Wings Over Scotland

Ain’t that the truth

Dominic Cummings is Johnson’s “mud-guard”, bolted-on for the sole purpose of deflecting shit from his boss.

That the media have bought into the ploy merely illustrates what a cunning fucker Johnson is.

Every time I think of the British media, I hear Neil Innes sing “How sweet to be an Idiot” I dont think we have ever seen or heard politics and politicians so out their depth solely acting for self interest than this Tory party and getting no scrutiny from the so called free press. Great toon as always Mr C.

Scotland’s MPs and MSPs bend the knee in complete colonial subservience to these people, accepting them as our Imperial Masters.

Nope. The bottom has not been scraped yet. A long way to go, there’s even a rabbit hole underneath and it goes a long way down.

Cummings….techno-populist, cherry picking faux-scientist, fantasist, David Icke on a hyperdrive skateboard, techno-fascist?
We need to take this whacky guy, more than Johnson, very seriously.
Cyborgs are taking over BritState.
Graphic comic coming to a retailer near you!
Scotland get your act together.

I was quite appalled at the replacement of a half decent Northern Ireland Secretary, with a clueless person like Brandon Lewis.
We wonder how long it will be, before he has to go, or before those in Belfast find they can’t have anything do with him.
If this is what they are getting over there, we can only wonder at the level of tory politician these days.
As for the new billionaire Chancellor, well, I guess the less said of the thing the better!
Somehow, I am left to wonder how long Boris Johnson will be Prime Minister. I would be surprised if he lasted 4 years. But for however long he is there, he is going to be very destructive.
And yet, and yet, both Labour and Libs in Scotland are more than happy to be ruled by him!

Quality cartoon as usual Chris. Thank you!

I see ominous parallels between Trump, Steve Bannon and the far right News syndicate Breitbart, and their British counterparts, “Britain Trump” Johnson, Dominic Cummings, and the far right BritNat media, which is more or less all the media.

What’s perhaps more ominous, is that Trump has an American media and political opposition which might admittedly be finding it hard to gain traction over Trump, despite trying. They got him impeached, and any normal, self respecting President would have resigned at the ignominy of being impeached.

Set aside the voting public moment, and accept for the moment the sweeping statement that the electorate has had it’s head turned by populist rhetoric, and focus on far right ‘organisation’.

Trump, to a large extent, is a ‘ringer’ who markets himself as anti-establishment and friend to the working man, (whom he subsequently strips of workers rights and healthcare), but maybe gives a job. Bannon and Breitbart were too much of a right wing liability, literally fascist and white supremacists, and were dumped.

But over here, Boris Johnson might very well be Mini-Me to Trump’s Dr Evil, but in terms of his status, Etonian Boris Johnson is very much a product of the Establishment where Trump is marketed as an alternative to the “Establishment”, and Trump’s in a never ending battle with the US News Media, whereas the UK Establishment media is more or less a megaphone for far right values.

There are two things which occur to me. I don’t quite follow the spat between Boris Johnson and the media. Something stinks. Why is Johnson finding it necessary to pick a fight with an Establishment Media which is more right wing and fascist than he is? Tories get an easy ride in the Media. The cynic in me suspects the UK is indeed styling itself of the US President’s precedent, and the US formula dictates that the President must undermine criticism as fake news. Boris / Cummings are orchestrating this fallout with the media because the US formula stipulates that it’s necessary.

The second concern, is that Johnson’s regime isn’t anti-Establishment like Trump’s rednecks, but “of-the-Establishment”, and consequently, it is difficult to see where opposition to the UK far right Government will coalesce. Labour? Do me a favour.

I think the UK is in much greater peril from a Government with far right tendencies than the US. Trump has provoked a few trade wars with large economies, yet despite being reckless and foolhardy, it can still be contained under the heading of poor / idiotic policy. It’s not brought the USA to its knees.

In the UK however, this flirtatious affair with far right populism has already seen the UK population sold the massive pup that Europe was the enemy, and was holding back the economic prowess of the British Empire! BritNat / English exceptionalism has been whipped into a frenzy, which right now, is all dressed up with nowhere to go.

The UK is in for a bumpy ride economically, and will in due witness the truth about Brexit unfolding, but will see it being stage managed and distorted into anti European hate-speak, with Europe blamed for every misfortune that becomes manifest in the U.K.

How will it play in Scotland? I don’t know. I still can’t quite bring myself to believe we are still in this mess, however, here we are, and Scotland might soon be vilified as a friend of Europe, and Scottish institutions attacked as unpatriotic and anti-British. That might raise cheers in London, but here in Scotland, that narrative might backfire, and actually entrench and embolden sympathy for Independence.

Boris Johnson must now find a way to dilute Scottish Nationalism and Scotland’s empathy for Europe. I don’t think that will be easy, because even if Johnson had the means to damage or discredit the credibility of the SNP, which I don’t think he does, I don’t actually think the SNP is the focus of Scottish Independence any more. I think Brexit Day was D-Day for many of us, and Nicola badly misread the signs.

Perhaps Boris Johnson’s plans are to string along the Scottish Government by dangling Referendums like a carrot, while Scottish Institutions are surreptitiously weakened and deregulated, while standards and methods begin to deviate from EU best practice so that rejoining Europe becomes a pipe dream. Don’t forget, he doesn’t need electoral popularity here. Make Scotland suffer and let the SNP’s impotence breed resentment and frustration. To coin the phrase, “who else they gonna vote for?”

It’s Constitution or bust Scotland. We grasp our Sovereignty and put it to good use getting out of this shite, or we sit back and watch the Tories dismantle Scotland as our Scottish “Assembly” wrings it’s hands in impotence, and complains that Scotland must be given the right to choose, and decide if it wants the responsibility for deciding whether it can choose something which we should always have the right to decide…

It’s Constitution or Bust Scotland. Are you with us Joanna Cherry? Let’s use the 700th anniversary of the Declaration of Arbroath as the occasion where we tear up the Scotland Act and renew our acquaintance and vows with Scotland’s Constitutional Sovereignty…

Nice one Chris, and very true.

Meanwhile a guest commentor in the National newspaper today, might just have given us an insight into Johnsons/Cummings plans for the UK.

David Mungall, writing in the paper said of “The path”

“In 2012, a week after the Olympics ended a group of five Tory MP’s, four now in Johnsons cabinet, puublished Britannia Unchained. A Darwininan manifesto of fewer employment rights, and a smaller state. Mungall goes on to add more, of what could happen.

Jackson Carlaw & Annie Wells
Rightwit Lielow & Vacant
Willie Rennie & Alistair Carmichael

British Nationalists, the gift that keeps on giving. Although to be fair, Vacant hasn’t made an arse of him/herself yet. And for an encore you can throw in AC-H, always good for a laugh, but the choice seems to be never ending with the British Nationalists.

Anyway I need to spend a bit more time with my family (of to London soon though, you know opportunities and all that).

@Stoker.
OMG! You have plainly a prob with the concept of ‘freedom’.
Set up a blog of your own if you wish to make prescriptive rules’.
No wonder there’s something rotten in the current state of Scotland.
Intolerance, and do I smell the reik of racism too, is not a pretty sight.
Btw. The Guardian does print articles sympathetic to Scottish nationalism unlike the rest of the Unionist media. Don’t knock it!
Did you bother to read the link, or were you too high on self-righteous dudgeon?
Have a great day!

Just been watching the labour hustings in Glasgow, what a bore – when labour in Wales can’t do something it’s austerity when snp can’t do something its there fault.

So many things said which were factually untrue -labour cant win without Scotland, if every constituency in Scotland had voted labour at the last election they would still have lost.

RLB talks of democracy for everyone except Scotland 52% for indy is not enough, Federalism the only game in town, should be reminded of Smith Commission – the tories offered more to Scotland than they did. That ship has not only sailed it has sunk.

WM cuts funding by 1% but snp cuts by 7% what tosh, free prescriptions, free tuition fees, new child support, free transport, free child care etc etc

Unfortunately labour only talks to labour and by doing so they will continue in the wilderness and deserve to be there.

Folks here are really needing to look at the links from Nana towards the end of the previous thread as mentioned by Dan at 11.44am, and particularly the Twitter stuff about the far right.
If this proves to be the case, a grave situation is developing!

Kate Forbes SNP MSP Finance Minister giving evidence to the Budget Scrutiny committee said “There is no communication between the Scottish government and the Exchequer as to the UK budget, they just keep referring us to the Tory party manifesto”

Sinky says:
15 February, 2020 at 12:59 pm
Tories in Scotland have now matched Labour for the lack of talent at the top. Gov General Jack is really poor at Scottish Questions plus dodgy twice failed second hand car salesman now in charge of North Britain.

Echoing Kennedy’s successful campaign against Nixon, perhaps the SNP could use a picture of Jack the Carlot with the slogan “Would you buy a used car from this man?”. 🙂

@ RM.
Lots of comments on FB regarding RBS, many along the lines of good riddance, etc.
Independence gives us the opportunity to reset the banking world in Scotland and I would like to see a new TSB type bank on the high street. Owned by us and savings, pensions and investment linked to the oil fund.

Boris Johnson didn’t even tweet congratulations to Carlaw on his election. No mention. That’s how important Scotland is to Johnson.

On RBS attempting to drop its toxic name, NatWest took a £900 million charge for mis-sold PPI. Of course as some have already stated RBS, started to aid the tranfer of English bribes to Scottish lords who sold out Scotland via the Act of Union.

In reality its those who might lose their jobs that are the big losers,in all of this if RBS does exit an independent Scotland that I feel for.

This move is not a new phenomena, Lloyds Banking Group acquired the Bank of Scotland in 2009, and retains the banks name North of the border.

RBS destroyed the lives of many folk who ran small business, a division of RBS, also issued the infamous “Rope” memo to staff, in the context, that you sometimes just have to let customers hang themselves.

Chris , Great cartoon I hope there’s a hole in the bottom of that barrel and we could just put
the “ Union “ Jack and Boris in the barrel and toss it in the sea .

Whining liberal remainer fannies, SNP cultists and the pan sexual multireligious, open borders, multicultural champagne socialist, white priviledge fighting Labour tribe will soon be joined in their crying by people who voted for a liar and expected honesty. Is it any wonder i come across as an arrogant cnt?

‘Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it’..George Santayana, the Spanish Philosopher.

Scotland is a country isolated from its past by Imperial design imposed by England and its Caledonian collaborators since 1707.
The illegal ‘Union’ aided and abetted by English spies such as Daniel Defoe bribed the bankrupt Aristocratic cartel running Scotland. Trading England’s debt for these despicable tra*tors’ own losses and leaving the Scottish people with a burden lasting 300 years right up to the present.

Meanwhile, the Stuart carpetbagger Jamie the Saxt.or as he preferred 1st of ‘Britain’, placed his new English forces on the border to enforce this arranged marriage. The Border where he was finally able to subjugate the Border clans and ‘encourage ‘ them to ‘plant’ Ulster and seed the Irish troubles.

The Presbyterian inspired uprisings in Scotland at the time of Union; the same people who attacked the weak Church of Scotland which bowed to implementing the English Bibles and the forcing of Bishops. The war of 1638 when our army forced James to crawl to the English Parliament for money and arms. The spark that lit the ‘English’ Civil War. A war in which Scotland participated and which yet again demonstrated its divided self: the Presbyterian armies switched sides against Cromwell ( Johnson) when he executed the Monarch, and by doing so he broke the Scottish people’s Sovereign covenant with the monarch who embodied said sovereignty. Cromwell turned on his erstwhile allies and crushed the Scots at Dunbar and massacred more people in Dundee than the butchery of Drogheda.

The 1820 rebellion ‘Scotland free or a desert’..Thomas Muir, the martyrs Baird, Hardie and Wilson, crushed again by treachery. The disproportionate losses of Scottish war dead in WW1 (140,000 OUT OF 700,000 uk); the sacrifice of the Highland Division at St Valery in June 1940 at the same time of the ‘glorious rescue of Dunkirk’. Right up to the present with the grand theft of our seas and our oil and the continuing depopulation of our young, talented and deportation of europeans replaced by RUK no voting colonial minded retirees.

Most Scots are unaware of most of this history. There is a major football team in Glasgow whose fans are totally unaware of their religious identification with a monarch who is a usurper of their own identity….once the Williamite succession took root the Alien Act reduced their forebears to second class ‘Britons’ and one third of the Irish who were starved to death by Mother England were ‘Prods’. Less than a hundred years it took to drive nearly a quarter of a million Presbyterian ‘Ulster Scots’ out to the US where they fought as an identifiable hegemonic group against the hated ‘Crown’…such irony..yet how many know here or in Norn Iron?

Because our ‘Leaders’ the SNP, have ignored this history, as ‘nationalist’ and focused on virtue signalling, and more importantly completely missing the point of our political ideology rooted in Presbyterian sovereignty of the people, itself originating back through pre Reformation to clan chiefs being trustees of power not owners and the Declaration of Arbroath…We are left scrabbling about ‘begging’ for recognition from a modern Cromwellian State. One that will prove as implacable as the original one was.

We must cast aside all cowardly defeatist attitudes towards the ancient oppressor, England. The sociopathic state that never quits in its relentless history of conquest militarily or economically over other nations. Their bogus institutions of Westminster, Supreme Court must be ignored by our ‘Leaders’ who must come from Civil Scotland, as the SNP have proven themselves liars and weak deceivers of our people. The AUOB,’YES’ movement and those radical elements, if any, in our remaining ‘institutions’ of law, church and civil society must crowd fund our claim of Right to Europe and the UN. Doing nothing until 2021 is abject surrender

As the recently elected PM, Alexander Boris De Pfeffel Johnson is now charged with continuing the same neo-liberal legacy which has been carefully protected by every Prime Minister since Margaret Thatcher.
That legacy is simply to continue to transfer taxpayer’s cash to the Wealthy Elites, beginning with the Queen and all the members of both the immediate and the extended Royal family. Then, to the aristocracy and so on.
This is the purpose behind the insane Irish Sea Bridge. Like the failed Garden Bridge across the Thames, the Bridge over a million tons of high explosives will ‘require’ an extensive feasibility investigation by Tory donors in the consultancy world and costing many tens of millions of pounds in eye-watering fees and charges.
The project will then be abandoned for one ‘reason’ or another, with yet another large transfer of public money to the private pockets of the Establishment and the Ruling Class.
You can bet your house on it.

In the next few weeks we will be told of yet another similar project in the same vein. We can but wonder what it will be, but it will simply be the next of many ‘money transfers’ which will continue over the next five years of the Johnson Premiership. Then, the neo-liberal legacy will pass to whoever follows, and on it goes.

And the gap between the rich and the poor will expand, in both directions. The Empire lives on.

Jackson Carlaw CBE, and how he must relish his obedience gong title, has had his old 2014 deleted blog resurrected, and what he though of the players in the 2014 referendum is there for all to see.

You might be surprised at what Jackson thought of Sturgeon back then.

link to thenational.scot

@Lochside, 6.10
A call to arms. I like it. As Meg Merrilees said at 2.02, we have to have a national movement

@Lochside –

Hear hear.

Perhaps one of the most frequent Catch-22 arguments running through the history of this place has been ‘SNP is the only vehicle’ versus ‘SNP doesn’t really want indy’.

It’s all come into sharper relief since the GE and ‘brexit’, but the basic argument remains the same. Those of us who have become deeply suspicious of SNP hierarchy motives and methods have to also acknowledge that it remains our best hope, but it’s clear that we’ll have to make more of an effort ourselves to get the party in reasonable shape for the final move(s). Right now, it’s all over the fuckin place.

There *is* stuff we can do. Perhaps it was in the previous thread, but I did suggest that folk consider helping those opposing the GRA reforms. As general knowledge of the issue increases, so does opposition. But someone here pointed out that the SNP can’t and won’t change tack on this because the NEC members are elected internally (at conference) and the TRA representation is powerful. So, the only way to change policy is to change the members on the NEC, and that can only be done by SNP members pushing potential candidates who are prepared – like Joan McAlpine and Joanna Cherry – to stick their necks out and take the kind of intimidation we’ve become so used to seeing.

Many of those most involved with the TRA clique has been meeting in Perth. Rev’s twitter has several images of the gathering of SYI, and it looks like less than 50 people. It’s quite incredible that this bunch has managed to cause such havoc. They simply have to be dealt with before the SNP can regain the trust it’s been bleeding for so long.

FFS, this place used to be buzzing on Saturday nights.

Where is abody!?!

*stamps feet and drinks scrumpy simultaneously*

🙁

Why go to the courts if we don’t need to…the EU will get us our s30…and before the end of this year.

Angela Rayner’s going to “live in Scotland……if I have to” in order to help Labour win the Holyrood elections.

Scot Labour’s got so many problems that Clare Rayner couldn’t help, never mind Angela Rayner.

The Scottish Government is no different to any other Government around the world, they’re all pushing the globalisation philosophy which the top leaders are taught at University, they have their agenda bit by bit it’s been forced on the world by all the Governments, everything just seems to happen the majority of the population don’t even know it’s happening, whose behind it all, it’s been created from somewhere, it maybe has to be because the worlds population is getting to big, the people of Scotland who vote SNP don’t know what their party leaders are thinking, one thing for sure they don’t seem to do much about pushing for Independence.

This is one the best essays on the formation of the Union that I have read:

link to bbc.co.uk

I recommend you bookmark it.

@Dr Jim –

I remember reading an account written by a French diplomat who had been given an audience with Liz The First. His description was terrifying – apparently she had the white make-up but was also bare-chested.

Dawn Butler decked out in a tartan jacket and tartan skirt at the Labour hustings in Glasgow.

Because yeah, donning tartan in Scotland worked so well for Corbyn in the 2019 GE.

Just came across on BBC parliament channel Nicola Sturgeon answering questions during her recent trip to the EU and I was disappointed to hear her say again that while not ruling out a non UK approved section 30 referendum she definitely wanted Westminster’s approval before she would go ahead with one. What is she frightened of.

Colin A. Thanks for referencing that legal reference.

Perhaps Forward as One should have asked for an opinion on

“Does the EU Withdrawal Agreement breach the essential Articles contained in the Treaty of Union ?”

My opinion is that it does, but the question remains when does it “effectively” cause the breach? Is it
a) 1st Feb 2020 when the UK left the EU, or
b) 1st Jan 2021 when the effect of the Withdrawal Agreement is absolute.

If it is a breach, as I contend, then perhaps it is not effective until 1st Jan 2021 at which point Independence happens automatically and can only be overturned by the Scottish people voting to reinstate the Union.

Kangaroo @10:47pm

I should have added that, if I am correct, then the best course of action is to effectively sit on our hands for 11 months, whilst simultaneously increasing the Yes vote.

Johnfromfife@ 10:32

“What is she frightened of”

Newspaper headlines.

@ Colin Alexander.

It’s a must read for anyone interested in the Treaty.
One of the main points I have taken from this is that just because Westminster does something doesn’t mean it has the legal authority to do it.
The Withdrawal Bill falls right in there.

Golfnut @11:12

Your correct IMHO. However its not the Withdrawal Bill that is defeated. The twist is that the UK Parliament has “legally” instituted a customs regime for Northern Ireland which is different from Great Britain and therefore breaches the 1707 Treaty rendering the 1707 Treaty null and void. This becomes an absolute breach on 1st Jan 2021 and if necessary any Sovereign Scot can make the case, it does not have to be the SG but that woukd be the best forum.

The Treaty of Union is the answer.

BS by unionists for years that Scotland was extinguished is just that.

Lord Cooper,Prof Walker,Sir John McCormick et al too numerous to mention
have emphasised that a Treaty is a Treaty and no amount of Unionist politicking can override it.

These are legal authorities whether in obiter dicta,learned writings or case law they all unite to provide an overwhelming legal case ,if one were needed,to affirm that a Treaty if breached only requires the party of the first part to declare the breach and require the ending of the Treaty. I would expect the Scottish Parliament to be the voice of that wish,whom failing a referendum of the Scottish peoples would also affirm such a wish. That referendum ,if required,would only require to be conducted fairly and would not require the “permission” of the UK Government. All legal all good in international law.

@Dorothy Devine (10.40) –

Thank you kindly for your compliment, but I am duty-bound to report you to the site moderator for blatant sexism.

Colin A

UK Parliamentary Sovereingty was only ever a convention. Under English Law the Monarch delegated their Sovereignty to the English Parliament, however that parliament was dissolved in 1707 and hence the Monarch regained that Sovereignty.

The people of Scotland have been Sovereign since the Declaration of Arbroath of 1320 and the then Popes agreement confirmed by later letter.

The EU Withdrawal Agreement Act S38(i) asserts that “the Parliament of the UK is Sovereign”, however you can’t obtain something legally that is not yours in the first place, eg a stolen car does not belong to the thief just because he says it’s his. So the only Sovereignty that was legally granted to the UK Parliament by S38(i) was the English Monarchs and she did this by providing Royal Assent to the Bill.

For “legal” clarity
a) The UK Constituition is the 1707 Treaty of Union.
b) both the English and Scottish legal traditions remain extant and have not been annulled by the UK Constituition, hence the reason why Scottish Law declared the proroguing of Parliament to be unlawful, whilst English Law did not.

Agreed that referendums in Scotland are binding decisions as the people are Sovereign. That being the case a consultative referendum is an absurdity.

EU Withdrawal stuff. This only had to be legal according to the conventions of the UK. The UK being the member state a majority vote in UK Parliament was, I believe, what was required. I assume the majority of Scots MPs voted Nay to the Bill, no matter it was driven through.

HYFUD

The 1707 Treaty united the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland as the United Kingdom. The KoE included Wales and Ireland at that time.

Kangaroo Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland all shared a monarch by 1707 but only England and Wales were formally united before then

HYUFD – pissing in Wings tea.

Pissing on Scotland.

Over and over again.

Time to put a stop to it.

And don’t give me the free speech bit.

Free speech here goes with responsibilities towards Scotland.

All I hear is brainwashed BritNat hostility.

Keep the piss out the tea.

HYFUD @1:09am

Your man Henry numero 8 would disagree as he was King of Ireland following the Crown in Ireland Act of 1542, but Ireland was part of the English Kings Dominion long before that.

HYFUD @1:12am

Scottish people can vote for whom they like, it does not mean we can’t change our minds. They can reassess the situation as and when the facts change or even if they don’t, that’s democracy.

OT

I’m curious about Geoffrey Cox being sacked as Attorney General to be replaced by Suella Braverman. I don’t know the first thing about her, but Cox seemed an ardent Brexiteer who was muttering in a pro-Boris way about re-examining how Supreme Court judges were appointed.

I wonder if Downing Street couldn’t find a room big enough to contain the two planet sized egos of Johnson and Cox simultaneously, or whether Cox got the heave-ho after Joanna Cherry did to Cox over Prorogation, what Karen Gillan did to Ryan Reynolds over trash talking. 🙂

Arch Unionist Neil Oliver venting his spleen at this bunch in Scottsh government in Sunday Times.

youtube.com/watch?v=MpG-r9FnnXY

Seeing a lot of history being talked about here. This is an extremely relevant documentary that anyone here should find interesting. Its a bit old and from mainly US perspective but the subject matter is as relevant now as ever. Strongly recommend watching in full

Kangaroo Ireland was not formally part of the UK until the 1801 Act of Union, before then Ireland had its own Parliament. Scotland shared a monarch with England, Ireland and Wales from the early 1600s but again kept its own Parliament and did not formally create the UK until 1707.

RBS group is rebranding as NatWest group.
That Scottish bit’s a no no. NatWest aka National Westminster pukka English moniker.
Next step moving the hq to guess where?
Scottish national powerlessness strikes again.
Being chewed up and spat out by the English is becoming the national quirk.
This really has got to stop.
Anybody got a spine?
Could we borrow it?
Some people still rabbiting on about that ancient Treaty of Union. I can well imagine what Boris & Dom would do with that.
@HYUFD.
There we agree. Appeals to international community did not stop the illegal US invasion of Iraq either. Rather naïve this belief that the ‘rule of law’ will put Scotland aright. It won’t, only the Scots with much more effect than employed so far, can do that.

John from Fife says:15 February, 2020 at 10:32 pm

Just came across on BBC parliament channel Nicola Sturgeon answering questions during her recent trip to the EU and I was disappointed to hear her say again that while not ruling out a non UK approved section 30 referendum she definitely wanted Westminster’s approval before she would go ahead with one. What is she frightened of.

The strategy of the SNP over the last 30 odd years has been independence in Europe. It is obvious that if we become independent we would get back into Europe as long as independence is gained by legal and constitutional means, as much as that can be in a state that has no written constitution.

It might be worth considering with her dealings with European officials and politicians have left her a tad too cautious to ensure that independence is achieved in a way there isn’t even a hint of illegality to it that can be exploited by opponents of independence to try and derail entry back into Europe?

Is this the lull before the storm?

Posts have become fewer and further between.
This cartoon by Chris has only added 100 posts in 26 hours.

We seem to know the destination we require but don’t seem
To know exactly where we are or which way we are facing.

I have rejected the latest SNP letter requesting more money,
Unlike previous requests as I can’t see where and what the money
Is going to do for my immediate desire for independence.

All the stars are aligned for me with every part of the Indy Ref vow broken,
Being dragged out of the EU against our will, yet another Tory government
That Scotland didn’t vote for, a bugling prime minister who had made it clear
He hates the Scots and who would always invest in England before Scotland
And N Ireland who voted Remain like Scotland gets a special deal but we don’t
Come in for consideration.

A Serial Liar and Adulterer, a man who used physical restraint on his girl friend to an extent
Where the Police were summoned, a man accused of groping women while he worked and a
Man who obviously had relations with an American blond woman as long as he provided her
With UK business opportunities she had no right to access.

What more could we be hoping for to justify leaving the corrupt and fascist country next door after 300 years of abuse, insults and complete disregard?

Andrew Tickell giving comprehensive review of Jackson Carlaw’s history in Sunday National, I wouldn’t say it was complimentary.

I see the cut and paste wanker from Essex is back.

“It might be worth considering with her dealings with European officials and politicians have left her a tad too cautious to ensure that independence is achieved in a way there isn’t even a hint of illegality to it that can be exploited by opponents of independence to try and derail entry back into Europe?”

Illegality, Johnson will never sanction another S30 order, the last indyref was too close to call for them. Scottish independence will need to be taken not given, Christ how many times do the likes of the Rev and Craig Murray need to tell folk this.

Westminster won’t willingly give up a third of its land mass and all the assets that go with it. Its international recognition that we need not Westminster recognition, for as I say that’s a non starter.

How many years are you prepared to sit back and wait for Johnson to say okay have your indyref, five years? Or if he gets a second tenure ten year? Or if the Tories extend their reign to fifteen years? Then what?

And what about the damage the Tories will do to Scotland between now and then, would we even be in a position to hold a indyref by then.

Scottish independence MUST be taken, for it will never willingly be given.

I will pick one point from Mr Tickell I have an issue with, he makes the comment about middle class chino wearers. I wear chinos and I assure him you will find few more common man than me, you don’t find many middle class people who grew up in Niddrie, Edinburgh, many still give the impression that a unpleasant odour is around if I mention it.

@Effijy 10:27
It is high time we rose to this challenge, however with an official leadership which appears to be functioning in a different universe and according to a conventional set of rules the challenge may need to be taken up by others with more imagination.
Scots, collectively, have been treated like minions for three hundred years yet many are in denial.
Just how far are people prepared to take this cause.
Logically it ought to be ‘no limits’ but that is a step too far for some and that ‘some’ is a significant element in the yes camp.
Effectively, it is only the native failure of confidence that hinders.

Carcrash seems to have overdosed on the Verbal Diaorrhea Pills before going on to Brewer this am.

Ottomanboi says: 16 February, 2020 at 11:11 am

For fiduciary reasons the RBS style will be retained in Scotland but the bank’s old Scottish identity is being sloughed in favour of a City one.

The British press had never liked the RBS, an upstart from ‘up north’ coming down and being one of the big boys. This really ramped up by the 2008 bailout and has got to the point where the brand is so toxic that a name change was inevitable. I’m surprised that it has taken so long.

I’m constantly surprised given the brand recognition Scotland has throughout the world that the business community seems to focus on growth south of the border but of course, those who advocate that in the business community aren’t representative of it.

Ottomanboi Natwest used to be a building society, it never had an investment bank unlike RBS

Pacman In any case the EU is hardly going to invade the UK to try and force Westminster to grant indyref2

@Pacman
BritState with its dream of BritEmpire#2 will be even more a haven for dodgy money, buccaneering and privateering and casino style capitalism.
On an individual level this seduces the mega rich and the gullible. Collectively, it signals the worst of private wealth, public squalor, societal fracture and cultural decline.
Scotland can and must do better for its citizens.

In the Republic of Ireland, Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and the Greens set to form a grand coalition government to exclude Sinn Fein
link to m.independent.ie

Laughing at HI FUD’s comment above:

“Ignore my previous comments”

We do! Trust me we do.

Your homeland, Essex is quite an incredible place.
The many have these fake teeth in stupendous white
At £12,000 a go.
Fake tans, tattooed eyebrows, and a mandatory dolphin
Manicured and painted nails on hands and feet,
Designer hand bag costing thousands and this is just the men.

All supported on
A £50k wage no matter how dumb your I.Q level is but as you have
An easy London commute and they have Scotland’s revenue
The world down there is just Lovely!

Watcher!

Wonder what it was that awakened FUD, again?
He’s all over this site like a rather nasty rash.
Is his intention to argue that Scotland should be imprisoned by him and his Essex Tories, for ever?

Something tells me they are getting VERY worried about Indy!!

@sassenach

You have to excuse him, he sees himself as Thomas Fairfax to Johnson’s Oliver Cromwell. the great protectors of the union. Although I think Johnson sees himself more as Churchill and may be displeased with HYUFD, forever now exiled to fight in an unwinnable council constituency (well unwinnable for him anyway).

Show of hands from all the posters on WOS who go on to English websites to troll that country? Now would be the perfect time to be trolling England as they’re having terrible difficulty with floods and the ruining of their homes, so what an opportunity that would be for us, do we do it?

I bet there’s none here, yet the troll from Epping in England floods this website daily because he thinks he has a right to Why does he think that? what kind of person or people do this?

We Scots are apparently the bad guys yet I’m betting nobody here does that in the hope and purpose of upsetting people

Anybody with any doubts over why this happens isn’t looking hard enough

PacMan 10.10
Interesting.
Of course when Sturgeon talks of getting UK approval it is in fact English approval as they completely dominate and rule parliament. And that really angers me.

Why is England so afraid to stand on its own feet without Scotland
Why did England relinquish control of Northern Ireland so easily
Why does England keep talking about *their Union* when they’re happy to let one part of it go (Norn Ireland) but are terrified of allowing the other part (Scotland) the same freedom

England is saying two different things to two different parts of *their Union* They’ve clearly told Norn Ireland (you have no money so if the EU and Ireland wants you you can leave)

England is saying to Scotland (you can’t go because you do have money even if every last one of you wants to leave because England needs your money)

Now they can’t continue to say they love us Boris Johnson has made that clear when he called us Vermin, plus the Internet is clogged up with people from England trolling Scotland with hate messages tyrannical rants and misinformation about England’s superiority over all things

Some of todays regular trolls from England over on the FMs twitter keep punting the line that the SNP control the oil and the Scottish media and that’s how they stay in power
Is that what England believes? and who told them that utter garbage and lies if they do believe it, and if they do it means they’re trolling Scotland without any knowledge of why they’re doing it except they’re outraged at people like us demanding a say on what they believe is something they own

The thing is it doesn’t matter because the reason they troll us is because they think they have that right as part of *their* country

Ownership is the delusion of England brainwashed into them by their own government

@Dr Jim

He’s not here to debate but to, as you say troll, he wants to bait people to pass the time. He has that traditional BritNat superiority that has won them so many friends around the globe. Best to ignore or just reply with nonsense.

I only post on here, and very rarely on WGD, James Kelly & Peter A Bell site (although Mr Bell can be a bit acerbic at times).

Pre 2014 I used to comment on the Guardian site, in fact if the handles are the same people then some still post here. Couldn’t put up with their Scotland coverage eventually (esp Severin Carroll) so dump it completely in 2016.

When Johnson says he loves Scotland, I believe him, its just the people who live here he thinks are vermin. The land and resources, well that’s a different matter.

Although they have always had a special place for your offspring when cannon fodder is needed for their interminable wars, you are once again a beloved asset. The way to leverage that asset is to keep them impoverished so, for some, fighting is basically your only means of income.

I don’t mind those who believe in the UK as perhaps some Unitary ‘British’ State, if not ‘Unionist state’ – that’s entirely up to them to believe in whatever they wish. However, I do like to establish which it is (what happened to England & Scotland, were both those Kingdoms extinguished, just one, or neither) before proceeding with any related discussion.

As an example: the position for a Unitary British State, created from two prior Independent States, which extinguished both – Logically, this means there remains no party to which any Act or Treaty applies, such Acts/ Treaties were rendered void at the point of ratification.

Establishing a position, I believe, leads to a more logical discussion – for a framework has been set upon which either may build: Unitary/ Union/ Other.
So it pains me and I struggle to read, continual responses to some Unionist/ Unitard commentators, where I have no idea what either side’s position is and neither apparently do the antagonists.
Perhaps this is a reflection of the political state in which we live and/or, I am hard of understanding.

Wikipedia, professes that the UK (like the majority of the worlds States) is a Unitary State. The internal legislations of this professed ‘Unitary State, makes specific references to, and rely upon the existence of (apparently) non-existant Kingdoms. This Unitary State has a monarchy which also references, relies opon and derives its position on (logically) non-existant Kingdoms.
A Unitary State is one State – One Kingdom – One Nation, One Parliament, One Government, One Law (occasionally One Monarchy) whose constitution may be dispensed, amended, repealed, abrogated, or otherwise devolved, as the State sees fit. Logically, this cannot apply to the United Kingdom as currently instituted; however much it is stated, or described elsewhere.

I have asked the likes of HYUFD his position on a couple of occasions but received no reply – so I cannot engage – it would be a pointless and illogical exercise for me. Nor do I like to make bald assumptions if I can avoid it. Certainly ‘H’ appears to argue from the position of a Unitary State, but then makes errors in internal logic by referring to Unionism and vice-versa.

This type of inconsistency is not the sole preserve of Unionists/Unitards I might add; nor is this boring moan of mine directed solely at particular commentators – I have asked the same question of politicians and appeared to cause some malfunction of reason.

I’m happy to concede, for any debate’s sake, that the ‘UK’ is indeed a Unitary State, but that requires some genuinely interesting explanations – as do any other permutations relating to Unions and Kingdoms (extinguished or otherwise) But I cannot concede some amalgamation of several standpoints and then be expected to proceed with any logical consistency.

So I don’t and I remain perplexed by those who do.

Dr Jim Northern Ireland has a border with another EU country, the Republic of Ireland, unlike Scotland and a hard border with the Republic of Ireland would breach the Good Friday Agreement. Northern Ireland is thus a different case

If you live in a semi-detached your next door neighbour doesn’t get to be in charge of your house because he’s got the biggest family even if you have a shared driveway, and he doesn’t get to take whatever vegetables that grow in your garden and eat or sell them to somebody else, nor does he get to invent new joint neighbour rules that affect you without asking for any agreement from you, if he did he wouldn’t be a next door neighbour anymore he would be a thief and a thug you would report to the council and police

We live next door to the neighbour from hell who says he owns the police and the council, so we could move house, but he owns the bank so we’re stuck there

Unless our other neighbours nearby offer us their help in resolving this difficulty our intransigent neighbour is leaving us with only one choice, our neighbour in the past has lived in many houses and behaved in the same way to those neighbours, so what did they do to get rid of this troublemaking thief of a neighbour

Hey, cut the Germinator some slack today as he’s probably bored oot his napper with being stuck indoors because his country is at a standstill due to the QE2 bridge closure.
I learnt from his unionist compatriots last week that a bridge closure can do that sort of thing…

So Holyrood will now have performances by The Stereochronics aka Carlaw & Wells as the lead singers for the unionists’ hymn sheet, with The Moronic Keich Preachers of Rennie & Leonard as their supporting act.

Turns to camera and mutters ironic Jazzclub “Nice”…

You have to laugh at the English the way they talk about respecting some things but refusing to respect others because it doesn’t suit them to

The facts are England is a gutless country afraid to stand on its own feet without Scotlands assets, because it can’t afford to and that’s why Norn Ireland was let go, they have no money and the EU ordered Johnson to release them or no documents of any deal would ever have been signed to allow Johnson to claim his hollow victory over nothing

The next round is beginning shortly and Johnson already knows he’s on to a kicking from the EU so is faking his no deal confidence line in the simple knowledge that the EU are in charge and not him as he feigns outrage at what he knows is going to be a major part of the deal or no deal and pretends to England everything’s OK because he planned for it

Yeah sure he did

@jfngw says at 5:31 pm

“BBC staff now tweeting what great value the BBC is…”

One wonders if that value was increased or decreased after Donalda leaving.

link to twitter.com

Correction to post at 5.38pm, she is actually still in place.
For some reason I thought she had moved on, presumably because I hadn’t noticed any particular improvement in the perceived bias in BBC Scotland she was going to address…

Watched Broadcasting Scotland earlier with 2 guests 1 from AUOB the other from SIF , the AUOB chap was saying that they were preparing and organising the marches for the rest of 2019 with special emphasis on the Arboath March and claim of right 100th anniversary , he also spoke about a gathering the AUOB organised yesterday which was well attended and many ideas were spoken about

The lady from SIF was encouraging groups and organisations to approach them for funding projects that may help the indy cause

During the broadcast there was no mention of forming another independence supporting party to challenge the list seats or to discuss whether people would be supportive of a move in that direction
The AUOB chap also said that there was some discussion about naming targets for individual marches eg naming a March about our EU removal he also said it was highlighted that we need MORE music at the marches to make it even more enjoyable

TBH I have been on quite a few marches which I found enjoyable and uplifting but I don’t want more marches or endless discussion forums I WANT INDEPENDENCE , I WANT THE SNP GOVERNMENT WE ELECTED TO STOP F***ING ABOUT WITH THE GRA PISH AND FIGHT WM ( DORIS ) WITH EVERY TOOL THEY HAVE TO GET US THERE , before Stu and ALL the other patriotic bloggers die of boredom

twathater at 551pm,

Totally with you on your last paragraph.

Every week, I just ask myself the same question, what have the Scottish Government done this week to push independence and stop Scotland being dragged out of the EU (they have multiple democratic mandates for both). Sadly, this week, as with most weeks, the answer is nothing.

So that’s it then – the COP 26 summit will have to be moved away from Glasgow now.

According to the Mail on Sunday – the only paper to run the story – all the information anyone could ever need to mount a terrorist attack has been published accidentally by the Government.

Doesn’t say which Government so I presume it is Westminster, because they would definitely have blamed the SNP if they could.

Amazingly, all the maps of underground tunnels, electricity supplies, gates, exits etc – places where you could mount a terrorist attack on the large gathering of assembled world leaders – this security material is now available online.

How could someone accidentally put this stuff online – all me a cynic but I smell a smell.

oh, dear, oh dear, oh dear, what a dreadful mistake, how could that have happened, what can we do now…. looks like we’ll have to move the summit away from Glasgow for security reasons now, sorry Nicola, don;’know how that could have happened….

Why only the Mail on Sunday? No prizes for guessing.

Perfidious Albion once more…..

Well said Graeme, it’s a perfect description of the FUD.

While the SNP are sleepwalking into another year of inaction and pleading for a’gold standard’ Referendum which even the dugs in the street know aint happening, something far more imminent is on the horizon, which is definitely going to occur.

I refer to the new Constitution of the ‘Union’. The Johnson/Cummings axis of Evil(evel) is pushing this attempt to bind Scotland into a vice from which all the ‘gold standard’ anythings will mean precisely zilch.

I referred to Cromwell earlier because I see a rerun of how, historically,Scotland fatally sided with revolutionary forces in England which turned and crushed our remaining freedom and incarcerated us into a ‘Protectorate’ or dictatorship of ‘Great Britain’. I foresee a New Constitution of the ‘Union’, with this time prohibition of ‘separatist’ movements and referenda for any such parties.

We know the ground has been laid with the bogus claims of Scotland’s ‘extinguishing’ by the 1707 Union. We know this is a lie, but one that has never been challenged. The Johnson/Cummings elective dictatorship will easily utilise this fiction to validate a ‘healing of division’ etc. The important facet of this Constitution is that it will enable the Britnat State to defacto and de jure characterise any Referenda or moved to assert Scottish self determination as ‘secession’ as per Catalonia, something which at the moment they are unable to do in the court of International opinion.