"Fuck You ISIS"

So I watched a short video tonight by a guy called Mussafil Islam, which seems to have gone viral. And it made me think in a way in which such things normally don't.

And as a result, I want you to ask yourself a question. And that question is: "Am I a racist?".  Or at least, "Am i an Islamophobe?"

Now don't misunderstand me.  I'm no politically-correct "do gooder". I am a white Christian.  And that is not just a convenient label which I use to describe myself.  I don't go to church every week but I do believe in The Christ and am God-fearing.  And I do try to live by the Christian doctrine.  I have serious reservations about immigration and I do worry a great deal about our Christian society being diluted by other faiths.  And,  yes,  I do get angry when I read that I can no longer wear a cross in my own Christian country or display a Christmas tree at work for fear of offending "minority"  faiths.

That now out of the way, I refer back to my original question.  Every time you turn on the TV or radio, no matter how moderate you believe or hope yourself to be,  whenever you hear about another suicide bomb killing tens or hundreds including innocent children, another Lee Rugby hacked to death on the streets of London, another innocent aid worker cruelly and disgracefully beheaded, does not some small part of you not think  "I fucking hate all Muslim murdering bastards"?

I know this to be true.  My formative years were the sixties and seventies.  When I attended small school black and Asian kids were a novelty, if not to be feared.  I remember my parents telling me "don't talk to the coloured boy" (or words to that effect, you fill in the blanks).  Don't judge - that's just how it was.  This was also the time of the Irish "Troubles".  It seemed at the time that every news bulletin carried an item about IRA horrors.  Some will remember well Enniskillen and the Birmingham pub bombings.  I grew up to think that all Catholics are evil murdering bastards or IRA informants.  I carried those prejudices with me for years.  Thirty years or so later, I now know how totally wrong these obscene prejudices were.

I well remember a famous speech by Enoch Powell. He was a horrible racist but at the time I could not help but think his predictions would realise themselves.

I fear the same for modern kids who hear daily on the news of the horrors committed by ISIS, Al Quaeda and the like.  How do they feel about Islam?

Most of us know at least one Muslim.  I admit I don't know many but have met more.  And, despite my earlier-voiced reservations, i believe that, by and large, they are all fine, decent, upstanding citizens.  I have enough faith in my own judgement of character to know this to be true.

Ours is a forward-thinking, modern society, admired throughout the world, of which we should be proud.  I have no desire to see it ripped apart by the " Rivers of Blood" of which Mr Powell spoke.

So well said Mr Islam.  I hope white Christians listen and take note.

Thoughts on Some of the Key Players in "The Scottish Campaign"

If you have bothered to visit this site it is highly likely that you already know me and my stance on the Independence issue.  If, by some very unlikely chance, you have strayed here randomly, you should know where I'm coming before reading further.  I am in the "Better Together" camp, but with some real reservations and by no means as firmly as I was previously.

So,  on the eve of this historic referendum, here are some last minute thoughts on the key players...

ALEX SALMOND
"The Fat Fish". The Ace of Spades.
It goes without saying that I am not a fan.  However, I will concede that, with a few exceptions - most notably the unfurling of The Saltyre behind Cameron's head at Andy Murrays Wimbledon final (immature in the extreme and a total embarrassment for all involved) - he has run an exemplary campaign. 
He is an extremely effective politician.  The polls speak for themselves; to narrow the gap from a mere 30% voting Yes at the start to 50/50 now. You really can't argue with that.
He has worked tirelessly, especially given his weight and age, around the clock and spoken largely carefully and well without resorting too much to insult and denigration.  He is a passionate, if egotistical, man, who seems to really believe in his mission.
I don't agree with much of what he says but I do kind of admire him.  The right man for the job.

ALASTAIR DARLING
"The Colonel in Chief"
A nice man with odd eyebrows.  Fundamentally decent. I like him and agree with pretty much everything he says on this subject.  Sadly, he is largely ineffective (much as he was as Chancellor of the Exchequer).  If "No Thanks" lose it will be largely down to him. As the addage goes, he has snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

NICOLA STURGEON
"Fishy Fanny". The Ace of Diamonds.
This vile, egotistical, shouty, racist and forceful woman has absolutely no redeeming qualities but does seem to appeal to those more extreme "Yes" voters.
The worrying thing is that it is rumoured that if "Yes" win then Salmond will step down to make way for her.
I truly despise this woman and want her dead.

DAVID CAMERON
"The Old Etonian"
Our PM and effective at home. A slimy individual whom I instinctively dislike, even though I am a Tory and agree with most of what he says in domestic, international and Scottish politics. The trouble is, I don't feel I can trust him and the Scots certainly feel that way.
Every time he opens his mouth on the independence question or ventures North of the border he is counterproductive.  Doesn't he realise that all Scots, whichever side of the fence they stand on hate the Conservative Party and Westminster?  He should simply just shut the fuck up.
His last minute bribes to retain the union have only angered Scotland and the rUK alike.
If Scotland split on Friday he will go.

SEAN CONNERY
"James Bond"
A National treasure. The second best Bond ever. A very attractive and charismatic old fella. Looks good in a kilt (who doesn't?).
Irritating in the extreme when he starts spouting the nationalist bollox, which he has been doing for years.
He should shut up and stay the fuck out of politics.

DAVID MILLIBAND
"The Wrong Milliband"
What a complete buffoon!  Totally ineffective in everything he does.  He will lose the next general election for Labour and is no better on the Scottish front.  Less than useless and, like Cameron, does more harm than good whenever he ventures forth into Scotland.
I can't recall him saying anything worthwhile on the whole issue.
And he looks like an ape when he eats bacon sarnies!

GORDON BROWN
"The Cavalry"
Shat on by Tony Blair, this guy never really had a chance to shine as PM. He came in at the wrong time and failed miserably.
YET WHAT A COMPLETE REVELATION HE HAS BEEN!
This man is a true old fashioned, no spin, honest and genuine politician in the mould of Tony Benn (I never agreed with any if his socialist policies but totally admired him).
Gordon Brown has spoken passionately, coherently and succinctly whilst treading very carefully in order to upset no-one. He is a warm person who is clearly a proud Scot AND Brit. 
The sad fact is that he was brought in far too late.  He should have lead from the front from the very start.  Had he been in charge of "No Thanks" instead of Darling then we would not be at the crisis point we are now.
I salute you, Mr Brown.

NICK CLEGG
"The Twat"
Who he????

BILLY CONNELY
"The Big Yin"
Funny!

"YES" - THE REST
See Nick Clegg.

It's down to the folk of Scotland now.  No more campaigning.  Think hard about what all the above have had to say and, when you stand with pencil poised, make the right decision for you, for Scotland and the whole of our great nation!

Good luck and may the best and most righteous side win!

MH17 - The worst possible scenario

For those who died aboard flight MH17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, I am sure the worst possible scenario has already been realised.

None can imagine the pure horror that these poor people went through as their seats were torn from the fuselage and they plummeted 33000 feet, not only alive but very likely still conscious, for a full eight minutes.

And what of the friends and family? They can only pray that their son, daughter, father, mother or whoever was one of the ”lucky” ones who died instantly as the missile hit.

And yet, for the rest of us, far, far worse could yet be still to come.

The perpetrator of this crime, this act of terrorism, this act of war, must be brought to justice.  It now seems to be an almost certainty that pro-Russian rebels shot the plane down. But just who is the perpetrator? Who is tried and, somewhat unsatisfactorily, sent to jail or the rope? 
The soldier who pulled the trigger? Who took orders from his immediate superior? Who took orders from his? Who took orders from the leader of the rebels? Who was, in turn, given the power, blessing and wherewithal to carry out this act by the man who supplied the weapon?  Ultimately the real villain of the piece becomes the terrifying monster who is the bastard Vladimir Putin.

So where do the West go from here?
Or next step is to impose sanctions.  But to what end?  What do we hope to achieve with these?  And whose economy suffers more as a result of them?  Remember that Russia controls the gas pipeline to Europe.

So the sanctions achieve nothing.   But that in itself is no surprise.  To quote The Bard: "nothing will come of nothing" .  Our next step (to achieve what?): Drone support to the Ukraine government.

Russia supplies the rebels with the means to negate these drones.  So,  (hoping to achieve what exactly?), the West gives full air support.  Russia responds with the Same.

So,  you know where this is going - or next futile step is ground troops.  Russia has many times our capacity in this area, plus Ukraine is on the doorstep.  They overwhelm the West.

Who gets pissed off the most first?  Does Putin say "fuck this, I've had enough of these irritating bastards"  or do Obama, Cameron, et al say "too many casualties but we can't back down now"

It matters not.  The Button is pressed and all hell breaks loose.

Let us all pray that, on this occasion, my opinion is very wrong.  Putin should spend the rest of his miserable days in a Siberian labour camp,  but, at the same time, let us hope that pragmatism prevails and the West exercise restraint.

I would rather see one evil bastard go scot free than see the world (and me) be vaporised or die of rad sickness.

Whatever happens, hold onto your hats. From the likes of the fate of MH17 world wars start.  It's gonna be a bumpy ride.  Let's hope we get to the end of the road in one piece.

Or even one peace.

Thom Yorke and Spotify

While watching Riffs at The BBC on BBC 4 last night.  It occurred to me what a miserable dirge Thom Yorke's music really is.  He is a massively overrated artist and, this being the case, surely he should be doing all he possibly can to increase his audience, not shun them.

And yet, he will not allow Spotify to carry his music.  He should put his bolox up there so that the audience can refuse to listen to his music, rather than being denied it.

Yorke is in good company with The Beatles here, of course and, to be fair, I miss neither.  But AC/DC are an all-time favourite and I wish they would climb down from their high horse and put their full catalogue up there.

I can only assume that this is some kind of unfounded arrogance by these artistes. Some claim that Spotify and other streaming services do not reward bands sufficiently but, if this is the case, then why does nearly everyone else go with this model?  Even Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd have recently succumbed.  Many people, like me, used to maybe treat themselves to buying one CD per month but now, pay Spotify Premium in order to stream a wider variety of music on demand instead. It is sad (in the case of AC/DC anyway) that we are then denied some corners of the music world.

These people should embrace new technology and the new way in which people access music.  I think that record sales of all kinds will disappear and that streaming services are the future.  These luddites risk being left behind.

And on the subject of how sufficiently they get paid?  Already artists acknowledge that record sales do not pay well enough and that, in order to survive, they must play live and tour.  I believe that this is as it should be.  Music is designed to be heard live.  It's just sad that once musicians get a decent following the price to see them live is often prohibitive.