The world's most-read Scottish politics website

Wings Over Scotland



A decisive choice 264

Posted on August 26, 2014 by

Read the rest of this entry →

Picking up a buzz 172

Posted on May 01, 2014 by

Yesterday, we discovered a rather curious anti-independence “listicle” on the popular viral-meme website Buzzfeed. Entitled “Scotland. The UK. 10 Myths. 10 Facts.”, it describes itself as “myth busting” by an author identified only as “YouDecide2014”.

It was shared or retweeted by a variety of Conservative Party special advisers, the 10 Downing Street Facebook account, and even the UK Ministry of Defence.

sheepie

The crude, extremely biased article gives no indication that it’s written by the UK government. The closest it comes to doing so is right at the end, where it says “Get the facts at www.gov.uk/scottishreferendum. The Buzzfeed account page makes no reference to the UK government, and the layout makes the piece look like any normal article on the site, although in fact it’s posted on Buzzfeed Community, which is an area where users can post anything they want to without censorship.

We decided to find out more.

Read the rest of this entry →

How money changed everything 200

Posted on December 05, 2013 by

We all know there’s something strange about Britain. Germany and China have their factories, France and Japan their nuclear power plants. America has Google and Apple and the world’s largest navy. But how is it that Britain, a country that closed its mines and shuttered almost its entire manufacturing industry, is still a major world economy?

infra

The answer is Britain’s best-kept economic secret. It links Grangemouth, the obscene cost of housing in London, the Royal Mail sell-off, Channel Island tax havens and George Osborne’s disregard for the poor, and explains why an incomprehensible financial crisis triggered by bad American mortgages led to the closure of municipal libraries and swimming pools across the UK and a programme of permanent austerity.

And more to the point, it explains why only London, not Scotland or Wales or Yorkshire or Wearside, matters to the British political class today.

Read the rest of this entry →

  • About

    Wings Over Scotland is a (mainly) Scottish political media digest and monitor, which also offers its own commentary. (More)

    Stats: 6,764 Posts, 1,218,789 Comments

  • Recent Posts

  • Archives

  • Categories

  • Tags

  • Recent Comments

    • Stuart MacKay on What Anas Actually Said: “If only he were called Anastovich Sarwarov. Can you imagine the gnashing of teeth and rending of garments.May 29, 19:51
    • Red on What Anas Actually Said: ““Disappointed in Massie. On the right, but, usually, intelligent.” Lorn, Alex Massie is a Tory. The Tories are spineless cowards…May 29, 19:43
    • Alf Baird on What Anas Actually Said: “Though obscured in a colonial society, cultural imperialism is based on the racist superiority of one group over others (Edward…May 29, 19:28
    • Mia on Tell Them You’re Frightened: “I am wearing my cynic hat on right now. There is less than a year until the next Holyrood election.…May 29, 19:14
    • agent x on What Anas Actually Said: “West Asia (also called Western Asia or Southwest Asia) is the westernmost region of Asia. As defined by most academics,…May 29, 19:10
    • agent x on What Anas Actually Said: “South Asia is a subregion of Asia located between the Himalayas to the north and the Indian Ocean to the…May 29, 18:55
    • James on Tell Them You’re Frightened: “What’s sixth form? Are you foreign?May 29, 18:19
    • katielass42 on Tell Them You’re Frightened: “‘Change’… yes, we heard all that from labour – and look what we got. Until each party explains PRECISELY what…May 29, 18:10
    • twathater on What Anas Actually Said: “So thrope you only want certain truths to be highlighted or talked about, let’s all just ignore the BLATANT baiting…May 29, 18:00
    • Tartan Tory on What Anas Actually Said: “Hmmmm. Perhaps I should consider it then! That said, seeing some of their new crop of PPC’s, they may need…May 29, 17:49
    • agent x on What Anas Actually Said: ““Of those three, one is a current government minister, one is currently the leader of the main opposition party and…May 29, 17:46
    • Mark Beggan on What Anas Actually Said: “He won the competition that many time his mother was allowed to keep the trophy.May 29, 17:36
    • SusanAHF on What Anas Actually Said: “I agree AntonDMay 29, 17:16
    • Anton Decadent on What Anas Actually Said: “Glasgow Southside Central councillor Soriya Siddique stated that in Scottish councils there are too many “male, pale and stale” staff.…May 29, 16:50
    • Tommo on What Anas Actually Said: “I heard that the midwife slapped his mother..May 29, 16:46
    • Anton Decadent on What Anas Actually Said: “All they had to do previously was employ the smear tactic with career ending words aimed at those they targeted…May 29, 16:40
    • Lorn on What Anas Actually Said: “You may be right, Susan, but, to me, it seemed to be a power play that verged on racism. It…May 29, 16:19
    • Rev. Stuart Campbell on What Anas Actually Said: “If there’s only ONE article up by midnight I’ll be gutted.May 29, 16:09
    • Rev. Stuart Campbell on What Anas Actually Said: ““didn’t think you’d stoop to this stu. what a pity” To what, exactly?May 29, 16:06
    • Mark Beggan on What Anas Actually Said: “The only vote Sarwar ever won outright on his own merit was the Ugly Baby competition.May 29, 16:03
    • A on What Anas Actually Said: “I agree with Susan (and you, Lorn). The days of Muslims, Sturgeonite Transcultists, and Defenders of our imperial masters never…May 29, 15:59
    • Captain Caveman on What Anas Actually Said: “To be fair, Reform insist on having a “real” career, proven success record (eg owning a small business) etc if…May 29, 15:28
    • lothianlad on Tell Them You’re Frightened: “100% correct StuMay 29, 15:28
    • SilentMajority on Tell Them You’re Frightened: “Happy to admit that I am not as politically erudite as some commentators here, but ..if Swinney gets the win…May 29, 15:23
    • Den on What Anas Actually Said: “For the very reasons you outline so eloquently above, Scots will never elect a Muslim first minister they might have…May 29, 15:14
    • Owen Mullions on What Anas Actually Said: “And with a single bound, Stu’s stalker has immediately leapt into action on his Scot Goes Paranoid blog.May 29, 15:11
    • Dramfineday on What Anas Actually Said: “Hear, hear.May 29, 14:57
    • Liz on Tell Them You’re Frightened: “100% correctMay 29, 14:43
    • SusanAHF on What Anas Actually Said: “I agree wholeheartedly Lorn though I DO think he crossed the line into racismMay 29, 14:42
    • Northcode on What Anas Actually Said: “Good to see you’re still posting here, Confused. I missed your wit while away on ‘sabbatical leave’. Your comments, and…May 29, 14:40
  • A tall tale



↑ Top