bbc – defiaye.com

by C.C.Hamilton

Yes Picnic

I love the idea of the Yes Picnic that is being planned for the 29^th July. Don’t get me wrong I am realistic enough to know it will probably pish doon wae rain but it is exactly the king of gathering I was talking about a couple of weeks ago about using the summer months and the “better” weather to bring people together. The boss here at Defiaye Towers is helping to organise and I am to understand that a wee dug of the ginger variety will be there.

What it will do, and this is important, is attract nosy/curious peole in the park that day to come and see what isgoing on and these are the really important conversations we need to have over the next couple of years. In my experience most people are really receptive to the “idea” of independence but are a bit scared of it. We need to take the sting out of it. And informal gatherings in public places can help to do that. We need to stop shouting and start listening. Stop talking AT people and start talking to them. Conversations are a two way thing and too many in our movement want to talk and shout AT people and not take the time to listen and converse. Let them come to us because what we are doing is interesting, fun and worth their time. Actually too many in our movement spend too much time on social media arguing with people who are NEVER going to be convinced, but that is a whole other blog. So if you are about on the 29^th and fancy a blether, come along. I’m taking the weans. Bring a bit o scran and a bottle of ginger. It’ll be great.

Difficult Night

Last night was a tough one for our Womens football team. Those of us who follow the side knew it was going to be a difficult night. Particularly as we were missing Kim Little, Jen Beattie,Lizzi Arnott and Emma Mitchell through injury. However, that has created opportunities for others and most of them are young enough to learn great lessons from last night. Disappointingly I don’t think our players did themselves justice. I am sure they will be desperate to prove that they are better than the scoreline and performance suggests and they are. On Sunday they move on to play Portugal and it is a game they can win. Qualifying for this tournament was massive, but we don’t want to be there just making up the numbers. The experience of tournament football will be brilliant for the squad and should drive them on to bigger and better things and any girls out there playing the game or watching last night shouldn’t be downheartened but it should make them more determined to push on.

Which brings me to the appalling way the SFA treat our team. While the men are resting up in the luxury of Mar Hall the ladies are treated like second class citizens. That has to change. If we are serious about progressing our game in Scotland and encouraing more girls and women to play and watch the game, we have to treat our elite squads properly. They have the ability but they need the preperation time and facilities that are afforded to the top nations in the Womens game. Make no mistake, this is a talented group we have with better talent coming through behind them. If we invest now, we have a real chance. Is the SFA brave enough to really back the Womens game in Scotland? I hae ma doots.. but they should or else a terrific opportunity will be lost. Oh and by the way, the Scottish Government could intervene here with a couple of million quid, small beer for them, and demand that the SFA match their investment. I appreciate that money is being spent in grassroots fooball but it is the elite squads doing well that drives participation at grassroots. The FM is patron of the Womens National team, lets see if her Government can put their money where their mouths are.

Before I finish can I also point to the great coverage the Womens game gets in The National newspaper. The only newspaper to take the Scottish Womens game seriously and I really hope they continue to grow their coverage of Womens Football.

BBC Pay

Firstly let me say that I don’t really care what individual presenters on the Beeb get paid. However as a big fan of Scottish football I was annoyed to see that Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer are receiving more for presenting Match of the Day than the amount the BBC paysin total for Scottish Football coverage. I love Match of the Day and really like Lineker and Shearer but I think it is time for the BBC to shell out a bit more to support our game, produce a better Sportscene product and give it a prime time slot. That in turn would encourage more people to watch, attend games and that would, hopefully encourage more participation in the game. I don’t grudge anyone a single penny but we pay the licence fee too in Scotland and our national game deserves better from the national broadcaster.

The Story so Far….

There are many people that can put this more eloquently than myself. I usually doodle.

In reality humanity needs to wake up – Yesterday.

I live in the UK, quite possibly the most Un-united Kingdom on the Earth. Our democracy is enslaved to another country and if the word ‘Democracy’ was a person – it would be on its Knees.

If you haven’t already guessed – I am from Scotland.

We could have been independent….actually No. We couldn’t have. There is no reality where Scotland can democratically free herself; because corruption, legalized propaganda and fear will stop us. And if that didn’t stop us (historically speaking) – a technicality would have[i].

Despite the actual independence referendum itself being questionable (whitewash investigations continue across Scotland) and held with the security of a Tuck Shop being run by squirrels (there are literally videos all over youtube showing problems that even make my disengaged cat wince) – there were some positive outcomes. Labour destroyed itself and lied (about so many things) specifically about pensions.

Morbidly when I built this website to discuss, campaign, rant etc. it was because I thought we would lose the Independence referendum but paradoxical I also couldn’t watch that historical event take place without Trying. Trying for something better.

Don’t take that as defeatist. Scotland WILL be independent. I just don’t think it will be with a clear cut vote, in a swirl of rainbows – in fact I suspect it will take a choke hold over the people with the London-Controlled Government reducing us all into very desperate creatures.

Right now the Government keeps its population scared, desperate but still afraid of losing what little we have – that time will move forward in the next five years. Eventually some people will decide that there’s nothing more to lose. And that is what will, probably and eventually, free us all.

But whatever happens – Hope will come in Over Fear. That I do believe. Hope and Integrity will always exist in the cracks and it will bleed through. There are good people out there. You’re probably one of them.

You could mistake my description (with propaganda, discrimination, persecution featuring heavily in the metaphorical brochure) of my beautiful country as belonging in a fascist warzone – that’s because it is. And like most advanced forms of warfare – the people don’t even realise they’re being attacked (and destroyed).

I would love to ‘Walt Disney’ this up for you but humans are selfish. They don’t care until it (persecution) is on their doorstep. This is proved by the death of over 60,000 disabled people (10,600 dead in 10 months x 6yrs of Conservatives)[ii] after their benefits were terminated by the Government. And that is just the people we know about. There are people who do not claim for benefits out of fear/shame etc. So sixty thousand people die and nobody cares. This is both sad but reality.

From being forced into ‘reprograming’[iii] by the UK Government under pain of losing meagre benefits, to having budgets cut across all departments to pay for ‘Austerity’ that so far has led to the rich doubling their wealth whilst the poor have become poorer.

Austerity was and is an excellent tool for causing fear (and by natural proxy allow for social control). It is also, in a larger scale – a complete lie[iv]. Most of us (mere ordinary mortals) have seen our pay cut whilst the top 1000 people’s wealth has doubled[v].

And before I carry on (I am sick of this issue being raised by idiots that can’t do basic math) – Migrants contributed £20bn more in taxes than they took in public services over the last decade. Average pay, taking account of rising prices, has fallen every year for six years. This is the worst decline living in standards for most people since official records began in 1856.

But the genius Westminster Government[vi] has Working people attacking the Corrupt, the Rich disabled and sick…. immigrants, the really poor, various religions and any day I’m sure they’ll be adding other races, atheists and ‘people that have read A book’ to that list. Make no mistake. You are NOT the exception. We (rich, poor and everyone in between) are not in this together.

Referring to ‘Social’ control I suppose I should acknowledge BBC bias and the phenomenon of ‘BBC Math’. The BBC bias occurs when the tax-payer funded organisation simply ignored/ignores most protests, events and rally in the same way that my cat doesn’t bury the shit in its litter tray.

BBC Math is basically how the BBC counts how many people turn up at protests against Austerity. It is a very complex procedure. First –They don’t send any journalists. Then one of their writers closes their eyes and picks a number (numbers 0-130) out of a hat. That number then becomes a mainstream official figure.

The key attribute of BBC Math is that no actual Maths takes place. This phenomenon got so bad during #indyref that I actually found myself placing numbers onto people in a photo of rally to disprove the BBC maths*

* using an advanced technique (I didn’t personally invent…ah what the hell – I invented it) called ‘Counting’.

The BBC is quite frankly…finished in Scotland. Ironically the Conservatives (their masters) want them gone as well so strategically I think the BBC has been taking advice from either Fifa or Glasgow City Council*

*a side note – a sarcastic kudos and slow clap to Glasgow City Council for killing The Arches, demolishing the Buchanan steps and then blowing 23million on spy cameras. My Bowel has better PR.

All hope is not yet lost.

The legalised propaganda where a Politian (nods to Alastair Carmichael) can lie and then face no repercussions is being challenged in Scotland – by a Crowdfund. If someone had pointed out that previous sentence to me two years ago I would have thought it came from a fantasy story.. People don’t care….right? Wrong[vii] 3913 people seriously care and have put up £60,000 in 16 days. This is pretty damn incredible.

We also KNOW that 1,617,989[viii] Scottish people are Brave and there are Many of them (see what I did there).

Despite the entire mainstream media, UK Government and most political parties raining down their very best ‘merry hell’ – 1,617,989 people stood and fought for Scotland.

Labour literally lost its strategic heid and continued to Exorcist (spin) its way to hell. When I was a kid I may have (once) voted Labour (I came from a seriously Labour family…some of you know HOW Labour that was and what it cost to walk away) but I digress – I am happy that their true and quite frankly Conservative colours have been exposed. I am sad that they cannot admit how much they have screwed (up) Scotland.

They now have a chance to go away, disentangle themselves from London, ‘find themselves’ and come back with a new vision, attitude and attempt redemption (hopefully not in my life time though) – but they will Not. Instead Labour has somehow become MORE right wing than most conventional right wing parties. It’s actually fascinating to watch – but not in a good way. It’s like watching a horror movie KNOWING that everyone is going to die but watching it until the end anyways.

Then in May – 1,454,436 of those people came back and reinforced Scotland by voting SNP. Whether you are SNP or not – That sends a message.

I would have, personally, been happy with Scotland backing any of the anti-austerity parties and I wish the Scottish Greens had done better basically because I liked the moxy of Patrick Harvie. But, like most, I understood the importance of not splitting the vote.

So where are we now?

>Tentatively pushes a piece of paper across the digital table<

2016 Scottish Parliament general election – Thursday 5 May 2016

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_devolution_referendum,_1979

[1] http://www.bigissue.com/features/3637/atos-deaths-and-welfare-cuts

[1] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-33060794

[1] http://www.theguardian.com/business/ng-interactive/2015/apr/29/the-austerity-delusion

[1] http://www.thepeoplesassembly.org.uk/10_myths

[1] In the UK, the main Government (voted in General Election) hold their debates etc. at Westminster. Despite 56 MPs out of 59 from Scotland being against Austerity – the Scottish people have virtually no democratic control over their country as The United Kingdom is divided into 650 constituencies, with 533 in England, 40 in Wales, 59 in Scotland, and 18 in Northern Ireland. So even if Scotland, Wales and Ireland wanted a different future, party, government – England controls all four. Kind of like how a Prison Guard controls the Inmates. Democratic? So whats happened is that a party called the Conservatives controls the UK. They are possibly one of the most morally corrupt party in history…but that’s for another article.

[1] https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-people-versus-carmichael#/story

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_independence_referendum,_2014

[i] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_devolution_referendum,_1979

[ii] http://www.bigissue.com/features/3637/atos-deaths-and-welfare-cuts

[iii] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-33060794

[iv] http://www.theguardian.com/business/ng-interactive/2015/apr/29/the-austerity-delusion

[v] http://www.thepeoplesassembly.org.uk/10_myths

[vi] In the UK, the main Government (voted in General Election) hold their debates etc. at Westminster. Despite 56 MPs out of 59 from Scotland being against Austerity – the Scottish people have virtually no democratic control over their country as The United Kingdom is divided into 650 constituencies, with 533 in England, 40 in Wales, 59 in Scotland, and 18 in Northern Ireland. So even if Scotland, Wales and Ireland wanted a different future, party, government – England controls all four. Kind of like how a Prison Guard controls the Inmates. Democratic? So whats happened is that a party called the Conservatives controls the UK. They are possibly one of the most morally corrupt party in history…but that’s for another article.

[vii] https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-people-versus-carmichael#/story

[viii] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_independence_referendum,_2014