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1,681 thoughts on “One of the Following is True”

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  • Republicofscotland

    So the £2 billion pounds “extra spending” given to the Scottish government, in the chancellors budget, is not what it appears to be.

    With £1.1 billion of the money given as loans over a three year period, and it can only be used for limited purposes, in real terms Scotland’s block grant has been cut by over £200 million pounds.

  • Stu

    Polls are worthless.

    Whenever the next election comes Labour round Labour will have an unprecedented ground organisation and social media influence. All recent elections have shown – Indyref, Trump, Brexit, Macron, 2017 GE, SNP 2015 – that whoever generates more enthusiasm makes big ground during the campaign. All the evidence points to the Tory Party having given up on governing in this parliament never mind the next one.

  • Silvio

    Here is an example of what has been described as a “Conspiracy Theory”: Those responsible for the post WWII plans to implement “a European free tread agreement” which would have minimal impact on the individual countries’ sovereignty knew full well that the free trade agreement was only to be the first step to eventually lead to the EU as we have it today with much diminished sovereignty rights of the member countries. The politicians and planners believed that ordinary European citizens would be too shocked and resist the idea of a full blown EU partnership should it be presented to them right off the bat. So they agreed to implement the full EU partnership in stages starting off with “only a free trade agreement” while conspiring to keep the end goal hidden from the masses to avoid public opposition to their plans as they worked in steps to more closely integrate Europe into a European Union.

    E.G. from a site commonly accused of promoting conspiracy theories, or in todays terminology “fake news”:
    “A memo from the US State Department dated June 11, 1965, advised the vice-president of the European Economic Community, Robert Marjolin, to pursue monetary union by stealth. It recommended suppressing debate until the point at which “adoption of such proposals would become virtually inescapable”.

    Source:
    https://www.globalresearch.ca/historical-origins-of-us-covert-operations-to-assimilate-europe-into-a-federal-state/5499410

    Now it appears yesterday’s “conspiracy theory” is actually today’s conspiracy fact.

    “We were lied to! Secret document FCO 30/1048 kept truth about EU from British for 30 years
    By Lara Deauville, Daily Express.
    PUBLISHED: 07:01, Thu, Nov 23, 2017

    A SECRET document, which remained locked away for 30 years, advised the British Government to COVER-UP the realities of EU membership so that by the time the public realised what was happening it would be too late.

    Almost all of the shocking predictions – from the loss of British sovereignty, to monetary union and the over-arching powers of European courts – have come true.

    But damningly for Tory Prime Minister Edward Heath, and all those who kept quiet about the findings in the early 70s, the document, known as FCO30/1048, was locked away under Official Secrets Act rules for almost five decades.

    The classified paper, dated April 1971, suggested the Government should keep the British public in the dark about what EEC membership means predicting that it would take 30 years for voters to realise what was happening by which time it would be too late to leave.”

    https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/882881/Brexit-EU-secret-document-truth-British-public

    Oh well, what’s a little bit of sovereignty lost after a few decades of accompanying political sleight of hand to a modern democracy.

    • giyane

      Silvio
      The important thing to remember is that we will always be lied to by any shade of government.
      Brexit has allowed the present government to did-possess us of our traditional rights to roam the universe on a UK passport. It will be very hard to cross Europe. petty customs laws will be applied by any of the 27 countries we previously never thought about.

      All because of an internal disagreement inside the Tory party. We’ll end up with businesses and their employees having free movement paid for by their companies , and individuals having to take extra money to deal with delays at border crossings.

      This just one small example out of thousands by which they intend to control our freedoms. whether we belong or don’t belong to the monster of Federal Europe. A massive bonfire of human rights for the sake of a few nutcases in the nasty party.

  • fred

    That money could have been invested in the Police and Fire service Operational Budget.

    People are dying because of this inquiry.

    • Republicofscotland

      Hmm…

      Just how does standing in old ruins flicking your Wash&Go shiny long hair whilst giving off a brooding sulky look, over some ancient conflict, that you’re not really qualified to deliver, equate to war veterans who’ve suffered trauma.

      • giyane

        My dad told me if I kept my long adolescent hair it would all fall out, and it has. Maybe it’s a wig. I used to wear one under my crash helmet when I was student, until I got stopped by the police. Islamic State headchopping video stars invariably wear John the Baptist wigs and Hollywood murderer make-up.
        If UK racists want to fantasise with virtual Scottish terror stars, who are you to stand in the way of entertainment? Sour grapes.

  • graph

    Minimum price on alcohol.

    The drinks industry has done well in setting the narrative as an attack on poor folk. Their concern for poor people and where their money is spent is commendable……………

    Is it true in the UK that big business such as Tesco, Morrison, Lidl et al can sell huge volumes of alcohol off at a loss (cheaper than water), enticing shoppers through the doors for the weekly grocery shop, only to write those huge loses off against their tax bill at the end of the year costing them very little as a business yet destroying small and medium sized shops who can not compete? I thought I read that somewhere.

    • glenn_nl

      Here (on the continent), I can buy a crate of decent lager (24 bottles, 330ml) for €8 easily, decent wine for €5 and a bottle of the strong stuff for €10. So can anyone else, but there’s nothing like the number of drunks around the place, no winos hanging around street corners or parks, and apparently not that much in the way of the major public health problem we have in the UK.

      So the problem doesn’t seem to be the cost of booze, although that’s the only thing with which the gov’t apparently concerns itself. Wonder why that is, and I also wonder why the UK is about the most miserable developed country to live in, and if these things are related.

      • Rob Royston

        They are very much related, but no one in our Government really cares about creating meaningful lives for our young and not so young citizens.

        Here’s one hypothesis, from Wikipedia, I already posted this on page 4 of this same thread,

        ‘The Chief Medical Officer for Scotland, Harry Burns, referred in 2004 to research suggesting that chronically activated stress responses, especially in children, affect the structure of parts of the frontal lobes of the brain, and that these determine the physical reaction to stress, which could result in chronic ill health. The ability to attain good health, he suggested, depends in part on whether people feel in control of their lives, and whether they see their environments as threatening or supportive.’

    • Stu

      “only to write those huge loses off against their tax bill at the end of the year”

      They can’t write loss leaders off against tax. As you say the trick is to get people through the doors and the perception of a good deal on alcohol is easy to create and much more noticeable than higher profit margins on many other products people also buy.

  • reel guid

    Dundee’s bid to become the European Capital of Culture has been scuppered because of brexit. The European Commission has said UK cities will not be considered. Even though cities in non-EU countries such as Norway and Turkey have held the title.

    So yet another downside to Scotland’s forced departure from the EU.

    Are we supposed to rejoice though that Neil Oliver has once again been appointed to something?

  • JOML

    I know minimum pricing is only one part of an overall strategy and I have sympathy for those who are affected through no fault of their own. It’s a brave move as it could cost votes but that’s no reason for avoiding the problem. One compromise would be to allow shops to sell at the original price but only in conjunction with a weekly food shop e.g. £30. This would perhaps target the ‘problem’ drinkers and allow others to get a fair price – although I know you could ask friends to get you drink along with their shop, but this should only be a short term option if they really are a ‘problem’. Complex but compromises usually are.

  • Republicofscotland

    Trump now believes America’s F-35 fighter jets are virtually invisible.

    “The Navy, I can tell you, we’re ordering ships, with the Air Force i can tell you we’re ordering a lot of planes, in particular the F-35 fighter jet, which is like almost like an invisible fighter. I was asking the Air Force guys, I said, how good is this plane? They said, well, sir, you can’t see it. I said but in a fight. You know, in a fight, like I watch on the movies. The fight, they’re fighting.”

    “How good is this? They say, well, it wins every time because the enemy cannot see it. Even if it’s right next to them, it can’t see it. I said that helps. That’s a good thing.”

    https://www.buzzfeed.com/tomnamako/trump-coast-guard-thanksgiving?utm_term=.brbK8LJQr#.jaGxeK9OL

    • JOML

      RoS, I think the UK got there first – you couldn’t see the aircraft on the super carrier built! ?

      • Republicofscotland

        JOML.

        Except for the one made out of paper mache that is, very impress arts and crafts work there. ?

        • JOML

          Not surprised, Fred, given “The SNP MPs and SMPs will be seen pissed out of their heads on subsidised single malts as usual” I also see you’ve given up on ‘playing the ball’ and now attack the person e.g. “brainwashed members of the haggis eating Braveheart cult“. Good stuff! ?
          ?

          • fred

            What makes you think I was talking about you?

            You don’t seem to understand what “playing the ball” means or did you think it should have a different meaning for Nationalists?

          • JOML

            Fred, I wasn’t sure who you were talking about. Here’s my understanding of “playing the ball”….
            “But we must strive to be mature enough not to resort to unnecessary personal attacks upon people with opposing views. The “ball” is our personal view and the “man” is someone with the opposing view. Your phrase really is from the world of soccer. Play the ball not the man.”
            Do you have a different meaning for your ilk?

          • fred

            So I was making general comments about non specific people. That is playing the ball.

            Playing the man is making personal comments about the person you are having the discussion with or any other individual contributor to the discourse. Like you just did about me.

            Do you understand now?

          • JOML

            Thanks, Fred, so you do have a different meaning than myself. Your negative comments on nationalists sounds very much like
            ‘a person who is intolerant towards those holding different opinions’ – and there’s a word for that too.
            Enjoy your weekend when it arrives.

          • fred

            “‘a person who is intolerant towards those holding different opinions’ – and there’s a word for that too.”

            Nationalist?

          • JOML

            Actually, Fred, I was referring to yourself.
            “O wad some Power the giftie gie us To see oursels as ithers see us!”

          • fred

            “Actually, Fred, I was referring to yourself.”

            You mean you were playing the man not the ball.

    • reel guid

      With invisible planes the US can launch a Seelittle Raid.

      Bad joke there for all you military historians.

    • Habbabkuk

      Fact check : Mr Hariri is (was) the Prime Minister of Lebanon, not the President.

      The President of Lebanon is Mr Michel Aoun.

      • Macky

        Feel free to congratulation yourself on my typo, especially on how fast you pounced, but don’t be so fast on the “was”, as it’s being reported that he has delayed his resignation; please check your facts first. 😀

        • Habbabkuk

          Writing President rather than Prime Minister is hardly a typo. As you say : check your facts first 🙂

          As for whether he is or was, I believe I covered that by writing “is (was)”. As I say : please read carefully first 🙂

          • Macky

            [Mod: False – activity log shows no editing to this comment by Habbabkuk since it first appeared.]

            Typos in the internet sense include common incorrect word substitutions, but sincere thanks for proving proof at last that you either have a moderating role, or access to a mod to get your comments edited ! 😉

  • Courtenay Barnett

    One might question whether or not RT is a propaganda machine for Russia; but, can one equally question whether the BBC is not a propaganda machine for the West after reading this analysis:-
    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-42008809
    So the US led CIA coup in 1953 in Iran did not culminate in the 1979 Iran revolution, but we read:-
    “However this* was challenged in 1979 by the Islamic revolution in Iran…”
    • “ this” refers to a professed theocratic state with immediate expansionist religious goals – which then launches the logic of the remainder of the article.
    And
    “The 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq overthrew Saddam Hussein, a Sunni Arab who had been a major Iranian adversary.”
    So the US had not backed Saddam up until then to keep the 8 year war going between Iraq and Iran?
    And
    “In Syria, Iranian (and Russian) support for President Bashar al-Assad has largely routed rebel group groups backed by Saudi Arabia.”
    So the US CIA trained factions did not act as a catalyst and play a role in the destabilistaion and attempted regime change in Syria?
    And
    “Broadly speaking the strategic map of the Middle East reflects the Shia-Sunni divide.”
    So the US global strategic objectives and support of Saudi Arabia is not a fundamental and functional part of the instabilities and rivalries in the Middle East – combined with Israel’s ME role?
    And
    “ The danger is that Saudi Arabia’s new activism is fast making it a further source of volatility in the region.”
    So we can then extrapolate and conclude from this BBC analysis that regarding Saudi Arabia and Iran it is a fundamental question of religious rivalries without factoring in the external US player or any of the wider geopolitical players such as Israel within the Middle East?
    No propaganda here – right?

    • giyane

      It’s fashionable on this blog to look at pipelines and economic interests as drivers of wars. It certainly doesn’t make sense to kill your own religious members, Sunni against Sunni, as in Syria. The wars in the Middle East seem to me like obstacles, deliberately thrown like furniture in the path of China, because the USUKIS cowards are terrified of the power of China’s centralised banking should it arrive in Europe down a refurbished Silk Road.

      These interminable wars in our lifetimes are the desperate actions of a crazed minority of Western politicians who detest the possibility of equality swamping their centuries of privilege and power. Brexit is the latest medieval device for drawing up the drawbridge. socialism manifested in South American countries is ruthlessly destroyed, as in Venezuela.

      The main flashpoints between Sunni and Shi’a are 1/ that the Shi’a legalise adultery. That’s a cause worth fighting over; 2/ The Shi’a practise shirk/ association of partners with God, praying to saints and prophets. that’s a cause worth fighting for. Both of these terrible practises are the status quo in the West. Hence if the West is siding with their idealogical opponents, there must be some other politics going on somewhere.

      IMHO the West has used Russia and Iran to waste the resources of the Sunni oil-rich monarchies spent on jihad against the Shi’a. The cost to the Sunni populations has been massive. At some point one hopes the Sunni monarchs would wake up to the idea that they have been conned. But maybe people don’t wake up until the money runs out. It is disappointing that the Sunni rulers spent the last five centuries being conned by the West and are still doing it now in the 21st.

      Disappointing for me as a Muslim, that is. I can see that for Joe Bloggs on the 94 bus, it’s well worth voting against working class interests for.

      • laguerre

        “2/ The Shi’a practise shirk/ association of partners with God, praying to saints and prophets. that’s a cause worth fighting for.”

        That’s not correct. Asking for the intervention of a saint is very common in Sunni Islam, from Morocco to Central Asia, but not among the Wahhabis, and others who practise ‘tawhid’, the belief that God is Unique, and has no partners. Visiting saints’ shrines is common among other Sunnis, notably Sufis.

        • laguerre

          Just because you’re a Muslim doesn’t mean you know everything about the religion, indeed apparently not.

      • Ba'al Zevul

        The West isn’t remotely interested in the theology of the Sunni – Shi’a divide. It’s simply a useful crack in the unity of Islam, which can be exploited. BTW, the Shi’a mullahs in Iran don’;t appear to have legalised adultery…

        http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/10089270/Iran-amends-law-on-stoning-for-adultery.html

        … just updated the mandatory penalty.

        Laguerre is right about prayer to the saints and prophets. Some of the sacred sites attracting prayer and even token votive offerings in the ME go back way before Islam – and are still in use. Go figure.

        • giyane

          Ba’al
          They have legalised marriages of convenience, which is what is referred to in this country as having an affair. Our Boris should go there next time he wants a bit of right-wing fluff.

          • laguerre

            “They have legalised marriages of convenience,” It is not a marriage of convenience, it is a temporary marriage (mut’a), to legalise sex. Not better, different.

  • giyane

    PP being a euphemism for a Zionist Asian-African, female MP, who has somehow infiltrated herself into a reactionary UK government that has persuaded the UK electorate that the global banking collapse was nothing to do with their neo-liberal policies.

    How did we get to the position that an old Etonian Foreign secretary who supports Al Qaida publicly in the House of Commons, gives the green light to the colleague who is responsible for International i.e. global Development. and UK charitable funds are diverted to providing hospitals for Al Qaida under the radar of the Prime Minister?

    Is that because the Prime Minister is weak? Or is it because the Prime Minister is a liar? She is a liar. Or more politely, all Tories are liars.

    • Habbabkuk

      I think that, rather than waiting for the West to “self-destruct financially”, Russia and some of the BRICs should worry more about their own financial stabiliity. I believe that Russia, Brazil and South Africa are not doing too well in that respect at the moment.

      • Macky

        Just one example of how economically fragile is the US; it’s reported that there are now more US dollars in China than in the USA.

    • Sharp Ears

      Not denying the veracity of that particular item but it originates from a site called ‘steemit’ where there are no attributions except ‘handles’.

      • Macky

        @Sharp Ears, yes I don’t know the author, but I offer it here just as an interesting perceptive/analysis, this is what should be the primary consideration.

        • Kerch'ee Kerch'ee Coup

          That is dollars in circulation,long much higher in the rest of the world than in the US and typically in the higher denominations

    • laguerre

      That’s true enough, and been known for some time that overt combat would probably escalate. But there are associated points: firstly, the Israelis can’t do much more than they are doing at the moment, without committing themselves to military adventures that could compromise Israeli security gravely. For example, advancing on the Golan frontier, or attacking Hizbullah. That is one reason they are trying to destabilise Lebanon behind Hizbullah’s back. Secondly, economic sanctions are by far the most effective of American weapons. The world financial system is run through the US, and they can make people suffer, like Iran, by sanctioning Iran’s participation in the financial exchange system. On the other hand the US military interventions are not actually that effective, e.g. the operation in in Northeast Syria, where no good result is going to come out, and the operation is going to die, once ISIS got rid of.

    • Anon7

      A complete stream of anti-Semitic garbage. I can’t believe there are people who believe this stuff.

  • Sarge

    Given the tenor of the times, you did well to survive your scrape with fanatical Israel supporters, Craig. The commitment to Israel in the British establishment is today greater than it has ever been. Just one example: half of the 70-odd Tory MPs elected for the first time in 2010 have now received paid visits to israel, ensuring their unconditional support in all circumstances. The full nature of the UK-Israel relationship remains hidden from sight, but what is known is disturbing enough.
    https://www.counterpunch.org/2017/11/24/the-influence-of-israel-on-britain/

  • reel guid

    An encouraging result for the SNP in the Perth City South by-election for Perth & Kinross Council.

    In May the SNP were in third place in 1st preference votes in the ward behind the Lib Dems and the Tories. This time the SNP were first in 1st preference with the Tories only taking the seat with transferred votes.

      • reel guid

        Yes Fred, the SNP lost. But if it had been a first past the post parliamentary election in Perth & Kinross then the SNP would have been slightly ahead in votes in that ward. The Tory bandwagon is not really rolling anymore.

        • Kempe

          So the SNP would only have won if they’d reverted to an outdated voting system they themselves were instrumental in abandoning?

          Oh the irony!

          • reel guid

            It’s not entirely abandoned for Holyrood elections. 73 of the 129 seats are decided by FPTP.

  • Sharp Ears

    Not one Conservative MP has signed this Early Day Motion.

    Military detention of Palestinian children by Israeli authorities
    http://www.parliament.uk/edm/2017-19/563

    Richard Burden is the prime mover. A good man. He was joined by five other MPs – 3 Labour, 1 LD and 1SNP.

    ‘The EDM begins by noting “with concern that hundreds of Palestinian children continue to be arrested, detained and tried in Israeli military courts, despite the practice involving widespread and systematic violations of international law and being widely condemned.”

    The motion also notes “allegations of ill-treatment at the hands of Israeli authorities include blindfolding, physical violence and arrest at night”, and “the disparity between the treatment of Israeli and Palestinian children by Israeli authorities”.

    The MPs urge Israeli authorities “to treat Palestinian children in a way that is not inferior to the way they would any Israeli child”, noting that “as the occupying power in the West Bank, Israel has a responsibility under international human rights conventions for the safety, welfare and human rights protection of Palestinian children living under occupation”.’

    https://www.globalresearch.ca/israels-military-detention-of-palestinian-children-motion-against-israel-in-britains-parliament/5619597

  • Republicofscotland

    Well the house of cards that is Westminster, had led us all down the path to a long term economic wilderness.

    With the (IFS), Institute of Fiscal Studies, latest report showing that the UK faces 20 years of zero wage growth, the IFS say the British economy will shrink by £65 billion pounds by 2021, and warns another £12 billion of cuts to welfare has still to be implemented.

    http://www.thenational.scot/politics/15680949.UK_faces_20_years_of_zero_wage_growth/

    However it gets way better, as France, a similar debt ridden country to Britain overtakes Britain, as the new 5th largest economy in the world, and India is fast moving towards overtaking Britain as well.

    https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/uk-overtaken-by-france-in-list-of-worlds-largest-economies-a3699556.html

    Factor in the unmitigated disaster that’s Brexit, along with the sheer and utter incompetence of consecutive Tory governments since 2010, and the slippery economic slope that Britain is now sliding down appears to have no end in sight.

    Scotland must hold a second indyref, if (no deal a real possibility ) or when the Brexit suicide note by Westminster is finally written in full.

  • Republicofscotland

    I thought this is rather befitting as yesterday was Thanksgiving day in the USA.

    https://mobile.twitter.com/Chief_Tatanka/status/933651839429595136/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwingsoverscotland.com%2Fthe-loser%2F

    Add in that America fought a civil war centred around amongst other things, the abolition of slavery. Only for the same people to carry on slaughtering and placing the indigenous peoples of America, into sterile reservation camps.

    • reel guid

      Ros

      Not to mention the US prison population. By far the largest in % terms in the western world – although the UK is catching up – with black and Latino men being disproportionately overrepresented to say the least.

      • Republicofscotland

        Yes reel guid, imprisonment, leads to disenfranchisement in the States, in some cases the people aren’t allowed to vote, because of bureaucratic red tape.

        In my opinion the US prison system is a very profitable business, private companies build the prisons, the judicial figures are encouraged ( bribed) to help fill the prisons, which in turn receive generous funding per-prisoner.

        • reel guid

          Ros

          Yes it’s all good for business in the States. Running private prisons. Manufacturing and selling handguns and rifles to the public. Supplying the armed forces to get a share of the $700 billion defence budget.

  • Republicofscotland

    Spanish Parliament decides to award the “Cross of Police Merit” to the Spanish police officers who acted against the Catalan referendum, leaving over a thousand citizens injured.

    Another award for the facsist’s foot soldiers, on top of the award Order of the Knights bestowed upon the 10,000 fascist Guardia Civil for violence towards Catalan civilians on Oct 1st.

    • reel guid

      And don’t expect any Labour Party politicians to say anything against it. They’re all quite cool with the old fascism these days.

      • Republicofscotland

        Yes, with the British State in economic meltdown, and borrowing at a all time high, the British government, will hear no evil, see no evil, but it will speak evil, of Russia and Iran, but not about Spanish fascism.

        • Kerch'ee Kerch'ee Coup

          The crucial quick ratio for gov’t borrowing is the debt/GDP ratio , which reached its twin peaks in 1816 and1946 after two financially ruinous wars. Cui bono?

          • Republicofscotland

            Not for Wellington though (who would’ve lost without Bĺücher a much under rated character)

            Wellington became the Prince of Waterloo, a hereditary title, Belgium to this day has paid his ancestors millions for winning the battle.

        • Republicofscotland

          Ha, ha, nice one reel guid.

          Meanwhile as over 230 people are killed at an Egyptian mosque (Egypt is predominantly Sunni), one doesn’t need to be Einstein to work out which country/or countries, the perpetrators will be traced back to, Iran, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, you get the picture. Of course Russia will inevitably also be denounced by association to most of the above countries.

          • Republicofscotland

            Sharp Ears.

            My first sentence was on another matter, aimed at reel guids 15.22pm comment.

            My apologies if I didn’t make that clear enough.

          • Sharp Ears

            Sorry. Beg your pardon.

            PS Terrrrrrrt alert. Oxford Street. Two tube stations closed. People told to get off street.

            Situation very jumpy.

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