Thursday, 7 June 2007

Back soon

Just in case you thought I was dead it is only shift patterns that are dictating the absence of current stuff. I'll be back soon, but you probably didn't even miss me. In the meantime I've added a piece by The Wee Man to Interesting Stuff. I know I shouldn't laugh, but it's funny.

Tuesday, 29 May 2007

Rayleen Kelly and the SSP : Accusations of Lying

I have been having a correspondence with the peoples princess over on her blog
and she has accused me of lying regarding her censorship of my comments in a prior conversation (see mine on 31st march). Now I don't claim to be a saint, but to be called a liar by a former Renfrewshire Labour councillor takes the biscuit.

She has, however, run away from the discussion by closing the topic (presumably that isn't censoring comment in the Labour party). Giving yourself the last word is, I suppose, your right if it is your blog. This isn't Rayleen's blog but she can add comments without any censorship, and no topic ever closes.
She is struggling to make her earlier comments sensible and has obviously run out of steam . Sorry Rayleen, but your loss of reason is showing. You can't just assume someone is guilty of something because you saw them being arrested on TV. Every day I see policemen in stab proof vests queueing in snack bars to buy their rolls, so no assumptions can be made from the gear that they wear in any given situation as to the guilt or innocence of an arrested person.

If the police thought them worthy of being charged with an offence, and if any police were hurt or in danger of being hurt, then they should have been given the opportunity to prove their innocence in court, we have no way of knowing if their behaviour was lawful or not if they are not tried.

The arrest of the 80 year old woman at Faslane received plenty of coverage, and for Rayleen to suggest that she deserved her treatment is a disgrace to a decent society.

And finally, Rayleen, I didn't get you started on the Iraq shroud waving, you did that all on your own because you were struggling for a point that you could win. But you are wrong there as well, it is the flag wavers who are the problem and your party is full of them or we wouldn't be in Iraq.

Friday, 25 May 2007

Renfrewshire Labour in Opposition

The shift to a one party right of centre state is never more obvious than when we look at Labour in opposition in Renfrewshire.

Maybe I'm wrong and am just being left behind by consensus politics of the soft right, but I was always under the impression that it was the duty of the opposition to oppose. They did this by holding the ruling group to account and offering alternatives to the policies put forward by that group. This ensured that the proposals of the ruling group were properly scrutinised and compared with an alternative model, that of the opposition. That is the strength of an adversarial system of government.

Labour in Renfrewshire (still in shock at their loss of power and smarting under a new ignominy, they are losing their JPs) are offering no new and innovative policies, they are not even promoting the stale old policies which saw them lose power.

Their stated aim is to ensure that the election promises made by the SNP are kept. But surely it is not the role of the opposition Labour party to ensure that the SNP manifesto is implemented, that is just a stupid thing to say. Labour should be offering a different agenda with new ideas (not the ones which were already rejected by the majority of voters) and fighting tooth and nail to prevent the ideas which they opposed whilst in office from being implemented. That is the duty of an opposition, but they still do not understand that they are the opposition, so they will fight to implement the policies of the SNP and try to take credit for themselves for what goes right, rejecting as not theirs anything which goes wrong.

This is a completely sterile approach to the problems of Renfrewshire, and to think that we paid the dead wood thousands to go away and not prevent innovation. What a waste that was. The new lot haven't an idea between them except to ensure the implementation of SNP policy.

Thursday, 24 May 2007

Terry Kelly and Social Housing

I've been trying to ignore TKMax recently as he has become something of an irrelevance even within the Labour group, but when he makes a statement like this:-

How about campaigning for a proper social house building programme instead of capitulating to the racists, there's a novel idea, decent socialists in the party now have to apologise for you, for god's sake go !

then I have to remind people that he campaigned against keeping Renfrewshire's housing in public ownership. He bragged about the number of council houses the Labour council had knocked down, and when challenged about the number of council houses they had built (none) and the number of homeless and the waiting lists for council houses (thousands -- see my post on 19th April 2007) he took the cowards way out, did not respond, and barred me from comment on his site.

Well it's his site, so he makes the rules, but we will have to to add hypocrisy to the previous charges of buffoonery (and he is after all McMillan's court jester), and treat his opinions accordingly

Wednesday, 23 May 2007

Rayleen and the SSP

Rayleen (the peoples' princess) Kelly has raised some questions about the survival of the SSP on her site. I've posted a reply but who knows if she will publish it.

I can only tell others what I have tried to tell her, and that is that the SSP will obviously have to have a re-think as regards our operational affairs, but we are resolved to be here fighting for working people against their enemies in the Labour, New Labour, Tory, New Tory, Maybe we're Tory but we're not sure Lib/Dem, and Tartan Tory parties.

We are not going away irrespective of how big an embarrassment it might be for Labour to have us reminding them of what they are supposed to stand for and the liars they have become.

Friday, 18 May 2007

The Coronation of Gordon Brown

There was no choir giving us 'Zadok the Priest', but the elevation of Gordon (the big clunking fist) Brown to the status of Prime Minister elect was something of a coronation.

The fact that a left candidate from within the Labour party couldn't even get on to the ballot paper surely tells us that any notional loyalty to the working class, which some Labour supporters were clinging to, has gone completely and forever. There is no way back from this that leads left, the bridge is burnt.

All those, like TKMax, who believe that, as puny district councillors in opposition, they can present any challenge to the inexorable rightward stampede of the Labour party are either liars, clinging to their Labour rosettes in the hope of being able to re-join the gravy train, or fools.

For better or worse we have got Big Humble Gordy, and he has much to be humble about when we consider the growing inequality he has created.

Renfrewshire Labour in Opposition

It looks as if they still don't get it, but just for the sake of clarification, Renfrewshire Labour--you're out on your arse. There will be no more corporate hospitality or freebies, declared or otherwise, you're history, live with it. You made no friends in power and could not form a coalition if your lifestyles depended on it (and they did).

So for Sharkey (the assassin of Rayleen, the People's Princess) to say in the paper that he is committed to working with all of his new colleagues? on the council no matter which party badge they wear is just wishful thinking. They won't let you play because of the spiteful and hateful things your party did while in power. Get it in your heads, you are in opposition, you have a duty to oppose and hold up to scrutiny the policies of the new administration, and to be vilified for it in the same way you vilified the opposition while you were in power.

Iain McMillan, who rules over the ashes of what was once the administration in Renfrewshire, is similarly delusional. He is reported to have hit out at the new coalition for failing to tap into the vast experience of some of his colleagues on the policy boards. He can't really have thought that the duds who ruined Paisley (at least those who didn't take the money and run) were going to be offered convererships and places of influence in the new administration. The arrogance of the man is beyond belief. They still think that they have a right to govern even when they have been shoved out the door by a spirit of co-operation which they could not foster for themselves, and deeply resent in other more progressive alliances.

Thursday, 17 May 2007

Renfrewshire Politics, Councillors' Expenses and Hate Mail

One of the local papers the 'Gazette', a weekly, carries a report today of hate mail which has been sent to a Johnstone woman. The letter, which is on what looks like Renfrewshire council letterhead says, 'We would like to thank you from the Bottom of our hearts For the support you gave the SNP Now #### ### and keep your mouths shut.'

The woman who received the letter is married to Tom Gartley and the couple were the focus of attention when they alleged irregularities in Councillors' expenses claims.

Mrs Gartley also says that the local Johnstone police have passed the complaint on to the officer investigating the alleged expenses fraud as ,'they considered the matter to be linked to the fraudulent councillors' claims.'

I'll keep an eye on it and let you all know what happens if anything.

Gordon Brown a New Leader, but How New

'Gorgeous' George Galloway, who gave the US Senate such a battering that I was at one stage (nearly) starting to feel sorry for the US, has described Tony (bye-bye) Bliar and Gordon (big Gordy) Brown as two cheeks of the same arse, so whether we will be able to notice the difference is a matter for some debate.

An arse with two right cheeks is a bit unusual, but it seems like we've got one, so we'll all be watching, I'm sure, to see if it can continue to function. It has been producing crap ok so far.

Terry Kelly (TKMax) and Jesus


I see on our favourite blog that Terry Kelly approves the stance of Jesus and Ron Ferguson on the blessing of same sex partnerships. I was interested to read Ron's compelling arguments in the Herald this week, and I am 100% in agreement with the case he put forward.

He and Jesus must be gratified to know that TKMax also approves.

Wednesday, 16 May 2007

Harry, the Warrior Prince

I hear in the news that Harry, the warrior prince is not going to be sent to Iraq. What a surprise !!

Frankly I couldn't care less, what concerns me more is getting the poor sods who have been sent out there to fight in Bush's war back home safe and sound. Everyone knew that Harry would't be sent, the real upper classes send out the middle classes to do their duty in foreign climes, and the working classes to be the casualties. That is how it is and has always been. Harry would no more have had to go than I would, and we all know it.

What is less understandable is his wish to go, if that is true. How could a young boy be brainwashed into believing that his duty lay in killing people in Iraq for no real purpose as far as British interests were concerned.

I suppose he might have been suggestible due to his upbringing as his family have a history of being on the right, which is strange when you consider that they are everything that the right hate.

His grandfather was an immigrant who by his public statements showed he had only a passing familiarity with British culture. He never had a proper job living in publicly owned housing off his wife's state payments.

His father was a fox murdering adulterer who flaunted his promiscuity in the face of his young wife, the boy's mother. He also never held down a proper job, which is possibly why his family became dysfunctional to the extent that the boy had to go to a drugs clinic.

The mother hadn't the bottle to tell her husband 'I dont care who your mum is, if I see you around that woman again her face and yours is coming off'. Any decent working class woman would have done that or something similar, they wouldn't have settled for the position even at the cost of their dignity.

Ah, Kate lass, you had a lucky escape.

Douglas Alexander and the Local Press

Duggie, the golden one and future anointed (I wish he'd resign so I can stop having to type this out all the time) published his regular column in the Paisley Daily Express today, and most congratulatory to the Labour party it was. He didn't, however, mention his part in the elections, only congratulating Wendy (for it is she) Alexander (second trumpet in the Alexanders' rag time band) and Hugh (Shuggie the hammer) Henry among others, on their success.

Perhaps next time he will be able to tell us how he cocked it all up, if he's still there, which he shouldn't be.

Smirky the Fishy King, or First Minister Salmond

Well it appears that I was wrong and Gordon (clunky) Brown and Ming (the merciless) Campbell didn't manage to impose a deal on the Scottish Lib/ Dems. Alex (smirky) Salmond is now First Minister.

Great news you might think. I can stop re-paying my student loan (if I ever earn enough to be required to make repayments). I'll stop paying my council tax (surely the income based alternative won't affect people on my earnings). I'll dig out the banners to celebrate our boys coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan. There must be some other things, remind me what I'll be free to do now that we have won our freedom that we couldn't do before.

Oh yes, vote in an independence referendum...........or maybe not.

Tuesday, 15 May 2007

The Peoples' Princess and the Election Fiasco

It is good to see in Rayleen (the peoples' princess) Kelly's latest offering that she stands by her previous comments (to which she directs us).

How she can stand by the view which commences with the phrase 'One of the positives of having the Scottish Parliament elections on the same day as the council', when 140,000 people have been dis-enfranchised as a result of that very decision defeats me.

As far as I and many others are concerned there were no positives directly attributable to that decision, and the man responsible, Douglas (Duggie the golden one and future anointed) Alexander should resign if he had any principles or decency. He has robbed the electorate and no amount of delaying tactics, such as appointing a phony inquiry when we all know what went wrong, will allow this to be kicked into the long grass.

Labour should be ashamed, but they have no shame.

Douglas Alexander and the Election Shambles Contd.

So we are to have a Canadian to investigate and find out what went wrong. It will probably cost us hundreds of thousands of pounds to find out that it went wrong because it was a mess from start to finish.

In order to save some money I'll tell them what went wrong.

Postal voting was poorly organised. Ballot papers were designed to be politically expedient to the Labour administration. Little or no help was provided at the polling places, and the staff at the polling places who were appointed to help didn't understand the system themselves. Political parties, well the Nats, tried to capitalise on the confusion by shyster manouvering on the ballot papers. The counting method was not geared up to deal with the sheer volume of spoiled papers it encountered.

Can you not just send me half of the money now that I've told you the result of the Canadian investigation.

The real question is not what went wrong, but what are they going to do about it. We all know what went wrong. Duggie, the golden one and future anointed, should resign immediately and allow someone who is less culpable to examine the problem, because with that amount (140,000?) of spoiled papers, no matter who won they cannot claim legitimacy.

Monday, 14 May 2007

SNP and Lib/Dem coalition

Rayleen (the peoples' princess) Kelly has offered here her latest views on the calamity for Labour in the local elections. She still, like many other Labour supporters and councillors, cannot get her head round the fact that the people of Renfrewshire gave the Nats as many seats as they did Labour, and now wants to re-write the rules so that it is the number of votes rather than the number of seats that count.

Sooner or later they will have to wake up to the fact that it was Labour which formed the rules under which this election (assuming it is worthy of the name) was fought. If anyone screwed it up it was Duggie, the golden one and future anointed.

Labour in Renfrewshire have poured such vitriol on all of the other parties for so long that they had no friends to talk to in coalition talks, and they are still pouring. PR is meant to deny any party total power, and to that extent it has worked. Everyone except Renfrewshire Labour seem to be able to make it work (even Happy Jack the numpty managed to make it work in the last Parliament), so don't tell me it isn't sour grapes.

We didn't do so well ourselves, but we aren't bitching 'it's an injustice' like some Calimero. We take it on the chin and try again, we don't blame the voters for our failure.

We're also kind of glad you didn't get back in.

Romans in Scotland: The Eagle of the Ninth

A report that 'The Eagle of the Ninth' , a story about the Roman legion which disappeared in Scotland and were never heard of again, is to be made into a film brought to mind a story told to us by a teacher in primary school a long time ago (about 50 years).

She maintained that in and around Dumbarton there is a story that the legion settled in Dumbarton attracted by the women there, and that is the reason why there is such a preponderence of Romanesque noses in the Dumbarton area. (See how nice I can be when I really try, but I mean big noses).

Anyone else heard of this or a similar story, because I'm not sure if she was taking the mickey out of us. She was that kind of teacher.

J K Rowling

There was also a piece about J K Rowling, but I,m so fed up reading about her and Harry Potter I didn't bother.

As Fred McAuley says, 'In Paisley jakey rolling is a sport'.

Knitting with a Purpose

I don't suppose I ever expected to be blogging about knitting but a piece in the Herald caught my attention today. It was about knitters in the Fair Isle trying to save their tradition in the face of big business.

I thought I might share a bit of folklore with my readers, since people I spoke to didn't seem to know that nearly every island around the coast of Britain had their own knitting pattern or style, Fair Isle, Arran, Jersey, Guernsey (in the north of England they pronounce it Ganzi) etc.

This was so that if a fisherman was lost at sea, irrespective of the state of decomposition of the body, the lanolin in the wool would preserve the knitwear from the salt water and the body could be identified, or at least returned to the right island for proper burial.

Don't complain about the price of fish.

Sir Sean and Duggie

I see that Sir Sean has called for the resignation of Douglas (Duggie the chosen one and future anointed) Alexander.

Whilst I agree with him on this point, his voice would perhaps have more weight if he were affected by the decisions made in the UK by those he criticises.

We'll leave a light in the window for you Sean, come home and pay your taxes