In my 55 years of life, I had never until yesterday seen a flag which was a saltire on one side and a union jack on the other. Yet last night thousands of them were distributed free at the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony. I have been told they are being given out at the swimming today, and possibly at other venues too.
Such flags do not normally exist. They had to be specially commissioned, and somebody had to pay for them. Who paid for them? Is it public money?
There is no doubt why these unique flags were commissioned, and why they are being given out free at considerable expense. It is to provide TV images of Scotland combined in the union, and to make sure that Scottish medals are greeted with media images of union jacks being waved with the saltire.
In the context of the referendum, only a hardened liar could claim that these unique flags were commissioned without a view to the campaign. This is enormous hypocrisy by the unionists, who have been bombarding the media for weeks with warnings to Yes supporters not to “politicise” the Commonwealth Games.
The BBC informs us that “political flags” are not allowed inside games venues. So saltires with a Yes will be confiscated. The BBC report states:
Well hold on, some flags will not be allowed to fly. Political flags.
Both sides of the independence debate have agreed not to use Glasgow 2014 for political gain anyway.
But even if you wanted to, well, it’s against the rules.
Glasgow 2014 Venue Regulation 6.18 states that no flags are allowed to enter a venue – or the vicinity of any Games venue – if they are normally associated with causes, affiliations or organisations.
Nobody can possibly argue that, at this time, a Union Jack combined with a Saltire is not an image strongly associated with a cause or association. So the rules are being quite deliberately broken, and somebody is funding that breach and doing it on a massive scale. It is vital that we know: who is paying for these flags?
Actually I am not sure why union jacks are allowed in at all. The rules are very clear. If you try to take in a Palestinian flag or a Dutch flag it will be confiscated. Again, to quote the BBC:
You are not allowed, however, to bring the flag of a country not competing in the Games
The United Kingdom is not competing in the Games. So there is a very respectable argument that union jacks should not be allowed in at all.
What is absolutely certain is that the two-faced union jack and saltire flags are very strongly associated with a political cause or affiliation. If they are allowed in, then Yes saltires should be allowed in too.
Habby
Well I find your usual condescension extremely tedious.
Fuckity-bye!
Its actually a “Union” flag, Jacks are aboard ships. There are plenty countries in the Commonwealth that have a “union” flag in them and plenty that don’t. scotland is currently part of the Union, if that remains will be decided soon enough. worry about the thousands spent on other part of the games that will be dismantled and or given away after it, like the shooting venue. when done it will be razed to the ground and not a single item may be used again. Now that is waste.
“Very Obvious political goings on.”
I’m sorry Brian but I don’t see anything obvious at all and I don’t see any evidence of anything political.
People have always lined the streets and waved Union Flags when the Queen goes past even in Scotland. Nobody has ever seen it as political before. The only difference this time is that there is a Saltire on the other side which is a break from tradition but no big deal, there are Unionists in Scotland and Nationalists in Scotland and a much greater number not all that bothered either way and Scotland belongs to all of them. Nobody has the right to tell people they are not Scottish because they don’t believe what they believe.
It is possible some rabid fanatical Unionists had the flags printed, their minds are just as deranged and illogical as the rabid fanatical Nationalists but without evidence to the contrary I consider it far more likely that the flags were made and distributed by the company hired to organise the opening ceremony.
I’d have to ask why some haven’t printed/made Union flags minus the Saltier element?
I think this would wake people up on both sides as to what this all means in the end.
I’m neither Scot nor Brit (pict nor continental?) by any identifiable geneaology or history. I have no skin in the game, I just collect the vig.
There is no issue here around publishing of the email address,it identifies no one. It may allude to an individual but there is no link that editor is a particular individual so no data protection issue exists.
There might be no data protection issues here but it is certainly a breach of trust. The rubric by the comment box is quite clear:
Email(Required)(Will not be published)
In the past, I have crossed swords with posters such as Habbabkuk over the issue of anonymity. He has strongly argued in defence of his own anonymity, which he is entitled to do given the rubric quoted above. I imagine he (and others) would feel some unease to learn that his email address can be revealed any time on Craig’s whim.
Craig
It seems to me the UK/No campaign have made a mistake here. Perhaps what they should have done is plastered the area in tartan and the saltire and gone for broke on putting a big kilt on the whole thing. That way they could have loudly proclaimed that your Scottishness was safe in the Union, and that we could all be Scottish and British at the same time, no need for independence, etc etc. This is pretty much what used to happen in the 50s and 60s. Instead they have gone for the alternate option: you can be Scottish or British. To be one is to deny the other, and you can’t be both.
The flags were being sold by vendors on the streets outside the games zones. The same vendors who try to peddle their unofficial material on those of us walking to Murrayfield Stadium or Hampden Park. But, hey…don’t let those facts get in the way of a good rant though.
“The flags were being sold by vendors on the streets outside the games zones. The same vendors who try to peddle their unofficial material on those of us walking to Murrayfield Stadium or Hampden Park. But, hey…don’t let those facts get in the way of a good rant though.”
That would make sense. I couldn’t see Unionists handing out Saltires or Nationalists handing out Union Jacks and assumed it was someone trying to keep both happy.
People choose to wave them and display them because they like and associate with both, ie being Scottish and British,they are not forced to wave them!? Hilarious to see the nats outrage and unbelievable they cant see how intolerant they are being. Little bravehearts,aw bless
KingofWelshNoir, 10:13 am; it isn’t a breach of trust because no trust was invested; quite the opposite.
editor at rangers.co.uk is obviously an official e-mail address belonging to rangers.co.uk, and a Google search reveals that rangers.co.uk actually publish that address themselves as contact information for the public. A racist comment was submitted by someone using that address.
If the commenter really owns that address they were speaking on behalf of rangers.co.uk, and therefore placed Craig and the blog team in a conflict of interest by using the blog to post racist material, but relying on Craig to conceal that the source was an official body.
If the commenter didn’t own the address, then revealing it didn’t reveal any personal data anyway.
“The flags were being sold by vendors on the streets outside the games zones.”
They weren’t being sold. They were being handed Saltire face up, free to happy folk going into a stadium.
Never let the truth get in the way of Freds British Nationalist tag team partner.
This is unbelievable. I’m watching a Glasgow games, in Scotland, presented by a studio of London folk. They are discussing Scottish language, and poking fun at it.
Is this really a Scottish event?
My arse.
“They weren’t being sold. They were being handed Saltire face up, free to happy folk going into a stadium.
Never let the truth get in the way of Freds British Nationalist tag team partner.”
I think people only need to look at the picture which a link was posted to earlier to see where the flags changed hands and which way up they were.
I didn’t see that picture, Fred. How much money were they being sold for?
“I didn’t see that picture, Fred. How much money were they being sold for?”
Look harder it is there.
Now where is your picture of them being handed to people Union Flag down as they go in?
So how much then Fred?
Silly boy. 🙂
G’night loser.
@Juteman
Fuck of shit for brains waste of space retard.
KingofWelshNoir
“He {Habbabkuk – me}has strongly argued in defence of his own anonymity, which he is entitled to do given the rubric quoted above”
__________________
I vaguely recall that exchange. I think a couple of people pointed out that you were open about your identity and asked me to be equally open about mine.
I then suggested that I would be, provided that the Eminences and Useful Idiots would do the same.
Only Jives responded by publishing his name, address and phone number. It was late at night and he was probably sloshed again. And at a (much) later stage he claimed that he’d changed his name!
None of the other Eminences and Useful Idiots took up my offer, of course, which showed that their original suggestion was merely a silly provocation.
Maybe we should ban all T-shirt vendors at Doune the……what was it again?
Tonight, Scotland’s Dan Wallace won his swimming race, then leapt from the water with his arms raised, yelling ‘For freedom!’
Here’s how the Guardian reported it:
As if the Guardian didn’t know what ‘for freedom’ means.
http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2014/jul/25/commonwealth-games-2014-ben-proud-dan-wallace-swimming-glasgow
Habbakuk,
Of course you’re welcome-as should everybody here-to your anonymity.
A minor correction to your post though-if you will?
I did use my real details,albiet i had changed my name by deed poll a few weeks previously.
Sloshed? Sure,maybe…but i’m sure in the name of tolerant Freedom and Democracy you’d defend my right to be thus without turning into a hypocritical puritan yeah?
As you were,child.
Habbabkuk,
Be as invisible as you want of course but we all know you’re a grandee of the Ashdod bowling club,blazers and what have you.
No,please,i insist,do take the last king prawn won’t you?
You say the nicest things, Fred.
Are you depressed because the official marching season has finished?
Never mind, you can join your brothers on the Better Together Orange March in Edinburgh that is to proceed a few days before the referendum.
Chin up, old bean.
Juteman, Fred flamed you only because you insulted him with “silly boy” and “loser”. Fred’s declared commenting policy is to immediately return insults to the max; seems to work, too! He’s nothing like Orange Order; I know because we worked together for a while.
Is Fred 9 years old?
In the Dundee pubs, they are chat up lines, not insults.:-)
@Clark.
The reason Britnats like Fred are all over the place in their thinking, is because they are being forced to make a fundamental choice in September. Are they Scottish or British. You can be both in many respects, but voting for where ultimate power lies is a very painful choice for some folk.
Maybe i shouldn’t wind Fred up, as it is obviously causing him problems.
“The reason Britnats like Fred”
I don’t play your retard games fuckwit.
Now fuck off and die.
Your pants smell of wee. 🙂
lol Getting all veiny faced over flags and coloured smoke from airplanes while our Scottish athletes are winning medals. Best wee country in the world indeed lol