Numbers

No, not the book of the Old Testament much favoured by many latter-day cherry picking Christians, but the number of people who took to the streets to march for Scotland's independence.

As someone who was present on the march with another family enjoying the chance to support the 'Yes' cause in the Edinburgh sunshine, I feel more than qualified to pour cold water on the bitter reports of the occasion in 'our' press. The Scotsman has long been at odds with Scottish society - it earned the nickname of 'Daily Liar' by Highlanders in the late 1800s due the papers support for the landlords in the Highland Clearances. Even an exhibition by Edvard 'The Scream' Munch in 1932 Edinburgh was disapproved of.  These days its not uncommon for the Scotsman to reprint 'news' from the Daily Mail - this article appeared in the Mail on Sunday last week before making it into a gleeful Scotsman the following day.

Sadly, the Herald also joined in snide-fest.

The march itself was a superb occasion. Regarding the numbers, I'd estimate at least 9000. Bella Caledonia deals with issue in more depth.

I did note the predictable comments of Scottish Labour which also bizarrely mentioned that the indy march was but a dwarf in comparison to the 80000 who demonstrated against the Iraq War. That would be the demonstration against.... er, Labour who took us into that illegal war.

On the other hand, it was by far the biggest demonstration in favour of Scottish independence ever. Who would bet against the next one being bigger still?

Numbers are only part of the story though. Myself and other marchers, including some from the continent, were pleasantly surprised by the overwhelming positive attitude on display. Despite people of all ages, of various nationalities and from different political backgrounds turning out, there was a convincing atmosphere of standing together for a common cause. Almost a smug satisfaction that you and your neighbour were participating in a historic act for the common good.

Some Unionists adopt an Islamist approach.

Which we were, to be frank.

This attitude needs to be maintained. The Unionists have nothing to offer but negativity and scaremongering. Their cause is bankrupt. I've yet to here one serious argument for retaining the Union. Have heard various vague mutterings about 'a family of nations' but as everyone knows, any young person flies the coop as soon as they can. I love my auld dear. She's still family. But from my late teens, I've very much enjoyed relating to her as an independent adult.

While its obvious that not all Unionists may share all their views, the only ugly faces to show up on the day came from a small group of BNP or EDL 'football boys' who hung Union Jacks on a tree. Once again the Union Jack represents insularity, ignorance and hate. Just keep taking the rope boys.

A Jubilee art gallery

Fortunately, Scotland remains a Jubilee-frei zone save for two street parties in parts of Edinburgh that could be described as 'middle-class English ghettos' and where people tend to pronounce words like 'clear' as 'klee-ah'. Add to that, some Orange Order events in Glasgow that have been subsidised by the local, newly vibrant yet still stuck in the past Labour Party  - "we like things just the way they are, thanks" - and that more or less is the sum of things.

On the face of things, its been good year for Tories and Unionists to 'celebrate' their Britishness - not just the Queen's expensive shindig but the whole Team GB facade to give us something else to 'unite around'. There's also been the righteous indignation at Argentina making headway on re-gaining the Malvinas. On the downside, bankrupt Britain's debt continues to grow and the mother of fuckups  parliaments in Lon-done continues to be mired in sleaze and corruption.

So, here's some art, starting above with Gee Voucher's classic 'Sex Pistols' montage for the Crass release Christ - The Album . That surely has be followed up by a re-visit to Laibach's excellent rendition of GSTQ in the form of 'Anglia'.


This comes from Delete:

 

Am not sure of the original source of this but... who would've thunk it? Royal Family links to Nazis and Germans!

 

It also transpired that some awrslicker academics in Glasgow managed to superimpose the Queen's head onto a grain of rice or something of that ilk. The Japanese have done one better than that though. They've produced the world's first Royal Wankmachine. Why waste energy choking yon Bishop of Canterbury when the Queen can give you 'head' so to speak...

 Lastly is this shocking image from Banksy...

Er... sorry. I forgot that in the days of that Queen, Great Britain was a land of huge disparity between rich and poor, ruled by rich Eton-educated white men.

The Black Dwarf, the Unionists and their socialist economics

 
The 'YES' campaign's launch this week was greeted with the familiar gurning by those who would have us believe that Scotland 'cannae do it'. Apparently we never did nothing and never will. We need London rule to keep the wolf from the door. Though ironically, as Tristram Hunt spelled out in his recent 'debate' with Irvine Welsh on Paxman, Scotland should seek to be the tail on England's wolf as it prowls the world stage inspiring fear and awe in 'lesser' nations. Without Scotland, England would be a rather strange looking wolf whereas Scotland would only be a small nation minding her own business.

Like Norway or Denmark perhaps?

A Black Dwarf reader.

The whinging in Scotland though came chiefly from Alastair Darling whose first salvo in 'the positive case for the Union' was that a recent Unionist-sponsored poll showed that support for independence was 'only' 33%.

Who is this man Darling? Some may have forgotten that he is Labour's ex-chancellor and is still a sitting MP despite his long bouts of silence. More interestingly, he is an ex-Trotskyist. For those who have forgotten what that is, perhaps it is best illustrated by the fact that had he not forged a successful career in the Labour Party of Great Britain, he more than likely would still be manning a stall on Easter Road, awash with Maoist, leftist and Stalinst pamphlets, defending the policies of North Korea to the hilt. Worse still, he would probably still be wearing that beard. Aye, the one that Labour's PR team told him to lose if he wanted to be taken seriously by middle-England's Tory-voters and the Sun. It is rumoured that Murdoch's empire was about to pillory him as a Suttcliffe lookalike who would take a similarly violent approach to the UK economy.

Vote 'No'. Or else.

As his ex-comrade, George Galloway, reveals:

“When I first met him 35 years ago,” Galloway states, “Darling was pressing Trotskyite tracts on bewildered railwaymen at Waverley Station in Edinburgh. He was a supporter of the International Marxist Group, whose publication was entitled the Black Dwarf.

Politically speaking though, his blood is neither red nor black but quite blue and not only because he had the privilege of attending Musselburgh's uber-posh private school, Loretto. This from his spiel on Wiki:

Alistair Darling was born in London^[1] the son of a civil engineer, Thomas, and his wife, Anna. He is the great-nephew of Sir William Darling, who was Conservative MP for Edinburgh South (1945–1957). He was educated in Kirkcaldy, and the private Loretto School,^[2] Musselburgh, East Lothian, then attended the University of Aberdeen where he was awarded a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B). He became the President of Aberdeen University Students' Representative Council.

Before joining the Labour Party at the age of 23 in 1977, Darling was a supporter of the International Marxist Group, the British section of the Trotskyist Fourth International.^[3] He became a solicitor in 1978, then changed course for the Scots bar and was admitted as an advocate in 1984. He was elected as a councillor to the Lothian Regional Council in 1982 where he supported large rates rises in defiance of Margaret Thatcher's rate-capping laws and even threatened not to set a rate at all.

Currently, he is seeking to forge a Unionist alliance with other parties and groupings like the Tories, the Lib Dems, UKIP, Tax Payers' Alliance and presumably even the BNP and Orange Order.

He is also being ably supported by Labour's new 'tour de force' of Scottish politics, Kezia Dugdale. She claims that she was 'surprised' to be elected to the Scottish Parliament and sure enough her few bizarre pronouncements to the media in an attempt to raise her profile tell of someone who is still befuddled.

Hey Kezia, guess what?

In fact, one of Kezia's first rants was against BBC Alba being given a slot on Freeview! Anti-Scottish? Not her! She was apparently standing up for her many constituents who were now going to lose the means to access radio programs like 'Gardening Hour' on their TV set! Her maiden speech to the Scots Parliament was somewhat rambling - she claims to have only recently discovered the blight of child poverty in Scotland and was shocked to find out that some unemployed youths 'hate the police'.

Poverty it seems, and especially child poverty, was unknown during the salad days of Labour rule.

Strange too that Kezia also claims that free prescription charges are 'right-wing' policy on the part of the SNP. Presumably then selling schools and hospitals to PFI pirates, Labour's illegal wars, stockpiling of WMDs at home, courting of rich businessmen (mind Ecclestone anyone?) and tuition fees are hallmarks of the kind of socialism that Alastair 'Black Dwarf' Darling used to champion back in the day.

Which brings me to those 'socialist economics'. As my partner hails from the former DDR, this something that I've learned about in recent years. Those 'Eastern Bloc' nations used the state's wealth to provide jobs for the people, irrespective of whether the items produced were in demand. Hence stories of 'shoe mountains'.

This is exactly the policy which all the main Unionist parties are following when they advocate the maintenance of nuclear bases on the Clyde and the construction of yet more aircraft carriers et al.

Their are some obvious points arising from this. Seems as if the Tories are happy to go socialist when it comes to war. In the case of Labour, what happened to making ploughshares from swords? Scottish Labour must be more devoid of wit than I first thought if it's beyond them to see that the naval bases and construction yards of the Clyde and Forth could be used for more progressive and peaceful means.

Why not a more modern play of words on the old 'shoe mountain' imagery? Wave turbine mountains? Cheap public transport mountains? Reforesting Scotland mountains? Hospital mountains? Non-PFI school mountains?

'Yes' is only the beginning.

Second boozebus needed for Scottish Labour

With Eric Joyce managing to withdraw his head from his own erse for long enough to stick it on a Tory MP, the once stiff-backed sudger has seen his once 'promising' career finally hit the bottom of the glass. Years of fleecing the public purse either directly via his 'expenses for oil paintings' escapade or indirectly through his frequent indulgence in the subsidised bar in the House of Commons have seen his political fortunes come to resemble his haggard and careworn alcohol-beaten visage.

Labour wait years for a Boozebus and now they all come at once.

Forward with Labour. For..where with...Labour?

The most intriguing thing about it is just what the fluk did the Tory say to deserve such a mauling? I'd like to think that the Tory MP for Pudsey (really), Stuart Andrew called him a 'porridge wog and subsidy junkie who doesn't have the balls to go for independence'. Joyce was so inebriated that forgetting he was a Labour stooge, gave Andrew a hiding that he won't forget anytime soon. Not satisfied with sticking the heid on a Tory he leathered a few of his Labour comrades who came to the defence of the milk-snatcher.

Another angle is that the Welsh and openly gay Andrew is a bit two-faced when it comes to his politics. It seems that over the years he's played for both Hearts and Hibs, politically speaking, and jumped side depending the prevailing mood of the time.

Whatever, its kind of amusing to see the Unionists being so... disunited.

On top of the current Labour meltdown in Glasgow, the Tom Harris idiocy and the failure of several cocksure MSPs to hold their seats at last year's Scottish elections, this would seem to be another nail in Scottish Labour's coffin. The party are bankrupt and redundant on many fronts. The best approach for Scottish Labour is to cut ties with bloated and corrupt London and start again in an independent Scotland. Some have floated the idea of 'Labour for Independence'. Do they have the clachan for it though?

So many devils to sup with...

So, the great horned one has spoken from his British lair in Wapping and apparently declared his support for a 'competitive Scotland'. That could of course mean independence or maybe he's just wishing Craig Levein luck in the national fitba team's encounter with Slovenia next week.

He has however been unequivocal in his praise for Alec Salmond as the best politician in these islands. The other bit-part politicians in the Parish of North Britain have not been pleased and have passed around enough sour grapes between them to make Jeremy Clarkson's haemorrhoids seem few and far between.

Willie 'warmer' Rennie of the Scottish ConDems revelled in the rancid vineyard more than most and said that Murdoch's eight words would not convince 'us' to move forward to a progressive independent Scotland that is not ruled by a minority government of ex-Eton Tories propped up by his party.

Rupert Murdoch is without doubt a grade-A cnut. But, let's face it, an independent Scotland is gonna attract the attention of saints and sinners alike. Scots or those who support our independence are not inherently 'good'. And neither are those who support a conservative and warmongering United Kingdom inherently a bunch of crackpots, Europhobes, Nazis and dinosaurs.

It's still worth casting an eye over Willie Rennie's bedfellows in the fight to 'Keep Brutain United' and to 'Keep Scotland Brutish'. Are they any better or worse than Rupert Murdoch. As ever, Tocasaid lets you - the reader - decide....

The BNP, seen here in former times

The Orange Order - no surrender to progress

Loudmouth bigot, Ian Paisley

Aye, that Ian Paisley

Er... a long-dead and 'metro-sexual' foreign monarch.

Thatcher and friends

Thatcher's apprentice

Oswald Mosely and his British Union of Fascists would approve .

The horny-handed sons of toil in UKIP.

And lastly, Jeremy Clarkson.

The weak in politics

Watching the Labour drones at their 'conference' must leave poor David Icke feeling vindicated in his 'we are ruled by reptiles' theory. Ed Miliband and his Labour Party must be the most uninspiring bunch of wet sanitary towels I've ever seen since the Lib Dems. It may be unkind to say this but Milibland comes across as one of Icke's race of lizards who is desperately trying to get his message across to those of us who don't possess forked tongues and cold blood. I'm not sure about the mental capacities of iguanas but Milibland certainly has a short memory.

Miliband's audience in 'rapt' attention.

Sitting on his sun-warmed boulder at Labour's 'gathering to be lectured', the weird reptilian talked about the need to tackle rogue businessmen who tread on morals and people in order to make a fast buck. Who does he mean, I wonder? Is it Tony Blair, who with Iraqi blood still fresh on his hands, is now coining it on speaking tours while also masquerading as a 'peace envoy' in the Middle East? Or could it be the AlphaMale Dr John Reid? The one and only Baron of Cardowan, alleged sex-pest, fellow Iraqi war-criminal and 'consultant' to Group 4 Security?

Our Kingdom/ Open Democracy sheds some light on the 'nice' and ethical nature of G4S's business:

Given the numerous accounts in these reports of policy breaches, inadequately trained staff and both physical and mental damage caused to detainees while in the care of G4S — not to mention the death of Jimmy Mubenga after ‘restraint’ by G4S last year — it is unsurprising that the company scored so poorly with regard to human rights. 

With regards to ‘political activity’, G4S pays £50,000 a year to former defence secretary John Reid MP (now Lord Reid) for 'strategic advice', an appointment made mere months before G4S were able to secure a lucrative four year MoD contract and while Reid was still a serving MP.

Danny Alexander is bad for the health of Scotland.

While Reid may be a hard-man, the same couldn't be said of the revolting Lib Dem non-entity that is Danny Alexander - he of white-pudding countenance. He's complaining that the Scottish Government spends too much money on vanity projects in the central belt. Does the suet-faced whinger think that we forget the LibDems voting to spend £millions on Edinburgh's farce of a tram project instead of dualing the A9? Perhaps the next time London-based Alexander gets his lard and oats in a fankle over the Scottish Government, he should reflect on why the Lib Dems were reduced to only 5 MSPs at this year's election.

Being reduced to a 'rump' is what could happen to the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - to give it its full name in which it revelled during the anti-Irish mania of the 20th century. The Tories have finally woken up to the fact that their social acceptability in the eyes of the Scottish public is roughly on a par with Fred West, Jimmy Hill and Jeremy Clarkson - all of whom could probably be touted as the new 'Scottish' leader with no discernible fall in ratings.

Scottish Tories unashamedly go for the populist vote.

Strangely enough, the two main 'Unionist' parties in Scotland seem desperate to gain their 'independence' from their masters in London. Surely this situation couldn't possibly work?

Under Blair and Brown's Labour government, the gap between rich and poor widened. The same greedy businessmen who Miliband now derides were often keen to deposit some of their 'fast bucks' into Labour coffers. I don't recall Labour refusing any of it. In the top picture here, we see the main players in English/ UK politics - all of them white, privately educated millionaires. As I've mentioned before, the leaders of the 'radical' far-right alternatives such as UKIP and the BNP are of the same stock. Somehow I just can't see that rich/poor divide narrowing any time soon.

The silver lining in all of this though is that these odious and uninspiring chancers may be the ones who preside over the emergence of an independent and hopefully progressive and egalitarian Scotland.