Congratulations to the Liebore and LibDum parties. Not only can't they govern well when in power they **** it up when in opposition.

What a bunch of halfwits

raggy, the justifications are banal. The 'creative community' will know exactly why they have been put back 6 months. They were rubbish in government and they're trash in opposition. They remind me of acne when you're young - you are embarrassed and depressed about them and you think you are never going to be rid of them.

Grinning and backslapping around the Parliament gave way to disquiet when it was realised that a technicality had actually brought down a piece of legislation that all parties supported.

Sounds like the trades union leader who announces to the workforce, "I have good news and I have bad news from the negotiations with management ."

"First the bad news. We have had to accept an across the board cut of 10% in our wages ."

"But the good news is, we have got it back dated to last January !"

Dear oh Dear

Anyone remember Labour voting against their own amendment during the Budget vote..... well they don't seem to have learned anything since then

Jackie Bailie's accusation on newsnicht tonight do no befit an MSP, absolutely disgraceful spinning in relation to Nicola Sturgeon's handling of the Levan Valley Cdiff outbreak.

She was consciously toying with the facts to paint a very sinister picture yet failed to define what she would have done differently.

Pathetic really

Minister is hardly under fire when she is part of a minority government.

Jabba Bailie is pathetic. Playing politics over something as serious as this is an utter disgrace

OOPS. I did not realise the unintended consequence of voting down this SNP Government proposal. I did not realise what a fool I made of myself for a cheap shot at the SNP. Can I have my ball back? Please,pretty please!

Wardog, thanks for that!

I was trying to put the sight of a full-screen close up of la Baillie out of my head - now it's nightmares for sure...what was she actually saying anyway? - I was too busy trying to hide behind the sofa...

nostress, grangemouth on 12:03am today

She was simply fibbing, she refuses to accept that an investigation was going on whilst the 'Dumbarton Reporter' contacted the Health Minister......

Does anyone smell a rat, what is a paper doing contacting a minister to tell them of suspected deaths for?

Anyways, it was only on the 10th June that CDiff was actually confirmed and action came swift...... unlike j baillie!.

I don't think Jackie could get any more condescending, she obviosuly hasn't learnt from her 'crash and burn' episodes during Wendy's fall from Grace...... one wonders if this personal attack on Sturgeon isn't just another attempt to refocus attention away from Wendy's own difficulties and impending suspension from the Parliament....

Now there's a thought!

nighty night

Haven't seen Newsnight yet, will watch it now.

As for this melee today in Parliament, it's only to be expected that we have opposition MSPs who can't understand an argument. Possibly they were sitting wondering who to stab in the back next when Linda Fabiani was talking.

Grinning and backslapping around the Parliament gave way to disquiet when it was realised that a technicality had actually brought down a piece of legislation that all parties supported.

Labour Rsoles

The SNP are playing fast and loose with our parliament. They have misrepresented this matter from start to finish and then when it gets voted down they bleat.

Absolutely pathetic

Wayhay PtbS is on the nightshift tonight - did you manage to get out of the Newsnicht studio back to Labour HQ alright then Jackie? Some appearance by the way - I'm frightened to go to my bed now!

Aye you are pathetic PtbS.

Why can't we post on the David Cairns insult article? Shameful it is and I'll bet the SNP are feart to death.

Jackie Baillie is and always has been an utter disgrace.

Cairns said:

He said: "I deplore those politicians who see record prices as some sort of cause for joy, as though all it represents is a windfall for politicians. Oil prices at current levels are bad news for the economy, bad news for motorists and bad news for people struggling to pay fuel bills."

I suppose it's out of the question for his government reducing the tax take on an abundant Scottish resource?

Thought not.

Labour's culture committee convener, Karen Whitefield, claimed Ms Fabiani's opening speech in parliament led MSPs to believe ministers were to transfer funding for the creative industries from Scottish Enterprise to Creative Scotland.

Shockerooney - someone's managed to confuse Karen Whitefield! Mr Dinwoodie doesn't tell us if she was reading her comment from notes.

What a load of nonsense from these buffoons masquerading as politicians.

It is the responsibility of MSPs to understand exactly what they are voting on. If not, what is the point of opposition? Has anyone tried to test how often MSPs actually have a clue what they are voting or?

With members like these in the Labour and LibDem ranks, Alex Salmond could turn around a vote of no confidence and end up with the house electing him Holyrood Style Icon 2008(sponsored by The Herald, of course).

Proud to be Skittish

The SNP are playing fast and loose with our parliament.

Oh for gawd's sake. How much more of this drivel can you post?

Labour - totally useless.

I see Cairns is still playing the role of Unionist weasel.

Los Angeles wrote:

I see Cairns is still playing the role of Unionist weasel.

Evidently The Herald is supporting the Unionist weasel with
another little journalistic slight of hand with their articles
and carefully orchestrated headline positioning :

"Cairns warns Salmond over oil prices"
see - tinyurl.com/5grcnp
No Comments allowed and positioned at a prominent
level in the Political Headlines.

And guess what the EXACT same article hidden
deep in The Herald Catacombs
"Cairns warns Salmond over oil prices"
see - tinyurl.com/6ajxre
This one does allow comments, but is hidden so nobody
can find the article. A number of comments appeared
pretty quickly perhaps before it was relegated and
it's no comment cousin moved to headlines.

Also interestingly the article itself written by The Herald's
Chief UK political correspondent is somewhat eclipsed
by a better and more thorough article in the Isle Of Butes
Buteman.

see - tinyurl.com/6ncb6z

Cairn's sounds like a latter-day Bernard Ingham with
his response to Alex Salmond request for share of our
own oil :

"gloating about the taxation revenue potential of high oil"
and
"using it as a dubious means of making dodgy sums add up"

Pretty familiar, condescending and insulting style to Mr Ingham :

"they smelt money"
"as greedy as sin as they were"
"the only thing that fueled nationalism was
the smell of oil, money and oil"
"it really is the most monstrous piety"

see - tinyurl.com/6ymamn

Clearly Westminster is just different shades of grey with each
shade treating Scotland with disdain irregardless as to
whether it is Labour or Tory. Scotland needs to escape
the grips of these control freaks.

Saor Alba

Watching Holyrood Live - the debate on the Culture Bill was cut to show MSP's on bicycles - a real chuckle piece. Pathetic - this is what we've come to expect from the BBC. FFS BBC raise yer game. There are important debates taking place that impact on Scottish life. Shut up and broadcast the NEWS! Keep yer funny wee bits for yer southern viewers, stop yer yappin, and let's listen to the GD debates! CAM!

I see the following story was missed by the Scottish Newspapers.
I wonder if Foulkes had got some dirt instead of again just
proving the SNP is running an effective Government intentionally,
whether a story would have appeared ?

SNP MSP Jamie Hepburn today thanked Lord George Foulkes for using his Parliamentary Questions to expose the efficiency and effectiveness of the SNP Government and the huge expenses run up by the previous administration.

A series of Parliamentary answers to Lord Foulkes show that

* Advisers to the First Minister have claimed one sixth of the expenses of those for the Labour and Lib Dem Administrations who claimed £57,000 in 2004-05

* the number of communications officers, number of press releases issued, communications officers costs, and PR costs are all LESS under the SNP Scottish Government than the Labour/LibDem Executive. For example, PR costs between 1 May 2007-31 January 2008 are nearly 40% less than the equivalent costs between 1 May 2006-31 January 2007.

* the number of ministerial car journeys between 16 May 2007-31 January 2008 is 500 FEWER than during the comparable period in the previous year of the Labour/LibDem Executive.

* Three times as many people have viewed Alex Salmond's online broadcasts as viewed Jack McConnell's

Commenting on Lord Foulkes failed attempts at attacking the Government Central Scotland MSP Jamie Hepburn said:

"I would like to thank Lord George Foulkes for going to such lengths to expose the efficiency and effectiveness of the SNP Government in contrast to the waste and excess of the Labour and Lib Dem administration.

see - tinyurl.com/3kvpr2

I did not realise that I was on the fiddle and breaking the law. Therefore I am not guilty. I am for and against a referendum because I am a numpty. Bring it on, says the turkeys to Xmas..

Keep up the good work Traquir, I haven't yet read the Cairns article and if there are no comments allowed I won't be surprised. I have though read the article on Scotlands economy in the business section, it is worth a read if only to laugh.

On this story, I notice that the lead sentence from the original article: The Scottish Government was tonight dealt a humiliating public blow when its plans for a new national arts body collapsed in ruins. has now been dropped, although they have still managed to put an anti SNP headline on an article that clearly shows the clowns that are supposed to be an opposition at Holyrood.

Labour are under a mistaken belief that the job of an opposition is to vote down bills when they have a chance. The Herald and The Scotsman are 100% propoganda pieces now, we know it and so do they.

Another trump story has found it's way into todays edition, that makes six in less than a fortnight...........
..still we wait for the front page headline detailing Scotlands massive fiscal surplus and the strength of oil reserves.

What was it the English Prime Minister said recently aboot "Opposition for opposition's sake"?

Tame Union leader reporting back to the workers for the management. "The bad news is you are having a wages cut to support a Labour Pay Freeze. The good news is that I have just had a rise and am increasing the political levy".

The level of incompetence in Labour is astonishing. Now they have annoyed the arts community, and shown them how incompetent they are.
LibDem loyally supporting them with their incompetence...

If the SNP were writing a script they couldn't do better.

Just watched newsnight Scotland.
Jackie Baillie is a disgrace how anyone could vote for this obese
raving looney is beyond me.
To think that she is using public money to enlarge her body mass daily is truly astonishing. If you voted for this oinker you should be ashamed.

: george alexander, north lanarkshire on 6:42am today wrote:

The Scottish Government was tonight dealt a humiliating public blow when its plans for a new national arts body collapsed in ruins.

Aye, Ah posted a comment on that thread and noo it's gone. Spin, spin, spin.

Aw well, this article will probably be rewritten and trotted out a few more times if past practice is anything to go by. ,

Grinning and backslapping

Aye, its a real laugh trying to stymie a measure you support.

from todays New York Times www.nytimes.com.....


....I would've posted it on Torture Crichtons censored Cairns article:

BAGHDAD — Four Western oil companies are in the final stages of negotiations this month on contracts that will return them to Iraq, 36 years after losing their oil concession to nationalization as Saddam Hussein rose to power.

The Reach of War
Go to Complete Coverage » Exxon Mobil, Shell, Total and BP — the original partners in the Iraq Petroleum Company — along with Chevron and a number of smaller oil companies, are in talks with Iraq’s Oil Ministry for no-bid contracts to service Iraq’s largest fields, according to ministry officials, oil company officials and an American diplomat.

The deals, expected to be announced on June 30, will lay the foundation for the first commercial work for the major companies in Iraq since the American invasion, and open a new and potentially lucrative country for their operations.

The no-bid contracts are unusual for the industry, and the offers prevailed over others by more than 40 companies, including companies in Russia, China and India. The contracts, which would run for one to two years and are relatively small by industry standards, would nonetheless give the companies an advantage in bidding on future contracts in a country that many experts consider to be the best hope for a large-scale increase in oil production.

There was suspicion among many in the Arab world and among parts of the American public that the United States had gone to war in Iraq precisely to secure the oil wealth these contracts seek to extract. The Bush administration has said that the war was necessary to combat terrorism. It is not clear what role the United States played in awarding the contracts; there are still American advisers to Iraq’s Oil Ministry.

Sensitive to the appearance that they were profiting from the war and already under pressure because of record high oil prices, senior officials of two of the companies, speaking only on the condition that they not be identified, said they were helping Iraq rebuild its decrepit oil industry.

For an industry being frozen out of new ventures in the world’s dominant oil-producing countries, from Russia to Venezuela, Iraq offers a rare and prized opportunity.

While enriched by $140 per barrel oil, the oil majors are also struggling to replace their reserves as ever more of the world’s oil patch becomes off limits. Governments in countries like Bolivia and Venezuela are nationalizing their oil industries or seeking a larger share of the record profits for their national budgets. Russia and Kazakhstan have forced the major companies to renegotiate contracts.

The Iraqi government’s stated goal in inviting back the major companies is to increase oil production by half a million barrels per day by attracting modern technology and expertise to oil fields now desperately short of both. The revenue would be used for reconstruction, although the Iraqi government has had trouble spending the oil revenues it now has, in part because of bureaucratic inefficiency.

For the American government, increasing output in Iraq, as elsewhere, serves the foreign policy goal of increasing oil production globally to alleviate the exceptionally tight supply that is a cause of soaring prices.

The Iraqi Oil Ministry, through a spokesman, said the no-bid contracts were a stop-gap measure to bring modern skills into the fields while the oil law was pending in Parliament.

It said the companies had been chosen because they had been advising the ministry without charge for two years before being awarded the contracts, and because these companies had the needed technology.

A Shell spokeswoman hinted at the kind of work the companies might be engaged in. “We can confirm that we have submitted a conceptual proposal to the Iraqi authorities to minimize current and future gas flaring in the south through gas gathering and utilization,” said the spokeswoman, Marnie Funk. “The contents of the proposal are confidential.”

While small, the deals hold great promise for the companies.

“The bigger prize everybody is waiting for is development of the giant new fields,” Leila Benali, an authority on Middle East oil at Cambridge Energy Research Associates, said in a telephone interview from the firm’s Paris office. The current contracts, she said, are a “foothold” in Iraq for companies striving for these longer-term deals.

This is typical of the amateurish bunch of clowns of all parties we have governing us.

It would make little or no difference to the vast majority of Scots if the Scottish Arts Council and Scottish Screen disappeared up their own rear-passages never to be seen again; yet we have a bunch of numpties wasting public funds sitting pontificating on irrelevancies while at the same time people are dying in the Vale of Leven Hospital by being infected by other people’s sh!te .

If the money wasted on these arty-farty quangos was spent cleaning our hospitals then perhaps these patients would still be alive.

I was posting happily on the Scotsman website when along comes AM2 lampooning my posts. Fair enough, but suddenly I am unable to post on the site - every thread closed to Scunnert (An Beal Bacht)?" Coincidence? I think not.

Cairns said: "I deplore those politicians who see record prices as some sort of cause for joy, as though all it represents is a windfall for politicians. Oil prices at current levels are bad news for the economy, bad news for motorists and bad news for people struggling to pay fuel bills."

The UK Chancellor Alistair Darling has conceded high oil and gas prices could lead to a Treasury tax windfall.

another Foukes moment?

Cairns said: "I deplore those politicians who see record prices as some sort of cause for joy, as though all it represents is a windfall for politicians. Oil prices at current levels are bad news for the economy, bad news for motorists and bad news for people struggling to pay fuel bills."

The UK Chancellor Alistair Darling has conceded high oil and gas prices could lead to a Treasury tax windfall.

So we’re not allowed to comment on our fellow Scot Moira being murdered by an immigrant (the liberals will shout us down as being racist). We’re not allowed to comment on the death of our brave boys and girl soldiers abroad.

But we are allowed to comment how Kiera Knightley loves kilts, well woopee fukcin doo! I wouldn’t wipe my backside with this paper. Freedom of speech? Don’t make me laugh!

BBC: Darling concedes Oil Tax Windfall
http://news.bbc.co.u
k/1/hi/scotland/7460
093.stm

Proud to be Scottish I don't think you quite understand what happened yesterday.

Labour and Lib Dem MSPs did not mean to vote the bill down. They support it.

They wanted some clarification on details in the financial provisions. The SNP's business manager said OK we will give you that and bring it back next week. I guess they took that as a sign of weakness and decided to take it to a vote. As a consequence the bill - which they support - fell.

Truly cringe-worthy behaviour. They are an embarrassment not only to themselves but to all of us. They have been in opposition for more than a year now - they simply must get to grips with it soon or goodness knows what will happen.

London Labour's twin Quislings, Baillie and Curran, have as their main goal to undermine the confidence of the Scottish people at EVERY turn, so we should hardly be surprised at their disgraceful behaviour, whether it is constant negative unionist whinging about the SNP Government's numerous successes or trying to score cheap political points when patients' lives are at stake. Labour is on its way out-thank goodness.

These opposition parties are utterly disgraceful! How or why these idiots get into politics just baffles me.

Proud to be Scottish wrote:
The SNP are playing fast and loose with our parliament. They have misrepresented this matter from start to finish and then when it gets voted down they bleat.

Absolutely pathetic

You forgot to use the 'tatters' word

HEADLINE: SNP BILL IN TATTERS

'Fast and Loose' seems to be another recurring theme

Is Simon Pia vetting your posts or are you immersing yourself in Labour Party propaganda via their odious website?

Future Headlines

SNP Policy....Tatters
SNP U-Turn.....From labour Pressure - Hooo Harr
Salmond..... Fast & Loose
Salmond...... Cavalier

Dear oh Dear, Simon really needs to do better than this PtBS if your mob are going to feature at all in the forthcoming Elections....

Grinning and backslapping around the Parliament gave way to disquiet when it was realised that a technicality had actually brought down a piece of legislation that all parties supported.

This is exactly what I would expect from four Thatcherite parties.
Numbskulls voted in by numbskulls.

Labour: can't trust them to get it right in power, can't trust them to get it right in opposition. why no news about the investigations into Wendy? When is she going to JAIL?

Proud to be a prat.
Can you enlighten folk on here as to what is the English navy which your master Broon was referring to yesterday at PMQ,s
He puked " The English and the British and the French navy,s will not be amalgamated.
The mad man Broon has lost it ,big time.

Glug, glug I hear a sinking unionist ship, the liebour rats are drowning .

ex labour voter wrote:
Just watched newsnight Scotland. Jackie Baillie is a disgrace how anyone could vote for this obese raving looney is beyond me. To think that she is using public money to enlarge her body mass daily is truly astonishing. If you voted for this oinker you should be ashamed.

Jackie Baillie is a disgrace how anyone could vote for this obese
raving looney is beyond me.

Its the same type of people who, in Greenock, vote for davy cairns and donkey mcneill.

Fabiani seems to be unable to read her own Bill ..what a dum dum and then starts crying its everybodies fault but mine ..something the SNP are really good at ..but it is now getting boring ..

As Ms Strugeon was warned of this by the newspapers she sat on her fat bahookey and did nothing ..it seems this has been going on since January ..what does she do ? after what went on in Kent on C-Diff it would have been prudent of her to take a more stringent look at how our Hospitals were dealing or could deal with such an outbreak if it did occur ..forewarned is fore armed as they say ...But Nicole it seems didnt do her Job ...so much for protecting the Public ...once again the SNP Leadership prove that they are just another bunch of wasters..

Traquir ...I get the feeling you work in the SNP PR office do you take of Ducks too ???

Yawn! Another day another paranoid rant from the usual suspects. When did all you Nat knuckle-draggers suddenly become interested in the arts? Ballet or opera tonight is it? Why isn't this board representative of the cross-section of Scottish people instead of being hijacked by a dozen or so xenophobic, intollerant nutters who have convinced themselves that they speak for the country? I'm bored with this crap every day. Roll on the referendum and, when you lose, you can go back under the stones you all crawled out of last May.

10.57, Lol, Fecks sake Kirsty you're off on one again, shouldn't you be going over your newsnight script instead of baiting nationalists?

I SEE THE LABOUR TROLLS HAVE BEEN GIVEN THEIR ORDERS TO POST THEIR USUAL UNIONIST SH*T.
Nothing to offer but repetative never ending negativity .
As a labour man once said "Thank god for the SNP.

We have a bill that everyone is in agreement with, that reduces the waste of having two quango's basically doing the same job, that also delivers the SNP's promise to reduce the number of quangos and cost to the public purse of running them and because a small amount of dosh held by Scottish Enterprise (the ultimate oxymoron) Labour and the Lib Dems get the bill dumped because of a huff (the ultimate bunch of morons) and the success of the bill would be more evidence of the SNP seeking to keep their election promises!

An earlier poster has demonstrated how Von Foulkesakes the Nat Slayer disappeared up his chuff in a puff of smoke when his questions showed how the SNP Government were spending less public money on fripperies to the embarrassment of Joke and Wendy.

Cairns whining about the price of oil and Wee Eck's request when his mob did nothing to help remote and rural communities with a fuel price regulator is hypocrisy of the highest order. Since when did Cairns become defacto Secretary of State for Scotland, our colonial master or should that be colonic - given what he spouts?

Where are the press reports that investigated why Labour are really not contesting by-elections? £24 million in the red and a further £13 million of liabilities in loans they are due to repay under PPER regulations. What about the 10% of a Labour MP's wage in a voluntary 'donation' per month that party bosses are demanding so they can keep Millbank open?

Yet still this and other Unionist media outlets ignore the SNP's popularity in Scotland with a 47% vote share, 41% for independence and Wee Eck with a high popularity rating amongst Scots with out doing very much other than looking after Scotland's interests. Then there are the 80% of Scots who want more fiscal powers for Holyrood. The point for Unionists with a crisis of confidence is where is the benefit of the Union - protecting us from Alquda.... ha,ha,haaa!

The First Minister yesterday established a clear check on his personal dealings with Parliament , Public Accountability etc and appointed two Eminent former Parliamentarians to oversee this
situation.
I believe the Public now requires a Public scrutiny on the Leaders of
the Lib/Labs and Torys; after yesterdays fiasco on the Arts Monies it
would seem that the Salarys of the Opposition trio Bendy , Nicol and Goldie ,are to put it mildly highly overpaid. We have long suspected this; perhaps the two Eminent Parliamentarians should
be given a paid job to look into the worth of the Opposition Leaders.

Van Helsing - Nat Slayer wrote:
Yawn! Another day another paranoid rant from the usual suspects. When did all you Nat knuckle-draggers suddenly become interested in the arts? Ballet or opera tonight is it? Why isn't this board representative of the cross-section of Scottish people instead of being hijacked by a dozen or so xenophobic, intollerant nutters who have convinced themselves that they speak for the country? I'm bored with this crap every day. Roll on the referendum and, when you lose, you can go back under the stones you all crawled out of last May.

Tut, tut again,ENGLISH gnat exterminator, I doubt if you'll ever get a 100% correct paranoid rant post . There is only one 'l' in intolerant. And we emerged victorious May 2007, not last month as you insinuate.
PS. Understood you were selling your VAN for scrap.

That seems like par for the course. The Tories, Labs and Fib Dems would rather score political points than see good government, for the good of the people of Scotland. What a bunch of incompetent clowns!

Proud to be Scottish wrote:
The SNP are playing fast and loose with our parliament. They have misrepresented this matter from start to finish and then when it gets voted down they bleat. Absolutely pathetic

A troll at its very worst.

Absolutely pathetic.

CIVICUS World Assembly in Glasgow
www.civicus.org

From June 18-21 close to 1000 individuals from more than 100 countries will descend on Glasgow to seek ways to create a more just world.

CIVICUS represents more than 500 civil society organisations and networks across the world and is a vital global force for democracy, human rights and equality.

This World Assembly provides a fantastic opportunity for delegates to come together to learn from each other's experiences, and find new ways in which they can work to strengthen democracy and civil society around the world.

Scunnert

post via a proxy server

google it

So let me get this straight :
1. The Culture Bill had cross party support
2. All MSPs had endorsed the general principles of the bill
3. Labour and the Libdems decide to vote against it, for the sake of
just voting against the Government.
4. Labour and Libdems then realise they made a mistake and are
embaressed about it
5. Labour's Ken McIntosh blamed Culture Minister Linda Fabiani for
the confusion,

PRICELESS!!!!!!!!!!!
!

I hear the reason many Lavatorys voted against was the rejection by the Arts Council of their painting by numbers entries in a recent competition. And by the rejection by a school offered a portrait of Wee Wendy on the grounds that it would frighten the children.

Boudica

You are an idiot.

WHAT DID THE ROMANS EVER DO FOR US?

Apparently the Hootsman site is burst.
Then again, maybe they're banning all comments.