The Scottish Politics Thread

[Slick]

An anecdote on policing, our town has almost doubled in size since I last lived here, there used to be two or three polis going around on any one shift-plus one in the station. I played rugby with a good few of those sharing the shifts and I knew the others who didn't play.

The station has been closed down and you never see anyone now - I still see a couple of the guys I first referenced because they are mates, but they are long retired now.

The lack of public funding has got little to do with the SG, they can't raise the money needed to fund public services to the extent needed, there is no mechanism that allows for this.

That’s laughable. Not only do they have some mechanisms, such as income tax, they also have the ability to make decisions on what they spend money on. “Free” uni education, “free” prescriptions, increased benefits, for example.

They certainly don’t have the budget to get things to where we all want them, but they do have the ability to spend better.

[Tichtheid]

An anecdote on policing, our town has almost doubled in size since I last lived here, there used to be two or three polis going around on any one shift-plus one in the station. I played rugby with a good few of those sharing the shifts and I knew the others who didn't play.

The station has been closed down and you never see anyone now - I still see a couple of the guys I first referenced because they are mates, but they are long retired now.

The lack of public funding has got little to do with the SG, they can't raise the money needed to fund public services to the extent needed, there is no mechanism that allows for this.

That’s laughable. Not only do they have some mechanisms, such as income tax, they also have the ability to make decisions on what they spend money on. “Free” uni education, “free” prescriptions, increased benefits, for example.

They certainly don’t have the budget to get things to where we all want them, but they do have the ability to spend better.

That's a small-minded view.

The "wiggle room " on income tax is tiny. The SG can't start taxing huge multinational corporations unilaterally- they do not have the legal wherewithal. Look beyond tuition fees and prescriptions, it's a much bigger issue than that.

The money taken out of the Scottish economy from corporations and the individuals who own them is nigh on theft - it's the same across the other constituent parts of the UK, but Westminster does have a set of options at its disposal that are not available to the devolved governments.

[Blackmac]

Yeah, my post probably didn’t acknowledge that as it
should have, it’s difficult to pin too much blame on the police when we all know how stretched they are. I know a local community officer pretty well and the stories he tells of understaffing and the knock on effects are terrifying.

How many police would the City now have?

It's hard to remember as I was CID, so probably not paying as much attention as I should to the uniformed resources during the daily TAC meeting, but E division was, I think, about 34 and 4 Sgts. That is Howdenhall, Craigmillar (which would cover Porty) St Leonard's, Gayfield and Leith. That's full strength which it rarely is.
Police resources are protected from Data Protection requests so you will never get the truth.

I remember a survey back in the late 90's which showed that the public overestimated L&B's resources by about 12 times. I would imagine that is now worse.

Sorry. Wasn't meaning it as a dig atthe Police more a dig at where we are now. It's depressing. The wee arseholes know that being kids and then as they grow u25 will see them get off lighter than they should. It's a mess.

The SG won't be held to account.

Jesus. Don't worry about me. I'm far removed from being offended by police criticism.

[Biffer]

An anecdote on policing, our town has almost doubled in size since I last lived here, there used to be two or three polis going around on any one shift-plus one in the station. I played rugby with a good few of those sharing the shifts and I knew the others who didn't play.

The station has been closed down and you never see anyone now - I still see a couple of the guys I first referenced because they are mates, but they are long retired now.

The lack of public funding has got little to do with the SG, they can't raise the money needed to fund public services to the extent needed, there is no mechanism that allows for this.

That’s laughable. Not only do they have some mechanisms, such as income tax, they also have the ability to make decisions on what they spend money on. “Free” uni education, “free” prescriptions, increased benefits, for example.

They certainly don’t have the budget to get things to where we all want them, but they do have the ability to spend better.

That's a small-minded view.

The "wiggle room " on income tax is tiny. The SG can't start taxing huge multinational corporations unilaterally- they do not have the legal wherewithal. Look beyond tuition fees and prescriptions, it's a much bigger issue than that.

The money taken out of the Scottish economy from corporations and the individuals who own them is nigh on theft - it's the same across the other constituent parts of the UK, but Westminster does have a set of options at its disposal that are not available to the devolved governments.

Slick having a small minded view of the SNP government? Blimey, that’s news.

[Slick]

An anecdote on policing, our town has almost doubled in size since I last lived here, there used to be two or three polis going around on any one shift-plus one in the station. I played rugby with a good few of those sharing the shifts and I knew the others who didn't play.

The station has been closed down and you never see anyone now - I still see a couple of the guys I first referenced because they are mates, but they are long retired now.

The lack of public funding has got little to do with the SG, they can't raise the money needed to fund public services to the extent needed, there is no mechanism that allows for this.

That’s laughable. Not only do they have some mechanisms, such as income tax, they also have the ability to make decisions on what they spend money on. “Free” uni education, “free” prescriptions, increased benefits, for example.

They certainly don’t have the budget to get things to where we all want them, but they do have the ability to spend better.

That's a small-minded view.

The "wiggle room " on income tax is tiny. The SG can't start taxing huge multinational corporations unilaterally- they do not have the legal wherewithal. Look beyond tuition fees and prescriptions, it's a much bigger issue than that.

The money taken out of the Scottish economy from corporations and the individuals who own them is nigh on theft - it's the same across the other constituent parts of the UK, but Westminster does have a set of options at its disposal that are not available to the devolved governments.

Like I said, I appreciate they don’t have the budgets to do everything, but they do have the ability to spend the money better. They have just received a larger budget than they were expecting and are choosing to spend it on more look at us projects.

By the way, SG cut deals with multi nationals all the time and have their fair share of shocking decisions. They also have the ability to attract investment and therefore income

[Tichtheid]

That’s laughable. Not only do they have some mechanisms, such as income tax, they also have the ability to make decisions on what they spend money on. “Free” uni education, “free” prescriptions, increased benefits, for example.

They certainly don’t have the budget to get things to where we all want them, but they do have the ability to spend better.

That's a small-minded view.

The "wiggle room " on income tax is tiny. The SG can't start taxing huge multinational corporations unilaterally- they do not have the legal wherewithal. Look beyond tuition fees and prescriptions, it's a much bigger issue than that.

The money taken out of the Scottish economy from corporations and the individuals who own them is nigh on theft - it's the same across the other constituent parts of the UK, but Westminster does have a set of options at its disposal that are not available to the devolved governments.

Like I said, I appreciate they don’t have the budgets to do everything, but they do have the ability to spend the money better. They have just received a larger budget than they were expecting and are choosing to spend it on more look at us projects.

By the way, SG cut deals with multi nationals all the time and have their fair share of shocking decisions. They also have the ability to attract investment and therefore income

Again I think you are focusing on a microcosm and missing the bigger picture. The SG could cut every penny for projects you don’t approve of and put it all into areas you support and there would still be a massive shortfall.
I would guess the system works for those at the top when we are blaming the government or the gays or the trans or the immigrants or net zero or whatever policy we don’t like.
In no way do I let the government in Edinburgh off the hook, but it takes far more than shuffling which party holds office there or even in Westminster if all they are going to do is continue down the same path.

I’ll give a quick example, a full run down would take days. We are all experiencing energy price hikes, this is being reflected in retail prices as well as affecting household budgets.

This from a quick search,

National Grid's underlying operating profit for the first half of the year ended September 30, 2024, was £2 billion, a 14% increase from the same period last year. The company expects operating profit growth of around 10% for the full year, with earnings per share (EPS) expected to grow at an average annual rate of 6-8% over the following four years

Ownership and Corporate Structure

National Grid plc’s top ten shareholders range from global asset management firms BlackRock and Vanguard to public pension funds, notably those of Norway and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. As of 2022, BlackRock held close to 9% of total shares.
This is just one part of the energy supply system.
Why aren’t the profits from National Grid being ploughed back into public services?

We have travel infrastructure which is partly state owned, but the sates are Germany, France and Italy

Etc etc

[Slick]

Another mental night in Porty. Armed police all over the High Street and beach after kids fighting with swords and at least one more stabbing. Big fights happening much of the night.

Police got properly stuck in by all accounts. Not sure where it goes from here, the beach is pretty much a no go zone on a weekend evening.

[Biffer]

Another mental night in Porty. Armed police all over the High Street and beach after kids fighting with swords and at least one more stabbing. Big fights happening much of the night.

Police got properly stuck in by all accounts. Not sure where it goes from here, the beach is pretty much a no go zone on a weekend evening.

Two charged

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cr582rl4vq2o

[Tichtheid]

It is the long-awaited cultural project that will deliver Edinburgh’s first new purpose-built concert hall for more than a century.

But work is now finally about to get underway on the 1000-capacity venue in the heart of the city's New Town.

The project, which is expected to cost at least £114 million and has attracted £80m worth of private backing, is hoped to be up and running by 2029, four years later than planned if work starts this summer as planned.

The all-seater venue, which is earmarked for a largely-hidden gap site behind an historic Royal Bank of Scotland building on St Andrew Square, will create a new home for the Scottish Chamber Orchestra more than 35 years after it first began looking for a suitable site.
But the venue, which is being designed by leading British architect David Chipperfield and Japanese acoustic consultancy Nagata, will be suitable for all forms of music, including folk, world, jazz, rock and electronica.

Former Royal Bank of Scotland offices dating back to the 1960s were cleared from the site well over a year ago, however the start of work was held up after talks with construction giant McAlpine broke down.
Negotiations with new contractor Balfour Beatty, who previously worked on the transformation of the former Edinburgh Royal Infirmary into the Edinburgh Futures Institute, are now said to be in the final stages, with an updated cost expected to be made public before the main work begins in the next few months.

Jo Buckley, chief executive of the Dunard Centre, suggested new private backing for the venue would be “coming down the line” in the near future.
However Ms Buckley said she hoped there would be no need for further public funding for the venue, which is named after the Dunard Fund charity led by American philanthropist Carol Colburn Grigor. The former concert pianist is also behind plans to turn the former Royal High School on Edinburgh’s Calton Hill into a National Centre for Music.

The Dunard Fund is the single biggest backer of the new concert hall, which will open up part of the city centre to the public for the first time in more than 250 years.
First announced in 2016, when it had an initial price tag of £45m, the project has had £25m worth of combined support committed from the Scottish and UK governments, and Edinburgh City Council, since 2018.
The project has since had a number of setbacks, including rising construction industry costs and a bitter dispute with the developers behind the nearby St James Quarter development over the scale of the venue and the impact on its luxury hotel. A legal action instigated after councillors approved the initial design for the venue was only dropped after the plans was sent back to the drawing board.

Scaled-backed designs, which reduced the height of the building and dropped a planned second performance space, were again backed by the city council in 2021, when a new opening date of 2025 was announced.
The site was handed over from RBS to Impact Scotland, the charity set up by the Dunard Fund to pursue the concert hall project, at the start of 2023 to allow demolition work on the old office buildings to begin and the main construction project to get underway by the end of 2023.

By then it had emerged that the cost of the project had risen from £75m to at least £114m. However an additional £30m of private support had been secured by last summer.
Ms Buckley said: “We have raised £105m for the project to date and we are still actively fundraising. There are a couple of gifts, including an international one, which are coming down the line and we will talk about when we can.
“We are making applications to trusts all the time and are still waiting to see the results of those.
“It is definitely a challenging climate to be building something like this, but I would like to think that our fundraising has kept pace with the costs of the building.”
Ms Buckley admitted that she had expected the main construction work to begin last summer and that negotiations over a new contract had taken longer than expected.
“But said she insisted work would be able to begin “almost imminently” once final agreement is reached with Balfour Beatty as the site has been fully cleared.
She added: “As long as we can agree the price and terms of the contract we are ready. I am hoping work will start by the summer.
“The building programme should be just under four years so we are planning to be open in 2029.
“I am as impatient as everybody else. The important thing is that I can’t foresee any more hold-ups for the project now.
“We have gone through a whole new tender process with Balfour Beatty over the last year. They effectively had to go back to scratch.
“It’s taken a lot longer than we had anticipated to get to this point and a lot longer than Balfour Beatty because of the minute detail that has been needed to price a building like this. It’s been really complicated.
“We are about a month away from receiving a tender from them and we are still in a commercial negotiation, so we can’t say anything about the cost of the project. We’re not far away from knowing the answer to that question. I don’t see any reason why we wouldn’t be transparent about that is as I think the public has a right to know.
“We still have an active fundraising campaign at the moment, but I think it will help when there is clarity about the cost of the project. It’s difficult at the moment when we can’t talk about that.”
Ms Buckley said she was in regular contact with the Scottish and UK governments, and the city council, who are contributing £10m, £10m and £5m respectively, about the project, which she said would be an "amazing beacon" when it was completed.
Asked if there would be any need to seek more public funding for the project, she said: "I can't rule it out, but I really hope we don't have to.
"We are talking to all of our funders. We have to get this project across the line."

[Slick]

That's great news.

I know a guy who has been behind the scenes on this for years and the amount of work and commitment these people have put in to make it a reality is astonishing.

[robmatic]

It's a shame that they had to scale it back due to the giant jobbie hotel though.

[Blackmac]

Can I play devils advocate and question the need for this. There are numerous venues throughout Edinburgh that cater for this size of audience and a 1000 seater capacity is not going to work for any worthwhile acts. I appreciate it will be nice and modern in comparison to what we have but it is really a decent 8 to 10 thousand capacity venue we should be looking for.

[Slick]

Can I play devils advocate and question the need for this. There are numerous venues throughout Edinburgh that cater for this size of audience and a 1000 seater capacity is not going to work for any worthwhile acts. I appreciate it will be nice and modern in comparison to what we have but it is really a decent 8 to 10 thousand capacity venue we should be looking for.

I think the reason behind it is that many of the venues built specifically for classical music have been demolished or repurposed over the years leaving nothing that has the acoustics etc for international standard performances. That's what I seem to remember.

EDIT: you fucking philistine.

[Biffer]

Can I play devils advocate and question the need for this. There are numerous venues throughout Edinburgh that cater for this size of audience and a 1000 seater capacity is not going to work for any worthwhile acts. I appreciate it will be nice and modern in comparison to what we have but it is really a decent 8 to 10 thousand capacity venue we should be looking for.

Can you give me a list of thousand seat venues in Edinburgh? And then point to the ones suitable for orchestral music?

And planning is in for a 7500 capacity arena at Edinburgh park. We don’t have to only do one thing at a time.

[Blackmac]

Can I play devils advocate and question the need for this. There are numerous venues throughout Edinburgh that cater for this size of audience and a 1000 seater capacity is not going to work for any worthwhile acts. I appreciate it will be nice and modern in comparison to what we have but it is really a decent 8 to 10 thousand capacity venue we should be looking for.

Can you give me a list of thousand seat venues in Edinburgh? And then point to the ones suitable for orchestral music?

And planning is in for a 7500 capacity arena at Edinburgh park. We don’t have to only do one thing at a time.

I haven't a fucking clue about ones suitable for orchestral music but the Festival, Kings, Usher, possibly even Queens all spring to mind and then possibly even the conference centre. Why they wouldn't be suitable for orchestral music is beyond me but that's why I asked the question. Is there a specific requirement for a venue that caters for orchestral music which will only attracts audiences of up to 1000.

The 7500 capacity is yet a bit of a pipe dream from what I understand but already being questioned in relation to location and not being big enough to attract artists away from venues in the weeg.

Would the city benefit more from the money spent on this venue being added to the 7500 venue to create a bigger option that would prove more profitable in the long run.

[Blackmac]

Can I play devils advocate and question the need for this. There are numerous venues throughout Edinburgh that cater for this size of audience and a 1000 seater capacity is not going to work for any worthwhile acts. I appreciate it will be nice and modern in comparison to what we have but it is really a decent 8 to 10 thousand capacity venue we should be looking for.

I think the reason behind it is that many of the venues built specifically for classical music have been demolished or repurposed over the years leaving nothing that has the acoustics etc for international standard performances. That's what I seem to remember.

EDIT: you fucking philistine.

Totally.
I actually fell asleep at La boheme at the Sydney Opera House.

[Biffer]

Can I play devils advocate and question the need for this. There are numerous venues throughout Edinburgh that cater for this size of audience and a 1000 seater capacity is not going to work for any worthwhile acts. I appreciate it will be nice and modern in comparison to what we have but it is really a decent 8 to 10 thousand capacity venue we should be looking for.

Can you give me a list of thousand seat venues in Edinburgh? And then point to the ones suitable for orchestral music?

And planning is in for a 7500 capacity arena at Edinburgh park. We don’t have to only do one thing at a time.

I haven't a fucking clue about ones suitable for orchestral music but the Festival, Kings, Usher, possibly even Queens all spring to mind and then possibly even the conference centre. Why they wouldn't be suitable for orchestral music is beyond me but that's why I asked the question. Is there a specific requirement for a venue that caters for orchestral music which will only attracts audiences of up to 1000.

The 7500 capacity is yet a bit of a pipe dream from what I understand but already being questioned in relation to location and not being big enough to attract artists away from venues in the weeg.

Would the city benefit more from the money spent on this venue being added to the 7500 venue to create a bigger option that would prove more profitable in the long run.

Festival and Kings aren't suitable for orchestra, because of the layout. You'd lose the sound from the stage to audience. Usher Hall is over 2000 capacity. Queen's Hall which only takes about 600 for an orchestral concert. And the backstage of the Queen's Hall is too small to effectively accommodate an orchestra.

The new hall absolutely fills a gap that isn't provided in Edinburgh atm.

[Blackmac]

Can you give me a list of thousand seat venues in Edinburgh? And then point to the ones suitable for orchestral music?

And planning is in for a 7500 capacity arena at Edinburgh park. We don’t have to only do one thing at a time.

I haven't a fucking clue about ones suitable for orchestral music but the Festival, Kings, Usher, possibly even Queens all spring to mind and then possibly even the conference centre. Why they wouldn't be suitable for orchestral music is beyond me but that's why I asked the question. Is there a specific requirement for a venue that caters for orchestral music which will only attracts audiences of up to 1000.

The 7500 capacity is yet a bit of a pipe dream from what I understand but already being questioned in relation to location and not being big enough to attract artists away from venues in the weeg.

Would the city benefit more from the money spent on this venue being added to the 7500 venue to create a bigger option that would prove more profitable in the long run.

Festival and Kings aren't suitable for orchestra, because of the layout. You'd lose the sound from the stage to audience. Usher Hall is over 2000 capacity. Queen's Hall which only takes about 600 for an orchestral concert. And the backstage of the Queen's Hall is too small to effectively accommodate an orchestra.

The new hall absolutely fills a gap that isn't provided in Edinburgh atm.

That's fair enough, I have little or no knowledge of the acoustic requirements. I've been to many a concert and show in these venues though and the sound is grand, especially during the panto.
The whole purpose does seem slightly limited though. Is the 1000 limit by design or purely because that is all the site can accommodate or all that these performances will attract.
If I'm being honest spending that amount of money on a venue for a fairly minority musical audience does seem a bit out of touch. I would also bet a pound to a penny it's in financial difficulties within 10 years of opening. Hopefully not.

[Biffer]

I haven't a fucking clue about ones suitable for orchestral music but the Festival, Kings, Usher, possibly even Queens all spring to mind and then possibly even the conference centre. Why they wouldn't be suitable for orchestral music is beyond me but that's why I asked the question. Is there a specific requirement for a venue that caters for orchestral music which will only attracts audiences of up to 1000.

The 7500 capacity is yet a bit of a pipe dream from what I understand but already being questioned in relation to location and not being big enough to attract artists away from venues in the weeg.

Would the city benefit more from the money spent on this venue being added to the 7500 venue to create a bigger option that would prove more profitable in the long run.

Festival and Kings aren't suitable for orchestra, because of the layout. You'd lose the sound from the stage to audience. Usher Hall is over 2000 capacity. Queen's Hall which only takes about 600 for an orchestral concert. And the backstage of the Queen's Hall is too small to effectively accommodate an orchestra.

The new hall absolutely fills a gap that isn't provided in Edinburgh atm.

That's fair enough, I have little or no knowledge of the acoustic requirements. I've been to many a concert and show in these venues though and the sound is grand, especially during the panto.
The whole purpose does seem slightly limited though. Is the 1000 limit by design or purely because that is all the site can accommodate or all that these performances will attract.
If I'm being honest spending that amount of money on a venue for a fairly minority musical audience does seem a bit out of touch. I would also bet a pound to a penny it's in financial difficulties within 10 years of opening. Hopefully not.

It’s by design. Scottish Chamber Orchestra will be the anchor user, and they’re behind most of the fundraising. Queens Hall is too small for them, Usher Hall too big - audience size for their gigs occasionally gets up to near the Usher Hall capacity but that’s pretty rare. During the festival, most of the international artists who do recitals do them in the morning rather than the evening, this concert will allow them to perform in the evening.

Sound in those venues is good for those types of performances. Panto, gigs etc have people mic’d up, orchestras don’t, so on stage in somewhere like the Festival Theatre you’d lose sound behind the edges of the stage - these venues are designed with an orchestra pit for when they use one, but that’s hidden and low so although the sound is good from there you can’t actually see them.

[Slick]

Festival and Kings aren't suitable for orchestra, because of the layout. You'd lose the sound from the stage to audience. Usher Hall is over 2000 capacity. Queen's Hall which only takes about 600 for an orchestral concert. And the backstage of the Queen's Hall is too small to effectively accommodate an orchestra.

The new hall absolutely fills a gap that isn't provided in Edinburgh atm.

That's fair enough, I have little or no knowledge of the acoustic requirements. I've been to many a concert and show in these venues though and the sound is grand, especially during the panto.
The whole purpose does seem slightly limited though. Is the 1000 limit by design or purely because that is all the site can accommodate or all that these performances will attract.
If I'm being honest spending that amount of money on a venue for a fairly minority musical audience does seem a bit out of touch. I would also bet a pound to a penny it's in financial difficulties within 10 years of opening. Hopefully not.

It’s by design. Scottish Chamber Orchestra will be the anchor user, and they’re behind most of the fundraising. Queens Hall is too small for them, Usher Hall too big - audience size for their gigs occasionally gets up to near the Usher Hall capacity but that’s pretty rare. During the festival, most of the international artists who do recitals do them in the morning rather than the evening, this concert will allow them to perform in the evening.

Sound in those venues is good for those types of performances. Panto, gigs etc have people mic’d up, orchestras don’t, so on stage in somewhere like the Festival Theatre you’d lose sound behind the edges of the stage - these venues are designed with an orchestra pit for when they use one, but that’s hidden and low so although the sound is good from there you can’t actually see them.

Do you think Scottish Opera will also use it? Festival Theatre always seems slightly too large and also not quite the right venue aesthetically

[Biffer]

That's fair enough, I have little or no knowledge of the acoustic requirements. I've been to many a concert and show in these venues though and the sound is grand, especially during the panto.
The whole purpose does seem slightly limited though. Is the 1000 limit by design or purely because that is all the site can accommodate or all that these performances will attract.
If I'm being honest spending that amount of money on a venue for a fairly minority musical audience does seem a bit out of touch. I would also bet a pound to a penny it's in financial difficulties within 10 years of opening. Hopefully not.

It’s by design. Scottish Chamber Orchestra will be the anchor user, and they’re behind most of the fundraising. Queens Hall is too small for them, Usher Hall too big - audience size for their gigs occasionally gets up to near the Usher Hall capacity but that’s pretty rare. During the festival, most of the international artists who do recitals do them in the morning rather than the evening, this concert will allow them to perform in the evening.

Sound in those venues is good for those types of performances. Panto, gigs etc have people mic’d up, orchestras don’t, so on stage in somewhere like the Festival Theatre you’d lose sound behind the edges of the stage - these venues are designed with an orchestra pit for when they use one, but that’s hidden and low so although the sound is good from there you can’t actually see them.

Do you think Scottish Opera will also use it? Festival Theatre always seems slightly too large and also not quite the right venue aesthetically

No. It won’t be right for opera. No orchestra pit, no theatre staging kit/space.

[Blackmac]

What's everyone's thoughts on Kneecaps attendance at Transmit. Regardless of the rights and wrongs of their politics there is no doubt that they will cause huge problems in a city with such a sectarian divide. Police Scotland have already said that their appearance will require a significant police operation which will no doubt have a detrimental effect on the whole festival, and a huge cost.

[Slick]

What's everyone's thoughts on Kneecaps attendance at Transmit. Regardless of the rights and wrongs of their politics there is no doubt that they will cause huge problems in a city with such a sectarian divide. Police Scotland have already said that their appearance will require a significant police operation which will no doubt have a detrimental effect on the whole festival, and a huge cost.

They do seem like a genuine bunch of twats but it did get me wondering if it's anything worse than controversies surrounding other bands in the past, like the Rolling Stones and drugs, or Frankie Goes to Hollywood and gayness. Maybe it's just older people getting upset over something that the younger generation just breeze past. Would be interesting to do a survey at TRNSMT (showing you age there Blackmac old boy) and see how many of the attendees have heard of Hezbollah.

[Blackmac]

What's everyone's thoughts on Kneecaps attendance at Transmit. Regardless of the rights and wrongs of their politics there is no doubt that they will cause huge problems in a city with such a sectarian divide. Police Scotland have already said that their appearance will require a significant police operation which will no doubt have a detrimental effect on the whole festival, and a huge cost.

They do seem like a genuine bunch of twats but it did get me wondering if it's anything worse than controversies surrounding other bands in the past, like the Rolling Stones and drugs, or Frankie Goes to Hollywood and gayness. Maybe it's just older people getting upset over something that the younger generation just breeze past. Would be interesting to do a survey at TRNSMT (showing you age there Blackmac old boy) and see how many of the attendees have heard of Hezbollah.

I've actually been twice. Shit the first time and didn't learn my lesson and went back. Still shit.

I'm thinking more from the republican issues. Considering the majority of the crowd will be firmly from the other side of that divide it could be carnage. Them being gobshites is kind of water off my back but they definitely present a significant public order threat in that environment.