The cataclysm continues
Only our very alertest readers are likely to recall our first brush with Azeem Ibrahim of the “Scotland Institute”, a right-wing think tank which recently came up with a report on an independent Scotland’s debt that was picked up by some of the less discerning newspapers but which we ignored for being too boring.
And we must concede fair play to the eternally attention-seeking Mr Ibrahim, because he’s come storming right back with something altogether livelier.
Yes, it’s our old friend the global apocalypse caused by a small country on the fringes of northern Europe deciding that it’d quite like to elect its own governments now, if that’s okay. This time it’s the unlucky Middle East that’ll apparently be cast into chaos if Scotland votes Yes, tipped from its current state of harmonious stability into a catastrophic Armageddon because Britain was no longer able to go and bomb it.
It’s an admirably concise yet impressively bonkers effort, so we’ll let you get on and enjoy it without further comment.
For some funny reason he thinks he is ranked as a top 100 global thinker in the world, according to his article.
Maybe in his own little world, but to the rest of us hes a top 100 donkeys earsehole, totally full oh shite.
He’s not very good at geography if he thinks the Middle East is the other side of the world, or indeed if he thinks that democratic decisions cause tornados.
He is just an idiot – no more, no less.
A “global apocalypse” is being staged on this small country as those who have the god given right to rule eternally over us seek the help of every possible ‘foreign’ leader from Obama to Putin to put pressure on us to remain in our place.
It is only a matter of days now before the leader of North Korea appears alongside Cameron at 10 Downing Street to warn the Scots of a North Korean nuclear attack on them should they vote for independence.
Hate to break the news,Middle East is in chaos
Starting to get fed up with these silly fuckers now, d’ya think that’s their plan ?
Over the years he has met and advised numerous world leaders on policy development:
Well that explains a lot!
Got as far as his photo, that was enough,like one of those taken from an American college album circa 1966.
People in the rest of the UK might also have opinions on this, but it seems to them rather rude to intrude and offer their own opinions on the matter.
BWAAAHAHAHA
In the spirit of the esteemed Dr. Azeem Ibrahim’s profound article and in light of the “snooping” legislation being “railroaded” through Westminster, I would urge all cybernats to wear marigold gloves while typing.
No prints, no trail!
Consider this: if Scotland leaves the UK, the rest of the UK is put in a rather awkward position internationally. It remains as the continuing state of what was once the largest empire in world history, but yet again it loses a significant proportion of its traditional core territory. It loses a certain amount of international prestige, but also, a good 8-9 percent of its GDP. With that, it will slip down the GDP rankings, and its hopes of overtaking France and eventually Germany economically will be dashed. Its international diplomatic clout would be significantly diminished.
Not sure BT/ NT/ U Kok will be running with this angle…they will sail majestically on while we suffer…allegedly
According to his list of advisory talents. He has aided The First Minister of Scotland… On how to maximise Scotland?s competitive potential….vote yes.
Please remember that in the global scale of things, Scotland is a medium sized country.
Stress this on the door-steps, many seem to think we’re smaller than we are so let’s not make BT No OK’s argument for them.
Hahaha this makes me laugh, who the fuck is this guy and why is he sticking his nose in. Any chance he is a UK/US government advisor on Middle Eastern affairs.
I don’t know as cant be arsed checking the back ground of such an obvious dohhead. I’d put money on it though, just another snout in the global neo-liberal trough.
Sounds like this dude has based his world-view on multiple viewings of ‘Team America’.
To be fair to this one Professor, he’s pretty accurate about teamGEnglandB after 18th Sept, although his “traditional core territory” thing is a rather weird take on too poor, wee, stoopid Scotland.
“It remains as the continuing state of what was once the largest empire in world history, but yet again it loses a significant proportion of its traditional core territory. It loses a certain amount of international prestige, but also, a good 8-9 percent of its GDP.”
At the bottom of it all, it is about the rUK not having the clout it once had.Well, a lot to do with the breakdown of the UK is austerity, mostly caused by UK mismanagement.
Unlike the Scottish Government, who balances the books every year.
It is UK’s ( mostly rUK’s) debt,light governance of Bankers ( did I spell that right!)and no ability to manage the economy.
So they, the elite, take from our poorest, and consistently rob Scotland. We do not even have the democracy the UK is “supposed” to be based on. Are we supposed to be happy, and continue to allow ourselves to be abused by a corrupt institution?
I THINK NOT!
This casts my mind to a different political quandary. In seemingly unrelated events, two months from now, the people of my native Scotland will be going to the polls to decide their political future.
– He’d make a brilliant continuity announcer.
The Scotland Institute sounds like your typical internet cybernat operation run from a student bedsit by some fruit loop.
It seems to belong to the school of geopolitical thought that can connect a butterfly flapping its wings in the foothills of the Himalayas to a pub closing down in Donegal.
Mary McCallum
I always wear dark glasses when i come onto Wings just incase they’re watching through the window. Reckon if i look like i’m up to a bit of subterfuge they’ll put me on one of their lists
Bit OT as if i’m not already. Was up near Aviemore on holiday last week. On way home stopped at Pitlochry where No Better Together Thanks (pinched that from someone but i like it) had a stall. Just out of interest introduced myself as undecided and asked the guy to sell me the union. Reply was ‘better the devil you know’. Woman then questioned trust in AS blah blah blah …… It was vacuous stuff
Gray say, ‘Please remember that in the global scale of things, Scotland is a medium sized country.’
Huh? It would be just another Euro-micro-state, essentially a protectorate of another power.
Robertson is a realist who understands how the world works.
Medium sized vis-à-vis China, India, Japan, Korea, the USA, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Brazil, Indonesia, Canada, Australia, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan?
Come on. Get real.
We need more of these guys, connect them to BT and hey presto !
Or….
These nutters are being wheeled out to make A Darling and company look normal ?
What next ?
Popcorn at the ready….
who the hell pays these people ??????
and is there some kind of numpty machine where they clone these muppets.
@ bluedog, Huh? It would be just another Euro-micro-state, essentially a protectorate of another power.
Norway is one of the richest countries in the world with 5 million people, berk
Graeme Doig
I like it. No risks must be taken.
I do cut approx 2.75cm off the fingers of the Marigolds to ease typing and improve ventilation though.
O/T though does contain an interview with George Robertson, so maybe not so o/t.
Excellent 25 min Al Jazeera documentary called Disunited Kingdom:
link to youtube.com
He’s obviously been talking to one George Robertson!!.
@bluedog.
Did you just refer to Scotland as “it”?
Which part of Scotland are you from again ?
So its Rule Britannia from Lands End to Carlisle. They still own the Falklands, Wales and NI for now anyway.
A pleasant sometimes riot torn mid sized country, wobbly debt laden slave wage economy, super rich well protected tax dodging elite, wobbly corrupt half democracy with far right tendency currently mercilessly attacking public spending, a frighteningly corrupt biased mass media led by the BBC and all on the verge of quitting the EU, is that so bad England?
Oh and don’t forget all those establishment paedos creeping about too and now they collect everyone’s phone calls, emails and internet activity, for our own protection. Huzzaah
A tornado…lolololololololol..
Dorothy…Dorothy..there’s a twister coming..
(slips on a lovley pair saltire blue slippers – Jimmy McChoo’s nae doot..)
There’s no place like YES….
There’s no place like YES…
Woops, left out Russia, Poland and the Ukraine.
‘Except that in our global, interconnected world, a world which we so poorly understand, just a few thousand Scottish votes in either direction may cause a tornado on the other side of the world. Or trigger even further instability in some of the most unstable regions in the world, such as our own.’
Presumably, as Derek M asks, these people are paid to produce this drivel?
Looking at that excerpt above, it’s hard to believe that this guy is all he claims in the wee bio-blurb. But if he is for real? then we’re looking at seriously unprofessional work, written in haste, and not worthy of any critical attention.
And that speaks volumes – they have no solid, serious case, are forced to resort to stereotypical ‘clash of cultures’ gibberish, and it shows throughout the piece – as intellectually dishonest as it is badly written. No self-respecting academic would put his name to such bilge, which suggests that he’s well past caring about his own ‘reputation’, and may well be working as part of a team, producing this stuff to order.
Similarly, the rest of the UK would eventually have to start scaling down its defence spending and its overseas deployments. It simply wouldn’t be able to afford its current ambitions.
Why is this a BAD idea exactly?
Oh before I forget I’m back from the *ahem* secret debate folks. All fingers and toes are accounted for. We managed to video it via our mobile phones so it is all covered but in a few parts. (Who’d have thunk it a telephone that takes pictures and here’s me thinking a telephone was for making phone calls!
)
Hopefully I’ll be able to sort out the video and link it up in the next few days, once I figure out how to do it.
For now I’ll leave with a wee teaser… the debate was between Joan McAlpine and David Mundell!
And here was me thinking that people in the middle east / with middle eastern cultural backgrounds wanted the west to butt out?
Liked the bit about “some countries get to choose” re democracy. Tell you what, lets just cancel the referendum in sympathy.
What a belter.
More instability in an unstable region, what, you mean more of the same, this guy is a nut-job.
The reason there is so much instability is because it was engineered by the US and Westminster Governments.
Hussain was and Assad undoubtedly is a Dictator but things are a whole lot worse for those countries due to Western Intervention in their affairs.
Was there not some connection to Sarwar if my memory serves?
So many crackpot “thinktanks” beavering away for their masters, you would think they would run out of thought!
@lesley-anne.
If you are stuck, send it to GCHQ and they will fix it out for you i am sure…
Whats that ?
Of course you can trust them, where do you think you are, England ??
“Similarly, the rest of the UK would eventually have to start scaling down its defence spending and its overseas deployments. It simply wouldn’t be able to afford its current ambitions”.
I got to this part them my brain started to implode so stopped reading. Anyway, isn’t this what the UK Government are doing now? White elephant aircraft carriers with no planes to fly from their decks, defence cut to the bone?
@Caroline Corfield says: 10 July, 2014 at 9:24 pm
“He’s not very good at geography if he thinks the Middle East is the other side of the world, or indeed if he thinks that democratic decisions cause tornadoes.”
(Chuckle): Noo haud oan a wee puckle, Caroline. Was there not a rather small tornado photographed on someone’s cellphone this very week in Glasgow?
My own personal opinion is that particular one was caused by the lugubrious Jim Murphy on his big Red Bus Tour of the more rebellious areas of Scotland.
@jim.
HS2 and 3…launching at an arab country from an aircraft carrier soon (but just until a plane is available) !!!
To quote my kids, WTF?
Whatever this man is smoking, he really needs to stop. Correct me if I’m wrong but the UK’s only major presence is the airbase in Cyprus, never knew it was so crucial to the ongoing state of love and joy that is the Middle East.
Must have been a slow news day.
@Lesley-Anne
Sorry, didn’t realise you posted the same paragraph.
Yes Mr spell-checker, it is realise. So there.
I do hope that dog doesn’t pee on the carpet…
Someone let it out…
@Bluedog
Add in all the small island states of Polynesia, Melanesia and Micronesia as well as places like Cape Verde, the Seychelles, Monaco, Andora, Lichtenstein, San Marino, the Vatican oh and of course most of the Carribean etc. etc. Then Scotland is indeed a medium nation.
That you are not aware of such places (I grew up in the South Pacific, been to San Marino etc) tells me a lot about your ignorance about the rest of the world which is chock of small states much smaller than Scotland in both land area and population.
You can demonstrate your ignorance on here if you want of course. But I reserve the right to highlight it. I have a science PhD as well as being well travelled and a good grasp of political geography (I collected stamps in my yoof).
So come on, give me some more to play with. I used to eat pipsqueaks like you on usenet 20 years ago for breakfast.
Sounds like this dude has based his world-view on multiple viewings of ‘Team America’.
and yet missed the irony every time.
Azeem reckons if Scotland votes for Independence, the UK would have to withdraw from meddling in the Middle East. Iran & Saudi etc would have to join together to stabilise the region. It’s not all bad.
No tornado, but the earthquake must have happened in Fort William last week.
O/T Does any foreign multinational or Westminster associate pay tax in the City of London?
Butterflies cause tornadoes.
Would that world be ‘Cloud Cuckoo Land’??? What a fecking eejit.
Auld Rock
I have a suggestion. make it pointless for trolls to visit these threads. Just blank them, they really really hate that.
@geeo
I hear tell that they are going to have a full carrier compliment of some life size cardboard cutouts of fighter jets made up, that’ll fool them.
You know, like those cardboard cutout policemen to stop speeders.
Better Together.
Tweeted by a Scottish Labour Party supporter.
Jim Murphy confronts his stalkers in Sanquhar –
link to twitter.com
O/T
Really surprised that Wings nor Newsnet Scotland never covered the “Snoopers Charter”, that all three Westminster Party’s are rushing it through Parliament next week is an absolute disgrace.
The Scottish government are not too happy with the way that it is being handled.
link to bbc.co.uk
Gordon Brown was involved in The Scotland Institute’s formation. Ibrahim’s family had a shop in Maryhill Road.
@cynicalHighlander
This butterfly that is Scotland is going to beat it’s wings not to cause tornadoes but to live in peace.
Bluedog
Your arguments are neither cogent nor well-informed, but do please continue to contribute to WoS because your efforts amuse the rest of us and give us a focal point for our altogher better-informed and logical arguments. After the referendum, you will be able to congratulate yourself for acting as a catalyst for those of us who know what we are talking about.
Keep up the good work.
joe kane
Spot the guy with the LFI poster with the thistle on it top left in the twitter picture lol.
joe kane says:
Better Together.
Tweeted by a Scottish Labour Party supporter.
Jim Murphy confronts his stalkers in Sanquhar –
link to twitter.com
Aye well neither Murphy or Mundell learned much that’s for sure. I know cause I asked Mundell a couple of questions tonight at the Shhh *ahem* secret debate. All I’ll say is I think I did rather well wiping the floor with him. If I can wipe the floor with Mundell then he obviously learnt nothing from Murphy or more than likely Murphy is a TERRIBLE teacher.
To paraphrase James Gleick’s famous illustration of Chaos theory: ‘A butterfly that beats its Wings over Scotland… can cause a hurricane in Brazil.”
This could be interpretated to mean Gordon Strachan’s rebuilding of confidence and organisation in the Scotland team led to Brazil getting humped 7-1 by Germany. Ergo, Gordon should not attempt to win matches.
Or, if you prefer, any attempt to secure improvement in the democratic, economic and social condition of the ordinary people of Scotland will upend the stability of the current world order.
So shut up, tak yer medicine, and vote No.
Ding! Scott Hastings Proud Scot in the first sentence. Give the man that predicted that a goldfish.
It’s the characterisation of Scotland as nothing more than another part of the ‘British’ empire that gets on my goat.
‘They’ lose a bit of territory etc etc
What a bloody powerful country this is. By leaving the Union with England we are making the causing instability in the middle east.
Making the UK weaker even though we are a little over 8% of it’s population.
So, it’s not about that, even though we make good cannon fodder, i.e, soldiers, a place to base nuclear weapons that are too dangerous to have near England’s population, try out the poll tax, Et cetera, Et cetera.
Surely it’s not about the money, money, money?
Jeez! How biased is STV on this BIG DEBATE already!! That Simon Pia is nasty! The YES guy already not getting the same time and who is he anyway??
Not looking forward to it! This could make or break the yes vote depending how Ponsanby chairs the debate! Argh!!!!
They just want to make the world dance, forget about the price tag.
I don’t know where to start on this,maybe the non millionaires amongst us don’t want involved in the Middle East,we always seem to make it worse.
Money man wants no change,no thanks.
O/T
Opinion Poll due out tonight, it is meant to be favourable towards YES.
No more details.
@Steve Bowers says: 10 July, 2014 at 9:28 pm:
“Starting to get fed up with these silly fuckers now, d’ya think that’s their plan?”
If you haven’t sussed it out by now, Steve, you have not chapped on enough doors in a Labour, LibDem or Tory party heartland.
Some of these people are quite incapable of absorbing even the most reasoned arguments backed by rock solid facts.
They just blind themselves to the obvious truth and tell the canvassing person they are telling lies.
Had one that maintained the Westminster parliament was a fair and democratic legisative body.
I argued that even if the entire 59 Scottish, 40 Welsh, and 18 N. Irish voted for something then the 533 English MPs carried the vote with a clear overall majority of 416 English MPs.
He still maintained it was democratic. I then pointed out to him that as Westminster had created a four country union with devolution from what is legally a bipartite union of Kingdoms. He said it was a democratic decision of a majority.
I pointed out that as Westminster had retained for itself Westminster as the de facto Parliament of England it was now the country of England devolving the powers of the country of England to the other three countries. He said it was the democratic decision of the majority.
At this point a female voice rang out from the innards of the house, “Get yer idiotic democratic earse in here Wull afore yer supper gits ower cald. An that’s no a democratic decision its an order”.
Wull shot into the house like a scalded moggy and a woman I knew well from my visits to the OAPs home she workes in came to the door. “Aye Bob Ah thocht it wis you. Ah kent yer voice. Dinna worry aboot Wull. He disna usually git oot tae vote. Div ye want a cup o tea”?
I really could do nothing but laugh. Whether Wull is really so hen pecked as it seemed I suppose I’ll never know.
Great news, the first fighter jet is ready ahead of schedule !
link to google.co.uk
WE’RE A DOOMED, DOOMED A TELL YE … again
That’ll be the pound that will then.
Watching QT and silently seething already. Audience seems somewhat unbalanced (first audience member seemed mentally unstable)
… oh and also still waiting for ‘ARMAGEDDON TO HIT SCOTTISH FOOTBALL’
How can a guy thinking this: “One thing that is always taken for granted in the West is that a people who have dreams and aspirations about the kind of society that they want to live in should have the right to determine their own political future together, without interference from other political powers”, reach the conclusions he does?
Some crackers in the Q Time audience tonight !
And one in particular in on the panel, Alan Savage director of the Orion group.
Banging on about us not taking the debt and how would the world see us as such!
Now we are doing the “bankruptcy” garbage from the audience..
Joan Burnie hammering the Yes case home brilliantly tho.
Question Time from Inverness and Scott Hastings is telling us to be true blue and take austerity on the chin.
He’s a real hoot, shame he’s not very bright at all.
Ricky Ross must read Wings, doing very good. So’s Joan. Guy the boss of Orion is a prick.
The drunk Unionist in the audience is bringing thoousands of Yes votes haha.
A real nutter on QT going to save the Union
Now there is a rogue kipper lol.
@Sinky
I was beginning to wonder what the hell he was on about.
Thepnr
The drunk unionist PMSL at him – I really hope someone is recording this.
Aye,Rikki & Joan doing well.
Jim, The troughers anthem.
“It seems like everybody’s got a price,
I wonder how they sleep at night
When the sale comes first and the truth comes
second
Just stop for a minute and smile”
My wee girls like Jessie J. Honest.
Has she come out for Yes yet
In ‘either’ direction? Jings, that is serious.
Whit ur we gonnae dae?
‘Don’t knows’ will save the planet?
The Hour of the Numpty is at Hand. The Hand of the Numpty is at 0.2% to Midnight. The Apotheosis of Numpty-Dumpty.
(Why am I thinking of that “lugubrious” Carmichael?)
If that auld Unionist guy who is shouting about giving up his life to keep the UK was talking about Islam, he’d be jailed for declaring Jihad
Scott Hastings must have taken a fair few blows to head during his rugby career
Question Time from Inverness has Scott Hastings telling us to be true blue and take austerity on the chin, or perhaps he means we should not fret if we can’t buy a square meal, or pay our electricity bill.
His Dumbo philosophy – you can fly if you hold a feather in your hand – can be attached to anything. He’s a hoot.
God protect us from fools.
Sounds like this programme you’re all watching will throw up some decent highlights, or at least some fodder for ‘And Finally…’.
I particularly like the idea of Scott Hastings telling The Great Unwashed to take austerity ‘on the chin’.
The gentleman in the audience on QT ” raving ” has just pushed my Daughter to YES – she’s 9
The auld drunk guy is in the running for Unionist of the year.
The crazy old guy is being treated badly by the beeb here, they returned to him a second time in the knowledge he was either a bit tiddly or has a mental health issue.
Poor show for my liking.
@bluedog says: 10 July, 2014 at 9:52 pm
“Huh? It would be just another Euro-micro-state, essentially a protectorate of another power.”
Troll Alert! Don’t feed the troll.
Let me put it this way. If you detect the troll then the troll has failed. This one fails.
@Bob Sinclair
Not if Lord FFoulkes has anything to do with it.
My Mum said not to mock the afflicted……. but she also said Santa came down the chimney.
The crazy old guy is being treated badly by the beeb here, they returned to him a second time in the knowledge he was either a bit tiddly or has a mental health issue.
I didn’t even know Alistair Darling was on QT tonight.
The obligatory businessman is just as dim as Hastings – parroting democracy hating neo-liberal slogans, “You can’t be independent if the Bank of England sets the interest rate,” says the company boss who has loans he has to repay but somehow or other develops his company’s output, and pays wages.
And there’s more tawdry copycat sayings from the spin doctors: “You can’t be independent if you are a member of the EU,” another red herring from a businessman who sells to Europe and probably owns a house there, for business reasons, you understand, not tax reasons.
Good god !
Hastings is an arse.
If you have done nothing wrong you have nothing to worry about !
Hate that guff because it completely misses the point.
It is about population control.
This just gives us another reason to vote YES.
We need to stop getting involved in regional wars because when we do we make it worse.
Why should our young men and women get killed to sort out problems that countries IN that region with plenty of young men and women and plenty of money and plenty of military hardware refuse to sort out themselves.
The boss of Orion is having a Ratner moment. His company will be going down the tubes. Silly Boy.
Oh, god, now he says it’s devisive if “we divide our country.”
There it is again, the United Kingdom IS England.
@Geeoo
Do you think Hastings would be happy is his private mail was opened and copied before being posted through his door.
Now Scott Hastings – “you know me as a passionate Scotsman” – claims he was on social media ‘last night’ and received abuse.
When you are that slow in understanding the issues how can you tell the difference between ridicule and abuse?
O/T Its comedy hour over at the Scotsman
link to scotsman.com
@kendomacaroonbar.
Well, if he has nothing to hide he would be fine with that surely..hmm !
@Grouse Beater –
Hmm…more alleged ‘abuse’ – should we call it ‘Scottballs’ or ‘Hastingsballs’?
Or just ‘balls’?
Will arch-Thatcherite abd BritNat Andrew Neil be able to contain himself?
I doubt it.
“I am an Englishman, as some here might have noticed, and I am telling you, Scotland, can not, will not, should not, prosper making its own decisions.”
There is no promised land.
Where do they find these people? Yes, I know, I’ve met a few in these last months, but they’ve been in England and usually spout insulting remarks out of ignorance.
Now it’s time for the man with no ability at comedy but a ton of vanity… Andrew Neil!
I wonder what Tommy Sheridan will make of him.
James123 says:
10 July, 2014 at 11:26 pm
I didn’t even know Alistair Darling was on QT tonight.
Thanks for that..coffee everywhere!
@Silky
Just love the strap line below the pic in that Scotsman’s article
The Better Together message is taken to the front doors of patriotic Scots. Picture: Getty
Question Time Yes audience really great once again. The last No audience man was coming it with that C4 5 Scots business say their bullied con. Channel4 contacted 50 businesses and only 5 said they had been bullied, with no proof. I think we will win this referendum.
I thought andrew neil was coming on…seems its the hogmany special !
Oh look Andrew Neil is live in Edinburgh with Susan Boyle, yes I know go figure
, Charles Kennedy and Tommy Sheridan. 
@ Geeo
Coffee? At this time of night?
Just watching Tommy on This Week jeez he’s fit!
Thepnr,
“I have a suggestion. make it pointless for trolls to visit these threads. Just blank them, they really really hate that.”
Any idea how we can make it pointless for our Andrew from Yes Stirling to beg on every single thread on this side as he has been doing for weeks now?
Remember W O S has been banned by Yes Scotland groups.
Mr Sheridan, quite good intro there! “Who needs reasons”
Love that song also..
Andrew Neil has begun with some terribly, terribly witty Scottisms: an absolute rush of crappy references to the Krankies, Connery, cue embarrassing fake Scottish working class accents, sly digs at Braveheart… he’s a Paisley man, fearless.
First questions to Sheridan.
David Wardrope says:10 July, 2014 at 11:43 pm
@ Geeo
Coffee? At this time of night?
Jeezo…am on the night time coffee list ! Haha
@Grousebeater
Just for once I’d love for A Neil to have a Pearly King & Queen intro with a little bit of chim chimminee chim chimminee cheroooo when it’s broadcast from Lahndan. see how they like it ?
Boy it looks like Tommy is having a great time on This Week. He cannae help[ himself listening to Michael Portillo.
Diggin Mike Portillos tartan trews tonight but Scotland run by Ruth Babes Davidson? lol
Way to go Tommy… he’s been telt.
I always took the guy from Deacon Blue as a strong NO. He had his own wee show on Radio Scotland and I thought he came over as a Unionist.
Or has he changed from NO to YES?
Was going to give this a miss but lovin tommy more than is healthy..portillo is fumin’
I’m thinking oor Tommy may not be on Michael’s Xmas card list for much longer.
@ Geeo
Power to you, I can’t sleep even just knowing other people can drink coffee late on. Although watching any political offering on telly after 9pm also has a strong tendency to keep me up at night
Portillo claims Scotland will sink under the weight of making its own decisions, and not getting the subsidies England so generously allows it to squander on welfare, the NHS, free education …. and so on, and so forth.
Sheridan has just laughed in his face.
He may have a point in that of course rUK’s global clout as it were would undoubtedly be diminished. And it may well have an impact on situations such as he suggested. But why is it our responsibility? Its a bit crass to say, but I don’t think the Palestinians or Isrealis would stop for a second to think about what effect their actions would have on the Scottish people. (‘Oh no, I’d better not throw that bomb because it’ll mean British/Scottish troops will have to come in to sort this mess out for us. And they are pretty skint to start with, can’t really afford to come in here and get involved in another expensive war. I think I’ll put the bomb down and write a strongly worded letter instead.’)
We don’t factor in their decision-making process (and neither I suppose we would expect to),so why should we be made to feel guilty about making our own decisions about our own future?
I am absolutely sick to the back teeth of these self-righteous Imperialists who care more about whats going on in every other country other than their own. And they wonder why we want to leave?!
I am truly astonished. I think we just won the debate on QT. I never thought I would see the day. Thanks Ricky and Joan. And Dumbledore let it flow. I dare to hope my country can be free.
Get them telt, Tommy!
Another thumpingly crass joke from Neil.
“We’re all over the internet like cobwebs on an Aberdonian’s wallet.”
He must have a great team of writers behind him.
Barf!
Oh here we have the cybernat crap coming live to YOU on the BBBC. This could be good LOL
Threats and Warnings already. Oh dear.
Oooo scary Buckets!
Still, He’s a handsome chap so he must know what’s what.
Sarah Smith removes any doubt about her partiality. She cannot be allowed to carry on presenting Scotland2014
And now im going to switch over if tommy is done.
Patronising pish!
Poor feckin JK Rowling, poor feckin Sarah Smith (SS for short…kidding)
Maybe if folk stopped talking pis
@caz-m
I always took the guy from Deacon Blue as a strong NO. He had his own wee show on Radio Scotland and I thought he came over as a Unionist.
Or has he changed from NO to YES?
There’s a video on Youtube titled Ricky Ross – Journey to Yes
Sarah Smith focusing completely on anonymous cybernat abuse and absolutely NO policy issues. What a surprise, usual disreporting Scotland form hackers and con artists. Its not coincidence that bettertogetherBBC monster everything about Scotland including the actual Yes debaters themselves.
I struggle to watch “This Week”.
There’s something about Andrew Neil that reminds me of wasting an hour hitting golf balls off Astro Turf at a golf range a few years ago. I can feel the pain return to my left forearm.
Chralie Kennedy trying to pretend the newspapers are being ‘bullied’ into being quiet over independence???
What papers in scotland would these be for christ’s sake?
It’s wall to wall unionist cheerleaders.
Has he been drinking again?
Azeem Who?
@Thepnr
I don’t think the unionist”..who would die for the union …” was drunk, I think you witnessed a proud orangeman on display. We even had a touch of Ian Paisley speech tactics.
The business man from Orion was a tad over focused on the Pound and anti English rhetoric.
Hastings…rather sad really. I never feel the need to state that I’m a proud Scot.
@ David Wardrope
Caffeine hardcore….!
@Bob Sinclair says: 10 July, 2014 at 10:55 pm
“Watching QT and silently seething already. Audience seems somewhat unbalanced (first audience member seemed mentally unstable)”
You think only, “seems”, mentally unstable.
Now that must be the understatement of the week. The guy who insisted he didn’t know what currency Scotland would use more suited that opinion and it was a toss up between him and the guy that plays fitba wi the wrang shaped ba.
I was kicking myself for I usually record the referendum shows to get clips for editing but I only had two machines set up and three shows I wanted to record.
The guy who wanted to shed his blood to keep Scotland in thrall would have been a great clip for all sorts of spoofs.
Time in the programme to DRAW ATTENTION TO INTERNET ABUSE – fried Mars Bars being a joke too old to resurrect – and here’s Sarah Smith to tell us she’s received abuse too but look at her, strong and tough, sadly not tough enough that she can’t avoid wearing her heart on her sleeve.
There was a time a BBC journalist would be reprimanded for personalising her commentary.
The current Unionist tactic is to suggest the debate has degraded into a mess of argument and counter-argument without resolution. Why? Because, as they keep telling us, all we hear are opponents contradicting each other, facts cancelling out facts, and abuse from both sides … therefore … yous lot are wise if you jist switch off. Forget the Referendum.
Disconnect yourselves from the debate.
Go visit a food bank for an interesting day out.
@Rock
Any idea how we can make it pointless for our Andrew from Yes Stirling to beg on every single thread on this side as he has been doing for weeks now?
I think you’ve just done it by yourself.
I want an honest answer now…who still watches Sarah Amith aka 2014 crap.
Com’n someone is keeping the viewing figures from crashing!
Charles Kennedy cunning jam tomorrow so vote no there. Be interesting to see if he’s the last Libdem in Scotland, ever.
Daily record survation poll has Y 41% N 46%. Without Don’t knows a second reading of Y47% N53%
To me this suggest at least parity has been achieved by the time you factor in probable break of don’t knows and increase turnout of Yes voters
I have no idea how many commenters here genuinely don’t watch stuff like QT ‘live’, but please be assured – reading comments here is much better fun, and a lot less time-consuming.
Plus, you know that any real tasty chunks will find their way here eventually…
Reading the last hour or so? Sounds like the BTUKOKNOTHANKSNOBORDERers are doing a grand job for the Yes campaign. More power to each and every one of them.
“Who will you blame if you lose?” asks Neil – five times.
Inference – Scots blame everybody but themselves for their misfortune.
Okay, it’s toss an idiot out the balloon gondola to save the rest of us. I nominate Brillo Pad.
Dianne Abbot’s most sensible comment of all time. Telling people you cant survive without the ruling government doesn’t work
Clootie says:
I want an honest answer now…who still watches Sarah Amith aka 2014 crap.
Com’n someone is keeping the viewing figures from crashing!
Well it DEFINITELY is not me Clootie. However, having had a brilliant night watching Mundell squirm for two hours in Eaglesfield
if no one steps up and admits they are responsible you can blame me. 
I’ll take the hit for the team tonight. 
O.T Whitehall’s been doing some blue sky thinking
link to bbc.co.uk
“Delivery of the 7 Game Changers implementation plans to timetable, and in particular the MCO priorities of Functional Leadership and Civil Service 21”.
Sounds like The Thick of It series 4
A.N…”Charles, will you run for a seat in an independent Scotland ?
C.K…fudge andrew, fudge.
@Ian Brotherhood
I have no idea how many commenters here genuinely don’t watch stuff like QT ‘live’, but please be assured – reading comments here is much better fun, and a lot less time-consuming.
I rarely watch them unless I have a vomit bag handy, hats off to those who have the stomach.
I haven’t watched This Week programme tonight but it sounds like a repeat of a programme from last year. Was Alistair Campbell also on it?
@James123
I rarely watch them unless I have a vomit bag handy, hats off to those who have the stomach.
Its all in the late night coffee !
I have found that the likes of Mr Ibrahim, they more the flaunt their intelligence the more stupid they actually seem
@Ian Brotherhood
Yeah your right my man, I know you’ve no telly license so can’t watch live, but following it here must make up for that. Basically a running commentry of the best bits.
Just to sum up for yae Yes 2-0 No Easy peasy.
@Grouse Beater says: 10 July, 2014 at 11:38 pm
“Now it’s time for the man with no ability at comedy but a ton of vanity… Andrew Neil! I wonder what Tommy Sheridan will make of him”.
MINCE!
Naw! I don’t mean yer takin mince. I mean Tommy made mince o Neil.
Come on, Andrew, think hard.
There has to be one more crass joke you haven’t mentioned in you Hogmany lookalike show … yes, that one!
(Touches earpiece as if hearing from producer.) “What’s that? Uhu. The trams don’t reach Leith? (To audience) Well, what can you expect for half-a-million pounds.”
Yes, Andrew, half-a-million pounds sterling, the same one Scotland will use after the Referendum.
MINCE!
I’m almost a vegetarian. Not that that impresses hens. I still like chicken.
Yep Andrew that would be the half a Billion pounds that your best mates, the unionists, forced upon the Scottish Government for a partial mini tram system that cost over £8 to travel on to and from the airport. If you don’t mind I’ll just wait for the bus, half price ticket you see.
Oh dear… Was that the best that two of the BBC’s flagship political programmes could do on their final programmes before the referendum? *speechless*
Naw bag
link to vine.co
I cant be bothered with QT or This Week.I think i am suffering from referendum fatigue.
Lesley-Anne
I hope you done us proud Lesley-Anne.
Did anyone video the Eaglesfield debate tonight?
Tweet from Kevin Pringle, SNP Comms chief:-
Highest Yes support in a Daily Record Survation poll so far – (excl DKs) Yes 47% No 53%
@David Wardrope says: 10 July, 2014 at 11:53 pm
“Power to you, I can’t sleep even just knowing other people can drink coffee late on. Although watching any political offering on telly after 9pm also has a strong tendency to keep me up at night.”
Guys! Good news. Scientific proof is that, unless overdosed, coffee does NOT prevent sleep and Tea actually often contains more cafine than coffee. While we are at it cheese doesn’t cause nightmares.
@TYRAN
Cant get it to play. Who is the Naw bag?
Yes we did caz.
Between my partner and myself I think we’ve managed to get the whole thing videoed. Only problem is my phone could only video for an hour before stopping I then restarted it and it stopped around 40 minutes later. So I think I’ve around 1hr 40 minutes of the debate.
Fortunately my partner had started her phone video recording before my phone stopped so as I say between the three clips of video I think we should just about have all of the debate and Q&A session covered. Hopefully over the next couple of days between the pair of us we should get the video clips into some sort of condition that we can post up onto Wings somewhere.
@M4rkyboy
Chin up my friend, we are all a bit fatigued. That is the whole purpose of the BT negative campaign. I don’t lie down without a fight, I hope your the same.
Shrug off that fatigue and get ready for the real fight coming. I hope, naw I know you will be up for that.
@Thepnr –
What I miss most about watching those shows is trying to assess how pissed they are. Especially Andrew Neil, when he was doing the whole routine with Portillo and Diane Abbott.
There must be stacks of footage (all properly archived, of course) where it’s plain that they’d all been in the Green Room for much longer than was good for their general health. (Abbott/Portillo leaning against one another for support was not unusual.)
The fact that they’re supposed to be passing considered comment on weighty matters of State is neither here nor there: it’s an old pals’ act – some of them have sussed that their time is running out, and should be expected to react the same way that a drunk does when aroused from slumber.
Andrew Neil and his, This Week road show, have just set Scotland Back about 100 years.
What an Embarrassing piece of nonsense.
And what happened to Tommy Sheridan?
Also, was Sarah Smith boasting that she got abused by Cybernats?
Is she trying to make out that she is some kind of “important” Unionist idiot?
Don’t flatter yursel hen.
“Taxpayers ‘lost £1bn’ on Royal Mail sale, MPs say”
Or, to put it another way…
Camerons mates scooped £1bn of public money.
All in it together eh ?
link to bbc.co.uk
ha you just got to admire oor Tommy he takes no prisoners ,portillo was visibly shaking with anger when he laughed in his face and told him he was talking rubbish,go yerself Tommy you made my night lol
Tommy Sheridan was the only one to get cheered from the audience. Time they are a changing.
O/T I’ve been working on a friend of mine who’s a No for a couple of months. I’ve drip fed him the odd article from various sources. Today I played my joker and hit him with this. Feel free to cut and paste and send to you own undecided. Please read the links fisrt LOL.
The clock is ticking, apologies for making you the target of my pro Yes crusade. However you are an intelligent man and if you can get the arguments it gives me hope that I can persuade others.
Compare and contrast the following stories all from this week:
link to theguardian.com
link to bbc.co.uk
Next:
link to archive.today
link to newsnetscotland.com
Finally
link to bbc.co.uk
link to wingsoverscotland.com
@caz-m –
I haven’t seen it. Yet.
But the curiosity is killing me here.
What DID happen to Sheridan?
@thepnr
I suppose actually it’s a case of my experience starting to act.
I havent watched the past 4 sessions of the SASC because i know exactly what’s going to be said.
The same applies to these BBC Scottish politics specials,a George Galloway speech or a Brian Wilson article.
@Ian Brotherhood says: 11 July, 2014 at 12:38 am
“What I miss most about watching those shows is trying to assess how pissed they are. Especially Andrew Neil, when he was doing the whole routine with Portillo and Diane Abbott.”
I normally don’t watch TV at all. No licence, even although I can claim one free. My pal invites me to see any particular thing and alerts me if there is something special he thinks I should see.
He also hosts my recorders if I want video for clips. Strange thing is I really don’t miss much. The odd football game, Andy Murry and sometimes Fi were all I was watching but even that’s mostly been rubbish for some time now.
Andrew Neil presemts Thingummyjig where Smith talks about internet abuse from both sides then Cybernat Cybernat blah blah and her too, and a wummin! Oh Salmond was threatened now move along.
Back on my Facebook was very strange as non stop pictures of bizarre Unionist chap on QT from sites I have never seen before and I wonder, is someone wanting me to post comments on him?
@Ian he was on with Kennedy for a short time before Angus Robertson replaced him on the couch with Kennedy,like the BBC were ever going to allow a yes to sit through the whole show.
win-wim
selective quote
“It [Britain] loses a certain amount of international prestige, but also, a good 8-9 percent of its GDP. With that, it will slip down the GDP rankings, and its hopes of overtaking France and eventually Germany economically will be dashed. Its international diplomatic clout would be significantly diminished.
Similarly, the rest of the UK would eventually have to start scaling down its defence spending and its overseas deployments. It simply wouldn’t be able to afford its current ambitions. In terms of foreign policy, it is likely that it will become even more reliant on its alliance with the United States, while conversely becoming less useful to them. If this will prompt the UK to also retreat from the Middle East just as the U.S. is, what will happen to the region?”
rUK stops spending pointless billions after September. England NHS doesn’t need to be privatised it can be renationalised. This guy is predicting the knock on effects of a leftish govt within Britain. Johann Lamont won’t be happy…
Just watch Q time
Had to hide under couch when Freddie Kruger appeared
haven’t seen this week,look forward to tommy roasting neil
The Spooks were set free on mainstream tv,
The real “proud Scots” just laughed.
All political programs tonight were loaded with Shite
and OxCam graduates. think, review the footage.
Ian
The most cringe worthy moment was when they played Auld Lang Syne at the end of the show and the audience never joined in.
They just stood there moving their crossed arms up and down. (Cringe)
Here’s how it pans out. Scotland votes Yes, within two years we are fully Independent, in a currency union, in the EU and part of Nato.
Five years later we have started an oil fund, our debt is also reducing, we are running a surplus every due to our strong balance of payments. Trident is still there but the rUK have voted not to renew it. We have saved the rUK some money.
Unemployment is down particularly with our youth as Scottish Government reinvests in industry, our manufacturing picks up as do our exports.
The new oil fields come onstream and revenues from that are the like as haven’t been seen for many years. This bolsters the Scottish Governments Welfare and Scottish National Health scheme. Housebuilding is at an an all time high for 40 years and labour is flooding in from abroad.
This is not a pipedream. This is a vision of an Independent Scotland. The fear mongers are losers Yes voters have vision. Lets do it.
@Thepnr
I concur
“This time it’s the unlucky Middle East that’ll apparently be cast into chaos if Scotland votes Yes, tipped from its current state of harmonious stability into a catastrophic Armageddon because Britain was no longer able to go and bomb it.”
Love this.
That Highlander sounded suspiciously Northern Irish or am i missing something?
Fear not – the Middle East has come to us. Canvassing in Glasgow’s leafy West End on Tues and got chattted up by a Kurdistan TV crew – about media suppression in our referendum. There is irony in this somewhere……,
I didn’t watch tonight’s BBC QT, but for a few seconds I thought this was Alistair Darling’s equally furious dad. Click on the link for a 33 second party political broadcast by the Mad Unionist Party –
Passionate highlander really wants to remain a part of the UK – Question Time
link to youtube.com
@Thepnr –
Powerful stuff.
You’re on fire mister. Keep it up…as and when you need a breather (like yours truly, right now) others will take your place.
It’s a kind of relay-race, eh?
@Defo
It’s never about the price tag.
Thenpr, thanks for your comment at 10.31 pm.
I noticed the Labour for Independence poster too and left them a wee comment on their Facebook about it.
A LfI supporter also photobombed MP Jim Murphy in Oban.
Off topic.
Dear Wings readers,
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M4rkyboy, I noticed it too. The accent was Belfast or nearby. He said he was born in Inverness, but I’m damn sure he wasn’t brought up there.
@Andrew
Your trying toooo hard mate.
That old unionist guy had the most peculiar accent for someone born in Inverness. Sounded more Ian Paisley than Karen Gillan. Don’t take this post the wrong way as I know there are a multitude of races living in Scotland but it just seems strange that someone born there would have not one iota of an Inverness accent and yes, I do know Inverness very well and it is multi-cultural but, just saying.
Andrew, don’t push it. You checked out as genuine, but people were suspicious because you never join in the discussion. You just spam all the threads with the same message and then vanish again.
Can’t you see you’re annoying people? Or don’t you even read the posts asking you to stop it?
@Morag
There is something i have noticed which i think this guy is a variation on.
Some Scots adopt an English accent when they declare they’re ‘British and proud!’ and i think this guy is another version of this phenomena.
My little brother says his ‘British and proud’ in an English accent which i find unsettling.
Sorry, just posted that and never noticed it had been picked up upon already.
Oh,and he’s not holding his hand up,he’s making a No surrender fist.
Tommy Sherridan…. I have to admit to never having been a fan. I never trust anyone who looks like they spend all their time on a summer holiday.
However, I’ve ample respect for ‘some’ of what he said. But something struck me that still sticks in my throat. “Vote Yes to be guaranteed of Scotland NEVER having a tory government again.” Is this not the same vile disdain Labour have with regard to the SNP?
You only have to go back to the 50’s to find a Tory majority in Scotland. Remember folks, when I talk about ‘tory’ I’m NOT talking about the Westminster version! They (tory’s) still have >20% of the vote in Scotland which is not ‘insignificant’.
My point is this: I fully understand and share Mr Sherridans passion for independence. I would be prepared to work WITH him in an independent Scotland. However, I fear that he would ony want to work AGAINST any Tory minded person in an independent Scotland, regardless of the people. I’m thinking Sheridan being like Lamont/Sarwar against Salmond/SNP. It’s not healthy and it’s certainly not productive!
Out of intererst, how many people here want to see a Scottish GE in 2016 filling Holyrood with a room full of Tommy Sheridan’s???
@M4rkyboy
Thank you, I thought I was having a senior moment.
Re the accent. Havent heard it, but coild it be a Thurso accent, they can sound Northern Irish.
Spot-on Graeme Menzies. I believe that deluded chap was indeed a true highlander and I have a fairly good ear for accents. However, his mind was perhaps warped with years in the British Army.
@Graeme Menzies
Nope, I live in Caithness and that is not a Caithnessian accent, nobodody in Caithness has an accent like that.
I will admit that I have been accused by some Repulicans of being from Belfast so I suppose it is an easy mistake to make.
Sorry guys, ear for accents or not, that guy has nothing to do with my county.
@Tartan Tory
None, would be my guess, maybe you asking the wrong people?
Personalities and politics have nothing to do with a referendum no matter how much the BBC might push it. I’ll cast my vote after the referendum.
The BBC Series Producer of BBC Free Speech tweeted this about the “passionate Highlander”. I know it doesn’t add much but just thought I’d pass it along –
link to twitter.com
That was definitely a Northern Irish accent.
@joe kane
Damn, is that Prince Charles’s love child or maybe half brother?
Well, he is called Nigel.
Sorry guys, couldn’t resist.
Sorry folks, look again at the others who were given a say, the nutter Inverness man is a decoy, for our attack, they think. Spooky eh? stupid Yeah!
the closer we get to the big day the freakier these Unionist bampots will get.
Jim says:
That was definitely a Northern Irish accent.
I’ll buy you a bottle of malt if you’re right, but I can assure you that’s a highland accent (albeit one which has obviously been abused by years in the British Army). Two of the words stand out which have no bearing on an N.I. accent. The way he says ‘highlander’ and ‘Charlie’ are totally Inverness.
link to youtube.com
Amazing what you can find on Google when you enter “nutter on question time”……
Rev Stu,
I hope this cataclysm will not result in the end of the two fabled BTNothanks “Both Worlds”.
Is it possible one world will survive for an independent Scotland?
@Tartan Tory
I would love that bottle of malt. I will spare you the expense because I have an advantage, I know this area very well being from Caithness and the only accents comparable to an Invernessian are those from the county of Sutherland.
This man, although I am sure he is a decent human being he must have been kept in a cage all his life to have not picked up one smattering of an Inverness accent.
A term of service in the British army would not have caused this either I am sure as no one that I know from this area has lost there accent.
His Granfather did it in the SsssFirst world war.
Highland Regiment forever? The seaforth highlanders, Camerons, Gordons? Maybe later the Queens own?
Maybe even the Black watch, the 51st or the HLI?
@ Jim
Not as much of an advantage as you might think as you assume my ignorrance stems from spending all my days in a box on the east coast
If you win, do you want a Clynelish or a Morangie?
Here’s my reckoning….Born in Inverness to well heeled parents, perhaps from slightly further north/west, schooled privately as a teenager in the central belt, army thereafter in many places without the need for elocution lessons and finally retired to ‘home’.
I’m sure the truth will be on the web by the weekend when he’s gone viral.
If I’m wrong and he hails from N.Ireland, the malt is yours and you have it in writing here!
BTW, I met a very old man in Aberdeen once who was 85. He told me he was Aberdonian and had lived there for 80 years, but I suggested to him that he was actually from the area about Kyle of Lochalsh. He spat oot his tea and said “how the hell do you know that?” Turned out he was born in Plockton and the family moved to Aberdeen when he was five!!!
@ Jim
Not as much of an advantage as you might think as you assume my ignorrance stems from spending all my days in a box on the east coast
If you win, do you want a Clynelish or a Morangie?
Here’s my reckoning….Born in Inverness to well heeled parents, perhaps from slightly further north/west, schooled privately as a teenager in the central belt, army thereafter in many places without the need for elocution lessons and finally retired to ‘home’.
I’m sure the truth will be on the web by the weekend when he’s gone viral.
If I’m wrong and he hails from N.Ireland, the malt is yours and you have it in writing here!
BTW, I met a very old man in Aberdeen once who was 85. He told me he was Aberdonian and had lived there for 80 years, but I suggested to him that he was actually from the area about Kyle of Lochalsh. He spat oot his tea and said “how the hell do you know that?” Turned out he was born in Plockton and the family moved to Aberdeen when he was five!!!
@ Jim
Not as much of an advantage as you might think as you assume my ignorrance stems from spending all my days in a box on the east coast
If you win, do you want a Clynelish or a Morangie?
Here’s my reckoning….Born in Inverness to well heeled parents, perhaps from slightly further north/west, schooled privately as a teenager in the central belt, army thereafter in many places without the need for elocution lessons and finally retired to ‘home’.
I’m sure the truth will be on the web by the weekend when he’s gone viral.
If I’m wrong and he hails from N.Ireland, the malt is yours and you have it in writing here!
BTW, I met a very old man in Aberdeen once who was 85. He told me he was Aberdonian and had lived there for 80 years, but I suggested to him that he was actually from the area about Kyle of Lochalsh. He spat oot his tea and said “how the hell do you know that?” Turned out he was born in Plockton and the family moved to Aberdeen when he was five!!!
Wow! Tripple post. Must be time for bed. I thought my laptop was having a hissy fit.
Sorry about nthat folks
I’d love to see a list of everything Yes and possibly RevStu himself has been accused of or accused of potentially causing (Armageddon, etc.). I can only imagine it would be totally bonkers.
One for the post-referendum times, perhaps when there’s retrospectives and topical round ups to write?
@Tartan Tory
Damn, I nearly choked on my Earl Grey old chap.
I would prefer a Glen Morangie if you would be so kind.
I suppose that it is meaningless where the guy is actually from but it has been fun debating it.
OT
Picked this clip up from Stu on his twitter site
George Galloway the HYPOCRITE.
After viewing the full version earlier, a little later he went on to say:
How he squares the circle in that sewer he calls a conscience, I can only conclude he has not got one.
I wrote a couple of lines on ALArabiya on this.
This comment from Dr. Azeem Ibrahim could be quite THE most bizarre comment from anyone in the ridiculously over hyped debate over Scotland’s democratic right to determine its own future,
So what we have here is a DR who thinks the single country in the world that holds middle east peace in its hands is Scotland?
The Edinburgh agreement between David Cameron and Alex Salmond brokered a deal to allow the Scottish people a democratic mandate to hold a referendum into whether it continues to be governed buy governments who have no support in Scotland or be independent and elect governments They choose and not the country south of them with 10 times the population,
At present Scotland is governed by a conservative party who have one yes one MP, in Scotland while they impose welfare and benefit cuts on Scotland which we did not vote for to support the bankers in London who caused the derailment of the UK economy go merrily on coining it in,
the (Tories) are evicting disabled people from their homes after imposing the most hated tax since the poll tax yes folks I give you THE BEDROOM TAX where it is deemed that even though there are no smaller houses for people to move to the are deemed to be over housed when a grownup child leaves home and leaves behind a spare bedroom.
So what we have is people who (generally) live in mansions with dozens of rooms telling people who live in a two bedroom house where one of the rooms isn’t being used that they cant expect to be allowed to stay in such spacious surroundings that they will pay a rent supplement or move out, and for the bulk of people neither is an option,
they cant afford the extra charge, and there is nowhere for them to move to, (catch 22)
These tory toffs do not care,as long as the ordinary people do not get ideas above their station!
Then we have the symbol of Great Britain’s greatness, the great white elephant, TRIDENT and being a symbol of such greatness you would think Westminster would want those lovely weapons right where they could see then and show them off to visitors wouldn’t you?
wrong they don’t want those weapons of mass destruction anywhere close to civilisation so they park them in a picturesque loch in Scotland far from the people who REALLY matter to Westminster, the English,
so what we have is a huge target painted over the central belt of Scotland while Glasgow (the biggest city in Scotland ) is on 30 miles away from the submarine base where they are situated,
Then we have the oil, which we’re constantly being told that uniquely is a burden for the poor Scots who don’t have broad enough shoulders to support the machinations of the oil markets (prices can go down as well as up) so we should leave the disposal of such a desperate burden to our betters who’ll know what to do with it.
And then we have the old chestnut that Scotland is a “subsidy junkie” (quoting lord Moncton)”Scotland is a subsidy junkie whinging like a trampled bagpipe waiting for the next delivery of English money”
When in fact for every year where there are measurable numbers Scotland has contributed more per head of population to the Exchequer in London than any other part of the UK apart from London, so in reality Scotland is not subsidised by England but the other way round and THIS is the REAL reason they so want us to stay part of the UK its got nothing to do with making family in other parts of Britain foreigners (which strangely for such a supposedly outward looking country is seen as a dirty word)and everything to do with the loss of one third of its landmass the huge income from renewable energy whisky, tourism ,electronics, research,fishing, forestry, food and drink exports, farming and oil, need I go on?
and to the point on my question Continuator state?
this has been the singlemost arrogant assumption made by the establishment in England and my question is SAYS WHO?
The union of the crowns of Scotland and England were just that a union of two equals, the idea that Scotland was somehow “subsumed” by England is risible nonsense!
It is worth noting the good Doctors words at this point
“Similarly, the rest of the UK would eventually have to start scaling down its defence spending and its overseas deployments. It simply wouldn’t be able to afford its current ambitions. In terms of foreign policy, it is likely that it will become even more reliant on its alliance with the United States, while conversely becoming less useful to them. If this will prompt the UK to also retreat from the Middle East just as the U.S. is, what will happen to the region?”
What will happen to the region Dr Ibrahim is that a great many people who are alive just now will stay that way rather than face the ultimate sacrifice of giving up their lives to bombs dropped from western aircraft in the search for a reawakening of the British empire while we involve ourselves (yet again) in conflicts that have nothing to do with us, Britain got involved in Iraq in the early 20th century and we can see how well that went down cant we?
This world can do without men in the UK foreign office sitting with maps and pencils drawing arbitrary borders on them which are completely at odds with the people and countries who’s futures they are dictating, no my friends, what you are witnessing is the last throes of an empire whose time has come, like the Romans before them the British Empire has come to an END.
Gotta say, I like Thepnr’s vision! Would love to see it come true. A real future for our weans and real jobs with a decent standard of living for us all.:)
@ Andrew
I’ve given up on being polite to you. Just fuck off and stop spamming.
Genuinely in two minds about the point tartan Tory makes. Do we publicizeIndy supporting groups of the centre right – SDA and Wealthy Nation – on the basis that this is campaign for national self determination and hence all colours except the extreme right are welcome. A wide spectrushows that it’s not all aboot the SNP. I somthese groups to the Right to Buy No’s.
But there is such a huge constituency of the poor and exaltedless well off who have most to gain from Independence?
@TT yes Tommy did say that but after he was accosted about it had the humility to admit he was wrong and now adds “unless Scotland votes for a Tory government but there is about as much chance of that than hell freezing over” lol
Reminiscing about the past and how things used to be is a pretty pointless exercise ,the political parties of yesteryear no longer exist only the names remain ,yet some people are so stuck in tradition they will still vote for these parties through family loyalty ,my father voted “add party” and his father so i vote “add party”.
Thankfully this mind set is changing as each day more people wake up to the reality off neo-liberalism and realise the party they once voted for is no longer the same.
I can relate to this being a life long Labour man socialist to the core who for the first time changed my vote to the SNP after watching the party i hold dear go down a path i refuse to follow.
The old guy on Question Time did reveal he had played rugby at Glasgow Academy.
If we extrapolate forward, probably went from their to Sandhurst, then into a Highland regiment.
Given he is an “Accie”, he probably received a few kicks on the head from those oiks at Hutchie, Glasgow High and Kelvinside.
We know Scott Hastings took a few to the head.
I always liked the quote about Scottish soldiers – I think it came from George Macdonald Fraser in ‘The General Danced At Dawn’: “The Jocks would follow their officers anywhere, normally out of a sense of morbid fascination”.
geeo says
“Great news, the first fighter jet is ready ahead of schedule !”
Bwhahahahahahahaha
Superjaxx @ 11.54
Well said!
I’ve been trying to imagine the reception that a pro Indy character, who was as “passionate” as the Auld Unionist on QT, would have received.
Would that be the Unionist version of the Scottish Cringe?
Joe Kane @ 2.17
That mans not a passionate highlander, he’s an actor, and that’s Mrs Overall standing next to him
link to youtube.com
You can see the scenery moving.
For my tuppence worth, and the advantage of several various inputs… From Sutherland, living in Inverness, and having served in 51st Highland.
There is a mix of accents there, with a very strong shade of Northern Irish in there. Granted the “highlander” phrase and “charlie” could lean to the highlands. But its not any Sutherland accent I’ve come across.The NI accent becomes very strong when the voice becomes louder. The “Highland Regiment” comment suggests the “HLI”, Highland Light Infantry, which was a Glasgow recruited regiment, rather than the local Seaforth and Cameron Highlanders.
Brotyboy, I don’t think Andrew is reading anything on the site. Certainly not the comments. He never joins in the discussion, and he never responds to any of the posts asking him to stop spamming.
I think the posts are pure hit-and-run, and that responding to them in any way is only compounding the spamming effect. The only people who will be reading the responses are the people trying to have a conversation about the actual subject on the card.
I’ll shut up now because I’m only making it worse.
On the preceding article about last night’s Question Time.
The fact that the BBC allowed this guy into the studio and gave him two opportunities to have a say demonstrates that the BBC are trying to trivialise the referendum and Scotland. The fact that he is a NO supporter is a side issue.
The lay people on the panel weren’t that impressive either.
The “learned” article says:-
.. the rest of the UK would eventually have to start scaling down its defence spending and its overseas deployments. It simply wouldn’t be able to afford its current ambitions. In terms of foreign policy, it is likely that it will become even more reliant on its alliance with the United States, while conversely becoming less useful to them. If this will prompt the UK to also retreat from the Middle East just as the U.S. is, what will happen to the region?
Some people think that it is the over involvement of USA and UK in the region that has caused much of the trouble there. What was wrong with letting those living there sort difficulties out as they want to? USA, rUK and Scotland will, I hope do what they can to help if help is requested. There is a line though between helping and interfering. USA and UK don’t seem to mind about crossing it. They should IMO
Icy Spark linked to another Professor with a view..this one is from Oxford, he’s talking to one or two other Professors and public figures:-
People & Power
link to youtube.com
As Scotland prepares to vote on independence, what would a ‘Yes’ vote mean for the United Kingdom’s standing in the world? People & Power is a groundbreaking investigative programme..
It is the sort of programme that BBC Scotland should have been showing during the campaign IMO.
Tom
@bluedog
Where have you gone you wee feartie? Come back here and debate me ye cowring timorous beastie. I have not finished mauling your manifest ignorance and will not be denied my fresh meat. Here boy, good boy.
Don’t normally promote on here, but I wrote this a wee while ago on The Scotland Institute – just to refresh your memory and give context…
link to fazzledown.blogspot.co.uk
(Watched QT and TW last night. Actually enjoyed QT, I thought the Yes speakers were positive, realistic and thoughtful where as the no speakers where closed-minded and ill-informed. ‘This Week’ was pretty awful, Andrew Neil is about as funny as a burning orphanage and Sarah Smith was either in a hurry when she did her slot or showing her true colours. I enjoyed Tommy Sheridan filleting Michael Portillo.
Funnily enough, they talked about that on QT (I think,) someone pointed people had been brain-washed in to trusting a plummy public school accent over a Scottish accent in terms of political leadership, I think it was Ricky Ross. Listening to Sheridan totally destroy Portillo’s nonsense arguments should blast out of the water any idea that if you happen to be well spoken – you know what you’re talking about.)
Other than that, when typing Portillo, my computer wants to change it to tortilla – which is nice.
@ Jim
Sorry my friend, but it’s tap water for you rather than Tain water!
Nigel Kirk-Hanlin (aka the Highlander on QT), born in Inverness and the son of a local and respected GP, he was Schooled at ‘The Glasgow Academy’ and then, it would seem, a career in the regiment. Now retired, he is a known local figure in Nairn and is apparently a portrait artist. Well known for shouting obscenities at the Yes stall in there!
No connection to N.I. whatsoever, other than the potential for having served there, but this is not confirmed.
@Tartan Tory
Ach weel, I suppose the tap water will be better for me.
This guy was exposed years ago.
link to heraldscotland.com
Independence causes tornadoes, gay marriage causes floods. Why do we even bother with a Met Office?
Does he REALLY have all the degrees he claims to have. Until WINGS flagged him up I’d never heard of him or his Scottish outfit. Is he a real person?