Unionist control of information-outflow now total in Scotland

A typical nationalist response as to why younger Scots are disconnected from the political process:

Maybe if the MSM gave a balanced account of what was truly going on instead of the one trick Unionist pony the kids would show more enthusiasm.

You Prof and the other London luvvies in "Scottish" Media distort things so much it is little wonder kids are not interested.

Ah right, the old "Unionist MSM lulling the Scottish Youth into a British false-consciousness" theory.
How many under 24s do you know now rely on the MSM for their news, "balanced" or otherwise?
Exactly.


I think the fact that Unionist Junta has also banned access to the internet for all Scots has much more to do with the lack of enthusiasm for Scottish independence and politics generally amongst the younger generation.

Aintree- the Separatist Connection?

This week's most gratuitous grab of a sporting event for purely partisan reasons?

Plaid Cymru has marked Grand National Day by urging people to back a winning future for Wales and vote for ambition. Plaid Cymru is the only party that has put forward ambitious policies to tackle the cuts being imposed on Wales from Westminster by the Conservatives and Lib Dems.

The curse of living in interesting times

The ancient Inka Prophecy has predicted a time of shocks, upheaval and turmoil in the world round about this point in history.

In the UK we are beginning to see disturbing outworkings of that prediction:

1. Man City are currently third place in the Premiership.
2. An item of woman's intimate (black!!) apparel being flashed in a DUP PEB (50 seconds in if you're, er...interested in checking).
3. And now this from Scottish Unionist.


No.3 could a cybernat hacking attempt I suppose.... but what if it is genuine?

Scottish Labour versus the SNP. What? Oh yes, and the Conservatives

Alex Massie:

In the first place, both the SNP and Labour consider themselves "Scotland's Party". They are opposed, certainly, to the Conservatives but they're also opposed to Westminster, regardless of which party is in power in London. Their task is to "defend" Scotland come what may even if that means insisting that sensible public-sector reforms in England are not necessary in Scotland.

But of course it doesn't end there. Labour see the SNP as upstart usurpers, threatening their cherished position as the "natural" party of government. The SNP membership, meanwhile, correctly view Labour as a Unionist party. With support for independence no higher now than it was when Salmond first strode into Bute House it may seem as though the constitutional question has sidled into irrelevance but it's certainly not irrelevant to the true believers on either side

It's a good article which also touches on the astonishing (to this outsider anyway) level of enmity between the SNP and Scottish Labour, which I think is unmatched (even in good ole N.Ireland) in UK politics.

Ethnicity is "broadly equivalent, only differing" in Scotland and England

More Census ethnicity nonsense (thanks to JD!).

To ask Her Majesty's Government why the 2011 census question on ethnic group in England and Wales had five options for "White" when the Scottish version had nine options which included Polish, and has a different wording for Gypsy or Irish Traveller which excludes the word "Irish"; and how overall United Kingdom figures will be calculated and displayed given those differences.[HL7713]

A  very good question, not very adequately answered:

In England and Wales the form and content of the ethnicity questions have resulted from extensive consultation with users and other key stakeholders as part of a formal consultation exercise on census topics....blah, blah, blah.

Whereas:

In Scotland, a wide-ranging review of the way that ethnicity was classified was undertaken following the 2001 census, to ensure the development of a classification for use in Scottish surveys that reflected modern circumstances, met users' information needs and had broad community support... blah, blah, blah

So, to summarise: in both cases, extensive research into the issue was apparently done.

The "White" categories are broadly equivalent, only differing, in Scotland, in the addition of a "Polish" category-where this group form a significantly larger proportion of the ethnic minority population than in England and Wales, justifying a separate tick box-and a separate category for "Scottish" to provide consistency with the 2001 question. The omission of "Irish" from the title of the new "Gypsy/Traveller" group reflected particular sensitivities to the wording of this category in Scotland.

So, to summarise: whereas it is possible to define yourself as a "white Pole" in Scotland you are simply, I guess, "white" in England because there is proportionally less of you there.
You also may not be an Irish Traveller in Scotland as the word "Irish" is more sensitive north of Hadrian's Wall than in England. Have I got it right?
 
For the Census to have any meaningful value whatsover, shouldn't there be a "consistency" between the different parts of the UK as well as with the previous local versions?

Quote of the day

Alexander McKay:

Where Eddie Barnes is right on the button is in suggesting that Sir David, and many others, are reasonably happy in the knowledge that the SNP can chunter along indefinitely in minority power as long as the party's core belief, its very raison d'être, is almost never mentioned and kept well under wraps. So it seems are a fair chunk of the electorate.

The result is that we now have in Scotland the absurdity of a nationalist administration run by people who are well aware that the one thing they know for sure will cost them the election is pushing their Holy Grail of the break-up of the UK

And what's wrong with celebrating insanity and hangovers?

No further comment really needed:

THE SNP have moved the St Andrew's Day holiday to give staff a long weekend - but it now clashes with a feast for the patron saint of INSANITY and HANGOVERS.

Scots will celebrate our national day on November 30 - a Wednesday this year. So the government is giving staff the time off two days later on Friday December 2 instead.

That day is also the feast day of Saint Bibiana, the patron saint of the mentally ill and boozed-up

Quote of the day

Vote "yes" or you're an anti-Welsh monster who nicks votes from OAP heart-attack victims is the message now apparently:

If you support Welsh Self Determination – vote YES if you can; because if you don't, those monsters who hate Wales will claim your vote as their own in the same way that they claimed my patriotic mother in law's heart attack as a vote in favour of their hatred of Wales!

I do hope Miserable was drunk when he posted that.

While our back was turned, the UK has fallen

Can't imagine Alex Salmond (not to mention "I was never in the IRA, so I wasn't" Gerry Adams) would be too chuffed to find himself included alongside marching provos... but not to worry, if you like your fantasies er... raw and unsophisticated, great entertainment none the less:

George VI backs voting reform

Well, that's it sorted then:

The campaign to change the Westminster voting system has received the support of Bafta-winning actor Colin Firth.

Fresh from receiving the award for his portrayal of George VI in The King's Speech, the Oscar-tipped star said May's referendum offers a rare chance for reform.

"The referendum is a once in a generation opportunity to change our clapped out politics for good. I'll be voting yes," he said

Seriously, who cares what he thinks?
Why bother even printing it?

Never a dull uninformed moment in NIHRC-land

Regular readers will imagine my uncontainable delight upon discovering that the N.Ireland Human Rights Commission now has its own magazine.

Full of empowered capacity-builders informing any excluded (and/or disadvantaged) reading how to become included stakeholders in civil society, it’s a must for all you participatory facilitators out there.

Or something, more or less, along those lines.

Anyway, now that the NIHRC has got their magazine up and running it can only be a matter of time (months? years? decades?) before Prof McWilliams’ diary is updated. Life for the esteemed capacity-builder appears to have finished round about March last year… pity, as I’m sure, like me, you’d love to read about her later working visits to, amongst other destinations, Southern California.

Something else missing is a bit of background to the recent positional changes at the Commission; Lord Laird has been also asking for a bit of clarity on the matter:

Lord Laird to ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have approved the creation of the post of Director of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission and its salary range of £58,200 to £117,800; why the post of chief executive was abolished; what are the difference in duties and salary between it and the Director; what was the redundancy payment made to the last chief executive; and what reduction in funding has been agreed with the Commission by the Northern Ireland Office.

He's still waiting for an answer on that one.

Interestingly enough, the NIHRC has advertised the post in the Irish Times in the Republic, whilst seemingly omitting to inform the News Letter's readership of the upcoming position. How very forgetful of them.

Update

Re the last paragraph, the NIO did advertise the position in the News Letter on Thursday.

"Nuclear attack on 'one-eyed' Salmond"

Unfortunately not... but great headline anyway;)

Tis the season to say "yes"...

Dear God, a headline to make the heart truly sink:

Alternative vote yes campaign hitches itself to royal wedding

Campaigners for voting reform argue that the referendum on 5 May will take place during a more optimistic period

The yes campaign in the referendum on introducing the alternative vote for Westminster elections is planning to capitalise on the royal wedding, six days earlier, by arguing that it is "a time to be optimistic and say yes".

Campaigners for change have been struggling with the impact of Prince William's wedding to Kate Middleton on 29 April, before the referendum on 5 May. That week also includes a bank holiday. But now they think they have a solution: proclaim it the season for saying yes.

"We will put all the arguments, but around the wedding it will be a coming-into-summer, more optimistic, more of a yes mood," a campaign source said.

So, we'll be changing our voting system because we feel all... like... summery, romantic and fluffy stuff like that??!!!

A spokesman for the yes campaign last night said it would not seek to exploit the royal wedding in any way.

How about instead you go away and please take your silly referendum with you?
Thanks.

Funny old day, Thursday

That must have been some weird planet alignment yesterday:

"Mr Robinson said he doubted that even the Labour and Conservative parties would be able to sit down and reach the level of agreement that the DUP and Sinn Féin had"

You can catch the full interview here.

It's certainly part of the story...

Further Education funding and tuition fees is rapidly taking over from health provision as not only the Devolution Experiment's biggest inequity, but also one almighty cock-up.

I received this yesterday from the Campaign for an English Parliament:

Census-less questions

According to this year's census in Scotland, you may have a Scottish and British national identity(Q14); with regards your ethnicity (if you're white) you can be either Scottish OR "other British"(Q15)?

Work that one out.
(And yes, there had been loads and loads of controversy about the whole topic previously)

Curiouser and Curiouser...

Speaking on BBC Radio Ulster's Nolan show yesterday, UUP candidate Mike Nesbitt with regards to the party's relationship with the Conservatives adapted a quote from Alice in Wonderland:

"If we had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn't. And contrary wise, what is, it wouldn't be. And what it wouldn't be, it would. You see? That's our relationship with the Conservatives”

No, of course, he didn't really; what he did say was:

... the UUP's relationship with the Tories now meant that in Europe and Westminster the party "will look favourably at taking the Tory whip on issues that do not pertain specifically to Northern Ireland".

Now, that is not exactly what the agreement reached in December by the two parties actually declared:

"These proposals will include the understanding that any future UUP MP’s and current and future MEP’s will take the Conservative Party Whip. "

No qualification or equivocation there.
So... which is it?

And in the meantime, Lord Empey, is he still a Conservative Peer or not?
(I have a horrible feeling on this one that an announcement was made which only I've missed; an alternative explanation that the DUP are mischief-making is also not beyond the realms of credibility)

Not one of Ms Goldie's best weekends...

It seemed everywhere I looked there was a screamer about either her or the Scottish Conservatives.

Mail on Sunday:

THE Scottish Tories were last night facing financial meltdown as their main donors threatened to withdraw funding unless Annabel Goldie quits as leader.

Daily Telegraph:

Effective control of the Scottish Conservatives has been passed to London party chiefs while an overhaul aimed at improving their “diabolical” election results north of the Border is implemented.

Her fightback is nothing if not ermm...unorthodox:

The text of the piece shows Scots Tory leader Annabel Goldie openly prepared to consider alliances with whichever of the two major parties – the SNP or Labour – emerges with most seats from the Scottish Election 2011, on 5th May

She may be prepared to consider such alliances, hard to imagine that her party is.

If it's Monday, then it must be time for another Spring Bank Holiday

Bethan Jenkins AM has written to the Prime Minister, urging him to give people in Wales the choice to pick and mix their Bank Holidays:

The Plaid Cymru AM for South Wales West is arguing that while many people will want to mark the marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton, many more have no interest in the royal family and would instead prefer to take March 1 off, particularly as it has been the focus of a campaign in Wales for several years now.

So, "many more" would want to take 1st March off rather than April 29th and Bethan has the statistics to prove it.....

Leaving those "statistics" quietly to the side, in the letter to David Cameron, Bethan says:

Wot? Where's Ireland?

South Sudan is apparently on the road to becoming a sovereign country.

In its honour and in the hope of provoking more than a few arguments, Time Magazine has made a Top 10 list of Aspiring Nations:

•Scotland

•The Basque Country

•Tibet

•South Ossetia

•Kurdistan

•Quebec

•Western Sahara

•The Republic of Cascadia

•Padania

•Second Vermont Republic


Is a "Second Vermont Republic" more likely than a "United" Ireland (or an independent Wales, England or Cornwall for that matter)? Hard one to call...