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jamesscotland

Listed below are comments made by jamesscotland between Thursday, 4th September 2008 and Friday, 20th November 2009.

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Britain lands key EU foreign policy post 01:03am on 20 Nov 2009 "Two people most of the citizens of the 27 EU states will have never heard of, yet alone voted for, are now in two very prominent positions on the World stage. What does this say about the EU to the rest of the World? I doubt the redoubtable Dr Kissinger would know who to call even now they've been appointed!"

A valid point is rather marred by the reference to Kissinger, who from what I recall never held elected office either. I suppose it would have been much better if Cathy Ashton had at some point been parachuted by the Labour high command into an unloseable safe seat at Westminster? I know there's an important principle here, but given how unfair our electoral system is, I'm not sure having been elected once actually confers that much legitimacy anyway. But, of course, that's an argument for electoral reform rather than one in favour of the Baroness's position.
Alan Bown and Michael Brown - spot the difference(s) 2:56pm on 20 Oct 2009 As a postscript to the comment I just made, I note the claim in the original post that Mr Brown's "business was not trading in the UK, so therefore he was ineligible to donate money". That would make his company - not him - ineligible to donate, but as I understand it, the Electoral Commission isn't clear that this was actually the case (see http://tinyurl.com/yk6k3kz). Unfortunately for Mr Bown, the question of whether he was on the electoral register is a simple one.
Alan Bown and Michael Brown - spot the difference(s) 2:46pm on 20 Oct 2009 The difference is very simple, if legalistic. Under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendum Acts 2000, a donation must come from a "permissible donor". Possible "permissible donors" include an individual registered in an electoral register (section 54(2)(a)) and a United Kingdom company (section 54(2)(b)).

Mr Bown's donation was a donation under section 54(2)(a) and it was illegal because he wasn't on the register.

Mr Brown's donation was a donation under section 54(2)(b) and so it was irrelevant whether he was on the register or not: all that mattered was the fact that the donation came from a UK company (in his case, "5th Avenue Partners").

Whether the legal rules that apply here are good ones are a matter for debate (it would be fair enough if UKIP were forced simply to give Mr Bown his money back - in which case he could re-donate it assuming he's now on the register - but it seems absurd that the Treasury should get it), but the difference between the two cases is a straightforward matter of law.
Rumblings of discontent 6:39pm on 28 Aug 2009 "...right now, people in Scotland seem decidedly hostile to the decision to release Abdelbaset al-Megrahi"

Hang on a second: the poll doesn't tell us that. Opinion polls are good at measuring (e.g.) voting intentions; they're very poor at measuring strength of feeling.

There will be some people who think Kenny MacAskill believed outrageously and unforgivably in releasing Megrahi; there will be others who would personally have reached a different conclusion but accept that it was a legitimate decision to make.

Both groups of people, however, fall into the same category as far as the poll is concerned. Arguably the question about resignation tells us more (as you note, the majority do not think MacAskill should resign), but even then the raw figure is fairly meaningless as there will always be a significant number of people who are opposed to the politics of a particular minister and would like to see him/her resign.

Public opinion *may* be "decidedly hostile", but it's a fallacy to believe that we know that because of this poll.
Now wash your hands 9:24pm on 05 May 2009 An interesting piece, but the swine flu advice isn't really relevant to the point you're trying to make. Advising people to deal with an unfamiliar problem by doing something familiar is helpful; advising people to deal with a familiar problem by doing something familiar self-evidently isn't.
Eaton rises to Lloyd's challenge 00:03am on 27 Feb 2009 The logic of the argument presented here makes no sense. As jerryirl points out, it's perverse to say Eaton has put himself in a better position through a 5-set victory than a straight-sets win.

Moreover, far too much is being made of Eaton's first-round victory at Wimbledon last year. He beat Boris Pashanski in that match. Prior to that match, Pashanski - who has only ever won one match in a slam - had lost in the first round of six successive Slams. Since that match, Pashanski has attempted to qualify for three more Slams, on each occasion losing in his first match in the qualifying stages.

Sure, Eaton can be proud of having got to the second round of Wimbledon, particularly having chalked up some good qualifying victories to get there - but the idea that his Wimbledon victory over Pashanski is a free pass to Davis Cup selection - especially when the tie won't even be played on grass! - makes no sense, especially given his form since.

The idea that a failure to abandon Lloyd's mini-tournament before it's over will undermine the logic of holding that mini-tournament is a proposition so silly as to carry its own refutation.
What can we learn from Murray defeat? 1:38pm on 27 Jan 2009 bettclan: "Does Andy Murray speak or even understand colloquial Spanish? If not, then that whole line of argument appears to be spurious."

He lived in Spain as a teenager, so it would be disappointing (although perhaps not surprising for a Brit!) if he didn't understand some Spanish as a result. But I think he should be, and is, robust enough not to be affected by heckling, especially given the level of support he was getting from the crowd as a whole. Sure, Verdasco's camp should be ashamed if the claims are true, but we should discount it as a factor in the outcome.

What's really interesting, for me, is the contrast between Murray and Djokovic's responses to their defeats, which says a lot about the maturity of both players. According to the BBC's reports:

Murray: "I don't feel [illness] was the reason why I lost. I definitely did have my chances but he played too well. I didn't play my best but sometimes you've just got to say too good, and he played better than me."

Djokovic: "I didn't really have time to recover. Conditions were extreme today. It did affect me more than him. I did request to play a night match but it didn't come up good for me."
Highway to hell 6:47pm on 20 Jan 2009 That's a very strange "P.S.".

Do you mean that when you said in your previous post "There've already been a flurry of complaints about the use of sectarian song in the play -a bundle of flyers were in evidence on the bar at Friday's first night opening..." you had no evidence of any actual complaints, but were just (mistakenly) guessing that the "bundle of flyers" meant there must have been?

If so, isn't a clearer correction called for?
Political journey 11:57am on 08 Sep 2008 I don't know whether to be more surprised by the phrase "these straightened times" (has time become less curly or something?) or the fact that none of the first ten people posting comments has been pedantic enough to point out the difference between "straightened" and "straitened"... ;)
Not a great day 3:25pm on 04 Sep 2008 Despite the praise for Patrick Harvie in Brian Taylor's blog, I'm rather unimpressed with his position that (to quote the BBC News report currently online) "there was no clear reason to overturn the recommendation of the committee".

This is not a recommendation about the purchase of paperclips that has come forward for routine approval: it is a recommendation that a democratically elected MSP be suspended from the Parliament. That is a serious matter, and should be fully debated - which is exactly what is happening.

The committee's recommendation may well be the right one, but MSPs should not hide behind it and abdicate their own responsibility to reach a view on the matter.

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