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CAMPAIGNING FOR SCOTLAND
(Owned, Edited and Printed in Scotland since November
1926)
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Nationalism and all that is best in Scotland."
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Independent Newspaper.
[
Issue 398 - 18th January 2008] |
Compiled by Ian Goldie |
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THE STATE OF
BRITAIN
Here
is an interesting letter by a Mr Peter Day I picked up from
the Times newspaper. It expresses what many people
throughout Britain feel about things. But I have a question
about it at the end.
 ‘There
should be no surprise that English kids’ reading ability has
plummeted. We British are the worst, or almost the worst,
at almost everything we should be strive to be best at.
‘Compared with pretty much everywhere else, we are the
fattest, the most unhealthy, most illiterate, most
unhealthy, most unfit. We have the most litter, most
vandalism, most fly-tipping, most binge drinking, most
congested roads, most drivers per acre, most bug-ridden
hospitals, most complicated train timetables, most decrepit
transport infrastructure, most dog mess, most bookmakers,
most CCTV cameras, most drug abuse, most sexual diseases,
most pregnant teens.
‘What an indictment of the last two governments, which could
have prevented this.’
Much of what Mr Day writes is
true, although ‘the last two governments’ should probably
read ‘all governments since 1945’. It is a catalogue of
decadence hardly matched by any other European country.
But that being the case, is it not amazing that British
Unionist politicians are still pleading with the Scottish
people not to vote for independence. They are still
obsessed with the idea that Britain somehow is a top nation,
envied by all others, who they seem to believe would all
join up to being part of the Union at the drop of a hat, if
offered.
What tosh. The real Britain is currently, sadly, a rather
degenerate state. The different nations that make it up
could easily do far better – but on their own.
GEORGE GALLOWAY AND ‘TRIBALISM’
I
must confess that George Galloway gave me a lot of fun when
he was being questioned on Iraq by American senators in
Washington last year.
He also gave me a lot of fun in a different way when I saw
him on TV praising Saddam Hussein for his indefatigability
as a great leader.
 What
a flatterer, I thought. Right up there with Tony Blair when
he was addressing the US Congress.
Well, George has emerged as a columnist for the second most
popular – based on circulation – tabloid newspaper in
Scotland.
And he has decided to use his
column to slate the Scottish national party and its politics
of independence.
So what has the bold George got to say?
(See
his whole article at:
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/comment/columnists/lifestyle-columnists/george-galloway/
)
Nationalism and Tribalism
He starts by asking: ‘What is nationalism except tribalism
by another name?’ and goes on to draw a parallel between the
current massacres in Kenya, the recent disasters in the
Balkans, and Scottish nationalism which is in favour of
independence.
George never once mentions the national independence of
Norway, Finland or Ireland that resulted in those countries
winning their freedom, running their own affairs and going
on to become far better examples of democracies than Britain
is.
Long-lasting Political Unions
George goes on: “In Scotland, we speak the same language
as the people we have shared a state with for 300 years. We
work for the same employers, are in the same unions, watch
the same TV, support the same national game, are defended by
the same army, have the same culture … do I need to go on?’
Well, not really George, if all your arguments are going to
be as lamentable as those.
After all, we speak the same language too as the Americans,
Canadians, Australians and New Zealanders. There is no
political Union there, nor a dominant centralised city, be
it London or Washington, thank goodness.
And just because a Union is 300 hundred years old doesn’t
mean to say it’s any good. Many other states have won their
independence after being in Unions lasting many years:
Norway finally broke from two Scandinavian Unions lasting
more than 500 years and 90 years in 1905; Finland took its
own control from Sweden after 652 years, and from Russia
after more than 100 years in 1917; Ireland from
England/Britain after more than 750 years in 1922; and
Iceland from Norway after more than 100 years, and from
Denmark after 564 years in 1944.
I could go on with other examples, but quite clearly a long
political Union is not necessarily a good one, and nations
throughout the ages have broken away to rule themselves –
and in northern Europe especially, with excellent results.
Sharing the Same Things
As for ‘the same employers … the same unions … the same
TV … the same culture’ … well, more’s the pity. Lots of
Scots would love to work for Scottish companies, rather than
American or British ones; our workers might have suffered
less poor pay if they had more Scottish unions standing up
for them; television in Scotland might well be in a better
state if it were not so London-dominated, as might Scottish
culture.
As for football – well maybe George hasn’t noticed, but
football is pretty well universal and in fact the Scots and
the English tend to support different national teams.
Finally, the army. Since we are in a political Union, of
course we are defended by the same army, although much of
our military effort now is with the US and other European
forces. And it just might be that Scottish troops would not
have been fighting and dying nearly so often if Scots had
the final say in the wars we go into, rather than a
Westminster elite who still harbour delusions of grandeur.
George’s Fight-Back
George threatens a fight-back against independence,
although he just can’t bring himself to mention the word –
he calls it tribalism.
He says: ‘So 2008 is where I begin the fightback against
tribalism in this green and pleasant land … I will do it, if
necessary, myself, on my radio show on Friday and Saturday
night, with every breath that God gives.
‘Alex Salmond, you have been warned.’
Well, bring on your arguments, George! You’re beginning to
sound lust like former Tory MP Jonathan Aitken with his
sturdy sword of British justice! Remember what happened to
him!
And Finally …
George finishes with some good points on the scandalous
divide between the haves and the have-note in our society.
Next month I’ll analyse just where he goes wrong there too!
Read Christina McKelvie MSP's Weekly Diary
SYNOPSIS
Friday 11
January 2008
MACNEIL COMMENTS ON HAIN DONATIONS
INVESTIGATION
Commenting on news that Peter Hain
has been reported to the Parliamentary
Standards Commissioner over his failure
to declare more than £100,000 in
donations to his Labour deputy leader
campaign, Angus MacNeil, the SNP MP who
sparked the cash for honours inquiry,
said:
 “The
investigation by the Standard’s
Commissioner will have to determine
whether Peter Hain acted, at worst,
unlawfully, or at best, incompetently.
Either way his position does now seem
untenable.
“In addition to Peter Hain’s failure to
declare these donations, there is also a
massive question mark over his
endorsement of private companies who
later made cash gifts to his party
campaign.
“I will be writing to the Prime Minister
seeking assurances that offices of state
are not being used to make commercial
endorsements in exchange for donations
to Labour Ministers.
“North and south of the border Labour
are sinking in a pool of their own
sleaze.”
Sunday 13
January 2008
WEIR DEMANDS ACTION ON ENERGY RIP-OFF
Mike Weir MP, the SNP Westminster
Spokesperson on Energy, has called on
the UK government to take urgent action
to investigate allegations that the
major energy companies have taken
co-ordinated action to drive up prices
and boost profits.
 Mr
Weir's calls followed the publication of
an investigation by The Sunday Times
which reveals that the UK's biggest
energy companies have stifled
competition to raise prices.
Mr Weir has previously called upon the
Chancellor to use his first question to
the chairman of Ofgem at their projected
meeting to ask why the UK market in
energy was not working for consumers.
Mr Weir said:
“Perhaps we now know the answer to this,
if these allegations can be
substantiated. It is certainly the case
that once one major supplier raises
prices the others follow fairly shortly
thereafter. On this occasion Npower is
first to put its head above the parapet,
it will be interesting to see which
companies now follow them.
“Very many vulnerable families are
finding it increasingly difficult to
meet their energy costs. An urgent
investigation is needed into these very
serious allegations, and strong action
taken against the companies if they are
found to be acting in this way. “
Sunday 13
January 2008
WISHART WELCOMES DECISION TO
RECOGNISE SCOTS LITERATURE
SNP Westminster Spokesperson for
Culture, Media and Sport, Pete Wishart
MP, has welcomed the reversal of a
decision by the Library of Congress, one
of the world's largest libraries, to
reclassify Scots authors as English. The
move would have seen classic novels like
"The Thirty Nine Steps" by the Scottish
author John Buchan, listed as an English
adventure story.
 Mr
Wishart said:
“I am delighted that the Library of
Congress has made this decision after
pressure from writers and academics in
Scotland, who were right to react when
this proposal was first made.
“This means the category of “Scottish
writer” has been newly recognised by the
Library of Congress, whose
classifications set a global, standard.
I welcome also the British Library
supporting this decision and it will
return to classifying Scottish
literature as a separate category. This
is another major step in recognising and
celebrating the cultural differences
that exist across the nations of the
United Kingdom.
“Scotland’s literature over the
centuries has made such a significant
contribution to the world literature and
continues to do so with great vitality
into our modern era.
“It would have been a travesty that
our capital city, Edinburgh, has been
given the honour of being named a UNESCO
City of Literature whilst one of the
worlds largest libraries might have
institutionally not recognised
Scotland’s distinctive body of
literature. I am thrilled that this will
not the case”
Tuesday
15 January 2008
BREATHTAKING HYPOCRISY AS LABOUR VOTE
TO DEPRIVE GOOD CAUSES OF £184 MILLION
 SNP
Westminster Spokesperson on Culture,
Media and Sport, Pete Wishart MP, has
accused Scottish Labour MP’s of
appalling hypocrisy after voting though
a UK Government motion to divert a
further £675million of lottery funding
from good causes to subsidise the London
Olympics. Up to £184million will be lost
by Scottish good causes as a result.
In a scathing attack, Mr Wishart said:
“The sight of Scottish Labour MP’s
voting away life-line funding for some
of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged
in society, indeed in their own
constituencies, was truly unforgivable.
“The reality of this lottery raid is
that good causes in some of the poorest
communities will be sacrificed to
subsidise the spiralling cost of the
London Olympics.
“For the past few weeks Scottish Labour
have blubbed crocodile tears over a
mythical threat to vulnerable groups.
Today Scottish Labour MP’s had their big
chance to support the vulnerable and the
marginalised, and they have been found
wanting.
“Not one Scottish Labour MP voted
against this lottery raid, and as a
result they are now responsible for
Scotland being deprived of some £184
million for good causes.
“On the day that Wendy Alexander visits
Westminster, this indeed shows the true
extent of Scottish Labours concerns
about the weak, poor and disadvantaged,
and their hypocrisy is simply
breathtaking.
“Every time a Labour MSP now gets to
their feet to repeat their fantasy
concerns about the vulnerable they will
be reminded that it was Labour MP’s who
voted to deprive Scotland’s good causes
of a very real £184 million.”
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