In view of our understanding that the High Court has found some articles on this blog to be in contempt of court, and in view of the fact that the Crown Office had sought to censor such a large range of articles, this blog has no choice but to go dark from 15.00 today until some time after tomorrow’s court hearing, when it will be specified to us precisely how much of the truth we have to expunge before we can bring the blog back up.
This is a dark day for the entire team here. We will be looking to appeal this to the Supreme Court and if required (though we very much doubt it will be) to the European Court of Human Rights.
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Welcome back, Craig.
Did you have to make any redactions before putting the blog back up? I’m not by any means asking what those redactions were; that would be silly.
The Greens will be furious about the creation of the new party. Last time they won all six of their seats from the lists, where they received 11 times as many votes as in the constituencies.
I’m pleased to see the blog back again.
I’ve carried with me a small sense of unease over the last couple of days, maybe even dread – and it is not my liberty at risk here! I suppose it is cumulative – the open and brazen corruption of the Tories, who are handing out jobs to their friends; the audacity of the Scottish FM to jail her former mentor; the lack of independence of the Scottish police; the bill sailing through Westminster to permit law-breaking for spies; a major police-state redesign to trammel the freedom to protest. The struggle against encroaching authoritarianism is normally unrelenting, but it does feel like the pace against justice is quickening at the moment, and the mood of the pandemic sure ain’t helping.
Relocate to a server outside the reach of the Scottish Natsy Party.
Kurt: that would require any identifiable author to move out of Scotland (and I assume the whole of the UK as well). The problem is the jurisdiction in which the author is located – the server location doesn’t matter so much.
I agree the judgment makes interesting reading. A few off the top of the head thoughts.
“Anonymity” has acquired taboo status, like when Oscar Wilde was imprisoned, no-one in London society ever dared mention his name.
Good to see the light back on! Precisely how much of the truth was expunged from here before that came about?
They are making you wait for another six weeks to hear what penalties you are to receive for being found guilty of ‘jigsaw identification’ of four complainants. Hopefully, the judges will apply some humanity, in view of your young family and new baby. It serves no purpose to make a martyr out of you.
Meanwhile, enjoy the Spring with your wife and children and do your best to keep well and positive. These are dark days for democracy, but the joys of nature are still free to be enjoyed in our beautiful country. Take care. This is not the time to stick your head above the parapet.
“Now let’s be clear here; I’m not for a minute suggesting that the Principal Private Secretary to the First Minister leaks things to the Daily Record..”
I like a dry sense of humour.
Great to see you back up Craig – you were missed.
Craig, whatever happens in the future, many thanks for all of your good work and honest writing.
Phew. One of the few opinions you can trust. Had me worried for a minute. Good to see you back.
I am so sorry for the outcome Craig.
Start a crowd-funding?
Good luck with your appeal. Obviously much will have to be taken down in the meantime and I wish you well personally but also, I do not wish for you to be ‘silenced’ in this way. Although I’ve already read that which will be removed (and had no clue who the complainers were) I want others to have access to the only source of information that there is on this. As with the Assange Hearings you were the ONLY journalist covering the trial and the only source for the facts on the matter. That is too important to be thrown away, as are you.
Yay. Back and with the sonic boom of the supersonic supermajority rocket ship Alba to Indy in hours rather than weeks by the dodgy ship steering directly through icefields, doldrums and past the cap of bad hope as it has effectively closed off its shortcut Suez Canal with kowtowing to the Westminster juggernaut…
Yeah lots of mixed metaphors but the ecstasy is the rush towards the try line by capn cpurageous big Leck with the wingers and forwards making the best move at the right moment. The English team no doubt shat themselves at 2pm this afternoon.
Really really enjoyed not having to hear the same question by the MSM- and AS in full flow just handing them off or running straight over them. By the time I could hear the journo the Scottish Sun guy spitting feathers, the Groans Libby desperate and swivel eyed sticking with ‘will nobody keep watching the squizzles line…
Tremendous, had to stop and cook and eat dinner before it got to late. Now the blogs back – is there any idea of what’s been censored?
I’ll check back after watching the rest of today’s declaration.
Any Scots wanting Indy now have very clear options of not putting their eggs in the SNP basket … you don’t need to be distracted by the identityfest above Indy anymore.
Onivar Alba.
AFI is to stand down 42 candidates now that the ALBA party is here, lets make it count.
https://www.facebook.com/ActionforIndependence/photos/a.156499039304360/278181373802792/?type=3&theater
Diolch Alba am y rygbi.
craig, i am sorry you are being put thru this… i hope it works out in the end.. it appears you are being attacked by some very crooked and small minded people.. i think that much is obvious.. of course i am curious of your thoughts on this new independence party that appears to have sprung up just today…
“Staff” implies more than one?
Really don’t understand how any SNP MSP who truly wants independence could be against this move. The regional lists aren’t fruitful electoral ground and if a pro -independence supermajority is created, locking out Tory + Lab and LD, what’s not to like?
Tory Scot Douglas Ross on Newsnight now, claiming Alex’s behaviour with women was appalling. Douglas is going to flip when he finds out about what Boris has been up to, if he wants to preach morality the poor chap will be inconsolable. Isn’t there debate over whether it’s 7 or 8 children from extramarital affairs?
And what’s with the aggressive interview from presenter Faisal Islam? Part of a pattern of London based presenters acting as if personally affronted by the idea of independence, why? On Sky News newspaper review a leading journalist slipped up by saying ‘we’ will stop them (Alba) before correcting himself and saying ‘they’ (SNP+Tory+LD). Sums things up.
The ‘aggressive’ interview was with Alex Salmond.
Many Unionists seem to think a mixture of malice and menacing threats are the best approach for saving the Union. Like being trapped in an abusive relationship.
Regarding the hostility London based establishment (of which the media is a part), it’s part of the perversity of the imperialist mindset.
Imperialists believe (most often subconsciously) that all others wish to be like them, part of their empire, because they consider it self evident that their society and way of life is superior. This is one of they ways they morally justify to themselves their conquest and domination of other groups, and absolve themselves both individually and collectively of the egregious crimes of empire. This is how they can achieve the impressive feats of double-think such as civilizing-by-slaughter, bombs-for-peace and freedom-through-slavery. Without deploying this advanced mind trick against it’s members imperial structures could not prevail over humankind’s innate goodness and sense of propriety.
Those who wish to secede from the empire threaten this mindset, their mere existence implies the imperfection of the empire, calls into questions the assumed superiority. Simply holding the possibility of that in an imperial subject’s mind threatens the whole edifice of denial, and prompts the unthinkable thought: that empires are deeply undesirable and profoundly evil. Hostility is a psychological self-defense, and becomes more pronounced the more obvious it is that the empire is weak, corrupt and/or damaging (as is the case with tory brexit Britain).
Interestingly this phenomenon is also why flag-waving morons passionately celebrate their own subjugation by a “royal” family that despises them. It is denial that drives the bunting-frenzy. The more energy they have to put into denial the harder they wave their little flags. We’re funny little apes.
” that empires are deeply undesirable and profoundly evil.”
Also extremely expensive to run
Congratulations Craig, you have been officially deemed a danger to “the current holders of state authority and power”!
You really could not do your work if you did not threaten their security and power, and so you must now be punished, as an example, and silenced.
This will unlikely silence you, and you will keep threatening their power, so the game will go on until one winner is left standing.
Based on the number of people involved in this, it likely they will go full draconian as the backlash would see so many out of a job and/or locked up.
The gloves are off and sides have been staked out.
The winner will take all and rules are there to be broken.
Maybe time to move the blog out of the UK and into a country with freedom of speech laws, maybe somewhere like Russia, India, Japan? Maybe Switzerland still has some feedom laws that are still being enforced.
Aspnaz,
Always thought Iceland was meant to be a safe haven for digital data, but I might be behind the times there.
Iceland has strong legal protections for journalists; and data centres that are relatively green (geothermal power, natural cooling). On the downside, there are undersea links to just the USA and Europe; and it’s a bit pricey.
But Craig’s hosting isn’t threatened, as far as I’m aware. It’s his person that is threatened.
I assume that your prosecutors have a poor knowledge of how the internet works.
The advocates, solicitor advocates and judges involved in this case failed to disclose their links, some financial, to each other.
Therefore, they all are guilty of contempt.
See the Fair Trial Project (https://fairtrialproject.org/) for more details.