Saturday 31 August 2013

Dramatic fire pinpoints 'Better Together' bunker.

There were dramatic scenes at Auchmithie near Arbroath today when a previously unknown bunker caught fire requiring emergency crews to rush to the scene. Fire crews were still dowsing the flames this evening as experts examined the interior of the bunker. Literature inside the bunker indicates it was the secret headquarters of 'Project Fear', the anti Scottish independence group who are using fear and lies to try and prevent the people of Scotland from voting 'Yes' to independence next year.

An unofficial spokesman said it appeared that the inhabitants had left the gas on when making square sausage rolls and the square sausage had ignited destroying the bunker. They said they found a fur coat on a shoogly peg with the name 'Ms Lamont' stitched in the collar. There was also a burnt out bicycle with 'keep aff wee wullie rennies' stamped on the frame and four sets of damaged tracy island jackets and false eyebrows stamped ' Darling'. Oh and some blackened judo suits and burnt out oxter spray cans marked 'Ruth's'

Forensic detectives concluded the items belonged to the big hitters from 'Better Together' ...Lamont, Rennie, Davidson and Darling. They hadn't been seen in public for a few months and had been assumed to have left the country.

Luckily there was a 'Better Together' anti independence top secret public meeting through in Glasgow today so there was no one staying in the bunker.

More photos from the scene...

Only joking about the 'Better Together' bunker story...yeah really. It was actually an 'arbroath smokey' set up that set the surrounding grass on fire. A bit embarrassing for the company involved....

Tasty smokies though...

The village of Auchmithie was holding a historic re enactment day and Scottish saltires were in evidence around the village church. Huge saltires that are sadly missing from Scottish buildings these days. Replaced by the Union flag or EU flag.

This seemed to upset a few people who wandered around the village waving the Union flag. One lady sat in the church yard waving her Union flag for hours ( unable to photograph as it seems to upset Unionists if they're seen waving a Union flag). Weird. Oh and the smokey seller was obviously a Union supporter. Despite selling Scottish arbroath smokies in a Scottish village which was re enacting old Scottish cultures and traditions he set up his stall with Union flags everywhere. I think he was selling them as well. Or giving them away.

Wednesday 28 August 2013

An independent Scotland would be too poor to attack Syria.

The pro Scottish independence 'Yes Scotland' campaign was dealt a massive blow today when unofficial sources in London said that if Scotland decided to 'go it alone' and leave the UK then it would no longer be able to join in and 'blow the beejeesus' out of foreign countries that it didn't like. It would be too wee , too poor and too stupid. (copyright acknowledged to 'Better Together' campaign).

Scotland has been able to join in with the successful attacks on Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya and can now help to attack Syria. However should Scotland decide to choose separation from the UK then this would all stop. It would be forced to follow countries such as Norway. Sitting on the sidelines and building up pointless billions in reserves for a rainy day when it could have been getting stuck in to some foreigners and spending like there's no tomorrow [ Ed - which might happen if we manage to start WW3 this time ].

The unofficial spokesman explained that Assad of Syria might have gassed his own people so we need to fire cruise missiles, bunker busters, daisy cutters, drone hellfires, depleted uranium, phosphorous, napalm and agent orange[Ed- think that was Vietnam] at them and 'kill people properly'. This would be of great assistance to Al Qaeda who are fighting to overthrow the independent state of Syria.

The successful attacks on Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya killed millions of civilians and left the countries in ruins highlighting how puny Syria's killing machine will be compared to ours and highlighting how we would be 'Better Together' in a United Kingdom.

It's essential that we control Syria as we need to build the oil and gas pipelines from Qatar to the West and the US needs an excuse to get the Fed's private printing presses rolling again to help 'boost' the US economy...$17trillion in debt and rising..oops.

Supporters of the pro Union 'Better Together' team have been speaking about the need to bomb Syria quickly....

Convicted war criminal [Ed - in Malaysia only ] and middle east peace envoy Tony Blair said.." The hand wringing has to stop. We must act"

Prime Minister David Cameron said.."Britain must bomb Syria".

Sir William of Hague said that the "Syria chemical attack threatens our security" and that all the evidence from the sarin attack will have been destroyed after 5 days.[Ed- but the weapons inspectors were investigating a chemical attack from 4 months ago when this attack took place.]

Mr Hague was recently seen training and plans to be 'one of the first on the beach' should a seaborne attack against Syria take place.

Former Labour spin doctor Alistair Campbell said "it would be hugely irresponsible and incredibly dangerous" if we didn't bomb Syria. Seen here remembering the dead from his previous wars as he bravely tackles some cake...

'Scottish Labour' leader Ms lamont was unavailable for comment and is thought to be organising this weekends top secret public meeting for 'Glasgow Better Together'. The location is on a 'need to know' basis but 'Subway' sandwich shops are being monitored for activity by 'separatist spooks' as we speak.

So there you have it. Scotland can 'go it alone' and choose independence....losing their chance to fight and die or be maimed abroad, store crumbling nukes and have brilliant parades. Nothing but a boring backwater of peace and stability.

Or be 'Better Together'. Stay with the Union and play with the big boys. Punching above our weight and spreading democracy around the world. [Ed- spreading violence and chaos ?].

Saturday 24 August 2013

Selective morality at BBC Scotland.

Witnessing the faux outrage from BBC Scotland over the contents of the hacked e mails between the 'Yes Scotland' pro independence team and Dr Bulmer I was interested in how they suddenly saw no problem in discussing the contents of hacked e-mails.

While forensic detectives from Police Scotland were examining the Yes Scotland computers BBC Scotland were having phone in programmes over the contents and devoting most of Newsnight Scotland to the contents of the e-mails. Ignoring the illegal hacking as if it was of minor importance.

Compare their response to 'Bulmergate' (copyright Monty ?) with their response to the 'Climategate' e-mails which they vehemently refused to mention as they said they were obtained illegally. It took weeks before they decided to say something on the issue with the story already all over the free media outlets.

Climategate exposed the global warming scam and how the climate 'scientists' had cooked the books to "hide the decline" in global warming despite a huge rise in CO2. The BBC had earlier decided that global warming was a real and 'settled science' ( after a secret meeting with all the usual suspects ) and that they wouldn't report any alternative viewpoint. They also had part of their pension pot invested in global warming companies. This put them in a tricky situation over the issue so they decided not to mention Climategate until they started to look even more stupid and biased than they already were.

Another tricky situation for BBC Scotland is the ongoing 'Charlotte Fakes' e mails and letter leaks that have been going on for months. Non football supporters will probably not have heard of Charlotte but she's been all over the football blogosphere. She's leaking details of the unholy alliance between Scottish football's finest and Glasgow Rangers. Her leaked e mails show how the PR machine at Rangers helped to guide them through the liquidation process and out the other end. Kudos to them as they have just been doing what they're being paid for but if some of the leaked e mails and notes are genuine then it shows BBC Scotland in a very bad light. The PR company allegedly invoiced for a call they made during the Celtic v Motherwell cup final that got BBC man Rob McLean to ask about alleged Celtic sectarian singing. This was to balance the negative press that Rangers were getting over similar singing. 'Whataboutery' is a popular phrase in Scottish football. If one team is accused of some wrongdoing then they always say..."aye but what about them and their singing, fighting "etc...

Needless to say BBC Scotland have kept their listeners ignorant of the furore over Charlotte's outpourings despite some of the e mails being pretty damning. The award winning journalist Tom English who is the Chief Sports writer at 'Scotland on Sunday' often appears on BBC Radio Scotland's football show and is constantly being asked on the blogosphere and on twitter to investigate the leaked e mails but vehemently refuses to do so. I don't think he has even asked any of the figures involved ( mainly the great and the good at the SFA / Rangers ) if any of the e mails are genuine. I never saw Tom as part of the 'succulent lamb' brigade. The journalists who lapped up whatever they were told by the football bosses in order to curry favour with them. Meanwhile keeping their readers in the dark about what was really going on. I thought journalists were supposed to investigate ?

'Charlottegate' will follow 'Climategate' and get out into the media eventually. Despite the BBC ignoring it.

Then it will be fun to watch with 'jelly and ice cream' ( another football saying ).

Friday 23 August 2013

Unionist bedroom tax madness.

Kudos to The Daily Record newspaper. They're not letting up on their story about Labour controlled North Lanarkshire council who are evicting disabled lady Lorraine Fraser from her home for non payment of the bedroom tax. She "is being kicked on to the street after her Labour-run council took court action to force her out her specially adapted flat.

She has scoliosis – curvature of the spine – and arthritis and she is wheelchair-bound.

The council moved Lorraine into a specially adapted flat with a wheelchair ramp, wet room and handrails two years ago.

Now they want to turf her out for failing to pay just £248 in bedroom tax arrears".

She is seen in the photo above talking to the leader of the Labour run council, Jim McCabe who said "This is bang out of order, you coming to my door like this"

Not really Jim. She's tried everything else and been fobbed off so obviously thought a bit of doorstepping might help to focus minds.

Jim went on..."I am totally, 100 per cent against the bedroom tax. It is the most abhorrent, heinous piece of legislation ever introduced. I never introduced it.”

SNP councils have banned any threats of eviction but Jim voted against a policy of no bedroom tax evictions.

Plus Labour could have overturned the bedroom tax in February if they had bothered to turn up for the Opposition Day vote in London.

So taxpayers spend thousands of pounds making a flat suitable for Lorraine to live in and then Labour plan to evict her for a few hundred pounds arrears on a bedroom tax that they think is 'heinous' ? Oh and will now have to make another flat suitable for Lorraine to live in if she is evicted from her present one.

Jim claims that the threats of eviction are just a paperwork exercise and to ignore them but people know that to ignore 'letters fae the cooncil' is madness....they have the power to throw you out of your house. I wonder how Jim would react to threatening letters 'fae the cooncil '?

Hopefully people start to wake up and decide to vote for independence for Scotland and dump the 'Better Together' Union.

Thursday 22 August 2013

Better Together campaign director accuses constitutional expert of 'being paid bung'.

The 'Better Together' anti Scottish independence campaign director Blair McDougall, ( see photo above), has accused the research director of the Constitutional Commission and former Royal Navy 'Psy Ops' officer Dr W Elliot Bulmer of corruption for accepting money from the 'Yes Scotland' pro independence campaign to write a favourable article for them in 'The Herald' newspaper in order "to deceive the people of Scotland".

Speaking to the BBC Mr McDougall said...."Who else received payment? Who knew that this kind of payment was being authorised by the campaign's chief executive?

What other supposedly independent voices are being paid bungs to say what the nationalists want? What else are they willing to do to deceive the people of Scotland?"

The outburst arose after e mails are alleged to have been hacked revealing the details of the conversations between Mr Bulmer and the 'Yes Scotland' campaign in relation to the newspaper article.

Allegations of corruption are extremely serious and hopefully Mr McDougall has taken them to Police Scotland and not just to BBC Scotland.

The referendum campaign has entered the next stage with the gloves removed and the dirty tricks about to begin in earnest. Hopefully the international monitors can now be called in to oversee what goes on. Although everything is being digitally recorded for future historians to pore over this won't be any good if the referendum result is swayed by smears and innuendo.

It will be too late by then unfortunately.

bung : British slang for a bribe, a "deal sweetener" of sorts. The term is used within football corruption, transfer agents paying "bungs" and the managers that accept them.

Wednesday 21 August 2013

Blogger sentenced to 600 lashes and 7 years in jail.

Ouch !

We might complain about civil liberties in the UK but at least they haven't started flogging us if we go 'off message'....yet.

This blogger got sentenced to 600 lashes and 7 years in prison for the mortal crime of saying.......drum roll.............

"Muslims, Jews, Christians and atheists are all equal

It's not all bad news though as "the 600 lashes will be administered in groups of 150, with Badawi allowed to be hospitalised and given a break in between."

We might get our hard drives symbolically smashed in a newspaper basement or sit in a sweaty airport office for 9 hours but they haven't got out the whips yet. Phew !

Monday 19 August 2013

Lib Dem MP brands bedroom tax 'absurd' despite not voting against it.

Lib Dem MP Andrew George has said that the bedroom tax is "absurd and will split communities and give taxpayers bigger bills" despite failing to show up when there was an attempt to block the new tax during an Opposition Day vote on the 27th February. He then went on to outline all the other problems with the bedroom tax that had already been discussed before the tax was introduced. It was as if he was living in a cave during the initial debate over the tax and had failed to notice the debate.

The bedroom tax was voted through during the Opposition Day vote on Feb 27th with a majority of 41 but could easily have been defeated if 44 Labour MPs' and 34 Lib Dem MPs' hadn't been 'absent'. A few will have been seriously ill or otherwise engaged but not 78 of them. Only 39.3% of Lib Dems bothered to turn up for the vote.

Oh and guess what....the total number of MPs' absent was 155 (inc tiny squeaker) so you can see how our 'democracy' works. Around 77 MPs' on each 'side' of the fake parliament were 'absent'. We have a democracy by text from the whips office telling the 'honourable members' whether they were an 'absent', an 'aye' or a 'nae' with all the numbers carefully worked out in advance.

Andrew did manage to tweet and speak about 'saving the whales' on the day of the vote so he wasn't too bored on the day he stayed away.

We're all used to the broken pledges and hypocrisy of the Lib Dems although I'm in agreement with him about the whales. Just a pity about our poor people though.

Sunday 18 August 2013

Scotland snitching on the English for money.

From the bedfordshire on sunday...

Written by KATHRYN CAIN

CONCERNS are being raised about the privacy of staff at a new supermarket being invaded after background checks were carried out on all employees with no reason for doing so.

All of the 295 staff working at the new Morrisons, due to open in Ampthill Road, Bedford, tomorrow morning, have been checked by the company to find out not only about any criminal convictions, but also reprimands, warnings and cautions for minor offences which would be categorised as spent under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.

Harmless though they may seem, privacy campaigners fear that the company is being overzealous with its checks by delving too deep into a person’s record by using an agency of the Scottish Government, Disclosure Scotland, even though they may only be stacking shelves.

In English law, the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), formerly the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB), carries out checks on people who will be working with children or vulnerable adults or in situations where there is a high risk. Staff such as those working in the retail industry would not be eligible for such checks.

A spokeswoman for the DBS said: “The DBS does not provide a check that we can find or any kind of eligibility that a normal member of retail staff would have.”

Nick Pickles, director of privacy and civil liberties campaign group Big Brother Watch, said: “Background checks are there to protect vulnerable people and children and shouldn’t be used routinely like this. A piece of paper is no substitute for proper judgement by a manager and it’s exactly the same safety-by-database approach that has been wholly counterproductive in recent years.

Parliament changed the law on this last year to expressly limit the use of these checks and it raises questions about what is going on when Morrisons is using the Scottish Government’s system to check on English staff, where there is no question about the role being one that could pose a safety risk.”

A generic application form for any position with a Morrisons store tells the applicant that if they take up employment it ‘may be necessary for security purposes for Morrisons to carry out a credit reference check on senior, night and duty management, all cash office employees, warehouse, petrol and pharmacy management, checkout management and security and central salaried personnel.’

The form says nothing about ordinary floor or till staff being checked or anything about their previous convictions.

Morrisons told Bedfordshire on Sunday that the reason they insist all staff be subjected to the checks is because their customers expect it and that it is important they understand the background of the people they employ.

A spokesman for the supermarket chain said: “We undertake background checks to ensure our stores are safe places to shop and work. All checks comply with the law and are carried out with the full knowledge and authorisation of all applicants.”

Friday 16 August 2013

Scottish Government plan to undermine the traditional family is traced back to the United Nations.

I couldn't figure out why the SNP Government were putting so much effort into the new 'Children and Young People ( Scotland ) Bill so being curious I had a read of the Bill and it all clicked into place pretty quickly. The plan to undermine traditional family life in Scotland with a snooping 'named person' creeping after our children from birth to aged 18 ( with secret info kept on file forever) is actually the final implementation of parts of the protocols of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) ratified by the UK Conservative Government in 1991 with updates to the UNCRC on progress in 2007.

The Bill sets out in Part 1 that it is fulfilling the requirements of the UNCRC protocols.

From the Bill...

"the UNCRC requirements means the rights and obligations set out in..

(a)Part 1 of the UNCRC

(b)Articles 1 to 6(1), 6(3) and 7 of the first optional protocol, and

(c)Articles 1 to 10 of the second optional protocol."

The puzzling silence from the opposition parties is explained by the fact that they helped to set up and ratify the various protocols. It also fits in with the ideology of the BBC so there will be no problems from that anti SNP organisation on this occasion.

It's main aim seems to be to remove the authority of parents in the upbringing of our children and to hand the ultimate power over to the UN controlled national governments. A child will be a member of the global village of the United Nations first and family second.

The SNP have jumped the gun and are implementing the UN instructions even though they had no role in ratifying the agreement. That was done by the London Parliament at Westminster. I must remember that when the SNP complain about being railroaded by London in the future.

I don't see the word 'parents' in the United Nations graphic above. Funny that eh ?

The scarier parts of the new Bill that jumped out at me were....

1* .If children are seen as in trouble then they will get a 'child's plan' into which everyone and their dog can throw in their snippets of information. Children who are members of the regular Armed Forces don't get these plans...presumably because regulars move around the UK and England hasn't implemented the snooping laws yet. I'm not sure what happens to children whose parents are members of the Armed Forces since the parents will also move around the country and leave the jurisdiction of the Scottish authorities.

2*. There will be a secret 'Scotland's Adoption Register' known as 'the Register' where Scots kids can be adopted by foster parents from overseas and we won't even know where they have gone. The Scottish government will pay people to look after the register and can charge people for info from it.

3*. Children will be followed from area to area and all the tittle tattle about them will be passed on to the next authority. It doesn't mention what will happen if they go to England where the plan isn't being set up ...yet.

4*. The list of public bodies who will have an input into the new system is massive and even includes the creepy 'Common Purpose' led organisation 'Creative Scotland'. We met 'Common Purpose' back in December when one of it's members helped to close down the Remploy factory in Dundee. Common Purpose is an unaccountable taxpayer funded organisation that claims to 'lead outside of it's authority'. It's a sort of shadow administration that picks individuals who it thinks are in useful positions to further it's agenda. Individuals who work for councils, the BBC etc.

The UN is happy to be seen as a bumbling and ineffective organisation as this suits them just fine but they actually work tirelessly behind the scenes to remove the role of families and to promote their marxist agenda.

* References...Children and Young People ( Scotland ) Bill. (pdf file)

*1. Part 5 inc 7(b)a child who is a member of any of the regular forces.

*2. Part 11 (13A) inc (2)(v)prospective adopters outwith Scotland.

13A(3)the register is not to be open to public inspection or search

13A(4)Information is to be kept in the register in any form the Scottish Ministers consider appropriate.

13C(3)(c)prescribe a fee which is to be paid by an adoption agency when providing that information.

*3.Part 4 (26) Information Sharing.

*4. page 42. Schedule 1 "Authorities".

Saturday 10 August 2013

Former BBC man bans the BBC for bias.

I was reading the report of the recent meeting between some of the Glasgow Rangers board and some 'influential fans' the other night and noticed this statement from Jim Traynor ( above right)......

" The BBC are banned. They are supposed to be here on Saturday. They have paid to be here but they won’t be getting in. They can complain to the SPFL and it’ll be up to them if they want to sanction the club but hopefully it won’t come to that."

The new ban is said to be related to the 'exclusive leaks' to the BBC from somewhere inside Ibrox.

Scottish football fans will remember Jim well from his old football phone in show 'Your Call' on Radio Scotland. He often fielded calls from listeners who claimed there was an establishment cover up protecting Rangers and that Jim secretly supported Rangers. This was always vehemently denied and ridiculed.

Eyebrows were raised therefore when Jim quit the Daily Record newspaper ( known colloquially as The Daily Rangers) and Radio Scotland to become Rangers Director of Communications. The subsequent top secret '5 way agreement ' between the various bosses who 'run' Scottish football and Rangers to keep them in the football league after liquidation has also fueled speculation of something sinister at the heart of Scottish football.

Rangers have banned the BBC from speaking to it's manager and players before for perceived bias and no sanctions have ever materialised from the SFA. Rangers fans who pay their tv tax are being denied access to their team yet nothing is done. The SFA leader got a £30,000 pay rise this year despite the lack of any leadership being in evidence.

Fresh turmoil has erupted at Rangers just as the new season gets under way yet news of what's going on is left up to the various football blogs to explain. The mainstream media have been reluctant to get involved. There are fears that Rangers will run out of money by Christmas and that it may enter administration before the former Rangers completes it's own liquidation. This would be a world record and would finally end the dispute over whether Rangers is a new club or the same club as sanctions for entering administration are different for each scenario. A new club with no history of administration would get off with lighter sanctions so may be the desired route to take.

Former 'saviours' like Charles Green and Craig Whyte are now seen as villains. Charles calls himself a 'straight talking Yorkshireman' and said that the present team was the worst in history ( subsequently claiming he was just repeating what former manager Walter Smith had told him ). Manager Ally McCoist went ballistic and said that the attack was part of the reason they lost to Forfar Athletic in last weeks cup game. Along with the strong wind on the day.

The 'straight talking Yorkshireman' quit as Rangers chief executive back in April after he was quoted in a newspaper report referring to former Ibrox director, Imran Ahmad, as his "little Paki friend".

He says he has returned as a "£1,000 a month" 'consultant' in order to help Rangers through the present turmoil although it's thought that he's worried about the fall in the share price of Rangers from 70 pence to around 40 pence. He did offer to sell £14m worth of shares to his critics by last Friday but no bid materialised. His shares are thought to be 'locked in' until December. The situation at Rangers is further complicated with RIFC ( Rangers International Football Club ) owning the football stadium and training ground and TRFC ( The Rangers Football Club) managing the players and staff. Maybe the eventual outcome of another administration event will be TRFC renting the grounds from RIFC.

Rangers play Brechin City at Ibrox today and a protest is planned against the Charles Green consortium that is now seen as an impediment to progress at Ibrox. The season ticket money is all in now ( bought during Walter Smith's brief spell as a 'calming influence and a true Rangers man' Chairmanship ) so it's doubtful how effective the protest can be.

Friday 9 August 2013

Better Together for some.

I've just been tallying up what 'Better Together' anti Scottish independence Chairman Mr Darling has made over the last year with his speeches and book etc....nearly £200,000. In a year. Most of the speeches are to the financial sector. They will still be cock a hoop at the largesse provided to them by the Labour Party and will be seeing him alright. Years of letting rip in the financial sector with a no holds barred policy of ripping us off and awarding themselves massive bonuses....followed by a well forecast crash and taxpayer bailout has them all very grateful to the former Chancellor.

Mr Darling also did well out of his home flipping policy. He managed to flip 4 homes in 4 years maximising the amount he could claim in expenses....

Timeline:

April 2008

Main home: Downing Street

Second home: Edinburgh townhouse

September 2007

Main home: Edinburgh townhouse

Second home: Downing Street apartment

September 2005

Main home: Edinburgh townhouse

Second home: Kennington flat

April 2004

Main home: Lambeth flat

Second home: Edinburgh townhouse

It's a wonder he managed to keep up with all the comings and goings while helping to run the country (into the ground). He didn't....he hired an accountant to sort it all out..and charged it to the taxpayer of course.

So while food banks are springing up around Scotland in order to help to alleviate hunger the Chairman of 'Better Together' is travelling the world imparting his words of wisdom on financial probity while telling gullible Scots at home that they're too poor, too weak and too stupid to run their own affairs in an independent country. You really couldn't make it up.

The Union has been good to Alistair and his cronies and he will fight tooth and nail to keep things the way they are. The ermine gown must be next for his loyalty.

Thursday 8 August 2013

Better Together Chairman earns £23,200 from private healthcare system.

The partial collapse in the NHS in England and Wales has been a disaster for patients. An emergency fund of £500m has just been announced in order to shore up their A&E departments. This follows the partial collapse of their 111 non emergency help line. The system where you get to speak to someone with 5 weeks training as you clutch at your chest gasping for breath etc. NHS Direct are dumping 111 as they say they're useless and too expensive. The various scandals at the 'NHS Trusts' are probably just the tip of a very big iceberg as well.

But the controlled collapse of the NHS down south in order to bring in privatisation has seen rich pickings for our London parliamentarians. Over 200 are now making money out of the private sector. There are 73 MPs', including Alistair Darling, Chair of the anti Scottish independence 'Project Fear' and 'Better Together' campaigns trousering good money out of the privatisation of healthcare..

From here...

" Alistair Darling...."MP for Edinburgh South-West: 7 April 2011, He received a fee of £10,200 for addressing a dinner organised by Cinven, London. Hours: approx 6 hrs. On its website it states: ‘Cinven has been involved in European healthcare over a 20-year period and invests in market-leading, cash-generative companies.’

Cinven is a leading buyout firm, who bought 25 private hospitals from Bupa. Other UK investments include. Spire Healthcare, who run private healthcare hospitals, and whose clinical director Jean-Jacques de Gorter said the use of private sector would spiral as a result of Andrew Lansley’s reform proposals. General healthcare group, which runs healthcare services, and whose group includes: BMI healthcare. The other company is Générale de Santé who are France’s leading healthcare provider."

He also earned nearly £13,000 for a speaking engagement at Pru Health, the private medical insurance company....

25 January 2013, I received a fee of £12,999 which included £249.60 in respect of travel costs for speaking at a seminar organised by Pru Health. Hours: 5 hrs. (Registered 8 February 2013)

Why anyone would want to pay £1700 an hour to listen to the man who helped to bankrupt the UK is a mystery to most folk but that's a story for another day. A quick look at part of Mr Darling's speech to the April Labour conference as Chair of 'Better Together' is interesting...

"We are better and stronger, when we stand together"

"The NHS – there when you need it, no matter where you are in the United Kingdom"

Aye ok Mr Darling. Whatever you say. How are things going on Tracy Island by the way ?

Wednesday 7 August 2013

An audience with Christopher Brookmyre.

Chris Brookmyre visited Dundee last night on his latest book promotion tour. The latest book 'Flesh Wounds' is another crime novel based in Glasgow and looks again at the Glasgow 'gangster' scene with the young private investigator Jasmine Sharp.

I first heard of Chris when I bought the book 'a big boy did it and ran away'

I couldn't resist the title and loved reading the book. Dark humour with some great one liners.

There was a good crowd at the Steps Theatre and Chris soon had the audience laughing as he read some reviews of his books from Amazon.com ( US buyers ). Amazon did a one off 99cents download so thousands of readers in the US took a punt at his book. Chris picked his favourite 'one star' reviews and the complaints were mainly against "the foul British Linguige "(sic) and included someone who was going to "purge the book off of their device" as if it was a virus or something.

There was a chance for the audience to question Chris and things didn't start well when the first questioner asked if Chris could sign his book now so he could go home. He was only there because his daughter had asked him to get his book signed. This was politely dealt with and the questions got a bit better. One bloke asked why authors like Chris and the late great Iain Banks enjoyed their foray into science fiction writing so much and Chris explained that it allowed them to open up their imagination and let rip. Authors were a bit contained when writing and science fiction opened the floodgates to their imagination. His science fiction novel 'Bedlam' is being made into a computer game and will include a retrospective look at my favourite game of all time 'Quake 2' and it's sometimes dodgy graphics. The game is still under production in Brighton but Chris managed to have a play with the pre production game and said that there were some great 'shoot em up' sequences.

As the audience questioning was coming to an end I put my hand up and asked if he supported independence for Scotland. I remember Iain Banks was keen on independence and was interested to know where Chris stood on the issue.

His answer was.........YES !

Friday 2 August 2013

The death throes of Scottish 'journalism' .

As expected, BBC Newsnight Scotland did a story last night on the SNP 'Yes Scotland' pro independence campaigners "posing as Labour for Independence supporters" in a series of photographs published on the internet and in newspapers. This was despite the fact that the story was debunked earlier in the day by the excellent 'Rev Stu at Wings over Scotland' and in numerous comments left at 'The Herald', The Scotsman' and 'The Daily Record' who also ran with the fake story.

The photo had been cropped with the comment below the photograph saying "Big thanks to @labourforindy for attending todays EastAyrshire @YesScotland stall." being deleted.

Another comment deleted was "Lab4Indy in Killie today campaigning alongside Yes East Ayrshire".

The biased agenda was to make out that " Labour for Independence" was just an SNP front and that no one in the Labour party would seriously consider voting for independence. The polls differ of course and the 'Yes Scotland' Deputy is former Labour MP Dennis Canavan but this is ignored. The biased media in Scotland are trying to polarise the options between the status quo or an Alex Salmond led SNP in an independent Scotland. The fact that the people of Scotland can vote for whoever they like after a Yes vote for independence is studiously ignored by our 'journalists'. Whenever someone raises this point they are quickly cut off. As happened last night on Newsnight Scotland.

The truth of the 'cropped picture' could be found after spending five minutes looking on the internet yet we are led to believe that the vast resources of the BBC failed to find this out.

It must be time for the international monitors to be called in. The Zimbabwe elections have just finished so there will be some observers available at the moment to monitor things in Scotland.