BRITISH PARTIES REFERENDUM REFUSAL INDICATES THEIR FEAR

Quality letter which hits the nail on the head. JOE


Referendum role (Recent letter in the Scotsman)


The dropping of legislation to hold a referendum on Scottish independence (Comment, 6 September) can surely not be a setback for SNP credibility.


Rather, it must be interpreted as terror on the part of the Unionist parties.


Otherwise, why should they show their fear by opposing the chance to allow the Scottish people the opportunity to show they preferred independence to continued London rule?


Were this not so, they would be eager to back a referendum that would allow the Scots to oppose a second Battle of Bannockburn that would win their freedom again.


ANDY MACPHERSON


Trinity Crescent
Edinburgh

SCOTS INDEPENDENCE - BUILDING A MOVEMENT FOR YES!

Building a Movement for Yes!

Saturday 28 November 2009

10.30 – 6.00 @ Out of the Blue

As the plans for a referendum on Scottish independence are announced a gathering looking at why we need a Yes vote and what are the positive visions for an independent Scotland?

Media, Communication and the Union 11.00 – 12.30

Pat Kane on The Democratic Interact: the challenges of social media to Scottish Self -Determination. Pat is a musician, blogger, author, columnist and has been involved in the politics of independence from Scotland United days. More at The Play Ethic.

Joe Middleton on Why Scottish Independence Matters. Joe is a member of the Scottish National Party, the creator of the Scottish Independence Guide website and Press Officer of Independence First, the referendum campaign.

Shona McAlpine on We Can’t Win It Without Them – Enthusing the Under 30s. Shona McAlpine is an SNP activist and manages the Scottish Independence Convention’s website. Professionally she is a Secondary Computing teacher and has also been a nightclub and bar manager.

Peace & Alternative Futures 1.00 – 3.00 pm

Janet Fenton on How Scottish Women Might Disarm the UK Government. Janet started co-ordinating the Edinburgh Peace & Justice Centre after lots of political, feminist theatre, community arts and direct action, and a few years with a community eco-shop/gallery/drop-in project in Portobello.

Justin Kenrick on Self-determination as an assertion of interdependence: restoring resilience to communities, societies and ecosystems. Justin teaches at the Sustainability Institute at St Andrews University and is the co-ordinator of the Holyrood 350 Campaign.

Economics and Outlook with Scottish Left Review & Our Kingdom 3.30 – 5.30 pm
Gerry Hassan on The End of Britain. Gerry is the author of The Modern SNP from Protest to Power (EUP) and is a columnist for Our Kingdom

Robin McAlpine on Imagined Futures. Robin is editor of Scottish Left Review and co-author of Is There a Scottish Road to Socialism?

This event is free – all welcome.




http://bellacaledonia.wordpress.com/

LET SCOTLAND DECIDE - SIGN THE PETITION

GOOD RIDDENCE TO POMPOUS IRRELEVANT BRIT MING

Steve Bell summed up Ming's political future with this cartoon.

In a media obsessed age any personal faults are magnified. Ming might have been clever but he came across as pompous and his love for the Britain that he represented at the Olympics was out of place in modern Scotland.

His leadership has led the Scottish Lib Dems into the political wilderness with their undemocratic disdain for a referendum on Scottish independence, while at the same time demanding one on the EU. (the Tories are hypocrites in this area as well).

Dynamic politicians have charisma and earn respect no matter what their age is. Age might have been the excuse to get rid of him but the reality was that Campbell wasn't an effective leader of his party. Also, his own attempts to draw attention away from his age - claiming recently that he had 'married a young turk himself' were cringeworthy.

Since Labour have moved to the right and the Tories have moved to the left (marginally) both are attempting to occupy the voter friendly, politically muddled ''centre ground'.

In this situation the Lib Dems become irrelevant because they can't seriously compete with the 'big two'. In Scotland the SNP are a much more logical alternative to Labour and the Tories.

This leads to the question, what is the point of the Lib Dems? The answer is not a lot and they would be as well to throw their lot in entirely with the Labour party who they kept afloat in Scotland for many years. Those genuine home rulers who would balk at Labour's unionism (there doesn't seem to be a lot of them left given the non-reaction to the blocking of an indy referendum) could then move over to the much more relevant SNP.