Alan Ferrier

16 Nov 2024

What frightens the British Establishment most is the prospect of an independent, progressive, prosperous Scotland being witnessed by the English electorate.

Alan Ferrier reposted

Alex Andreou

@sturdyalex.bsky.social

This went on for the rest of the full hour, at which point the BBC apologised for having to go to the weather and urged viewers to follow continuing live coverage on iPlayer. Forty-one minutes of unfiltered, unchallenged propaganda by a far right party with 8 MPs, now third in the polls. Discuss.

Alex Andreou@sturdyalex.bsky.social

BBC News just interrupted its coverage to go, live, to Nigel Farage - a man with no contitutional standing in our setup - responding to the budget - a document which nobody has seen yet. WHY

bbc.co.ukMusic streaming: Why we're listening to so many old songsThe chart is full of old music and classic songs are dominating streaming services. But why?

23h

Is it because most new stuff is shite? Yeah, yeah - so I've turned into my da'... www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Reform MSP Amanda Bland says that she's quit Reform and will sit as an independent. Offord loses the right to respond first at FMQs. Reform has called on Bland to step down as an MSP, something they didn’t do when MSP Graham Simpson quit the Tories to join Reform. Odd, that.

One of those rare photos that makes you stop in your tracks and whisper, "Wow..." "Lochaber at Night" - wintery scene of Loch Linnhe, Caol Shore and Ben Nevis, taken from Corpach Pier by Mark Gillies.

bbc.co.ukMcGill's accuse Swinney of behaving like a dictator over bus plansThe first minister outlined plans to bring buses under public control during his speech at the SNP conference.

FYI: McGill's, owned by the Easdale brothers - among the top Scots on the Sunday Times Rich List - who gave a “substantial” six-figure donation to Labour's election fund and explicitly say they want to help Scottish Labour “remove the SNP from power.” www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Sandy Easdale: "Swinney appears to have transformed into the next Idi Amin or Robert Mugabe." Nutjob.

Sentenced to 27 months in jail for VAT fraud in 1997. Crooked nutjob.

Gie it a rest wi' the shite patter.

independent.co.ukBBC licence fee to be extended with ‘YouTube tax’Exclusive: A government white paper set to be published before Christmas is expected to include plans to extend the licence fee to cover YouTube, Netflix, Amazon and Disney Plus

Government white paper expected to include plans to extend the BBC licence fee to cover YouTube, Netflix, Amazon and Disney Plus. Subtitle: "How to make folk hate the BBC more than they do already." www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/poli...

theguardian.comSally Rooney says she can no longer sell books in UK due to Palestine Action supportIrish writer of Normal People says she can no longer receive royalties from British sales and she cancelled UK trip due to fear of arrest

I regret to report that writing books with opinions the UK Government doesn't like is now terrorism. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

I know many of you are here to escape the Twitter cesspit but there are still occasional gems to be found. Like this. Read it if you can - it's wonderful. x.com/gothburz/sta...

x.comx.com

heraldscotland.comCameron's plea to Putin: help me stop SalmondItar-Tass, citing a source in the Conservative Prime Minister's office, said Britain was "extremely interested" in referendum support from Russia, which this year holds the presidency of the influenti...

Sympathy for Burnham's hand-wringing over Russian interference in the #Brexit referendum is somewhat lessened by the recollection that his predecessor explicitly asked Russia to interfere in ours. www.heraldscotland.com/news/1314005...

Whoever called Ukraine’s bombing of Russian bot server farms “Operation Quiet Piggy" - well played.

theshovel.com.au/2020/06/04/n...

theshovel.com.auNRA Accidentally Forgets To Rise Up Against Tyrannical Government — The ShovelAn embarrassed National Rifle Association says it totally forgot to do the one thing it has been saying for years it is solely there to do.

bbc.co.ukFort Hood attacker's execution by firing squad will be livestreamed, Pentagon saysPete Hegseth says the execution will be public, but a legal expert says the "unprecedented" decision is on "uncertain legal terrain".

Journalist: What do you think of Western civilization? Mahatma Gandhi: I think it would be a good idea. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

There's only one arsehole in this story.

When St George's Place, Glasgow was renamed it was home to the South African Consulate so all mail then had to be addressed to 'Nelson Mandela Place'. The consulate tried to get a PO box # but Glasgow postal union refused to deliver unless address was Nelson Mandela Place. bsky.app/profile/scot...

The National@scotnational.bsky.social

A statue of Nelson Mandela has been unveiled in Glasgow city centre, nearly 40 years after the city renamed a street in his honour 🙌 In a fitting tribute to the revolutionary and former President of South Africa, the sculpture now stands on a plinth of South African granite on Nelson Mandela Place

A pre-2014 #IndyRef piece from the late, lamented A.A.Gill: www.thetimes.com/travel/desti...

Portugal decriminalised drugs in 2001 and subsequently treated drug abuse as a public health issue. Between 1999 and 2016 deaths from overdose fell by 92%. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

After the gates were installed at the end of Downing Street in the Thatcher era, one of the cops on duty outside was interviewed. Classic line: "Yeah, they've put up these gates, but she still gets out."

bbc.co.ukReform MSPs walk out of parliament in protest against independence debateThe party's leader in Scotland, Malcolm Offord, describes the debate as an insult and a waste of time.

22 Sept

And nothing of value was lost. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

20 Sept

My own small contribution to the Ed Sheeran controversy. This, from 2022:

17 Sept

An oil-producing nation with no refinery. An exporting nation with no shipping routes. An electricity producer forced to pay to upload to the “national” grid. Welcome to our blessed "union of equals".

bbc.co.ukPlans for Scottish ferry to mainland Europe scrappedForth Ports said it had doubts over the 'long-term viability' of the route between Rosyth and Dunkirk.

16 Sept

There are *44* trade routes between the Republic of Ireland and the EU, bypassing the UK. Of course, Ireland can count on the cooperation and support of its EU partners. Scotland had only Westminster to call on for support which, naturally, was limited. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

16 Sept

For clarity:

15 Sept

But for the broad shoulders of the Union, Scotland would be as poor as Norway.

15 Sept

BREAKING: The United Kingdom.

14 Sept

Top news stories on the BBC Wales and BBC Scotland websites at the moment:

bbc.co.ukReform receives second £36m donation in two days as crypto investor matches recordCryptocurrency investor Christopher Harborne says he has matched a donation from Ben Delo announced late on Friday.

12 Sept

Britain: the best democracy money can buy. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

8 Sept

As an antidote to the poison being thrown at the RNLI, I give you Bill Bryson:

30 Aug

The silence of British trade unions in the face of a Labour Prime Minister proudly supplying a billion pound corporation with free labour is damning.

irishtimes.comBritish PM Andy Burnham says border poll on united Ireland ‘off the table’Burnham claims referendums ‘can really take you backwards’ and cause rifts ‘that take a long, long time to heal’

30 Aug

Unionism: the belief that two small, pretty similar countries might be better off together, unless those countries are both part of Ireland. www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2026...

scotsman.comGrangemouth misses out on £200m UK Government fund for sustainable aviation fuelSNP-commissioned House of Commons Library analysis shows 29 separate awards were made from the Advanced Fuel Funds - with just one given to Scotland.

28 Aug

#BetterTogether www.scotsman.com/news/politic...

reuters.comBosnian Serb general Ratko Mladic, convicted of genocide, has died, Serbian TV reportsBosnian Serb general ‌Ratko Mladic, who was serving a life sentence ⁠for genocide in the bloody 1992-95 war in Bosnia, has died ‌in ⁠the United Nations detention centre in The ⁠Hague, Belgrad...

28 Aug

A reminder that we used to prosecute people for war crimes and genocide. www.reuters.com/world/bosnia...

26 Aug

I had a mate who visited Moscow before the wall came down. He met a guy in a bar and managed to buy his military cap for the price of a few beers. He was cutting around Glasgow for months wearing it until someone told him the Cyrillic writing on the front meant "Bus Conductor".

Members of the Royal Family spent at least £445,000 on visits to Scotland last year. The King's brief meeting with Prince Harry for tea at Clarence House cost taxpayers £44,209 as Charles flew from Aberdeen to RAF Northolt and then back again.

The most expensive individual Scottish travel outlay was £35,910 on a charter from RAF Marham to Wick as King Charles flew to Caithness to spend time at the Castle of Mey. Total royal travel expenditure reached £3,316,024 in the year ending March 2026.

I'd like to remind their royal highnesses King Charles and Queen Camilla that while travelling in Scotland they're each eligible for a free bus pass.

dailybusinessgroup.co.ukBBC Scotland suffers plunge in viewing figures – Daily BusinessBBC Scotland is facing new questions over the quality of its content as new data shows viewing figures have fallen sharply.

Just a thought, BBC Scotland - but perhaps continually and relentlessly telling Scottish folk that they and the country in which they live are shite isn't a particularly effective marketing strategy. Hope this helps. dailybusinessgroup.co.uk/2023/07/bbc-...

13 Aug

The near-Dickensian "barred" list from the Half Moon pub in Herne Hill, south London.

thenational.scotRobin McAlpine: Scotland will be independent but not through electoral tricksIN the last article I wrote for the Sunday National, I rejected a de facto referendum as a route to independence.

3 Aug

A thought-provoking article from Robin McAlpine: www.thenational.scot/politics/264... However, where are the "credible, agreed, detailed plans," and the "communication with the public about benefits," that won us 74% support for our restored parliament? 2014 was 12 years ago and I see few signs.

22 July

I can barely contain my indifference. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

bbc.co.ukbbc.co.uk

22 July

Tattie scone tacos? Genius! Scottish fusion cuisine to rival the Macaroni Pie @ The Islay Inn, Glasgow.

theguardian.comLabour would scrap House of Lords, says Scottish party leaderAnas Sarwar calls instead for creation of ‘senate of nations and regions’ and rules out pact with SNP

22 July

Awkward. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

17 July

Ok, Baldrick.

15 July

13 July

8 July

Last month, Andrew "Lord Brillo" Neil feared a "return to the bad old days of Tartan Army football hooliganism" and had a "nagging feeling in the back of my head... something could trigger it all going badly wrong". Let's see what Boston's Channel 10 has to say about that: