The Scottish Independence Podcast 112 – Jim Sillars

michaelgreenwell1 Comment

jimsillars-228x300For the 112th episode of the Scottish Independence Podcast I spoke with former MP, activist and writer Jim Sillars, and I am sure I didn’t really need to write that little biography there.

We spoke about his new book In Place Of Failure – why did he feel it needed to be written?

Almost immeditately we got into the premise of the book, what did we do wrong during the referendum, and going forward, what can we do to right those wrongs the next time around? This  included discussions on how the Yes movement should evolve, and suggestions on what to do about currency, the EU and the media.

We also talked about when that next time round might come up and the fact that the older generations in Scottish society were, and still are, the most likely to support the continuation of the Union. What can be done about that?

Finally, as ever, I asked Jim his reasons for supporting Scottish Independence.

Hope you enjoy…

You can download here if you right click THIS LINK and “save as”

You can listen to the show online at its web page or you can subscribe with itunes. We can alse be found on youtube and on facebook too.

These podcasts are independently minded and independently funded, you can help to keep them going by making a donation.

Again With The Separatists

michaelgreenwellLeave a comment

cat1In recent days David Cameron has being saying almost the exact same words with regard to Catalonian independence that Spanish ministers were saying last year with regard to Scottish Independence. You might almost think they had a similar problem and were working together.

The certainty of the Spanish and UK governments on the position of states that have seceded from another within the EU zone is at odds with a somewhat less clear legal position, and you could also think they were trying to frighten people.

You could also ask why the BBC prefer to use the word “separatists” on the title page of the site, but then use a more positive phrasing when you open the article up.

Hundreds of thousands of Catalans rallied in Barcelona on Friday to show support for independence from Spain.

NB – it has nothing to do with space on the page. There are many titles that are much longer than that on the same page.

cat2

Mark Twain Already Said It

michaelgreenwell4 Comments

BQUwtE3CAAAaEaO.jpg large“It was pitiful for a person born in a wholesome free atmosphere to listen to their humble and hearty outpourings of loyalty toward their king and Church and nobility; as if they had any more occasion to love and honor king and Church and noble than a slave has to love and honor the lash, or a dog has to love and honor the stranger that kicks him! Why, dear me, ANY kind of royalty, howsoever modified, ANY kind of aristocracy, howsoever pruned, is rightly an insult; but if you are born and brought up under that sort of arrangement you probably never find it out for yourself, and don’t believe it when somebody else tells you. It is enough to make a body ashamed of his race to think of the sort of froth that has always occupied its thrones without shadow of right or reason, and the seventh-rate people that have always figured as its aristocracies — a company of monarchs and nobles who, as a rule, would have achieved only poverty and obscurity if left, like their betters, to their own exertions…

The truth was, the nation as a body was in the world for one object, and one only: to grovel before king and Church and noble; to slave for them, sweat blood for them, starve that they might be fed, work that they might play, drink misery to the dregs that they might be happy, go naked that they might wear silks and jewels, pay taxes that they might be spared from paying them, be familiar all their lives with the degrading language and postures of adulation that they might walk in pride and think themselves the gods of this world. And for all this, the thanks they got were cuffs and contempt; and so poor-spirited were they that they took even this sort of attention as an honor.”

Bland UK

michaelgreenwellLeave a comment

camThis is an excerpt from a speech made just before the referendum.

I was reminded of it because Blair was waffling on about making a mistake by not reinforcing UK national (sic) identity enough after Scottish devolution.

What struck me about the speech on the left however, which is apparently about British values, is how devoid of actual content it is.  If I black out just a couple of words, and leave the rest, which country’s leaders WOULDN’T try to say this.

It’s pretty much a stock speech.

To prove it, let’s just do it the other way and ask which country would advertise itself this way…

This isn’t just any old country.  This is our country.

And you know what makes us truly great?

It’s not our economic might or military prowess – it’s our values.

Unfairness. Servitude. Injustice.

The values that say wherever you are, whoever you are, your life doesn’t have dignity or worth.

The values that say we walk on by when people are sick, that we ask for your credit card in the hospital, that we turn our backs when you get old and frail.

That we turn a blind eye or a cold heart to people around the world who are desperate and crying out for help.

This is what our country means. This is what makes us the greatest country on earth.

bliarupdateI suggest you take a look at some of those links above, however, to see what British values means in words and then in practice.

And at this point it is probably only fair to tell you that the speech above was not actually by Blair, but was instead by Cameron, though I admit that it is often hard to tell the difference.

Guards In, Guards Out

michaelgreenwell1 Comment

imagesIt’s been interesting and refreshing in the last couple of days to see many people involved with Labour, from politicians to donors to activists, coming out with messages of support for the #refugeeswelcome campaign.

The rebranding of the current crisis from the usual “waves of migrants” and the more disgusting Katie Hopkins type rhetoric, to now calling it a humanitarian crisis (which it always was), has allowed them to sidestep their previous anti-immigration rhetoric (which included going so far as to sell the mug in the image above).

B-eGg_1IMAA_2eyHowever, whilst it is nice to see they finally seem to have the right idea and that is always to be welcomed, it’s worth noting that this headline was generated during the independence referendum, not because Miliband particularly  wanted to keep people living in Scotland out of England, it was rather that he was responding to allegations that Scotland may become a “soft-touch” for migrants, who would then try to make their way down into England.

To return to the matter in hand, this always was a humanitarian crisis and the fact that some of the parties have now been shamed by the public into doing a u-turn, or at least taking some sort of stance on it, does not excuse the fact that most of them were too scared of the reaction of the tabloids to have taken a position and started some real action already.

The Scottish Independence Podcast 111 – Prof John Robertson

michaelgreenwell2 Comments

ByUIGsVCcAE4-UQ“Good Morning Scotland were almost shameless”.

It has rightly been mentioned in some quarters that before we proceed to indyref 2, the Yes side are going to have to seriously look at what could have been different in indyref 1, and look at how to improve or counteract. In that spirit then I spoke to Professor John Robertson about the book he has written focusing on the media coverage of the referendum and the report on this year’s general election.

You can download the book here –  propagandascotlandreferendum2014

and the election report here – Propaganda or Professionalism

CAzl1BYWoAEzuIgWe talked about how bias can be caused by different factors and how it can manifest itself in different ways, John explained why he thinks devolving the BBC is not perhaps the solution we are hoping for and, as you can see above, we had a few words about Good Morning Scotland.

Hope you enjoy…

You can download here if you right click THIS LINK and “save as”

You can listen to the show online at its web page or you can subscribe with itunes. We can alse be found on youtube and on facebook too.

These podcasts are independently minded and independently funded, you can help to keep them going by making a donation.