Why does this article give me the dry boak - I'll tell you why - because it uses selfish words like "exploit" and "control" and "me" and in the middle of it all a nice wee touch of nimbyism.
Nah - try utilise and us and maybe some adjective like equably before the word control.
Honestly, the strident blaming others naivety of this astounds me - an angry rabble who want all for themselves and their way and just not a hint of caring for anything much more than someone else has got something and I and my sort want it.
I wrote last week about bad manners and discourtesy that seemed to pervade the language used by the SSP and it's then skelped rump that is now a fully mooned party called Solidarity - Solidarity - aye only if you agree with us and our way otherwise we just don't care. Stop shouting, show some compassion get rid of these "everyone else is bad and I am good" attitudes and maybe you will get some new friends - in fact a guitar and a gentle strumming of Guantanamera and the world will be pinging with little cupidian arrows of love
Be good
love
dave x

ps Some of my best friends are millionaires and they're lovely people

Nice bit of editing Dave. You pick out three words, completely out of context, to create some straw man, you even have him shouting!

You do, of course, forget to point out that when he used the words "control" and "exploit" it was in a sentence calling for people to be able to decide these questions. It's called democracy. When he used the word "me" he used it in a sentence calling for people to join him and others at a rally for independence.

The other quote "Everyone else is bad...." is just made up and could only be gleaned from Tommy Sheridans statement if you either didnt read it, or read it already having made your mind up and only read the article to find words to put forward your (biased) case.

Its interesting to note that you dont pick up on the points about old people dying of the cold in Scotland, and choose to defend your millionaire mates rather than Scotlands pensioners.

I think it's a good statement and points out clearly that there is more to freedom than seceding from the UK.

Dear Brother Jim
I didn't pick words out of context -they were there and jumped out. Honestly, the fights this man has been involved in recently and the "I will never forgive" which I think he has said, well maybe just a tad more humility - I haven't said anywhere I disagree with some of the aims which in actual fact, I think are laudable - it's how they are said. As for millionaires and this implication that they are some cancer on society - generalising any group really does just stick in one's craw - such an attitude smacks to me of intolerance and coming from a guy who has a monetary value on his own reputation, even if it is only 20% of a £1M........
I may be wrong but a man who calls others scabs for saying what they believe to have been true - just not nice - really not nice and maybe if Mr Sheridan did a bit less judging of others - a bit more accepting of differences rather than sounding like someone who declaims "If you are not with me you are against me" - well who does that remind you of ?

Admit it, both of you are comrade Tangerine Tam.

I hope you are not suggesting any impropriety on Mr Sheridan's part - he was probably busy knocking up a triple word score and combing his chest at the times what I wroted

Dear, oh dear, oh dear. What has happened to The Sunday Herald since the departure of Andrew Jaspan to a better place (i.e. not Scotland as it is at the moment)?

The SH used to be a nice, sensible paper that was beautifully laid out and didn't give too much credence to politicians or their self-indulgent rambles. If it did need to sully its hands with one of those unsavourary types, well, it did it with appropriate cynicism and disdain.

And what do we find now? Whole screeds of web space being given over to political pygmies to vent their spleen unchallenged and unquestioned. And what's even worse, they were probably paid for this nonsense.

But what is perhaps most alarming is the Sunday Herald's apparent willingness to hitch its wagon to some poorly defined independence movement. Why so much of late about independence? Why don't we debate more pressing issues like the rapidly approaching end of North Sea oil? Nope, scratch that... that would be a direct challenge to the schoolboy rebel politics espoused above by someone who celebrates vanity. I didn't think vanity was a very communist trait, but obviously I was wrong.

....and another thing - this second sentence about life expectancy - Googled and got Scotland's lowest at 69.3 but Iraq's at 69.1 but yes, Gaza 71.97 but what is the point - is it being suggested that Iraqis or Gaza Strip people should, by wicked ways of the world type stuff, be worse off than us ? Tell you though, if I'm wrong on these facts and Mr Sheridan is right, I humbly beg his forgiveness.

.....and another thing - deaths due to cold in Scotland for 1990 were 777 but by 2001, what with years of Tory rule and and then their pals in the Labour Party they were down to 67. Conversely, death by accident in the UK is shown by some bloke somewhere to have been 20 to 100,000 but in Finland 51.8 and in Russia, a staggering 130.8 - maybe they had their heating up too high and were going round in a dwam.

Dave, check out age concern scotland's website, I'd trust their figures before the executives.

Scotlands worst life expectancy is 63.9 not the cleverly enginerred figure of 69.3 (typo?), lower than gaza and Iraq. At least now you are engaging with the content of Sheridans piece and not your personal bias against his personality.

I have no personal bias against Mr Sheridan - I have a considered judgement based on things he has said in this article and how he has said them. Yes, I have similarly reached considered opinions on the basis of things I have read and heard in the past but still from the figures you have kindly corrected, what is the point - are we more worthy - should we all be the same in totality - is it desiring things others have and when does that desiring what others have, stop before greed and personal or national acquisitiveness take over at the expense of others.

I dont think that Sheridan is saying that we should want higher life expectancy in this country because we are jealous of Gaza or Iraqs figures!

I think it is obvious that he uses two extreme examples of war torn impoverished countries to highlight that, in a country with so much wealth and resources, we shouldnt have these sort of rates. That was his frist point, that we were a rich country. In a short article, it makes sense to use extreme comparisons to get over a point.

I do think you have a bias against him and I think that is highlighted by how you first read his article. You initially took words well out of context to underline an opinion on Sheridan.

Oh Jim you are so wrong - I am an automaton responding in an objective manner based on the fact that some have been scientifically proven to have radiant bottoms - just like you I imagine. You are trying to tell me that making extremist points is a good way to promote a cause and encourage others to join then - sort of culture of fear type thing ? Works for some I believe but we're not all daft.

Oh Jim - people in Glasgow contribute to their own short life expectancy too you know. Mr Sheridan and Solidarity, I will bet you 50p, are not going to be a panacea for all ills in this country and making extreme points to try and engender a following might appeal to some but is it the right thing to do ?
To suggest that TS is just doing the same as any other (or some) politician and that that is somehow a sensible approach just destroys any good you may be doing in trying to convince us that he is somehow offering something different, maybe even a messianic saviour.Labour tried this culture of fear nonsense with PPBs which slammed the SNP at the last Scottish elections and just confirmed for me why they didn't get both my votes.
Maybe the days of Party Politics are nearing an end and TS might have been better just going off on his own, promoting his own vision and getting the support of a constituency who would be happy for him to represent their views. To have fallen out with the SSP (in my view a loosish affiliation of people who share a general philosophy but seemed happy enough to try and work together for what they genuinely believed were common worthy aims)and now promote another loosish affiliation but one that seems to demand thinking he didn't tell an untruth just smacks of self aggrandisement. So what if Slaw is in the SSP - their views I think you will find are fairly commonly held. If you think Mr Sheridan writing stuff like this article where he just adopts the twisty manipulative nonsense common to far too many in politics who see their involvement as more of a hobby and self promoting exercise then you are not doing him any favours. I'm trying to help the man for goodness sake - just using this, to give a perception I doubt I am alone in having.
You clap and cheer his every word and deed if you want but I don't think you're doing him any favours, never mind the people of Scotland.
love
dave
x

I posted a comment which appeared and was commented on and then disappeared, along with a second comment. I am new to this method of communication - is this just a common technological blip?

Me too slaw. This site is a stitch up. My pists have also been deleted. Do gooder Dave is able to ridicule points and we are not allowed a right to reply.

Think it's just something to do with me being so good even though I never talk about it

For once i feel kind of sorry for the rancorous SSP. I used to like sheridan, i still do to an extent, but what he did to his colleagues is pretty amoral. I mean, come on, the evidence against him in that courtroom was so overwhelming that if it wasn't for his charisma (which could rival bill clintons) he would never have won.
I really can't see rosie kane (who seems a genuinely good person) and all those others going up there and telling a barefaced lie. Intead they're portrayed as arseholes now for telling the truth and face complete doom once sheridans party wipes them out. And for what?
For sheridans overactive sex drive?

So I went to listen to him tonight and he did it again - he said we should mine our own coal rather than import from China where 3 miners die every hour - eh ? Google and it's somewhere between one a week and 16 a day but nowhere near 26280 so why come out with stuff like that - why tell half truths - it smacks of pathologicalnessism and he told us India has jobs and China has jobs and we should all unite and be independent and the split with the SSP happened because you need friends at your back not stabbing you in it - well stop passing people a knife
Oh and he ranted about the Murdoch Press for at least ten minutes before saying anything else and said "If Murdoch has it in for you then you must be doing something right" and didn't Murdoch give Archer a hard time or did I imagine that ? But most people clapped and fawned and I suppose that's what matters really