Worst Scottish winter since 1963 — Telegraph.

I “lost” three days at work last week due to the vicious weather here in Scotland. I volunteered to have these three days as holiday as I believe it’s important that I have control of the decision to travel or not. I don’t really see why my employer should cover the cost of this — I looked at the situation and made the judgement that it would be foolish to travel.

Wednesday — I managed to get about 10 miles from home only to find the motorway closed ahead of me by a major road accident. Back home.

Thursday — I remember the winter of 1963, I was 9, and I can safely say that the snow on Thursday was the heaviest I’ve seen since then. I only made it 3 miles from home before being turned back by the Police. Not quite home however as I had to abandon the car and trudge the last mile back. I went and recovered the car some hours later after the gritters had done their work. Some colleagues had to suffer 8 hours trapped on the blocked motorway — it’s not always smart to try to get to work whatever the conditions. Being stuck in a car for that length of time in a sub-​zero blizzard is not only uncomfortable…it’s life-​threatening!

Friday — Some thawing so I thought it might be OK I got to the next village only to be told the road ahead was blocked by fallen trees and flooding.

So it’s been fun (not) …stuck at home is not a holiday!

Lockerbie: Salmond ‘proud’ of support for Megrahi release — Scotsman​.com News.

And I’m proud too. Kenny MacAskill did the right thing.

What this story really illustrates is the ignorance of the English media.

Deals done with the Westminster Labour rabble? I think not.

If they knew anything of the political situation in Scotland today they would understand that an SNP administration in the Scottish Parliament would NEVER be influenced by Gordon Brown. It’s just laughable!

The corrupt, sleazy, underhand, lying cabal that is Labour DID do deals with Libya including the release of Al Megrahi. They wanted to do it using a Prisoner Transfer Agreement and I’m sure all the contracts were ready to sign. All that oil, we won’t need what’s left of the oil in fucking Scotland.

Al Megrahi

Unfortunately the poor man developed prostrate cancer and it became clear that his time on Earth was limited.

The SNP, rightly, refused to release him under a PTA but released him on compassionate grounds as laid down in Scots Law.

He was convicted under Scots Law and he was released under Scots Law.

No deals, no under the counter bungs for oil, just proper application of the law we live under — some of us proud to do so.

Al Megrahi met all the criteria for compassionate release. If Kenny MacAskill had refused his request there would have been a judicial review which would have confirmed that Al Megrahi had the right to be considered for compassionate release.

In the meantime Al Megrahi dies in prison and Scotland is suddenly a pariah in the Arab/​Muslim world. Frankly I’m happier we pissed off the Americans, don’t know about you. They’ll stop playing golf and start drinking sour-​mash but they won’t blow us into next century — will they?

6% of Scotland’s trade comes from The USA and to be honest I don’t believe for a minute that the majority of intelligent Americans believe his release is an outrage. So should we worry too much about stupid fucking Boycott Scotland campaigns?

Perhaps in time the concept of compassion will be spread by example and the blood-​thirsty will see that this difficult situation was handled superbly by the Scottish Government.

There are, however, still questions to be answered about his conviction in the first place. There is concern about the safety of his conviction; so much so that he was allowed a second appeal.

For reasons unknown Al Megrahi dropped his appeal prior to being released. This would have been a condition of a PTA but it seems there was no requirement to drop the appeal to get compassionate release.

So, in the absence of an appeal there needs to be a proper enquiry to establish the truth of the matter although I fear that Mr Al Megrahi will not be around to hear the outcome. I only hope those who bay for blood will be around to hear the truth.

And finally, we should never forget the 270 souls lost that night.

They deserve the truth more than anybody.

Talk about one rule for the rich and one for the poor.

This stupid lassie took money that wasn’t hers to take and that is surely wrong but to send her to prison for 18 months is just ridiculous.

The bankers spend this kind of money on dinner for fucks sake! I don’t see many of the criminals recently exposed in the Great Banking Fiasco being sent to jail.

She didn’t even take a month’s worth of Fred the Shred’s MONTHLY pension FFS.

I was led to believe that jail was for those who are a danger to society — so what’s so dangerous about a pregnant 24 year old, albeit a greedy, thieving, pregnant 24 year old ?

I feel sorry for her as no doubt she’ll end up in Corntonvale with a shower of rogues, junkies and no hopers. I despair.

Why not simply order her to repay every single penny even if it takes her the rest of her life. Would seem like a more appropriate sanction to me. Take 10% of all earnings, at source, until the debt is paid.

BBC NEWS.

Here we are again celebrating Christmas, Xmas, Winterval — whatever, let’s go with the Yankees and call it “Holiday Season”.

Millions of people worshipping Mammon in the name of Jesus using an honest Pagan festival in temples of commerce built especially for this purpose.

At least the Pagans were just having a good old piss-​up to celebrate the coming of the lighter days and easier times. I could imagine that winter in a fucking yurt probably warrants a couple of parties!

Now; it’s all just a huge commercial exercise where people are conned into buying tons of plastic shite for their kids and unneeded boxes of crap for people who don’t want, need or deserve any of it.

Dies Natalis Solis Invicti

The current frenzy in our High Streets is a sad sight to behold. Shops are desperate, “We have lots of shite that we can’t sell, here, have it for 95% off” — and the sheep react as expected and buy all the shite thinking they’ve scored. But shite is shite whatever the price.

Sorry, it’s not “bah humbug” on my part — I’m advocating a return to a simpler more basic celebration. This should be a time for mending fences and strengthening friendships. We need to get back to an appreciation of the simple good things of life. So, count me in on the piss up just leave me out of the hypocrisy.

I remember when New Year and Hogmanay were much more important in Scotland. I miss the thrill of New Year (and the extended festivities!). Even that’s become a commercialised “event”.

Who would want to be in Edinburgh at New Year FFS!? Surrounded by hoorays up from The Smoke to “do” Edinburgh at New Year. Fuck that.

Possibly the only up-​side of the current economic chaos is that many of the City types have had the arse burned out of their breeks! With any luck they’ll stay at home — if they still have one, that is.

Anyway fuck them all and I wish you a very happy whatever-​it-​is-​you-​celebrate and all the very best for 2009.

Happy New Year!
(Ever The Optimist)

It’s taken me a couple of days to calm down after the result in the Glenrothes by-​election!

What were you thinking of people of Glenrothes? Not only have you voted for the most disreputable, lying, cheating and dangerous party to have taken power in this country, you voted for the most useless, idiotic candidate I’ve ever seen standing in an election — nothing more than lobby-​fodder for the New Labour project. After Margaret Curran in Glasgow East that takes some doing.

Fife, Scotland

Of course, the stinking pile of shite that purports to be the “Scottish” press didn’t help by issuing Labour propaganda as “news” on a daily basis with video headers to boot. The Glasgow Herald is probably the worst for this but the Scotsman and the BBC are little better. As for the red-​tops in Scotland they just are not interested unless there’s a football angle to the story!

The Labour candidate, Lindsay Roy, spend the whole campaign wittering on about reserved issues that he will NEVER have any influence over and I sincerely hope he lives to regret it — even now his website has a banner declaring “Stop SNP charges & cuts”. FFS the only reason for charges was because the Labour Party brought them in and the SNP/​LibDem council had no alternative as the previous Labour council had left things in a desperate state.

I also heard nothing about the Labour councils that have also had to levy charges or the fact that they applied to a tiny minority who can well afford to pay them or that 1000 more of the poorest benefit from free services as a result.

If Mr Roy is the best that Scottish education has to offer then God help us all. Inarticulate, lying, bumbling and by his own admission “not a politician” — why the fuck was he standing for election then?

I feel very sorry for the population of this constituency who have suffered under Labour councils since the Second World War. They fell for the lies, deceit and scaremongering fed them by the scum that pretends to be the party of the working man aided and abetted by the corrupt press and media in Scotland.

Roll on the next General Election. With any luck Labour will be deep in the shite by then as their idiotic, self-​interested “policies” finally collapse around them. England will vote Tory in their millions and Scotland will suffer once again…

…UNLESS we take the initiative ourselves and vote for the only party that has the interests of Scotland at heart, the SNP.

I will concede that Alex Salmond should have kept his council before the election. His pronouncements that the election was won probably did appear to be arrogant by some — I’m sure he will learn from this as he is obviously the only competent party leader in the whole Scottish Parliament.

SAOR ALBA