Notices by Alan Ferrier (alanferrier@mastodon.scot)

He could have said "Vandalism isn't patriotism; daubing red crosses on Chinese takeaways and scrawling racist graffiti isn't patriotism; perfomatively sitting in front of a flag or tying one to a mosque isn't patriotism.

Patriotism is about making this country safe, happy and prosperous for all."

But no. He chose to shag the flag.

Frankie Boyle on the fragrant J.K.Rowling:

Letter in today's Times:

Orwell's "1984" was not intended as an instruction manual.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cj4wy21dwkwo

"The scenes in Gaza have moved beyond description. We write as artists who’ve chosen to use our public platforms to speak out against the genocide occurring there & the role of the UK government in facilitating it."
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2025/07/21/ckjv-j21.html

Well played.

Protest is terrorism.
Genocide is defence.
War is peace.
Freedom is slavery.
Ignorance is strength.

Starmer rules out a Scottish independence referendum.

Starmer rules out referendum on Irish reunification.

Starmer rules out return to the EU, Single Market or Customs Union.

Never asks what we want - just tells us what we're "allowed".

Let's just call him Viceroy Starmer.

"'Austerity' is the idea that the worldwide financial crash of 2008 was caused by Wolverhampton having too many libraries."
—Alexei Sayle

Farage: Silence.
Tiny Tommy Ten-Names: Silence.
Grimes: Silence.
Hopkins: Silence.
6-Bob Knob: Silence.
Fox: Silence.
Tice: Silence.

Odd, that.

“This constant lying is not aimed at making the people believe a lie, but at ensuring that no one believes anything anymore.

A people that can no longer distinguish between truth and lies cannot distinguish between right and wrong.

And such a people, deprived of the power to think and judge is, without knowing and willing it, completely subjected to the rule of lies. With such a people, you can do whatever you want.”

—Hannah Arendt, German Historian and Philosopher (1906-1975)

Labour has ordered the Home Office to begin mass deportations of undocumented migrants.

Writing in The Sun, Yvette Cooper says she has told the Home Office to raid car washes, nail bars and salons. 1,000 staff will be deployed to fast-track deportations.

"Change," eh?

So the candidate convicted of felony crimes by a jury who found him guilty of 34 separate charges in a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election through hush money payments to a porn actor *isn't* the one who's dropped out of the presidential race?

The USA is deeply weird.

I'm definitely up for the series finale of the Donald Trump saga being the one where he loses to a Black woman.

Anyone heard how Liz Truss's first day at Microsoft is going?

He'll work with fascists but not with the SNP. Are you watching, Scotland?
https://news.sky.com/story/starmer-would-work-with-the-french-hard-right-as-thats-what-serious-government-is-13161908

In 2015 someone took the audio from the BBC’s coverage of a parade in North Korea and dubbed it over footage of Trooping the Colour at the royal birthday parade outside Buckingham Palace.

Farage being, once again, the top story on the BBC News website provides an excuse to repost this little slice of Internet poetry from 2017:

Fixed that for you, New Statesman.

Fun fact: England is the only country in the world to have fully privatised its water and sewerage systems.

Via the Financial Times: "Scotland—which has its own state-owned water company—massively outperformed its neighbours with water standards similar to much of Scandinavia."

That'd be the Nelson Mandela who said in 1997 that the ANC's struggle was ongoing. “We know too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians.”

Tell me you don't know who Nelson Mandela was or what he stood for without telling me, etc... https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/uk-labours-david-lammy-suggests-mandela-would-oppose-gaza-student-protests