The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow Uni

Move towards single Scottish National Police Force sees 2000 police workers being axed, sackings were always going to happen to protect frontline

2012-01-27T13:57:00.009Z

Dear All

You can’t make an omelette without breaking eggs.

When I proposed the single national police force for Scotland at the SNP National Assembly in Perth on the 4th September 2010, I knew two things, the current setup was unsustainable and that if my idea was accepted there would be job losses.

A lot of job losses, of backroom staff, but given the financial situation and danger of frontline numbers being cut, the options were limited.

On a financial sense, the idea is sound, but regardless of finance other more important issues were at stake.

Public safety and increased operational effectiveness!

So, now the sting in the tail, 2000 civilian staff will be axed when Scotland's new single police force is created.

That is unfortunate but necessary and it was always on the cards, as to beat bobbies being left desk-bound that is speculative as the new national force isn’t even in operation.

Although, one-third of workers will lose their posts when the Police Service of Scotland is created in April 2013 that number will have to climb.

The reason is that the Scottish Government hasn’t a Plan McB, reformed is talked about as soundbytes but under the surface, despite people trying to give the impression that the ‘wheels are turning’, they aren’t.

Lots of use of the word, ‘change’ but no idea what kind of change, the timescale, the implications, indeed anything tangible to put to the electorate.

So, who gets the chop, staff who field calls from the public, court liaison officers, forensics, human resources and admin employees, all hitting the tiles.

There is a case of retaining forensics and such a move to dismiss these people would be counter productive.

Scaremongering has started with the Scottish Police Federation and Unison saying Police would be taken off the streets. Police are already taken off the streets in the current setup.

Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill was unwise to write to Scotland's 17,000 police officers and civilian staff reassuring them they would keep their jobs.

That wasn’t going to happen; the SNP put forward a policy for a national police force, knowing that people were going to be sacked.

If they deny that was known that what they are really saying is that they are incompetent or naïve.

I can understand why the Scottish Government said this, and then turned around and said that ‘sackings’ would be a matter for the new Chief Constable, because they don’t want to face the tag that they sacked 2,000 people.

Instead, they prefer ‘sacking by proxy’ because they want to be everyone's 'friend'.

The result is still the same, people will lose their jobs.

You could look at this mentality in this way, Kenny MacAskill pulls a Glock pistol and puts a bullet through someone’s head by randomly firing and then wants to blame the guy who comes to clean up the mess and say it’s his fault.

Kenny MacAskill should accept responsibility for what he has done, because it is was necessary and there aren’t too many other viable options on the table.

There is no point in blaming others, the Scottish National Party adopted a policy and the direct result is that people were going to be sacked.

Cutbacks are already happening, 832 police support staff have been cut in the past year.

Scottish Police Federation chairman Les Gray said:

"Common sense dictates you should never dispense with civilian staff and replace them with police officers. Economically it is just plain daft. All of these staff contribute to the frontline. Without them the frontline would not exist."

Gray has never impressed me, and his protectionism and scaremongering isn’t helpful.

Peter Veldon, Unison's staff side-secretary for the police and fire services says members would be balloted about strike action.

He added:

"In the first year, there will be a threat to 2000 staff jobs. This will mean police officers – on double the salary – having to leave the streets to go back to their desks to do call-handling, forensics, intelligence and administrative work. The Government has a dilemma, though, because it has said there will be no compulsory redundancies. We have serious concerns about how this will work."

Mr. Veldon should accept the fact that change for the better is happening, there is no point standing in the way of destiny.

The Scottish Government and Scottish Councils have a liquidity problem, but solutions to this aren’t being solved.

In October, Mr MacAskill told officers in a letter: "All officers and staff in post when the new organisation is established will transfer to the Scottish Police Service on the day of establishment."

It added:

"We have also made clear ... there should be no compulsory redundancies."

Aye, aye, aye, very good, the reality will be less rosy.

Graeme Pearson, a Labour MSP and the former head of the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency, said:

"This comes from a minister who denied there were any cuts in the first place. I raised concerns eight weeks ago about the numbers of support staff that had already been cut and he indicated that was fanciful and there would be no substantial cuts."

Graeme Pearson should remember that the Labour Party has signed up to this to the hilt, pretty much everyone is onboard except the Lib Dems, I don’t know about Margo McDonald but really who cares what she thinks.

The new force is expected to cost £234m over five years, this is a huge saving, unfortunately, people will lose out, but this isn’t being done out of spite, it is being done to protect the service.

If the new force can get a few years to bed in, the stage two reform can happen, this isn’t a final solution to policing but rather a staging post.

At a future SNP National Assembly; I can layout stage two reforms, but let us get the new force up and running.

And sort out the kinks like the enlargement of the Police board to 20 members instead of the proposed 11, that was a serious mistake by the Scottish Government.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Glasgow University product Sir Fred Goodwin could lose his knighthood within days, a small price to pay for his failure, but public want it!

2012-01-26T14:28:00.003Z

Dear All

It seems that Glasgow University product ‘Sir’ Fred Goodwin is on the verge of losing his knighthood.

Knighted by the Queen, it appears he is about to be de-knighted which will see people de-lighted.

The Glasgow University product has had his honour award re-visited by the Honours Forfeiture Committee.

And if there is any justice, then he should be stripped of his title.

The public want it and I see that politicians have unofficially hinted at it as David Cameron has publicly spoken out on the issue.

Conservative Party backbencher David Ruffley has stated that Goodwin should lose his "ill-deserved knighthood".

In reply to Ruffley, Cameron said:

"The Forfeiture Committee will be meeting, as I understand it, this week."

Quite so, much as it pains me to support Tories, this is a matter of public decency and morality.

Goodwin was at the helm as chief executive of the Royal Bank of Scotland when the bank was involved in a takeover of Dutch bank ABN Amro. That was a mistake, deemed to be ill-judged when led to near collapse of RBS.

Following on from this, the taxpayer was forced into a bailout of RBS, the biggest in history, to the tune of £45 Billion.

Finally, the public may get some satisfaction but until the ‘deal is sealed’ we should get our hopes up.

Britain is still a deeply corrupt country.

I favour Goodwin being stripped of his honour because he didn’t deserve it.

For the human rights abusing Glasgow University, this is another reminder that the public is catching on to what is produced there.

A Glasgow University product was responsible for the biggest bailout in history.

Perhaps Goodwin should setup a burger van with corrupt foreigner Anton Muscatelli, someone else who is unworthy of honours, maybe the two could make ago of it as they appear to be cut from the same cloth.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

MSP Margo McDonald seeks return of state sanctioned legalised killing bill, Holyrood has a crank stalking the halls wanting political immortality

2012-01-25T15:17:00.004Z

Dear All

Independent MSP Margo MacDonald is to launch a fresh attempt to get the medical community involved in state sanctioned murder.

This is her bringing back the End of Life Assistance Bill.

If Ms. McDonald is so keen to end her own life by using others then she should travel to Switzerland were they allow this disgusting practice.

The End of Life Assistance Bill is Margo McDonald’s ticket to Holyrood immortality.

Sorry, you’re getting fu*k all dear.

The Lothians MSP, who has Parkinson's disease, claimed there was wide public support for the legislation; this is because it hasn’t been explained what this actually means.

We would expect doctors and nurses to kill people and all that entails regarding the breaking of the medical oath and the destruction of trust.

She doesn’t see this as a problem, its all about what she wants.

MacDonald says it is important to allow terminally ill people some dignity in death, there is no dignity in death McDonald, perhaps she has watched movies and has gotten the notion that there is some fairy tale end with music and bright lights.

She said:

"Since the defeat of my original proposal in December 2010, the volume of correspondence I've received on the matter, coupled with the continuing public interest, stimulated in part by some high-profile statements in favour of the general principle of assisted suicide, indicates to me a consistent level of support for individuals suffering a terminal illness or condition, for whom life becomes intolerable, to have the legal right to request help to end their life before nature decrees."

People also favour bringing back hanging, what the public wants isn’t the same as what the public needs, as an MSP she should be seeking to do no harm and do no wrong.

Patently in my opinion, she is unfit to be an MSP for holding such disgusting views.

If she is so keen regarding death, then buy a CZ75, a hand vice, a file, a table and a hacksaw, chair for sitting on, optional, while she is going the work.

Put a bullet in the vice, using the hacksaw make an X by sawing, then take the file and clean up loose edges. Once done, insert the bullet into the clip (facing the correct way). Insert the clip into the CZ75 making sure the safety is off and cock the weapon.

Then it is just a matter of pulling the trigger by placing the barrel in the mouth or under the chin.

The round enters the head and the bullet breaks up effectively shredding the brain and blowing the back of the head off.

It's not a fairy tale ending like the heavenly music and fluffiness that McDonald is expecting but is does the job right.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

SNP Government Minister Alex Neil accuses Labour North Lanarkshire Council personnel of "robbing” elderly citizens, election flared up backfires

2012-01-24T14:55:00.007Z

Dear All

You can tell that parties are in an election mode by rhetoric coming out in the scrum to get voters.

However in using rhetoric you have to be careful, Alex Neil is a senior Scottish Government Minister. He is a very good speaker, in fact if I get the opportunity to listen to him rather than some of my less gifted SNP colleagues, I pick him everytime, he is a good performer, knows his stuff and can pitch it at a level that gets the message across.

This time in getting his message out, he has sparked fury among unions and council leaders after accusing his local authority of being "bloated" and "barely fit for purpose".

John Reid, the former Labour Minister first came out with the ‘unfit for purpose’ during an investigation into the Home Office and how it was run.

The phrase ‘unfit for purpose’ was then picked up on by many ‘professionals’ as management speak jargon.

Alex Neil is the MSP for Airdrie and Shotts, he has come out and said that North Lanarkshire Council has been "badgering people on the lowest of incomes".

Other claims are that the education department is over-staffed and that its housing division is letting homes "which are not in a fit state for a family to live in".

On badgering people, he says:

"The finance department badger people on the lowest of incomes for money which sometimes they don't even owe."

I don’t think that this type of mistake is specific to North Lanarkshire and I very much doubt that in SNP Councils mistakes don’t happen.

As to the education department being overstaffed, is he suggesting that if the SNP wins the North Lanarkshire Council, they would carry out widespread redundancies post election?

As for the housing issue, and letting homes "which are not in a fit state for a family to live in", perhaps he should as an SNP Minister bring in a bill for a minimum standard. Houses and flats have to be wind and water tight before they are let, along with having running water and other amenities as a Scottish standard. I am unsure what else Alex Neil could be referring too, perhaps he might expand.

After Neil Neil has made his comments, workers have reacted angrily towards the minister with unions stepping in to demand an apology. At election time isn’t considered smart to even hint that employees are going to get sacked.

Even if that could be part of a future SNP Council’s agenda!

Unison has reacted quickly by sending a letter of complaint to both Mr Neil and First Minister Alex Salmond criticising the comments.

Unison's rep, Chris Armstrong, said:

"Alex Neil should apologise to our 7500 members at North Lanarkshire. Fair enough if he wants to have a pop at the administration but not the workers. We don't need Alex Neil using us as a political football at a time when cuts mean the council has had to get shot of people and those remaining have to do more and more."

A senior North Lanarkshire administration source said:

"Alex Neil is an embarrassment to the SNP and Scottish Government. This type of overblown rhetoric with no basis in fact is a serious error of judgment. More than 70% of our 17,000 staff live in North Lanarkshire and will be voting in the council elections in May so hardly the smartest move in the world or a vote-winning strategy."

A spokesman for North Lanarkshire Council said:

"We do not recognise the portrayal of the council by Alex Neil MSP. Audit Scotland, in finding that the council is high-performing, stated that the council has good strategic direction, with good leadership and clear vision. We will be responding appropriately to Mr Neil in due course."

The unfortunate thing in the broadside fired back is Audit Scotland finding the council is high-performing, stated that the council has good strategic direction, with good leadership and clear vision.

One of the things in the Scottish National Party which concerns me as an SNP Member is that certain people in the party who hold positions or are connected to the senior leadership think that it is acceptable to smear people and get away with it because they are 'protected'.

Some of these people doing the smearing are the employees and relatives of SNP MSPs, the real ‘cybernats’.

In a column in a local newspaper, Mr Neil rather unwisely stated new North Lanarkshire charges were "robbing many elderly citizens of a large chunk of their pension."

By using the word ‘robbing’, he has accused personnel of North Lanarkshire of being involved in a systematic fraud through-out the council; however I don’t believe that is what he meant, I would say that he meant the charges were unfair, but regardless he still shouldn’t have used such language.

What is said publicly matters, as everything is governed by the Nolan Principles of standards conducted in public life.

His claim of believing North Lanarkshire was one of the worst-run authorities is subjective since, he hasn’t personal first hand knowledge of working in other council.

In refusing to apologise or back down Alex Neil has defending his position by saying:

"Any sensible person knows my comments were directed at the Labour leadership and a handful of senior officers, not the workers for whom I have the highest respect. The council is led by a political dinosaur and I can give example after example illustrating the points I've made. For too long North Lanarkshire has been run as a one-party state. The Unison representative should worry more about the compulsory redundancies facing the workers than any loyalty to Labour."
So, a sensible person would think it is okay to accuse North Lanarkshire Council of "robbing many elderly citizens of a large chunk of their pension."

I don’t think so.

Also giving example after example of his points only proves that personnel maybe incompetent which flies in the face of him saying that he has the “highest respect” for the workers. Generally when people are getting mucked about the chain starts with the cross the counter personnel, the workers!

His parting shot to the Unison rep about compulsory redundancies facing the workers is actually quite funny because earlier he stated that the education department is over-staffed and has more than hinted that an incoming SNP Council would have to address the problem.

By making people either compulsory redundant or voluntary redundant!

I think Alex Neil has made the best possible case for the Labour Party but he should really be making the case for the Scottish National Party.

Since he is a government minister!

And I can’t see how saying vote SNP get made compulsory redundant or voluntary redundant wins hearts and minds.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

George Robertson criticises future Scottish Government defence plan, SNP need NATO and major changes to ‘defence lite’ policies to be trusted

2012-01-23T15:09:00.008Z

Dear All

After the Holyrood election, Alex Salmond stood up and said that the SNP didn’t have a monopoly on wisdom.

It is true, the SNP don’t get everything right, they do make mistakes, but no one gets everything right all the time.

Former Nato Secretary General George Robertson has said Alex Salmond's defence plans for an independent Scotland are "half-baked", "reckless" and have a "gigantic hole" in them.

Robertson was also a former Defence Secretary back in the day.

His approach to the independence debate is to criticise the SNP's plans regarding defence, by saying they lacked coherence.

He said:

"This is not a serious plan for the defence of a separate Scottish state."

Like other SNP Members, I am only getting to hear what the vision that Mr. Salmond and his team think is appropriate.

Lord Robertson attacked Mr Salmond for arguing that there was an "overwhelming case" to retain three airbases in Scotland when he is now arguing an independent Scotland would only need one.

I have for sometime saying and blogging that the SNP need to stop this populist thinking, jumping on a bandwagon to get votes.

So, we have the First Minister arguing for 3 as “overwhelming” then doing a complete about face, how can this be credible?

Defence isn’t an SNP strong point, recently, Alex Salmond said; an independent Scotland would have one airbase, one naval base and a mobile armed brigade as exactly the right mix.

I would like to see the paperwork on how someone came to this conclusion, when it is so blatantly ‘defence lite’.

Lord Robertson said:

"There is a gigantic hole in the plan and that is the fact that the SNP intend to tear Scotland out of Nato, the first time any country would contemplate this irresponsible course of action.

Adding:

"Outside of Nato, the world's most successful defence alliance, it is difficult to see what the proposed force structure would be about." He said the SNP was the only mainstream political party in all of the 27 Nato nations which suggested withdrawal. The SNP's only compatriots are the extremist and fringe parties in Europe – and not even all of them. It is high time the SNP leadership rethought this outdated and oddball policy."
An independent Scotland outside NATO is an ill conceived position to take at many levels from universal security to getting soldiers valuable experience of NATO missions.

The SNP has come along way; unfortunately they still have a long way to go when it comes to defence and other reserved matters.

2010, Scotland spoke on reserved matters by returning only six SNP MPs to Westminster that should have sent alarm bells ringing.

But let us stick to defence, one airbase and one naval base, leaves Scotland vulnerable.

Lord Robertson isn’t a fan of the return of Scottish regiments from the British Army either which in itself isn’t as straightforward as everyone in the SNP seems to think it is.

The regiment’s personnel may not wish to transfer to a Scottish Army; such a move limits opportunities for them from educational to promotion.

There is no SNP fix for those issues.

Lord Robertson added:

"For example, the Scots Guards are a key part of the UK Brigade of Guards and cannot simply be cut out of the Brigade on a political whim. And what about logistic troops, or combat support and combat service support? Engineers, medics, communicators, and reconnaissance, surveillance and intelligence forces – all are essential to all armed forces. Nothing is said about how this gap is to be filled or afforded. The other missing link in these half-baked proposals is the cost and huge job losses to a separate Scotland of relocating the Faslane submarine base. None of the small countries constantly quoted by the SNP need such a base for conventional submarines. If the SNP dogmatically demand the withdrawal of Trident it will have to pay multibillion-pound compensation for it to be relocated."

The SNP policy on NATO isn’t credible, neither is the removal of nuclear submarines from Faslane, our alliances must be strong within NATO, we sit at a key strategic position, we should be open to the US using our facilities for their nuclear submarine fleet.

The SNP must commit to NATO, the SNP must commit to allowing nuclear submarines to be retained; the SNP must commit to a better Scottish defence policy than is currently proposed.

Either that or Alex Salmond should just ringing up John Smeaton and ask is he available on call to kick foreign invaders 'in the balls' as a ‘Plan McB’.

Defence isn’t cheap and it isn’t something to be taken lightly.

If Scotland wants to be taken seriously as a member of the world community, then a shitty airbase, naval base beside a big puddle and a group of guys travelling about on a 'battle bus' screaming ‘Scotland’ isn’t going to cut it.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Scotland’s top judge Lord Hamilton gets rebuffed in Supreme Court row; it is a firm no, to his call for anti human rights legislation in Scotland Bill

2012-01-19T14:28:00.004Z

Dear All

Only yesterday, I blogged on Lord Hamilton was wrong to try and remove the right of ordinary Scots to take their cases to the UK Supreme Court where there was concerns over aspects of their trial involving denial of article six human rights to a fair trial.

Lord Hamilton fired off a letter to Westminster asking that Scotland be made ‘equal’, but what he was actually asking for was human rights denial.

In the space of 324 hours since I blogged he has had his reply, his ridiculous requested has been rejected.

It never had a realistic chance of success as the English cannot remove the right and Holyrood cannot legislate it a way.

At present there is a nasty debate running regarding the referendum and the Scottish establishment seeing which way the wind is blowing is jumping on the SNP bandwagon.

Much the same way as everyone climbed aboard when Blair won by a landslide in 1997!

There is danger in being ‘populist’ as everyone knows only too well, all things to all men, generally means relevant to none.

Lord Hamilton, the Lord President effectively has backed First Minister Alex Salmond, who effectively back Justice Kenny MacAskill and Elish Angiolini over a turf war with the UK Supreme Court.

At stake was the true nature of justice in Scotland.

The people of Scotland were lucky, not that Kenny MacAskill and Elish Angiolini was ‘fighting’ for them but rather it was another Scotsman came to their aid.

Lord Hope of the UK Supreme Court!

If it wasn’t for people like Lord Hope, Scotland would be even more unfair than it current is.

When Lord Hamilton jumped on the populist bandagon, he tarnished his reputation as Scotland’s senior judge.

Supporting human rights denial, where is the impartially in it that?

He has fallen into line with senior prosecutors and SNP Ministers, in calling for the London court to treat Scottish criminal appeals in exactly the same way as those from England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

This can only be done by human rights denial, that is the only way to look at this issue, it isn’t politically, it is a purely justice issue.

Lord Wallace, the Advocate General for Scotland has signalled he "remained to be persuaded".

This is code for f*ck off, Wallace can never be convinced because whoever signs this away will be forever tainted, and he couldn’t legally get away with it anyway.

Politically removal of human rights needs a seismic event to happen such as war or national emergency.

Another person to enter the fray is Paul McBride QC he opines that Lord Wallace's stance effectively meant Britain had two classes of judges.

When a English Judge sit on the UK Supreme Court, they effectively become a British Judge, Lord Hope isn’t English.

His point is ill-judged and plainly incorrect.

McBride said:

"Basically, we have English judges who can be trusted and Scottish ones who can't."

This is the type of mentality that this issue generates, gross stupidity, the UK Supreme Court has rendered flawless judgments, and if the Appeal Court judges had done their jobs properly, both Cadder and the Fraser decisions wouldn’t have needed to go to London in the first place.

The UK Supreme Court pointed out by default incompetence within our legal system that is institutional in nature. This is because these people must know the law, so either they are ignorant and have no place on the bench or they are deceitful, in which case they shouldn’t be on the bench.

To give them the benefit of the doubt, I prefer to believe they are ignorant rather than outright corrupt.

Lord Hamilton and the Holyrood ministers' complaint stems from the UK Supreme Court's 2010 "Cadder" decision, which gave suspects in custody the right to legal advice.

The UK Supreme Court judgments have been welcomed by defence, human rights lawyers and human rights activists such as me; who believed Scots Law needed fundamental reforms.

Scotland needs two Deputy Justice Minsters in the Scottish Government tasked with reform issues.

Lord Wallace, in a letter to Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill has stated my previous point rgarding the certificate when he wrote:

"I remain to be persuaded that it is necessary to require an appeal under the new appeals route to be certified by the High Court before it can be appealed to the Supreme Court."

Historically, the High Court of Justiciary was the court of final appeal in all Scottish criminal cases.

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said:

"We welcome the Lord President's intervention, which underlines the seriousness with which the matter is being treated by the Scottish judiciary, and support his view. We agree that the High Court of Justiciary should have the final say on which points of law are of general public importance and with the recommendation of a certification process."

I would like to reply to this person:

Try reading a law book on human rights; then you might be able to take part in the debate, instead of being a sycophant.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Lord Hamilton enters the UK Supreme Court row, where did he get his law degree, at a Bangkok Whore House, remedial class in ethics wouldn’t go a miss!

2012-01-18T17:42:00.008Z

Dear All

Scotland’s most senior judge is Lord President, Lord Hamilton, he has written a letter to the UK Parliament into the Supreme Court looking at Scottish cases brought before them under the auspices of human rights.

His take on the Supreme Court row is to urge Westminster to give the judiciary north of the border equal powers to the rest of the UK.

What does that mean?

It means that Lord President, Lord Hamilton is arguing for the removal of a human right that accused and convicted Scots or those held in Scottish jails currently have.

He is arguing the removal of a human right, something you would think he would uphold as his first duty should be to justice, not the establishment or indeed any government.

In a bizarre statement he says that:

“Being closer than a court of further appeal to the day to day operation of criminal jurisdiction it will, I suggest, have a better appreciation of the operation of the criminal law in the community is serves”.

If that was the case as Lord Hamilton suggests how can he explain the miscarriages of justice away in Scotland? How can he explain away seven judges sitting on the Appeal Court refusing to uphold the rights of people to a fair trial?

Frankly he can’t, this is all about protectionism which leads to injustice for ordinary people, unfortunately this row between the Scottish Government and Westminster seeks ignore that pertinent fact.

What has happened here, is that human rights have been replaced to ‘gifts’ or ‘concessions’ which in the minds of the Appeal Court Judges have been deemed acceptable to replace human rights enshrined in law.

That is the Scottish problem that Holyrood has failed to address, acknowledge or fix.

Lord Hamilton is backing Lord McCluskey, who led a review on the Supreme Court’s role in Scottish law, as one of the four wise men appointed by the Scottish Government.

The report by McCluskey was disappointing but not unexpected; he went for the cheap option of wanting appeals only referred to London with the agreement of judges in Edinburgh by way of a certificate.

Such a situation is in my opinion completely untenable, what does society, the Scottish Government and the Scottish National Party fear from justice being done and the law upheld?

This why it is important that the UK Supreme Court who give flawless legal judgments should be retained at present, we in Scotland are too small minded, poor mentally and plain stupid.

The proof of the pudding is rendered in such high profile cases as Peter Cadder and Nat Fraser.

If the Holyrood Parliament and legal establishment were so interested in adopt a similar position to the high Courts of England and Wales, and Northern Ireland then why didn’t they adopt the same system of allowing subjects access to a lawyer which English suspects enjoyed since 1986.

The answer is simple; they didn’t care about being proactive to uphold people’s human rights until being forced to do so.

The reply to Lord Hamilton’s letter should be no thank you!

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign forHuman Rights at Glasgow University

Cuts cuts cuts, anger as BBC plans to axe Scottish jobs at BBC Scotland HQ, one third of BBC Radio Scotland's production staff are to lose their jobs!

2012-01-18T16:07:00.005Z

Dear All

A few years ago, the BBC opened Pacific Quay in Glasgow, as the BBC's headquarters in Scotland to much fanfare.

It was super duper.

Now, comes the bad news for staff at the news organisation; one third of BBC Radio Scotland's production staff are to lose their jobs.

Hopefully this will not mean the newscaster reading a story and people walking in and taking the microphone, chairs and table out the door as the person announces their own job losses.

The BBC has its priorities wrong.

Out of 27 people eight radio production journalists are getting canned, and given their occupation they might have to relocate elsewhere to find work.

This is unfortunate but it is always those at the bottom who seem to suffer most when the axe is getting wielded.

Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop said she continues to have "deep concerns" over the impact of the changes.

She said:

"We have previously sought assurances that the quality of the BBC's output in Scotland, particularly in relation to news and current affairs, will not suffer as a consequence of these cuts.

"At a time of such momentous importance for our nation, I continue to have deep concerns about the potential impact of these job losses and programming cutbacks.

"I understand the BBC is being forced to make difficult decisions because of the damaging licence fee settlement imposed by the UK Government.

"This reinforces why it is so essential that Scotland has greater accountability and responsibility for broadcasting."

If broadcasting was a devolved issue, instead of a reserved matter, these job losses would still be taking place, let us not have any delusions about that.

As Ms. Hsylop has highlighted the “damaging licence fee settlement imposed by the UK Government”, does she therefore support an increase in the licence fee and if so, by how much?

Scottish television output could be characterised by a simple statement.

Truly fu*king awful!

Being Scottish, I cringe when I see some of the dross produced, my pet hate is the Scottish football phone in where pundits and the public discuss the weighty matters of football from the armchair perspective.

I want to slit my wrists when these bastards are on, how anyone can think this has any value is beyond me.

I am not a football supporter as you may have guessed.

A BBC insider said last night:

"People are angry and disappointed. They are worried about their jobs and they are worried about the programmes themselves – these are the staff that produce GMS and Newsdrive and John Beattie's show – and they are the programmes that are important and which they are proud of. Obviously this is an important time in Scotland, there is a huge political debate and the timing of these cuts couldn't be worse. People concerned about public service broadcasting will find this a worry."

A spokesman for the BBC said that Ken MacQuarrie, director of BBC Scotland, had outlined staff cuts last year and yesterday's announcement was part of that cuts plan.

He added:

"These are part of the plan that will save 100 to 120 staff positions over the next four or five years, and we hope to do that, as much as is possible, through voluntary redundancy”.

Maybe the corporation could take some of the money that it invests in ‘stars’ and like Warner Brothers invest in talent development.

Does anyone find people like Graham Norton and his show remotely funny or witty; it is a pile of low cost utter shit.

What happened to quality in broadcasting, the Weekend World, the World in Action, and other serious informative debate programming that open people’s eyes to ideas?

Tough luck on the rear echelon, it seems they are walking.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Unemployment in Scotland up by 19,000; local government needs reform, its time to stop talking about potholes and dog shit, Glaswegians want solutions

2012-01-18T15:16:00.004Z

Dear All

We all know that we are in the middle of tough economic times, but actually we are just at the start, just skimming the surface of the vast amounts of cuts that will be coming down the pipeline.

People, a record number of people are out of work in Scotland.

In the last 3 months unemployment has risen by 19,000.

The total number of people unemployed in Scotland stands at a shocking 231,000.

Councils are cutting budgets which will see jobs and services cutback to levels that people will scarcely think possible.

Council elections are looming, but so far the debate hasn’t started on local government reform, we are living through an Obamaesque people were people in political parties think if they mutter the word ‘change’ that will replace substance.

Currently there are moves by some people to down play this election by lowering it to potholes and dog shit.

Glasgow has real financial problems, unemployment problems, infrastructure problems, facilities problems, housing problems and other social problems too numerous to mention.

Who gives a fuck about dog shit?

The labour market statistics put the Scottish unemployment rate at 8.6% - higher than the UK average of 8.4%.

Scottish Secretary Michael Moore said the figures are a clear signal that focus must be on getting the economy "back to health".

He also said:

"We have to get Scotland back to work and it is imperative we keep making the right decisions to support and grow our economy. Restoring confidence and stability will require work across every sector and I will continue to meet with a wide variety of businesses and organisations in the coming weeks and months. Tackling youth unemployment continues to be a major focus and I will chair a major national event on the issue in March to build on the seminars held throughout Scotland over the last year”.

Adding:

“We are taking practical steps through the UK Government's Youth Contract, a 1 billion initiative backed by business and aimed directly at helping the young unemployed into work. There is no doubt it will take the committed efforts of both of Scotland's governments to overcome the scourge of joblessness among our young people and I will work with the Scottish Government, agencies, civic Scotland and anyone else to get people back into jobs. There has been a lot of interest in the constitution and the uncertainty surrounding Scotland's future in the last few days but Scotland should know nothing will divert this government from the challenges we face in creating long-term, sustainable jobs."

This is a lot of talk about doesn’t address the core problems of the economic; we can’t grow our way out of this problem because there is a massive black hole of debt.

There needs to be a whole industrial scale overhaul of the entire economy and the banking system sits at the centre of everything that is wrong.

We need the creation of a City Banks scheme much in the same way as savings and loan, this idea isn’t new but it is essential to reconstruct the country along a different model that see the building of liquidity and surplus.

A while ago I blogged on the idea of a City Sovereign Fund City and Town, the idea is turn local government into a more commercial focused entity while still have the public sector base. Rather than just accept their ‘giro’ from the Scottish Government, revenues streams would be developed.

The current local government set up helps no one, everyone is complaining about poor services, delays and a ‘can’t do’ attitude.

Scotland has to reform local government; unfortunately no one has articulated a vision beyond soundbytes.

Spouting the word ‘change’ when for the last five years you have sat on your arse and achieved nothing isn’t a track record.

Who gives a fuck about dog shit?

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Stricken cruise liner captain abandon ship before passengers and then refused to go back when ordered, how many lives did he cost?

2012-01-17T14:19:00.005Z

Dear All

In ye oldie days, a Captain was expected to go down with his ship or at least be the last man off, women and children would be placed in the lifeboats first.

However times change and Francesco Schettino, the Costa Concordia's captain decided to abandon ship and leave the passengers to their fate.

Hundreds of people placed in danger because he didn’t do his job.

He allegedly mislead the coastguard as to numbers of passengers still trapped on the ship, but allegedly was said to be willing to return to pick up the black box.

The crew mutinied when they realise that the Captain was incapable of handling the situation and gave the order to abandon the stricken vessel.

Proof of the 'mutiny' came from coastguard vessels at the scene, who reported seeing several lifeboats in the water before Schettino had officially given the order at just before 11pm.

Safety of passengers should have been his top priority, why wasn’t it.

A Coastguard source said:

“Ten minutes is just not enough time to have launched the number of boats that were seen in the water. That's why we believe that once the ship had started to list, crew members realised the seriousness of the situation and ordered passengers to the lifeboats ahead of the captain giving the order.”

Society is collapsing into a nasty, personal me me me society, Captain Francesco Schettino is just an example how society is breaking and collapsing as moral and civic values collapse.

What a pathetic individual.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Ex Tory Holyrood Candidate and Preacher John Smart jailed over campaign of child abuse, abit hard to sell a Scottish Tory membership now Ruth!

2012-01-17T13:57:00.007Z

Dear All

Recently the Scottish Tories under Scotland’s Maggie Thatcher Ruth Davidson launched a membership drive.

Come join the Scottish Conservative they cried.

If anyone had taken up that offer previously, they might have run across Tory Holyrood Candidate John Smart.

He has just been jailed for eight years for a 15-year campaign of child abuse.

Come join the Scottish Tories?

No, thanks Ruth!

John Smart 48, preyed on three youngsters he met at the Edinburgh City Mission, this is an old tactic for paedophiles who work themselves into positions that gain them access to the vulnerable.

The scope of ‘Tory boy’s actions are extreme, as he abused one of his victims when the boy was just three years old.

After conviction Judge Lady Dorrian has placed Smart on the sex offenders' register and he is to be monitored in the community for three years after his release.

At the High Court in Glasgow, she told Smart:

"The social enquiry report points out that these offences were planned, intrusive and involved a significant degree of planning.

"Your victims were vulnerable. You pose a sufficiently significant risk to children to merit a lengthy sentence."

Solicitor advocate John Keenan, defending, said that Smart, a first offender, continued to protest his innocence.

The parents of his victims believed he was a devout Christian and as such he got access to take the youngsters to play parks and swimming pools.

Instead Smart, of Christian Crescent, Edinburgh, used the time alone with them to carry out the abuse.

Well, I guess this episode might focus minds why Scotland hates Tories; they prey on the vulnerable, the weak and defenceless.

I think Ruth Davidson might not be talking about Tory values and particularly Tory family values for a few weeks.

Might leave a bitter taste in the mouth of the Scottish public!

Murdo Fraser was right the Scottish Tories need to fold their tents and start again from scratch.

A 15-year campaign of child abuse, unbelievable but sadly not.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Labour MP Tom Harris Downfall spoof was poor, here is the real deal in comedy political spoofs, classic and witty

2012-01-16T16:34:00.003Z

70% of Labour supporters say they don't believe in Ed Milliband anymore, someone better ask him does he know the phrase, ‘do you want fires with that’

2012-01-16T15:43:00.007Z

Dear All

A while ago, I commented that Ed Miliband had an image problem, he needed to go to political boot camp and get toughen up.

He obviously has brains, seems to some extent, on some issues, to be making the right noises but people are tuning out.

We have an unpopular Tory Government, with an incredibly unpopular Lib Dem attachment as a coalition partner.

Things are going south for him as he has been deemed 'too ugly' to become prime minister. On top of his problems, Ed Miliband has been dealt another blow after it was revealed that 70 per cent of people don't believe in him.

70% is absolutely mind blowing when you consider that the Labour Party has PR gurus, style doctors and spin doctors and everything else.

How do you fix a problem like Ed?

There must be a telly show in there somewhere, I can feel it.

A YouGov poll gives him his worst rating since winning the Labour leadership.

The country is going down the toilet and he is drifting, how can someone so bright be so stupid?

Even his own supporters are turning away from him. Luke Bozier, a party member for five years, wrote:

“At a time when the nation needs strong political leadership, Labour offers nothing”.

Luke Bozier posted an an article about why he recently switched allegiance to the Conservatives.

The truth of that pudding is that Scottish Holyrood election result, the Labour Party was seen as not being credible as the next government under poor leadership that resulted in them going nothing for 4 years at Holyrood.

And they paid the price for that weak leadership.

Ed Miliband put himself forward to be a leader of men, the trouble with him he didn’t have the tools in place to do the job.

He isn’t a leader of anyone at present.

So, what should Ed Miliband do?

Ed Miliband’s problem according to Labour MPs on Saturday night is to stop copying David Cameron and start showing some leadership of his own. Mirroring is a successful sales tactic used by business to sell goods and services, but who exactly is Miliband trying to sell to?

Why become a Cameron Mk2 when he could be a Miliband Mk1?

Why buy into the Tory narrative?

When Luke Bozier let rip he said that Yvette Cooper and Ed Balls were 'out-of-touch', Brownite career politicians.

10 points

He criticises the wider party saying it has been taken over by student politicians and is unable to 'put aside its tribal prejudice and ideology'.

10 points!

He wrote:

“Ed Miliband is a leader that Labour MPs and Labour members didn't want. He was forced upon them by the Trade Unions and like most people, I wasn't happy with the result”.

10 points!

“I tried for as long as I could to give Ed the benefit of the doubt. But look what it's come to, with the party and the leader now a national laughing stock. Rarely in British history has a leader become so quickly defined by humiliating questions about his looks and personality”.

10 points!

Spot on analysis from Luke Bozier.

When Miliband goes to the despatch box he acts and sounds like a whining pathetic individual, the style, the presentation is all wrong. You don't go to the despatch box to whine, you go there to lay down the law and put the Government on notice.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Labour MP Tom Harris quits media post over Hitler joke video called Joan’s Downfall, how ironic since it appears he engineered his own, now its Tom’s

2012-01-16T15:02:00.005Z

Dear All

Recently Tom Harris stood to be the leader of the Labour Party in Scotland.

He came in last in a three horse race; he got less than 10% if memory serves me right.

Harris like me does a bit of blogging and tweeting, he is a controversial figure at times within the Labour Party, however; there are dangers in blogging as he has just put his foot in it.

He has had to step down from his internet adviser role after he posted a joke video portraying First Minister and SNP leader Alex Salmond as Hitler.

Tom Harris has apologised for his actions. He was only given the post of the party's new media guru after Johann Lamont was elected leader.

It was a short appointment.

His downfall was funnily enough using footage from 2004 movie, Downfall; many people have used this footage with the funniest being ‘in the bunker after Glasgow East’. This features a spoof on Gordon Brown going radio rental after John Mason won the Glasgow East by-election in 2008.

If you haven’t seen this spoof I highly recommend it, it had me in tears when I first watched it. Comedy has a part to play in politics as the SNP demonstrated with their spoof Life of Brian video but you have to be careful.

The SNP reacting to the Harris video have described it as "tasteless" and said it was "hugely embarrassing" for the Labour Party.

Mr Harris published his version of the video, titled "Joan's Downfall", following a row involving SNP MSP Joan McAlpine. She recently claimed unionist parties were being "anti-Scottish" in their attitude to the planned independence referendum.

This led Jackson Carlaw to issue a charge of political racism at her.

In hitting the bricks, the Labour MP for Glasgow South said:

"Having spoken to Johann, I have decided to step down from leading the party's social media review”.

An SNP spokesperson said:

“It is silly, negative nonsense like this that helps explain why Labour are in the doldrums in Scotland.”

I haven’t seen Harris’s spoof so I can’t comment on Harris’s version but as I previously blogged the indy referendum is going to be a nasty bad tempered affair on both sides.

Tom Harris’s Downfall video spoof was his downfall, how ironic.

In this short exchange of crossfire across no man’s land there was no one killed, but Tom Harris took one in an embarrassing position.

Surgeons are expected to operate later today to remove his foot from his mouth and Labour leader Johann Lamont’s boot from his ass, Ms. Lamont is currently experiencing pain from the incident but has been assured by hospital staff that she still qualifies for jelly and ice cream afterwards since it is an NHS operation.

Rumours she will ask for seconds remain pure speculation at this time as does a claim for new footwear damaged in the line of duty. She will be unable to claim this through MSP expenses since it is a party matter.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

SNP MSP Joan McAlpine defends 'anti-Scottish' claim on BBC, Labour MP Anas Sarwar asks her, "Am I anti-Scottish?", gloves are off now!

2012-01-13T13:33:00.006Z

Dear All

On the back of the warfare on independence, we have our first piece of ‘hand to hand’ fighting in the trenches.

SNP list MSP Joan McAlpine has accused the Tories, Labour and the Lib Dems were being "anti-Scottish" in their attitude to the planned independence referendum.

The verbal attack happened at Holyrood on Thursday which prompted Scotland’s Maggie Thatcher, Ruth Davidson to say that the comments were "ignorant and petty" while Labour MSP Neil Findlay chipped by saying they were an "utter disgrace".

And things didn’t get any better when she went on BBC Scotland’s Call Kaye programme hosted by Kay Adams.

On that programme she stated how shocked she was by Labour MPs congratulating the Tory-led government for intervening in Scotland.

Ms McAlpine told BBC Scotland's Call Kaye programme:

"They have been lining up in cahoots with the Tories. They have been lining up to congratulate the Tories for intervening into Scottish democracy and I will let the people of Scotland draw their own conclusions from that."

Ms McAlpine, Alex Salmond's parliamentary liaison officer, added:

"The issue here is the behaviour of the anti-independence parties coming together to stop Scotland having a referendum at a time of our choosing."

Sitting with her on that programme was Scottish Labour's deputy leader Anas Sarwar who studied a dental degree at human rights abusing Glasgow University. He joined the boxing club for a period while I was a coach; he loved to talk about how rich his father was from their cash and carry business.

So, in a fiery exchange between two, Sarwar said:

"What is being questioned here is my commitment and my love of my country. The country in which I was born and brought up, the country to which my grandfather came in 1939 with nothing and made a life for himself. This is really serious."

He then said to Ms McAlpine:

"Am I anti-Scottish?"

Ms McAlpine, the SNP MSP for South of Scotland said he was trying to "personalise" her comments and she would not be drawn into that.

From now to polling day of the independence referendum, I think we can be certain that this ‘debate’ will be a fairly bad tempered and nasty affair.

I don’t think that Ms McAlpine has acquitted herself well from this incident, it looks poor and doesn't play well with the public or even with me as an SNP member.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

US Marines filmed urinating on dead Taliban fighters in Afghanistan is posted online, US launches investigation, this is a wicked act of callousness

2012-01-12T16:47:00.005Z

Dear All

Warfare isn’t glamorous and in combat it is a soldier’s job to kill or capture the enemy.

There are strict rules that govern the behaviour of soldiers and how they treat others by way of military regulations and the Geneva Convention.

US Marines fighting in Afghanistan are engaged in a bitter fight with the Taliban, it is an unwinnable war because there can be no final battle in this unconventional war.

A video has come to light that US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta appears to show US Marines urinating on the corpses of Afghans.

Panetta says that the act is "utterly deplorable" and that a full investigation will be held to hold those accountable "to the fullest extent".

If it wasn’t for the rise of social media on a worldwide scale, such events would be unknown to us and of course we would see the denial immediately issued as standard practice.

Four US Marines in the video are seen standing over the bodies of several Taliban fighters, all dead, with at least one of whom is covered in blood.

Who shot the video remains not known.

Commander of US and Nato forces in Afghanistan, General John Allen has been ordered to investigate the incident.

Panetta said after he had seen the footage:

"I find the behaviour depicted in it utterly deplorable. This conduct is entirely inappropriate for members of the United States military."

There wasn’t much else he could say, apart from the physical act, the mentality behind it does suggest that a degree of callous for human life and disrespect has set in. If US Marines are prepared to act in such a fashion, what else are they prepared to do?

The Pentagon has also responded by saying that it is checking the authenticity of the video, but there is nothing to indicate that the film is not genuine.

Panetta isn’t disputing the authenticity.

The military is now in full damage-limitation mode because such acts give rise to anti American feeling beyond the borders of Afghanistan. And with the Americans trying to draw down their military operations due to cuts, this incident may prove regretful in more ways than one.

The Americans have never recovered from Abu Ghraib and other incidents were serious abuse was inflicted on detainees.

The US has about 20,000 Marines deployed in Afghanistan, based mostly in Kandahar and Helmand provinces. In total, about 90,000 US troops are on the ground in Afghanistan.
Such acts do give motivation to the Taliban to commit further acts and doesn’t win over the population to support the NATO mission.

A statement from the International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) in Kabul said the behaviour "dishonours the sacrifices and core values of every service member representing the fifty nations of the coalition."

In an earlier statement, President Karzai's office said:

"The government of Afghanistan is deeply disturbed by a video that shows American soldiers desecrating dead bodies of three Afghans. This act by American soldiers is simply inhuman and condemnable in the strongest possible terms. We expressly ask the US government to urgently investigate the video and apply the most severe punishment to anyone found guilty in this crime."

Whoever, these Marines are, they have broken military discipline and should be punished, but more than that, they should be removed from operations in Afghanistan and tried by a military court.

This is an incident that will not be forgotten and will not sit well with the population, desecrating bodies in war time is an unforgivable act.

There is no way that any damage limitation can make this better.

This makes peace talks all the more difficult for the Americans, however Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said the video "is not a political process, so the video will not harm our talks and prisoner exchange because they are at the preliminary stage".

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

SNP calls vote on independence, trip to the UK Supreme Court regarding referendum legality as Westminster fights back looks likely now!

2012-01-11T15:15:00.010Z

Dear All

There is a line I like which goes something like this, in a court of law whoever tells the best story wins.

In the last few days the lead has been flying back and forth across the border between the Westminster and Holyrood Governments.

This is over the independence referendum which has been announced to take place provisionally in the autumn of 2014.

I have blogged that it might have been somewhere between March and June 2014, the rational for autumn is that the European election is expected mid 2014.

Either way, the independence campaign will have to run in parallel with that campaign because there is no other choice.

Mid 2014 also sees the Commonwealth Games and other activities being planned so; it is going to be a crowded schedule politically.

We now have threats of legal action from Scottish Secretary Michael Moore, so no one is prepared to budge, we can expect a trip to court at either Scottish level or UK Supreme Court level if this all goes sideways.

And I expect it to since the idea that 16 and 17 years will be given the vote,won’t fly,and will invalidate the entire referendum.

So, what would happen if this mess winds up in the UK Supreme Court as constitutional issues are reserved matters?

Then the Scottish Government will see that they are in the same position as they were in during the Cadder Case, arguing for something that they are not entitled to do.

With not a leg to stand on!

It was wrong for the Westminster Government to try and bounce the Holyrood Parliament into an early election; however this led the Scottish Government to quickly announce a date within 24 hours.

On Tuesday 25th October 2011, I wrote this post.

http://glasgowunihumanrights.blogspot.com/2011/10/what-is-date-for-scottish-independence.html

I came within about circa a month or so, it wasn’t difficult to work out the time frame in a general sense.

In fact, it was quite easy, it only took me a few minutes to analyse this.

Alex Salmond has now moved on to speak of the three-month public consultation plan which details the process leading up to the historic vote.

The nuts and bolts of this, I will blog on when I see the material and give an opinion on that, however, the idea that 16 and 17 year olds will get the right to vote will become unstuck pretty damn quick if the SNP continues to push this.

This isn’t going to happen and be seen as a legitimate referendum vote.

Just as the Northern Ireland Assembly can be suspended, so can the Scottish Parliament and the powers transferred back to the British State.

Holyrood can be shutdown.

Scottish Labour leader Johann Lamont said:

"It is rather sad that a First Minister of Scotland keeps his plans for the constitutional future of our nation secret, doesn't tell the Scottish Parliament, but goes on TV because a debate at Westminster might keep him out of the headlines. We deserve better. This is about the future of Scotland, not the profile of Alex Salmond. This issue deserves calm consideration – not a panicked response from a panicked First Minister."

She added:

"We need to know there will be just one question, what that question is, and that the Electoral Commission will administer it. The First Minister should hold cross-party talks – including all quarters of civic Scotland – to discuss these details, including the date."

Scots Tory leader Ruth Davidson said:

"Decisive action by the UK Government has forced his hand. We can discuss times and dates as part of the consultation, but the key issues for me are what is the question and who is the referee? Alex Salmond should be embracing the offer of more powers to hold a proper, real referendum. We are offering a fair, legal and decisive vote. Why wouldn't Alex Salmond want that?"

LibDem Holyrood leader Willie Rennie said:

"Announcing autumn 2014 as high-noon in the fight to protect Scotland's future as part of the UK family doesn't address the issue of ensuring the Scottish people decide the outcome, not the courts."

Fellow LibDem Sir Menzies Campbell said:

"If there are those who are so confident of the case for independence why is it they are unwilling to countenance a referendum now? Could it be the bravehearts are no longer quite so brave as they have been before?"

So, the unionist camp are on the attack now, at present it is a ‘phoney war’, if ends up in Court then all hell will break loose.

I think that we will end up at the UK Supreme Court the way things are going.

Alex Salmond said the referendum should be ‘made in Scotland, built in Scotland and run in Scotland’.

I have no problem with that but Alex Salmond and his advisors should think very carefully whether having this artificial argument is worth the damage to reputation for competence that the Scottish Government has built up.

It took years for Alex Salmond to build up the reputation of the Scottish Government as a competent government and it will takes only days to destroy it.

Once your reputation is damaged by your own hand, it is hard to get it back.

LibDem Sir Menzies Campbell said:

“Could it be the bravehearts are no longer quite so brave as they have been before?"

Brave enough in some quarters Menzies.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Unrest among ‘University of Guantanemo Bay’ staff in Glasgow sees 60% of them remain unconvinced over radical reforms, what about running burger van?

2012-01-10T12:38:00.005Z

Dear All

The majority have spoken at the ‘University of Guantanemo Bay’ in Glasgow run by corrupt foreigner Anton Muscatelli.

Human rights abusing Glasgow University is one of Scotland's oldest universities founded by a papel bull in 1453.

The year is 2012 and the bull is still there in two places, at the Vet School and out of the senior management’s mouth.

We can only hope they brush their teeth in the morning before breathing over anyone they come into contact with.

At ‘the bay’ there has been a series of measures introduced as part of a radical overhaul of its structures.

The staff have been less than impressed, in a poll at Glasgow University found some 60% were unconvinced the revamp had been beneficial.

And we should remember that corrupt foreigner Anton Muscatelli has already had a vote of no confidence passed against him but still he hangs about rather like a bad smell coming out of a septic tank with no chemicals in it.

After the revamp half of academics said they were unclear of what is expected of them.

Presumably work.

Last month, a report was written by Andrea Nolan who stated that officials from the university had over-reaching themselves in implementing the biggest shake-up of the institution for decades.

Big blue sky thinking is obviously a problem when not backed up with genuine genius.

An internal report by Andrea Nolan stated what everyone who has watched these characters knew that when they do something, rather than things going smoothly, it was destined to end in a f*ck up.

To replace nine academic faculties with four colleges in one year was "over-ambitious" especially in a crony ridden pit such as Glasgow University.

Tunnel vision caused the problems to be compounded due to the financial climate, which saw 264 staff hitting the bricks and leaving as the university declared that it had to save £20 million through cuts.

Add to that the continuation of a money grab scheme to attract overseas students and jack up their fees to ‘get an earner’ via 58 new mater’s degree programme.

Then came the big white elephant called mycampus, a £14 million student enrolment website which sank much like the titanic, because most of it didn’t work properly causing the staff to have a greater workload.

Then a mini ‘arab spring’ happened as the occupation of the Hetherington Research Club by students and a botched attempt to evict them hit the headlines.

Anton’s storm troopers aided by the Police raided the club and brought along a helicopter in case they needed air support, however the helicopter wasn’t armed and no one died however some students were allegedly slammed up against a wall.

Violence returned to the campus much like the bad old days of Stevenson Building run by the disgusting animal Julie Ommer and her staff thugs.

Machete in a staff locker anyone!

Perhaps Muscatelli will run with my idea that he sets up a burger van that way they can rip off the taxman much in the same way they rip off the working class.

Corrupt foreigner Anton Muscatelli Principal.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Open warfare erupts as the SNP attacks Tory/Lib Dem Coalition as poll row escalates, referendum with strings rejected by SNP

2012-01-10T11:56:00.009Z

Dear All

They say that a week in politics is a long time, over the last 24 hours the independence referendum has become a hot potato in the UK.

David Cameron's Cabinet colleagues last night began openly hinting they would call their own vote.

They want Alex Salmond to accept their proposals on how the referendum is conducted however it is expected that the First Minister will rejected their proposal for conditions outright.

The stick that the UK Government is using to beat the nationalist government is that the uncertainty is damaging the Scottish economy.

Transfer of total sovereignty isn’t really an issue as major businesses have set up shop in Scotland and will continue to do so.

One of the UK Government conditions to their offer is that there will be a ban on under-18s voting.

This idea for 16 and 17-year-olds to be allowed to take part was never a serious prospect that Westminster would allow in my opinion, it was fantasy politics.

Alex Salmond’s call for 16 and 17-year-olds to be allowed to take part wouldn’t even get out of the starting gate nevermind take part in the race.

Michael Moore, the LibDem Scottish Secretary is to speak at Westminster today to tell MPs that it is right to attach strings to both the timing of the vote and the question asked.

A Scottish Office spokesman said:

"The statement will be about how the UK Government can facilitate a legal, fair and decisive referendum."

Fighting back the Scottish Government insisted yesterday that only it had the mandate to call an independence vote.

They won the Scottish election, however there are two governments in Scotland and only the Westminster Government has the legal authority regarding the referendum, not Holyrood.

And that is the problem.

Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the party would stick to its guns and hold the poll in the second half of the current Holyrood parliament.

As I previously blogged that would mean mid 2014 in order to prepare the ground for a Westminster campaign in the event of a no vote!

Giving interviews yesterday, Nicola Sturgeon said that there was a body of opinion which favours a question on extra powers for Holyrood and the so called devo-max option which no one has twigged is unworkable.

Devo-max requires a Westminster Bill and that requires Westminster MPs to vote through this proposal, which I suspect wouldn’t happen.

Devo-max requires English MPs to dance to a Scottish Jig, much in the same way as the tail wagging the dog concept.

There are only 6 SNP Westminster MPs.

Devo-max isn’t going anywhere; it is a pipedream, pure fantasy politics, much like a consolation prize, it is a stop gap if things don’t work out to salvage something if the independence vote fails.

The only people in politics talking devo-max are the SNP within the context of the independence referendum, when challenged which other party supported this question Nicola Sturgeon was forced onto the back foot repeatedly by saying that other parties’ views change daily.

In the context of the referendum, all UK parties are of the same mind; they want one question and one question only and don’t want the water muddied by the second question on devo-max.

I don’t see their position changing and giving the SNP two bites at the cherry, its all or nothing as far as they are concerned.

The fight will continue because no one is willing to give an inch.

If the SNP decide to go ahead with allowing 16 and 17-year-olds being allowed to take part in the vote, then there exists the possibility that Westminster Government will not recognise the result or go further and block the referendum on technical grounds via a Scottish Court.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Prime MInister David Cameron fires off a broadside and challenge to Alex Salmond over referendum, he wants vote to be "legal, fair and decisive"

2012-01-09T15:48:00.011Z

Dear All

The Unionists are on the ‘warpath’, so it seems, with David Cameron throwing down the gauntlet to Alex Salmond.

Cameron is looking for a quick referendum because he thinks that this will ensure the continuation of the United Kingdom.

In the last parliament, the SNP said that they would have a referendum during the course of that Parliament; they abandoned it because they didn’t have the numbers.

Even if they could have got it through, it would have been the wrong time because I have always believed that two full terms must be served in order to show competence and they would have lost it under the political landscape in Scotland at that time.

After the landslide victory of the SNP in May 2011, they pledged again to hold it in the latter half of the second term.

And they have the numbers to push it through Holyrood.

However, the referendum has a number of issues connected to it, of a legal nature that needs to be addressed before anyone can start talking about what the question might be.

Cameron wants Alex Salmond to accept an offer from Westminster that would enable Holyrood to hold a legally binding referendum on Scottish independence but there is a catch, he wants the offer to be time-limited.

The poll would have to be held before August 2013.

This would be about a year or 15 months of campaigning with activists expected to work two elections back to back.

And there are several problems with that, namely that there is lack of knowledge and personnel to get the message out at a local level in a manner that is direct and personal to the voters.

The referendum is a ‘special’ politically; it requires a different approach than the run of the mill campaigns.

In Pollok Constituency, on average circa 6 activists generally turn out to service a population of 60,000.

So, each activist would have to contact 10,000 people and speak to them. On average an SNP Activist on a workday of 2 hours would deliver in the region of 200 leaflets and as we know, 98% of unsolicited mail just gets chucked straight into the bin.

So, for 2 hours work plus travelling time which is an hour each side of the work day, the activist has delivered one leaflet per hour that is read.

Plus the SNP has decided to have a membership drive, seems fine in principle, I even wrote about this prior to the SNP announcement away back in July 2010 and how that should be done.

Where are the people going to come from to do that work?

And since this is effectively a sales pitch, how can people sell an SNP Membership when the members haven’t had any sales training?

Also if they ‘sell’ a membership what are they offering as an incentive to join?

Unfortunately the SNP like many political parties hasn’t evolved to offer enough options for members to take up.

I also wrote about that previously and raised the issue with Nicola Sturgeon that Glasgow needs its own stand alone training hub.

Unfortunately that idea was one of a number of ideas for a new type of SNP which offers the members more than they currently get, not taken up.

I wanted to see install a learning culture at branch level, but was met by such a hostile reaction to my idea, apparently dumb and ignorant is more preferably which probably explains why there so few people are willing to be SNP Activists in branches as a percentage of the total branch membership.

‘Not my problem anymore’.

To return to Cameron, he says that if Alex Salmond fails to take up his offer, then Westminster will seize the initiative and hold its own referendum.

I think this idea was always on the table by the unionists.

I previously blogged the earliest that independence referendum could be held was mid 2014 allowing the SNP an 18 month campaign which might have a realistic chance of success.

If the unionists timetable is pushed through, then the current Council Campaign would have to be effectively abandoned and given lip service in favour of the independence campaign which would have to come to the fore.

So, what should Alex Salmond do?

Well, issue a statement that the Scottish Government wouldn’t be threatened and make plans if it all goes sideways and they are forced into an early referendum.

A recent poll of 500 Scots, conducted by Ipsos Mori for the new think-tank BritishFuture puts support in Scotland for independence at 29%.

17% were don't-knows.

One poll isn’t enough as support for anything and anyone is always volatile, however 54% of people want the nation to remain part of the UK.

In 2010, during the Westminster election the SNP went into that election with 7 MPs, they finished with 6. Alex Salmond was predicting the possibility of somewhere in the region of 20.

Not a single new MP was delivered, which begs the question why isn’t the SNP seen as a credible force at the ‘big boys house’ of Westminster?

Cameron was blunt when he said:

"It's very unfair on the Scottish people themselves, who don't really know when this question is going to be asked, what the question is going to be, who's responsible for asking it. We owe the Scottish people something that is fair, legal and decisive."

At present, the SNP think they are playing a carefully crafted game by saying: ‘we aren’t telling you when we are having the referendum’.

Personally, I don’t think this is clever, if they had gone with my date of June 2014 then everyone would be better off and Cameron wouldn’t have oxygen to threaten.

There are many in the SNP who need to learn that there is a difference to being clever and thinking you’re clever.

I would suspect that Cameron’s threat is laying the ground work for what will be a series of future legal challenges on the question and other aspects of the referendum by others.

And we should not forget that Westminster, as the constitutional authority are the only people who can hold a legally binding poll but Westminster has the power to alter the Scotland Bill to allow such a referendum to take place.

That may come with a time limit because the unionists know no party has finite resources or personnel available for an active campaign.

There might be a majority in Holyrood for the SNP, but in Westminster it is 6 in a sea of 650.

So,we should name the day and start to close down avenues, it is called being proactive to solve problems before they occur.

Proper planning prevents piss poor performance.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Labour MP Thomas Docherty challenges SNP on navy under independence, Labour wants a pledge to an aircraft carrier, have IQ’s dropped sharply recently?

2012-01-07T15:05:00.009Z

Dear All

In Scotland some people are called ‘Bams’.

A ‘bam’ is an idiot who has no awareness of what is going on around him or her.

Bams come in many shapes and sizes; the Labour Party is littered with them as are other political parties.

Thomas Docherty is a Labour MP, that doesn't auomatically make him a ‘bam’; he is a self made man however.

His latest outrageous piece of nonsense is to challenge the SNP to commit to the retention of an aircraft carrier in an independent Scotland.

You have to read this request a few times, because of the enormity of the stupidity behind it.

An independent Scotland, a country of 5 million people with an aircraft carrier!

If independence is achieved, initially there will be an army, navy and air force in the transition phase.

Then comes the first defence review which will see a complete overhaul, my preferred option is that there will be two services, a navy and a combined air force and army.

Although the command structure of the military will be kept, it will need to be developed if a two service approach is considered.

I would also envisage in the short term that Sandhurst would probably be used to train officers of the Scottish Armed Forces, possibly in the future there may be an Officers Training School.

Early on, it would be best to draw on the experience already in place.

As to active service, I would imagine that both Nato and UN Peacekeeping Forces would provide that essential operating experience so critical for a standing military.

However, foreign adventures such as those untaken by the British Government would be ruled out, due to cost and possibly ethics.

To return to Mr. Docherty’s proposal that an independent Scotland needs an aircraft carrier, what for?

Fishery protection duties, oil field protection or warning off Russian aircraft entering Scottish airspace?

Maybe Docherty wants an aircraft carrier so that the Labour Party in Scotland can use it for cruising and aircraft flights for the kiddies.

There is no need for an aircraft carrier because Scotland wouldn’t be seeking territory beyond its borders.

The navy wouldn’t be large in any case, Scotland would have to be a member of NATO, although there has been talk of other alliances by some in the SNP but lets us not kid ourselves; membership of NATO isn’t an option to be ignored.

How would I reply to a Nordic defence alliance instead of NATO?

By saying ‘fuck off and grow up’!

If we want to be serious contenders for independence then we have to affirm that we will join NATO and commit to it before an independence vote.

Thomas Docherty is the MP for the Dunfermline and West Fife seat which includes the Rosyth dockyard.

This facilty employs more than 1500 skilled workers, whether in a post independence world the Westminster Government would use Rosyth isn’t certain, however, it would be to the mutual advantage of both governments not to cut their noses off to spite their face.

However, economically, we shouldn't live in hope, and assume and plan for the worst, the loss of contracts, independence isn’t going to be a ‘fun’ event of balloons, champagne popping and highland dancing.

Some people and businesses are going to be under pressure, some may go to the wall.

Anyway, Docherty has asked SNP defence spokesman Angus Robertson to back a similar pledge on the aircraft carrier.

Robertson can’t do it and mean it, he might as well pledge a space shuttle and mission to Mars.

Docherty said:

“The lack of detail on the size, shape or type of navy that a separate Scotland would have is causing a great deal of anxiety locally and it is time the SNP came clean. There is no doubt that the loss of the carriers would have a devastating impact and the SNP has a responsibility to make people aware of the full consequences of separation.”

The SNP if it is to win an independence vote has to spell out in great detail how an independent Scotland would look, soundbytes, spin and vague promises aren’t enough, so far these difficult questions haven’t been addressed or even answered.

It isn’t convincing to say to people just vote yes and we will sort it out later, not when people’s personal lives will be affected by this vote.

Is there a blueprint for a new Scotland?

As an SNP Member I haven’t seen it or haven’t a clue if it even exists, if this work hasn’t been done, then it is highly unlikely that an independence vote will be successful.

Independence can only be won on detail.

It can’t be won by spin or ‘Alex Salmond for First Minister’ because this isn’t a vote about a personality, it is much bigger than any individual person; people will look beyond that.

If Docherty wants an aircraft carrier pledge he can whistle because he isn’t getting one and if anyone commits to building one for a Scottish Navy then they are a fool who are patently incapable of holding public office were big decisions are required.

Thomas Docherty is a ‘bam’; he should play his silly little political games elsewhere and should not be indulged.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Labour MP Diane Abbott in new ‘race row’ claiming London Cabbies drive past black customers, well what’s the excuse this time, context again?

2012-01-06T15:14:00.003Z

Dear All

Fresh from one almighty row about a racist comment, Diane Abbott has moved forward, straight into another row about racist comments.

From:

"White people love playing 'divide & rule."

We know have her this time accusing London's taxi drivers of driving past black customers.

Her foot again goes back in her mouth, surely hopping about is putting a real strain on her other leg?

Diane Abbott is embroiled in another Twitter row.

She needs to quit tweeting.

Steve McNamara, a spokesman for the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association, said:

"This is a typically silly comment by Diane Abbott and deeply unfair. The modern generation of taxi drivers is as diverse as London itself and most of the knowledge schools now have prayer rooms.

Adding:

"Her comment is a silly stereotype that harks back to the days of 'I don't go south of the river' and 'hanging's too good for them'. It is as outdated and insulting as the stereotype that black people wear woolly hats all the time."

McNamara also added that Ms Abbott had once been a passenger in his cab.

"She has no trouble being picked up - I picked her from a rather trendy mews development about 10 or 12 years ago."

What a good memory he has.

It was only yesterday that Diane Abbott, the MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington, was ordered to apologise by Labour leader Ed Miliband.

I blogged yesterday that she should step down as the next gaffe was just around the corner.

George Laird was right again.

Labour Party sources said her comment about taxi drivers would be "looked at" by the leadership.

Maybe she needs a break.

A Labour source said:

"If she had suggested that all London taxi drivers are racist that would clearly be wrong,"

If she can’t play with her ‘toys’ properly then they will just have to be taken off her; Miliband has his own problems but she is acting like a manic with a lit torch in a gunpowder store!

If she keeps this up, she will definitely need both feet on the ground as no one will pick her up in future!

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Labour MP Jim Murphy sets Labour's new strategy a-rolling, agree with the Tories on cuts, Ed Miliband could be David Cameron’s man-servant too!

2012-01-06T11:17:00.004Z

Dear All

It is hilarious that Labour MP Jim Murphy said that the Labour Party should avoid ‘shallow and temporary’ populism over spending cuts.

Where are their policies?

It is said that you can drown in two inches of bath water, if Labour policies were bath water, would anyone get wet?

The idea of mirroring isn’t new but it shows I feel a weakness in the Labour Party, rather than setting the agenda, they opt for trailing behind Cameron and agreeing with him.

It looks to me that the only real disagreement in the Westminster Village is that the Tories are in power and the Labour Party aren’t!

What happened to ideas and vision and big decisions, a blue print for the future?

How can we have a battle of ideas when no one is willing to come up with an idea and campaign for change?

I don’t know how long Ed Miliband has been leader because he hasn’t acted like a leader and frankly for this piece, it isn’t worth the time to google him and find out.

In Scotland, the Labour Party for 4 years from 2007 to 2011, never worked, never produced policies, vision, ideas and thought they were celebrities who just had to sit back and wait their turn to regain power.

Result, a landslide for the SNP as Labour wasn’t seen as credible.

Down south the Labour Party isn’t as inept as their Scottish branch but Miliband is drifting. He doesn’t look like a Prime Minister in waiting, nor does he pass as a statesman, I expect him to come to the despatch box and sell double glazing…at a discount.

Politics shouldn’t be about populism, it shouldn’t be about personalities, it should be about policies, that is the bedrock of politics.

Ed Miliband stands on quicksand and despite flopping about; he isn’t getting anywhere in any direction.

Someone should send Miliband to political boot camp to toughen him up. They say the longest journey starts with a first step, that first step should be getting policies and driving home how much better Britain would be if these were introduced.

Time to fight the fights that need fought.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Report by Anthrax team says that Scottish Government should consider allowing heroin supply issue during periods of contamination, we should do this!

2012-01-06T10:28:00.003Z

Dear All

I have repeated blogged on the need for the legalisation of drugs in Scotland.

There are several reasons for my decision to campaign on this matter.

1/ the drugs market must be bankrupted and taken away from the criminal classes.

2/ money collected could be re-invested in programmes and services to change people’s lives.

3/ ease the burden on NHS by better monitoring of addicts.

4/ unburden the courts and police from the crippling and phoney war on drugs which is a total failure.

And there is another reason; to protect the health of those people who are unfortunately addicts from being exposed to bad and unregulated drugs.

Certain drugs such as tobacco and alcohol are legal, they are taxed and regulated, however; we have seen that both these products kill if taken to excess.

Drugs also can kill, there is no question about that issue; it is widely accepted with stacks of evidence and research.

A recent report into an anthrax outbreak which killed 14 heroin addicts suggests officials should consider prescribing the drug during any future contaminations.

This is a start but it is a piecemeal approach, it is time to be bold, every time an outbreak of anthrax kills addicts, it is in part the fault of the failure of Holyrood Parliament to be bold.

Politicians want to be seen to be ‘tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime’; this is the mindset that has been created out of fear of being seen as weak and losing their seats at election time and party support.

And people are dying because of this.

14 heroin addicts are dead because no politician had the courage to save them, in truth it could be argued that these people probably might have died anyway.

But we do know they certainly died due to intransigence.

The National Anthrax Outbreak Control Team (NAOCT) says the Scottish Government could "usefully give this aspect further consideration" as guidance on the issue would be helpful for Outbreak Control Teams (OCTs) and addiction services.

Report author Dr Colin Ramsay, chairman of NAOCT is on the right track, but this is a political decision.

Legalisation of drugs is so big an issue for some politicians and the scale of the problem so huge that they are unwilling to speak up or act.

Ramsay added it was now relevant for consideration by Government officials.
This issue should be looked at again in the interests of public health.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Scotland's 'Maggie Thatcher' Ruth Davidson sets out her 'terror' stall, a new nightmare for the poor and cash for her Tory buddies, this is vision?

2012-01-05T16:17:00.008Z

Dear All

Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson has spoken.

She is a ‘carpetbagger’; a woman who is publicly unelectable who only became an MSP by way of the discredited undemocratic Holyrood list system.

Making a series of policy speeches to set out the Scottish Tories stall, the vision just isn’t there.

Anyway, someone believes this ‘balloon’ should be given the oxygen of publicity as she calls for changes to the economy, with a smaller state and bigger private sector.

Tories want a smaller state to help out their rich Tory backers and supporters at the expense of the public.

In an odd statement she said decades of socialism have dampened Scotland's natural capacity for enterprise.

Sheer drivel!

What planet is she on?

And of course, a dig at the poor she said that the "something-for-nothing society" was over.

Didn’t she get ‘something for nothing’, a list MSP spot were the top Glasgow contender was removed by the party.

She never earned her place.

Never!

Davidson also promised a wholesale review of her party's policies.

Sheer drivel, she hasn’t got vision, it will be the same window just differently dressed; she and the Scottish Tories aren’t going anywhere.

The Scottish Tories face tough electoral times because they are the walking dead politically.

The party returned to Holyrood in May with fewer MSPs despite a robust performance by Annabel Goldie.

Not good enough though.

Westminster 2010, the last general election saw the Tories win just one seat in Scotland.

Davidson says:

"Our purpose is to decisively shift the balance of power from the hands of politicians into the hands of people and local communities."

She went on:

"All over Europe, economic chickens are coming home to roost. The dream of permanent growth and ever-increasing prosperity stands exposed as a collective delusion; a fantasy built on debt. Countries that have been living beyond their means, with unaffordable expenditure and cosseting of public sector workers, are being forced to relearn the harsh economic facts of life."

Local power to communities cannot solve the banking crisis and we cannot grow our way out of debt either.

Another odd statement by Davidson is when she said Scotland had to ask itself whether it wanted to become like Greece, "borrowing and spending vast sums of other people's money in the hope and expectation of never being called to account", or like Germany, where "saving is a virtue and debt is shameful".

Scotland isn’t a sovereign country so the analogy doesn’t make any sense.

And if Davidson was awake recently she may have noticed that the Germany Bond market sale of German Government Bonds was a disaster.

She also said:

"The something-for-nothing society is over. Nobody who is able to work should be allowed by choice to live off the rest of us without contributing”.

An attack on the unemployed who never caused the financial crisis, then her rant continues:
.
"My vision for Scotland is a positive one. We are a resourceful people, responsible for many of the world's greatest inventions. Our ingenuity and endurance has built business empires and spread commerce across the globe. Decades of socialism have dampened our natural capacity for enterprise and hard work but the flame still burns."

Other than shoring up the banks by the savings of private individuals and punishing the poor, handing more money to the rich, how is that a vision?

This is the new vision, a series of rants and platitudes, its all the poor’s fault.

She added:

"Nothing will be off the table for discussion; there will be no 'no go areas'."

Does that include asking her to solely stand for a constituency seat and not the list to put her mouth were her mouth is?

But then Ruth Davidson cannot be a true Tory unless she is feathering her own nest first.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Labour MP Diane Abbott faces call to resign over 'racist' tweet, 'white people love to play divide and rule', 2012, 5 days old, foot in mouth already

2012-01-05T15:41:00.005Z

Dear All

2012 has got off to a rocky start for Labour MP Diane Abbott.

Five days into the New Year and she is already embroiled in a ‘race row’ over claims that she had been racist against white people.

The row flared up over a tweet she stuck up on twitter.

Diane Abbott is in my opinion a ‘race politician’; these people appear in all political parties who use racism to advance their political careers.

And Diane Abbott has been very successful in her career, because race politics uses fear so that if anyone criticises these people, they simply imply that any negative criticism of them must be because of their colour, not that the ‘message’ is wrong.

After firmly putting her foot in it on twitter, she has finally apologised and deleted her tweet today over claims that she had been racist against white people.

Apparently, the Labour Leader Ed Miliband wasn’t a happy chappy.

Ms. Abbott is the shadow minister for public health; however her political health might need a check up or a transplant.

Something is certainly failing upstairs.

In order to explain herself, she said she had been taken out of context, citing '19th century European colonial rule' being behind the message.

This is called carrying on digging a hole when you should stop, but luckily she was cut short when she received a phone call during an interview on live TV from her boss, Ed Miliband, who was said to be furious over the remarks.

Oh to listen into that gem.

An apology was swiftly issued.

The apology was sorry for 'for any offence caused' and not for posting the original tweet.

This is not good enough by a long chalk Ms. Abbott.

The tweet has since been deleted but luckily someone has kept a copy so, although gone from her account there is a permanent record.

There have been calls for her to resign, but that will fall on deaf ears, but she may be moved from her public health brief to the backbenches by Miliband which will depend on how this little storm plays down in the Westminster village.

Diane Abbott used to appear on This Week with Michael Portillo and Andrew Neil, in this context were she is a commentator on gossip and incidents she did well, she doesn’t like anyone disagree with her, she is gaffe prone but shadow health brief isn’t right for her. She is too much of a maverick and has a tendency to speak before thinking.

The Labour Party has also distanced itself from the MP's remarks.

A spokesman said:

“We disagree with Diane’s tweet. It is wrong to make sweeping generalisations about any race, creed, or culture. The Labour Party has always campaigned against such behaviour – and so has Diane Abbott.”

I think she should stand down, this doesn’t play well.

Stoking the fire, political blogger Guido Fawkes today accused Abbott of ‘slamming an entire group of people based on the colour of their skin’.

An entry on his blog continued:

“She is a shadow minister and represents a constituency that is 61% white”.

Adding:

“Sections 17 to 29 of the Public Order Act 1986 are pretty clear on statements like this.

'They cover deliberately provoking hatred of a racial group, distributing racist material to the public, and perhaps most notably in this case, inciting inflammatory rumours about an ethnic group, for the purpose of spreading racial discontent".

Guido likes to claim political scalps, however, I think Ms. Abbott will not fall today, she is one of those people who will survive, and the next gaffe is just around the corner anyway.

She should step down as Shadow Health Minister if she has any commonsense whatsoever.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

No place to hide: two of Stephen Lawrence’s killers get found guilty at Old Bailey and jailed, 2 down and 3 to go, 19 years to get justice!

2012-01-05T14:50:00.003Z

Dear All

Every so often, justice gets done and is seen to be done, unfortunately in the case of Stephen Lawrence, it has taken 19 years.

His killers have cheated justice for nearly 19 years because of incompetence of the Met Police who didn’t live up to the standard which we expect our police service to.

The Lawrence family after the conviction of Gary Dobson and David Norris said this was a time to celebrate as the three other people also involved in the murder are still out there.

They are absolutely right, both Dobson and Norris know who else was with them and they should confess and give up the names, forensics in this case has run its course and for any future investigation to go forward, I would suggest that witness testimony is needed.

Both Dobson and Norris got circa 15 years each, the judge said he wished it could have been longer, 30 years and no parole consideration unless 25 years were served would have been better.

The rest of the Stephen Lawrence killer gang were warned yesterday that they will not get away with murder but unless confessions are forthcoming then possibly they will.

In cases like this were an impasse has been reached, Dobson and Norris should be approached and re-interviewed by Police and offered a deal.

Unpleasant as it sounds, unless a witness suddenly appears which is incredibly doubtful, the CPS should be pragmatic.

Mr Justice Treacy dramatically ordered Scotland Yard to hunt down the ‘three or four’ killers still at large not an easy task, thinking someone didn’t isn’t the same as proving someone did it.

Dobson and Norris weren’t born evil but grew into it over time, there is no excuse for killing an innocent person, this wasn’t self defence or in defence of another, it was evil, plain and simple.

Stephen’s parents, Neville and Doreen have fought hard for justice, but their fight isn’t just about their son, it has a wider point about society, and what kind of society we aspire to become.

As a victim of knife crime, I was nearly stabbed to death once myself; the knife bounced off a rib hence I am here today, when stabbed it happens so quick that you think you have just been punched. The mental effects last longer than the physical wounds; believe me I speak with authority on that. Stephen Lawrence was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Three other people are named as people that should be of interest to the Police, Jamie Acourt, his brother Neil and Luke Knight. At present, they remain free and they should be considered innocent until proven guilty, as much as many think they were involved, in the eyes of the law, they are just suspects. Only Dobson and Norris know exactly who else was with them, they are the key now to the conclusion of the Stephen Lawrence inquiry.
Although the Acourt gang were alleged to be responsible for numerous attacks in South London, they have never been punished, perhaps 19 years; things will change for the rest of the gang.

Their names were handed to police within days of Stephen’s murder and all five were named by the Daily Mail as killers in 1997.

The paper even challenged them to sue if the newspaper was wrong. They never did but that doesn’t constitute evidence. Trial by media should never form any part of a trial no matter what the motivation of the people running a paper.

Mr Lawrence said he hoped Dobson and Norris would ‘give up the rest of the people.’

The only way I can see this happening is if Dobson and Norris cut a deal, through-out their trial they expressed their innocence the jury thought otherwise.

Stephen’s mother Doreen told the press:

“There is no shred of doubt in my mind that all five are guilty. After Stephen’s death we had people we don’t know leaving messages and giving us their names. We would have had no idea about these young men, who they were and where they lived, but we were getting these messages about their behaviour; the way they cleaned knives in front of their windows, attacks on other people. So with that combination of things, and then seeing the police surveillance video where it’s clear the hatred they have for individual races, you think, no, it has to be them.”

So, the next phase of the marathon Lawrence investigation is expected to focus on the Acourt brothers and Knight.

They have fled and gone into hiding.

They can run but they can’t hide, if Dobson and Norris turn Queen’s evidence then the rest of the gang can be put behind bars.

19 years to achieve justice, how far we have sunk as a society.

The Acourt brothers and Knight best not make plans for the future, it appears others such as the Met Police and Crown Office are taking care of that for them.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year to you and your family, and be safe

2011-12-22T15:06:00.002Z

Dear All

Merry Xmas and a happy New Year to you and your family!

I would like to thank all the people who took the opportunity to drop by the blog to read and comment.

91, 672 stopped by as of today, my first year in 2009 saw circa 10,000.

Merry Xmas and a happy new year when it comes!

Blogging starts up just after New Year.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Lord Gill condemns the ‘right’ of criminals to a lower sentence if they used the section 196 (1) to get a reduction, we don’t live in an ideal world

2011-12-21T15:58:00.007Z

Dear All

There is good law and bad law, and law that sometimes help the wheels of justice move more smoothly.

In Scotland there is such a law called the Criminal Procedures Scotland Act 1995, under section 196 (1) if an accused person pleads guilty early thus stop wasting the court’s time; they get a reduction in their sentence.

You can debate the moral rights or wrongs of that principle, but the law exists for good reason, Courts are under pressure and this helps ease this, if the law is ignored then there is no reason to plead guilty early.

This will lead to backlogs.

Lord Justice Clerk Lord Gill isn’t a fan of this law and has warned shortening sentences for those who admit crimes could erode public confidence in the justice system.

He goes further by calling for courts to take a tougher line when sentencing.

This is all good traditional Tory stuff from an age long since dead.

Defence lawyers who in theory have to do the best for the clients have warned removing incentives to plead guilty quickly will result in more contested charges and trials.

They are right, why plead guilty when you get the same sentence and maybe you might get off with it.

A five-judge bench at the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh has been taking another look at this question by considering a number of test cases and has questioned the right to discounts for an early guilty plea.

I would opine that in the interests of a properly functioning judiciary, it is important that this matter is not sidetracked into some emotional rant.

Lord Gill said the discounts of one-third being allowed as a matter of routine were the result of a "superficial reading" of the unspecified 1996 case.

He said:

"So it is opportune to repeat that an accused is not entitled to any particular discount in return for a plea of guilty. The level of discount, if any, is and must always be a matter for the discretion of the sentencer."

I would say that this is wrong, case law would support allowing and retaining such a practice.

The expectation of a sentencing discount of up to one-third of the sentence was enshrined in Scots law for the first time in October 2003.

At the time of Lord Cullen's review this idea appeared to have come from the then Scottish Executive's proposals for High Court reform and Lord Bonomy's recommendations to speed up the justice system.

Because it argued that there should be a "predictable" reduction in sentence if an accused pled guilty at an early stage.

Then in an appeal court case in 2003, known as Du Plooy, the position was clarified so that sentencers should consider discounts of up to one-third in such cases.

And life went on the Courts were able to increase volume under an already overstretched system.

The argument advanced for discounts was they spared witnesses from having to give evidence, and saved court time and expense.

How can this now be seen as a bad idea?

And why should anyone be stupid enough to want to return to chaos because someone wants their pound of flesh?

Scottish criminal lawyer Paul McBride described Lord Gill's warning as "provocative", adding there had to be incentives to pleading guilty to prevent overburdening courts with trials.

I am not a Paul McBride fan but however we do travel along the same train of thought sometimes.

He said:

"I agree people should not be entitled to anything automatically, but let's give the courts the discretion to apply their common sense and give people an appropriate discount and encourage them to plead guilty at the earliest opportunity to spare the victims the agony of having to go through a trial.

Adding:

"It's certainly a very provocative thing for him to say and he will fully understand the implications of it. If accused people understand they won't get a discount if they plead guilty, what on earth is the incentive for them to plead guilty?

McBride rightly says:

"If you give them no incentive you will end up having more and more trials, and the courts are finding it difficult enough to cope at the moment in an ideal world of unlimited resources and unlimited judges and unlimited lawyers then no-one would get any discount for pleading guilty. We are not in that world."

As General Mick Jackson used to say, ‘we are where we are’.

Lord Gill said something interesting when he went on to warn of the danger a discount might cause an accused to plead guilty, even when they had a fair defence. Innocent people by enlarge don’t plead guilty so the idea that someone would do so is strange particularly when they have legal representation. I think that this is crap.

Gill added:

"The second risk is the allowance of substantial discounts may cause the sentencing decisions of the criminal courts to lose credibility and in this way may erode the authority of the courts."

Since when does applying current law do this? And the authority of the courts isn’t in any way weakened, bad judgement in criminal cases such as the Cadder ruling do much more damage because Cadder showed some judges to be incompetent and unfit to be on the Appeal Court Bench.

Cadder was a straightforward violation by the Courts, the Crown and the Police of human rights denial.

This was set right by the UK Supreme Court who made Scotland human rights compliant on that issue.

Lord Gill continued:

"I consider the court's discretion to allow a discount should be exercised sparingly and only for convincing reasons."

Can Lord Gill front the costs of increased expenditure for the problem he is trying to manufacture or does he believe that closing one third of Scotland’s Sheriff Courts is going to produce a tsunami of funds to cover this.

I would like to see competence tests rather like academic exams introduced for judges and others who sit in the Courts passing judgments; this should include a psychological assessment on whether or not they should be there in the first place.

We need a clear legal framework for the Courts to operate under to produce a fair and just system that functions at an optimal level or as close to it as possible.

This crap has disaster written all over it and the Justice Minister Kenny MacAskill should take no notice of this, we want quick trials not having accused people getting ‘second mortgages’ and planning permission to build extensions to the court because they are there so long.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Sir Michael Wilshaw, new Ofsted chief says scruffy teachers should set an example and dress professionally, image and presentation matters in public

2011-12-20T15:34:00.006Z

Dear All

Image and presentation matter!

If you want people to take you seriously you have to look the part, that first impression counts.

The new head of Ofsted says scruffy teachers should be ordered to smarten up in the classroom.

By way of a dress code, teachers claim they are professionals, is it too much to ask that they dress the part?

I suspect most people would say yes they should.

Sir Michael Wilshaw, an inner city head becomes the Chief Inspector of Schools next month, said teachers should set an example and dress in a ‘professional’ manner.

Great minds think alike, he also believes whether inspectors should consider staff dress codes during inspections.

Sir Michael thinks it should be one of the criteria Ofsted looks at.

Adding:

“I think it’s patronising to children for staff to dress poorly”.

When I taught in my youth, I was always dressed for the activity I was teaching, on time and prepared. My pupils had 100% confidence in me, but teaching isn’t simply looking the part, you have to know your subject as well as having the ability to put it across at a level that allows pupils to grasp the subject matter. In some cases you may have to repeat the same lesson again as people learn at different speeds.

Once they get the hook, they find their time in the learning experience more enjoyable.

Learning should be fun, but also disciplined.

Sir Michael’s intervention was welcomed by campaigners last night.

Nick Seaton, secretary of the Campaign for Real Education, said teachers should be banned from wearing jeans and T-shirts in the classroom.

It has been along time since I was at school and the idea of a teacher in jeans and T shirt certainly doesn’t convey the right image.

Another interesting point is that history and geography 'could become compulsory' to 16 in major shake-up of national curriculum, I would agree that to understand how to plan for the future you should have a grasp and working knowledge of the past, looking at mistakes of the past is a useful educational tool. I used a variation of this while teaching myself, by having trainees watch and analyse others and then engage in Q & A to develop understanding so that my pupils thought like instructors.

The ability to analyse is a key skill missing in education.

Nick Seaton adding:

“Teachers should be setting an example to young people for when they go into the world of work. That means they should look reasonably smart at work. Twenty or 30 years ago teachers wouldn’t have dreamed of going to school in scruffy clothes, but standards have slipped in some places.”

Sir Michael rightly says teachers patronise children by turning up to the classroom badly dressed and then expecting the pupils to keep to the uniform.

In his own school, Mossbourne Academy in Hackney, where he has achieved spectacular results, teachers were expected to wear ‘business-like’ clothes.

He added:

“Most good schools have a dress code for staff. It would be surprising if they didn’t. I am not very prescriptive but I’d make a judgement if someone came in here and was badly dressed. It’s the wrong message to give the children and think it patronises the children who are expected to turn up here in uniform.”

Sir Michael Wilshaw may turn out to be exactly what Ofsted and schools need, his ideas have considerable merit.

Michael Gove, English Minister for education talks about elitism being brought back to schools, that elitism should be available to all pupils to get the best possible start to life.

One thing, I said to a Russian friend of mine, Lana Soroka when I taught her was to analyse and consider options.

She is now a successful lawyer in London.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Glasgow Uni product Johann Lamont becomes Scottish Labour leader, Pollok Constituency is now unwinnable for any other political party even the SNP

2011-12-19T15:01:00.007Z

Dear All

Johann Lamont has won the Scottish Labour Leadership contest.

It seems that the weakest candidate can rise to the top, Lamont is a Glasgow University product and if you ever watch her on Newsnight Scotland, she sounds awful.

However as Scottish Labour leader she has pretty much a ‘seat of life’ in Pollok, despite the SNP having a tsunami effect recently, however it wasn’t enough to topple her in the Labour stronghold, but it was close.

Now, she is leader her profile rises and so will personnel in the shape of activists as people want to be known by the leader.

Pollok is now unwinnable for any political party; no one in living memory as ever defeated the leader of a political party at an election.

In 2010 at the Westminster Campaign no one came close to Labour allowing Ian ‘the Deerhunter’ Davidson an easy stroll to the finish line.

Pollok is now unwinnable at Holyrood and Westminster for any candidate standing against them in political parties. It is a complete waste of time to be an activist in that area from another party other than Labour.

Now, the worst candidate is in place, Glasgow University product Johann Lamont has unveiled her front-bench appointments.

The leader in waiting, Ken Macintosh gets a top job for handling the finance, employment and sustainable growth remit.

Ken Macintosh won the votes of the grassroots and was then beaten in the contest on Saturday.

Ms Lamont, MSP for Glasgow Pollok, said she will set out a positive vision for a "fair" Scotland.

This will be a challenge as she and the rest sat on their hands for the entire duration of the last Holyrood term doing absolutely nothing but spin and gimmicks.

In political terms, the reality generated was that Scottish Labour wasn’t seen as a credible alternative.

Lamont said:

"My shadow cabinet will be inclusive, bringing together experienced former ministers and newer voices to speak on the important issues for Scotland. Our job will not just be to hold the Scottish Government to account, but to show our party's ambition again. Together we must set out and convince the people of Scotland of Labour's vision for our country. Ours is a positive vision for a prosperous Scotland that can pay its own way, a wealth-creating Scotland that uses its wealth to build a fairer country, a Scotland determined that not one person's talent is wasted, a Scotland that challenges all Scots to be all that they can be, and which creates the conditions in which we can reach our aspirations. My shadow cabinet will comprise elected politicians and also experts in their fields from all walks of life to advise, share experience and help shape the future of our country. I will make more appointments in the coming weeks and months."

The reason for bring in outsiders to her team is that ‘the pool’ is very limited.

Hugh Henry becomes spokesman for education and lifelong learning.

Jackie Baillie stays in charge of health.

Patricia Ferguson will be spokeswoman for culture, external affairs and the Commonwealth Games.

Richard Baker becomes spokesman for infrastructure and capital investment.

Lewis Macdonald was appointed justice spokesman.

Sarah Boyack becomes spokeswoman for local government and planning.

Claire Baker becomes spokeswoman for rural affairs and environment.

Paul Martin remains parliamentary business manager.

James Kelly is the chief whip.

After the first round of counting, Lamont had 51.77% of the votes, Macintosh had 40.28% and Glasgow South MP Tom Harris trailed a very poor third with only 7.95%.

Harris was the best at presentation and had presence but his problem was he wasn’t in the Holyrood clique and the real battle in Scotland is at Holyrood in the Chamber on the ‘shop floor’.

Lamont because of restructure is the first person to lead the whole of the party in Scotland, rather than just the Holyrood group, following changes since the review by Jim Murphy to the party structure.

So, has Glasgow University product the skills to take on Alex Salmond in mental combat?

She is a poor choice and doesn’t look like a First Minister in waiting.

However, she has a job for life as Pollok MSP now that she is leader, people will flock to her because it may help their political careers.

Anyone standing against Johann Lamont in Pollok is just pissing £500 up against the wall and wasted their time.

Lamont has a walkthrough.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Police chiefs warn of £22m 'hidden cost' in single force, there will be start problems, but they are solvable, act like professionals!

2011-12-17T13:43:00.004Z

Dear All

When I was pushing the idea of a single national Police force at the SNP National Assembly, I did so know that although this was a good idea of benefit, some people would lose out.

However the Police in Scotland had to merge to make a 21st Century force and deal with the challenges of the ever changing nature of crime.

We need a national force, unfortunately in the past, self interest stop this idea going forward.

In the reorganization there will be problems, such as start up costs, this is to be expected.

But there is supposed to be experienced officers who can deal with this, we aren’t asking anyone to go to the moon here.

The Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (Acpos) said in reply to a Government consultation on the plans that it will require cuts to police staff.

That was part of my original idea, to contract the service in a concentrated unit before allowing growth.

We need to be standing first on the bedrock of sound principles; then stage two reform can take place.

When I proposed the single force idea in September 2010, stage two was preparing for an independence landscape that saw the police take over the functions of customs and UK Border Agency.

There would be much more accountability and transparency if my original idea had been seen through to its logical conclusion.

Accountability would be done in a multi layer approach, special Holyrood committee, national board and retained local boards.

Acpos has flagged up the issue of vat, stating that under Scottish Government proposals the single service would be liable for £22 million a year in VAT to the Treasury, because of changes in the way the new organisation will be funded.

With good will and dialogue this could be sorted between Westminster and Holyrood, perhaps by a technical amendment for a new public sector vat exemption certificate. The nuts and bolts of that would have to be ironed out.

The idea that the police pay Vat to the treasury is bizarre anyway, it is on an outdated concept and the move to streamlining services is the true nature of reform in Scotland.

So far very few people in politics are talking of local and public sector reform because the Scottish Government have no ideas of merit, it is a key debate of this Holyrood term.
Police reform is a tip of a very large iceberg.

On job losses Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill has intimated should not happen in a letter to staff and officers in September but he doesn’t have operational control so although his letter may allay fears, it isn’t worth the paper it is written on.

Les Gray, chairman of the Scottish Police Federation, said:

"It would be ludicrous if the new police service had to pay VAT. That would be like washing public funds down the drain – money that should be spent on providing the public with an excellent police service. It would be scandalous."

Gray is very much anti single force; however all over Scotland there are similar law enforcement bodies which are national services, UK Border Agency, Customs, Prison Service and Transport Police.

The Scottish Government has stated the new single service will not be a Non Departmental Public Body (NDPB) like the Scottish Police Services Authority, which has been forced to pay millions in VAT.

To return to job losses for a sec, Kenny MacAskill wrote to staff and said:

"All officers and staff in post when the new organisation is established will transfer to the new Scottish Police Service on the day of establishment and will retain their terms and conditions of service on transfer. There should be no compulsory redundancies."

What he did write was a guarantee of future employment because there can’t be while the restructure takes place because all levers must be available to the organizers of the new body.

It has first to contract to a core unit then it can expand properly, everyone should know this without it having to be said.

A spokesman for the Scottish Government said:

"It will be for the new service, after detailed planning and transitional work, to determine the workforce balance of the new service. All personnel in post on the day of reform will be entitled to transfer to the new service."

Clearly, the Scottish Government is setting out its stall that job losses although regrettable are out of their hands.

But it was wrong for Kenny MacAskill to imply that everyone’s job would be safe, tell the truth is far better politically, don’t leave people with false hope because people can’t live on that.

Anyway, onwards and upwards, there are other ideas such as introducing a commercial arm as part of the national force structure but that is for another time and place.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

All opposition parties unite as SNP railroads sectarian football bill through Holyrood, Mulholland calls it ‘important legislation’, bollocks

2011-12-15T15:18:00.009Z

Dear All

After the Scottish National Party won the Holyrood 2011 election, Alex Salmond said that the SNP may have won Scotland's first majority government but it "did not have a monopoly on wisdom".

He is of course absolutely right on that score.

Which brings me; to the SNP using its majority at Holyrood to pass the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications Bill.

That was totally the wrong approach to take to tackle this problem.

How bad is this crap bill?

Bad enough to unite all opposition parties against this bad law, the law effectively allows Police to arrest anyone for singing what could be later construed as a sectarian song.

However, the Scottish government have not defined what songs could lead to someone or group getting arrested.

So, a person could be lifted, taken to court and it would be up to a jury to decide if they want to convict.

This will be based not on law; but possibly their own prejudices.

Law by its very nature must be clear and although ignorance of the law is not a defence in itself, this law could be argued with some merit that it isn’t human rights compliant.

A key part of convicting is establishing what is called ‘mens rea’, which means when the person or group committed the crime, did they have a ‘guilty mind’.

This standard common law test of criminal liability is usually expressed in the Latin phrase; ‘actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea’, which means "the act does not make a person guilty unless the mind is also guilty".

Ergo, any decent lawyer or possibly second year law student on the ball could drive a truck right up the Scottish Government’s arse; do a U turn using the hand brake and wheel spin away taking their client out of Court.

Free!

It's shit law and to quote Alex Salmond again, Scotland's first majority government doesn’t have a monopoly on wisdom.

We now have two new offences created for targeting sectarian behaviour in and around football matches and on the internet.

Those convicted could spend as long as five years in prison and be banned from football grounds.

5 years for singing a song?

The SNP was wrong to use its majority at Holyrood to pass the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications Bill but they left the door open by saying that they promised to review the use of the new powers.

Juries are generally sensible by enlarge but they do have odd characters on them, if you haven’t been on a jury it is an eye opener, believe me. But in the madness of the jury process, someone usually exercises common sense.

To be blunt, if I was on a jury and this shit was put to me, I would argue with some merit how utterly wrong this is in both law and in natural justice.

Passing bad law brings the Parliament into disrepute.

Last night opposition parties took the unusual step as I previously said of uniting to brand the bill, which has won backing from police and prosecutors as a shambles and unworkable.

Labour, Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, Greens and Independent MSP Margo MacDonald issued a joint statement after the vote at Holyrood.

It read:

"Members of all political parties are determined to wipe the blight of sectarianism from Scottish society. It is of real regret that the first piece of legislation passed by this new Parliament has been railroaded through by the SNP. The SNP has used its majority to force through bad law that risks doing more harm than good. It sets a worrying precedent for this Parliament."

As I previously blogged, consensus is dead, unfortunately the SNP believe that they are the ‘new establishment’, this is delusion thinking and reminds me of Blair and his landslide in 1997.

And we all know what happened to Blair, from hero to zero, and then cast out.

Community Safety Minister Roseanna Cunningham trying to justify this tripe reminded MSPs of on-field flashpoints at Old Firm encounters, bullets and bombs through the post and internet threats to Celtic manager Neil Lennon and other prominent Celtic figures.

All this could be dealt with using current law provisions.

She said:

"This simple point seems to have been lost in what I think is a fog of denial and sometimes apparently wilful misunderstanding. These are clear and specific improvements to the existing law."

I sincerely hope that someone else wrote that for her and she just parroted it out, I would prefer to believe she is ignorant of the subject matter rather than plain stupid.

Tory Justice Spokesman David McLetchie poured scorn the notion of asking police or prosecutors if they wanted new powers to being a akin to asking someone if they wanted a pay rise.

He predicted:

"What we will now see is a flood of prosecutions under the Act. No doubt this will be presented as a great success by the SNP, but in reality it will be a sham."

Labour justice spokesman James Kelly said:

"We all know that throughout this process, it has not been competently handled by the minister. What we need is a properly thought-out strategy on sectarianism, one that is informed by real people, not civil servants in St Andrew's House."

Lord Advocate Frank Mulholland QC, Scotland's top law officer, said:

"I welcome the passing of this Bill, which is one of the most important pieces of legislation to be passed by the Scottish Parliament."

I hold Frank Mulholland in contempt, what an arselicker.

20 Celtic supporters who travelled to Holyrood under the banner “Fans Not Criminals” were excluded from the public gallery for wearing campaign T-shirts.

Each wore a T shirt spelling out a letter to make a combined message and they intended to stand up and turn round when a Bill to tackle religious hatred and bigotry related to football was passed, to spell out “SNP – Shame on You.”

Jeanette Findlay, chairwoman of the Celtic Supporters’ Trust, said they had come to protest against this “shockingly unnecessary Bill”.

Ms. Findlay unfortunately gave a TV interview were she demonstrated how common she is, possibly not the best advocate for a protest group but her group did have a point, even although it was cheap, badly thought-out and ineffective.

She is also a Glasgow University product.

Over at the Herald Scotland, Iain MacWhirter writes:

"This dumb, unjust law is Salmond's first own goal"

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Human rights abusing Glasgow University admits internal reform plans ‘over-ambitious’, no shit Sherlock, corrupt foreigner Anton Muscatelli Principal

2011-12-14T16:10:00.010Z

Dear All

It seems that down at the human rights abusing Glasgow University they have over-reaching themselves by trying to be creative.

Having spent 20 years at ‘University of Guantanamo Bay’, I was used to seeing fu*k up after fu*k up after fu*k up.

One reason I believed was the university became a crony infested pit.

Simple minded fu*ks have been employed who have a ‘key’ skill.

Burying themselves in other people’s asses and drawing breath only to tell their 'guru' how wonderful they are.

It was one of the deeply unpleasant sights to witness at the university, I didn’t involve myself in such behaviour while working as a fitness coach because unlike others who wanted to be the ‘pals’ of the students and staff, I actually had skills.

I taught fitness and weight training in my youth on a purely charitable basis and was the best in my field.

There was no competition during my time there; the fitness staff even had to go to my training partners for advice on how to better lay out their gym.

Anyway, the biggest reform of the institution for decades hasn’t gone well, with an internal report saying the move to replace nine academic faculties with four colleges in one year was "over-ambitious".

Bad news for corrupt foreigner Anton Muscatelli!

Doesn't seem like brains are embedded does it?

Senior vice-principal and Vet school character Andrea Nolan also said the financial climate was not ideal.

So speaks the 'voice of wisdom', someone probably told her what a great job she done writing it.

Big thinking isn’t the same as sticking your arm up a cow’s arse Nolan, it takes vision, planning and possibly real genius.

Any halfwit can stand on the sidelines and snipe when it goes wrong.

I always said that if the photocopiers ever breakdown at Glasgow University, then senior management would be effectively paralysed.

'University of Guantanamo Bay' recently was crying over £20 million of cuts which led to voluntary redundancies seeing 264 staff leaving.

Those at the top, saw ‘the trough’ fully protected.

As well as the ‘big idea’ there was another dead donkey roaming about called MyCampus, which sucked up significant numbers of staff being tied up developing a controversial £14m student enrolment website.

The numbers were less than those who hit the beaches on the 6th June 1944 in Normandy; they at least were going forward.

Not fighting a rearguard action.

The workload was said to be putting a great strain on staff because of an increased workload.

Nolan's report said the university had been responding to "major budgetary pressures due to the deteriorating economic climate and public funding situation".

Wow, all that education and the ability to state the bleeding obvious, what a great pity her Veterinary trained mind couldn’t have spoken up before the problems started.

The report summed up by saying:

"The introduction of the new structure was undertaken against a backdrop of significant change, both as a result of internal commitment to delivering the strategy and as a result of funding changes in the external environment”.

Translated, it was the wrong time to start a project because we are skint.

Nolan added:

"With hindsight, the senior management group was overly optimistic about what it wished to achieve within the associated time-scales, given the range of other projects that were planned and those that had to be initiated as a result of changes in the external environment."

Senior management is led by David Newall who I never found to be very bright in my dealings with him.

Not very bright with an attitude problem!

Dave Anderson, president of the Glasgow University branch of the UCU lecturers' union, said:

"We have called on senior management to do more to address the concerns of staff that are overburdened as a result of restructuring and to provide the support required to ensure the university's reputation is maintained in coming years."

Years ago while trawling through the University Court Minutes; my eye was caught by a proposal to increase the number of foreign students which could only be to create a cash cow culture to increase revenue.

The university has continued to move towards this principle.

In 2009 a paper prepared for the university's court stressed the importance of streamlining university management to ensure money was spent improving the university's performance.

Presumably some of the lower echelons were to be moved about and possibly out, it was a time to keep your head or pressed to someone senior’s arse in much the same way as troops landed on Omaha beach heads were buried in the sand as mortars and machine gun fire raked the beach.

The paper said:

"Compared to those universities currently in the world's top 50 we have relatively poor international and postgraduate student numbers, our research is not published consistently in journals - and our research capability is not regarded as highly by our peers."

I remember a PhD student telling me the story of someone trying to publish the same stuff twice in an academic journal and a bit of a hue and cry about it.

It was a very sordid episode indeed in Glasgow University history.

The PhD student also added that Sport Science pioneered to some extent at Glasgow University was a ‘load of wank’ and these people weren’t real scientists.

Some people produced a paper on the benefits of using an escalator instead of the stairs by putting up a poster at the bottom, as someone who was a fitness coach; I was appalled that such low grade shit would even be considered to be published.

And anyone would want their name associated with it.

To return to the main issue, a Glasgow University paid spokesman said:

"We are confident that the University of Glasgow is now well placed academically and financially and will continue to deliver world-class teaching and research and the best all-round experience for our students”.

Including institutional bullying, discrimination, harassment, malpractice and criminal fraud, they can’t even do that properly without getting caught out.

http://glasgowunihumanrights.blogspot.com/2009/08/glasgow-university-senior-management.html

This post shows in detail how corrupt, stupid and arrogant so called ‘educated’ people are, publicly beaten by a student doing a 20 credit Egyptology course.

Another red letter day for corrupt foreigner Anton Muscatelli, another bridge too far!

Still there is the big salary, car, uni chauffeur and Principal’s house to be had.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Labour leader hopeful Johann Lamont tackles Scottish Government as Cadder ruling blamed as rape convictions plunge, Scotland is a corrupt country

2011-12-14T15:08:00.004Z

Dear All

Rape is a serious crime; the effects on the victims are long lasting, that is why it is important to ensure that any police investigation and prosecution of anyone charged is done properly.

That is the only way to ensure justice, however like any crime there will be people who are guilty who get away with it and others who are innocent who get convicted.

The human element in trials produces perverse results something, but we need such due process to safeguard the system.

Government statistics released yesterday state there were just 36 rape and attempted rape convictions during 2010/11, compared with 54 in the previous 12 months.

Statistics are useful but justice we should remember isn’t a numbers game or treated as such.

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) say the drop was a result of the Supreme Court Cadder ruling.

This could be looked at another way that the Fiscal Service and the Police aren’t effective enough in pursuing evidence.

Cadder cannot be the problem because Police interviewing a suspect would have to behave in exactly the same way as they would do if a solicitor was present.

Is the Fiscal Service saying Police use different techniques when interviewing suspects when a lawyer isn’t present?

This could possibly mean that Police use intimidation/bullying/oppressive tactics/threats etc.

The Cadder ruling whether some like it or not was essential and more important it was a human right because anyone accused is entitled under Article Six to a fair trial.

Questioning with a solicitor present upholds that principle and human right so long denied in Scotland.

The allegation made by The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) is all about directing attention away from THEIR failure.

The Cadder judgment, published by the Supreme Court in October last year, ruled it was a breach of the European Convention on Human Rights to allow an accused to be detained and interviewed by police without the right to a solicitor, this was standard in many EU countries and beyond.

Scotland operated a corrupt practice until it was stopped by the UK Supreme Court and the Scottish Government, the Appeals Court and Fiscal Service were all 100% behind denying ordinary citizens human rights.

Legal protection and a fair trial process are part of the glue which holds society together; we cannot allow unfair trials even if we thought someone is guilty.
The end can never justify the means in such cases.

The State have to prove a person or group is guilty using due process, following the letter and the spirit of the law exactly.

There can be no other way because allowing guilty people off on a technicality is an insult to victims of crime.

A COPFS spokesman said that Cadder meant that in many cases dealt with since then had "essential evidence" from police interviews lost and the Crown was unable to proceed with cases that would previously have gone to court.

This is the fault of The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, they conspired to deny justice then it backfired in their faces.

They should have addressed the problem but with the Appeals Court being so ineffective, they thought wrongly they could get away with it.

It was laziness, arrogance and stupidity on their part, they thought they were untouchable.

COPFS spokesman added:

"The Supreme Court ruling in the Cadder case has meant that in many cases essential evidence from admissions made by a suspect in police interview has been lost to the Crown. Given the nature of the crime of rape and attempted rape, admissions by the suspect were often essential to provide the necessary corroboration, especially of penetration. COPFS was therefore unable to proceed with cases that relied upon admissions made by the accused and which could have proceeded prior to the Cadder case."

If a person is willing to confess, the fact they have a solicitor shouldn’t change that, solicitors only advise their clients of their rights.

Rape should never be seen as a number games or that if a ‘quota’ isn’t reached that is somehow a failure.

Justice is and must be decided on evidence by using due process; there must be safeguards to ensure that both parties are treated correctly regardless of personal feelings on whether we think someone is guilty.

The Cadder ruling is an historic judgement by the UK Supreme Court which is a water shed moment in legal history.

It has caused problems, the chief one being that the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and Police were forced to obey the law.

Not by choice but forced.

That is why so many people have no faith in such a corrupt system.

As someone with an interest in law, the Cadder ruling is a totally correct interpretation of the Human Rights Act and European Convention on Human Rights, it demonstrates classical legal judgment.

It is very unfortunately that the result of the Cadder case has led to a situation where possibly the guilty have benefited.

The Cadder ruling had to be passed.

If independence is to be achieved, the justice system needs to be massively overhauled to be brought up to date.

At present, we should be grateful to the UK Supreme Court and people like Lord Hope who in my mind has the same stature as Lord Denning for doing what needed to be done in the face of such ill judged opposition.

We sorely need such wisdom north of the border, only then can we have justice as a bedrock of a new Scottish society.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Lord Lawson says the single currency of the Euro is ‘doomed’ and Cameron was right to use his veto, we await the train wreck on grassy knoll

2011-12-13T14:03:00.007Z

Dear All

The European Union is a good idea; I am and always have been very much a supporter of it, right from the start.

Unfortunately, the European dream has turned in the wrong direction in a number of issues.

The single currency on the surface seemed like a good idea, but the problem is the idea was flawed.

Europe is too big, too diverse; one currency by its very nature demands one fiscal policy right through-out the entire eurozone.

That cannot happen as it involves a loss of sovereignty and leaves countries experiencing economic problems hamstrung.

Europe’s problems aren’t unique but the solution of austerity and trying to grow out of the problem by loading up more debt is wrong.

Debt growth is a killer.

Some people like former chancellor Lord Lawson believe that Europe will return to growth and prosperity much more quickly if the single currency is broken up.

That idea has merit but this action in itself won’t be enough, banking and its practices must be addressed.

On top of that new service models of local and national government need to be developed.

We hear a lot of talk about cost efficiencies by governments but these are counter productive, like peas on a plate, they keep getting moved around, somewhere in the chain, someone suffers through reduced services.

David Cameron has used Britain’s veto, which has put him at odds with the other 26 states; he is right and at the same time wrong.

The City of London is a problem, before the 2010 there was a lot of talk about tackling bankers, this turned out to be a lie, a complete lie, the Tories and Lib Dems dropped that dead donkey in the most expedient fashion.

Lawson said:

"I don't know how long it's going to take for Europe to return to growth but it will certainly take much longer if they don't accept the reality and take the necessary steps."

Adding:

"Trying to go on and preserve the eurozone is a tremendous mistake."

Lawson has an excellent track record, when in 1989, he made one of the first speeches predicting the political and economic crises it would create.

Unfortunately, lesser beings pressed on with they know better and we have all seen how that has turned out.

Europe will have to address a large number of serious issues soon or later, one thing is certain is that pain is coming much more than we have seen before.

It will be a tsunami of political unrest coupled with a toxic mix of austerity and debt.

Lord Lawson says the Euro is doomed, it is an opinion held by many, with talk that Germany could return to its old currency.

And talk of gold backed currency returning, highly unlikely at present with such debt burdens effectively making that decades away.

The price of gold is sky high.

The route of success is default, from the ashes there lies the opportunity to rebuild and re-capitalise.

Greece should totally default, why they haven’t done so is a sign of weak political management.

Italy isn’t much better and Spain and Portugal are bubbling away with their own internal problems.

One interesting happening was the sale or lack of sales of German bonds just recently; we need to start raising the interest paid to people with savings to a decent return.

The 99% need to see growth rather than all money just being shipped across the table to the 1%.

David Cameron feels his veto buys breathing space for the UK, but if he doesn’t use his time wisely, he will be a spectator at the train wreck of the Euro becoming unstuck and it will ripple across Britain as well as Europe.

Its like being on ice, you know once the slide starts you are going down, and when it comes it will be like quick sliver.

And a plan is need for that moment.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Joyce Juszczak gets miracle drug as she nearly dies from potentially fatal blood clot, she loses a third of a kidney, Scottish Government shame

2011-12-13T12:37:00.009Z

Dear All

The Scottish National Party should hang its head in shame for doing nothing for Joyce Juszczak.

The pensioner who was refused treatment for a life-threatening blood condition has suffered a potentially fatal blood clot.

Only now has she received a "miracle" drug, eculizumab to treat the disease when this should have been done right from the very start.

Unsurprisingly Joyce Juszczak's family say they are angry.

Health is seen as the flagship policy of the Scottish Government, that image now lies in tatters because it was obvious what needed to be done.

Joyce Juszczak had highly skilled medical professionals in her corner making the case but NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde where using ‘cover’ of others to deny her drugs.

The fatal blood clot has destroyed one-third of her kidney.

This isn’t an anonymous case Joyce Juszczak went to the Scottish Parliament to beg for help.

129 MSPs who claim to be ‘honoured’ to serve the public meet there but the reality is they are ‘honoured’ to serve themselves with a high salary, expenses and perks.

Her appearance which embarrassed the Scottish Parliament led to a review and her consultant submitted a new application for the drug to NHS GGC after her clot.

Application submitted Tuesday, drug approved on Friday afternoon.

After she got the miracle drug her family said that she already looked a lot better.

I blogged previously on this issue and yet again, George Laird was proven right.

What a great pity so many in my party, the SNP who ‘fight’ for Scotland were ‘missing in action’ on this issue, we know that they weren’t ‘KIA’; they are still picking up the taxpayer funded salaries.

They are the ‘team players’ who stood in silence while Joyce Juszczak suffered unbelievably pain and suffering, the 'sycophant generation'.

One of Mrs Juszczak's daughters, Beverley Hardie said:

"I think it is disgraceful she had to have a life-threatening clot before they would agree to fund this treatment. If the clot had gone to her brain, heart or lungs she probably wouldn't have survived."

Mrs Juszczak's consultant haematologist, Dr Henry Hambley said:

"I am over the moon she has now been started on eculizumab. As far as I am concerned that should have happened before now. Thankfully the infarct occurred in an organ where there is considerable redundancy. If it had been her brain then it would have been a completely different story."
She would have been dead.

The Joyce Juszczak case is now being used by Patient groups to highlight how Scotland is failing more than 350,000 people affected by a rare disease.

I attended a recent SNP meeting where the ‘hot’ topic under discussion was Council election 2012, among issues raised to campaign on, potholes and dog shit as issues of concern.

Who gives a shit about potholes and dog shit when the real issues aren’t being addressed?

Joyce Juszczak has lost one-third of her kidney.

Her problem was that she wasn’t important enough or rich enough or had the right kind of status to get help.

The SNP needs more people's champions and less of the gutless bastards in its ranks who are afraid to speak out.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Is it not time to sack Justice Sec Kenny MacAskill as anger grows over plans to abolish independent jail monitors, what happened to democracy?

2011-12-12T13:33:00.008Z

Dear All

This is a story which is ironic and also not funny.

It also shows yet again that ‘justice’ under the leadership of Kenny MacAskill is the worst run portfolio in the SNP Government.

Scotland’s prison visiting committees have learned that there are plans to replace them with an advocacy service run by a government department.

This has been likened to Scotland being compared to a “South American dictatorship” but without the bananas.

There has been an SNP “consultation” in which there were 60 responses submitted to the Scottish Government.

59 in favour of keeping the present arrangement and 1 against, not surprising the negative response was from the Scottish Prison Service.

They are not keen on independent monitors and so it seems neither is the SNP Government.

Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill has since written to members to explain they will be disbanded early next year.

Is it not time to sack Kenny MacAskill or demoted him to deputy justice sec, a post without any responsibility.

Justice under the SNP has failed to shine since MacAskill was appointed by Alex Salmond in 2007.

Ian Hamilton of Stone of Destiny fame has no respect for Kenny MacAskill and has openly blogged on his concerns how justice under MacAskill’s helm is going wrong.

The facts are that a Scottish Government review has suggested the committees played an important role in monitoring and providing independent analysis of prison and prisoner conditions.

SNP Ministers have decided to replace the committees with advocacy panels for reasons of “effectiveness”.

Which begs the question, if independence is wrong for reasons of “effectiveness”, does that also extend to independence being wrong because the SNP have already condemned separation as being ineffective?

And the independent monitor has had a major endorsement, when a official Russian delegation visited to find out more about them.

It seems that the Russians can recognise a good idea when it is staring them point blank in the face.

Tom Swinney, vice chairman of the Barlinnie Visiting Committee said:

“How can Scotland, unlike every other part of the UK and the Republic of Ireland, not have prison visiting committees and instead have no truly independent unfettered citizens checking what goes on in our prisons? This happens in totalitarian states such as Syria and was common in South American dictatorships”.

And in South American dictatorships, their leaders eventually get replaced when they become so out of touch.

Swinney added:

“I wonder how the present law can be changed without complaints from Amnesty, the UN or indeed the European Court of Human Rights. The provision of an advocacy service is welcome but it cannot hold the prison service to account or be independent while a contracted provider of services to SPS.”

This statement is 100%, Scotland is a corrupt country and with the removal of independent monitors, it seems that Scotland is going backwards not as the SNP tend to suggest forward.

A 2005 review concluded:

“Visiting committees continue to provide a unique community-based means of ensuring that the people detained on our behalves in prison are decently treated, regardless of what they have done. Visiting committees should be the community’s eyes and ears in the prison system... The group agreed that VCs should be retained but that there was a need to re-examine the ways in which they were currently functioning.”

With the SNP trying to promote more community engagement in health, this flies in the face of the SNP policy of community engagement.

A spokeswoman for the Scottish Government said:

“In line with our ambition to build a prison service fit for the 21st century we will be replacing the Prison Visiting Committees with a dedicated independent prisoner advocacy service. We are very grateful to the members of the committees for their hard work and dedication over the years”.

A whole paragraph to say ‘fuck you’ seems overly excessive to me.

In an ominous sign the spokeswoman said:

“This new service will place great emphasis on supporting prisoners to address their offending behaviour and to contribute to reducing reoffending”.

It seems already that complaints are to be given lip service.

A rather sad day for Scotland when people are being frozen out of justice, it isn’t enough that justice is done, it has to be seen to be done.

It is time to sack Kenny MacAskill as Justice Minster, we can’t move forward to an independence vote when such doubts exist under his watch.

Alex Salmond said in his winning speech:

“The nation can be better, it wants to be better, and I will do all I can as First Minister to make it better. We have given ourselves the permission to be bold and we will govern fairly and wisely, with an eye to the future but a heart to forgive”.

It seems that Alex Salmond can deliver a carefully crafted speech to a highly polished standard what a great pity we can’t have 'fair and wise' in the prison service by retaining independent monitors.

We need substance over style and spin Alex.

Spin will only carry you so far, then comes the day people ask you direct questions to your face.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Poster takes George Laird to task on the nature of justice, a two tier justice system based on wealth can never work in a modern society

2011-12-07T15:52:00.004Z

Dear unfair justice

You wrote:

“It seems an unfair punishment seizing cars. Shouldn't justice be meted out equally for the same crime?”

If every drunk drivers car is seized that is equal justice.

Are you seriously floating the idea that because someone is rich using your brand new BMW example that they get special treatment?

Why should they?

“How can seizing someone's new BMW that they've just started payments on be equal to seizing an old banger off someone?”

That is easy to answer in the eyes of the law a vehicle is just a vehicle, the fact that someone maybe starting payments is a moot point.

Although it maybe floated in a mitigation plea post guilty verdict, no decent lawyer would use it as an excuse during a trial because it asks the judge to be lenient because someone is wealthy.

And in the eyes of the law justice is supposed to be blind to such considerations.

No, the place to ‘beg’ would be under the Criminal Procedures (Scotland) Act 1995 section 196 (1).

Here is the section 196.

196

Sentence following guilty plea.

(1)]
In determining what sentence to pass on, or what other disposal or order to make in relation to, an offender who has pled guilty to an offence, a court [F2shall] take into account—

(a)
the stage in the proceedings for the offence at which the offender indicated his intention to plead guilty, and

(b)
the circumstances in which that indication was given.

(1A)
In passing sentence on an offender referred to in subsection (1) above, the court shall—

(a)
state whether, having taken account of the matters mentioned in paragraphs (a) and (b) of that subsection, the sentence imposed in respect of the offence is different from that which the court would otherwise have imposed; and
(b)
if it is not, state reasons why it is not.]

(2)
Where the court is passing sentence on an offender under section 205B(2) of this Act and that offender has pled guilty to the offence for which he is being so sentenced, the court may, after taking into account the matters mentioned in paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (1) above, pass a sentence of less than seven years imprisonment or, as the case may be, detention but any such sentence shall not be of a term of imprisonment or period of detention of less than five years, two hundred and nineteen days.

Drink driving kills, we all know, if people are wealthy enough to be paying up a ‘beamer’, they can pay for a taxi or other mode of transport.

People make a pro active choice to drink drive; they should expect to feel the full force of the law when caught.

Given the choice of upsetting a drunk driver or telling a family that their husband, wife, mother, son or daughter is dead because of a drunk driver, who would you rather upset?

Justice should be fair, but that doesn’t mean it should be weak.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Mikhail Gorbachev calls for Russian election vote to be annulled as allegations of vote rigging emerge and monitors say election was ‘unfair’

2011-12-07T15:24:00.005Z

Dear All

Although domestic matters tend to dominate politicians thinking at Westminster and Holyrood, there is an interesting develop happening in Russia.

Russia has been dominated by Vladimir Putin, the ‘Tony Blair’ of Russia, he has been the dominant force for several years, moving from President to Prime Minister to continue his hold on power.

But Putin hasn’t a great history; his United Russia Party is losing popularity and voters in droves.

Like all political parties, there comes a time when they peak and the people want change.

That is what is happening in Russia.

Allegations have emerged of voting fraud, something which was noticed during the Blair years.

The problem has led ex-Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to say that the Russian authorities must annul the parliamentary vote results and hold a new election.

An extraordinary statement by Mikhail Gorbachev!

Thousands of security forces have taken to Moscow's streets in a bid to maintain order as people for a third day have caused unrest.

He said:

“More and more people are starting to believe that the election results are not fair. I believe that ignoring public opinion discredits the authorities and destabilises the situation. Authorities must admit that there have been numerous falsifications and ballot stuffing.”

However, it is unlikely that a new election will be held in such a poisonous atmosphere which could see a voter collapse for United Russia as swing voters change their mind.

So far, 250 protesters have been arrested in clashes in central Moscow.

To tighten security over 51,000 troops are now on high alert on the capital's streets over potential further trouble.

And in a bad sign, the Police have detained the leader of the opposition Yabloko party, Sergei Mitrokhin during protests in Triumphal Square, Moscow.

Putin has ordered that these protests should be quashed and Russians aren’t best known for diplomacy.

In an Arab Spring type scenario troops joined the fray to block off Triumphal Square last night as running battles take place between demonstrators, who were chanting 'Putin is a crook and a thief.'

Pro-government United Russia supporters have also rallied across town in Revolution Square near the Kremlin.

This is so much like we have seen in Arab and Western countries, were protestors against the government occupy a square only to be crushed by troops.

And typically among those arrested is the leader of the opposition Yabloko party, Sergei Mitrokhin, Boris Nemtsov, a liberal leader, prominent radical Eduard Limonov and Oleg Orlov, head of the human rights group Memorial.

This doesn’t look good when such prominent people are arrested; it is a throwback to the dark days of Stalin’s Russia.

Since the result of Sunday's election has been declared independent monitors have described it as 'unfair'.

Not a good sign and Putin’s United Russia is filled with ex KGB and ex FSB personnel.

Interior Ministry forces spokesman Colonel Vasily Panchenkov told the Interfax news agency:

“They (the troops) have just one aim to ensure the security of the citizens.”

The crowds began to gather again last night despite Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin saying any unsanctioned street protests had to be quashed.

The hardline leader's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said:

“The actions of those who hold unsanctioned demonstrations must be stopped in the appropriate way.”

Expect violence, troops are not equipped to handle civil unrest; they are a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

It is not surprising that Putin’s Party has dropped significantly since Putin has authoritarian streak and widespread official corruption is rife.

This is something which can happen in political parties when they think that their popularity will go unchallenged. The middle class elite start to allow discrimination and vote rigging even within their own ranks.

When it becomes public knowledge such parties lose public trust.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

New drink driving idea, three times over the limit and your car could be seized, lets start talking, over the limit, car seized period, zero tolerance

2011-12-06T14:18:00.004Z

Dear All

Drink driving kills.

Each year at this time various governments run an anti drink driving campaigns in order to remind people to be responsible and stay sober behind the wheel.

But we have continually seen that some motorists are still taking the chance, it is a gamble with people’s lives as well as their own.

Now, a new idea is to be tried motorists caught driving more than three times the legal alcohol limit or refusing a breath test will face having their car confiscated.

I think rather than set a limit of three times, we should moved to a system where anyone who is over the limit will get their vehicle confiscated.

This would encourage absolute zero as a strategy among drivers.

The "get-tough" measures were unveiled by police and prosecutors because as I say we generally run a ‘crackdown’ on drink-driving with increased roadside patrols over the festive period.

So, expect to be pulled over, it’s a pain but get that than the horrific accidents we see flagged up in the news.

Figures by the Scottish Government show that 155 vehicles have been seized and either destroyed or sold after the vehicle forfeiture scheme launched in 2009.

The scheme has powers under the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 to include those driving under the influence of drugs or motorists caught for a second time drink or drug-driving.

The new measures deal with drivers who refuse a roadside breath test and then refuse to undertake a further breath test or provide a urine or blood sample at a police station.

7563 people in Scotland were caught driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and every one of them should have had their vehicle seized and sold off.

This is an average of around 20 offenders every single day. That is a ridiculous amount of people dicing with others lives.

The forfeiture scheme has seen 702 repeat offenders caught since 2009. Clearly repeat offenders should be facing lifetime bans from driving without exception.

Kenny MacAskill, Cabinet Secretary for Justice, said the new measures were intended to demonstrate a zero-tolerance approach to drink-driving.

If we are going to have zero tolerance then it is a bit of a mockery to set a three times over the limit means getting your vehicle seized. Better to be blunt, over the limit lose your vehicle, no exceptions.

He said:

"The system to catch those who break the law is working well. This year, over 7500 drunk or drugged drivers have lost their licence and been taken off our roads. Thirty deaths caused by drink or drug-driving each year is thirty too many, and it will be tolerated no longer. We will continue to lobby the UK Government for powers to reduce the drink-drive limit and work towards eradicating this problem once and for all."

Although Police stop checks do catch people, there are still a number of people who aren’t caught and there is any data on those people unfortunately as they are unlikely to confess.

Chief Constable Justine Curran, vice-president of the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (Acpos), said:

"In Scotland we are on patrol 24 hours a day, every day of the year, catching those who pose a threat to our safety. Last year, 7563 people in Scotland were caught driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, which is an average of around 20 offenders every day.

"It is staggering that so many people are willing to risk their lives and the lives of others. From today, over the festive campaign, we will be increasing our road patrols, targeting those who continue to drive under the influence of drink or drugs.

"This year's campaign marks another extension to the vehicle forfeiture scheme. From today, if we discover through our inquiries that an offender is three times the legal limit or more, we will request that the court gives consideration to seizing and forfeiting the offender's vehicle.

"This means that on conviction the vehicle will be sold or destroyed."

Ms. Curran should be lobbying for a much lower figure, because drunk drivers may feel that they have a cushion, we shouldn’t allow such a mentality to develop.

So, the message to people as always is don’t drink and drive, use a taxi, jump a bus or train or get a designated driver and stay safe.

Everyone is entitled to a happy xmas and a safe one.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Open letter to SNP List MSP Joan McAlpine; why isn’t 2,000 plus years religious faith good enough for Alex Salmond and the Scottish Government?

2011-12-05T16:31:00.011Z

Dear Ms. McAlpine

I read some comments made by you on another blog and would like to address some of your points.

“given that the SNP government is consulting on equal marriage, that the FM has said he supports equal marriage and his deputy Nicola Sturgeon has made it clear that the cabinet is also inclined to support it”.

This would tend to strongly suggest the ‘consultation’ is therefore a sham because already both Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon and presumably the rest of the Cabinet have already decided.

What new information would make them change their mind since they don’t seem to regard faith and religious beliefs as valid enough?

I would suggest none.

Do Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon support the “rights” of gay Muslims to marry in Glasgow Central Mosque?

I don’t know.

I hear talk of ‘equal’ marriage, but some politicians are loathed to say they support gay religious marriage and therefore fall back on; this is a matter of conscience.

“Polls show that Scottish people support it because most Scottish people, whatever their background, will have friends and family who are gay”.

The real issue however is whether the Catholic, Protestant and Muslim organisations will allow this to happen within their churches and mosques; they have said they will not.

So, effectively, it is a ‘right’ that cannot be accessed except by people unless they use the minor religious groups such as Quakers etc.

“Scotland has changed and moved forward, just as many other countrys have”.

What do you mean by ‘change’ and well done in sticking the latest SNP tag line in, ‘forward’, this country is still deeply corrupt.

7 Appeal Court judges in the Cadder Case sitting in Edinburgh proved that beyond a shadow of a doubt by ‘siding’ with the Crown Office.

A halfwit could see the merits of the Cadder Case.

In a political correct culture such as ours, if a person speaks out against the ‘doctrine’ they can be branded as bigots or worse, so how is that change?

Would you say that your employee and wife of Muslim MSP Humza Yousaf, Gail Lythgoe was moving ‘forward’ when she smeared and defamed the Labour MP Ian Davidson just recently by saying he had a ‘history of bullying women’?

In writing this article, I am grateful for one thing, she established the principle in the public domain that SNP Members can comment in a private capacity.

It is unsurprising that when someone is faced with being asked such a loaded question on gay marriage, they take the line of least resistance and say yes.

If the question was phrased differently, we could see an entirely different answer.

For example, ‘Do you believe that religious organisations and personnel should be forced against their will to do something contrary to their beliefs?’

And what do we call it when someone is forced to do something against their will?

We call it being victimised.

But what we are really talking about is a minority trying to force their views on religious organisations such as the Catholic, Protestant and Muslim faiths when they have clearly expressed their opinion.

The word is no.

And no means no!

I know I keep repeating this point, but some people don’t understand the word ‘no’ so it has to be repeatedly drummed into them.

The head of the Catholic Church, the Pope isn’t going to allow this, so in the event this becomes law, it is a pyrrhic victory.

A law that requires consent by a third party because it needs others to make a pro active choice is a nonsense, and isn’t even a human right. You may make it legal on paper but as to being a human right, many will suggest it still isn’t.

But don’t let that stop you and others spinning this by using language that this is a ‘right’ or a ‘victory’ regarding the Catholic, Protestant and Muslim gay community.

They won nothing.

I will support gay civil marriage because that is an equality issue, all citizens are entitled to the same provisions and services provided by the State.

I will not support trying to force religious organisations against their will to have the views of others forced on them.

There is no human right to do that.

Nothing is a human right if it tramples on the human rights of others; unfortunately in the SNP so many people I meet don’t understand such a basic concept.

Recently I had to explain to a party member that the Scottish Government doesn’t have human rights because it is an institution. This was in regard to the UK Supreme Court upholding the human rights of ordinary people to take their cases to the Supreme Court on matters relating to dispute over miscarriages of justice based on their Article Six rights.

Where was Alex Salmond, Nicola Sturgeon’s and the rest of the SNP Cabinet’s outrage on that?

The sound of silence was deafening and embarrassing on the rights of the accused, it is not enough that justice is done; it must be seen to be done.

And if that means we go the extra mile, we do so; our citizens should have total confidence in the justice system and government.

In ‘defending’ the Scottish legal system, the upshot of that was an attempt by the Crown Office and Kenny MacAskill to deny ordinary people access to justice who felt they have a legitimate grievance regarding the trial.

It is not the job of the Justice Minister Kenny MacAskill to ‘side’ with the Crown Office that is how miscarriages of justice occur and are covered up, he should be impartial or what is the point of having such a position.

Didn't anyone learn the lessons of the Shirley McKie case?

Innocent until proven guilty until every avenue of due process is exhausted exists for good reason.

And that is the only way to look at that issue, not whether the Crown Office is being inconvenienced by being forced to follow the law.

I would agree with you that Gordon Wilson and others haven’t put their case properly but it doesn’t change the fact, they are entitled to their strong held religious beliefs.

Because that is a human right!

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Labour candidates focus on Alex Salmond at their hustings, he isn’t their ‘problem’, the problem is credibility, poor work ethnic and no policies

2011-12-02T13:47:00.004Z

Dear All

It seems that the Scottish Labour leadership contest is turning into a very negative affair.

Rather than the contenders spelling out their policies and their vision, they seem to be pre-occupied with the SNP and Alex Salmond.

Ken Macintosh fired off a broadside at a hustings meeting in Glasgow that the First Minister’s brand of politics was “personal, condescending, sneering” and demeaned the office.

He also went on to say, that the next Scottish Labour leader must not fall into the same trap as their predecessor Iain Gray.

Saying that although Iain Gray was “a very intelligent articulate man”, he had ended up “playing Salmond’s game and trading insults across the chamber”.

It seems that Macintosh is a little out of his depth in the grey matter stakes, since Gray has spin doctors and a week to craft questions, exactly the same as Wendy Alexander had and we all remember the comedy of her asking daft questions and get it all wrong.

Alexander was supposed to have a brain the size of a planet, more like dust particle after her performances.

So, Labour, Macintosh says needs a new strategy to take on Alex Salmond if they are to be successful; this is his pitch to party members which is obvious.

Macintosh added:

“All the people heard was two politicians shouting at each other and so the Labour message was lost. Iain’s personality was lost.”

Labour’s problem was 4 years of doing nothing, producing nothing and relying on cheap PR gimmicks and stunts like their phoney knife crime policy.

Anyone seen a private members bill from them?

No, and we probably never will, it was an election gimmick to generate fear and therefore votes.

Ken Macintosh warned:

“We will not beat Salmond by trying to out Salmond him … We have to go round him and over him to the people of Scotland. We have to offer a contrast. We have to talk about what we believe. We have to go round him, by him, over him, straight to the people of Scotland.”

This is a strategy that I used to teach circa 15 years ago at university when I was a fitness coach, but first you have to recognise the moment in time when the problem will occur. Labour it seemed ran straight up to the ‘brick wall’ and thought if they hit their face off it often enough, that would work, it didn’t.

Question is, this was happening week in week out and no one had the brains to say stop.

Pollok MSP Johann Lamont who is said to be the frontrunner told the hustings the key to success was to reach out beyond the party’s core vote.

Johann Lamont isn’t Einstein by any means, she is an empty vessel, someone who needs steered, if elected she should go out and employ someone to do ‘her’ thinking for her.

Preferably brilliant!

Her pitch during the hustings was Labour should not take on Salmond and the “Janus” face of nationalists “not simply by opposing him but by offering an alternative, positive vision of a Scotland driven by equality and social justice”.

This is somewhat right, but she is also somewhat wrong, the best campaigns are a mixture of both positive and negative campaigning with a human touch, politics is a serious business by the SNP used ‘comedy’ to show confidence.

Something I also was pushing to certain people in the party.

Ms Lamont added:

“We need policies which attract people but we also need policies which chime with their priorities whether it’s tackling youth unemployment or growing the economy. We must listen, to learn, to understand what their concerns are and rebuild their trust in us. We need a unity of purpose. If we are to serve Scotland again, we must reaffirm our values and persuade people Labour is in their interests.”

This is rhetoric, she doesn’t have any ideas, if she did we would have heard of them by now, she is part of Labour’s problem, not a solution.

The outsider Glasgow South MP Mr Harris, the only Westminster politician standing, said:

“We’re seen as delivering devolution for our own short-term political tactics to wrongfoot the nationalists. For some people that was the motivation but it was an appalling motivation. We have to reassert our commitment to devolution and to a whole range of principles so when people hear us speaking they know, even if they disagree with us, we are telling the truth.”

You can do more damage with the truth than lies and truth burns a last impression on the mind, lies have no place in politics, it is like putting a sticking plaster on a burst pipe, you may secure a moment’s respite but it doesn’t solve the problem.

The Council elections allow the Labour Party the chance to reconnect with the public, but they need a new message and a new attitude, at the Glasgow Labour Council of shame, there has been a clear out and rightly so.

But the new Councillors need to do more than their previous colleagues, they need to work because if Labour rebuild they have to do so from the bottom up, not top down.

Trust is an issue, people lost trust in Labour when they took the people for granted, it was arrogance and stupidity that saw them lose the election, they weren’t credible, the SNP could point to various policies such as freezes in council tax and prescriptions.

However, there is a new type of politics that both Labour and the SNP will have to address because they will be forced to, austerity politics.

Explaining pain and being creative in local government that is the new political battlefield were politics will be played on, cuts and service reduction will see politicians under severe pressure from the public.

Popularity comes and goes, competence is another animal entirely and that wins elections and voters.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Britain heads towards double dip recession as public anger against politicians grows, austerity hasn’t even started yet, there is much worst to come

2011-12-01T14:30:00.004Z

Dear All

For some considerable time, I have been blogging away that the UK's economy will slip back into a double dip recession.

Nothing will stop that happening under the current situation and structures in Britain.

Britain is not set up for recovery, already negative growth is happening this quarter and although xmas is nearly here, it will be light relief to future quarters of possible negative growth.

Effectively we need to stop trying to grow debt, because we are digging a bigger hole that soon will be impossible to climb out of.

What do we need?

We need shrinkage of the population.

This brings me onto another issue which I blog on, the internal immigration policy of the EU.

There isn’t one, and there should be, like a ship, Europe is being tilted in rough seas as too many people have climbed on HMS Britain from within Europe and beyond. It is in the European sense a huge measure because the treaty needs revisited and upgraded. When Europe was just a ‘Common Market’ there wasn’t a problem and the ‘founding fathers’ never thought ahead.

Like the Titanic, people thought Europe would be unsinkable, but it is seriously holed below the water line. To refloat it, we need to get people off, however that wouldn’t stop the problem.

The problem is debt and everything that falls from that like austerity which is tearing the weaker countries apart.

Greece is a prime example how it all went sideways and expect this to spread, austerity is a short term measure which in theory allows breathing space.

The OECD is predicting negative growth in the coming months, however this will run for at least 5 years possibly to nearly a decade, but to start again, everything has to fall.

Keeping the status quo is unsustainable and doomed to failure. Riots across Europe are a symptom of the wider problem.

A 'double-dip' recession will be accompanied by even higher unemployment figures, and civil unrest will led to further social problems as society in this case governments try to win support which will not be forthcoming from the people.

We might see the rise of smaller political parties making a comeback; someone has to present not just a vision but a future and road map of how we will get there. That means pain because things have to get worse before they can get better.

It will also require creative thinkers of how to get more for less, and that means replacing out dated service models in the public sector.

George Osborne will make an Autumn Statement; this is to announce more austerity to shore up the economy. He says there is no 'quick fix' for the economy and he right but by the same token, the Tories back tracked on tackling the banks and the people who run them.

That is why there can be no quick fix, in fact the only fix is there is worse to come; he hasn’t a plan for growth.

And he will not modify his deficit reduction plans.

We haven’t seen the real scale of the cuts.

Anyway the think tank OECD said the UK's GDP will shrink in the final quarter of 2011 and the first quarter of 2012.

This is the first time it has predicted a double-dip recession for the UK but it was always doing to be a double dip recession.

Anyone who thought it was a return to growth was bonkers. The markets are collapsing under fraudulent trading in commodities and derivatives.

Everyone is looking for the next big bubble to try and get rich quick; the housing market is artificially high by at least 40%.

Now, it is crashing and pricing people out of the chance to own a home.

David Cameron recently spoke of the ‘dream’ that people should have the chance to own their own place, expect to see more repossessions sky rocket over the next few years. There is no such thing as a bargain in housing.

The OECD also said unemployment, which currently stands at 8.3% will hit 9% in 2013. That is a figure which is generous as Councils start their cut backs and shedding of staff and funding of the voluntary sector gets cut. Look at your local high street, shops closing and being replaced with charity shops. In the heart of Glasgow City Centre, there are many charity shops a disproportionate number in prime locations.

Another disastrous piece of nonsense is the QE programme which is printing money backed by nothing effectively lowering the value of people’s savings.

This is being done to ‘help’ businesses via the banks as Osborne announces a programme of 'credit easing.

There is no such thing as ‘free money’, sooner or later it must be paid back and plus the interest.

And the idea of bringing forward future money for spending in government may be useful but again, it is short term thinking, sooner or later, that debt has to be serviced add to it all the other government debt, it is again unsustainable.

Inflation is sitting at 5.6% and people are seeing their take home pay cut by freezes and contracts being ‘adjusted’ to make them pay more for their pension contributions. With less money people will not spend, less money for the government in receipts and therefore money to spend leading to more austerity. That in turn will lead to government putting up fuel and everything else then also goes up.

It is a vicious cycle.

I favour measures such as the introduction of a ‘Tobin’ tax on financial transactions introduced in Scotland, along with radical public service overhaul towards public service with more commercialisation in order to build up City Sovereign Funds, my idea for local government to be more viable and accountable.

The scale of the problem is huge, perhaps that is why no one is able to fully grasp what really needs to be done; it requires a lot of work, a lot of pain and a lot of unpleasant talk and in some cases removal of people from positions of authority.

We need a new direction of travel as 3 million angry public sector workers took to the streets yesterday to complain over Westminster’s pension grab.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Gordon Wilson and Cardinal O’Brien say gay marriage may result in a backlash and ‘is risk to independence win’, how much do the SNP want independence?

2011-12-01T11:01:00.010Z

Dear All

In politics, it is advisable to try and have a broad appeal.

However, like all strategies, there are drawbacks, all things to all men usually means being relevant to none.

In Scotland there are certain things that politicians should stay clear of, because in picking a side usually means alienating others.

Former SNP leader Gordon Wilson has strong views on the issue of gay marriage that is his right of freedom of speech and expression.

He has accused the Scottish Government of endangering victory in the independence referendum because of the gay marriage issue.

However, he should remember that gay civil marriage isn’t a threat to faith organisations, but he is right to protest because part of the possible proposed legislation relates to gay marriage being held in churches if they so choose.

This isn’t something that the Catholic, Protestant and Muslim communities are calling for, therefore the Scottish Government rather than trying to insert this part should drop it.

In trying to play both sides against the middle, the SNP thinks it will keep onboard both the gay community and religious community.

That won’t happen, if someone thought they were being clever in the SNP by charting this course, they are wrong.

A case can be made for civil gay marriage on equality grounds but not religious grounds.

This is because the ‘State’ can force people working for it by threat of sacking them, to conduct civil gay marriage, that tactic cannot be used on religious organisations.

Gordon Wilson has been speaking alongside Cardinal Keith O’Brien and senior Kirk figure Ann Allen at a rally at Holyrood to mark the launch of Scotland For Marriage – an interfaith pressure group.

The group’s aims are resist proposals to re-define marriage to open it up to gay and lesbian couples.

Mr. Wilson told the rally of around 150 supporters outside the Scottish Parliament that in six years there had been only 3300 civil partnerships, compared to 175,000 weddings.

This isn’t an argument I would use, the argument is faith.

He said:

“Yet on this preposterously tiny minority, an arrogant gay rights lobby thinks to establish another equality beachhead, regardless of whether this will be destructive of society. If the Scottish Government wants the Scottish people to vote for independence in a referendum, why is it going out of its way to alienate so many Scots in the Christian and Muslim communities?”

Civil gay marriage wouldn’t be destructive for society because reason and logic could be used to argue that all citizens are entitled to the same equalities that the State provides.

He does have a point when he said:

“Independence is far too important to be jeopardized by this kind of peripheral issue. You don’t want to alienate people on the eve of an important referendum when every vote will count.”

He also stated that opinion polls may back same-sex marriage but that support was shallow, and it raises questions about whether the people asked were actually religious themselves.

And those opposed had far stronger feelings on this issue, while I will fully support to gay civil marriage but I will not engage in a social engineering experiment because some people want to force their views on others.

There isn’t a human right to force your views on others, that’s fascism.

Cardinal O’Brien also agrees with me by saying:

“The proposal represents a grotesque subversion of a universally accepted human right, and I know I speak for many people of Scotland when I say that”.

He added:

“Marriage has certainly been damaged and undermined over the course of a generation. Yet marriage has always existed in order to bring men and women together so that children born of those unions will have a mother and a father. If the Scottish Government attempt to demolish a universally recognised human right they will have forfeited the trust which the nation, including peoples of all faith and no faith, have placed in them, and their intolerance will shame Scotland in the eyes of the world.”

The Scottish Government launched a consultation in September asking if marriage in Scotland should be allowed for gay people through a civil or religious ceremony.

They got that completely wrong; they should have left it as should gay people be allowed to go through civil marriage ceremony.

And to be fair, this should never have been a consultation, it is a matter of equality regarding the civil aspect, which doesn’t need consultation.

We have a consultation because of the religious aspect to this policy.

The Catholic Church claims responses to the consultation are running two-to-one against.

Ms Allen, former convener of the Church of Scotland’s Board of Social Responsibility, said that where gay marriage had been legalised this had been followed by other demands such as polygamy.

Polygamy is about having more than one wife or husband in a marriage.

She added:

“Is this the kind of scenario we want in a modern Scotland?”

In a modern Scotland, I would hope that she back gay civil marriage but she has a different perspective on that.

She also added a point about morality when she said do we want:

“A continual change of the moral and legal goalposts?”

Which raises the question of what are the bedrocks on which Scottish Society is supposed to be based on?

If SNP Ministers force this through against the wishes of the religious community, it could possibly affect the referendum.

Alex Salmond said something after winning the Holyrood election about how the SNP will guard the public’s trust carefully; well this is a major violation of trust.

If legislation comes out of the consultation then the entire proposal as it relates to religious organisations should be dropped.

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie said:

“I am very disappointed that senior and respected figures like Cardinal O’Brien and Gordon Wilson could be so intolerant. We urge the First Minister to stand firm against this campaign. If two people want to get married and a church wants to conduct the service why should anyone stop them? Liberal Democrats want a tolerant and fair society and equal marriage is a key part of that.”

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie is wrong and clearly has warped judgment. Does he think people in churches operate like fast food franchises where people get to do what they like?

Is he really that stupid?

If a Priest conducted a gay marriage in a Catholic Church, he would be removed immediately by church authorities.

The Catholic Church, Church of Scotland and Mosques aren’t going to do this and if politicians want the gay vote then they should tell the gay community that they cannot deliver gay religious marriage because it is not within their province to do so.

On this issue both sides appear to be exercising overkill on their demands, the compromise is gay civil marriage.

It is not the job of politicians to piss on other people’s religious beliefs for votes under the guise of equality and human rights.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Labour MP Tom Harris throws a political hand grenade in Scottish leadership race by saying ‘cataclysmic defeat was MSPs’ own fault’

2011-11-28T16:03:00.003Z

Dear All

Tom Harris has a point.

Most of the time, he is just grandstanding, but he is correct that the “cataclysmic” defeat at the Holyrood 2011 election was down to Labour MSPs.

For four years, they produced no real work, no vision and no policies worth a damn, it was spin and gimmicks and precious little else.

Let us take knife crime, fronted as a key Labour ‘priority’ during their time 2007 to 2011.

There was countless by-elections were this was used, petitions started but no private members bill.

But there was a daft slogan, ‘carry a knife; go to jail’.

The only problem was it was flawed in several respects, first, the policy changed the nature of law in Scotland; it made a person guilty until they proved their innocence.

Anti human rights and technically incompetent!

Secondly, it is for judges to decide appropriate sentencing not politicians that is what it means to have an independent judiciary.

Thirdly after the Labour Party realised how incompetent it was they changed the policy to anyone who was ‘convicted’ would be put in jail regardless of the circumstances.

Gordon Brewer ripped apart every Labour MSP on Newsnight Scotland and in particular Andy Kerr, who tried to pass off the incompetence by saying if Gordon Brewer was in the same situation, he wouldn’t be going to jail.

Brewer then lambasted Kerr on the point that the mandatory sentence was nothing of the sort.

Highly embarrassing someone of Kerr’s standing should be so ignorant not just on policy but law itself.

And that highlighted Labour’s problem between 2007 and 2011, no one was prepared to do the research and the work.

Substance was entirely replaced by spin.

This episode is a clear example of what was wrong in the Labour Party which led people to see the Labour Party at Holyrood as not a credible government in waiting.

Their campaign was so bad and ineffective to the point of incompetence; people who weren’t clever were running a campaign in which they thought they were.

Towards the end, it became a popularity contest were personalities took over, for the SNP that worked in their favour, but popularity comes and goes, it has to be more in politics, it is all about substance and vision.

The Labour Party in Scotland didn’t have either, hence we saw a massive landslide; the SNP built on their four years of delivery and the changes of using social media effectively.

Labour’s problem wasn’t just an isolated incident which could be looked at as ‘the problem’; it was right across the board, people, policies and strategy, all wrong.

So, as I say, Labour MP Tom Harris has a point when he talks about how Labour MSPs brought down a “cataclysmic” defeat on themselves by shutting their minds to new ideas.

They got into a rut by not working; it was almost like they thought they were ‘celebrities’ and Holyrood was a version of ‘I’m a celebrity’.

Well the public got them out of here!

As part of Tom Harris’s campaign to be Scottish Labour leader, he has sent an email to party members writing that the party is “too conservative” and unwilling to change.

He is calling for a radical shake-up of Labour north of the Border, he said:

“If we’re not careful, ‘That’s how we’ve done it in the past’ will be the epitaph carved on the gravestone of this party. We used to be a movement – now we’re a monolith. We say we want change – but only the kind of change with which we’re comfortable, change on our terms, not the electorate’s.”

That hits the nail on the head.

From being public servants, the Labour Party adopted a mentality that they were public rulers, sheer contempt oozed out right from the very bottom to the top.

Does Harris have a chance?

Well since he is allowed to take part, yes, he does, but does his message get home?

I think there is a lack of a debate, May was 6 months ago, and Labour in Holyrood just sits there, not knowing what to do, they are like drones.

There are only a handful of real politicians in Holyrood out of 129 MSPs.

It is shocking that so many people are just cannon fodder who are totally out of their depth.

Three people are standing for the leadership of ‘Scottish’ Labour, Tom Harris, Eastwood MSP Ken Macintosh and Glasgow Pollok MSP Johann Lamont.

The front runner is the worst candidate, Johann Lamont, if she is elected, then she should only do set pieces because she cannot think on her feet, countless Newsnight Scotland interviews show this.

I don’t believe the grassroots will take to her, Harris is the wrong guy in the wrong place at the wrong time, he is in Westminster and Labour needs a Holyrood leader in the chamber.

That leaves Ken Macintosh, the best of the worst.

Someone who has never held ministerial office but his claim to fame is that he isn’t Johann Lamont or Tom Harris.

If Harris was sitting in Holyrood, he would have had the time to build support but I think his chances are slim.

This could be an election were the worst candidate is the winner.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Poster gets angry at George Laird for referring to List MSP Humza Yousaf as a Muslim MSP, standard set by the press and Muslim organisations

2011-11-25T14:46:00.005Z

Dear Anon

“Why call him a Muslim MSP. He's an MSP just like the 128 others to whose religion you don't refer”.

To address your point

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/politics/muslim-msp-angry-about-skin-colour-airport-check-1.1114880

Muslim MSP angry about ‘skin colour’ airport check

Written by Robbie Dinwoodie Chief Scottish Political Correspondent of Herald Scotland!

And also here:

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/politics-news/2011/07/31/muslim-msp-humza-yousaf-s-fury-at-random-airport-check-86908-23310809/

Emma Smith, Sunday Mail

And here:

http://www.islamico.org/en/europe/muslim-member-of-scottish-parliament-angry-about-airport-check/

And here:

http://www.newsrt.co.uk/news/muslim-msp-angry-about-skin-colour-airport-check-253265.html

It is the job of the press and bloggers to be factually true, I attempt to operate to the same standards as the national press on my blog.

Can you tell me did you write in and complain to Herald Scotland or Sunday Mail or even the Muslim organisations who also called him a Muslim MSP?

Or are you holding me to a different set of standards?

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Scottish Borders Council wants 32 representatives on the National Police Board; this is a ridiculous number and badly thought-out, where’s the vision?

2011-11-25T14:16:00.004Z

Dear All

On the 4th September 2010, I went to a Scottish National Party event called the National Assembly.

It was to propose the Scottish National Police Force as a viable idea not just in terms of cost savings but in producing better operational efficiency.

In my vision for the new force, the existing boards would be kept, as is the case in the current 8 board set up.

Above that there would be the national board drawing members from the 8 boards plus additional members from outside.

The Police like most public organisations get their budgets from the Councils and Scottish Government, however I envisaged that there would be a commercial aspect to their work to help pay for their upkeep.

Asset seizures from criminals in some part should be ploughed back into the Police in someway to help pay for their own upkeep.

Although I proposed the national police force at Perth, other issues were also in my thinking, a nationally armed force and that in an independent Scotland, the security of airports and customs would be also part of their remit.

Under a separate division, this division would operate in much the same way as customs already do.

Visas etc would be dealt with by a division within the new Scottish Home Office.

Police wouldn’t have any input into the issue of visas so that the system was completely impartial to ensure public confidence. In other words the police could get the opportunity to deny entry based on someone’s individual prejudice.

The UK border agency staff would also be absorbed into the Scottish Police, again a separate division to create a seamless ring of protection around our borders and within our borders.

In my idea the max number sitting on the National board would be around 20, eight current local board members, 8 ‘outsiders’ appointed by Scottish Government and 4 Police Officers of various ranks. This number could be adjusted by consultation to get the right mix.

An idea has been floated that there should be a representative from each of the 32 local authorities in Scotland to be on any future national police board.

That is nonsense, we need a national police board that is large enough to do competent work but also small enough to have decision making manageable.

At one point someone floated another idea of a representative from every city and town, not bright and not workable.

Scottish Borders Council Lib Dem Councillor Graham Garvie has put forward a motion against any plans for an appointed board of 11 members.

11 people is too small a group and doesn’t take into account future expansion of the Police in a post independence scenario.

The system needs overcapacity to take up future capacity.

Opposition SNP members and council leader David Parker said representing all councils could be unwieldy and they are right but by the same token, they aren’t visionaries.

They don’t see the future, someone has to tell them and then they agree.

However, at Scottish Borders Council they were outvoted by a combination of Tory, Lib Dem, Borders Party and Independent members.

Whether they can see the future is also open to debate, they know that 11 members is the wrong number but by the same token, 32, is an excessive amount.

The Scottish National Police Force will go ahead but unfortunately; no one is realising that stage two reform must be started immediately.

I didn’t see any point at Perth of going overboard by giving the additional remits to my idea because some are post independence changes.

I kept it short enough so they could grasp the idea without being overly complicated but luckily financial pressures came along at the right time.

Stage two reform must be started immediately in the event of a yes vote, people will have questions on a range of topics before this vote, if the work is done fears can be addressed, if not, then it weakens the referendum campaign considerably.

It is all about having the factual answers to everything.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Herald letter writer states that society has changed and prisoners should serve the full jail term to which they were sentenced, tired old Tory dogma

2011-11-24T14:23:00.007Z

Dear All

I was on the Herald and came across a letter from David J Crawford which is quite interesting as he writes on penal reform.

He starts off by quoting Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill who opines that prisons should not be routinely used for short-term prisoners.

And he is right, short term prison sentences don’t work.

But David goes on by saying this short statement highlights the confusion that lies at the heart of the criminal justice system, and that is lack of clarity of purpose.

“Before one can start to question the length of sentences and where they should be served, one needs clarity as to why one imposes a custodial sentence. Offenders can be sent to prison on various pretexts; to punish them; to re-educate them; to protect society from their predations are some of them. There are many inadequate people sent to jail who should never be there. When one examines Scottish crime statistics it is however obvious that the majority of offences are caused by repeat offenders to whom the current system is no deterrent and which does not produce a significant improvement in their behaviour, so current practice just does not work. It may not be politically acceptable for an MSP to say so but most crime is carried out by a small sub-set of society and the overwhelming majority of us are innocent victims yet we suffer the financial burden of dealing with the problem”.

So, that is his statement to frame his argument, very much in the mould of former Tory MSP Bill Aitken School of ‘Hang Em High’.

The cost of prison is £40k a year to lock someone up; then afterwards the people are effectively unemployable and thrown on the scrap heap.

Hence with no prospects, no future and a pro active bar from the job market albeit menial jobs are on offer if available we have a cycle of crime that sees some people with 40, 50, 60 or 70 offences.

They don’t care because the penalty is free room and board if caught.

Where else in Scotland will the Government spend £40k on the under privileged?

As well as the cost of locking someone up, they aren’t in jobs and paying tax which is another part of the equation which should be taken into account, their chaotic lives spiral downwards and in some cases led to violence and murder.

David Crawford then wrote:

“The Scottish criminal justice system operates a revolving-door principle and Mr MacAskill is correct in saying that we need to close the door but it should be closed with “them” inside rather than outside”.

This doesn’t address the problem, in fact, it makes it worse, public finances are in serious trouble, there is a tsunami of cuts about to hit Scotland and then crime at a 35 year low will escalate upwards.

Before the end of the SNP Government’s term in office, crime will rise.

To try and address the problem, there are various little schemes to work with offenders but generally, it about getting a prisoner in a menial job to occupy their time.

But nothing above a certain level is offered.

David then comes to his point, after setting the stage:

“Instead of worrying about convicted criminals being sent to jail for short sentences he should be concentrating on making sure that society is protected from repeat offenders by ensuring that if they are handed down a sentence of four years they actually serve four years in prison”.

This fails to take into account that while in prison; society is trying to effect change which is the new buzzword in Scottish politics for the Glasgow City Council election next year.

Prison is there to punish and also re-educate but to do so carrots are needed as well as stick. There are sound reasons for allowing early release and being flexible helps the prisoners, the prison estate and the government.

“If we have overcrowded prisons because the estate was built for anticipated usage in the 20th century perhaps we should recognise that we are living in the 21st century and accept that society in general is completely different than it was years ago; perhaps more people need to be sent to jail and kept there”.

Such simplistic thinking may seem fine in the Scottish Tory fish pond but reality bites, £40k a year would be better spent providing these people with a future, we need to break the cycle of crime and we need radical reform of the justice system.

A lot of people don’t need to be in prison, but by the same token there are people whose crimes are so extreme they represent a threat to society and have to be detained.

David J Crawford put forward the logic of an immature student, and possible Tory candidate taking his first tender steps to be recognise as a ‘force’ in Scottish politics.

Unfortunately he isn’t a force; because he can only draw on old tired solutions, in a collapsing financial market, he hasn’t the imagination to be creative.

Prisoner reform requires an encompassing strategy.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Muslim MSP Humza Yousaf castigates opposition parties for not supporting SNP sectarian bill, Labour leads opposition to ‘unfit for purpose’ bill

2011-11-23T15:11:00.013Z

Dear All

The SNP move to placate and get opposition MSPs onboard regarding the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Bill has failed.

The sweeter was introducing a freedom of expression clause.

By doing so, the Labour Party has stolen the high ground from out from under the SNP.

Now its all firmly about opposition to this ill-judged and ill-thought bill which is a disgrace and should be scrapped immediately.

It’s an embarrassment.

MSPs on Holyrood’s Justice Committee have voted for the clause.

Labour is right to maintain its opposition to the Bill by abstaining on amendments and insisted the legislation was not “fit for purpose”.

It’s junk, it’s a pig in a poke and one of the worst bills ever to pass through Holyrood chamber.

Justice spokesman James Kelly said Labour had abstained to let ministers reflect.

Kelly added Community Safety Minister Roseanna Cunningham had “not interacted with the process”.

On the 13th May, I met Nicola Sturgeon in the street and we chatted, one of the topics we discussed was the need for the continuation of consensus politics despite the majority achieved by the SNP.

Consensus politics at Holyrood is dead in much the same way that the respect agenda between Alex Salmond and David Cameron was a mere fig leaf.

The new freedom of expression clause covers communications such as messages sent over the internet which may contain insults or abuse of religious beliefs.

It’s the ‘get out of jail free’ clause because the SNP are desperate to get other parties onboard because when the problems surface they could point out that other parties voted for this as well.

Their ‘get out of jail free’ card, unfortunately all opposition parties think this is rubbish, including myself.

Roseanna Cunningham said:

“The intention of the amendment is not to prevent legitimate religion debate. It aims to prevent the kind of communication we saw last football season when individuals were threatened with harm.”

I thought it was a bribe.

Muslim MSP Humza Yousaf said:

“I do not think anyone voted for a Labour MSP so they could sit on their hands on the issue of sectarianism.”

Mr. Yousaf is quite right, however people didn’t vote for a Labour MSP to leave their brains outside the Committee room door either when vetting legislation.

It’s all about judgment Mr. Yousaf, not about being a party hack, maybe if you had exercised more judgment you won't have lost the Pollok MSP nomination by 54 to 29 votes. You can't have your cake and eat it on this issue and as to the 'bribe', well, pathetic.

Unfit for purpose, this bill should be scrapped, unfortunately it won’t, consensus is gone.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

St Andrews University probes Tory student group burning effigy of President Obama on a beach, reminds me of the KKK and the burning of black people

2011-11-23T14:38:00.005Z

Dear All

The Scottish Tories are in trouble, but then when are they not?

The latest piece of PR implosion is Tory Students at the University of St Andrews burning an effigy of Barack Obama.

Because racism is a serious issue in Britain, this may have not been the wise choice, where as it would not been news to burn an effigy of a white politician burning Obama is.

This smacks of KKK and white power in the minds of ordinary working class people.

If they had burnt Ed Miliband then again because he is Jewish that also would have been problem also but I understand they have already done that in the past.

It appears that Scottish Tory students at St Andrews have a annual Heretic Burning event where they pick someone and get a bonfire going and stick the effigy of that person on top.

The university said there were “very understandable concerns” of burning an effigy of America’s first black president.

It’s all about reputation; if it was an ordinary working class person who had risen up in society then the Professors probably wouldn’t have batted an eye lid.

Senior staff at the institution have asked to meet the president of the association, Matthew Marshall, to discuss the incident, he has already apologised and the university will be keen bury this issue quickly.

Sam Fowles, director of student representation of the Student Association, described it as “puerile behaviour” and added:

“I don’t believe this was a racist act. However, I don’t believe that makes it any less disgusting, regardless of what group it comes from.”

How Mr. Fowles has been able to come to the conclusion this wasn’t a racist act without the benefit of investigation shows how subjective opinion is replacing facts in British society.

I suspect his argument could be that white people have been burnt in the past on top of the bonfire.

Labour Chief Whip and MSP John Park, branded the effigy burning as “gravely offensive” with “unpleasant undertones”.

Park is an opportunist and part of the disastrous team who led Labour to defeat at the Holyrood 2011 election, not one of life’s great thinkers or orators.

In fact not great at anything!

Tory chief Matthew Marshall said:

“President Obama is an important ally to the British Government. It was a stupid thing to do and we apologise for any offence caused.”
He added the association’s annual tradition aims to pick a candidate who has contributed the most to left-wing politics and previous targets have included Gordon Brown, Ed Miliband and Alex Salmond.

A website message posted by Mr Marshall after the burning explained:

“Due to the poor performance of left-wing Labour candidates in the UK … the committee voted to adopt President Obama, as there is obviously no debate that he is an influential figure on the world stage, not least of all due to his performance in handling the recent financial crisis. On a personal note, as we were leaving there was a group of thuggish characters shouting abuse at us, amongst other derogatory terms this included ‘gays’ and ‘racists’.

Adding:

“Race is only an issue when people make it an issue. As Conservatives we welcome people of all backgrounds indiscriminately.”

And presumably they also are candidates for burning too.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

'Free expression clause' for the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Bill is ‘get out of jail free card’

2011-11-22T16:01:00.004Z

Dear All

Have you played Monopoly?

It is a board game in which you try and build a property empire.

One of the cards if you land on the appropriate spot is ‘get out of jail free’.

And that is what is about to be inserted into the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Bill.

A clause protecting freedom of expression has been added which every lawyer preparing their case will home in on as the bedrock of their defence.

My client was fully in accordance with the law when calling people bastards because it was part of his right to freedom of expression enshrined in law.

‘Case closed and move there along please’!

So, what is the point of continuing with the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Bill?

I would argue that it is at best poor law making and at worst incompetent.

Law must be built on firm building blocks like doing the necessary research, but the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Bill has been rushed through to make sure it is in place to marry up with the football Calendar.

So, armchair warriors can sit tapping away on their computers insulting and abusing people’s religious beliefs.

Down at the football armed with pork pie and bovril, you can still get huckled if the Police deem it necessary.

Either the law applies everywhere or it applies nowhere, something defence teams will home in on and exploit.

MSPs on Holyrood's Justice Committee voted for the ‘get out of jail free’ clause during the second of three stages needed before the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Bill can become law.

There are already provisions to deal with the problems of football matches disorder in law, as such this law is nonsense, ill judged, ill conceived, rushed and exceptional poor without the benefit of empirical research of a sufficient nature being done.

The Scottish Government has produced a law based on two football managers arguing in a football stadium.
Community Safety Minister Roseanna Cunningham, who is steering the Bill through Parliament, said:

"The intention of the amendment is not to prevent legitimate religion discussion and debate. It aims to prevent the kind of communication we saw last football season when individuals were threatened with serious harm. It is important that we remember that's what this is about."

Try looking up the Protection from Harassment Act 1997.

Labour MSPs have adopted the position of abstaining from discussion, in protest at the Scottish Government's approach to the legislation.

That is certainly a tactic, why give any credence whatsoever to shit law making.

The committee's only Liberal Democrat MSP also abstained from all but one key area of the bill.

The SNP has proposed two new offences through the Bill.

The first offence targets sectarian and threatening behaviour at and around football matches which is deemed likely to cause public disorder.

The second offence relates to threats or serious harm which are intended to stir up religious hatred on the internet or other communications.

The first offence can be dealt with under already existing public order legislation and the second is even less impressive because it relies on someone making a subjective opinion which any good lawyer will drive a truck through.

Juries will be reluctant to convict someone as we already seen at the John Wilson trial of being sectarian because it doesn’t sit well with the Scottish psyche. That is why this bill is poor conceived because it is written by middle class people incapable of understanding a certain section of the working class mentality as it relates to a football game atmosphere.

Forward?

No, stepping backwards in every sense.

The Holyrood Parliament would be greatly enhanced if we had real politicians instead of party hacks doing such puerile work.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Lord Hope fires a legal broadside that 'anti English sentiment’ is threat to legal reform, the SNP Government needs to publicly back UK Supreme Court

2011-11-21T15:01:00.012Z

Dear All

The UK Supreme Court is one of the benefits that Scottish people enjoy as part of the United Kingdom.

For those who follow the work of this body, it is hard to see a verdict delivered that was absolutely in tune with the both the letter of the law and the spirit.

Lord Hope, one of Britain’s most senior judges is in my mind heading towards the same status as Lord Denning, the former Master of the Rolls.

I regard his work so highly that if Scotland was independent I would wish Lord Hope to head up Scotland’s judiciary in a body similar to the UK Supreme Court.

Quite simply the seven judges who denied appeals on such issues as the Cadder case and Fraser have no place sitting doing appeals.

Lord Hope has warned of “corrosive anti-English sentiment” operating in Scotland’s courts; which I would agree with, he describes it as an obstacle to legal progress.

As a Scottish judge and deputy president of the UK Supreme Court, his words carry weight, but it is unfortunately that he has launched this unprecedented counter-attack on the Scottish Government.

We wouldn’t be in this situation if the Scottish Government led by Alex Salmond had cleaned up justice in the first place.

The spin by the SNP is that Alex Salmond and Kenny MacAskill are fighting to protect the Scottish justice system.

But you could look at this in another way that Alex Salmond and Kenny MacAskill are fighting to deny the human rights of ordinary Scottish people in taking their case to the UK Supreme Court.

That means that people wrongly convicted would be imprisoned because it is politically convenient.

It is never politically inconvenient to give people every chance if they claim a miscarriage of justice has taken place, quite the opposite in fact.

Many will see the comments by Lord Hope, a Scottish judge and deputy president of the UK Supreme Court, as an unprecedented counter-attack on the Scottish Government for its assault on the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court earlier this year.

Lord Hope warned against moves to limit the court’s ability to hear appeals against Scottish convictions.

Moves to make such appeals possible only if cases are sent to the Supreme Court by Scottish judges through a process known as certification have been backed by the Scottish Justice Secretary, Kenny MacAskill.

How wrong and out of touch he is morally.

After the row broke out publicly, the Scottish Government got four ‘wise men’ together to look at the issue.

I prefer to call them the four sycophants.

Their conclusions were predicted and cheap.

Bitch about the problem, deliver no real reform and go with the ‘poundland’ version of justice.

Cheap and not cheerful!

They came up with a Certification idea which is used by courts in England and Wales.

In other words the Appeal Court or other which has already denied justice then sits to see if a certificate is granted to go to the UK Supreme Court.

Human rights taken away and replaced by a certificate is bollocks.

Lord Hope said:

“Much has been made of the unfairness of the lack of certification in Scotland when such a system is in place in the other two jurisdictions [England and Wales, and Northern Ireland] but the comparison is not as sound as has been suggested. There is [in England and Wales] none of the feeling of antipathy towards cases being sent to London that lies just below the surface here in Scotland.”

It is unusual for someone as senior as Lord Hope to speak out and in such a fashion.

One of the wise men appointed by the Scottish Government was the retired high court judge Lord McCluskey who also criticised the Supreme Court.

The review followed the Cadder decision, in which Peter Cadder brought a challenge under the human rights act, which gave Scots the right to get immediate access to a lawyer, something that English people have enjoyed since the mid 80’s.

When the SNP took over Government in 2007 due to the implosion of the labour vote, they never carry out a review to fix this problem to bring Scotland into line with England.

We now have the hypocrisy that the Scottish Government want to bring Scotland into line with England when they were quite happy to deny justice and act as de facto an arm of the Crown and Procurator Fiscal Service.

The job of the Justice Minister is to be impartial, completely impartial and not side with either the defence or prosecution because of the issues of clarity and due process.

Lord Hope said the Cadder case had been a “catalyst” for change but said Lord McCluskey’s approach had not been “tactful” and that is quite right.

McCluskey’s ‘poundland’ solution is regrettable but understandable it is the politics of cleaning the toilet bowl, do it quickly, cheaply and with little regard to the outcome, be seen to be doing something and achieving nothing.

The Certificate scheme is bollocks, the Scottish Government can’t stop people going to the UK Supreme Court, the Westminster Government won’t back such an anti human rights move and this places the entire thing in a legal no man’s land.

In a finally parting shot, Lord Hope strongly disagreed with suggestions made by Scottish ministers that the Supreme Court was “routinely interfering in the Scottish system”.

Lord Hope said that it was never and is still not the intention of the court to be a “court of last resort in matters of Scots criminal law”.

The UK Supreme Court is only looking at miscarriages were there is a challenge under human rights.

So far, they are batting 100 over 100.

As a member of the Scottish National Party, I am signed up to fairness and equality while I remain a member; I prefer to leave the toadying and asslicking to others in my party who are so ably suit to the job, let them do the cheer leading around Alex Salmond and Kenny MacAskill.

I will not campaign against the UK Supreme Court because I could not in good conscience, justice seen to be done is far more important that internal party politics.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Justice in chaos as plan to scrap cornerstone of Scottish justice system meets heavy criticism, Bar-L is overcrowded, can we get justice in Scotland?

2011-11-18T13:59:00.005Z

Dear All

For some it is a ‘second’ home, free bed and board, no bills, free gym; free dental and free education.

Scotland’s premier University of Crime.

It is the one and only Bar- L, referred by some as the big hoose but commonly known as HMP Barlinnie.

However Barlinnie is too popular with ‘customers’ and Sheriffs; both groups simply love the place!

Scotland’s biggest jail needs to be demolished and rebuilt or completely redeveloped according to the prison’s watchdog and its governor.

The problem with Barlinnie is that it was built in a less enlightened time, were human rights and others issues weren’t a concern of the authorities.

HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, Brigadier Hugh Monro, says in his report that there is a need to redevelop the jail “as soon as possible”.

Overcrowding in Barlinnie is severe and poses real risk to prisoners which mean that programmes such as rehab face real difficulties.

The population yesterday stood at 1565, in a jail built and staffed to deal with 1018 inmates.

50% above capacity!

HMP Barlinnie governor Derek McGill says rising inmate numbers, which hit 1760 last year mean there is “no option” but to knock down and rebuild the jail or find a new site.

I think the sensible thing to do would be to build a new prison rather than try to do a major overhaul of the current site.

I think we can stand losing this piece of Scottish history.

We need a greater debate on the people we are sending to prison and for what, for some, it’s a cheap hotel.

And an occupational hazard!

Monro told said:

“Barlinnie and Cornton Vale are in dreadful condition. We need to see evidence that proposals to redevelop them are being brought forward now rather than waiting for the budget to improve. It is not fit for purpose, the education centre has three classrooms for 1500 people. I get disappointed when I see so little action, not from the prison itself but from the Scottish Prison Service headquarters. I don’t think it is right that people ignore advice and do nothing. This is not a third world country.”

Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said:

“I welcome this report which shows Barlinnie is running efficiently and effectively albeit in challenging circumstances. The Chief Inspector commented that this is one of the most positive reports he has written and I commend the work of Barlinnie’s dedicated staff and management. I am committed to building a prison service for the 21st century and the opening of HMP Low Moss in March 2012 will help relieve some of the overcrowding pressures faced at Barlinnie and the wider prison estate.”

If the Justice Sec is ‘committed’ to building a prison service for the 21st century, why are people living like pigs, stacked up like tinned meat on a supermarket shelf?

I am not a Kenny MacAskill supporter and never have been, typically when there is a damaging incident for the SNP Scottish Government, it comes out of Justice.

Megrahi, Cadder and Nat Fraser immediately spring to mind, the Cadder case was about the denial of human rights under Kenny MacAskill’s watch, which incidentally he fought tooth and nail to preserve when better legal minds showed him the error of his flawed and warped logic.

The UK Supreme Court attack was an utter disgrace as MacAskill overstepped the mark.

“He who pays the piper!”

In Justice, “He who pays the piper!” is entitled to fuck all.

I previously blogged on why the SNP Government was totally wrong in their approach and was proven correct at every turn, that was so easy!

I don’t see Kenny McAskill as the Justice Sec but rather as the Minister for the Crown Prosecution Service only, a Justice Minister should be impartial, his actions show otherwise.

And now we are going to have another argument and guess what and where that will be taking place?

Justice!

This time, it is over the Carloway Report and in particular the issue of corroboration.

Already Senators of the College of Justice, Scotland’s High Court judges said the loss of this “key safeguard” would “weaken” the system and could lead to more miscarriages of justice.

If the SNP don’t sort out justice, then we will have to build more prisons because as well as the guilty, we will be locking up the innocent.

No justice means no independence.

If I was elected First Minister of Scotland, I would make Alex Neil as my Justice Minister, give him a free hand and the brief that his actions are solely to make justice impartial and beyond the interference of Government.

Then we would have a justice system of the 21st Century for the 21st Century.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

2011-11-18T13:01:00.004Z

Dear All

The SNP continue going from strength to strength in the face of poor opposition.

Ken Andrew was chosen to represent the Hillhead ward in Glasgow in a by-election on Thursday.

This wasn’t unexpected, when a sitting councillor dies, the party usually hold the seat.

Mr. Andrew takes over the Hillhead Ward from Councillor George Roberts who died recently aged 68.

After being elected the new councillor said he was "delighted" to be elected after winning a by-election.

By-elections are odd because more human resources are put into them that normal so the result isn’t hugely significant by any means.

SNP 1026 votes
Labour 945 votes
Greens 435 votes
Conservatives 372 votes
Lib Dems 307 votes
UKIP Scotland 36 votes
Britannica 11

What is interesting is the exceptionally poor turn out of only 13.65%.

This result puts the SNP in a healthy position for the Glasgow City Council elections next year.

However, the low turn out and the circumstances in which it happened will not reveal anything.

The death of a sitting Councillor in the Bishopbriggs South Ward produced a Labour Councillor.

Mr Andrew said:

"I am delighted, and proud, to have been elected to represent the people of Hillhead”.

Adding:

"After the tragic death of George Roberts I know that I have big boots to fill, but it is a challenge I am looking forward to. I would like to thank the people of Hillhead for giving me the opportunity to represent everyone in the area. I would also like to thank my campaign team and all those who made this election win possible."

The difference between the Labour Party and the SNP was only 81 votes.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

U2 - Where The Streets Have No Name

2011-11-16T18:17:00.000Z

Former Labour councillor attacks Strathclyde Police over Celtic complaint saying they went behind Celtic’s back, haven’t IQ’s dropped a lot recently

2011-11-16T15:34:00.006Z

Dear All

This is a cracker and another example of ignorance.

Michael Kelly was a former Labour Councillor at Glasgow City Council, and also a former director at Celtic Football Club, the Labour Party ‘social club’ in the East End of Glasgow.

He is unhappy.

His unhappiness centres round the claim that police force had gone “behind Celtic’s back” when they notified European football bodies of alleged pro-IRA chants at a recent football match.

At this point you have to stop reading this post and keep re–reading the above paragraph again and again.

The idea that the Police should seek Celtic’s permission before forwarding a complaint is bizarre in the extreme.

He has claimed on STV’s Scotland Tonight that the chants were examples of “political expression”.

Fuck off with that shite.

For that to even wash, which it doesn't, Sein Fein would have to be standing in Scotland in elections.

And he went further that singing pro-IRA chants was not a criminal offence and said:

“I defend their right to sing them”.

Maybe he thinks that there is a human right to sing sectarian songs, would the defence be ‘grandfather’ rights?

Mr. Kelly has also attacked the Scottish government’s plan to bring in legislation to tackle sectarianism in football describing it as an attack on free speech.

It isn’t an attack on free speech because there isn’t a human right to be sectarian; however I don’t agree with the legalisation myself because it is not the way I would tackle this problem.

And I think that a jury would be reluctant to convict using this new law as it stands.

A football matches there is a peculiar mentality among the supporters, it revokes around basically calling other team’s supporters, cunts, bastards and scumbags.

You could argue this a ‘healthy’ expression of pent up anger and a stop value for society letting people blow off steam by being malicious.

Much in the same way that SNP MSP Staff member and wife of Glasgow List MSP Humza Yousaf, Gail Lythgoe let her anger get the better of her when she defamed a Labour MP Ian Davidson by saying that he had a ‘history of bullying’.

She later stated she regretted her disgusting behaviour.

People should learn that education is the only way to deal with this problem, we can never stop sectarianism in much the same way we cannot stop any other crime.

Kelly’s point that:

“people have the right to be offensive if they want to be”.

That is bollocks and isn’t a human right either, we allow free speech as a human right but part of the deal is that people must exercise judgment.

If they don’t exercise judgment then they leave themselves open to due process of law.

In being sectarian, people are making a pro active choice to break the law of the land, and therefore should pay the penalty.

You could argue that inside a football stadium people should be allowed to vent to get things off their chest and for some, its part of the enjoyment of attending the game.

It remains a public order matter and judgment by the Police; however Police should also exercise judgment because of the issue of crowd safety of others.

The way to tackle sectarianism is to close Glasgow Rangers and Glasgow Celtic completely, although such a remedy is incredibly harsh because it penalises ordinary fans who just want to enjoy the game and the atmosphere, part of which is throwing abuse about the place to needle the opposition.

A football game of the old firm could be summed as two sets of fans calling each other bastards for 90 minutes, a period of 45 minutes followed a break to get food, drink and use the bathroom, followed by another 45 minutes of calling the opposition bastards before going home all happy.

That is football in the West of Scotland as it relates to Celtic and Rangers.

And no law is going to change that, even involuntary knee jerk legalisation.

Michael Kelly hasn’t a case.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Willie Rennie says Marriage does not belong to the Church, it belongs to society, how utterly wrong, civil marriage is a MK2 event in public’s eyes

2011-11-16T14:42:00.004Z

Dear All

I found an interest post on Caron’s Musings, a Liberal Democrat supporting blog.

So, I stuck up this ditto in reply to that piece.

‘Dear Caron

Marriage belongs to the Church not society, Willie Rennie is wrong.

The fact that society allows civil marriage to be recognised by the State is something I support, but it is very much a MK2 event in terms of social status.

Could you imagine the Royal Wedding done in a Registry Office?

However, we all know what we are talking about on this issue which politicians skirt round by saying no church should be forced.

We are talking gay marriage in Churches and Mosques.

Let me ask you a question as an ardent supporter, do you support gay marriage in Churches?

I suspect you would immediately say yes; they are seen as a ‘soft target’.

I would then ask you do you support gay marriage in Mosques.

They are seen as a ‘hard target’.

Would you write a blog post on supporting gay marriage in Mosques?

I suspect you would have a serious think about putting ‘pen to paper’ on that but perhaps you will prove me wrong.

The ‘right’ of marriage in a religious church or organisations isn’t a human right, even for heterosexual couples, it is a gift.

So, this isn’t a human rights issue or even an issue of freedom were religious organisations are concerned because they aren’t asking for it.

There is no human right to force yourself on others to do something for you in this context, am I correct?

And the Pope in Rome isn’t doing to change over 2,000 years of Christian faith and belief for Alex Salmond, Willie Rennie, Nicola Sturgeon, Iain Gray or any other social engineering politician who wants votes under the guise of equality trying to promise gay marriage in church which cannot be delivered.

So, this ‘consultation’ which is a sham will produce civil marriage but not marriage in a church or mosque, although some ‘religious’ groups may allow it, it will be a ‘law’ that people cannot be accessed without consent.

And that consent will not be forthcoming anytime soon from Rome!

This is about clearing up State prejudice which all political parties supported until recently.

’ I want’ isn’t the same as ‘I am entitled to’, that is why politicians are 100% lukewarm on the issue of religious marriage.

It comes under ‘matter of conscience’, so they don’t have to say anything.

Unfortunately in this country so many don't understand what human rights are, which is a great pity all round.

When people try to be all things to all men, they usually end up being relevant to no one.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University’

I find it odd that Atheists politicians think it is acceptable to piss on people’s religious faith under the guise of equality to ram down their social engineering agenda on those who do.

Politicians are trying to tread a careful line thinking they can keep both camps happy, so the compromise is civil marriage for the gay community with the add on that any Church or religious organisation will be allowed to conduct ceremonies.

As I say, it is a law that cannot be accessed, so that part of the law is a sham and worthy of contempt, an inaccessible law which requires third party consent isn’t law and therefore not a human right.

What a great pity we live in a country where such ignorance of human rights is so rampant.

I wonder what kind of reception the First Minister Alex Salmond or his Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon would get in the Glasgow Central Mosque if they made a speech supporting gay marriage for Muslim couples in that Mosque.

We have separation of Church and State for good reason.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University’

Principals are concerned about speed of college reforms but still had presence of mind to ask for more money for transitional arrangements!

2011-11-15T17:29:00.003Z

Dear All

Money is getting tighter, budgets are getting cut and reform is on the cards.

But what type of reform is needed?

George Laird radical reform, that type of reform, education is a thorny issue for any government and it is important to get it right.

Teachers at present are up in arms over changes to their pay and conditions, threatening strike action over the McCormac report.

Now, it’s the turn of College Principals who are turning on the SNP Government over the speed of reforms to the further education sector.

Whether that will be successful is doubtful, while the Police and Fire Services benefit from concentration into single entities, it isn’t advisable for education.

Diversity is the key to a multi option education sector.

Having spent 20 years in higher education on the sidelines watching the world go by, I am able to see the sector for what it is.

Unimpressive!

Little fiefdoms and empire building without real benefits to the taxpayer!

A black hole that is getting bigger sucking public money up without any real safeguards which any reasonable person would expect!

The Scottish Government reforms are said to favour wholesale mergers.

This is a market we don’t want to shrink, because it has potential.

Principals say they need more time to plan for the future and typically they are calling for extra cash to fund the work for future change.

Ideally, it would be smarter if universities were slimmed down, the College sector expanded and the introduction of community colleges similar to the Australian model but re-tweaked.

John Spencer, convener of Scotland’s Colleges, said:

“Colleges remain concerned at the proposed pace of the reforms. The paper proposes to fund regional groupings of colleges that do not yet exist, and the timescale for delivery allows very little time to plan and create those partnerships.”
Well John, you better get working faster, how he has said that it is good news that transitional arrangements would need to be put in place to support colleges through the reforms.

Duh brain!

Spencer added:

“We hope to see those arrangements supported by a dedicated additional sum of money, protecting both places for students and against destabilising any institutions.”

The consultation paper follows the publication in September of a report on reforms of post-16 education by Michael Russell, the Education Secretary.

Finance Secretary John Swinney has announced savage cuts of £74 million to the college sector by 2014/15.

This means that jobs losses and course cuts will be needed because the higher education sector is so unbalanced in favour of universities.

The Scottish Funding Council needs to be split if colleges are to be better served and funded properly.

Again diversity in education is the key to success.

The consultation paper states:

“Our expectation is that where major campuses currently exist they will remain. But in some regions there will be commun-ities that are not currently well served. It will create opportunities for colleges in many regions to work more cost-efficiently, for example, through the sharing of services, mergers or collaboration.”

In academia, the tendency is to go on evidence based work rather than subjective opinion, wishful thinking provokes scorn rightly in learned circles.

If the document is correct it paints a scenario that Scotland’s 38 colleges should be grouped together into 10 regions.

Unusually the thinking is said to be geared towards areas where there was a greater need for further education because of low school staying-on rates, fewer people going to university, or a legacy of low skills.

Not a criteria that I would used, too simplistic, you don’t build a stable round a horse, it’s the other way round, you build the stable then stable the horse.

Because it is custom made!
2 years at the human rights abusing Glasgow University stuck in the university penal colony of Garscube (Vet School) taught me that.

One thing which I did mention regarding colleges previously was the move towards going ‘real’ courses and transferring the fluff to community colleges set to be social inclusive for families.

The document has several options for the new regional funding model, including full merger or a looser federation of colleges run by a joint board.

Other option which isn’t viable is the notion of a “lead college” model where colleges in an area agree that one college is funded, but has a contractual arrangement with other colleges in the region to deliver courses.

Where is the security of employment for the staff?

That option is bullshit.

The likely scenario is the collaboration between colleges where the Scottish Funding Council would continue to fund each college in an area directly.

Politically this is probably the best option as it requires little thought and can be easily done and retains a sense of autonomy.

Mike Russell, the education sec said:

“The intentions of our post-16 reform agenda are ... to ensure education and training is more sharply aligned with the needs of learners and employers. Regionalisation offers many opportunities: it can strengthen the role and influence of colleges in local communities, help promote more coherent planning and delivery and ensure sustainable funding.”

I wonder if that is based on evidence or just subjective opinion.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Ong Bak (2003) trailer

2011-11-14T18:38:00.001Z

Teachers’ Union issues strike warning over proposed reforms on their pay and conditions, expect this in the long grass till after May elections!

2011-11-14T14:54:00.005Z

Dear All

It’s time to forget the ‘Winter of Discontent’ and prepare for discontent for the foreseeable future, four seasons.

The financial markets are based on fraud and are collapsing.

As austerity kicks in Scotland, people will be losing their jobs, we will have talk about cost savings and restructure, but at the end of the day, people are getting the boot or having their pay cut in real terms.

No singing or dancing or spin will change that fact.

People who leave a job will see that job simply vanish; it isn’t a job loss in the tradition sense but it is still a loss.

No one will be replacing them as budgets get cut.

Teachers’ representatives are up in arms at present and have called for a ballot on industrial action.

Their reason for strike action is in response if the Scottish Government moves to change their daily hours and working conditions.

The Scottish Government won’t be increase pay or conditions, rather the opposite as the money is drying up.

This reminds me of Greece, were the workers ended up on the streets as pay cuts and higher standards of living drove the population to the brink.

Greece is ruined.

In Scotland, members of the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS), the country’s largest teaching union say they will ‘hit the barricades’ and strike if controversial plans outlined in the McCormac Review were brought into force.

Reviews are generally carried out by a university professor who usually doesn’t work in the sector that is being cut.

The reason is to give the illusion of independence and fairness.

It’s allows politicians to say, ‘it’s not me Gov, it’s him and I had nothing to do with it’.

That won’t cut any ice with the Teachers.

Discussions on the new deal for teaching are due to take place between the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT), the Scottish Government and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities early next year.

I can see that being postponed for political reasons to beyond the May Council elections.

The EIS is already planning to oppose the plans and has done up a motion at a special general meeting in Edinburgh.

The motion states:

“Any outcome of SNCT negotiations on the recommendations of the McCormac Report should be subject to a ballot of those members who are covered by the provisions of the SNCT Handbook and, if rejected, any attempt to impose changes will be opposed using industrial action if necessary.”

It seems that this is one fight that the Scottish Government should kick into the long grass till after the Council elections.

You can’t sell screwing people out of money and making their life harder and sell it as something positive on a doorstep.

This is one fight that will produce no winners but will leave a bad taste in the mouth.

Maybe the Scottish Government should have gone with my higher education idea to reform education from primary to university.

I think the Education Sec Mike Russell will not win any friends out of this 'adventure' into education.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Glasgow University product and Tory aide Colin James Taylor drops Ruth Davidson in the sh*t over sectarian tweet, the job just isn’t working out!

2011-11-14T14:22:00.008Z

Dear All

It seems that sectarianism is a hot topic at the present moment in political parties.

First we had the Sectarian Bill passed at Holyrood and condemned by all opposition political parties as crap legislation.

I personally would never have gone down this road regarding this Bill.

Next we had a former SNP MSP staff member called Mark Hirst who raises issues with his blog.

http://holyroodconfessions.blogspot.com/

Interesting read so, I put it on my blog list.

Of the late Billy Wolfe, he calls him, “Willie Wolfe, "Bigoted and anti-Catholic.”

I think that is a fair assessment of the former SNP leader, my Labour Party friends who are Catholic despised him with passion.

They still think the Scottish National Party is anti Catholic.

We, now arrive at new Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson.

Just elected and everything is all turning sour for her, she should never have been elected leader of the Scottish Tories.

Her new problem is Colin James Taylor, who is employed at the public’s expense in the Tory Press and Research Unit (PRU) at Holyrood.

What has he been doing?

Posting song lyrics on Twitter glorifying Northern Irish terrorist group, the Ulster Volunteer Force!

Taylor is another Glasgow University product.

He referred to Celtic Football Club as “tims” on the popular blogging website.

And he is a Rangers fan from Belfast and a former president of the student Conservative Association at the human rights abusing Glasgow University.

I remember from my time at Glasgow University, the place wasn’t tolerant by means, wretched is the best way to describe it.

On Saturday, February 19, this year he posted lines from a notorious song.

‘Here Lies a Soldier’, about a UVF member awaiting execution.

“Don’t bury me, in Erin’s Fenian vallies [sic]. Oh take me home, to Ulster let me rest ...” he wrote.

Although he did not tweet the rest of the verse, it runs: “And on my gravestone carve a simple message, here lies a soldier of the UVF.”

Educated and a bigot, there are many like him spawned from Glasgow University.

His twitter name is “Ulsterexile” if anyone wants to read his musings.

Most of his posts ate about his time at the human rights abusing organisation are about the tat of uni, his studies, video games and football.

Interesting he says he was “called a bigot before”.

It seems that politics is a nasty game.

When the Tories found out what, Taylor was up to, his Twitter and Facebook accounts disappeared.

Because the press will probably go through everything, searching for more stuff!

As to Taylor, the Tories last night issued Taylor with a “formal warning”, but left him in post.

Ruth Davidson is a Glasgow University product the same as Taylor, so no surprises that he wasn’t sacked.

It’s a middle class clique in Scottish politics.

For the Labour Party, who have probably the biggest Catholic following in the West of Scotland, Labour MSP James Kelly said:

“This is an insufficient response. In any other workplace a person who be out on their ear for this. There needs to be a proper investigation and disciplinary proceedings.”

I hope James Kelly isn’t holding his breath of this issue, it’s going nowhere unless there is worse down the road.

A spokesman for the Scottish Tories said:

“The comments which appeared on Colin Taylor’s Twitter account predate his employment with the Scottish Conservative MSP Group in the Scottish Parliament. His comments were immature and inappropriate. The allegations against Mr Taylor have been fully investigated and he has been issued with a formal warning. Mr Taylor deeply regrets the comments and he apologises for any offense he has caused.”

The leadership job doesn’t seem to be working out for Ruth Davidson.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Home security American style as Granny shoots machine gun, the classic German MP 40, the Schmessier, magazine of 32 rounds, ready for all comers!

2011-11-12T14:49:00.001Z

Shocking CCTV footage of thug swinging a cat by the tail as he dances down street highlights how cruel and callous the UK has become as a society

2011-11-10T15:25:00.004Z

Dear All

You have probably heard the old saying that there wasn’t room enough to swing a cat.

Usually in relation to modern housing which box rooms are presented as an extra bedroom.

Britain is a broken society; more and more people simply don’t give a fuck anymore.

And why should they when they see how corrupt the political class has become.

Prison isn’t prison anymore.

It is free bed and board, free dental, free medical, free telly, free gym and free education.

Want a degree, commit a serious crime and by pass the £9,000 a year fees.

One example of how low some people have sunk is found in the CCTV footage of a thug dancing down the street while swinging a cat by its tail.

Expect him on the X Factor anytime soon if he develops swing a lion by the tail.

There is no reason for cruelty to animals, and if people are willing to exhibit this type of behaviour they could progress to similar cruelty towards people.

What reason other than warped ‘fun’ would someone swing a black cat at arms length nearly smashing its head on the pavement.

In a case like this, there is a need for prison for a very long followed by a life ban on keeping animals and being in a house or dwelling were animals live.

During the savage attack the cat's head nearly smashed against the pavement which could have killed it.

The animal, named Mowgli has been left in a 'very distressed state' according to sources.

Police have launched an appeal to catch the man after a pub landlord sent the footage to the RSPCA.

The terrified cat eventually managed to break free and run away before returning its owner.

A spokeswoman for the RSPCA said:

“The owner lives in the basement flat of the pub and her cat has the run of the neighbourhood. The landlord recognised Mowgli on the CCTV and he later came home in a very distressed state and has not left the flat since”.

Britain is full of people like this who have no respect for anything or anyone; this is the real face of Britain walking about the place.

In various walks of life there are people like this right through society from top to bottom who are just c*nts, that’s all they are.

Britain is a corrupt society but no one seems to be able to set the reset button to a kinder age were manners matter and people took pride in being decent to others.

Now, its all gone, we are supposed to be better than animals; this shows an ugly side which is going to become ‘mainstream’ as society breaks down.

What turned this man into an utter disgrace?

Could it be the way he was brought up in the ‘system’?

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University