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When To Stop Lying

Posted on May 23, 2024 by

So we’ve had a response from Adam Ramsay to our article of yesterday about him. We’ll publish it in full, in the interests of fairness.

And, well, we wouldn’t be doing our job if we didn’t ask some questions.

Before we get properly started, that third tweet merits a little attention. Given that the staff of Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre (ERCC) have literally just been found by an employment tribunal to have conspired in a campaign of harassment and persecution against ex-staffer Roz Adams ultimately resulting in her constructive dismissal, we’re not sure how strongly we’d play the “CONSPIRACY THEORY LOL!!!!” card.

But onto the guts.

The central focus of our allegation that Ramsay was a liar (though by no means the only example) was the large discrepancy between his claims that ERCC had been the recipient of “numerous threats of vigilante violence” after employing trans-identifying male Mridul Wadhwa as its CEO in spring 2021, and the sworn testimony of ERCC’s management staff to said employment tribunal that they hadn’t.

Despite Ramsay’s sneery and abusive dismissal of our article, he did in fact admit (to someone else) that this was a “reasonable question”.

But his answer didn’t, frankly, seem to cast much light on things.

Ramsay’s article appeared on 17 October 2022. The tribunal took place in January this year, and the quoted section sees barrister Naomi Cunningham (NC), acting for Roz Adams, questioning ERCC head of services Katy McTernan (KM) about some emails between herself, Wadhwa and other staff members on 22 June 2022 – a week after the events which triggered the tribunal (see from paragraph 40 of the judgement).

Ramsay is now attempting to say that no violent threats had yet been received at that time, meaning they must have happened between June 2022 and October 2022, when he published his article.

But that isn’t what the article says.

The article is very clear that the threats were made “at the time” when Wadhwa was appointed CEO in April 2021. That’s a year and a half before the time Ramsay now claims they were made.

It then says a Wings piece about Wadhwa “attacking her appointment” followed after the emails, but these are all the articles on Wings in which Wadhwa’s name appears:

18 October 2020Waiting For The Men

22 October 2020 – You’ve Got Males

30 November 2020The Poison Within (incidental mention)

3 December 2020The Plotters Thicken (incidental mentions)

10 December 2020Two Women

23 April 2021Men’s Needs (incidental mention)

20 May 2024Man At Work

Alert readers will have noted that almost all of those pre-date Wadhwa’s appointment at ERCC, and in fact we’ve NEVER mentioned that appointment on the site until this week, so that doesn’t help Ramsay’s defence any.

He also can’t mean that we attacked it on Twitter, because for the great majority of that time we were banned from Twitter. The only tweets in which we’ve mentioned Wadhwa between his appointment and the tribunal are these two from January this year.

So just in passing, Ramsay is lying about that “attack” too. But the only conceivable article he can mean is the April 2021 one, which means the abuse must have been before that, which means it can’t have been between June and October 2022.

His article goes on to state, in any event, that these things had taken place “by August 2021”, which was when the Graham Linehan blog in which he laughably says part of Wadhwa’s address was revealed was published, which is the first time Wadhwa claims to have felt in danger.

So it’s manifestly clear that Ramsay’s claims today are absolute nonsense. His article detailed events which took place in 2021. Indeed, its second paragraph specifies that the “threats” which “forced” ERCC into lockdown took place in autumn 2021 (which tallies with Wadhwa’s claims about fearing for his safety).

Yet ERCC’s staff told the tribunal, on oath, that even by June 2022 – nine months later – no violent threats had been received by it.

What is plainly the case is that Ramsay knows the emails, if revealed, would NOT be seen by most people as hateful, violent or threatening. (We know that his own judgement of “hate” cannot be trusted, as he describes the legitimate registered charity LGB Alliance as a “hate group”.)

He has no other justifiable reason to withhold them. They are the evidence on which his article is supposedly based, and the veracity of that article is in question. The names of the senders are redacted and unknown to him. If they contain offensive language that language can be censored, and if they contain defamatory allegations those allegations can be described rather than repeated.

(In every high-profile defamation case of recent years, including our own, the tweets, comments, audio or video in question have been freely quoted by everyone.)

Failing that, it might be for the best if Ramsay simply stopped digging before he finds himself in a hole too deep for even all of his considerable money and privilege and contacts to help him climb out of.

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George

He’s a member of the Scottish greens which explains how his brain is wired. This man is scary.

ross

Is it true MW has been in this scene for the best part of 20years? Was there any issues before the whole trans bourach started?

duncanio

Who’d have guessed that a mollycoddled, privileged, upper class, self-entitled member of the Scottish Green Party would have felt no need to provide evidence to justify his claims?

Sven

It’s like a battle of wits, in which one party has chosen to come unarmed, or perhaps only halfway there.
(And I’m sure not referring to our esteemed host).

John Burns

Why does this man refer to another man ( Mr Idul Wadhwa) as her ?

joolz

TRAs can never keep their lies straight. They always trip themselves up. They shouldn’t even bother to try and debate you because you either have the facts at your fingertips already, or you will go and search for the facts. TRAs don’t do either.

They can’t even agree on the facts of their own ideology….

TRA logic:

TRA: Gender is fluid so men get to keep their dicks.

also TRA: Gender is fixed as a child so boys need theirs cut off.

Agent x

“Police Scotland said they had “submitted a standard prosecution report to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service in relation to a 59-year-old man who was charged on 18 April, 2024, in connection with the embezzlement of funds from the Scottish National Party.”

“Connected investigations of two other individuals, a man aged 72 and a 53-year-old woman, remain ongoing.

“Professional prosecutors from COPFS and independent counsel will review this report.”

robertkknight

It would appear Mummy and Daddy wasted a shed load of cash on someone’s ejukayshun… bless.

MGFIFE

Its no surprise that he is a Green party member with its history of paedophiles and deviants like Challenor. He is clearly still a liar by calling Wadhwa a woman.

robertkknight

O/T

Watched the Post Office inquiry today, with Paula Vennells doing a Sturgeon. Wonder if she had the same coach?

Isn’t it amazing how people in positions of authority seem to struggle with both short and long term memory.

Geri

It’s all invented crap he just made up.

FFS, let’s face it, asking these ppl a reasonable question, any question at all, starts the histrionics & a mental breakdown that everyone is out to kill them.

He’d obviously embellished his article for dramatic effect as this lot is prone to do.
If there was any evidence of foul emails you can bet they’d have been furnished at the tribunal for all to see & verify.

These eejits should be nowhere near vulnerable women. I imagine they’ve enough problems even going through the door to begin with without being met with attention seekers turning everything into their own fcking drama.

The WHO needs to reverse it’s bullshit. Their experiment disastrously failed. They’re a liability holding any kind of office. Everything is a drama.

Geri

Joolz

“TRA logic:

TRA: Gender is fluid so men get to keep their dicks.

also TRA: Gender is fixed as a child so boys need theirs cut off.”

LOL!

Spot on. Don’t forget the womb wash too LMAO! It gets stuck on eco wash.

Blunt Gaper

I,m afraid I don,t give a shit about these creeps.

Shug

So an election is called and the police decide to charge murrell

Dont tell me the police aren’t being used

Shug

Sorry passed to crown office

What rabbits will be pulled out the hat over the next 6 weeks

Ruby Thursday

He’s been in rape crisis for 10 years, and six before that in a “women’s aid” charity.

He was the information and education officer and children’s services team leader at Shakti Women’s Aid from 2008 to 2017

This is also not helped by the fact that men who identify as women have been able to get into managerial positions in woman-only organisations, such as Mridul Wadhwa, current manager at Forth Valley Rape Crisis Centre, who openly admitted on Twitter that he did not disclose his male sex in his application, despite the fact that the application for explicitly states that only women could apply for the job, regardless of “gender reassignment”, as per the wording of the EA
Ms Hazel Turner-Lyons’ (this if from the UK Gov’s Transgender Equality Committee enquiry. Many mentions of Mr Idul)

link to archive.ph
Dated February 04 2018,
‘Women’s refuges may get transgender staff’.

Unbelievable!

Prior to that I believe they allow transgender staff but only if the had a GRC.
Not sure of the situation in 2008.

My question is did Wadhwa tell Woman’s aid his sex.

Why is he so attracted to all these woman-only organisations.

That seems to be a thing with the trans.

He was also Director of
YWCA SCOTLAND from 10 November 2017 to 16 June 2021

I wonder what he was doing between 2005 and 2008.

Did he come to Scotland on a student visa?

When did he gain British citizenship. Does he even have British citizenship? Did anyone check.

He might be an illegal immigrant.

Every seen “Catch me if you can’.

Hatuey

Another entitled toff spanner that thinks society should be modelled on The Wind in The Willows…

Shug

The SNP certainly seem to be focused on destroying the SNP

dawninnl

You have a date typo for post You’ve got males in your list above.

Ruby Saturday

‘Women’s refuges may get transgender staff’.

That’s is unbelievable.

Who in their right mind would think it’s a good idea for men to work in women’s refuges.

Women flees abusive husand and seeks refuge in a woman’s refuge and the next thing she knows is hubby has a job in the refuge and is knocking her door saying ‘Here’s Johnny’

link to youtube.com

Do men like Wadhwa get onto the boards of these ‘women’s only organisation’ to ensure men can then work in women’s refuges etc?

Is this what’s behind all his jobs in women’s only organisations.

Ruby Thursday

‘Women’s refuges may get transgender staff’.

That’s is unbelievable.

Who in their right mind would think it’s a good idea for men to work in women’s refuges.

Women flees abusive husand and seeks refuge in a woman’s refuge and the next thing she knows is hubby has a job in the refuge and is knocking her door saying ‘Here’s Johnny’
link to youtube.com

Do men like Wadhwa get onto the boards of these ‘women’s only organisation’ to ensure men can then work in women’s refuges etc?

Is this what’s behind all his jobs in women’s only organisations.

la demoiselle sauvage

I sent an email to ERCC on 5 May 2021 querying why a man had been appointed as chief executive. I am more than happy for it to be published! Let’s see these 55 pages of emails. (I didnt get a reply – it was no doubt just shunted to the ‘hate mail’ file.)

Dan

Quality journalism in the last couple of articles Stu.
But these internet bun fights really need some kind of grading system so complete melts are pooled in the lower leagues and aren’t mismatched in bouts with individuals in the premier league.
It’s a bit like watching Brazil take apart Granton Star FC pub team.
Back in the day a disagreement of this sort could have been sorted out on the Ramsay’s Bamff Estate with a good old-fashioned duel!

Bamff Estate seem to be big on re-wilding, though do wonder how some of these estate owners that are into that sort of thing aren’t liable for the significant costs of rectifying damaged to public infrastructure caused by escapee or unofficially re-introduced beavers.
Work has finely started on repairing the broken village sewer pipe. Must have been 20 guys and dozens of large vehicles on site yesterday transporting all the heavy equipment to the site, and setting up the coffer dams and large pumps to drain the area.
Can now clearly see all the beaver activity of burrowing has undermined the pipe foundations causing failure of the pipe, which resulted in tens of thousands of gallons of sewerage getting pumped into the wrong water course for months and wrecking the fish spawning grounds and its wider ecosystem.
An electro-fishing crew due to arrive soon to stun and catch any fish that may have remained trapped in the polluted water, then the big 13 tonne excavator will enter the drained area and dig out around a couple of hundred tonnes of beaver debris and associated mess so 25m of sewer pipe can be replaced and set back onto rebuilt foundational supports.
It’s over 3 months since I initially reported the fault and it will be many hundreds of thousands if not knocking on for a million quid to rectify the issue caused by unofficially released beavers.
Why should Scottish Water and ultimately the public through our sewerage charges levied onto our council tax bills be picking up the tab for the re-wilding folly of a few wealthy estate owners?

McDuff

This site is simply amazing, journalism of the highest calibre.
Ramsay isn`t too bright and way way out of his depth.

george william addison

little extra info on this story…all this misgendering crap & how MW could not get a GRC because HE transitioned in India is total BS, because since 2004 India has allowed self ID without a diagnosis or any treatments by simply going to the local equivalent of the sheriff courts to become a Trans-Gender Person.
However to become a Trans-Gender Woman in India only requires a male to undergo HRT treatments OR surgically “transition” since MW has done neither HE is classed as a MAN in both countries & should be nowhere near a woman’s single sex space let alone one involving vulnerable women!
link to vakilsearch.com
link to nyaaya.org

MaryB

Dan @ 9.37pm
I Googled Ramsay’s estate. Beavers were imported to there and Sir John Lister’s place at Aigas for a trial. It’s where the beavers ‘accidentally’ escaped because someone forgot to fasten their pen securely – they were the ‘illegal’ beavers, remember?

Mark Beggan

The last time Ramsay had this much attention he was getting buggered by his house master.

Hector Vector

I don’t know if anything has been said about it previously but openDemocracy seems to have been skipped past as if it is a benign entity. Any outfit with the word ‘open’ at the beginning should have its funding checked because nine times out of nine, it will be linked back to Open Society Foundations, i.e. George Soros and one or many more of OSF’s sock puppets. When their donations are viewed individually, they seem generous but not excessive but when added up, they amount to about 70% of the funding and the remainder of the ‘grants’ are from the likes of the Ford Foundation. This is all dressed up to look like lots of small organisations are funding it when in fact it is all a huge front for quasi philanthropy and rule by NGO. Of course, you would have to be a conspiracy theorist to believe any of this.

link to opendemocracy.net

David Hannah

He’s an illegal immigrant that should be deported.

This man is a beast back in India.

I’d be looking into his family history. Who is this man. Why has he arrived in Scotland and decided he’s no longer a man?

And why has he continued to abuse women.

I think he’s a rapist back in India on the run. The act of concealment.

David Hannah

Find out if he’s an illegal! And deport him if necessary. The home office should be looking into his residency status. After his abuse of the women in the women’s aid club. Shouldn’t they?

He’s another Isla Bryson. Hiding in plain sight. It’s always the ones. YOU MOST SUSPECT!

David Hannah

We need more fact finding information on Mridul Wadhwa.

What this man HE has effectively done has done the Rape Crisis Centre into a cult convent.

It’s now an abusive cult convent. He’s indoctrinating the victims. He’s brainwashed them to validate his feelings.

A truely sick individual. And nicola sturgeon let him in. Sturgeon should be in jail. Every post i read angers me more. The woman should be huckled into the back of a van tied up and locked away for all eternity.

Iain More

Yet another creepy Woke slithers out from under his / her buggery rock. I look forward to the Brit Election in the hope that there will be a metaphorical massacre of them. It might be too much to hope for though since the Brit Press and Media is infested with them along with the Brit Political Party’s, including the now Yoon SNP.

Shug

It is beyond belief that Swinney stands up and defends Mathieson.

He claimed money he was not due. It us a sackable offence in the real world.

What the f… Is swinney thinking

David Hannah

The Parliamentary corporate body that represents the entire chamber found Matheson guilty of embezzling 11,000 of tax payers cash. Lying to the public. Lying to the press. Lying to the Parliament.

Yet John Swinney wants to defend the indefensible. Which makes me think there’s more to it!

Has anyone heard the rumours about John Swinney? They say he’s a nonce. Can anyone confirm such rumours may be true?

What has honest John been doing with Michael Matheson’s laptop I wonder? Can anyone feed us some info? We must know why he wants to defend the fraudster.

It’s only going to look even worse for swinney this time next week!

David Hannah

Disastrous start for John Swinney. This is his idea of steading the sinking ship! Hahaha. Quite astonishing just listened to FMQs right there. I was screaming at the laptop. Sack him! I couldn’t believe it!

Do whatever you like in the SNP. They really think they are untouchable.

This is because they are being protected by Dorothy Stain – of the clown office of clowns.

Dorothy Bain – their protection – corrupt to the core.

Geri

Only one reason Swinney would save him & that’d be the good old fashioned wee black book of transgressions.

“Look, baldy. I go down & yer all coming with me, starting with Imelda, the gimp & £600k blown on male prozzies in the mass debating chamber. Are ya feeling lucky?
Thought not. Make mine a double & we’ll call this meeting over.”

Geri

Iain More

I think you’d be right. It’s those eejit lobby groups & NGOs that need examining. Who are they, who funds them, & more importantly, where do they originate from? These eejits are unelected & unqualified yet they have the run of parliaments & elected reps peddling their shit & handing out backhanders.

Mark Beggan

Every dog has its day.

Robert Louis

Ah, how I long for the heady days of 2014 and before Sturgeon took over the SNP, when the indy movement had a real chance, with real leaders prepared to stand up for Scotland, and not get dragged into the gutter by HOMOPHOBIC paedophiles and very creepy HOMOPHOBIC cross-dressers.

Although completely out of context, the great Douglas Adams, I think summed something like that feeling up well in ‘The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy’,,

Quote “In those days spirits were brave, the stakes were high, men were real men, women were real women and small furry creatures from Alpha Centauri were real small furry creatures from Alpha Centauri…

From the Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy, by Douglas Adams.

link to en.wikipedia.org

Hatey McHateface

There’s an article up on BBC Online right now describing the uptick in use of and enthusiasm for Gaelic in Scotland.

It describes how Gaelic Medium Education (GME) accounts for the rise in Gaelic use throughout the young. GME is where other school subjects are taught in Gaelic, thus opening up the use of Gaelic as a practical means for communication and education, and not just a fossil kept on show “just because”.

“no longer is it commonplace to hear Gaelic being spoken, as the main language, in the middle of Cromwell Street in Stornoway”

True. No longer is it the rule either to hear Scots, or English, being spoken as the main language, in the middle of the High Street, anywhere else in Scotland.

Often either something Eastern European, sub-Saharan African, or from the Indian sub-continent.

Frank Gillougley

So, we’re all online bigots? That’s nice.
Forensic as ever, Rev. Highly commendable.

Willie

When analysed forensicaly as the Rev does, the reality is laid bare.

Mr Ramsay most certainly does not come out in a good light.

He is I am afraid so typical of his type. Quite why any distressed woman would seek sanctuary and support from a rape crisis centre run by people like Madhwa and his ilk is difficult to understand. This whole sorry saga about how a staff member was constructively dismissed is testimony to that.

And then you look at people like Michael Mathieson. A liar and a cheat many many would say and the FM defends him.

Honest John, they say. Just like Sturgeon and her clique. All pure as the driven snow. Time they were gone to be replaced. Folks, ordinary folks are sick of the cess pit that has been the lengthening shadow of SNP these last ten years.

Vestas

“no longer is it commonplace to hear Gaelic being spoken, as the main language, in the middle of Cromwell Street in Stornoway”

It wasn’t “commonplace” 30 years ago. Maybe 40 but you’d have to go back to the 1960s for that statement to be completely accurate.

Ruby Friday

Gaelic is it this morning Hatey?

Have you made any comments about Adam Ramsay, Mridul Wadhwa or The Rape Crisis centre?

I would be interested in reading them. Cheers.

Robert Hughes

The SNP electoral suicide pact continues . Swinney brews another batch of Kool Aid .

There are really only two interpretations of this – latest – act of self-harm ….

( 1 ) . Swinney & co are truly the dumbest politicians in recent history , or

( 2 ) . This is deliberate sabotage .

link to robinmcalpine.org

Ruby Friday

Hatey like Adam Poshboy is selling us false information.

Nobody is speaking any language on the streets anywhere.

All communication is done in writing.

Franchise Fanny made any comments about The Lying Posh Boy, Mr Idul from India, or The Rape Crisis centre?

Luigi

Geri
Ignored says:
24 May, 2024 at 12:43 am
Only one reason Swinney would save him & that’d be the good old fashioned wee black book of transgressions.

“Look, baldy. I go down & yer all coming with me, starting with Imelda, the gimp & £600k blown on male prozzies in the mass debating chamber. Are ya feeling lucky?
Thought not. Make mine a double & we’ll call this meeting over.”

Indeed. The thing about circular firing squad standoffs though is that sooner or later someone panics and pulls the trigger. It always happens. We are not talking about very strong characters here. Politicians love to act tough but most of them are back-stabbing wimps. There’s a lot of sweaty fingers on triggers right now, methinks. Someone is bound to try and make a deal and shop their chums. Just a matter of time. That’s when things get interesting. BOOM! Popcorn ready.

Andy Ellis

@Ruby

You seem a bit obsessed with (variously) policing what people are allowed to post about and then complaining if and when they don’t post, and whingeing about the subjects they choose to comment on.

Maybe you just need to get a life, or alternatively just work harder to improve the quality of what passes for BTL discourse in here.

I doubt many but the usual suspects will be holding their collective breath.

TURABDIN

The history of HIJRA community in the South Asian states has some relevance here.
link to en.wikipedia.org
Hinduism has a more accommodating perspective on matters of sexuality as it seems to do on many societal concerns such as caste, poverty and untouchability.

Dan

@ MaryB

Aye, but I use the term “unofficially released” as don’t want anyone getting into trouble by googling “illegal beaver”!

Another factor in all this “re-wilding” is the not insignificant amounts of taxpayers’ monies being spent on the reams of folk in jobs dealing with all administration and legislation.
I read this linked to page and see how totally unrealistic some of the measures are in dealing with beaver problems.
Some of the suggested mitigation measures read like it was produced by folk that have zero practical experience of the hard physical graft required to implement some of their suggestions. It’s pie in the sky stuff.
After you’ve spent a fortune on mesh fence wire to protect the burn / river bank from burrowing, simply roll it out along hundreds of thousands of meters of burn or riverbank with tricky access and slopes and trees to deal with.
Fencing a stream, oh aye, so once leaves and branches get washed into and caught in your newly erected fence in the stream you’ve effectively just created a dam and saved the beaver a lot of effort! Plus let’s not forget that beavers do have legs and feet and can just get out the burn and walk past the fence you just installed.
Fuck sake, it’s like Viz Top Tips.

link to nature.scot

Further reading which I guess we should all make the effort to read seeing as our taxes paid for it.

link to nature.scot

Dan

Typo, should be “hundreds or thousands of meters” not “hundreds of thousands”.

Ruby Friday

I’ve come across quite a few of these ‘Rahs’ here in Edinburgh. There is a group referred to as ‘The Edinburgh Two Hundred’
Adam Ramsay will be one of them.
Not sure why they are called ‘The Edinburgh Two Hundred’ they don’t actually live in Edinburgh although they probably have a ‘pied-a-terre’ in and around Dublin Street. Main residence will be a castle or a stately home.

Very difficult to compete with these Rahs if you are a university student who needs to get a job to make ends meet. These Rahs don’t have to and if they are struggling with their studies they get a private tutor.

These ‘Rahs’ wont be using a ‘Rape Crisis Centre’, ‘Woman’s Aid’ or anything as common as that. They will have a therapist flown in from Harley Street in the event of their being a rape crisis in Poshsville.

These Rahs live in a different world. Anything Adam Ramsay might write about us plebs would need to be as a ‘Foreign Correspondent’.

Not sure what the ‘Rahs’ campaigning for Palestine & rent control is all about I suppose it’s just the next generation of ‘ladies who lunch’. Many of these ladies get an award from Queen/King for good work helping the poor.
They all attend the Garden Party at Holyrood. All the Queens Archers (Scottish branch) are from ‘The Edinburgh Two Hundred’.
No schemies in the Queens Archers. Queen/King you know what I mean.

Rahs and yahs are the same but yahs live in Chelsea and rahs live in Edinburgh New Town.

Patsy Millar

Adam Ramsay – aw bless! He’s naive enough to think that he might get the better of Stu in an argument.

Ruby Friday

Oh! Oh! I touched a nerve and triggered ‘Franchise Fanny’.

Good to know that he recognises his ‘pet name’.

Well done to ‘Geri’ for coming up with that name.

Go Girl! Go Geri!

Athanasius

I’m one of Stu’s “army of online bigots?” Nice.

James

“…Cromwell Street in Stornoway…”

Surely some mistake? Surely not the ‘Cromwell’ that sold Scots as slaves after the battle of Dunbar?

And there are streets named after him? In Scotland?

What a funny wee country Scotland is.

Northcode

“it might be for the best if Ramsay simply stopped digging before he finds himself in a hole too deep”

I wonder where people like Ramsay get the confidence to attack WoS.

They must know by now that every piece of publicly available information relating to their professional and personal histories and activities will be subjected to intense research and scrutiny by the analytical mind of a professional investigative journalist.

And they must know that any discrepancies, falsehoods and failures of logic in the public statements they make will be quickly discovered and exposed.

Is their behaviour symptomatic of some form of madness?

Or is it the bravado engendered in those raised in privilege to believe their barely mediocre intellects are far greater than they really are?

Or could it be a combination of both?

Whatever the answer their behaviour is bizarre and, ultimately, self-destructive.

Northcode

Dan @9:04am

Thanks for the links, Dan. Interesting stuff. I had no idea of the problems these ‘re-wilding’ measures being adopted by some land owners in Scotland are causing.

Perhaps re-wilding is just an excuse to fence off their land in an attempt to keep us peasants off it.

Hatuey

I agree with Hatey McHateface, and I think we should consider including languages like Polish and Swahili on road signs, ambulances, police cars, etc.

If more than 0.0000000007% of the population spoke trans, I’d be open to using their language on those sort of things too.

Utilitarianism is at the heart of everything for me.

TURABDIN

Cromwell str, Fort William, Fort Augustus, Fort George, Hanover str, George sq. Union str etc Scotland glories in its colonial history.
Few are they who seem to notice or even care.
The psychology of subservience.
By slow drip the rock erodes.

Ruby Friday

Very quiet here BTL on Wings this Friday morning,

I would like to know how Adam & his Daddy make their money.

A lot of these castles & stately homes are rented out as wedding venues.

I don’t imagine they’ll make a fortune doing this. Maybe you can! I don’t think there is any rent control on castles being rented oot as wedding venues. Weddings in a castle in Scotland are very popular so it could be good a little earner.

What about writing articles for an online blog? How much would that pay? Enough to pay a £300K mortgage in Edinburgh New Toon?

Could it be all the dosh is coming from ‘Slave trade money’ invested in Couts or a bank far far away.

As Hatey might say: Show us the money!

According to online sources Mr Idul is an Indian immigrant who prior to coming to the UK lived in a one room house with his entire family and ate mangoes for free from a tree outside the Mosque on Synagogue Street in Pune, India.

So not rich but I’m guessing he has a very rich imagination.

Who paid for him to come to the UK & for his university tuition? Maybe he has a rich ‘daddy’ but a different type of daddy from the Adam’s daddy.

Was the initial plan that he would pose as the wife/beard of a rich homophobic/misogynistic/gay ‘daddy’ and get free travel tuition & two kids in return.

Who & when was his cover blown? At what point did the RCC discover they had employed a man? Did ‘Women’s Aid ever find out.

Was he enrolled in Edinburgh University as a woman?

NB He was a woman’s rights activist at Edin University.

Frank Gillougley

Surely, the use of the pejorative word “bampot” by AR, albeit with him being pathologically superior to us oiks, constitutes a hate crime on the basis of disability?

Anton Decadent

Sometimes at the Guardian the real story would come out BTL before it became more draconian, people commenting who had worked with the subject of the puff piece ATL etc. I remember reading an article on people who were chaining themselves to airports and subway stations etc and someone commented BTL saying that they had received an elite private education with several of the people who were featured in the article that they were commenting under. They pointed out that these people seemed to be chosen as the voices of the movement and were shoo ins to boards and positions as ‘journalists’ etc. Thank you, Rev, for highlighting this system of favouritism and patronage.

Shawny Boy put up a video yesterday re Creative Scotland.

James

Turbadin;

Indeed. High priority sweep them away come the day. And dump all their statues in a run down park somewhere just like India did.

TURABDIN

James 11:27

Indeed, the devil really is in that particular detail, a detail, one of legions, the party of «devolved» governance shows no interest.
The power of the sign. The psychology of the subliminal.

Ruby Friday

I’m quite interested in the origin of place names & words. I was doing ‘the days of the week’ and got bored with that and decided our days of the week should be re-named when we are independent.

‘Stornoway takes its name from ‘Sjornavagr’ the Old Norse for ‘steering bay’’ Quite a lot of Old Norse names up there in Lewis.

Across from the harbour is the impressive Lews Castle with its stunning grounds. Built in 1847, by Sir James Matheson, following his purchase of the Isle of Lewis, it was completed in 1854. Sir James Matheson co-founded the Jardine Matheson Comapny and made his fortune from the Chinese Opium trade. In 1918, Lord Leverhulme (aka the soap manufacturers Lever Bros/Unilever), bought the Isle of Lewis. He had many ambitious plans, some which were followed through, many of which remained pipe dreams. In 1923 he gifted the Castle and grounds to the people of Stornoway. During the war, it was used as a naval hospital and the latter use was the first home of the Lews Castle College until 1988, now incorporating a hotel, cafe, museum and spectacular public rooms.

Did he really buy Lewis with drug money???? Who is this Sir James Matheson and was he the one who named Stornaway’s main street?

PS In an independent Scotland Fryday should be renamed ‘Chippyday’ and ‘Fryday’ should be what we currently call Sunday. Sunday = Big Fry Up day not bloody Friday.

Let me know if you are confused. Come independence I’ll change my monikers in order to keep you right. Today all you need to remember is it’s Chippy Day.

Depending on how well off you are ‘Chippyday’ could mean splurging on a chippy from the chippy or a home made chippy of fish-fingers with frozen or deep fried chips. Pickled onions, mushy peas optional. Vinegar if your are in Edinburgh (Balsamic in New Town) broon sauce in Glasgow. Ach maybe it’s the other way around. Never mind just have what ever sauce you want. Go Mexican and have chocolate sauce on your chips! Andale, Andale! Arriba, Arriba!

Franchise Fanny reckons not only should I get a life but also improve the level of debate here BTL on Wings.

I’m trying Fanny. How am I doing?

James

Ruby, they’ve gone quiet, ffs don’t wake them up….

sarah

Rev, is Colin McAllister in your sphere of work? Robin McAlpine’s piece yesterday says enough to think that said Colin warrants your attention.

Dan

@ Northcode

The fencing around these re-wilding estates might be considered great if it kept the owners in a jail of their own making and safely away from interacting / interfering with wider society…

@ Ruby

I’m trying Fanny

Recommended! But does the omission of a comma mean you’re coming out? And if so, is this jist a Fryday thang?

Hmm, did the spelling of “just” as “jist” in Scots lingo come about before or after the invention of the qwerty style keyboard, with the u and i positioned adjacent making typos through inaccurate finger key pressing more prevalent?
Similar to getting “pwned” on t’internet through the proximity of the o and p keys.

Mia

The question remains:

What is their motive?

Wadhwa and these toffs perhaps align on a common interest, but not necessarily on their motive. One might pursue feeding some sort of twisted fetish, others in the same food chain may pursue a pat in the back and career prospects, while the ones sitting close to the top of the chain may pursue money, lots of it, but those sitting at the top of the pyramid may have a political motive.

Right wing entities do not invest loads of cash on something without expecting returns which multiply the original investment.

So what is the ultimate motive driving this? What is the ultimate goal of the sources of cash and power behind “open ‘democracy'” and normalising having dodgy individuals like Wadhwa pursuing getting close to the most vulnerable women in Scotland and seemingly seeking to completely discredit entities established to support women who are victims of rape?

Thank goodness I have never experienced rape or domestic abuse, but If I had, I can imagine that the last thing I would want would be the humiliation of having to tell my sordid and painful story to a male pretending to pass as female. My alarm bells would ring all at once and I would be running for the door at the first opportunity.

So the immediate questions that spring to mind are:

How much damage did Wadwha do on those other entities where he was employed before he joined ERCC? Did he applied there his same dodgy ‘rules’ as he did in ERCC or was he testing a new modus operandi in ERCC?

Where do the entities like ERCC, which offer support to women who have been victims of rape or abuse, get their main funding from?

Was that source of funding who ‘recommended’ the ERCC board to hire Wadhwa despite being a male and therefore despite openly contravening the stipulations of employment? Or was this some kind of “inside job” where a bad actor within the organisation brought Wadhwa in?

And what happens if the funding of ERCC stops because of, lets say, the type of misdeeds that Wadwha has done in the background totally destroyed the credibility of that entity in the eyes of the Scottish public? Can ERCC survive without that funding?

If ERCC does not survive, where do the victims of rape who were getting support from it have to go?

And if entities that support women victims of rape are no longer funded, where does that funding get re-directed to?

Who profits from entities like ERCC losing their funding?
Who benefits from women who are victims of rape and domestic abuse no longer having a dedicated charity/organisation to seek help from?

Is there a conflict of interest somewhere?

What is the common link between all the bad actors with this common interest?

Whenever I see what is usually described as a “party of the left” going completely rogue by dishing out increasingly wacky, increasingly ridiculous and increasingly unpopular ideas, proposals or even deploying baseless and unscientific ‘doctrines’ like this gender nonsense and then I see toffs like the one subject of this article right up to his eyebrows in it, the first thought that comes to my mind is “infiltration”

So, when were the Scottish Greens infiltrated by these toffs?

How many other entities in the West World seeking to assist women who are victims of rape and domestic abuse are fronted by males pretending to be females?

Is Scotland being used as a testing ground by those bad actors to determine how to get rid of women entities and transfer their funding to somebody else’s pot?

How far do the strings of Wadhwa, the actors involved in Wadhwa’s appointment and “Open ‘democracy'” go?
How many puppets within Scotland’s government and public services have their strings pulled by the same self-serving master pulling Wadhwa’s and Open Democracy’s strings from distance?

Ruby Friday

First go went into moderation so adding a few ***’s

James
Ignored
says:
24 May, 2024 at 12:14 pm

Ruby, they’ve gone quiet, ffs don’t wake them up….

Wilco James!

The fran***’chise for the Scottish Indy Ref should be restricted to Scottish only and not these N***’ew Scottish who think they are Scottish ‘cos they bought a C U Jimmy hat and can say ‘Ho***’ts Mon’ but totally fail with the word Loch.

‘Pu***’tain’ is the simply the best, better than all the rest.

Put***’ain is French and substitute for the name of the amazing leader of Rus***’sia. Name change necessary here BTL on Wings cos you know banned words & that I don’t mean the great man is a put***’ain but ‘Put***’ain! the man is amazing’ . ‘Put***’ain de me***’rde’ might be the full French expression

PS James why do you want to wake them up? If you are desperate to read what they have to say you can check any article on Wings since 2014 or thereabouts and what they might they might say today if I wake them up would be the same.

Fuck***’ity! Fuck***’ity! Fuck***’ity! F***’uck! James I misread your post.

I thought you wanted me to w***’ake them up!

I’ve type it all now so I’m not deleting it. That would be waste of good work.

Finger crossed! 1 2 3 Submit!

Toby

Unusual error Rev. in your ‘tweet’ dated 23. 1. 24. published above.
Don’t think the ‘Theft Act 1968’ applies in Scotland.
But I get your train of thought.

Northcode

james @12:14pm

The urge to reply in the Scots tongue has come upon me.

Perhaps they are asleep; huddled thegither in ther cosy nest unawaurs o’ the waukin warld in remord an shared nostalgic dreams o’ an empire lost tae thaim an marchin’ in ther heids tae the fade an blaudit tunes o’ glory.

Ruby Friday

That’s twice my reply to you went into moderation James.

I might be on the naughty step again or might have used a banned word.

Oh bloody hell! Now the back end has failed!

Cheerio!

Geri

Indy folks will remember the “No Borders” pish.

A spontaneous fake *grass roots* group astroturfing all over the BBC.

This TRA bullshit is exactly the same. Dark money employs these eejits to spread fake news & they seek out some absolute roasters fae *doon the club* to go batshit mental with a loud speaker, add in a good dollop of nosey barstewards just passing by, angry thugs looking for a wee day out yelling at the world & dressing like a ninja & bus in a low rated politician for a bit of endorsement & bam..you have yerself an event.

Find the sponsor.

Did the census ask how many TRAs are actually living in Scotland & how many of them are imported?

As for the Gaelic uptake – I wonder if there’s a stampede for school places where this shit has managed to escape a translator so far LOL A language is a life skill & far more beneficial than the pronoun shit.

Language on a CV = Willingness to learn. Discipline & dedication.
Pronouns on a CV = Drama. Unreliable. Unpredictable. Avoid. Bin.

Breeks

Northcode
Ignored
says:
24 May, 2024 at 10:41 am

Perhaps re-wilding is just an excuse to fence off their land in an attempt to keep us peasants off it.

I’m not saying you’re wrong, but while I have sympathy for folks like Dan, I just feel it in my bones that Scotland’s wildlife that can be re-introduced, absolutely should be.

I don’t want to upset Dan, but honestly, I feel the same reaction about Dan’s blocked drainage as I do about Crofters losing occassional lambs to Sea Eagles… There’s only one party in the “conflict” with the brains and resources to adjust. Don’t blame the beavers for being beavers, or the eagles for doing what eagles do.

At times it will be a bumpy ride watching Scotland’s indigenous wildlife re-establish viable populations in areas it once roamed free, but for centuries it’s been a mightily bumpy ride for them, being persecuted and exterminated, and suffering all manner of grotesque and evil traps, and their terminal, lingering, death agonies.

I loved the story that one of the most effective safeguards for Scotland’s endangered Red Squirrels, was Scotland’s endangered Pine Martins. Smart cookies who find it easier to catch the bigger, slower, greys, while the more nimble Reds sometimes get away.

But where are the great forests which nutured that equilibrium in evolution over the countless millenia? Oh yeah. Gone in the blink of an eye. We, us, the humans are the weakest link, fkg up the natural paradigm everywhere we go.

It’s wrong that folks like Dan have to bear the brunt, and lose out their own pocket. Our society can, and should fix that. We’re not anti-Dan.

But in the bigger picture, I’m still in the beavers corner. If folks at large want the proliferation of beavers kept in check, then maybe it’s time gamekeepers should stop creeping about after dark killing foxes and their cubs, who predate on beaver kits.

If I had the power to do it, I would help folk feel the absolute joy I feel of seeing glimpses of the wild, resourceful and inventive critters we share our planet with; just the frisson of electricity when you see a natural predator about to strike… there’s nothing like it.

Except manky big bluebottles. They can be killed.

And ticks.

And those wasps with the larvae which make snails go weird. There’s no need for that. It’s just nasty.

Yellow “normal” wasps? Nope, they’re fine in my book.

Alf Baird

Northcode @ 1:08 pm

“The urge to reply in the Scots tongue has come upon me.”

Aye, this is actually an essential part of the ‘self-recovery’ process, because, for the colonized group:

“..recovering his autonomous and separate destiny, he immediately goes back to his own tongue (despite) its vocabulary limited, its syntax bastardised. To this self-rediscovery movement of an entire people must be returned the most appropriate tool; that which finds the shortest path to its soul, because it comes directly from it” (Albert Memmi).

Oor ain braw Scots mither tongue is whit maks us wha we are, whit defines us as Scots. Withoot oor ain langage we’re nae langer Scots, we’re makkit intae anither fowk, wi anither identity. Thon’s cawed ‘linguistic imperialism’ an haes aye been a colonial procedure, pairt o ‘cultural assimilation’.

Northcode

Alf Baird

Aye, Alf. It’s a strange process, recovering one’s cultural identity. At times it’s the maist natural of things and at others feels awkward and ‘wrong’.

It feels like I’m trying tae build up strength in a wastit muscle an it kin tak a wee bit effort o’ the mind in exercising thon muscle.

But mair and mair a get the urge, especially in speech, tae faw back intae ma mither tongue. A tongue still alive but hidin’ somewhaur in the back o ma heid. Tho it’s slowly makin’ it’s way oot the daurk tae the front o ma heid.

I’ve spent a fair bit of time roaming the DSL an aw it’s braw definitions and examples of usage in the form of quotes and such. It’ a great resource made freely available to us.

And the Scots idiom is a braw idiom tae, an that’s anither aspect o’ Scots I’m working on. Naw juist the wirds but hou ther strung thegither.

Dan

@ Breeks

You cannot superficially dismiss this as just a bit of “blocked drainage”. This has far wider issues. The sewer system pipe for the entire village has been broken, most likely since last autumn and has been discharging 2500 gallons of untreated effluent into a stillwater watercourse for many months.
It’s fucking wrecked that eco-system. You may “feel” the beavers have a right to be there, but what about all the fish and other organisms that made up what was a very unique and diverse eco-system. The thing is the beavers came in, fucked it up, and left because it became so polluted.
You work with stone so are a practical guy that will undoubtedly have an understanding about structures & weights and the interacting forces that act on them. You should also understand the complex and extensive engineering work that goes into rectifying some of the issues I have described.
I’m therefore surprised you choose to ignore the content of many of my posts relating to the issues beavers cause and instead focus on the emotive aspect of it all.
“Re-wilding” is just another emotive subject foisted onto us by the powers that be to divide us. Strange (not) that it is often being pushed by the very same folk that also punt the genderwoowoo…
I’ve responded to you about this previously and pointed out that you seem to be looking at this from the big picture overview, when in actual fact it needs to be considered on a very specific local level because that is where the many issues arise and directly affect those that live in these affected areas.

link to wingsoverscotland.com

link to wingsoverscotland.com

link to wingsoverscotland.com

Northcode

Breeks @ 1:24pm

You make several valid points, Breeks.

I don’t trust wealthy landowners in Scotland, unfair to some as that might be.

I don’t trust that they are all acting in genuine good faith and for the benefit of wildlife and of Scotland’s population.

Having said that, I’m all for the re-wilding of parts of Scotland if carried out in a way that doesn’t benefit a few to the detriment of the many.

But Scotland faces the same problem as every other area of the world where nature is under threat from the activities of humankind.

How does Scotland blend the need for maintaining her natural environment with the needs and activities of her human population?

It’s a complicated question which requires some deep thought and some clever answers, answers I’m not qualified to give.

Part of the answer, I would suggest, however, is ensuring that the needs of folk like Dan are treated with consideration and respect.

And that if folk are detrimentally impacted by the introduction of re-wilding measures they are adequately compensated for any adjustments they might have to make to their lifestyles and for any costs they might incur in making those adjustments.

Beyond those meagre thoughts I have no idea on how to go about blending the needs of human society with the need to maintain our natural environment.

We could do without ticks, though. That’s for sure.

Alf Baird

Dan @ 3:44 pm

“Re-wilding” is just another emotive subject foisted onto us by the powers that be to divide us. Strange (not) that it is often being pushed by the very same folk that also punt the genderwoowoo…”

And invariably we find it is not Scots who are making the big policy decisions on wildlife, railways, ferries or gender etc. Postcolonial theory confirms that a colonized land is subject to the whims of another people and culture. In what is also known as ‘cultural recreation’ we find that the colonizer dabbles and alters the landscape (or whatever else) and changes its uses and priorities to whatever fits their ‘values’ and ideas; for only ‘their values are sovereign’ and the colonized ‘is out of the game’.

Northcode

“Re-wilding” is just another emotive subject foisted onto us by the powers that be to divide us”

I agree with Dan in what he says there.

And Dan, too, makes some valid points about the ‘re-wilding’ of parts of Scotland .

It’s clear that a serious debate is needed at a national level to establish the way forward for the management and maintenance of Scotland’s natural environment.

But no progress can be made in those areas until Scotland is once again an independent nation.

I believe Alf Baird is correct when he tells us the Scots are ‘out of the game’. Because currently the Scots have no say on any of these matters anyway.

And never will have if Scotland remains in this ‘rancid union’.

willie

Re – Wilding. Is that replacing people with sheep?

Sounds good to me. But hang about were the sheep not there already. Ah, I’ve got it, vote SNP,

And long live Terry Wogan!

Dan

An example of what can happen when you introduce a species with no natural predators.

link to nationalgeographic.com

Rob

I am generally in favour of rewilding but it essentially means replanting the native forest first.
It doesn’t have to mean excluding folk for the wilds as many other countries live with some of most of these animals.


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