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bloggger

Listed below are comments made by bloggger between Thursday, 4th December 2008 and Saturday, 27th December 2008.

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Christmas cheer in the chamber 8:34pm on 27 Dec 2008 Re #196 Neil_Small147

I would disagree with your contention that no-one can take an debate on independence seriously. With such a significant topic, there will always be groups with highly polarised views, but that is not to say the debate is fatally wounded because of it.

I am also curious as to your view that there is a requirement for a minimum turnout to ratify any vote on independence - why do you wish to alter the accepted practice of democratic voting which is enough to establish a government which will then use the same process to pass laws etc. by saying there has to be a minimum turn-out?

One point I do agree with you on is that an independent Scotland would not be a utopia. There will always be those who want to think that change will solve all the problems, but the reality is that all change can do is provide new opportunities - how we deal with these opportunities, and whether we benefit is down to us.

My viewpoint is that I would rather have our elected representatives (with all the levers of power) focused on maximising the opportunities to deliver the priorities of the Scottish people rather than those of the people of the UK, of which Scotland is less than 10%.
Christmas cheer in the chamber 7:47pm on 27 Dec 2008 Re #178

Oh dear, I see the brigadier is finally out of the closet; a fully paid-up, flag waving unionist.

It's a pity you spend so much time lying on this blog about your position by pretending to be an undecided.

The problem now of course, is that you have no credibility. Even the more rabid posters on both sides of the eternal argument on this blog are happy to be honest about their position, and so while they may be mindlessly entrenched and play fast and loose with the facts, at least they are not disingenuous about their allegiance, and so what they say can be put into context.

But then pretending you are a neutral when all along you have an allegiance to one side is not uncommon in Scottish journalists (both current and ex)
Christmas cheer in the chamber 10:33am on 19 Dec 2008 For all the amateur bloggers out there, you may be interested in the following from Guido's site. Look out for some 'interesting' posts on blogs like this one in the future:

Tomorrow morning (today) Derek Draper is convening a "New Media Breakfast" meeting with dozens of Labour bloggers and New Media types to hear from Blue State Digital how Labour can use the internet to win the next election. Blue State Digital are the people that did Obama's online stuff - rather well.

So far Draper's online efforts haven't really got anywhere, one of the issues that Labour has is that it does not know what it wants to achieve. Blue State Digital have brought over Thomas Gensemer and Joe Rospars, Barack Obama's former new media campaign director to basically pitch their services and know-how to the Draper assembled collection of lobbyists, spin-merchants and public affairs leeches* that by and large constitute the Labour blogosphere. Blue State Digital have hired Matthew Macgregor to run a soon to be opened London office. Macgregor worked on Ken Livingstone's 2008 Mayoral campaign, for War on Want, TULO and Jon Cruddas' deputy leadership campaign.

Guido called Draper to wish him luck with the meeting, he cursed Guido's foreknowledge. Draper denied point blank that he was looking for funding for an Iain Dale style, party-supportive blog with titbits of insider news and his spin on the party line. He has been reportedly moaning that he has been working voluntarily for free for the Party and that if they want to take the fight online they will need a full time paid blogger - what he doesn't say openly is that it should be him. Sources say that the blog is to be known as the "Daily Draper".
Democracy or bureaucracy? 12:48pm on 15 Dec 2008 Brian, nice to see your plea to leave out party allegiances didn't make it past the first posting.

Some people are incapable of taking on any topic without trying to score cheap political points
Going out with a whimper 8:09pm on 13 Dec 2008 Re #76 InMyKip
and
Re #78 oldnat

LOL

Nice to see a sense of humour on this blog ..... some would say you need it !
Going out with a whimper 6:12pm on 13 Dec 2008 Re #70 oldnat

Better be careful, making comments like that about journalists will have the old ex-hacks on this blog hunting you down. they get very sensitive when you point out the less than professional job done by their ex-colleagues.
What's in a nickname? 2:32pm on 11 Dec 2008 I've said it before and I'll say it again, get rid of this meaningless charade that is the chamber (both in Holyrood and Westminster) and get them in their offices / constituencies etc. doing real work instead of playing at political panto.
'You've all done very well' 11:18am on 05 Dec 2008 Re #36

I think that we should do away with the 'chamber' and focus more on committees as these seem to be where the actual business of moving forward on any subject is achieved.

The government should be run more like a commercial business (or even a well run public organisation) with ministers and opposition members working in focused groups to achieve a benefit for the country

Questions should be written and answered by the offices of the relevant minister with a limit as to the number of questions from each party (note, not questions per minister, but per party) so as to stop the waste of public money in providing answers. Answers would be mandatory and require a substantive answer on topic.

Let me be clear that I believe that our elected representatives have to be accountable, but I do not think that the house of commons or chamber at Holyrood advances this in the slightest.
'You've all done very well' 10:39am on 05 Dec 2008 I must say that the more time I have spent over the last decade listening to debates in both Westminster and Hollyrood, the less relevance I believe they have as places for political debate and to achieve anything.

Can anyone remeber the last time a politician answered a question with something that remotely resembled a straight answer unless it was planted (i.e. someone from their own party asking the quesiton that allows them to ramble on about the point they are trying to make)?

Politicians lining up to ask questions that will not be answered, the non-answer will then be boo'ed by the first party and the speaker will say order, order .... it's a farse, and not even a good one.

My view is that if politicians want to waste their time on this pantomime, then they should do it on their own time, and at their own expense.

I think it's time to dump this nonsense and more forward to a more realistic way of conducting the business of running the country.
The Speaker speaks 5:56pm on 04 Dec 2008 Re '83

Wee Eck - We would want to help the chicken in every way to achieve self-determination in road crossing, but it's a reserved matter. I believe we can progress the freedom of chickens by having a good long conversation with them. By the way, all the chickens are coming home to roost next year.

Tony Blair - it is a chicken of mass destruction able to cross the road in 45 minutes. We must ensure that we can protect ourselves from the evil that chickens can do

Ok, that's enough, time for my medicine ...

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