The news thread

[scotlad]

33 minutes ago, aaid said:

Genuine question as she’s been involved in a number of controversies, for want of a better word.  What specifically are you referring to as a trap.

Her being encouraged (for want of a better word) to express her view on the GRA issue.

Since she arrived in WM Cherry has been a nuisance for the government, no more so than during the 2019 proroguing of parliament, and her being neutralised was and is very much to their benefit.

By coming down very firmly on one side of the GRA debate it became possible to attack her for that.  I'm not saying here that her position on the subject is right or wrong but getting involved in this toxic (and IMO entirely confected) issue has been to her detriment ever since. 

Of course, it should be possible for her or any politician to express their view but since the debate has been weaponised it's one that it is best to steer clear of if possible, particularly if you have other goals to achieve.

Maybe I am giving her a bit too much credit and she just decided to get involved herself; if so then that's an enormous piece of luck for the powers that be.  Either way, it's resulted in her being sidelined, which i's a shame, because while I suspect she might be a bit of a pain in the neck to work with, she's a clever cookie.

[Malcolm]

46 minutes ago, TDYER63 said:

Its from the Record so might not be wholly accurate,  but she is not really what Malcolm is looking for.

I would be happy with her though.  I think she would be more than capable of representing Scotland in Westminster. I am of the persuasion that its the best person for the job that gets it not whose face fits. 

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/politics/snp-mp-joanna-cherry-open-27800653.amp

‘She added: “If I lived in England, I would definitely be a member of the Labour Party. I have a great affection for the Labour Party. After independence. I think the parties will realign themselves. And I would probably end up in a sort of Scottish Democratic Left Party or a Scottish Labour Party after independence.”

Edit to say I hope to fook its not Alyn Smith thats going backwards IMO . 

you are correct, but best of a bad bunch and certainly better than Nicola.  Not quite right wing enough for me 😂

 

[TDYER63]

3 minutes ago, Malcolm said:

you are correct, but best of a bad bunch and certainly better than Nicola.  Not quite right wing enough for me 😂

 

😂 she might even manage to clip that right wing of yours. JC’s  2 wings are , ‘left ‘ and ‘even lefter ‘ . 

[aaid]

1 hour ago, TDYER63 said:

Its from the Record so might not be wholly accurate,  but she is not really what Malcolm is looking for.

I would be happy with her though.  I think she would be more than capable of representing Scotland in Westminster. I am of the persuasion that its the best person for the job that gets it not whose face fits. 

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/politics/snp-mp-joanna-cherry-open-27800653.amp

‘She added: “If I lived in England, I would definitely be a member of the Labour Party. I have a great affection for the Labour Party. After independence. I think the parties will realign themselves. And I would probably end up in a sort of Scottish Democratic Left Party or a Scottish Labour Party after independence.”

Edit to say I hope to fook its not Alyn Smith thats going backwards IMO . 

And she'd be considered as a left-wing member of the Labour Party.  TBH, I can relate to that to an extent.  I voted Labour at every general election from 1983 - when I was 18 - until 2001 after which I've never voted Labour again.   That was for a number of reasons, the Iraq War, disillusionment with Blair, a personal issue with the Labour candidate. 

I couldn't vote Labour now, for a number of reasons, primarily Independence but I see this particular flavour of Labour as essentially being Tory-lite and in a way that I still don't think you could say that about Blair.  Not that I ever really liked Blair - or trusted him - but I could see he would be someone more credible and could get the Tories out.  He moved the Labour party closer to the centre, certainly, but it never felt like he was just recycling Tory policies rather he was ditching some of the more crazy left wing stuff.   

In truth, the party which is closest to my overall political beliefs is the current Sturgeon-led SNP.

From all accounts, Stephen Flynn seems to have big enough support to win it already so I suspect no-one else will even stand.

[aaid]

1 hour ago, scotlad said:

Her being encouraged (for want of a better word) to express her view on the GRA issue.

Since she arrived in WM Cherry has been a nuisance for the government, no more so than during the 2019 proroguing of parliament, and her being neutralised was and is very much to their benefit.

By coming down very firmly on one side of the GRA debate it became possible to attack her for that.  I'm not saying here that her position on the subject is right or wrong but getting involved in this toxic (and IMO entirely confected) issue has been to her detriment ever since. 

Of course, it should be possible for her or any politician to express their view but since the debate has been weaponised it's one that it is best to steer clear of if possible, particularly if you have other goals to achieve.

Maybe I am giving her a bit too much credit and she just decided to get involved herself; if so then that's an enormous piece of luck for the powers that be.  Either way, it's resulted in her being sidelined, which i's a shame, because while I suspect she might be a bit of a pain in the neck to work with, she's a clever cookie.

Ah right, I see where your coming from although I don't quite have the same view.   A trap seems to suggest there was some deliberate forethought involved.   My reading is that this is obviously a contentious - and as you say confected - topic with some very strong opinions on both sides.  I get the impression there were some pretty heated discussions behind the scenes with no doubt some very harsh words being exchanged, ie, there was a big stooshie.   At the heart of this seems to be the general fault lines that have fractured across the piece.   Up front, I'd say that there are people on both sides who are genuine bad actors here, I don't think anyone here is, I suspect they have genuine issues but the debate has got to the point where people cannot see the wood for the trees.

This all got a bit public and spilled over onto Twitter.  I think that some radical feminist put up a crowd funder to sue Kirsty Blackman over something she'd said and Neale Hanvey - while he was still in the SNP - contributed to it.  You just don't do things like that.    

I follow both Cherry and Blackman on Twitter, I've mostly unfollowed or blocked the more extreme voices on both sides and I think its helping my blood pressure.  Blackman has pretty much shut up.   It's clear that Blackford came down on the side of the likes of Blackman, Bardell and Black but then no-one really knows what exactly was said by who to who and - rightly or wrongly - they are following the party policy.   Since then, though Cherry has consistently played the victim card - see the whole Edinburgh Central debacle for an example - but isn't herself averse to encouraging a pile on.   Sucking up to the likes of JK Rowling - I can remember what a nasty piece of work she was in 2014, doesn't sit well with me.

Cherry's was the first tweet I saw in reaction to Blackford's resignation which was essentially "Good Riddance", although edited by Reporting Scotland to make it less forceful.   I did see today though a more conciliatory tweet referencing the FM, so maybe she's looking for a return to the fold.

It's getting involved in such a public spat and her behaviour since then - nothing to do with any policy differences - that makes me think that she's not suitable for a leadership position - there is an axiom which says to be a good leader you also need to be a good follower and I don't think she's a good follower.

It's interesting that this has blown up in the WM group - who it actually has nothing really to do with, being a devolved matter.  It doesn't have universal support in the Holyrood group - although all MSPs stood with this in the manifesto - there's been no action taken against the "rebels" who voted against or abstained.  Ash Denham had to stand down as a minister as she couldn't maintain collective responsibility and vote against it.

[Ally Bongo]

On 11/30/2022 at 7:48 PM, Ally Bongo said:

Christine McVie of Fleetwood Mac has passed away aged 79

 

As a matter of Interest there is a Fleetwood Mac tribute band called Rumours of Fleetwood Mac and from what i have heard they are actually better than Fleetwood Mac

The two girls sound exactly like Christine McVie and Stevie Nicks (with far less screeching cat)

An added bonus is that the girl that does Stevie Nicks has big tits

 

[Ally Bongo]

Been reported that Pele is receiving paliative care sadly

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/dec/03/pele-moved-to-end-of-life-care-in-hospital-reports-say

[Hertsscot]

Alison Thewlis thrown her hat into the ring to be next SNP group leader at Westminster. Has Stephen Flynn actually put his name forward yet?

[aaid]

10 minutes ago, Hertsscot said:

Alison Thewlis thrown her hat into the ring to be next SNP group leader at Westminster. Has Stephen Flynn actually put his name forward yet?

Wokey Cokey woman from Glasgow, that’s going to upset a few folk. 

[hampden_loon2878]

27 minutes ago, Hertsscot said:

Alison Thewlis thrown her hat into the ring to be next SNP group leader at Westminster. Has Stephen Flynn actually put his name forward yet?

She would be absolutely terrible 

[Grim Jim]

27 minutes ago, aaid said:

Wokey Cokey woman from Glasgow, that’s going to upset a few folk. 

 

9 minutes ago, hampden_loon2878 said:

She would be absolutely terrible 

 

Boom, tish   😄

[hampden_loon2878]

1 hour ago, Grim Jim said:

 

 

Boom, tish   😄

Nea really she stated the obvious 

Edited December 3, 2022 by hampden_loon2878

[Ally Bongo]

Have to agree - Thewlis would be a disaster

It's got to be someone inspiring but i am not holding my breath

[scotlad]

Pete Wishart has come out in support of Thewlis, which maybe tells you something about what kind of leader she'd be.

[Malcolm]

Edinburgh apparently looking at this model…. £70 to leave your deaignated zone.  1984 is here
 

https://www.spiked-online.com/2022/10/25/the-madness-of-the-15-minute-city/amp/

[aaid]

56 minutes ago, Malcolm said:

Edinburgh apparently looking at this model…. £70 to leave your deaignated zone.  1984 is here
 

https://www.spiked-online.com/2022/10/25/the-madness-of-the-15-minute-city/amp/

Have you ever been to Oxford, let alone driven through it?  It’s very similar to Edinburgh in a lot of ways.  Virtually the entire city centre is full of buildings dating back to medieval times you couldn’t build new and bigger roads without destroying what makes the city unique.

When the planners in Glasgow carried out that act of civic vandalism and built the M8 through the city, there was a similar proposal to do the same in Edinburgh.  Thankfully the planners there had sense. 

[dan cake]

1 hour ago, aaid said:

Have you ever been to Oxford, let alone driven through it?  It’s very similar to Edinburgh in a lot of ways.  Virtually the entire city centre is full of buildings dating back to medieval times you couldn’t build new and bigger roads without destroying what makes the city unique.

When the planners in Glasgow carried out that act of civic vandalism and built the M8 through the city, there was a similar proposal to do the same in Edinburgh.  Thankfully the planners there had sense. 

Getting the tourist buses to fuck would be a start, walk you fat yank bastards. They destroy the grassmarket for 10 months of the year

[Malcolm]

The point here is that no council should be restricting you to a zone within city and “allowing” you one hundred journeys a year to other zones.  Complete restriction of liberty.  I despair for this country.  All this to get to net zero and entirely unpractical.

[TDYER63]

14 minutes ago, Malcolm said:

The point here is that no council should be restricting you to a zone within city and “allowing” you one hundred journeys a year to other zones.  Complete restriction of liberty.  I despair for this country.  All this to get to net zero and entirely unpractical.

Aye lets just burn the planet to accommodate the good citizens of Edinburgh a day out to Harvey Nicks 🙂

[Och Aye]

Yesterday my train from Waverly to Cleland (Edinburgh to Motherwell is difficult to do now for some reason) was cancelled for the 3rd time on the trot. Yesterday they laid on a mini bus which had to stop at every station making miles off the designated train times. I was the only person on it. No one else got on at the dozen stations and the driver had a right few still to go before Glasgow Central before doing the same journey on the way back. There'll always be too cars on the road until there's a serious alternative.

[scotlad]

58 minutes ago, dan cake said:

Getting the tourist buses to fuck would be a start, walk you fat yank bastards. They destroy the grassmarket for 10 months of the year

But then the pavements would be full of fatsos and there'd be nae room for anyone else.

[dan cake]

8 minutes ago, TDYER63 said:

Aye lets just burn the planet to accommodate the good citizens of Edinburgh a day out to Harvey Nicks 🙂

The good citizens and also council tax payers of Edinburgh are lucky to get through the front door in Harvey’s, like most of Edinburgh purely there for the tourists buck

[Malcolm]

15 minutes ago, TDYER63 said:

Aye lets just burn the planet to accommodate the good citizens of Edinburgh a day out to Harvey Nicks 🙂

let’s ban all air travel.  All of it.  😊  want to go to Europe?…. of course, get train and the ferry.  Want a shopping trip to New York?  Set sail and see you in a few weeks…    Want to follow Scotland around the world?  Better get lots of time off work.

one return long haul flight PER PERSON, emits more CO2 than me driving my car all year, yet we are forced to consider this dystopian nightmare.  

Whether people go to Harvey nicks or primark is irrelevant, you need to be able to travel freely around the city. 

Edited December 5, 2022 by Malcolm

[TDYER63]

2 minutes ago, Malcolm said:

let’s ban all air travel.  All of it.  😊  want to go to Europe?…. of course, get train and the ferry.  Want a shopping trip to New York?  Set sail and see you in a few weeks…    Want to follow Scotland around the world?  Better get lots of time off work.

one return long haul flight PER PERSON, emits more CO2 than me driving my car all year, yet we are forced to consider this dystopian nightmare.  

Whether people go to Harvey nicks or primark is irrelevant, you need to be able to travel freely around the city. 

It was a wee joke ( hence the smiley ) but glad I helped get that off your chest ….

😊

[Malcolm]

5 minutes ago, TDYER63 said:

It was a wee joke ( hence the smiley ) but glad I helped get that off your chest ….

😊

😂😂😂. Thanks for listening.  Feel much better!