CAMPAIGNING FOR SCOTLAND (Owned, Edited and Printed in Scotland since November 1926) "Promoting all that is best in Scottish Nationalism and all that is best in Scotland." Content of the Flag in the Wind Web Site is the copyright of the Scots Independent Newspaper. [ Issue 348 -  2nd February 2007]

Compiled by Jim Lynch

Soldiering on – or not?

I have briefly looked at the biographies and qualifications of the Secretary of State for Defence, Des Browne, and the Armed Forces Minister, Adam Ingram, and I shudder to think of the “defence” of our country being in the care of people who do not even know one end of a gun from the other.  First Browne (with an “e”) says the Army is too big, and has to be reduced; then he says the Army is overstretched and needs to expand.  Then he says he didn’t say that, but the Army does have a crisis in recruitment.  Oh no they don’t, although  there is an increase of  30% in recruits  coming from overseas, and Adam Ingram just nods his head!

The Armed Forces are in a shambles, mainly, but not entirely, due to Labour mismanagement; the Royal Air Force has more Group Captains than it has combat jets, and it has 70 Squadron Leaders for every squadron, must get a mite crowded at the Mess dinner table.  At present the UK has 354 combat aircraft, compared with 363 in Saudi Arabia and 402 in Israel.  Mind you, when they are selling new aircraft built for the RAF to Saudi Arabia, no wonder we are a wee bit short.  But do not worry, the RAF has to cut its manpower from 48,000 to 41,000 by 2008, by the orders of Gordon Brown (without an “e”) so it will be a race to see what we run out of first, people or planes. At the same time a lot of the most experienced aircrew are seeking redundancy, no idea of how many are Group Captains or Squadron Leaders.  And Labour politicians mock the SNP about defence forces in an independent Scotland!

The Royal Navy is not in much better shape; apparently about half the ships are mothballed.  Last week we had the triumphal launching of a warship on the Clyde, and the usual bleats about how independence would threaten shipbuilding jobs.  Well, I don’t know how many warships are planned, but I do know that the Government’s ineptitude means that Caledonian MacBrayne ferries are being built in Poland, and also if I remember correctly, a fishery cruiser.    We also hear about the two massive aircraft carriers to be built, bits of them on the Clyde, and other bits on the Forth,  and how the cost of these ships will eat up the Navy’s budget for years to come, so no smaller ships at all then?  And if this is all the Ministry of “Defence”, why do we need “massive” aircraft carriers? Well, according to Admiral Sir Alan West who retired as First  Sea Lord last year : “If Britain wants to remain a world power and to operate with a deal of freedom around the world, these two carriers are vital.”  

This of course presupposes that Britain will help police the world, not on her own, but as Deputy Dawg to whomsoever might be the American Sheriff;  there will be a change of American President within two years, and there is no guarantee that the next incumbent will be as bellicose as Bush.   One has only to look at the lessons of history to note that America only entered the Second World War after Pearl Harbour. The carriers, like the Trident submarines, are all for the greater glory of Mother England, currently masquerading as Great Britain, and to let her keep her seat in the Security Council.

Back to the Army, or more correctly, the “Defence Force”, since once your army drops below 100,000 it ceases to be classed as an army;  according to recent statistics, the army has 99,570, smaller than the Mexican army, 144,000, the Polish army, 104,000, or even the American Marine Corps, which has 180,000.  Worse than all this, our current troops are overstretched and under equipped, witness the fiasco of not enough helicopters to support them in Afghanistan. Many of the most experienced soldiers want out, there are constant complaints about poor equipment, and the troops themselves do not seem to have much confidence in their political masters.

We even have the ludicrous situation of the new Royal Regiment of Scotland, launched with a fanfare of bagpipes, but with only 320 kilts for 5,000 soldiers;  more than 50 years ago I served in the Black Watch, and we all had kilts.  We did not all necessarily like wearing them, particularly as I was in Kenya, where it was rather warm.   One of my abiding memories is that after sundown shorts were forbidden, and long trousers had to be worn; this was of course to reduce the amount of skin available for mosquitoes, but it was rather anomalous that the walking out dress was the kilt, giving the mosquitoes access they could only dream of.   The British Army then was reasonably good on logistics, but not so hot on logic.

However, the shortage of troops, together with the use on active service of many Territorials, a role they neither wished for or welcomed, leads me to wonder if one of these odd days our noble Westminster Government will think of reintroducing conscription?
 

Lord Levy-tate – he keeps getting lifted.

As we go to press, news emerges that Lord Levy has been arrested and questioned yet again by the Metropolitan Police, and the whole cash for honours episode is somewhat reminiscent of the approach to prostitution;  with prostitution the emphasis has been on the women supplying the services, and only recently on the men requiring them.  This analogy will not go down well with the noble lords and lordesses, so a wee quote from Robert Burns:

“Ye see yon birkie ca’d a lord, That struts and stares and a’ that?
“Tho hundreds worship at his word, He’s but a coof for a’ that.”

Yes, the noble lords, and lordesses, are quite happy to fork out wads of dosh to have people, in theory, bowing and scraping in their presence, and to be addressed a “My Lord etc”, when all they have done for the human race is supply money to this political party or that one, just to purchase a commodity, ie a title.  Aye, human beings are strange creatures indeed.

Our Labour members are suitably indignant at how their lackeys are being treated as if they were common criminals; when the Prime Minister’s aide, Ruth Turner was arrested at 6.30 in the morning, they became apoplectic at this affront.  Now there is a possibility that Ms Turner may be guilty of a crime, so she was treated like any other suspect; where then were these indignant Labour MPs when asylum seekers and their children, who had  committed no crime were arrested in the dawn raids?  The barricades were strangely unmanned.  It is worth noting that the dawn raids have ceased in Scotland, as demonstrators kept a vigil to stop them, but Dr John Reid’s Home Office have come up with a new wheeze;  they ask the families to come to the office for interview, and then arrest them, lessons from Nazi Germany, no doubt.  Labour are the masters of the double standards.

Anyway, we await with interest the next part of this; with the prostitute analogy, will we have a new offence of seeking to purchase an honour?  This would get Tony Blair off the hook, or is it too late for that?

 

Foot in the Mouth Notes

This last weekend I went to a football match between Dunfermline Athletic Initiatives and Raith Rovers Initiatives.  The Raith Rovers team was sponsored by the Army, with the slogan “Army be the best” and the Union Jack on their jerseys.

This is obviously part of the cunning plan of their most notable supporter, Chancellor, Gordon Brown, who urged everyone to fly the Union Jack in their gardens; I did not realise that he meant hanging from the washing line.

 

Professor Brian Cathcart of Kingston University wrote in an article in the New Statesman that that English based newspapers devote more coverage to news from the Republic of Ireland, a foreign country, that they do to news from Scotland.  He pointed out that editors usually try to give their readers what they want.

We must have a different breed of editors in the Scottish press, as we are continually swamped with news from England, whether we like it or not.

 

Roger Bootle, economic adviser to Big Four accountancy firm, Deloitte, has predicted that Scotland would fare badly if it were to break away from the UK; it is not that long ago that Mr Bootle famously predicted that inflation was dead.

The inflation rate has just hit a 10 year high of 3%.

From the Herald Diary:  “Transport Minister and Paisley MP Douglas Alexander, quoted in the Herald this week about the dangers of using your mobile phone while driving, stated : “It’s impossible to do two things at once and do them well.”

Herald (and SI) reader, Ken MacColl of Oban asks : “Is this the same Douglas Alexander who combines the job of Transport Minister with that of Secretary of State for Scotland?”
 

Some years ago I was on a Caribbean cruise with friends; there was also an English couple at our table, and the talk turned at one stage to Scottish self government.  The English chap, very nice guy, could not for the life of him understand why we Scots would want to break away from Westminster rule, and what did we have to complain about.

I then introduced the subject of the European Union, and got a diatribe about how they were not going to let any foreigners dictate to Britain (England); the sad thing was that he did not see any contradiction.

When the Tory Shadow Cabinet visited Scotland on an away day a couple of weeks ago, they managed a  fair bit of foot in the mouth politics.

Their policy chief, Oliver Letwin, said that having flown up to Scotland and inspected it for himself, it was a “ foreign country” with stuff to teach the English;  stick around Mr Letwin, we hope to make it even more foreign.

 

Ar Ceann-suidhe ann an 2007

Tha e oifigeach. Chan eil an cogadh ann an Iraq a’ dol leinn agus chan eil sinn a’ cosnadh deagh chliù dhuinn fhèin thall-thairis. Mar naidheachd tha sin dìreach shuas an sin le “Cha bu toil le Hitler na h-Iùdaich”, ach ‘s dòcha gun e naidheachd a th’ ann do ar ceann-suidhe Seòras W agus a chuilean Tony. Nuair a chunnacas iad air an telebhisean ag aideachadh gun robh sinn uile ann an trioblaid a-nis bha coltas air Seòras nach robh fhios aige dè ‘n latha a bh’ ann. Feumaidh gun do dh’fheuch cuideigin a mhìneachadh dha cia mheud saighdear a bha marbh air tàillibh a chuairt-dànachd, agus nuair a ruith e a-mach à corragan agus ladhran chaill e grèim air an t-saoghal uile gu lèir. (Tony - dè thig an dèidh fichead? An e “agus cuid eile”?)

Tha bliadhna ùr a-nis a’ tighinn oirnn, is a rèir coltais tha sinn fhathast gun rathad

a-mach freagarrach. Ma bhios an dàrna leth de na h-aithrisean ceart tha lagh agus òrdugh air briseadh sìos. Tha eucoir agus cràdh nas miosa na bha iad fo Saddam agus leis an amharras eadar an dà eaglais làidir tha an dùthaich a-nis ann an cunnart gun spreadh i às a chèile. Ged a tha ar saighdearan òga a’ tighinn dhachaigh ann am pocannan-cuirp, a rèir ceannard an airm cha bhi iad a’ dèanamh feum sam bith, agus ann da-rìribh dh’fhaodadh iad a bhith a’ dèanamh rudan nas miosa.

Dè nì ar ceann-suidhe agus prìomh mhinistear an-ath-bhliadhna ma-tà?  Tha mi cinnteach gun gabh Seòras còir smachd air an t-suidheachadh agus gum bi e aig an dearbh mhionaid seo a’ suidhe le crayon na làimh a’ sgrìobhadh amasan na bliadhna ùir.

1. Iraq. Abair “Sin sibh a bhalachaibh. Tha sinn falbh. Beannachd leibh.”

2. Cuir coire air cuideigin eile.

3. Ceannaich Gameboy.

Mura bi 2007 a’ dol a bhith a’ sìor-fhàs nas miosa feumaidh sinn Iraq fhàgail. ‘S e toiseach tòiseachaidh a th’ ann bruidhinn ris na dùthchannan Moslamach. Tha impidh air an UN a-cheana is cha bhiodh NATO freagarrach.  Feumaidh freagairt tighinn à Àisia fhèin, gun daoine bhon taobh a-muigh feuchainn ri rudan a sparradh orra. Tha Alba an sàs leis a’ chogadh seo a chionn ‘s gun do leig sinne le daoine bhon taobh a-muigh rudan a sparradh oirnn; ach tha a’ ghrian air a dhol sìos air an impireachd. Neo-eisimileachd, duine sam bith?

Our President in 2007

It’s official. The war in Iraq isn’t going our way and we aren’t earning a good reputation for ourselves abroad. As news that’s right up there with “Hitler wasn’t fond of Jews”, but maybe it is news to our president George W and his puppy Tony. When they were seen on television admitting that we were all in trouble now George looked as if he didn’t know what day it was. Somebody must have tried to explain to him how many soldiers were dead because of his adventure, and when he ran out of fingers and toes he totally lost his grip on the world. (Tony - what comes after twenty? Is it “and some more”?)

A new year is now upon us, and it appears that we are still without a suitable exit strategy. If even half of the reports are correct law and order has broken down. Crime and torture are worse now than they were under Saddam and with the suspicion between the two main religions the country is now in danger of bursting apart. Although our young soldiers are coming home in body bags, according to the leader of the army they aren’t doing any good, and in fact they might actually be making things worse.

What will our president and prime minister do next year then? I’m sure good old George will take charge of the situation and even at this very minute he will be sitting with a crayon in his hand writing his new year resolutions.

1. Iraq. Say “That’s you boys. We’re away. Goodbye.”

2. Blame somebody else.

3. Buy a Gameboy.

If 2007 isn’t going to become increasingly worse we must leave Iraq. Speaking to the Moslem countries is a start. The UN is under pressure already and NATO wouldn’t be appropriate. The answer has to come from Asia itself, without people from the outside trying to force things on them. Scotland is involved in this war because we have let people from the outside force things on us; but the sun has gone down on the empire. Independence anyone?
 

THE UNION THAN AN NOU

This year, as ilka naitionalist kens, merks the three-hundert anniversary o the misfortunate Union. Scottish historians, no blate ti tak the chance o turnan an honest bawbee, are eidently at wark on it. There are hauf a dizzen buiks ti cum; ane or twa are oot aaready. The first, “The Scots and the Union”, bi Professor Christopher Whatley o Dundee University (an publishit bi Embro University Press) haes haed a guid wird frae Wendy Alexander, M.S.P., nou back i the First Meenister’s fauld. She grees wi Prof. Whatley’s opeenion that the Unionists o 1707 thocht o theirsels as Scottish patriots, an threips that this pruives the Unionists o 2007 are Scottish patriots an aa.

Ti thaim that hae read a guid few Scottish history buiks, it wul cum as nae surpreese that the makers o the Union heild theirsels ti be patriots. That wes the pairty line o gey near aa historians fir twa hunner year efter 1707. Even Prof. Whatley disnae claim that this is a new idea, ainly that he hes luikit intil it in mair detail nor the ithers. Bit daes this mean we soud gie the same title ti the Unionists o the praisent day? We ken, in fack, whit the politeecians o 1707 tuik ti be patriotism. In a weel-kent letter, the Earl o Roxburgh set oot the raisons why Scots soud vote fir the Union: free trade wi England; the Hanoverian Succession; peace an security; an (he foresaw) an en ti poverty an bad government. (We dinnae ken whuther he foresaw that he wad be made a Marquess in return fir his ain vote.)

Lat us see hou thir raisons meisure up in 2007. Hanover? There’s no mony voters wad fash theirsels wha wes on the throne the day. Free trade? The European Union wad gie us that onywey. Peace? Scotland micht hae haed an English airmy owre her borders in 1707, bit A cannae see Tony Blair tryan sic a ploy nouadays. Poverty? No as lang as we hae ile, nor the pouer frae win, waves an tides ti cum. Bad government? Ye’ll no fin mony fowk, A jalouse, that tak Maister Blair an his clamjamphry as the model o guid government. Sae, aa things conseedert, it wad be gey haurd fir Wendy an her friens ti shaw that the poalitics o 1707 pruive we soud wale Jeck McConnell in 2007!

Kenneth Fraser