Confirmed speaking dates at the moment are
26 August St Andrews
28 August Insch
29 August Dundee
30 August Cupar, Fife
I will post details of times and venues shortly – these are all evening events. I am still open to invitations on dates around these, and indeed any daytime events. Don’t mind dashing all over the place. A number are in the pipeline already. Contact me using the button at top of page.
Have been rather unwell the last couple of days, so please forgive lack of regular posts. BBC Hardtalk interview with Anders Fogh Rasmussen of NATO made me feel much worse. Totally incapable of acknowledging the disasters NATO and NATO members have inflicted on the world since the collapse of the Soviet Union – and the BBC totally incapable of serious questioning on the point.
Mary intones
“What a mindless comment! Any excuse to have a dig at me too.”
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What dig was that, Mary?
Was it perhaps
“Three in a row. Again. Inane.” (posted by Mary at 17h59) .
@Mary 8.08
Never mind Mary, in a few weeks time those condescending and frankly futile remarks, won’t matter, we’ll be independent, and Cameron and Co will be desperate to get round a table,and bang out a deal. Watching Cameron squirm will brighten up my days,I for one hope we don’t use the pound, though Australia and Ireland used it for sometime.
“As for minutes to the meeting being available to the public, I think not, as far as I know.”
Why not? If it was an official meeting there should be minutes.
“However the meeting between Salmond and Murdoch took place in New York at a time when Murdoch was trying to take over BskyB, Alex Salmond came out favour of Murdoch to protect 6000 Scottish jobs.”
No it didn’t. The meeting took place in April 2014. Murdoch withdrew his bid for BskyB in 2011.
@Hab.
“Its a free country” The land of the free, Hmm! where have I heard that rubbish before?, never mind the UK helped bring freedom and democracy to Iraq, ah yes! its now a wonderful place to live, full of depleted uranium and western backed terrorist regimes.
Tell me again Hab what free country it is, and how the UK brings freedom and democracy.
@Fred
Why aren’t the minutes of the meeting available, you guys make me laugh anytime there’s a wobble at Westminster regarding a paedophile politician (and there’s many) a D Notice is thrown over it, and you want to know why there’s no minutes between Salmond and Murdoch.
Good to see you’ve got your priorities right, Oh! Look there’s a spaceship, I wonder if it going to attack Scotland.you’re a funny guy.
“Why aren’t the minutes of the meeting available, you guys make me laugh anytime there’s a wobble at Westminster regarding a paedophile politician (and there’s many) a D Notice is thrown over it, and you want to know why there’s no minutes between Salmond and Murdoch.”
Yes, I do want to know.
I have a right to know.
Is Scotland supposed to be a democracy or is it a dictatorship? In a democracy politicians are answerable to the people and official government meetings have minutes so that the people know what questions to ask.
Same old. Same old.
Who else gets the job? Marr.
Andrew Marr explores the lives and works of the Scottish writers who helped define a national identity over the last three centuries.
James Boswell tonight. Walter Scott next week, then a third TBA.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04fh0yd
Mary
“Same old. Same old.
Who else gets the job? Marr.
Andrew Marr explores the lives and works of the Scottish writers who helped define a national identity over the last three centuries.
James Boswell tonight. Walter Scott next week, then a third TBA.”
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Mary, could you explain why you appear to be displeased that BBC employee and presenter Andrew Marr has been chosen to present those programmes?
Can you be specific and explain why in your opinion Andrew Marr should NOT have got the job?
Do you think the job should have gone to an outsider, who would need to be paid a probably quite substantial fee?
If not, which BBC employee do you think should have been given the job?
***************
Same old Mary, same old Mary – always a good word for everyone.
RoS
““Its a free country” The land of the free, Hmm! where have I heard that rubbish before?,”
___________________
You’ve probably heard it many, many times, RoS, including from people who have lived in or had experience of countries that are not free.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“UK helped bring freedom and democracy to Iraq, ah yes! its now a wonderful place to live, full of depleted uranium and western backed terrorist regimes.”
____________________
The Eminences and Useful Idiots on the whole live in the UK – which is a free country where they can express the various opinions they do. As, for example, on this blog.
No Eminence or Useful Idiot here has yet disappeared, lost his job or been jailed or otherwise harrassed by the police. As always, I stand ready to be corrected on this.
What, therefore, is the relevance of your comment about Irak?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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“Criticism of Israel is non anti-semitic, demonisation is” (Rabbi J. Sacks, 2014)
Putting Tony Abbott’s stupid, (his Sarah Palin moment) comments in the context of one well known independence movement, he would have said this in 1775:
http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/advocates-of-scottish-independence-not-friends-of-freedom-and-justice-tony-abbott-20140816-104xem.html#ixzz3AamJAtAl
By this standard, Tony Abbott should organise a referendum to merge Australia back into the UK fold, only then would “justice” be served.
This has the smell of the Brit Foreign Office about it.
With the Scottish independence movement being the apparent underdog, I think a lot of Australians (I certainly do) would say F*** Tony Abbott, Independent Scotland GO GO GO
Mr Salmond’s and Ms Sturgeon’s supporters on this blog are dab hands at letting loose red herrings. They are, in a word, (s)prats. Is Fred the sole commenter capable of putting them in their place?
Peter Kemp
Am I right in assuming that you did not vote for Mr Abbot’s party in the general election?
“Am I right in assuming that you did not vote for Mr Abbot’s party in the general election?”
You might consider augmenting your credibility, but it seems you choose to misdirect everyone with your irritable missives.
Is it because you have nothing substantive, or is it because you enjoy the sound and fragrance of your own vomitus?
I suspect it’s a fetishist cult of one.
you want to know why there’s no minutes between Salmond and Murdoch.
Minutes between Blair and Murdoch? (Minutes between Blair and Bush, lol?)
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/murdochs-courtship-of-blair-finally-pays-off-1144087.html
Between Cameron and Murdoch?
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2240521/How-David-Cameron-went-great-lengths-woo-Murdoch-empire-2010-general-election.html
They don’t seem to be terribly ashamed of the connection, do they?
An interesting observation, Fred, and certainly one which needs to be addressed. Nice pics of the last three leaders of UK plc paying homage (with companions) at Murdoch’s parties –
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http%3A%2F%2Fi.telegraph.co.uk%2Fmultimedia%2Farchive%2F01946%2Fmurdoch-brown_1946936c.jpg&http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01946/murdoch-brown_1946936c.jpg
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/03/15/article-2581781-1C546AD600000578-138_634x724.jpg
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/files/2011/07/cameron-wade.jpeg
” An interesting observation, Fred, and certainly one which needs to be addressed. Nice pics of the last three leaders of UK plc paying homage (with companions) at Murdoch’s parties – ”
Which of course makes it perfectly alright…
Habby re
Not relevant to the question – which I was addressing – as to whether Scots have the right to self determination, or whether other people have the right to support the Scots who choose independence.
So, am I right in assuming you oppose Scottish independence?
@DoNNyDarKo – Tony Abbott is a great statesman – you just have to ask Benjamin Netanyahu.
Dan Goldberg provided a clue to Tony Abbott’s victory at Israeli daily Haaretz.
“The near consensus in favor of Tony Abbott to replace Kevin Rudd as the nation’s next PM comes as the Liberal Party reportedly plans to upgrade relations with Jerusalem, make visa applications easier for Israelis, ban more terror groups and stop financial support to any organization that supports the boycott Israel campaign,” said Goldberg.
http://rehmat1.com/2013/09/08/tony-abbott-new-pro-israel-australian-pm/
@Habbabkuk (La vita è bella) – Excuse me for saying: UK is a true free country. Here, a prominent Israel Hasbara organ, the Jewish Chronicle is not allowed to run a paid advert for giving charity to Israeli victims; the Gaza children.
http://rehmat1.com/2014/08/16/uks-jewish-weekly-jc-chased-by-jewish-mob/
Which part of “certainly one which needs to be addressed” are you having difficulty with, Kempe?
I’m saying people in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones. Political corruption is endemic. It’s not restricted to the politicians you don’t support. And Salmond is at least entitled to use the dirty, though unfortunately unprosecutable, tactics of his opponents. I could add, they started it…
Good luck with Tour Craig…I’ll put the word out in the Inverclyde Area… And stay Well
Gillard labels Abbott a misogynist….a roasting in the first few mins of this video –
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihd7ofrwQX0#t=405
Abbott Brands Almost Half The Scottish Population ‘Enemies Of Freedom’
By Chris Graham
16 Aug 2014
Freedom loving Tony Abbott has done it again, this time insulting almost half the Scottish population over an upcoming referendum on secession. Chris Graham reports.
Ladies and Gentleman, the world might just have found its new George W. Bush. Albeit without the muscle of the US. Or the nuclear weapons. Or the economy. Or the international recognition. Or anything like the power.
But the swagger and the international derision… well, it’s there in spades.
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has decided to weigh into Scottish politics, giving a startling interview to The Times newspaper in which he labeled people who wanted Scotland to secede from the United Kingdom as ‘enemies of freedom and justice’.
And that, according to two years worth of polls, includes almost half the Scottish population.
/..
https://newmatilda.com/2014/08/16/abbott-brands-almost-half-scottish-population-enemies-freedom
https://newmatilda.com/sites/newmatilda/files/styles/article/public/article/images/Abbott-stetsonS_4.jpg LOLZ
Peter Kemp
“Not relevant to the question – which I was addressing – as to whether Scots have the right to self determination, or whether other people have the right to support the Scots who choose independence.”
______________
You’re right in identifying the question as being one of whether the Scots have the right to right to independence. That right has been respected by offering them a referendum on that question.
The question is not whether Mr Abbot has the right to make his opinion on that question public. Why, then, are people on here squealing about Mr Abbot having done so?
I think you’ll find that it is not I who raised this non-question…..
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“And Salmond is at least entitled to use the dirty, though unfortunately unprosecutable, tactics of his opponents.”
_________________
That is certainly true (unfortunately).
But we’re progressing: one of the chief Eminences has now admitted that Salmond is no cleaner a politician than any other – contrary to what has frequently been claimed on this blog?
Rehmat
“@Habbabkuk (La vita è bella) – Excuse me for saying: UK is a true free country. Here, a prominent Israel Hasbara organ, the Jewish Chronicle is not allowed to run a paid advert for giving charity to Israeli victims; the Gaza children.
http://rehmat1.com/2014/08/16/uks-jewish-weekly-jc-chased-by-jewish-mob/”
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That is a rather silly point, Rehmat, as it is about a private matter between a newspaper and a private organisation or private individuals.
Any newspaper is entitled not to run an advert; any publican or hotel is allowed to refuse a guest (subject to anti-discrimination legislation), any publisher is entitled to refuse the latest work of an author on its list.
Organisations and individuals are also entitled to put pressure on anyone or anything else (including on public opinion), subject to law. This is presumably one of the reasons why this blog was founded and why you lot keep posting away? You are able to do so because this is a free country.
I’ve the feeling that you don’t really grasp the notion of freedom or a free country, Rehmat. But, having followed your various comments, I’m not surprised.
Yes Habba, a free country with freedoms but the majority non voting members of this country are not interested politically in politics? But almost everyone is interested in money and wealth.
Our society I good but slightly mimanaged and corruptable.
Yes we have freedoms but sadlly not so much sense of belonging and duty.
Dyb dyb dyb
“you want to know why there’s no minutes between Salmond and Murdoch.
Minutes between Blair and Murdoch? (Minutes between Blair and Bush, lol?)
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/murdochs-courtship-of-blair-finally-pays-off-1144087.html”
Could the Nationalists please read what is being said, follow links and try hard to understand them before commenting.
In 1995 Blair was not prime minister and the tax payer was not funding his trip. He was not pretending he was on official government business.
13 of 35 = 37%
Is this a record?
Line 1 Delete ‘Europe’s doorstep’ and substitute ‘eastern Mediteranean coast’.
Line 2 Delete ‘In Iraq’ and substitute ‘against Israel’.
http://news.sky.com/story/1319963/pm-warns-of-terror-state-on-europes-doorstep
David Cameron says a “firm security response” is needed In Iraq as senior clergy criticise the Government’s “incoherent” policy.
PS Does Cameron think he is BLiar Mk II and what is he playing at?
Could the Nationalists please read what is being said, follow links and try hard to understand them before commenting.…because Fred can’t be arsed trying.
Blair’s association with Murdoch was continuous and shameless, right up until he screwed <strike)the pooch Wendi. It lasted 15 years.
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2011/sep/05/tony-blair-murdoch-family-fold
I wasn’t even thinking of the Hayman Island Conference, in fact. Didn’t need to. Though I would be interested to see the basis for your belief he (and Alastair Campbell) put their hands in their own pockets for an Australia trip, and that he concealed his leadership of Labour from Murdoch.
Here’s Tony entertaining some Murdochs at taxpayers’ expense, anyway.
As prime minister, Blair hosted an intimate dinner party for Murdoch and his sons, James and Lachlan, at his official 10 Downing Street residence in January 2002.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/07/10/1183833462859.html
Just realise that these people are politicians, and will do absolutely anything to get/stay in power, Salmond’s outstandingly good at it. He’s dragged the SNP, often kicking and screaming, into electoral prominence, largely without sacrificing its core principles. Unlike bloody Blair and Labour.
I don’t like his flirtation with Murdoch, but if he didn’t flirt, the opposition would. And it would undoubtedly use taxpayers’ money if it were in a position to do so. As Blair wasn’t in 1995….and was after 1998, and did.
You think you’re a Socialist? And you’re defending Blair against Salmond? Time to revisit your beliefs, Fred.
,
the pooch