The Point

The Reason for the Season

2015-12-17T13:56:00.001-08:00

At this festive time of year, let us pause to remember the true message of Christmas, the birth of Jesus.

As many of us go about the business of buying and wrapping gifts, gathering together our festive fair for the big dinner and making last minute preparations for the feast, we should stop to remember the greatest story ever told. If you are not familiar with this story or have perhaps forgotten, allow me to refresh your memory.

It all begun over 2000 years ago. God, who was all seeing and all powerful decided the time had come again to intervene and make an appearance on Earth, his only real achievement in life. He had appeared about 1400 years previously as a burning bush. Around about this time the Chinese had a pretty developed society and a formal written language that was in common use but for some reason he had chosen to appear as a tree in the Middle East where most of the population were illiterate goat herders. It went well and he gave Moses a list of 10 rules which seemed quite popular so he left them too it.

However in the 1400 years that had passed his message had been corrupted and things had gone a bit wrong so he decided it was finally time to come back and set things straight. Again, he could have chosen to appear to the Chinese who would have no doubt written things down and there would today be a definitive record, corroborated by multiple scribes, all of whom could have attested to the events that took place and the things he said. That would have cleared a lot of things up. But as I mentioned previously, God is all seeing and all knowing and he knows what's best. So he decided to stick with the illiterate goat herders who made such a mess of things previously. Also God is white and the locals were mostly brown but he knew it would probably be fine. Now..

God used his infinite wisdom and omnipotence and identified a young unmarried virgin who seemed the perfect candidate for him to impregnate by magic so that she could then give birth to him. Luckily, and against all odds her fiancé Joseph was totally cool about the whole thing so the game was set. Again, it doesn't make a massive amount of sense to me but he works in mysterious ways and knows everything so for some reason he decided it would be good if Mary gave birth in Winter during the first ever census so she would have to leave home and travel to Bethlehem, about 3-4 days journey on foot. So off they set for Bethlehem.

There was no Groupon or Expedia back then and nobody could read or write so they weren't able to book ahead. When they got there all of the guest rooms were full so they ended up in with the animals. In actual fact back then the animals tended to sleep in with the people anyway, the humans upstairs where the heat went so it was probably quite toasty. God probably thought of this when he decided on Winter cause he knows. So Mary gave birth to a white blue eyed baby but God was right again, everyone actually was really cool about it. In fact some shepherds who didn't work during winter but were picking up a bit of overtime dropped by with gifts for the new born messiah. Gold (quite a nice gift), frankincense (an ointment used in perfume and skincare so not practical but still nice) and myrrh (an antiseptic. Hope he kept the receipt!)

And there we have it, Jesus was born. Mary and Joseph knew that he was actually a God on account of an angel telling Mary and the whole magic virgin pregnancy, but these were tough times so they decided he should have a trade in case the God thing didn't work out. He trained as a carpenter which went well for a few years until he went full God, shared all his wisdom with some illiterate goat herders then died on the cross for our sins. And we haven't heard from God since. Luckily nothing bad has happened since then and we're all sorted so he's probably taking some time off or focussing on Jupiter for a bit.

And that's the nativity. Merry Christmas.

Social Bite

2015-12-14T08:45:00.001-08:00

Check out the video below. There's something wonderful about this concept, it's charity of course and there will always be plenty of charities needing money for one thing or another but it's the social aspect of it that appeals to me. You don't just need to dig deep and hand over your cash (although it would be lovely if you did) but it's the fact that it's a viable business providing a service that you and I need and while you are in there getting something to eat you can pay it forward and help out the next person who for one reason or another cannot afford to eat.

It's not political, it's just about doing something worthwhile and helping out those who need help. I can only hope this concept catches on, imagine if Starbucks or Costa or Burger King had a box at the till which allows you to buy an extra burger or sandwich or coffee for anyone who has nothing to come in a claim. It's about making the society that we wish we had, a kinder more caring one in which no amount of austerity and cruelty from the top can stop us from making positive change and helping those in need. In a way it's about taking that control away from the governments who want to cut services to fund lower taxes and creating a socialist nation whether they want it or not.

Just imagine where a simple idea like this might lead.

Oh and in case you're wondering, no the guy at the very end of the video isn't me!

Social Bite Video

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Pig Sick

2015-09-21T00:51:00.000-07:00

The alleged story of David Cameron "putting a private part of his anatomy" into a pig is great fodder for comedy and Twitter has certainly taken up that mantel admirably, however beyond the comedic value of this revelation, there is a deeper analysis to be gained. What this story tells us is that, if true, Cameron and his cohorts do not inhabit the same world that you and I do, they have their own set of rules, their own set of values and their own set of morals. Cameron represents the very thing that everyone hates about the Tories, he is rich, entitled, born with a silver spoon, toffee-nosed and looks down upon us mere mortals (particularly if you are Scottish or from Yorkshire.)

But pigs aside for just one second, it beggars belief that this guy and his pals have been elected twice as they do not represent us. They represent that elite 1%, often erroneously referred to as the "top" 1%. That means that 99% of us (or 100% if you are a Scot) are led by a government that do not represent us or our way of life. The simple fact is that The Tories are there to protect their way of life, not ours. That 1% that sit and cream off the top need the poor to be kept poor, they need people that are desperate for minimum wage work, they need wages and living standards to be kept low so that their profits can be kept high and that is why they need Tories.

The guy on minimum wage, working 8 hours operating a machine to churn out hundreds of units that cost £5 to make but sell for £50 is the basis on which this 1% have gotten rich and remain rich. The machine operator sees none of the profit from his hard work because his poverty is necessary to keep the machine running. The Tory run media churn out story after story about "migrants" and benefit cheats milking the system, wanting something for nothing and taking from OUR society whilst contributing nothing but it is to distract you from the reality that is the 1% taking from the 99% like parasites on an institutionalised basis.

So while the internet is having a field day today with these allegations, and rightly so, I shall leave the comedy to others as in my view, if true, David Cameron sticking is dick in a pig is the least disgusting thing he's ever done!

Political Scapegoating for Dummies

2015-05-11T00:49:00.001-07:00

Let me give you a quick lesson in political scapegoating.

So you find yourself in the situation where your election campaign was unsuccessful, your party is extremely unpopular, you've aligned yourself with a party who are the very embodiment of everything you claim to stand against to protect a establishment that is more in their interests than your perceived own and have used every dirty trick and fear tactic in the book to do so. What's more you were caught doing it.

What do you do?

Simple, you find someone to blame, make that person the bad guy and the cause of everything that is wrong and everything that is unpopular and you get rid of him. Then you can demonise him, criticise him on telly and in the papers and say you never agreed with him and make out that all the bad stuff was his idea. Now that he's gone everything you hated about us is gone and all the good stuff is left behind.

It's been done time and time again and the public fall for it time and time again. Next step is to find a new guy or girl who looks like a gameshow host and will say everything you want to hear and you will fall for it. Won't you?

Obviously this is completely hypothetical.

Simple Sums

2015-05-09T00:33:00.001-07:00

Hello Friends,

Today we're going to do some simple sums and hopefully put to rest one of the big myths that's doing the rounds, mostly perpetuated by those who still take instruction from the press on how to vote.

I've heard a few people say this since Thursday: "Thanks to you SNP supporters we've ended up with a Tory government".

So let's just quickly add it up, shall we?

323 electoral seats are required to form a majority government.

Labour won 232, Conservatives won 331 and SNP won 56. There are 59 electoral seats up for grabs in Scotland.

232 + 56 = 288 = <323

Now, supposing every single person in Scotland went out on Thursday and voted Labour and we elected 59 Labour MPs and sent them to Westminster, it still would have made zero difference to the outcome, we still would have ended up with a Tory government we hadn't voted for. Same as happens at every election.

This isn't the first time I've mentioned this.

Labour did not lose the election because they lost Scotland, they lost the election because they lost the media war. Simply put, the mainstream media wanted the Tories, same as in 2010 and they pulled out every dirty trick in the book to make sure it happened. Labour lost because Ed Miliband can't eat a bacon sandwich and the majority of UK residents of voting age can't use the Internet or an analytical mind.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

"The choice on May 7th is clear.."

2015-05-05T02:21:00.001-07:00

You'll have heard this quoted ad nauseum by both David Cameron and Ed Miliband for weeks, nay months now. "The choice is clear." On one hand we have Cameron telling us the choice is between the path that we are on, the successful path that has brought us out of recession and delivered a strong working economy or the alternative which is uncertainty and higher taxes, more borrowing and an increased deficit. Then you have Miliband on the other hand offering a "clear choice" between more austerity, more and deeper cuts, more poverty and food banks or his alternative vision of investment, taxing the rich to pay for the poor and a fairer society. So who is right? Well neither in my view. That isn't the choice at all and in fact the choice is far from clear. Particularly if you live in any other region of the UK outside of England. Now before you stop reading and assume I am just another angry Scot with a chip on my shoulder I should explain. I am not a Nationalist. I never had been. I believe in the UK and whilst I did change my vote to Yes at the 11th hour in last year's Independence referendum (all of which is documented in this blog)it was not because of any nationalistic feeling of superiority or hatred of our English cousins. My reason for wanting Independence is that I genuinely believed and still do that it would have been the first step in fixing a broken system within British politics and the UK in general. And when I tell you that the Scottish vote at general elections has had no impact on the outcome of the GE for 65 out of the last 67 years, it's not sour grapes, it's just maths!

(Wings over Scotland)

Simply put, England is bigger than the rest of us. It has a massively greater population than Scotland, Wales and Nothern Ireland therefore it has the numbers needed to sway the vote one way or the other. So the reality is that if you belong to one of the smaller regions in our "Family of Nations" then your voice is likely to be drowned out by our louder family members. So the choice for you is not clear at all.

But I digress, let's get back to The Point (sorry, couldn't help myself).

The choice may not be clear but taking personalities out of it for now, the choice is between Socialist or Conservative. You may think that equates to Labour vs Tory but no, the choice is not that clear. There is no doubt that Labour are less Conservative than The Conservatives but they are certainly not socialist any more. The Labour of old were about the working man, they stood up for the rights of the workers and gave them a voice, they stood against exploitation and greed and strived for fairness and equality. Labour these days are very much part of the establishment and are more concerned about protecting their own power and position and maintaining the support of their corporate sponsors than looking after the common man. The Labour of old would not have gotten in league with the Tories to convince Scotland to vote No.

So what is the choice then? Well Socialism at it's core is about fairness and equality. It is the idea that while you should be encouraged to work hard and hard work should be rewarded, if you can afford to pay a little more in for the common good then you should and that those who, for reasons beyond their control, cannot contribute or are unable to, should be helped. I guess what it comes down to is making sure that those who work hard are rewarded rather than those who make people work hard and no-one is left behind. We are a society and we care for those less fortunate than ourselves. The NHS is the antipathy of this concept, healthcare should be for everyone, not just those who can afford it. So instead of the rich paying for their healthcare and letting the poor die, we all contribute an amount that is relative to our wealth and everyone shares the healthcare. That's socialism in a nutshell.

So what does it mean to be Conservative? Well at this point I should declare that I fundamentally disagree with Conservativism so perhaps I should leave it to someone else to define what it means. To me it means looking after number 1, ensuring that you keep your wealth and those who cannot afford to survive do not. It is their problem not yours. The problem with this is that the number 1 they are looking out for is not you, it is the richest 1% of the population and if you accidentally get to keep a few extra pounds in your pocket as a result of their policies which are aimed at ensuring the rich stay rich then so be it. Unfortunately if you are poor or disabled and you die as a result of their policies then so be it too! It is essentially a belief in non-intervention and thinks that the less the government does the better, it maintains the status quo and is very helpful to those who have and very damaging to those who have not. But I said I was going to let someone else define it, didn't I?

A social conservative wants to preserve traditional morality and social mores, often by opposing what they consider radical policies or social engineering. Social change is generally regarded as suspect. A second meaning of the term social conservatism developed in the Nordic countries and continental Europe. - source: Wikipedia

So now we are getting somewhere. The choice is clearly between a society that cares for all and shares the wealth fairly, allowing those who work hard to be rewarded but sharing some of the wealth with those who need a little help OR a society where you get to keep everything you work for and are comfortable with the idea that those who need help will not get it and many poor and ill will die as a result. You are OK with food banks in a modern civilised society and disabled people committing suicide because they have no hope. That's your choice.

But we still haven't established who to vote for if you choose Socialism. Well if you are English then Labour are your best bet and I would urge you to vote for them. They aren't perfect but they aren't Conservative and are the best chance you will get of putting The Tories out of Number 10. Just to remind you of some of the Tories election promises from 2010 (which has since been deleted from their website along with a number of speeches), they said that they would eliminate the deficit by 2015 as a result of "difficult choices" and while they have failed to do so they are now boasting about how well they are doing and after failing in their task and putting the country through hell for the last 5 years they are using this as an argument for handing them another 5 years! They have presided over the slowest recovery from recession in over 100 years and have repeatedly told us that they "inherited" a bad situation from labour and blamed all of their failings on them. The fact is the global economic crash was, well, global. It started in the US and yet somehow the Tories have managed to convince the country that it was the fault of the Labour government (it's almost as if the same rich people who own the Tories, own the media!). The simple fact is that Labour HAD to do something when the banks collapsed and they HAD to bail them out, had they not the situation would have been a lot worse and thankfully they had the money to do it. But it's not in David Cameron's interest to blame the crash on the banks as they are his friends, it serves him better to blame it on Labour so he does. Repeatedly. Until we believe the lie.

But if you live in Scotland then you have a very different choice. As above voting Tory or Labour will have no effect on the outcome, we will get whoever England chooses. That's just a fact we have to live with. But this time we have a very different choice. We have the chance to send 59 SNP MPs to Westminster, not to break it but to fix it. If we elect 59 MPs from the same party with the same common vision: to end austerity; to stimulate investment; to make a fairer society built on socialist values; to protect the NHS from privatisation, just imagine what we can achieve. These are just some of the policies that the SNP will argue for in our voice. Instead of a random selection of Scottish reps bickering and arguing amongst themselves, we send 59 representatives who have the same goals and a strong chance of achieving them. By sending the SNP to Westminster to take up our seat amongst our Family of Nations we will be truly represented for the first time in a long time. Scottish Labour have been described by their own leader as the London Labour, Scottish branch office; they speak for London with a Scottish accent. The SNP are a truly Scottish party and when 55% of the population voted against Independence they dropped Independence from their latest manifesto, the first time in their history. Had they included Independence in their manifesto this may have given them a mandate to chair a new referendum, but knowing that this is not what anyone wants right now they have opted to change their approach and will go to Westminster and embrace the UK in the same way that the UK embraced us in the weeks preceding last year's vote.

Whether the government is Tory or Labour The SNP will vote and debate in our interests and they will hold the government to account. You don't even have to agree with all of their policies as it is in Holyrood that the day to day business takes place. Their main purpose in Westminster is to speak up for us and when the London government are making decisions that affect us all to ask "What about the rest of us?" Austerity is a policy of inequality as it hits those on the lowest incomes hardest while barely touching those on the highest. When David Cameron or George Osbourne tell us of the "difficult decisions" that effect us all he really means "all of you" and both Labour and Lib Dems intend to stick to the path. The SNP will question that and use their strength in Westminster to affect real change. That is the clear choice that we have as Scots. To have a voice or to hand over full ownership to our Westminster masters in London. Westminster have a proven since September that they have no intention of delivering on their promises of more powers for Scotland unless we go to them and ensure that they do. Going to Westminster and taking part is the positive thing to do and moves us on from last year. It is about looking to the future, our future within the UK rather than lamenting what might have been.

So it turns out the choice is clear, live in England; vote Labour. Live in Scotland; vote SNP.

Westminster running scared

2015-04-19T09:10:00.000-07:00

Here we have a man who rode into town on a white horse at the eleventh hour last year to tell us that he would be...
Posted by The Point - The World, The Universe and Everything on Sunday, 19 April 2015

2015-03-31T05:41:00.002-07:00

The referendum wasn't about the SNP but the General Election has to be. We are part of the "family of nations" now, that...
Posted by The Point - The World, The Universe and Everything on Tuesday, 31 March 2015

Red Tories or Blue Tories?

2015-03-04T07:13:00.003-08:00

Dear Friends,

As you know there will be a general election in the UK on May 7th and we all have a decision to make. I have covered previously that Scotland has historically made little impact on the outcome of the UK GE, I have also noted that last year's Independence Referendum was won on the basis of misinformation, biased reporting and outright lies. "The Vow" hasn't exactly come to much, has it and as of now, all 3 parties involved have made attempts to distance themselves from it claiming that it was a mock-up by The Daily Record and that they had not, in fact agreed to honour any of it. The Daily Record on the other hand have denied any involvement in the wording of the article and as yet no-one knows who is responsible for writing it!

So, where does that leave us? Well I believe it should be fairly clear to all that if you voted No on the basis of the promise of more powers you were lied to. The media and the politicians said what had to be said at the 11th hour to turn round the vote and now that it has gone their way they have forgotten about it. You were conned.

I still believe in the UK, I still believe that being part of something greater is important but more than ever I believe that Britain is no longer Great and we need to do something meaningful to change that. You can vote Tory and you will get more of the same or you can vote Labour and..well, little will change. Miliband is an empty suit I'm afraid to say. But now more than ever the "Red Tories" nickname is accurate as once again Labour and Conservatives are in bed with one another to try and convince us not to vote SNP. "Scotland In Union" or "Better Together 2G" is a group consisting of Labour and Tory MPs. Their aim is to identify areas where tactical voting is required to keep SNP out of power, ie if needed Labour MPs will inform the public that in order to keep SNP out they will need to vote Tory and vice versa. Labour no longer stands for the working man, they have become desperate and now that they have stuck their necks out to defeat Independence in Scotland, they have no option but to collude with the Tories to continue lying in the bed they have made for themselves.

But why go to this trouble, why are they so united in their contempt for SNP? Probably because 45% of the Scottish voting public voted for Independence and they know that when we need to we can pull together for a common goal.

Which is what we need to do now. We need to vote SNP and get as many SNP MPs into Westminster as possible. Why? Because whether you agree with Independence or not we are part of the UK and we need a voice in Westminster. Like it or not we are still part of the UK and we need a voice, we need someone to fight for OUR way of life and our beliefs. We are still a socialist country but Labour are no longer a viable option and we need someone to speak against the Tories. Remember that the first thing Joanne Lamont did post Referendum was quit. She quit because she was frustrated at the lack of power she has as leader of the London Labour Party Scottish Branch Office! But she waited and towed the party line up till that point arguing how much new powers we would have and how great it was being part of the UK.

The only power we have is if we unite and all vote for the same party, The SNP. It is the only way we will be represented in Westminster and the only way we will have a voice and a say in The UK. Our voice must not be diluted, there IS strength in numbers and we ARE Better Together!

I'll leave you with this, for those who think that it's not so bad having a Tory government and for those who argued better the devil you know during the Referendum. The list below has been on a few sites but I have randomly checked and verified it and have included a few independent sources at the bottom of the page to support this. Feel free to google some of them to confirm this. THIS is what you are getting if you allow the Tories to stay in power. You get a complete lack of compassion, you get an "us and them" mentality, you get the demonisation of the poor to distract you from the corruption and greed of the rich, you get outrage at those in need asking for help and a general acceptance of those who want for nothing taking so much from those who have nothing to give. You get food banks and poor people dying of starvation, while trust fund millionaires in tails preach austerity to the masses from their banquet halls. This is what happens as a result of the "difficult decisions" that The Tories have made for the "hard working Briddish familes". Read on if you can stomach it.

Terry McGarvey, 48. Dangerously ill from polycytheamia, Terry asked for an ambulance to be called during his Work Capability Assessment. He knew that he wasn't well enough to attend his WCA but feared that his benefits would be stopped if he did not. He died the following day.

Elaine Lowe, 53. Suffering from COPD and fearful of losing her benefits. In desperation, Elaine chose to commit suicide.

Mark Wood, 44. Found fit for work by Atos, against his Doctors advice and assertions that he had complex mental health problems. Starved to death after benefits stopped, weighing only 5st 8lb when he died.

Paul Reekie, 48, the Leith based Poet and Author. Suffered from severe depression. Committed suicide after DWP stopped his benefits due to an Atos 'fit for work' decision.

Leanne Chambers, 30. Suffered depression for many years which took a turn for the worst when she was called in for a WCA. Leanne committed suicide soon after.

Karen Sherlock, 44. Multiple health issues. Found fit for work by Atos and denied benefits. Fought a long battle to get placed into the support group of ESA. Karen died the following month of a heart attack.

Carl Payne, 42. Fears of losing his lifeline benefits due to welfare reform led this Father of two to take his own life.

Tim Salter, 53. Blind and suffering from Agoraphobia. Tim hanged himself after Atos found him fit for work and stopped his benefits.

Edward Jacques, 47 years old and suffering from HIV and Hepatitis C. Edward had a history of severe depression and self-harm. He took a fatal overdose after Atos found him fit for work and stopped his benefits.

Linda Wootton, 49 years old. A double heart and lung transplant patient. Died just nine days after the government found her fit for work, their refusal letter arriving as she lay desperately ill in her hospital bed.

Steven Cawthra, 55. His benefits stopped by the DWP and with rising debts, he saw suicide as the only way out of a desperate situation

Elenore Tatton, 39 years old. Died just weeks after the government found her fit for work.

John Walker, 57, saddled with debt because of the bedroom tax, John took his own life.

Brian McArdle, 57 years old. Suffered a fatal heart attack the day after his disability benefits were stopped.

Stephen Hill, 53. Died of a heart attack one month after being found fit for work, even though he was waiting for major heart surgery.

Jacqueline Harris, 53. A former Nurse who could hardly walk was found fit for work by Atos and her benefits withdrawn. in desperation, she took her own life.

David Barr, 28. Suffering from severe mental difficulties. Threw himself from a bridge after being found fit for work by Atos and failing his appeal.

David Groves, 56. Died of a heart attack the night before taking his work capability assessment. His widow claimed that it was the stress that killed him.

Nicholas Peter Barker, 51. Shot himself after being told his benefits were being stopped. He was unable to work after a brain haemorrhage left him paralysed down one side.

Mark and Helen Mullins, 48 and 59 years old. Forced to live on £57.50 a week and make 12 mile trips each week to get free vegetables to make soup. Mark and Helen both committed suicide.

Richard Sanderson, 44. Unable to find a job and with his housing benefit cut forcing him to move, but with nowhere to go. Richard committed suicide.

Martin Rust, 36 years old. A schizophrenic man who killed himself two months after the government found him fit to work.

Craig Monk, 43. A vulnerable gentleman and a partial amputee who slipped so far into poverty that he hanged himself.

Colin Traynor, 29, and suffering from epilepsy was stripped of his benefits. He appealed. Five weeks after his death his family found he had won his appeal.

Elaine Christian, 57 years old. Worried about her work capability assessment, she was subsequently found at Holderness drain, drowned and with ten self inflicted wrist wounds.

Christelle and Kayjah Pardoe, 32 years and 5 month old. Pregnant, her benefits stopped, Christelle, clutching her baby son jumped from a third floor balcony.

Mark Scott, 46. His DLA and housing benefit stopped and sinking into deep depression, Mark died six weeks later.

Cecilia Burns, 51. Found fit for work while undergoing treatment for breast cancer. She died just a few weeks after she won her appeal against the Atos decision.

Chris Cann, 57 years old. Found dead in his home just months after being told he had to undergo a medical assessment to prove he could not work.

Peter Hodgson, 49. Called to JCP to see if he was suitable for volunteer work. Peter had suffered a stroke, a brain haemorrhage and had a fused leg. His appointment letter arrived a few days after he took his own life.

Paul Willcoxsin, 33 years old. Suffered with mental health problems and worried about government cuts. Paul committed suicide by hanging himself.

Stephanie Bottrill, 53. After paying £80 a month for bedroom tax, Stephanie could not afford heating in the winter, and lived on tinned custard. In desperation, she chose to walk in front of a lorry.

Larry Newman suffered from a degenerative lung condition, his weight dropping from 10 to 7 stone. Atos awarded him zero points, he died just three months after submitting his appeal.

Paul Turner, 52 years old. After suffering a heart attack, he was ordered to find a job in February. In April Paul died from ischaemic heart disease.

Christopher Charles Harkness, 39. After finding out that the funding for his care home was being withdrawn, this man who suffered with mental health issues, took his own life.

Sandra Louise Moon, 57. Suffering from a degenerative back condition, depression and increasingly worried about losing her incapacity benefit. Sandra committed suicide by taking an overdose.

Lee Robinson, 39 years old. Took his own life after his housing benefit and council tax were taken away from him.

David Coupe, 57. A Cancer sufferer found fit for work by Atos in 2012. David lost his sight, then his hearing, then his mobility, and then his life.

Michael McNicholas, 34. Severely depressed and a recovering alcoholic. Michael committed suicide after being called in for a Work Capability Assessment by Atos.

Victor Cuff, 59 and suffering from severe depression. Victor hanged himself after the DWP stopped his benefits.

Charles Barden, 74. Charles committed suicide by hanging due to fears that the Bedroom Tax would leave him destitute and unable to cope.

Ian Caress, 43. Suffered multiple health issues and deteriorating eyesight. Ian was found fit for work by Atos, he died ten months later having lost so much weight that his family said that he resembled a concentration camp victim.

Iain Hodge, 30. Suffered from the life threatening illness, Hughes Syndrome. Found fit for work by Atos and benefits stopped, Iain took his own life.

Wayne Grew, 37. Severely depressed due to government cuts and the fear of losing his job, Wayne committed suicide by hanging.

Kevin Bennett, 40. Kevin a sufferer of schizophrenia and mental illness became so depressed after his JSA was stopped that he became a virtual recluse. Kevin was found dead in his flat several months later.

David Elwyn Hughs Harries, 48. A disabled man who could no longer cope after his parents died, could find no help from the government via benefits. David took an overdose as a way out of his solitude.

Denis Jones, 58. A disabled man crushed by the pressures of government cuts, in particular the Bedroom Tax, and unable to survive by himself. Denis was found dead in his flat.

Shaun Pilkington, 58. Unable to cope any more, Shaun shot himself dead after receiving a letter from the DWP informing him that his ESA was being stopped.

Paul ?, 51. Died in a freezing cold flat after his ESA was stopped. Paul appealed the decision and won on the day that he lost his battle to live.

Chris MaGuire, 61. Deeply depressed and incapable of work, Chris was summonsed by Atos for a Work Capability Assessment and deemed fit for work. On appeal, a judge overturned the Atos decision and ordered them to leave him alone for at least a year, which they did not do. In desperation, Chris took his own life, unable to cope anymore.

Peter Duut, a Dutch national with terminal cancer living in the UK for many years found that he was not entitled to benefits unless he was active in the labour market. Peter died leaving his wife destitute, and unable to pay for his funeral.

George Scollen, age unknown. Took his own life after the government closed the Remploy factory he had worked in for 40 years.

Julian Little, 47. Wheelchair bound and suffering from kidney failure, Julian faced the harsh restrictions of the Bedroom Tax and the loss of his essential dialysis room. He died shortly after being ordered to downgrade.

Miss DE, Early 50's. Suffering from mental illness, this lady committed suicide less than a month after an Atos assessor gave her zero points and declared her fit for work.

Robert Barlow, 47. Suffering from a brain tumour, a heart defect and awaiting a transplant, Robert was deemed fit for work by Atos and his benefits were withdrawn. He died penniless less than two years later.

Carl Joseph Foster-Brown, 58. As a direct consequence of the wholly unjustifiable actions of the Job centre and DWP, this man took his own life.

Martin Hadfield, 20 years old. Disillusioned with the lack of jobs available in this country but too proud to claim benefits. Utterly demoralised, Martin took his own life by hanging himself.

Annette Francis, 30. A mum-of-one suffering from severe mental illness, found dead after her disability benefits were ceased.

Ian Jordan, 60. His benefits slashed after Atos and the DWP declared Ian, a sufferer of Barratt's Oesophagus, fit for work, caused him to run up massive debts in order to survive. Ian was found dead in his flat after taking an overdose.

Janet McCall, 53. Terminally ill with pulmonary fibrosis and declared 'Fit for Work' by Atos and the DWP, this lady died 5 months after her benefits were stopped.

Stuart Holley, 23. A man driven to suicide by the DWP's incessant pressure and threat of sanctions for not being able to find a job.

Graham Shawcross, 63. A sufferer of the debilitating disease, Addison's. Died of a heart attack due to the stress of an Atos 'Fit for Work' decision.

David Clapson, 59 years old. A diabetic ex-soldier deprived of the means to survive by the DWP and the governments harsh welfare reforms, David died all but penniless, starving and alone, his electricity run out.

Chris Smith, 59. Declared 'Fit for Work' by Atos as he lay dying of Cancer in his hospital bed.

Nathan Hartwell, 36, died of heart failure after an 18-month battle with the Department for Works and Pensions.

Michael Connolly, 60. A Father of One, increasingly worried about finances after his benefits were cut. Committed suicide by taking 13 times the fatal dose of prescription medicine on the 30th October - His Birthday.

Jan Mandeville, 52, A lady suffering from Fibromyalgia, driven to the point of mental and physical breakdown by this governments welfare reforms. Jan was found dead in her home after battling the DWP for ESA and DLA.

Trevor Drakard, 50 years old. A shy and reserved, severe epileptic who suffered regular and terrifying fits almost his entire life, hounded to suicide by the DWP who threatened to stop his life-line benefits

Better the devil you know, eh?

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/politics/man-who-ill-attend-fit-for-work-3177803
http://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/suicide-bid-of-woman-who-feared-losing-her-incapacity-benefit-8761182.html
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/mark-wood-sweet-and-gentle-44yearold-man-with-mental-health-problems-starved-to-death-after-benefits-cut-9161749.html
http://www.theguardian.com/society/patrick-butler-cuts-blog/2011/nov/16/do-public-spending-cuts-kill
http://www.thejournal.co.uk/news/north-east-news/boyfriend-missing-leanne-chambers-speaks-4465236
http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/327050/My-ill-wife-had-to-fight-for-benefits-up-until-she-died
https://welfaretales.wordpress.com/2014/01/11/rip-paul-after-14-weeks-with-no-money-due-to-dwp-error/

Yes, they do know it's Christmas time

2014-11-22T00:24:00.001-08:00

"Well tonight we're reaching out and touching you."

The last thing I ever wanted to hear from Bono if I'm honest.

Cards on the table, I am a sucker for a good cheesy Christmas tune and the original Band Aid is up there amongst some of my favourites. In fact there really is nothing like a good Christmas tune. Which is what the new Band Aid song is: nothing like a good Christmas tune. In fact it's shit.

Obviously taste in music is subjective and you can't please everyone so I'm sure there are those who will enjoy the new single. But this isn't a music blog and no-one involved with the charity single is claiming it's Beethoven's 7th, it's shitness isn't really the point here. Though it's shit, let's all agree on that before we proceed any further. It IS shit!

The reason I am labouring on this point is in the interests of full disclosure, so you know that I don't like it musically. Because I'd hate it to come out later and for you to think it's what has coloured by view of it. It's not. It's awful, flimsy, castrated lyrics and general fluffiness is not the reason I dislike it. I dislike the politics. And actually as I look around it would appear that the tide seems to be turning against Saint Bob and His Holiness The Bono as others seem to dislike it too. It seems that perhaps Bob has been a little misguided this time around.

Here's the thing. Although for corporate reasons I'm not at liberty to divulge what exactly it is I do and who I do it for, I have recently changed job roles. I have gone from a role with responsibility for Scotland and Ireland to a role with responsibility for Europe, Middle East, Africa and India. Now I'm my previous role I would probably have bought the single and never listened to it but felt a little bit good about myself for having played a part in wiping out what is undoubtably a horrific disease. I would have bought into Saint Bob's vision of an Africa crippled by this most virulent of diseases. The images of African children with swollen bellies, swarming with flies, still burned into our collective psyche I think many of us would have done the same and indeed have. By association we assume that if Bono and Geldof are asking us to dig deep once more then things must really be desperate.

But now my view of the world has changed. The fact is I now have colleagues in Africa who I have meetings with at least once a week and I know that they aren't speaking to me from shanty towns or sheds with corrugated iron roofs. In fact they are based in air-conditioned offices and I know know how much money they have and how much business they do locally because I am involved with their budgets. So it seems to me that the Africa that I deal with must be a different Africa from the one One Direction and Coldplay are begging us to help. I've asked and they do know it's Christmas time, they are off or a couple of weeks in fact!

But Africa, it transpires is a rich continent, it has an infrastructure and it has wealth and a growing economy, yes of course there is poverty and there is famine but that is not the bigger picture. There is corruption and there is much to be done, that's is not in doubt, but that is not what Band Aid are asking us to donate to. Band Aid are specifically targeting Ebola. Let's just put this into perspective, Africa has a population of 1.1 billion and according to the latest World Health Organization update on November 14, 2014, a total of 14,383 Ebola cases have been reported. That's less than 0.01 percent if I've done my maths right (which I may not have as I couldn't fit all the zeros on my calculator). But it's a small amount anyway. And it's currently only present in 3 countries across the African continent, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. So to be clear I am not suggesting Ebola isn't a problem and isn't worthy of you time and money but the suggestion by Band Aid that the whole continent is on its knees is offensive and damaging.

Africa is developed in places, developing in others, but if there is one thing that will inject money into an area it's if people with money go there and spend it. Not charity, tourism. But if there's one thing that prevents rich people from visiting a place, it's the constant message that the place is run down, dangerous, riddled with disease or in any way a risk. And that is the image being perpetuated by Mr Geldof and Bono.

I repeat, Ebola IS a terrible problem and there are parts of Africa that really need our help and I would hope that if you have a few Bob (ha ha ha ha, clever eh?) to spare you'll spare it. Not because Paloma Faith and Ollie Murs are singing cleverly re-written lyrics in a Christmas song but because it's the decent thing to do.

The new Band Aid kind of reminds
me of an elderly relative on Facebook, sharing every scare story and scam warning they come across without ever checking snopes! All the celebrities involved seem to be enthusiastically begging us to help as Bob and Bono told them to without actually stopping to check if what they are singing about is real or required! I don't doubt the sincerity of Messrs Geldof, Ure and Bono in their appeal, I just think they are misinformed and misguided and leading the young and impressionable ex-X Factor contestants astray.

The fact is people are donating, there is money going to help fight the spread of the disease and treat those afflicted and if anything the charity single dilutes that as it gives people an instant hit of warm glow simply but downloading a 99p track off iTunes.

So if you would like to help and you can afford to spare a few quid please click on the link below I donate to Oxfam's Ebola appeal. You won't have to listen to One Direction and you won't be touched by Bono.

Oxfam Ebola Appeal

Do They Know it's Christmas 2014

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Rmememberunce Sundi: Are fallin heerows

2014-11-07T02:22:00.001-08:00

Spelling and grammar, eh? It's not for everyone.

As we approach Remembrance Sunday, may of us will have bought the obligatory paper poppy to wear on our lapel and show our support. It's only right we should show our gratitude to our fallen heroes, those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. Many of us quite justifiably stand opposed to war and cannot relate to many of the modern justifications for sending in the troops but it should not affect our support of those who unquestioningly go into battle to defend our country. And surely no-one can argue that the war against the Nazis wasn't a good idea? Fascism is a disgusting and hateful force and it has no place in a civilised world.

So it is for this reason that the rise of Britain First is so hard to fathom. But then is it really so hard?

Britain First is the modern version of fascism for the 21st century, it takes advantage of social media and manipulates some of the more unfortunate habits that social media users have. For example, there is a large section of social media users who will like, share or comment on any post without checking the source, without even asking themselves if it is accurate or true and without thinking about the wider impact, ie if you comment on a post, even to say that you disagree with it, it will then appear on the news feed of everyone you know. Ditto if you click "like". This is how hate is spread.

That is why there are pages and pages devoted to jokes about cancer, animal cruelty, terrorism and racism. The more vile and hate filled the bigger the reaction and the more traffic that page will generate. If you post "How dare you, this is sick" every one of your friends will now see the thing that upset you and every one of them will be upset too. If every one of them posts the same, every one of their friends will see it and this is how a post becomes "viral". This is also why you have trolls on the internet because they know that the more obscene and the more inflammatory they are, the further their reach will be. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you: Britain First!

Now everyone is on board with the poppy, I think we have established that already and as well as wearing our little paper badge many will also look to update their profile picture with an image of a poppy, or share some touching images or quotes on their page to show their support; and this is where Britain First come in. They are well known for hijacking any cause that has the public's support as they know that the more shares, the more likes, the more comments, the bigger their reach and the more powerful they appear. They can say that they are the most popular political movement on social media and they are speaking for the silent majority who are too scared to speak up and they will point you towards their "likes" to prove it. So if it is the anniversary of Princess Diana's death they will have a "People's Princess" picture with a "like if you agree" caption on the bottom and you will share it. If a famous celebrity dies they will have an RIP picture and a "like to show your support to his family" on it and you will like and share. When Drummer Lee Rigby was murdered they showed pictures of him and asked for likes and even though his family contacted them to ask for the images to be removed, stating that the group stood for everything that Drummer Rigby stood against, they persisted. And the same goes for the poppy and remembrance. If you look on their page at their more populist posts you will see them filled with military personnel asking for them to remove the images and condemning them, but still they persist. And hidden in amongst their populist, like-baiting pictures of Princess Diana, veterans and Rick Mayall you will find their true message, hate, religious intolerance and bigotry. And spelling and grammar errors.

There is a quote that I read on the internet (so it must be true) but I unfortunately do not know where it originated: "You can be taught to hate, or you can be taught to spell. But apparently it's one or the other."

So above you can see some examples of Britain First's true colours, pure anti-Islamic, anti-immigration, anti-establishment, anti-everyone who is not Britain First. It always amazes me how fascists use Hitler and his defeat to justify their actions. "Our forefathers didn't defeat the Nazis so that we could have religious freedom and democracy, England for the English!" Fascists and bigots, it seems, are completely without a sense of irony. Or a dictionary.

I'm not sure if you can make it out but in the picture above there is an example of a template letter that our racist brothers are recommending all civilised parents should send to their children's school. It asks, no it DEMANDS (CAPS LOCK IS A BIG PART OF BEING A RACIST) that their child be excused from religious education and "Islamic indoctrination via the school as ordered by the British State". Education is something to be feared if you are a bigot and a xenophobe (for all my British First readers it means someone who is afraid of anyone who is not exactly like you). I have generally found that those who go in for the more basic, tribal approaches to life fear knowledge and education as it might challenge their firmly held beliefs and the last thing they want is to find out they are wrong. Better to be hatefully ignorant than informed. Hate is like a sport, it's a hobby. It's like football hooligans pretending that football is their main motivation when really it's just a wrap-around to give their violent thuggery a slightly more socially acceptable face.

So if you truly are a racist, a bigot and an uneducated knuckle-dragger then please do join Britain First. But if you are a real patriot, someone who believes in democracy and freedom of choice and you are just looking to show support for our troops or express your love for Princess Diana/Puppies/Christmas trees then do not share, like or comment on anything that bears the words "Britain First". By all means take a look at their page, scroll through the posts and have a right good laugh at the level of debate but do not under any circumstances be drawn in to comment. It's what they want.

Read Further: http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/britain-first-hijacking-the-poppy-is-a-vile-insult-to-veterans-like-myself-9841791.html

Islamaphobia, Bigotry or Bleeding Heart Liberalism; pick your team.

2014-10-06T06:59:00.001-07:00

I chanced upon a video online of a TV debate featuring Ben Affleck and Bill Maher. I'm sure had Ben Affleck not been involved it probably wouldn't have made my news feed but regardless it did bring to my attention two things: 1) Bill Maher is a prick and 2) Ben Affleck talks sense.

If you haven't seen it yet have a look at the video below and we'll talk afterwards.

Now there are 2 viewpoints here, one is that all of Islam are being tarred with the same brush and discriminated against based on the actions of a very small number of radicals and the other is that liberal minded, free thinking individuals who should speak out are afraid to do so for fear of being branded racists. That Bill Maher is the beacon of light in a sea of darkness, standing up for the poor white man and criticising Islam on behalf of the rest of us who are all too afraid to do so ourselves.

What is your view on this? Ask yourself the question and your answer will let you know whether you are racist or not.

The fact is, no-one has ever suggested that all Catholics like to wear sheets on their heads and tie black people to the back of tow trucks but the KKK do claim to be a religious, Christian organisation. The Westboro Baptist Church operate their particular brand of intolerance and bigotry in the name of God but no-one claims that all Christians are radical fundamentalists. So why is it acceptable to suggest that all Muslims are murderers and radicals? Why in the wake of 9/11 were Sikhs being targeted for "looking a bit Muslim" and why are hate groups such as Britain First and BNP growing in popularity in the UK? The answer is simple. People who hold these beliefs were already bigots but in the face of difficult times it is deemed ever so slightly more socially acceptable to voice them.

In this area we can take a few pointers from history, its always a good place to look to find examples of the worst of mankind!

The Reichstag Fire of 1933 led to the Reichstag Fire Decree, effectively stripping the German people of civil liberties and allowing the authorities the power to arrest and detain anyone felt to be an enemy of the Nazis, it subsequently led to The Enabling Act which allowed the then Chancellor Hitler the power to enact laws without having to go through due process, it was a temporary act which, unless renewed, would last four years. It was democratically voted for and passed. In difficult times the people were happy to give up their rights and protection as they felt that desperate times call for desperate measures. For more details of what happened next see: World War 2.

After 9/11 the US Government passed The Patriot Act which allowed them to detain indefinitely anyone they deemed to be a risk to national security without trial, evidence or, once again, due process. Guantanamo Bay was the public face of this law with its jolly orange overalls and barbed wire fences. Can you imagine a camp where innocent people are locked away without trial or any opportunity to be heard?

And now in the UK we have Theresa May talking about "new powers" to gag extremists, to stop non-violent protests, to monitor social media and "clamp down" on hate speech and David Cameron is proposing to do away with our "much hated" Human Rights. And people are still voting for them!!

As I say above, people have a tendency to cast due process aside in difficult times, it's happened before and it will happen again but it NEVER ends well. The people you hand this power to are never willing to give it back and temporary always leads to permanent. In the aftermath of the financial crash a few years ago we saw a rise in the popularity of BNP with 1 MEP being elected and 33 local councillors at one stage, UKIP are currently doing the rounds and presenting a more user friendly, palatable brand of racism and they are looking strong at the next general election. When times are tough and people are suffering, whether it be from fear of terror or discomfort as a direct result of austerity measures, they need to find someone to blame. They need a scapegoat to make them feel better and when they find a common enemy it galvanises them, makes them feel like they have power to change the things that they cannot, to improve their circumstances and get back that which they have lost. This is why the Tories demonise the poor to make you think they are stealing your tax to pay for their lavish, free council houses, this is why UKIP make you fear that Poles are coming for your job and your house and this is why a very small handful of evil murderers and thugs are used to make you fear all Muslims. This information always comes to you via someone with an agenda. They already hold these views but its more acceptable if they can surround themselves with a crowd, it's more acceptable if they can convince you that such views are fine. They are not.

The reality is that a mere 5% of the population of England and Wales are Muslim, 15% of the population are immigrants and only 3% of social security is spent on the unemployed. And if you are surprised by those figures I don't blame you, you wont see them reported in the press. Why? Because the press thrive on making people scared. The recent Scottish Independence Referendum has shown us how effective fear can be in maintaining the status quo. They tell people who the enemy is and what they should be afraid of then convince them that you have all the answers. When the terrible thing doesn't come to pass you can say "look, I told you I'd keep you safe".

Yes, there are terrorists and there is evil in the world and Yes we shouldn't just sit by and allow it to go unpunished and uncriticised. But as Ben Affleck says above, criticise and condemn the people who are doing these things, not the group that they belong to, whether it be Muslim, Iraqi or Male! Do not group them together by race or colour or religion, a murderer is a murderer regardless of which church he or she attends. I shall leave you with the words of a far more talented writer than I, Mr Aaron Sorkin.

War: what is it good for?!

2014-09-29T13:00:00.001-07:00

Less than 2 weeks ago we were poised, anticipating a future filled with hope. The hope of change in our country. Not just for Scotland, but beyond our borders too. Because we knew that when the change came it would be sweeping and it would be momentous and it would inspire. We had hope, hope that with our independence we would build a better society and those looking inward would see us as the model for how a country can be run. If Scotland was able to make its own decisions then why can't Wales? Why can't Northern Ireland? And why can't England? If we had a truly representative government, of the people, by the people and for the people then the government in England could worry about the issues affecting England only without having to pay lip service to the rest of the Union. Every single person in the small island would have a voice, unique to them.

It was exciting. It really felt like we were about to see something wonderful.

But it wasn't to be. I fail to see how anyone who voted No could have felt anything like the exhilaration of those closing hours of polling day, the 18th September. At 10pm on that day, Independence was like Schrödinger's Cat. It was alive and dead at the same time. But for those of us who voted Yes, the feeling was of anticipation that we stood on the precipice of enormous change. A frightening but exciting time. For those who voted No the feeling was of anticipation that absolutely nothing was going to change or get better, the best that one could hope for was more of the same as before. Of course we now know they were sold a lie.

In the days prior to the vote I spent a fair bit of time on various forums and, as is the case with any debate, some of the posts I read were nonsense, some were daft and some were divisive and scary. But one grabbed my attention. It was posted by someone who said their family member was in the military and they had been placed on standby, all leave was canceled. To them this indicated that UK was on the brink of another war. This didn't seem to make the news though, one wonders what effect that would have had on the outcome of the vote.

We now know that the UK indeed, was on the brink of another war. Interestingly I have seen two articles on how much this military action might cost the UK, one was conservative (with a small "c") and the other was a little larger. What was interesting to me was that both figures were more than the 2 figures quoted as the cost for setting up an independent Scotland. The conservative (with a small "c") and the Conservative estimate.

Funny how the cost of setting up an independent nation with the power to make its own decisions; decisions that affect the people who live there and would therefore be made by people who live there; was seen as a ridiculously expensive, catastrophic, economy destroying amount and yet it's money that we can easily afford when it comes to a bit of bombing!

Well I say funny!

One thing we can look forward to is the new powers that are heading our way of course, we have that to reassure us. Of course we now know they have sold us a lie.

But hey, at least we now have 120 years worth of oil, that's 100 years more than what we had to look forward to if we had voted Yes! Of course we now know they have sold us a lie.

But division is one thing we don't need, whether it be Yes vs No, 45% vs 55%, BritNats vs ScotNats or the massive big dividing fault lines that fracking will open up! We do need to accept what has happened, realise that those who voted No did so because they believed what they were told by people they should be able to believe. We need to move on, we need to work together. We need to start building bridges instead of walls and we need to start thinking about what happens next. The only way we can possibly achieve independence for our country is if we work together, we need the 55% who voted No, they are our brothers, sisters, friends, fathers. After the 2 year campaign of fear and lies through the mass media it's hardly surprising that 55% of the population said No, they feared for their pensions, they feared for their pound, they feared for their jobs, they feared that they wouldn't be able to provide for their families in the third world conditions of an Indy Scotland, can you blame them? Every fear they had was put there by a lying media and reinforced over a 2 year period, you can hardly blame anyone for making that decision. The worst that would happen is nothing, according to the press, more of the same if you voted No. If you voted Yes you might be malled by tigers!

Of course we now know they have sold us a lie. Don't we? And it only took 10 days.

In the meantime it's back to business for our Tory leaders. And to think 11 days ago I was debating and discussing what we should include in our new constitution!

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Scotland the Bruised

2014-09-19T05:16:00.001-07:00

Like 45% of my countrymen and women I am disappointed today. Honestly I can't quite gather my thoughts right now to put it into words but I am bitterly disappointed at the outcome of the referendum. However what we needed more than anything else was a decisive win on either side and we got it, the sovereign will of the Scottish people is to remain in the UK and if we receive meaningful powers as promised then we have much to celebrate.

So what now? Well earlier today a friend of mine said that she was ashamed to be Scottish and as is often the case in trying to cheer someone else up, my words of comfort to her were words of comfort to myself: Do not feel ashamed. What we did was amazing. We spoke up and while our voices were shouted down, they were heard. You can't argue with the result, our countrymen and women decisively opted to remain in the UK so we owe it to them and ourselves to honour that and work together to make the dream of unity a reality. But the past few weeks, the street parties, the way the yes campaign have composed themselves has been incredible and moving. Look to our Irish neighbours and their history to see how things could have been, we chose discussion, debate and democracy over death and destruction. We chose the ballot box over bombs. We should be proud, not ashamed.

The decision to vote yes or no was an easy one compared to the next vote which is WHO we vote for, as the choice is not inspiring. But if one great thing has come out of this referendum it is the uprising of the young, the future politicians were born out of this debate and that is what we desperately need. A new breed of politician of the people, for the people and by the people. I am confident that the future is in safe hands.

So please Yes voters, do not feel ashamed, do not get angry and do not disrespect the will of our fellow countrymen for having a different view from us. We live in a democracy that is the envy of many parts of the world and while the world is watching do not undo the amazing work that has been done in the last two years, hold your head high and pull together with the energy and positivity that we all know we are capable of. We have to now work together to make the United Kingdom and all of it's composite parts truly better together.

In the run up to the vote I shared an adaptation of Charlie Chaplin's speech from The Great Dictator which was adapted to support Independence and I post the original below in support of our fellow countrymen and the Union to which we still belong. Yes or No, the motivation was always to build a better future so let's focus on that, come together and get building.

JFK, Irish hats and aiming for The Moon

2014-09-17T00:07:00.001-07:00

When President Kennedy announced in 1963 that America would place a man on the moon within 10 years there was no space program. They had not begun to look at how or if this might be done but he committed to it and they had no option but to follow. In doing so he referenced the story of the young Irish lad who, when stood next to a tall orchard wall, took off his cap and launched it over. A passer by witnessed this and asked "Are you mad, now you will have to climb the wall to get your cap back?!" "That's the idea" replied the lad.
Thursday's referendum is not about Alex Salmond or the policies of a particular party, it's not about the EU or currency or any of those matters which will undoubtedly be negotiated and resolved. It's not about the defence budget or the NHS or any of those things as Alex Salmond's first act after Independence will be to stand down and call a general election. After this we will get to choose a government who represent our views, our interests and our way of life. We are a socialist nation who have been ruled by a Conservative government for too long, even when Labour were in power they knew it was England and the rest of the UK who put them there so they had to move to the middle to avoid upsetting the electorate. If we choose to take this leap we will get what we have never had, a truly representative and democratically elected government who answer only to us. Don't get me wrong, all the details are important and there ARE answers to all of those questions if you do some reading but those aren't the questions you should be asking yourself. Those details are the day to day business of government, the minutiae that are always taken care of and in 10, 20, 100 years from now when our children and children's children look back on the 18th Sept 2014, those details will have faded into history. What they will look back upon is that we took the chance when we were offered. Without any bloodshed or a single bullet being fired we democratically took control of our nation in an adult and civilised manner. In a world that is becoming crueller, where it's every man for themselves and the rich get rich off of the blood and sweat of the poor we have the opportunity to be the country we always knew we could. We can do it differently, we have the chance to write a constitution and engrain the concepts of decency and fairness into it from day one. We can make Scotland the envy of the World and I genuinely believe it will be the start of better things for the rest of Britain, an Island to which we will always belong. So what do you want your part in history to be? If you say No there is no turning back, we won't get this chance again. We'll be permanently stuck with a government elected by the people of one part of this Union and we'll have given them our seal of approval to keep doing what they are doing.

I have been made redundant in the last few years and my partner has been made redundant 3 times in 4 years; and all this while we were apparently Better Together, protected by the strength and security of the UK! Of course you have to do what is right for you and it is a personal choice, just make sure you have the right information to hand when you make it.

If being part of the UK genuinely is the right choice for you then I wish you luck tomorrow. I suspect it will be a very close run thing and the No's will probably win it but when future generations look back, incredulous that we turned down self-determination in favour of a future of Tory rule, at least I'll can say that I tried.

So tomorrow I shall be throwing my cap over the wall and voting Yes. Who's with me?

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Lies, Damn Lies and Effing Tories

2014-09-10T23:46:00.001-07:00

How do you feel about being manipulated? How do you feel about being emotionally blackmailed?

Yesterday we were visited by our Prime Minister, Mr Cameron, who cancelled PMQs to jet up here and make an impassioned plea for us to stay together. He reminded me of the abusive husband, bringing flowers to apologise for the black eye. "If you leave me I'll be heartbroken, I won't be able to go on, it'll be your fault. Please don't destroy our marriage."

But when I speak of manipulation I don't just refer to Mr Cameron's speech but the reporting of it. On the BBC last night it was reported that Mr Cameron was "close to tears" and his voice was "cracking with emotion". It was reported the same way in The Telegraph

Saying something doesn't make it true, however it does make people believe it's true and it's another example of the way in which public opinion has been manipulated by a media that's gotten very good at this. We seem to want to be told how to feel about something, it's in our nature so even though we've just watched the video, if we are told his voice cracked and he was on the verge of tears we'll believe it. Well watch again and ask yourself, does David Cameron seem like the sort to get nostalgic and dewy eyed?

Is he close to tears when he hears of David Clapson's death caused by his party's neglect? Does his voice crack with emotion when he hears of pensioners committing suicide over money fears as a direct result of the bedroom tax? Does he cancel his plans and make an impassioned plea to put a stop of food poverty when he hears of working families so poor that they have to use Food Banks? And where is his passion and nostalgic love of our great nation when his party started privatising The NHS and the Post Office? "You've never had it so good!"

No, I don't believe that David Cameron is the sort of man to get dewy eyed or emotional about anything unless there is something in it for him. Ask yourself this, why is he so eager to keep Scotland in the UK? What really floats his boat? I believe it has something to do with money and the resources that we have and he wants.

Going back to manipulation for a moment though, I've spoken of this previously but it still seems that there is a desire to trust the media even when faced with evidence that you cannot. We want to believe in our authority figures, we want to trust them. And even when I tell you that I have spent my whole life defending the Union and arguing against Independence until recently, when I started to read and seek out information on my own rather than being spoon fed lies by the media and Better Together, there are some who simply don't want to believe they are being lied to. It's natural, it's like when you are a kid and you think you can trust all grown ups to tell you the truth, you never want that innocence to end. But whether you watch the BBC, ITN, Sky or Fox, whichever channel you get your broadcast news from just stop for a moment and actually look at how this news is being delivered. Once you have opened your eyes though, there is no going back. You have been warned!

The image above is from last nights BBC News at 10 and it's an example of what we have come to expect from our news outlets, what we have above is a journalist interviewing another journalist and all news broadcasters do it. It is journalistic opinion presented as expertise, editorial presented as fact. Television news is supposed to be impartial but when you see a BBC journalist interviewing his colleague it's basically the same as saying "in this newspaper's opinion.." They stand in the street outside a closed door and interview a fellow employee, asking them questions they already know the answers to. In this way they can present their opinion as if they are simply reporting what the experts said. Look out for it, journalists interviewing journalists.

You may have seen yesterday that the FT came out in favour of the Union, it was seized upon by the Better Together campaign and widely reported. But did you look at the language used?

It was an editorial, an opinion piece. In an economic newspaper, possibly one of the most highly regarded there wasn't much in it that was backed up by economists, it was simply an opinion. However when this article appeared in February, arguing that Independence would be beneficial to Scotland's economy and more in keeping with the FT's more traditional reporting it was widely overlooked. Similarly when The Adam Smith Institute argued that using the pound without a formal currency union would in fact be better for Scotland this was also ignored.

And Pensions? Its no wonder there is confusion but the fact is your UK state pension will not be affected, which is a shame because it could be a lot better It would be quite nice to retire before I die as well, perhaps whoever we elect here will change that. The fact is a No Vote does not provide pension security, what it provides is the certainly that you will get whatever party England elects next and whatever changes they deem necessary to your pension. Remember when the retirement age was 65?

But what this all adds up to is a very subtle manipulation of the information that is getting to you, a slow trickle of fear and doubt and reinforcement that it would be safer and easier to stick with what you know. And it does work. Fear does work but only if it isn't too blatant. Luckily we have had a few years of this campaign to allow it to bed down. But something has happened lately, I don't know if you have noticed! The tide has begin to turn. As more and more people become wise to the lies they have started to use their internet connection and have found other media outlets and other sources of information unconnected to either campaign and have started to find out what the media and No Campaign have been hiding. And more and more have, like me, started to change their mind. You'll notice the links throughout this blog, click them. See for yourself, it really isn't too late!

Oh, one last thing! Additional powers. These were promised in the weeks before the 1979 referendum as well and nothing ever came of them. Indeed William Hague has gone to great lengths this week to point out that these are not promises of policy change but "campaign statements" for reasons that escape me! But let's have a look at what's on offer. This is Johann Lamont, leader of The Scottish Labour Party talking about how she would use the additional powers on offer. Remember, this isn't a UK politician tell us what we are being offered but the leader of the Labour Party in Scotland detailing her ideal scenario on how these powers would be used. Something to look forward to!

-Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Westminster: An Arranged Marriage.

2014-09-01T15:09:00.002-07:00

I've blogged a couple of times in recent weeks about the upcoming referendum and who doesn't love a trilogy? So here we are again.

I know I've been banging on a bit about this and I'm probably getting on people's nerves. There is no "but", that's simply a statement of fact! I shall now bang on a bit more!

Now I know I have only recently embraced Independence after a life long aversion to it and I've detailed my journey in the previous posts but I didn't simply arrive at this decision on a whim. One thing I have been asked by a few people was to explain what prompted me to change. I'm not setting myself up as the poster-boy for switchers as I am certainly not alone, but I will go into a little more detail about the specific thing that eventually convinced me that I was on the wrong path.

I've touched upon the fact that I slowly became aware of the bias in the media and the lies of the Better Together campaign, this was a gradual thing that started to make me question my position. I used to take as truth the facts and statements I read in the news, I've always known the tabloids were full of lies so I would check and double check anything I read against several sources, preferably broadsheets before I would believe it. If something appeared in the Daily Mail and no-where else it's clearly bullshit but if you find it on the BBC website as well then it must be true, right? But over time I started to realise that there was another layer of the media that reported things that the BBC and other mainstream outlets simply ignored. And now, more than at any time in the past, Social Media is playing a massive part in the way in which people get their information and interact with the campaign. It is in this area that the Yes Campaign are doing a better job of getting their positive message across.

A friend of mine came away with a perfect summary of the campaign last night; "Yes groups post information. No groups post pictures of Alex Salmon made up to look like Hitler" and this is absolutely accurate. When I was arguing in favour of the Union I was on the No websites but I also looked in on the Yes boards in an effort to "know your enemy". This was where I started to learn things and noticed the difference in approach between the two opposing sides of the campaign. At one point I took myself off of all Yes sites because I could tell I was becoming convinced by their facts, information and verifiable links to independent sources! How very dare they attack my long held beliefs with the truth!!

The "us and them" nature of the debate has really got to me and it continues to do so, it is not necessary or in any way helpful. I really don't see the need to demonise your opponents and make it personal. Don't vote Yes because Yes voters are nasty people!

But this was a very slow burn, it happened over time, the turning point for me was when I realised the following.

When Labour were in government things weren't so bad, I voted labour so I was happy with the way things were, when the Tories came to power things very quickly went to shit. I hadn't voted for The Tories and I disagree with almost all of their policies, you probably do too. But the thing that I suddenly realised was that although Labour got in, it was nothing to do with me and it was nothing to do with Scotland. At that time Scotland traditionally voted Labour so if the rest of the UK agree then we end up with the government we voted for but in 2010 they didn't so we got a Tory/Lib Dem government. This was the metaphorical straw that broke the allegorical camel's back. Neither you or I have any say in which government is elected, it's completely left to chance. If the rest of the Union vote for a party you like them you are in luck, if they do not you'll be stuck with whoever they choose and you have NO say, you have NO voice. You are completely powerless to change that! Now the Tories could conceivably get voted out next year and our lives and the lives of those who are currently suffering under their austerity measures could improve. They might get better. It's just your luck though, there's nothing you can do to influence that.

And this is why I decided enough was enough. You might not like The SNP, I sure don't but whichever party you vote for in Scotland, they will still have to operate within the confines of whatever government is in power in Westminster, wouldn't you like to change that? If you don't like SNP, vote them out. If you don't like The Tories, cross your fingers and hope for the best.

And just to back up my claim above here's a picture of David Cameron made up to look like Hitler.

Just kidding. Here are some facts. The figures were pulled from Wikipedia and the UK government website, the graphic was produced by Wings Over Scotland. The links to these sources are at the bottom of the page.

The table above shows the results of the Scottish electorate's votes versus the rest of the UK electorate's. You can probably guess which way it went each time.

The table below shows a comparison of the results of every election from 1945 with the Scottish votes and without. See the massive difference?

It's not an inferiority complex and it's not about having a chip on your shoulder, it's a simple case of mathematics. Scotland's population in 2011 was 5,254,800, London's was 7,825,200 (according to the Office of National Statistics). You see where the problem lies. England simply has more people than the other parts of the UK so we will always be subject to whatever choices they make. Either you can live with that or you would like to do something about it. That's your choice. Self-determination sounds very "Nationalist" and "Bravehearty" but when it comes down to it this is the real choice you have to make.

The question should really be "Should Scotland be allowed to elect a government that represents it's people?" I would say the answer is Yes.

If the answer is No then you will get whatever government England chooses. As long as you are OK with that.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_United_Kingdom_general_election_results_in_Scotland

http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons/lib/research/rp2003/rp03-059.pdf

Scottish Independence: Beyond a reasonable doubt

2014-08-29T02:17:00.004-07:00

So, Dear Reader, I wrote this little blog a week ago detailing my journey from being a firm No voter to becoming a shaky Yes voter and would you believe it, to date it has been seen by 2098 folks!

I have to say I find it a little overwhelming to think that so many people have read my thoughts when I only really wrote it for myself. To give a little background it took about 2 weeks to chisel away at that article and slowly reveal it's shape. It started as me listing all the reasons I was voting No in an attempt to convince myself that I was resolute in my beliefs and I was not wavering. In fact the more I wrote the more I realised that I was no longer convinced. You can actually see (or I can cause I know) which paragraphs I wrote when I was in Team No and which I wrote once I had realised the truth. I have had a lot of really supportive texts, emails and messages on social media praising the article and the word that came up a lot is "balanced". The article is balanced because it was started by a No voter and finished by a Yes voter!

I have also had texts and messages and conversations with people who had told me that after reading my blog they too have re-evaluated their position and are now planning on voting Yes. That to me is amazing and humbling I feel I owe it to those people to follow it up with some substance in support of the soliloquy.

You see much has happened since I wrote my little piece; there has been a second debate in which Darling lost his mojo, Salmond found it and he more or less verbatim did exactly what I suggested he should have done in the first debate (perhaps he was one of the 2098); Russell Brand has come out in support of Scottish self-determination and the Patronising Better Together Lady has made up her mind to vote No in less time than it takes her to make Paul's cereal!

But i haven't just been sitting eating cereal and looking at my phone, I have been doing a lot of reading. If I was terrified to publish my blog last week (and I was) for fear of ridicule and uncertainty that I was making the right decision I am now fully resolved that I HAVE made the right decision and that, in fact, there is no other viable option. Allow me to explain.

“Nationalism is not to be confused with patriotism. Both words are normally used in so vague a way that any definition is liable to be challenged, but one must draw a distinction between them, since two different and even opposing ideas are involved. By ‘patriotism’ I mean devotion to a particular place and a particular way of life, which one believes to be the best in the world but has no wish to force on other people. Patriotism is of its nature defensive, both militarily and culturally. Nationalism, on the other hand, is inseparable from the desire for power. The abiding purpose of every nationalist is to secure more power and more prestige, not for himself but for the nation or other unit in which he has chosen to sink his own individuality.” George Orwell

I am not a nationalist. I never have been, I never will. I have not and will not vote SNP and while I was reassured by Alex Salmond's confident performance in the second debate I still find him smug and unbearable and my own beliefs are at odds with his policies. I still maintain that I would much prefer to remain in the UK as I still feel British, I still feel proud to be British and I do love England and all things English. I have never been to Wales but I have a massive affection for it and my time spent in Northern Ireland has never been anything but wonderful. I wish we could change the way in which we are represented in Westminster and I wish the revolution that we are about to have North of the border was nationwide. But wishing doesn't make it so. Nostalgia for royal wedding parties with Union Jack flags, warm beer and the 2012 Olympics will not undo the damage that has been done by the current Tory Lite Administration. I was at several events at the Commonwealth Games recently and I proudly stood for the English and Welsh anthems during medal ceremonies just as I did during Scottish ones. Voting for Independence doesn't make you any more or any less of a patriot, despite what some zealots might tell you. There are some real idiots on both side of this debate but don't be distracted by that, throwing eggs at politicians doesn't make you more of a patriot, quite the opposite in fact! But whether you feel British or not is irrelevant, this is not what the referendum is about. The current Westminster government are destroying our country, they are killing Britain and what it means to be British. Britain IS a democratic and fair society founded on socialist values. We have been the envy of the world for our National Health Service, we are innovators in science, we are educators and and we look after those who cannot look after themselves. We have a welfare system that is there as a safety net for those who need it and while there is a small section of society who abuse this, we should not allow that to impact on those who rely upon it. We are, at heart, a socialist nation. So why are we ruled by Conservatives whose main aim seems to be to demonise the very people in society who we should be helping? Why are we ruled by Tories who think nothing of claiming £20 for a breakfast yet think the disabled who are unable to work do not deserve the dignity of the basics they need to survive? Again I ask why?

The answer sadly is that we have no voice in the UK. We are powerless to affect change because we are that much smaller than our neighbours. So again I will reiterate what I said in my previous blog, what are our English neighbours options at the next general election because like it or not the responsibility for fixing this mess falls to them? They can vote Labour but realistically I don't think many will, as much as Cameron is disliked Milliband isn't a great option. I like Ed Milliband, I wish we didn't live in a world where style was more important than substance but we do and he isn't the man for the job.

So who else? The Lib Demsnlofnwkm.v,..

My apologies, I just fell over laughing.

So we are left with The Tories Full Fat without the calming influence of the Lib Dems or the possibility of a new coalition. But who might form this coalition if Lib and Lab are out of the game?

Yep, UKIP. Believe it or not, and I know it seems far fetched, UKIP are gaining momentum in England and could well end up in a coalition with our friends The Tories. Now, sensible people must realise that UKIP are racists and xenophobes and no-one in their right mind should vote for them but I know sensible people who read The Daily Mail and it is the paperback novel on which the Tory/UKIP movie would be based upon. Essentially in this scenario we would be ruled by The Daily Mail. We would be sending em back home, keeping England English and us Jocks would be kept firmly in our place! Nigel Farage's "sensible solutions" would meet with Cameron's austerity and a bad situation would just get worse. So in fact my love of my country is what has led me reluctantly to conclude that we MUST vote Yes at the referendum. Because you know what? England, Wales and Northern Ireland will be watching us. OUR Independence could well be the catalyst to create real change across the rest of this island.

Until 2 weeks ago I was intending on voting No so I know that No voters are not stupid people. I know that they are no less informed than Yes voters, however what I have come to realise, and it has been the Rosetta Stone which has allowed me to understand the situation more clearly, is that we have been lied to over a prolonged period by a mass media that wouldn't be out of place in North Korea. Almost everything that we have been told by any UK media outlet has been heavily weighed in favour of the Union. My cousin works alongside Professor John Robertson at the University of Scotland and sent me the video below after I had come out in support of Indy but it confirmed what I already suspected to be true. What stands out for me in this video is his section on "experts". The fact is that all experts have views of their own which colour their interpretation of the facts and whatever position you wish to present, there will always be a suitable expert to back it up. But we believe what we are told if told by someone claiming to be an expert. Wouldn't it be more transparent to divulge their political leanings and allow you to make an informed choice?

Speaking of an informed choice, I have been reading a lot in the past week or two, mostly sources that you won't hear about in the mass media. Of course in the interests of balance you may find them buried somewhere on the outlet's website but it won't be the headlines! One of the things that prompted me to look into this further and ultimately changed my mind is that I was going on discussion boards and having face to face conversations with people where I would present the information given to me by the Better Together campaign and almost everything I said was very easily disproven by verifiable links to sources that I have not seen before. The impression I got quite quickly was that No voters come armed with soundbites, Yes voters are armed with sources and facts. I am, of course, generalising but this is how it appeared to me. It certainly motivated me to read a bit more as it was embarrassing how easily beaten I was in any debate. Although no-one can claim that Wings Over Scotland is impartial and most No voters refuse to read it, I strongly urge you to download and read the Wee Blue Book. You'll find the link at the bottom of this page. If you have a web enabled Kindle, iPad or iPhone (other tablets are available) it is so easy to read as every single statement and fact has a link to the original source and is verifiable. It is not as bloated as the SNP white paper and replaces all of the rhetoric with real information, information you will not see reported on. It very quickly dispels a lot of the myths perpetrated by Better Together and is honest in it's approach. If it doesn't know the answer, it admits that.

Which brings me to my next point and it is an important issue. One of the arguments I made time and time again when I was defending The Union was "Alex Salmond can't give a straight answer to what Independence will be like". There is a reason for that and it is an important one which it took me a while to realise. He won't because he can't. He can't because David Cameron "refuses to pre-negotiate Scotland's exit from the UK". He will not even discuss any details, this is where his power lies and he will hold it over Scotland to keep us in our place. Although he's happy to pre-negotiate that we won't get the pound. Again, its a power play by them to frighten us but in all reality it would be disastrous for rUK to refuse a currency union, he just thinks it will never come to that so he needn't worry about being proven wrong! Same goes for Europe, the EU have stated that they will happily discuss the Scotland situation if asked by a member state, ie if Cameron asks they will clarify it but he refuses to so that he can keep it as a debating tool, "Big Bad Salmond won't tell you whether Scotland will be in the EU". Lets not forget that the Tories have promised an in/out referendum on EU anyway and if they are in a coalition with UKIP what do you think will happen? Anyway, whenever the Yes campaign do give answers no-one reports it!

It's all political posturing by Westminster, it's cynical and it's dishonest. THAT is what you will be voting for if you vote No. Yes, Independence is a risk but voting to maintain the status quo and handing the current government a massive vote of confidence is an ever greater risk. In the words of a good friend of mine who text me after the last blog, "A yes vote won't create a utopia, it will stop Scotland's neglect in the future. A No vote will guarantee it."

In a democracy you present your case and give evidence to support it. You then allow the people you represent to make an informed choice. If they agree with you, you win, if they do not, you don't. There should not be any need for mud slinging, misrepresenting the facts, egg throwing, defacing car stickers, abusive tweets and arguments on social media. If anyone is undecided or has any doubts and wants to ask me any question I would be happy to share some of the stuff I have read with you and allow you to make your own informed decision. Whatever we disagree on, everyone wants what is best for their country, their family and themselves. We may not agree on what the best is but we can all agree on that. If you identify yourself as a member of a political movement then every action you take, every word you say will be taken as representing that movement. Try to bear that in mind when you are discussing the referendum between now and September the 18th. There is no need to go to war with one another over this, it isn't about sides, it is about opinions and in a democracy anyone educated enough to stand up and debate should be listened to and welcomed to the table. Good luck in making your decision.

I still detest that man though!

Read further:
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/apr/06/welfare-britain-facts-myths
http://politicalscrapbook.net/2011/05/mps-expenses-vs-benefit-fraud/
http://wingsoverscotland.com/weebluebook/
http://www.thecommentator.com/article/4030/polls_still_suggest_conservative_ukip_pact_key_for_2015
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmRvbFlcQdA

Scottish Independence: A Reasonable Doubt

2014-08-22T01:40:00.000-07:00

Those of you who knows my position on Scottish Independence may have noticed that I've been quiet on the subject lately. Perhaps you haven't as others have certainly filled the void with their voices, as indeed they should do. This IS the most important decision we will make in our lifetime, it deserves a little of your time to listen to and debate all of the arguments on either side. I wouldn't take your information from the mass media though!

The reason I have been quiet is because I've been listening to and debating with friends and strangers who hold opposing views to my own. I've been reading and looking behind all of the facts and opinions. I've been changing my mind.

I have held the view for most of my life that Scotland shouldn't be independent of the rest of the United Kingdom and that is something that has not changed. It shouldn't. But I think it needs to be.

I don’t want to break away from the UK, I am British and as proud of that as I am of being Scottish. I wish we didn’t have to go our own way but increasingly I feel like we need to. We can’t continue to be ruled by an elitist establishment whose sole aim is to keep us in our place and exploit us for their own means and that of their friends. Austerity measures in the face of a huge deficit make sense, everyone tightening their belts for a bit and pulling together to get the economy back on track makes sense. You do it yourself, when money is tight in your household you make cuts and sacrifices. But when that message is delivered by a shiny-faced Etonion sitting on a throne at a banquet, telling us that these are not temporary measures but a permanent way of life, it no longer seems sensible, it feels like abuse.

Westminster doesn't have our interests in mind, it has their own and that of their friends. And by friends I mean those who line their pockets; people like that don't have friends. They need a lower class so that they have fodder for their factories and shops, they need poor people to do the work and make money for the rich people. I've said for a while now that we will get the chance to vote the Tories out in 2015, if we vote for Independence there is no going back. I stand by that.

But. What if the Tories get back in? Can you imagine how bad that will be? If we vote No and the Tories get voted back in they will take that as a stamp of approval that they are doing the right thing and they will keep on doing it. Even if they don’t, what viable alternative do we have? There is no socialist party of any merit left to choose from, Labour are a mess and the Lib Dems? Really??! So what are our options?

Well we could vote for Independence and we will get the government we want. Unless of course you want a party other than the SNP because if they win the independence debate they will almost certainly be voted back into power. Unless they fuck up the negotiations with rUK of course, but they won't. They have Scotland's best interests at heart, don't they?!

So now we've reached the part that I have a problem with and you should too. Because Alex Salmond is not the man you want negotiating your corner, he had 12 minutes to hold the Better Together campaign to task on live national TV and he wasted it talking about aliens and driving on the other side of the road. He had the opportunity to put the whole currency debate to rest by saying "Yes I strongly believe that we will use the pound in a currency union with rUK but I'm not daft, we're not pinning all our hopes on one outcome, here are the viable alternatives that we have considered" but he did not. In any argument or negotiation you have to be able to give and take, you can't just dig your heals in and say it's my way or no way. I believe him when he said repeatedly he wants what's best for Scotland, I don't agree with his vision of what's best but he does and I believe he is genuine. What's best for Scotland is definitely to keep the pound but when it comes to negotiating do you not think the Westminster government will do what's best for the rest of the UK? If Salmond is right and it IS in the UK's best interest to enter into a currency union then they will do so under the terms that suit and protect them. They will not take Scotland's interests, values or welfare into account when negotiating terms or deciding interest rates. They will do what is right for them. They should. We left, it was our decision. We gave up our seat at the table and have no right to argue. Hell mend us.

But if we vote for independence we will always get the government we vote for. The people of Scotland are the best people to decide the future of Scotland. I agree. But let's not get carried away here, the First Minister whoever he may be in 2016 is not going to phone you up and ask your opinion. You won't have any more of a say in an Independent Scotland than you do now. The politicians will still be in charge, just different ones. Watching the first debate between Darling and Salmond it just seemed like a point scoring game, and that's what it was. Politics is a game and the politicians are players. Their accent doesn't change that fact. It's like saying that Westminster has England's best interests at heart because it is in England. No it doesn't. It has its own.

Westminster IS the problem though. The current Tory government IS the problem. Something needs to be done, something needs to change. The question is, is this the change we need? It isn't independence. We will be giving up our seat at the table but will continue to be ruled by them. They will have control over our money and that unfortunately means you have control over everything. Whoever has the money has the power.

So now we're really fucked! What are our options now? What is the answer? We'll I'm afraid I don't have the answer. We're not Better Together at all because we are not really together at all. THAT is what we need to change though. If we break away and form our own government then the rest of rUK will be watching, waiting to see how we get on. If we are successful then they may well change the way they are governed too, we would be responsible for creating a political revolution in the UK, we would be as innovative in the world of politics as we are elsewhere.

But what are we risking? Our pensions, our mortgages, our standard of life (which isn’t awful compared to some places) our financial security and that of our children. It’s a big ask to take the leap without the most basic of questions answered.

The SNP want independence AT ANY COST and have not prepared for it. Alex Salmond is very much a believer that “it’ll be alright on the night”. Well it wasn’t on the night of the debate! That was his big moment and he was woefully underprepared. And don’t be fooled, a vote for Independence IS a vote for Alex Salmond as he will be the man negotiating the shape of what’s the come.

His closing statement was “voting yes is a vote for ambition over fear, it tells the world that Scotland is an equal nation that carries itself with confidence and self-belief”. This is emotional blackmail, it says if you don’t vote yes you are a fearty, I do this with my kids all the time. “I bet Lewis won’t eat his turnip, he’s too much of a baby to try it” Oh yeah, I’ll show you. Then Lewis ends up with a mouth full of turnip and let’s be honest, turnip does taste like crap! My fear is we will all end up with a mouth full of turnip on September 19^th.

I have witnessed the depth of feeling that people have for Independence, I used to think that everyone who wanted Scottish Independence had a chip on their shoulder and were motivated by thoughts of Mel Gibson in woad. I was wrong. I have engaged with some of the most well-informed, intelligent people during this campaign. I have friends and family that I think the world of who take completely the opposite view on this from me and they are not stupid or naïve. They want Independence and this is the closest we have been to achieving it which I believe is blinding them to the risks. And that is where my main issue lies, each side of this debate is so convinced that they are right that they are ignoring the potential pitfalls and pushing all the potential benefits, no-one is being completely honest with us. How the hell are you supposed to make a decision like this when you don’t know who to trust? Honestly you can’t trust either side!

So here we are, less than a month from the referendum and I have gone from a very firm No to a wobbly Don’t Know and I am reluctantly leaning towards a Yes. Can we do this? Of course we can, I never doubted that for a second. My area of doubt has always been that we SHOULDN’T, not that we COULDN’T. But now I’m beginning to think that we MUST. I am fearful of the future either way, there is no going back but for our future and our children’s perhaps we should take this opportunity while we have it and show the world that we can and will succeed. And just maybe, we might learn to love turnip.

Cruel is Cool

2013-09-30T06:22:00.000-07:00

I popped out on my lunch break today to get a few bits and pieces and found myself in a well known newsagent and stationers that you tend to see on every high street. Whilst in there I witnessed further evidence that the world is just getting crueler.

First of all I was in the book section and I saw a chap walk up to the post office section which was all closed up with a big sign saying "Closed due to local holiday". He then walked up to a member of staff and without further ado got right to the heart of the matter by asking the question that was on everyone's lips. "Is the post office closed?"

The staff member courteously explained that it was closed today as it is a Scottish holiday. The gent asking the question had a slight East Coast accent and requested further clarifcation.

"It's a Scottish bank holiday?!"

"No Sir" replied the staff member, "It's a local holiday in the West of Scotland."

"Well.." said Mr East Coast, "it's not a Scottish holiday I can assure you of that!"

At this point in proceedings I was beginning to wonder what he hoped would be the outcome of this discourse. Did he think the staff member would turn round and say "Oh really? Not a Scottish holiday you say? Well in that case I'll call the staff in and open that post office right up for you, please take a seat, they only live upstairs." No, I got the impression that the guy asked the question of the member of staff already knowing the answer with the express intention of starting an argument that neither side would win. In fact, I got the impression he was complaining for the sake of complaining in that passive aggressive "I'm only having a laugh with you buddy" way that says "I have nothing else going on in my life."

By this point I had directed my attention back to the books and whilst perusing them heard someone on the other side of the bookcase say to a member of staff (the same one as before I suspect) "I hate to tell you this but this is much more expensive than Waterstones". Really? Do you? Do you hate to tell him that? Then why tell him, what do you think he will do with that information, is he going to offer you a price match? Perhaps he'll pop out to Waterstones which is only a few doors down and buy it for you. Or maybe, just maybe, armed with this information you could take yourself off to Waterstones and buy the fricking book there and we can all get on with our lives. Personally speaking I was perfectly happy to pay what I paid for my books, I would say it was pretty good value for money. Maybe I could have got the books cheaper in Waterstones, who knows, but all in all I was happy with my purchase.

At this point in my story I am looking up and feeling that I too have been sucked into the cruelty culture. Although I tend not to indulge in the popular reality TV genre that I believe has been wholly responsible for the corruption of society, it is possible that some of it has leaked into my psyche via osmosis. I wont watch anything with Simon Cowell in it as I believe him to be one step down from Satan but his "honest criticism" and cruelty as entertainment style of TV has not escaped my attention completely. I know who he is and what he does for example, so even though I chose not to partake, I cannot escape completely. So now I think I may have been a little harsh on the poor punters in my tale. However that does not excuse the fact that they were unnecessarily mean and rude to the member of staff for doing nothing other than being in work on a day when everyone else was on holiday.

By now I am feeling a kinship with the staff, I've worked in the service industry and I, after all, am also in work when everyone else is not. So I take myself up to the till with my purchases. Now, for the second time in 2 weeks I have opted to go into a shop and purchase a DVD rather than buy online. I normally buy these things online and since places like Woolworth and HMV and all of the places you would normally go are gone or going I have had little option. But last week I was able to go into shop and find a movie that I was struggling to find elsewhere and it was a lovely old-school experience where I took my empty box up to the counter and a fellow went through the back and brought out the discs and the booklet and inserted it into the box and I completed my transaction. I felt like I was giving the high street a shot in the arm instead of the kick in the teeth I have been giving it in recent years. It will still die ultimately but I threw a few coins into the fund for it's long-term care and felt good about it.

So here we are today and I am looking forward to repeating this process as I stand in the queue with my empty DVD box. Then I am called forward by a sweet little lady who welcomes me with a smile and starts passing my chosen items through the scanner. Then she find the DVD in her hand and the whole world seemed to spin on it's axes. It was like that bit in The Hunt for Red October where the camera stops, slowly spins round and suddenly Sean Connery is speaking in English instead of Russian. This sweet lady turns to me and says "I'll need to go through the back and get your DVDs, I'll be as quick as I can but you'll need to wait there". No I realise when reading this it doesn't sound too harsh but there was a tone. A tone that said "Have you seen the length of this queue, do you realise its because of people like you that they have to wait? Are you seriously expecting me to go through the back and get this DVD for you?" I wasn't sure if she expected me to say "Don't worry about it, I'll just leave it." Perhaps if I had been one of the grumpy complainer that's exactly what I would do. "WHAT?!?! WAIT?!?! Do you realise if I was in Edinburgh I would able to buy stamps right now!! Keep your DVD, this is an outrage!!"

Anyway, the bitch took a bloody age to get it and I only get half an hour for my lunch. I won't be back and this time next year she'll be unemployed. Good riddance!

September 11th : The Day the World Got Scarier

2013-09-11T01:19:00.002-07:00

12 years ago today I was on days off from work and was at home alone. I slept late, walked down to the shop and bought some stuff for brunch, came back to my skanky flat, cooked up a full Scottish breakfast, turned on News24 and watched in confusion as the whole world changed right in front of me. I spent the rest of my week off watching the Twin Towers collapse over and over again in slow motion from various angles, saw the planes hit again and again and again and listened to confused commentators and witnesses speculate and try and make sense of it all. When it was time for me to return for my first shift back in the high glass tower I called work, I walked towards it afraid to look at the sky in case a plane flew into it too as this was the only image I had seen for the last few days. No-one expected the Towers to fall down so who knew what might be next. Probably not a hotel in Glasgow and I knew that but I couldn't get the image out of my head. Still can't 12 years later.

Now I work for a company who have been involved in rebuilding the World Trade Center site and my part in it is miniscule but at least it's something and I can take a small amount of pride in that. So for today I shall be thinking about the 3,000 people who died that day and the many heroes who defied logic and ran towards the buildings when everyone else was running away.

If it interests you at all to see what work has been done on the site since then there is a link below with some interesting documentary stuff at the bottom.

One World Trade Center

Bad Muslims, Nasty Muslims.

2013-06-07T00:41:00.001-07:00

I haven't written much recently and it's not because I haven't had anything to complain about. I just haven't felt compelled to sit down and share my infinite wisdom with the world (wide web).

But as Peter Parker's Uncle Ben once said (not to be confused with the rice guy) "With great power comes great responsibility". So if one is blessed with a mind like mine one feels a responsibility to use it to solve all of the world's great problems. You're welcome.

And so to the point. There has been a great deal of talk of late, in the UK in particular, about Islam. It has come on the back of the horrific killing of Drummer Lee Rigby in Woolwich on May 22 and while healthy discussion and debate is a good thing, the rhetoric that has been banded about has been far from good. If you are a reader of the Daily Mail you will know what I mean but unfortunately if you are a reader of the Daily Mail it may already be too late for you!

I haven't been completely silent however, I posted the following on my Facebook at the time:

"It never ceases to amaze me how hatred and violence just leads to further hatred and violence. The race that has been responsible for the most terrorism, aggression and evil on this planet is mankind and if you're looking for someone to blame, blame them.

Religion is a convenient mask that is used to somehow justify some of the terrible, horrible acts that mankind is guilty of but it's not the only one. In the last few days I've seen the events in Woolwich used to justify some pretty dark and hateful views by otherwise sane and rational friends. I've seen "send them home", "bring back the death penalty" "ban Islam and convert them to Christianity" and various other extremist views disguised as patriotism and debate.

The EDL, whos slogan is "an inclusive movement dedicated to peacefully protesting against Islamic extremism" used Woolwich as an excuse to throw rocks at Mosques and policemen, the KKK use Jesus as an excuse to tie black people to the back of trucks and who the hell knows why a white man stabbed a 75 year old Muslim in the back 2 weeks ago in Birmingham!?

It's OK to be scared and its OK to be angry but if we give up our morality and our values in the face of terrorism then we've already lost.

One of the men who claimed to have murdered Lee Rigby in the name of Islam quoted the bible as he did so, this was not the actions of a Muslim, it was the actions of a mad man. Don't let his madness spread to the rest of us.

We are better than them because we accept more than one idea, more than one way of life, more than one point of view. We respect other cultures even if we don't understand them and we welcome them to join ours and as long as we keep doing that the terrorists will NEVER win."

Of course the advantage of posting this on Facebook is that I know that people will see it and indeed there were many comments, likes and a few shares at the time. Some of the comments were supportive and helpful, others were not. The problem though is that I have absolutely no idea who, if anyone, ever reads this blog. It doesn't really matter as it's just a place for me to get things off my chest but in the case of the above I wanted to say something and wanted it to be heard.

Since writing this things haven't really moved on. We are still seeing mosques and innocent Muslims being attacked and although the family of Drummer Lee Rigby have publicly called for calmer heads to prevail and asked that no retaliatory attacks are carried out in his name, they continue nonetheless. To be honest the point I made above is that the people carrying out the retaliatory attacks in his name are really only using it as an excuse for starting a fight. If it wasn't religion it would be football. If it wasn't football it would be whether you shop in Homebase or B&Q. The neanderthals with big foreheads and half a brain cell each will always find something to fight about.

But as the trial of the 2 accused loonies continues it is increasingly apparent from their erratic behavior in court that they are indeed insane and did not carry out this horrible murder in the name of Islam but simply because they are mad.

So if calmer heads are available please let them prevail and let us try and put the horror behind us and work towards a peaceful future. I don't believe in God but I have no quarrel with those who do, be it Jehovah, Allah, Lakshmi or Zeus. If religion is used as a set of values that help you to lead a moral life them by all means fill your boots. It should not be used to excuse violence or intolerance ever and to use it in this way is to completely misinterpret it.

But there is hope. Just take a look at this amazing story.

I'm sure the debate will rage on and hopefully in time the current bout of Islamaphobia will die down (for those of us who do not take our moral guidance from the Daily Mail) but in the meantime let's all agree on one thing. B&Q is better than Homebase (in my humble opinion).

So hungry I could eat a horse

2013-02-15T09:44:00.000-08:00

"We don't eat horses in this country."

This is the argument I heard recently in a post online, expressing outrage at the recent revelations. It's a very common response from animal lovers and in particular horsey people (pictured above).
It's true though, I can't fault the argument, in this country we do not eat horses. Knowingly.
Unless you have been roving on Mars, locked in the big brother house or in a coma you can't have failed to see on the news that horse has made it's way into our food chain by somewhat nefarious means. At the time of writing it is not clear whether it has been by illegal activity or human error but in all honesty the scale of the problem suggests that it's been something dishonest and it looks to be widespread. I'm sure more meaty details will be splashed across the news in due course.

In the interest of full disclosure I should point out that I have, in the past, knowingly chosen horse off the menu and eaten and enjoyed it. I'm not a horse lover, although I don't dislike horses, I have no particular attachment to them. I love animals and find any kind of animal cruelty abhorrent but I don't have any issue with eating them. In fact the notion that its fine to eat sheep, cows, pigs and chickens but not horse leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I just don't understand the criteria that makes some animals ok to eat and not others. While discussing this point recently on a social networking site with a stranger I was met with the response that nothing so majestic should end up on the dinner plate. So it's majesty that's the ingredient so many find hard to swallow? Well to my mind deer is a pretty majestic creature but it seems to be fayre game!

I guess I'm not going to understand this point as I don't own a horse, nor have I ever ridden one or experienced their majesty first hand. I do understand the depth of feeling that people have and I understand why some people don't want to eat them. I am fine with that. I don't like artichokes either and would balk at being forced to eat them. I certainly have a problem with meat products being mislabeled and that is the real issue here. As the products are labeled as beef but are not in fact beef, this is a very serious problem and this must be dealt with. This is where the focus of outrage should be directed. For starters as the horse meat is coming from unknown sources and is not going through the proper checks it could be from anywhere. It might be a pet that was put down by a vet and could have chemicals in it which are unfit for human consumption. Equally it could contain bute, a painkiller used in horses that can cause serious blood disease in humans. These are issues that should not be ignored and it is for this reason that I find the whole situation to be of concern. If I was feeding these ready meals to my kids and thought for a second that they were in danger I would be in uproar. But this doesn't seem to be what the majority of people are getting angry about.

I will leave you with this food for thought. The primary concern amongst animal lovers would appear to be that horses are pets and beloved animals and should not be eaten. I would agree. If it is your pet you probably shouldn't eat it. But it's not my pet so why should that concern me?
The thing that crossed my mind is this: there is no money in breeding horses for food. They just are not efficient in terms of fattening them up with grain in the same way that other livestock is. So the horse that ends up on people's plate was not bred specifically for eating. Cows, sheep, chicken, pigs, all of these animals were bred for food. They probably didn't have the best life as they had one purpose and one purpose only, to be sold for meat. Horses on the other hand are beloved pets, or work animals, they might run around in fields being ridden or perhaps they are thoroughbred race horses or police horses. Whatever life they were going to have they had it. Then at the end of their life when it is their time to go they are then used as food. Who would you say had the better life? The cow or the horse? Just saying.
Anyway, I'll trot along now and leave you to chew that over.
-- Post From My iPhone

Cyclic Salutations

2013-01-25T10:28:00.001-08:00

Person 1: Hi there, how are you?
Person 2: I'm good thanks, how are you?
Person 1: Yeah, I'm good, how are you?
Does this annoy anyone else as much as it annoys me?

Back from Reality

2012-09-29T00:32:00.001-07:00

Remember when you used to get documentaries on telly? Cutting Edge, Arena, Panorama, QED, each week a different story, a window into a part of life we were hitherto unfamiliar with. John's Not Mad springs to mind, the first time we became aware of Tourette's Syndrome. Now we have Tourette's: Let us Entertain You, a 3 part series that takes young Tourette's sufferers with musical talent and puts them in front of an audience to see what happens. Then of course there's X Factor, My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding, Eddie Stobbart: Trucks and Trailers. All of these shows could comfortably provide a single 1 hour documentary's worth of entertainment value but nowadays they are dragged out into series after series, spin-off after spin-off.

There's a real idea deficit in telly at the moment, it feels to me like the creative people in the industry aren't the ones dictating the content, that's a job that's left to the money people. And as much as I have nothing against accountants and appreciate that they do a job that needs to be done I don't want to rely on them to entertain and enlighten me.

You see that's the real problem with today's telly, it should be about more than entertainment. In most households the TV is on from dusk till dawn, whenever someone is in the house and awake the gogglebox is on. It's no longer something that's used to fill a couple of empty hours or provide escapism once the kids are in bed and the hoovering is done. TV is a constant in our modern lives, it is always with us and therefore it has great power to influence and educate us. To challenge us with thought-provoking content, provide us with knowledge and present us with ideas different to our own.

Telly should not just entertain, it should enrich. But for the most part it doesn't because its cheaper and easier to pitch to the lowest common denominator, the thinking seems to be that if the great unwashed masses who watch TV don't understand it they will switch off and watch something they do so let's keep it simple. It's patronising and insulting and it's making people dumber. Most homes now have a computer or an iPad or even a phone with the Internet on it, I'm writing this on my phone right now. When I watch something challenging and intelligent and something is mentioned that I don't understand or want to learn more about I go online and check it out. I learn. I don't for a second think I'm more intelligent than anyone else so I think it's safe to assume that others would do the same.

Don't get me wrong, there is a lot of intelligent, high-brow programming out there, the BBC don't have a "get out of jail free" card when it comes to accusations of dumbing down but on average they do provide slightly more intelligent and thought-provoking shows than the commercial channels. They still pander to focus groups and ratings concerns but they aren't a slave to advertisers to the same extent. It would be a terrible loss if they ever did away with the license fee. But the issue is that for every QI there's a Homes Under the Hammer. For every The Newsroom there's a Geordie Shores. And for every Frozen Planet there are 10 Take Me Out!

A great philosopher once said "With great power comes great responsibility" and the makers of television have great power. So step up guys and gals, why not do some good and create a generation of people who demand more, who ask challenging questions and insist on quality because its all they've ever known? Why not use your voice and the great weight that it carries for something more than Jeremy Kyle? Because nobody really cares what Jordan Did Next, they just watch it because you don't give them anything more interesting. In the absence of smart, witty and emotional drama people will watch minor celebrities eating bugs and will still buy the washing up liquid advertised in between courses but you shouldn't take that as a sign that we are all content. When the television is on from sunrise to sunset and beyond we will watch whatever you put on it but when you have the power to make society better instead of stupider and you choose not to use it, you are in danger of becoming the lowest common denominator yourself.

-- Post From My iPhone