The news where you are

by C.C.Hamilton

 

I think the last couple of days have seen most of the Scottish media losing whatever credibility it had left. This, is of course, a good thing and is to be welcomed. The whole of Scotland now sees that much of our “mainstream” media is just shit.

 

Yesterday we were subjected to wild howling headlines about the state of the NHS in Scotland.  The headlines and stories came from a report by Nuffield Trust, which was actually really POSITIVE about our NHS.  In it they spoke in glowing terms about the apporoach to care and even suggested that other health bodies in the UK should look to the Scottish model for guidence. Now, of course, the report said there are many challenges to be faced in Scotland. Like the rest of the UK, there will always be challenges in health, but here was a positive report commending the work being done in our health servicew and out written press chose to trash it. Shame.

 

The last couple of days has seen us being warned by politicians, media outlets and experts that we are all doomed, we are heading for a recession and it was ALL the SNP’s fault.  Turns out they were all WRONG.  Our economy recovered a bit in the first quarter of this year, the picture looks a bit heathier and actually we performed better than the rest of the UK in this quarter. Now, again, the country faces challenges, not least as the full impact of BREXIT is yet to be felt,but I think, the numbers yesterday confirmed what most of us “real” people think, that actually, our wee country is in reasonable trim.  Do I think we could do better?  Of course, would I like to see more bold policies from the Scottish Government? Yes. But, out in the real world I feel a sense of confidence returning, a wee bit of swagger and gallusness coming back.

What the press has done over the last couple of days has shown them to be sneering one trick ponies,who are only interested in talking the country down as it suits the Unionist agenda of the owners of those papers.  The last couple of days confirmed it.  Hell mend them.  Only the I paper (and the National) were grown up enough to put a good news story about Scotland on their front page.

 

As for the Scottish Tories sadly packing away their recession celebration decorations? What.A.Joke of a political party. An embarrassment to Scotland.

 

I am heading off for a break for a couple of weeks. But I have one simple message this Summer, get out and enjoy Scotland.  We live in an incredible country.  Visit a castle, walk some hills, Pop in to one of our brilliant museums, visit our outstanding cities, hunt for Nessie, jump on a ferry and visit an island, have a dram or a craft beer or a Scottish gin, eat fish n chips n ice cream n Irn Bru.Turn off your phone, jump in the car, bus or train and lose yourself in this place we call home.

 

 

So I have gathered unto myself

All the loose ends of Scotland,

And by naming them and accepting them,

Loving them and identifying myself with them,

Attempt to express the whole. (McDiarmid)

 

 

 

 

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The Story so Far….

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

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