The unionists were worried that the 700th anniversary of the Battle of Bannockburn might remind Scots of their national history. So they brilliantly have co-opted the MOD to counter any possible effect on popular perception, by holding British Armed Forces Day in the same location on the same date as the celebrations of Bannockburn (28-9 June 2014).
Armed Forces Day is held every year at Edinburgh. It has never been held on the site outside Stirling before. Suddenly to move it there, on the same day as a long-planned event already attracting tens of thousands of people, can hardly be a coincidence. I just watched a live broadcast of a session of a committee of the Scottish Parliament where officials of Stirling Council refused to answer questions as to who took the decision to hold the same events on the same day. They did so on the grounds there will be an independent audit of this ludicrous decision. Evidence given to the committee said that the late addition of the MOD event had caused ticket numbers for the Bannockburn event to be cut by over half.
STIRLING COUNCIL IS RUN BY A NEW LABOUR AND CONSERVATIVE COALITION of unionists aimed to keep the largest party – the SNP – out of power. A more interesting question is the decision making process in the MOD that led to this gross abuse of the army for political propaganda purposes.
This demeaning of the commemoration of Bannockburn is yet another Bitter Together initiative that will backfire spectacularly. Nobody in Scotland was going to base their vote on a battle that happened seven hundred years ago. But the banding together of Labour and Tories to attempt to downplay the sacrifice and cause, to offer a gross and deliberate insult to the memory of those who fought and died for their country, is going to upset an awful lot of people.
“Typical of the British colonial mindset – when all else fails raise the sectarian nonsense. It is getting quite tedious now as it is so predictable.”
What I say is true, nobody allowed to say anything true in this campaign?
People where I live don’t want Gaelic road signs, hardly anybody here speaks Gaelic hardly anybody here ever has, our heritage was Norse.
The government at Westminster never forced them to have a culture they don’t want, the government at Holirood did.
“But ordinary limeys, it’s piteous what they will submit to. Ubiquitous surveillance by scolding cameras, security laws that set them bowing and scraping to a wide variety of poorly-educated martinets, libel laws protecting their social superiors.”
Don’t know where you live but we don’t have any libel laws in Scotland.
BTW You keep spelling your name wrong, only ever needed to type mine in the once.
Well it does need saying, because you are trying to apply your historicism to a period when a serf could not have known or envisaged anything other than serfdom .
Which is actually precisely my point. I am arguing against the romantic interpretation of Bannockburn as in any sense being a struggle for the freedom of the peasants. Please set your preconceptions of me as having some identifiable political perspective aside before interjecting irrelevances.
I have as far as I am aware made no statement asserting that a feudal lord regarded himself as in any sense equal to his subordinates. I am fully conscious of the regard with which mediaeval (and many modern) lords hold themselves. I have worked for Old Etonians, after all. Straw man argument. Desist.
As to a serf giving his life with pride for his feudal lord – I think you are intuiting too much. The Norman lords had the power of life and death over the strictly segregated caste of Gaelic and Saxon labourers and tenants which they effectively owned. ‘Giving your life with pride’ has never been an actuality, except, perhaps, in the context of the old Japanese military caste. It’s the sort of guff officers come out with when they know the battalion’s going to be wiped out. Nobody gives their life with pride. He gives his life with extreme reluctance, and under duress from his commander. And that’s the professional soldier – in those days very likely a foreign mercenary – not the conscripted farmworker.
I am prepared to accept that the lords themselves subscribed to the nobility of what they thought they were doing, but history tells us repeatedly – follow the money – that it was for the basest of reasons.
I was attempting to separate the romantic myth from the actuality. If Scottish independence is based on Walter Scottery, it will be a sham. It has to be based on practical, social and dare I say economic considerations. Consider the ’45 – another power struggle whipped up on the basis of pure romance, in order to place an alternative toff on the throne. Supposing Charles had won? What next? Ummm. Any plans?
I support independence for Scotland, on the basis that the current UK government is not fit for purpose, and unlikely ever to be, principally because it is only concerned with the south-east. It has to be the Scots’ choice, however. And that choice has to be rational, informed, and above all (see Ireland ) not romantic.
Ba’al Zevul (Dark Artist)
I can see where you’re coming from, and like you I do not live in Scotland. But I am an old romantic. And if anyone wants to vote yes because they are moved by the poetry of Hugh MacDiarmid then who are we to argue? What I might get out of an independent Scotland is a role model to free Birmingham from the shackles of Westminster. Then, like Donetsk, we can perhaps have some kind of autonomy without restrictions placed upon us on how we spend our money.
Norman McCaig for me, John…
http://www.oocities.org/william_brodie/maccaig/assynt.html
Lived there for a bit, and he’s right on the money.
I’m no nationalist but i will vote Yes.
For no other reason than i got sick of the shrill bullshit of the likes of George Robertason and Alistair Darling et al.
They present no real arguments other than apocalyptic visions and lies.
A freemasonry of fearmongering fools.
Big deal.
‘Cornish people granted minority status within UK
The Cornish will gain the same status as the Scots, Welsh and Irish
Cornwall could get ‘minority’ status
Grant to help keep Cornish ‘alive’
Rise in children who are Cornish
Cornish people will be granted minority status under European rules for the protection of national minorities.
/..
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-27132035 ‘
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_Cornwall.svg
I hear that the Cornish language once classed as dead is coming back.
The march of Cornishmen to London took place in 1497. They were mostly beaten at Deptford Bridge and the leaders were executed at Tyburn.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornish_Rebellion_of_1497
And now all the Hooray Henrys have their second homes there.
Thanks Ba’al Zevul (Dark Artist)
“to men whose loyalty
was so great it accepted their own betrayal
by their own chiefs and whose descendants now
are kept in their place
by English businessmen and the indifference
of a remote and ignorant government.”
Norman McCaig.
“.. to offer a gross and deliberate insult to the memory of those who fought and died for their country, is going to upset an awful lot of people.”
What memory? It was 700 years ago. Nobody has a personal memory of a 700 year old medieval battle. They might have a memory of a written version of history as they learned it in school, but I can’t see how that could even be insulted. What really causes insult and upset is the rude hijacking of a day of celebration for a sneaky political end that shows no regard for local people’s traditions.
I wonder how history will remember Tony the Blair and the Battle of Iraq in 700 years.
William Wallace – Welsh speaker of Yr Hen Goglydd?
Fred
24 Apr, 2014 – 8:18 am
“People where I live don’t want Gaelic road signs, hardly anybody here speaks Gaelic hardly anybody here ever has, our heritage was Norse.”
So Fred you think that the English language is going to be forced out when Scotland becomes independent?
You obviously haven’t sobered-up from last night!
Jemand now links to
Since 9/11 there has been an explosion in the number of books written about Islam. My local library has many books on the subject and nearly all of those books are written by Muslim apologists as well as Western scholars in an attempt to cover up the true nature of Islam. A typical whitewash is What Muslims Believe by John Bowker. The author interviews several Islamists from Britain on various topics. On the subject of wife beating pages 127 to 130, the Islamist tells us that the beating is a mild one aimed to prevent divorce and to keep the family intact. He goes on to explain that a husband can chastise his wife in private for infidelity and thus save her the humiliation of a public flogging. The Islamist conceals the fact that the sharia penalty for extramarital sex is stoning.
????
http://atheistfoundation.org.au/article/islam-scraping-off-the-whitewash/
Warning – the highlight colour is bright pink.
His link used to be something like http://whywontgodhealamputees.com/ ????
How are your indigenous people Jemand? Saw some of them performing for the royal airheads the other day. Poor people. Like some circus.
Fred
24 Apr, 2014 – 8:23 am
“BTW You keep spelling your name wrong, only ever needed to type mine in the once.”
Excuse me Fred you said:
“The government at Westminster never forced them to have a culture they don’t want, the government at Holirood did.”
Its Holyrood Fred try to spell your country’s seat of government properly!
I wonder how history will remember Tony the Blair and the Battle of Iraq in 700 years.
With some bitterness as the New Mesopotamian Empire’s armies, having swept across a completely decadent Europe, invade the flooded ruins of London, meeting little resistance from the inhabitants of mud huts in malaria-infested Surbiton…:-)
Thanks for clicking on my links, Mary.
Indigneous people? Always getting better, despite the efforts of some to foment trouble and perpetuate disharmony. Thanks for asking.
How is your crusade against the Jews going? And the chickens? I think it was Heinrich Himmler who said that if you want the whitest hens, you must keep the coloured roosters safely locked away in a cage.
Anyway, keep up the good work of exposing Jew plots and breeding superior chickens.
“I wonder how history will remember Tony the Blair and the Battle of Iraq in 700 years.”
“With some bitterness as the New Mesopotamian Empire’s armies, having swept across a completely decadent Europe, invade the flooded ruins of London, meeting little resistance from the inhabitants of mud huts in malaria-infested Surbiton…:-)”
Funny. That’s how I think of it right now. :/
““People where I live don’t want Gaelic road signs, hardly anybody here speaks Gaelic hardly anybody here ever has, our heritage was Norse.”
So Fred you think that the English language is going to be forced out when Scotland becomes independent?”
______________________
Only a dishonest fool would infer that from what Fred wrote.
What goes around comes around, J. Read Gibbon.
“You obviously haven’t sobered-up from last night!”
Just fuck off dick head.
Calm down folks.
My chickens have brown feathers. 🙂 And they haven’t laid an egg for months. No roosters – will leave you to do the crowing duet with our friend here.
Not interested in Jew plots btw. Are there some?
The Palestinians are being shafted again in case you hadn’t noticed.
BREAKING NEWS:PM Benjamin Netanyahu tells BBC Palestinian leader must abandon unity pact with Hamas if it wants peace with Israel
Jemand Wonder if you caught this on your ABC channel? Recommend it if you didn’t.
A SPECIAL FOUR CORNERS / THE AUSTRALIAN NEWSPAPER INVESTIGATION
Stone Cold Justice
Monday 10 February 2014
The Israeli army is both respected and feared as a fighting force. But now the country’s military is facing a backlash at home and abroad for its treatment of children in the West Bank, occupied territory.
Coming up, a joint investigation by Four Corners and The Australian newspaper reveals evidence that shows the army is targeting Palestinian boys for arrest and detention. Reporter John Lyons travels to the West Bank to hear the story of children who claim they have been taken into custody, ruthlessly questioned and then allegedly forced to sign confessions before being taken to court for sentencing.
He meets Australian lawyer Gerard Horton, who’s trying to help the boys who are arrested, and talks to senior Israeli officials to examine what’s driving the army’s strategy.
/..
http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/stories/2014/02/10/3939266.htm
~~
I see they are also covering this currently.
The Manus Solution
Monday 28th April 2014
The Manus Island Regional Processing Centre, located off the north east coast of Papua New Guinea, is eight hundred kilometres from the country’s capital, Port Moresby, and even further away from Canberra. Last July, when Kevin Rudd announced that asylum seekers arriving by boat would be sent to Manus and settled in PNG, many thought they would be out of sight and out of mind. All that changed earlier this year.
On the 16th and 17th February violent confrontations at the centre left one man dead and dozens injured. There are now at least four inquiries under way investigating the violence. There is still no official public explanation of what happened during those two days.
Next on Four Corners, reporter Geoff Thompson puts together the most comprehensive account yet of what took place in and around the processing centre in February this year.
/..
http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/stories/2014/04/24/3991401.htm
Mary
“Not interested in Jew plots btw.”
________________
But VERY interested in people’s Jewish ancestry (or marriage…or friends…) – cf. your post about Kate Middleton’s mother.
Mary, try to keep up, I posted about the 4 Corners piece on my facebook page ages ago.
Y’know, not everything revolves around Israel, Jews and brown-feathered chickens as much as you’d wish. When was the last time you commented on the brutality waged against the people of West Papua? What? Never? Yeah, that’s what I thought. I guess we have to wait for an Indonesian Jew to kill an indigenous Papuan before we hear a peep from you on the subject.
It just might be time to take up other challenges, Mary. Honking on about Jews ad nauseum could be having the opposite effect to that which you intended. And it might be causing people to unfairly suspect that safe harbour has been unwittingly provided to a rabid anti-Semite.
Let’s put the scissors and glue away, step outside and get some fresh air. C’mon, Mary. Put the scissors down.
And thanks for posting about Manus Island, Mary. It would seem that Manus Island is unfit for accomodating “asylum seekers” but perfectly fit for the indigenouse residents who no one gives a shit about. How does that work?
Also, while you and your like-minded kind in Oz continue to harp on hysterically about a single death in Manus Isle resulting from a violent riot by “asylum seekers”, the 1250 leaky-boat migrants who drowned at sea are but a distant memory.
What is truly disgraceful, is that people like you are still encouraging migrants to embark on the perilous journey to Australia without a scintilla of concern for their safety.
I predicted correctly that it would be a duet!
@Craig
So you think Polish independence and the fall of the Iron Curtain were bad things, to give but one of many examples?
No I don’t – but given how Poland and other countries behind the Iron Curtain suffered from the effects of German and Russian nationalism there is still an overpowering argument against stirring up that beast in the first place. And it is noticeable that you ignore my point about the unpleasant rise of English nationalism that is happening at the same time as that of Scottish Nationalism, which I don’t believe to be unrelated.
There is a subtle line between patriotism and nationalism – the former is just the normal human reaction to have pride in your family and where you come from and a desire to govern your own affairs, the latter is more about asserting boundaries, characteristics that are acceptable and unacceptable with the nation state and very often imposing such a view on others.
Perhaps, if there was a little more celebration of the Scottish Enlightenment, whose major figures were nearly all supporters of the Union, and a little less celebration of military victories over your neighbours then I might be rather more convinced of the benevolent nature of Scottish nationalism. I should also say that I am child of the North of England and as such I am well aware as to how much architecture was designed to protect against earlier Scottish nationalists – and how even to day there is a greater degree of hostility to Scots in places like Newcastle and Carlisle than you might see further South.
“I predicted correctly that it would be a duet!”
Now you’re just being paranoid or begging for more attention. Which is it? Who can tell.
Habbabkuk’s comments bear no relationship or similarity to mine except for space and time (as do yours), and the degree of high “esteem” in which we both evidently hold you.
Jemand
Yup, it’s the duet, struggling to make its dulcet tones heard, versus the clashing cymbals of the brassy one man band! 🙂
Re motivation, I’d say it’s a mixture of the two things you identified.
“My chickens have brown feathers. 🙂 And they haven’t laid an egg for months.”
____________________
That’s bad.
If I were Trowbrige, I’e probably tell you that the Yanks have been beaming down gamma rays on them from one of their killer satellites (they were meant for you but missed).
And if I were Nevermind or Herbie, I might argue that it’s a subtle Zionist plot to deprive yo of free protein. A bit like what they’re said to be doing to Gaza.
Anyway : if their time has come, why not put them in the pot?