What Did You Expect? 693


I have no sympathy at all for anybody who voted No on the grounds of the pledges by Brown, Miliband, Cameron and Clegg about constitutional change, and is now whingeing about the blatant dishonour of those pledges. I cannot understand how anybody could be so stupid as to have believed them, and yet have a brain capable of sparking respiration.

Labour is interested in losing no influence of Scottish Labour MPs on any UK or English matters. It wants greater powers to English metropolitan councils which are controlled by Labour – because that will give Labour careerists more jobs and access to contracts. Those are Labours “constitutional reform” goals. The Conservatives “constitutional reform” goals are to keep Scotland’s tax on oil revenues and tax on whisky coming to Westminster, while loading greater responsibilities but no more money on the Scottish parliament, and stopping Scottish MPs voting on English matters thus guaranteeing conservative apparatchiks continued jobs and access to contracts.

Both Tories and Labour want to keep the appalling corrupt and undemocratic House of Lords for its jobs for apparatchiks, access to contracts etc.

Nobody cares what the Lib Dems think anyway.

I ask again – what did you expect?

This is the collective wisdom of Andy Myles and myself, over an excellent mackerel breakfast at Nom De Plume.


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693 thoughts on “What Did You Expect?

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  • John Goss

    “Anybody could have done it, even someone who posts here using their own name.”

    While that is true A Node there is the curious coincidence that Resident Dissident was playing around with identicons and changed his own almost at the same time as the two bogus comments were posted. He has not commented since Mary asked him to explain.

  • Abe Rene

    It wasn’t just the major parties promising greater devolution that cost Salmond this contest; he made an own goal by trying to hold on to the UK’s currency. This wouldn’t have given SNP supporters confidence in Scotland’s ability to go it alone economically, never mind No voters.

    The own goals explain why regions that voted for SNP MPs could vote No – including the Western Islea that announced a No result in Gaelic! 🙂

    Salmond did get valuable concessions like the extension of the vote to 16 and 17 year olds (most of whom voted Yes) and the right to frame the question and even pick the best time for the referendum.

    So maybe the advantages and the mistakes cancelled each other out.

  • fred

    “Why do you keep repeating the ‘report it to the police’ canard? It’s getting ridiculous.”

    Because people keep accusing us here in Scotland of being dishonest, liars and cheats.

    So so long as they keep calling us crooks I’ll keep on telling them to go to the police.

    I take it logic wasn’t your best subject.

  • YouKnowMyName

    @John
    the impersonation seems to be an easy trick due the gravatar image that you uploaded which is automatically associated with an unsalted MD5 crypto hash of your fairly guessable?(*) – real e-mail address. This 2011 github page suggests that the work-around is to use a “mailinator” virtual e-mail address & treat even your blog-commenting e-mail address as “sensitive personal identifying information” ‘as sensitive as a password’

    the mild impersonation here by person(s) unknown could have been a lot worse, as the bug/feature affects many blogs, it seems ‘playful’

    (*) when I say ‘guess’ – your email could easily have been found, by those with widespread overcollection monitoring, or even brute-forced starting with gmail then yahoo..

    whilst pontificating I should remind those present to use strong passphrases as passwords, I personally generate mine using this childish toy: seems to work! http://www.toyshopuk.co.uk/assets/gfx/rorys-story-cubes-voyages.jpg

  • Republicofscotland

    Not to be negative, but it seems appropriate that a dispirited Orwell returned from Catalonia and spent his final days on a Scottish isle; Jur I believe.
    ==========================
    It doesn’t say much for Jura, David Cameron’s father-in-law Viscount Astor (from the satanic Astor family) owns a holiday home on the isle

  • Peacewisher

    @Ben: It’s a standard phrase people use in the UK… it means quit moaning, and either do something about it or forget the whole thing. As most people don’t want to go to the police it is a good tactic for quelling dissent.

  • Ben E. Geserit Muad'Dib Further Confounding Gender Speculators

    “I take it logic wasn’t your best subject.”

    Statistics was my worst subject, but I’m finding patterns in the repetition even I can see.

  • ------------·´`·.¸¸.¸¸.··.¸¸Node

    John Goss 22 Sep, 2014 – 2:53 pm

    “… there is the curious coincidence that Resident Dissident was playing around with identicons and changed his own almost at the same time as the two bogus comments were posted.”

    Did you notice Dreoilin’s comment at 2.21? All the perpetrator would have to do is enter your email address when posting. If someone enters any made-up email address, this blog accepts it and generates an identicon for it. If someone tested this (as I have done above) before using your email address, they would have posted in their own name but with different identicons shortly before fraudulent comments appeared using your gravatar.

    Hmmmmm.

  • Habbabkuk (La vita è bella) !

    Not being as expert in matters Spanish/Catalonian as in several other areas, I should like to take advantage of RepublicOfRabidHolocaustDeniers’ comment on the possible forthcoming referendum on Catalonian independence to ask the following question.

    Given that the limits of historical Catalonia extend over the French border (as indeed do the borders of the historical Basque region), how are we to explain the apparent lack of interest in independence by that part of historical Catalonia which finds itself in the territory of the Hexagon?

  • Ben E. Geserit Muad'Dib Further Confounding Gender Speculators

    I’ve noticed that the trolls occasionally take a stab at a serious question, but mixed in the peat of their unserious comments, it gets lost.

    Quite the conundrum.

  • craigmurray.org.uk

    Attention John Goss and one other.

    Moderators have checked and we know who impersonated John Goss. If that other regular contributor would like to own up and say sorry that would be the best option.

    Otherwise they will be named and shamed.

  • Ba'al Zevul

    (blah)…If you don’t think it was illegal then why are you trying to argue it was?

    The question of its illegality came up. It interested me, and I posted the only evidence so far presented one way or the other. In an attempt -failed – to shortcircuit the usual bickering. Do feel free to add something constructive* – it might save someone (not me) going to the police unnecessarily.

    *pmsl. You?

  • Ben E. Geserit Muad'Dib Further Confounding Gender Speculators

    Mod; It is far worse to have doubt as to the identity. Suspicion of identities and motives creates chaos and ill-feelings. Either ban the perpetrator or reveal the name please.

  • Habbabkuk (La vita è bella) !

    Peacewisher

    “As most people don’t want to go to the police it is a good tactic for quelling dissent.”

    ______________________

    That, if I may say so, Peacewisher, is a rather facile way of rubbishing Fred’s suggestion.

    Surely if people feel as strongly, and are as convinced, about what they feel to have been ballot-rigging as their posts on here might seem to indicate, they would overcome the reluctance you point to and go to the police?

    After all, is it not rather pointless – to put it mildly – to vent on here, where nothing can be done about it, but not to seize the authorities who can do something.

    The suspicion arises that those who are making the accusations of ballot-rigging on here do not believe their own story but are merely behaving in a rather silly and self-indulgent manner.

    I’m also somewhat surprised that none of those commenters has yet asked Craig for his opinion. Are they perhaps afraid of the answer they might get?

    Habbabkuk recommends moving on!

  • Ben E. Geserit Muad'Dib Further Confounding Gender Speculators

    Craig has explicitly stated he thought there were irregularities, but not enough to make a significant difference.

  • Habbabkuk (La vita è bella) !

    Ben (American Nazi)

    “I’ve noticed that the trolls occasionally take a stab at a serious question, but mixed in the peat of their unserious comments, it gets lost.”

    ________________

    Now that you’ve made your little quip, would you feel like having a stab at answering my question about French Catalonia at 15h09 (if you have any ideas, that is)?

  • Peacewisher

    @Ba’al: Given that Rebekah Brooks clearly admitted breaking the law yet somewhow got off scot free (sorry!) after an expensive court case one might ask if it would be worth it anyway. Where it is a matter of justice… as with education and health, cost shouldn’t be an issue and the answer should always be yes.

    But we live in this insane system where money comes first…

  • Phil

    Feckin hell the mods are coming over all bags at train station will be disposed of.

    Name the bastard! Name the bastard I say! Then let John finish him off in the courts!

  • mike

    Node, Ruth Davidson said this about the “sample” postal ballots on BBC 1 at 10.25pm, if you need that level of detail. I remember noting the time when I heard her say this, as did my good lady.

  • Habbabkuk (La vita è bella) !

    Ben

    “Craig has explicitly stated he thought there were irregularities, but not enough to make a significant difference.”

    _________________

    Thanks for that. In other words, Craig would not support those who claim “we wuz robbed” or “the referendum was stolen”?

  • Peacewisher

    @Habby: That may be the case, but it may have been that the count was much closer… in which case it might have made a difference. Surely Jim Sellars is right and it has to be investigated.

  • Ben E. Geserit Muad'Dib Further Confounding Gender Speculators

    Craig, I believe was devastated and duly crestfallen over the vote. He may revisit his first conclusion later.

  • Republicofscotland

    This interesting.
    =================

    The Green Party endorsement of the Stop the JNF Campaigns comes after similar motions were passed last year by the Scottish Green Party and Scottish Friends of the Earth, all repudiating the JNF’s claim to be an “environmental charity”.

    The JNF is known for establishing forests and parks over the remains of destroyed Palestinian villages. Last year the JNF lost high level political protection when David Cameron resigned as Honorary Patron, the first time in its 111 year history the serving British Prime Minister does not hold this position.

    http://jews4big.wordpress.com/2012/03/04/green-party-targets-racist-jewish-national-fund/

    Equally unprecedentedly, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg declined the JNF’s request to become Patrons when they became leaders of their parties.

  • Ben E. Geserit Muad'Dib Further Confounding Gender Speculators

    Objectivity and transparency will result in shooting the messenger. They need outside help like the OCSE which has proven some credibility in past elections.

    But it is NATO so they don’t have that going for them.

  • Habbabkuk (La vita è bella) !

    Nevermind

    “I would like to suggest to the mods to leave it up to John to decide whether he wants this person exposed.”

    ___________________

    On the contrary. I am with Ben on this one:

    “Mod; It is far worse to have doubt as to the identity. Suspicion of identities and motives creates chaos and ill-feelings. Either ban the perpetrator or reveal the name please.”

    Another reason being that the Mods are the people who hold the ring, so to speak, and leaving this to Mr Goss would seem like according him a greater rôle and higher status than other posters.

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