution(s).

Presumably, if the information made public is a true reflection of crown (& snp) office opinion, the longer CPS now takes to beg for her forgiveness, the greater the penalty damages due.. and her subsequent case for unfair dismissal from snp will cause them embarrassment either way if it means another fundraiser to cover the £million+ or so in lost earnings and expenses..

Still on the bright side.

The people who are soverrin will rise and man the barricades, declare UDI, and proceed to sack York .

Eh?

Thanks Rev, another good one.
Retirement doesn’t suit you

Scotland has been lost since about 3am on the 15th September 2014.

Virtually everyone involved in our politics now is tainted in some way or other. Alex was always the best (only?) option, but talking with genuine Independence supporters, it has become very obvious that Sturgeon and her cabal have ‘done him in’ for good. Despite his (criminal) innocence, I see no way back for him, because he is perceived by the public at large as yesterday’s man and damaged goods.

Scotland may well rise again in the future, but it’s going to need a fresh face with Salmond’s ability and personal coonviction to make it work. I don’t see that happening anytime soon. Call me defeatist if you will (I prefer ‘pragmatist’), but I just can’t see any political good coming anytime soon. 🙁

Dearie me! Oh wait! The Chief Constable* is chosen by the First Minister. The Lord Advocate too. The head of the Civil Service in Scotland is chosen by the First Minister.
It’s all sorted.

*Conveniently all various local police forces in Scotland were rolled into one. No more local Chief Constables who might be a wee bit independent – we could not be having that.

PS The accounts of charities need to show any amounts donated for a specific purpose. These are called “restricted “funds, for a reason. For example if someone denotes some money to an old folk’s home to buy a nice TV, say, that money is legally required to be spent on a TV for that old folks home. Should the home close down before the TV is bought then the money must be returned to the donor, or else their permission be sought to spend the money on other things.
Spending the donation on a settee for the home would technically be embezzlement, but less serious than spending it on a staff night out. Important to grasp that “embezzlement” is not restricted to personal enrichment although that may be the most common.

It’s not just the Crown Office, its the non-transparency of the judiciary as well.

Peter Cherbi has been fighting via petition (PE1458) to the Scottish Parliament for TEN YEARS for a register of interests for the judiciary to be created so the public are informed of any groups/boards/companies/investments/etc that those in the judiciary are involved with.

link to parliament.scot

Notably in 2015 Nicola Sturgeon’s Legal Affairs Minister – Paul Wheelhouse held secret lobbying meetings with Lord Gill on the petition in an attempt to have the petition blocked and closed.

Thankfully that effort failed and the petition is still live, not only that but the creation of a register of interests for the judiciary is a manifesto pledge as per the SNP’s 2021 manifesto (Pages 35 & 36), whether they stick to their manifesto pledges or not is another matter altogether.

With that said there is also the matter of the solicitor acting as a case worker for the Law Society of Scotland who in 1998 investigated and found Nicola Sturgeon comitted three counts of professional misconduct, complaints that the Law Society of Scotland bizarrely cleared her of as she was leaving the legal profession to move into politics to contest an election for the SNP. In 2015 that solicitor went on to become a Sheriff, as per the recommendation of the First Minister to the Queen.

link to petercherbi.wordpress.com

While the entire episode from a bystanders view does look off I’m not suggesting anything improper went on with the appointment of this Sheriff, but without the full and complete transparency of the judiciary, COPFS, the Lord Advocate and the complete separation of powers between the judiciary and the government we can never be assured that our justice system is not being interfered with for political reasons – of which there is mounting evidence from the actions of the Crown Office itself such as threatening of journalists including the imprisonment of Craig Murray for telling the truth and the witchhunt against Alex Salmond for charges that were they levied at anyone else would never have even made it to court given the extremely flakey evidence that was presented during trial.

The National Liberal Club, indeed! Who would ever have known (the half of what we know) without Wings and the redoubtable, sorely missed Stuart Campbell?

In light of the crisis in the Scottish NHS, the care home deaths along with the stench emanating from the ferries scandal, to mention but three instances of brutal incompetence, is it really possible, on a 43.73% turn-out, to increase your share of the vote? How many of us, hand-on-heart, can now say with confidence and certainty that the political playing-field is completely level and that we’re not all being mercilessly conned into believing the impossible?

No meaningful security measures exist in the transportation and overnight storage of ballot boxes, for example, allowing ample opportunity to substitute the originals with a few pre-doctored ones. Voila! magic up your own results. Simplistic, paranoiac drivel? Couldn’t happen here etc. etc. I hope not; but let’s not forget who we’re dealing with here and what’s at stake.

Anonymoose.

Lets not forget this guy as well.

“David Harvie has been appointed to the role of Crown Agent, Head of Scotland’s Prosecution Service.
David is a Solicitor Advocate and is currently PF for the West of Scotland.”

link to copfs.gov.uk

Also I’m sure Humza Yousaf when he was Justice secretary did his best to block the judiciaries list of interests.

@ Breeks 3.40pm you said
“We have the Constitutional means to defend Scotland in spite of a corrupt First Minister colluding with a corrupt Lord Advocate.”

And of course you are correct BUT we cannot do that without force of numbers and those numbers can ONLY come from being active and educated and IMO that is where the DECLARATION OF A SOVEREIGN SCOT is DESPERATELY NEEDED

YOU have enlightened many people to our constitutional power but that power cannot be utilised individually it has to be done COLLECTIVELY, and Breeks you are well aware what that power could do for our independence , not ONLY that there are so many areas that power can have an effect on , If enough people signed up to the DECLARATION OF A SOVEREIGN SCOT, THAT could be the birth or roots of a CITIZENS ASSEMBLY

Just think if ALBA ,SSRG , ISP , Iain Lawson , Roddy BB ,Grousebeater , Grumpy Scotsman , Weegie , and ALL the other bloggers and people on Twatter , Faceplook , Gettr and WOS got behind the declaration and promoted and pushed it explaining and educating people to the real power Scots voters do have , would sturgeon be willing to ignore their voices
The ONLY reason these scum politicos get away with anything is because we whinge and complain individually , the ONLY way we will get the scum to do what is required of them and what they were elected to do is through forcing them and the ONLY way that can be done is through numbers

I would love to see BLOCKCHAIN being introduced in the NEW SCOTLAND where the electorate have the final say on ANY legislation proposed by political parties , and ANY malfeasance , corruption or deliberate lies is REWARDED by immediate sacking , would there be any (ahem) politicians left in the SP

‘Regardless of the public attention which a case may excite, prosecutors must not be influenced in their decision making, whether in relation to the investigation or the prosecution of crime, by extraneous and irrelevant considerations. Like judges, prosecutors must decide without fear or favour, affection or ill-will – objectively and professionally, on the basis of an assessment of the available evidence; and it is one of my constitutional responsibilities to promote the integrity and independence of prosecutorial decision making.’
The Lord Advocate, James Wolffe QC on 5 September 2017.

Republicofscotland says:
9 May, 2022 at 5:12 pm

Also I’m sure Humza Yousaf when he was Justice secretary did his best to block the judiciaries list of interests.

———–

I bundled David Harvie, agent of HM Government, in with COPFS as he is its CEO but rightly should also have been named.

Humza Yousaf has a few skeletons in his closet, including – when he’s not busy falling off of walking aids while arsing around infront of tv cameras in Holyrood – an abuse of position which he should have been called up on by parliamentary standards given his malicious accusations against a privately run nursery and his abuse of position in attempting to leverage the care inspectorate as a personal weapon to sanction the nursery simply because they didn’t have a time slot available for his child. He’s also another one whos been working hand in glove with the unionist Daily Record, much like the office of the First Minister, of which we’re still waiting on Police Scotland to find the source of those leaks, most of Scotland knows who it was but Police Scotland cant fathom that one out or at least they aren’t being permitted to.

” Who will guard the guards”. Never more apt.

Before we lose all hope, I would suggest that as bad as things stand they are not in the same league of bad as was Northern Ireland 20 years ago. And look where they are today.

And as bad as the current corrupt set up is, within Scotland, and it is… what are our options? roll over and give up? Make it even easier for them?

They have knocked us to the ground with the energy cost rises, they will pin us to the ground when they come for our waters next, and they will destroy the lives of 3 generations with the destruction their Brexit will reap on our economy.

I was a teenager during the Thatcher years, the 50 year olds thown on the scrap heap, the teenagers and early 20’s who couldn’t get a job and never got fully back on their feet because of it… and their children thereafter, with the same lack of confidence. 3 Generations.

What is coming down the pipe next will be far worse, and far longer lasting without Indy for recovery.

And as for corruption, like any crime the perpetrators are far bolder and more prolific when they think their chances of getting away with it are good… those chances are reduced the closer the Governed are to the the Governers.

I have loved ones, and neighbours I have to look in the eye, I have a country that is breathtaking. If all I can manage is to stay, stand up straight, and do one bit of decency at a time, then that is what I will do.

I won’t be lonely.

So, not going away, not giving up, not shutting up either.

Peace and Love as a wise winger once said.

I asked for a donation to be refunded in June 2021 (“I request a refund of the £25 I paid into the “ring-fenced” for independence fund. I am angry that no independence campaign has been initiated and that Scotland has been dragged out of the EU without a whimper of a voice from our government”) and got it paid into my account within days. Fortunately I was able to access the thankyou email I received in May 2019 that started by saying “Thank you for the donation you made to the Scottish National Party last month. Your donation, along with many more, has been put into a ring-fenced fund to build up a war chest to fight a future Independence Referendum that we all hope is not too far off”
I was no longer a member at that time because I left the SNP and became a founder member of ALBA on its very first day.
I think many others asked for donations back too…some for much higher amounts…I wonder where these refunds figure in the accounts?

Daisy Walker says:””

Cannae be arsed arguing.

Scotland is indeed Lost when you see how corrupt it has become from the top all the way down.

Kids can run riot smashing public and private property with no fear of the law and woe betide anyone who even shouts at them.

Just had council elections; same old pile of shite gets back in just more pish to come from a council who is so distanced from those who pay annually for it’s “services” we may as well be on beetlejuice [OK in orbit]

Ah! but look “the promised land comes”. Just like in Russia where the state controls the church in Scotland, well there’s no really a church anymore BUT we have this great cult that’s even BETTER.
The cult of the snp.

We are definitely a Banana Republic…
only without the bananas…
or the republic!

If Lord Advocates are avoiding their duties and responsibilities then this must be pointed out publicly in the strongest possible terms by those with the power to alter behaviour.

I hope a political leader, having learned of the post ‘Scotland is lost’ by the Rev. Stuart Campbell, will waste no time in inviting the attention of the appropriate authorities.

Will another opportunity be ignored while we lick our wounds – again?

Is Boris teaching them how to be corrupt while in government?

There is also widespread corruption in the police and without doubt the Met are doing as little as possible to expose Boris’ parties months after the Grey report was handed to them on a plate

“That’s not rain drops coming down. It’s the tears of sadness, frustration and anger from every true Independence believer. And it looks like the rain is only gonna get heavier.

Unless someone come up with a plan. A cunning plan. A plan so cunning and ‘off the wall’ that it would catch the Great Leader and her cohorts completely off guard. A plan so cunningly deceptive, yet brilliant in it’s simplicity.

Baldrick, go and get me a Salmond, MacAskill, Hanvey, McEleny, better throw in a Reverend, that bloke Campbell will do. And throw a Cherry on top as well. The final ingredient is all those frustrated and pissed off Independence supporters. I believe there’s quite a few of them out there. Well hurry up man. What are you waiting for?”

“But where are you taking all these people sir?”

“It’s simple Baldrick, like you. We’re going fishing to a place called Holyrood. There’s a very slippery fish that has swam in these political waters for too long. It’s a Sturgeon with many little helpers. But they’ll all end up in our nets”.

“Excellent plan my lord”

Haud.

The devolved government can be accused of UDI.

Sovereign Scots however cannot be accused of that in Scotland, for the people are sovereign, not a parliament.

Since the term was used I looked up a definition of the roots of the phrase ‘banana repbulic’.

A banana republic is a politically unstable country with an economy dependent entirely on revenue from exporting a single product or resource, such as bananas or minerals. It is generally considered a derogatory term describing countries whose economies are controlled by foreign-owned companies or industries.

A derogitory term describing countries whose economies are controlled by foreign-owned companies or industries.

– I think Indy might put a fix to that –

– politically ustable country –

Hmm, not so far, although you could argue politically unwise.

– an economy dependent entirely on revenue from exporting a single product or resource, such as bananas or minerals –

This would be true… if it was our country who benefitted from the export of a single product or resource – in our case oil, gas, renwable electricity – all of which are syphoned off and controlled/profiteered by England.

And what the Rev’s article fails to articulate is the overwhelming motive, ability and presence of the British Establishment in creating / and nurturing the corruption he has identified.

The case for Independence is strengthened by his article. Never more urgent, never more pertinent. All that is need for evil to thrive, is for good men, and women, to do nothing.

If language shapes thought, then the imaginative use of verbal weaponry is a good thing.

I don’t remember where “banana republic” was first used in our context, but I think it was part of a joke – since we had no bananas, and were not yet a republic, which makes it even worse.

Using the language of colonialism is useful as it creates mental shock value – try dropping in

COMPRADOR ELITES

when referring to the SNP. It really upsets people (after they look it up). Upsetting the right people, is a good thing.

– and if anyone objects to your words, then ask what Nikki will be doing over at the Brookings Institute? Giving it “up the workers?”

aye – RIGHT UP the workers.

I don’t have it in me to pack in and give up.

I’m of the opinion that the Declaration of Arbroath is a little charitable to say it needs 100 of us left alive.

To add to the looming Irish referendum, we have the backdrop of the looming trade war and sanctions with the EU, which I suspect means Irish reunification is doing it’s share of looming. Well done Ireland.

link to archive.ph

Scotland however will be a non-participating observer, disinterested in the process, anaesthetised by it’s colonial media, paralysed by inept “leadership”, and having squandered the political purchase of its own Brexit outrage for a flat, square nothing. Well done SNP.

Madainn mhath!
Pissed off with them? Exactly the moment to join them.
«Better inside pissing out than outside pissing in» as the Yanqui saying goes.
Scotland is very far from «doomed».
Democracy is pro active. Infiltrate and shake things up!
“it is the people who control the Government, not the Government the
people.”
[Winston S. Churchill]

You hear of all these police investigations and then nothing happens.

link to archive.ph

‘Cops probe claims of Scottish Government information leak during Alex Salmond inquiry’

link to archive.ph

Police investigate SNP over independence campaign cash claims

link to archive.ph

Alex Salmond sex assault trial perjury claims being investigated

link to archive.ph

Jim Sillars lodges police complaint over ministers’ ferry fiasco ‘missing documents’

No doubt this will be investigated too and then left pending until we all forget about it.

link to archive.ph

Detectives investigating the murder of a 26-year-old woman have said a man has been arrested.

Members of the public have been urged to submit information via an online portal.

If the police and The Herald want the public’s help they need to be clear what they are talking about. The terms man & woman doesn’t mean anything to the general public anymore.

Would I be arrested for a hate crime if I described someone as ‘a man in a dress’ or would I be arrested for giving the police false information if I described someone as ‘a woman’ who I believed was a man?

Witness says they saw a woman committiing a crime accused says it can’t be me because I am a man.

What is the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth?

Don’t forget the document that signed off the one hundred million pound ferry contract to Ferguson Marine!! That’s lost too!!! They seem quite good at losing things….

On “BBC” TV on Sunday; “….this is truly seismic – the majority in Northern Ireland have voted Sinn Fein…..this could mean the end of the union….”

Hmmm…..and here’s me thinking that a majority in Scotland had voted for the Scottish equivalent for years now?

How could it be?

@Willie 10 May, 2022 at 8:39 am

“Irish reunification is coming!!”

Maybes you need to think that one through.

1) Maybes Dublin doesn’t want around a million Ulster protestant citizens, particularly as they have a historic sense of grievance and a history of violence when they don’t get what they want.

2) Maybes some of these “new Irish citizens” would rather return to their ancestral homeland, where they can maintain their staunch belief in the integrity of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Ref 2) above, their ancestral homeland is Scotland. Maybes you would like to discuss the potential effects on Scots Indy of a militant Yoon influx from NI.

Careful what you wish for Willie.

link to robinmcalpine.org

I like Robin McAlpine, but on this occasion I’d say yes Robin, you are missing something, and that is the massive Constitutional Realm of Scotland which sits entirely outside [and above] the jurisdiction and fiefdom of the Scotland Act.

There are bigger fish to fry than testing whether Holyrood has more pips on it’s shoulder than the Supreme Court.

Cut to the chase. Test the veracity of Scotland’s Sovereign Constitution in an International Court.

Why hasn’t Joanna taken up the case? Or is it just English interests they’re interested in? ?
Also – the SNP loyalists. I’ve came to the conclusion they’re really not SNP at all. They’re yoons sent in with a mission = derail independence at all costs. GRA & unqualified weirdos for public office is a good place to start the ball rolling….?
I’m gutted I wasted money & time on this shower of shyte!(Not half as much as you I’ll bet!)
I fear she’s going to be like BoJo & is going nowhere fast. ?
(As an aside – re your comments on duplicate posts, the posting button on this site gives the impression it hasn’t sent.)

…No Willie, this is just your little fap fantasy of the sort Plastics routinely indulge in while not allowing pesky reality to get in the way.

2 things; Firsty Sinn Féin is a lot more politically astute than you give them credit for, and secondly, Westminster can’t live with the “pesky” Northern Irish protocol, and when they renege of the agreement, as they will, they’ll be breaking International Law with the EU being the aggrieved party. If you don’t find the EU cooperative before breaking your agreement with them, only a fool would think they’re going to soften their resolve afterwards.

That’s a real of worms, because with the long arm and economic influence of the EU, it might well impact upon the Brexit UK securing free trade agreements with third parties. The UK might find itself isolated with sanctions on the naughty step beside Mr Putin. No US Trade Deal. No more trade deals with anybody.

The real significance of Sinn Féin’s success is that it indicates the sands are shifting, and if this “mess” does billow into a mighty economic clusterfuck, Ireland, and Northern Ireland, have an easy way to escape the rammy, with an ever-diminishing downside. A reunited Ireland with no Northern Irish protocol because there’s no EU border in Ireland.

And there cannot be a border, because if Westminster creates one, it also breaks the Good Friday Agreement, and then the UK’s in the shite all over again.

twathater says: 10 May, 2022 at 1:48 am

If we are to gain independence no idea is too stupid or impossible and we all know sturgeon would ignore anything put in front of her anyway , so how are we going to overcome the apathy and stupidity of voters , I put forward my proposals let’s hear yours

With respect, those were not “proposals” – those are merely an endless series of platitudes masquerating as action.

“DECLARATION OF A SOVEREIGN SCOT”?, “CITIZENS ASSEMBLY”? Please … that’s exactly the sort of pipe dream hobby politics that’s got Alba and the ISP into their current fix – the same one the Socialist Party of Great Britain has been in for over a century, as they man their soggy stalls everyone passes by in the high street.

Self-indulgence is worse than doing nothing because counter-productive measures waste time, money and demonstrate nothing but your side’s own impotency and alienate the very people you are trying to get to listen to you.

The Ukraine are currently merrily destroying one of the largest armed forces in the world precisely because they’ve picked and chosen their battles, and not gone for “HEROIC GESTURE!” of “DOING SOMETHING!” because “UM … STUFF!” That’s fine if you are the Socialist Workers Party and really a pyramid marketing scheme for gullible students’ loose change, but if you are really wanting to change anything you are doing Sturgeon’s work for her in ensuring there’s no effective opposition.

A week hasn’t even passed since the election, and Sturgeon in her unrestrained hubris is committing howler after howler after howler – much as I said would happen the second she thought she was untouchable, all “enemies” vanquished. The last thing anyone should be doing is interrupting her as she alienates the public all by herself.

Alba and the ISP should concentrate instead on building up their local support base, the same “community politics” that stood other minor parties and umpteen quasi-“local independents alliances” in good stead – not trying as they’ve each done so far merely cutting corners. They need to prove to people they are worth listening to, otherwise they’re merely voices crying in the wilderness.

Of course, it’s what they ought to have done in the first place, instead of trying to cut corners. Pete Wishart may be a dick, but he was only too right when he sneered at “Twitter Parties” which lazily thought they could take on the major combines if they just spammed social media enough.

Willie says: 10 May, 2022 at 11:42 am

without a shadow of a doubt the political landscape has changed. That is evident from the election results.

No shit, Sherlock!

It is evident too from many other indicators too. The old unionist state for a unionist people is gone.

In 1998 to be exactly, by the Good Friday Agreement, a mere quarter century ago, good of you to keep up with current events.

By the way, George Michael, Michael Jackson, Rangers and most of the people who signed said agreement have all died since then. A lot happens in a quarter century.

I’ve leave the reason of your cut-and-paste blibberings, except to say there’s trans-activists out there with a better grasp of reality than you.

Re «Northern Ireland» very curious to see what Sinn Féin do with the vote lent to them by nationalists. I trust they will not be seeking advice from NS even though SF too suffers from viral wokitis.

Mark Boyle says:
10 May, 2022 at 11:42 am

The Ukraine are currently merrily destroying one of the largest armed forces in the world precisely because they’ve picked and chosen their battles, and not gone for “HEROIC GESTURE!”….

It is? Where is your evidence for this?

It conflicts with a lot of footage which I’ve seen. I would readily agree some of the fighting looks to have been extremely heavy, but the identification of burned out tanks and AFV’s has been ambiguous to put it mildly.

There is however a weight of evidence of Russian troops, especially Chechen troops, actively fighting, but clearly in dominant command of the battle theatre. They are interacting with civilians, dancing, relaxing, showing off captured equipment… Their own armour seems to be moving around freely, and not apparently fearful of ambush. Despite some evidence of Javelins being effective, there is also counter evidence of Russian tanks in repair yards which have survived 6 or 7 javelin strikes. A hit clearly doesn’t correspond with a kill.

There is also footage of mercenaries, some captured, some who escaped and made it to safety, who describe facing a very efficient and professional Russian army. Sniper fire is deadly, artillery fire is pin point accurate and devastating, and while undoubtedly brave, the Ukraine forces are struggling, angry about abandonment, and essentially – losing.

In fairness, there is conjecture from some western mercenaries that had the Ukrainians enjoyed the might and sophistication of Western Forces in Afghanistan, they could have hit the “naive” Russians very hard, – but they don’t.

However there is also counter-conjecture, where pro-Russian rhetoric runs along the lines that “Western” armed troops are facing professional actual soldiers rather than merely Afghan farmers. It was also pointed out that while the US and British are evidently training Ukrainian troops, it was scornfully pointed out that “the West” had also trained and armed ISIS troops in Syria, and that hadn’t worked out well.

The impression forming seems to be a Russian military which did encounter harder opposition than expected, has taken losses, has perhaps, (I stress perhaps) limited it’s expectations, (that’s ambiguous), but is in largely unchallenged command of the territory it occupies.

Far from the Russians “heroic gestures”, it seems the Ukraine / AZOV forces who have been making the gestures by demolishing war memorials dedicated to the WW2 Red Army. These targets of course don’t shoot back.

There is also a level of complexity working out “who” you’re looking at. A wee flash of blue here, red there, a white armband, a Ukrainian shoulder flash there… There is a pro-Russian “Somali” faction which drew its name from the early wars in Donbas, when it was so poor and starved of resources to fight the AZOV’s that they called themselves Somalis. From stealing their weapons from Ukrainians, they are now however a well supplied and “heroic” faction to be reckoned with.

I would not claim any of this is footage is authoritative, but it doesn’t look at all to me like the Ukrainians are feeling “merry” about very much at all. In fact, the Russians appear to have remarkable intelligence on stockpiles of supplied weaponry. You may recall the rail infrastructure being targeted. That was why apparently.

Lastly, comparing footage and commentary side by side, I get the firm impression there is a contrived stage-management of media in the West, links being suppressed, communications regulated etc, which is much less apparent in the small percentage of pro-Russian media which it is still possible to access.

Do I trust what the Russian media tells me? No. Do I trust what the pro Ukrainian media tells me? That’s also a no.

I haven’t mentioned the “nazi” issue at all so far, but there are enough nazi derived insignias, tattoos and comments to support the narrative about the AZOV’s pretty convincingly.

Some of the Nazis are stupid and childlike. (in mentality, not actual children). One captured AZOV was denying being a Nazi, but the code to access his phone was 1488, – 14 relates to White Supremacist literature “14 words”, while 88 is a reference to HH the 8th letter of the alphabet. (Heil Hitler). So pathetic it might have been funny, save the fact that he’d probably signed his own death warrant.

Incidentally, there is also anecdotal evidence those bodies of civilians lying in the street around Mariupol was not a Russian war crime, but AZOV snipers shooting civilians who were trying to flee the steel works. The truth? I don’t know, but it seemed credible and to some degree corroborated.

Thanks Stu !!! Echoed my thoughts completely.
That all of the bodies and offices that are supposed to protect , serve and deliver justice are this corrupt and Scottish Politicians serving the crown can do as they please, then the fuckin Crown is the problem as well as our Bent Government and useless and toothless Polis !
Are they deliberately pushing the Scottish people into a doing something stupid… I mean more stupid than ever having had an ounce of belief in Sturgeon and her band of thieving bastards ?

Breeks says: 10 May, 2022 at 1:45 pm

It is? Where is your evidence for this?

Hmmm … let me see … how about 76 days on and Mad Vlad’s Barmy Army are almost right back where they started when it was all meant to be over in five weeks and despite having an overwhelming superiority on land, air and sea?

The 40 mile long convoy outside of Kyiv? Gone! Their Black Sea Fleet flagship the Moskva? Gone! But please, tell us more about how spectacularly well it’s all going for the “glorious Russian liberators”, we could all do with a giggle!

Why does man thrive on war and anger. destroy the planet but not do so well at living in peace with diplomacy.

The 40 mile long convoy outside of Kyiv? Gone! Their Black Sea Fleet flagship the Moskva? Gone! But please, tell us more about how spectacularly well it’s all going for the “glorious Russian liberators”, we could all do with a giggle!

I m not about to give you a giggle, but for what it’s worth, when the Russians have encountered resistance, as I said, hard fighting, they have taken their licks, adapted and overcome, just as they did in Chechnya, just as the Brits did during the Falklands.

The Moskva was indeed their flagship, but just like Hood which Bismarck blew out the water in 1941, the flagship was nearly 40 years old and dare I suggest, that’s a healthy age for any warship, and obsolete beside the modern threat it was pitted against.

The Brits lost 6 ships during the Falklands war, and while the war was hailed as a great success, the navy was unique in the Task Force for coming close to it’s predicted casualty rate for “acceptable” losses. I’ve seen nothing whatsoever to suggest the Russians are even being rattled by their losses, never mind defeated.

I don’t say that with any agenda, simply from what I’ve seen. The Russians hold the initiative, a hard core of Nazis appear to have been squished in Mariupol, and to be honest, I hope the dust settles and peace looms, rather than something happening to take the initiative away from the Russians and escalate the conflict out of control. The Russians are doing what they said they were going to do, and all the hysteria about obliterating Ukraine, smashing Poland, and rolling into Europe was just Western hysteria.

Now is the time for the diplomats to get busy and do their stuff to cool this off and stop it escalating.

Now we all know Russia ISN’T bluffing, let’s hope NATO thinks again about expansion, and warms to the idea of some Nations “not” joining NATO.

To the armchair generals pontificating above about the Russians doing well, you obviously haven’t been paying attention to the wealth of commentary from actual experts, many of them ex military, pointing out the shortcomings not only of Russian equipment, but also their leadership and tactics. It should be no huge surprise that Putin has been misled by the sycophants around him: he was told the Russian armed forces are still a force to be reckoned with, when in fact a gangster state in thrall to a bunch of kleptocrats has resulted in military failure.

The witticism from the first few weeks of the war seems even more apposite now: the Ukrainian debacle shown that the Russian armed forces aren’t the second most powerful in the world, they’re the second most powerful in Ukraine. Those who don’t approve of appeasement – which covers the vast majority of ordinary folk whatever the faint hearts and Putinista pearl-clutchers in here think – want to see the Russians not only defeated, but expelled from Ukraine and held to account for all the damage they’ve caused via reparations and war crimes trials.

NATO and the EU aren’t about to let Putin carve up Ukraine then add Moldova and Georgia as dessert after he’s digested “Novorossiya”. The long term aim should be to weaken the dysfunctional Russian Federation so that it never poses a threat to any other neighbouring state which was part of the USSR or Russian Empire it fancies re-occupying, and to ensure that in the long term it becomes a liberal democracy, not a dystopian shit show.

“The Moskva was indeed their flagship, but just like Hood which Bismarck blew out the water in 1941, the flagship was nearly 40 years old and dare I suggest, that’s a healthy age for any warship, and obsolete beside the modern threat it was pitted against.”

Breeks.

From what I’ve read about the Moskva, its fire warning radar system was in peace time mode when the explosions occurred, which probably means it wasn’t tracking any incoming objects.

Looking at the damage on the ship there isn’t any obvious damage that looks like it was struck by a missile or torpedo, it does however look like fire damage from within that that you see on a building that has been on fire, that’s not to say that it wasn’t sabotage from within.

Nato has personnel in Odessa in a building that tracks the movements of Russian navy ships. The Russian military is aware of this however I don’t think they’ve taken any action yet.

@Putin’s Poodle 5.48 pm

You’re not great at strategic (or indeed any) analysis are you? The Russian withdrew from around Kyiv because they got their arses handed to them, and their BTG’s were so depleted they couldn’t achieve all the advances on all the fronts that Putin’s generals assured them they could handle at once.

The Ukrainians will fight the Russians to a standstill in the Donbas, then counter attack to expel them. There is no evidence the Russians are successfully stopping westerns armaments, let alone interdicting them at the border as they come in from Poland and Slovakia. Similarly, nobody same buys your Kremlin agitprop about Mariupol and the many westerners and generals etc you keep assuring us are there.

Before long, the Russian fleet in the Black Sea will be history: they have no way to reinforce it since the Turks closed the straits to new warships entering, and the west will supply the Ukrainians with anti ship missile systems to wipe up what is left just as they did with the Moskva and the frigate Admiral Makarov.

Not many people in the west will be shedding any tears when the tide turns and the Russians lose the war…..except the few Putinsta Loyal Lodge in here of course. 🙂

The best solution for all idiot leaders with little dicks and little brains but big weapons of world countries.

is to put them in a ring, no weapons allowed.
Ring the bell and let them fight it out with fistie cuffs.

Then the rest of us can live life with some normality.

Breeks says: 10 May, 2022 at 5:20 pm

I m not about to give you a giggle, but for what it’s worth, when the Russians have encountered resistance, as I said, hard fighting, they have taken their licks, adapted and overcome, just as they did in Chechnya, just as the Brits did during the Falklands.

Ah, so running away from Kyiv, Brovary, Trobortno, Chernihiv and being repulsed time after time at Kharkiv and Sumy were all part of “taking their licks, adapted and overcome”. Silly me!

Claiming running away after leaving thousands of their own troops dead and nothing to show for it was all a cunning ruse – that’s up there with “Operation Market Garden was 90% successful” in the “bro, what have you been smoking?” stakes.

The Moskva was indeed their flagship, but just like Hood which Bismarck blew out the water in 1941, the flagship was nearly 40 years old and dare I suggest, that’s a healthy age for any warship, and obsolete beside the modern threat it was pitted against.

Nice try.

No, it was not “just like Hood” – it has 16 cruise missiles on board, it had modern radar onboard, modern early warning systems, and modern weapons on board, and still it was sunk by two bloody interceptable subsonic missiles – considered by even the manufacturers to be “impossible” to do (they reckoned it would take at least five).

The morons on board even boasted about having a piece of “The True Cross” on the bridge given to them by the Head of the Orthodox Church – rather like a certain Bonnie Prince Charlie when he thought God was on his side. Maybe they should have consulted their works of Voltaire – “God is not on the side of the biggest battalions, but the best shots”!

James Che. says: 10 May, 2022 at 6:13 pm

The best solution for all idiot leaders with little dicks and little brains but big weapons of world countries.

is to put them in a ring, no weapons allowed.
Ring the bell and let them fight it out with fistie cuffs.

Then the rest of us can live life with some normality.

Something like this:

link to nytimes.com

An Iraqi vice president offered an unusual suggestion today for solving the American-Iraqi standoff: President Saddam Hussein and President Bush and their top aides should fight a duel to settle their differences and spare their people the ravages of war.

United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan would be the referee for the duel, which should be held in neutral territory, the vice president, Taha Yasin Ramadan, said in an interview.

Mr. Ramadan gave no sign that he was joking.

Iraq has two vice presidents. Mr. Ramadan did not say whether he or the other one, Taha Mohieddin Maruf, would take on Dick Cheney.

twathater says:10 May, 2022 at 6:15 pm

I don’t get the impression Mark by your responses to others that you are a patient, relaxed time will tell individual, you strike me more as a kick the fucking door in type, so I am questioning how this patient and longterm buildup by ALBA and ISP would be achievable when the wolf is at the door

Because they don’t have any other choice. It’s as simple as that. Two years of complete election doings is long past wake up time.

In Fraserburgh, Brian Topping, a councillor for 38 years, took 274 votes – 5.8% of the vote. His previous vote had been 652 votes, or 12.8%. That was Alba’s “Best result”. 111 candidates, 13 sitting councillors, all gone, including in Inverclyde Chris “Fk the Pope” McEleny – only 126 votes despite being a councillor for 10 years.

In Edinburgh City Centre, the Alba Party candidate finished behind the frivolous candidature of a career attention whore (as Stu well knows!). In Liberton, Alba polled less than the “leader” of the rump of the Scottish Socialist Party, which no one’s cared a flying fk about post-Sheridan.

The ISP did no better – their sole councillor Roddy McCuish stood down rather than face the inevitable, leaving their two other Argyll & Bute members to get (strangely!) 78 votes/2.4% each in the Mid Argyll and Cowal wards. At least Robert McGowan’s 55 votes on the Isle of Bute for Alba had the crumb of comfort of beating the Lib Dem candidate with 25!

In East Renfrewshire’s Clarkston, Netherlee and Williamwood ward, the ISP’s leader finished last with 57 votes (0.58%) in her own backyard – someone who had once aspired to be an SNP convenor.

As Don Schlitz put it, it’s all about knowing when to hold, fold, walk, run, what to bin and what to keep. Either they take stock and swallow their prides, or they can carry on being loved by no one butlocal printing firms from the extra work from the vainglorious throwing good money after bad.

So one of the pieces of legislation revealed by the royal parasite Prince Charles to day is, the Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Bill, which bans local authorities and the devolved governments from introducing sanctions against other countries.

This disgusting piece of legislation is aimed at protecting the oppressive apartheid military occupying regime in Palestine known as Israel. To protect its businesses from conscientious folk who advocate not to buy any goods from Israeli firm or any goods from shops/supermarkets etc that originates from the oppressive apartheid regime.

Of course Westminster is deep in bed with the Nazi regime controlling Ukraine, and the same applies with the murderous Israeli regime.

@Ottomanboi 7.54 pm

Believing in retaining an independent nuclear deterrent as part of the UK is a different thing to believing they should be based in Scotland after independence. Inchoate screeching from the neo-commies in here aside, the vast majority of Scots are broadly Atlanticist and multilateralist. Facts, eh? Chiels that winna ding indeed!

However much the anti-nuclear minority dislike the facts, they aren’t going to change them. Putin’s war will only have solidified the views of ordinary Scots that being part of NATO is the natural future for an independent Scotland. When push comes to shove, a deal will be done to allow the britnats to find alternative homes for their nuclear deterrent.

The only really plausible alternative is for them to cut a deal with the USA to use their facilities, as nowhere in rump UK is suitable. That’ll take a few years to sort out and will be good leverage in independence negotiations to keep the britants honest. Of course, if they had any sense they’d ditch the nuclear deterrent and spend it on conventional forces instead…but we know they don’t have any sense. The billions in sunk costs will mean they’ll do virtually anything to ensure they can keep the system working.

Of course Pamela Nash will put a yoon spin on the figures and what she *thinks* they mean, but Scotland’s defence and security stance post independence is a matter for Scots to decide, and all the evidence points to that being inside NATO, particularly now that Sweden and Finland are joining too.

We all wondered how the SNP were able to get away with what appeared to be a fraud on ring fenced donations. I believe that the UK governments old boys club have re booted this issue to take the steam out of the post election momentum.

“Putin’s war will only have solidified the views of ordinary Scots that being part of NATO is the natural future for an independent Scotland. ”

Agent Ellis.

On the contrary, Nato is a warmongering bullyboy gang that’s caused this conflict by encroaching on Russia via a 2014 coup in Ukraine, an independent Scotland MUST stay out of Nato.

“The only really plausible alternative is for them to cut a deal with the USA to use their facilities, as nowhere in rump UK is suitable”

More bollocks from the Denison dumpling.

Devonport, Milford Haven and Barrow -in-Furness to name but a few.

link to bbc.co.uk

The BBC currently airing the semi-finals of the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest, who’d bet against Ukraine winning it.

I think I recall if memory serves, an anti-Russian song from which country I can’t recall winning it a few of years ago, this years winner is sure to be rerun of that I think.

@Putin’s Poodle 8.37 pm

Milford Haven has been ruled out due to the liquified natural gas terminal. The safety case for Devonport also rules out docking armed Trident subs there. The Defence Nuclear Safety Regulator wouldn’t allow it. 166,000 live within 5 km of Devonport. 5,200 live within the same distance of Faslane. Barrow’s tides make it unfeasible, it’s also got no close deep water and no docking space or suitable ship list.

So like so much of your input, you’re talking total bollocks as any cursory examination of articles about the issue would have told you.

As for your fringe views on NATO, good luck persuading the overwhelming majority of the Scottish electorate they should follow your advice. It’s likely to get even less popular as the Ukrainians gradually destroy the invading Orcs. Putin has made both the EU and NATO much stronger. Few Scots are going to want to take the Irish option with Finland and Sweden joining NATO too.

`The chief of Spain’s intelligence agency, Paz Esteban, was ousted by the government on Tuesday following the disclosure that her agency had used powerful Pegasus spyware to infiltrate the cellphones of Catalan independence politicians`

Mark Boyle says:
10 May, 2022 at 11:18 pm

Not at all. Councillors who defect can expect to have a rough time from the electorate unless they have built up a personal following.

Got you! You can pin a yellow, red, blue rossette on a donkey and people in Fraserburgh would vote for it.

This being the case why are people being so hard on Alba?

Look at this monumental idiot.

link to twitter.com

But before you write him off as insufferably stupid, just listen to the substance he’s angry about. It’s not remotely the ALBA I recognise.

See it that way, and there it is… The humongous and ugly looking penny that’s gonna drop once these blinkered SNP sycophants finally work out it’s Sturgeon’s SNP who’s taking them for a ride.

@Breeks 12.46 am

It’s not the MoD doing the whining according to the article it’s a parliamentary committee. Defence procurement is always a contentious issue on every country: few countries do it well and the UK is no exception. Your “hot take” doesn’t really hold water though, which is hardly surprising from someone that’s fallen for Putinistas agitprop that the Ukrainians are Nazis.

If the previously much vaunted Russian military machine can’t defeat the Ukrainians, I doubt most western military establishments think they’d pose much of a challenge if they were unwise enough to pick a fight with NATO. Of course many of the appeasers polluting BTL comments in here would be first to roll over for the Russians and have their tummies tickled if push came to shove: the Vichy tendency of the independence movement. Luckily the vast majority of Scots – whether pro or anti independence don’t buy in to the sophomoric Wolfie Smith People’s Front bullshit.

ANDY ELLIS
Scotland deserves much better than those who are currently its custodians, nothing exceptional there, but Scotland does need to learn to walk before it can start having dealings, if it so chooses, with those big rough boys not known for subtle reasoning as they prance and posture on that world stage.
To me Putin is a mirror image of the west, no better no worse. Be wary of all who proffer alliances because they believe all the gods of Olympus are with them. There’s no such thing as a free lunch. Scotland in Union are just the suckers to be caught in a «seem to have left my credit card, would you mind» situation.

I wonder if ‘Wee Annie’ is as disappointed with Craig Murray as I am?

OK Chelsea Manning probably thinks he’s great (or maybe not) but then Chelsea Manning doesn’t have a vote in Scotland.

Perhaps we need to send Craig Murray some new books.

Ruby says:
11 May, 2022 at 12:10 am

Mark Boyle says:
10 May, 2022 at 11:18 pm

Not at all. Councillors who defect can expect to have a rough time from the electorate unless they have built up a personal following.

Got you! You can pin a yellow, red, blue rossette on a donkey and people in Fraserburgh would vote for it.

This being the case why are people being so hard on Alba?

Well, some people will vote that way, and all too many. Paddy Ashdown pointed out on a good day it is the moving of only 5% of the electorate that decides a general election.

But remember only 42% of votes bothered to turn out in Fraserburgh, down 2% on the previous – atypical for most council elections where you’re doing well if you can get a third of the vote out. This is what makes it easier pickings for smaller parties if they apply themselves and concentrate resources, and why the bad results for Alba/ISP cannot be brushed off. There’s a massive pile of disincentivized electors at council elections waiting for someone to prove they’re worth voting for.

The Social Democratic Party (who, incidentally beat both Alba and ISP in the same seat of North Coatbridge) did just that down in Leeds, where a “safe” Labour seat fell to them in a particular nasty contest (accusations of “the people’s party” intimidating SDP canvassers and pulling poster boards in support of Wayne Dixon out of people’s gardens – plus ca change!) because they flung the kitchen sink at it.

My guess as to Alba and ISP’s failure is their own hubris.

Both suffer from the same mindset that because of who they are – or at least the past histories of some of the people in them – that the electorate owes them a living, without putting in the extra work to show it is worth people switching from their usual political ‘brand’ to the new one – even if it the same person they’d voted for before.

It’s the same problem Tommy Sheridan had with Scottish Solidarity – and he was swiftly disabused.

As a better example, take the story of the Brexit Party. Largely the Nigel Farage fan club section of UKIP, it survived the switch from the brand name that had taken them to council, European and one Parliamentary seat largely because its members worked their asses off to do so (and amid real threats of violence which those in UKIP largely never faced), and that – in turn – was down to Farage.

Like or loathe the man, I’ve never saw a party leader who thought nothing of travelling all the way from London to Gateshead to canvass doors just because there was a change a party member might win a council seat, let alone a Parliamentary or Euro one – the same stuff he did at UKIP for years. The subtext was obvious: members were expected to do the same. It worked – and candidates were largely ‘forgiven’ for the label change.

However, when the label changed again to Reform UK, and Farage vanished, so did the work rate – and to no one’s surprise but their own, so did their votes – except in Derby where a strongly managed activist base returned them two extra council seats last Friday to give them six there overall. Richard Tice is somewhat slow to grasp the point that council seats matter if you want to take the bigger prizes.

The late Jim Mitchell, for many years the only SNP councillor in Renfrewshire, used to say “Never underestimate the stupidity of the general public, or they will break your heart time and time again.” They are quick to forget the good you did, fickle by nature (more so in the modern age than ever) yet stubborn as mules when it comes to their political allegiances.

This however cuts both ways. Mitchell used to have much of the weight of Renfrewshire Labour flung at him at election times, only for his vote to increase because he did a good job and because locals saw the ludicrous OTT attempts to unseat him as confirmation of how much his presence wound them up, which would only be the case if they’d plenty to hide (and oh how they did!)

[Sorry this is a bit long winded, but hey at least it’s all in paragraphs!]

@Ottomanboi 8.57 am

Doubtless Scotland post indy will be able to fight its corner and defend its interests just like any other newly independent country. Too many appear to think Scotland will be unique amongst the nations in not being able to cope, or not having the right people to survive on the world stage. I’ve seen that view advanced by many unionists in the past, but it seems there’s an element within the independence movement itself.

Believing there’s a moral equivalence between Putin and the west, or that we’re no better than them, may make some folk feel better. Obviously there are quite a few in the movement who actually buy that narrative, but it doesn’t make it right. More importantly however – as I keep pointing out – it’s not a view shared by the overwhelming majority, however much inchoate screeching comes from those who have drunk deep of the Kool-Aid.

The independence movement isn’t going to succeed in constructing a majority and attaining the goal of independence on the back of endorsing fringe views, whether anti-NATO unilateralism, anti-EU membership, saying that Putin is no worse than the west and the Ukrainian nazis had it coming, trying to disenfranchise 20% of Scots, or fluffing anti-vaxxer conspiracy theories.

In any upcoming “close run thing” – whether an indyref or plebiscitary election – I’d rather have the mainstream on our side, rather than looking askance at a movement containing a basket of deplorables that would make Trump and MAGA blush.

@Putin’s Poodle 10.18 am

So not disputing the figures then, or the fact that your original post was a dogpile?

It’s geography stupid. Wrapping yourself in the cop out mantle of “Scotland as colony” isn’t really going to cut it. If enough Scots want rid of WMD’s they’ll either vote for parties that will get rid of them, or for independence which will result in the same thing.

There’s little point screaming in to the void about unilateralism when you don’t have the numbers or support for either. In the meantime, the adults will doubtless be able to come up with policies and strategies to achieve a result which the majority will support, and which can negotiate the removal of WMD’s post independence despite the best efforts of the nutter fringe, rather than because of them.

Of course, if Putinistas like you had their way we’d be hosting your mate Vlad’s WMDs and asking for the protection of the Russian Federation post independence. 🙂

@Rev Stu

I would just like to remember some words of St Francis of Assisi which I think are really just particularly apt at the moment…. 🙂

PacMan.

That is the way it should be.

Let the leaders personally fight it out.
Spare the people and the planet.

Its the blood.. leaders causing all the problems.

This is one person that cannot see the point of governments enforcing people into lockdowns and vaccines to save lives from viruses.
then all governments joining up together to kill those same ordinary people. By dragging them into war.

And if our leaders are not careful the incitement they cause will promote some idiot to press the nuclear button.
How does that fit in with all the governments ideology on saving the planet from climate change?

Our leaders around the globe are all funnelling our hard earned taxes into the front door of one country, I wonder how much of our money is going straight out the back door.
There is no Track and Trace on that money, no receipts.

It is the governments choosing the wrong actions, but the people that are pawns.

Living and acting with common sense nowaday’s seems to be out of fashion the same way women and children are.

Mark Boyle says:

[Sorry this is a bit long winded, but hey at least it’s all in paragraphs!]

Thanks for taking the time to reply. Well done with the paragraphs.

I have played with nukemap too, at times; london detonations mostly. Anglos vaped is a bad thing, how? I fail to see the downside. D5s are small potatoes anyway, we should up the ante –

I hope an indy Scotland gets itself a doomsday device – 500M cobalt salted H bomb, to kiil all life on earth

link to youtube.com

everyone thought Strangelove was outrageous satire, but when you do the reading – Teller, Rand, LeMay – it was more of a documentatry. Strangelove’s accent and involuntary hand movments a tip to Operation Paperclip – nazi tech for new passports – Kubrick was a connected guy and knew things; telling us, way back, the US deep state was riddled with nazi technocrats.

Project Orion was a plan to use nuclear bombs as rocket propellants – Freeman Dyson did all the maths, but I don’t think he realised the air force he was working for simply intended to not fly to the planets, just hang in orbit, a space station full of nukes. JFK clocked this immediately and shut it down, perhaps another of the varied reasons they decided to kill him. The Death Star idea may have come from this. The formation of NASA, the moon programme, was really a failed swords to ploughshares program which JFK thought would keep the contractors happy.

Rumour has it the next cunning plan from NATO is to say “putin is losing the war – he will go nooclear” – and thus do the world’s first “false flag” nuke; this is an innovation in evil not seen since the Gladio program had govts blow up their own people for psychological effect. Ukrainians getting involved in the neocon proxy war is the dumbest move, ever. Zelensky is clearly a sellout, loyal to a foreign power, but our Nikki is no better.

The really impressive thing about America is how they, after liberally democratising humanely intervening, they can create what looks like atomic destruction, without the use of nukes.

“I can’t believe its not nuclear”.

youtu.be/Yo6mDqw-rhA?t=316

Scotland may be lost, but interesting that another small European country that many in our movement would like to emulate seems to be finding a new path, supported by a crushing majority of its people, and over a very short period.

Finnish support for NATO membership has risen 14% since March. From 53% in February to 62% in March to 76% in May. That figure rises to 83% in the event Sweden also decides to join. The huge majority also appears to be bipartisan, covering left wing parties, the Greens and right wing parties too, as well as the party representing the Swedish minority.

I wonder what the figures would be for post indy Scotland?

link to yle.fi

Scotland is not lost.
We have lost leaders with any integrety though.
The next leaders are the Scottish people working together.

And we should be suspending or ending the treaty of the union which i may add the english parliament admits to delibrately not including by avoiding asking them to vote in 1706/ 1707

Ach, on the positive side. If you survived the nuclear blast you *may get epic sized cook themselves veg what with the radioactive mutations.
That’ll be a totes bonus what with rising fuel and energy prices.
* or may not…

IIRC the insurance loss coverage for a nuclear related industry accident is ridiculously low.

If a nuclear holocaust hit the entire planet, The Herald, Daily Record and Scotland Today’s editorial slant would still be “yes, but how does this affect Rangers?”

sarah says:
11 May, 2022 at 1:53 pm

@ Ruby at 1.33: it used to be the norm to precede an off topic comment with “O/T” so people could scroll past if they wanted to read ON topic comments only.

I’m proposing many topics even a site where reader can start their own topic.

There are many sites which allow you to upload content. You can upload an article even link a photo/s and there is a facility below for other readers to comment.

Obviously you need the site to be set up & maintained also moderated. The setting up of the site could be easy enough as I believe there are many templates available for this sort of site.

This does not need to be done by just one person there could be a group of people moderating & maintaining the site. This could all be done by volunteers working shifts.

Do you fancy a shift as moderator Sarah?