Derby Day Disaster - for Hibernian!

BBC Report

Some things can become a habit, alcohol, drug taking, and Heart of Midlothian beating the Hibs! Once again we went with a squad that had failed miserably last weekend, a squad struggling for form this season, although clearly revitalised by Jim Jeffries return. Hibs had of course begun the season with one of their rare 'blips.' beating all comers at home and away they began to indulge delusions of grandeur as the fans actually talked of 'splitting the old firm.' The only things to be split were the sides found on Hearts fans! Naturally by Christmas the signs were there, winning against the run of play, fans unhappy with attitudes and performances, and inevitably the post Xmas slide. The 'Big Team' meanwhile had found an ability to fight for survival under Big Jim and took their place in the top six. In spite of a lack of experienced forwards the club has achieved results and the win at Easter Road was to be expected.

Dougie MacDonald, in my view the best referee in Scotland, unfortunately is known to support Hibernian and in previous games there has grown up a 'suspicion' that he allows them benefits unavailable to the Heart of Midlothian. I have come to perceive this is not true, however in the best tradition of Scots referees our Dougie gave Hibernian a penalty clearly unwarranted, at least it looked that way on the radio! Non of the commentators considered a penalty ought to have been awarded and as a result Hibernian took a one goal lead, against the run of play. (You BOO! at this point)  However our boys behaved as Hearts players always do in such circumstances, we just got on with the game. A substitution or two and before long we found the wee man Elliot laying the ball back to our man Suso Sentana and the Spaniard scored our deserved equaliser. (You may cheer at this point) It was not long before the natural order of things resulted. In the 88th minute a mistake from the Hibernian goalkeeper, something Hibernian goalkeepers are famed for, allowed the mighty Obua to tap the winning goal over the line! (You may cheer and jump about and 'wave' at Hibs fans as they leave the ground at this point!)  Once again the Heart of Midlothian defeat Hibernian. 

The Edinburgh Derby, Belonging to the Heart of Midlothian since 1875!

Brooks Newmark

It was clear today that an election is near. The towns MP was wandering about with his lackeys handing out 'Vote for ME!' leaflets and lots of false smiles. His lackeys, each and everyone dressed 'Tory style' bore their rosettes with pride, as you would when you have a three thousand majority and thanks to boundary changes you will possess a six to ten thousand majority on Friday morning. He at least understand football and after living in Newcastle became a true fan of Newcastle United! Not bad for an American! (Being a Yank explains his strange name I suppose!) I came across a quote this week that appears relevant, "People never lie so much as after a hunt, during a war, or before an election," and Otto von Bismark should know! Debating with a politician is like trying to hold oil in your hand, slippery and non co-operative! Oil of course does not give you half truths and a 'pass the buck' attitude however. Anyway I almost missed them as the sun being out meant that in spite of the chill wind that blew the girls all dressed for the beach! One badly placed lampost near the junction had several men walking into when looking at things bouncing past them. I bumped into one or two myself, although that was no accident. Watching reflections in shop windows is an old trick......

Thursday

FreeFoto

The main result of the dubious 'Prime Minister's Debate' has been to watch the Right wing press launch an attack on the otherwise forgotten Lib Dems! Normally Clegg and his party would be tolerated as the ones who finish third, obtain a few seats, and are largely ignored. Since the first debate when Clegg's image was given a great boost 'Dave' Cameron and his press have been running scared. Cameron thought he would soon be prime minister, now he realises he might lose! What to do? Well one thing is to promise everything to everyone, which is normal, but 'Dave'' is getting a bit anxious about this, and another is to get the press to work on the enemy. Up till the first debate Brown was the one insulted daily by Mr Cameron's backers, now all has changed.

'The Daily Mail' has at least two items daily on the online page attacking Nick Clegg. He is just as much a 'Toff' as 'Dave' they cry, he has fiddled his expenses (like Dave maybe?) and if there is a whiff of sin then it will be trumpeted aloud! 'Dave' himself is of course represented as doing the right thing at all times although even the 'Mail' points out his faults occasionally, less so now he is in trouble of course.  Many of those who comment on the articles point out his failures and their desire to vote UKIP (the racists in suits) or BNP (the racists in cheap suits). 'The Times,' part of Rupert Murdoch's empire, follows slavishly the 'Dirty Digger's' desire to support 'Dave' partly because the 'Times'  thought 'Dave' would win at a canter, but mostly because these good NUJ members put their jobs before their principles (as if a journalist had principles!). The 'Mail' also has Clegg attacking Brown, even if he doesn't realise he is doing this, but it all helps to ensure that the reader knows Cameron and his lackey's are the ones to vote for. Whether newspapers, and I use that word loosely, whether newspapers actually have an effect on voting patterns I am not sure. TV images clearly do, and like John F. Kennedy in the early 60's it is clear the nation (and to the surprise of many this does include Scotland and Wales, although the English media have along with one Scottish (Tory voting) judge have failed to notice this) has taken to the 'Lib Dems' and may even pull off a shock result. Indeed they might, and it remains as 'might' have an influence on the make up of the next cabinet! If a 'hung parliament' (and hands up all those who wish to hang parliamentarians? I thought so!) occurs then who knows who will be the next PM? Whoever it is there is no doubt the nation, and I mean all of it, is in a mess indeed. Morally corrupted by wealth and secular liberalism and heavily in debt, the next few years will be difficult for any Prime Minister, worse for whichever one of this lot takes over.

A teacher has been cleared of attempted murder and grievous bodily harm. The recipient of his wrath was a 14 year old brat who, along with his classmates, had deliberately taunted the poor man on several occasions, knowing that he had been suffering from stress. One even filmed the taunting on her mobile phone! Having had enough when the boy told him to "Fuck off," the teacher dragged him outside and laid into him with a 3k weight. GOOD ON HIM I SAY! Naturally the police had to treat the kid 'sensitively, in spite of his many brushes with authority previously. The teacher they locked up!

However today the jury returned a "Not Guilty" verdict WITHIN TWO HOURS! The judge will sum up in a couple of weeks time. Had we a sensible judge he would wish the kids to be prosecuted, the police , the head teacher and the Education Authority sacked, and ensure the return of the Lochgelly Tawse into schools. That is the only way to control adolescents! There is no other way!

Thursday

Fantastic news today! A volcano in Iceland has crashed through a glacier and sent vast amounts of ash high into the atmosphere. This is good news! OK it's not good news for those who find their air flights have been cancelled because of the danger to aircraft but it has one outstanding effect, it took the election off the front page!

Instead of half truths and desperate promises we had passengers wandering around airports shrugging shoulders and murmuring, "Can't be helped," and wondering what to do. Airports of course are not places where clear information is ever offered. Good stuff I say!

As I write three men are offering a very stage managed and unreal 'Leaders debate' on telly. 'Domestic Issues' in England at least, the Scots don't matter to the English except where their cash is concerned it seems. I had decided not to watch this as we are all aware of what's on offer and this will make nothing clearer. So far it has been as expected, although all three do appear as stuffed dummies on this absurd presentation. Only daft folks will consider this to make any difference. If we are lucky a large dollop of ash might crash through the ceiling and cover them all and at least make watching this worth while.

Politics and Independence

Election fever has arisen, not in the nation but in the media! From dawn till night the news channels have forgotten the rest of the world while they blether away to politicians, other journalists and, on occasion the public. Sadly most of the public appeared indifferent. Isn't it a fact that while in Iraq, and some other places, people will queue up for hours and in circumstances of great danger just to vote! Meanwhile in the west we only vote in numbers if there is a major crisis at hand. The problem with the UK is that there are no major political clashes to be found, both Labour and Conservative have somewhat similar outlooks regarding the problems of the day. While their handling of those problems differs it is clear that the UK needs to manage the economy first and foremost and whoever is in charge things will be difficult. The word 'poverty' today rarely has the meaning it had in the 1930's, and folks like me are struggling it has to be said, yet the vast majority of the population are more worried about their weight or who will kill who on 'Eastenders!' Many are struggling of course, but few are starving. Therefore the majority look upon the election with a dull sadness, believing that whoever wins it will not help nor affect them much. This is sad.

When I became 18 and was able to vote I could not wait to race along and put my cross beside the name of the losing Scottish Nationalist candidate! Alas in our area he was always destined to lose! Today it has been suggested lowering the voting age to 16 in an effort to increase the numbers voting. Dearie me, how desperate is that?  The recent scandals in which MPs have been found misusing the expenses system to fill their pockets, sometimes to the tune of thousands of pound, (or in one case to clean out his moat! Jings, Crivvens, help ma boab!) has not helped the cause of democracy. Only the other day four Labour and one Tory MP were found by a newspaper ruse willing to 'lobby' for a fictional Lobby group, one of three ex Blairite cabinet members, requesting a fee of between £3-5000 a DAY! After the crooked MPs were revealed over a hundred decided to 'stand down' at this election. The fact that this means they get a good pay off aids their hurt feelings. Poor things.

So what will we find? Lots of talk, lots of pointing fingers, lots of accusations of "His fault," and rebuttals of "Toff." and such like. Brown the experienced economic master, he says, desperate to win an election, against the desperate to be PM 'Dave,' the Eton educated 'toff' with his Eton educated shadow chancellor who appears to have as much understanding of money as I do, and I'm well broke! There is a real chance the English, but not many others, will run of to vote for the 'British National Party,' (BNP) a racist organisation, or the 'United Kingdom Independence Party,' (UKIP) a racist party in suits who want to bring back the empire and remove us from the EU. Both these groups will gain a lot of votes if not seats. The Liberal Democrats will of course continue as always, in third place. What do they stand for? I don't know either, whatever they say means little anyhow.

So with 'Dave' chanting 'Change' at every opportunity in his Obama like attempt to win, and Gordon growling through a false smile attempting to convince us to choose his his politically correct party, (note how Harriet Harman is always kept off the screen out of the way when elections are on) and while Nick Clegg is wasting time and needs to find himself a life,the rest of us must endure this democratic election through gritted teeth. Some are full of zeal from this 'exciting' election, I am filled with dullness. I want to vote effectively, although the Conservative will win easily in this constituency, and I am unable to vote Scottish Nationalist, and in the end it will affect us all, but for the foreseeable future not much will change, no matter who wins. That in itself is sad.   

On this day, in 1320 the Declaration of \Arbroath was signed by the Scottish nobles. This declaration was sent to Pope John XXII to inform him of their determination to maintain Scotlands independence from the imperialist neighhbour down south. For many years the tyrant bully Edward I had attempted, and failed, to make Scotland his. This was a declaration to make it clear to one and all that Scotland would bow the knee to nobody!  One of the most important expressions of freedom is found in this document, written in Latin in the old Abbey at Arbroath, the real threat of England had just been halted by the noble King Robert I and the Scots spirit shines through these words herein.

"But from these countless evils we have been set free, by the help of Him Who though He afflicts yet heals and restores, by our most tireless Prince, King and Lord, the Lord Robert. He, that his people and his heritage might be delivered out of the hands of our enemies, met toil and fatigue, hunger and peril, like another Macabaeus or Joshua and bore them cheerfully. Him, too, divine providence, his right of succession according to or laws and customs which we shall maintain to the death, and the due consent and assent of us all have made our Prince and King. To him, as to the man by whom salvation has been wrought unto our people, we are bound both by law and by his merits that our freedom may be still maintained, and by him, come what may, we mean to stand.

Yet if he should give up what he has begun, and agree to make us or our kingdom subject to the King of England or the English, we should exert ourselves at once to drive him out as our enemy and a subverter of his own rights and ours, and make some other man who was well able to defend us our King; for, as long as but a hundred of us remain alive, never will we on any conditions be brought under English rule. It is in truth not for glory, nor riches, nor honours that we are fighting, but for freedom -- for that alone, which no honest man gives up but with life itself."

It is to be regretted that their hopes were dashed by English economic strangulation in 1707 and the nation of 'Great Britain' created. It is much more to be regretted that the English never joined it! Had they done so a powerful happy nation was possible. However they blew the opportunity and thought they could treat the Scots as inconsequential. A bad mistake. So the line that still sits in the hearts of many was not fulfilled, however it is always worth repeating, "for as long as but a hundred of us remain alive, never will we on any conditions be brought under English rule," and don't you forget it! You will note also that 'Robert is King of Scots' not King of Scotland! The Scots nobles made it clear that if the king was to fail he would be democratically removed! The people were his, not their lands!

This declaration has inspired many others to maintain their freedom and Americans often claim it was the basis of their own Declaration of Independence' also from English rule. How many other nations have rejected English rule I wonder.....? 

Read the full declaration here Declaration of Arbroath  (would you believe this is an American site!

Election

So voting time has come again! This time our democratic system allows us the privilege of voting for a variety of unknown persons who wish to 'represent us' at 'County Hall' as members of the County Council. We also have the opportunity to select one of the fifteen parties who wish to represent us at the 'cash cow' that is the European Parliament. Oh joy!

So early this morning, with the sun shining brightly and the chill east wind blowing right up my trouser leg I sallied forth to obey my democratic duty. As I sauntered past the contents of a takeaway chicken dinner left by one of last nights less thoughtful revellers and kicked the green glass from another broken beer bottle into the gutter in an offhand manner I cogitated on the lack of information available concerning our hopeful contestants. Consider this, I am to choose one from a dozen names for the European election, and I know absolutely nothing about any of them! Fair enough there has been at least one five minute 'Party Political Broadcast' for most,if not all, of them, but this does not appear to me to inform us sufficiently regarding the individuals concerned with lining their poc, I mean serving the nation. Whether the slime balls who appear in such, nowadays often glossy, programmes actually tell us what their real objectives are is of course debatable. This means we cannot vote regarding the individual standing, only the party they represent. I consider this poor form. Surely the individual is more important than their party? Far too many vote for, or against, a party leaving themselves a man (surely it must be a man?) who may be rubbish at his job. Only when the candidates are much of a muchness should the party policy be important. What information we have we glean from leaflets through the door, and in our case a short 'pen picture' of the Council candidates in the local rag. There is NO information regarding the Euro contestants

There were leaflets through the door. The Conservative gave me at least three, each featuring his fat smug face and informing me of his quality while remaining silent regarding any expenses fiddle he may have undertaken while serving on the Council so far. The Labour man, his main opponent, only sent one leaflet, in an envelope, personally addressed to me and my neighbours. What a waste of space that is! The name labels (it used to be hand written envelopes) are attached to envelopes then pushed through letterboxes wasting time and insulting the intelligence of the householder. Do they expect us to vote for someone because a name is on an envelope? It certainly shows a disregard for cost and wastes much time, and that speaks volumes for the party concerned. Either way it matters not, both Tory and Labour put the leaflets for the 'Centre' district candidate through the door but this house is covered by the 'Eastern' region, so as well as wasting time and money they do not even know the voting boundaries very well! I will vote for their efficiency won't I?

There was a leaflet from the 'English Democrats,' one of the many racist parties formed in England today. Also one from the 'Green' party, the lunatic element of the Liberals of old. UKIP, (United Kingdom Independence Party,) the right wing Empire loving element of the Conservative party managed a leaflet, one of the parties who say "Fog in the Channel, the continent isolated!" Claiming to represent the UK they naturally care only for England. Of course the BNP also managed a leaflet, one which ignored the Nazi element and concentrated on 'British jobs for British workers. Their advert for this featured a picture of American workers, but never mind that eh? Naturally all these leaflets were more concerned with the County Council election and not the European one although I suppose it covers both.

On this occasion there were several others also casting their votes. In times past I have walked alone through that hall, heels echoing round the auditorium, with every eye behind the desk on me alone, each wondering what would go wrong with this one? On one occasion in London, just as I was about to enter the booth to vote a bedraggled woman came out from behind the small curtain then used to hide the voter and asked, "Where do I put my cross?" I was about to say, "In the pro-cycling, Anti-smoking, Men's Liberation Party," but I noticed the eyes at the desk looking towards us, heavy with weariness at yet another brain dead creature with the right to elect our representatives. Voting alone in the local election is something else. If so few vote is it no wonder the local Councils are filled with such self servers or incompetents? So I was glad I was not alone this time. I was surprised to be given such a long voting slip as I had not realised there were fifteen to choose from at that time. The Council election only had six, and that was easy enough but deciding from fifteen in such a small cubicle is disconcerting! Just who were

'Animal Count,' 'Jury Team,' 'United Kingdom First,' 'Libertas.EU,' 'No2EU:Yes to Democracy?' I was aware of 'The English Democrats,' and 'The Christian Party,' and those parties already mentioned but I had never heard of some of these! One man stood as an independent! What a way to throw good money away! The friendly staff were actually enjoying work, a change from the local council office from where they were borrowed I suppose. I put my crosses in the appropriate places, forced the papers into the box, smiled at all around, that worried them, and strolled out into the sunshine content that my democratic citizens duty had been accomplished. The small matter of neither of my choices actually getting in placed a small cloud on the day but that is nothing unusual I suppose. Normally I select carefully at elections however at one council election I voted for a chap I had seen often in 'The Goblet' in Rose Street. I knew he was into politics as he had been seen with the rest of his crowd at a strike in Rosyth which had absolutely nothing to do with them. It must be stated that Gordon Brown was one of this crowd, although I didn't know it at the time. Maybe I ought to have sent him a note saying 'I have the photos!' I suppose I would have ended up in Guatamano Bay if I had.

Soon we will be doing this again, this time for the big one. Our Gordon will declare a general election next Spring unless the backbenchers 'stab him in the back to his face' as one footballer once complained of a manager doing. Certainly the results will go against him today, and there is no doubt the greedy parliamentarians will have lost the Tories many votes also paving the way for the lunatic fringe to step up. One suspects that the thuggish racists of the BNP will find itself in a reasonable position this time tomorrow. Dearie me, roll on the next time I place my cross!

Elections

Naturally, when I awoke yesterday morning I was looking forward to a US Election less day. However the first thing on the news was the Glenrothes by election! here colour did not matter even if the Labour Party are run by an English government, no one hates the imperialist, domineering, vile, thugs, instead Scotland just wants its correct place in the world and to be treated equally in the Union, or else end it. There were no long queues waiting for hours, and certainly not in that rain, and no confusing election papers required, just put an 'X' in the box next to your man's name and there, your done! The media thought this important enough to fill the day with English based commentators telling us what this means for Scotland, but mostly Gordon Brown. Thanks a bunch, now can we go on? Well no actually.

The by election was seen as a chance for the Scottish National party to win another seat at Westminster just so they could unsettle Prime Minister Gordon Brown, and get up the nose of the Englishmen found in the House of Commons. They are unhappy that Scots should vote on English issues, but ignore the voting on Scots ones which have gone on in that place for three hundred years now. By the way 'Hypocrite' is a word not allowed under House of Commons rules. Anyway what chance had the Nationalists got at Glenrothes? Situated in the 'Kingdom of Fife,' an area famed for its coal, mines have been worked here since the sixteen hundreds, and staunchly Labour for much off that time. In 1935 Wullie Gallagher was elected the M.P for West Fife, and became one of only two Communist members of parliament! He was elected member for East Fife in 1945 but lost out in the 1950 elections. The mines were dreadful places to work in the early years of the twentieth century, my uncles worked down there and never allowed their sons to follow them, they were forced into a trade of any description to avoid 'going down the pit.' Naturally the Independant Labour Party and the Communists were strong in Cowdenbeath where they lived, and a fair equality for all was the watchword, and reflected they way they lived. Doors were never locked in mining villages and towns. The mine owners were greedy hard hearted men and the general strike of 1926 left mining towns bereft for six long months. Winston Churchill was the man responsible for bringing the strike to an end, although fellow members of the Trades Union Congress had run back to work within a very short time, and even Churchill began to hate the mine owners. At that time he suggested nationalising the mines, an idea rejected by his fellow cabinet members, but when back in power in 1950 he made no attempt at denationalisation. No 'Thatcherite' was Churchill, he believed the workers ought to be well treated unlike the mad Baroness!

With such a history throughout Fife it leaves a mark and there was little chance of the SNP actually winning. Good work by Labour brought a result, rain kept others indoors, and a fear that the breakup of the Union may not pay worried others. I note today that the media are struggling for any worth while news. They will be glad the football is on and that can fill up the spaces!