@jopparocks@WingsScotland@jerseyp295@michaelbruce543@MacfadyenAngus@AlexSalmond They persuaded that Alphabettie to reactivate that incident. They then set about fabricating numerous incidents that "mirrored" it to try to obtain a conviction under Scottish "Moorov" doctrine, that repeated similar incidents equal corroboration.
@jopparocks@WingsScotland@jerseyp295@michaelbruce543@MacfadyenAngus@AlexSalmond The new incidents ranged from the ludicrous - pinging someone's hair in a lift full of other people, "putting hands on shoulders over her clothes" when asking someone for a dance at a party - to the entire fabrication of Woman H's "attempted rape".
@jopparocks@WingsScotland@jerseyp295@michaelbruce543@MacfadyenAngus@AlexSalmond They all came from the same inner clique.
Woman H was indeed hesitant about it, and Ian McCann was sent to lunch with her "to get her back in the game", as one of the WhatsApp messages said.
I have no doubt at all there was corrupt collusion with Crown Office and Police Scotland.
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Like the rest of the post-Soviet space, Ukraine has retained the important official distinction between gradjvanstvo - citizenship - and narodnosc - ethnicity/nationality.
Exactly as my citizenship is UK, and my nationality is Scottish.
Ukraine asks both in the census.
The last census was in 2001, under pro-Russian President Leonid Kuchma. These census narodnosc results may surprise you.
Donetsk Region: 56.9% Ukrainian, 38.2% Russian (4.9% other).
Lukhansk Region: 58.0% Ukrainian, 38.0% Russian
and for completeness:
Crimea 24.3% Ukrainian, 58.3% Russian.
Russians have never been a majority in the Donbass but are concentrated in the cities so more visible
Yes - and for example Timoshenko got 18.7% in Crimea on a Ukrainian nationalist pro-EU platform, yet four years later Russia claimed it voted 97% to join Russia.
You cannot simply equate support for Yanukovych - who stated in the election he wanted a balanced relationship between EU and Russia - with a desire to become part of Russia
A democratic process requires all sides of the argument to campaign, hold meetings, leaflet and canvass, poster. And equal access to airwaves.
Plainly this has not happened and pro-Ukrainians would not feel safe to campaign under Russian military occupation during a war.
I have just been processing several hundred applications for some non-political jobs.
A significant number of applicants, mostly younger, answered gender (an open field) with a variety of answers other than male or female, most frequent variation being "non-binary".
It is simply true that there is a social trend away from a binary gender divide. Particularly but not only among younger people.
But we have social arrangements and indeed physical architecture that was built around a near universal social acceptance of binary gender division.
There are also those who wish to change gender, some of whom accept the idea of a binary divide but simply feel they have been the wrong side of it.
Evidently, we need to adapt to accommodate the needs of a varied, significant and growing minority of people.
I wish the people of Lvov the very best as the missile attacks extend to them. I love the city and hate the idea of more destruction in what for me is the most beautiful architectural expression of Polish culture.
Yes I know it was stolen by the Soviet Union in 1946 and almost the entire Polish population forcibly deported. Replaced by Ukrainians themselves forcibly deported from now western Russia and - Donbass!
But Lvov was built as a great Polish city.
The Lvov Poles were exterminated or deported across to now Western Poland, to Wroclaw (formerly Breslau), Poznan (formerly Posen) and Sczeczin (formerly Stettin). The German inhabitants there were themselves deported.
Apparently Alisher Usmanov is, finally, going to be on a UK sanctions list - and given 18 mths to move his assets.
I never understood the protection of Usmanov by the UK. In 2003/4, as Ambassador I sent a classified report on his criminal activities from Tashkent 1/2
I explained in particular how he was safeguarding Putin's personal wealth in Mapo Bank. I was told to shut up by the Blair Govt, and the British Embassy in Moscow amazingly replied claiming Usmanov was nobody of interest. spisok-putina.org/en/personas/us…
Usmanov went on to become the man who Putin used to suppress most of Russia's free media through, effectively, compulsory purchase.
Either by himself (eg Kommersant group) or through Gazprominvestholdings of which he was Director.
AN IMPORTANT THREAD ON TODAY'S ALEX SALMOND EVIDENCE SESSION.
12.30pm BBC parliament channel.
Also livestreamed here. scottishparliament.tv/channel/commit…
1/11
This is the FIRST TIME Alex has spoken since his trial almost a year ago. He kept entirely silent.
By contrast Sturgeon was frantically all over the airwaves, trashing his reputation, demeaning the jury and claiming that things he vehemently denied in court really happened.
2/11
Alex is the ONLY WITNESS on his side of the story.
Every other witness has been a government witness.
Every government witness bar one has had subsequently to correct lies in their testimony - only when exposed as documents dribble out. 3/11