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Taking the biscuit

Posted on January 16, 2016 by

teacakes

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82 to “Taking the biscuit”

  1. Malky
    Ignored
    says:

    This should get the hacks yapping.

  2. Donald Anderson
    Ignored
    says:

    Jim Murphy Heroically Drank Irn Bru and Alex Salmond, Dastard, Ate My Hamster.

    None of hysterical daily Onionist report how Cheezy Dugdale, Jackie Belly and Wee Wullie Rennie eat humble pie every day at FMQT,

  3. Ghillie
    Ignored
    says:

    Bowiegate

  4. Hugh Kirk
    Ignored
    says:

    Pretty well sums it up.

  5. Robert Peffers
    Ignored
    says:

    Oh! Jings! The MSM are starting to publish believable stories at long last. About time too. Perhaps a new era of truth and honesty is dawning at last.

  6. Ken500
    Ignored
    says:

    John Lennon’s holiday breaks. Tax exile. McCartney’s ‘wee highland hame’@ Mull o’ Kintyre. Jumpy Jack flash, tax exile hiding behind settee. Outstaying the welcome from the French chateau. Take That car crash recovery schemes. They can compose a good tune but have a good composition on tax evasion. Blondie’s manager took 25%. Not a good portfolio. The Non Dom tax evaders own the Press. Cameron/Osbourne’s best pals.

    The BBC propaganda has destroyed the world.@ Bowiegate. The Pearly gates are a leveller. You can’t take it with you. Make heaven on earth by sharing it out a bit. That might save the world. Severly disabled people bathing in paddling pools. How coarse is that, Take that and Cilla. A bit of siller shared out might have been a better game for a laugh or help for the blind. A date with destiny. The fate of the BBC.

  7. Lollysmum
    Ignored
    says:

    Don’t get your hopes up Robert. Its never going to happen 🙂

    Nice one Chris- neatly demonstrating the press’ ability to suppress the really important news in favour of the production of contrived mince.

  8. Grouse Beater
    Ignored
    says:

    Chris’s cartoons are getting subtler. I’m glad he’s on our side.

  9. Ruglonian
    Ignored
    says:

    Spot on Chris 😀

    Noticing the CIA report getting chucked in the bin made me consider – if there was a MAJOR story to break regarding our government/intelligence services who would do it (where’s our Woodward & Bernstein) and who would believe it, given the current state of the UK media?
    It’s truly a sad state of affairs, and people deserve better. Sometimes I think that Wings is the only thing that’s keeping us collectively sane!

  10. jim watson
    Ignored
    says:

    That is a vicious cartoon, everyone knows Bowie was a caramel wafer guy…

  11. X_Sticks
    Ignored
    says:

    Incredible how much you can say in one small cartoon Chris.

    Our wonderful ‘Scottish’ press in a nutshell.

  12. Ken500
    Ignored
    says:

    Just don’t trust the Greens They would rather canoodle with Unionists for empty cycle paths and a fat remuneration, than finance overnight accommodation for the homeless. No provision by ACC. Homeless people are sleeping at the beach in zero sub temperatures. Thanks to Millionaire 8 property Unionist Councillor, who also harrassing the Travellers and want,beggars put in prison. Blames the SNP (for everything) for not having by-Laws for arresting beggars. Beggars belief.

    Imagine voting Unionist in Scotland. Beggars belief. A Scottish Unionist ‘Daily Mail’ reader, at the Referedum, once ranted. ‘Scotland were country of beggars and would always be in poverty. The SNP were ‘Natz’s. There was no Oil. Etc, etc.’ They had no Internet access and were totally brainwashed. Pitiful. Beggars belief.

  13. ronnie anderson
    Ignored
    says:

    @ Ruglonian [ the only thing that’s keeping us collectively sane!] Speak fur yerself Gillian. Ah held oan tae ah wee bit o ma Insanity, tae see me through this coming indy campain LoL.

  14. galamcennalath
    Ignored
    says:

    A great cartoon on a cold Saturday morning.

    The press and traditional media are crap, basically. I’m sure they always have been.

    20-30-40 years ago, I was aware that then a story involved something I actually knew quite a lot about first hand, the reporting was poor. At best inaccurate and superficial. At worst they had got the wrong end of the stick, or were intentionally lying or covering up.

    Look back at the Thatcher regime and what we all now know about it. Government completely out of control and frequently acting illegally. I have no recollections of shock horror investigative journalism covering its behaviour, nor the government being held to account publicly.

    In UKOKland the press aren’t part of the wider system of democracy, they are suppressors and manipulators acting against democracy.

    There’s a big difference right now in Scotland. That is, unlike in the past, a majority now see traditional media for what it is.

  15. Famous15
    Ignored
    says:

    I keep hoping a modern day Scot in the public service would blow the whistle on how Scotland is being shafted by the agents of government. Perhaps like in my day Scots out Britted the Brits to get a decent career and even those who did not start out that way at least acted in that way as money pressures for home and family made cowards of them.

    Never underestimate the power of our imperial masters but the misuse of that power will see their decline and fall. Courage my friends!

  16. X_Sticks
    Ignored
    says:

    Pretty much on topic..

    Prof John Robertson has an excellent article on media bias on Newsnet:

    http://newsnet.scot/?p=116240&cpage=1#comment-601740

  17. Capella
    Ignored
    says:

    Well if it was written by the CIA you might as well bin it.

    The first time I heard anyone use the term “conspiracy theorists” was Dick Cheney at a press conference rubbishing the idea that 9/11 was an inside job. That clinched it for me!

  18. John H.
    Ignored
    says:

    Ken500 8.59am.

    ‘You can’t take it with you. Make heaven on earth by sharing it out a bit. That might save the world.’

    That’s the one lesson Cameron and the other fat cats seem to be incapable of learning.

  19. Andrew Mclean
    Ignored
    says:

    Was Bowie not known as the thin white duke, not the fat white duke? I would be so bold to suggest that tells me his relationship with biscuits was fleeting at best!

  20. Gary45%
    Ignored
    says:

    Nice one Chris, to the point as usual.

  21. Wuffing Dug
    Ignored
    says:

    The corporate unionist media ARE hurting, their influence is waning, the beast is dying, slowly and in its in great pain, a joy to behold.

    They suffer severe job cuts and they still stay on the same agenda. Am beginning to believe that they are receiving indirect funding from the British state.

    How can such a loss leading enterprise survive? It can’t.

    I hope one of the offending titles folds soon and sends shock waves across the unionist corporate media.

    The whole corrupt unionist ‘news’ construct needs torn down, it needs to be stamped out, they have crossed the line again and again.

    There is no place for them in modern civic society, they actively seek to provoke, marginalise and compromise any individual or organisation that deviates from their controlling narrative.

    Case in point: shrieking, hysterical ‘journalists’ being challenged on twitter. Their responses tell you everything you need to know.

    The new media (for the minute) is Wings, twitter, Facebook and people’s blogs.

    ‘Journalists’ are plundering people’s blogs to construct articles. Disgusting. They are the lowest of the low.

    No morals, no sense of justice, no conscience, no integrity. Repulsive.

    I had a word with someone this week, he was reading the P and J. Horrible pamphlet. Total doom and gloom about the oil industry and other dour news of hopelessness and despair.

    I asked him – do you believe in that? The pontifications of some hack patsy?

    Hopefully another new media convert.

  22. dakk
    Ignored
    says:

    Superb Chris,best yet.

    Scotland’s British unionist media to a T.

    Or should I say a tea- cake 🙂

  23. heedtracker
    Ignored
    says:

    Could be any great British news room too, with any henchman ed, Ligger Neil, BBC vote SLab Scotland crew, especially that outfit, Rupert Carrell of rancid The Graun, Kelvin MacKenzie, the emetic lechers and pervs at the Heil, triple named Torygraph upper class twit/liars, its an endless UKOK line up.

  24. Capella
    Ignored
    says:

    I see Mike Small has complained about us cultists wanting to silence the new politics. Now before you wade in – just think how much the Unionists would love a turf war to break out amongst Independence supporters. Resist!

    http://bellacaledonia.org.uk/2016/01/16/shsh-for-indy/

  25. Bob Mack
    Ignored
    says:

    Agree with everyone so far.The media are contrary to what we should expect. No sense of balanced reporting, fairness, or impartiality. They are the lungs of the State trying to breathe life into a terminal Union.

    They must be getting financial support from the State ,otherwise they would have changed tack long ago.

    The mug on the Editors desk has become their byword and their mission statement. Mugs for mugs.

    Great cartoon Chris. Brilliant yet somehow sad that we have lost something that years ago I used to treasure as part of my daily life ,with coffee and toast in the morning.

    I now have Wings.

  26. Bill Hume
    Ignored
    says:

    Yes indeed Bob. Coffee, toast and Wings every morning. Mind you, it’s a beggar getting the crumbs out of the keyboard.

  27. Ken500
    Ignored
    says:

    EVEL doesn’t resolve the relevant issues. Scotland’s total Budget is decided by Westminster policy. Scotland is out voted 10 to 1 in Westminster. That is evil. Scotland get’s policies a majority didn’t vote for and a reduced available Budget, on account of it.

    Unionists want a consensus that doesn’t exist. The working class in England vote Tory. The Greens want a consensus that doesn’t exist. Geeens in England vote Tory. Nat Goldsmith.

    The Greens advocate just slapping a land tax on wealthy estate/landowners. That could affect everyone else. The whole economy. It could put up the price of land for everybody. Put up house prices. Land is except from tax to keep farms together. Larger farms produce more. Food productions could fall. Exports of food stuffs could reduce. What is gained on the roundabout could be lost on the swings. There are other ways of tackling/solving the problem.

    When the problem is tax evasion which is a Westminster responsibility. i.e Tax Law is not enforced for the wealthiest. A Land Tax is not progressive. It would not solve the problem of poorer, income single people living in larger properties or wealthier people living on less land. Progressive tax is fairer and income based.

    That is why the SNP administration proceeds with caution. Exercising caution with responsibility. An obsessed Green, with a huge ego who likes publicity would not be held responsible for any unforeseen consequences. Consequences which could have a negative effect on the whole economy. .

  28. carjamtic
    Ignored
    says:

    That JFK folder…..would land on top of a huge pile of folders.

    nae mair,nae mair……

    Scotland has built up an immunity to all of this,some might say we are now ‘unfuckwithable’

    I say work in progress….’mak the vile barracks o’ their maisters bare’

  29. Almannysbunnet
    Ignored
    says:

    This cartoon is as clever as the latest Bella article is depressing! “Shsh for Indy” with a photo of a Scottish teacake. Very corp medie. Nothing worse than the feeling of betrayal by an attack from within. I don’t take kindly to being labeled an enthusiastic acolyte, unquestioningly lapping up Stu’s output. I question everything. I question who is going to be happier with your latest “article”. I suspect the unionists will be tickled pink. Nae mair oh my pennies for you Mr Small.

    SNP 1-2

  30. handclapping
    Ignored
    says:

    Great cartoon again Chris. Should we gather that you did not enjoy life as a journalist?

    Say what you like about the “Church” but they have centuries of experience of human nature – ‘we have left undone those things that we ought to have done and there is no health in us’.

  31. Calum McKay
    Ignored
    says:

    Is this really beyond belief?

    You have an economic crash caused by the rich that benefited the rich that the poor paid (and still are) for.

    There is a uk government that spends money killing people in foreign lands (again the poor pay for this too), and when people from these lands are displaced and want to come here, no is the response and more bombing the answer.

    You have a uk government who oversee disabled people living in conditions you would not have a dog living in and would rather spend money on trident, a weapon that can never be used. Guess what, poor people pay for this too!

    I for one have no expectations of Scottish journalists or state broadaster to be other that incompetent buffoons with their eye off the main stories whilst doing their utmost to bring down something good in Scottish society.

  32. call me dave
    Ignored
    says:

    That’s about the size of it right enough! Spot on.

    Crumbs!… you get a wee PC vacuum thingy for £1 in ..err… Poundland, two interchangeable heads, works fine too.

    Some selected cameos in the Herald. Galloway offers to come home?

    https://archive.is/8YX3N

    PS:

    Just caught the last 5 minutes of this in the car, didn’t laugh
    but interesting. May give it a go on I player after the footie.

    Lewis Macleod hosts a mock news show satirising the rolling news agenda and the reporting of established stories such as benefit reform, immigration and Scottish independence.

    Coverage of Jeremy Corbyn, independence referendum triggers and Alex Salmond’s phone-in show.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06vmx2y#play

  33. Bob Mack
    Ignored
    says:

    @Almannysbunnet,

    Saw the article in Bella. Boy, if ever I read a piece which expressed envy and jealousy then this was it. The writer is full of their self importance and is doing just in effect what the mainstream media does.i.e. attack what is causing your frustration .It is more about self indulgence rather than the ability to see the bigger picture.

    It is not the fault of the Rev or anyone else people will vote SNPX2.It is a natural choice. Yet again, envy raises its head within the independence movement. Perhaps some of the scenes in Braveheart were indeed accurate.

    I will stick to wings from now on

  34. Luigi
    Ignored
    says:

    If you really want a glimpse of how much truth-twisting and news-blanking the BBC and ITV are up to, check out the Russian news sites:

    http://sputniknews.com/

    Are they also biased? Of course they are, but at least you get a more balanced picture. Take the middle east for example, the US barely able to hold back their out-of-control puppet regimes (Turkey and Saudi Arabia), still trying to convince people they are setting the agenda, whilst Putin is busy wiping out ISIS/Daesh (initially supported by the west to illegally change the regime in Syria). Only the Russians are there legally, by the way – no-one else was formally invited to interfere. Isreal quietly pinching oil from occupied Syrian territory etc. The whole things is a complete mess. And yet, with our corporate media all we get are stories of Russians bombing civilians, accompanied by completely unrelated images of casualties. A “recent”pic of a starving Syrian baby used recently was over two years old.

    You see, for the western media, it has to fit the:

    “Russia Bad”

    narrative. Sound familiar? Never mind, eat your tunnocks!

  35. frogesque
    Ignored
    says:

    No problem with RISE, or the Greens or, for that matter, SNP, Tories, SLAB or the other one campaigning for Their respective causes.

    As long as they do it honestly and on their own merits. With the SNP you get what it says on the tin, likewise the Tories (however distasteful the contents)

    Who are RISE, What do the Greens stand for, have SLAB anything constructive to say and does anyonone give a fig for the other one?

    SNP have a record of sound governance and fiscal probity with steady progress towards Indy. The Tories stand for the Union and private gain.

    It’s clear, it’s simple let RISE and the Greens (who I wish well) do the hard miles, get some (in the case of the Greens, more) experience at local level then go full out for Parliamentary seats at Holyrood and WM. They are relative newcomers and need some bass notes to their shrill trebble.

    The SNP has been on a long journey with setbacks, successes and progress from a quirky laughingstock to a full blooded able party with a proven record. They are the closest to my personal dreams and have the best chance of fulfilling them.

    The long term goal is Indy but meanwhile the SNP show what they can do with very limited powers. It gives them strenght, roundness and a credibility that none of the other parties have.

    SNP for your local nemed candidate
    SNP for the party to represent you on the regional list.

    You know it makes sense!

  36. Joemcg
    Ignored
    says:

    Just think if we had a real Scottish media not influenced by English/British owners we would have scooshed that vote. Makes you wanna tear your hair out.

  37. Fred
    Ignored
    says:

    @ Ken500, The vast majority of Scotland’s land is of no use whatsoever for housing purposes, it’s made up of sporting estates, most of which produces nothing but grouse, when did you last have grouse? John Major lifted sporting land out of taxation to please his Tory chums and generally they’re are not held to make profits, their wealthy owners hold them for purposes of tax-avoidance/hospitality/speculation/vanity or just milking the rest of us by the generous system of grants. Land taxes are levied on Scottish land right now but only in the case of wealthy Danish citizens who incredibly pay land taxes to Copenhagen for their Scottish estates, we get bugger-all and the infrastructure for all these estates (roads,bridges,police,fire,education & health services are paid for by “us!”

    The notion that larger agricultural units produce more is also mistaken, small intensively-worked units produce more per acre and employ more labour. You could do worse than check out Andy Wightman’s website “Land Matters”.

  38. Petra
    Ignored
    says:

    ‘Yeah whatever. How’s the ”Bowie ate Tunnochs Tea Cakes ………….”investigation coming along?’

    You forgot the ‘force fed to him by Alex Salmond’ ……SNP Baad part, Chris.

  39. Muscleguy
    Ignored
    says:

    @Ken500

    With any tax how high it is for who or what is a separate issue than the nature of the tax itself. Do you really think that sensible intelligent people would put up food prices and endanger the rural economy by a swingeing tax on farming?

    What a land value tax is levied on and the level and what exemptions there are determine such things, it is not a magic farming killing thing.

    And besides it would not increase the total tax take any more than a local income tax would be on top of the Council Tax (it would replace it, much more progressive). An LVT can be used to ensure land is productive (with exemptions for parks and reserves) preventing industrial sprawl, ending land banking by supermarkets and house builders. To hold unproductive land would be to lose money. At the moment there is no penalty to doing so and in many cases tax breaks available. Do you think these land banks would exist if they cost lots to hold?

    An LVT encourages landowners to make money from the land to cover the tax and hopefully more. You could either set it peppercorn for residential property or tax by footprint and occupancy to encourage density and inhibit sprawl. If you want to live in a big house with a huge garden for just you and a couple of others, fine. But it will cost you. That sort of thing.

    Please try and understand things instead of kneejerk reacting to them.

  40. bookie from hell
    Ignored
    says:

    Sir Malcolm Bruce on BBC big debate radio said

    I never said the case for Scottish Independence was based on oil

    REALLY

    http://www.scottishoilclub.org.uk/020322.htm

  41. Macnakamura
    Ignored
    says:

    Freddie Mercury resisted Bowie’s attempts to record their duet entitled “Under Prestwick”.

  42. BeardedFool
    Ignored
    says:

    Bella Caledonia is a site full of opinions, often long winded opinions. Many are insightful and thought provoking. I find it interesting to read. But at times I find it a bit up its own backside. But I am sure many people would disagree. I prefer Wee Ginger Dug for clever and passionate articles that aren’t fact heavy.

    On the other hand, WoS is more about facts and logic with a bit of humour thrown in. I find the Rev usually bases his sometimes blunt responses on those three points, rather than from the heart. It seems some of the soft souls at Bella think this is bullish and arrogant. Fuck them.

    But ultimately, who cares? Why are people trying to divide the communities? We all have the same ultimate goal in mind – doesn’t mean we need to share the same views on the details. Some people are falling into the hands of the rather tried and tested British approach of divide and conquer. Smarten up.

    Back on topic – love this latest cartoon. These provide a nice bit of light comedic relief that are much needed after trawling (not trolling) the various media sources.

  43. Ian Brotherhood
    Ignored
    says:

    Genuine query – are any Wings regulars members of RISE? I’m not talking about SSP members who’ve ‘become’ members (whether they wanted to or not). Rather, members of the original RIC.

    If any of you are there, why don’t you come out and deal with what Schrodingers Cat and others have been saying?

    No matter how much I may agree with SC, I can’t come right out and say it. Not yet. But this continual kicking of the SSP is intolerable. The SSP is ‘my’ party in the same way that Ireland ‘belonged’ to the dude in Braveheart, and I know plenty of members who feel likewise. The simple fact that no-one seems to feel similarly about RISE speaks volumes – where are you, ‘comrades’?

    It’s possible I’ve missed your posts – no-one can keep across every comment – but given the size of the WOS readership there must be at least a handful who are already known here, or lurkers who can answer some of the legitimate questions being raised.

  44. heedtracker
    Ignored
    says:

    Another BBC display of UKOK democracy from Bath this time on BBC r4 Question Time, UKOK wide issues, huge shifts in UKOK away from nukes etc, complete and utter BBC black of their Scotland region, the country actually behind it all.

    Scotland’s and Scottish democracy’s a lot like black holes to the UKOK freak show, we only they exist because of how they influence everything around them.

    But we did vote NO to keep our chums in the south making the big decisions for us, for safety and security and by christ is the UKOK media led BBC holding us to it.

    Also, Anne Widdecombe is a Bathonian.

    Oh wait someone in Fife, English listener, just called phone in BBC r4 anyanswers to boost for UKOK Trident, shock, you never know what’s going to happen in the UKOK future wars.

  45. Cuilean
    Ignored
    says:

    The BBC is not allowed to advertise private products. Why, then, does it breach this rule, by advertising privately-owned, profit-orientated newspapers in ‘What The Papers Say’ nightly?

    The BBC knows “there are other news outlets available” so why, if impartial, does it not cover all outlets? The show could be called, ‘What The Papers & Social Media Say’?

    The BBC should cover Wings Over Scotland, (compare WoS viewers to paper readers) if it cared about ‘impartiality’ on BBC Trust regulations on reporting news and reflecting cultural values.

    The ‘Beeb’ ceased long ago (if it ever was) to be a benign’Auntie’. It is ‘Nurse Ratched’ (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest) to Scotland’s independence, keeping Scotland locked in the UKOK Mental Asylum with threats of punishment and when that fails, by doping & thereafter lobotomizing the truth with ‘medication time, medication’ a la ‘Jackie Bird, working us over nightly.

    As McMurphy would say, (paraphrasing here), ‘Jesus, Scotland must be crazy to be in a loony bin like this.’

  46. Grouse Beater
    Ignored
    says:

    Your weekend readings: ‘The Revenant’

    https://grousebeater.wordpress.com/2016/01/16/the-revenant-a-review/

    DiCaprio goes in search of an Oscar.

  47. yesindyref2
    Ignored
    says:

    @Ian Brotherhood: “But this continual kicking of the SSP is intolerable. “

    I agree Ian, the SSP get lumped in with RISE. I heard nothing but good about the SSP Indy Ref campaigning efforts from my local SNP branch. Same though about RIC.

  48. Bob Mack
    Ignored
    says:

    @Grouse beater,

    Is The Revenant not a rehash of the Richard Harris film “Man in the Wilderness ?”.

    Not sure ,but I am unlikely to go and see it in person.

  49. Grouse Beater
    Ignored
    says:

    Bob: “Is The Revenant not a rehash of the Richard Harris film “Man in the Wilderness?”

    Not quite, but close. The point is, the storyline is so basic it’s like so many other revenge dramas we’ve seen. The cinematography and the acting quality raises it way, way above the average.

  50. Grouse Beater
    Ignored
    says:

    “The BBC is not allowed to advertise private products.”

    1. Product placement is everywhere.
    2. Reality shows are commercials for the company recorded.
    3. Every business man invited to talk about his company’s success is a commercial.
    4. Every celebrity with a new book or film is a commercial.
    5. Every sponsored game or advert on and around the pitch is a commercial.

    The BBC tossed away the rules about no advertising years ago. There are some field games unwatchable because ‘RBS’ sits middle of the pitch, trompe-l’oeil, in your face.

  51. frogesque
    Ignored
    says:

    Grouse Beater:

    You forgot, every EBC North British news is product placement for D. R. and SLAB#SNPBAD

  52. HandandShrimp
    Ignored
    says:

    I keep getting Herald stuff on my Facebook time line. Never read the paper any more but if the time line is anything to go by the Herald has gone into SNPbad overdrive.

    It smells of desperation. It must break their hearts to see the polls stuck at a massive SNP win. It must also break their hearts that they don’t have a credible opposition to support so are reduced to ridiculous, ineffective, negative propaganda pieces.

    The only thing in decline is their journalistic credibility.

  53. Ian Brotherhood
    Ignored
    says:

    @yesindyref2 –

    Cheers.

    Just read your comment over on BellaC – I don’t know what rattled Mike Small’s cage, but that article is just one more example of the type of thing which has decent left-wingers tearing out their hair.

    If the SSP/RISE/Green heid bummers cannot see how much they are damaging one another with this posturing then they don’t deserve to have ANY representation – they are embarrassing themselves and putting their parties’ supporters in an impossible situation whereby we’re being expected to adopt faux antagonism towards those who intend to vote SNPX2 (for perfectly obvious and understandable reasons) whilst claiming to be more ‘indy’ than them because the SNP hasn’t yet made a solid indyref2 commitment?!?

    It’s a ludicrous exercise in doublethink which many of us are simply not prepared to perform any longer and we should not be afraid to say so. If the rot is to be stopped and the ‘Yes’ movement revitalised in time for May we have to send that message to those party leaders and well-kent faces who seem content to play blind-man’s buff instead of organising the final push to rid ourselves of rancid WM rule once and for all.

  54. Valerie
    Ignored
    says:

    Anyone else finding the Bella piece deeply ironic, in view of the fact that people are deleted or censored?

    A person – James Coleman – has just said he will publish on Twitter, as his comment was censored. This week Peter Bell said he had comments deleted, and I have no reason to not believe these folk, it’s happening a lot now.

    The Unionists must be wetting themselves laughing.

  55. Alastair
    Ignored
    says:

    Today’s grip.
    600 jobs lost at BP 600 zillion jobs could be lost at Fastlane
    But But But commentators should differentiate between –
    “Jobs in Scotland and Scottish Jobs.”

  56. Ian Brotherhood
    Ignored
    says:

    @Valerie –

    Just for reference, where did Peter Bell say that?

    Cheers.

  57. HandandShrimp
    Ignored
    says:

    I don’t see a lot of point at nipping at Bella and other sites. We are aren’t all going to agree on every policy or tactic but we do all want to move forward.

    Leave the in fighting and blood letting to Labour – they have the experience and enthusiasm for that sort of thing.

  58. arthur thomson
    Ignored
    says:

    Regarding the issue with Rise and the second vote, I don’t think we need worry. It is the Scottish electorate who will decide the outcome of the Holyrood election, not political activists, and the electorate know that the SNP are a country mile ahead of all the opposition. The Scottish electorate will never vote for either extreme right or extreme left wing politics. Contrary to the opinions of those at each end of the spectrum, the majority of the electorate are not daft.

  59. Kenny
    Ignored
    says:

    I finally got round to reading the Bowie “Scotland, stay with us” quote in its context. To me, it sounded just like Bowie wanted to say something “relevant” at the end, just like you would maybe say something like “Vive la France” after the Paris attacks or the like.

    I think it was then blown up out of all proportions by the unionist press, eager to have ANYTHING to fill a column with an anti-indy sentiment.

    Like when the Queen allegedly said in a private conversation “I hope everyone will think very carefully” on the eve of indyref1. The Guardian went hysterical, rapidly writing TWO pro-queenie articles all along the lines of “Queen comes out for NO vote” and with the sentiment of “we knew the old girl wouldn’t let us down, god bless ya maaam.”

    P.S. “The BBC is not allowed to advertise private products”… So why do they never stop mentioning “Facebook” like it is a public institution? I also have a website with its own distinct name and would love it to be mentioned….

    Can you imagine them asking: “Are you on Wings over Scotland?” in the way they ask: “Are you on Facebook”?!? But I would love to answer that way if I was ever interviewed by Jackie Bird, just to see her mean wee face pucker!

  60. K1
    Ignored
    says:

    I read that piece on Bella. This is what drives ordinary people away from political engagement. Ego’s fighting for position within a ‘manufactured’ context.

    There is no ‘one party state’. There is no ‘rise in nationalism’. There are no Wings ‘acolytes’.

    This is all intellectual masturbation. You can’t convince people not to see what they see by telling them they aren’t seeing what you think they ‘should’ be seeing.

    We have to have an SNP majority in Holyrood to maintain the trajectory toward independence.

    To use the tiresome but effective analogy one more time: The SNP are merely the vehicle. If we have learned anything in these last few years, it is that we, ordinary folks, can decide who we want as our representatives in WM and Holyrood. From May’s results it is clear that we chose from a wide array of contenders from the Indy movement: stand out candidates who reflected our outlook on social policy and who are 100% for independence.

    Rise, imo, are a distraction and potentially divisive element that has suddenly emerged several months before our own SG election. Rather than produce and promote a clear manifesto outlining their policies in detail…costings ‘n all, the public output from them seems overtly focused on ‘oppositional to the SNP’ just because there ‘has to be seen to be opposition to the SNP’.

    This is why they are being ‘granted’ increased media exposure: they are in essence formulating their existence upon a premise that is espoused ad nauseum by the unionist parties and the corpmedia.

    They are feeding into that ‘meme’ and are now complaining when anyone questions them about this aspect of their ‘campaigning’. Deflecting the attention from this crucial point by accusing anyone who can ‘see’ this aspect as being blinded by adherence to ‘nationalism’, or of being ‘acolytes’ etc etc.

    Now…where have we heard those descriptors before?

    By all means vote for who or what party you feel reflects your views etc. But don’t be ‘manipulated’ by some intellectual contortionists telling you that you’re being manipulated by effective governance whose main raison d’etre aligns with your own: Independence.

    SNP x 2

  61. Croompenstein
    Ignored
    says:

    Nice one Chris. There are still some who believe one guy murdered JFK.

  62. schrodingers cat
    Ignored
    says:

    the problem for the ssp/greens is their failure to read the runes, the indy referendum campaign has never really stopped and party politics is a secondary issue to the drive for indy

    in normal times, criticism, valid or otherwise, is an accepted part of party politics in Scotland. but we are not in normal times. eg, during the ref, it was acceptable, even desirable for eg, Patrick Harvey to critise the snp policy on currency union, it highlighted the diversity of the yes campaign and showed up the unionist claims that the yes campaign was just the snp.

    any criticism of the snp is now seen as a direct attack on the indyref2 campaign and an attempt to jump on the #snpbad meme.

    im pretty certain that many of the snp voters would quite happily vote green/ssp, if we were in a normal situation. but were aren’t so party politics is taking second billing behind the on going indy campaign.
    How many times do you hear people say that party politics, eg greens/ssp etc must wait until after indy?

    whether you like him or not, tommy Sheridan was the only leader of the smaller indy parties to realise this. the first announcement from rise was to exclude solidarity,

    Ian brotherhood is right, the only people who can help the greens and rise are themselves, some advice for them

    1. if they feel it is necessary to stand candidates in constituencies, then chose the ones where the snp have a huge majority, eg Nicola sturgeons seat, not in the borders where the best you can do is split the vote and allow a unionist to win

    2. if you are asking snp voters to lend you their list votes to minimise the number of unionist list msps then you need to accept that the same argument and logic to vote snp1&2 in the south of Scotland region also applies. don’t stand any list candidates in this region either

    3. rise/greens and solidarity need to agree, for all your own sakes, not to stand against each other in any region

  63. Ian Brotherhood
    Ignored
    says:

    Still not one genuine RISE member prepared to come here and ‘help’ explain/discuss what’s going on?

    Not even one?

  64. Cherry
    Ignored
    says:

    I maybe way off the mark here, but, is it not what the unionist does best …divide and cause unrest. There seems to be, to me at least, sum degree of orchestrated stories popping up within Indy. Why should any of us feel surprised even betrayed by what’s happening on Bella, or anywhere.

    We, each of us are aware of what is at stake here. We are right bang in the middle of project fear the epilogue! Obviously like any good unionist group/ring there has to be “sleepers” who are now showing their hands. To lose Scotland is NOT what matters to them, it’s making sure that THEY cripple our economy, damage our International standing, make us look as unappealing as cold vomit to the world. This is “then they come to fight us” bit and we have to stand firm, TOGETHER, or we might as well just hand them the keys! We are swaying in the wind right now. Somehow the word has to be spread to stand your ground, let them throw whatever it is at us…we are at war! Albeit a keyboard war, only one egg has been thrown in anger(and imo was a setup) that really pisses them off coz all they know is war…getting one over on johnny foreigner what! Be under no illusion we are foreign to them.

    What I can’t understand is how can oor ain folk be still under the grotesque spell of these people. What is the marker at which you can sell yourself and your family down the swanee. I am more convinced than ever that certain folk have been just waiting for their call to come in!

    I watched a film on Anthony Blunt earlier, it’s what got me thinking…if Russia could recruit from THE most prominent of universities why not mi5/6 do the same in Scottish universities. These Scots would not have been from the wealthier families as they would be already under the establishment thumb. Young impressionable poorer victims drawn into the warm embrace of HMG. Promised who knows what but making certain that they will do well, until the day they have to give their soul to the empire. Too much? Maybe I’ve read too many John Le Carre.

    Great cartoon Chris, missing Hamish tho!

    SNP X 2

  65. Brian McHugh
    Ignored
    says:

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-35323736

    BBC News propaganda out in the open for all to see…
    Quote;”Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale has called on trade unionists to ‘unite against SNP cuts to local councils’.”

    “Unionists”???

    Here is me thinking that they were ‘Trade Unions’ …and I also believe that a Tory MP was quickly reminded within the last week that it was not the ‘Scottish Nationalist Party’.

    Keep them coming BBC… You continue to discredit yourselves and further our cause.

  66. Thepnr
    Ignored
    says:

    The fact that commentators on RISE fail to see that they are damaging themselves by publishing articles such as todays on Bella is for me at least, very sad.

    The left in Scotland does not appear to be in a good place at the moment despite the hard work done by the SSP, RIC and Tommy Sheridans Solidarity.

    Seems like business as usual, a failure to agree on strategy, a failure to work with both the Greens and the SNP. We that read Wings also appear pretty much divided on this business.

    I’m not surprised, as for Wings readers and commentators I would hope that it is all about the main goal. Independence, nothing else. At least that is how I see it. I will continue to support the SSP through my monthly subs as I think that is the right thing to do. I do see them as being capable of contributing to the common good of the people of Scotland.

    It’s a bit of a shame that this infighting has arisen just before the Holyrood election. RIC and the SSP done a fantastic job in getting people out to vote, particularly in those areas well known for not bothering to vote.

    The Independence movement has a lot to thank them for and I unreservedly do. I guess nerves are just too frayed at the moment. If tactical voting with the purpose of ridding Holyrood of Unionists is the goal then we need cooperation rather than bickering.

    Guess that some will just have to learn the hard way.

  67. Broch Landers
    Ignored
    says:

    Bang! Nailed it again.

    Next!

  68. Nana
    Ignored
    says:

    Always a great cartoon from Chris.

    @Croompenstein

    Left a wee tune on off topic for you.

  69. Paula Rose
    Ignored
    says:

    Um – well OK I left the SNP to join RICE as I felt they had a credible right-wing set of policies and a forward looking thingie as regards Scotland and I won’t have anymore of this gnashing.

  70. yesindyref2
    Ignored
    says:

    @Valerie
    I’ve got to say I only had one posting deleted that I noticed a couple of weeks bacj, and I had put yesinsyref2 with an “s” instead of a “d” so it could have just been deleted as unknown or even potentially bogus.

    Perhaps the postings deleted are abusive in some way, I guess we’ll never know. Certainly Peter A Bell’s postings can be somewhat robust!

  71. Effijy
    Ignored
    says:

    “Five Years” (D.Bowie)

    Blushing Blue the market stocks
    so many pensions sighing
    News media fallen over,
    They had five years left to cry in.

    Labour guy wept and told us
    Westminster’s really dying
    Cried so much, his face regret,
    a career made all from lying

    We heard TVs, Print room,’n Radio fantasies
    I saw Lies, Scams, eclectic misinformation of various degrees
    My brain hurt in their scare house
    I had a bedroom to spare
    They had to ram so many taxes
    all scaremongering fare
    And all the fat-rich people, and all the non-dom people
    and the corporate people, against all Scottish people
    how they suppressed our culture and people

    A girl my age went off her head
    had some tiny children
    Man at the back turned her welfare off,
    I think he will have killed them

    A soldier with a broken gun, fixed his stare for the lack
    of a bayonet.
    A cop knelt and kissed goodbye to his pension deceased
    and a peodo peer felt safe with that
    I think I saw you in the House of Lords
    oblivious to peoples cold and forlorn
    Smiling and waving in Ermine so fine
    don’t think you knew you were doing wrong

    And it was coarse and you strained to distort every factor
    And I thought that Alba was never this disaster
    Your pace, your race, our resources blocked
    You kicked us, you bullied us, and wouldn’t let us talk

    We’ve got five years, to overcome your lies
    We’ve got five years, to open your eyes
    We’ve got five years, your reign hurts a lot
    We’ve got five years, an’ that’s all you’ve got

    (RIP David and uk Journalism!)

  72. Valerie
    Ignored
    says:

    @Ian Brotherhood

    Peter Bell said that on his FB page in relation to the Lobbying piece on Bella which tries to insinuate some dodgy dealings with Sturgeon, and employers attending a dinner at which she was invited to speak.

    Peter posted a response to the piece on his blog – Sotto Voce.

    @yesindyref, I have never found Peter to be anything but polite and articulate. If robust means – hard to fault – then that puts him in the same group as the Rev.

    I just find Mike Smalls piece disappointing. However, my pennies have more than enough homes to go to.

  73. Thepnr
    Ignored
    says:

    @Effijy

    Loved the original from the album Ziggy Stardust, your version was an improvement though 🙂

  74. Ian Brotherhood
    Ignored
    says:

    @Valerie –

    Cheers for that.

    I don’t ‘do’ FB, so I wouldn’t have seen it anyway, but I wouldn’t question Peter’s account – if BellaC really is censoring/deleting comments from stalwarts like Peter Bell then things have reached a sorry state indeed. 🙁

  75. Macart
    Ignored
    says:

    @Ian Brotherhood 3.51pm

    Well said fella.

  76. Macart
    Ignored
    says:

    @K1

    I agree, there is no one party state, nor is even any danger of one coming about. Just for once people are using politicians for their proper and intended function, rather than abuse normally suffered by the electorate the other way round and THAT is a good thing IMO.

    People see a competent government and a centrist party with a spread of policy they can all live with whilst a more important job of work is done.

    I have absolutely no doubt that once our constitutional future is finally settled with no dubiety, people will gravitate toward parties with more specific purpose and more suitable to their particular conscience. What will have changed radically, will be how people relate to those parties and how those parties will be expected to behave in future.

    For the moment though the current Scottish government is the ONLY vehicle which has the wherewithal and infrastructure to challenge the Westminster establishment.

  77. TJenny
    Ignored
    says:

    Ian B – hi there, the Rev’s posted a new article on this ‘The Eye Of Reality’ re the fringe parties chances on the list by region.

  78. yesindyref2
    Ignored
    says:

    @Ian Brotherhood
    I’ve tried a few times on Bella to warn them they’re being daft trying to fool SNP supporters, and that they’d be better being honest and asking for support on the basis that when SNP canvassers have someome who is fed up with Labour but hates the SNP they could suggest RISE or Greens.

    But they don’t seem to take a blind tack of notice, just persist with the false line that a lost vote for the SNP is wasted. Well, the campaign starts for real soon, and I think RISE have blown their chances.

  79. Macart
    Ignored
    says:

    @Yesindyref2

    Haven’t looked in on Bella for quite some time dads. I admired their more universal approach to voices from all corners, but of recent times it seemed to have become a bit of a sounding board for nat bashing and party positioning.

    Me? I wouldn’t dream of knocking the Greens, SSP or this new group RISE. Some folks never learn though and seem determined to run before they’ve learned to walk.

  80. Petra
    Ignored
    says:

    Simples? Maybe from a simpleton? ALL Scottish political parties that detest Westminster and want Independence for Scotland should do EVERYTHING in their power to support the ONLY party that has any chance of achieving such an objective. The SNP. If not they will go down in history as being the current members of the ‘Parcel of Rogues in a Nation’. And when we get our Independence we’ll remember them and they won’t EVER make any political headway in this Country at all. I for one am sick and tired of wee runts such as Cat (in the name) of RISE getting carried away with herself and her big ego to the detriment of Scotland and the Scots: now on a par with Dugdale, Davidson and Rennie.

  81. Robert Peffers
    Ignored
    says:

    @Lollysmum says: 16 January, 2016 at 9:03 am:

    “Don’t get your hopes up Robert. Its never going to happen”. 🙂

    What is true, it seems, is that sarcasm doesn’t come through too well on the internet. Here is a truth, though, I found out the truth about the BBC, and such as the Daily Record, when I was just a schoolboy in the 1940s. I haven’t believed a word from them ever since.



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