Scotland and ISIS!

Devolution of Scotland - say No!

By Emoscopes (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

You can be Scottish AND British!

Both in the news and my title for this post may suggest a link between the Scottish independence and ISIS, but little is less likely. The Scots are courageous, patriotic and rarely, if ever, cowardly, lets hope they are not brave to the point of stupidity. I am in the "NO" camp and fervently hope that our Scottish brethren are not so impassioned that they vote 'yes' on Thursday 18th August 2014.  Let's stay together!

Alex Salmond is a man hungry for power, perhaps lonely as recently suggested by one newspaper, but there is no doubt he believes passionately in his cause and is on a quest, but does that make him right? Is it truly just independence he wants? To be known forever as the man that broke a long standing union, a union that, at times, has had its troubles and disagreements, but one that stands united and strong on the world stage. How sad Alex, if your legacy is to destroy not build.

Accounting for just 8% of the UK population, can Scotland and its 5.295 million people truly survive without their staunchest supporters? Salmond's intent to keep Scotland a part of the EU is a contradiction to his promoting devolution, Scotland will inevitably become a small cog in the very large wheel that is, in the main, a dysfunctional Europe.

Forget the debate about debt and North Sea oil, such things are finite, surely this debate is about so much more. It is about patriotism, it is about politics, it is about independence and empowerment but it is also about collaboration, strength, a powerful voice on the world stage, not a measly croak all too easy to ignore. It is about a union of like minds, shared history, a shared future, access to education and medical resources. A shared military protecting our borders in times of uncertainty, freedom and global recognition of British citizenship and to be a part of the Commonwealth international community.

Being British and a part of the UK is something special, it gives you that warm fuzzy feeling when you think of it, it's quirky, it's a little odd, it has pomp and ceremony, it has the Queen and Prince Philip, it has a big history and a big future.  Let's stick together, vote no on Thursday!

Voting?

Perhaps the biggest injustice is for such an historic event as the potential breakup of the United Kingdom to be exclusively voted on by residents of Scotland from 52 Commonwealth countries, 27 European Union countries and yet nobody in England, Ireland or Wales is permitted a say. Isn't this fundamentally wrong?

Isn't it also wrong that just one vote in favour over those against will mean the bill goes through. A vote of 50.001% to 49.999% will mean the devolution of Scotland and a break up of the United Kingdom, surely just one person should not hold so much power? Isn't this fundamentally wrong?

Distraction?

And what of the distraction?  Here's where ISIS comes in! The world sits practically on the brink of war, thankfully, Russia and the Ukraine has gone off the boil but what of the Middle East? What of ISIS and their brutal murder today of a British citizen, a Yorkshireman brought up in Perth, Scotland. A man who's parents live in Ayr, Scotland. I was disgusted to read this morning a comment on a newspaper article about Scottish nationalism:

Who are we defending ourselves from? We're not going to be entering every single world conflict at the behest of the US like the UK currently does. Will we be invaded by sheep from Wales? Perhaps some Badgers escaping the cull in England. Scotland has a proud military tradition, it won't go to waste but our soldiers will not die fighting in foreign lands.

Should the vote go through as a yes, is this comment accurately representative of what the Scots actually think? I don't believe it is, no. The distraction of the Scottish referendum from such major world changing events and the threat of such cruelty, is at the behest of one man, passionate though he may be. Let's hope this vote results in a no and puts this debate to bed once and for all so the world can focus on the elimination of a barbaric, inhuman group who are propagating an evil culture.

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What do they want?

We have been witness to news reports of many acts of terrorism in recent years, Kenya being the most recent.  We have been victims of Governments inhibiting our freedom in the name of terrorism in recent years, there are numerous examples.

So here is my question ... What do they want?  The terrorists I mean - what is their end goal?

I am not for a minute suggesting we give it to them (never) it's just that I still don't know, what are they proposing we do to make them stop?

Comment below...

They made a difference - Mo Mowlam

18 September 1949 to 19 August 2005, age 55

Those who know me, know it is almost unheard of for me to praise a Labour politician, but here it is.  Marjorie "Mo" Mowlam was an amazing woman, one who should never be forgotten and one who made a difference.

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photo credit: Bolckow cc

Mo was instrumental in bringing about the Good Friday Agreement and peace in Northern Ireland, an event typically attributed to Tony Blair [a man who made the wrong kind of difference] but it was Mo who was Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, in charge of the peace process at the time.  Mo who made the difference.  Mo who sat for long hours at the negotiating tables.  Mo who disarmed the Unionist politicians by hugging them.  Mo who kept the meaning and importance of life in context as they fought over the balance of power and the details.... and finally Mo who told Gerry Adams, as he hesitated over the signing “Bloody well get on and do it, otherwise I’ll head butt you!”

It was Mo who made this happen while slowly and tragically dying of a malignant brain tumour.

Given just three years to live in 1996, even before Labour swept to power and before Mo was appointed to the top position in the Northern Ireland Office.   Given the Troubles that had raged in Northern Ireland since the 1960's with echoes back down the centuries to the Middle Ages.... it could be argued this was the most demanding and stressful cabinet position ever.  Yet she didn't flinch, she accepted the position not even telling Blair that her brain tumour was malignant, in fact leading him to believe the tumour was benign and could be treated.  Many might argue a woman with a brain tumour should not be in such a senior position of power and yet, she was and she won.  Everybody won thanks to Mo.

She was frank, often blunt and refreshingly honest for a politician, a Cabinet Minister at that.

One can't even begin to imagine the trauma she and her family were enduring.  Throughout the exhausting peace talks, she continued her chemo, taking medication to prevent her being sick so she could stay at the table.  A table that culminated in the signing of the Good Friday Agreement on 10th April 1998.

Sadly Mo died in August 2005, aged just 55, her determination to win ensuring peace for a time in Northern Ireland and more than the 3 years she was allotted in 1996.  In her short time, she made a difference!

Inspirational Quotes

"There was no metaphorical gun at my head, ... Putting my case face-to-face, arguing it through with them, I thought was the best way to do it"

"Many of us would like to make progress much quicker, ... But we have to bear in ind there are people around hat table who have had relatives and friends killed.  You don't forget that overnight." 

Useless facts:

• Sun sign (astrology): Virgo
• Birthplace: Watford

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Boston Marathon bombings

photo credit: Werner Kunz via photopin cc

Boston, Massachusetts!  Such a beautiful city, by reputation a highly desirable place to live and its high cost of living doesn't seem to have deterred its 7.6 million inhabitants.  Situated across the river from Cambridge home to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the world famous Harvard, the city this week was marred by a despicable act of terrorism.

Trial by media is a dangerous precedent but all the indications are that two young men, originally from Chechnya chose a despicable path.  The Boston Marathon bombings on Monday were shocking and the motivation still a mystery.  By all accounts, the Tsarnaev brothers were welcomed by America, given scholarships, a home, good education but most importantly a safe shelter away from war torn Chechnya in the 1990's.   The older brother has a history of violence, arrested in 2009 for domestic assault and battery and the media has hinted about him mysteriously spending 6 months in Russia last year and "nobody knows why".  Thereby saying much without saying anything at all and now Russia is guilty by implication too!  Wars and hatred are so easily fed!

photo credit: hahatango via photopin cc

Why perpetrate such a heinous crime? We may never know, there may never be a trial and we may have no choice but to trust the FBI and the media when they tell us these two men are truly guilty and that they have no co-conspirators.  Has it been proven conclusively?  No, but the facts as presented certainly appear to point in that direction.

By the end of the week, one lies in a morgue, first shot by the police, but allegedly dead as a result of being run over by his younger brother.  The second, captured but with a serious throat injury leaving him unable to talk.  Convenient perhaps?

And so to the victims, three dead from the bombings and a young MIT police officer gunned down in a shoot out on Friday.  So many horrifically injured and so many lives ruined.  Jeff Bauman is clearly a hero, a man who lost both of his legs below the knee and yet found time to help the FBI identify at least one of the suspects.  His son too has lost both of his legs in the bombing.  How do you recover from this?  I was disgusted and appalled to see that he will be left to meet his own medical expenses.  WHAT THE?????  Amidst the physical and mental trauma, Jeff and the other 14 victims who lost limbs, are expected to fund their own medical expenses, inevitably hundreds of thousands of dollars each.

The 176 people injured as a result of this terrible crime should not have to face the added stress of finding money for medical treatment.  Surely a country that can spend trillions of dollars on war can find the money to treat these innocent victims!  Will Dzhokar Tsarnaev also have to fund his own medical treatment or will he and his family receive compensation for loss of life at the hands of the FBI?

America, for a country that has so much, surely it is time to reassess some of your values? 

.... and so to next week... no doubt the blame game will commence... it already has.... which Muslim cleric influenced these men?  Which anti-terrorist organisation failed to monitor their email or internet activity?  Why did they let him go when they arrested him in 2011 (after Russia allegedly asked for him to be investigated).  Outside of influence and failure to prevent their actions, if guilty, they made the choice.  They decided to take this action, nobody did it for them.

So now the authorities have yet more reason to curb freedom of the innocent, all in the name of anti-terrorism.......