So, there I was - trudging through the streets of Glasgow in the pishing rain staring at the shamelessly exposed arse of some random dog ahead of me and thinking thoughts. I wondered how long I might have to stare at a dog's arse before being glad to have my eyes poked out by a … Continue reading Contemplations on a dog’s arse
I am about to break a cardinal rule of semantics, if not grammar. I am going to put the words 'honest' and 'sincere' in a sentence alongside the name Michael Gove. There! I've done it! The things I do for you people! It's not easy even to hold words like 'honest' and 'sincere' in ones … Continue reading Sovereign is as sovereign does!
The creature desperately trying to maintain human form has generously conceded that the British state which he serves will respect the "settled will" of Scotland's people. Or at least that's what you'd suppose were you to read only the headline in The National - Michael Gove: Independence referendum will go ahead if it's 'settled will' … Continue reading Flexible language
Kevin McKenna is correct, of course. The proposal to extend the franchise in a future independence referendum to non-resident 'Scots' is nothing more than a far from subtle attempt to smear Scotland's independence movement with the tar-brush of ethnic nationalism. He is wrong, however, to portray this as a particularly Tory ploy. It would be … Continue reading It’s what they do
What of the idea that Galloway is peddling with his 'Alliance for Unity'? What of the notion that the British parties in Scotland might combine in a bid to thwart the SNP and hence the cause of restoring Scotland's independence?
My preference would be to play safe and assume that everything the British do is, if not planned, then at minimum carefully considered. I would not dismiss anything they do as mere panicked flailing. I would be looking for the purpose behind their every move. I would always assume that they know what they're doing.
What that testing of the old question tells us is that, while it may have been adequate and acceptable when it was agreed, that was more than seven years ago. The political landscape has undergone tectonic changes since January 2013.
Peter A Bell 