mcguffin

That's a fair take. I interpreted that as Macwhirter's dark humour (rather than him actually 'enjoying' the state we are in and makig fun of it). But I may be wrong of course. But if you can grit your teeth, it's worth a listen through to the end. (The parts about the oil economy, and the Salmond trial are quite interesting). And to be honest, there's not so many podcasts on the go at the moment that are dealing with Scottish Independence. So I just listen to what's available. (I enjoy Lesley Riddoch's weekly podcast for example).

Let me rephrase the question: What journalists who write or speak about Scottish Independence do you listen to? What podcasts and articles do you recommend? (Or do you have to do a historical background check on them first before you can recommend anyone?)

Okay. Got ya. Out of interest are there any independence-supporting journalists, podcasts that you do listen to? Any articles on Scottish independence that you do read? Or are they all 'charlatans', 'hacks' or whatever unless they agree with your worldview? Feel free to post some links. (To 'educate' us as you preached to a previous poster.)

So you listened to the podcast then? That's quite a take.

This is a great listen. Brendan O'Neill asks Iain Macwhirter "What the hell is going on up there?". (Macwhirter's answers covers everything from oil, to the Salmond trial, to Nicola Sturgeon to the current 'state of affairs' of Humza Yousaf's SNP/Green coalition): The unravelling of the SNP

That's a good observation! I watched yesterday's Brighton vs Wolves game on TV and was came to the same conclusion. Thinking of the last couple of seasons he's had: hard loan period at Norwich; bench warming at Brighton; out of the starting eleven for the national team. And to come on yesterday for his first start in months and put on a performance like that! What a pro, and what a talent. As for the game. He played the same deep-lying midfield role he plays for us. His passing was superb (often one-touch, other times he'd take a touch wait for the right moment to lay it off for a team mate making a run). He was getting warm applause too from the Brighton fans (it was a home game) for his defensive work too. Billy Gilmour and Pascal Gross seem to be a great midfield pairing. Brighton were already 5-0 up when the big midfield guns Caicedo and MacAllister came on (65 minutes, Caicedo dropping alongside Gilmour as a defensive midfielder, MacAllister further forward). So maybe (fingers crossed), this was a preview of next seasons midfield pairing should Caicedo and MacAllister get sold on (for big bucks)?

You've put my thoughts into words. I agree with you on all points.

Given how the soap opera is unfolding, maybe Ash Regan and Kate Forbes have dodged a bullet in losing the leadership election? Not my preference to be FM, but I'm starting to feel a bit sorry for Humza Yousaf. But maybe he can steady the SNP ship, and maybe pave the way for someone else to emerge out of the wreckage?

Thanks. You're right, very much a "a damned if you do..." scenario. I feel a bit sorry for Pete Wishart (At least he wasn't pictured immediately behind the "GREAT British..." banner. (Is nothing beyond that branding these days?) You're "Ian Murray as a hanger on" comment did make me chuckle though.😊

What's this from? It's New York I guess? I see Ian Murray, Douglas Ross, Pete Wishart. What's the message they are putting across? Are the flags from the sponsors? It has a kind of "Better Together Does New York" vibe about it.

You may be right. I think though that one of the reasons for the sense of community in Denmark and other Scandinavian countries is that they're independent countries? (Whether or not they have gender ID laws similar to ours, or whether or not they decide to drop them in a year or two, I suspect Denmark, Finland and the like will remain happy and self-confident peoples).

That article is about how happy people are in Denmark. No mention of GRR. Am I missing something?

🙂

😀😀😀 ...anyway. I was thinking this topic is about done. Should we close it and start a new topic for the next SNP Leadership election? Or just reuse this one (since it shouldn't be long to wait?)

👍👍👍

Agreed. I was going to say "Stockholm Syndrome". But then Stockholm is a capital of an independent nation.

👍

You've painted a pretty bleak scenario there. But it's hard to argue against 😞

As for the Indy plan. If he has one, he kept it pretty much to himself during the hustings I tuned into? So I don't hold out a lot of hope. But I'm with you, about giving him a chance. All the best to him and hope he springs a suprise (however unlikely it seems now).

Fair enough. Sorry for being presumptive. (And I agree with you 100% on your Cole Hamilton analysis 👍🙂 )

back to voting Tory?

To be honest, I don't think we'll even have that:

You could be right. Maybe her planned route to independence is rubbish. I don't know. But then what actually are Humza and Kate's planned routes to independence? (I watched/listened to a few of the hustings, they came across as genuinely sincere in their desire for independence, but I honestly couldn't tell you what their planned routes to achieve that were. )

Maybe voting for the candidate who emphasised finding a route to independence? (I like Kate and Humza, but I think they come across at best as 'gradualists'?)

Okay, I can picture that happening. Unfortunately, the same "if indy is off the table..." argument applies if Humza get in as far as I can see it 😟