jester

JoJo Rabbit Been to see this twice now. Considering the subject matter it is very funny. A great young cast with a particular stand out being the fantastic double act between Roman Griffin Davies as JoJo and Archie Yates (looking like a 10 year old Nick Frost) as Yorki. Wunderbar. 10/10

Thon Butchers Apron's are an embarrassment right enough. I've no time for Airdrie's elected SNP representative, however SNP MP David Linden is an Airdrie supporter and does go to the games.

It's not just in Scotland, and it's quite hard to actually put a figure on. In many cases (in fact probably all cases) the BBC researchers (or indeed any other reporters) will submit their requests directly to the Health Boards or Scottish Government and won't use platforms like "What Do They Know". This means that anything revealed in these requests is only made public to the requester, and any "scoop" is kept away from the eyes of their rivals until they are ready to release it themselves. Some will be general fishing expeditions and others will be directly targeted to legally obtain information which an internal source is aware of but can't directly reveal without putting their identity or employment at risk. They can then ask a more specific question knowing that their FOI will bring a specific result. So the only way really to ascertain how many FOI requests the BBC submitted would be, well, to ask the BBC!

Professor Robertson did say that was a great question, but it's one he hasn't explored. To be honest it would probably take a team of researchers a significant amount of time to gather the data required to come to a conclusion. Wings has looked at Scottish FOI's in passing: https://wingsoverscotland.com/the-national-enquirers/

That's a great point. I'll certainly ask him.

Professor John Robertson has been instrumental in documenting and exposing the bias in BBC Scotland’s coverage of all things independence in the lead up to the 2014 independence referendum. Since then Professor Robertson has continued to monitor, document and reveal the tricks used by BBC Scotland to manipulate news coverage to misinform and misdirect Scottish viewers. On Sunday 3rd November Professor Robertson will be our special guest for a talk entitled “Distorting Scotland” where he will examine the BBC’s own coverage to show how its coverage of Scottish NHS issues is being used to wage a proxy war on the Scottish Government and Scottish independence. This will be followed by an audience question and answer session where you can put your questions directly to Professor Robertson. The talk will take place in the One Wellwynd Centre, 35 Wellwynd, Airdrie, ML6 0BN from 12.30pm until 2.30pm. Admission is free, although donations towards the costs of the hall are welcome. There is car parking and disabled access available. You can read some of Professor Robertson’s work at the following links: Fairness in the First Year Inform Scotland Talking-Up Scotland Twitter: @ProfJWR

Shameless plug: Professor John Robertson has been instrumental in documenting and exposing the bias in BBC Scotland’s coverage of all things independence in the lead up to the 2014 independence referendum. Since then Professor Robertson has continued to monitor, document and reveal the tricks used by BBC Scotland to manipulate news coverage to misinform and misdirect Scottish viewers. On Sunday 3rd November Professor Robertson will be our special guest for a talk entitled “Distorting Scotland” where he will examine the BBC’s own coverage to show how its coverage of Scottish NHS issues is being used to wage a proxy war on the Scottish Government and Scottish independence. This will be followed by an audience question and answer session where you can put your questions directly to Professor Robertson. The talk will take place in the One Wellwynd Centre, 35 Wellwynd, Airdrie, ML6 0BN from 12.30pm until 2.30pm. Admission is free, although donations towards the costs of the hall are welcome. There is car parking and disabled access available. You can read some of Professor Robertson’s work at the following links: Fairness in the First Year Inform Scotland Talking-Up Scotland Twitter: @ProfJWR

There were that many. Many times over.

Any P&B'ers going to Edinburgh on Saturday?

Defending Scotland Stuart Crawford was a Lieutenant Colonel in the Royal Tank Regiment, leaving the military to become a defence spokesman for the SNP, before becoming a Defence Consultant. He has published a number of papers on defence for iScotland, and will be publishing a new work as part of Common Weal’s “Indyref at 5” series. Stuart will be addressing our group to discuss what the defence options are for an independent Scotland, and answering your questions on this topic. From what size the armed forces will be to what roles they will perform, how they will be equipped, and whether our armed forces should be in or out of NATO, we hope to cover a broad spectrum with Stuart giving us the benefit of his vast experience of the subject. We will also be joined by Cliff Purvis of Veterans for Independence, who will be telling us about the work of his group and about the role veterans play in the campaign for independence. The evening takes place on Wednesday 2nd October 2019 in the One Wellwynd Centre, 35 Wellwynd, Airdrie, and starts at 1900hrs prompt. That’s 7pm sharp, civilian time. Admission is free and unreserved, early arrival is advised to guarantee seats. Tea & coffee is available free of charge. You can indicate if you are going on our FACEBOOK EVENT page. The venue is wheelchair accessible, and free parking is available in the adjacent car park.

So, who was on the radio then?

It's been a long wait, but Deadwood is returning! I'm looking forward to this, long overdue. Will it finally bring closure to the series, or will it set up more movies, or even a new season? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAcftIUE6MQ

Had a discussion with a friend this morning who was of the opinion that this may have to go down a Lockerbie type trial because of the circumstances I mentioned. He's no admirer of Salmond but is of the firm belief that he cannot hope to receive a fair trial by jury in Scotland.

The news that Alex Salmond had been charged with numerous counts of alleged rape and sexual assault came as a bombshell to many of us in the independence movement in Scotland. Alex Salmond was the driving force behind our campaign in 2014 and inspired many of us who previously weren’t involved to get active in Scottish politics. There has been a long history of British Nationalists in Scotland attempting to smear the former First Minister while in office by sharing smears and innuendo, none of which bear repeating. The charges he now faces are serious and the nature of these alleged offences will come to light in court. At present he is, in the eyes of the law, guilty of nothing, and maintains that he is not guilty. As a friend and inspiration to the pro-Scottish independence movement it is our hope that Mr Salmond is indeed not guilty of the charges brought against him. This is not to say we have chosen his side of the story over the allegations of the complainants; neither side has had their chance to produce their evidence in court, and until such time no judgement can or should be made. What we do find utterly distasteful is the sheer hypocrisy of the British Nationalists across Scotland who have reacted with glee at these allegations while celebrating the predicament of a man they clearly revile. The sickening triumphalism displayed by these ‘Holy Willie’s’ is horrifying, and made all the more so by their trolling of the pro-Scottish community online, rounding on words of support for Mr Salmond with the retort of “have you no sympathy for the (alleged) victims?”. The idea would never of course enter their heads that they themselves were tastelessly exploiting these women for political and ideological gain. Mr Salmond will at some point in the future face a trial which will involve a jury and this raises a number of issues. Mr Salmond is undoubtedly a divisive figure. No Scot doesn’t know him, and few will have no opinion of his character in one way or another. We genuinely would like to think that the serious nature of the allegations would be weighed up by the jury on the merits of the evidence and the evidence alone. If the evidence warranted a guilty verdict who in the pro-Scottish independence community would be willing to give Mr Salmond a free pass merely because he is Alex Salmond? Gey few we would hope. Would the converse be as clear cut? That’s debatable. There is a significant community who have already found Mr Salmond guilty before a word of evidence has been introduced and would like nothing more than to assist in putting the rubber stamp on his conviction, even if the evidence indicates otherwise. The actions of the jury in this case will be scrutinised at a level greater than any trial which has ever taken place in Scotland, but the simple question is this; can Alex Salmond receive a fair trial in Scotland, having already been found guilty by the vast majority of the press and a significant proportion of the electorate of whom the jury will be drawn? Probably not. What should not be overlooked is that whether Alex Salmond is innocent or guilty of the charges laid against him, this has no bearing on whether Scotland is big enough, smart enough and rich enough to be an independent nation. The gutter press might like to believe that to be the case, and they will tell those who still buy their tawdry rags that this is the case, but it’s as far from the truth as any of the lies they have printed in the past. File it under wishful thinking on their part. https://airdrieforindependence.wordpress.com/2019/01/26/holy-willie-the-glee-of-the-british-nationalists-over-alex-salmond/

Airdrie for Independence are delighted to announce that our next guest speaker will be Dublin based Scottish journalist Jason Michael McCann, writer for iScot magazine, host of the Random Public Journal blog and known to the social media political world as @Jeggit. Jason will be touring a number of Scottish Independence groups in the lead up to the Brexit deadline, and we are delighted that he will be stopping off in Airdrie to address us, where he will be calling on the Yes movement to create the environment where Scot’s demand their independence, and to encourage the SNP to seize the day and call Indyref2. The event will take place on Wednesday 30th January at 7pm prompt in the One Wellwynd Centre, Airdrie, ML6 0BN. Admission is free and unticketed. Arrive early to guarantee seating.