The Biggest Lie Ever Told
We’re only two-thirds of the way through Nicola Sturgeon’s evidence to the Fabiani inquiry, and there’s probably not much point in expressing our opinion on it because you could almost certainly have guessed what it was going to be. The First Minister has been disingenuous, evasive, defensive and at times outright dishonest.
But although we were expecting all of that, this truly shocked us:
That’s the First Minister flatly stating, under oath, that even now she doesn’t know who all the complainers are. And readers can make their own minds up about how credible a claim that is. But I can tell you this:
I know who they all are.
Craig Murray knows who they all are.
Every journalist who covered the trial knows who they all are.
(And we can reasonably assume their editors also know who they all are.)
In fact pretty much everyone who’s in any way connected to Scottish politics knows the identity of every single one of these women. If you’re willing to believe that we all do but Nicola Sturgeon doesn’t, well, fair enough. But also, I’m a Nigerian prince and I’d like to pass several million pounds through your bank account. Please get in touch.
Dear god in Govan.
As someone who doesn’t know who any of them are, this, for me, was her most outright lie so far!
I have no reason to know, but for her to suggest SHE doesn’t know, is frankly astounding.
She’s getting away with it ?
The wee look down after this clip tells you everything
She’s telling porkies.
Yes I found that an astonishing thing to say under oath, and anyone with a smidgen of knowledge and whose been following what’s going on, and also read your posts will realise just how unlikely that claim is.
Seems she is getting away with it. Referring always that external legal advice was…
The legal team of Scottish government gave advice that…
She seems to be sticking it to The Lord Advocate.
Though she did apologise for Scot Gov getting the legal process against AS wrong.
While she has shown us that she is a very inept FM seeing as she apparently knows very little of what happens in her government I can’t help but feel from what I’ve seen so far that she will survive this.
I can’t see where anyone has actually laid a serious blow on her yet, she’s just batting the questions away as I expected she would do.
What today has achieved though is it has given her a clear playing field to make this all about Alex Salmond and not about her government.
Wasn’t her husband in a whatsapp group with them too???
I was getting worried about you.
Murdo, if you’re reading this can you please ask Nicola Sturgeon: “How do you know whether or not they all know each other if you don’t know who they all are?”
And yet she suggested the committee speak to them!!!! If she doesn’t know, how would they?
That was one of the most fake and crap performances I have ever seen. She really must take us for oafs and morons. Incredible.
She’s shaking her head, contradicting what she’s saying. It’s all in her body language.
FFS that is incredible, the Committee will know Who the complainers Are in the Criminal Trial , they will know she is lying, Desperate stuff, Frank get the door!
I know who some of them are too thanks to garavelli and the unionist press.
Unfortunately for those hiding behind a cloak of anonymity….. YOUR CLOAK IS SEE THROUGH!!!
If anyone whose connected in any way to Scottish politics knows the identity of all the complainers then presumably that includes all the members of the committee, who presumably will know she’s lying and as rational human beings will know they can’t believe a word she says
Seems to me her whole defense is: I don’t know anything about anything – I wasn’t involved, I wasn’t at meetings, I didn’t see the Perm Sec final report on AS, I didn’t see legal advice etc etc. Was she fucking on holiday on the moon all this time – to me that could be her only defense.
On the not knowing who the complainers were – was she not going to be called as a witness at the AS trial? Is it feasible for a witness to not know who the complainants were in a trial if listed as a witness? I’m no legal eagle – can Gordon Dangerfield confirm?
This interestingly leads to the thought that the FM is trying to distance herself from the conspirators who’s messages have already been exposed. How could Nicola Sturgeon be involved/made aware of their plan if she doesn’t know who they all are? Will that be a line of defence in the future, we’ll see.
My daughter and I raised our eyebrows in disbelief at that remark. Last session I believe and she’s going full throttle slandering him now.
Me me me me me me me me me me
I didn’t do that, I didn’t do that, I didn’t do that
I just don’t believe that’s the case, I just don’t believe that’s the case.
She the right woman but in the wrong job.
If she doesn’t know some of them, and only knows the others a wee bit, how on earth does she come away with ‘to the best of my knowledge they don’t know each other’.
Cake and eat it me thinks.
The major difference between AS and NS testimony – Alex Salmond’s 6 hours were absolutely rivetting, utterly compelling, horrifying in their gravitas.
Nicla’s testimony – I keep having to switch it off, blah, blah, bullshit, ‘let me be clear’, aghhh.
Sturgeon giving a master class in how to deal with the lies of Baillie and the Unionist press.
The committee are not that keen to have her resign. We know how shite the committee are.
I just hope one day she has to go through all.this in a court of law. A proper court of law.
She has been totally unconvincing thus far.
Compared with Alex Salmond, who went out of his way, to the extent of harming his own case, NOT to badmouth the SNP, whe has been very self-obsessed.
For the good of Scotland, she has to go.
However, she will not, she will go down, probably taking the SNP with her.
Such a disappointment – Scotland deserves better than this.
So murrel her husband (in law only) was part of the what’s app group texting about how to get Salmond, and she doesnt know who the complainers are??
Fuck off sturgeon your telling lies.!
Finnz, can you please point to where Jackie Baillie has lied in this matter? One example will do.
Big Jock says:
3 March, 2021 at 1:52 pm (previous post)
“Lothian – She asked Jackie Baillie if she knew what the story the Record had on her. She looked really concerned when she asked. JB didn’t know!
I tell you again peeps, that Leslie Evans has something on her.”
This was a very interesting exchange. Really knowing looks between NS and Ms Baillie.
NS almost daring JB to spill the beans.
Is this something they both know the nature of? Is it concerning matters surrounding a persistent rumour that NS has a court-order on concerning NS personal life?
Finzz, can you please point to where Ms Baillie has lied? One example will do.
You all knew from the start that it was three big girls that did it and they ran that way, honest.
Given the cost both in terms of money and disgrace to the Government and judicial system, plus AS serious allegations, I would have thought it, her bloody job, to get off her arse and find out who the women were.
She’s the First Minister, she’s supposed to be in charge, the buck stops with her.
If there are those lower in rank on the committee, enabled or entrusted to know who the complainers were, then absolutely she had a duty to get off her arse and find out.
You know, if anyone is reading this and still believes it was all AS’s fault and St Nicla is being done wrong. Catch yourself on. The only ‘nice’ thing anyone can say about this, is she is a complete incompetent, who meant well (and I think the opposite), and was trying to do the ‘right thing’ in an illegal way, getting others to fire the bullets, without any input or scrutiny from her. What an utter disgrace. Not a hope in hell that this disgrace would ever have a ‘secret plan’ to get us Indy.
Yes, as I said earlier,,, she’s got Tony Blair down to a tee.
Hi Skip
Oh look
Bailie: You said this at #FMQs. That was a lie.
FM. Don’t think I did, but we can check the record.
Baillie (snidely): Yeah, we’ll ALL check the record.
Committee breaks.
Post break.
FM: I got the record during the break & it confirms I was right.
The video clip also shows the First Liar trying to divert the committee. She says the complainers weren’t conspiring and implies they’d been accused of that. When they hadn’t of course. It was others close to the First Minister who #were# conspiring and were happy to exploit the complainers for that purpose.
Shortly after the clip shown, lying Nicola went on to say she knew the complainants were talking amongst themselves and others — gossiping was mentioned at one point in her evidence. How could she possibly be aware of those conversations and then claim she didn’t know who was involved?
Incidentally, the complainers probably shouldn’t have been comparing notes or whatever with each other. Potential witnesses are not supposed to do that – at least not until after they’ve given evidemce.
She probably sat down and watched the Chilcot Inquiry over and over again. Just to pick up exactly how Blair handled that.
Body language tells a different story to her words.
She’s going for plausible deniability which means there’s going to be a swathe of Nicola supporters chucked under the bus.
I wish we weren’t watching this so close to an election.
Whatever the rights or wrongs, Sturgeon must go or we will be slaughtered by the BritNat media.
They don’t have to turn the faithful, this story embellished with their usual lies and distortions is going to sway a lot of the soft Yes people.
Our only hope is that Sturgeon does the honourable thing, and removes herself as an electoral liability for the independence movement.
She is adapt at swimming in the sewer! Shameful !
This was a question asked on the previous thread. I thought I would post it here incase anyone is interested. For anyone who finds my info totally confusing (which I suspect is highly possible) I will after the Nicola Sturgeon session ends post a link to the archived video, the pdf & text transcript of that session. If there is an easier way to do this I would appreciate hearing it. Cheers
Confused says:
– someone needs to get a transcript of this, its a masterclass in obfuscation parading as revelation
Reply
A transcript becomes available after the end of the meeting & so does the video.
Video archive
https://www.scottishparliament.tv/meetings
if you scroll to page 5 you will see the archived recording of Alex Salmond at the top of the page.
Click on that & on that page click on official report & then select committee (its the top one) & date ie 26th Feb and click pdf symbol you get
https://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/report.aspx?r=13158&mode=pdf
If you click on the + button and select file you get
https://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/report.aspx?r=13158&i=119127
Confused Confused?
Might be an easier/more straight forward way to do this.
I have just newly discovered all of this.
At one point (I think it was during the discussion around the source of the DR leak) I found her body language to be quite revealing. She had her hands clasped tightly together right under her chin, with her arms pressed tightly together in front of her. Body language counts for nought in the bigger picture, but she almost seemed to be squirming her way through that section.
While Sturgeon lies, evades and questions the verdicts of the jury in Alex Salmond’s trial; Humza Yousaf demonstrates that he is a total disgrace.
He has not responded to any matters of law that have arisen in connection with the Fabiani Inquiry because he doesn’t have the faintest clue, but today he has plenty to say in the role of Nicola Sturgeon’s head cheerleader.
Direct criticism of Murdo Fraser, Jackie Baillie and Margaret Mitchell for asking questions of the First Minister, as members of a Scottish Parliament Committee seeking the truth.
https://archive.is/H1UxX#selection-2819.0-2829.259
As mentioned earlier, he shut up when Andrew Neil replied: –
‘You’re Scotland’s Justice Secretary, I think. At the heart of the Salmond [Fabiani] parliamentary inquiry is Scottish justice (or lack of). Should you really be tweeting like this?’
She actually said ‘…I didn’t want him exposed…’ at the end of her answers to Mitchell there, when she appeared to be close to tears recalling her old ‘bestie’.
Aw, bless…
Here is a question for Nicola Sturgeon:
In line with the clip a the top of the article, if you do not know the identity of all the complainers, how can you possibly know if those complainers knew each other well or not?”
From where I am standing, and I welcome to be corrected if I am wrong, that can only be the case if you have been in contact with several of those complainers and they told you themselves. Alternatively, there has to be a third party who knows who the complainers are, that told you this was the case.
And here is another question. Were all the complainers interviewed by the police or during the trial at the same time or individually to ensure they were not in the same place at the same time? in other words, did all the complainers had an opportunity to see each other before or during the trial? If yes, When was that?
Because if they didn’t and anonymity had been respected, how on earth could any of those complainers possibly know if they know all the others well?
This has the appearance of a poorly thought out lie from the FM that inevitably opens more questions.
For instance, what relevance the complainers knowing each other well or not might have if they were still in contact? I do not presume “to know well” any of my work colleagues. They are work colleagues, full stop. Not friends. Not family. But that does not mean I do not talk to them on a regular basis.
The degree of “knowledge” of each other of those complainants is irrelevant. What matters here is if there is a chance they got in touch directly or via a third party to “straighten up” their individual versions of the events in order to make them collectively more believable or if some of them brought any of the others into the case.
Jackie Baillie just asked the key question, given you described the issues of errors as catastrophic, why has no one resigned?
Reply was blah blah blah, waiting for advice and conclusion of inquiry.
We are at the good stuff now, with NS under pressure.
I have a question I hope some of the more knowledgable readers, following this process in detail can help me with.
Is there any reason at all why the existing procedure for ‘Ministers’ and Civil-Servants would not also have been fully applicable to the First Minister, as it stood? Was a ‘new’ procedure (a terrible one at that) even necessary, did the existing procedure explicitly exclude the First Minister or was it otherwise invalid in this case?
Just picking the kid up from school. Walk past a house and see the meeting on a TV in the living room.
This is a high poverty high crime area.
Be under no illusions Nicola, people care and are watching
is jackie baillie “having a go”?
Sorry to say I just couldn’t watch it all. I can hardly bear to look at her covid briefings so a full 5 hours or whatever was going to be a big ask.
As observed by others here, she seems to know Fck all about Fck all.
Looks like Leslie Evans and Liz Lloyd have been running the Scottish Government behind her back.
Very angry at the constant smearing of AS.
He handed her a chance to get out of this with her reputation intact. Fundamentally the deal was sack Evans, Lloyd, Murrel, McCann & Ruddick and perhaps the divisions could be healed.
No chance now. Reckon from now on AS will go for it.
I’m tired and some of my answers may be muddled
Really? Really!
By that I mean could devising the new procedure not simply have entailed the addition of former ministers to the scope of that existing procedure (putting aside the difficulty of any possibility of sanction being applied to someone no longer in government)?
Tom M,
In answer to your question existing bullying and Harrassment Policy which was in place in 2014 should have covered the needs of any person who felt they had suffered sexual Harrassment.
That policy follows Employment Law which is EU law a d applicable until Scots law changes it.
I have a diploma in Employment law hence the knowledge comes from that base.
Trying to justify why there are gaps in the legal information – she will reflect on the issues…
JB not letting her off.
Why no info on 13th Nov, 2nd Nov, no info on meetings with other named ‘officials’
Deliberately has ‘recused’ herself from the information presentation.
TV jumping around again…
@Tony M
It didn’t cover former First Ministers.
Ruby says:
3 March, 2021 at 2:50 pm
Ignore the above it’s confusing & I’ve missed a step:
Video archives:
https://www.scottishparliament.tv/meetings
Transcripts:
https://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/ReportSelectPage.aspx?type=committee&year=2021&page=0&meeting=-1
If this lying Bastard survives this, then as soon as Covid restrictions are lifted, then a demonstration rally has to be organised to march on Bute House and/or Parliament.
Dear God, this is brutal.
Looking at Sturgeon, she looks as if she had a couple of halfs during her lunch break.
I am gobsmacked. You took the words right out of my mouth Rev.
“The First Minister has been disingenuous, evasive, defensive and at times outright dishonest.”
Hell I could work out who three of who the alphabet women were just from what has been reported in the Press and Media.
Well what are you any Sturgeonistas hoping to gain. The dream is dying due to this debacle and you are fanning the flames.
Well, you will never be able to prove that she knows, and does it matter anyway?
https://caltonjock.com/2021/03/03/england-wales-northern-ireland-former-minister-harassment-no-lookback-procedures-scotland-yes-but-unlawful-crazy/
Westminster Cabinet Secretary tells Sturgeon not to proceed with the introduction of a “Look-back” Harassment policy for former Ministers
I see angus robertson is tweeting how great and popular NS is : using out of date stats.
Do you think – he thinks that his job depends on her staying in place ?
She has been holed below the waterline – the unaccounted for £600,000 will be the coup de grace. This is just her swearing at everyone as she puts her stuff in her box.
And I predict Humza will not be re-elected.
fell asleep – not sure I’ve missed anything!
Sturgeon said that it was right to report the complaints to the police, against the wishes of the complainers, because of the alleged criminality.
In relation to alleged criminal actions and inactions by Scottish Government officials, including the leak to the Daily Record, leaking the name of a complainer to Geoff Aberdein and the suppression of evidence in both the Judicial Review and the criminal trial, the Scottish Government did not refer such matters to the police.
Double standards?
If she is still in post I think the campaign will be very interesting. This is a demonstration of how she handles problems in her government.
It has shown she is incapable of separating her personal feelings from her professional duty because at every stage she has excused the failings by referring to the personal aspect of this case.
That is not good enough in someone in such a position of authority.
Ah so it’s Roddy Dunlop QC’s recommendation that there was a case.
If it wasn’t then he should have stood down. Pity therefore that Counsel that he didn’t because if he did because then there wouldn’t have been all the nonsense and all huge expense in carrying on to then throw in the towel.
And why have after two formal parliamentary requests and a threat yesterday to launch a vote of no confidence that the Government has only now released some, but not all of the legal evidence.
And not complying with a search warrant. Was this an issue. Don5 think we get an answer to that. But nothing to do you know who!
Keep reminding yourselves – she is under oath.
Imagine what would happen to any of us if we dared behave like this?
Just imagine.
Ah dinnae ken, it wisnae me, repeat, repeat..
She almost almost said that Mr Salmond was not telling the truth
@ Tony re, ‘
Tony M says:
3 March, 2021 at 2:44 pm
I have a question I hope some of the more knowledgable readers, following this process in detail can help me with.
Is there any reason at all why the existing procedure for ‘Ministers’ and Civil-Servants would not also have been fully applicable to the First Minister, as it stood? Was a ‘new’ procedure (a terrible one at that) even necessary, did the existing procedure explicitly exclude the First Minister or was it otherwise invalid in this case?’
In the Fairness at Work procedure (ie the old one) the First Minister makes the final judgement call.
Obviously this could not work if he or she is the person complained about.
The most obvious solution to that, would have been to write into the old procedure the ability to call upon a judge (like Mr Hamilton) to preside on the procedures, if the FM is complained about.
None of this applies if the allegation amounts to criminality, in which case you hand it over to the Police to do their thing. And you should do that first (not the civil harassment claims first and the criminal ones second) for a few good reason:
The Police will/should do a much more thorough, comprehensive investigation – it’s their core function after all – than those in Human Resources/civil service managing all sorts of other things.
If the criminal case is succesful it will negate the need for the civil procedings to take place, because a more serious thing will have been established. EG – no one cares if you called a person abusive names, if you subsequently murdered them.
The evidence (particularly round winess statements) starts to get very muddied and contaminated the more times the witnesses have to recount it, and the longer it goes on the more likely they are to discuss it amongst themselves. Therefore you want to deal with the most serious allegations first.
In Nov 2017 the (civil harassment) complainers A and B – first expressed ‘concerns’.
In January 2018 the ‘concerns’ became formal ‘complaints’ under the new legislation.
In Feruary 2018 the New Procedure was published and circulated amongst staff.
March / April 2018 NS first met with AS re this
Between then and July 2018 they had numerous communications to attempt to resolve the issue.
late August 2018 – Leslie Evans handed over the complaints (still, as far as we know the original A and B, civil complaints) to the Crown Office, who took it to the Police.
This does not include woman H – who informed Ian McCann of the SNP on 5th November 2017 – to which he replied, ‘we’ll sit on this in case we ever need to deploy it’. Woman H’s complaint was one of attempt rape.
It is very, very difficult to look at this time line, and not find the word ‘blackmail’ entering ones mind.
In no shape of form is it a legitimate way to deal with legitimate allegations – and ‘for clarity’ it is even more essential that procedures are scrupulously fair (to all) if the complaints are not legitimate.
At best Incompetent to a criminally negligent extent. Or deeply, deeply corrupt.
Ian McCubbin says:
3 March, 2021 at 2:04 pm
Seems she is getting away with it. Referring always that external legal advice was…
Not so sure. When Sturgeon opened up alleging the Goverment had to cough up £500k because “they’d made a mistake” it was described by Mitchell as ‘disingenuous’.
Thanks! Bob and Ian.
Ian, I thought the same, that harassment, bullying etc. self-evidently includes alleged sexual-harassment.
Bob, I never put that too well, meant to include the ‘former’ aspect in my first question. See my follow-up at 2:49pm
If then former-ministers had simply been added to the existing procedure, there would have still been difficulties, but nothing compared with those resulting from a monstrous new procedure made on the hoof tailored to a specific case/individual.
If Joe Blogs asks you a question and you disagreed with the premise of the question, one would think you would reply ‘ I disagree with the premise of your question’. If you were to reply ‘ I disagree with the premise of Joe Blogs question’ that would be a strange thing to say since it was Joe Blogs you were replying to. Unless of course it was part of a memorised answer.
Big Jock says:
3 March, 2021 at 1:52 pm (previous post)
“Lothian – She asked Jackie Baillie if she knew what the story the Record had on her. She looked really concerned when she asked. JB didn’t know!
I tell you again peeps, that Leslie Evans has something on her.”
This was a very interesting exchange. Really knowing looks between NS and Ms Baillie.
NS almost daring JB to spill the beans.
Is this something they both know the nature of?
Was there really a trade-off between these stories, one on AS in return for one (unpublished) on NS?
Truly I can’t believe she can sit here and talk the talk. She’s lying bar steward. Surely the committee can see thru this. My fear is she’ll walk away from this…ffs how do we get rid of the midden
Bullshitter bullshits bullshit for three hours.
Vote for that?
Aye right!
Still waiting for the smoking gun. Obviously it wasn’t this…was it?
Listening to Ms Sturgeon I am reminded of an episode of the Simpsons when Bart featured as ” The I didn’t do it boy”. I’m afraid as an impartial observer from England I find her testimony totally unconvincing.
In reply to Daisy Walker:
All fairness at work policies incorporating Bullying and Harrassment (including sexual Harrassment) are handled in all civil service, public employment, local and national government in the way you describe.
Changes to any policy and or procedure comes from test cases in law which result in legal change.
I, in my experience would find it strange for a policy to be changed in the way the fairness at work policy of Scottish Government was changed in 2017/18.
In my view it was potentially very illegal and based on no strong court tested evidence.
If cases came up with the existing policy and could n’t be handled by Internal process, complainers legal/union case worker has option to legal process via employment tribunal.
This is the initial first step.
If criminality found then police and full legal process.
Why none of that was followed is unusual.
So NS can speculate how AS was behaving and what his plans were. But his speculation is not allowed
Re the legal advice.
Based upon what is being said, based upon the decision the advice given by Counsel to the SG to continue to fight, should there not now be action against the advice given by Counsel.
Put simply, comment being given by the FM says that they were quite correct, based upon advice, to proceed with the legal process, expending huge expense up until the time the same Counsel through the towel in saying they could not proceed with an unstateable case.
This is now a complete charade. Sturgeon needs removed entirely from Parliament and the sooner they get a police investigation into her behaviour the better. However, what Police force is a big question since there are big big questions about the honesty and integrity of Police Scotland.
incredible how someone gets to the top of politics in her country while being so “out the loop”
here is a chilling thought; Salmond, Murray, the REV have names, a public profile, have supporters, can crowdfund for fees; they can defend themselves to make a near even fight, but what happens to the ordinary guy, the man in the street, when he gets the book thrown at him; some shit lawyer, personal wealth ruined, all heard by a sheriff, not a jury, who just decides he doesn’t like you and casts you onto the flames …
– no, little, or misleading coverage in the press. The system can totally fuck you up, if it wants; just wait till the hate crimes bill is up and running, looking for scalps, witches to be burned.
Her day job is independence. If she can’t or is unwilling to focus on that she’s stoking a ‘palace coup’.
Any replacement ought to wear the label ‘nationalist’ with confidence.
Enough of the namby pamby, mealy mouthed, posers and shape shifters.
Bara sahab Sunak doing it for England…omg, we can do better than this, surely!
Waffle waffle waffle!!! WTF are they allowing her to waffle absolute crap like this?
FFS they’re still attempting to try AS. Get a grip Fibiani.
I find it embarrassing to watch, but I’m also quite embarrassed by the Humza, Angus etc supportive tweets. I’m not even a member of the SNP, but its so squalid and cringe. These people are awful.
It is like watching the same crap actor hamming it up for hours on end, delivering the same unconvincing performance over and over.
It is quite boring to watch as it so low information content. Like watching an animated test card repeating the same trite rehearsed lines like an automaton.
I simply don’t believe a word she says at this point. She is lying through her teeth. Salmond was telling the truth and Sturgeon is not is what I see. Her whole testimony has been one snide attack after another on Salmond while being evasive. That is not what a honest person with nothing to hide does. It is was a guilty liar does.
Salmond conducted himself with unbelievable dignity compared this gutter level performance. Sturgeon is just so low rent. Dreadful individual. Even as I type this she is playing the same card yet again. (ha ha Alex Cole Hamilton in reply “so you said repeatedly…”)
How do you know NS is lying? Her lip moves.
She just mentioned ‘The Edinburgh Airport thing.’ Wisely, she didn’t expand on that non event. Smear done.
This is far worse than even my worse fears of what she would do today. I hope Salmond’s lawyers are primed for the next stage, whatever that is, to happen fast now.
AS issued a formal complaint about the revealing of a name to Geoff Aberdeinin March 2018 anyone know any more about this need some good news as NS was let of the hook and Pro SNP press already hammering abuse of power by AS and didn’t she do well nothing to answer to train of thought, the wool is been pulled other the eyes of the general public .I have mentioned several times you cannot underestimated the general apathy to getting to the truth by the majority of the electorate sometimes when I speak to people you forget that those who inhabit this site have a much higher degree of interest into how gov is run
How many times has Sturgeon said,,,
“And,,You know…”
Pure Tony Blair
Are they trying to tire her out before lobbing in a couple of killer questions to get her to hang herself?
She is really toiling in this final section…ffs when Cole-Hamilton makes you squirm, you are in big trouble.
Sturgeon was never going to make a howler and confess to anything by mistake… but if anyone thinks this is a good performance or is in any way convincing they are dreaming. This is a dreadful performance.
You are watching a liar here and that comes across very strongly.
Not only that she comes across as very dislikeable and dishonest.
After seeing this today I have not a single shred of empathy or understanding left for Nicola Sturgeon or what led her to where she finds herself today. She deserves everything coming to her and a lot more.
Ah the BBC Scotland feed is gone – what’s the link for the live stream?
https://www.scottishparliament.tv/channel/committee-room-1
”
Los says:
3 March, 2021 at 3:50 pm
https://www.scottishparliament.tv/channel/committee-room-1
”
Thanks – BBC Scotland feed is back.
But will need to rewatch the last section from Alex Cole Hamilton questioning.
I suppose she won’t be writing her memoirs when she leaves office.
Surely anyone in a position of power or authority would write an account straight after those meetings even just to keep themselves right? It beggars belief she cannot remember or has no account to refer to regarding this whole saga.
If anyone is so poor at note-keeping surely and an aide or whoever with malign intentions could manipulate dates and times and content of meetings? Or is that the entire point people do not keep notes or they destroy hem so they can never be accountable for anything?
Was that a rat that crossed the screen?
This could have all been condensed into the “it wasn’t me” by Shaggy.
It must stretch the bounds of credibility even amongst some of the Sturgeonistas surely.
More than a few dyed-in-the-wool Tories in these comments. A sad state of affairs really. Some people should be ashamed of themselves.
The convener lady sounds like Mrs. Doubtfire!!!!!
Murdo Fraser essentially calling her a liar to her face now.
It just isn’t convincing anymore Nicola, that bubble has popped and is never coming back.
All this sh**e wont sink in for the average scottish voter, they’ll still vote Snp in may.
Iain McWhirter of the Herald newspaper, gave a summation of Nicola Sturgeon’s appearance today, so far, to committee, to Times radio, when asked if he thought if Sturgeon would survive today’s proceeding as FM, and remain FM, McWhirter told Times radio that he thought she would.
More than a few acolytes and brainwashed cockwombles on this site.They need to wake up and smell the coffee
in ref to tim 42 one of the above acolytes to nicola
Tim42 @3:56 pm
Yeah, it is a sad state of affairs when a very large amount of the comments posted on Wings over Scotland rightly belong in the Daily Express or a Scotland in Union Whatsapp group. We see you.
Murdo Fraser had her squirming – bang on cue, in comes Fabiani to ask him to move on.
This is an SNP whitewash, they are moving heaven and earth to protect Sturgeon.
She has to go – but, she will try to brazen things out.
I should’ve added that Iain MacWhirter, thought the the committee couldn’t really complete its remit, as it has been hamstrung from day one, with a lack of forthcoming documents required for it to do so from the Scottish government.
She’s going to wriggle out of it isn’t she?
Giesabreak,
I’m pretty sure you see exactly what you want to.
STOP PRESS
Chief executive of SNP not good in front of committees.
I used to know a guy at School who even at that age was a prolific thief. Ironic as his father was in the CID.
I remember chatting to him one day and asking him about what he did when caught and he said he just denied, denied, denied it.
He said no matter what evidence was presented he just made some excuse no matter how implausible. He said that eventually people would just get tired and drop it!
They knew he was lying, he knew that they knew he was lying but it did not matter, he was prepared to just lie to their faces and tough it out. It is like that Shaggy song… It Wasn’t Me.
She might be able to avoid dropping herself in the shit playing this game but she is coming across as the wide-o criminal just playing a game with a smirk on her face. Serious people can see what she is doing just as we all can.
Told you, she’s bulletproof and going nowhere. Even if the VONC goes ahead, the Greens are going to support her Scotland is stuck with her and that means Independence isn’t going to arrive anytime soon.
niclas using the “rashomon” defence
The whole routine goes like this…
“Look, am no calling Geoff Aberdein a liar… but he is a liar.”
Mac,
Not just Aberdein but she implies that Alex Salmond is a liar.
The committee today have spent too much time operating in extremely flimsy territory and allowing Sturgeon to do the same.
This place is worse than the comments section on the Daily Mail Online. The tartan Yoons are hiding in plain site.
Astonished says on 3 March, 2021 at 3:07 pm:
“And I predict Humza will not be re-elected.”
As far as i’m aware he’s one of the “big” names who are using the safety net of having their names on a constituency *&* a list place. Sturgeon is another one. Or so i read somewhere.
Yet again she is casting doubt on the jury’s decision.
She just can`t stop with the Alex was really doing these things, but he got away with it.
how gullible does she think we are?
Tim42,
I’m guessing that the gullibility is strong with you.
Sturgeon now saying that if anyone has to apologise for their behaviour it should be Alex Salmond. Its absolutely disgraceful that Mr Salmond a man found innocent by a jury of his peers made up mostly of women, that his character should be continually brought into question.
I think she has just accused him of other things. But thank goodness it was a throw away line and has no bearing!
Were the tears about to fall just before the break?
Why is the parliament not doing something to get rid of the rats?
At 15.56 a rat ran across the bottom of the screen.
If they are running about when there are loads of people about there must be a fair number of rats in the parliament.
They need to do something about them. This is not fair to people living in the area.
Most commenters on here should officially set up their Independence (It’s All Aboot F**king Nicla Alex and St Joanna) Party. Same sheep who blindly followed ex-St Alex and ex-St Nicola are all right up St Joanna’s ronson lighter. If only she could replace the terrible leader, all would be well… just like they all said about Gordy Broon when Bliar was in charge. Blind sheep.
NS is under oath so when she is shown to be lying what is the process?
As predicted it’s been a damp squib. I said nothing would happen and it won’t. Absolutely NO evidence. She’ll win by a landslide in May and it will be business as normal.
With that being said some in here need to accept the truth, show some contrition and get on with supporting the cause for Scottish Independence.
History won’t be kind to those who took 50 pieces of silver from the Tories.
I don’t remember Alex Salmond lashing out last Friday, on the contrary his performance at the committee was one that was measured, factual and polite.
Sturgeon said:
“As I was watching him on Friday lashing out against us, I don’t know whether he ever reflects on the fact many of us, including me, feel very let down by him”
@Ruby
It was an MI5 rat and as such is a protected species
She’s going to get away with this. She has spun a web of half-truths and lies that seem truthful and allow enough wiggle room to let her off with minesterial code breaches.
She’s thrown Liz Lloyd under the bus as well as probably Leslie Evans. However unless the whatsapp messages are damming or new evidence surfaces showing Murrell and Ruddick’s involvement she will get through this.
Only other long shot is somehow the identities of the complainers are revealed and it makes it pretty clear how politicallly motivated this is.
She has clearly went to finish Salmond’s reputation which is perhaps where she may come a cropper. If She leaves Salmond with nothing to lose he may well have other things that he can bring to the public domain.
I think after her latest accusation I really hope the SNP grows a spine and brings her down.
Tim42 spot on.
Any “independence” supporter who starts parroting Tory lines, and praising Fraser, Mitchell and Baillie like brainless fanboys/girls just because they want the present SNP leader stuffed is NO independence supporter. Away join the unionists you useful idiots.
James 4.06pm. Yes!
Did she at one point say that Alex Salmond had confessed to attempted rape?
She says she learned things about Alex Salmond in the last two years that made her change her opinion.
Where did she learn these things from?
I also learned things about Alex Salmond which turned out to be false.
My source of information was from the complainers in the criminal trial was that her source of information?
I decided to believe the jury and not the complainers which it would seem is the reverse for Nicola Sturgeon.
She seems to pass judgement on herself quite a lot.
ie. In my opinion I did the right thing. etc etc
Looking forward to reading the transcript. There is so much waffle I lose track of what she is saying.
It may be advisable to delete Dan Hardy’s comment at 2.57pm.
Thanks to all who watched and commented. I can’t stand the sight of herself.
Liz Lloyd needs to be questioned under path re March-April 2018. At least we would get to see whether she will perjure herself for Sturgeon. I suppose she would, she’s in too deep.
Is that it for committee evidence gathering?
her myself
What’s astounding is Nicola claims, more or less, she knew next to nothing about what was going on under her nose about the Salmond case, she didn’t think it was any of her business to ask or interfere.
She signed off a new policy re behaviour of previous ministers, ,knowing little about it?
Had no idea how staff who had no training or experience in handling such complaints were meant to deal with them when she signed it off?
who from her department arranged the meeting with A Salmonds Agent on 29 March?
This Enquiry today reinforces what a failed state Scotland has become.
Sturgeon is the most untrustworthy witness I have ever perform and the SNP committee members are an absolute joke.
Tricky Nicky would not be an understatement and it looks like she has a doctorate on the morals and mores of Pinnochio.
A big boy stood on a chair, balanced on a stool, supported by two casters and broke the window before rolling away, but I cant say for sure because my memory fails me at times, and I wasn’t actually there as I remember, and in any event I am not responsible for the big boy.
Next question please…..
And this is what people are supposed to vote for , a FM who is unaware that a harassment policy which is proven to be UNLAWFUL ,PROCEDURALLY UNFAIR AND TAINTED WITH APPARENT BIAS has been conceived by a collection of unelected incompetents without any oversight because she said she recused herself
So this supposed individual as a FM has said sorry that up to £1 million pounds has been SQUANDERED pursuing a vendetta on an ex FM , I am sure that will give some comfort to families with children suffering from the impact of covid who have been left unemployed and destitute whilst attending food banks and BEGGING for support
I am disgusted and heartfelt sick that the Scots people have been taken in by this individual who obviously has mental problems and has no problem with lying to cover up reprehensible actions
I appeal to the other parties in the SP please raise a VONC in this disreputable person and try to garner some semblance of integrity back into HR
Salmond’s testimony on Friday was remarkable on so many levels but one that impressed me was even after everything done to him he never once descended into running down the character of Nicola Sturgeon (when I am sure he could write a book on her degeneracy at this stage).
In contrast Sturgeon today was nothing but her bad mouthing Salmond and trying to put him back on trial yet again implicitly denying the jury’s outcome over and over and over. It was non-stop it really was.
What today has done has proven to Alex Salmond beyond any shadow of doubt that he is dealing with a back stabbing, mendacious, psychopath.
Nicola Sturgeon is political shit on his shoe and he should wipe her off once and for all at this point. There is nothing redeemable is the lesson from today.
Did any of the SNP stooges ask her
1. where their half mil was?
2. how much was her overseas real estate purchase[s]?
Did she not say at one point that the reasons documents came to light later than they should have during the judicial review was that they had to go through the process of searching words and phrases to find them. Sure you had an article highlighting that none of the key phrases such as Aberdein returned anything. I might be misremembering. Did anyone ever get to the bottom of why certain words or phrases didn’t return any results?
@Giesabrek
Take your own advice and Giesabrek
Tim42
With gratesst respect, f*** off home to WGD.
She’s not fit to hold office.
Indy won’t happen with her at the helm – just the imposition of a Woke utopia where any and everything can be classed as hate speech and land you in the clink if you object to anatomically complete males accessing female only spaces and services.
Remember “we will not allow Scotland to be dragged out the single market against our will”?
Well, “Independence is in the post” ranks up there with it – bullshit to harvest votes only kick the Indy can down the road and blame the lack of progress on BawJaws.
I’d tell you to wake up and smell the coffee, but you can’t smell the coffee for the smell of bullshit.
We won’t get fooled again…
#NoVotesSNP
#cynicalHighlanderctoryboy
#votefordouglas
Wow, it didn`t take Jackie Baillie long to get under her skin.
I think AS should take the gloves off and go for the jugular. A press conference to rebut today’s lies and smears would be a start and dish all the dirt he has on Sturgeon and her cronies. I’m sure he will know about a lot of skeletons not necessarily related to the Judicial Review and subsequent trial, but relevant to their corruption, dishonesty and total unsuitability to be in power. Stop being the good guy Alex – go for the throat!!
She’ll get away with it.
Giesabreak,
Does the nurse know that you’re out of your bed?
Boo hoo! So you nutters didn’t get your smoking gun today, so now you’re all gonna go to the polling booths in a mighty huff and do what you’ve accused Sturgeon of doing – gonna burn the house down if you don’t get your way (i.e. make sure there’s no indy majority at Holyrood). We’ll never get indy with gullible, divided and conquered muppets like you guys. What’s the WGD you all keep obsessively mentioning? We’re Grossly Dumb?
Watching this unfold on TV, transmission was interrupted and black and white
footage of the Duke of Edinburgh from the 1950’s came up?
Are the BBC working on a show in preparation of his demise?
Tim42 and giesabrek, independence is never going to happen under nicola sturgeon, and thats a fact.
Luke says:
3 March, 2021 at 4:35 pm
Did she not say at one point that the reasons documents came to light later than they should have during the judicial review was that they had to go through the process of searching words and phrases to find them. Sure you had an article highlighting that none of the key phrases such as Aberdein returned anything. I might be misremembering. Did anyone ever get to the bottom of why certain words or phrases didn’t return any results?
Search engines acting under EU directive to censor results of searches to support “privacy”.
You’d be surprised how powerbrokers can suppress their past actions…
Up until today I think some folk may have been clinging to the faint hope that Sturgeon had been a back seat passenger in all of this and that Evans was the main driver of the stitch-up…
Well today puts all that to bed once and for all.
Her performance today tells us that all of this is down to Sturgeon, all roads lead back to her.
She would not have spent most of today trying to re-smear Salmond were it otherwise.
I will never vote SNP again as long as this woman and her little friends rule the roost. We need one of the new alternative independence parties to beef up their act urgently. After today’s charade in front of a rigged “Inquiry” I hope AS, JC, Kenny MacAskill and the other decent SNP MPs and MSPs jump ship and join them. Come on guys give us something to vote for so we can rid ourselves of this cesspit of lies and corruption.
Im getting a very high reading on my ICD re Alex Salmond resigning from the SNP.
Meg merrilees,
She was always going to brass this out but I wouldn’t suggest she is going to get away with it.
This will be a running sore that the Unionists will use at any and Avery opportunity, if she cared about independence she would resign and take the dross with her.
Every*
That wee laugh she does is annoying as hell.
Time42
A wee unionist plant.
No evidence my foot.
And you want all this over so we can get back to the supporting independence. With who? Sturgeon?
Six years of nothing. List me all the things that Sturgeon has done in that time to secure independence.
You are fooling no one.
Willie @4.33pm.
Scotland isn’t a failed state Willie, that’s nonsense, yes there’s corruption at Holyrood and in the Crown office that we could well do without, but the country still functions, of course if the status quo remains getting the chance to dissolve this unfit for purpose union will become more difficult.
Tim42
This place is worse than the comments section of the Daily Mail ? Oh really who are you working for ? Is this the start of your shift or are you just showing off
You along with others are being allowed to make comments , no problem free country free will , not my blog not my game you might get a better reaction if it’s a civil comment, most publications don’t allow this and that’s including the National.
The usual method is your comment is awaiting moderation ” BIN ” that’s what’s used particularly on WGD , don’t agree BIN ,have an alternative opinion BIN , if for some reason you manage to get a comment posted its a full on Local pile on , your a Unionist , you personally are endangering independence ,
I have said many times it’s not the people here asking awkward questions that’s the problem it’s the obstacle that is known as the SNP they are the impediment .
My Tory voting daughter in law just texted me that she has a new found respect for Nicola. well done you kept the wolves at bay. Now can we get on with working for Indy2
@Rev Stu
Have sent you something via the contact form, but I fear members from other blogs might be away to try and close you down, will let you decide but can you let me know that you got the message
Mac,
That there was nobody sacked over Alex Salmond’s treatment that was considered “tainted by apparent bias” shows that there was no condemnation and that she approved of the process even now with hindsight of what a fucking mess it was shows that she was personally invested in the process.
Plausible deniability in the very first instance needs to be, well…plausible.
where’s wikileaks when you need them?
Ruby says:
3 March, 2021 at 3:55 pm
Was that a rat that crossed the screen?
So glad you saw that too Ruby. Thought I was seeing things
passing judgement on herself again
“I think I’ve reached the best decisions I could”
One word missing in the whole session is any mention in any context
– Independence
Effigy says:
3 March, 2021 at 4:43 pm
Watching this unfold on TV, transmission was interrupted and black and white
footage of the Duke of Edinburgh from the 1950’s came up?
All of that is in place including the state funeral (30 attendees only). Just like all the MSM will have their obis ready to print.
The “state” has this down to a T .
Once again implies Alex Salmond wanted her to intervene for underhand reasons.
and now we are getting the full Tony !!!
I’ve met this head on , on oath. and I want this account on record, and I fully relish telling the committee that I really like Alex, and I admire him , and still feel a loyalty to him, which is why I’ve thrown him under a bus.
It was in my opinion the right thing to do. People can judge me and think what they think, but my decision was taken for all the best reasons. I did my best. I’m so sorry.
ony M says:
3 March, 2021 at 2:49 pm
By that I mean could devising the new procedure not simply have entailed the addition of former ministers to the scope of that existing procedure
NS was asked this question in the first hour by M.Watt — As with many others she failed to address it let alone answer it. The strategic advantage in arranging for the difficult qus. to be put by tame SNP Committe members is that they let her away with not answering.
Good grief, now it’s, I’m not infallible but everyone else is wrong.
“The loyalties which center upon number one are enormous. If he trips, he must be sustained. If he make mistakes, they must be covered. If he sleeps, he must not be wantonly disturbed. If he is no good, he must be pole-axed.” Winston Churchill.
Well my iPad and windows were safe ! I watched 30 seconds this morning and switched off , popped in and out of here and my fears were confirmed , lying sleekit git
I don’t say much often but hats off mr Campbell , another wee donation on its way
Metaphorically-speaking of course, if that is still allowed in Scotland.
Giesabrek and Tim42 are Angus Robertson and Humza Uselesss and I claim my prize Rev or are they Weak Pishfart and daddy bare , Surely they must be unthinking robots to believe the pish excreted by nicla
mitchell is blabbing like professor stanley unwin – ask a damn question
Anyone any idea why there was a sudden break in transmission with footage of Prince Philip (1950s/60s)? Had she divulged something hypersensitive that the broadcast delay wasn’t expecting? I think we should be told.
Fabiani really is an arsehole. lol.
It’s well known that Craig Murray claims that all complaintants are from Sturgeon’s inner circle. If this is the case then it would clearly not be possible that Sturgeon wouldn’t know them. However, I recently debated this issue on a politics FB group and someone credible told me I was wrong to say that all complaintants were close to Sturgeon. He claims to personally know the complaintant whose charge was found not proven and said that this person was in no way close to Sturgeon. He also said that he had spoken to this woman about the incidence in question and he was very clear that she was suffering greatly from the experience of the event. While I am generally inclined to follow and respect Craig’s writing, nonetheless the exchange I had on this subject does raise questions for me if Craig really has the full story and if Salmond is entirely innocent as Craig made out. I would welcome comment from anyone who is closer and more informed about this.
Mitchell had her reeling at the end, but, she blabbed too-much and lost the plot.
However, Fabiani still felt she had to intervene to protect her Mistress.
What a shambles, what a shower of fannies we now have running the SNP and Scotland.
“John McNab says:
3 March, 2021 at 5:02 pm
Anyone any idea why there was a sudden break in transmission with footage of Prince Philip (1950s/60s)? Had she divulged something hypersensitive that the broadcast delay wasn’t expecting? I think we should be told.”
I suspect it was just more that the session had over-run so long it was affecting the schedules for the channel, trying to record it all has been a challenge as recordings have stopped as the programme has allegedly changed. But it is possible to go back through that section on the parliament tv stream.
How could NS “absolutely rebut any suggestion of malice” on the part of the women if she doesn’t know who they are?
Sturgeon now claiming that the civil Service in Scotland and the COPFS have done nothing untoward, yet there’s a multitude of actions by both surrounding this inquiry that are suspect, and with that Fabiani wraps up the session, looking pretty pleased with the outcome.
By the end of that Alex C-H, Margaret Mitchell, Murdo Fraser and JB were all saying in blunt terms to NS that they thought she was not being honest.
Mitchell especially was really getting pissed off by the end at not being allowed to ask more questions, as was JB.
I should have known it would be today and not Friday that Fabiani was going to be especially loathsome, on Friday she could let all the other SNP attack dogs do her dirty work.
Anyone who thinks because Nicola did not confess to a crime or make some other howler that today was a ‘success’ is tripping.
Today did not provide much more information (if any at all) but it did remove any trace of doubt that Sturgeon lies at the very heart of the conspiracy to jail an innocent man.
She is all-in.
Derek M Morison says:
3 March, 2021 at 5:08 pm
How could NS “absolutely rebut any suggestion of malice” on the part of the women if she doesn’t know who they are?
Reply
Very good point Derek.
Maybe ‘cos they are women?
She had the brass neck to complain about being asked the same thing 2 or 3 times when every 5 minutes it’s been “Alex Salmond… inappropriate behaviour… allegations…” What a fkin wee ratbag.
Confused @ 3:26 pm
“here is a chilling thought; Salmond, Murray, the REV have names, a public profile, have supporters, can crowdfund for fees; they can defend themselves to make a near even fight, but what happens to the ordinary guy, the man in the street, when he gets the book thrown at him; some shit lawyer, personal wealth ruined, all heard by a sheriff, not a jury, who just decides he doesn’t like you and casts you onto the flames …”
Some observers might say this occurs all too frequently in what is arguably still an archaic court system throughout Scotland. It may therefore be more the reality than simply ‘a chilling thought’, reflecting a Scotland that has after all the highest prison population per head in W. Europe.
Any close analysis of the many pirc complaints also tells a story. The HCB is merely an addition to quite a few pieces of Holyrood legislation that has made life a lot worse for many Scots in what passes for a ‘justice system’.
In some respects it seems a rather colonial and hence oppressive justice system which may in that sense be directly related to and reflective of Scotland’s (subordinate) position within the UK.
well Fabiani managed to help Sturgeon from answering the fundamental question on blocking certain information with the threat of jail. but in her closing speech managed to blame it on the crown. what utter fkn shit! resign!
When the footage of Prince Philip appeared I switched to the web coverage and saw nothing that would require television censorship.
(The web broadcast was sufficiently far behind that I saw almost a minute of the pre-interruption television coverage before it continued into the parts that weren’t on the TV)
So she’s gonna hang on. Awaits the verdict of the upcoming election. Whereupon she’ll claim any win is an endorsement of the endemic corruption.
You couldn’t make that up.
So – let me get this right.
She doesn’t know the identity of all the complainers.
But she knows they don’t know each other well.
Eh?
Sturgeon really knows how to turn it on when she needs to.
“Nicola Sturgeon says she has “agonised over every decision and every step I took in this – I have searched my soul on a personal, a political, a governmental level”. And she stands by the decision not to intervene in the process, and to not report her knowledge to civil service”
https://twitter.com/BBCPhilipSim/status/1367156198357823488
Are we convinced with her performance?
Giesabrek says:
3 March, 2021 at 4:30 pm
” Away join the unionists you useful idiots.”
Go back to the dead dug site.
Sarah Snmith reporting that Nicola would welcome Alex Salmond back into the SNP
solarflare.
Yes the black & white clips of Phillip was weird. I thought he’d died! BBC have an ‘oven-ready’ sycophants’ fest lined up to inflict on us, come the hour. Sigh.
Mrs Murrell was too cocky & smug, to come across well to undecideds.
And what was Ms Baillie hinting at that there is some suppressed news to come out about Mrs Murrell? Any clues, Stu?
No sorry, she didn’t say that
Well that the May elections blown.
Back to the drawing board guys.
Well that was a cathartic experience. I have had 54 Sturgeon Cultists unfriend me on FB so far. I doubt if any of them were canvasing with me and Willie Wolfe in East Lothian way bay in 1978 when we were getting peeched with stones and having dogs set on us. If it up to those Cultists then we will never be free. They have no fecking idea.
I thought Philip had died when they went to archive footage of him.
I was watching on the Parliament TV channel and it just went off when Jackie Baillie was answering a pointed question (so I thought it was yanked for some reason or another). Was that when the so-called Prince Philip pictures came up for everyone else?
Re state funeral for HRH. He asked decades ago for a private funeral, not a state funeral.
I was watching on the Parliament TV channel and it just went off when the Dumbarton MSP was answering a pointed question (so I thought it was yanked for some reason or another). Was that when the so-called Prince Philip pictures came up for everyone else?
Re state funeral for HRH. He asked decades ago for a private funeral, not a state funeral.
“So you nutters didn’t get your smoking gun today”
What makes you think that?
Do you realise that over 90% of communication is non-verbal?
Up to 55% of communication is via body language and as much as 38% via the tone of voice. That only leaves a tiny 7% of communication room for Nicola to push down our throat her lies.
Perhaps that small room for manoeuvring is the reason why she felt she had to repeat them ad nauseum during the whole event?
My missus and her pal are both very senior management. They thought Nicola was a shambles today. Soft scripted questions from her own party members were pretty obvious, but they both felt she had real difficulty with the rest.
Not a good opinion at all!!
Well looks like independence is over as a political force. Over to the people.
Stoker @4:16 Humza is not a list. He’s only standing in the constituency. I very much doubt he will be re-elected.
He’s been “tell” by JEREMY VINE “I’m trying to work this out. If you are the Scottish Justice Secretary, should you be batting for one side in this very delicate process? Isn’t the reason this whole mess arose because there’s no clear line between govt and justice system?”
https://twitter.com/theJeremyVine/status/1367133281909690368
Can we fast forward to the bit where a new pro-indy party containg Salmond and the remaining proper politicians like Cherry, MacAskill and McNeil emerges?
Really need some hope after that session of lies, half truths, smears and nonsense. The SNP is finished as the party of Indepdence and it doesn’t even realise how massive the rot is within its leadership. Labour went really south when they became “New Labour” despite initial electoral success under Tony Blair. Sturgeon has created “New SNP” and in short order will see the same electoral fortunes as “New Labour”.
Salmond was accused of inappropriate behaviour by a number of women who worked in & around his office as First Minister when you were his deputy.
After you became First Minister, your Government re-wrote harassment policies & procedures to include him as well as these women, long after he left office.
So he took your Government to court claiming that these policies and procedures were unlawful. He won the case & was awarded substantial costs in his favour.
One of the reasons for winning his case is that your Government displayed egregious, willful bias and corrupted the process by engaging incorrectly with the women who were alleging inappropriate behaviour.
Those same women then appeared in court as complainers when he was subsequently charged with multiple counts of sexual misconduct of a criminal nature. He won his case and was cleared on all counts.
And now you state under oath, that you don’t know who these women are?
Fuck right off.
oneliner@5.22
You bet Nicola would welcome Alex back into the SNP – he would probably bring upwards of a few hundred thousands worth of votes!
Given the vitriol and the degree of personal hurt she relentlessly admitted during the course of today, welcoming someone AS does not add up – unless that is her way of apologising???
I know today has been a shit show of lies and obfuscation but might we have some redress from the Hamilton enquiry ?
Just asking as unsure if he can actually get to the truth and bring those who think the are beyond reproach of any wrong doing brought down hard and we have a clear out of the self serving liars.
The attacks by NS on Alex Salmond today were an utter disgrace, cleared by a jury and judge but tricky Nicky still insists he must be guilty, really FFS !
There were times today I was listening to Sturgeon laying it on so thick that it reminded me of the testimony of (I think) Woman H. Like she was dropping in well rehearsed smears during her evidence and trying ‘lead the jury’ or lead the inquiry. Very similar, almost like they had the same coach.
I feel like I need a shower after watching that but I am glad I did. I now can see Sturgeon as she really is with complete confidence, all remaining doubt (what little there was left) has been removed by today.
There was an awful lot of “I didn’t… I did… I…I…I…”. Noticeably, the complainants hardly got a mention.
Trying to play catch up after work, unable to even have the tv on today, but it is clear that someone doesn’t give a shit, and thinks they are untouchable.
Sturgeon was pretty awful today. If the aim was to “set the record straight”, she failed. She offered up obfuscation, opinion, assumptions, conjecture, but very little in the way of cold hard facts. She basically used it as a platform to attack Salmond and along the way cast doubt on everything everyone said that corroborated with Salmond’s account. The defence of some of her specific actions was extremely flimsy – and the committee were clear in their scepticism over some of that – and a lot of her defence seemed to rely on specific interpretation of the nuance of the question.
Having said that the committee did not appear to land any sort of knockout blow. A couple of them occasionally let their party political allegiances override their lines of questioning, which weakened the points they were (generally correctly) trying to make. They did not sufficiently direct the conversation to the Scottish Government’s failings in the whole thing and too often a casual drop-in viewer would have considered that it was actually an inquiry into the behaviour of Alex Salmond. Fabiani should have intervened on some of those Sturgeon monologues considerably earlier as the content of them was (at the very best) not pertinent to the question asked and at worst extremely questionable.
I’ve no idea where we go from here but watching the two submissions in full it seems pretty clear who was the one in most difficulty.
Just a shame there’s no post-game coverage of the massive private session dust-up between Fabiani and Mitchell…
Today did not provide much more information (if any at all) but it did remove any trace of doubt that Sturgeon lies at the very heart of the conspiracy to jail an innocent man.
Yup.
She says that she never claimed to be infallible, unlike Salmond. Having read so much about the personalities of these two leaders in the last year-and-a-bit, unless I have completely misjudged them, then that is a serious case of narcissistic projection.
I know it’s anecdotal and people will scoff at its veracity, but I was just speaking to Mrs. Person who told me her colleagues were discussing it and think she should resign. They work in education, she reckons they are mainly SNP voters, so this really surprised me.
OT, if a member of the royal family dies, the tell-tale is that the TV and radio presenters are told first that there’s going to be an announcement. There’s a sudden cut in transmission of “frivolous” programmes on the TV and the radio switches to “serious” music with the presenters told not to
make jokes. The announcement will be made fifteen minutes after that. It seems like Philip is at death’s door.
I watches Mr Salmond’s testimony, and cannot remember him specifically, and by name, making smears or disparaging remarks about Nicola Sturgeon.
And so, today, I am really dissappointed at the way in which NS has spent as much of her time as possible seemingly (in my opinion) trying to imply that Mr Salmond is actually guilty despite being found completely innocent by a mainly female jury in the highest criminal court in Scotland. Over and over again, it has been dropped into her answers, about how upsetting she found it when she realised how serious the accusations were against him. Just seemingly over and over again.
So how does the SNP ever pull itself out of this. I just do not believe a single thing she says anymore. It just sounds like excuse after excuse after excuse, the lamest being she didn’t want to interfere – even when near half a million in taxpayers money was squandered against multiple pieces of legal advice. Or the example above, that she doesn’t know the identity of the alphabet people.
Sorry, but that just beggars belief. Seriously, the First Minister of Scotland has endured all of what has happened to her government, with all the cost, all the media attention, all the parliamentary questions and votes, all the demanded and with held evidence, all the requested papers from HER government and court cases, and not once has she taken the slightest interest in who those women were? Sorry, but just f*** right off. What utter, utter, unadulterated p*sh.
She is seemingly taking the people of Scotland for complete fools.
Those that saw a rat, it was Sturgeon’s soul. Even it had enough of her bullshit.
Lots of ifs, buts, maybes, waffling and trying to explain away fault after fault and misunderstandings. She’s hoping people will buy the flustered, rabbit in headlights stance but it doesn’t explain all of the serious mishaps by her government for which she’s ultimately responsible.
Nobody with any reasonable sense of accountability or integrity could expect Sturgeon to remain in her post – she’s utterly toxic and soiled goods along with many of her ‘allies’.
It’s now only a question of when she goes. The longer she remains, the longer it will take for Indy and Scotland to rebuild from this debacle.
How can Sturgeon consider that if SHE says her official didn’t give the name of one of the complainers to Mr Salmond’s aide BUT Mr Salmond and three other people confirm that they did, then everyone must agree that she’s telling the truth.
Joke of the day
difference between Salmond and me is I never claimed to be infallible – live
Quite a dull afternoon, overall. Wonder if the REV spotted anything the hive mind did not?
@AlfBaird
I had been reading a piece on the awfulness of the US system – people just get rail-roaded (unless rich), “take the plea, 3 years or its 15 at trial” – and that is from your own lawyer. But I don’t think the Scots system is any better from what I have seen; everyone thinks of juries and “12 angry men”, or “to kill a mockingbird”. But Atticus McFinch will likely not be representing you, nor could you afford him.
Has anyone seen Mr Murrell recently – I mean actually SEEN him ?
Nicolas closing statement “serious mistakes have been made”
Did you hear such during her evidence? She defended everything.
After watching that would anyone feel they would get a fair hearing from NS? She has a reputation for being ruthless but her poor recall and grasp of detail suggests she operates on emotion.
My head was spinning
I’m tired
I don’t know what everyone is doing in my staff
My recollection is different but I cannot be sure
There is not a shred of evidence to suggest a plot but I don’t know who the women are or what their messages to each other were about
He was acquitted but that didn’t mean he didn’t do it
I wasn’t in court so I don’t know what was said
And so on
It is all so …unbecoming
Google
When you type in Wee Ginger Dug most times you get the option of
The Weather
Way fair
Wings over Scotland and Bella Caledonia in the same line for some reason
Then WordPress wee ginger dug
I wonder if the Weather is a better option, it seems to be quite popular
I was eagerly awaiting Karl Pilkington’s Bullshit Man to fly into the frame after she said that!
30 seconds
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lRIQGU2RRk
Ad hominem and projection from Sturgeon.
Register changes from the wee lassie frae Ayrshire tae the ex-City lawyer, ull hev ye know, and back, as necessary.
Facts do not require theatrics.
During Murdo Fraser qus. about JR legal advice NS made comparison with JR of proposed Minimum-Pricing Bill. She was trying to suggest the AS JR was pursued in the face of pessimistic legal advice because of the potential value of having the robustness of the procedure tested in court.
I can see the argument in relation to proposed legislation like Minimum-Pricing, but the AS JR was about an internal HR procedure which insofar as it purported to apply to former employees it was by no means clear what positive outcomes could be expected to arise from it for either the SG or the individuals concerned?
This newly-drafted, untested procedure was challenged as unlawful by AS lawyers in March 2018. Rather than take the time to accept AS suggestion of referring it to arbitration or reviewing and re-drafting it, and in spite of there being no obvious urgency about pursuing the investigation as there would have been had it involved a current employee, the SG chose to have an internal HR procedure effectively ‘legalled’ by spending £1 million defending it in the Court of Session?
As we used to say about a colleague:
“Lies at her convenience”
Ebo or Yoruba?
RoS@4.49pm.
Fully understand your comments but I would ask you to reflect on Scotland being a failed state. This is not a little bit of corruption in the Crown Office or in Government.
This is actually about widespread coordinated system malign corruption running across the most senior of civil servants, the First Minister and other ministers, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, and the most senior executives within a party.
That the abuse, the persecution has extended through all these mechanisms of government, has involved the withholding of information, redaction, lying to parliament and disregarding Parliament itself, what has been going on can only be described as the anarchybofvthe mechanisms of state.
And make no mistake RoS we ignore this at our absolute peril. Too many people in 1930s Germany were only to happy to ignore the regime taking out Jews and others deemed unsuitable. Wheeshting for Adolf it all turned was out an absolute disaster for Germany. Wheeshting for Nicola will be a disaster too.
Salmond, Hirst, Murray, Singh, and the Fife man given six months last week were examples. But so was targeted police activity at other political opponents like Margaret Ferrier MP another. Or the ongoing police investigation into Kenny MacAskill MP whilst criminal leaks to the Daily Record go un-investigated.
So, I’m sorry RoS but that is why I don’t agree that this can be passed off as a little bit of corruption in the Crown Office. .
But consider this RoS when there is no rule of law, only the rule of the corrupt, anarchy ultimately follows. I for one do not want to live in anarchy under the jackboot of a rotten government, rotten police force and rotten prosecution service – and that is why based upon where we are Scotland can fairly be described as a failed state.
As much as it pains me to say it, Ruth Davidson is right that the committee still hasn’t seen all the Scottish governments legal advice, even though they’ve been compelled twice by parliament to hand it over.
Davidson will push this matter further tomorrow at FMQ’s.
Linda Fabiani tag teaming with FM whenever Margerate Mitchell questioned too closely doesn’t look good.
The performance on show from this” First Minister” was completely churlish in comparison to Alec Salmonds open honest and dare I say? Noble stand for truth and justice.
Hey you Sturgeon shills how do you like them apples?
I thought the enquiry was about her and her governments failings.
She used smearing AS as a tactic to damage him and protect herself.
I hope people watching could compare and contrast a dignified appearance last Friday and plain and simple obfuscation today.
The idea that NS has no knowledge of anything, other than the guilt of AS is staggering and for the head of a government, ludicrous and unbelievable.
She is either guilty of corruption, or incompetence.
I’ve noticed on social media that the faithful are framing this as ‘Sturgeon vs unionists’.
I feel AS hands are tied. If he takes things further this side of the election then he will be accused of ‘burning the whole house down’.
I didn’t want to watch this today but I think NS will survive this. She’s a very dangerous individual. Unless there’s significant change of personnel, the SNP won’t have my vote.
The Sargent Schulz defence? ” I know nothing”
Aunties calling it a strong rebuttal, and selecting the choice cuts to change the narrative.
We’re going to need the memory stick of truth leaked. On a slow news day.
First time commenter. I watched today and was stunned at how freely Scotland’s first minister maligned Alex Salmond’s behaviour.
Given that the Scottish Government enquiry into the allegations wasn’t able to reach a reliable conclusion, on what basis does she do so?
She also, along with the committee represents that it is the complainers that have been let down. I would contend that Alex Salmond has been at least as badly let down.
How can Salmond ever get a fair hearing with a Government led by someone who has clearly determined his guilt.
“As first minister, I refused to follow the age-old pattern of allowing a powerful man to use his status and connection to get what he wants.” Funny how Sturgeon always has to throw in some tired, divisive battle of the sexes shite, eh? Really not a fan of men at all, is she?
Willie @6.13pm.
Willie thanks for the reply, though I’m with Alex Salmond on this one who said something along the lines, that Scotland isn’t a failed state, and that the Crown office as an institution isn’t corrupt last Friday at the committee hearing in his opening speech.
Yes there are several individuals in the Crown Office who’ve brought it into disrepute on this affair, the Lord Advocate sitting in on Sturgeon cabinets meeting have only made this worse.
The same applies to the Scottish parliament, overall it functions in the matter that it should. The present government and some of the Civil Service have in my opinion on this affair brought the parliament into disrepute as with the Crown Office, but to compare both government bodies with that of 1930’s Hitler’s Germany is a fair stretch of the imagination Willie, if that were the case there would have been no committee to question Sturgeon or Murrell or Evans etc.
The committee want her to stay in a damaged form.
They want her to stay as FM. So they will say shite like … flawed process, lessons to be learned etc..
However, the damage is done. Too many pro indy people know she is a lying rat.
The indy movement will prevail.
Nicola Sturgeon is a perfect example of ideology over truth or common sense. The Utopian ideologist will ruin everyone’s life if they are allowed to ram through their Parliaments UN directives. I believe the SNP is now in the Blairite Globalist camp. They have been since they voted for NATO. NATO is a tool of Empire and should have stood down when our Russian brothers and sisters stood down. The East extended the hand of friendship and the West sent in the corrupt you all know the story.
Cath says:
3 March, 2021 at 3:41 pm
This is far worse than even my worse fears of what she would do today. I hope Salmond’s lawyers are primed for the next stage, whatever that is, to happen fast now.
Cath I’m sure Alex’s lawyers were just waiting for Nicola to give evidence & have it on video, before taking further action.
We might need to have a go fund me page to cover costs. I’m in NZ but I’m prepared to put in $200, more if needed.
I really do hope his lawyers take this further, & all who illegally conspired against Alex will be sent to jail.
I didn’t believe a word she said regarding what she knew.
I also didn’t like the way she spoke of Alex. Here was a man who put her where she is, handed her a respected party with a healthy membership. What does she do in return?
She sets out with a plan to smear his good name with sexual allegations that could have had him sent to jail.
Alex left the party until he cleared his name so that the SNP party that he loves wouldn’t be affected.
What does she do? She erases his 30+ years of service in that party from it’s history on line.
She claims he was a dear friend of hers since she was 20.
Is this the action of a dear friend? Looks like having a friend like Nicola is really having an enemy. She clearly doesn’t like Alex, not because of the man he is, but because he is a threat to her position as FM. Unfortunately for her, after the charade we saw today, a VONC should be issued within the week.
She is definitely not fit for office.
@SilverDarling says:
3 March, 2021 at 5:59 pm
“After watching that would anyone feel they would get a fair hearing from NS? She has a reputation for being ruthless but her poor recall and grasp of detail suggests she operates on emotion.”
Smokescreen. You do not reach ministerial level unless you know what the hell is going on. Well, I suppose the SNP have made that an exception these days…
Always remember Michael Portillo saying how ministers were petrified about briefing Thatcher as she sometimes knew more than they did about events.
I feel I’m going to lose friends over this. So sick of the “I stand with Nicola” attitude. Why can’t they see that she has done nothing to forward the cause of indy?
Well the committee now have around three weeks to digest all the evidence and come up with a report. I rather feel the report if they can agree to produce one, will fall in line with party allegiance and cancel itself out.
The Tory VONC of Sturgeon might be the way forward now.
I’ve been a Wings supporter for many years. I have donated much more than I, an OAP should have.
No longer.
I’ve had enough. WoS is now working against Scottish independence.
Goodbye.
You have got to laugh at the framing of anyone who criticizes NS as a Tory or a Yoon now being used by SNP central and the prisoners of self-delusion on Facebook
Remember before they all fled to WGD how we were all ‘plants’ and 77th brigade and that there was a Plan B?
What does it take? NS is not going to get us Indy and from today’s performance, she is not the best person to lead a government either.
Interesting to see six maskless individuals sit in a room for 6+ hours with no danger of Covid. The next Judicial Review is 10/11 March when the Government will defend their belief that masked and distanced individuals cannot sit in a room for one hour without threatening the health of the nation. If Nicola was praying was it an illegal gathering for worship subject to a fine of up to £5000.
She came across as truthful and honest as Hillary Clinton.
If she does not know who the women are then how can she say with ‘certainty’ there was no malice?
And of course by that comment she is seeking to rubbish the Jury’s decision
If she does know who some of the women are then how does she know that? Does she know those women personally?
I was afraid that this rather ineffectual and stacked committee would not get far-though to be fair it was a very good stitch-up; the two-pronged ‘inquiry’ and the separation (In theory) of government and civil service simply added to the anonymity order problems to provide a perfect smoke-screen
Finally of course this woman could mither a nest of rats to death without even breaking into a sweat
Who was it said now I need a shower?
Exactly how I feel to. Sleeket and slimy, leaves a very bad taste.
Good for you Bill I feel the same. I have been a supporter of Independence since the days of Dr Malcolm Slessor and Wendy Wood. We were thought of as crazy we have come a long way and I won’t support these delusional Johnny come latelys . I too am off.
There comes a time when every liar over eggs their lies with something so outrageously stupid that it reveals to everyone listening that they’re taking the c**t. The above video was that moment.
She can lie all she likes. The facts don’t change and the flood of them coming right now is unstoppable. I don’t believe much changed today and her fall is still coming.
She’s some brass neck, I’ll give her that.
Thank goodness we now live in an evolved, civilised and just society. After a performance like that, Elizabeth the First wouldn’t have had to wait 19 years before deciding – off with her head.
The NS machine was in full flow on SM.
This is where the rebuttal unit is, Foote getting his tuppence worth in.
Apparently the SNP phone lines are blocked with people wanting to join, yeah right.
This was a masterclass in saving NSs backside.
Did it work, maybe.
I agree NS is a globalist, she wants Angus R to take over, then she’ll be off to the Clinton foundation or somewhere.
Those sessions today were something else entirely.
Regarding jury trials, I can talk from my own personal experience of taking the witness stand at a few trials in my time.
If this inquiry had happened to have been a judge-led inquiry, with the performance that Sturgeon gave today it would have seen her abso-fuckin-lutely destroyed on the stand by any lawyer worth their salt.
Hands down this is how witnesses are determined to be unreliable in court, by mutilating thier own statements all by themselves infront of a judge and jury, Sturgeon only needed the minimum of questioning, of prompting by the committee members to demonstrate her own guilt – and that is without even taking onboard the multiple times she openly lied and conflated the truth to the inquiry.
And this is our First Minister.
Never should we ever again vote anyone into a position of power who can lie and disturb the truth so openly and with ease.
I am pro-Scotland, pro-independence, I have been for my entire adult life as I have been an SNP member and voter.
I now cannot say with any level of conviction that I could ever vote for the SNP again with this person leading the party.
I never left the SNP, the SNP left me.
Apparently the SNP phone lines are blocked with people wanting to join, yeah right.
To be fair, I considered re-joining today in case there’s a leadership election soon, but decided to leave it a bit and see how things pan out a bit more first.
Bye Bill
Bill Hume
I think you’ll find it’s NS who is working against Scottish Independence.
Years of hard evidence stands as a testament to that.
https://www.scottishparliament.tv/meeting/committee-on-the-scottish-government-handling-of-harassment-complaints-march-3-2021
As promised here is the link to the archived video.
Looks as if they have edited out the rat.
No transcript as yet
Keep checking here:
https://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/ReportSelectPage.aspx?type=committee&year=2021&page=0&meeting=291
When it is available I might compile a list of every time she
suggests Alex Salmond is guilty.
That was very undignified.
@Cath,
Aye, that’ll be the phone line that nobody ever answers.
In a market orientated society such as ours – capitalism if you like – the rule of law is sacrosanct.
Once that falls apart the state is on the way to failing. We can argue the toss about the extent of that failing. But all the rest is propaganda.
https://twitter.com/CraigMurrayOrg/status/1367143094748069894
“All non-consensual or imposed sexual activity is criminal. It is vital to state that.
The concerted attempt to argue that the Salmond jury decided there was indeed non-consensual or imposed sexual activity, but it was not illegal, is not just nonsense.
It is dangerous nonsense.”
I’ve arrange for a postal vote and as soon as I get it I will not be vetoing SNP and it’ll be return back by special delivery.
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands at a time of comfort and convenience but where he stands at a time of challenge and controversy”. Martin Luthor King
By by Bill.
Someone mentioned `Tony Blair` and the Chilcot/Iraq inquiry,
this is from Rebekah Brooks NOTW scandel,
`“Today’s evidence shows just how close the relationship is between Britain’s former prime minister and Rupert Murdoch’s most senior executives:
that Tony Blair went out of his way to provide detailed advice to Rebekah Brooks on how she could choreograph a ‘Hutton-style’ inquiry –
one cynically and deliberately designed to come up with an outcome to exonerate Brooks whilst fobbing off the general public with an admission of some ‘shortcomings’.
It certainly says a lot about Mr Blair’s approach to the Hutton inquiry.”
the Hutton inquiry was to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death of Dr David Kelly during the `WMD` in Iraq lie by British Labour.
The fact that the women got together, after Alex Salmond was found “Not Guilty” on all charges and acquitted, to make a joint statement to continue to slander him suggests that they knew each other (certainly their identities) and had communicated between themselves. Craig Murry, if I remember correctly, pointed out that they were all close to Nicola which had to be the case to make the case and its intention work.
Willie @ 6:13 pm
“on Scotland being a failed state.”
Successive SNP Scottish Governments have made the grave mistake of leaving a privileged unionist meritocratic elite in charge of Scotland’s institutions, including civil service. George Osborne referred to the controls exercised by what he termed ‘the arms’ of the British state in Scotland, which are crown and civil service. Whatever the latter get up to there appears to be a good measure of immunity involved, as we can see from the evidence in this enquiry.
What we see is though perhaps less a failed state than a colonial state in that the people actually wielding power (which is not the SNP elite, albeit the latter may sit at the center of power in Scotland) represent and promote the values and interests of the ‘administrative Power’ (i.e. UK), against the interests of the restless natives.
King Lear gave his crown to daughters who turned out to be pure evil but at the time they praised him to the heavens in order to get the power and wealth. This comes to mind when reading above the testimony of a liar who whilst protesting her “love” for the King who gave her the crown takes every opportunity to smear him with a guilt that a jury consisting of a majority of women, and presided over by a women judge, did not.
Does not her constant smearing these days reveal the true motivation of her and her circles acts from 2017 onwards?
Is it true that a senior civil servant at the very heart of this afair has destroyed what no civil servant would ever do i.e. the day to diaries which always have to be present in order to record and fact check? Surely this is untrue?
“Detested kite! thou liest”
I will not veto anything.
Holding my nose SNP1 ISP2.
I might even rejoin the SNP . As a member since the 195O’s and only resigned a year ago I am feeling angry at “my” party. I may pay at the lowest sub and make sure I get a subsidised ticket for Autumn Conference and then get rid of the crap!
I want independence but I also want land reform and planning rules that favour youth employment in rural areas and not favouring birds and beasties!
Ruby @ 7.03pm
“Looks as if they have edited out the rat”
What? No video at all of Sturgeon. Surely not.
Man alive, they’re seriously going for this site on social media this evening. Almost alarming.
Who are the “vile cybernats” now, eh?
If all they can do is throw dog’s abuse, they’ve lost the argument…
Kiwilassie 6.38pm.
“She claims he was a dear friend of hers since she was 20.
Is this the action of a dear friend? Looks like having a friend like Nicola is really having an enemy.”
Presumably,during that thirty years of ‘friendship’ with Alex she was also friends with his wife. I don’t see any regret or consideration for her from Sturgeon. She must have a brick for a heart. She would probably take that as a compliment.
I see Humza Useless was getting put in his place over live tweeting a commentary on the NS grilling, despite needing some professional separation of his justice role and being Nicola’s pet lapdog. This was by Andrew Neil and also Jeremy Vine of all people.
I can offer a guarantee that within the next 24 to 48 hours, like clockwork, Humza trots out the “woe-is-me” routine of claiming “Islamophobic” hate messages. These somehow never get reported to the police or prosecuted, because they are of course merely normal comments critical of him and his crap policies & nepotism.
never laid a glove on her full marks
rev sick as a gutted salmond
She is in deep trouble for framing AS.
What does she do?
Spend 6 hrs today continuing the job.
Thanks NS. All is clear now.
“Just a shame there’s no post-game coverage of the massive private session dust-up between Fabiani and Mitchell…” Worth more than a Sky subscription to see that!
Apparently Labour won’t be voting no confidence…
To paraphrase George Bush Jr,
paraphrasing Abraham Lincoln…
‘You can fool Some of the people
All of the time,
And these are the ones we should concentrate on.’
Hope you have a plan B. This is not enough.
F15
“that favour youth employment in rural areas and not favouring birds and beasties”
Without the birds and beasties there’ll be no youth employment!
The future of rural communities is sustainable tourism, (and renewable energy), of which the birds and beasties and landscape are the biggest attractions.
Crofting might support an individual family, but it can’t support larger communities and it’s based upon a finite resource, land, so you’re into dead men’s shoes to get a foot on that ladder.
Besides, not everyone is cut out nor wants to spend a lifetime juggling a chainsaw or being up to the elbow in a beast’s behind.
You need to attract people with money to rural areas so that they spend it there – far better to get those with the dosh to come to you than cope with the costs and logistics of getting your product to them.
The birds and beasties and landscapes are generally free – the tours and accommodation and services which support those who come to see them is what provides employment.
No birds or beasties and landscapes under Sitka Spruce and grouse moors devoid of all but grouse attract nobody but those foreign absentee landowners looking for somewhere to bury their I’ll gotten gains.
But I digress…
As others have said bye Bill
Or is it Dr Jim , Hamish, petrified, or any number of the usual suspects , take your pick probably the same person because they all act the same like a load of nodding dugs all pointing in the same direction follow the leader , not one of them with a original thought a different opinion just follow the gang , Christ I wonder if they all dress the same , Floral seems to be in this year ladies what do you think ? oh come on you must have a opinion , Oh I forgot you don’t do you,
Elmac says:
3 March, 2021 at 7:19 pm
Ruby @ 7.03pm
“Looks as if they have edited out the rat”
What? No video at all of Sturgeon. Surely not.
Reply
🙂 No she is still there. Might need more than a bit of video editing to get rid of her.
I was going to JOKINGLY suggest a very well known pest control company might do the trick but thought better of it as I might be accused of making death threats.
The Parliament definitely needs to get in touch with the well known pest control company. There was an also that incident when a rodent photobombed a video featuring Johann Lamont.
PS I don’t know for certain if the rat has been cut I might have checked the wrong frames. Keep an eye out for the rat it might still be there.
holymacmoses says:
3 March, 2021 at 5:57 pm
Has anyone seen Mr Murrell recently – I mean actually SEEN him ?
Reply
Prior to a few days ago I don’t think he had been in his office at all. I say this because for about a two week period there was ‘A Wanted for Perjury’ notice on his office door.
It was only removed a few days ago.
Maybe the rats ate it!
Jack McArthur says:
3 March, 2021 at 7:19 pm
Is it true that a senior civil servant at the very heart of this afair has destroyed what no civil servant would ever do i.e. the day to diaries which always have to be present in order to record and fact check? Surely this is untrue?
This story relates to documents sought by AS at the time of the JR. He wanted minutes of a meeting between Permanent Sec. Lesley Evans and FM on 29th Nov.2017 at the time the Harassment Procedure was being re-drafted to include former ministers and exclude NS from any involvement. The implication being that it’s hard to believe the FM wasn’t made aware of the basis of the complaints against AS during that meeting. The excuse for SG not producing a record of this meeting to JR was as above.
However the significance of this meeting for the Holyrood Comm. is that it inexplicably isn’t mentioned at all in the timeline of the drafting of the procedure provided to the Comm. by SG. Unless Lesley Evans has advanced dementia the loss of the notebook is hardly an insurmountable obstacle? All the Comm. need to is invite Evans to submit her account of the meeting and also explain why it wasn’t admitted to in the timeline provided previuosly?
“Luke says:
3 March, 2021 at 4:35 pm
..that they had to go through the process of searching words and phrases to find them. Sure you had an article highlighting that none of the key phrases such as Aberdein returned anything. I might be misremembering. Did anyone ever get to the bottom of why certain words or phrases didn’t return any results?”
Someone revealed that they did it by putting a space between each letter in a word.
Her lawyers have had her watching rerun’s of the Leveson Inquiry with Blair at his obfuscating smoke and mirrors best.
As suspected, all is to be deemed fine with the world and we all move on.
Any mistakes were honest ones and lets show we can be bigger people rather than seeking Sacrificial heads on plates. We have all learned from this and isnt that the main thing?
Sigh,
All we can hope for is some physical evidence being leaked.. doubtful but only thing left that could usurp this shambles.
3 March, 2021 at 7:47 pm
Her lawyers have had her watching rerun’s of the Leveson Inquiry with Blair at his obfuscating smoke and mirrors best.
In that case they will have seen her Pal Campbell admit to the enquiry that their was no justification for Blair misleading Parliament by claiming the intelligence was ‘beyond doubt’. They might also be aware that within days of this occurring, Campbell literally broke down in a live tv interview when asked about the implications of this.
She gave off the distinct impression that she was lying under oath, or withholding the truth which amounts to the same. Denied all knowledge, denied all responsibility, played the victim and pointed the finger of blame.
She has got away with it thus far, so there is nothing to suggest to her that she won’t continue to get away with it. However, with her level of iniquity, I can’t see how she can avoid stepping in her own poo sooner or later.
Her body language at the end of her answer tells you she knows she’s not telling the truth.
@Donibristle, 4.57
Exactly.
So the whitewash inquiry just needs its last coat and it’s over.
Onto the Hamilton inquiry.
I keep checking Wings to see if anything is happening. It’s been several hours with no developments in Scottish politics and I’m starting to get bored…
Unfortunately I didn’t get to watch it all.
There’s only so much “I don’t accept that” or “I don’t recognise that” I can take in one sitting…
I did notice that in response to being asked if she thought Pringle, Aberdein and Hamilton were lying when they said that they had been/had been informed that 2 complainants names were revealed by a SPECIFIC senior Scottish Government minister, her response was to suggest that they knew because Alex Salmond has been going all Hercule Poirot and doing his own detective work.
Their affadavits are clear.
Alex Salmond DID NOT tell them.
One of her team DID.
Or does she not accept that either?
Just to say thank you for keeping me sane Wings. I cannot express just how deeply scunnered I am that the FM’s ‘performance’ (for that is what it was) today at Holyrood is being presented as a triumph. Thing is, she and all her coterie believe it and anyone disagreeing is simply cancelled. Sair sair scunnered tae be livin in a country populated by utter numpties. There’s no one to vote for in May. No one.
Cath @ 8:07- Same for me-have they not released those messages yet?
Simplest way to comprehend what’s going on is that Nicola is to independence what Tony Blair was to socialism.
Wound be interesting to count how many times she mentioned Alex by name – and often in a very unpleasant
Manner. And yet Alex hardly mentioned her and when he did it was with dignity and respect.
She has a dark soul – that’s if she has one at all.
The last laugh will be on the numpties who think she will get them indy – she has no intention. She also intends to flush women’s rights down the toilet and shut up those that object with the hate crime bill
If you thought watching her today was painful, have a peek on social media tonight. Ignorance en masse.
Going by this Craig Murray tweet, we need to just bite the bullet and give the SNP both votes in May unless there’s a major development.
“As I keep being asked, I see no alternative still but to give both votes SNP in May’s Holyrood elections, in the hope of a move towards Independence.
It would take a major new development with a list party to alter my 2nd vote view – a big leader, or all Indy list parties merge.”
https://twitter.com/CraigMurrayOrg/status/1367187598901403653
Watched the 2nd half of NS’s bleatings on Channel 9 today and just when she was asked an important question the BBC Scotland cut off to an archive of a laughing Prince Phillip in Westminster?
Are the BBC Scotland so incompetent to get this so wrong? Were they practicing for the old lizards obituary and got muddled? Had to turn back to Skye Live Channel to watch the rest of proceedings with unwanted subtitles!
Anyway, all I saw today was deflect, deflect, deflect……
Hi there,
Having a guy on the Twitter claiming the SNP ” They have over £1 mil investments on their accounts. Guessing that might account for that “missing” money.”
News to me?
Re that Craig Murray tweet, I feel there are a few people playing with us tonight 🙂 Perhaps there is a big announcement coming up fairly soon…
Robertknight: You’ll be going back Tory HQ a disappointed man tonight. Chin up, you might get a seats come May.
Get a life Stu. In May we have our last shot at independence. Like it or lump it, but the SNP are the only vehicle to that end. If you want to scupper Scotland‘s last chance, then keep going, otherwise show a bit of moderation and hold your nose. Ultimately, you have to decide what is greater : your hate of the SNP or your love of Scotland.
S. perspective….. we have ZERO CHANCE of independence under the current SNP leadership. Stu has proved that.
There is still a chance that the independence movement has played a blinder. I can well believe the SNP is gaining members among the people who love Sturgeon, not least those moving up from England for better governance, and the more naturally centrist and unionist types (the kind who liked New Labour). And whatever we on here think about her performance today, she robbed the unionists of any chance to get her on anything. I suspect the narrative they wanted was Salmond as Scotland’s Harvey Weinstein languishing in prison and Sturgeon destroyed because she tried to cover up. They have neither.
If as well as that, the independence movement has something up its sleeve for the list, a party that the Salmond crowd can get behind, a supermajority in May is very possible. And the sweet thing is that the electoral commission and opponents can’t say “But that’s just two SNP parties, gaming the system” because they’re the ones which have been telling everyone how much of a split there is. If that idealistic hope were a real possibility, it might explain why they appear so shrill and desperate.
@Republicofscotland 8.34pm
To be honest, I’ve always had my doubts about Craig Murray’s judgement and often of his analysis of events. The fact that he’s still advocating voting for the bin fire that is the SNP at all – still less SNP 1& 2 – confirms my fears.
If the Sturgeonistas aren’t overthrown, or a new alternative party doesn’t emerge to challenge them, we might as well accept the game’s a bogey and hope our kids and grandkids have more courage than we do.
An independent Scotland dominated by Sturgeon and her ilk – or indeed one which was achieved on the back of accepting their worldview – isn’t something I relish.
Derek M Morison says: 3 March, 2021 at 7:45 pm
Jack McArthur says: 3 March, 2021 at 7:19 pm
Is it true that a senior civil servant at the very heart of this affair has destroyed what no civil servant would ever do i.e. the day to diaries which always have to be present in order to record and fact check? Surely this is untrue?
Recorded in my events timeline
29 Nov: Ms Richards, met with Ms Evans, who then went on to have a “private summit meeting with the First Minister, “to discuss events to-date, including the allegations of harassment by Alex Salmond and all other relevant aspects of the development of the proposed procedure”.
Afternote: The meeting had been convened with the express purpose of re-drafting parts of the draft harassment procedure including removing any reference to the early involvement of the First Minister and the inclusion of former Ministers. This was an official meeting to discuss Government policies and Nicola Sturgeon’s private secretary was present to record a minute.
Alex Salmond’s team requested a copy of the minute of the meeting only to be told that the notebook in which the minute had been recorded had been destroyed. An act of vandalism unprecedented in Government. So the Inquiry and Alex Salmond will never know, for certain what was discussed and decided. Given the significance of the meeting it is also inexplicable that it does not have a place of any significant standing in the timeline of events pertaining to the development of the process.
Is it just a fairy story that Leslie Evans and Sue Loyd were jumped 2steps up the promotion ladder, with consumate salary rise. ,after their expensive mistakes which we paid for.!
Andy Ellis @8.46pm.
Andy.
I can see Craig’s point on why he’s said what he said.
S. perspective…..and rejoin Europe, have you seen the shambolic mess they are in. Ursula von der Leyen (and the EU big wigs) makes the SG seem competent in all aspects, she has left a trail of destruction behind her throughout her career in Germany.
Then there is the TARGET2 deficit, if people understood the risks associatied with this mechanism, the vote for Brexit would have been higher, same mechanism that bought down the USSR.
An independant Scotland must mean exactly that, independant of all outside corruption, influence by other Governments and free to trade with whoever we want to.
Yet more belated legal documents for committee found down back couch cushions…
https://twitter.com/nickeardleybbc/status/1367198599336112137
I have the sickening feeling that this enquiry wants a result of NS to remain as FM.
The Unionists so they can destroy the case for independence at the forthcoming election.
The Sturgeonistas so they can still worship the rays of sunshine coming from her posterior after they have licked it shiny clean.
They don’t care if we get wiped out in the election so long as they can continue to bask in the rays coming from St Nicky.
Re: the Craig Murray tweet.
I value Craig’s opinion but I would rather hear what Alex Salmond would recommend. At the moment I will vote SNP in the constituency and I would like to vote for another pro-indy party on the list.
Without a Salmond recommendation to vote SNP on both the only other things that would shift my opinion would be for Murrell, Lloyd, Riddick and Evans to be emptied before the election or plan B being implemented as SNP policy.
S.Perspective says: “In May we have our last shot at independence… SNP are the only vehicle to that end…”
Unclear what planet you may be orbiting. What leads you to believe for even a microsecond that Sturgeon has the slightest intention of delivering independence?
A vote in May for a Sturgeon-led SNP is a vote to preserve the union not to end it.
Anyone who can keep lying glibly and fluently for six hours solid without showing any genuine signs of guilt or inner conflict is the sort of person who should be kept from power.
I thought Sturgeon couldn’t go much lower, but today she did.
Such a dire performance from NS,casting aspersions on other’s oaths/affirmations and allegiance to law.
But many mentions of |James Hamlton QC, she seems very confidant of that outcome??
Wings clipped, the Dodo dives down the rabbit hole. How did that happen?
So, the unionists failed to land a blow on sturgeon today and, as it transpires, has had the opposite effect. Apparently, SNP membership on the increase as a result of that ragged shyteshow today.
Highlight was Margaret Mitchell totally losing it at the end. She could barely get a word out through her bittery clenched gub. The realisation that their plot had backfired, epically so, was clearly too much for her bile.
Was a beautiful moment.
S.Perspective @ 8.41
Couldn’t disagree more that May be our last shot at Independence and that the SNP are the only vehicle to that end.
Quite frankly on Sturgeon and the gang’s performance they will be the death of independence. As a party they are unpopular to the extent that they will not secure a majority. That is a given as the polls slump. Indeed, a majority under the Hollyrood system is difficult to achieve at the best of times. D’Hondt guarantees that and if anyone thinks otherwise they need their head looked at.
In fact, sorry to point out but, the SNP are a government ONLY because they are propped up by the Greens. So with 60,000 members having left the SNP over the last eighteen months, more set to go, and a press ripping Sturgeon apart justifiably for outrageous behaviour, where is this fabled SNP majority going to come from to deliver us independence in 2020.
Sturgeon is an electoral liability. Exposed as a rotten politician and with unpopular GRA and Hate Crime policies and a collapsing economy languishing outside the EU that she promissed to keep us in, she is the impediment not the initiator – and to say, to even think that the SNP are the only chance ever, ever , ever to deliver independence, well I think that is nonsense – and a sleight to every independence minded Scot in the country.
But wouldn’t it be good @Perspective if there was an SNP we could vote for, and an ISP list party too, that between them could deliver a super majority to deliver what we want.
But to cast an analogy , shite is shite and if you vote for shite it will never be anything else. It never reverts back to a plate of fillet steak, frites and mushrooms.
Vote shite for a better future or else – somehow I don’t think so!
One of my fave investigator (well, some would call conspiracy guy)
does these things called statement analysis-looking at the language people use giving statements etc- he’s done The Manchester bombing and various other stuff- it’s absolutely fascinating, not really body language but more the words and phrases people use. Would really like to see what Richard D. Hall’s statement lady makes of this. I might ping him an e-mail.
Anyhow today,
watching Salmond and Sturgeon was a wee bit like watching Citizen Four and then Snowden. One was a factual account the other was a docu drama.
That’s my take. I’ve drawings to do.
StevieO says: “Apparently, SNP membership on the increase as a result of that ragged shyteshow today.”
Yes, I read fact-free attempts to bootstrap a meme to that effect on Twitter. However, can you offer any citation? “Apparently”, won’t cut it, you see.
That more documents have “just happened” to come out just after Sturgeon was grilled – and so conveniently she won’t have to answer to their contents before the committee – ought to open the eyes of even the most blinkered SNP hiveminder or kneejerk cybernit as to what’s going on.
The celebrations all those years ago of getting rid of corrupt, feudal and at times downright evil Scottish Labour have now turned sour, as a new and more efficient class of corrupt career politicians has taken their place instead in just six years flat, and are now so drunk on their own hubris they no longer feel the need to make too great an effort in disguising it.
“The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.”
S.Perspective @ 8.41pm
May is most-definitely not our last chance of Independence.
Independence will happen, sooner or later. However, with the current SNP’s leadership, I cannot see it happening any time soon.
Also, given the oppressive policies the SNP leadershi has been promoting, I am not sure the majority of the people in Scotland would want to be independent under them.
AS Alex Salmond said, the institutes of Scotland are sound, it is the people at the top at the moment – Sturgeon and the clique surrounding her – who are the problem.
There is only one way to stop Sturgeon and hurt her party and that is at the polling station. You can do all the moaning you like on here, but if you vote for the SNP with its present leader then you are becoming part of the problem. They need to be vanquished as much as possible, leaving only people that we can trust to deliver independence and respect democracy.
You can use your list vote for the ISP. Encourage a different Independence Party to grow and vote for them on the list. Once the ISP have dipped their toe in the water and realise they have support then they will see the way forward and grow the party. It will take a little hardship to begin with, but the last thing we need is a corrupt and non-democratic Scottish Government.
I do not want the type of Scotland envisaged by Sturgeon and her acolytes. She is not interested in Independence and has already wasted umpteen mandates. What type of so-called leader uses a COVID briefing session to take swipes at a former FM? Today’s performance (for that is what it was) was embarrassing and there were more personal swipes. Her performance was disgusting. There is a cancer at the heart of the SNP and it needs to be cut out so we can survive. The independence movement can grow again, once we have rooted out the rotten core. I did not like what I saw today (or yesterday with the compromised LA), but my heart swelled with pride when I watched Alec speaking to the truth last week.
My intention (as I have said before) is not to vote SNP on the constituency vote, but to vote ISP on the list. I will not vote for Greens as I do not trust them either. I cannot in conscience vote SNP now. Iso I will be questioning my constituency MSP very carefully beforehand, to see if she is worthy of my vote this time. I suspect not – at the moment. Of course, if recent events cause a change in leadership and direction, then who knows!
By her performance today FM Sturgeon apparently has the power of her office to ensure that she is is unaware of whatever is occurring in her government – that may not be to her advantage.
Her “pendulum” references to Alex Salmond were also interesting – Her mentor, her hero since she was in her early twenties. And then – just because a jury found him innocent doesn’t mean the accusations against him didn’t occur.
At least one story is … clear(?). Geoff Aberdein was invited to a birthday party by the FM’s private secretary, and took the opportunity to pop in to see the FM. So, presumably Geoff Aberdein decided then to contact Pringle and Hamilton to brag about the invitation, and for guidance of what to wear? Why else?
And, yeah, I know, the FM told us today that she is extremely busy 24/7.Soul searching, sleepless.
I’m old-fashioned, would describe the FM performance today as B movie stuff.
It’s quiet. Too quiet.
Expecting a killer post.
How do you like your Sturgeon – grilled or fried. Well both I after today’s performance.
The comparison between her and Salmond on Friday was absolutely incredible. Whereas Salmond was measured, answered every question, was not evasive and was in control of his facts and recollections, Sturgeon was the exact opposite.
Salmond the statesman with Sturgeon the exact opposite – shifty, shady, dissembling and evasive with a bad memory save that it wasn’t her, it was pitying to watch her.
Not a good look, in fact a terrible one, I’m afraid that Nicola Sturgeon is now toxic – and folks know it.
I think some in the SNP leadership need to learn the Ninth Commandment. If folk need to ask what that Commandment is in a nominally Christian Nation then we are in very deep voodoo.
I do not believe for second that Sturgeon and her coven have any intention of delivering Independence. She threw the Ninth Commandment out of the window today and several times. Yet the Sturgeon sycophants dance around their cauldrons of lies.
I am now thinking that if we have a referendum under her terrible leadership then that referendum will be lost by a huge margin and that will be it for 50 years at least. By then we will have been extinguished as a Nation totally. But most of us will be long deid by then as well.
I just don’t believe those Opinion Polls saying the SNP will get a majority in May. I cant stomach what the SNP has become.
Sturgeons treatment of Salmond today was quite shameful. Oh Lord please deliver us from this evil cult.
S.Perspective says:
3 March, 2021 at 8:41 pm
Haven’t you figured it out yet? There will be no indy under sturgeon’s SNP. Only GRA and the horrendous Hate Crime Bill. If I could emigrate, I would. It’s gonna be a shitshow.
Pretty deflated. There was a lot of emotive arguments and misdirection in today’s testimony.
She is an excellent public speaker and can run rings round all of them.
But she didn’t address issues directly.
Instead of addressing the fact she lied about the meeting in her home, she empathised that she learned new things at the meeting. That is beside the point.
Instead of addressing that she continue to pursue the case with Salmond when advised not to do so, she pointed to earlier advice that the case was viable. That is beside the point.
Instead of addressing the fact that she met Salmond on government business without reporting it she says she met him as a “friend”. That’s clever emotive strategy, but again is beside the point.
She says the idea that she wanted to get Salmond is ridiculous, but she doesn’t address the fact that her motives clearly changed over time. The idea that she set out to get Salmond from the start is ridiculous. But having become alienated from him, and having painted herself into a corner of believing the allegations against him, then clearly her motivations changed. She did not address this.
So many other issues too. She kept insisting that people should decide her fate at the election. Another clever argument. But does that mean first ministers can break so many rules and tell so many lies and yet get away with it? That doesn’t seem right.
But she is such a good and “convincing” performer, I wonder that she might just well get away with it.
Bad news for hopes of independence. Losing a leader now would be painful. But it’s better than the alternative.
I Have a Plan So That We Can Remain Anonymous But Have Maximum Effect” Got to hand it to them the plan is working a treat. As long as these plotters remain Anonymous the whole shabang is safe. One way or another they have to be exposed, Every single person on that committee knows who the alphabetes are and in knowing that they know for absolute sure Sturgeon is lying, Plan= Maximum effect/damage,
Don’t shoot the messenger but have seen this on twitter ( The Sun)
https://twitter.com/ScotlandRobbed/status/1367216596108906503
Alex Salmond lodged complaint with Leslie Evans whilst FM was giving evidence
Watt, Allan & McMillan, with their attempts to vilify Salmond on Friday, and their granting Sturgeon an easy ride today, have provided a boost to Hannah Arendt’s concept of the banality of evil.
@FrankM
Hell will freeze over before I vote for the ISP, or any of the other opportunist flies swarming round s**t looking to get themselves on the gravy train.
It’s Labour’s TIGgers all over again – except these ones aren’t even elected, just hoping to take advantage of a disillusioned electorate – especially SNP voters – to get in on the lists. £64,470 plus expenses plus a fat pension, what’s there not to like? You don’t even have to turn up – just ask Derek Mackay for details!
That they can’t even organise themselves into one coherent alternative party shows where they’re at – just looking to get on the gravy train. We’ve even got perennial chancer Galloway trying his luck with the disillusioned “Yoon” vote.
If Andy Doig or Paul Mack throw their hats in the ring, fine – I know both of them to be honest people of genuine conviction that have done more than a hand’s turn in local government for decades and as such have earned the right to be taken seriously as candidates (even if I don’t agree with all their views).
But if anyone else appears on the lists proffering themselves as the People’s Independent Scotland Supporting Kool Ecofriendly Green Society or whatever, I’d sooner spoil my ballot paper again that help put some Poundstore Sturgeon on an overpaid life of slothful ease.
It would seem that none of the indy factions are competent. It’s over. Younare all stuck in the 18th century.
Tim42 says:
3 March, 2021 at 4:16 pm
“This place is worse than the comments section on the Daily Mail Online. The tartan Yoons are hiding in plain site.”
the Tartan Yoons are the ones who would be just as happy to have a courrupt govt in Scotland as they are to have one in WM. Those of us who want to escape corruption do not want it in out Scottish Parliament – that’s not Tory – it’s common decency.
FrankM @ 9.25
I agree Frank but I would take it one stage further. The last thing we want is 5 more years of Sturgeon and at the end of it find ourselves back where we are now. There is absolutely no doubt that Sturgeon will not push for a referendum. After 6 years of carrots that much is clear and 5 more years of Sturgeon will see people in the Yes movement giving up and switching off and our numbers will dwindle. Far better to hurt the SNP now by voting for whichever party is their closest challenger on the constituency and for ISP on the list.
An acceptable result might be a wafer thin pro Indy majority in HR with a serious collapse in the SNP vote which might then prompt the removal of Sturgeon, but even then she might cling on. If we end up with a unionist majority we would have 5 years to build a new party focussed on independence. I think the corruption in the SNP is too deep rooted for them to be saved even if they turfed out Sturgeon after an election defeat. Who would replace her? Robertson, Swinney, Yousaf? They are all swimming in the same cesspit.
Time to be realistic. SNP means no independence so let them die and we start again but this time with proper controls and a clear division of functions in Government, the Civil Service and the Crown Office so that there can never be another Sturgeon.
In any case the SNP could be set to implode for financial reasons alone. They are continuing to pay fat cat salaries despite a large and continuing drop in membership and fund raising. They have already purloined circa £600,000 of ring fenced donations intended to fight the next Independence Referendum. Their last accounts suggested they might be technically insolvent despite appropriating that £600,000 and their financial position can only have worsened since. If they are to survive May they need money to fight a campaign and I fail to see where that is going to come from. Lets give them a push at the ballot box and get rid of them.
I first joined the SNP in 1970. I left on 31 January 2020 when I could no longer ignore what was happening. I have wanted Independence for my country all my adult life but now accept I am unlikely to see it in my lifetime. The best I can do is to try to keep the dream alive for my children and grandchildren by helping to rid us of the major impediment to being free from this vile union.
Tim42 @8:38
If I were a Tory, I’d be doing cartwheels all the way back to Tory HQ because the biggest non-threat to the Union looks like holding on by her claw tips.
I’d also be sending Boris a congratulatory e-mail, saying well done for not letting Oliver Lewis go for the jugular at a time when Sturgeon was at her most vulnerable and exposed. Far better to keep someone in place who tows the line where the sovereignty of the Westminster Parliament over Scotland’s right to decide her future is concerned – Boris must have the final word and Nicola agrees!
Huzzah!
The Union safe in Sturgeon’s hands. Can’t say the same about women’s rights however…
Personalities come and go. Where now are the signatories to The Vow from 2014? The SNP are the only real vehicle towards our goal – regardless of how we may feel about its leadership. Only a majority in May will be of any use towards this goal. Anything else will be portrayed in the media as failure. This is not going to be an easy road but I’m afraid our easy path to Independence was squandered in 2014.
So, without having the benefit of a transcript yet; I believe today NS said something along the lines of : ‘the most difficult decision of my life’ (so far) or ‘until recently, I’d have said it was the most difficult decision etc..’
Something along those lines anyway. I was struck by the implication she is pondering something far more difficult than the decision(s) which has been so ‘devastating’ to her personally thus far (not you Scotland)
What might that be? A resignation, standing down, a counter suit against AS, mass sackings, other?
Maybe I imagined it, it was a quick throwaway line, but it did catch my attention and I thought ‘Oh-ho… something’s brewing’
I’m not wading through it again to find it, just wondered if anyone else noticed.
Unfortunately an effective smokescreen of waffle backed up by the Unionist media. The clique/wokerati/coven appear to have fooled many today.
”
iain mhor says:
3 March, 2021 at 10:06 pm
So, without having the benefit of a transcript yet; I believe today NS said something along the lines of : ‘the most difficult decision of my life’ (so far) or ‘until recently, I’d have said it was the most difficult decision etc..’
Something along those lines anyway. I was struck by the implication she is pondering something far more difficult than the decision(s) which has been so ‘devastating’ to her personally thus far (not you Scotland)
What might that be? A resignation, standing down, a counter suit against AS, mass sackings, other?
Maybe I imagined it, it was a quick throwaway line, but it did catch my attention and I thought ‘Oh-ho… something’s brewing’
I’m not wading through it again to find it, just wondered if anyone else noticed.”
My assumption was that it was the most difficult decision she’d had to take until all the more difficult decisions she’d had to make during covid – that was my reading of that line.
@Darkness at 1:21pm
Hello darkness, my old friend, I’ve come to talk with you again, because a vision softly creeping, left its seeds while I was sleeping and the vision that was planted in my brain
still remains, within the sound of silence.
Pete Wishart and Mhairi Black seem to think ‘they won’ something today???
Does anyone know what it is? They are always at war with someone, maybe it helps them feel they are achieving something.
“Giesabrek says:
3 March, 2021 at 4:22 pm
Most commenters on here should officially set up their Independence (It’s All Aboot F**king Nicla Alex and St Joanna) Party. Same sheep who blindly followed ex-St Alex and ex-St Nicola are all right up St Joanna’s ronson lighter. If only she could replace the terrible leader, all would be well… just like they all said about Gordy Broon when Bliar was in charge. Blind sheep.”
What kind of a voting pattern would you suggest to the undecided, since you seem to be so full of opinion?
I ask as someone who’s never joined a political party.
@Darkness at 10:20pm
And in the naked light, I saw ten thousand people maybe more,
people talking without speaking, people hearing without listening, people writing songs that voices never share, and no one dared, disturb the sound of silence
Pension Pete is claiming on twitter that the phones at SNP HQ are red hot with all the calls from people wanting to join. Either that’s not true or else the average IQ of SNP members just got a lot lower.
https://www.facebook.com/77249349077/posts/10159304074834078/?d=n
?
So Nicola claims she isn’t involved in a conspiracy to damage Alex Salmond. I believe her. I don’t believe she doesn’t know about a conspiracy to damage Salmond.
If the woman in this article
https://wingsoverscotland.com/and-justice-for-some/
is who I think it is then Nicola must know her well.
If, as the article alleges, she perjured herself in the Salmond trial then is she conspiring to damage Alex Salmond?
If she is then Nicola must be aware that she is doing so.
Why would she do this?
a) hell hath no fury…
b) would prefer the first prize and thinks she has a way…
Iain Mhor, my sense is that she was talking about the decision being the biggest one in her life until COVID-19 came along. I may be wrong.
@Darkness at 10:26pm
Fools, said I, you do not know, silence like a cancer grows, hear my words that I might teach you, take my arms that I might reach you, but my words, like silent raindrops fell and echoed, in the wells of silence
Craig Murray reeling in a bumper catch tonight with his tweet ‘I see no alternative to both votes SNP’ !
@Darkness at 10:33pm
And the people bowed and prayed, to the neon god they made, and the sign flashed out its warning, in the words that it was forming, and the sign said, “The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls and tenement halls” and whispered in the sound of silence.
Whilst it may appear that she has survived the committee today, she has not come out unscathed. She has been exposed as being less than truthful, evasive, forgetful, obfuscating and swiping at Alex at every opportunity in stark contrast to Alex’s witness submission last week. To the true believers, this is of course nothing, as they cannot see this. But others have been watching and weighing her submissions. I can imagine that this performance would have been expected and “gamed” as one step in the sequence of events.
In a way it has laid a series of her statements as facts under oath, which if, or more likely when, the Vietnam group messages are disclosed will knock them down. Similarly there is the witness statement that Alex has and the flashdrive messages which I think mentioned the sisting. And there are whistleblowers from St Andrews house. There a few more twists in this tale to come.
@Darkness at 10:36pm
https://wingsoverscotland.com/your-money-at-work/
Tories threaten VONC.
Sturgeon spokesperson says that VONC would be reckless in the middle of a pandemic, and before Sturgeon has appeared at committee.
Sturgeon appears at committee.
Tories do not follow through on VONC threat. (Blame Labour, new threat under Anas.)
Sturgeonistas hail Sturgeon as having been vindicated by her appearance at committee.
Status quo maintained.
X_Sticks – both A + B.
I don’t think NS has quite realised that this plan to take down AS, can be used to take down NS as collateral damage too.
Thereby leaving the top spot open to, hmmm, … (insert wee stroking chin emoji)
laukat says:
“She’s thrown Liz Lloyd under the bus as well as probably Leslie Evans.”
They are all in it together and have dirt on each other.
Either all go or none goes.
She already knows that Hamilton is going to whitewash her.
Only if and when the messages between the conspirators are leaked, will they have to go – for long periods in jail hopefully.
The FM wore red to compliment her brass neck on display for all to see, unlike her hands at times, which were conspicuously absent, being as they were, concealed from view under the table while she twisted and fidgeted in her seat, sphincter clenched in denial whilst inside her whirring brain the cogs kept turning turning and her internal rage kept raging raging – not at AS, but at the list of hack amateur dramatic list of characters she’s been surrounded by – the poor choice of husband and the witches cauldron. “IDIOTS. IDIOTS. IDIOTS.”
The only thing that was absurd about today’s proceedings was her Clinton-esque hubris towards the committee and her faux sense of personal emotional hurt that we’re expected to believe given all that’s transpired.
Sticking with the FM’s trademark delivery, she couldn’t get a single sentence out without pauses, asides, pre-emptive disclaimers and explanation of intent along the way. It’s like she’d taken a perfectly good Woody Allen ‘didactic’ script and hammed it up even more, but not for comedic effect. And she had the cheek to challenge M. Mitchell on her questioning. Good on her for sticking at it even when Fabiani tried to shut it down.
Throw in little slips of regression into her Ayrshire dialogue roots, revealing even more sweet smelling traces of havering horseshit. Trust me, I can smell it from 400 miles away as though I were right back at home in the Academy playground listening to the offspring of the “cream of the shite out the shipyard”.
To the best of my recollection anyway.
Thereby leaving the top spot open to, hmmm, … (insert wee raised eybrow emoji) I’d say @TJenny says at 10:39 pm
Especially if Robertson doesn’t have an elected position when NS goes.
Especially as he appears to have an undue reverence amongst Wokoharams Twitler Youth.
🙁
You know, all the he-said-she-said machinations and musings aside, this whole thing is just an absolute tragedy for Scotland, for all the damage it has done us politically. An embarrassing, heartbreaking nightmare of ineptitude, misandry, broken allegiances, and Scotland-squalling storms of crimson treason.
Well I’m done with politics. I’ll not be voting in May so they’ll be two less votes.
I really don’t give a fuck who wins. I won’t be blackmailed into voting SNP for a whessht for indy nonsense either.
There won’t be any chance of an indy ref until 2029 and that’s only if they can clear out the men in skirts with cock and balls and even more importantly- if there’s anything left resources wise.
To win independence, the campaign movement needs to be wider, not narrower. Focussing on the SNP above all else gives our opponents the chance to fasten on their every mistake (and they are making plenty) and blow it all out of proportion.
We need more voices in the Indy movement and they will have to be built on modest beginnings.
That’s why I am prepared to vote for another Indy party on the list vote.
My real problem is trying to bring myself to vote for the loathsome Angus Robertson- anyone have a spare nose-peg?
Thomas says:
“However, I recently debated this issue on a politics FB group and someone credible told me I was wrong to say that all complaintants were close to Sturgeon.”
Craig has recently commented on one of his blogs that the case of the woman where it was not proven was different from the other charges.
So perhaps one wasn’t, but the rest were.
We all want Independence and that will for me ,never change.
I guess the question is what kind of Independence do we want?
I cannot in conscience say I want to stay in a country with draconian Hate Crime Laws or disturbing GRA reforms which Rob our many of their protections.
I don’t want Civil servants running unfettered and unsupervised protected by a rogue and incompetent legal system. All the while the leader denies knowing it is happening and there are no MSPs with the courage to challenge all these things. We have a neck of a fight on our hands, but we have a strong ally. Time. Time is Sturgeons enemy. The more time she takes the more support she loses. It is inevitable. Those who currently shout for her to be crowned will in due time he shouting for her head. We wait and hope another route can be found in the interim.
There is evidence yet to see the light of day which, when mapped against what she said today, will expose her.
They may continue in their conceit but that is all they have left.
I despair if twitter is accurate.
The FM lied and smeared AS all day and the Sturgeonistas are ecstatic.
There are so many bots on twitter all repeating the same shite.
I might have to take a long break from it.
The cult of personality is off the scale
@ElGordo
Oh but time went by
It wasn’t so easy now, all uphill, and not feeling so strong.
Yes times were hard,
Too much thinking ’bout the future and what people might want.
An then there was the time that she performed
When nobody called for more…
Burns would be devastated. Scotland isn’t a parcel of rogues but a landfill of perjurers, equivocators and falsifiers.
@Elmac.
Thanks for your reply. Going one step further by hurting them now is a good suggestion and one which I am considering. It does make a lot of sense. As I said, we need to hurt them at the polls and the more we hurt them the better. Sometimes major surgery is needed for a cure.
The reason no blows were landed today was because Nicola Sturgeon avoided most of the tough questions. She never actually gave detailed answers and according to her it was fine to just say she forgot.
What was galling to watch was her crocodile tears pretending to care about Salmond. Anyone with half a brain knows she couldn’t give a flying fck about Salmond and she spent loads of time talking about Salmond’s bad behaviour and basically re ran Salmond’s trial (which was not the remit of the committee) but Fabiani never intervened. Interestingly Fabiani’s was very quick to shut the serious questions down but quite happy to let the SNP members run down the clock talking about nothing.
Sturgeon was terrible today and as pointed out she might have mislead the committee however she remains the story and is on borrowed time. Sturgeon will be out as FM either in the next few weeks or after a failed indyref (which she doesn’t want). The decent people in the Yes movement who have decided not to blindly continue to support Sturgeon with the twittler youth and the cult will be vindicated in time.
Nicola’s been swotting up on the Ernest “Guinness” Saunders defence it seems.
Maybe she’ll be the 2nd person in history to somehow recover from terminal Alzheimers
Must confess, I’ve been waiting for some sort of cloud parting moment from Rev Stu, just to give me a booster before I crash – not that I’m in any way ‘down’ – on the contrary.
I’m as buoyant about Sturgeon’s demise as I’ve been since she bottled the last opportunity to call a Ref.
What’s irking me – apart from plastic Murray-bots and ‘I’m With The Liar’ wankers – is this post, from Wullie B earlier today:
Wullie B at 4:52 pm
@Rev Stu
Have sent you something via the contact form, but I fear members from other blogs might be away to try and close you down, will let you decide but can you let me know..
If they attempt to close an open voice down I think even the most rancid of unionist rags would be concerned about the chapters of 1984 becoming a reality.
I think the problem they have is they just don’t like it up ’em.
Great work, as usual, Stuart Campbell. Keep keeping us informed, dude.
Lying under oath before a parliamentary committee amounts to perjury under the law.
But the likes of Sturgeon, Murrell, Evans, Roddick, Lloyd, the Lord Advocate are beyond the law in Scotland.
They don’t give a damn that an ever increasing number of Scots know they are proven liars.
All they care about is their own powers and privileges, which they know they can hang on to because of the gullible majority of Scots.
Liz – It was a performance, and that’s all it was. The evidence to come will have her recalled, and hopefully Salmond will have the last laugh.
The redacted paperwork today. Was sent at the 11th hour and missing key portions. A ploy to buy her some time and not be asked about incriminating evidence.
I have confidence that Hamilton will reach the right conclusion. After all he was involved in some of the meetings she couldn’t remember.
I have heard from a few folk who were raging at Sturgeon yesterday. Suddenly about turn and go back on side.
I don’t operate like that. I cannot unknow what I know. Stu has stuck to his guns when I doubted him at points.
Let them think this is a victory for Sturgeon. But the best thing for Scotland is a new SNP leader. Sometimes you have to drag people to the truth.
I am excited to learn what the hold up has been on a post from Stu, since the 8 hours of evidence/waffle was submitted by Sturgeon. I have two guesses:
1. Stu has spent the last 6 hours smacking his head off a wall, upon reading every #IStandWithNicola post and made up “I have just joined the SNP” tweets from Rhiannon Spears and the rest of that mob.
2. Stu has a copy of Salmonds new evidence, or something else equally spicy.
Oh dear.
You Yoons took one helluva beating today.
Hope u all enjoyed your popcorn and cans of beer though.
@Liz says:
3 March, 2021 at 11:12 pm
“I despair if twitter is accurate.
The FM lied and smeared AS all day and the Sturgeonistas are ecstatic.
There are so many bots on twitter all repeating the same shite.”
Did you see the “I’ve known Nicola Sturgeon since she was 16…”. Funnily enough, all the tweets were exactly the same…
Bill Hume says:
“I’ve been a Wings supporter for many years. I have donated much more than I, an OAP should have.
No longer.
I’ve had enough. WoS is now working against Scottish independence.
Goodbye.”
Wee Ginger Dug awaits any spare money you and others like you might have for his cosy life in Ayrshire by writing what you want to read.
Since the Brexit vote, the biggest obstacle to independence has been the SNP leadership and its stooges in both parliaments.
Truth can be bitter, but I would hear it than sweet lies.
Wake up for God’s sake. We have been taken for a ride, by the SNP not by WOS.
@Solarflare & @Skip_NC
Yeah, could be that, ta for the input. I was zoning in and out at the time – maybe there was Covid context behind it I missed.
Kcor. Correct.
Sometimes it’s hard not to just follow the herd. But there is an easy way. You just search for the truth, then face the truth and then deal with it accordingly.
What the wheesht for Indy mob want. Is for the truth not to matter, to deny the truth and then end up being really disappointed over and over again.
Sturgeon is good at disappointing yes supporters. Our boots are worn out going up and down the hill.
The Salmond stuff aside. What is the purpose of another 5 years if Sturgeon.
So they laffed and they laffed til their boz fell aff (wonder if there is compulsory drug testing in the valley of the dolls) never mind, drop the dead donkey, Lara Croft just flogged an etch a sketch and the emotional bimbo’s applaud the price, but not the painting,
Anyway people like people can be over rated, I think we uncovered a fake today, when you stripped back the top layer, the eyes were like the corpes of two small crows that had crashed into a chalk cliff and Nae body’s buying that shite.
Just evaluating where we are now…
6 Mandates and pulled out of the EU without a whimper
‘Change the SNP from within if there are problems’ – Gerrymandering of the NEC including immoral and illegal ‘self identifying’ BAME/Disabled candidates onto the list.
Elected members of the NEC being sidelined while those voted off, define the ‘definition’ of Transphobia – in a way that has so many legal issues with it, that beggars belief.
About £600,000 ‘ring fenced’ money interwove through, and now earmarked for those already receiving high wages within the SNP already.
No reply from the new Treasurer regarding the whereabouts of the ‘ring fenced’ money.
Bullshit about another Indy Ref this year – when legally there is not enough time to do so.
Sacking Joanna Cherry QC from the front bench and replacing her with a failed actor.
One failed Judicial Review and one high profile trial against AS – which aquitted him in full – and a neverending agenda to continue to try and tarnish him thereafter by all the SNP hie heid yins.
A proposed Hate Crime Bill – criticised be the Police, the Judiciary and civil rights/free speech organisations.
Changes to the GRA that in addition to being BONKERS, and SEXIST, will become a perverts charter.
Zero campaigning on Indy – in any way – over the last 6 years.
A S30 policy which is utterly pish.
Malicious prosecution of Rangers – no suspensions, no public enquiries, no sackings, no jailings – and the top lawyer in charge at the time, promoted to High Court Judge.
Malicious prosecutions of Indy supporting journalists.
Censoring of Indy supporting journalists at the AS trial.
Failure by Scot Gov to release documents – UNDER WARRANT – that were pertinent to AS JR and Criminal trial and defence – consistent with the crime of Contempt of Court.
Police complicity and culpability in some if not all of the above.
and, and, and . Actually I’ll just stop there.
I will vote tactically in May (if it goes ahead). Because I’m in Sweinneys area – I will vote in whatever way needed to get the bastard sacked. Hopefully ISP will stand on a mandate for Plebiscite Indy and I can vote for them on the list.
There is a very good chance I will never vote SNP again. And I have voted for them all my life.
Corrupt shower of bastards.
Strathy says:
3 March, 2021 at 2:37 pm
“..
https://archive.is/H1UxX#selection-2819.0-2829.259
..”
On there, scroll down to Dani Garavelli’s comment at 23h (it’s the fifth up from foot of the page).. words fail me:
Humza Yousaf Retweeted
Dani Garavelli @DaniGaravelli1 · 23h23 hours ago
“There are actual journalists on here arguing as if journalists having to abide by contempt of court orders is new or shocking and being RT-ed hundreds of times. I don’t know where you go with this kind of stuff.”
46 replies81 retweets455 likes
wings has been lost on chrome, vivaldi, internet explorer and brave browsers, but if you open
PRIVATE WINDOW WITH TOR
in BRAVE, it will come up
of course, if you cannot read this message, it don’t help …
I am on BT broadband with 50M download, all other sites accessible
Somebody on Twitter asking Craig Murray if he is going to be casting his votes from jail
Ayrshire Rob @ 11pm
Don’t give up Rob. A number of things could happen to change the game. Hamilton could have a fit of honesty and rule that NS broke the Ministerial Code, the anonymity of the complainers could be blown, all of the evidence held by Salmond and his lawyers could become public, or one of the key players could break ranks. Any of these would put pressure on Sturgeon to resign. More likely I think is the financial collapse of the SNP which could be imminent. Their next annual accounts should be interesting.
If none of the above happens then don’t waste your votes in May. Help us get rid of these sods. If the few decent MPs and MSPs left won’t, or can’t, do somethimg drastic then we need to vote the SNP out of office. Hold your nose and vote for the main opposition on the constituency and ISP on the list. Encourage friends and family to do the same. It goes against everything you believe I know but we need to start again for the sake of our kids. Besides who can I find to argue with late at night if you chuck it?
… and, it is back up. Does not help the paranoia.
when the BBC feed today stopped and we got the Duke of Edinburgh on, I thought he had died.
Had a quick look at the #istandwithNicola that’s currently trending. I can only hope that it’s very vocal activists because the thought of anyone watching todays appearance and all the other crap tweeting support is, well bollocks really.
If they are willing to ignore all of this, the corruption, misandry, the total disregard for law, etc for indy then I hope it never happens. The vicious wee bastards that are doing this will be the leaders in an independent Scotland and I pity anyone that disagrees with them or is seen as a threat to what they think is theirs by right.
Confused @ 12:51
Same experience, similar connection.
Breifly able to access Wings through a proxy as a US server but not EU.
@Confused
I posted 12:58ish. Post sent using 4G, disappeared into the ether. Only site I could not access wirelessly.
yestv
bobw
I did notice some other posters, but I assumed they were on phones, different networks and all that.
Been waiting for the Rev’s “take” all evening, assume he is brewing.
@confused
Connected 4G O2, couldn’t access through my wireless router connected to virgin cable.
Wings was down for me too for 1-2 hrs. Only one
@Ben
The strange thing was the error message, rather than cannot connect to server, it was your phone is not connected to the internet. I could access any other site through my router wirelessly.
A Pyrrhic victory, me thinks.
Like others have said, she was never put under any real pressure, and when she was Linda Fabiani came to her rescue.
FrankM says,
“There is only one way to stop Sturgeon and hurt her party and that is at the polling station. You can do all the moaning you like on here, but if you vote for the SNP with its present leader then you are becoming part of the problem. They need to be vanquished as much as possible, leaving only people that we can trust to deliver independence and respect democracy.”
I second that.
It is beyond doubt now that the current leadership of the SNP and its stooges in the NEC and in both parliaments have zero intention of delivering independence. They want to hang on to their power and privilege.
Every vote for the SNP now counts as a vote for this parcel of rogues. The original rogues were petty thieves compared to these criminals.
IMHO, anyone with a fibre of a principle in their body should not vote for the SNP as it currently stands.
I am not afraid of being labeled a unionist by anyone.
The unionists might win the election, but a new genuine independence party will rapidly emerge and bring independence.
@David R says:
4 March, 2021 at 12:59 am
“Had a quick look at the #istandwithNicola that’s currently trending. I can only hope that it’s very vocal activists because the thought of anyone watching todays appearance and all the other crap tweeting support is, well bollocks really.”
Perhaps they live in fear of being blocked by Big Pete.
Righto folks. A wee thought.
Does indeed look as though NS has escaped to fight another day.
But I’m looking at all the (blatantly co-ordinated) adulation on social media and I’m reminded of something. And this might offend some of you:
It reminds me of some of the, ahem, more vehement members of our movement in 2014. The ones they called “cybernats”. Let me very well assure you, on the doorstep they went down like a bucket of cold sick. It scares the bejesus out of the moderate voter. Seeing the likes of Mhairi Black screaming about how much they love Nicola might get hundreds of Twitter retweets from all the right folk. It makes Moira and Sandy shift nervously in their seat.
As for the whole “fighting for women everywhere” line- well, again, to be completely cynical, that will roll some eyes among many voters. You can disapprove of that, but it will.
The reaction on political Twitter is vehemently pro-Sturgeon the reaction on apolitical social media is considerably more lukewarm.
Today, she attracted the support of Owen Jones, Kenny Farquharson and AC Grayling. These people couldn’t choose to be on the winning side of anything.
It ain’t over til it’s over!
Big Jock says,
“Our boots are worn out going up and down the hill.”
Thanks to WOS, more and more independence supporters have realised they have been taken for a ride by the criminals currently in charge of the SNP.
However, there are far too many gullible supporters who will for ever be happy to march up and down the hill for their glorious queen, and I don’t mean the purring one.
@Bob W
I thought my internet was down. Am on PC.
Just got the message ” Wings timed out. Check your connections” but I could access every other site with absolutely no problem. Everything was working perfectly. Thought it was strange.
Posted at 11.50 pm and Wings went down and post lost.
As my internet had been working fine all evening I tried Yours for Scotland and access was fine and left a comment about my experience with Wings access.
Tried Wings again a few times and could get access. Realised a problem and as late called it a night and went to bed. Woke there, checked on I.pad and Wings is back.
Very strange unless site is overloaded or under some form of attack. Don’t know because I understand Craig Murray has previously had issues.
JSC@11:24 pm
3rd, I think you’ll find..
There was a certain councillor who contrived to have an emergency heart attack on a hasty holiday timed for when the auditors were in probing the resting place of a mislaid £1.2 million, this emergency heart attack was then promptly followed by the fastest case of someone developing Alzheimers known to medical science, a fortnight was all it took, ISTR.
Still, like the Python characters newtish transformation, the Alzheimers ‘got better’, curiously once the auditors had buggered off.
Pity, I’d have loved to have seen how that great ‘man o’ the people’ would have explained how he had a council house that everyone assumed he lived in, and how he could afford to buy outright the large property in the west end he actually did live in.
That was back in the days of rampant good old-fashioned ‘Old Labour’ corruption, ah well, plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose..
French, that reminds me, is NS’s ‘French ciseau Connection’ a thing or fable?
Yes Ben Maddigan @ 1.43.
That’s exactly what was happening to me when I couldn’t get Wings access at 11.50 pm. Computer was telling me that Wings had “ timed out’
I’m not sensing people are happy with Sturgeon’s evidence session. I only managed to watch about 2 hours of it but here’s my assessment.
About half of the time available is basically wasted by the SNP goons on the committee doing everything they can to feed her easy questions and questions that make her look honest. That’s normal with committees but it’s really embarrassingly obvious here.
Of the remaining time available, about half again is wasted on Sturgeon waffling. It’s quite grotesque that she thinks her little “jokes” provide any sort of satisfaction to people listening.
And this “people can judge me” routine that she goes through with every question posed, implying that she has principles that are more important than what anyone might think of her forthcoming answer, couldn’t be more fake and insulting to the intelligence, “ya’ know”.
Amidst all that piss – despite all that piss – every now and then someone manages to land a question that poses a problem for her and it’s at this point that we are really dragged through the sewer; typically she responds with a half-truth and a barrage of waffle, “ya’ know, people can judge me, but…”
Unlike the chap in Shawshank Redemption, you crawl through all that and exit the end of a pipe to find you are right back where you started – facing the very lie that you thought you had left behind. And it always comes down to your opinion versus hers – “we’re going to have to disagree…” – rather than evidence and facts.
Persist at this point, assuming you still have the will to live, and you face her very own Luca Brasi, otherwise know as The Convener. You might not know it, but you’re really fucked now; you have two people to argue with at once, the old war on two fronts scenario.
But here’s the big trick. It was all more or less stitched up before any of you even took your seats. The really damning evidence, referred to by Salmond and others, was either destroyed, redacted beyond recognition and usefulness, or simply withheld.
It was preordained that you would never likely to get past the periphery of any difficult subject and, if you did, you’d get there without a shred of evidence. She’s invariably right when she says it’s your word against hers; they made sure of that.
given Sturgeons successful evasions today (- since she was not pushed hard), right NOW, would be a great time to drop any further revelatory “bombs” on her … but then that’s just the vile cybernat conspiracy theorist in me talking
– wings should have backup address on the deep web anyway (i.e. needs tor to access)
“Is it just a fairy story that Leslie Evans and Sue Loyd were jumped 2steps up the promotion ladder, with consumate salary rise. ,after their expensive mistakes which we paid for.!”
No, it’s true.
.
Willie and Confused,
I hope what you experienced with Wings going offline is Stu and Wings heading for the all-time site-visitor number Guinness Book of Records. I would bet a £10 on March 2021 being over 6,000,000 site-visits. Maybe even heading to 7,500,000 in a country with a population of 6,000,000.
With our own websites, at their start 10 years ago, when the national media provided a link from their sites to ours, our own website host-bandwidth package wasn’t up to the shear volume of visitors. That’s when we realised how powerful the internet can be.
The difference is we were in primary school P1 and P2 website land. Whereas Stuart Campbell has a an honour army Ph.D., in computer sciences (Stu., you just got this award, you are welcome).
By that I mean Stuart knows what he is doing. Hopefully he is sorting bandwidth plus an alternate backup site in Iceland where they cannot be taken down and of course the Reykjavik government stop banana republic tinpot dictators from taking down websites. This is one of the reasons the biggest archive companies in the world have that give away Icelandic suffix…
http://www.archive.is
In short I hope and pray Stuart Campbell is increasing his broadband, beefing up his altpready good site security and providing a safety-backup Wings website.
It cannot be over emphasised that at this specific moment in time, Wings Iver Scotland is the most important political website in the U.K.
Stuart is beautifully self-effacing when he says he is just some idiot with a blog.. At the moments, the integrity of three vital Scottish institutions is in the line. Craig Murray, Iain Lawson, Martin Hirst, Barrhead Boy and a few others are incredibly important. But Wings is the iconoclast.
Stuart Ulysses Campbell is Papa Polemic.
Seriously, he is our Nelson McMandela. The awkward bastard that spent 27 years stuck in exile at Robin Island (the U.K. city of Bath).
Today, Nicola Sturgeon waffled and batted away very soft marshmallows in a boring 8 hours where she ground down the vast majority of Joe and Josephine Voters. Most of whom switched off due to Sturgeon’s soporific fib laden narcolepsy. She may well get back in in May 2021.
Sorry Alex, even though you have every right to “turn the page” and walk away, as long as 100 of us are left, we need you. Our Bonnie Dundee.
The entire British Establishment has brought their “A” Game. They control the media, they control great swathes of narrative that the majority believe.
Our line of communications? Wings Over Scotland, Gordon Dangerfield, Craig Murray, Iain Lawson, Barrhead Boy and several decent others. Plus Russia Today. It is a remarkable position that the British State have pushed the best First Minister and leader Scotland has known to the vile blog and commie broadcaster. As we all know, Wings and Russia Today are a LOT more honest than the BBC.
I hope Stuart has secured a backup site location with a huge broadband paid for. This is because the banana republicisation of Nicola’s Trump style effort to steal Holyrood afte May 2021 will become INTERNATIONAL NEWS.
For that and because Scotland will need the international community to come to our rescue means Wings website needs to be secure and the broadband capacity needs to be there.
I am very much looking forward to Stuart’s site-visit numbers for May 2021.
Thank god I wasn’t the only one to get the a’Your phone is not connected to the internet” while trying to load Wings, yet could get on every other site, thought Petras comment earlier on WGD had maybe landed Stu in the shit when she said she managed to identify a complainer after reading Wings earlier today, had warned Rev of aforesaid comment when I noticed it
.
Willie and Confused,
I hope what you experienced with Wings going offline is Stu and Wings heading for the all-time site-visitor number Guinness Book of Records. I would bet a £10 on March 2021 being over 6,000,000 site-visits. Maybe even heading to 7,500,000 in a country with a population of 6,000,000.
With our own websites, at their start 10 years ago, when the national media provided a link from their sites to ours, our own website host-bandwidth package wasn’t up to the shear volume of visitors. Huge visitor numbers kept crashing our site, ironically that was a good thing. Willie and Confused, that MIGHT be what you experienced tonight accessing awipings website.
We learnt that lesson of how powerful the internet can be from the site crashing several times.
The difference is we were in primary school P1 and P2 website land. Whereas Stuart Campbell has an honourary Ph.D., in computer sciences (Stu., you just got this award, you are welcome).
By that I mean Stuart knows what he is doing. Hopefully he is sorting extra bandwidth plus an alternate backup site in Iceland where they cannot take you down and of course the Reykjavik government stop banana republic tinpot dictators from taking websites they dislike offline. This is one of the reasons the biggest archive companies in the world have that Icelandic suffix…
http://www.archive.is
In short, I hope and pray Stuart Campbell is increasing his broadband, beefing up his already good site security and providing a safety-backup to the Wings website.
It cannot be over emphasised that at this specific moment in time, Wings Over Scotland is the most important political website in the U.K.
Stuart is humorously self-effacing when he writes that he is just some idiot with a blog.. At the moments, the integrity of three vital Scottish institutions are on the line. All three have failing leadership. All three are being brought into disrepute by James Wolffe, Linda Evans and Nicola Sturgeon. The Crown Office; the Scottish Civil Service and the Scottish Parliament are at risk. For Mr Wolffe to say any criticism is baseless just proves how unfit he is for that august office. James, how much did you cost us when your “leadership”‘screwed up the malicious prosecution of Rangers?
Nope, Wolffe, Evans and Sturgeon have brought their departments into disrepute. Please give me the honesty of those who speak truth to power…
Craig Murray, Iain Lawson, Martin Hirst, Barrhead Boy and a several brave others are incredibly important. But Wings is the iconoclast.
Stuart Ulysses Campbell is Papa Polemic.
Seriously, he is our Scottish Nelson Mandela. Stuart and Nelson are the awkward bastards that spent 27 years stuck in exile at Robin Island (the U.K. city of Bath). Eventually to come home. Their integrity intact. Their honour finally recogised. Bruised but penultimately home again.
Recognized by whom? An honest international community who will say the gerrymandering of a bully neighbour must stop.
Today, Nicola Sturgeon waffled and batted away very soft marshmallows in a boring 8 hours where she ground-down the vast majority of Joe and Josephine Voters. Most of whom switched off due to Sturgeon’s soporific fib and lie laden narcolepsy patter. Thanks to that sub-par performance and Fabiani’s disgusting conduct at the end of today’s session, Sturgeon may well get back in in May 2021.
Sorry Alex, yes, you have every right to “turn the page” and walk away. But my old friend, as long as 100 of us are left, we need you. Our Bonnie Dundee. You’re iconic evidence session last week reminded us what a true leader and real statesman looks like. You are needed for one final push to get one of the new LIST parties over the 6% line in May and secure Scotland 15 to 20 PRO-INDY MSPs to hold Nicola the backstabber’s feet to the fire. Extract IndyRef2.from her rodent-like grasping, avaricious, grubby little paws.
The entire British Establishment has brought their “A” Game. They control the media, they control great swathes of narrative that the majority believe.
Our line of communications? A ragtag of the last of the true IndyRef movement?
Wings Over Scotland, Gordon Dangerfield, Craig Murray, Iain Lawson, Barrhead Boy and several decent others. Plus Russia Today. It is a remarkable position that the British State have pushed the best First Minister and leader Scotland has ever known to the vile blog and commie broadcaster 😉 – Stuart, you have a rare badge of honour in Sturgeon ranting about you at an SNP NEC McWoke meeting via her Zoom and now taking exceptional measures to kill off this website.
As we all now know, Wings and Russia Today are a LOT more honest than the BBC.
I hope Stuart has secured a backup site location with a huge broadband paid ahead for 5 years. This is because the banana republicisation of Nicola’s Trump style effort to steal Holyrood afte May 2021 will become INTERNATIONAL NEWS. This election in 2021 and the next Holyrood election which is LIKELY to also be THE plebiscite for IndyRef2.
For all of the above and because Scotland will need the international community to come to our rescue means the Wings website needs to be secure and the broadband capacity needs to be there.
I am very much looking forward to Stuart’s site-visit numbers for March 2021.
Listen to you all bleet like lambs.
This has surely burst the bubble you have all been living in.
The Scottish Byzantism is alive and well after 300 years.
Those at the top reincarnating the specious silky talk of the untouchables as it ever was.
Nothing has changed so where will the change come from – not from your precious bloody devolved Parliament and the legalist lickspittle accompanists.
The loyalties of the people have been rubbed again by the power brokers and nothing can be done about it.
This Parliament and the accompanying legal glue is worst than Westminster.
Willie@ 1:50am
Wings went down for me also here in NZ. Tried other blogs at the same time and they were OK.
.
Stuart,
My apologies for the double post. Respectfully please could I ask if it is possible for your WordPress theme website system to allow for BTL contributers to access an edit + delete function post-upload.
I am sight-impaired and sometimes miss the typos. Thanks.
Even after three proof-readings it can be literally fatal to proof-read your own stuff. Hence an “edit” facility once the BTL poster uploades his or her contribution. That would cure a problem many of us have had.
Similarly, I would like to DELETE my whole DUPLICATE post of 3.13am above as it hadn’t been proof-read + corrected sufficiently. Goodness knows how it passed your double-post auto lock facility which is usually very good at policing half-blind duffers like me.
A second respectful suggestion is asking if you would consider and approve a facility where all readers can click on a like/dislike buttons for each post?
For new readers, it would make it easier to focus on the more LIKED, generally good and concise BTL posts. We all know BREAKS BTL contributions are an excellent MUST READ. Having a like/dislike function where Breeks would probably receive 120 likes and 3 dislikes would help newbies to Wings cut out the dross (the posts that get only 4 dislikes). Just a suggestion boss.
The third thing is, I can’t stand that GuidonFawkes arsehole. But he got this one right when he highlighted the VICE conveyor bollocking Sturgeon for retrying Alex Salmond…
https://order-order.com/2021/03/03/watch-sturgeon-bollocked-by-committee-convenor-salmonds-not-under-trial-your-actions-are/
Compare that to the DISGRACEFUL conduct by Convenor Linda Fabiani protecting her boss at the end of the Sturgeon waffle session.
Lastly for this BTL comment, I love that Wings Over Scotland is free of adverts. The Guido arsehole has gone far too far the other way. His site is constipated with huge brothels full of advert spam. More ads than content by around 2:1 ratio and slows down IPads and smartphones with too much viagra advert and OAP gentleman’s “no need to iron” trouser slacks advert hell.
We secure a remarkable amount of Google Adsense income off of our fleet of websites Stuart, and…
I was wondering if you had even just four or five adverts on Wings Over Scotland, whether that might add a very useful £10,000 a year income for you so you did start withdrawing a proper and regular nominal salary. Or even took on a part-time staff member to reduce the scunnered-factor that was clear when you took us all for that lovely walk through the park to clear some of the Sturgeon shite from our minds.
Again, my apologies for the double post.
Combative, evasive, uncomfortable.
If that was the strategy that the FM was given today prior to giving her evidence today, it certainly didn`t play well. For someone who has always stated she would present her case and show that she was telling the truth, her performance simply left more questions than it answers.
It did achieve the job though.
It rallied the faithful and that’s generally the “safest” gameplan when under siege.
And make no mistake, she is besieged.
Ok. Fine. So the SNP is not planning on independence. So what’s the plan? Given that the Tories are busy taking a wrecking ball to independence, how do we keep Scotland going in the next period of Scottish Parliament? Stay at home on voting day? Vote Libdem? Set up and vote for some obscure party that nobody’s heard of that certainly won’t win a constituency seat?
Honestly, the SNP is the only game in town if Scotland is not to be skewered by the Tories over the next few years. Even if you don’t think they’ll deliver an independence referendum, they’re still more likely to do so than any other party. Vote SNP in May and work on the grand plans to replace them afterwards, because it is quite simply too late for any other course of action. Sorry.
REVSTU at 0252am,
Jeezo, I did not know that. You mean those two were given promotion and salary rises???? They should have been sacked, at the very least for incompetence.
That tells us soooo much, about how utterly corrupt the SNP has become. Bought and sold for ‘london’s gold’, dancing a London rule jig.
NS yesterday seemed to me to be very, very bitter and spiteful against Alex Salmond, whereas in his testimony he said nothing like that about her.
And more to the point, I see the SNP gullible are still at it, trying to smear Alex Salmond via innuendo and suggestion that somehow he isn’t really innocent. What an utter disgrace the SNP have become, yet the clowns who worship Nicola will merrily vote SNP in May ‘to get independence’. Truly, their are none so blind as those who will not see.
It is clear as day, you will NEVER get independence with Nicola Sturgeon and her wokie coven in charge of the SNP. The same will also be true when they make Angus Robertson leader (and that is CLEARLY the plan – although I hope he loses in Edinburgh). They’ll just keep on dangling the indy carrot for the next ten years, whilst they all get very well paid, have long careers and build up fantastic pensions. Then they will all retire happily, to write books or whatever, but still dangling the indy carrot for gullible Scots. You will all still be poor, and under the English government jackboot.
Nothing will have changed, we’ll still have an English colonial government usurping democracy and removing our human rights in Scotland.
That is why they so want to destroy Salmond, because he actually truly wants independence. Sturgeon and her coven see it as a useful tool to keep them in their lucrative jobs.
Indy supporters are truly mugs to vote SNP. Even although I think NS is the lowest of the low, with no moral compass or integrity, I would vote SNP this year if I thought their was the slightest chance they would push for independence, but they won’t. It will all be vague promises, which will
vaporise‘be clarified’ once they are re-elected.Tories might be truly evil and selfish, but at least they are slughtly honest about it – you kind of know what they will do. The current SNP leadership cannot even speak the truth under oath. So why believe a single electoral promise they make???
Watching Sturgeon yesterday and with a nights sleep I can almost hear the muffled sound of everyone ‘taking the gloves off’ now. I certainly wont be holding back anymore after seeing her yesterday.
I also did get the feeling she thinks Hamilton will clear her. We will see.
I must admit to being baffled at people who think Sturgeon is a good debater or orator. I have never ever seen it myself.
The guy on here who calls her the Dreghorn hairy is bang on the money. Nasty little gutter runt who showed her true class big time yesterday.
And that is what it so jarring. We had a titan of a leader with so much class and dignity we took it for granted. But now we have this ‘thing’, I don’t even know what to call it. But it disgusts me to my core.
S.Perspective at 0623,
I completely get the point you make, but honestly, the Tories are currently skewering Scotland. We already have an SNP Scottish government with an enormous electoral mandate and manifesto promise to hold an independence referendum AND keep us in the EU (none of which have even been attempted). That is the problem. Hardly a day goers by when their is not another announcement from London of their next piece of bypassing the Scottish parliament.
It is already happening. Right now. The SNP Scottish government do nothing. They stood by and watched as we were forcibly removed from the EU. Still they do nothing.
So, whilst I understand your point, and you are fully entitled to your viewpoint, I simply ask, if the SNP are re-elected in May, what exactly will change?? The dismantling of devolution is already happening right now, and the SNP do nothing.
https://www.facebook.com/1564824773823879/posts/2498945550411792/?sfnsn=scwspwa
This from Bristol- it’s near Bath! Has the Rev gone contagious?
I am struggling to see a happy outcome in May. The b*****ds do seem to have managed to wipe out the chance of regaining our independence soon.
Even if we had big names we could achieve say a dozen list seats but what we need is the criminal current members deposed. If a big name stood against these individuals in the constituencies it would look very bad for both parties and weaken the independence vote all round, I suggest.
The only hope would be that the SNP MSPs do the job for us – they should have done it already and the likelihood of them changing their attitude when the old guard [Alex Neil, Jeanne Freeman etc] has gone to be replaced by perhaps Rhiannon Spear-carriers is vanishingly small.
Please Rev, deliver a ray of sunshine quickly, please!
Liz says:
3 March, 2021 at 11:12 pm
Aye, FB is the same. Taking a break from both of them until the collective insanity abates. Maybe I’ll get a bit more done in the house.
Here’s another assertion from yesterday that doesn’t stack up – she said “ There was no part of me that wanted for this proactively to get into the public domain,” she said. The idea she would ever need to discuss this publicly made her feel “physically sick” (quote taken from The Guardian).
But her Government was about to issue a press release and Alex had to threaten an injunction to stop them.
Was she not expecting to discuss the charges publicly after a press release?
Elmac says:
3 March, 2021 at 4:41 pm
I think AS should take the gloves off and go for the jugular. A press conference to rebut today’s lies and smears would be a start and dish all the dirt he has on Sturgeon and her cronies.
Well he won’t be able to tell the real reason why she made that video to her woke pals, asking them not to leave. It had nothing to do with politics & everything to do with her.
It’s time she & Peter came out of the closet. She with her long standing French girl friend, he Peter, with the French woman’s brother. “At least they are keeping it in the family.”
I believe that was the story Jackie Bailey mentioned at the committee meeting, that was about to be printed in the newspaper, when the Alex Salmond story was released.
Ofcourse now, no paper can print that story as there’s a court injunction barring them doing so.
She really is a nasty piece of work. Just a common wee lassie made good, by piggy backing on the career of a true statesman.
She is where she is because of Alex Salmond. She’s not fit to lick his shoes.
(Sorry, not “the charges”. The initial allegations under the retrospective code.)
@ Menstruator: fear does that. I am feeling sick right now at the nauseous stupid drivel being poured out in support of NS and by extension her crew of unprincipled nutcases, which is destroying our chance of freedom.
S.Perspective says:
4 March, 2021 at 6:23 am
How is zero times more likely to do something than nothing any better than doing nothing? We’re screwed for several years until a new party can be fully established that can stand for both constituency and list seats. The SNP have screwed us and, if for no other reason than that, deserve to be shafted in May. There are, however, various other reasons why we now need them out, including Women’s sex based rights and the right to freedom of speech for all. If they get back in to carry out their hate crime legislation you can kiss goodbye to this website or any other that challenges the views of their “great leader”. It’ll be compulsory daily reading of the Francis Gay, 7 Days Hard sites.
Baroness Ruthless Harrison clearly stated on STV News last night
that she had the support of All other parties for a vote of no confidence?
The interviewer asked if that included the Greens but she didn’t answer.
The interviewer knows you don’t ask Tories awkward questions or you are out.
Could it be with it not proceeding that Ruth and the Tories are lying bastards?
What else have the Tories ever done in Scotland?
There really should be an annual top ten Tory lies chart.
£350 million per week to the NHS
The most powerful devolved government in the world
The Vow
Scottish Fishermen in total control of their waters
We are fully prepared for Covid
We have PPE and are distributing it to everyone who needs it.
Tory Party to wipe out U.K. debt by 2015 if elected in 2010
Tory Party to wipe out U.K. debt by 2020 if elected.
We have a great oven ready EU divorce deal
Launching the world leading Track & Trace system on 1st June 2020
It more N Ireland really but I loved Boris confining in person at the DUP conference
that there would never be a border down the Irish Sea and 10 days later there is a
border down the Irish Sea. Better still Boris says it doesn’t count as a border, that border?
A lie is not just for elections time, it’s for life.
Vote Tory and keep the rich Stinking.
Somebody on twitter posted this, so I copied it here. It nicely sums up Nicola Sturgeon’s testimony yesterday.
‘I do not have a recollection/I cannot recall/I do not think that happened/I do not remember/It was not my decision/I was not involved/I would have to check/Cannot say definitively/I cannot say exactly/I am not sure/I am too tired to safely give personal answers’
An excellent summary, in my opinion. Compare and contrast with the factual, detailed, inciteful and HONEST testimony of Alex Salmond.
There is a certain irony in this whole saga.
We want rid of Sturgeon, because we don’t believe she will ever achieve independence. At the same time the Tories want rid of her to stop independence!
You couldn’t make it up!
https://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/ReportSelectPage.aspx?type=committee&year=2021&page=0&meeting=291
Still no sign of the transcript. How long does it normally take to upload the transcript?
Is it being redacted?
Tim42 says:
3 March, 2021 at 4:25 pm
“As predicted it’s been a damp squib. I said nothing would happen and it won’t. Absolutely NO evidence. She’ll win by a landslide in May and it will be business as normal.
With that being said some in here need to accept the truth, show some contrition and get on with supporting the cause for Scottish Independence.
History won’t be kind to those who took 50 pieces of silver from the Tories.”
I take it you mean Sturgeon and Co because they certainly haven’t been supporting the cause for independence up to now. I’d suggest they got a bit more than 50 pieces of silver for their efforts too.
I’ts to be thier independence,not our’s.
We are to get a flag,have a big party…and feck all say in
anything!
don’nt know why people cant see that really!
There seems to be a collective amnesia going on on Twitter at the moment. Even Craig Murray is saying both votes SNP.
I really don’t understand how there are so many gullible people. There are people who change their opinion , based on one shallow Bafta performance. I watched most of it. What I saw , and what they are being told is a complete fabrication.
I don’t like being lied to, and I think for myself. I have absolute belief that Salmond was telling the truth. That is the part that stays with me , because it is in fact the truth.
I think some folk were expecting a ‘gotcha’ moment or something yesterday but that was never really likely to happen. (To be fair I suspect much of it is from folk like Wet Pishfart so they can claim some great victory but as usual it is artificial.)
Sturgeon’s appearance was never going to be about that. Instead what we saw yesterday (finally) was the real Nicola, tooth and claw.
It was depressing watching her and realizing that every worst fear about her was true and far, far worse. She is a horrible character, it is so obvious now where all of this poison came from. It should not be a surprise really as she surrounds herself with equally odious creatures. It is who she is, the jury is not out anymore, thanks to yesterday’s little show.
For hours we saw her lackeys toss her one softball question after another and even then she could barely give a straight answer.
Instead what we saw was a very planned, very rehearsed attempt to re-smear Salmond. She did it so many times I lost count quite early on.
Her testimony yesterday informed us a lot, but not because her words conveyed any new information.
Excuse my emotional post above. But I think the point is valid. This hysterical outpouring of adulation for “Nicola” alarms us. From a different perspective, but for fundamentally similar reasons, it might not go down very well with uncommitted floating voters. Most people don’t want to be governed by a cult of personality. Remember that Twitter is inhabited mainly by weirdos.
Just listened to Radio 4’s breakfast current affairs programme. In the one-hour segment I heard, Sturgeon’s performance yesterday got no coverage. There was a brief discussion about it on the review of the newspapers within the context of what the Scottish papers are saying.
With 20:20 hindsight, yesterday was always going to be a superb day on which to bury bad news. I assume the date of the budget was known months in advance. Who engineered Sturgeon’s appearance to coincide with the budget?
On a slow news day, Sturgeon’s performance would have been the leading item on all news channels. Yesterday was never going to be a slow news day. Coincidence, or planned?
-Big Jock-
It looked like something approaching a collective crack-up to me. Many of those who had been sceptical of Sturgeon seemed to falter in the face of her supporters’ abuse. Extremely disturbing. But the truth will out. You can’t escape the truth.
In the papers today the outcome is actually far more balanced…
@Mac
Bang on the money.
I think a lot of people will have changed their views after seeing that display yesterday.
The result of the inquiry is in a way irrelevant to me.
I know now for sure who I believe and it’s certainly not Blinky.
I’ll not vote for them again.
Not as long as she and her ilk are there.
The idea being floated by some of the hard of thinking in here that the SNP can somehow be changed from within, and that is is necessary to remain a member, or at least to hold our noses and vote for them is beyond delusional at this point.
The party patently isn’t for turning. The leadership and activist base aren’t suddenly going to be overcome with an attack of reasonableness. They hold all the cards. The membership doesn’t have the power – or the time – to do anything to change that in a reasonable timescale, nor has it shown any stomach for the fight to do so as the Pyrrhic victory in replacing some NEC members last November shows.
Anyone who continues to put their faith in the SNP and those advocating SNP1 in May’s elections are very much part of the problem, not part of the solution. I want nothing to do with any of them: they are the useful idiots of a deeply corrupted and regressive organisation which is no longer fit for purpose, and shows scant prospect of being rendered fit for purpose.
https://www.grampianonline.co.uk/news/moray-reaction-vote-of-no-confidence-tabled-against-nicola-sturgeon-230009/?cmpredirect&fbclid=IwAR3xAhyhWBNsYE185k8R2diNHF3M2X8MEJ7jpwRC0qrJij8PzPX51KhvSFc
Lochhead has lost my vote for sure now. He sounds like another gutless Yes man. It might be 85% against Ross this but the older traditionalist nationalists wont vote in online polls. Lochhead will probably survive in spite of himself because the Tories disgust us more.
Damned if we don’t vote and damned if we do. This isn’t democracy.
Yes – Those who think this is it , and she has just walked away. Don’t realise that there is more evidence to come out. If necessary she can be recalled to explain that evidence.
I doubt Salmond is sitting at home after that character assassination rubbing his wounds. His lawyers will be getting the redacted evidence released. He may even stop the friendly fire and strike back at her. I am pretty sure there is plenty on Sturgeon that he could bring to the table.
Let her entourage have their collective amnesia for the moment. It won’t last.
“I am too tired to safely give personal answers”
Such a strange line. If you’re telling the truth, how does being tired affect that?
At the moment I am abstaining on the 1st vote , and voting ISP or such like on the 2nd vote.
If Sturgeon goes then I will vote SNP on the 1st vote. I just can’t vote for that woman , and it’s not just the Salmond issue. It’s everything she stands for.
If I understood it correctly Iain Lawson I’d saying that traffic on the SNP’s server was perfectly normal yesterday, which rather belies the narrative of “everyone I know joined the SNP to support Nicola”, especially as every account which claimed to have done so was founded in 2009 or 2013 and retweeted only one another or SNP official pages.
God; politics is a cesspit.
Get it straight, INDEPENDENCE is the big ‘personality’, all others are minnows.
We need a reboot, a refresh of the entire system.
Enough of this tedious game of thrones.
I need the transcript to be able to read what she said.
I couldn’t follow her answers because there was too much WAFFLE
I need the transcript so that I can cut out all the WAFFLE
She didn’t seem to know much about what was going on. Maybe the officer cleaner would have been of more help to the committee
What Kcor, Robert Louis (great Twitter quote, btw), Mac, Big Jock and many others have said.
I’m astonished anyone thought this hand picked and hampered inquiry would ever unseat She Who Must be Obeyed. Her performance was merely that of a ham actor with a very deep and nasty streak who found it impossible to give a straight answer.
When all the smoking guns have been already locked away under legal embargo in Bute House, it’s easy for her to swan about and receive the adulation of the wokelings and the faithful on social media but there are so many things which aren’t just going to go away. And like all those involved in such tawdry machinations, each one wonders which among them will lose their nerve and blow the gaff.
There’s a lot of water behind this dam.
What has bummed me out from yesterday was not seeing Sturgeon rolling around in the gutter, shitting in her hand every few minutes and flinging at Salmond, that was grim and massively disappointing viewing for sure but it was not much of a surprise.
What I found a bummer was Craig Murray tweeting he would vote for the SNP 1 & 2. That really made me wonder why we are bothering at this point.
I am sure Craig would say he is voting for Independence but he is not, he is voting for Sturgeon, the GRA, the Hate Bill, Rhiannon Spears, and endorsing the regime who tried to send an innocent man to die in jail. After watching Sturgeon all day yesterday to read that tweet not long after was awful.
It has blown me away. Some were hinting Craig was tongue in cheek but if he is I missed it. (I apologize in advance if I misinterpreted it.)
Abstain on the first vote is a vote for the Union.
Make no mistake about that!
You don’t seriously think the U.K. media will run any
kind of story about the number of void or no first vote ballots?
The story is major gains for the unionists and appetite for independence is gone.
There is corruption in Holyrood alright but nothing is more
corrupt than the English Tory Westminster that is killing Scotland.
Voting Unionist or not voting at all is acceptance for more Tory Westminster controls.
It’s a bitter pill but we take it or independence dies a slow death.
Too many on here letting second-rate personality politics get in the way of the real cause. We should be coming together. Independence is far bigger than the main protagonists that we’ve seen over the last few days. Siding with likes of Murdo Fraser and Douglas Ross is simply impermissable though.
Hang your heads in shame.
“Aamer Anwar made the claims after allegations of inappropriate behaviour emerged about women MPs being harassed at Westminster.
He told our sister publication, the Sunday Herald he had spoken to “a number of women” over the last two years about their treatment by men at Holyrood.
He said: “It’s a catalogue of sexual harassment, stalking, social media abuse, sexual innuendos, verbal sexual abuse, touching, sexual assaults, requests for sex, cover-up, isolation and bullying.”
What has happened re this alleged catalogue of sexual harassment?
Who were the “number of women” he spoke to? Have their complaints already been resolved?
Al-Stuart at 3.13am.
That was a great post, friend.
I also had problems, just prior to heading off to my kip last night, and had composed a tweet asking if anyone else had similar. Just before posting the tweet, WoS was online again. TOR wouldn’t have occurred to me – whether or not it would’ve made a difference in last night’s circumstances – but I’ll bear that in mind.
I also copped a ‘Comment awaiting moderation‘ on my previous post around 11.30pm last night, and I concerned over having said something naughty. I’m thinking now it was to do with the anomoly.
Back to my point; that was indeed a very interesting post, Al-Stuart, not least for the information provided, but also because it gave me encouragement that this site won’t/can’t be threatened so easily. As you state, Wings Over Scotland is the most important resource we have in in this country – holding corrupt power to account is a beautiful thing. I genuinely believe that, so long as we have WoS, Sturgeon and her gang do not sleep well at night (and better chance of Scottish independence). We’ll get there!
Welcome back, Stuart.
Mac – Same.
I was very surprised at Craig’s sudden epiphany to the sacred church of St Nicola. As said before the panel yesterday was handpicked , so it wasn’t a court room trial. If it was a court room trial. Sturgeon would have been torn to shreds by the prosecutor.
Everything about the SNP is staged managed. The 11th hour redacted evidence , produced a few hours before she appeared. Thus giving the enquiry no time to analyse or request missing information.
The crocodile Metoo tears was the worst part of it.
I am not too worried though. Behind he scenes she will still be fretting about what Salmond does next and how Hamilton will judge her superficial drama performance.
Professor James Mitchell, over at Holyrood Magazine:
https://www.holyrood.com/comment/view,comment-sturgeons-performance-was-a-masterclass-in-obfuscation-and-deflection?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Holyrood%20Morning%20Roundup%20Thursday%204%20March&utm_content=Holyrood%20Morning%20Roundup%20Thursday%204%20March+CID_9d676f5ef3b1a4775fe7cd70cae4cbde&utm_source=Email%20newsletters&utm_term=Comment%20Sturgeons%20performance%20was%20a%20masterclass%20in%20obfuscation%20and%20deflection
so what are we getting in May? I’m assuming SNP will win anyway.
Pushed through hate crime bill, SNP leadership who looks down on the indy masses, more faux outrage because a s30 isn’t forthcoming. The FM’s climate ‘emergency’ with land destroyer Benny Higgins leading our ‘recovery’; Charlotte street partners feeding in its Uber-neoliberal economic policies to the freeloaders at the top and thus the continuation of land and real estate policies which thatcher would be proud of; the erosion of devolution all the whilst keeping those in their fluffy jobs.
5 more years of it and with likely no referendum.
And I didn’t even mention GRA.
The scales have certainly fallen from my eyes wrt Nicola Sturgeon, but it’s so frustrating to see the outpouring of adoration for her performance yesterday when you know the real story (or the main points) behind the whole sorry affair, yet can’t say anything!
I think the Tories shot too soon – threatening a VONC before she’d given her evidence looks bad, and to the ordinary voter it just smacks of opportunism, not a desire to get to the truth. Even if they succeed in removing her, it will just galvanise the ordinary Yes voter to back the SNP. So I think that was a tactical mistake there.
We all saw the surge in members after the loss of the indyref. I was one of them. I have never been a member of a party in my life, preferring to be independent 😉 , but the day after the loss I joined the SNP, if only to send a signal to Westminster that we were not done. I think this is the same case here, despite the obvious bot accounts on Twitter all declaring “today I joined..”. Hey, perhaps all these new members might find out what happened to the ring-fenced money??
Yes, we’re stuffed, but I think it may be better that she remains, and wins the election in May. If only to shut Pete Wishart up when Boris inevitably tells them to get stuffed when they ask for that S30 that can’t ever be denied. See what their plan is then.
Longer term? I have no idea.
Banner on Sky news advising of the Westminster terrorist group
if Loyalist Killers for hire are not going to keep the Good Friday agreement.
Having occupied a piece of another country for Westminster, these people blindly
follow Unionism as they are paid so well.
A Billion up in smoke with Ash for Cash and
A Billion bribe for Brexit special deal.
They were happy to murder anyone that Westminster thought a was a Republican threat.
Bigotry, bias and violence entrained in many over many generations.
Is it not early days to be making judgements about the fate of Nicola Sturgeon?
Being re-elected as FM doesn’t mean she is safe or does it? No guarantee that members/MPs/MSPs wont turn on her once they are safely elected.
Could there be a VONC straight after the election with the SNP voting in favour?
Impressions of yesterday from a floating voter , and a newbie !
Nicola performed exactly as I expected her to . It looked pretty skilful and effortless .
Unfortunately some people can twist the truth in so many directions you would not know if you are coming or going . So my next question was would her trust her ? Not a single bit now . She always refers to the past friendship and the pain just as she verbally brings them down !
In terms of efficiency she clearly presented as not having control over the government she resides over . That is a big worry . Her competency is not at a high enough standard . Sounds as though she has been promoted past her abilities.
Final analysis. Smooth talker but very little content .
Now what I really don’t understand is Craig Murray . Not well versed enough to know where that came from but that was a disappointment.
As previously stated I could live with a sincere independent government which is why I have some sympathy with what I read here . I more I look at the SNP the more concerned I become .
I missed the whole performance yesterday. Not sorry to have done so – really don’t like ham actors of any kind.
Talking of which, before the great non-event happened, I had wondered what she was going to say in her opening remarks. Thinking of actors – ham or otherwise – I imagined she would borrow something from Shakespeare (she fancies herself as one of the great book-loving literati after all). Something, for example, that begins with
‘Friends, Romans and Countrymen …’
Since the gullible are going to be subjected later this year to a collection of the Dear Leader’s ‘Greatest Speeches’, it should be noted that there is a Scottish precedent for using such a grand opening to a great Scottish oration. It happened at the end of 1960s – or was it during the 70s? – when the then Moderator of the Church of Scotland had to open the first ‘ecumenical’ meeting of Church leaders in Scotland. The ‘friends’ were obviously his own, and might even have stretched to an Episcopalian or two, the ‘Romans’ speaks for itself, and who he included (or disincluded) in the ‘countrymen’ is anyone’s guess.
Nevertheless, for someone who began by saying he had never addressed such an assembly before, and was at a loss to find the appropriate form for doing so, but he thought maybe he had discovered just the right formula with these 4 words, it proved an inspired guess and was well taken by all present.
Of course, these aren’t the 4 words that Nicola would really have emphasised yesterday. What immediately follows is what she she would have relished, and maybe even licked her lips over. If my memory serves me well, it goes something like this:
‘I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.
The evil that men do lives after them;
The good is oft interr-ed with their bones …’
Being a bit of a ham, she might even have put special emphasis on that word ‘men’, nestling in there in the middle of the second line just quoted.
Reading the comments, it sounds to me like that is precisely what must have happened yesterday. Or provides a useful summary of it all. ‘It wisnae me, it wis him!’ … ‘It’s no’ aboot me; it’s a’ aboot him’.
I can hardly believe (sorry, let me correct that: I can easily believe) that she spent 8 whole hours saying and saying and saying again what Shakespeare (in the mouth of Mark Antony) managed to say so well, and so succinctly in 8 seconds, or even less.
I am glad I did not watch it. Again going by the comments, we had heard it all before – ad infinitum! And we’ll hear it all again. And again, and again. The record is broken – and it’s unrepairable.
So, time to chuck it out.
Big Jock
.. and how Hamilton will judge her superficial drama performance.
Must say, I’m not even a teensy-bit confident that Hamilton will expose her; wasn’t he hand-picked by Sturgeon? He’s already given the Welsh FM a pass in a similar inquiry, and I’m sure I read that he has the right background for this type of gig, if you get my drift?
Anyway, I don’t think the inquiry – any of them – matter, I think she’ll either be nailed by the Press the minute the time’s right, or she’ll be held in power – a puppet – for as long as London wants to hold onto Scotland, the only fly in the latter being that she’ll be long-gone by the time Salmond et al have finished with her.
I hope Sturgeon rots right in Hell – let’s see the croc tears in that place.
Meant to add, I have no idea how I am going to vote come May. List vote will certainly be for one of the indy list parties (Central Scotland so an SNP list vote almost certainly wasted), though not sure which. The fact that the ISP struggled to raise much for their crowdfunder has me worried.
Constituency? I don’t know if I can hold my nose and vote SNP. I suppose tactically, the more constituency votes they get, the more it helps the chances of another indy list party winning a list seat. But I do not want to condone Nicola’s leadership, the treatment of Joanna Cherry, the GRA, the HCB. I may just spoil my vote.
Looks like support for Nicola is growing.
Unionists trying to de-rail the country in the middle of a pandemic is not going down very well.
Desperately shameful bully boy tactics by the Unionist committee members was not a good look.
Whoever thought it was a good idea to put Cole Hamilton and the current Labour leader [who’s name escapes me] on Debate Night yesterday is just plumb crazy.
Tom, at 8.50am.
‘SNP members of the committee were execrable. The late indomitable Margo MacDonald feigned spraying house plants in the chamber whenever a planted question was asked by government backbenchers. Margo’s plant spray would have been in frequent use yesterday‘..
Belter.
He didnae miss – and THAT’S why Sturgeon’s toast, we’re far from accepting this bullshit.
@Mac 8.37am
Craig Murray’s Twitter feed last night makes it clear he’s serious about voting SNP 1 & 2. He’s obviously amongst those still putting their faith in “saving” the party.
Professor Mitchell’s piece in Holyrood Magazine is powerful stuff in my view. He’s bang on the money. This whole sorry farrago has indeed shown that it was failures in leadership that brought us to where we are today, but also (despite what Alex Salmond said in his evidence to the committee about it being a failure in leadership rather than the system or the principle of our devolved parliament) real failures and weaknesses in Holyrood.
The reason the charge of being a “pretendy parliament” has such resonance, is that there’s an element of truth in it. The prospect of launching into an independent Scotland with institutions as well as parties that aren’t fit for purpose is something that should worry us all.
It seems to me we’re not working as if we live in the early days of a better nation, but in the early days of a deeply flawed and dysfunctional nation.
Checked a few of the `new` SNP twitter bios and a lot of them seemed to be white young men with beards describing themselves as he/him,
with mosltly Irish or Biblical first names like Declan or Conor or Caleb or Elijah,
with the odd political tweet but mostly tweeting about hair and beard products.
Andy Ellis @8:15
I agree. We’re fucked now if Sturgeon stays. And it looks to me like she’s going nowhere. Let’s face it, she’s emboldened after the soft soap of yesterday’s marathon “evidence” session. Grifters gonna grift and the trough is deep.
I’ll be spoiling my constituency vote. Felt that way before this all blew up. We don’t get to pick and choose when it comes to science or thought control. Nothing over the last few weeks has done anything to change my view. Quite the opposite.
As for the list vote, it’ll depend on who’s got on.
Absolute shitshow!
When Tommy Sheridan interviewed Craig Muarry he ended the interview by pointing out that should he get convicted for contempt that he would be able to run from parliament from a jail cell (i.e. hint hint).
Instead Craig would be voting SNP 1 & 2, for the regime that maliciously prosecuted him and put him in prison. I just cannot get my head around that.
It was a very long and unpleasant day yesterday listening to that dreadful woman spew her poison at every opportunity. So unquestionably by the end I was suffering a sense of humour failure and could easily have missed that Craig was not serious. I hope so.
Either way Craig it was terrible timing that is for sure!
I doubt Salmond is sitting at home after that character assassination rubbing his wounds. His lawyers will be getting the redacted evidence released. He may even stop the friendly fire and strike back at her. I am pretty sure there is plenty on Sturgeon that he could bring to the table.
I really feel for Alex. The past few years must have been a complete nightmare, but this is the final sting in the tail really: that to clear his own name and fight back against what was eight hours of further smears and innuendo, played live over UK TV, he would have to risk destroying Nicola and, with her, potentially a pro-indy victory in May. And for that, so many of the hard of thinking who don’t care about jailing innocent people will decide he’s the bad guy. Especially now they’ve managed to push the committee so far back so we’re almost into election period.
But the alternative, given what yesterday seems to prove, is allowing her and her cabal to return to power for another 5 years, which would make clearing his name and uncovering the truth all the more difficult. I hate what’s been done to him and the independence movement. And now have no doubt who was behind it.
Yeah I did read a few of the replies Andy and concluded he was serious.
As I say that was the worst part about yesterday (for me) by far. It was a sickener.
Could someone ask the FM why they are sending children back to school ‘in the middle of a pandemic’?
Well there we go.
Different day, same shit.
But Craig and others are right. We have no choice. Letting Unionists in at Holyrood at this moment in time would be unforgiveable, and no-one is riding to our rescue.
Not voting or voting Unionist on the constituency vote is simply not an option. And the ISP et al are the dampest of squibs, so it looks like 2nd vote SNP as well.
It’s vote till you boak time again. The hat is out of rabbits.
I was suffering a sense of humour failure and could easily have missed that Craig was not serious
I think a lot of people are missing the final line of his tweet. He put an “unless…” in there. I’m not yet ready to give up on that “unless” happening. I was rather hoping his tweet might be subtly signalling it, but that may be wishful thinking on my part.
The “I don’t recall” stonewall defense doesn’t sit well with me and it shouldn’t sit well with anyone. Those cheering it on right now were crying fowl when just a few years ago it was employed with great enthusiasm over in America during the inquiries into the conduct of the Trump administration.
Once again, the Sturgeonites ape them.
If the transcript continues to be delayed, or is overly edited, people could create their own based upon the video, however they’ have to grab a copy of it now. Apart from having the parliament site mail it to you, the best way to get it would probably be by downloading it (youtube-dl) from youtube, where it ends up at around 2.7 GB.
www [dot] youtube [dot] com /watch?v=xD_vBWLc67c
Since it is 8 hours long, spreading the work across a number of people would make that a viable approach
Just got an SNP mailshot:
“Indyref2. it’s in the post”
Like (Blackford doppelganger) Billy Bunter’s cheques.
On Craig Murray still voting SNP, I’m probably in the same boat, at least on constituency. I don’t see another option. I think it’s important though that the grass-roots hold SNP’s feet to the fire once they’re elected. I’m talking protests+ outside MP/MSP surgeries if there’s no clear movement on indy by the end of the summer. If any SNP politician were under the illusion they could bluff their way along for 5 years quite without repercussion, that would need to be dispelled.
*foul
Looks like most of the mainstream media are backing Sturgeon, so I guess that is that.
Unless Alex has a pair of aces up his sleeve.
JB says:
4 March, 2021 at 9:15 am
If the transcript continues to be delayed, or is overly edited, people could create their own based upon the video
Reply
It does say here official reports available 2 hours after meeting begins.
https://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/ormain.aspx
The video could also be edited/redacted.
Did anyone find the rat?
Twitter’s thoroughly gash right now.
Why can’t isp, Afi, solidarity and scotia future all unite for a plebiscite election instead of running as small irrelevant groups. And none of this ‘petition’ bollocks for a plebiscite. Or is it just all about me me me suckling at the financial teat of a nice salary and pension. Like the rest of the bottom feeding labdemtoryscum.
Sounded to me like Craig Murray was testing public opinion. The ‘how I would vote’ tweet came out of nowhere, a bit.
After seeing that yesterday any qualms I had about not voting for the SNP 1 or 2 are long gone. (I always exclude the handful of SNP MPs who are not Stugeonite drones from this, e.g. JC, KM).
Not only that I would most definitely now being voting tactically for the candidate most likely to unseat the SNP irrespective of party.
I would vote for Genghis Khan if he had the best chance to unseat the SNP candidate after seeing yesterday.
Because it wasn’t just Sturgeon, it was all the SNP MSP on the Inquiry as well. Everyone of them was just as loathsome, with Sturgeon merely as the glistening turd sitting atop the SNP shitcake.
Fuck the lot of them.
I’ve always thought feigning ignorance is the best defence except where ignorance of the law is concerned. Sturgeon yesterday used the same ruse but she displayed such lack of accountability for anything one must wonder what she is doing in the job. Did she ever start the day job? Needs to be fired for lack of achievement if nothing else. Weren’t her little smiley, jokey, attempts at humour just gut wrenchingly disgusting?
Andy Ellis @ 9:02 am
“It seems to me we’re not working as if we live in the early days of a better nation, but in the early days of a deeply flawed and dysfunctional nation.”
Colonialism always results in “a deeply flawed and dysfunctional nation” – for the ‘natives’. Is that not its purpose, to show how incapable and dependent the people are?
Consider the role in this episode of what Osborne refers to as ‘the arms’ of the British state in Scotland – crown and civil service. And consider the role of the bourgeoisie national party elite which reaches its own “accommodation with colonialism” (Fanon). Those giving evidence in this enquiry mostly relate to these groups.
Independence is decolonisation, after all.
Mac @ 9:08
Craig, Tommy and all pro-indy List parties might need to rethink SNP1.
@crisiscult
Not going to happen. An SNP majority (or coalition with the equally execrable Greens) won’t bring us one scintilla closer to indyref2, still less actual independence. Given their recent performance and who is in charge, I doubt most Scots will notice that much difference if they weren’t in power or had to depend on a yoon party for a majority.
The only things that might have made a difference were making the May elections plebiscitary, or the formation of a new party to challenge the SNP in both list and constituency seats, led by some big hitters. Neither of those are likely to happen: we’ve run out of runway.
The next five years will just be more of the same, with the Sturgeonistas advancing their woo-woo policies, entrenching their positions and ensuring no real progress for decades.
If they’re your answer, you’re asking the wrong questions.
I think folk need to focus a bit on the actuality here.
Sturgeon did not put any matter to rest yesterday. All she did was deny them. ‘Not a shred of evidence’ was presented yesterday; just a garbled, self-justifying version of events which not only doesn’t match any number of previous pronouncements but which contradicted itself several times yesterday.
The issue about Geoff Aberdein being given the name of one of the complainants summarises her entire strategy (other than smearing Salmond at every opportunity). On the one hand declaring the testimony of two people who were not present when the name was passed on as hearsay while believing her own second-hand testimony must be treated as gospel simply because it is her providing it.
I am NICOLA and what I say is right because I said it.
I think it is pretty clear that not one of the non-SNP members were buying whatever is it Sturgeon was hawking yesterday.
So look at it this way. After her testimony, the committee has NO REASON WHATSOEVER to question any view about any matter that they had formed up to then.
Except, of course, they may now feel that Sturgeon herself is deserving of even less respect than they gave her yesterday morning.
Up until L.Dorrian’s Spectator Case judgement that the LA/Crown interpretation of her s.11 order was ‘absurd’, the Holyrood Comm. was being forced to conduct it’s proceedings on the basis that none of the complainants names could be mentioned in ANY context whatsoever.
I can’t see how it would be possible to apply this policy without specifically providing all witnesses in advance with a list of names they’re not allowed to mention?
Even absent the ‘absurd’ interpretation, given the possibility of inadvertent jig-saw identification, it’s not credible the FM did not take the precaution of appraising herself of the identities of these women before giving her evidence?
Maybe by craig advocating voting snp 1 and 2, he’s been told the judge will dismiss his case. Wink.
@Mac 8.37: “Sturgeon rolling around in the gutter, shitting in her hand every few minutes and flinging at Salmond.”
Great image, that. Reminds me so much of Clinton’s political character. The only thing missing from her performance was a female version of Blair’s infamously jaw-dropping “I’m a pretty straight kind of guy” statement.
Come to think of it, could the FM be Tony and Hillary’s love child? Would explain a lot.
*Checks dates feverishly*