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Winning back Scotland

Posted on January 18, 2020 by

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1179 to “Winning back Scotland”

  1. Colin Alexander
    Ignored
    says:

    Craig Murray discussing indy as a guest on George Galloway’s RT show.

    I recommend you fast forward to 1h 17mins.

    http://www.pscp.tv/w/1gqxvgjBpRgKB

  2. mike cassidy
    Ignored
    says:

    I gather its be-kind-to-trolls day.

    Why else would so many take I-Don’t-Like-Almondays seriously.

    So in that spirit

    Nicola Sturgeon ties the knot — but she won’t be calling herself Mrs Murrell

    http://archive.is/4BLuS

  3. Robert Louis
    Ignored
    says:

    So apparently the lying racist English Prime Minister De pfeffle Johnson, wants to ‘strengthen the union’. The question all journalists should be asking is why? Why does a Tory party who utterly despise Scots nad Scotland, who ignore Scotland’s views and ignore Scotland’s democratic mandates, want to ‘strengthen the union’.

    What is it that Scotland has, which makes a hateful, lying, pig-ignroant, racist Tory English prime minster so desperately want to prevent Scotland running its own affairs??

    Couldn’t be the proven oil reserves could it? You see the oil reserves to an economy are not just about the yearly revenue from taxation. It is like a person going to the bank and asking for a 300,000 pound mortgage. The bank would ask, ‘how much they earn’, and they would say oh, ‘I’m unemployed’. The banker would shake his head, and close his file, and just as he does the person would say, but I do have several billions in proven oil reserves…..

    The oil isn’t just about revenue, but it also provides economic collateral. It adds heft to an economy on global markets.

    No matter what it is, Scotland has something which the lying English Tories desperately need.

    The desperation that London Tories have for keeping hold of Scotland tells me one thing, Scotland has a strong economy, and without it, it is ENGLAND which would be weakened.

    Time for independence, so over to you, NS. Time to reveal your ‘next steps’ (oh and here’s a hint, any talk of 2021, will get you and your husband, your P45’s.). Action required NOW.

  4. CameronB Brodie
    Ignored
    says:

    IMHO, Brexit is the result of the far-right gaming democracy in Britain. Since when have weapons grade psychological warfare techniques, been seen as appropriate political practice in constitutional democracies?

    Austerity traumatised the population to the extent that radical, far-right, politics were felt to be culturally acceptable to many in England, and now rules Britannia Brexitania.

    Racism, Crisis, Brexit

    ABSTRACT
    This article offers a conjunctural analysis of the financial and political crisis within which Brexit occurred with a specific attentiveness to race and racism. Brexit and its aftermath have been overdetermined by racism, including racist violence.

    We suggest that the Leave campaign secured its victory by bringing together two contradictory but inter-locking visions. The first comprises an imperial longing to restore Britain’s place in the world as primus inter pares that occludes any coming to terms with the corrosive legacies of colonial conquest and racist subjugation.

    The second takes the form of an insular, Powellite narrative of island retreat from a “globalizing” world, one that is no longer recognizably “British”. Further, the article argues that an invisible driver of the Brexit vote and its racist aftermath has been a politicization of Englishness. We conclude by outlining some resources of hope that could potentially help to negotiate the current emergency.

    KEYWORDS
    Racism; crisis; Brexit; empire; Englishness; neoliberalism

    https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/20173/1/Racism%20Crisis%20Brexit.pdf

  5. Dorothy Devine
    Ignored
    says:

    HandandShrimp , I care not whether you have enriched the pillocks day , but thank you for enriching mine.

    What was it the Rev said about responding to trolls? Anyone remember???

  6. Rm
    Ignored
    says:

    Oil reserves, renewable potential, cold fresh running water, good farming land, fresh air, etc, etc, etc, etc and great people who are welcomed all over the world that’s what Westminster wants to keep hold of because jealousy is an Awfa thing.

  7. Craig Murray
    Ignored
    says:

    Dakk

    “Craig Murray, Stuart Campbell, and every other man and his dug will only know what somebody tells them.”

    So you have never heard of documentation, Dakk?

  8. Unionist Media BDSM Club
    Ignored
    says:

    I’ve known some desperately sad people in my time. Friendless, partnerless, each day a wasteland of lonely pointlessness, bitterness and regret. But none of them were ever quite so sad that they’d sit month after month typing hundreds of thousands of words pretending to support a political cause, just so they can then slip in “innocent” insinuations about that cause’s leader being a lesbian.

    We joke about trolls and the 77th and the like. But seriously, we should all have a minute’s silence now to acknowledge the genuinely desolate nature of such an existence.

  9. One_Scot
    Ignored
    says:

    I think it was something along the lines of f*** them up the ass with old rusty washing line pole, or maybe I’ve picked that up wrong.

  10. robertknight
    Ignored
    says:

    This team NS vs team AS and the upcoming trial reminds me of something. Feel free to insert your own alternative names for the players, performers and portrayers…


    ANTONY

    Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears.
    I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.
    The evil that men do lives after them;
    The good is oft interrèd with their bones.

    So let it be with Caesar.
    The noble Brutus hath told you Caesar was ambitious.
    If it were so, it was a grievous fault,
    and grievously hath Caesar answered it.
    Here, under leave of Brutus and the rest—

    For Brutus is an honorable man;
    So are they all, all honorable men—
    Come I to speak in Caesar’s funeral.
    He was my friend, faithful and just to me.

    But Brutus says he was ambitious,
    And Brutus is an honorable man.

  11. Dan
    Ignored
    says:

    I done geography at school so my history is borderline pish (tbh that may actually make my grasp of history better than the tainted shit I would “know” had I actually taken history in school and been taught all about some dude called Harold having a good eye and knitting a muckle tapestry with an arrow in 1066 or whatevs)
    That being the case I just wikipedia’d Scotland and it states “The Kingdom of Scotland emerged as an independent sovereign state in the European middle ages and continued to exist until 1707…”.
    “Until”? WTF! I’m having a wee existential crisis here. My address says Scotland and I paid a mortgage on ma hoose. Have I been duped and missold a non existent property on a mythical land?

    FFS, am no havin that so aff to court to prove we exist…
    Yer honour let me proffer ye exhibit A – Scotland huv an (albeit shite) INTERNATIONAL fitba team, occasionally on the telly, and even less occasional winning.

    Boom ya bass! Got that shiz nailed doon that we exist noo.
    So about this UK Union thang which we are a supposed equal partner in.
    We are wan o’ the Kingdoms (albeit oor monarch is currently in the doghoose coz she and her family huv no exactly been biggin’ up max respectz from the Scots masif recently, although the young ginger wan and his lass are at least makin’ an effort to live independently an no just spongin’ muchos cash aff the plebs).
    We ra sovereign peeps of Scotia which I’ll add tae yer ken are also known as Écosse in French so dat’s further proof we exist or are you accusin’ the French o’ lyin’ ya wiggy bastard?

    Soz guv, I digressed a wee bit there but it’s aw down to the stress o’ payin these exorbitant legal fees tae access the justice system, you’ll ken how much ye earn so am sure you can understan’ that mitigates my emotional state.
    Anywayz, Scots huv produced multiple mandates to choose to determine oor oan future again coz oor southern partner has shat the bed big time, and way worse than Spud’s wee scitter in Trainspotting I might add to impress the true stature of the jobby laid.
    And it’s a richt reeker tae so with a peoples’ richt tae self-determination which is enshrined in big law above the wan yer working wi’ here, we want to facilitate gettin’ on we asking the question again as the two recent refers’ results are incompatible.
    So come on, chop chop, and let’s get this stinking situation sorted sharpish.

    And dinae be thinking just coz wan man outta a population of aroond 5.5 million who may or may not have tried a bit o’ hanky panky means we should’nae get the oppurchancity to decide oor oan future. That angle will jist nae wash wi’ us.

  12. Liz g
    Ignored
    says:

    Mist001 @ 5.53
    I can’t answer for the men you cite,but professional women tend to keep their own name because that’s the name on their qualifications!
    And just as an FYI a woman’s name doesn’t actually change on becoming married she just gets the “use” of her husband’s name.

  13. Craig Murray
    Ignored
    says:

    UnionistMediaBDSMClub at 11.28am

    Your very perceptive comment is very important.

    What if you discovered the much loved party leader was Frank Underwood? Would it matter if they had assassinated their predecessor, or should you keep quiet to avoid damage to the cause which they are successfully leading us all towards?

    That knowledge and that dilemma would surely cause you massive angst and sleepless nights indeed, my friend. I can testify to that.

    But what if you subsequently became convinced that Frank Underwood cared about nothing but power, and was actually impeding progress towards the cause for which you are all striving, to be certain of hanging on to that power? What would you do then, my friend?

  14. Capella
    Ignored
    says:

    Have a look at these magnificent tapestries in the Musee du Moyen Age in Paris. The Lady and the Unicorn, a series of six tapestries representing the senses and mon seul desir. Although said to be woven in Flanders, there is a theory that they were in fact Scottish. The restored tapestries in Stirling Castle echo the themes. Whatever, if you get the chance to go to Paris they are well worth a visit.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lady_and_the_Unicorn#Gallery

    @ Dan 1.38 – nice description of your country trip

  15. robertknight
    Ignored
    says:

    Dan…

    Wiki is correct. Scotland’s status as an “Independent sovereign state” ceased, as did the same status enjoyed by the former Kingdom of England, (Which included the principality of Wales), on the 1st of May, 1707, with the creation of the unified Kingdom of Great Britain. Doesn’t stand that England, (and Wales), and Scotland ceased to exist thereafter – though some anglophile armchair historians would have you believe that in the case of Scotland this was indeed the case.

    Thankfully, the parcel of rogues hung on to our distinctive legal and religious (and through association education) heritage, otherwise…

  16. Capella
    Ignored
    says:

    @ Craig Murray – all we can have here are unsubstantiated allegations.

    You mention documentation but that is no better than hearsay. Unless you were in the room at the time, you are not an eyewitness. The evidence of your own eyes and ears, or a credible recording (not the useless one that was used to frame Tommy Sheridan), or two reliable witnesses might be convincing.

    The main question remains – who benefits? What more power could the protagonist hope to achieve by this method? How could a predecessor who is no longer an MP, nor an MSP possibly be a threat?

  17. Rev. Stuart Campbell
    Ignored
    says:

    “You mention documentation but that is no better than hearsay. Unless you were in the room at the time, you are not an eyewitness. The evidence of your own eyes and ears, or a credible recording (not the useless one that was used to frame Tommy Sheridan), or two reliable witnesses might be convincing.”

    I’ll be honest, I’m getting really tired of you.

  18. Capella
    Ignored
    says:

    @ Rev Stu – fine. I’ll stop posting.

  19. Dan
    Ignored
    says:

    Jeezo, burning benches in the open rather than relocating them or recycling the hardwood for other projects.
    FFS recycling centres take wood to be reprocessed in various ways.
    What type of thoughtless arseholes are running the place.

    https://twitter.com/conor_matchett/status/1218483680487858176

  20. schrodingers cat
    Ignored
    says:

    i like craig murray, always have, but im concerned his blog might be straying into contempt of court territory. if he has documentation rather than just word of mouth testimony, i hope he keeps it for the trial and this info isnt tainted and rendered useless in court.

    alex salmond’s reputation is on the line and perhaps our movement. pls tread carefully

    the establishment doesnt need any prompting to go after either craig or stu

  21. dakk
    Ignored
    says:

    ‘So you have never heard of documentation, Dakk’

    Documentation might just be something ‘some arsehole’ has typed out for all you or I know Craig.

    The way I see it is, if Nicola Sturgeon/SNP does not deliver on an indyref2 in 2020 and Scotland IS dragged out of Europe against it’s will with a whimper then they will have no credibility and will lose power anyway.

    Better they go down fighting trying to free Scotland and do what they promised.

    Are they that stupid/ immoral?

    I don’t believe they are, but we shall know within a year.

  22. Unionist Media BDSM Club
    Ignored
    says:

    Hi Craig.

    That second question is a tough one. Really tough.

    But I still think in the hypothetical example I’d destroy the footage rather than turn it over to the Record. If I did the latter I’d be almost 100% sure I’d be helping badly damage the cause of independence.

    If I was *certain* the leader was an impediment to independence then destroying the footage still gives the movement the chance of removing her but without the potentially colossal damage caused by revealing her as Frank Underwood.

    But of course it’s not me who has to make this decision, so the above is easy to say. If you and Stu really do have to weigh up equivalent decisions, then you have my sympathies. That would indeed keep me awake at night.

    And to repeat: if you-know-who is publicly unmasked as Frank Underwood I will join you and others in calling for her head.

    [YOU-KNOW-WHO (smirking to camera): ‘They’re calling for my head now. I’ll smear them ALL as rapists (evil laughter)].

    Regarding your tweet today about HS2, consider the following as well:

    Future Scottish share of Trident £16 billion.
    Brexit cost to Scotland already £10 billion.
    Projected future Brexit cost to Scotland £12 billion pa.

    While UK revenue in 2019-20 from NS oil may be only £1.1 billion.

    Would you agree that offering London all oil and gas revenue in exchange for independence might at least be worth considering? We rejoin the EU, pay nothing for Trident or HS2, gain our independence and over the long-term end up HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS of £ better off.

    I’ve written about this in detail elsewhere. The gist: such an offer would also let London sell independence to English voters as a victory and thereby save face, which you’ll know better than anyone can often be key to clinching a tricky deal.

  23. Pete Barton
    Ignored
    says:

    @Dan, Rev Stu and Capella.

    Pardon me for butting in, please?

    Burning benches ain’t clever, I get that.

    Burning bridges ain’t clever either..it’s worse.

    For the love of truth, let’s see what comes to pass.

    Everyone’s tense, it has to spill out somehow.

    Don’t let it destroy us, and our noble cause.

  24. Colin Alexander
    Ignored
    says:

    Craig Murray

    The hints are coming thick and fast. But, with the greatest respect to you Craig, I don’t think a blog is the place to discuss certain matters, for as you know, what you can say is very limited.

    However, to me it’s clear your and Stu’s trust / patience / hope in Sturgeon’s leadership of the SNP and indy movement is deid.

    I said I’ll give the SNP the benefit of the doubt during the GE. Sturgeon’s s30 strategy is confirmed to be the deid end we always expected it to be.

    I’m waiting for the final confirmation at the end of January, that Sturgeon’s SNP only have Plan A.

    But, do you or Stu or anyone have a Plan B prepared, if your Plan A
    ( full support for Sturgeon’s SNP) is confirmed as a colonial dead end?

    Eg Replace Sturgeon? Replace the SNP? Or what?

  25. schrodingers cat
    Ignored
    says:

    one good thing.

    the idea of an alternative indy party on the list is taking off on social media.

    ive always promoted tactical voting, even if some here (and terry kelly which is extremely odd) refuse to accept the arithmatic

    thing is, arithmatic apart, if the people dont trust you, no amount of pointing to facts and figures will make them vote for you.

    to succeed in this venture, you need to take the voters with you. I hope alex salmond gets on board with the idea.

    that would swing it with even the most sceptical yesser

  26. Craig Murray
    Ignored
    says:

    Colin

    My hope is not dead at all. I have enormous confidence Independence is unstoppable.

    I also think the SNP has a great future under new leadership that is less paranoid and centralised and more focused on Independence.

    It would be much better for everybody if Nicola went now. The keeping of identities secret in the Salmond trial – “this cannot hold”, to coin a phrase.

    There are some really brilliant people who could lead the SNP forward. Joanna Cherry. Tommy Sheppard. Lots of others. The future is bright.

  27. Colin Alexander
    Ignored
    says:

    schrodingers cat

    What do you expect a List Party to achieve?

    Will different faces for the colonial parliament change anything, except set up more targets for the Establishment, as happened with the SSP?

  28. Colin Alexander
    Ignored
    says:

    Craig Murray

    Well, it’s encouraging to see you are upbeat about things.

    But, Sturgeon has just reinforced her woke Praetorian Guard with Alyn Smith becoming an MP, and her allies rewarded, and married to the Party boss etc.

    I’m no saying it’s impossible, even Thatcher got the dirty kick eventually, but do you really expect any of those mentioned to stand up and take on Sturgeon? I can’t see it.

    Or do you believe outside events will force Sturgeon’s resignation?

  29. mike cassidy
    Ignored
    says:

    A visual representation of SNP achieving a second independence referendum.

    https://twitter.com/YourWullie/status/1219348736352161793

  30. Pete Barton
    Ignored
    says:

    Craig, I believe you may be being phished here.

    Getting pished is fun, phished is not.

    Don’t take the bait.

  31. Colin Alexander
    Ignored
    says:

    Pete Barton

    I don’t know if you are referring to me but, I’ve already implied Craig should not go into detail online about certain matters.

    So my questions are deliberately about the SNP. I’m not asking for information that could intrude into legal matters subject to sub judice.

  32. Unionist Media BDSM Club
    Ignored
    says:

    Please keep posting, Capella. This site *really* needs you right now.

  33. callmedave
    Ignored
    says:

    Brexit: Government loses first parliamentary votes since election

    The Lords win a temporary stay: 🙂 First of many I suppose.

    https://archive.is/KHcMH

  34. Pete Barton
    Ignored
    says:

    @Colin

    I smell phish.

    Nothing personal, you understand.

  35. schrodingers cat
    Ignored
    says:

    Colin Alexander says:
    What do you expect a List Party to achieve?

    Will different faces for the colonial parliament change anything, except set up more targets for the Establishment, as happened with the SSP?
    ———–
    more targets for the establishment… possibly, but then again, stu and craig are already targets

    what will it achieve?… it will replace a huge swath of unionist list msps, denying them a grand unionist coalition which would end the indy movement and it would ensure that this movement stayed at the forefront of scottish politics.

    whats not to like?

  36. Kenny J
    Ignored
    says:

    See the propaganda they Norwayers pit oot, jist lies, 2.7 billion barrels, 50 years, lies, lies.

    “(CNN)It’s not a boast you usually hear about an oil field: Norway says its huge new facility is great for the environment.
    “Johan Sverdrup is now open. That’s good news for our investors, for Norway — and for emissions,” boasts the official website of Equinor, the Norwegian state company that operates the field.
    Its critics, however, see Norway’s third-biggest oil field ever as a perfect symbol of the Scandinavian country’s climate hypocrisy.

    The field, located around 87 miles off the Norwegian coast, is named after the country’s first prime minister. It has reserves of 2.7 billion barrels of oil, enough to last half a century and bring more than $100 billion into Norway’s pocket.
    The operation is powered by energy brought from the shore, generated mainly from hydroelectric power — a rarity for offshore oil fields, most of which are powered by diesel generators.”
    Next ye’ll be tryin tae tell me Jockish iil could dae the same. Piffle, or DePeffle.

  37. terence callachan
    Ignored
    says:

    dakk…7.52… well said I agree with that

  38. schrodingers cat
    Ignored
    says:

    “Remember, if we can’t determine exactly who said it, then, by Internet Law, it becomes an Einstein quote.” — Abraham Lincoln

  39. dakk
    Ignored
    says:

    Just seen the sky news interview with Dobber Brown.

    Monaghan said you didn’t deliver on promises made in Vow.

    Brown snapped back ‘WE DID’ ‘we gave the Scottish parliament the power to top up benefits and they haven’t used it’.

    The power to top up benefits is all the camp twadler came up with.

    Put you off human beings for life him.

  40. terence callachan
    Ignored
    says:

    Pete Barton….7.53…..well said , I agree

  41. Colin Alexander
    Ignored
    says:

    Pete Barton

    You can smell whatever you like, nothing personal.

    I hope Stu and Craig stop dropping hints and keep silence on certain matters till the right time and the right place. eg in open court.

    My interest is independence, not certain side issues.

    If, as I’ve long suspected, (but still giving the benefit of the doubt for now) that Sturgeon’s lack of leadership on indy leadership is the biggest hindrance, it’s a valid question to question how that can be overcome when she has the party tied up tighter than Scotland into the British Empire.

  42. terence callachan
    Ignored
    says:

    Colin Alexander …7.57…..

    SNP said there will be a Scottish independence referendum 2020
    And 2020 lasts until 31st December 2020

    You say you will give SNP til the end of January to show a plan B

    Ehhh ?

    Wise up SNP have eleven months to arrange a Scottish independence referendum
    Not til end of january

  43. kapelmeister
    Ignored
    says:

    We await the SNP leadership showing their true psychological orientation.

    Are they merely risk averse salary drawers, anxious as to how they are perceived by the establishment?

    Or do they have cojones, ready to lead Scotland to freedom?

  44. CameronB Brodie
    Ignored
    says:

    The UK government already ignores international human rights law. This is due to English law being considered immutable? Why would anyone expect this situation to improve after we are dragged out of the EU. We will be further isolated from the ethos and effect of international law, and can’t really expect English Tories to change their spots.

  45. terence callachan
    Ignored
    says:

    Only SNP can get Scottish independence at present
    They said they will have a scottish independence referendum 2020
    You might think they are just kicking the can down the road
    But we have to give them 2020 to do what they said they will do

    You may not like SNP
    You may not like Nicola Sturgeon or her feminist views

    But if you want Scottish independence , truly want it
    You have to give her and SNP 2020

  46. ScotsRenewables
    Ignored
    says:

    Craig Murray
    So you have never heard of documentation, Dakk?

    … And none of us have ever heard of fake documents, have we?

    Craig, you are an enemy of the state. You know that. They are out to get you, wise up man.

  47. CameronB Brodie
    Ignored
    says:

    I don’t know where that ? came from.

    Do folk really think that contemporary English nationalism, which is currently characterised by racism, particularly Islamophobia, and general hostility towards Others, doesn’t shape England’s relationship with Scotland? Wishful thinking? Pig ignorance?

    The Radical Right and Euroskepticism
    https://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190274559.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780190274559-e-7

  48. terence callachan
    Ignored
    says:

    I have read the various views about Alex
    I support him fully

    Until I see the evidence provided in court I will support Nicola Sturgeon and SNP but I will not support the right for adults who claim to have been assaulted
    To be gifted anonymity

    If you go to court accusing a person of assault , any type of assault ,
    And you are an adult
    You should not be anonymous

    There may be people in the world who recognise an accuser as having a history of such accusations
    Perhaps accusations that had not reached court
    But are known

    Anonymity in my opinion is not acceptable when you are the accuser

  49. Colin Alexander
    Ignored
    says:

    terence callachan

    The SNP / FM cannot bind Scotland to s30 or consent and cooperation from WM, cos that’s no gonnae happen.

    Either that position has to change or the leader has to be changed.

  50. Jason Smoothpiece
    Ignored
    says:

    Listening to Gordon Brown just there. You have got to admit the guy is funny, I miss him and Jim Murphy both always good for a laugh.

    When he speaks Brown is just having a good laugh, I mean he is not serious…….hes not surely.

  51. CameronB Brodie
    Ignored
    says:

    Without a campaign of some sort that highlights Scotland;s national identity and the damage the Brexit will cause, British nationalist, Eurosceptic, propaganda will most likely see a surge of Gammon in Scotland.

    What the feck has Jim Fairlie been smoking. Then again, he is in the right age-group to buy into Euroscepticism. He should remember his time is not long, and the youth of Scotland deserves a better future that will be on offer in Brexitania.

    Meet the Scottish nationalists who voted Leave

    The SNP has a problem – many of its supporters also support Brexit.
    https://www.spiked-online.com/2019/12/09/meet-the-scottish-nationalists-who-voted-leave/

  52. Mist001
    Ignored
    says:

    @ ScotsRenewables

    Everyone who supports Scottish independence is an enemy of the state. Wise up Man.

  53. dakk
    Ignored
    says:

    @…scotsrenewables
    ‘ And none of us have ever heard of fake documents’

    For what it’s worth, they even used them on one of their own.

    Wee Geordie Galloway british nationalist extraordinaire.

  54. Colin Alexander
    Ignored
    says:

    If waiting for the Evil Empire to become good guys remains the SNP’s only strategy at the end of January, then my own concerns will be but a raindrop in an ocean of discontent about the SNP.

    The FM has 11 days to come up with a credible response to the disgraceful but fully anticipated reply from BJ.

  55. CameronB Brodie
    Ignored
    says:

    @Jim Fairlie
    Wise up man and stop being so narrow-minded and British.

    Full text.

    Populism and nationalism in a comparative perspective: a scholarly exchange
    https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nana.12480

  56. Dr Jim
    Ignored
    says:

    BBC finds that Scotland current growth rate of people will be a 25% increase in pensioners by 25 years with only a 1% increase in working age population
    Unless Scotland either has a birth rate boom or becomes Independent and reverses the English governments immigration plans Scotland will be dead and broke by 2045

    The BBCs answer to this was “What are the SNP going to do”
    Should the Question not be what is the Scottish parliament going to do
    It’s not like the BBC to lay the blame at the SNP for a policy imposed by the English government and the result of that policy in 25 years when Nicola Sturgeon would be 75 years old and hardly responsible for how many sugars she has in her coffee by then

  57. ScotsRenewables
    Ignored
    says:

    Mist001

    Everyone who supports Scottish independence is an enemy of the state. Wise up Man.

    Craig Murray is considerably more of a threat to the establishment than you, you presumptious wee tumshie.

  58. Colin Alexander
    Ignored
    says:

    Why was it left to a blogger to try and obtain the latest polling indications on indy?

    I thought that was Angus Robertson’s role?

  59. iain mhor
    Ignored
    says:

    Further to Lord Cormack’ recent ‘Referendum.Criteria Bill’ from last year:
    https://services.parliament.uk/bills/2019-20/referendumscriteria.html

    I was reading through the ‘Minutes of Evidence’ from the House of Lords Select Committee on the Constitution (12th Report of Session 2009/­10) “Referendums in the UK” – as you do – and came across an interesting and uncontested point made by Professor David Butler (Q17) in relation to imposing thresholds on referendums;

    “There is one technical question that comes if you have thresholds and that is: what is the electorate? I remember arguing with John Smith about this in 1978. The real electorate ?gure is, we know, bogus really. The electoral register represents only about 90% of the electorate and about 10% of the names are dud names anyway, so what is the electorate? What about people who are plurally registered and so on?
    You have got to get your facts very accurately done if you have thresholds brought into the argument”

    Well, I have nothing to add to that subject at present; other than to recommend reading the entire proceedings. It is a damnably long read, however it is damnably interesting and educational.

    https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200910/ldselect/ldconst/99/10010602.htm

  60. Pete
    Ignored
    says:

    Dr Jim 10.17
    Making Scotland a higher taxed country for the aspirational classes doesn’t help!
    Reducing personal taxes and getting rid of the silly perks is the way to go.

  61. Dr Jim
    Ignored
    says:

    @Pete 10:23pm

    I think you’ve made an error I’ve never mentioned taxes at all

  62. Dan
    Ignored
    says:

    Yey for Mmmmmm = More Marvelous Monday Mandate Mania Mayhem!

    https://twitter.com/RevStu/status/1219375415971786755

    For the love of sanity and the environment can we stop fucking cutting down all the trees to burn benches or make paper for all these twatting mandates.
    I was hoping for Scotland to be on the pioneering forefront of renewable technology and environmental policies but at this rate there will be no trees left, only massive warehooses storing the gegabazilliontrillion mandates.
    Christ on a fuckin space hopper…
    SOS – run squirrels before it’s too late for you.

  63. Dr Jim
    Ignored
    says:

    Stormont rejects Johnson’s deal, only Wales to go for the set

  64. Mist001
    Ignored
    says:

    @ ScotsRenewables

    “Craig Murray is considerably more of a threat to the establishment than you, you presumptious wee tumshie.”

    And why would that be? He runs a moderately popular information forum which is quite good, but is very much a niche forum. He, like I, and presumably you, supports Scottish independence. Does the fact that he has a website make him more of a threat to the break up of the UK than people who don’t have a website?

    Or what is it? He’s a bigger independence supporter than everyone else? You hero worship him? What?

    I think you ought to renew your brain.

  65. CameronB Brodie
    Ignored
    says:

    @Jim Fairlie
    You seriously need to take a look at yourself and step into the real world. Think about future generations, rather than yourself, ffs.

    The politics of nationalism and white racism in the UK
    https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1468-4446.12311

  66. call me dave
    Ignored
    says:

    @Dr Jim: Story Archived.

    Brexit: NI Assembly votes to withhold Brexit bill consent

    https://archive.is/wKeCb

  67. Dr Jim
    Ignored
    says:

    Nobody knows what anybody supports just because they say so on the Internet
    The Labour party say they support self determination for every other country but never for Scotland

    People *say* a lot of things

    Thank goodness the Internet is not a reflection of real life or we’d really be in trouble

  68. Katie
    Ignored
    says:

    You know that the unionists are sh1tting themselves when Gordon Brown comes out his box… maybe its a sign of hope?

  69. Dr Jim
    Ignored
    says:

    @call me dave 10:40pm

    They’ll regret the day they turned on Arlene Foster now, she’s using strong language over this, we’ll see how much it costs England to shut her up, or has she got principles

    Unanimous too, that’s HOL SG Stormont, c’mon Wales

  70. mike cassidy
    Ignored
    says:

    The British msm reach a tipping point.

    The Telegraph will no longer be producing physical sales numbers for its papers via the industry audit standard.

    Its digital-subscription-numbers that count now , don’t you know?

    http://archive.is/YsS2V

    And guess which paper is fairing worst in terms of percentage decline.

    The Sunday Post.

    http://archive.is/4fSL0

    Jings Ma Crivvens and Help Ma Boab!

    Oor readers are dying aff.

    Its enough to make you go sit on a bucket til you get the piles.

  71. CameronB Brodie
    Ignored
    says:

    @Jim Fairlie
    You appear not to be in contact with reality. You certainly don’t appear to understand how the EU relates to national sovereignty. Are you sure your Eurosceptic position isn’t cover for other less wholesome beliefs?

    Do you really believe Scots law to be subservient to English law? Do you believe parliamentary sovereignty superior to popular sovereignty? If so, your belief conflicts with liberal academia.

    Full text

    The UK’s Sovereignty Situation: Brexit, Bewilderment and Beyond?…
    https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09615768.2016.1250465?src=recsys

  72. dakk
    Ignored
    says:

    We all feel bereft of power to control political events.

    Especially now with Brexit about to happen.Even more so will prominent activists like Stuart Campbell and Craig Murray, and Alex Salmond.

    We’re on the outside looking in.

    This offensive on Nicola Sturgeon might eminate from a feeling of impotence/frustration.

    I can’t even control events in my own fucking household.

    Egos may have taken over patience and logic here.

  73. CameronB Brodie
    Ignored
    says:

    Euroscoptics like Jim Fairlie, tend to be those who believe British nationalist propoganda. He may have had an influential past, but he is no longer has a clue, IMHO.

    @Jim Fairlie
    Get some science into you and wake up to the true nature of contemporary British nationalism. Britain is no longer a social democracy.

    Full text.

    Systematic Epistemic Rights Violations in the Media: A Brexit Case Study

    Abstract

    ‘Euro judges “open floodgates to illegals”’ (The Sun, 8 June 2016), ‘Fury over plot to let 1.5M Turks enter Britain’ (Daily Mail, 13 June 2016), ‘European criminals free to live in Britain’ (Daily Telegraph, 7 June 2016). These headlines all appeared in the weeks immediately prior to the UK referendum on EU membership, held on 23 June 2016. They present a stark and unified message regarding the nature, scale and impact of EU immigration in the UK It is hard to deny that a correlation exists between public concern with EU immigration at this time and media attention on the topic.

    That the media actively shaped the beliefs of its audience, regarding EU immigration, and that it did so through the propagation of misinformation and in the biasing and concealment of accurate information is also, I argue, overwhelmingly plausible. As such, the media handling of information concerning EU immigration during pre-Brexit campaigning provides a compelling illustration of the systematic violation of epistemic rights.

    In this paper, I outline the nature of epistemic rights and epistemic rights violations and demonstrate the widespread perpetration of such violations in pre-Brexit media coverage. This provides a case study for the investigation of epistemic rights violations across national and international media; a topic of central concern for contemporary epistemology.

    Keywords:
    Epistemic rights, rights, social epistemology, political epistemology, media epistemology, epistemic injustice, Brexit

    https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02691728.2018.1440022

  74. CameronB Brodie
    Ignored
    says:

    Don’t believe me that democracy in Britain is no longer, well here’s an opinion from the Royal Society of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce.

    Why has Brexit broken British democracy?
    https://www.thersa.org/discover/publications-and-articles/rsa-blogs/2019/10/brexit-democracy-consensus

  75. CameronB Brodie
    Ignored
    says:

    I hope folk noticed there was no mention of Scotland or NI in that article. Britain is England, apparently.

    An Epistemic Theory of Democracy
    https://www.oxfordscholarship.com/view/10.1093/oso/9780198823452.001.0001/oso-9780198823452

  76. Dr Jim
    Ignored
    says:

    Stephen Kerr ex Tory MP for Stirling fights the General Election on a ticket of No More Indyrefs loses his seat to the party that says YES to Indyref then the peuchy wee squirt turns up on the telly to tell everybody there’s no appetite for Independence and the interviwer *Help me Rona* allows him more time to keep talking this shite while the Labour woman drags up abolish the House of Lords shit again until there’s no time left for Michelle Thompson who’s there to represent the party who actually won the shitting general Election to get a word in

    Sorry it’s all one big paragraph but I think that’s what sums up broadcasting in Scotland, one big shitty paragraph of all the wrong people who lost being allowed to talk over the right people who won

    We need to see the polls they say, no we don’t, we need to allow people to vote in a feckin poll then that’ll be the answer

    Tories and Labour and that peuchy wee other lot of clowns are gutless useless cowards because they know like we all know now, it’s a YES from Scotland

  77. Famous15
    Ignored
    says:

    Latest poll shows Jackson Carcrash in second place in Tory leadership. Ballantyne even has the support of touchy feely Thomson.

    Now let us whisper this and quietly watch another Unionist Party self destruct.

  78. HandandShrimp
    Ignored
    says:

    Ballantyne?

    Isn’t she the charmer that wanted to sterilize the poor or something else? That would be a gift.

    That said, either of them is a gift.

  79. twathater
    Ignored
    says:

    @ Craig Murray , Craig I just watched your interview with galloway on RT and I congratulate you on demolishing every one of galloways assertions , thank you , but may I ask that you refrain from any more references to you know what , there are many here and elsewhere who just want to remain uninformed until it has been publicly outed . With all due respect at this point in time the target is independence , as many have posted the 1st is the decider

    Capella you learned person PLEASE keep on posting we all disagree at times , even me lol , but as you are wont to say we all have the same goal , we’re Scots we can all start a row in an empty hoose

  80. Breeks
    Ignored
    says:


    dakk says:
    20 January, 2020 at 11:25 pm

    This offensive on Nicola Sturgeon might eminate from a feeling of impotence/frustration.

    I can’t even control events in my own fucking household.

    Egos may have taken over patience and logic here.

    I respectfully disagree dakk.

    Brexit is happening contrary to the will of Scotland, yet our leadership has done nothing to stand firm on Scotland’s Constitutional Rights. Even from the outset, when Scotland delivered an emphatic Remain Mandate which Westminster had no sovereign right to overturn, our leadership was volunteering unforced compromises which pulled the rug from under our feet.

    Their resistance to Brexit has been dismal, misguided, wholly ineffective, and downright condescending to maintain that a democratic majority is the only way to skin a cat. To add insult to injury, we HAVE a Democratic Mandate, to defeat Brexit, and smash apart the Union on the rebound.

    I don’t know whether this feeble impotence stems from incompetence, mental frailty, tunnel vision without ambition, blind faith, behind the scenes coercion or inducement, the oppressive awe of what is before them, or whatever… the SNP are a rule unto themselves, and think it is adequate to serve up one dished enigma after another to our YES movement then leave them to make sense of it.

    The small successes we have secured, (I call them small, but Joanna Cherry did more to codify the UK’s unwritten constitution than anyone else has managed to achieve in 300 years), the small successes which have held Westminster to account have been the legal challenge to revoke Article 50, which was European Law yes, but the UK Supreme Court failed to derail it, and a second case brought through the Court of Session to reign in the conduct of the UK Prime Minister’s unlawful prorogation of Parliament, which failed to satisfy the Scottish Constitutional Doctrine that Parliament served the people. These were Constitutionally derived initiatives which required no democratic mandate or majority to initiate, just a breach of Constitutional Rights to have occurred.

    We thus have a groping democratic appendage trying to move us forward like the protruding limb of an amoeba but for three years floundering to find any purchase, and we have two Constitutionally based Exocet missiles which took out their intended targets with surgical precision and zero collateral damage.

    Which doctrine does our government throw it’s weight behind? Why the slippery slidy advance of the deaf, dumb, and blind groping appendage, with Joanna Cherry obliged to put her Constitutional Rocket Launcher back in the armoury and fall back in line.

    I don’t care a whit whether Nicola Sturgeon stays or goes, but what I do care about is the dismal and baffling abandonment of Scotland’s greatest Constitutional strengths as if they didn’t exist, by our appointed Government which cannot see beyond or outside the constraints Westminster drew up to contain a devolved assembly.

    I repeat, there are three Constitutions here, the Sovereign Constitution of Auld Scotland, the Conveniently unwritten Constitution of the United Kingdom, and the expressly concise written Constitution of a devolved Parliament designed to remain the lesser Parliament under Westminster.

    It is the first Constitution, the Sovereign Constitution of Scotland which was written in the 14th Century and enshrined Scotland’s Sovereignty upon its people, which gives power to Scotland’s Constitutional integrity. Westminster’s Constitution is a sham they make up on the spot, and Holyrood’s Constitution is a dog’s breakfast of ambiguity and confusion.

    If Holyrood finds it’s Parliamentary Constitution confusing, debilitating and stifling, then it is imperative that we step outside Holyrood, and bask in the Constitutional purity of Scotland’s original Constitution which as always, sits as the superior, and Sovereign above all others.

  81. Breeks
    Ignored
    says:

    Our Scottish Constitution is the Ocean. Our Scottish Parliament is a baggie net which lets us think we’re swimming in the ocean.

  82. Robert Louis
    Ignored
    says:

    Breeks at 0632am,

    Another excellent post. People sometimes say, ‘oh but all this old Scotland consitution stuff is no longer relevant or enforceable. But that is nonsense. You do not see the USA turn their backs on their consitution, because it is old.

    But, more importantly, if the Scottish consitutional settlement is no longer relevant, then that also means another old document (which was singed under duress), the treaty of union, no longer matters. The ONLY thing keeping Scotland under Johnsons jackboot, is the treaty of union.

    End the union, withdraw from the treaty, whatever, but the Scottish Government should not stand by and let Scotland be dragged wholly against its wishes out of the EU by force, simply because it is what bully-boy England wants to do.

    If the union treaty if still relevant, then so too, is the Scottish consitution, enshrined within Scots law. It is that simple.

    Asking London nicely, will get us sweet f all. The time for the Scotgov to stand whining from the touchlines, is long gone. We need action. It is the ONLY THING westminster understands.

  83. Golfnut
    Ignored
    says:

    @ Breeks and RL.
    Absolutely spot on, both of you.

  84. Breeks
    Ignored
    says:


    Robert Louis says:
    21 January, 2020 at 7:02 am

    If the union treaty if still relevant, then so too, is the Scottish consitution, enshrined within Scots law. It is that simple.

    Correct. That’s why my preferred referendum question would be “Should the Nation of Scotland dissolve the 1707 Treaty of Union?”

    That way there is nothing at stake except the Treaty of Union. We don’t need to become a Nation, we already are one, and a sovereign nation at that.

  85. Golfnut
    Ignored
    says:

    It is also important to remember that Westminster is acting solely by Parliamentary and Constitutional Convention.

  86. Contrary
    Ignored
    says:

    Breeks and RL, yes, good posts.

    A couple of general comments: i have believed what Craig and RevStu have said all along, but have disagreed with their ways of projecting their anger and frustration. I was also hoping that the SNP would be forced politically to take action – they did, after all, make a firm commitment to deliver a referendum this year. I promised myself that if it wasn’t – that is, I have waited until the start of 2020 – then support for SNP would be withdrawn unless the situation demands the SNP has it in order to directly achieve independence.

    There are many actions the SNP could have been taking to strengthen their position, they have done none of it. Their reactions and actions have been weak and pathetic. Benefit of the doubt has been given up until now, to allow for not scaring the undecided voter, but voters also want strength and confidence.

    Plan B is us. We are the plan B, and we must use whatever at our disposal (Yes groups sharing ideas and campaigning, marches, court cases to force political action, getting signatures via the covenant, etc, add your own ideas). And we need to do things this year, while the SNP is still in power. They are a vehicle, not the driving force.

    As for advocates of secrecy – that is the daftest idea I’ve ever heard. The security services are professionals at secrecy ‘secrecy for secrecy’s sake’, you can never beat them on secrecy or with it. One major problem we have is getting information out there, we don’t need any more suppression, by our own hand even. Better to keep everything out there and keep discussing, keep ideas flowing, be open about everything (within legal limits obviously), I doubt very much anything planned will not be known about, so why not plan lots of things?

    Did I hear the suggestion Tommy Sheppard for SNP leadership? I think he might actually have what it takes. There is a lot of talent in the SNP, but for a leadership position, they need strength and charisma, and he may have that. I think Joanna Cherry needs a bit more time, though has the makings of a leader.

  87. Breeks
    Ignored
    says:

    I honestly think the SNP is the best placed vehicle to recover this, but they MUST drop the filter of viewing everything through the Constitution of a Devolved Parliament caged in by the Scotland Act and Sewel etc, and start to see the world through the eyes of a Constitutionally Sovereign Nation bound by no-one, and especially not Westminster.

    I hope the SNP wakens up to the distinction between the Constitution of a Devolved House, and the Constitution of a Sovereign Ruling house, because the empowerment of such a Scottish Government will be quite something to behold.

    But can they, will they, get there before 31st and save Scotland from disaster?

  88. Pete
    Ignored
    says:

    Dr Jim
    You’re being a bit disengenious.
    You argue that Scotland will become depopulated because of UK policies.
    I merely mention that Scotland would have a better chance of attracting the aspirational classes if it had personal taxes at the same level, or lower,than the UK.
    Those are the kind of people who increase overall wealth in the economy.
    In addition, you will have noticed that the IMF, no friend of Brexit Britain,predicts that growth in the UK will outstrip the EU in the next few years.
    Instead of moaning the SG should be grabbing the opportunities that currently exist for economic success.
    Always remember the Laffer theory whereby increased taxes produces an ever decreasing revenue stream.

  89. manandboy
    Ignored
    says:

    BIAFRA: A MILLION CHILDREN STARVED TO DEATH COURTESY OF THE ENGLISH ESTABLISHMENT

    In this account, lies a blueprint of the nature and workings of the English Establishment. The same blueprint is the one still used today in the policy of Austerity, the Windrush Scandal of Theresa May, the proposed EU citizens mass deportation by the vile Johnson Government, and the Lisa Nandy policy of dealing with Scotland’s right to self-determination by brutal police violence following the example of the Spanish Government in Catalonia.
    Every single 2014 No voter bears some responsibility for keeping Scotland involved in all this evil.

    http://archive.ph/wip/e1orT

    Buried for 50 years: Britain’s shameful role in the Biafran war. (Frederick Forsyth)

    “A million children starved to death. I’m haunted by the images I saw there – and by the complicity of the Wilson government”

    “It is a good thing to be proud of one’s country,(England) and I am – most of the time. But it would be impossible to scan the centuries of Britain’s(England’s) history without coming across a few incidents that evoke not pride but shame. Among those I would list are the creation by British officialdom in South Africa of the concentration camp, to persecute the families of Boers. Add to that the Amritsar massacre of 1919 and the Hola camps set up and run during the struggle against Mau Mau.”
    “But there is one truly disgusting policy practised by our officialdom during the lifetime of anyone over 50, and one word will suffice: Biafra.”

  90. Breeks
    Ignored
    says:

    Our devolved Scottish Government and our Westminster contingent are floundering for potency because Holyrood in particular is finding itself rent between two masters. It aches for emphatic democratic authority from the Scottish people because it needs purchase to fight the gravitational pull of Westminster which is using the legislation of Devolution as legitimate purchase over Scottish Government.

    Holyrood is suffering the same dilemmas as a Native American trying to stop an oil company plundering wilderness, but compromised by having a job with the oil company.

  91. sassenach
    Ignored
    says:

    Pete

    Yes, those “opportunities” for economic success that have made Scotland ‘too poor, too wee, ….etc etc for the past 300 years of colonial rule, I suppose??

    We see who and what you are, away and do one.

  92. John
    Ignored
    says:

    Cappella
    I am still waiting for Craig to take us to the beginning of his fan story blog ,not halfway through it .I want to hear the leadup to the bit of the conversation we already know, what was the event that started that conversation about a predecessor , and as you say , who benefits ?.

  93. Breeks
    Ignored
    says:

    Here’s a thought off the top of my head. A “democratic” and Constitutional compromise… needs refinement but I’ll throw it out there…

    Holyrood proposes a consultative plebiscite to ask the Scottish electorate whether our Scottish Parliament (our Parliament mind, not our Nation), should be bound by the Sovereign Scottish Constitution, the UK Constitution of Self declared Westminster Parliamentary Sovereignty, or the Devolved Constitution where Holyrood is constrained by Westminster Legislation, Scotland Act and Sewel etc, and has no sovereignty at all.

    If the first option wins, our Devolved Government is no longer answerable to Westminster, but answerable to the Sovereign People of Scotland and them alone. (The Claim of Right is still nominally manifest in Devolution Legislation so Westminster would struggle to resist this).

    If either option 2 or 3 win, then the Scottish Government resigns and dissolves itself, and holds a new Scottish General Election to serve as the true Scottish Government under Scotland’s ancient and sovereign Constitution, and stands outside and apart from Westminster or Holyrood, which no longer have any mandate to govern Scotland.

  94. ScotsRenewables
    Ignored
    says:

    Mist001

    ScotsRenewables

    “Craig Murray is considerably more of a threat to the establishment than you, you presumptious wee tumshie.”

    And why would that be?

    Help m’boab

  95. Ottomanboi
    Ignored
    says:

    @Manandboy 08::53
    https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-african-history/article/oil-british-interests-and-the-nigerian-civil-war/8EA7F57669A2115B4DC421ABD3CCD028
    Oh, that lovely oil…….that great polluter, murderer and destroyer of civilization.

  96. Dan
    Ignored
    says:

    Capella says:
    20 January, at 7:46 pm

    @ Rev Stu – fine. I’ll stop posting.

    Don’t stop posting over this Capella, you have provided a large amount of informative and articulate commentary over the years and recently been very helpful with supplying links and information relating to the GRA and Self ID policy situation.

  97. Dan
    Ignored
    says:

    Let me interrupt for a moment with a feisty tune and remarkably appropriate lyrics for the times.
    No moshing at the back Breeks!

    The Interrupters – Take Back The Power

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7Ol-YDS4Jc

  98. robertknight
    Ignored
    says:

    Sassenach…

    The juxtaposition of Unionist views;

    Scotland, you’re only brilliant because of the benefits of the Union!

    Scotland, you’re just too shit to forego the benefits of the Union!

    They can’t have it both ways…

  99. sassenach
    Ignored
    says:

    ScotsRenewables says: “Help m’boab”

    LOL

  100. sassenach
    Ignored
    says:

    robertknight @9-48

    Exactly!

  101. Graf Midgehunter
    Ignored
    says:

    IMHO the 31st Jan/1st Feb is not just going to be the day when in the modern 21st century, a country/UK, WM commits economic and political suicide.

    It’s also the watershed day for the SNP, are we, Scotland, still in the EU or are we out. There won’t be any putting it off for another day, that’s it.

    “We won’t be dragged out against our will” said IB in WM. Well you’ve got 10 days to prove it.

    Breeks and RL are spot on. Either we are sovereign and assert our sovereign will as the other 50% shareholder and founder in the Treaty of Union or we’re just f*****g cottenpickers.

    What’s missing is backbone.

  102. Rm
    Ignored
    says:

    The Interupters on u tube a great tune for the times we’re in, and I think Scotland needs a new National Anthem that’s more in keeping with modern times and to appeal to the younger generation, the flower of Scotland how boring the words are nae relevant to this day and age as I’ve said before get someone like the proclaimers to compose something suitable for Scotland going ahead into the 21st Century , the Scottish Government have to start being different if they do the young folk will start having a great pride in Scotland their Country.

  103. Breeks
    Ignored
    says:

    OT

    Incidentally, thank you to whoever it was recommended reading His Bloody Project… Thumbs up!

    I wondered for a brief moment whether the Constable would end up getting a job with Scottish Borders Council, but no, murdered before he got the chance… 😉

  104. Capella
    Ignored
    says:

    @ Dan @ Pete Barton @ Unionist Media BDSM Club – thx guys for the encouragement to keep posting. However, the site owner is getting tired of what I have to say. So for that reason, I’ll take a break. I will update people in February as promised about the GRA consultation though they would be best to go onto forwomen.scot for the latest.

  105. Breeks
    Ignored
    says:

    @Capella, I’m another who appreciates your posts. Haste ye back as they say.

  106. Sharny Dubs
    Ignored
    says:

    SNP leadership has blown 2020 chances. (And all the rest!)

    Let’s aim for 2021.

    List seats with Wings to fly!

    Independence with a Cherry on top!

    Smilythingy!!

  107. John H.
    Ignored
    says:

    British Intelligence are highly experienced and skilled in psychological warfare. It is well within their abilities to arrange matters so that they get rid of Alex Salmond and put the blame onto Nicola Sturgeon. Two birds with one stone and not a shot fired. The two most dangerous people in Scotland disposed of, and no martyrs to worry about.

  108. Ottomanboi
    Ignored
    says:

    I have found that the more insular the Scot, exemplified by the occasional kilt wearing ‘proud’ variety, the more viscerally unionist the Scot to be. The exact opposite of how Scottish nationalism is portrayed in the Unionist media.
    Anglo-Scottish Unionism is the element that is ‘puir’ and ‘wee’. Puir in spirit and wee in imagination.
    There is a cosmopolitan/internationalist vein in the nationalist mine. It predates the oil and provides a richer and more sustainable resource. A cultural wealth fund that utilitarian psychological propaganda cannot deplete.

  109. Bill McLean
    Ignored
    says:

    Capella – don’t go!

  110. Gary45%
    Ignored
    says:

    Regarding the posts about the “empire” and oil and other underhand dealings.
    You Tube “Planet Oil episode 2”, I’ve tried to put the link on, but I’m not having much success.
    The Empire at its finest!!!

  111. Capella
    Ignored
    says:

    @ Bill McLean, Breeks, twathater, john and others – thx again. Much appreciated. 🙂

  112. Tatu3
    Ignored
    says:

    Don’t leave us Capella, you’re one of the last sane ones left on here

  113. callmedave
    Ignored
    says:

    @Capella

    I agree with others here, you keep on twinkling!
    Always read your posts.

    PS: Another little bright spot in spite of everything.

    Unemployment in Scotland falls by 7,000 to 105,000

    https://archive.is/mp2Lz

  114. Republicofscotland
    Ignored
    says:

    So now we know why the Hub, the unionist staging post in Scotland has the only cabinet office outside of London. Johnson and his band of merry men are intent on holding office more frequently in Scotland, as the push to interfere and syphon Holyroods powers away and towards the hub begins.

    A Ipsos MORI poll, has shown that Johnson is considered a toxic figure in Scotland, his approval rating stands at minus 52.

    Meanwhile Theresa May’s Dunlop review, on ways of strengthening the union will be published to coincide with Johnson’s assault on destroying the independence movement, and Michael Gove who runs the cabinet office, is to have much closer ties with the Scotland office.

    The British government are in my opinion lining up their dominoes and getting ready to carry out a political offensive in Scotland. I doubt we’ll have until 2021, without serious Westminster interference damaging our objectives.

    The Scottish government better get a move on.

  115. Robert Kerr
    Ignored
    says:

    John H.

    Glad you think outside the nine dots. I thought that one too.

    I am certain that both these SNP luminaries have been subjected to the most detailed psychological analyses by State agencies. both here and overseas.

    Remember AS interviewed Stu in the Hotel garden. Precaution re bugs. We have wondered about off the record stuff between them.

    Capella don’t go. I also appreciate your contributions.

  116. Breastplate
    Ignored
    says:

    Capella,
    Make sure you do come back, I very much appreciate what you do here. Whether I or anyone else agrees with you or not is irrelevant but for the record I agree with the vast majority of what you say and believe.
    Nobody agrees with anyone 100% of the time including Stu, he is quite capable of being wrong like the rest of us.

  117. Unionist Media BDSM Club
    Ignored
    says:

    Haste ye back, Capella.
    ————–

    If you keep something a secret for years and then finally reveal it to everyone, it had better be impressive. Here’s hoping the SNP know this and have built it into their wargaming.

    Everyone’s known for ages that when Brexit was settled whoever was Tory PM would be highly likely to turn down an S30 request. We all knew it, and so did the SNP, and we were reassured year after year that they’d thought everything through and had an answer to that refusal, but it had to be kept secret because… you know the rest.

    And that’s fine. Or it will be fine as long as that answer is impressive. Because if it’s not, the indy movement’s fury will not just be at that unimpressive response but at the extreme sense of anticlimax generated by all those years of secrecy.

    Say I’m hung like a dormouse.* A little Trump-like mushroom of a thing. Which is more likely to disappoint/infuriate my new partner? Confessing my mushroom* upfront and then trying my best not to disappoint them in the bedroom? Or refusing for years to go to bed with them, while all the time hinting that I’m hung like a horse, only to reveal that wee mushroom* when the big night comes?

    Please don’t let your upcoming announcement be that mushroom, Nicola.

    * A hypothetical thought experiment only, note.

  118. vlad (not that one)
    Ignored
    says:

    @Capella, please do carry on.

    I do my best to keep an open mind, while hoping your guesses are right.

  119. Ian Brotherhood
    Ignored
    says:

    John Beattie about to have a discussion about GRA-related stuff – ‘Is a trans woman a woman?’

    Could be interesting…

  120. Scot Finlayson
    Ignored
    says:

    @John H.

    35 years since Willie MacRae shot himself in the head then threw `his` gun 60ft away,

    does anyone know what has happened in the investigation into the death of the founder of the Syrian White Helmets ,James Le Mesurier,

    a career soldier/mercenary who survived most of late 20thC early 21stC combat zones but fell from a balcony in Istanbul.

  121. manandboy
    Ignored
    says:

    Ottomanboi says:
    21 January, 2020 at 9:36 am
    @Manandboy 08::53
    https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-african-history/article/oil-british-interests-and-the-nigerian-civil-war/8EA7F57669A2115B4DC421ABD3CCD028
    Oh, that lovely oil…….that great polluter, murderer and destroyer of civilization.

    Thanks for that link, Ottomanboi.

    As Biafra was sacrificed then, the same ruthless Establishment approach will inevitably be applied to Scotland.

    We are looking for evidence of the Scottish government’s full understanding of the implications of this for Scotland’s plan for Independence. So far, the evidence is rather slow to appear.
    The SNP ought to put much more weight on what England has done in their long and sordid past, rather than on the PR releases of a serial liar in PMJohnson.

    Treachery is the Establishment’s middle name.

  122. manandboy
    Ignored
    says:

    Capella, cheerio. With respect.

  123. Effijy
    Ignored
    says:

    You know that Tory Disaster called NHS England, the inferior version
    Of Health Service compared to NHS Scotland, well it seems they are
    Facing claims of Clinical Negligence costing a Whopping £4.3 Billion.

    It is only money Boris but what about the lives needlessly lost or decimated?

    Please remover this when the scum that represents the Westminster parties
    Try to claim we are inferior in health provision.

  124. CameronB Brodie
    Ignored
    says:

    re. the new GRA consultation. The civil service were ordered to follow other than best practice when designing the original consultation. If new consultation doesn’t follow a gender-critical approach, it will simply produce the same bollocks as the first one one.

  125. scunner
    Ignored
    says:

    @Effijy

    We all know our NHS has it’s fair share of problems but all evidence points to it being so much worse dahn sarf (beyond a simple scaling-up of the numbers involved).

    The negligence claims revelation this morning comes suspiciously soon after the non-story which Distorting Scotland led with last night.
    We watched incredulously as they spent what felt like 10 minutes on an article regarding a lady suing Glasgow NHS, which should only have warranted page 6 in the dead tree press.

    Wondered whether it was just the usual reminder of how equally shit Scottish NHS is supposed to be but suspect just another deflection story.

  126. CameronB Brodie
    Ignored
    says:

    Gender-ideology simply undermines the potential to govern effectively, in a non-discriminatory fashion. This is because anti-foundationalist epistemology hides the true nature of reality. It also provides the conditions for totalitarianism.

    Methodological Guidelines for the Gender Analysis
    of National Population and Housing Census Data

    https://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/141006-UNFPA-GenderManual2014-02-SCREEN.pdf

  127. manandboy
    Ignored
    says:

    BREXIT ENGLAND AND REMAIN SCOTLAND ARE LIKE TWO TRAINS HEADING FOR EACH OTHER ON THE SAME TRACK.

    What England is planning to do about that, will not contain any concern whatsoever about Scotland’s population.

    The Scottish government however seems to think differently, and that England will slow down, stop, then reverse and we’ll both go our separate ways.

    An electorate has no obligation to abide by the decisions of a government which does not judiciously carry out the wishes of the people.
    Scotland now stands on the threshold of that very decision.

    At the same time, the government of Scotland is continuing with a very high risk political strategy, the consequences of which could be very severe indeed.

    The future for Scotland may be something as yet unforseen.

  128. Ottomanboi
    Ignored
    says:

    @Manandboy 12:42
    What the British state has done once it is quite capable of repeating.
    Ravening is in the nature of the wolf which no amount of cosmetic make-over can hide.
    The British wolf may employ docile lambs as actors in its good shepherd pantomime on the international stage. For the lambs the role is kebab or casserole.

  129. manandboy
    Ignored
    says:

    Like it, Ottomanboi!

  130. CameronB Brodie
    Ignored
    says:

    Don’t get me wrong, anti-foundationalist epistemology does have its uses.

    STUDYING BRITISH GOVERNMENT: reconstructing the research agenda

    The Westminster Model

    The Westminster model refers to the concepts, questions and historical story used to capture the essential features of British government which, through sheer longevity, form the conventional or mainstream view.1 There is always the danger of erecting a straw man but we need a benchmark before discussing variations. So, we begin with the obvious – a dictionary definition:

    The characteristics of the Westminster model … include: strong cabinet government based on majority rule; the importance attached to constitutional conventions; a two-party system based on single member constituencies; the assumption that minorities can find expression in one of the major parties; the concept of Her Majesty’s loyal opposition; and the doctrine of parliamentary supremacy, which takes precedence over popular sovereignty except during elections (Verney 1991 p. 637).

    There are many similar definitions. For example, Gamble (1990 p. 407) adumbrates a unitary state characterised by: parliamentary sovereignty; strong cabinet government; accountability through elections; majority party control of the executive (that is, prime minister, cabinet and the civil service); elaborate conventions for the conduct of parliamentary business; institutionalised opposition, and the rules of debate. Obviously every author varies both the list of characteristics and their relative importance2.

    The model has been criticised and adapted and there are several variants (see below). But there is a clear baseline to any discussion of the Westminster model and there are marked family resemblance’s between the several varieties. The most prominent family characteristics are the focus on rules and institutions; the use of legal-historical methods, a Whig historiography, and a personalised view of power….

    https://escholarship.org/content/qt96c814g2/qt96c814g2.pdf

  131. scunner
    Ignored
    says:

    @Capella

    Enjoy your posts but (for all of us) steering well clear of speculation regarding a live trial is a good self-preservation tactic.

    I’ve heard a few tasty rumours myself, albeit with six degrees of separation involved. Keeping well schtum – a public forum is definitely not the place to be airing anything at all until proceedings have concluded.

  132. CameronB Brodie
    Ignored
    says:

    I think its time to get the big gums out. Brexit simply ignores the moral philosophy that underpins the British constitution. As such, Brexit can’t be considered compatible with British constitutionalism. A constitution that allows Scots to be stripped of their legal rights, by a Prime minister who does not appear to respect the rule-of-law.

    Philosophical Foundations of Constitutional Law

    Abstract

    Constitutional law has been and remains an area of intense philosophical interest, and yet the debate has taken place in a variety of different fields with very little to connect them. In a collection of essays bringing together scholars from a multitude of constitutional systems and disciplines, Philosophical Foundations of Constitutional Law unites the debate in a study of the philosophical issues at the very foundations of the idea of a constitution and of constitutionalism: why might such a study be necessary; what problems must it address; and what problems does it usually address (e.g. judicial review and judicial interpretation), including issues raised by the administration of a constitutional regime.

    Although these issues of institutional design are of abiding importance, many of them have taken on new significance in the last few years as lawmakers have been forced to return to first principles in order to justify novel practices and arrangements in their constitutional orders. Thus, questions of constitutional ‘revolutions’,’ challenges to the demands of the rule of law, and the separation of powers have taken on new and pressing importance.

    The chapters in this volume address such questions, filling the gap in the philosophical analysis of constitutional law. The volume will provoke specialists in philosophy, politics, and law to develop new philosophically grounded analyses of constitutional law, and will be a valuable resource for graduate students in law, politics, and philosophy.

    Keywords:
    constitution, constitutionalism, rule of law, separation of powers, judicial review, interpretation

    https://www.oxfordscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198754527.001.0001/acprof-9780198754527

  133. Jockanese Wind Talker
    Ignored
    says:

    It is not “ Wondered whether it was just the usual reminder of how equally shit Scottish NHS is supposed to be but suspect just another deflection story.” @ scunner says at 1:11 pm

    It is pure British Nationalist Propaganda!

    Prof John Robertson does a very good job of debunking this:

    https://talkingupscotlandtwo.com/

  134. sassenach
    Ignored
    says:

    CameronB Brodie says:
    21 January, 2020 at 1:42 pm
    I think its time to get the big gums out.

    Does this imply some serious ‘bumping’ of them gums??

  135. CameronB Brodie
    Ignored
    says:

    Contemporary British constitutionalism is illiberal in nature and undemocratic in process, as the sitting government is blind to natural law. But the British constitution obtains its legal force from the natural law, so Brexit is unconstitutional.

    NATURAL LAW AND CONSTITUTIONAL LAW
    https://scholarship.law.nd.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?filename=6&article=1003&context=naturallaw_proceedings&type=additional

  136. CameronB Brodie
    Ignored
    says:

    sassenach
    They’re bumping’ alright. 🙂

  137. sassenach
    Ignored
    says:

    CameronB Brodie

    Unfortunately ‘bumping one’s gums’ generally implies getting nowhere, but with plenty of meaningless noise.

    Not your intention, was it?

  138. CameronB Brodie
    Ignored
    says:

    Without a respect for “natural law”, constitutional law turn towards the illiberal. Contemporary British constitutionalism is a throwback to the Victorian era, and lacks any respect for the legal and political rights of those living in Scotland. As such, Britain is no longer a social democracy.

    FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM:
    THE LAW AND THE BRITISH CONSTITUTION

    II. PARLIAMENTARY SOVEREIGNTY AND THE
    ROLE OF THE JUDICIARY

    ….At its best, the British constitutional system has worked remarkably well considering the absence of any constitutional framework forming the fundamental and paramount law of the nation. The rationale of the system is contained in the theories of the Utilitarian philosophers-men like Bentham, Austin, and Dicey – who gloried in the unrestricted legislative sovereignty of the Imperial Parliament of Westminster as much as they despised the “nonsense on stilts” of natural and imprescriptible rights.

    They described the various parts of the constitution with the deceptive certainty and lucidity of theorems of geometry: what Bagehot called the “dignified parts” that “excite and preserve the reverence of the population” and the “efficient parts” by which it “in fact works and rules.”‘ 6

    The best conditions for the working of the system were those of Victorian society: a society, self-conscious in its homogeneity and insularity, that overshadowed its professed ideals of tolerance and fair play; a society rejoicing in its abundant wealth, the fruits of early industrialisation and exploitation of a vast empire; a society of laissez-faire, in which there was minimal legislative intervention by Parliament and in which the protection of property and contract rights was the dominant concern of the courts; a society administered at home and abroad by a new breed of Platonic guardians, permanent, wellpaid civil servants educated in the classics and recruited on merit; a society whose Imperial Parliament was not subjected to the pressures of highly organised political parties, strong trade unions, a mass electorate, and mass communications, as well as the centrifugal forces of nationalism and self-determination.

    https://scholarship.law.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4938&context=penn_law_review

  139. CameronB Brodie
    Ignored
    says:

    sassenach
    I suggested I’m bumping my gums, as a rational world view does not appear to fit with the current SNP leadership’s frame-of-mind.

  140. Dr Jim
    Ignored
    says:

    @Pete

    Wrong again, I didn’t argue any such thing to what you refer, I posted the BBCs findings and I made it clear it was the BBC

  141. CameronB Brodie
    Ignored
    says:

    The simplest way to argue that Brexit is unconstitutional, is Brexit lacks any respect for the principles of equality and universal rights. Every electoral ward in Scotland voted to remain in the EU, yet Scotland has been totally excluded from a process that will strip Scots of fundamental legal rights. The preferential treatment of NI is also unconstitutional.

    Scotland is being frog-marched into an illiberal state of English despotism. There is adequate law with which to resist Westminster’s cultural subjugation. When will somebody use it?

    Power and Principle in Constitutional Law
    https://www.bjutijdschriften.nl/tijdschrift/rechtsfilosofieentheorie/2016/2/NJLP_2016_045_002_004

  142. SilverDarling
    Ignored
    says:

    @Capella

    We may not always agree about the SNP but you have been a great source of information and balance regarding the GRA reforms. We all need a break some times and with the trial and the next step imminent maybe we are all feeling fractious.

    There are ways to disagree and you do it with reason and humour most of the time.

    Have good break and come back refreshed. We need a balanced view of what the SNP are up to and you are one of the few who provides that without the rose-tinted spectacles.

  143. Ottomanboi
    Ignored
    says:

    Scots know what it is to be ‘a minority’. Scotland has the potential to be a genuine voice for the rights of minorities. A more honest voice than the US or the British State with their symbiotic history of colonialism and continuing neo-colonialism both economic and cultural.
    Albeit not a member of a persecuted minority, the Chinese artist/activist Ai Wei Wei has quit Germany, a country whose language he has made no attempt to learn and whose culture he doesn’t seem to wish to know, but has yet given him refuge. Their reward, he has called his hosts Nazis.
    He has chosen to live in Cambridge, England. Plainly the gritty details of Anglo-Chinese history is not his forte.
    He is something of a media exhibitionist/celebrity and a rather bad example of a ‘refugee’.

  144. cynicalHighlander
    Ignored
    says:

    @Doug

    For tose of us who don’t subscribe. http://archive.is/ST6h5

    Plan B. Try = Promise lol

    “We are committed to what was put forward in the most recent election manifesto weeks ago. That’s what people voted for and it is incumbent on us to try to deliver what people have voted for.”

  145. robertknight
    Ignored
    says:

    “That’s what people voted for and it is incumbent on us to try to deliver what people have voted for.”

    We don’t want you to “try”, First Minister, we simply want you to “deliver”, or is it just a case of jam tomorrow so long as Westminster deigns to leave us the jar?

  146. CameronB Brodie
    Ignored
    says:

    Not convinced that a respect for “natural law” is an essential feature of democratic constitutionalism?

    A New Natural Law Reading of the Constitution

    INTRODUCTION]
    The title of this Article borrows from the subtitle of one of Ronald Dworkin’s last books, Freedom’s Law: The Moral Reading of the American Constitution.1 This Article argues that the United States Constitution – or any constitution, for that matter – should be interpreted “morally,” as Dworkin posits; but, forgoing Dworkin’s company, this Article argues that the morality used in this interpretative venture, which he oddly called “interpretive,”2 ought to be natural law morality.

    To begin, natural law requires an explanation. To do so, it is useful to explain first what natural law is not. Given the unending confusions, both terminological and conceptual, this clarification is virtually necessary, and is tackled in Part I, which is followed by an overview in Part II of what natural law means for the purposes of this Article. Guided by the classical tradition,3 this Part also attempts to clarify how natural law connects to positive law.

    In light of the diverse modes of connection between natural and positive law, Part III argues that natural law can factor into constitutional interpretation in subtle but significant ways. More specifically, this Article suggests that natural law has two different levels of presence in constitutional law. The interpretation of constitutional
    norms, this Article argues, is more moral with regard to one of the two modes of connection and more technical with regard to the other mode. Finally, this Article offers some conclusions.

    https://digitalcommons.law.lsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=6679&context=lalrev

  147. Fionan
    Ignored
    says:

    Please stay, Capella, you are one of the few commenters left that I dont hurriedly skim past.

  148. CameronB Brodie
    Ignored
    says:

    British constitutional law is neither coherent or compatible with international human rights law, as English law is considered supreme and immutable. Such a constitutional view is incompatible with the principle of universal human rights.

    From Natural Rights to Human Rights—And Beyond

    Summary
    The idea of rights is central to our moral vocabulary. Over the past century, however, the concept of rights has changed significantly: the original faculties-based natural rights doctrine is being replaced by a needs-based and dependency-based human rights doctrine. This change is best represented in the sharp contrast between rights claims expressed in the Declaration of Independence and the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights. This shift in theory has and will continue to have broad practical consequences.

    The human rights view, in understanding human beings as needy and dependent rather than as distinctively capable of responsible liberty, leads to the endless proliferation of rights claims, which become self-negating. In a situation where everyone has a right to everything, there can be no justice. If the idea that we possess rights by virtue of our rational nature is to remain viable as the core of our understanding of justice, the identification of those rights must be grounded in a defensible account of our morally distinctive nature and subject to a sound limiting principle.

    https://www.heritage.org/node/1705172/print-display

  149. CameronB Brodie
    Ignored
    says:

    Remember, legal practitioners generally aim to maintain the existing legal order. As such, playing within the rules of British constitutionalism will get us nowhere.

    Natural Rights
    The Declaration of Independence and Natural Rights

    Thomas Jefferson, drawing on the current thinking of his time, used natural rights ideas to justify declaring independence from England.
    https://www.crf-usa.org/foundations-of-our-constitution/natural-rights.html

  150. Breeks
    Ignored
    says:

    cynicalHighlander says:
    21 January, 2020 at 3:00 pm
    @Doug

    For tose of us who don’t subscribe. http://archive.is/ST6h5

    Plan B. Try = Promise lol

    “We are committed to what was put forward in the most recent election manifesto weeks ago. That’s what people voted for and it is incumbent on us to try to deliver what people have voted for.”

    I don’t actually care about a referendum. I am vastly more concerned about some emergency Constitutional device to stick in the spokes of Brexit, leaving Scotland and England on opposite sides of a sovereign constitutional divide.

    Such a situation leaves the Union untenable, Scottish Independence inevitable, and we can satisfy democracy by holding a ratification plebiscite next year.

  151. A C Bruce
    Ignored
    says:

    The spokesman said: “We are committed to what was put forward in the most recent election manifesto weeks ago. That’s what people voted for and it is incumbent on us to try to deliver what people have voted for.”

    The word “try” by the FM’s spokesman which other commenters have mentioned above is very worrying.

    The referendum isn’t happening, is it?

  152. Breeks
    Ignored
    says:

    Can you just imagine the great cheer that would reverberate around our Nation and the magnificent soar in our spirits if the Scottish Government announced it was formally disputing Brexit on Constitutional grounds?

    Because the alternative next week is a bowl of cold sick for everybody, and inconsolable depression if they sit there and do nothing, and that will blossom into bitter and enduring resentment.

  153. sassenach
    Ignored
    says:

    Breeks

    If the ‘bowl of cold sick’ is delivered next week by Nicola, then I believe we can kiss goodbye to independence (for a generation!!!). So much will be changed by 2021 ( by Westmonster).

    However, I do think there is a possibility that this spokesperson, saying “try” may be a kite flying exercise to gauge reaction. I hope so, as my reaction will be to give up all the years of membership, subsidising and voting.

    Time will tell.

  154. manandboy
    Ignored
    says:

    TRY – in Rugby and the Olympics is OK.

    My local supermarket manager does not TRY to open-up every day-he just makes sure he does it!

    The Scottish government has to adopt different language.

    Words with determination behind them.

  155. SilverDarling
    Ignored
    says:

    O/T

    Jess Phillips drops out of Labour leadership – shame – we could have been in for Jim Murphy sized LOLS!

    Lisa Nandy backed by the GMB as expected. I see a link with Rickshaw Leprosy, Jackie Baillie ( going for SLab deputy) and Nandy all singing from the same hymn sheet re Scotland. All GMB affiliated.

  156. manandboy
    Ignored
    says:

    https://www.blackrock.com/uk/individual/larry-fink-ceo-letter

    Directed to people with interests in the investment market, this piece nevertheless offers an insight into a changing world.

    Time to get up to speed, Scotland – and to get moving.

    Time to ditch the 313 year old so-called UK colonial rape model, now rusted solid with Establishment greed for wealth and power, as well as coming apart at the seams.

    Time to switch from No to Yes.

    Let’s face it. It’s time to grow up, Scotland, and to stop acting like a wean!

  157. Craig Murray
    Ignored
    says:

    Capella,

    I think if Stu had wanted you to absent yourself permanently he would have told you so in no uncertain terms.
    I have cherished the Wings community for five years or more, even though that at times requires a hard skin. I would certainly miss your input. A forum where we all just agree would be deadly dull.

    I would however advise everybody – this is not aimed at Capella – that when Stu gives you his word on something you should accept it.

    Firstly because everything I know about the man tells me his word is good, and secondly because if you want to completely disrespect someone, do not abuse the hospitality of their own blog to do it.

  158. Colin Alexander
    Ignored
    says:

    Breeks

    Have you read the latest Peter A Bell blog?

    http://peterabell.scot

    He argues, for Scotland, there is no democratic pathway to exit the UK Union that would be acceptable to the UK state.

    He’s also tweeted this:

    Article 38 of the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill: “36 Parliamentary sovereignty

    (1) It is recognised that the Parliament of the United Kingdom is sovereign”.

    —————————————————————

    We are inmates in Her Majesty’s Prison Scotland.

    The SNP has pretended if we keep asking nicely for long enough we’ll be handed the prison keys:

    We need to exercise Scotland’s sovereignty, bring down the prison walls down and take our freedom – while we can.

  159. CameronB Brodie
    Ignored
    says:

    The Scottish government appears to think it is dealing with rational and democratic;y liberal government in Westminster. That might have been the case, if the Tories hadn’t already torn up any social contract that might have once existed in Britain.

    We need a champion to fight colonialism, not woke liberals meekly asking for Scotland to be properly recognised in law.

    John Locke, “Of Political or Civil Society”

    Description
    John Locke (1632–1704) wrote his Second Treatise of Government early in the 1680s and published it in 1690. In it Locke proposed a social contract theory of government and argued against the idea of “divine right,” which held that rulers had a legitimate claim on their office because they were God’s emissaries on earth. Locke believed that government derived from an agreement between men to give up life in the state of nature in favor of life in a political or civil society. They set up political society in order to guarantee their natural rights: life, liberty, and estate (or property). Locke’s emphasis on a social contract that protected natural rights shaped the views of the American revolutionaries. This excerpt is from Two Treatises on Civil Government, Second Treatise, Chapter VII.

    http://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/exhibits/show/liberty–equality–fraternity/item/3243

  160. Breeks
    Ignored
    says:


    sassenach says:
    21 January, 2020 at 4:03 pm

    However, I do think there is a possibility that this spokesperson, saying “try” may be a kite flying exercise to gauge reaction. I hope so, as my reaction will be to give up all the years of membership, subsidising and voting.

    Time will tell.

    I think it will be a watershed. A rough time for the SNP, but perhaps, a brief and fleeting opportunity for a rapid and uncompromising Constitutionally based initiative, unburdened by all the baggage which Holyrood has to carry.

    Brexit IS an act of unconstitutional colonial subjugation, contrary to the democratic will of a constitutionally sovereign Nation, and contrary to International Law. A democratic referendum isn’t the answer to that mathematical equation, it is in fact the alternative to facing up to that scenario. Who would ever have thought the SNP would just roll over and accept it???

    I don’t know what the SNP has been thinking. There is no fight in them whatsoever, they’ve all but blown a heaven sent opportunity to propel us into Independence, and they’ve made it that much harder for whatever and whoever follows in their wake. I do not agree this is the end of Independence, because Scotland has changed, and the genie is not about to go back in the bottle.

    I fervently believe all that I said this morning about the three Constitutions; between Scotland’s Constitution, Holyrood’s Devolved Assembly Constitution, and Westminster’s Parliamentary Constitution, ONLY the ancient Constitution of Scotland is truly Sovereign, and that is the only Constitution we should serve… that’s a concept we must borrow from Sinn Féinn.

    But hope remains. There are still 10 days left where can hope and prey for a Constitutional masterstroke… but if none is coming… there won’t be a Spring this year.

    Let us hope and pray there isn’t a darker legacy, and faith in freedom through democracy collapses.

  161. A C Bruce
    Ignored
    says:

    Spokespeople choose their words carefully.

    “Try” is in that statement for a reason. It certainly doesn’t bestow confidence.

  162. manandboy
    Ignored
    says:

    In Scotland, the Labour Party is out of touch, out of date, and may soon be out of time.

    But at least it’s in denial.

    But then, none of these things matter, as long as the Party leaders get to stay on the Establishment Gravy Train all the way to the House of Lords.

  163. CameronB Brodie
    Ignored
    says:

    Here’s an overview of Locke’s Second Treatise on Civil Government. Judge Westminster against this, not a traditional respect of traditional convention. British constitutional legal convention insists English law is indivisible and superior to all other law. Including international human rights law.

    Contemporary British nationalism is intensely illiberal. Get that into your heads and your ass should follow.

    Locke’s Second Treatise on Civil Government
    https://www.sparknotes.com/philosophy/locke/section2/

  164. Liz g
    Ignored
    says:

    If the Article 38 in the withdrawal bill is allowed to go through…. It should tell us pretty much all we need to know about how much fight the Scottish MPs actually have… It is, as it’s always been, about Scottish Sovereignty.
    This Article 38 could have the same effect on Scotland as the Spanish Constitution does in Catalonia…. Although how the Treaty of Union plays into it is for better minds than mine?
    I’d have said they can have their Sovereignty active or the Treaty active but not both?

  165. Gary45%
    Ignored
    says:

    “Try” mibbes just dangling the carrot in front of the rabid yoon media, or mibbes we are FKD ?
    1st Feb Last chance saloon for the shit to start hitting the fan.
    Out the EU? no more excuses.

  166. manandboy
    Ignored
    says:

    When Scottish people change their thinking, then we’ll see a change in Scotland.

    And not one second before.

    Sadly, since the EU referendum on June 23rd 2016, I doubt the SNP’s PR department have changed very many minds through their promotion of Independence. They chose instead to promote ‘Remain’ – and gender issues.

    Three and a half years. And what does Scotland have to show for it?

    No pressure.

  167. Breeks
    Ignored
    says:


    Colin Alexander says:
    21 January, 2020 at 4:25 pm
    Breeks

    Have you read the latest Peter A Bell blog?

    http://peterabell.scot

    He argues, for Scotland, there is no democratic pathway to exit the UK Union that would be acceptable to the UK state.

    I partially agree, but I think it invites trouble to ditch democracy. Scotland needs a recognition of Constitutional Sovereignty first and foremost, and it needs it fast to stop our Brexit, and to defend Scottish democracy from subjugation over Brexit and the attempted interference with our right to hold a referendum.

    We need a Constitutional initiative to clip the wings of Westminster and bring Scotland’s Constitutional Sovereignty into the picture, but once that is achieved, we should embrace democracy once we’ve made ourselves safe inside our sovereign realm.

    Westminster has given us a gift by promising to block our democracy. That is yet another act of colonial subjugation contrary to International Law.

    Where I agree with Peter is that it’s pointless putting these issues before Westminster and appealing for reason, let alone cooperation over a Section 30 etc. We need a proper arbiter, and that has to be the UN, with a parallel Constitutionally based submission to Europe to attempt to head off Scotland’s Brexit.

    At the very minimum, we NEED to get it registered with the UN and EU that UK Sovereignty is disputed… That will put a block on all manner of issues which won’t then be resolved until the question of Scottish sovereignty is resolved.

  168. twathater
    Ignored
    says:

    As we have all been taught words DO have meaning , so is this supposed statement from a SNP spokesperson as to the FM’s intentions , designed to allay our fears , bolster our support , encourage patience , or prepare ourselves for a letdown due to some unforseen circumstance , there was or is NO circumstance where the word TRY had to be included , the statement should have been unambiguous, the promise WAS MADE and the PROMISE WILL BE DELIVERED END

    WHY is it that we can have a veritable cabal of yoonionist brutish nationalist politicians stating unequivocally in our parliament that we will NOT be having an independence referendum , yet the person who has been elected to head our Scottish government by the majority of citizens of our country has to couch her language in order to not offend representatives of foreign based political parties

  169. CameronB Brodie
    Ignored
    says:

    Breeks
    All I want is for someone in the Scottish government to acknowledge the protective force of international human rights law.

    Full text.

    Alternative Dispute Resolution and Human Rights:
    Developing a Rights-Based Approach through the ECHR

    https://academic.oup.com/ejil/article/26/3/607/2599587

  170. CameronB Brodie
    Ignored
    says:

    By refusing to recognise Scotland’s legal personality, Westminster is simply pissing over the international legal order.

    The Effects of International Human Rights Law (IHRL) on International Law
    A Bibliography

    https://www1.essex.ac.uk/hrc/documents/IHRL_final.pdf

  171. CameronB Brodie
    Ignored
    says:

    Don’t believe me?

    The Interfaces between the National and International Rule of Law:
    A Framework Paper

    https://www.kcl.ac.uk/law/tli/events/methods-lab-pdf-kanetake.pdf

  172. manandboy
    Ignored
    says:

    That’s what Empires and their Emperors do. And why Scotland’s colonial chains must be broken.

  173. Republicofscotland
    Ignored
    says:

    Soon we’ll be out of the EU and all that goes with it including European Union Law, of which its (PGS) Protected Geographical Status, protects the origins of food and drink emminating from the UK, this will of course apply to the other nations of the UK as well.

    Infact that status might already be lost, if this is anything to go by.

    “The UK Government did not make even 1 submission to protect our food names in the Canada or Japan trade deals while our continental neighbours protected 3000 of their names.”

    https://mobile.twitter.com/keepScotBrand

  174. Doug
    Ignored
    says:

    @cynicalHighlander 3pm

    Thanks for the archive link, cynicalHighlander. I see the National has stopped comments being made on this story of a future indy update from the FM. Because some rabid britnats were naming names?

  175. Colin Alexander
    Ignored
    says:

    Breeks said: “At the very minimum, we NEED to get it registered with the…EU that UK Sovereignty is disputed”.

    Who’s gonnae do that?

    The SNP were offering Theresa May a deal that the SNP Scot Govt would disregard Scotland’s vote to Remain in the EU AND the democratic mandate for indyref2, IF Theresa May would negotiate a “soft Brexit” deal.

    Put simply, the SNP have already completely disregarded Scottish sovereignty and Scottish democratic votes to Remain in the EU OR Indyref2.

    For all their fine words, the reality is that Sturgeon and the SNP betrayed Scotland’s sovereignty and democracy by trying to maintain a UK State / colonial Scotland status quo, with the one condition that if the UK Brexited they still remained in the EU’s single market and Customs Union.

  176. Robert Louis
    Ignored
    says:

    So, brexit has now been soundly rejected by the Scottish Welsh and N.Ireland parliaments, but it is going ahead because it is what the ENGLISH parliament wants.

    The Tory government in England are utterly trashing the consitution and any semblence of democratic consent in the UK, but still the SNP are playing by the OLD rules. Where is the fight in them?

    Scotland will be foribly dragged out of the EU by England in a few days, and not one attempt has been made by the Scotgov to prevent. No court cases, no assertion of the sovereign rights of the people of Scotland. noi assertion of democratic principles. Just the same old, mibbes aye, mibbes no, and all the usual nonsense.

    If ever there was a time when we needed a Scottish Government with some fight in it, it is NOW. The SNP are standing back, letting London utterly trash everything about Scotland. They are now just changing laws whenever they feel like it.

    What a pathetic joke the SNP leadership have become. No balls, no f*cking balls at all.

    I fully expect the next statement by NS to the same as previously, about this and that, and nothing really. NO demands, NO assertions of Scotland’s rights. Nothing. Absolutely effing nothing.

    She had the whole indy movement behind her, and she has squandered every shred of credibility, with her constant procrastination and dithering. Mandate after mandate after mandate and still she does nothing.

    De pfeffle Johnson must be literally laughing his socks off. Scotland will just roll over and do as England says. Pathetic.

  177. manandboy
    Ignored
    says:

    Leaving Edinburgh Airport on Sunday, was struck by the v large illuminated sign advertising the EE phone company. But the message was ‘you are in BRITAIN’.

    A Persistent lot.

    I didn’t see anything saying ‘Welcome to Scotland’. I would have thought the Scottish government would have a sign up saying that. Maybe they have and I just didn’t see it.

    What I did see, is that Colonial England is back in the promotion business.

    Would welcome the Scottish Government doing the same thing.

  178. robertknight
    Ignored
    says:

    There’ll be only one work by Burns I intend to recite this Saturday, for sadly it appears to remain true to this day. It ends with the following…

    But pith and power, till my last hour
    I’ll mak this declaration :-
    ‘We’re bought and sold for English gold’–
    Such a parcel of rogues in a nation

  179. CameronB Brodie
    Ignored
    says:

    If the Scottish government finds itself unable to protect Scotland’s legal personality from Westminster’s constitutional over-reach, then they would appear incapable of supporting coherent and effect international human rights law. IMHO.

    The Concept of International Legal Personality,
    An Inquiry into the History and Theory of International Law

    https://academic.oup.com/ejil/article/18/4/775/453768

  180. CameronB Brodie
    Ignored
    says:

    I can only find an abstract but this is the sort of legal understanding one needs to be effective in protecting open, civic society.

    Our legal lives as men, women and persons
    https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/legal-studies/article/our-legal-lives-as-men-women-and-persons/044DAA036B452E0D576781B70B213C95

  181. Clapper57
    Ignored
    says:

    So the GMB Union supports Lisa Nandy’s leadership bid…colour me surprised.

    Richard Leonard – Ex GMB (in heart though still GMB man posing as politician Lol) equals anti SNP and anti Scots Indy.

    Glasgow women’s march/strike for equal pay – GMB instigated equals anti SNP and anti Scots Indy.

    Lisa Nandy declaring she would be a wannabe ‘hammer’ of the Scots equals anti SNP and anti Scots Indy…thus ensured GMB would most definitely give HER their backing….sure Richard L will follow as allows his GMB heart to rule his head.

    Is there an obvious pattern that is developing with the GMB..rhetorical question obvs.

    Oh and let’s not forget the GMB representatives in Scotland during the ACTUAL campaign for Indy Ref where they endorsed Better Together with Labour via their ‘Separation shuts shipyards’ message ….say NO to save shipbuiding jobs….that worked..NOT.

    AND same GMB who were willing conspirators with Glasgow Labour council ( Richard Leonard was then a Research officer with GMB who advised on a deal that would be in favour of male members thus discriminatory to women) in equal pay for women fight.

    They, the GMB Nandy supporters, fought, together with Labour, against women who worked for Glasgow council for their right to get equal pay … then… when Labour council booted out the GMB decided to rally the very people they had once fought, with Labour, against… those same women…. to march and strike for the very thing that they, the GMB , were once fighting against together with their party of choice i.e. Labour…. so more anti SNP and anti Indy being generated …do we laugh or cry at yet ANOTHER GMB hypocrisy…or just see how blatantly corrupt it all is.

    Do we really need to ask then so WHO are the REAL baddies..Huh ?

    Has Ian Murray sent Lisa flowers yet ? Have the GMB sent both of them flowers ?

    AND…have the GMB come out to support him as deputy leader yet..if not why not..don’t they know he too is anti SNP and anti Scots Indy and is totally aligned with Nandy’s ‘hammering’ of the Scots…they really should get their finger out and give HIM their support.

    @ Capella

    Hi Capella, never met you but get the impression you are a nice person from your style of writing and it’s content…I DO read what you write on here as what you do say is worth taking time to read.

    What a sad loss you will be on here should you not continue to post, you are consistent in your opinion and are very polite to others on here. I really hope you continue to add comments…you have more patience and courtesy than I afford people on here, your strength my weakness.

    I really hope you continue adding comments on here….if not, then I hope to get opportunity to meet you and others at a future WOS night out…

    Have a good evening and know you WILL be missed if you decide NOT to add any more comments on here…but hopefully not permanently.

  182. callmedave
    Ignored
    says:

    Brexit:

    Welsh Assembly joins Holyrood and Stormont in rejecting bill

    https://archive.is/pK8EG

  183. Dorothy Devine
    Ignored
    says:

    Watched ITV news on A&E performance and was surprised to see that they were in Haymires telling us how awful it was – didn’t go to Dundee then to see the best performing in the UK.

    The reporter managed a sentence saying Scotland was the best performer and then the BUT.

    I really do loathe these folk and am utterly pissed off with those who cannot see what is going on.

  184. CameronB Brodie
    Ignored
    says:

    Capella
    Dito. 😉

  185. Jockanese Wind Talker
    Ignored
    says:

    ITV Evening News (UK at 18:45hrs approximately) just doing an SNHS Shite ‘cos EssEnnPeeBaaad piece.

    Obliging Norn Irish Doctor (Citrus Fruit Fan?) saying normally there are queues of trolleys in the corridors.

    None during this broadcast though!!

    Also not enough beds or ambulances!

    Propaganda levels rising to 11 in advance of upcoming Material Change of Circumstances at end of the month.

    “England (and Dominic Cummings nae doot) expects every man and woman to do their duty to crush the vile Scottish Separatists” I suspect.

    Softening up for Power Grab and UK Union Hub taking over Scottish Government responsibility’s because SNP are obviously rubbish!

    🙁

  186. manandboy
    Ignored
    says:

    There is little point in quoting ‘the GMB’, as corporate titles allow the individuals responsible to retain their public anonymity – and they, therefore, pay little if any price in the Public Domain.

    So please, identify the responsible office bearers in the GMB

  187. Brian Doonthetoon
    Ignored
    says:

    Just had a look at the

    https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-return-of-10000-flags-for-yes

    crowdfunder page. I reported a couple of days ago that Mark had intimated,

    “Our goal was reached due to a private benefactor lending us the balance to complete the import.”

    So, it’s good to see that peeps are continuing to donate to the page. The more people contribute, the more the loan can be paid off. Looking forward to my perks!

  188. Dan
    Ignored
    says:

    Superhero actors and script writers may still be required for the imminent production of the new MacMarvel film called “Defenders of Scotland’s Sovereignty”, which it is hoped will be premiered no later than Jan 31st 2020.

    The plot revolves around… oh fuck it, youse aw ken whit it’s aboot by noo…

  189. mike cassidy
    Ignored
    says:

    Someone would rather be dead in a ditch than invite local Tory MPS to the Durham Miners Gala.

    https://twitter.com/davidrhodesBBC/status/1219517923502567425

  190. Clapper57
    Ignored
    says:

    @ Jockanese Wind Talker @ 7.04pm

    Yes and they state this while fully aware how sheeite the NHS is down South (England)…and in Labour run Wales too…and in Northern Ireland BTW.

    I remember someone in audience on Debate night said to Tory MSP Jamie Halcro-Johnston how bad NHS in England was compared to Scotland…according to Halcro Johnston this was a false comparison…well he WOULD say that wouldn’t he under the circumstances…however we both know if the NHS down South was performing much better than the Scottish one he would see that as the VERY thing to highlight as way of a positive and winning comparison…..for the Tories.

    Also let’s not forget last year, Boris Johnson stating SNP could lose right to run NHS in Scotland, in response to another one of England’s men in Scotland John lamont SNPBAD wee speeches in HOC…one would assume that he, Johnson, meant that THEY …as in the Tory UKnotOK Government would run it instead…

    Well why would THAT be welcome to Scots when they, the Tories, are failing to run NHS down south as effectively as the SNP are running NHS in Scotland….

    NOTE : OF THE DEVOLVED NATIONS IT IS ALWAYS THE SCOTTISH NHS THAT IS ALWAYS SINGLED OUT AND TARGETED AND NEVER THE WELSH OR NORTHERN IRISH FAILING NHS SERVICES IN UKnotOK…..I wonder why…..Hmm….tis only in the UKnotOK that the best performing NHS in UKnotOK is deemed as worthy of being HIGHLIGHTED as apparently FAILING the public…..if that is the case then I dread to think what, the powers that be and the media, think that the others are doing to the public when one looks at their failings on the NHS and how they are running their respective NHS services so badly……

    Tory UKnotOK …where the media once again runs to their rescue by telling the public to look over there ( Scotland) not here ( England) and where by the constant drip drip of propaganda hopes to damage the vile separatists and their Independence movement in the vain hope to once again get them to swear allegiance to what ? …..living in a hope free and sheeite country run by a parcel of rogues shored up by a corrupt media….oh how tempting…but only when I finally give up the will to live…obvs.

    ps…It is also NOT just the NHS but other services that they, the media and politicians, single out to highlight that the SNP as running badly…other nations…well who knows how they are doing on other services …cause they are never targeted as much as Scotland….so what could be the distinction between them and us …Hmm…I wonder….

  191. Effijy
    Ignored
    says:

    My apologies for my NHS England post earlier.
    They do not face Clinical Negligence claims costing £4.3 Billion.

    That figure is the legal representation cost only!

    The compensation is worth £89 Billion!!!!

    ITV News strangely do not run this major news story
    But instead sent an English reporter to Scotland promoting only 82%
    Of our A & E targets were met. All be it these are the best figures in the UK.

    Next they find a N. Irish Doctor, I suspect a DUP supporter working with SNP Bad
    explaining how the staff are sick of it all and although the corridors are empty he assures
    Patients are stacked there in trolleys most days?

    There we have UK media propaganda at its best.
    Major disgraceful NHS Story in England isn’t worth mentioning
    Best performing NHS is Bad
    Need English reporter to travel to Scotland to tell fake news as Scots too stupid to cover it.

    Get these corrupt bastards out of our country and out of our lives!

  192. Contrary
    Ignored
    says:

    The Digital Covenant 2019 webpage is up and running for signing:

    https://digitalcovenant.co.uk

    So sign it. If you are ‘waiting for the SNP’ you’ll be cold in your grave before anything happens – in saying that, only do what you feel comfortable with. At least read the first page of the signing process which describes what you need and explains that it is a legal document, so make sure that you agree with the statement before signing.

    I haven’t actually been through the process yet, got to scan a couple of documents, so not sure if it is easy or not – does anyone have experience of it they would share?

    I will repeat: WE are the Plan B, if you take no action then nothing will happen. Lots of little things by lots of people is cumulative – no need for major ground breaking events of organising, just whatever you feel able to do. I realise a lot of people commenting here do much more than others, but it all counts.

    Signing this covenant thing is just one thing – I suspect it will take a while, so best to get it underway as quickly as possible and keep advertising it.

  193. Meindevon
    Ignored
    says:

    Ian Murray on LBC now. SNP must put a ref in their mandate in 2021. They didn’t do it this time. Really?

  194. CameronB Brodie
    Ignored
    says:

    I am Cammy, and I am mighty, though rusty.
    Or at least a critical approach to the law is. 🙂

    Apologies for the length of this post. Folk might want to skip by if the functioning pf he law is not of interest. Full text.

    CP = constitutional pluralism

    A sense of self-suspicion: global legal pluralism
    and the claim to legal authority

    Abstract

    Legal pluralism has become common currency in many contemporary debates on law and globalization. Its main claim is that a form of global legal pluralism represents both the most accurate description of law in times of globalization and the best normative option.

    On the descriptive level, global legal pluralism is considered more reliable than state-based accounts. On the normative level, global legal pluralism is understood as a possibility to open up the legal realm to previously
    unheard voices.

    This article assesses these claims against the background of classic legal-pluralist scholarship. After reconstructing the emergence of global legal pluralism and then examining its epistemic and normative versions, the last two sections identify the shortcoming of this approach by underlining the absence of what the authors call ‘a sense of self-suspicion’ in drawing the map of legalities in the global sphere.

    The main argument put forward is that global legal pluralism is oblivious of a few key insights offered by the founding fathers of classic legal pluralism.

    Keywords:
    legal pluralism; global administrative law; liberal political theory; legal authority; symbolic power

    THE CONSTITUTIONAL VERSION OF LEGAL PLURALISM

    A first wave of thinkers who intended to give a pluralist twist to traditional legal theory emerged out of the need of coping with the porosity of state borders vis-a-vis supranational law and in particular in the case of European integration. The latter case is actually at the origin of CP. The multiplication of sites of authority within the European legal space was perceived as a controversial legal construction.

    This became even more pressing at the moment in which the Maastricht Treaty, along with the challenges it had to face vis-a-vis rising public and private actors, took the form of a CP.23 It was therefore the reaction of the German Constitutional Court to the claims contained in that Treaty that actually triggered the debate on this form of pluralism through a seminal article written by Neil McCormick.24 This was clearly interpreted as a case of conflict among authorities.

    McCormick resorted to an institutionalist theory of law in order to account for these ambiguous conflicts.25 What was considered as pluralistic about European integration was that the EU legal order (taken as an autonomous one) claimed to hold supremacy over national constitutions against the
    opinions of other national constitutional courts. Most of these claims were made by the European Court of Justice and other national constitutional courts in the course of deciding particular cases.26

    Constitutional and legal theorists have taken these conflicts very seriously.27 Over 20 years, the reflections initially advanced by McCormick have been developed and unpacked by many other scholars and commentators in what
    has become an autonomous stream of contemporary legal theory. Neil Walker, the torch-bearer of this tradition, has offered an epistemic version of CP,28 which claims to be valid beyond the realm of EU constitutionalism.29

    It should be noted that Walker does not rule out either the explanatory or the normative dimension of CP, for both flow from epistemic pluralism.30 Pluralism is first and foremost epistemic because it is a discourse shaped by and through the development of constitutionalism. Its main virtue lies in its being the least imposing perspective on other first-order points of view. The accent, again, is on the how of the constitutional discourse rather than on the what and the who. This is because, as a form of pluralist thinking, the constitutional pluralist
    discourse cannot impose substantial principles. It limits itself to providing a thin meta-discourse as a shared discursive platform for all legal entities to interact
    meaningfully.

    The deep grammar of Walker’s CP is based on the recognition of a set of seven standards that betray a specific and circumstantial genealogy. In fact, despite any allegiance to formal proceduralism, some of these standards do make reference to substantive contents, whereas others stem from the resolution of actual conflicts among existing legal orders.31

    Finally, the other necessary requirement for this version of CP establishes that every constitutional site can claim ‘internal sovereignty’, but cannot claim any superiority vis-a-vis other constitutional sites. This means that the novelty of CP has to be seen in the absence of any claim of absolute or supreme authority. As a way to face the uncertainties generated by the lack of a supreme institution, Walker’s project is to adapt the language and mindset of constitutionalism to the pluralist imperatives.

    https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.3402/egp.v8.26343

  195. ElGordo
    Ignored
    says:

    https://digitalcovenant.co.uk

    Was the .scot web address not available ffs…

    Ah it was until 17th October 2019, same as .co.uk

    So decided to use .co.uk instead of .scot just to send out the right message

  196. Dr Jim
    Ignored
    says:

    Today England officially declared itself a dictatorship under the leadership of Boris Johnson given that all three other Nations of the so called United Kingdom rejected the Tory Johnson’s despotic regime change plan, even further to that Englands own House of Lords rejected the same plan

    For Johnson to continue with his plan of rejecting democracy from every part of the British Isles bar England he is demonstrating Mugabee style dictatorship and when the trouble starts (and it will) he and only he will be to blame

    @Capella, don’t give any of it a second thought, do what’s good for your own peace of mind, the Internet is a ghastly place

  197. cynicalHighlander
    Ignored
    says:

    @Dr Jim

    the Internet is a ghastly place

    Implying what? as long as you don’t disagree with something you think!

    The Internet is a way of sideling mainstream dictatoriat and not everyone has the compliance chip embedded in their skull and can think for themselves.

  198. cynicalHighlander
    Ignored
    says:

    Missed thank you at the end

  199. Dr Jim
    Ignored
    says:

    Christ on a bike you just proved me right

  200. Mist001
    Ignored
    says:

    Dr Jim says: “the Internet is a ghastly place”

    On the errmm………..internet.

    This is comedy gold.

  201. boris
    Ignored
    says:

    Alister is a former Deputy Lieutenant for Dumfries, (one rung down the ladder from his mum) and deputy-chairman of the River Annan and District Salmon Fishery Board and the River Annan Trust.

    https://caltonjock.com/2020/01/20/an-expanding-profile-of-alister-jack-information-added-ad-hoc-check-daily-if-you-find-the-content-to-be-of-interest-tuesday-update/

  202. CameronB Brodie
    Ignored
    says:

    Mist001
    You appear easily amused. The internet is a shit-hole and there is nothing funny about that, or using the internet as a means of communicating that insight. At least not from my perspective. Care to explain why its funny, or would that spoil the joke?

    THE LEGAL AND POLITICAL IMPLICATIONS
    OF MORAL PLURALISM

    https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/56358294.pdf

  203. cynicalHighlander
    Ignored
    says:

    @DR Jim

    Oh dear!

  204. Mist001
    Ignored
    says:

    What joke? Saying that the internet is a ghastly place whilst participating in the goings on of the internet is just stupid. Who in their right mind would want to involve themselves in a ghastly place? If you found a place was so ghastly, you’d get out of that place, would you not? You wouldn’t want to stick around.

    So it’s not even a joke, just a complete lack of self awareness in Dr Jims post of which there is nothing remotely funny. More to be pitied, really.

  205. Dan
    Ignored
    says:

    @Meindevon at 8:25 pm

    Ian “Worm Tongue” Murray living in his Union at all costs dimensional world is at it again. Quelle surprise…

    That said I suppose it is possible Monsieur Murray lacks the faculties to keep up with the multiple mandates the Scots have been generating over the past few years.

  206. mike cassidy
    Ignored
    says:

    What a wee find!

    Scots in London in 1977 being interviewed about devolution.

    Funny to think I was living and working there at the time.

    And not much interested in politics.

    Came back in the summer of 1978.

    By chance,just in time for the madness of Argentina.

    Good preparation for the election of Thatcher.

    And hard not to be interested politics from then.

    https://twitter.com/YourWullie/status/1211034232350552064

  207. CameronB Brodie
    Ignored
    says:

    Mist001
    From your perspective, which doesn’t appear to be logically consistent, from where I’m looking. Your opinion also appears to display a lack of self-awareness, so you’ll need to try harder to discredit contributes who have indicated their moral outlook over a considerable period of time. Yourself, not so much. Try building up a bit of credibility before trying to flame an adult discussion. You might be more successful then.

    International Legal Personality
    http://www.humanrights.is/en/human-rights-education-project/human-rights-concepts-ideas-and-fora/human-rights-actors/international-legal-personality

  208. mike cassidy
    Ignored
    says:

    Meant to say good preparation for the government of Thatcher.

  209. Dan
    Ignored
    says:

    You can say the internet is shit if you want, but on the bright side at least YouTube algorithms are improving their accuracy.

    Jarvis Cocker – Cunts are still running the world

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCvYUaQXnE8

  210. CameronB Brodie
    Ignored
    says:

    ….contributors (obvs)

    The Source of International Legal Personality in the
    21st Century

    https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/074e/bdf90bba938e2411b49efcde7d55bd79eed6.pdf

  211. Meindevon
    Ignored
    says:

    That Iain Dale LBC interview with Ian Murray was worth listening to. I didn’t catch all of it but three callers in a row were all Indy supporters. The first guy, Ross, a Scot, was very articulate and when Dale backed him up on snp mandates Murray was made to look daft. The second guy was an Englishman living in Scotland and had been labour and now snp. He said England was going too hard right with BJ and Scotland needed independence. The last lady was great too, she said Labour had let Scotland down for years. Murray must have been crying in his green room tea by the end. Guess it’ll be on a podcast or whatever it’s called.

  212. Golfnut
    Ignored
    says:

    @ CBB.

    Thanks for your posts, some interesting reading there.

  213. CameronB Brodie
    Ignored
    says:

    Golfnut
    You’re welcome and thanks. 😉

    Law of Persons
    https://www.studocu.com/en/course/university-of-the-witwatersrand-johannesburg/law-of-persons/3442289

  214. Kangaroo
    Ignored
    says:

    So with all the devolved Parliaments and the HoL voting against the EU Withdrawal Bill will Bojo simply go ahead and railroad it through or will he make the necessary amendments?

    Still waiting on Royal Assent for the Scottish Referendum Bill. I wonder if the Presiding Officer is sitting on his haunches and not sending it off to her maj for signature?

  215. CameronB Brodie
    Ignored
    says:

    “Scotty’s on fire”, again. 🙂

    Beyond Human Rights
    – The Legal Status of the Individual in International Law

    Abstract Book

    The argument of this book is that a paradigm change is occurring in the course of which human beings are becoming the primary international legal persons. This argument is unfolded against the background of historical concepts and doctrines about the status of the individual under international law.

    It is notably based on the practice in numerous areas of public international law, ranging from the law of international responsibility over the law of armed conflict, the law of humanitarian assistance, international criminal law, international environmental law, the law of consular relations and the law of diplomatic protection, international labour law, and refugee law, up to international investment law.

    In these fields, substantive rights and obligations of individuals arguably flow directly from international law, and in some instances procedural mechanisms for enforcing them exist. All this manifests an international legal personality of individuals which is based on customary law, which constitutes a general principle and which can be derived from the human right to legal personality. The emergence of “ordinary” international rights as opposed to human rights shapes the novel legal status of humans in international law which differs from international law protecting persons.

    digitalcommons.law.yale.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3259&context=ylj

  216. cirsium
    Ignored
    says:

    @Scott Finlayson, 12.38pm

    Regarding your query about James Le Mesurier, the following is a useful summary of his career http://syriapropagandamedia.org/james-le-mesurier-a-reconstruction-of-his-business-activities-and-covert-role

    Quantities of money are also mentioned in this post
    https://www.dailysabah.com/investigations/2019/12/10/british-spy-le-mesurier-was-likely-running-away-from-someone-before-his-death

  217. iain mhor
    Ignored
    says:

    The Scottish government could hold a referendum, which is within competence and does not come under a narrow interpretation of ‘a constitutional issue’ possibly requiring ‘transfer of power/ S30 etc – if the referendum was whether to hold an Independence referendum.

    In light of the constant refrain that ‘Scotland does not want another Independence referendum’ – settling that question is one option. Whether such a hypothetical referendum held this year, in place of an actual Independence referendum, would placate Indy supporters is another matter – but it might.

    It would certainly settle the issue of whether Scotland wants to be asked the ultimate question and neatly sidesteps the whole legal conundrum of interpretations of constitutional competence.
    It is a Schrodinger question : it both is and is not an Independence referendum. The wave form is ultimately collapsed, not by the action of the Scottish government or her people, but by Westminster; which will have to accept it being held (or contest it) accept the result if held, or not. But there are too many actual precedences to refuse the result of a referendum (and politically suicidal)

    Contesting competence and arguing it should also be interpreted as a referendum on a ‘constitutional issue’, should be far too wide for any legal reading to accept. An actual Independence referendum is already finely balanced on whether it is legally within competence – this alternative can only be outwith that parameter. It’s a hard ask to argue for it being a greater constitutional issue and therefore definitely reserved.
    I’m sure you can all join the dots thereafter…

    Yeah, well – there is nothing else to write about, other than fill a relaxing bowl and puff on hypotheticals.

  218. manandboy
    Ignored
    says:

    Contrary says: 21 January 2020 at 8:11 pm

    The Digital Covenant 2019 webpage is up and running for signing:
    https://digitalcovenant.co.uk

    I signed The Scottish Digital Covenant today because it is a great idea, at least to my mind, because it is an authentic and rather rare expression of the sovereignty of the Scottish people, the other being the vote.

    It also has the potential to become a perfectly legal Referendum.

    Do sign up when you have the time.

  219. CameronB Brodie
    Ignored
    says:

    And here’s some more sharks with laser-beams on their heads.

    Full text. 😉

    Human Rights, Legal Personhood and the
    Impersonality of Embodied Life

    Abstract
    Since Locke, the concept of person has been closely linked to the idea of a subjective natural right and, later, to the concept of human rights. In this article we attempt to trouble this connection between humanity and personhood. For personhood is also an apparatus or dispositive of power.

    In the first half of the article, we identify a fundamental problem in the usual way human rights are connected to legal personhood by making use of insights drawn from Roberto Esposito’s discourse on biopolitics and critical race theory. While human rights are intended to offer protection to the “precarious” reality of human embodied life, we hypothesize that the fiction of legal personality generates a dis-embodiment whereby this human life is left exposed and defenseless.

    In the second half, we propose reconstructing the idea of legal personhood so that it may be more adequate to the required conception of human rights with insights drawn from Helmuth Plessner’s political anthropology of embodied life and from the analysis of disembodiment recently articulated by Ta-Nehisi Coates.

    Keywords
    human rights, personhood, biopolitics, embodiment, Plessner, Coates

    https://www.researchgate.net/publication/333825274_Human_Rights_Legal_Personhood_and_the_Impersonality_of_Embodied_Life

  220. And Spouse
    Ignored
    says:

    https://www.snp.org/history/
    Can anybody find Alex?

  221. Chic McGregor
    Ignored
    says:

    Yeltsin was handed the result of a non-Moscow-authorized Ukraine indy. ref in the middle of attending a summit of the Soviets.

    Despite being the leader of an ‘authoritarian Evil Empire’ he accepted the result.

    Question is, would his namesake in the newly authoritarian UK be as respectful of democracy?

  222. Unionist Media BDSM Club
    Ignored
    says:

    And Spouse says:
    22 January, 2020 at 12:53 am
    https://www.snp.org/history/
    Can anybody find Alex?
    ——————

    Nope. It seems that we’re living in a timeline where not only has that orange freak off The Apprentice ended up in charge of a nuclear arsenal and putting kids in concentration camps, but no such person as “Alex Salmond” had anything to do with the first indy referendum.

    >The 2014 independence referendum was Scotland’s greatest ever democratic event. In the months building up to the vote, the Yes campaign – spearheaded by the SNP and its then depute leader Nicola Sturgeon – engaged with every community in Scotland.

    This is truly pathetic, and increasingly worrying.

  223. cynicalHighlander
    Ignored
    says:

    @And Spouse

    That link says more than some of the posters on here will admit that the SNP have been taken over by the establishment and are no more interested in Scotland as a nation, than keeping the cash flow. It sickens me more than I can say,so eff off Dr Jim and the rest of you lackies. I,m done with your squirming.

  224. twathater
    Ignored
    says:

    This withdrawal bill section 38 is unbelievable it basically neutralises all 3 devolved parliaments in perpetuity LINK

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TLCkCOxUeA

    This has to immediately be challenged legally , this is a dictatorial executive basically destroying the treaty of union and colonising the other 3 countries and usurping the devolved parliaments .Nicola Sturgeon MUST STATE a date for a referendum and inform the EU that any discussions regarding trade agreements MUST NOT include Scotland’s resources

    As Breeks has been proposing time immemorial the SG MUST challenge the denial of Scots sovereignty through the ICJ immediately , to capitulate or ignore this agreement will result in the subsuming of Scotland the country and nation

  225. K1
    Ignored
    says:

    Apparently if you check out this tweet

    https://mobile.twitter.com/SNPChris/status/1219772617642717188

    You’ll note further down below there is a comment from someone, asking:

    ‘Chris, the wayback machine’s first record of this page is from the 28th of September 2018. It didn’t contain any reference to Alex Salmond then, either.

    Can you please offer a screenshot of the removed mention to substantiate? ‘

    He has as yet not responded to this legitimate query.

    Maybe we could all refrain from believing everything we are tweeted these days. Just saying.

  226. Kangaroo
    Ignored
    says:

    Twathater @3:04am

    There are two other parts to the video you referenced and they can be found here

    https://wingsoverscotland.com/hubris-a-warning-from-history/#comment-2510801

    Also commented here
    https://peterabell.scot/2020/01/21/shackled/#comment-14133

  227. Kangaroo
    Ignored
    says:

    Twathater @3:04am

    Regarding the statement “The Parliament of the United Kingdom is Sovereign” included in the EU Withdrawal Bill, I believe that Carwyn Jones is correct that it is “Constitutional Grafitti” in that a statement included in a UK Law cannot overrule the Sovereignty of the people of Scotland without their express permission. What CJ is really cpncerned about is the undermining of the Welsh devolution settlement, which has no such safeguard.

  228. manandboy
    Ignored
    says:

    Always remember this: Two million ‘Scots’ voted No in Indy2014 in a blizzard of Unionist lies in which one million voters lost their way, as happens in blizzards, which is why the Westminster Establishment creates them.

  229. manandboy
    Ignored
    says:

    Weather forecast :More blizzard conditions until further notice. No detectable change is forecast.

  230. manandboy
    Ignored
    says:

    FWIW. When the going is good, the Party in Government will look good. But under real pressure, when the going gets rough, weaknesses become exposed and attract lots of attention, particularly from opponents, but also from friends.

    The SNP is not short of strengths, nor of weaknesses. Bit like Scotland really. Soon, we shall see which prevails in the Brexit/Independence pressure-cooker.

  231. manandboy
    Ignored
    says:

    If the English Establishment wanted a Mascot, my choice would be Jimmy Saville, someone whose carefully created public image belied the evil within.

    Make no mistake, the current UK Prime Minister, with his carefully created jovial-clown image, is the political figurehead of a truly evil regime with a long Imperial history of staggeringly shocking evil deeds, including the occasional genocide of millions of innocent people throughout the Colonies and elsewhere.

    In their language, the words justice, truth, equality, freedom and democracy, simply do not exist, except to create a totally false image to fool the public, as Saville did.

    Johnson is the tip of the Establishment’s poisoned arrow.

    Right now, it is aimed at Scotland, with another atrocity in mind.

  232. Breeks
    Ignored
    says:

    I don’t think I can bear to trawl around SNP Twitter feeds anymore. I see no defiance anywhere, merely alarm at some new injustice which requires to be mitigated, some new subjugation which needs a protest, some new toothless petition that needs a signature. I don’t even see any despondency. It is surreal. 9 days until the lights go out and attacking some Labour idiot is a priority….

    This is beyond reluctant appeasement, and it feels more like voluntary collaboration, like the restaurants and cafes of occupied Europe which were essential to facilitate the subjugation of the populace and suppress dissent. Scotland CAN fight Brexit and defeat it, but not I fear, while we have this toothless paper tiger in Holyrood.

    Our removal from Europe may or may not prove to be as catastrophic for Scotland as our 1707 Union, but our modern day MSP’s and Scottish Parliament seem to have an uncanny parallel with Scottish Lords and Parliament which sold out Scotland’s interests back in 1707. If I could, I would ask 18th Century Scotland, was this how it was done?

    Colin Alexander says:
    21 January, 2020 at 5:53 pm
    Breeks said: “At the very minimum, we NEED to get it registered with the…EU that UK Sovereignty is disputed”.

    Who’s gonnae do that?

    I don’t know Colin. I would do it myself, or you, or Rev Stu, be Scotland’s Gina Millar, but I think success being taken seriously would require someone with “Official” capacity, – Scotland’s Lord Advocate, obviously Scotland’s Government if they weren’t such shrinking violets, perhaps a splinter group of ‘Constitutional Radicals’, (I think we should all lobby Joanna Cherry hard and quickly), then there is a possibility of our YES lieutenants organising a Constitutional task force, Craig Murray and Peter Bell have at least a recognised persona, and what if The National was to sponsor a Test Case?

    Do we really need to chase down the Chagos Islanders and ask them for a business card of a good Constitutional Lawyer?? … And if we do, then let’s get it done without delay!

    Is there nobody in Europe who might help? I don’t entirely buy the excuse that Europe won’t interfere, because the origins of Devolution and Scotland’s Parliament lay in European structures designed to protect regional expression… It was Labour who wanted the credit for Scotland’s Devolved Parliament, but the compulsion to have it was the result of SNP folks digging away in the background… (changed times eh? )

    https://ncdiblog.wordpress.com/2015/03/16/our-unsu-ng-heroes-the-explosive-truth-about-the-formation-of-the-scottish-parliament/

    “In September 1993 the Scotland-UN Committee presented a memorandum to the Council of Europe, the oldest of the major European institutions, on the occasion of its summit meeting the following month in Vienna. Nationalism in Europe was to be one of the main issues for discussion by the European heads of state and government, and the Scotland-UN Committee wanted to ensure that Scotland’s case would not go unheard or be misrepresented at the meeting, as had happened before.”

    We need it to happen, before the Tsunami of Brexit, but I fear we need guidance for the correct “it” to happen.

    Andrew Tickell is another possibility…

  233. Breeks
    Ignored
    says:

    I would add Ian Blackford to the list too.

    At least Ian Blackford has enough backbone to articulate the concept of Scottish Sovereignty, and perhaps we should enquire of Ian why he has since blown cold on that impending Constitutional standoff… was it on orders from Holyrood?

  234. Robert Louis
    Ignored
    says:

    Never forget, in all of this, the TORIES fought tooth and nail and actively campaigned against the Scottisdh parliament at the time of the referendum. That is what the Tories are, colonialist, who want to subjugate Scotland against the wishes of its people.

    As somebody rightly pointed out above, if you want freedom, you need to stop asking permission. That is where Scotland is right now.

    Make no mistake, the Tories are the enemy of Scotland. They care nothing for democracy. They ignore the Scottish Welsh and N.Ireland parliament. They are English supremacists, writ large, the racists on our lawn.

    If ever their was a time for a Scottish Government to step up to the fight, it is now. This cannot be allowed. It is not business as usual, nowehere near it.

    All the old order is being destroyed, and democracy for the Scottish people is being trashed by Engl;and’s Tory government. The lying English Tories ,really should know, that when you remove democracy, and negate the ballot box, you leave a nation with few other options. The modern history of Ireland tells us all that.

    How dare these lying English Tories forcibly remove Scotland from the EU, wholly against its wishes. How dare they just lazily ignore the wishes of the Scots, Welsh and N.Ireland parliaments.

    If Nicola Sturgeon is not prepared to stand up for Scotland, then the Scottish people must find a new champion who will. We need actions NOT words.

    Racist, liar, De Pfeffle Johnson should heed the old Scottish Motto, ‘nemo me impune lacessit’. He should heed it well.

  235. manandboy
    Ignored
    says:

    http://archive.ph/wip/eBmUA

    UK’s GE19 – JUST ANOTHER HACKING JOB TO ORDER?

    INDY2014 – JUST ANOTHER HACKING JOB TO ORDER?

    National General Elections around the world appear to have become like exercises in hacking into a bank’s account holders database and extracting their cash without the customers having any idea about what is going on, till it’s too late.

    Are the political PR gurus who engineered Scott Morrisons General election victory, not the same people who were hired by PMJohnson to engineer his GE19 campaign. They obviously have a winning formula, albeit one which is as yet unaudited for legality as to the use of data hacking and social media.

    The Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison is by all accounts a glove-puppet on the fingers of Australia’s huge coal-mining industry. His Government is reportedly riven with corruption.

    “No one job is worth saving at the expense of climate catastrophe. Not even Scott Morrison’s
    Richard Denniss
    Promising Australia won’t tackle the climate crisis unless every coal worker’s job is safe is a cruel hoax designed to conceal inaction”

  236. Rm
    Ignored
    says:

    If the SNP government don’t put up some kind of resistance to what’s happening lots of passionate Independence voters will loss interest in the SNP but not Independence, maybe we need a new radical thinking party to be formed, some of the speakers on wings over Scotland have great ideas where will we get a genuine passionate person with a bit of fight to form a new party or rather than a party a Scottish Government made up of Independents who can think for themselves and don’t have to follow party lines all the time, we have to start being different.

  237. manandboy
    Ignored
    says:

    Elsewhere,

    In 2020, much of the UK electorate remains confused, anxious about the future, searching in vain for a trustworthy politician or leader, and pessimistic.

    Is this situation accidental or engineered.

    If it’s accidental, then it is a truly remarkable phenomenon that the issues facing the electorate of the UK under PMJohnson are very similar to those of the electorate of Russia under PM Putin. Except that in Russia, we know for certain that the confusion of the Russian electorate was intentionally engineered as part of a long-term strategy to keep Vladimir Putin in power. Which is something the Tories are desperate to do.

    To illustrate this, here is an example, of a member of Parliament telling the public something about the BBC, which the people know to be untrue. The electorate is left to wonder ‘who do you believe, who can you trust to be honest.’ Confusion.

    http://archive.ph/5i11F (The Guardian)

    Ben Bradshaw, the Labour MP and former culture secretary, speaking about how Dominic Cummings and some Tory MPs “would like nothing more than to replace the BBC with a rightwing propaganda channel like Fox”, added: “The BBC belongs to the British public, not the government,….
    *and the public value the public service ethos of the BBC, objective and accurate information and news and the broad range of much-loved radio and TV programmes*

  238. manandboy
    Ignored
    says:

    Ps. Ben Bradshaw worked for the BBC before becoming an MP in 1997!

  239. Liz g
    Ignored
    says:

    The Sovereignty of the People of Scotland is not a, Reserved to the Westminster Parliament issue.
    It couldn’t be it never left Scotland!
    Mibbi it’s no Politicians or Courts we need to start demanding action from?
    But mibbi,a minimum of 100 of us should write to the very person charged with guarding Scotland from ever being brought under English rule?
    And instruct her,her known as ” Your Grace ” in Scotland,

    ( we don’t do Majesty or Highness shit in Scotland..It’s even Gender Neutral if that’s yer thing 🙂 turns oot we were a bit progressive back in the day… Who knew 🙂 )

    to do her bloody job and refuse to sign the Withdrawal bill …. And I mean actually write,no email
    Jist sayin!

  240. Colin Alexander
    Ignored
    says:

    Breeks

    So far, the SNP / Scot Govt’s fight over Brexit has been made from devolution grounds. Even now, regarding indyref, for the SNP it’s all about the devolution powers of the Scottish Parliament.
    ————————————————————

    I’m sure the SNP would say: they are a party of law and order, So, they would argue they are operating within the rule of law as they are obliged to do.

    You cannot serve two opposing laws: Sovereignty of the Crown of England in UK Parliament v sovereignty of the people of Scotland.

    I would argue the SNP have made their choice: sovereignty of the Crown of England in UK Parliament (as this is the basis of the UK State). As Peter A Bell puts it: “England as Britain”.

    By doing this the SNP have betrayed the ancient and inalienable law that says the people of Scotland are sovereign.

    Why would they do this? Power.

    The UK State allows the SNP a degree of power, for as long as the SNP serve the UK state.

    In stark contrast to the SNP (and many on here), I would argue: Holyrood does not represent Scotland’s sovereignty: it is the exercise of the Crown of England’s (counterfeit) sovereignty over Scotland.

    Aye, to an extent, Holyrood represent’s Scottish democracy (Are List MPs democratic?), but I don’t need to explain to you: sovereign power trumps democracy.

    Thus, the sovereignty of the Crown of England puts limits on the democratic decisions of the devolved parliaments eg the refusal of consent to Brexit by all the devolved parliaments is simply ignored.

    Aye MSPs are elected to represent Scottish democracy but primarily they are colonial administrators for the British Empire.

  241. Graeme
    Ignored
    says:

    It would be useful if the digital covenant page was readable, they’ve got black font on a blue background, why can’t they get that stuff right

  242. Kangaroo
    Ignored
    says:

    Breeks

    I love your passion and I’m with you all the way. However this contest is like a game of poker, where the dealer is Westminster and has the ability to deal cards from the bottom of the deck, without anyone querying the legality. So how do you win; you wait until after they have revealed their cards by laying them on the table. Then and only then do you reveal your cards. Otherwise you lose because they can still adjust their cards to ensure a win.
    This is why the SG needs to wait. Be patient my friend.

  243. Rm
    Ignored
    says:

    Maybe the Scottish Parliament has been engineered over years , there can’t be another country in the world that would let another country do what England’s doing to Scotland and get away with it.

  244. Mist001
    Ignored
    says:

    So……….9 days to go and the silence is deafening, though not surprising.

  245. Colin Alexander
    Ignored
    says:

    The SNP are colonial administrators at Holyrood.

    WINGS PARTY would be colonial administrators at Holyrood.

    Greens, Labour, Tories, LibDems etc

    All would just be administrators of colonial power.

    So, if anyone is looking to the SNP or Wings Party at Holyrood elections in 2021 as an answer to colonial subjugation of Scotland, I find that amusing.

    Well, you have to laugh or greet, one of the two.

  246. Breeks
    Ignored
    says:


    Rm says:
    22 January, 2020 at 7:50 am
    If the SNP government don’t put up some kind of resistance to what’s happening lots of passionate Independence voters will loss interest in the SNP but not Independence, maybe we need a new radical thinking party to be formed..

    That depends. The SNP might currently be weak on Independence, but their governance of the Country is pretty sound. A wrong Independence strategy can be changed… and hopefully changed within 9 days…

    I’d suggest it isn’t a new party we need, but a “shooting star” initiative, action focussed exclusively on bringing an end to the Union, whether that’s using Constitutional Law, International Law, Civil Disobedience to make Scotland ungovernable under subjugation, or securing International Recognition for Scotland’s Constitutional Sovereignty… perhaps a combination of all.

    I hate to say it, but a single initiative akin to Farage and Brexit. But be careful! Its NOT the same, because Farage’s strength and leverage was the power he had to weaken a ruling party’s grip on power, and that dynamic doesn’t work in Scotland, weakening a party which doesn’t yet have a grip on power and cannot afford to be weakened.

    The “democratic” part of a Constitutionally led initiative need only become a feature in a ratification plebiscite after the Union is over, and of course, electing ourselves a Government.

    IF Nicola cannot stop the rot, then by all means with appropriate reluctance ditch the SNP bath water, but we need to think very long and hard before throwing out the SNP baby along with it.

    It is my personal suspicion that Nicola does not have a bad heart, but has maybe thought herself to a standstill. When you look at them, I very much doubt there is much stimulus coming from her peers in the Holyrood cabinet. I’ve had dealings with some of them and jeezo… But show her a way through the obstacles, show her a solution, and I think she will take it.

    When you’re under tremendous pressure and stress, your capacity for objective reasoning can stutter and stall, and your mental processing can shut down and everyday minutiae can become debilitating problems. What’s obvious to other people isn’t obvious to you. I’m not saying she’s lost the plot but it’s like doing a crossword, sometimes you get stumped and need an extra wee clue to get you going…

    I think Nicola is flummoxed by the problem of getting Scottish Constitutional Sovereignty engaged through the restricted Constitutional protocols of a Devolved Parliament that has been designed to be a lower House than Westminster. In that situation, she is absolutely right, with no tangible power, democracy from the people is all you’ve got.

    Step back Nicola. Get yourself OUT of that situation. Don’t mistake Holyrood’s Constitution for Scotland’s Constitution. Scotland is sovereign. Holyrood is not. Westminster is not. Let us now fast forward to the point where we win…

  247. Ian Brotherhood
    Ignored
    says:

    Can anyone flesh-out this Tweet from Chris McEleney?

    ‘Appalling: the 2 time party leader of
    @theSNP, 1st ever SNP First minister, & the leader that won us the majority that delivered Scotland’s referendum has been removed from the history pages of the SNP.
    Orwell died 75 years ago but this is 1984 levels of historical negationism.’

    https://twitter.com/SNPChris/status/1219772617642717188

  248. Liz g
    Ignored
    says:

    Colin Alexander @ 8.28
    The Holyrood Parliament,the one that we voted for is AN INSTRUMENT of Westminster…
    Wasn’t sold like that sure!
    But it is what it is…it’s,their, ( no matter who’s in charge of it) sole functions are to administrate the Westminster system…
    How do you not know that?…
    I thought everybody did?
    At least everybody who has spent time here!
    There’s nae traction in sayin running the system for the British State is a choice…. They run the system we picked for them to run.
    Devolution IS the Westminster system from top to bottom…
    Our Sovereignty is held by our Westminster MPs or, us during the hours we vote…. It’s no rocket science Colin the only thing to see past is the Propaganda….

  249. JaMuR
    Ignored
    says:

    Whats the plans for the 31st and removal of the EU flag?
    Is there a rally and are we making a statement ?

  250. scunner
    Ignored
    says:

    We watched incredulously as they spent what felt like 10 minutes on an article regarding a lady suing Glasgow NHS, which should only have warranted page 6 in the dead tree press.

    I made the flippant “page 6” comment not realising that was exactly the page The Hootsmon put this non-story on!
    A sliver at the foot also containing an insinuation that the complainant’s police treatment was a some sort of punishment for suggesting that her daughter’s recurrent infections were picked up at the Children’s Hospital.
    Don’t recall that in the Reporting Scotland piece, which is surprising given the blanket coverage of Glasgow Hospital Acquired Infections prior to the GE.

  251. Ottomanboi
    Ignored
    says:

    England’s identity problem.
    https://www.salisburyreview.com/articles/speak-for-england/
    Things can only become much worse for its citizens as notions of race and ‘identitarian pride’ substitute for authentic political discourse in the res publica/politeia.
    Pleased we have no truck with that.

  252. Rm
    Ignored
    says:

    @Breeks, yes your right the SNP government do a good job looking after its people but it’s limited to what it can do until we get Independence, but the SNPs existence depends on pushing hard all the time for Independence, all the Independence hubs are looking for some kind of fight from the Scottish Government which doesn’t seem to be happening.

  253. Pete
    Ignored
    says:

    I note that Scotland has dropped down the international rankings for wellbeing (ISEW) by 5 places behind England and the UK.
    Scotland is a great place to live but the SG really need to get a grip.
    Education is appalling. My grandchildren struggle to get the subjects they need for university.
    I think complacency has set in.

  254. ScotsRenewables
    Ignored
    says:

    Perhaps your grandchildren are just a bit thick, Pete.

  255. ScotsRenewables
    Ignored
    says:


    Mist001 says:
    22 January, 2020 at 8:54 am
    So……….9 days to go and the silence is deafening, though not surprising.

    No, not surprising at all. Both mandate conditions will be fulfilled at 23.00 on the 31st Jan, so 23.01 is the perfect time for an announcement.

    – W

  256. Achnababan
    Ignored
    says:

    Breeks at 9.03am above:

    Excellent perceptive post…. and it also illuminates how brilliant Salmond was.

    Pete at 10.08 – GTF you troll!

  257. Effijy
    Ignored
    says:

    Can I correct the misapprehension that the Public own the BBC.

    They don’t.

    You are not allowed to use freedom of information with this corrupt cabal.
    Ask how many Scots have cancelled their licenses,
    How many cited biased propaganda.
    Try complaining 10 times over about completely intentional misinterpretation
    Of a major need story.

    They lie and misrepresent stories to suit the politicians the board supports.
    imagine a petition where 100,000 Scots accuse them of biased propaganda
    What do you think would be done when they are their own judge and jury?

  258. Effijy
    Ignored
    says:

    BBC Bias Petition only at 93,063 signatures.

    Signatures have been drying up so does this mean
    Everyone else is happy with Westminster’s BBC?

    https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/independent-enquiry-into-bbc-bias-regards-scottish-independence-referendum

  259. Chic McGregor
    Ignored
    says:

    @Pete

    The latest (2017/18) HE enrollment figures by country of domicile are:

    Scotland: 170,895
    England: 1,548,250

    Therefore Scotland’s figure being over 11% of that of England’s

    Whereas a population of 5.438 million for Scotland versus 55.98 million for England means Scotland’s population is only 9.7% of that of England.

    Clearly, a higher percentage of Scottish students go into HE than do in England.

  260. Breeks
    Ignored
    says:


    Kangaroo says:
    22 January, 2020 at 8:41 am
    Breeks

    ….. Otherwise you lose because they can still adjust their cards to ensure a win.
    This is why the SG needs to wait. Be patient my friend.

    I’m not blind to that, but everywhere you look, you see contingencies and preparations for a post-Brexit Scotland out of Europe, and at best, trying to get back in. IF, and it’s a mighty big if, that’s all a cunning feint to draw a hand at poker, then tell that to the European friends and immigrants obliged to sell up their homes and businesses due to the uncertainty of Brexit, and all Scotland’s farmers who are expecting lambs in a few weeks without knowing whether there’s a market for selling them.

    The Scottish Government isn’t leaving a void of ambiguity about sovereignty, their strategy was to voluntarily roll over when confronted by Brexit and seek an ‘unconstitutional’ compromise of staying in the single market. So much for your Sovereign Constitution and Democratic Mandate Scotland…

    I could go on… but holding a tight rein on our Government seems the essential thing to be doing.

  261. Jockanese Wind Talker
    Ignored
    says:

    Soon find out if Elizabeth is Queen of Scots is prepared to defend the Sovereignty of the People of Scotland or not as per the 1689 Claim of Right (Scotland).

    https://web.archive.org/web/20200122102749/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-snp-boris-johnson-eu-withdrawal-bill-scotland-a9295586.html

    Blackford should also ask what the delay in getting Royal Assent for the Referendums (Scotland) Bill is – Although it looks like SiUs Ken Macintosh is at it again:

    https://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/Bills/111844.aspx

    “The Presiding Officer has decided under Rule 9.12 of Standing Orders that a financial resolution is required for this Bill.”

    So can it get assent before it has a ‘financial resolution’ or is this just Law speak?

  262. Breeks
    Ignored
    says:

    OT..

    Funny on Rev Stu’s Twitter about the foxes…

    Many years ago I moved up North to stay in a rural Highland Cottage. I wasn’t supposed to smoke in the property, so I’d routinely hang my insubordinate carcass out a rooflight at the back and puff away.
    One evening, I heard this unearthly mix between a growl, a bellow, a belch and a roar, which reverberated to such an extent you couldn’t tell which direction it came from nor even how close it was.

    “What the f—- was that??? thinks me to myself, scanning the twilight edge of the tree line for emerging werewolves and tigers.

    Sounds daft, but I was a country boy my entire life, but never had I heard anything remotely like this. Very short list of what it was or might be, very long list of what it wasn’t…

    Sorry for the suspense, but turns out it was a red deer stag during the rut, and they do it all the time. I just rather wish somebody had told me. There aren’t many red deer in the Borders, and they’re very, very, quiet as a rule, but the ones up North occasionally sound just like werewolves moving in towards your location. Who knew?

    (And yeah, I would still reintroduce apex predators to a re-wilded Scotland). They are meant to be there.

  263. K1
    Ignored
    says:

    The tweet referring to writing out AS from snp website, was based on an article just over a year ago.

    Read for yourselves. It seems to have come to ahead on the back of the charges brought against him and in the article it seems clear that the 2 camps have been fighting since the allegations.

    https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/politics/alex-salmond-airbrushed-out-snp-online-history-152489

  264. K1
    Ignored
    says:

    My bad, article referred to above is from 19th Jan 2019. So not last year.

  265. Republicofscotland
    Ignored
    says:

    Scottish taxpayers left to pay £7.5 million pounds Scotland office bills, as Westminster beefs up its propaganda department in Scotland.

    https://www.thenational.scot/news/18176723.mhairi-black-demands-explanation-scotland-office-spending-increase/

  266. Colin Alexander
    Ignored
    says:

    Jockanese Wind Talker

    I thought they had already passed a financial resolution for the Referendums (Scotland) Bill:

    Referendums (Scotland) Bill: Financial Resolution

    http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/report.aspx?r=12344&mode=html#iob_111626

  267. Republicofscotland
    Ignored
    says:

    Christ I loathe giving the misnomered shit rag the Scotsman the clicks.

    However no one is sure who ommitted Salmond from the SNP history. It could’ve been a junior doing it on the orders of a Westminster plant to further agitate the indy support and divide it.

    Again we must take into account the timing of this trivial story, as the unionist media begins to ramp up the pressure to seal a conviction against Salmond.

  268. Blair Paterson
    Ignored
    says:

    I see A.S. Is in court today I honestly believe it is a stitch up by the establishment he is a threat to them and as for the women who have complained to remain anominous what kind of justice is that ??? Parnell suffered the same treatment their policy being if you can’t beat the argument beat the man who is making it . But all the things that A.S. Has said about Scotland and our freedom will still remain true no matter what the outcome of their case I mean 2and2 is 4 no matter who says it even if it is said by someone convicted of a crime so to any reasonable person their tactics will not work

  269. Ian Brotherhood
    Ignored
    says:

    ‘Scottish Independence – List Only Party. A lot of increased chatter around this recently for obvious reasons. What is your preference?

    AUOB party 21.1%
    Yes umbrella party 26.5%
    WINGS 30.2%
    Not a good idea 22.3%

    925 votes cast so far
    Closes in 50 minutes.

    https://twitter.com/euroscots/status/1219614825304743939

  270. mountain shadow
    Ignored
    says:

    Another predictable question from Ian Blackford at PMQs and another predictable answer from Johnson.

    When are the SNP going to stop talking, which is getting us no where, and actually do something?

  271. Almond Chutney
    Ignored
    says:

    It’s interesting that Scotland is looking for revocation of the acts of union in 1707, but forget that the union of crowns is also predated in 1603. So those who are ‘thrilled’ at the idea of a republic may have to wait further still to separate the powers of a constitutional monarch.

    I imagine if indy is gained, then Scotland will be a lot more like Canada, NZ, Australia etc. with an appointed Governor-General with no real influence on central politics. Just curious on people’s views on this, is separation from the Westminster government enough, or is the majority agreement of indy supporters that to also abolish the monarchy?

    I’m only interested as of course, the English and Scottish crowns were separate until James VI and I, so indeed that QEII is descended from the direct line of former Scottish monarchs.

  272. Stuart MacKay
    Ignored
    says:

    Contrary says: 21 January 2020 at 8:11 pm

    The Digital Covenant 2019 webpage is up and running for signing: https://digitalcovenant.co.uk

    Congrats on launching. Generally the site looks good but, as usual, here is somebody on the interwebs complaining about all the hard work you did:

    Your call to action could be stronger. I read the page and was still unsure whether I wanted to start the signing process.

    Please do something about the menu at the top of the page which is almost unreadable against the background image.

    Also, I question the wisdom of using Google Analytics for traffic analysis. The signature process itself is enough to tell you whether you’re hitting the intended audience. Using Google is only going to add a “potential subversive” label to your visitors’ profiles at GCHQ.

    Other than that it’s an interesting idea. Good to see somebody thinking of alternatives to move independence forward.

  273. Ottomanboi
    Ignored
    says:

    The crime writer, poet and classicist Dorothy L Sayers on the English.

    “‘Unlike the Jews, the Irish, and the Germans, the English are pleased to be thought even more mongrel and exotic than they are. It appeals to the streak of romantic sensibility in the English temperament. Tell an Englishman that he is pure-bred Anglo-Saxon or a hundred per cent Aryan, and he will laugh in your face; tell him that his remote ancestry contains a blend of French, Russian, Chinese or even Arab or Hindu, and he will listen with polite gratification. The remoter, of course, the better; it is more picturesque, and less socially ambiguous.’

    “‘Socially ambiguous? Ah! you admit, then, that the Englishman in fact despises all other races but his own.’

    “Until he has had time to assimilate them. What he despises is not other races but other civilisations. He does not wish to be called a dago; but if he is born with dark eyes and an olive complexion, he is pleased to trace those features back to a Spanish hidalgo, cast away upon the English coast in the wreck of the Great Armada. Everything with us is a matter of sentiment and association'”.

    And she might have added to that ‘appropriation’. Appropriation with reference to asymmetric power relationships.
    Sayers was of Anglo-Irish descent.

  274. Ottomanboi
    Ignored
    says:

    @Almond Chutney 13:18
    One might trust that Scots having chosen republican government, would like their Irish cousins, also bid adieu to the neo-colonial nonsense styled The British Commonwealth.

  275. Gary45%
    Ignored
    says:

    Westminster- “The Dictatorship That Keeps On Taking”.
    A banner anyone?

  276. Ian Brotherhood
    Ignored
    says:

    PS to 12.46 –

    Wings topped that poll, the stats are virtually the same…

    https://twitter.com/euroscots/status/1219614825304743939

  277. Almond Chutney
    Ignored
    says:

    @Ottomanboi 13:43

    Exactly my point, it’s one thing to vote for indy, then another to actual agree to the form of government thereafter. I remember prior to the 2014 vote that the SNP has alluded at keeping the monarchy as head of state, but is that their right to choose to do so?

    Also hoping that such a separation won’t be a bloodbath like the Irish War of Independence, so the chances of keeping the monarchy by default would be a lot higher.

    Curious topic.

  278. Jockanese Wind Talker
    Ignored
    says:

    Fair enough @Colin Alexander says at 12:01 pm but I’d have thought it would have read “Awaiting Royal Assent” under the ‘ Current Status of the Bill’ section on the website then!

  279. Rev. Stuart Campbell
    Ignored
    says:

    “Why can’t we just be free of all unions and put Scotland in charge of Scotland”

    Scotland chose by 62% to 38% to stay in the EU. If we become independent we can revisit that decision any time we choose.

  280. Liz g
    Ignored
    says:

    We MIGHT have some movement….
    Heard on the radio, but only once!
    Ian Blackford has requested to Mogg that he be included in the privy council meeting ‘re the Withdrawal Bill because of its effect on the Devolution settlements has caused a Constitutional Crises!
    Anybody else hear anything?
    While I doubt he’ll demand Auld Lizzie don’t sign it and those meetings are I think private….. They bend over backwards to keep her from any blame and from highlighting that she does indeed have political power so, if the Scottish Ministers are going down that route…. They won’t like it one bit,this Lizzie on the other hand would be highly amused 🙂
    Anybody know if “asking ” Mogg is just a formality or if he was refuse the request?

  281. Golfnut
    Ignored
    says:

    @ Almond Chutney.
    The crowns were never United. Both the English and Scottish Parliaments rejected the proposal to to unite the Crowns in 1603. 2 separate crowns, 1 head. The crown of course has the right to decide how they will be styled i.e., Elisabeth 11, McCormack v Lord Advocate 1953.

  282. Jockanese Wind Talker
    Ignored
    says:

    See my earlier post and link at 10:57am

    https://wingsoverscotland.com/winning-back-scotland/comment-page-2/#comment-2511620

    @ Liz g says at 2:21 pm

  283. Ottomanboi
    Ignored
    says:

    @Almond Chutney 13:51
    I doubt Scotland would have an equivalent of civil war over the independence issue but a clear division of the SNP into ‘moderate gradualist’ and ‘radical nationalist’ factions or parties may not be unthinkable.
    The longer the process drags on the greater the possibility.
    Something is needed to galvanize the faithful during these gloomy winter months.

  284. Liz g
    Ignored
    says:

    Jockanese Wind Talker @ 2.21
    Thanks For that link,I was only just back and I’m catching up,at least now I know I didn’t imagine it :-).
    This could get interesting,I hope it takes legs,because Auld Lizzie is no supposed to bring us under English rule.
    It’s her only job and if she signs she’s demonstrably failed us!

  285. Almond Chutney
    Ignored
    says:

    Golfnut, I was just referring to the ‘Union of Crowns’ as it is titled, where James VI of Scotland ascended to the English and Irish thrones as James I, but still retains the Scottish title.

    I’m aware that every monarch after James VI and I have different titles for their Scottish and English counterparts. For example, Queen Elizabeth II(second of her name) of England is also Queen Elizabeth I(first of her name) of Scotland.

  286. Almond Chutney
    Ignored
    says:

    @Ottomanboi

    I would sincerely hope that wouldn’t be the case. My concern is what the UK government will do as the unrest grows more and more? Either grant the vote to the Scottish people, then in turn also do the same for Wales and NI – (I don’t see how England would get anything of the sort, but oh well)

    or absorb the 4 nations into one federal state (practically dissolving all devolved parliaments in favour of Westminster)

    Gonna be messy either way, all eyes on the UK government, the world is watching.

  287. Jockanese Wind Talker
    Ignored
    says:

    No bother @Liz g says.

    Agreed and future of the Monarchy on very shoogly peg at the moment.

    A formal, documented request by Scottish Government that she is not to give assent or this will be taken as a breach of her role to protect the Sovereignty of the Scottish people as is her duty as Queen of Scots.

    Daily Mail etc. would be apoplectic

    😉

  288. Juteman
    Ignored
    says:

    Before engaging with Almond Chutney, think about why the prick has started posting on Wings at this time.

  289. Gary45%
    Ignored
    says:

    The world is watching the UK Government???
    The world is LAUGHING at the UK Dictatorship.
    Chutney, have you found the garden of English roses you seek from your view of Wales yet?
    Have a wee lie down son and try again tomorrow.

  290. Almond Chutney
    Ignored
    says:

    Juteman, thanks for chopsing, not interested in your dwtty comments, little man.

  291. Almond Chutney
    Ignored
    says:

    Gary, sorry if you were dying for a response. Personally, nothing wrong with a couple of English roses on my front lawn. I’m really not fucked whether you think I loves the Saes or not, at the end of the day people are defined by their character, and their social skills, not their nationality. You go ahead continue to hate everything south of your border, not my fucking problem.

  292. Liz g
    Ignored
    says:

    Golfnut @ 2.27
    Your absolutely right Golfnut and Auld Lizzie picked
    Elizabeth 2nd of Great Britain and N.Ireland… She’s Never been Elizabeth the first anywhere but I’ll wager she’ll be Elizabeth the last if she signs that bloody Bill 🙂
    Never had the Scottish crown on her head, ye could say she’s Queen of the Scots only by habit and repute….
    A common law wife…. We’ve never made an honest women of her,but we did let her touch the Honours of Scotland once but it’s ok she wore gloves 🙂

  293. Dr Jim
    Ignored
    says:

    Hayley Millar of the BBC has done a forensic analysis of the Westminster System of governance, devolution and Independence and the difinitive answer they have come up with is, Scotland’s smaller

  294. Socrates MacSporran
    Ignored
    says:

    Almond Chutney @ 2.55pm

    Your Englishness is showing. Mrs Elizabeth Mountbatten-Windsor + umpteen Germanic titles is, in reality:

    Queen Elizabeth II of England and

    Elizabeth, Queen of Scots

    since there has never before been a Queen Elizabeth who sat on the Scottish throne in her own right.

    Do keep up.

  295. North chiel
    Ignored
    says:

    Blair Paterson @ 1220 pm “ the women who have complained to remain anonymous “ , entirely agree , how on earth can this be construed as fair and just ? Surely people making criminal accusations should be face to face in court with the accused , and should be under cross examination from defence counsel? Otherwise how are the jury going to determine actual innocence or guilt unless the can see physically factors such as facial expressions, body language interactions between all parties concerned etc. In the courtroom . This scenario of annonnimity, where “ accusers “ can make criminal allegations without having to appear in court surely cannot be fair or just by any definition of these words?

  296. Dr Jim
    Ignored
    says:

    Alistair Darling is a Lord over a geographical feature that was *believed* to maybe have been an ancient settlement that doesn’t exist on the Outer Hebrides

    They even take the mickey out of the titles they bestow on the clowns who are prepared to accept them

    Here’s your title son, oh and btw it doesn’t exist

  297. Almond Chutney
    Ignored
    says:

    @Socrates MacSporran

    Just stating a fact, my original question was what would the albanwyr favour, as a vote on republication would be required in addition to a second indy vote as a precursor.

    My only other comment was regarding that monarchs after James VI hold separate titles for the Scottish counterparts, no opinion from my end at all.

    I appreciate you being civil, at least.

  298. CameronB Brodie
    Ignored
    says:

    The indy movement certainly needs galvanizing IMHO, as British nationalist propaganda is extremely effective at selling English cultural chauvinism, i.e. racism. Scottish culture is supportive of multiculturalism, let’s keep it that way.

    ‘Postrace’ racism in the narratives
    of ‘Brexit’ voters

    ….We begin by offering an overview of existing research that seeks to understand ‘Brexit’, before laying out the theoretical framings for this article by bringing into conversation bodies of scholarship on the ‘post-racial’ and ‘new racisms’. We then introduce the research project from which the data presented in this article derives, before offering our analysis of this data.

    In our analysis, we first explore the key motivators behind our interviewees’ votes, before examining how Salford Leave voters sought to distance themselves from accusations of racism, framed whiteness as victimised, and minimised their white privilege. Ultimately, we argue that under the cloak of the ’post-racial’, racisms may no longer be explicit but instead, assume new modes of articulation and emerge from the shadows at key moments, such the EU Referendum.

    ….Other scholars have focused less on the socio-economic motivators of the ‘Brexit’ vote and instead, examine how concerns around national identity and immigration were harnessed by those campaigning to leave the EU. This research draws attention to how the (broadly-defined) Leave campaign drew markedly on anxieties about immigration, multiculturalism, border control and security, by promising a regaining of sovereignty and a reassertion of a distinct
    English and/or British identity (Hobolt, 2016; Hobolt and Wratil, 2016; Wilson, 2016).

    usir.salford.ac.uk/50206/14/Post-race%2520Brexit%2520FINAL%5B1%5D.pdf

  299. Liz g
    Ignored
    says:

    Socrates MacSporran @ 4.28
    Although she is in theory and historically Elizabeth the first in Scotland and Elizabeth the second in England.
    The actual title she took/was advised to take was.
    Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain & N. Ireland that’s what she was crowned as and was never actually crowned in the Kingdom of Scotland.
    It’s all part of the Same fudge they pull with how the British Nationalists parliament is ment to work!
    They’ve been trying to square those circles since universal suffrage and mass communication took over!
    And they’re doing it badly… Two monarchs in And it’s falling apart 🙂

  300. Gary45%
    Ignored
    says:

    My Dearest Chutney,
    Oh Dear, You don’t get, and never will.(Too much Daily Mail) is it?
    Try Again, and less of the profanities please, I am just a soft hearted “Jock” who according to your obvious wisdom!!! “hates everything south of “your” border” which border is that?

  301. Stoker
    Ignored
    says:

    I’m growing more suspicious by the day, as we get ever closer to the end of the month, that Bozo & Co actually want to dump Scotland but for some reason not too clear to me they can’t be seen to be just letting us go.

    Been wondering if that move would allow them to dump all London’s debt via bankruptcy or whatever then start a fresh further down the line as a country without any debt? Whilst all the time making sure their own personal finances are securely tucked away?

    No idea how these international finance rules & regs etc work so i don’t even know if this route would be possible. As i said, it’s something that just keeps niggling away at me but the strongest part being the protection of their own personal finances is well over and above anything else as a priority, including their own country of England.

    Time will tell i suppose. Hoping the ScotGov are going to play a blinder but if not then i expect to be enraged beyond words and gutted to the core. *Friday* 31st January 2020, one way or another, is going to be a massive day in Scotland’s history. Let’s hope for all concerned it will be a day to enjoy.

    Btw, i emphasised the *Friday* part in the previous paragraph for one main reason. Fridays in politics, as most already know, is traditionally the day politicians dump bad news on the public so they have all weekend to cool down. If that’s the case here they better know this now, a year of weekends is not going to be anywhere near enough for most of us to cool down. LOL 🙂 🙂

  302. Gary45%
    Ignored
    says:

    Stoker@5.03
    31st January 2020, I am hoping for euphoria, not long to go, till we find out if we have been sold a pup.
    Like yourself I will be “less than happy” if the largest open goal in political history is missed/squandered.

  303. Dan
    Ignored
    says:

    Gary45% @ 17:20

    Add me to that list!

    I’ve got a Plan B if I lose my EU Citizenship.
    You’ll find me on Ebay hawking a shitload of modified yellow pens to raise the revenue to gtf outta here.

    I’M WITH
    JD N COLA

  304. CameronB Brodie
    Ignored
    says:

    What I’m wondering, is does Scotland actually have any judges who respect the concepts of justice and universal human rights. We only appear to have Tories dispensing justice in Scotland, and they appear to support contemporary (white) British nationalism. No wonder Westminster appears confident in being able to treat Scotland as a colonial possession, Scotland’s judiciary appears to be out-of-touch with reality, and contemporary international human rights law.

    THE NATURAL PERSON, LEGAL ENTITY OR JURIDICAL PERSON AND JURIDICAL PERSONALITY
    https://elibrary.law.psu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1117&context=jlia

  305. Robert Louis
    Ignored
    says:

    There never was and never has been a union of the crowns. It suits unionists to refer to the fact that James VI held both England’s and Scotland’s crowns, but he NEVER united them.

    Such is the baloney England punts out as ‘facts’, to keep Scots unaware of their true power. Lizzie windsor is Elizabeth I, Queen of Scots. The English can call her lizzie the 2nd, as much as they like, but in Scotland she is the first. In England, the people are subjects, in Scotland it is not so. Indeed, she herself knows it, since that legend of the independence movement and former first minister, ALEX SALMOND, called her by such a title, to her face, during the opening of one of the Scottish parliamentary sessions.

    Like other above, I think Brexit day, will be a watershed moment for NS and the SNP leadership. My gut feeling is, however, that we wil be treated to the same nonsense yet again by the FM. Down on bended knee asking permission not for independence, but just to hold a freaking referendum. How utterly subservient can you get?

    I really just don’t understand why the SNP are not even pretending to stand up for Scotland. Happy to let brexit happen. Happy to play pretendy politics. Happy to carry on, verbally denouncing Westminster, but doing nothing whatsoever about it.

    This is the time for actions, not words.

  306. Ian Brotherhood
    Ignored
    says:

    ‘Will there be another independence referendum this year?’

    ‘It’s blinkin obvious intit!’

    😉

    twitter.com/ITVBorderRB/status/1219978357535911937

  307. CameronB Brodie
    Ignored
    says:

    @Scotland’s judiciary
    Please remove your heads from your arses, or at least admit you don’t support the doctrine of universal human rights.

    International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

    Adopted and opened for signature, ratification and accession by General Assembly resolution 2200A (XXI) of 16 December 1966 entry into force 23 March 1976, in accordance with Article 49
    https://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/ccpr.aspx

  308. A C Bruce
    Ignored
    says:

    The FM blinks a lot. I’ve noticed it before. She blinks in groups of about 3 or 4 when she speaks. I wouldn’t read anything into it about body language/tells/lying.

    You would too if your poor eyelids were carrying extra eyelashes and a shed load of mascara!

    I’m more concerned that she said she would be setting out her “thinking” next week rather than setting out the “plan”.

  309. CameronB Brodie
    Ignored
    says:

    Here’s one specially for all the reactionary wanks dispensing justice in Scotland. How they expect to do that when Westminster is able to manipulate constitutional law to illiberal ends, (see Brexit), is anyone’s guess.

    LEGAL REASONING, JUSTICIABILITY AND CONSTITUTION
    http://virthost.vub.ac.be/lnaweb/ojs/index.php/LogiqueEtAnalyse/article/view/504/358

  310. Reluctant Nationalist
    Ignored
    says:

    “Scottish culture is supportive of multiculturalism…”

    Or as it’s also known, the Brown Death.

  311. CameronB Brodie
    Ignored
    says:

    Justice in Scotland will not survive Brexit, which establishes a new constitutional entity that is blind to Scotland’s legal personality. Brexit lacks any constitutional balance, and can’t be considered compatible with constitutional law or the Treaty of union. Yet Scotland’s judiciary remains silent.

    Negative/positive constitutionalism, “fair balance,” and the problem of justiciability
    https://academic.oup.com/icon/article/10/4/904/646187

  312. CameronB Brodie
    Ignored
    says:

    Reluctant Nationalist
    I’m so glad you’ve decided to be more open about your personal prejudices. It will help folk appreciate exactly where you’re coming from.

    CRITICAL MULTICULTURALISM AND DELIBERATIVE DEMOCRACY:
    OPENING SPACES FOR MORE INCLUSIVE COMMUNICATION

    https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/43317542.pdf

  313. Scot Finlayson
    Ignored
    says:

    @Ottomanboi,

    according to the 9th C Anglo Saxon Chronicals,

    `The island Britain is 800 miles long, and 200 miles broad.

    And there are in the island five nations; English, Welsh , Scottish, Pictish, and Latin.

    The first inhabitants were the Britons, who came from Armenia.`

    your little Englander is originally Armenian,

    nothing wrong with being originally from Armenia,she has an amazing ancient history.

  314. Abulhaq
    Ignored
    says:

    @Robert Louis. 17:36
    Logically Elizabeth Windsor is Elizabeth I of the United Kingdom of GB.
    If the personal union concept applies as was the case with James VI and I, then she’s Elizabeth II in England, Elizabeth I in Scotland.
    A Scots republic with a president, so much less bother.

  315. Republicofscotland
    Ignored
    says:

    The ultra unionist STV news ramping up the negative propaganda agenda, first up Alex Salmond, then Ferguson shipyard, then Scotland is slipping down the rankings on education etc.

    Without broadcasting we are open to unionist propaganda 24/7.

  316. Mist001
    Ignored
    says:

    I was just reading a little bit about Alex Salmonds forthcoming trial. It said that the first charge dates back to June 2008.

    So in May 2008, he wasn’t accused of any sexual assaults yet a month later, he was?

    He must have had a brainstorm or suffered some kind of trauma because he had no history of anything like this previous to June 2008, so what changed him and suddenly turned him into a sex pest in such a short space of time?

    A good lawyer will tear the prosecution to shreds, so I hope Ra Fish has chosen well.

  317. CameronB Brodie
    Ignored
    says:

    And another one for those in Scotland’s judiciary who support contemporary (white) British nationalism. I’ve given up on RN, with his PhD in Psychology and shit.

    Domestic adjudication and economic, social and cultural rights:
    a socio-legal review

    ABSTRACT

    Viewed in historical perspective, the recent rise of economic, social and cultural (ESC) rights in comparative legal jurisprudence and litigation strategy is remarkable. From a small number of jurisdictions to countries in all regions and legal systems of the world, there has been both a broadening and deepening of domestic judicial enforcement of these rights. While this enterprise casts some doubt on traditional presumptions concerning the non-justiciability of ESC, there remain a number of conceptual, instrumental and empirical questions.

    This paper seeks to provide an overview of the underlying causes of this socio-legal development, the nature and content of the emerging jurisprudence, the empirical evidence and debates around impact, lessons learned in effective litigation strategy and concludes with some thoughts on how the field could be developed.

    Keywords: Social rights – Justiciability – Impact – Litigation strategy

    http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1806-64452009000200006&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en

  318. Dan
    Ignored
    says:

    @Reluctant Nationalist at 6:02pm

    Shocker of a post there, especially if you’re a “reluctant nationalist”.
    Name change to Repugnant Blood & Soil Nationalist might better suit you, coz clearly with what you wrote you don’t come across as being aligned with the open and inclusive Civic Nationalism the Indy movement in Scotland is about.

  319. Gary45%
    Ignored
    says:

    Dan@5.28
    I think there are a lot of us with the same opinion as yourself.
    Many commentators on WoS from Mr Peffers and many other knowledgeable people like him, who’s history of Scotland has educated us all, we surely have the facts on our side of the “onion!!” argument to succeed?
    31st Tick Tock.

  320. A C Bruce
    Ignored
    says:

    Mist001 spouts crap:
    22 January, 2020 at 6:14 pm

    “I was just reading a little bit about Alex Salmonds forthcoming trial. It said that the first charge dates back to June 2008.

    So in May 2008, he wasn’t accused of any sexual assaults yet a month later, he was?

    He must have had a brainstorm or suffered some kind of trauma because he had no history of anything like this previous to June 2008, so what changed him and suddenly turned him into a sex pest in such a short space of time?”

    You’ve crossed a line. Why don’t you take a long walk off a short pier.

  321. Colin Alexander
    Ignored
    says:

    Claim of Right 1689: “…By the advyce of wicked and evill Counsellers Invade the fundamentall Constitution of this Kingdome And altered it from a legall limited monarchy to ane Arbitrary Despotick power and in a publick proclamation asserted ane absolute power to cass annull and dissable all the lawes”.

    Purring Betty’s coronation oath (aka Queen Elizabeth II) 1953:

    The Archbishop shall minister these questions; and The Queen, having a book in her hands, shall answer each question severally as follows:

    Archbishop: Will you solemnly promise and swear to govern the Peoples of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Union of South Africa, Pakistan, and Ceylon, and of your Possessions and the other Territories to any of them belonging or pertaining, according to their respective laws and customs?

    Queen. I solemnly promise so to do”.

    And yet:

    “Introduction to the Study of the Law of the Constitution:

    The principle of Parliamentary Sovereignty means neither more nor less than this, namely, that Parliament … has, under the English constitution, the right to make any law whatever; and, further, that no person or body is recognised by the law of England as having a right to override or set aside the legislation of Parliament”.

    Joanna Cherry MP (HOC 22/02/2016):”…will he tell us what provision he will make in that Bill to recognise that the principle of unlimited sovereignty of Parliament is a distinctively English principle that has no counterpart in Scottish constitutional law?”

    David Cameron: “…We do have a sovereign Parliament….”

    Alberto Costa: “On a point of order, Mr Speaker. Joanna Cherry may inadvertently have misled the House when referring to parliamentary sovereignty and its effect across the United Kingdom. Specifically, I seek your guidance on how we can put it on the record that parliamentary sovereignty, according to Diceyan jurisprudence, applies equally in Scotland and England, notwithstanding the 1953 MacCormick case, which was obiter dicta of course?”

    John Bercow:”…this does not seem to be a point of order. It is an argument, albeit a cerebral and doubtless high-minded argument, between opposing lawyers. We will leave it there for now”.

    Now: Regarding Clause 38 of the EU Withdrawal Bill which asserts that UK Parliament is sovereign):

    Scottish Parliament:

    LEGISLATIVE CONSENT MEMORANDUM
    EUROPEAN UNION (WITHDRAWAL AGREEMENT) BILL

    “46. Clause 38 of the Bill purports to recognise that the Parliament of the United Kingdom is sovereign. Sovereignty in the UK is traditionally said to lie with the Crown in Parliament, a claim that has never fully been accepted in Scotland.

    The Scottish Government respects the Scottish constitutional tradition that sovereignty properly lies with the people. Moreover the meaning and modern relevance of the “Crown in
    Parliament” is contested, as recent debates on the conventions surrounding Royal Assent and respective roles of the Commons and the UK Government have demonstrated. There have also been debates about the effects of EU membership, human rights and devolution on the practical meaning of parliamentary sovereignty,a debate perhaps illustrated by the terms of this provision and similar sections in the devolution settlements.

    48. The Scottish Government considers that clause 38 does not, as it purports to
    do, recognise a widely-accepted principle. Instead, it represents a contested
    conception of the constitution, and fails to respect the different constitutional traditions
    that apply in and between the nations of the United Kingdom.*

    *http://www.parliament.scot/S5_Bills/SPLCM-S05-29.pdf

    Would purring Betty breach her vow to: “govern the Peoples of the United Kingdom…according to their respective laws and customs?” if she gave Royal Assent to an Act of Parliament which asserted “UK Parliament is sovereign”, which applied to Scotland?

    Should she then be subject to being deposed as a despotic tyrant?

    (As an aside, Jeremy Corbyn in the 22/02/2016 debate: “…A vote to remain is in the interests of people…”).

  322. Al-Stuart
    Ignored
    says:

    .
    A nagging worry about Boris Johnson is causing me concern.

    One of my former polis colleagues darn sarf happens to be a diehard Tory who attends constituency meetings at both Braintree and also Witham. The two MPs there play with the big boys and girls at Westminster, so his words may have some traction.

    As his “Jock” friend, he phones me regularly. Just after the December 2019 election he called to rip the pi55 at how we Jocks had lost big time and Boris was safe in number 10 for a decade. The talk is of BoJo doing a Maggie – but beating her record in length at number 10.

    After the badinage, the bit that has returned to bother me is a ridiculous thing my Tory colleague said: Scotland was at the top of an agenda in Essex of all places.

    Long story short, there is a plan to kill the SNP stone dead (again).

    Deja vu Lord George Robertson: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-31129382).

    It is fair to admit: Boris does have a referendum and election winning guru in Dominic Cummings. The latter has a new hobby: Revisiting Robertson’s plan and has apparently “gamed” it so their new effort to stuff the SNP will work. Called Operation Tartan Parrot after the Monty Python sketch.

    The thesis recounted to me last December is to move the House of Lords to the north of England. I thought Boris and Dominic must be sniffing the white powder at Christmas time.

    Then several weeks later we get this actually being floated… https://tinyurl.com/BorisPans-HoL-Northbound

    Boris’ guru Dominic The Tartan Parrot Slayer plans to empty the House of Lords chamber by retiring the old has-bees up north to placate the Mancunians etc.

    Then fill the empty House of Lords with a NEW tenant…

    A PARLIAMENT FOR ENGLAND.

    Boris then ALLOWS Scotland + Northern Ireland + Wales to have a REFERENDUM on whether to devolve their parliaments to become…

    FEDERAL STATES OF THE UK.

    With the HOUSE OF COMMONS becoming the NEW FEDERAL PARLIAMENT OF THE UNITED KINGDOM. The Torys already have people in Canada and Australia tasked with reporting on UK constitutional reform for the UK.

    All of this sounded far fetched in December 2019, but inch by inch, I think batshit crazy Cummings and BoJo might indeed be hatching an audacious plan.

    What happens if Boris Johnson offers Scotland a Referendum with the question…

    Does Scotland vote yes or no to becoming an independent nation within a Federal Parliament?

    – YES
    or…
    – NO

    It will be the Daily Record VOW all over.

    But this time the Tory’s would have stolen the SNP’s clothes on this.

    Boris is already throwing tons of cash at the North of England to keep his new Northern Tory MPs in place.

    What happens of BoJo actually gives Scotland what it “thinks” it wants? A Federal UK is NOT what any of us here want. But the Daily Record reading generation may be persuaded it is worth a vote YES.

    In this event…

    What does AOUB do?

    What does the SNP do?

    The clown in Downing Street gives the impression of being a buffoon and MANY swallowed this; right up to the incredulous moment, Boris became prime minister.

    The Clown has delusions of becoming a GREAT PM like his hero Winston Churchill.

    If he manages to kill the SNP off stone dead by taking the fight to Scotland with a GERRYMANDERED referendum, he may well kill off the TARTAN PARROT.

    Many Daily Mail readers who we need onside to get 45% YES to 55% YES and are “Indy Curious” would believe BoJo.

    As George Foulkes would say…

    “The Tories are on a very dangerous tack. What they are doing is trying to build up a situation in Scotland where the political settlement is manifestly better than south of the border in a number of areas.”

    Interviewer Colin Mackay might say:”Is that a bad thing?”

    Lord George Foulkes: “No, but they are doing it deliberately.”!!

  323. ahundredthidiot
    Ignored
    says:

    Almond Chutney

    Setting conversations back several years seems to be your MO – respect to those blessed with having the patience for your type.

    I fall short on such a virtue – the sooner you fuck off the better.

  324. Republicofscotland
    Ignored
    says:

    In reality it doesn’t matter what historical evidence we produce showing that we can leave this defunct union.

    Its what is Sturgeon prepared to do in order to achieve our exit, how far is she willing to go to obtain Scottish independence.

    The flip side of that coin before we even go into the complexities of international recognition is what are the unionist prepared to do to keep on draining Scotland’s resources.

    We are on a collision course with Westminster just like previous colonies stripped of their assets and brightest citizens, but those countries managed to breakfree from Westminsters grip, but we are not thousands of miles away with a partisan parliament, no we are right next door, with abundant assets, that Westminster/London has grown fat on.

    We hold court in a parliament strewn with unionist patsies who undermine our attempts on self determination at every turn. To add to our woes we are served by a media with interests outside of Scotland.

    If Johnson persists on denying us the right to choose our future, or if unionists in Scotland attempt to boycott a referendum after we’ve made it plain to Westminster that it is our right to decide our position, whether to leave or stay in the union then we must in the name of democracy, hold the referendum regardless.

    But if this is to be the case, and its looking more and more like it is by the day, then international recognition is needed. If they haven’t already Scottish government reps should be sitting down with other nations diplomats and winning them over in whatever way they can. Time is not on our side, for after the 31st of January we leave the EU dragged out, and only a fool would believe Johnson doesn’t have plans for Scotland up his sleeve in the future.

    We cannot be held captive on threats of a boycott or the throwaway comment of once in a lifetime.

  325. sassenach
    Ignored
    says:

    As if I’m not depressed enough already!

    Time to stop reading Wings for a while and accept whatever fate may have in store for us, I suppose.

  326. Sarah
    Ignored
    says:

    @Al-Stuart at 6.38: that is terrifying. It really might work and Scotland would be stuck with that b….y lot for ever.

    I am losing my nerve – all the hints and rumours that we won’t get a vote soon is really depressing. A panicky email to my MP will be on its way shortly!

  327. Mist001
    Ignored
    says:

    @ A C Bruce

    And what fucking line have I crossed?? Explain yourself. Don’t just post something and leave it hanging like a bad smell, what line have I crossed?

    You don’t think I should be saying that the charges against Alex Salmond are a load of crap?

    Balloon.

  328. Kenny J
    Ignored
    says:

    ” Unionist Media BDSM Club says:
    22 January, 2020 at 1:54 am

    And Spouse says:
    22 January, 2020 at 12:53 am
    https://www.snp.org/history/
    Can anybody find Alex?”

    The SNP high-command appear to be doing an impression of the USSR communist Party.
    AS has become an nonperson.

  329. Stuart MacKay
    Ignored
    says:

    @Al-Stuart at 6.38pm

    Wouldn’t the simplest defence be simply to boycott the referendum?

    Boris could offer a referendum in England to annex Scotland and turn us all into slaves – that might win too. At some point any change has to have some kind of democratic basis if it is seen to be legitimate.

    Anybody know if referendums can be imposed?

  330. carson denham
    Ignored
    says:

    Sad to say this….but I’ve had it with wings.

  331. Liz g
    Ignored
    says:

    Al-Stuart @ 6.38
    It’s a hellva plan,one fit for a Wings “what if” conversation but I can’t see it.
    They’d have to have a Constitution and that comes into direct conflict with the Crown in Parliament… AKA Westminster Sovereignty.
    If they don’t have one there’s still only Westminster and it’s ability to change every law!
    If they don’t remove the Queen as Head of State.
    If they plan to keep the Oil + + +going to Westminster and not Holyrood
    Then it’s no even Devo Max never mind Federalism.

    Not to mention the trade deals they need control of everything to do.
    They would have to keep NHS Scotland separate.
    We’d still be out of the EU
    And we’d be facing President Boris Johnson.

    While it might be a genuine fantasy of theirs that they think they could sell to the Scots,England is no where near ready to give up being a Kingdom.
    Or ( and I don’t blame them ) have parity of power with Scotland,Wales & N.Ireland… Why would they?
    To persuade England they would need their media to convince them that it was name only and they were really still subjects.
    To fool Scotland into it the Propaganda couldn’t say it was hardly any change at all.
    It’s too little to late to even try we’re almost out the door,and they don’t have that kind of time.
    The Lords won’t go easily or see Johnston as Head of State.
    And the English electorate or the Lords won’t go along with all of that just to hold Scotland all that propaganda has done work on them too!

  332. Unionist Media BDSM Club
    Ignored
    says:

    Stoker says:
    22 January, 2020 at 5:03 pm
    I’m growing more suspicious by the day, as we get ever closer to the end of the month, that Bozo & Co actually want to dump Scotland but for some reason not too clear to me they can’t be seen to be just letting us go.
    ————–

    I suspect you’re on the right track here. A few of us have accounts on Tory sites down south and are gently nudging them in this direction. The line being pushed at the moment is ‘Demand their oil and gas and then let them go. Good riddance!’ I’ve set out various times why this would actually be a very good deal for the indy movement, and English Tories love it.

    We need three main prongs of attack.

    1. What we in the SNP and indy movement can do to convert soft Nos and get a referendum etc.
    2. A campaign of demoralisation/turnout suppression for staunch Nos.
    3. Get support for indy as high as possible down south, through whichever tactics are necessary.

    Not enough focus on 2. or 3. atm.

    If ever the indy echo chamber gets too dull, try infilitrating English Tory groups. Great for morale — our opponents are thick as shite — and might help widen the kind of cracks in Johnson’s Unionism that you mention.

  333. iain mhor
    Ignored
    says:

    Al-stuart @6:38pm

    The flaw there is who is calling it.
    Westminster can’t be holding it only for Scotland (imposing it on Scotland, bypassing Holyrood) it would have to be *cough a ‘UK Wide’ referendum on federalism.
    Without an English devolved Parliament in the equation that’s a non starter. The English Parliament would have to exist first (though you hinted at that possibility) Bojo getting an English Parliament up and running really would be an incredous achievement!

    Even then, the idea of a ‘UK Wide’ federal referendum, would still have to be signed off by each Parliament’s representatives at Westminster and there is every chance it would be opposed. The vote of the English Parliament couldn’t override the wishes of the others… bwahahaha, I typed that with a straight face!

    You do suggest ‘Offer’ a referendum based on federalism, as opposed to ‘Imposing one, but Holyrood could reject the ‘Offer’. Or Bojo could just pressure for an Indyref to include DevoMax (Sorry, federalism) but again, the tail can’t wag the dog and there has to be a devolved English Parliament first, or it isn’t a vote on federalism.

    It has been floated that a true federal UK, with a Chamber of Westminster composed of equal repesentatives, is logical. However, England has never been able to fly the idea of an English Parliament, it already has almost all it wants.
    However, never say never – Brexit may still be the catalyst for an English Parliament.
    There are reams of papers and opinions for and against an English Parliament out there – but here’s Brian Wheeler’s accessible take, in a BBC piece from 2018:

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-44208859

    Certainly, as one prone to thinking in hypotheticals, it’s an intriguing scenario; how it could be pulled off is the tricky bit. Not impossible, but if Westminster is going to impose such a referendum on Scotland (rather than offer) the very act is pointless – for if Holyrood is to be bypassed with impunity, just bypass it altogether and dissolve it.

    Oh aye, that’s right Holyrood is treated with impunity and bypassed already – yeah sure, your suggestion might be right enough…

  334. Colin Alexander
    Ignored
    says:

    “The European Union [Withdrawal Agreement] Bill will enter the statute book after assent is granted in the coming days, possibly tomorrow.” reports the Herald.

    As for a referendum on a federal UK. The EUWA Bill says at clause 38 that UK Parliament is sovereign, so (legally) no referendum would be needed. UK Parliament can do whatever it wants.

    This is a red line, not just about the EU but, about Scotland’s sovereignty.

    Are Scotland’s MPs just going to accept law saying UK Parliament is sovereign?

    Our MPs must be withdrawn from UK Parliament and a declaration made that Scotland’s people are sovereign and Scotland does not recognise UK Parliamentary sovereignty if Royal Assent is given to that Bill.

  335. Sarah
    Ignored
    says:

    Alert readers might remember that I suggested recently that SNP Privy Counsellors should visit the Queen and remind her of her role as Queen of Scots i.e. to defend our vote to Remain in EU.

    It seems that Ian Blackford has now raised the idea of himself attending a Privy Council session advising HM! [Sorry but I can’t find where I just read this news.]

  336. Colin Alexander
    Ignored
    says:

    Sarah

    Ian Blackford to protest royal assent of Brexit Bill at Privy Council

    “The SNP MP warned that granting royal approval for the legislation after it was opposed by the three devolved administrations would “represent a serious breach of the letter and spirit of the Sewel Convention, which has underpinned devolution on these islands for the past 20 years”.

    http://www.thenational.scot/news/18178210.ian-blackford-protest-royal-assent-brexit-bill-privy-council/

  337. robertknight
    Ignored
    says:

    O/T

    I see that Lisa ‘Guardia Civil’ Nandy is on the ballot thanks to an endorsement from the GMB.

    In the event she secures the Leadership, the GMB should thereafter be known as the GBH, just to keep the theme going.

  338. Colin Alexander
    Ignored
    says:

    “Sewel Convention”

    “Sewel Convention”

    “Sewel Convention”.

    The SNP are like a broken record player, playing a tune that the UK State will never dance to.

    Absolutely pathetic.

  339. Sarah
    Ignored
    says:

    @Colin Alexander re Ian Blackford plan to protest at Privy Council – thank you for finding the report. I thought I was going mad!

  340. cynicalHighlander
    Ignored
    says:

    @Sarah

    So did we.

  341. Sarah
    Ignored
    says:

    @ cynicalHighlander – I’ll get you back if I see you in Inverness on Saturday!

  342. Liz g
    Ignored
    says:

    Colin Alexander @ 9.16
    While it does seem a bit repetitive… It seems to have brought our Welsh Cousin’s Parliament on board..
    No half bad in the circumstances eh?
    I’m quite pleased ( so far ) that the Scottish Ministers are finally showing their power in the privy council though.
    While nae royalist myself,I don’t think it wise to allow Westminster sole claim to the use of the monarch we fund!
    If it has a Scottish function,it should be used to the fullest Scottish extent… What say you Colin?

  343. CameronB Brodie
    Ignored
    says:

    My advice would be for the Scottish government to declare the Treaty of union a dead parrot, now. Though that would require a better understanding of constitutional law, external arbitration and a respect for the coherence of international human rights law.

    I would much have preferred a single mandate election, but we will be removed from the umbrella of international human rights law at the end of the month. Westminster does not consider those living in Scotland to have a legal right to legal rights.

    The structure of international human rights law needs support through it’s use, a lack of which is not rational or supportive of global democracy.

    Human Rights as International Constitutional Rights

    Abstract
    The Universal Declaration was, of course, the first of the three global international human rights instruments which have collectively come to be known as the International Bill of Rights. Very often, however, this latter term appears within quotation marks or is prefaced by the qualifying phrase,’so-called’, signalling that there are serious, although mostly unexplored, questions about the validity of the implied comparison with domestic bills of rights.

    In this article, I treat the anniversary as an occasion to take stock by exploring these questions and making the comparison express. I do so by considering the two parts of the term separately. First, regarding ‘bill of rights’, what are the similarities and differences between the UDHR, ICCPR, and ICESCR on the one hand and domestic bills of rights on the other? In particular, to what extent or in what sense, if any, has international human rights law become constitutionalized and, thereby, similar and closer to most domestic bills of rights?

    Secondly, regarding ‘international’, do the major international human rights instruments simply duplicate domestic bills of rights or provide a generally inferior substitute for them where unavailable – as a certain strand of human rights scepticism suggests? Or do they perform any distinctive functions over and above domestic bills of rights that make a novel and unique contribution to the development of constitutionalism?

    ejil.org/pdfs/19/4/1660.pdf

  344. Liz g
    Ignored
    says:

    Sarah @ 9.25
    Aye….LOL…. Tell that Highlander tae mind it’s a Scots wummin their dealing wi and no tae be say cheeky 🙂 .

    Cynical Highlander @ 9.22
    Your in soo much trouble noo,no jist a Scots wummin…a Scots wummin in her natural position of being right.
    Don’t envy ye ma friend… LOL 🙂

  345. robertknight
    Ignored
    says:

    So Blackford wants to plead our case to Mrs Betty Windsor from Surrey.

    The Right Honourable Member for the 19th Century, AKA the reclining rude, won’t let him past the door. Amongst other things, Moggy is also Lord President of the Council.

    Or perhaps they’ll let him in just so Betty can have a giggle by asking him what exactly is a ‘bubbly-jock’.

  346. cynicalHighlander
    Ignored
    says:

    @Sarah

    Sat is the Chinese New Year, the year of the Rat so no (sadly) health is my stumbling block ATM so I will be scurrying in my burrow. Enjoy Inverness beware the one way system.

  347. cynicalHighlander
    Ignored
    says:

    @Liz

    Awe hen I’m watching you. https://friendsofbigbearvalley.org/

  348. Sarah
    Ignored
    says:

    @cynicalHighlander: sorry to hear your not so fit just now. I hope the Spring sun will help idc. You’re right about Inverness one-way system – a nightmare, isn’t it? I usually just stop at Morrisons and don’t venture further.

    @Liz g – LOL!

  349. Pete Barton
    Ignored
    says:

    Angus B MacNeil MP (@AngusMacNeilSNP) Tweeted:
    In fact last week speaking to senior Swiss diplomats on other options for Scotland – if no Sec30. Of 2 other options I mentioned there seemed no problem of international recognition of independence, if achieved to Scotland’s satisfaction. #indyref2
    #SelfDetermination https://t.co/eX0BQ0kSJD https://twitter.com/AngusMacNeilSNP/status/1220088795367739392?s=20

  350. Liz g
    Ignored
    says:

    Robert Knight @ 9.55
    Ah feel yer distaste man…And I’m glad I’m no in Ian Blackfords shoes… I hope he can pull it off,don’t know that I could.
    But
    Like I’ve been sayin … Scotland voted him into that situation and refusing to use the system might feel good but gets us nowhere…. The Monarchy as I see it is
    Westminster’s weakness and the MSM’s too .
    I for one ,have absolutely nae problem exploiting that!
    Why ever not… Pride?…. Pride is nice to have,comforting to hold,but hanging on to it, risk’s ye getting ye sold…
    Every means necessary should be our strategy ..don’t he think?

  351. Sarah
    Ignored
    says:

    Apologies cynical – “you’re” not “your”.

  352. cynicalHighlander
    Ignored
    says:

    @Sarah

    Self inflicted nicoteen habit time will tell. I usually avoid Inverness altogether simpler. lol

  353. Liz g
    Ignored
    says:

    Cynical Highlander @ 10.06
    Of Course ye know… Now ( and for here everafter ) I need to call ye “Teddy” 🙂
    It’s no cynical… It’s clinic .. Al..
    ….. Kidding of course…. Or am I???

    Take care of you my friend..xxx 🙂

  354. Colin Alexander
    Ignored
    says:

    Liz g

    All devolved assemblies refused to give consent to the EU Withdrawal Bill. Whilst that’s welcome, by itself, it changes nothing.

    The SNP tried Sewel Convention in the Gina Miller A50 case. It’s been legally established as worthless. Political sophistry and political deceit of a nation.

    Thus, Blackford knows this at best will be an empty gesture. It does seem appropriate that he attends Empress Elizabeth as the Empress’ Govt puts the final pieces in place to extinguish Scotland as a country and finalise Scotland’s complete absorption into the Greater England British Empire.

    It can also be considered another example of the SNP bending the colonial knee: a total surrender to Sovereign UK Parliament and Imperial Britain.

    The SNP selling out Scotland’s sovereignty for the power and prestige of being British politicians.

  355. CameronB Brodie
    Ignored
    says:

    British constitutional law is neither coherent or compatible with international human rights law. So which is better law? The one that enables the removal of legal rights from individuals, or the one that recognises and supports the legal rights of individuals?

    It is always the rational choice to be in control of one’s own biological security, and you certainly can’t trust the Tories with that.

    International Constitutional Law

    Introduction

    The notion “international constitutional law” refers to norms of public international law with a constitutional character or function. Thus understood, international constitutional law can be divided into three broad subcategories: (1) fundamental norms which serve a constitutional function for the international legal system at large, (2) norms which serve as constitutions of international organizations or regimes, and (3) norms which have taken over or reinforce constitutional functions of domestic law.

    Already the fundamental rules of the Westphalian state system that allocate competences and delineate spheres of state jurisdiction could be referred to as constitutional law of the international legal order. Since then, new layers of constitutional law have been added, transforming international law from an interstate order into an order which is also committed to the international community and to the individual. These added contents strengthen the autonomy of international law vis-à-vis state sovereignty. Still, compared to domestic constitutions, the participation of individuals, their status activus in international legal processes, is extremely underdeveloped….

    General Overviews

    Concepts related to international constitutional law are “constitutionalization” and “global constitutionalism.” Some scholars claim that international law or some subsystems are progressively developing into an order which resembles a constitutional order in substantive and structural terms (“constitutionalization”; see also Constitutional Hierarchies in International Law). “Global constitutionalism” is an outlook which serves as a heuristic tool, as a vocabulary of critique, and as a carrier of a normative agenda….

    https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780199796953/obo-9780199796953-0039.xml

  356. shug
    Ignored
    says:

    The unionists just keep backing into the corner

    Will the people of Scotland realise the complete contempt in which they are held

    Does Brown realise he is no more than a tool in the unionist block and he will always be the jock that crashed the economy

  357. Liz g
    Ignored
    says:

    Colin Alexander @ 10.31
    I have no way of knowing if any of that’s true…
    But I’m as certain as I can be..
    Neither do you !

  358. cynicalHighlander
    Ignored
    says:

    @Liz

    So i’m barely cynical but more clinical in my cutting remarks. lol All the best and thanks.

  359. MorvenM
    Ignored
    says:

    Email from the SNP:

    “Last month’s results across Scotland were phenomenal. We decimated the Tories and Labour and sent Jo Swinson packing. In the two Westminster constituencies that Edinburgh Eastern covers, Tommy Sheppard massively increased his majority as we held Edinburgh East and Catriona MacDonald slashed the Labour majority in Edinburgh South by a third, Ian Murray again being left as the sole Labour MP in Scotland.

    But the events of the last couple of weeks have shown that we cannot sit back even after such excellent results. Boris Johnson is trying to ignore the mandate and deny Scotland our right to determine our own future. We need to get back out there and work to raise support for independence to unanswerable levels and build towards the Scottish Parliament elections next year.”

    Incorrect use of “decimate”, but we get the gist. Boris Johnson is “trying” to ignore the mandate. Really? No mention of a referendum. Just keep campaigning without a date for one. What’s an “unanswerable” level of support for independence? 55%? 60%? More? And isn’t “no” an answer?

  360. Liz g
    Ignored
    says:

    Cynical Highlander @ 10.44
    Nae,Bother…. Love yer comments… And yer attidue….
    Don’t forget tae introduce yer self at any WINGS stall ye happen tae find on yer travels..xxx

  361. CameronB Brodie
    Ignored
    says:

    So what’s it gonna be Scotland, a future protected by and from the law, or a future of cultural oppression under British constitutionalism, and the inherently sectarian, Tory, ethos of British nationalism? How long do you think competent government can keep the harmful effects of that in check?

    SELF-DETERMINATION AND SECESSION
    IN CONSTITUTIONAL LAW
    Report adopted by the Commission
    at its 41th meeting
    (Venice, 10-11 December 1999)

    II. The right to self-determination: a constitutional law concept?
    The importance which national systems of constitutional law attach to protection of the state’s territorial integrity nevertheless leaves room within the ambit of the Constitution for the right to self-determination. Indeed, a number of constitutions refer either to self-determination or to like
    concepts.

    The remainder of this report will examine the effect of such references, which may differ widely in meaning. As stated in the memorandum submitted to the Parliamentary Assembly, “the concept of self-determination” refers broadly to two interconnected aspects:

    a. The “internal aspect” defines the right of peoples freely to determine their political status and to pursue their cultural, social and economic development.

    b. The “external aspect” refers to the right of peoples freely to determine their place in the
    international community of states”99.

    In international law, “peoples”, in contrast to national minorities for example, have the right to self-determination100. When it recognises the right to self-determination, constitutional law defines the subjects of this right – as it does its content – on a case by case basis, as the following developments show.

    2. Self-determination within the state?
    The fact that most constitutions lack provisions on self-determination not of but within the state in question is hardly surprising. However, some states prescribe rules on internal self-determination the meaning of which can vary significantly….

    http://www.venice.coe.int/webforms/documents/default.aspx?pdffile=CDL-INF(2000)002-e

  362. Sarah
    Ignored
    says:

    @ Colin Alexander at 10.31 and Liz g: You do Ian Blackford a disservice, Colin. IB is my MP who I emailed suggesting this ploy. It may not work but it is another way of publicising Scotland’s rights and difference from England, and so worth doing, I believe.

  363. CameronB Brodie
    Ignored
    says:

    Sarah
    You appear to recognise the vital role that respecting difference plays, in establishing the distribution of justice within society. Might I assume you’re open to second-wave feminist thought? How rationally ethical of you, if so. 😉

    Equality, Recognition and Social Justice: A Hegelian Perspective Announcing Amartya Sen
    https://journals.openedition.org/oeconomia/5178#abstract-5178-en

  364. Liz g
    Ignored
    says:

    Sarah @ 11.25
    Your correct Sarah…
    And don’t ever let anyone tell ye yer not….
    That’s all the British Nationalists ever try to do.
    We are sovereign ..
    I don’t know how exactly this Union will end,but end it must.
    It was over the day they made the VOW.
    And we must ensure it is seen to be cancelled.
    It no longer servers Scotland…. Why? Would we stay?

  365. manandboy
    Ignored
    says:

    https://www.facebook.com/DoubleDownNews/videos/2505562666430699/

    Why Labour Lost: Oligarchs are Gaming Democracy

    This is big.

    Across the world, the wealthy have created a formula for winning elections and robbing the electorate.

    So we, the grassroots, have to come up with a formula to counter this.

    Such a formula has to stop two things which are essential to the Oligarchs, 1. stop their lies and fake news from infiltrating your mind, and
    2. stop the flow of your money into their bank accounts.

    Their ill-gotten power and wealth must be reduced if democracy, freedom and social justice are to be restored.

    Coming soon.

  366. Kangaroo
    Ignored
    says:

    Privy Council

    So if IB clearly states to her maj that the EU Withdrawal Bill is unconstitutional due to Clause 38 and that the Scottish Courts wil strike the Act down in Scotland if that Clause is included, what will her maj do?

  367. Sarah
    Ignored
    says:

    @Cameron BB: I think you suspect, correctly, that you lost me there!

    @Liz g: it should have never started, Liz. If only we’d been in Edinburgh in 1707!

  368. Liz g
    Ignored
    says:

    Sarah @ 12.07
    Oh I know Sarah!!
    Don’t know about you…. But I’d definitely been hung as a Witch.. 🙂
    But they don’t do that now, and there’re stuck with us… Thankfully the Rev will speak up ….And we have a platform..!
    Capella…. I know you know that!!!

    And you know….It matters…don’t flounce…this is too important xxx
    Just stop encouraging that guy to say too much
    Aye??
    Then no one will feel the need to shut you up 🙂 xxx

  369. CameronB Brodie
    Ignored
    says:

    Sarah
    Sorry, I certainly didn’t mean to confuse you.

    Contemporary feminist theory is vital to achieving a more equitable social justice, but the theory is in crisis. Third-wave epistemology and colonisation by neo-liberal theory and practice, has undermined feminist theory’s potential to help emancipate women and society in general. Trust me, even though I’m a bloke and not even a doctor.

    The only way feminist theory will be able to sort itself out, is by remembering that one of the characteristics of difference, is its’ empirical nature can be verified. The only way feminist theory will be able to do that, is by adopting a sceptical view of third-wave epistemology, and embracing standpoint epistemology instead.

    Sorry, I didn’t want to loose you further but I suspect I have. 😉

    Transmuting Grammars of Whiteness in Third-Wave Feminism:
    Interrogating Postrace Histories, Postmodern Abstraction, and the Proliferation of Difference in Third-Wave Texts

    https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/pdfplus/10.1086/665810

  370. Dr Jim
    Ignored
    says:

    If it’s the United Kingdom Parliament supposed to represent all four countries why does everyone have to speak English in it yet can take the oath in the language of your choice, Scotland Ireland and Wales all have our own languages (they don’t care which language you take an oath in) but if you want to talk to them…..

    Y’see what they did there

  371. Kangaroo
    Ignored
    says:

    Breeks

    The holdup for the Referendums Bill by the Presiding Officer delaying its Royal Assent may be a case of Westminster dealing from the bottom of the deck, so Bojo gets his Bill approved first. Not that I know whether there is any truth in my assertion, but it smells fishy.

    Does Bojos bill contain something that would counter the Scottish Referendum Bill just as they did with the EU Continuity Bill? I dont know!

  372. CameronB Brodie
    Ignored
    says:

    And just to reinforce the point that the epistemology we practice in society, and government and law in particular, has significant impact on one’s biological security.

    Remember, Britain is not one nation, it is a union of equal nations (allegedly). Let go of that empirical reality of British constitutional law, and all hope of justice for Scotland is lost.

    Full text.

    Assembling credibility: Knowledge, method and critique
    in times of ‘post-truth’

    Abstract

    Critical approaches in security studies have been increasingly turning to methods and standards internal to knowledge practice to validate their knowledge claims. This quest for scientific standards now also operates against the background of debates on ‘post-truth’, which raise pressing and perplexing questions for critical lines of thought. We propose a different approach by conceptualizing validity as practices of assembling credibility in which the transversal formation and circulation of credits and credentials combine with disputes over credence and credulity.

    This conceptualization of the validity of (critical) security knowledge shifts the focus from epistemic and methodological standards to transepistemic practices and relations. It allows us to mediate validity critically as a sociopolitical rather than strictly scientific accomplishment. Developing such an understanding of validity makes it possible for critical security studies and international relations to displace epistemic disputes about ‘post-truth’ with transversal practices of knowledge creation, circulation and accreditation.

    Keywords
    Critical security studies, methodology, post-truth, science and technology studies, validity

    Will to being scientific, loss of criticality?
    ….This move to develop alternative standards has increasingly characterized work on qualitative methods across critical security studies. Cai Wilkinson has drawn attention to the need to adopt different criteria for interpretive methods: credibility, transferability, dependability and confirmability.

    These different criteria allow interpretivist research to establish trustworthiness or ‘methodological soundness’ (Wilkinson, 2011: 102). Mark Salter and Can Mutlu raise a similar question of appropriate standards: ‘Within interpretivist frameworks, what counts as sufficiency, coherence, or criticality?’ (Salter, 2012: 2). Although rigour is still important for their argument, they suggest that other criteria might be important for critical knowledge production.

    Their question makes clear the need to engage with standards of validity of particular methods and knowledge claims. In a recent intervention, Anna Leander (2015) has argued that ethnographic research in critical security studies can be understood through ‘strong objectivity’ along the lines proposed by Harding’s standpoint feminist methodology and epistemology.

    Harding’s criticism of objectivity in positivist science focuses on the exclusionary effects that dominant standards have had. What distinguishes her programme from invocations of alternative standards in critical international relations is that Harding (2015a, 2015b) sees ‘strong objectivity’ as producing ‘science for social movements’6.

    https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0967010618788996

  373. twathater
    Ignored
    says:

    Just read the comments over on the national re Michael Fry post , I would encourage everyone to have a read of Lorna Campbell’s and Maria Carnero’s posts, as they indicate the absolute need of a declaration from the SG to dissolve the union be taken immediately to the ICJ

    They argue as others do ( breeks ) that the clamour for a consultative referendum first is actually arse about face , their posts are too long to paste but I also agree with their assertion and would encourage fellow independenistas to take the time to read and absorb
    But the problem arises when we HAVE to FORCE NS and the hierarchy to take this route

  374. Robert Louis
    Ignored
    says:

    If NS has the will to do so, then when she next speaks on brexit, she MUST assert in no uncertain terms that, since the union in 1707, Scotland’s consitutional rights have been reserved intact. IF De Pfeffle Johnson, wishes to override that then QED the union treaty is immediately null and void.

    Enough is enough.

    As others have started pointing out, I am now also of the view that The Scottish government needs to end the union treaty unilaterally, followed by a consultative referendum. If Westminster will not respect the laws of Scotland, then Scotland and especially its government MUST assert its rights by whatever means necessary.

    This is what other countries have done. Indeed their are no other countries in the world which would willingly endure this kind of abuse coming from England. Not for one second.

    `The days of sitting around asserting that we must play by Westminster’s rules are long gone. De Pfeffle respects none of it.

    Ultimately Scotland’s elected representatives MUST stand up for Scotland, and its consitutional rights enshrined in Scots law and the treay of union. If this means ending the union treaty, or amending it, then that is what must happen.

    This is a pivotal point in Scotland’s history. If this forced removal of Scotland from the EU by England is allowed to pass, their will be no going back, as it will set a new precedent.

  375. manandboy
    Ignored
    says:

    ??????? Boris Johnson hasn’t accepted the reality that Scotland won’t just get back in the box and accept his extreme Brexit deal.

    ? Scotland said no to Brexit, and we meant it. #PMQs https://t.co/8yKyptNWvc

    Take a close look at PMJohnson in this video. Observe his eyes closely. He knows Ian Blackford is speaking the truth.

    This UK Prime Minister is part of a criminal-like gang which uses the same methods and aims, includes the leaders of similar-style governments each promoting the rich and oppressing the mass of their country’s population – Trump, Morrison, Bolsonaro, Putin, as well as elsewhere, as in Turkey and Poland.

    A loud alarm bell is going off.

  376. manandboy
    Ignored
    says:

    https://www.facebook.com/DoubleDownNews/videos/2505562666430699/

    This video by DoubleDownNews with George Monbiot is possibly up there with the McCrone Report, in that it reveals something extremely important.

    The oppressors, the world’s Oligarchs, whom PMJohnson represents have a winning formula. Now, we the oppressed, who are forced to wear the shackles of Austerity, must find our formula to overturn the global Wealthy Elite who are working in concert. Here in the UK that means the English Establishment, the Tory Party and PMJohnson.

    Have you got your boots on yet. It is time to go.

  377. manandboy
    Ignored
    says:

    We can all see what’s coming.

    Now, no matter what the Scottish government does in response to the January 31st Brexit deadline, the Independence Movement has to become itself independent.

    We cannot leave Scotland’s independence in the hands of a small group of politicians, irrespective of who they are.

    This is a ‘Rubicon’ moment.

    We must stop waiting, albeit only partially, for the politicians to take the lead, with the Movement simply following on.

    The Independence Movement must become completely independent and remain so for the foreseeable future.

  378. Effijy
    Ignored
    says:

    BBC news- 20 second report that the Tory NHS in Kent is responsible
    For at least 7 unnecessary deaths at their maternity hospital over the
    Last 3 years.

    Story over. Never to be uttered again.

    How does that compare to their permanently respected Scottish story
    Where a design flaw by architects saw some pigeon dropping enter a vent
    and POSSIBLE have made a contribution to the demise of 2 already very sick children.

    England’s NHS is killing by the thousand every year but the main story is SNP Bad

  379. Golfnut
    Ignored
    says:

    For those who doubt just how much authority the people of Scotland have, for those MP’s and MSP’s who think Westminster rules, read this. No wavering, no mealey mouth platitudes, we rule, get on with it.

    https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=2514116568657687&id=100001781043692

  380. gus1940
    Ignored
    says:

    Does anybody actually read and heed any of the daily deluge of jargon ridden bollocks inflicted on the BTL by CBB?

  381. Colin Alexander
    Ignored
    says:

    Joanna Cherry, SNP, Greens etc keep asserting that the people of Scotland are sovereign.

    UK Parliament has just passed a Bill that asserts UK Parliament is sovereign (EU Withdrawal Bill).

    Scotland’s constitution MUST be asserted and defended in court, politically etc.

  382. Bill McLean
    Ignored
    says:

    gus1940 – there’s room for all at the table. CBB has much to teach us with his links. How much do we miss Robert Peffers?

  383. Famous15
    Ignored
    says:

    2014 is a stumbling block to UN support for asserting the sovereign will of the Scottish people.

    We have to demonstrate that events have overtaken that result,however flawed and distorted by wicked lies and false vows that gave that result.

    We need another referendum and an advisory one does not need imperial approval..

  384. Abulhaq
    Ignored
    says:

    @DrJim
    You do not have to go far back in British State history to encounter the England/Britain/United Kingdom conflation. The term England was during the imperialist age employed broadly to refer to the island countries at the centre of the empire. England was the imperialist hashtag. The empire was run by English law, English social attitudes, English language and culture and England with its German ‘provincial’ dynasty was the mythologized terra sancta for all who would kowtow before august Britannia’s throne.
    Of course, we i.e.Scots, Welsh, Irish and ex colonials etc all know that, it’s in the subconscious.
    Among the cultural descendants of the Norman invaders it remains a conscious and powerfully affective notion, one which has influenced the thought feeding the current politics. Curiously the intellectual rationalization of the exceptionalist brand Is not especially English. It is an ‘outsider’ phenomenon. A phenomenon of the colonized rationalizing the state of cultural subjection as beneficial, improving, progressive until like Roger Casement and Robert Erskine Childers you saw through the make-believe and sham.
    What would Scottish Unionism, a veritable messianic cult, do without that sham.

  385. Sharny Dubs
    Ignored
    says:

    Colin Alexander @9:23.
    Surely country cannot change the sovereignty of another, this should be our watershed moment.

    Time to hit the streets maybe!

  386. Sharny Dubs
    Ignored
    says:

    Sorry…
    Surely one country…

    Oops

  387. Gary45%
    Ignored
    says:

    manandboy@7.21
    When the oppressor comes from Eton, Oxford, Bullingdon etc.
    They are never seen in the eyes of the “Britnat” yoons as such.
    All other countries have “baddies” apart from Westminster.

  388. admiral
    Ignored
    says:

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-51193332
    This isn’t the top story on BBC England news. It’s about fifth.

    Plus no screeching, howling outrage at Matt Hancock by opposition parties or MSM demanding his resignation.

    https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/jan/23/englands-poorest-get-worse-nhs-care-than-wealthiest-citizens

    This isn’t the top story on the Guardian “UK” news page.

    Plus no screeching, howling outrage at Matt Hancock by opposition parties or MSM demanding his resignation.

    Is this a surprise? Time the SNP was aggressively hitting back with these stories (and loads of similar ones) every time a Yoon starts going on about the “day job”.

  389. One_Scot
    Ignored
    says:

    Just caught the tail end of Ian Blackford on Sky News.

    What a credit he is to Scotland and the SNP.

  390. Ian Brotherhood
    Ignored
    says:

    Does anyone know if FMQs is on today? Just checked the Scottish Parliament TV site and don’t see it listed.

  391. Colin Alexander
    Ignored
    says:

    Ian Brotherhood

    If this helps: It’s listed on the BBC Parliament channel for today at 23.30

  392. manandboy
    Ignored
    says:

    England’s abuse of Scotland and Scots has become intolerable.

    Everything Johnson says to or about Scotland, shows his belief that England completely owns Scotland, and that Scotland can do nothing about it.

    The attitude of the English Ruling Class is disgusting as it continues to strut its Colonial greed and lust for power.

    The underlying reality of the English Establishment is sewage sprayed with perfume and covered with expensive clothes.

    Let’s wash our hands of this filth.

    Let’s get out of this ‘marriage’ ASAP.

  393. Almond Chutney
    Ignored
    says:

    The SNP have pursued cause for independence without adequate regard for the inevitable consequences or understanding of Scottish society. Separatist or Unionist, either way Idealists are all the same they put themselves and satisfying their own desires above all else.It is a sort of secular religion or missionary cause and playing with the lives of others who just want to live in a society without division.

  394. kapelmeister
    Ignored
    says:

    Almond Chutney wants a society without division. Ant colonies are good for that. Go and live in one of them.

  395. Almond Chutney
    Ignored
    says:

    Well by your technicality on what defines a colony, I already live in one.

  396. Republicofscotland
    Ignored
    says:

    So it begins as the Scottish Tories plead to Boris Johnson to bring in a raft of measures aimed at weakening Holyrood and the Scottish government.

    Including forcing Sturgeon to get Alister Jacks permission to travel overseas on business.

    The Tory branch office in Scotland latched onto the idea after a tweet by Stephen Daisley (yes him) also added that Johnson should bring about a new Scotland act, ending the permanence of Holyrood, and banning the Scottish government from spending on a constitution.

    Daisley’s tweet added that the Scottish government should be returned to the Scottish executive.

    I think we know fine well what the union has in store for us if we fail to gain independence sooner than later.

  397. fillofficer
    Ignored
    says:

    ianB
    politics scotland
    bbc scotland channel
    virgin 108
    noon
    live
    you’re welcome

  398. Republicofscotland
    Ignored
    says:

    To make matter more intolerable Tory MP’s succeeded in reversing an amendment in the House of Lords, to the Brexit Withdrawal bill that would have given assurances that Westminster wouldnt tamper with devolved powers.

  399. Breeks
    Ignored
    says:


    Almond Chutney says:
    23 January, 2020 at 11:04 am
    The SNP have pursued cause for independence without adequate regard for the inevitable consequences or understanding of Scottish society. Separatist or Unionist, either way Idealists are all the same they put themselves and satisfying their own desires above all else.It is a sort of secular religion or missionary cause and playing with the lives of others who just want to live in a society without division…

    You’re calling it separatism but then describing Brexit perfectly, except you’re lazy, and you really haven’t got your head around Scotland at all. Then you say “we” don’t understand it when what you really mean is “you” don’t understand it.

    Hate to disappoint you, but Scottish Independence isn’t separatism. We “separatists” you see, want to want to walk amongst other peoples and mingle at the party, and immerse ourselves in their culture, but we want to do it as equals. A Frenchman can be French, a German can be German, so why in heaven can a Scotsman not be Scottish? We don’t want to be British, because you know, it’s kind of embarrassing at times, when you’re obnoxiously abusing our French or German friends, or bombing Muslims, or trying to encourage far right splinter groups in Europe…

    You see I really don’t know what you see when you see Nigel Farage spouting off in the European Parliament, or the Brexit Party being childish, but we see “Britishness”, and it isn’t very pretty. Being European however fits Scotland like a glove, it’s as natural to us as breathing, while being British, particularly British under Tory stewardship, makes most of our toes curl.

    Now Brexit on the other hand, really is rampant separatism, because it’s isolationist, narrow minded and insular. It’s also a mind numbingly stupid act of self harm. For 300 years Scotland has been obliged to wear the “I’m with stupid” tee shirt, and dutifully had to leave the party after “Britain” has minesweeped everybody’s drinks and urinated in the corner… but not for much longer.

  400. Dan
    Ignored
    says:

    Ant colonies die when the queen dies.
    Bees apparently carry a supersedure process when their heid women crokes.
    I’m unsure if said process is democratic and all bees are included in the franchise to vote in a referendum to give the hive a mandate in the selection of their new queen.
    Also unsure in a trans queen would work in either ant or bee colonies due to the complex biological requirements for the sustainability of the groups.

  401. Almond Chutney
    Ignored
    says:

    Breeks says: 23 January, 2020 at 11:47 am

    ‘Hate to disappoint you, but Scottish Independence isn’t separatism.’

    Shall I refer you to a dictionary.

    separatism
    /?s?p(?)r?t?z(?)m/

    noun

    the advocacy or practice of separation of a certain group of people from a larger body on the basis of ethnicity, religion or gender.

    And stop assuming I voted or support Brexit, that would be very shallow of you.

  402. Gary45%
    Ignored
    says:

    Chutney. A wee bit overtime today is it?
    What a load of bollocks you spout, remember to get your
    daily guff finished before it gets dark.

  403. Abulhaq
    Ignored
    says:

    @AlmondChutney
    All radical political initiatives carry risk. Staying in a rut, following a well worn path carries the risk of complacency, inertia and smugness and the possibility of being overtaken by the more adventurous.
    The British State is rather fortunate that official Scottish nationalism is somewhat risk averse. However, for how much longer given the new political dispensation, is a matter of considerable speculation.
    Scotland in common with many countries has social and cultural fault-lines. In Scotland’s case the faults are subjected to stresses imposed by the divisive requirements of Unionism which needs internal conflict to function effectively. Highland v Lowland, Gaelic v Scots, Catholic v Protestant are but three areas which Unionism has exploited to good effect. Such false dichotomies impede unified and consolidated thought on national questions. As Unionists have dictated the form and ethos of education and the school and academic texts reflect that, multiple ‘dichotomies’ are hardly surprising.
    Scotland as symbolized by tartan kilts, whisky, mountains and Scott’s warrior race romanticism is OK, anything beyond is strictly out of bounds.
    At the moment Scottish nationalism is scaling the boundary fence. The unrestricted perspective beyond is very pleasing.

  404. Republicofscotland
    Ignored
    says:

    A stark warning of what we’re about to lose by being draggged out of the EU.

    Scotland has no future, be it a poorer one, as part of this union.

    https://www.thenational.scot/news/18179824.lesley-riddoch-irish-cousins-will-continue-flourishing-eu/

  405. Socrates MacSporran
    Ignored
    says:

    Well done Jackass Carlot – three seconds in and he toes the Unionist line, referring to HRH the Duke of Rothesay as “The Prince of Wales.”

    At least, Jackass is on-message from his bosses in London.

  406. kapelmeister
    Ignored
    says:

    By-election today for Mid-Galoway and Wigton West ward of D&G Council.

    In 2017, Tories 39% FP votes, SNP 23% FP votes.

    Three independent candidates got combined total of 28% in 2017. No independents standing in the by-election.

  407. Breeks
    Ignored
    says:


    Almond Chutney says:
    23 January, 2020 at 11:56 am
    Breeks says: 23 January, 2020 at 11:47 am

    ‘Hate to disappoint you, but Scottish Independence isn’t separatism.’

    Shall I refer you to a dictionary.

    Shall I refer you to what I just said? You should read more and write less. It will turn a light on in your darkness.

  408. Ian Brotherhood
    Ignored
    says:

    @fillofficer –

    Cheers!

    😉

  409. boris
    Ignored
    says:

    Confirmation Jack was a prime mover, in the introduction and development of the hardline Tory Brexit policy that brought about the demise of Theresa May. His actions directly contradict his statement that his priority will always be the people of Dumfries and Galloway who voted to remain

    https://caltonjock.com/2020/01/20/an-expanding-profile-of-alister-jack-information-added-ad-hoc-check-daily-if-you-find-the-content-to-be-of-interest-wednesday-update/

  410. James
    Ignored
    says:

    It’s Wigtown. Wigton’s in enlgand.

  411. kapelmeister
    Ignored
    says:

    James

    Thank you. Galloway with one l was simply a typo, but should have remembered the second w in Wigtown.

  412. Dr Jim
    Ignored
    says:

    60.000 children dies in England 2018-19 directly linked to poor air quality

    Source: the BBC

  413. CameronB Brodie
    Ignored
    says:

    gus1940
    You can’t solve a social problem without first understanding it, and contemporary British nationalism is a mahoosive social problem. It articulate an exclusionary and illiberal social pathology, which lacks a respect for difference and the legal rights of the Other. As such, contemporary British constitutionalism can’t hope to be “just” and empathic towards Scotland.

    That is my understanding of the situation anyway, which was guided by the Royal Town Planning Institute. I’m simply trying to articulate an ethical and rational, scientific-based method, of decolonising the social imagination. As I was trained to do. If you turn your back on law and political reason that is based in scientific reality, then there’s not much hope for open democracy and liberal society. 😉

  414. jfngw
    Ignored
    says:

    If a majority of MSP’s supporting an independence referendum is considered not acceptable to WM then it’s time to fall back on a majority of Scottish MP’s at WM is a mandate to end the annexation of Scotland by a foreign country.

    If this is a union then the votes of the country need to mean something, otherwise it is in effect an occupation by a malevolent enemy of Scotland.

  415. Scozzie
    Ignored
    says:

    Ok we’re basically a week away from exiting the EU. Is there anybody in the SNP branches got an idea of what the leadership plan to do? Or are we still all pretending there’s a master plan that’s going to be sprung like a rabbit from a hat?

    Given we like to say tick tock to the Britnats can we do a little tick tock to ourselves – what on earth does the independence movement plan to do come 31st Jan to make our voices heard?

    IMO NS will come out with nothing but platitudes and can kicking. It really is time for the YES movement to have it’s own plan. The 31st Jan will be a big international news item – what do we plan to do to get ourselves noticed? Or do we meekly sit back and let BJ get all the news coverage?

    Can we get Indyposter boy to do a ‘Democracy Denied’ graphic that we can overlay on our EU passports and upload for a twitter / facebook trend? (obviously covering our personal details and passport number but showing our faces? It’s just a thought…we need to do something to attract international attention.

    Ideas anyone?

  416. Flower of Scotland
    Ignored
    says:

    Hi, Ian Brotherhood @ 10.42am

    If you subscribe to Broadcasting Scotland on YouTube you can watch it live and also watch video afterwards. All of the videos from the Scot Parl is on Broadcasting Scotland.

  417. CameronB Brodie
    Ignored
    says:

    Scozzie
    There needs to be some form of public recognition of Westminster’s abuse of constitutional authority, and Scotland’s subsequent legal subjugation. Mahoosive posters the size of buildings have an impact and could be crowd-funded quite easily. Scotland’s judiciary could get their heads out of their arses, or at least admit they don’t support the principle of universal human rights.

  418. Colin Alexander
    Ignored
    says:

    What NS says she’ll do in the next few days is give an update.

    She never said she’s taking ANY action.

    You’ve got to give NS credit; she’s kicking the can to the end of the road.

    She must have been great at wan man hunt as a wean.

    Remember to shout:

    “free the den!” when she kicks the can.

  419. Lenny Hartley
    Ignored
    says:

    Quicky to say that i took part in a you gov infy ref poll todat, dont think it was Sgp as lots of assiciated questions.
    So thats three polls due, Scotland Goes Pop, a Sunday Times Panelbase one mentioned by James Kelly and this You Gov one. Guess we will see results soon

  420. Dr Jim
    Ignored
    says:

    I’ve just seen a statement arrive in my inbox from Unison stating their support for Scotland to have a referendum as it’s right to be called by the Scottish parliament, has anybody else seen this it looks genuine

  421. Scozzie
    Ignored
    says:

    Cameron Brodie @ 2.05pm
    We have a 7 days. We need a 7 day campaign that involves digital, film, and foot soldiers.

    Social media – big guns like Stu, Craig Murray, Tommy Sheridan etc sharing a social media campaign -‘Democracy Denied’ with thousands of real faces uploaded on social media.

    Massive billboards around major cities (if it can be pulled off in time). If not fly-posting
    Indy posterboy to do graphics on:
    – ‘Scotland’s people are sovereign’
    – ‘Independence is normal’
    – ‘We voted to stay in EU’
    – ‘ We demand EU recognition as a sovereign people’
    etc etc… someone can probably come up with better slogans.

    Phantom Power to do film clips with big names – Stu, Craig, Tommy, Lesley Riddoch, try to get hold of Brian Cox, Alan Cumming, Amy McDonald etc etc – big names and get it out viral in social media – that we are being denied out EU citizenship / and we demand out sovereign rights.

    Foot soldiers – a big bloody march is required on Holyrood – demand action, demand our claim of right, demand the SNP grow a pair.

    No impact? Then we’re probably onto civil disobedience territory.

    I’m 1000s of miles away and happy to do my bit digitally but FFS stop talking about the new labour leaders etc and what’s on radio shortbread and start thinking what needs done – we’ve got 7 days FFS.

  422. HYUFD
    Ignored
    says:

    Famous15 The UK is a permanent never of the UN Security Council so would veto any recognition of Scottish independence after an unofficial indyref2. Boris is also good mates with some of the most powerful elected world leaders now anyway, Trump, Modi, Bolsonaro etc. In any case even if the UN did back Sturgeon it is hardly going to invade the UK is it even if Boris imposed direct rule

  423. HYUFD
    Ignored
    says:

    Sorry, the UK is a permanent member of the UN Security Council

  424. Stoker
    Ignored
    says:

    admiral wrote on 23 January, 2020 at 10:14 am:

    “Time the SNP was aggressively hitting back with these stories (and loads of similar ones) every time a Yoon starts going on about the “day job”.”

    You’ve got a nerve telling anyone what they should do when you’re one of the biggest BritNat collaborators on here with your constant posting of direct links to BUM rags.

    The only difference this time is you left out your usual pathetic lazy excuse of “sorry can’t do archive” blah blah. Stop being so disrespectful to everyone else’s efforts and learn how to do it or find another way around it like most of us had to.

    Some folk have even went to the bother of archiving those links you’ve posted after the damage was done by you and i’ve yet to see you acknowledge those folk for their efforts to help etc.

    By doing what you’re doing you’re a part of the problem not the answer but then again i wouldn’t be surprised if you are already aware of that, eh “admiral”?

  425. Scozzie
    Ignored
    says:

    oops… Cameron Brodie that last paragraph of my post was not aimed at you but directed to the general BTL commenters.

  426. Republicofscotland
    Ignored
    says:

    O/T.

    Four folk, three in Edinburgh and one in Glasgow currently being tested for the Corona virus

  427. Scozzie
    Ignored
    says:

    Can people stop having a bloody bun fight over insignificant things on these pages?
    I’ve had my fair share of pelters off people but we really need to get organised – time has well run out to argue over what shade of shite we’re in.

    We now need ideas, solutions etc. It ain’t going to come from the SNP so it needs to come from the independence movement. Those that feel the need to be led by the nose – fine – follow the SNP. The rest please come up with suggestions – we need your creativity and ideas.

  428. CameronB Brodie
    Ignored
    says:

    Scozzie
    Not a problem, I wasn’t laying out a grand strategy. I’m glad you had more suggestions to offer. 😉

  429. Mist001
    Ignored
    says:

    8 days to go until Scotland is dragged out of the EU against its will, something the SNP said it wouldn’t allow to happen….

    There is NO plan. In order to prevent Scotland being dragged out of the EU against its will would require the support of outside agencies other than the SNP itself, the EU probably being the major supporter of Scotland.

    However, complete and utter silence. Not a peep. If there was a plan, it would be impossible for the EU and the SNP to keep quiet about it. Too many people, see?

    As it stands, there are no leaks, NOTHING. Total silence.

    Which at this stage of the game, tells you they have NO plan. Scotland will indeed, be dragged out of the EU against its will and people still won’t accept that they’re being duped by the SNP, as I’ve said many times previously on here.

    Scottish independence supporters really have to wake up.

  430. Gary45%
    Ignored
    says:

    So the Almond FUD finishes their shift and the other FUD clocks on.
    Coincidence? methinks same person.

  431. Colin Alexander
    Ignored
    says:

    HYUFD

    Will the UK still exist if a founding member of the UK Union (Scotland) dissolves that Union?

    We can all argue aye or no but, it remains an unanswered question.

    Is it a legal question or a political question or a mixture of both?

    Tell me, if you have the definitive answer. Ta.

  432. Colin Alexander
    Ignored
    says:

    HYUFD

    The Vienna Convention which deals with international treaties does not apply retro-actively.

  433. HYUFD
    Ignored
    says:

    As since the Union was created Westminster is the supreme body for Scotland and England and Wales (and subsequently Northern Ireland) and is in charge of the armed forces and most of the police it is largely an irrelevant question, as there will be no indyref2 without Westminster consent as was given in 2014. Scots then decided to stay in the UK in a ‘once in a generation’ referendum in Salmond’s words

  434. JGedd
    Ignored
    says:

    HYUFD @3.10pm

    ‘Boris is also good mates with some of the most powerful elected world leaders now anyway, Trump, Modi, Bolsonaro
    etc.’

    What a sterling bunch of chaps and every one, like Johnson, a far-right abuser of democracy. You’ve chosen company for Johnson very accurately….’ And the pig got up and slowly walked away.’

  435. Dan
    Ignored
    says:

    Jeezo.

    Scratch OIAG scratch OIAG scratch OIAG scratch OIAG scratch…

    Someone gie the table a nudge and see if it’ll stop this twatting broken record fae sticking…

  436. Colin Alexander
    Ignored
    says:

    HYUFD said: “…there will be no indyref2 without Westminster consent as was given in 2014”.

    You may very well be right about that, 2014 and since has proved it was a rubbish policy anyway.

    Sadly, the SNP leadership see things differently from me.
    Nicola Sturgeon and her (fools’) gold standard.

  437. Robert Louis
    Ignored
    says:

    I just wish some in the SNP would remember one simple thing, treaties do not have magic powers. The treaty of union between the kingdoms of Scotland and England does not have special or magic powers.

    A treaty is simply an greement between two ro more parties. If one decides to end their part in it, that is that. Some of the other parties to the treaty don’t get to say ‘oh no, you’re not getting to leave’. It is just an agreement. Of course, one side might feel aggreived and seek financial redress or similar, but it is just an agreement.

    If Scotland actually was a region of England, then independence might be a different matter, but it isn’t, and the SNP leadership really, really, really need to stop acting as though the treaty of union means Scotland MUST do what London says. It really doesn’t.

    That is why in geenerations past, people, even Tories like Thatcher were clear, a majority of pro independence MP’s elected in Scotland would mean independence.

    The treaty of union is not magic. It has no special powers. If Scotland chooses to end it, then it will end, with immediate effect, and England from that second onwards ceases to have a say.

    I really wish the SNP would get on with it. To end the union is not UDI, it is not illegal, it is what any other country would do, when faced with a co-signatory behaving as a bully, ready to forcibly drag it out of the EU, wholly against its wishes.

    This really is not rocket science. The treaty of union of 1707 is not magic. It has no special powers. It can be withdraw from at any time by either England or Scotland. And let’s be clear, if England wanted to end it, they would just do it, they wouldn’t fall on their knees and whine to Scotland about please, please, please can they have the right to have a freaking referendum.

    NS has got entirely the wrong understanding of matters. I do not doubt London says it is in control, but it isn’t. End the treaty of union, and immediately request to remain within the EU, with a confirmatory referendum to follow within a fixed, say, three month timeline.

    They MUST stop brexit being forced upon Scotland, a country that does not want brexit. If ending the union treaty is the only way, then that is what they MUST do. It is what ANY country in this mess would do.

  438. Colin Alexander
    Ignored
    says:

    Is Stu busy organising a declaration of lawful denunciation of the Treaty of Union or playing Angry Birds?

    Both seem reasonable wastes of time when the dithering, procrastinating, broken record Sewel Convention SNP are leading Scotland nowhere, except to One Nation Fascist Imperial Britain colonial servitude.

  439. Colin Alexander
    Ignored
    says:

    “Denunciation denotes a unilateral act by which a party seeks to terminate its participation in a treaty (Unilateral Acts of States in International Law). Lawful denunciation of a bilateral treaty (Treaties) terminates it”.

    Here’s the law according to Mr Alexander:

    Lawful denunciation of the Treaty of Union by Scotland’s political representatives renders the Union terminated.

    Deid. Ower. Finished.

    What a shame we elected the colonial administrator SNP instead of a YES Party.

    Unless they are gonnae see the light in the next week?

  440. Robert Louis
    Ignored
    says:

    So Iain blackford is actually still in the commons moaning about London and England declaring sovereignty over Scotland, something which is simply NOT true and never has been.

    They should no longer be there. It is time for Scotland to leave.

    Really sick of the SNP just moaning and moaning. TIME FOR ACTION.

  441. robertknight
    Ignored
    says:

    Robert Louis…

    “This really is not rocket science. The treaty of union of 1707 is not magic.”

    Mibbees NS is waiting for the Snow Moon on Feb 9th to be able to see the ‘Moon Runes’ that rumour has it translate to read “Beware Scotland – this treaty isn’t worth the calf skin it’s written on.” The rest of the Yes movement are already aware of that fact and don’t need to wait…

    I believe that “SNP” is also a medical acronym for a condition more commonly known as Impotence. Is there a Doctor in the house?

  442. ahundredthidiot
    Ignored
    says:

    Tonights news is hilarious – and the intelligence services are a bit thick,

    they think they can put Richard (honest, my wifes no a spy) Ratcliffe in front of the cameras – right in front of the door to Number 10…….aye, cos anyone can just walk in there and do that!

    Maybe the parents of Harry Dunn should turn up tomorrow to demand action/justice……..no?……didn’t bloody think so.

    They do take care of their own, don’t they.

  443. Boudicca
    Ignored
    says:

    Just watched a clip of Tommy Shepard in HoC from today asking Rees Mogg if he accepts the claim of right still stands. RM replies that the claim of right is to be debated in Parly on the 27th Jan. what new nefarious knitting have they got on their needles, I wonder. What next?

  444. ScotsRenewables
    Ignored
    says:

    Fuck sake, what an SNPBaaaaad echo chamber.

    Usual pathetic suspects. Unionist trolls, numptiez and wee whinging wains.

    Looking forward to laughing in yer faces shortly.

  445. Colin Alexander
    Ignored
    says:

    ScotsRenewable said:

    “Looking forward to laughing in yer faces shortly”.

    Aye? Tell us more, please do.

  446. frogesque
    Ignored
    says:

    @Boudicca: 7.13

    Have you a copy or reference to that clip?

    Mog would love to get the crushing jackboot on our throats and this sounds like the start of it.

  447. Ottomanboi
    Ignored
    says:

    The UKGB is a permanent member of the UN Security Council.

    The five permanent members of the Security Council were the victorious powers in World War II and have maintained the world’s most powerful military forces ever since. They annually top the list of countries with the highest military expenditures; in 2011, they spent over US$1 trillion combined on defence, accounting for over 60% of global military expenditures (the U.S. alone accounting for over 40%). They are also five of the world’s six largest arms exporters, along with Germany and are the only nations officially recognised as “nuclear-weapon states” under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), though there are other states known or believed to be in possession of nuclear weapons. From Wikipedia.

    How cosy. How neo-colonial.
    What a parcel of rogues.
    Scotland appealing to the UN over independence, “and when did you stop beating your wife”?

  448. ahundredthidiot
    Ignored
    says:

    ScotsRenewables

    you had better be…….because I ken moderates who are starting to get pissed off, nothing short of a full recall of SNP MPs on Feb 1st will do…….to start with…..led from the front, by NS, from Edinburgh……stamping our Capital City all over World News.

  449. CameronB Brodie
    Ignored
    says:

    Who knows what legal maneuvers might be being made, and by whom, and to what end? This state of psychological suspense is an indication of ineffective government. Easily rectified iMHO, through an appreciation of legal and political philosophy.

    Natural Law and Democracy:
    The Philosophy of James Wilson

    James Wilson, signer of the Declaration of Independence, important figure at the Constitutional Convention, and among the first justices of the US Supreme Court (1789-1798), argued more forcibly than any other Framer that philosophical skepticism is the enemy of self-government. Wilson argued that the philosophers John Locke (1632–1704) and David Hume (1711–1776) advanced theories that were antithetical to democratic government, because they deny to human nature the moral properties necessary to a knowledge of justice. Republican and democratic government, as many Framers acknowledged, requires a virtuous citizenry.

    The colonists sought independence from England because they thought that subjugation to the King and Parliament of England to be slavery. James Wilson argued in his philosophical writings that the ordinary person has the capacity to be virtuous and just by means of an innate capacity to know the “natural law,” and he defended the “revolution principle” (popular sovereignty) for that reason….

    https://www.lawliberty.org/2018/11/20/natural-law-and-democracy-the-philosophy-of-james-wilson/

  450. Boudicca
    Ignored
    says:

    https://twitter.com/tommysheppard/status/1220309522591424512?s=21

    This should be the link to the clip, Frogesque

  451. terence callachan
    Ignored
    says:

    Keep reminding yourselves that a majority of Scottish people voted YES for Scottish independence in 2014

    The biggest group of people who voted against Scottish independence in 2014 who are not Scottish
    Were English people

    Scotland’s population never really changes
    But England’s population has increased ten fold since 1707

    England’s Westminster control how many immigrants come to Scotland
    England’s Westminster controls how many immigrants are forced to leave Scotland

    England’s Westminster has the control mechanisms to ensure that the number of English people living in Scotland increases
    It increases every single year

    Of course being able to sell you house in England and buy one that is bigger and better in Scotland

    for half the price

    Encourages people in england to sell up and move to Scotland retiring ten years earlier than anyone in Scotland

    And they do it in the knowledge that we give them a vote on whether or not england continues to control Scotland and ninety nine percent of them gladly vote for their mother country to continue controlling Scotland

    The only colony to give their colonial masters a vote on their continued slavery to the English cause

  452. Boudicca
    Ignored
    says:

    Terence, you obviously know nothing about regional house prices in England.

  453. twathater
    Ignored
    says:

    OMG STV are trying to mess with our head they interviewed Paully the wally doodleolly sweeney on his sacking in Glasgow , paul was so effusive of all the gooooddd things he did for his constituents and how he will sadly miss them ( woe is me I miss the dosh and the gravitas ) no mention of the BETRAYAL of shipbuilding in bitter thegether

    And now they present the esteemed Kezia of the John Smith institute for ar***ole failed politicians spouting all sorts of pish , sorry I will have to go and wash my brain out with bleach

  454. Colin Alexander
    Ignored
    says:

    Tommy Sheppard’s speech said we are leaving the EU in a few days.

    I thought Ian Blackford (speaking as the leader of the SNP at WM) repeatedly promised he won’t allow that to happen?

    Or was that more “once in a generation” “dead in a ditch”
    speeches?

    A.k.a. Worthless mince, (to be polite).

  455. Al-Stuart
    Ignored
    says:

    .
    Hi Lz-g,

    Thanks for the reply.

    I had dismissed the “patter” coming from my former polis colleague in Essex, but there are many grains of truth in what he said. His MP and the one next door are James Cleverley and Pritti Patel. They are in favour with Boris just now.

    Also, with due respect to my colleague from Essex (and I never trust a Tory), he is generally pig-ignorant about Scottish politics.

    From what he said, someone down south with their hands near to the leavers of power has more than just a passing interest in Scottish politics.

    I mean how on earth is IndyRef2 “Federalism” being discussed in Braintree?

    The trouble with Boris Johnson is he has been proven to be a scheming liar. Just look how badly he shafted Arlene Foster and the DUP.

    A lot of what was relayed makes no sense. But there is sufficient in there to be unsettling.

    What if Boris really is looking to shoot the IndyRef2 fox by announcing…

    SCOTLAND CAN HAVE AN INDEPENDENCE REFERENDUM AS PART OF THE NEW CONSTITUTIONAL SETTLEMENT FOR A FEDERAL UK.

    The front page of The National on 22nd January 2020 pretty much set the scene of the major constitutional upheaval with Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland ALL at odds with Engerland.

    Boris does like a good “Winston Churchill” moment.

    Who would of believed he could have come back with his EU Agreement after barely taking over from 3 years of Theresa May torpor and sorting BREXIT and the EU in 30 days. Okay BoJo’s EU success was smoke and mirrors, but the MSM were giving him great headlines and the poor, beguiled English middle class just gobbled it up.

    I would profer this thesis:-

    If Boris presented a UK wide Referendum proposing that the House of Lords be relocated in Manchester and their old HoL chamber in the Palace of Westminster became the UK version of the Canadian FEDERAL Parliament in Ottawa, the majority of English hate moaning jocks and would vote for it to (sort of) get rid of us.

    If BoJo did pull a fast one by FEDERALISING the UK he would keep Scottish oil money, promise to relocate the nukes (but kick that down the road for 10 years) and BOAST to HIS PRIME audience in England that he had SOLVED the Scottish problem and saved the NI Peace Process.

    He would even give the House of Commons a massive kick in the nads after his humiliation by the HoC and HoL prior to 12th December 2019 and all those defeats.

    The whole thing gives me the heebee jeebees.

    As for Holyrood! The Scottish Government would be outmanoeuvred by BoJo the clown.

    What on earth would Nicola do if she was offered IndyRef2 but one prepared by Boris as “oven ready” for a Federal UK?

    It won’t be a turkey in the oven, it will be IndyRef2 cooked like a lame goose.

    The UK really has got a poundland Donald Trump.

    Am off for a lay down.

    https://tinyurl.com/Does-England-Hate-Scotland

  456. Mist001
    Ignored
    says:

    IMO, Tommy Shepphard isn’t all that people think he is. I think he’s worth a watch and could be a spy in the camp. Although I’ve had zero dealings with him, my instinct tells me not to trust him. From his Wikipedia:

    “Sheppard encouraged First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to abandon plans for a second Scottish independence referendum before Brexit.”

    I saw him last year in Edinburgh. I wanted to go and have a word with him but left him alone since he was eating his lunch.

  457. Colin Alexander
    Ignored
    says:

    The Queen has given Royal Assent to the EU Withdrawal Act.

    It’s official: We’re out the EU ( shortly) and UK Parliament is sovereign ower Scotland (clause 38).

    What was that noise, was it the SNP storming out of WM vowing never to return, except to negotiate who gets what?

    No, it’s silence from the SNP.

  458. ScotsRenewables
    Ignored
    says:

    Was it mince?

  459. meg merrilees
    Ignored
    says:

    Boudicca
    lain of Right in HoC on Jan 27th
    can you post a link to the Tommy Sheppard speech where Rees Mogg says they will debate the Scottish Claim of Right in Parliament on Jan 27th.

    So – I guess they are now going to record in Hansard that they no longer recognise it following the 2014 referendum.

    Trickery afoot …. surprised…. no

  460. Colin Alexander
    Ignored
    says:

    “Was it mince?”

    I can give you the definitive answer in 8 days, 2 hours and 29 minutes from now.

    http://daystobrexit.co.uk

  461. frogesque
    Ignored
    says:

    @Boudicca:7.44

    Thanks for link, copied and shared on Feb.

  462. Kangaroo
    Ignored
    says:

    Golfnut @8:54am

    That facebook page you linked to no longer works. I read it and thought it an extremely good post. Would be good if you could resurrect it.

  463. Mist001
    Ignored
    says:

    ScotsRenewables says: Was it mince?

    No, Sheppards Pie! 😉

  464. Colin Alexander
    Ignored
    says:

    Claim of Right? It’s no the law of Scotland Claim of Right 1689.

    Tommy Sheppard quotes the worthless Claim of Right 1989 political agreement made by Labour and the LibDems in which they recognised the right of self-determination –

    before they reneged on that at the GE 2020 by insisting they’ve decided Scotland isnae allowed to hold an indyref.

  465. Colin Alexander
    Ignored
    says:

    Sheppard’s Pie (in the sky?) hahahaha.

    Nice one, Mist001.

  466. Kangaroo
    Ignored
    says:

    Claim of Right Debate

    Westminster have scheduled a debate for Monday 27th January. I would think that they will gerrymander a vote against and try and anull it as a law. This after they have Clause38 of the EU Withdrawal Bill state that “The Parliament of the United Kingdom is Sovereign”

    Beware.

  467. Dr Jim
    Ignored
    says:

    The interruption today at FMQs was a small group of Ruth Davidson’s troops shouting at the FM and SNP and accusing them of IRA connections, they were escorted from the building, I hope they were arrested and charged with Breach

    So they finally got themselves started now that they think they’ve won
    These clowns will grow in confidence now that they don’t think they have to hide behind the Internet to abuse folk

    The Tories will give them full encouragement then blame the SNP for separatism and rioting by the Scottish vermin

  468. meg merrilees
    Ignored
    says:

    https://parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/8f9eb71b-08cc-4548-baa8-9ce6c9cfffec

    OK peeps here is the link to the Tommy Sheppard Rees Mogg skirmish over the Scottish Claim of Right. 10.42 AM IN THE TIMETABLE.

    As suspected, with a huge grin on his face, Rees Mogg has revealed that there will be a debate about the said Claim of Right because …’ the people of Scotland did indeed say no; They said no to their Claim of Right ( on September 18th, 2014)…’ because they wanted to be part of the United Kingdom – so there will be a debate about it on Monday, 27th.

    Perfidious Albion again.

    Immediately afterwards, Joanna Cherry was heard to say – ‘that is disgraceful’ and she promptly got up and walked out.

    Couldn’t quite understand why Sheppard was asking that particular question in that particular way – think we are about to be stitched up folks as a majority for the Tories IS A GUARANTEE.

  469. Colin Alexander
    Ignored
    says:

    Kangaroo

    Tommy Sheppard partially quoted this Claim of Right 1989:

    It’s no law, it’s a declaration.

    “We, gathered as the Scottish Constitutional Convention, do hereby acknowledge the sovereign right of the Scottish people to determine the form of Government best suited to their needs, and do hereby declare and pledge that in all our actions and deliberations their interests shall be paramount.

    We further declare and pledge that our actions and deliberations shall be directed to the following ends:

    To agree a scheme for an Assembly or Parliament for Scotland;

    To mobilise Scottish opinion and ensure the approval of the Scottish people for that scheme; and

    To assert the right of the Scottish people to secure implementation of that scheme”.

  470. Colin Alexander
    Ignored
    says:

    The SNP and the Tories never signed the Claim of Right 1989.

    The SNP debated this already with the Tories .in a meaningless debate that had no legal force either.

    Same again.

    Roon and roon in circles. Going naewhere.

  471. Ottomanboi
    Ignored
    says:

    Anglo-Scottish Unionism.
    It started with corruption….and by its fruits….
    https://counterpsyops.com/2012/10/09/hsbc-the-worlds-dirtiest-bank/

  472. Colin Alexander
    Ignored
    says:

    Psychic me: I can tell you the Claim of Right debate:

    SNP: Do you agree the people of Scotland have the right of self-determination?

    Yes, they used it to vote to remain part of the United Kingdom.

    There is no mandate for another indyref cos the SNP don’t have a majority in Holyrood.

    The Tory Govt has a majority in the Commons.

    Salmond said once in a generation.

    Blah blah blah.

    ———————–

    Political shadow boxing that the SNP knows will achieve nothing.

  473. Golfnut
    Ignored
    says:

    I have to admit I am confused by the apparent obsession with the 1989 Claim of Right. Why the continual reference to this claim rather than the people of Scotland’s constitutional sovereignty.

  474. Colin Alexander
    Ignored
    says:

    Golfnut

    Exactly.

    Why avoid debating Scots Law that asserts the people of Scotland ALREADY have the power to sack the Crown if it betrays the laws, traditions and constitution of Scotland, when this law remains law.

  475. Dan
    Ignored
    says:

    ERROR CODE / HRH MOVE / JOCK KINGDOM / CROWN CONFLICT / CHECK

    https://twitter.com/TriciaMarwick/status/1220422410186436608

  476. robertknight
    Ignored
    says:

    Golfnut…

    Smoke and mirrors dear chap, smoke and mirrors.

  477. Jockanese Wind Talker
    Ignored
    says:

    Anent Jacob Rees-Mogg MP for the 18th Century and Tommy Sheppard exchange over the Claim of Right being discussed on the 27th January.

    Methinks this is an SNP trap for the Tories to walk into.

    https://calendar.parliament.uk/calendar/Commons/All/2020/1/27/Daily

    You can see from the link above it is in the name of Patricia Gibson.

    Patricia Gibson MP is the Scottish National Party MP for North Ayrshire and Arran, and has been an MP continuously since 7 May 2015. She currently undertakes the role of Shadow SNP Spokesperson (Consumer Affairs).

    You can see from the link above it is an ADJOURNMENT Debate:

    “Adjournment debates in the Commons End of day adjournment debates. There is a half-hour adjournment debate at the end of each day’s sitting. They are an opportunity for an individual backbench MP to raise an issue and receive a response from the relevant Minister.”

    So why debate knowing BoJos arrogant Neo-Facist Tories will take great pleasure in voting it down/shouting it down/generally distainfully dismissing it and be happy to be seen doing so for their English Nationalist fans in the Home Counties?

    Another domino?

    Is this to raise the anger in Soft NOs?

    Is it for the benefit of International observers?

    Might explain “ why Sheppard was asking that particular question in that particular way“ @meg merrilees says 23 January, 2020 at 8:59 pm?

    😉

  478. Rm
    Ignored
    says:

    Such a parcel o rouges in a nation, Aye is the Scottish Government being bought and sold for English gold ? Something’s nae right and everybody can feel it.

  479. Colin Alexander
    Ignored
    says:

    Empress Elizabeth has just signed Scotland’s Death Warrant, just like her namesake signed the Death Warrant of the Queen of Scots in 1587.

    By English Law, by Royal Assent of the Queen of the Kingdom of England, the people of Scotland’s sovereignty is dead.

    Our MPs do NOTHING.

    Our MSPs do NOTHING.

    Our FM does NOTHING.

  480. Elmac
    Ignored
    says:

    The apparent paralysis of the SNP may be down to them keeping their cards up their sleeve till the end of January but, like many others, my patience is wearing thin and, if they do not act decisively by the end of the month, this is one family of 5 who will be binning their SNP membership. If that happens, and an alternative to the SNP were subsequently to arise, then they will lose those votes as well as the monthly subscriptions.

    I am sure we are not alone in this. Lets hope they surprise us – but I have my doubts. Three of my sons have already emigrated and there is a strong chance the rest of the family will follow if we remain in this utterly corrupt and criminal union.

  481. Robert Louis
    Ignored
    says:

    This all has that unelected wee jobby dominic cummings hands all over it. He cares nothing for democracy, and will drag the UK into fascism. The SNP need to effing well wake up to what is being done, in real time, right now. Not next week, not brexit day, but now, 23rd January 2020.

    Next up, Westminster announces it is ending Scots law. And honestly, who could stop them????

    No, the time for talking or arguing is over. The time for the democratically elected Scottish government taking charge and upholding Scottish constitutional law is NOW. First off she can have the queen removed from Scotland, as she has signed the brexit withdrawal bill, which supposedly negates the sovereignty of the people of Scotland. Lizzie windsor is just one of them.

    Seriously, we need action. We cannot sit and wait while Boris re-writes the entire treaty of union to suit himself, while the SNP sit in a huddle in the house of commons wringing their hands.

  482. Jockanese Wind Talker
    Ignored
    says:

    Never mind Scotland being dragged out of the EU (against the will of the votes of the Scottish Electorate:

    “Empress Elizabeth has just signed Scotland’s Death Warrant, just like her namesake signed the Death Warrant of the Queen of Scots in 1587. By English Law, by Royal Assent of the Queen of the Kingdom of England, the people of Scotland’s sovereignty is dead.”

    That’s a pretty fucking huge MATERIAL CHANGE OF CIRCUMSTANCES right there, Colin Alexander says at 9:55 pm

  483. meg merrilees
    Ignored
    says:

    I don’t know about a 1989 Claim of Right – am presuming this is about the 1689 Scottish Claim of Right. However, I still smell a rat, several rats even.

    Happy if I’m wrong especially if the Tories did not accept the 1989 Claim as claimed above.

    Think the tories are on a shoogly peg to say that the 2014 referendum refuted any lasting Claim since there have been 3 elections ( or more) since then none in favour of the WM government.

    If it is SNP led then it could be a tactical move on our part.

  484. robertknight
    Ignored
    says:

    If by the end of the first week of Feb something radical has not been undertaken by the SNP, in the face of what can only be described as an Act of subjugation, then will someone please turn off the lights and lock the doors at Holyrood and STOP LENDING CREDENCE TO THE LIE THAT DEMOCRACY EXISTS IN THIS F****ING COUNTRY!

  485. Jockanese Wind Talker
    Ignored
    says:

    “First off she can have the queen removed from Scotland, as she has signed the brexit withdrawal bill, which supposedly negates the sovereignty of the people of Scotland. Lizzie windsor is just one of them.”

    Now a large march of Indy Supporters up to the gates of Balmoral waving “Betrayed by the Queen of Scots” on the 1st of February might just make the news globally @Robert Louis says at 10:02 pm

  486. Unionist Media BDSM Club
    Ignored
    says:

    There are two posters at least on here claiming falsely to support independence. They both post hundreds of times every month and virtually every single comment criticises the SNP. This volume suggests that they’re not Unionist hobbyists but that they’re being paid (many of us have infiltrated Unionist groups, but we’re not being paid and don’t have the time to make thousands of comments there every year).

    Infrequent visitors to this site might not see them for what they are and it’s probably for such people that these infiltrators make their comments. But eventually everybody else cops on to what they’re up to and they’ve been called out numerous times.

    “Dad, what did you do at work this week?”
    “Well son, this week I made dozens of comments pretending I support our country’s right to exist, but really it was just so I could slip in a suggestion that our First Minister’s actually a l*zzie.”
    “Oh.”
    “Don’t look at me like that, son. It paid for my new gimp mask and coprophagia bucket.”
    “Oh.”

    This seems an incredibly depressing way to make a living. Killing off your remaining self-respect by lying about your country all day online, so you can make money to fund the degrading hobbies that match your degrading job. Many of us might consider suicide if this was where our lives had led us.

    Still, maybe we can learn from the fact that they’re being paid to do this. They’re not just being paid to denigrate the SNP or sow division or call NS a lesbian or generally demoralise people, though that’s clearly part of it. They’re being paid to push a particular line of line of thinking, which is that Scotgov should declare UDI.

    Important to state here that there’s no aspersion being cast on actual Yessers who push this line, such as Breeks, Peter Bell, Craig Murray etc. But these two posters aren’t Yessers. They’re paid plants and between them they push UDI literally thousands of times a year.

    Which is why on this occasion it’s best not to ignore the trolls because they may have handed us important information by revealing themselves as plants, leading us to ask why would the British state pay people to push UDI.

  487. Dan
    Ignored
    says:

    @JWT

    I’ll go and cut down a tree and make some more paper.
    Can you look out the mandate printer again?
    Think you may have to replace the ink cartridge…

  488. Phronesis
    Ignored
    says:

    Read and share. Gain insight, gain independence.

    ‘We also take an in-depth look into the UK Government’s economic record, which we compare to other Western and Northern European nations – with frankly shocking results. The fact is that you cannot truly understand Scotland’s economy and its finances until you have read Scotland the Brief’

    https://www.businessforscotland.com/scotland-the-brief/

  489. Colin Alexander
    Ignored
    says:

    Unionist Media BDSM Club

    Next time you see BoJo on the telly, remember:

    He owns you now. UK Parliament is sovereign.

    That’s the law.

    The SNP are the party of (English) Law

  490. Golfnut
    Ignored
    says:

    @ Dan.
    The Queens assertion as to her legal status has no more traction than Westminster claim to sovereignty.

  491. Mike d
    Ignored
    says:

    Terence callachan. 7.45pm ‘the only colony to give their imperial masters a vote on their continued slavery to the English cause ‘.which is why after another 10 yrs Scotland will never be able to vote for independence, and will continually have some sort of London yoon party in a Holyrood majority (if it’s not abolished)

  492. Colin Alexander
    Ignored
    says:

    The sovereign nation of Scotland:

    Born: circa 843

    Died: 23rd of January 2020

  493. Gary45%
    Ignored
    says:

    Man, I cannot my nugget round this.
    Can we legally tell Johnson, Brenda and Westminster to Get To Fuck, or is it game over?
    Simples.



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