DEPRESSING MEETINGS

Today at lunch time it was a meeting with young parents whose nursery is under threat of closure by the SNP/Lib. Dem. Cabal who now run Renfrewshire Council.
The council have decided that they can save a little money by closing St. Fergus Nursery, the parents are at a loss to understand why when pre school education is so vital, this is one of the poorest areas there is and the council are about to make them suffer more.
Children from poor backgrounds need more help and encouragement to achieve not less, but they are the most vulnerable so the SNP/Lib. Dems. target them, they are shameless.

Tonight I will chair a meeting attended by another group of vulnerable people who are being targeted by this shower who are now in power, this time it’s the elderly.
If it’s not vulnerable infants it’s their great grand parents who are being treated like second class citizens by Renfrewshire’s SNP/Lib. Dem. Leaders.

Those who stay in sheltered accommodation are having their warden service cut, this time it’s a fete accompli there will be no consultation, what would you expect from this bunch of cowards. There will be frightened, vulnerable people there tonight who will be asking what is going to happen to them.
If you had an elderly relative in sheltered accommodation how would you feel if the council decided to remove the overnight warden and replace her/him with an alarm ? That’s what is going to happen, vulnerable possibly distressed elderly people will be in danger of having to work an alarm if they are in trouble during the night rather than call the warden.

The people responsible for this decision, (the council administration) are actually saying that while there will be no night warden and the number of wardens will be cut as well as the elderly having now to pay for this, the service will improve ! You decide, is this credible ? Are those in charge completely without any decency ?

SNP THREAT TO OAKSHAW OBSERVATORY

The advent of Winter brings many changes. Some for the worse such as cold wet weather traffic chaos and, more importantly, abandoned football matches. But, and this time it is a good but, some for the better because this is the time of year where sky gazing is at its most rewarding. On a clear night the stars and planets put on a dazzling display which mankind cannot match and it’s all for free. All you need do is glance up at the sky. Better still if you can find a place that doesn’t suffer from light pollution or blot out the lights by raising your hand to the side of your eye as this causes a dramatic difference - try it and see.

Two weeks ago I was reading about a visiting comet which was visible to the naked eye in the north eastern sky. Despite travelling at thousands of miles per minute this comet remained visible for several weeks and never seemed to move, thus emphasising its size and distance from Earth.

Incredibly this comet up until recently was only visible through a powerful telescope. The theory is that something catastrophic happened such as a mighty collision or an explosion which suddenly made it visible to the naked eye -fascinating stuff.

Anyway the bad news is that the world famous Oakshaw Observatory could be being run down. Its traditional access from Oakshaw street has been closed and visitors have to find their way to the main door of the museum and request a visit to the Observatory. They are given no assistance or instruction on how to do this. Worried Buddies are concerned that this is the thin end of the wedge and the latest underhand cut back by the SNP/ Lib Dem administration. This is an act of cultural vandalism and they ought to be ashamed.

I visited the Observatory before and used the telescope when it was trained on Saturn. What I saw was breathtaking. There were the famous ‘rings of Saturn’ as clear as a bell. Exactly the same as they were in my “Dan Dare” comic all those years ago. An unforgettable experience - would the SNP dare close it?

THE PUNCHER V THE BOXER

Even the weather gods seemed to favour the home team, by the time Scotland and Italy took the field at Hampden it had been 'raining stair rods' for hours in Glasgow.
The Scots are much more used to these conditions, they make it easier for players who are not so good (Scots) to stop players who are (Italians) that staple of the Scottish game the 'sliding tackle' comes to the fore on these occasions and it did here.

The weather along with a ferocious determination to compete by Scotland produced a fantastic match, despite losing a goal in the first two minutes the Scots. kept the game alive right to the end, some achievement when you are facing the world champions who significantly had everything to play for, this was a tremendous performance and one that can be built on.

But, there is always a but isn't there, the positives from the game have IMO been undermined by the hysterical whinging reaction of the Scottish press who went right over the top 'we wuz robbed' 'the linesman was a crook' etc. absolute garbage which makes Scotland look ridiculous, had this linesman got everything right the score would still have been Scotland 0 Italy 2 as he wrongly disallowed an Italian goal and wrongly awarded the Scottish goal.

Everyone associated with the team deserve praise and they behaved with dignity, is it too much to ask our press to do the same ?

At least England are still in it and I'm looking forward to seeing them go through tonight, they are persecuted by an even worse press than Scotland and it would be nice to see the team and their beleaguered manager triumph, I believe that if England go through they will immediately become a 'dark horse' to win it, I'm sure you will join me in wishing them the best of luck.

A NEW SCOTTISH LANGUAGE SALMONDSPEAK

The SNP want to promote Gaelic while at the same time destroying English.
When is a thousand not a thousand ? when Salmond says 'a thousand policemen' that's when, when is a promise to reduce class sizes not a promise to reduce class sizes ? when Salmond says it, that's when, when is a promise to wipe out student debt not a promise to wipe out student debt ? when Salmond says it, that's when, when is a promise of £2,000 to new home buyers not a promise of £2,000 to new home buyers ? when it is said by Salmond, that's when.

What is two + two Mr. Salmond ? answer, 'weeellll it depends on how you look at it doesn't it' This man is a charlatan, he is the Arthur Daly of politics and we are stuck with him.

We would be better without any Govt. rather than this but, wow ! 'soft, what light from yonder is this' he rides to the rescue, with one bound he is free and glory of glories so are we, this time it's, wait for it, it's the year 2017, independence, it's official Salmond (for first minister) said it therefore it must be true, what do you mean 'this is the third time he's said it' no one remembers that, do they ?


Following Swinney's budget can we now put to rest this nonsense about the left of centre SNP, those kilted warriors for socialist independence, where are they ? where is the dissent ? not a word, where are the Bravehearts ?

Are we to believe that all members of the SNP are on board with this Tory budget, how do they keep all the sheep in line, did they get rid of the last radical when they done in Margo ? now is the time for the real SNP to re- emerge if they ever existed that is, my guess is they didn't.

BOOTIFULL JUST BOOTIFULL

Who remembers the above catch phrase ? it was an advert for Bernard Mathews turkey products, everyone was saying it and it was the owner of the firm Bernard himself who did the advert, quite a long time ago. He came across as a good natured hayseed farmer, a real salt of the earth type of man.



Some years after that advert he was in the news again as a ruthless union busting boss who sacked and intimidated his workforce and scared them off from forming a union, I relate this now because today's turkey cull reminded me of him and also why not one of his products has been seen in our house since, we boycotted him, he wasn't alone and still isn't, we have our own blacklist and my memory is very good, this is some of them.



Tunnocks Uddingston - anti union, Yuill N Dodds - coal dispute scabs, compaq computers - anti union, Silent Night Beds - anti union, Nestle - exploiters of 3Rd. world nursing mothers, British Airways Heathrow - exploiting workers in catering - you can make your own list.

Among the bigger players were South Africa under Apartheid, Pinochet's Chile and today we have Israel's treatment of the Palestinians, add in Mothercare, Gap, Matalan and H&M who have all been named as companies who have an appalling record of exploiting 3Rd. world workers, pregnant women small children it's all there in our wonderful Capitalist Casino Society.



The more people who join in the more impact it will have, even if the impact is minor you will feel better - read every label do your homework find out who you are dealing with, do your little bit to help and stop the abuse and exploitation, that cheap shirt is costing someone less well off than us plenty.

JUST AN ORDINARY OLD SCOTTISH COPPER STILL PATROLLING HIS BEAT AROUND ETC.

The SNP are still dissembling and struggling to admit that they are unable to recruit 1,000 new police officers, Alex Salmond clearly thinks if the Scottish electorate is dense enough to fall for "Alex Salmond for first Minister" there's nae chance of them spotting this wheeze is there ?

Last week, in response to a Parliamentary Question, erstwhile drunken football casual, Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said: "The Scottish Government has not set a numerical target for the number of police officers that forces should employ." technically correct but, hold on Kenny boy sober up there, the SNP did before the election, remember ? Yesterday, ex friend of the 'king over the water' Jim Sillars, SNP MSP Alex Neil said officers who did not retire after 30 years could now be counted as 'new' officers, (don't panic Pikey, don't panic)

This comes despite the fact the SNP will soon have a budget of £30 billion to spend, more than double what Donald Dewar had available. The SNP made cynical promises before the election they knew they could not keep, remember the 'Alex for first minister' carry on, they have complete contempt for the Scottish people.

The SNP fail over their pledges, Their broken promises continue to be exposed, meanwhile we can look forward to the following, --- emergency caller, ---" we need the police" --- police reception ---"why" ---"a disturbance" ---"how big" --- "what" --- "can we send PC's Sandy n Andy they are retreads but in reasonable nick, Andy's got all his own teeth and Sandy has just had a new pace maker fitted, now now sir there's no need for bad language"

HARRY THE BIG GAME HUNTER

Say what you like about our Royals but they are fearless in the face of wee feathered creatures, particularly when armed with a rifle ( Prince Harry that is not the Birds )

Harry just like his fearless family likes nothing better than slaughtering beautiful wild creatures for fun, I wrote before about how his wretched grandfather Phil. bravely shot a tiger which had been caught and tethered, Harry is making the old duffer proud.

Two rare protected birds of prey (hen harriers) were being watched by bird lovers as they flew over part of the royal estate when two shots rang out and the birds fell to the ground the observers immediately reported the crime to the authorities who carried out an investigation, no dead birds were found but two bird brained humans were, one was our noble Prince Harry who was interviewed and claimed innocence, the 'old bill' believed him, honestly.

It transpired that Harry boy was out in that area shooting birds at that time with a chum, it was established that there was no one else in the area, but he denied responsibility, ( 'Final', 'Extra', 'two rare birds commit suicide on royal estate' ) the Rozzers said the investigation is over but they are not looking for anyone else, Rozzerspeak for he's as guilty as hell but, he is a prince.

If one isn't falling in and out of taxis drunk as a skunk and dressed as a Nazi what else is there for one to do, I blame the family, how do you expect a lad to turn out with a family like that, no parenting skills whatsoever, would an ASBO be in order ? after all it's likely to be the only qualification he will ever get.

Have the police been warned off ? is it Harry's famous charm and pleasant nature which won them over ? To paraphrase Tom Stoppard,

"This is a British murder inquiry and some degree of justice must be seen to be more or less done".

OH, OH, ISN'T IT A LOVELY WAR !

War is hell, it provides the stage for heroism and barbarism. Today we see something unprecedented going on in Britain, that is the political exploitation of soldiers in the field. Politicians have always used the military to show off when they are on a victory parade, think Bush, Thatcher, also at events like poppy day etc. but I'm thinking of something different.

Today we see the Govt. being attacked for letting down our soldiers because of poor housing and bad or lack of equipment. Families urged on by politicians are attacking the Govt. because loved ones have been killed or injured, I don't remember this happening before, any death is a tragedy and exploiting that death is worse, the most obvious case is Mrs. Rose Gentle cynically exploited by the SSP who seem to have vanished.

Meanwhile our military leaders are caught out living high on the hog while all this goes on, a figure jumps out £9.6 million over the last two years, what have they spent it on ? better equipment ? no, better housing ? no, better training ? no.

This sum is the cost of entertainment for the military top brass, Sir Richard Dannatt 'chief of staff' when not criticising the Govt. is spending over £20,00 / yr. on dining bills, his predecessor Sir (yes they are all Sirs) Mike Jackson £22,000 a year others with their snouts in the trough are Sir Freddie Viggers and Sir Redmond Watt.

This obscenity is taking place against a backdrop of war and constant complaints from these very people about poor equipment and lack of respect for our soldiers, yes you read that right these chinless clowns are complaining about lack of respect while they guzzle their way through millions, they have the cheek to attack the Govt. for not providing enough, what parasites.

I've said it before and once again I say the British armed forces at the highest level needs to be gutted and replaced by talent, the old military families and royal officers are not up to the job they should make way for real soldiers, the British Army needs an enema.

Meanwhile down at the officers club in Whitehall it's pass the brandy and cigars Algernon old chap and switch off that awful news from Iraq, are you up for the polo tomorrow ?

WILL ISRAEL BLOW US ALL UP ?

Israel bombed a site in Syria recently and no one complained, this sends out a message from Israel and America that they can do anything they like in the Middle East, this is designed to pave the way for an attack on Iran, we have been here before haven't we.

Israel will act to prevent any other nation from getting a nuclear weapon which begs the rather obvious question, should other states have the right to do the same to Israel ? or indeed America ? Does the right to break the UN charter over nuclear weapons only apply to Israel and America ? if this is the case then why ? is it any wonder that the Middle East is the favourite spot for nuclear war to happen.

Israel has a massive nuclear arsenal and they will not negotiate with anyone and they get away with it because of the USA, they even kidnapped and jailed an Israeli citizen who told the world about their WMD's meanwhile they keep expanding.

We still have no proof of Iran having WMD's while America and Israel has them by the thousands, how can this be justified ? who are the real aggressors here, could it be America led by a cretin who thinks god is looking after him, or Israel perhaps who continue to steal land from the Palestinians and persecute them, now cutting off water and electricity to Gazza, they will be to blame when the balloon goes up.

THE ROAD TO DAMASCUS FOR THE JANUS FACED SNP.

A couple of weeks ago I attended the opening of the new Glencoats Primary School in my ward, the usual suspects were present at the familiar ceremony which was very nice, the children performed well and their teachers and parents were justifiably proud.

I remember about 6 yrs. ago fronting a meeting with education officer Stephen McKenzie where I talked about the bright future of education in Ferguslie where two old schools with declining rolls would be replaced by a brand new state of the art primary costing approx. £7. million. Incredibly enough I was met with hostility, due in no small measure to the presence of the SNP who had done their utmost to spread rumours designed to turn the local people against the school.

Here we were 7 yrs. later and who was making the speeches and cutting the ribbon but the same SNP who had opposed the Labour plans for schools, smiling and praising the school to the highest, a great conversion eh ? More utter Hypocrisy from the SNP.

READ THE PAISLEY DAILY EXPRESS Oct. 31 - 07 ( Green light for £210 m airport link plan ) The SNP Convener of Planning Cllr. Nicolson chaired the meeting where this 'green light' came on, he was fulsome in his praise of the Rail Link saying it "would be a great benefit to the economy in Renfrewshire" so what ? I hear you ask, well, this is the same Cllr. Nicolson who along with his SNP group campaigned against the Rail Link, they even ran a pathetic petition against it on their web which attracted about fifty names over about 3 yrs.

There's more folks ! at the election in May many people in Houston would have voted for the SNP one of the reasons they did so was a local campaign to prevent the sale by the council of open ground at Manse Crs. Houston.
The local people were supported in this by the SNP and in particular Cllrs. Noon and Nicolson who helped their campaign.

Fast forward to a planning meeting with the SNP in power and their friend and fellow campaigner Cllr. Nicolson in the chair, need I go on ? yes it's sold folks, to the highest bidder and they 'the local people' sold also, straight down the river by the SNP - we may hear more about this as my old friends from the Standards Commission are now sniffing around, I will return to it. Meanwhile these are the people who asked the voters to trust them.