This is the party
Posted on
October 01, 2014 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
David Cameron’s speech to the Conservative conference today:
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A tall tale
Wee Books
Video
Probably a robbery
Transphobia
Oor Eck on Call Kaye tearing into the poll tax gatherers.
Alex from Strichen putting the record straight Ha, ha, ha
BtP,
Glad to see you are looking yourself again.
The ‘unpolished’ and still in a nappy at lunchtime look only works if you are looking to a career in modelling for political campaigns.
cearc
Miaow
Just trying out the drunken hobo personna.
🙂
new list with me at the top, number 500!
The Unionist liars destroyed the Scottish Referedum. It should be declared null and void and another one declared without them sticking their nose in. The lies continue.
Westminster are spending £2.6Billion of Scottish taxpayers money onTrident, against the majority wishes. Scotland doesn’t have a Navy or a shipyard to build supply boats. The money would be better spent supporting a Scottish Navy and building vessels.
UK Treasury has one of the highest borrowing rates in Europe. 2.5% IR rate is 1.7% Germany is 1% on ten year bonds. Are UK Treasury borrowing at 2.5% and lending to banks at 1%? No wonder the debt is growing. Scotland has little debt. It just gets lumbered with rest of the UK debt it doesn’t borrow or spend.
The rubbish about houses not selling because of the Referendum. They were selling like hot cakes until Westminster restricted lending but gave £thousands (up to 60k?) to the wealthiest to buy houses underwritten by the tax payer.
@john king
Being a cynic I haven’t a clue about that.
That arsehole telling Alex Salmond off for interrupting him and then goes straight ahead and interrupts Alex, he couldn’t wait to get off the phone because he was getting torn a new one.
I on the other hand didn’t get my phone call! 🙁
@Tabbycat says:2 October, 2014 at 9:26 pm:
“I do not use Google Chrome.”
You can still search for names in Internet Explorer. Click on, “edit”, on the top bar: Click, “Find on this Page”: type in the name you seek and there are, “next”, &, “previous”, buttons to move through instanses of the named person’s posts. By the Way there are a couple of wee arrows on the blog bottom right corner to take you to the top and bottom of the current page.
Would people stop posting thevsame post three times or trivia. Just wait until the post appears. It stops others from posting.
Ken500
Are you serious, or just being ironic without the smiley face?
🙂
BtP,
Drunken hobo ‘persona’? Hmm.
Ken500,
Trivia? Moi?
John King,
Have the rocks melted yet? Has John King been ‘called Kay+E’.
@chalks
here’s the Independent article archive url;
link to archive.today
For those new to this – copy the url of the item you want to share, go to the archive site, paste the url into the box at the top, click the submit url button and wait till it goes through the process and produces your page. Copy new archive url. That way, evil anti-democratic media corporations don’t get “click” money.
I keep the archive today button on the bookmarks bar where it’s handy.
link to archive.today
I had to laugh at Kaye (with a E’s) challenge of the elderly lady’s assertion, who pointed out the (imposition)of the Poll Tax in Scotland a year before England was a breach of the treaty of union, only for Alex Salmond to come on and back up her assertion. 🙂
I remember like it was yesterday how the Tories overcame that (absolutely true) point,
and it goes like this,
the Government can apply a new tax on one part of the UK (not imposed on other parts) IF that part of the country agrees,
Does anyone here remember agreeing to that?
no?
Correct because wee Mikey Forsyth the SoS AGREED FOR US (so we didnt have to)
Isn’t that right
Michael Forsyth, Baron Forsyth of Drumlean
Westminster welfare cuts hitting disabled people
A ‘damning’ Citizens Advice Scotland report published today shows the devastating impact Westminster’s welfare cuts are having on disabled people in Scotland – and shows exactly why welfare policy should be decided in Scotland rather than in Westminster.
Evidence gathered by Citizens Advice Bureau advisers across Scotland shows that the introduction of the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is beset by serious issues – leaving many claimants without money to pay for basics like food for months on end and leading to an increase in reliance on foodbanks.
The report finds that the average delay between a claim being lodged and the receipt of payment is six months – with some delays stretching to as long as 15 months, causing serious hardship for vulnerable people.
This report comes just a day after the UK Government refused to halt the roll-out of the Universal Credit in Scotland – highlighting again why decisions about welfare should be in Scotland’s hands, rather than Westminster’s.
Commenting, SNP MSP Jamie Hepburn said:
“This new report is damning evidence of the devastating consequences Westminster’s welfare cuts are having on thousands of sick and disabled people in Scotland.
“These unfair welfare reforms are simply making life even more difficult for thousands of vulnerable people – leaving many without enough money to pay for basics like food and leaving even more people to rely on foodbanks. In a wealthy country like Scotland, this is nothing less than a scandal.
“This report also shows that Westminster’s reforms aren’t just unfair, they’re also spectacularly incompetent – with average delays of six months between claims being made and payment being received. That some claimants have had to wait well over a year for their claim to be processed is completely unacceptable.
“The Westminster establishment have shown time and time again that they can’t be trusted on welfare – their race to the right to court votes in the south east of England is punishing the very people who need support the most – and Tory conference this week has only reaffirmed their commitment to a shameless and sustained attack on the poor.
“Just yesterday Nicola Sturgeon called for Westminster to halt the rollout of Universal Credit in Scotland. It’s time that powers over welfare were transferred from Westminster to Scotland – allowing us to use the welfare state as a tool to fight poverty and inequality and support vulnerable people rather than punishing them.”
cearc says
“Have the rocks melted yet? Has John King been ‘called Kay+E’.”
Nope still there and still no call from Kay(with and e)
maybe it was something I said. 🙁
J K
Kay with an E has her calls screened .and yours comes up under T for Troublemaker
never mind Cearc
Some day my Prince, er ess will come
link to youtube.com
There is only one message to send to Kaye wi the wan, “E”.
It goes like this : –
Tick! Tock! Tick! Tock!
Come in Kaye wi wan, “E”.
Your time is up!
Tick! Tock! Tick! Tock!
Where are all these poll tax dodgers that owe the country £400 million plus , none are under 45, and I knew people who had poll tax debt deducted from their social security. So who are these thousands and thousands of people, perhaps they all work at Faslane, and Jackie Baillie will sort it all out.
The poor people of Scotland have to realize that they have the power, but only if they bloody well get off their backsides and start using their vote!
The fact that a huge majority of people registered and voted in the referendum, last month has really spooked a Westminster system that relies on isolating and ignoring the poorest in society. People with nothing to lose can be a bit scary to the rich and powerful in society.
The GE in 2015 will be a real test of how badly Scotland wants more power. If many people who voted YES revert to voting for Labour again, then they obviously do not want more powers that badly. “Yes, it is/was a good idea, but Hey Ho here we go, keep the tories out etc.”
People know what they have to do next May – vote against the unionist parties. It’s the only way to ensure a significant transfer of power to Holyrood. If they fail to do this then they don’t really care. They won’t be able to stop a Tory landslide anyway, but old habits die hard. We shall soon find out.
Rancid Herald on Westminster giving Scotland stuff
“We are fully committed to giving Scotland more powers as has been made clear, but it is not something that can happen overnight. It is complicated and will take time,” explained the minister.
and
“However, during the referendum campaign the Prime Minister stressed the process of introducing enhanced powers would begin “soon”. And the vow of the three UK party leaders spoke of how a No vote would deliver “faster, safer, better change than separation”.
and so on but absolutely nothing on what these powers actually are. The historic UKOK fraud goes on via their liggers
Does anyone know whats happening now?
Poll Tax.
The Poll Tax was impliment’d longer in Scotland than in England, therefore Councils here collected more money, double than they would had they were they English councils,through that into the equasion.
One law for Scots, another for the rUK.
link to dailyrecord.co.uk
Are you not patronised enough yet? Unelected!,vast power, huge trougher. What’s NZ like:D
How about a slogan, or series of slogans, along the lines of :-
Never mend the Tories, vote keep Unionists out.
Never mind Labour, keep the Unionists out.
Never mind UKIP, Keep vote all Unionists out.
@John King You calling Kaye+E who are You kidding, when I call you you press the wrang button & cut me off LoL, mibbe’s Kaye with a E canny work the buttons tae.
Back to the original video in this thread. It just occurred to me that if Dave is the leader of the Muthaf***er Party, does that make Westminster the Motherf***er of all parliaments?
Tony Abbott refers to IS as a ‘Death Cult’.
Pardon?
If this experience has taught me anything, it’s that Scotland will never have any chance to be the equal of others if it does not have its own dedicated TV channel and a daily newspaper fighting its corner.
@AuldA
Re the effects on the website due to a DDOS attack, the Rev explained it in a post a while back.
link to wingsoverscotland.com
Different tax rates in the UK. Scottish Oil sector taxed up to 90%. (Foreign) multinationals tax evade tax through the City of London. HMRC not fit for purpose. Harnott ex tax civil servant, (sweetheart deals) joined London accounting firm. Ex BP executive is appoihted top civil servant.
Westminster MP’s associates make £Millions out of Royal Mail pension grab and the white elephant train, with no business case. HS2 will have to be subsidised with public money forever.
Scotland would only have to borrow, comparatible little, to pay off UK debt.
Westminster are at it trying to charge Scotland higher borrowing. Scotland would be better borrowing on open markets.
‘(Foreign) multinationals tax evade tax through the City of London. ‘
And Saint Ian Wood of Torytown
There will be no Tory landslide. Labour/Tory 50/50. UKIP/SNP hold balance of power. Should be interesting.
When can Scotland break free?
Ken =500 did you see my post on having to borrow the money from the Treasury and then getting charged usurious rates?
I posted it and it disappeared but it is possible that was posted although invisible to me?
Westminster will take that line.
An interseting piece in Bella today re: Podemos…” a new brand party” that has emerged in Spain as a reaction the austerity measures being felt.
link to bellacaledonia.org.uk
Daily Record how’s the readership/sales. Rock bottom yet?
@Ronnie says:
re death cult
There will be a, closer to the Westminster GE, another propaganda sledge of BBC and MSM, to accept an “undefined” pseudo federal offer. It worked once or twice before.
Iain MacWhirter will fall over himself to urge people to go that way.
He is not lying and he really believes in Federalism and has always done so.
I call it
Federal Cultism.
I would like to say this. If you think that the establishment isn’t capable of doing something like rigging a vote of 4 million voters. You are very niave.
This country ran an empire of 100’s of countries, and it wasn’t with democracy. This country and the USA have de-stabalised governments with ease.
With the stakes so high do you seriously think that the UK establishment would have left that vote to chance. You witnessed and can’t deny part of that machine, that was visible, in action, Political parties, media, propaganda, fear, lies, threats, big business. etc
Can you honestly say you do not believe that the vote was/could have been rigged? If you actually believe that, the establishment is doing its job.
I can think of many ways to tamper with the vote before the boxes even gets to counts. How many were really checked?
Now thats only me that can think of ways it could be done, I am also sure that any other ordinary citizen could think of ways to do. Can you not see that the professioal organisations that make up the ESTABLISMENT can’t do it?????
We are entertained by magicians with slight of hands, we watch David Blane appear to do amazing things, I read on this site where it is claimed that attacks on the site take place, I heard people mention GCHQ involved in those attacks.
MI5 the security services de-stabalised the IRA, they disrupt Al-Quaeda and such.
To think that a little vote rigging is impossible is niave in extreme but that us exactly what they hope people will do, not believe it, argue with people who think it did go on.
Now it will never be proved even though evidence will and can be produced because who will broadcast it, who will investigate it, who will run any enquiry what would the terms of any enquiry be. Never will it come out at least for 100 years when some researchers and historians will get near to what actually happened.
We have to accept we were beaten and move on, but to say it didn’t happen, NIAVETY.
“My job is to oversee a process bringing together two representatives each from the SNP, Labour, the Greens, the Lib Dems and the Conservatives to agree on what new powers could and should be devolved to Holyrood.”
That’s DR, and an entirely unelected Lord of the realm describing himself as the overseer of the Scotland region.
It’s all become a test of how much longer can I stand any of this and not leave. A lot of CiF Britnats kept saying if you don’t like the way teamGB is run, leave. A Yes vote was one way. Even the devil in the detail is hard to take, like with Graun’s Monbiot on 40% loss of wildlife across the planet but where I’m from, rich Tory Boys have fished out Atalntic salmon in our rivers to extinction but not for food but their sport.
Lastly because I forget to mention.
Hillsborough, Phone hacking enquiry, the miners strike, etc.
I bet everone can come up with loads of cover-ups.
An interesting letter.
link to facebook.com
TV Licence
Westminster leaves/dumps on European Court of Human Rights, sold as great move by BBC propaganda but it’s the fast exit from the EU for teamGB. How will rich farmers get their subsidies, whatabout millions of English people moved to Europe etc etc and on it goes.
And just to keep the smile on the Red Faces…
link to leftfootforward.org
Ken500 says:
3 October, 2014 at 11:19 am
There will be no Tory landslide. Labour/Tory 50/50. UKIP/SNP hold balance of power. Should be interesting.
When can Scotland break free?
Ken, I disagree – a big Tory majority is inevitable – think tactical.
Do you think that UKIP supporters are going to risk letting Milliband in? Cameron has Labour trapped over the English question and is already positioning the Tories to recapture UKIP voters. All he has to do is get tough on Europe and promise a refewrendum in 2017. Now that the referendum is over, the MSM big guns are about to target Milliband, who is about to be slaughtered.
As for Scotland breaking free? Well, if Scotland is serious about full fiscal powers (and I remain to be convinced that many people want it so badly as to be a deal breaker), then they have to start voting out unionist MPs at all elections. They know what to do, but will they do in in 2015?
Ian Wood is retired and has a £800million foundation which will go to the most vulnerable in the world. £50million has already gone to Africa, RGU and young people in Scotland have been given £Millions.
Thatcher secretly took the equivalent of £Billions of Oil revenues and spent them on London S/E. Tilbury Docks, Canary Wharf etc. Thatcher cancelled a pipe line wasting the equivalent of £Billions of Gas. Thatcher shut down every manufacturing facility in Scotland and the mines. Coal is now cheaper than Gas. Westminster, Hulne, refused a CC project at Longannet in Fife. Scotland lost the opportunity to bid for EU renewable grants because of Wedtminster indecision,
Labour lied and secretly hid the McCrone Report and wasted the Oil revenues on illegal wars and tax evasion in the City of London. Helicopters are falling from the sky because of lack of UK health & safety Law, because of Robert Goodwill UK Transport minister. There is no Inquiry and the CAA Colludes with the Ministry of Transport.
Years ago, Labour fought for the poor, and then some time later they did not care about the poor, and now they are going after the poor.
The evolution of the Labour party, still can’t believe some Labour voters voted No.
No Tory landslide etc is the prediction of the Pollsters. Someone posted a link. Voting intentions in Scotland predict SNP/Labour on equal? 30%. Would mean an increase in SNP MP’s. LibDems have low majorities and could be wiped out.
Scotland was promised full powers not a delaying consultation. Cop out.
Alex Salmond’s ‘phone in’ on morning call with Kaye Adams :
link to bbc.co.uk
There are reports Scotlabd is exempt from Human rights changes. Different legal system.
Your weekly update!
Wow, what a week. Firstly thank you everyone for all your donations, the support has been overwhelming and we are sincerely thankful to each and every one of you.
As you can imagine it’s been a busy week for us. We have had many meetings with some increasingly impressive people who have been extremely positive about our plans. We know that what we are proposing is incredibly ambitious but the more people we talk to the more we discover that it is the thing that people want to happen, and it starts to become more manageable.
The plan sounds simple; found a fully functioning national news outlet for Scotland complete with nightly news programme and accompanying website, actually that doesn’t sound simple at all but we are committed to providing it. It’s what Scotland needs, wants and deserves. Over the last week we have broken that down into a business plan of sorts, although we are still getting advice from many quarters on how best to phrase elements of it. Most of the next few weeks will be spent raising the capital for start-up and early running costs.
We believe that the Referendum debate showed the best and brightest of Scotland’s journalistic talent and we propose giving them a new and serious platform from which they can really challenge those elements of mainstream media that many of us found lacking, or even absent, during the last few years.
We have received a few queries asking about the other people that are involved in trying to start up similar sounding projects. They are right that we certainly don’t want to step on anyone’s toes and many of the meetings we’ve had or set up to have soon are with those guys to make sure we’re all on the same page, and without failure we have been. Without doubt there will be those we have missed out just by virtue of there being so many of us, but everyone working toward a better media for Scotland is working towards the right goal.
The team has grown since last week and we are extremely proud to tell you that Carolyn Scott has joined us and her contribution is invaluable. Carolyn was involved with the production of ‘Scotland Yet’, which was, of course, directed by our very own Jack Foster. Carolyn brings years of business acumen to the team and will make the coming weeks far more manageable.
We will be putting out weekly update emails so you guys know we haven’t run off with your money, and keep you up to date with all the big developments. This week it’s all a bit hush hush until we get confirmation from some of the people we’ve talked to, but we expect big news in the coming weeks. We are also planning putting out videos so you can see our faces occasionally.
Hope this email finds you all well, and as excited for Scotland’s media future as we are.
Yours James Devoy, Carolyn Scott, Jack Foster.
‘Ken500 says:
3 October, 2014 at 11:56 am
Ian Wood is retired and has a £800million foundation which will go to the most vulnerable in the world. £50million has already gone to Africa, RGU and young people in Scotland have been given £Millions. ‘
Oh Ken, he wasn’t retired when he entered into the tax avoidance, he was running the company and KNEW EXACTLY what was going on.
He is a tax dodging, scare-mongering, old tory.
Continue to make an arse of yersel with your sporadic, delusional posts though.
From the Panelbase poll.
TRUST RATINGS
* Do you trust ALEX SALMOND, First Minister, to stand up for Scotland’s interests?
Yes: 55%
No: 37%
Don’t know: 9%
Net trust rating: +18
* Do you trust NICOLA STURGEON, Deputy First Minister, to stand up for Scotland’s interests?
Yes: 54%
No: 33%
Don’t know: 13%
Net trust rating: +21
* Do you trust JOHANN LAMONT, leader of Scottish Labour, to stand up for Scotland’s interests?
Yes: 37%
No: 42%
Don’t know: 22%
Net trust rating: -5
* Do you trust RUTH DAVIDSON, leader of the Scottish Conservatives, to stand up for Scotland’s interests?
Yes: 31%
No: 51%
Don’t know: 18%
Net trust rating: -20
* Do you trust WILLIE RENNIE, leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, to stand up for Scotland’s interests?
Yes: 23%
No: 51%
Don’t know: 26%
Net trust rating: -28
* Do you trust PATRICK HARVIE, leader of the Scottish Green Party, to stand up for Scotland’s interests?
Yes: 36%
No: 37%
Don’t know: 27%
Net trust rating: -1
* Do you trust DAVID CAMERON, Prime Minister, to stand up for Scotland’s interests?
Yes: 24%
No: 65%
Don’t know: 11%
Net trust rating: -41
* Do you trust NICK CLEGG, Deputy Prime Minister, to stand up for Scotland’s interests?
Yes: 13%
No: 71%
Don’t know: 16%
Net trust rating: -58
* Do you trust ED MILIBAND, leader of the Labour Party, to stand up for Scotland’s interests?
Yes: 23%
No: 61%
Don’t know: 16%
Net trust rating: -38
The fares for the Trams is £8 return to Edinburgh Airport. The bus was £12 return. The Tram fare is less. Edinburgh Council subsides the transport system is Edinburgh. Other taxpayers is Scotland pay to subsidies the Trams but are charged higher fares by privatised bus services.
@ Nana Smith, 12:05pm
Your weekly update!
Thanks for posting that, Nana – haven’t received my Weekly Update yet – but I won’t hold it against them 🙂
Sounds good. So, looking forward to media I can watch/listen/read without wanting to chuck something.
I hope James and Jack can get this going.
Today is a holiday here in Germany.
It’s called “Tag der Deutschen Einheit” –
“German Reunification Day”. It celebrates the reunification of former East Germany with West Germany in 1990.
It also serves in a dual function as Independence Day.
The State of Germany as we know it today only came into being in 1871, until then it was just a collection of smaller states or Confederations such as Bavaria, Prussia, Württemberg, Hessia etc.
Yesterday evening I thought a lot about Scotland and my heart was heavy, I needed quite a few drams of Talisker to help cheer me up. 🙁
Ken: The Unionist liars destroyed the Scottish Referedum. It should be declared null and void and another one declared without them sticking their nose in.
I share your disappointment and anger. In the unlikely event of another referendum called it will be subject to the same brazen anarchy and anti-democratic threats from banksters, corporations, crummy companies, shills, EDL, BNP and Orange Order thugs.
Electoral laws barring such gross interference in the democratic process need installed in advance. Soon as proposed they’ll be condemned by the same people as ‘authoritarian’ and ‘fascist.’
The press will ignore any restriction on their malevolent intent to demean, defame, and lie because almost all see Scotland as North Britain, certainly as far as circulation figures are concerned, and anyhow, they’ve convinced a large percentage of Scotland’s population to agree.
Perhaps there should be a restricted number of categories of residents eligible to vote next time around, such as only Scots born in Scotland.
But then again, liberty was derailed strenuously by a lot of London-loving Scots. They will still be there next referendum.
@ Marcia, 12:10pm
TRUST RATINGS. Exactly why are we not looking at independence? 🙁
Nobody trusts the leaders of UK parties – brains must be disengaged when it comes to voting.
Ian wood made his fortune from our oil and he did it exploiting Thatcherite economics, no unions, deregulated health and safety. Eg, big offshore construction contract comes up, Ian wood’s core engineering unit gets busy with bid, welders, fitters, riggers etc hired on temp contracts via agency, no permanent employment contract costs, no training, no apprenticeships, no pension costs, no employer liability, nothing, bish bosh job done.
Wood’s truly fantastical and really great shyste, was paying a tad more, got better results and workers had no choice in thatcher world.So now, it’s all gone, no heavy engineering in teamGB, just spendthrift political pay off white elephant war machines in Rosyth and Clyde for that world presence of teamGB carry big clout.
Wood made his fortune but the cost is the end of heavy industry in the UKOK. Did we get a choice in Wood’s economic short term fast buck Thatcher model? No.
Want to see what the opposite is like, Google Norway, shipping, rig building. It’s like another planet only 150 miles away but Ian Wood ‘s a bilionaire. Rule Britannia.
Anyone else feel like this? You know the aged cartoon of the two vulture? “Patience my ass, I’m going to kill something!”
I feel like the vultures. My patience is running out. I want to move onto aimed for the next political target!
@ Luigi, 11:44am
As for Scotland breaking free? Well, if Scotland is serious about full fiscal powers (and I remain to be convinced that many people want it so badly as to be a deal breaker), then they have to start voting out unionist MPs at all elections. They know what to do, but will they do in in 2015?
I think there is a danger that votes may fall back towards Tory – we just have to look at the areas where no votes were highest in the ref. We shouldn’t underestimate the “me first” element. There is a lot of hard campaigning to be done.
In the run up to the 2015 a massive YES/45 rally must happen. It needs to focus on how WM has failed to deliver on its promises (because they will fail).
“They broke the Vow
Dump Labour Now”
I refuse to join Facebook and Twitter so don’t know if this may already be in the pipeline.
Powers for Scotland will not be held to ransom
Fri, 03/10/2014 – 11:44
The SNP has condemned Westminster leaders following a senior UK Government minister telling The Herald that Scots will have to wait at least three years for new powers.
As reported in today’s Herald newspaper, a senior UK Government minister has made clear that a general election, lengthy debates in the Commons and Lords would have to take place and Scots should not expect new powers any time soon.
SNP Westminster leader Angus Robertson said:
“The Vow the Westminster leaders made to the people of Scotland in the run up to the referendum promised to deliver substantial and ‘faster’ new powers. In the event of a Yes vote, independence would have been delivered in 18 months. Three years for further powers is simply not good enough.
“English votes for English laws is nothing to do with what was promised to Scotland. The powers we need cannot be held to ransom.
“These new backdoor terms that Westminster is trying to sneak in are totally unacceptable; the Westminster parties will pay a heavy price for any betrayal of the people of Scotland at the ballot box.
“It is time for the Scottish Parliament to have the powers we need to make Scotland a fairer, more equal country and address the causes of inequality. Mr Cameron made a promise to the Scottish people and he must now honour it.”
The SNP need 41% to unseat Darling in his Edinburgh South West. They only have 34%. Perhaps they should modify a winning slogan and claim
“Only a vote for the SNP can protect Scotland from Tories”?
@Alex Clark: Well, that’s right, it’s one possible path to fend off those kind of scourge. You return HTTP 304 (unchanged), so the browser displays the same info over and over.
Another way to deal with that is to ditch packets coming too quickly from an unknown IP, and let other seep through. Not easy, need a bit of subtle technical knowledge.
But it is a small DDOS then. Because with large DDOS, you can’t even make contact with the server, as the link is saturated (the initial TCP packet get lost, so no connexion can be made –HTTP does not work over UDP AFAIK).
@Midgehunter:
Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit. That’s the German motto, isn’t it?
link to bellacaledonia.org.uk
As we saw over the last two years,
Labour’s primary function is not to fight
on behalf of working people
but to channel the votes of working people
to support the neoliberal economy of the City of London.
(Robin McAlpine)
link to snp.org
the SNP have seen the TRAP.
think; resources, 2 types of solidarity,(1; solidarity via WM to UKOK, 2; true solidarity via abolishing WM), federalism, localism (esp local taxation, and tory localism act), where scotlands resources are entrench in the incomes of UK’s federal regions and tax trap.
se of england with city state capital.
we need to know what useful powers will be given to scotland no later than feb 2015.
after 2015ge is the equivalent of a chocolate teapot.
Ken500
Just to put the lyrics to the last line of your posting about the SNP hopefully having near to 59 MPs:
I want to break free
I want to break free
I want to break free from your lies
You’re so self satisfied I don’t need you
I’ve got to break free
God knows, God knows I want to break free.
I’ve fallen in love
I’ve fallen in love for the first time
And this time I know it’s for real
I’ve fallen in love
God knows, God knows I’ve fallen in love.
It’s strange but it’s true
I can’t get over the way you love me like you do
But I have to be sure
When I walk out that door
Oh how I want to be free, baby
Oh how I want to be free,
Oh how I want to break free.
But life still goes on
I can’t get used to, living without, living without,
Living without you by my side
I don’t want to live alone, hey
God knows, got to make it on my own
So baby can’t you see
I’ve got to break free.
I’ve got to break free
I want to break free, yeah
I want, I want, I want, I want to break free.
I suggest we try to make this the theme song of the 55%
Heedtracker: Want to see what the opposite is like, Google Norway, shipping, rig building. It’s like another planet only 150 miles away.
Hav you not heard?
One in two folk commit suicide by the age of twenty-one, so terrible is Norway as a place to live – true, honestly! I read it on the Internet and in the press.
The ONLY meaningful resources which Scotland MUST gain control over are, control over the oil and whisky taps.
Anything else is meaningless and is only swapping around the deckchairs on the Titanic.
I can tell you now, that London will NOT devolve one iota of her power over these vast resources. Therefore, this whole commission thingy is one vast waste of time-Its ONLY purpose is to kick the whole subject into the long grass, never to be seen again!
Therefore, if the Scots are to progress at all, then they must be prepared to think outside the Westminster box!
Ronnie Anderson says
“@John King You calling Kaye+E who are You kidding, when I call you you press the wrang button & cut me off LoL, mibbe’s Kaye with a E canny work the buttons tae.”
What are you talking abo—– beeeeeeeeeeeppppp. 🙂
I was friendly with a neighbour of mine, a nurse, volunteer charity worker and a Tory party member.
She voted tory for Westminster and local government but SNP at Holyrood. The reason she gave me for voting SNP was twofold. Proportional representation and the fact that the SNP stood up for Scotland.
She knew I was Labour inclined but that never stopped us having good discussions on all matters politic.
What I’m saying is that people do make different choices.
Not every Tory voter is self centred, too many are taken in by the likes of Cameron pretending to be moderate, while at the same time attacking the weak and vulnerable. That’s up to us to expose them.
Labour had moved onto the same ground as the Tories some time ago but voters have only recently cottoned on.
The MSM will make every effort to portray Westminster as Labour v Tory. Voters are much better informed and 35 seats for the SNP is there for the taking.
manandboy
Labour’s function is to manage down the expectation of the poor.
Nana Smith
As the Record said: “All three party leaders have signed up for the plan to get an enhanced devolution package on the statute books by Burns Night next year – January 25 – in the event of a No vote in the referendum”.
For DDOS, an article on computing
link to computing.co.uk
It might well not be personal, just an attempt to overwhelm security and get into the server to take over. I don’t know enough about caching, but it’s possible there was a DDOS attack, caching engaged heavily, but didn’t get removed when the attack stopped. It’s beeen 2 weeks now the 25 minute delay has been in place.
One thing the Unionists had right was scaring up the need for anti-cyberterrorism expenditure in iScotland, the cost to business and society and government itself. What they failed to mention is that it’s exactly the same the whole world over.
Grousebeater 12.44
So it’s no accident that lemmings come from there then , is it ?
Ian Wood worked 70hrs a week for over forty years doing more for Scotland than anyone. His £800million Foundation will benefit the most vulnerable in the world. Ian Wood is not a politician. Ian Wood is a gentleman. £100K salaries for 40hr week. Those poor contractors. People queue up to work for the Wood Group. Rates are set by Unions and the Wood Group pay over the odds, often to get skilled people. Contractors get more
Finland has the highest suicide rate in the world. Lack of sunshine? Vitamin D. Sunny places are better. Continental live style is healthy. Fresh fruit, fish vegetables and exercise.
It is not in the Labour Party’s interests to have the working class aspire to a wealthier and healthier lifestyle because if they did then they would likely stop voting Labour. Keep them poor. Keep them working class. Keep their expectations low. Keep them voting Labour.
Ken – what are you on? What is this fixation that Ian Wood is a decent man? Are yoiu Ian Wood?
Ian Wood is a self interested rat.
Wood Group contractors are some of the highest paid in the world. They work all over the world and do not pay UK tax. Qualified engineers in the Oil sector get over £50 an hour and work (UK tax exempt) all over the world. The Wood Group has Oil service contracts all over the world bringing profits into UK, which could come into Scotland. The North Sea profits would come into Scotland.
@Ken500
What about Wood’s fracking contracts?
Ken,
There will be a big Tory majority in 2015:
link to telegraph.co.uk
Eight months before a GE, even a popular leader of the opposition would need a 10-15 point lead at this stage, to have any chance whatsoever. And Ed Milliband? Yeah, UKIP voters just love him!
Regarding ‘Morning Call’ the woman who called in as the FM was talking, was she for real? I mean who is screening this shit at the EBC? “Oh I am all confused and I don’t know and I thought you had stood down etc” are these people a plant?
@yesindyref2:
The article is not really informative. But yeah, this delay is annoying. Some mixed approach could be taken, whereby friendly (whitelisted) IP could pass muster whereas the other one would be caught in the standard wait-and-see queue.
@Ken500: Lack of sunshine is clearly correlated with suicide and alcoholism. We depend on Sun not only for vitamin D synthesis (but we can substitute this mechanism with an adequate diet supplementation, e.g. cod liver oil) but also for a lot of internal hormones, e.g. melanin/melatonin, that regulates circadian cycles and mood. Human species was born in Africa, were Sun has never been scant. We definitely should shun the Northern- or Southernmost regions (at least during their respective Winters).
Seems to be some difference of opinion regarding Sir Ian Wood.
For what it’s worth, I believe Sir Ian Wood is a lying scum bag who only believes in putting himself and his greed before others.
@Ken500
Are you saying that Ian Wood did not contradict his own estimation earlier in the year, when he said during the campaign, that there was only 12-16 Billion barrels of extractable oil left in the North Sea?
Just to remind you – from the Wood Review (Feb 2014):
“42 billion barrels of oil and gas have already been produced from the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS), and 12 – 24 billion more could still be produced.”
Why did he say the SG “had hugely exaggerated the sum”, when they were based on his report.
Regarding his £800 million foundation – big deal, as I mentioned in a post to you a few weeks ago, taking his net wealth and my net wealth I give far more to charity as a % than he does. He still has £1.9 Billion. If he lives to be 100, that’s £63 million a year he has to spend (not counting interest). Good luck to him.
Oh, and by the way many of us who run our own businesses work(ed) 70 hour weeks.
Are we starting a Ian Wood fan club on here. Ian Wood never put a loaf of bread on my table,taking our resources & distrabuting them to other counties,does not help the poor in Scotland. Tax avoiding SCUMBAG,as to his charitable donations,another way of PAYING backhanders to further his buisness intrests.
I’m trying to come up with a snappy maybe one-sentence list to keep track of what’s happening in Westminster now they got the NO vote. Something along the lines of:
45% voted YES to have full control over our resources and get rid of Barnett for good.
55% voted NO to keep Barnett or have full control over resources while staying in the UK.
45% vote YES to have a £160 per week basic pension and the hope of getting it by the age of 66 at the latest
55% Voted NO to get a £142 a week pension, and wait until they are 67, 68, 69 … to get it
It’s not easy to get it right – any ideas?
@ronnie Anderson
No, I am certainly not going to be a member of any Ian Wood fan group. I find it odd that Ken500 thinks so highly of Ian Wood, when Ken clearly shows that he is rightly angry at Unionist deceit, in the referendum campaign. I hate to break it to Ken, but Ian Wood was very much part of the Unionist campaign.
@yesindyref2
45% voted for all powers in c18 months
55% voted for some more powers when Westminster can be persuaded to give them.
@yesindyref2
45% voted for all powers in c18 months
55% voted for some more powers when Westminster can be persuaded to give them.
@pipinghot:
Not a plant – just your typical uninformed citizen. These are the people we need to work on during the forthcoming campaigns.
She reminded me of the two numpties near the end of iPlayer’s “Frankie Boyle’s Referendum Autopsy”, I couldn’t make up my mind whether they were drunk or retarded, sadly I suspect it was the latter.
Back to the radio show: I thought that Aberdeen councillor came out of that looking like an out-of-his-depth unbriefed fool, surely he would know the FM’s reputation as a 1st class debater.
yesindyref2
vote NO and work till you drop!
@Elizabeth. 12.04
Thanks for that bit from call Kaye! I enjoyed hearing that. I can’t listen to that programme or any other Radio Scotland programme without feeling completely stressed! Thanks for giving us that wee bit
It’s difficult to get one over on Alex when he’s on form. I don’t know who his advisors were during the Referendum campaign, but if we had heard more of this kind of thing, the result might have been different!!
Ian Wood (72) is retired. Wood Group (small) fracking contracts are in the USA, where franking is legal. US fracked Gas is being imported into Grangemouth to keep Gas prices down. Scotland is using it, but doesn’t have to use it. Could use CC coal. The North Sea is best place in Europe for CC with the technology.
Getting a bit fed up with this Morag business. She’s keen to stamp on unsubstantiated theories that the referendum was rigged – fair enough, it’s not clear, so why push it, that’s a given.
(A) But what about the known breaches to the agreed purdah period when BT ignored the Edinburgh Agreement and made their unionist ‘Vows’? Right up to the wire, these ‘Vows’ were being made and repeatedly confirmed by the press and the BBC? Is Morag seriously telling us to ‘move on’ and drop this matter?
(B) What about the voluntary admission by Ruth Davidson that postal vote protocol was breached and indeed thereby, this illegal information was, to be kind about it, likely to have been of use to BT? Is Morag content that our continued passivity will see this matter happily sorted? Aye, right, so it will.
What’s probably getting up Ian Brotherhood’s nose, as with mine, is that these infringements/illegalities, will be classed as just more unsubstantiated rubbish, unless Morag, et al, take a hard look at the validity of all matters, not just some of them.
So, please, let’s forget the ‘move on’ cringe and demand action.
The Telegraph would give a Tory 1% lead. Tory/Labour are reported 50/50.
Diet in Finland is healthiest in the world. Lots of fish etc. Drink is rationed and expensive which gives a good health outcome. Still the highest suicide rate. No sunshine vitamin D.
Anent Sir Ian Wood I would like to quote Lord Braxfield;
“There’e nae doot yer a clever chiel but ye’ll be nane the waur o a hanging”
@pipinghot – I heard that as well – she sounded really old, probably very set in her ways – she was obviously hoping it was the last she would hear of Alex – what a wee shame cos I think we’re going to hear more from him than ever – gloves off.
Also thought it was a hoot when Alex said – so nice to see you Kay(e) at such and such and she had to reply – Oh yes nice to see you as well – bet she nearly choked.
Scunner: She was intelligent enough to dial the number and get through to the programme but the way she went on I am surprised she new which room the phone was in to use it. I am sceptical about this. Surely the EBC reception asked her if she had a point to make when put on air. ” Do you have a point to make madam, no, well that’s fine then, your on now”
Re Ian Wood – I’m on the side of he’s a lying, greedy scumbag.
The guy’s a multi- millionaire who as far as I am aware does not pay tax in Scotland – how much more money does that greedy wanker need?
AuldA
Yes, it’s not the greatest. It’s the idea of multiple servers though, which I guess are refreshed kind of like RAID which can be set to just backup, or splitting the load. I’ve used handcoded IPTABLES to block IP addresses – there’s some nuisance keyword searches designed to see how good you are, and then sell that to your competitors!
I’ve taken the usual measures to secure my dedicated server, but not even done much with the RAID I have to configure it – it’s default. I’m guessing though that caching uses forwarding of selected HTTP traffic I or O, so that perhaps the “master” server always takes input, whereas output is directed to a slave server. Something like that.
I guess output traffic could get forwarded on a dynamically updated IP address table so that first time for the IP address gets to the main server, whereas repeats get forwarded to the slave(s), hence DDOS protection for the master server which is then rate-limited.
I have a lot to learn, and only one lifetime!
@Ken500:
Vitamin D is only required to turn ingested calcium ions into apatite (bones). If you absorb too much vitamin D, you begin to calcify normally soft tissues like joints. Overdose of vitamin D is therefore toxic.
Maybe you failed also to mention that the retail of fire arms, especially hunting rifles, is (almost) uncontrolled in Finland.
Oh aye, as pages get bigger (long threads) there would be more fetches and perhaps that’s triggering the rate-limiter even for the one visitor access.
@ AuldA
“@Midgehunter:
Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit. That’s the German motto, isn’t it?”
No, it’s the first line of the official German National Anthem (Das Deutschland Lied) from 1841:
“Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit
für das deutsche Vaterland!”
“Unity and Rights and Freedom for the German Fatherland.”
It is actually the third verse, but the first verse with “Deutschland über alles” in it is forbidden in Germany because of its connections and misuse bei the n**i party and out of respect for the victims of the wars.
Ian Wood was asked by UK/Scottish Gov to make Reports. Ian Wood has been saying for 40 years the Oil will run out. Most people just ignore it. Alex Kemp used to predict the Oil was running out. Although there were different models. Every prediction has been wrong.
Contractors (including Wood Group) earn £300 a day and have stand by rates. £100K a year. They go three holidays and drive four x fours. Ie electricians etc. The idea that they are exploited?
The catering staff earn less but they are classed as unskilled and Union rates are less.
Barontorc
i agree peoples voices need to be heard, and not herded.
i agree with ian brotherhood.
on a different topic a blog post from johnny void re UC and 0hr contracts.
link to johnnyvoid.wordpress.com
@Barontorc
Say rigging was proved – there is hee-haw that is ever going to be done in response. Do you honestly believe WM will ever allow an indyRef recount or re-run? Purdah breaches or postal protocol breaches – proved or not are still not going to change the outcome. Would proof or admission of dishonesty make you feel better? Personally I don’t see why we should waste any energy on this.
We need to accept the fact that WM screwed us and concentrate on using their broken system to our advantage. Concentrate on 2015GE/2016SE with independence our final and hopefully not-too-distant goal.
scunner
good point.
i firmly believe that all our energies will sharply focus in due course.
just needs time.
Ian Wood obviously doesn’t need much money as he is giving it all away, to the young and most vulnerable.
If shootIng rifles were not available in Finland. They could use other methods.
In the US 18K people are shoot in homicide cases. 26k homicides a year in total.
@muttley79, the way that praise was going thats what I thought, but there again most of us Wingers are more aware,FFS 70hr weeks how many double shifts did he do Not many I suspect, ah wonder if he suffers from athritis like some of his minions Scums to kind a word in his case.
‘Ken500 says:
3 October, 2014 at 2:18 pm
Ian Wood was asked by UK/Scottish Gov to make Reports. Ian Wood has been saying for 40 years the Oil will run out. Most people just ignore it. Alex Kemp used to predict the Oil was running out. Although there were different models. Every prediction has been wrong.
Contractors (including Wood Group) earn £300 a day and have stand by rates. £100K a year. They go three holidays and drive four x fours. Ie electricians etc. The idea that they are exploited?
The catering staff earn less but they are classed as unskilled and Union rates are less.’
AH, so he is merely just being honest before the referendum? He chose to speak openly and VERY publicly citing that not only were the oil predictions made by numerous bodies wrong, but that an independent scotland would have a massive blackhole due to these predictions being wrong, which is complete nonsense of course.
Wood Group have won UK fracking licences in the UK.
WOOD GROUP HAVE NOT BEEN PAYING PROPER CORPORATION TAX ON THEIR PROFITS, WHAT IS SO DIFFCULT TO UNDERSTAND!?
And perhaps you should come up to Aberdeen mate, Wood Group are now only employing staff people, have just announced HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS of £ profit, which of course, they won’t be paying tax on and are driving down the salaries of these experienced engineers. It’s neo-liberalism and you need to open your eyes.
Ian Wood is in the papers every week up here talking about various POLITICAL issues, he should be a fucking politician. He is a Tory.
ynicalHighlander says:
“55% voted for some more powers when Westminster can be persuaded to give them.”
This is only a guess, but could be …
15% voted No to abolish or diminish Holyrood
25% voted No for status quo or DevoWeeBitMore
15% voted No for DevoMax/Home Rule
Whatever the breakdown, there is a No spectrum from full-on anti-Scottish, through to Home Rule as promised.
And, at the Home Rule end there are going to be a lot of disappointed voters who will vote Yes next time!
@Midgehunter:
Vielen Dank für die Erklärungen.
…Germany because of its connections and misuse bei the…
Charming mistake!
@yesindyref2:
That sounds reasonable. The master server handles POST requests, and therefore stores the new comments into the database; regularly, the database is replicated on slaves which serve the simple HTTP requests. That with dynamic IP redirection maybe, and IP blockade if too frequent requests are received. I’d have to think about it. The web servers I administer have never been subjected to any attack, so I didn’t have to think too hard about this.
I am not sure you can do that with PF, though I never tried.
‘Ian Wood is giving money away to the most vulnerable’
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAH
That’s a belter, are you actually a troll?
Flower of Scotland @ 2pm I think keeping the FM away from the front line in the referendum was a very deliberate move, because they knew he was being demonized, and for some reason his popularity polling is not great. I love the guy, as I love seeing passion and intelligence, but some people really resent it. Can you honestly find a No voter who does not denigrate him on a personal level?
I did’nt know George Osbourne was a Sailor IOD convention a wummin saying he has a safe pair of hands on the Tiller & he has a another pair of hands in the TAXPAYERS TILL.
Barontorc
Morag was stamping on widespread vote rigging, not A) purdah or B) postal ballot “sampling”.
It’s already been reported and posted about B) that there were already proposals to tighten up on it, not implemented for the Referendum though. Ruth Davidson and so on will inevitably lead to even tighter tightening and faster implementation, not something atually welcomed apparently by some in the SNP. Draw your own conclusions. There were also unsubstaniated reports that YES did it, same as NO; they had identical opportunity to the NOes as no postal ballots were opened without (2 days advance) invitation to attend to both campaigns.
A) is also easy. The EC made it clear that purdah was “binding” on the Scottish Government, but not the UK one. In the spirit of the Edinburgh Agreement, Hague stood up in the Commons and said “this is not Government policy”, hence putting it back to political party policy which doesn’t break purdah.
There is no question Wood is a Tory arse licker. He was hoping to get a prime role in a regulatory body for oil, under the UK govt.
Valerie says:
“I think keeping the FM away from the front line in the referendum was a very deliberate move”
It was very difficult for YesScotland to devise a strategy to get people with very differing backgrounds and politics to vote Yes. I’m sure playing down AS was one.
It is worth considering that on the day, Yes was actually stronger in the Labour heartland than in the SNP heartland. I don’t intend this as criticsm of anyone, however that reality needs to be thought about for next time!
@ Ken 500 do yourself a faviour BELT THE FUCK UP on the Ian Wood platatudes.
@ AuldA
😉 yes that’s what happens when you speak several languages..!
Wait till you see my Danois, tak.
Pensioners should not be pilloried because they support the Union. The fact they support the status quo shows they are doing OK. Even if they could do better with Ihdependence and could be better informed.
@Midgehunter:
Jeg kan också pratar lite svenska!
Ha det bra!
Ian Wood is a tory right enough. But he is such greedy bastard he won’y donate any money to the tory party.
A new refinery is being built at Grangemouth to harbour US fracked Gas.
ISIS were undercutting oil prices selling oil for $60 a barrel, undercutting US fracked Gas. Obama/Cameron created ISIS. They funded, armed and supported them for two years in Syria, but would not pay the ransom.
@Ken 500 on the subject of Guns why dont you shoot yourself with a Baw of your own Shite.
This persons a waste of space on here to incite, sorry people I forgot he,s a Troll.
I think the troll has been fed enough.
Bye Ken!
Ronnie Anderson is a legend
The unique shed is an inspiration
Ian Wood (72) is retired but did recommend a regulatory body based in Aberdeen. Oil & Gas producers have predicted Oil resources for 50/100 years.
AuldA
Yes, I’ve just got my own server for my own websites. I don’t think I’ve been DDOSed, maybe too small a target. Just the usual regular brute force SSH and so on, for which I have personalised measures as well as the normal ones. I did / do a lot of the iptables blocking from looking through the access logs.
Ian Wood
No doubt he was used to help destroy the Indy vote, no doubt at all in my mind, just from sheer timing as much as anything else. He’s a diehard Unionist, one of the 15% down from 30%, and dropping. But he does feature in the giving lists, and has his own family foundation, which pursues a lot of charitable causes.
All you NO voting pensioners are you seeing this. This is what you voted for. Hell mend you. Do not dare complain.
link to mirror.co.uk
Oh for goodness sake, here we go again. There’s a whole thread about problems with the referendum vote, and the very idea of going over it all again gives me a headache.
I was criticising the unfounded, wild conspiracy theories of widespread systematic interference with the voting papers, on the scale that would have been necessary to change a Yes win into a 10%+ lead for No. That’s all.
Of course there was small-scale fiddling. We know there were some cases of personation in Glasgow. It’s a sure thing there were people on the electoral register at addresses in Scotland, whose normal place of residence is not in Scotland. It’s even possible some fictitious people were registered, at either real or fictitious addresses. And just who helps senile, demented residents of care homes fill in their ballots?
None of that could have swung a Yes majority to a 10% lead for No. Some of the people who registered at their parents’ homes or holiday homes probably even voted Yes! It’s the sort of petty fraud that might swing a closely-fought council ward, but it ain’t going to amount to hundreds of thousands of votes.
Should these things be addressed? Of course they should. But don’t run away with the idea that Yes would have won the referendum if Tommy who moved to a new job in Manchester three years ago hadn’t asked his Dad to keep his name on the electoral register.
Ruth and the postal vote sampling is another thing that can’t have made any serious difference. She revealed a breach of secrecy, not vote tampering. And would that the No campaign had allowed that sampling exercise to guide their behaviour during the final two weeks. They’d have sat back and done very little. Instead they paid attention to their internally-commissioned opinion polls, which showed a surge for Yes that could take it to 53%.
As to the worst of it, I’m as incensed about the breaking of purdah and the Vow as anyone else around here. I’m blazing furious. And about the napalming of fear tactics that terrified our pensioners. That’s why the vote-rigging conspiracy theories annoy me so much.
The terror tactics and the empty, false promises are what we should be up in arms about. Instead we have fruitloops pushing allegations that votes were deliberately put into the wrong piles on a massive scale and that tellers sat at the count filling in No ballots and adding them to the piles. The newer ones suggest that polling clerks, drivers and everyone involved in running the referendum (many of whom would inevitably have been Yes voters themselves) were bribed on a massive scale, so that substitute ballot boxes were sent to the counts rather than the actual papers where we put our crosses.
It’s delusional. It makes us all look like a bunch of crazies, and it prevents the people who embrace it from coming to terms with what really happened – that we were outgunned by Project Fear and the Vow.
So please, if you want to have a go, have a go at what I’ve actually said, not at something you only imagine I’ve said.
Sorry folks, got caught short today when i was out with the Mrs.
The nearest available loo was in Asda. I hang my head in shame.
Can you forgive me?
@yesindyref2: For SSH it is easy. I have changed the port number the daemon listens on, and all attacks suddenly have vanished.
Driving down the remuneration of engineers? What planet are some people on? Qualified engineers start at £50 an hour and there is a shortage. Electricians with some experience get £300 a day and high stand by rates. They get £100K a year+ and overseas contractors pay no UK tax.
Those ‘poor’ contractors. They go from company to company for better rates. Google earth the Oil offices. The North East rivals London for wages.
Ken500 – re Finland – have you actually been there or do you know any Finnish people? Because you are so wide of the mark it suggest not.
Finland does NOT have the highest suicide rate in the world by a long shot. It’s rate is 0.016% – marginally higher than the UK’s 0.012%. And the suicide rates there having NOTHING to do with sunshine or vitamin D – there is no proven link.
Having just been there I can assure that alcohol is essentially as freely available as it is in Scotland and the alcohol consumption is MORE in Finland than in the UK (in litres of pure alcohol consumed it’s 23.6 in Finland versus 18.9 in the UK for men; 11.8 versus 8.5 for women).
Gun homicides in Finland are less than in Belgium; half as much as Portugal (where there is lots of sunshine by the way) and Switzerland; only marginally more than Denmark; and more than 10x lower than the USA.
Please deal in facts rather than hyperbole.
Excellent thoughtful writing here….
link to anotherangryvoice.blogspot.co.uk
Willie – we will forgive you only if it was a Number 2 – he he
@willie fae kilwinning –
Aye, so long as you pished on their carrots.
@Morag:
I don’t want to interfere in any way, and am personally convinced you’re right and no generalized fraud could have given place. But don’t you think it’d be saner and safer for you just to ignore those posts right now? There are obviously especially targeted at you.
As the French saying goes: “There is no worst deaf than one who does not want to hear.”
Alex Salmond’s ‘phone in’ on morning call with Kaye Adams :
link to bbc.co.uk
Absolutely brilliant. Gifford’ll be sitting on a soft cushion for a day or two, methinks.
No one in the Oil industry bothers with what Ian Wood says. Neither did the Referendum vote. The vote was going to be 60% YES, until the ‘Vow’ Cameron/Clegg and Brown. According to Ashcroft exit Polls – 1/4 of NO voters voted NO because of the promise of more powers.
Ken500
I suspect, having watched him on TV, Ian Wood is at times, not the full barrel of oil. Sad. 72, looks older.
AuldA
Yes, good idea, I should do that as well, never quite got around to it! I did do it to Webmin though. Still, the 1000 or so messages do tell me when attacks are going on which is good at least for info, and having a look at where the attacking IP address(s) is/are via a RIPE query or uceprotect.net check.
‘Ken500 says:
3 October, 2014 at 3:32 pm
Driving down the remuneration of engineers? What planet are some people on? Qualified engineers start at £50 an hour and there is a shortage. Electricians with some experience get £300 a day and high stand by rates. They get £100K a year+ and overseas contractors pay no UK tax.
Those ‘poor’ contractors. They go from company to company for better rates. Google earth the Oil offices. The North East rivals London for wages.’
Ken, I work in the Oil Industry.
The contractors are being forced out at WOOD GROUP. They are being scared into taking staff positions. This is in spite of Wood Group making huge profits. And btw HRMC have made it a lot more difficult for contractors working abroad but living in UK, to pay no tax.
Qualified Engineers do not start at £50 per hour.
Stop speaking pish.
And people do listen to what he has to say, namely half the onshore workers in Aberdeen, they live in a bubble and hang on his every fkn word, again, maybe you should come up here.
Enlighten us all with your quick google searches.
Sigh, maybe you’re right, AuldA. I’m just fed up with the witch-hunt by the Wings posting police, who seem to think it’s unacceptable to criticise people who are seriously alleging that the vast majority of the polling station and counting staff were bribed to switch ballot papers or boxes.
Morag
will you please stop diagnosing people.
people who voted yes did the right thing.
all i am hearing from you is what will the neighbours think.
people need to get their feelings of being cheated by rigged ballot count off their chests.
i also happen to think and agree with you that the ballot count was carried out superbly.
Anyone remember the pre-referendum scare stories that we all thought far too far fetched to be believed by Scottiah voters?
I just got told about a Daily Star headline story by an former NO voter at me garden gate today. If people believe this Daily Star headline then the idea that Maggie Thatcher is alive and well, living in Auchtermuchty and preaches in the Kirk there is believable by some, (With ref – to, “The Deil cam tae Muchty legend).
Check out this Daily Star story for yourselves –
link to archive.today
The Auchtermuchty legend of the deil preaching in Muchty kirk is certainly more believable than that daft Star story. They have even headlined it three times this week.
Scottish Labour’s chances in May’s General Electon.
Grim reading for those up here and at HQ in London.
John McAllion former Labour MP and now a member of SSP:—
link to scottishsocialistvoice.wordpress.com
Qualified engineers start at £50 an hour and there is a shortage. Fact. Engineers are being forced out of the Wood Group. Rubbish. Contractors go from company to company for better rates. They can’t get enough skilled workers. They come from overseas. Everybody in the Oil industry knows that. The Wood Group operates in 50 countries and employs 44,000 staff. The Wood Group will be paying UK corporate tax on it’s North Sea operations. That’s where the UK Gov gets £Billions of NS Oil tax revenues.
Morag, As always (Well most times) you add a sensible contribution. I totally agree with you regarding the nonsense of Vote Fraud.
However I do believe that we were cheated as the UN Declaration of Human Rights states that there should be no outside interference in a peoples right for self determination.
Most of Better Together,Cameron, Clegg, Vote no borders, Europe, German Banks, Obama, Canada, et al amounted to outside interference in our democratic process, we cannot and will not lie down and accept this.
@Morag:
Cut yourself some slack. Your (obvious and lavish) energy and enthusiasm will be needed for future causes.
@chalks:
Geez. As a telecom/computer engineer with twenty years of experience I get, let me see, around £80 per day (net). Granted, I don’t work as an engineer (and almost never had). Sometimes, methinks I should reconsider.
Now the ‘poor’ contractors are being forced into taking staff positions? Before they were being forced into contractor status? Not.
Lenny Hartley said:
I’m absolutely in agreement with this. However, is there any practical prospect of doing anything about it? I would certainly support any moves to take matters further on this basis.
Yesindyref2,
The Edinburgh agreement, whilst saying the purdah rules were binding upon the Scot Government, it also said that the UK government had agreed as per the agreement to do likewise. In essence the Ed agreement meant the same for both sides.
The UK Government repeatedly broke the Edinburgh agreement on many, many levels. The requirements for balance within the media was obviously just ignored by every single UK newspaper and broadcaster.
A bit annoyed that the Scot Gov has not been shouting as such from the rooftops, because let’s face it if it had been the other way around, and YES had won, then the UK Gov would have simply stated, not fair, you broke the rules, result doesn’t count.
Forget ballot rigging, the reason why the referendum result is NOT the ‘setled will’, is simply because of the repeated breaches of the Ed agreement by the NO campaign, Labour, the UK Government and the media.
It was, quite frankly an affront to democracy, a lesson which dictators all over the world will have watched, with considerable interest.
steveasaneilean
Finland’s a “tall” country, and there’s a big difference between the South and North in terms of daylight over winter. Helsinki isn’t far off say Thurso or Wick, whereas way up north compared to Helsinki is the difference between say Frankfurt and Edinburgh.
I knew people from the north many years ago, very pale faced, and they said depression was a big problem. And when I was working in Sweden, it was a standard joke but kind of real, that some people got on the ferries between Finland and Sweden and never bothered getting off because of the cheap strong booze.
Anyway, that was interesting?!
Ken500 says…Ken you must know a different Ian Wood from the one I know and played rugby with and against a long time ago. Ian Wood in 1979 stated that if it was a Yes in the devolution vote he would move his operations to London. He stated recently that he would be worried for his children and grandchildren’s future if it was a YES in 2014, this a man who gave each of his sons £100 million, I should have their worries. Mr Wood was an arts graduate, a consummate businessman, but wouldn’t know an oil reservoir or how to operate one if he fell over it, basically he ran a very large employment agency. The Wood Family Trust is managed from a six storey office block in Aberdeen and I think that is enough said about Woody.
Ken500
Anyway, I always appreciated your fact postings in the Guardian over the 3 years almost of the Indy Ref 1 campaign. Helped to keep people focussed perhaps.
link to archive.today
Proof, the guardian disnae ken its erse fae its Alba
AuldA
ha det bare bra
Pronounced in Norske
Barry braw and means the same in scots
Re yesterday’s discussion about NATO, have a read of valéry giscard d’estaing autobiography, it gives a real insight in to Frances nuclear deterant
I was in Tromso last summer, and the tour guide said that about 20 to 25% of the population suffer from seasonal affective disorder. They have a major research project on the go.
Makes you think.
Google (or whatever) John Wood Group profit/tax
Profit before tax – 130.0
Tax 35.5
Profits for year. 94.5
25% tax
chalks
Yes, I read about that with the HMRC. It used to be a straightforward 183 day rule at midnight, but now they take into account where the kids go to school, where the social life is, club memberships, anything they can do to tie people to the UK – barely within double taxation rules (and apparently sometimes not).
Morag
What can I say? Some people like Irn Bru, some Coke. Some like Fanta, and it’s best just to leave people to be Irn Bruists, Cokists and enjoy the other one too 🙂
Twice banned from Scotsman, twice banned from Guardian
Deleted and banned from Bateman (very BBCish)
Yer no bad yersel yesindyref2
According to Company House Wood Group pays 25% tax.
North Sea expro is paying £50/hour BUT you need a good BEng, at least 10 years experience and no bullshit. It’s a classic free market Snatcher Thatcher price spike. No planning, no forecast investment, what there is comes only chasing barrell price and Ian Wood wants a new regulator in much the same way the Mafia want a new Interpol.
Ian Wood either lied to kids that they have a job for life in Not Scots oil or he lied to the whole of Scotland about reserves running out in 15 years. Either way, there’s no pockets in your shroud Sir Ian, you mega rich capitalist from hell or heaven depending on how you voted:D
Again, check out Stat oil and Norway and BP and the Scotland region. Triumph and tragedy, depends on your vote 18th Sept 2014.
Geezo, never thought I’d have to bring work into this place! Right, what you guys are referring to by “Master server” is a reverse proxy such as nginx. Your Original Content Servers (OCS) are going to deliver content back through it on request. You might have a whole farm or even multiple farms across the world using DNS as a form of redirection to the nearest one.
Common practice is to use the X-FORWARDED-FOR HTTP header included in the request from the reverse proxy so your webservers can still know where the request really came from. Your reverse proxy will handle the load-balancing and any method of persistence for returning clients.
But you’re not going to get anything other than the most basic protection from a DDoS using this. You’re going to want a dedicated appliance – commercial grade firewall which is going to have a table logging the SYN requests per source IP in a set period of time before then dropping subsequent packets from this offending IP address. Your Check Point, Juniper firewalls will cover this as an additional IPS-type feature. If you’re really serious, you’re going to pay a 4-or-5-figure monthly sum to your ISP for cloud based protection using something from a specialist like Arbor networks.
Ultimately, all the above will do is spare the load from either your servers or your end of the pipe from your ISP. So your website might still be up, it’s just a shame the internet can’t get to it. DDoSing a blog site isn’t worthwhile except for pocket money. DDoS is an extortion tool, pay me £100K or I take down your precious gambling site etc.
And will someone please go and find the real Ken500!
@Schrödinger’s cat – is this the guardian pretending they care about Scotland or just another – aren’t they quaint.
‘Ken500 says:
3 October, 2014 at 4:00 pm
Qualified engineers start at £50 an hour and there is a shortage. Fact. Engineers are being forced out of the Wood Group. Rubbish. Contractors go from company to company for better rates. They can’t get enough skilled workers. They come from overseas. Everybody in the Oil industry knows that. The Wood Group operates in 50 countries and employs 44,000 staff. The Wood Group will be paying UK corporate tax on it’s North Sea operations. That’s where the UK Gov gets £Billions of NS Oil tax revenues.’
Ken, Wood Group are losing projects in the North Sea, left right and centre, they are more interested in overseas work.
There is no shortage of oil workers, it’s a myth. Hundreds of job losses this year, hardly says there is a skills shortage.
Ian Wood buys into the unstable tax regime of westminster that likes peaks and troughes.
I never said the contractors were poor, what I AM saying and something that you seem to not be taking on board, is that wg are cutting rates across the board and forcing people to go staff and thus increasing their profit margins.
Contractors are not going to company to company anymore, Ian Wood has led to rate cuts and now every company are trying to maintain their profit levels for shareholders whilst to the detriment of the workers.
It’s fairly simple.
If you believe in an equal society and wage disparity to lessen then you would understand what I am saying, corporations like Wood Group and the people that run it, are getting richer, to the detriment of the workers.
@AuldA – Not everyone in Aberdeen working in the oil industry earns what Ken thinks they earn ; )
It might be difficult to move a 50 country 44,000 staff – NS operater to London. Ian Wood has always stayed in Aberdeen, so can’t be a tax exile. Tried to give the City £80Million which the SNP and majority were happy to receive. Pity about the Unionists. The SNP and majority worked on the UTG project.
Didn’t move to London after Devolution.
Rather whimsically, the media historically has painted Tommy Sheriden as a baddie.
Thanks to the media’s bs against the YES campaign, my wife and I have decided to visit the guys rally in Glasgow on the 12th.
Never been to anything like this before.
Ken, they won’t be employing 44,000 staff this time next year. Trust me.
Robert Louis
I totally agree the NO campaign was unfairly run from beginning to end, and affected the result. Though there is reasonable belief that much of it backfired and actually increased the YES vote. Hard, real hard, NOes I talked to didn’t believe one word that came out of BT, and many would be happy if the body-sntatchers took Osborne away with them, and many of his cronies.
For the Edinburgh agreement there’s a good article from 2012 by Christine Bell, quoted by AS in Holyrood, who later (if I remember rightly) turned from neutral to YES.
“Christine Bell: The Legal Status of the ‘Edinburgh Agreement'”
link to scottishconstitutionalfutures.org
link to oilc.org
link to theguardian.com
He has no need to move to London, he has an office on Guernsey so has access to the spiders web of tax avoidance.
Just like all the rest.
They also recently moved all agency contractors, against their will, to their own custom agency, who is based guess where?
Guernsey!
What a life.
Ken 500. Twice banned from Scotsman, twice banned from guardian
Wimp
Banned 16 times from the guardian
Being one of the undead has its advantages
Well, yes. All this started because I made a somewhat derogatory comment about the “Butterfly Rebellion” conspiracy theory blog. It was more of an aside than anything. In the context of the sort of thing that gets said on Wings, it wasn’t out of the ordinary.
But hey, I couldn’t just be left to be an IrnBru-ist, could I? Two hours later the Thought Police decided it was necessary to pile in on me with the most patronising and judgemental instructions not to criticise that blog.
So, maybe you’re aiming that comment at the wrong person here?
Jake Molly Trade Union Leader of Oil Gas Workers.
I’VE said it before and I’ll say it again: I don’t deal with too many good news stories.
Sadly it’s the nature of the job. We offer advice and support to workers who feel they have been treated unfairly or who have been injured in the course of their employment. None of that normally makes for good news.
In providing this service we need to confront employers.
In the first instance we aim to talk matters through with a view, where at all possible, to avoid any unpleasantness in the form of lengthy grievances, disputes or legal action.
After all, it makes sense to get an individual back to work as soon as practically possible and – in the event of a collective issue – look to negotiate an outcome acceptable to the affected group.
There’s nothing new in any of this and most readers will assume this is straightforward trade union representation.
However, I can tell you there is nothing straightforward about an Aberdeen-based trade union office trying to deal with employers based in Singapore, Cyprus, Sharjah, or Barbados.
To illustrate what I mean, take the number of emails and calls we’ve had over the last week or two from employees of Wood Group PSN.
I guess, for many readers of this article, and especially those in and around Aberdeen, there aren’t many institutions more deeply rooted in the north-east than the Wood Group (WG).
A north-east loon made good, in the form of Sir Ian Wood, whose business empire is scattered throughout each and every industrial estate around the city and beyond.
So it will no doubt come as a surprise to many Aberdonians to learn that, in fact, very few workers employed offshore by the company are employed out of Aberdeen.
In the last couple of weeks all offshore employees of WG have been notified they are transferring employment to Singapore.Yes, all North Sea employees will have managers halfway around the world who will deal with their pay problems, disciplinary and grievance matters and every other aspect of their employment.
But I shouldn’t be too hard on WG because they’re only doing what virtually every other employer in the North Sea has already done.
The fact is that every helicopter which flies over the city will almost certainly be full of workers employed from a country other than the UK.
From Philadelphia to the Philippines, Sharjah to Singapore, Cyprus to Curacao, the UK North Sea worker is today employed from every corner of the globe.
And the reason for this? Well I’d call it simple tax avoidance.
However, like the cases of Starbucks, Amazon and Google recently, all that WG and the rest are doing is using the system.
Offshore employers need only show that workers are employed from Singapore or wherever and at a stroke they avoid having to pay Employers National Insurance (NI) contributions.
That’s around 13 per cent of payroll. So take 25,000 workers on an average of £40,000 a year, that’s about £5000 a year in NI.
Now you begin to see the level of savings available to the North Sea employers.
It’s well in excess of £125million a year, which would otherwise find its way into the National Insurance fund servicing the NHS, pensions, care and welfare etc.
Illegal? No. Immoral? In my opinion yes.
And as I said at the outset, we already have a difficult job providing a service.
By transferring people to Singapore or wherever makes our job even more difficult.
Most difficult of all though is having to tell workers that without a change in the law or widespread trade union opposition, stopping employers doing this is the most difficult job of all.
Heid
North Sea expro is paying £50/hour
Wouldn’t get out of my bed for that
link to facebook.com
Threats to human rights coming from Westminster
Fri, 03/10/2014 – 16:20
The Westminster Tory Justice Secretary Chris Grayling has published long awaited proposals for the future of human rights in the UK which include the repeal the Human Rights Act after the next election and a threat to completely remove the UK from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
Pete Wishart MP, SNP Home Affairs spokesperson commented:
“This Tory assault on human rights laws is just another sign of how deep the panic is about the rise of the Euro-sceptic right at Westminster – but the reality is these proposals threaten to undermine even the most basic rights. Planning to pull the UK out of the European Court of Human Rights should alarm everyone who cares about these often hard fought for rights and would leave the UK as a pariah in Europe.
“The proposals fail to even mention or explain how they would apply to Scotland. A Tory government at Westminster unelected by Scotland will attempt to force this on the people of Scotland and we cannot allow that to happen. Human rights are central to the laws of Scotland – and we should be doing everything we possibly can to ensure that the threat posed by these Tory plans is ended and human rights remain in place for everyone.
“It is becoming increasingly clear as the next election approaches that Westminster’s vow to listen to Scotland is being swept away in a tide of knee jerk politics – whether it is unfunded tax cuts against a backdrop of continuing cuts and austerity – or this assault on the Human Rights Act and threats to withdraw from the ECHR. “
Norway has a near trillion dollar state oil pension fund. We have a old billionaire like Ian Wood. But hey, 55% say that’s fine. I used to contract for the delightful man and am just glad to still be here because a lot of guys are not.
Jake Molly Trade Union Leader of Oil Gas Workers
The same jake Malloy who sold out the workers by accepting a deal for the 300 during the enquiry into the HAD working time directive 12 hrs before the court was about to anounce it’s decision, the only legal pronouncement anywhere about this legislation was shelved.
OILC was disbanded shortly after ands molloy was given a plum job in the RMT for his”…..efforts
He leads no one, but himself, he is a unionist stooge. Typical labour crony
@ Morag.
Why don’t yopu list the subjects I can’t post about. It will be easier for my if I just knew.
Morag
Oh dear, I only mentioned the BR thing as it had kicked off a bit after they’d said something about Wings needing a nap. Quite a few are saying the tone of BR is a bit off… Sorry I mentioned it and my foray into commenting has inadvertently caused you some grief 😮 who knew?!
Ken500
Posted as dadsarmy on guardian until I gave up on it!
Schroedinger’s cat
Desperate article on the Guardian, from the timescale looks more like the A74 and the A9 going through Bankfoot! Service stations, mmm. Like the signpost though, lovely bit of fast single-track road from past the Polochar Inn to Daliburgh.
Dads, the guardian has been desperate since so many said goodbye last week,
They said circ in Scotland was 18,000 2days later the official figures released that it was just over 11,000
The unionist trolls btp put the daily mail to shame
I stopped posting because it was pointed out that the yes camp may have been responsible for getting the nos to turn out as well. Come May, I hope the nos are back fast asleep
link to bbc.co.uk. But when we spoke to Jake Molloy, who spent 17 years working offshore and is now the regional organiser for the RMT trade union, which represents oil workers, he had more questions for us than we had for him. For Jake, the uncertainties surrounding possible independence are almost infinite. How would the oil industry be taxed in an independent Scotland? Would the multinational companies that run many of the platforms take fright? What would be the impact on the scores of workers from elsewhere – including England, Wales and Northern Ireland? The 26,000 people, who spent weeks at a time on the rigs in the North Sea, are asking these questions, Jake told us. There are hundreds of thousands working in, or supporting, the industry at large.
Malloy was against independence, it was his own workers who told him to ram it
Hey Morag, you got me wrong. Lovers of Fanta would be – Fantasists!
And I agree about the “Butterfly Rebellion” blog or webpgae of facebook whatever it is. I couldn’t read more than a couple of paragraphs before feeling violently ill, almost put me off my tea, well, I did say almost. It’s a shame they kidnapped McAlpine’s great “1000 butterflies against a gun” for, well, I’ll say no more.
Heard a more than ever members YES group last night wondering what to call YES next, should they go for a butterfy badge. I didn’t have the heart to tell them.
According to Companies House Wood Group pay 25% tax on UK? Profits. The going rate.
Google (or whatever) it,
@ Schrödinger’s cat says:
3 October, 2014 at 4:37 pm
Banned 16 times from the guardian
Wimp
I am banned from the Telegraph, BBC and the Herald, old and new.
Faux cu—say it fast enough
Bugger Lugs
Trotteur and
Bugger (the Panda)
Am I bovvered?
Am I fuck.
Their loss.
Thanks for that chalks, very illuminating. I guess if they’re actually working outside the 12 nm limit is it, they aren’t UK-based. Something similar to what even Calmac can do on some routes, though I think they don’t. I vaguely remember they threatened to do something like that though. Didn’t take much notice of it. I’ll have to look it up, as I’m thinking there are some offshore benefits for ferry staff I meant to check out for interest.
@Ken500
This isnot the first time that you have chosen to defend and enemy of democracy that is Ian Wood. Their is no doubt whatsover that his late intervention in querying the SG figures for oil revenue directly affected the result of the referendum even if just by a small amount.
What sticks in the craw though is that his late statement directly contradicted his own report and the message he was shown in on the BBC in 2012. The man, if nothing else is a hypocrite of the highest order and why you feel the need to support him to the hilt deserts me.
I know nothing of your business or relationship with Ian Wood but in your defence of him, then you too come across as nothing more than an acolyte and also a hypocrite.
I’d suggest you take a break and reassess your own priorities, they most certainly are not the same as mine and appear to be as the PR man for the Wood Group. Unworthy.
I went back to the BR site to see what they’d said about Wings but couldn’t find it. Not all the articles were as mad as the first few, but not my cup of tea.
About ten days ago I asked the chairman of our local Yes group, who has a badge-maker, if he would make me a butterfly badge. He said sure, send me the picture file. I made the file and saved it, but didn’t get round to sending it that minute. I was also thinking about a butterfly twibbon.
Then I found that blog. Bugger.
I’m thinking spiders….
@ Schrodinger’s cat 3 October, 2014 at 4.47 pm
LOL
Twice banned – don’t go back.
Cat’s have 9 lives
Schrödinger’s cat
Posted there for the first time for a long time, just for the fun of it. I did notice before that abies alba was back, having been chased off, not by me strangely enough, but I think by ysabelle. I vaguely remember heed waving his spear about over her avatar 🙂
Strangely enough I was I think the only one who didn’t take abies alba as a troll, I think she was attacked early on by a horde of “nationalists”, probably including me, and took the huff. I suspect she’s actually genuine!
I don’t think I’d worry about turning out the NO vote, the whole point was to get a huge turnout as that was thought to favour YES from the beginning. The NOes would have turned out anyway, as they are establishment and faithfuly turnout most Westminster elections, especially the older ones. They’d have been there, and the NOes would have been a higher %age, not less.
I think that was put about by the NOes originally, trying to shut us media posters up. Well, sod that for a game of soldiers!
@Morag says: 3 October, 2014 at 4:06 pm:
“I’m absolutely in agreement with this. However, is there any practical prospect of doing anything about it? I would certainly support any moves to take matters further on this basis.”
Morag, I’m almost certain I came across a, “Council Of Europe”, article, while I was looking for something else. I made a mental note to check it out later. It stated they take up cases of interference in elections, referenda and such like and in particular by State Broadcasters.
However, I have since searched for it but got bogged down in the welter of information of such a large organisation. In particular I wanted to find who, what or how to go about bringing a complaint to their notice. I have no idea if it needs an official party/government/ council complaint or if ordinary citizens of countries/unions/kingdoms/states could do so.
Links : –
link to hub.coe.int
link to european-council.europa.eu
James Caithness
The second Independence Referendum, which will be coming to our screens real soon now! And how to win it 🙂
Btp ha
I got band from the Sunday post
Beat that
Morag
It was Yes Shetland that flagged it up yesterday… I think Buster got in aboot them!
Are the French having their own referendum,why would john lewis chief say this other than to sway the vote to the noes.
link to newhub.shafaqna.com
I think the only one who didn’t take abies alba as a troll,
I tried to dads”…….kept falling asleep or losing the will to live
Faux cu—say it fast enough
Bugger Lugs
Say what’s on yer mind btp
@Schrödinger’s cat:
ha det bare bra
Pronounced in Norske
Barry braw and means the same in scots
I know some Norwegians have a strange burr, such as a guttural ‘r’ in Bergen.
Re yesterday’s discussion about NATO, have a read of valéry giscard d’estaing autobiography, it gives a real insight in to Frances nuclear deterrent
Never read it. Does he mention Robert Boulin?
link to en.wikipedia.org
@Morag:
About Tromsø: There is no need of a deep study. It’s clear that the lack of Sun is deleterious.
And think about people living in Narvik or still norther (Kirkenes), who say goodbye to the Sun for two full months at the beginning of December… I heard that some amongst the richest buy tickets for special flights that climb as high as possible to at least catch a glimpse of the Sun for a few minutes or so…
@Chalks:
Shucks! 😉 I feel relieved: I can carry on eking out my living in Paris, then. As an old slogan of the ’80s claimed: ‘In France, we have no oil, but ideas’.
@Nana Smith:
I wrote about that yesterday. Figure out that the UK was amongst the first countries to ratify the treaty installing the European court… France signed it way later, for example.
@BtP:
Should be ‘faux cul’. Why trotteur? Any tropism versus the turf?
Schroedinger’s Cat
The Beano, but that was a mistake when I was young.
@A.N.Surgent:
The guy’s jealous. That’s all! 😉
More seriously, it’s clear that France economy is in a slump. But this is structural. It’s the capitalism which is running out of fuel. It’s time for a big shakeup.
I say: voluntary work, three hours a day, in exchange for total gratuity. No more money. Just a responsible society.
According to Company House the Wood Group in December 2010 paid 25% profits. The going rate.
Profits 130.0
Tax 35.5
Profits for the year 94.5
Google (or whatever) it.
AultA
Yes I know but the fun was in the pun.
If pronounced by any anglophone it sound like faux cool
Without the l it as the French pronunciation.
Now as used to sign my post Faux Cu, so say it loud and over and over again and think in English.
@ Morag3 October, 2014 at 4:04 pm
Re Doing something about breaking purdah?
The Celtic League has written to the UN about the issue, mentioning manipulation and interference. You can read their letter here
link to celticleague.net
I also cited it in link to eurofree3.wordpress.com
Unsubscribed from 38 degrees, they never answered my email about “Powers for Scotland petition” supported or hijacked by the Record and Broon, and now had the cheek to send me another one. Reason for unsubscribing, that, and that they seemed to have joined the Labour party at the expense of Scotland and had gone rogue.
That’s them telt.
Supposedly they have 300,000 members in Scotland. -1 now.
Today I was pleased to hear Alex Salmond phone ” call Kaye “. However after the initial euphoria of hearing him stand up to that Aberdeen Councillor, I became very angry! Why did he, or another SNP or YES person not phone in to ” call Kaye ” during the Referendum campaign about millions of subjects that were thrown back at YES! The more I thought about it the angrier I got! Blair Jenkins also hacked me off this week, declaring that the BBC was not inherently biased.
To cut a long story short, I have fired off an email to Alex Salmond for an explanation as to why the YES campaign did not stand up for the campaign and why they didn’t question the NO side vehemently about their policies. I have been a member of the SNP for 38 years and have always voted SNP. I want to know why the mealy mouthed Blair Jenkins did NOT agree that the BBC was biased.
I’m sure Morag , that I will be getting a telling off about my actions, but since it’s not good to bad mouth your seniors, I don’t care! I want explanations! Something is not right! I might be the first to resign from the SNP this week unless I get a good explanation about ” something fishy” going on!
AultA
A propos Trotteur.
I tried to register my sobriquet as “Grunter” which is an colloquial name for a Pig. That was not allowed so Trotteur it was after a pig’s foot.
Wings the home of the damn banned
John Lewis – French prawn sandwich moment.
Robert Peffers
Seems to me going by this they broke this rule, at least.
– provide the legal, political, financial, technical and other means necessary to ensure the independent functioning of broadcasting regulatory authorities, so as to remove risks of political or economic interference;
IV. Invites broadcasting regulatory authorities to:
– be conscious of their particular role in a democratic society and their importance in creating a diverse and pluralist broadcasting landscape;
@BtP:
Err… Focus? 😉 😉
By the way, how would you translate ‘Faux cul’ in English?
@Flower of Scotland
I understand your ire but we really need you to stick around. I wouldn’t want to see these 38 years of experience wasted. Stick with it and you could help the likes of me who has only recently joined a political party after a 34 year absence.
There are many who appreciate your involvement, although in your small Tory voting town you may seem isolated. With the internet that is no longer the case, try not to forget that.
@Balaaargh:
Sorry I forgot to credit your highly expert post.
Do you think a PF filter implemented on your reverse proxy can handle the SYN count and drop incoming offending requests?
I’ll have a look at pf.conf (5). It features a good underlying state machine.
Just had a wicked thought,
next GE the Lib Dems are wiped out in Scotland and we manage to ensure no Tory MP’s in Scotland,
who takes the SoS job?
Maybe Michael Forsyth, Baron Forsyth of Drumlean would like another wee shottie?
just askin s’all
AultA
Probably False Erse but it is much more biting and pointed in French. In French it means “two faced bastard?” hypocrite if one is polite.
Auld A
A new Republic,hopefully after you have finished with the guillotine,we can borrow it. 🙂
Deacon Brodie’s scaffold is far more appropriate, they needed to pull on their legs to finish them off
Vive la republique
An answer to Flower of Scotlands post ,I think many Yes voters tried to phone the State run BBC, but the minute the producers realised they had something factual and important to say, they would not get air time.
I hope I don’t sound paranoid.
Just look at the media bias up to and now beyond the referendum.
Gary.
@Gary45%
Not paranoid whatsoever. The bias exists and is still there, taking a state down and declaring Independence is no easy task.
So, browsing through the headlines and front pages, the theme from the anti-SNP, anti-Scottish Government, and pro-union and pro-labour newspapers, now intent on trying to destroy not just the SNP, but by that any chance of another referendum, is basically “Salmond’s charter for tax-dodgers”, with poll tax in smaller font. Sun was a bit quieter.
I have to wonder how this will sit with the traditional Labour voter, those still many that haven’t left Labour already?
F.o.S.
We’re not getting any change out of the BBc now. Getting folk to see past the lies, spin and bias is a task we all must take. Once people see for themselves they are quick to speak out. We are at war with the UK State broadcasters. If the whole truth got out there would be civil war.
Stay paranoid and question everything. Too many have been duped already.
My worry is they are thinking of acting against the internet. We nearly won independence because of the internet. They are looking at ways to shut us down.
Flower of Scotland
I think it’s great you emailed Alex Salmond, and you should get a proper reply give him time, if not or if it’s snotty tell us, and I’ll resign after just a week of membership.
But there are two things:
1). If you have a strategy, and it appears to be working, it’s risky to change it as you might lose any ground you gained, and more. Towards the end I think the SNP and the official YES were nervous about putting their foot in it. They were afraid to do more than the minimum in case the momentum started to go backwards – as it did a couple of times already.
2). We all knew the VOW was rubbish, that the parcel of powers previously on offer were transparently worthless. Perhaps we – and the SNP and YES – presumed too much that the electorate would also be able to see through the fakery, the sham, the scam, the lies, the total inventions from everything including the media.
3). There are three things! Perhaps Salmond wasn’t in full health or just over-tired, he did look a bit ragged at times.
@BtP: Yeah; it means someone that constantly pays lips service or somehow fawns; lickspittle. It covers a variety of concepts hardly rendered by a single synthetic word in English.
@A.N.Surgent: Unfortunately, French people have been more or less reduced to sheeple.
I was re-reading ‘In praise of idleness’ by Bertrand Russell. The text is still eerily modern.
@AuldA ditto to Balaaargh
Missed that post, thanks. Is pf.conf OpenBSD? I’m Fedora, don’t have that one (tried locate).
FoS, if you’ve been in the SNP as long as that, you’ll know that the party’s, and the leadership’s, committment to independence is absolute. (I’m not holding any brief for Yes Scotland here, they can defend themselves, I’m not going to.) If in hindsight certain strategic decisions seem to have been sub-optimum, that’s down to error, not malice.
Resigning because you think some elements of the campaign might have been done differently seems daft at this stage.
@yesindyref2: Yes, PF was originally developed by the OpenBSD team, the same that wrote OpenSSL.
It has been ported to Net- and Free-BSD and from there to MacOS X which is basically extended and customized FreeBSD.
I’ve been sticking with BSD-Unices since 1990. System V was never my scene and thus Linux, which is a copy of System V, neither.
Actually I found the debate on chocolate more enlightening – can we do cheeses next?
@Paula Rose:
with pleasure ; I am sure BtP would be delighted to evoke Roquefort. Bleu (and white) cheese.
I can summon the taste of our rich families of gruyères made in the Alps (Beaufort being the most delicious).
But there are so many others…
osakisushi
Glad to here it bud. I’ve managed to get the day off work. The more the merrier.Should be good.
I’m very partial to Dunsyre Blue myself – but then all things Blue have a certain appeal.
Also very fond of Cornish Yarg.
Have you ever cooked hare? Darkest chocolate in the final jus with the blood is heavenly.
Fortunately thare is a new post so us gourmands can regain the necessary ground.
Paula Rose
Like your style but you can keep all your blue cheese to yourself.
@Paula Rose:
I wish I was introduced more seriously to British cheeses. Unfortunately, what we get over here is paltry, except for some (bad looking) cheddar. Dunsyre Blue looks nice; Yarg I didn’t know. Seems the cheese is wrapped in nettle fronds. I suppose that gives it a tangy taste?
We got bleu cheeses like ‘Bleu de Bresse’ made from cow milk. Roquefort, as everyone knows, is made from ewe milk. Then we also have cheese like Ossau Iraty made in Pays Basque from ewe milk, but differently. And a lot of goat cheeses.
@Paula Rose:
I am a very goofy cook for everything apart from pastries. I love baking cakes and other desserts like macarons. But for the rest, I’m just a boor. Part of it is due to the fact that I love crude material. I tend to eat a lot of raw vegetables, smoked/fresh fish and fruit. Never been much attracted by complex dishes with lots of gravy, for example.
YESGUY says:3 October, 2014 at 7:07 pm:
“My worry is they are thinking of acting against the internet. We nearly won independence because of the internet. They are looking at ways to shut us down.”
All I can say about it is that they are going the right way about goading Scotland’s voters into civil disobedience or even worse. I would have though even Tory, Labour & LibDem members would have been rather more civilised than the present Westminster Mafia. They become more criminal by the day.
Tomorrow’s daily mail front page…
link to twitter.com
@AuldA – yes the yarg is wrapped with nettles – I make a nettle soup in the spring using the young shoots, I lived in France for a year but I do not remember a similar use either for cheese protection or soup.
@AuldA
If you wanted to be really hardcore, you could probably query the states table every nth of a second but the manpage for pf.conf mentions max-src-conn-rate which you could set to something realistic based on how many connections there should be per page. That should suffice for proof of concept testing and give you somethingto play with. 🙂
@Paula Rose –
‘Have you ever cooked hare?’
I don’t know. Whare are you?
OT: new Scottish news site. Hadn’t seen mentioned on here. Check it out.
http://scottishstatesman.com
Ian B honey – yes I have cooked hare – and it was out of this world, but as you know, I’m like that xx
@Paula Rose:
We do employ some leaves to wrap cheeses within, but not nettles. However, we do use nettle to make soup. Very toothsome, I love it. Full of vitamins, also.
Hare… Hares with big ears or hares with big hair?
By the way, where comes this hypocorism from?
@Balaaargh:
I’ll try to tinker with pf when I have five minutes. It never does harm to be prepared to face those kind of plagues.
Christ what a load of crap that thread was.
‘Flower of Scotland says:
3 October, 2014 at 6:07 pm
Today I was pleased to hear Alex Salmond phone ” call Kaye “. However after the initial euphoria of hearing him stand up to that Aberdeen Councillor, I became very angry! Why did he, or another SNP or YES person not phone in to ” call Kaye ” during the Referendum campaign about millions of subjects that were thrown back at YES! The more I thought about it the angrier I got! Blair Jenkins also hacked me off this week, declaring that the BBC was not inherently biased.
To cut a long story short, I have fired off an email to Alex Salmond for an explanation as to why the YES campaign did not stand up for the campaign and why they didn’t question the NO side vehemently about their policies. I have been a member of the SNP for 38 years and have always voted SNP. I want to know why the mealy mouthed Blair Jenkins did NOT agree that the BBC was biased.
I’m sure Morag , that I will be getting a telling off about my actions, but since it’s not good to bad mouth your seniors, I don’t care! I want explanations! Something is not right! I might be the first to resign from the SNP this week unless I get a good explanation about ” something fishy” going on!’
You’ll find that the SNP had to be very careful not to upset Yes Scotland or the greens would have walked.
Grouse beater wrote that advocates of Union “convinced a large percentage of Scotland’s population to agree.” Actually, the majority of Scotland’s population made their own minds up and voted to reject your flawed analysis.
Grouse beater went on, “Perhaps there should be a restricted number of categories of residents eligible to vote next time around, such as only Scots born in Scotland.” So, no problem with ethnic definitions of the putative Scottish nation then?