The Communist Manifesto

Scottish Republican Burns Night

Firstly I need to point out one thing. My Vivitar Vivicam camera which costs £30 was a great investment. Except for the miniscule detail that it's scared of the dark and takes horrible pictures in dark areas. Otherwise it's fan-flippin' tastic.

The Burns Night itself should have been a complete disaster: Albannach failed to show until literally the last minute and none of the other musicians turned up. That being said though, the two tunes they DID do were worth waiting for and the food and speakers were great. This was a fantastic night, and certainly memorable for all the right reasons, and a few of the wrong ones as well.

Patrick Scott Hogg took us through the Republican Burns, the one the establishment would much rather we all pretended didn't exist, but the one through whom we glimpse a Scotland through deeply philosophical and intelligent eyes. It's ironic, but some of the most genius pieces of Burns are the very ones the Burns Establishment wants us to write out of history.

The weapons you can see in one of the photos were part of a talk given by David R Ross, all round good egg and one of the best historians you're likely to read. I was tempted to post the one of me with his Claymore, but we'll leave that to another time...

The bottom-most picture you can see is a rather artsy shot of Albannach. This was one of the worst photos I was experimenting on with Paint Shop Pro in an attempt to get a "Max Payne 2" Graphic Novel shot.

Reasons for Scottish Independence #9

Reasons for Scottish Independence #8

Ministry of Security

That has a nice ring to it doesn't it? "Ministry of Security" - it's the first time in real life I've read a news story and wondered if the writers of "V for Vendetta" and George Orwell saw a script for the future and wrote their stuff to warn us about new labour.

John Reid's proposals are to create two new ministries from the ashes of his failed tenure in the Home Office. "Security" dealing with MI5 and Immigration and "Justice" dealing with prisoners and pretty much everything else.

This is a scary idea, particularly when you remember that immigration and defence are amongst the "reserved" issues of the Scotland Act. Typically New Labour in the Vichy Parly don't allow debates on reserved issues. You get the odd Motion from the SSP / Solidarity and occasionally from the SNP but those "motions" you often seen forwarded are usually about as much use a fishnet condom.

This is one of my recent favourites:

S2M-05356 Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (Sol): That the Parliament believes that the Royal Regiment of Scotland should use the highest quality woollen cloth for its tartan; is concerned that there is a shortage of kilts for the army at present; notes that EU rules insist on competitive international tendering for the supply of goods worth more than £300,000 which could result in the cheapest and most inferior product being chosen, and calls on the Ministry of Defence to announce when the trialling of kilts for the Royal Regiment will end and to ensure that every consideration is given to the contract to supply kilts to the Royal Regiment of Scotland being kept in Scotland.

It's a good sentiment, and it will all be for nought. It makes Rosemary (and presumably anyone who signs it a certain degree of kudos, but you shouldn't be fooled that it actually means anything. Which brings me to my point: If the Home Office is split and we get our scary new V-for-Vendetta britain with it's Spook Ministry what, if anything, is the Vichy Parly going to do except look at each other frowning? But more importantly, are our Political Parties actually going to anything more substantial against developments like this, or against attacks against immigrants, or against ID cards than write a terse letter in parliament or put forward a "motion"?

What with the endless war in Iraq, ID Cards, refinancing a Nuclear Deterrent; it's clear the scare tactics employed by GB & TB aren't just wrong, they're hypocritical. The British State need euthanasia by fair means preferably, but by foul if that isn't possible.

The Second Coming

God Almighty has arrived on earth...

And he has a fucking sick sense of humour:

http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/science/01/17/pregnant.chimp.ap/index.html

Someone call Friedrich Nietzsche, he'll be killing himself at this one!

Reasons for Scottish Independence #7

In some cases the nearest foreign country is on on our own border, is Scotland, where there are experiments being undertaken which have a lot to teach us.

Oliver Letwin on Scotland

If you want YOUR special reasons included in this series, email me at: kenny.sheerin@gmail.com

Fanks.

Reasons for Scottish Independence #6

It will be great. Fifty years after we had it before. It is the right time for England to have it

Gordon Brown on England Winning the World Cup when they host the event in 2018.

Reasons for Scottish Independence #5

This is probably going to require more explanation than I want to include in these snippets.

Firstly, the quote from Popbitch:

>> Vote Shilpa! <<
C4 - How low can you go

Since Jade Goody shot to fame on Channel 4
she has had the same management as Celebrity
Big Brother host Davina McCall, and both
Big Brother spin-off show hosts, Dermot O'Leary
and Russell Brand, as well as last year's
Celebrity Big Brother winner Chantelle.
So is it any surprise that C4 and CBB
producers are so reticent about condemning
the racist bullying, led by Jade, on their
show? They have their own interests to protect

Racism of any variety is a blight on our society. Naturally, we all want it curbed. It is *however* interesting when Capitalism interferes in this process. Calling account to Jade Goody's racism should be a simple enough process (despite the obvious confusion with "political correctness" that is unfortunately used as a defence by the most idiotic of society) without Capitalist interest intervening.

Dave Gorman's Blog has the starting points of this problem for your interest. Dave went on BBLB and was the unfortunate go-to-guy at the start of the arguments with Dermot (whose reticence is rather conveniently explained by Popbitch).

This *should* make us re-evaluate our society in Socialist terms, but then I *would* say that, wouldn't I?

Somebody has to kill the Radio Star...

I've been talking about this IRL for a while now, and at the behest of people I know, I think the subject should be broached about the lamentable state of Scottish Radio.

On Xmas morning, I was setting up the Freeview box that was a prezzie for mumsie and cos she wasn't up, I ended up on BBC Radio 7, instead of finding out what Sky Three was actually like. It was this brilliant documentary about Kenny Everett. I mind as a kid being gutted that he had been sacked from Radio One - not because of the sacking, but because he ended up in a London Radio Station I wouldn't be able to hear.

My politics should dictate I should be glued to Clan FM, Clyde or XFM Scotland or whatever... I guess... I can't face it, honestly. Alyson at work insists that Dominik Diamond is a cunt. I'm guessing Anne Diamond's little boy (???) will just have to live without the blonde bombshell's input on this one. I like the guy because I can recognise who he is.

And here's the reason I don't listen to Scottish Radio: Ross King. I mind him on Radio Clyde. Then I mind him on Pebble Mill and finally as a Weatherman before ending up on GMTV. As nice and fluffy as Ross obviously is, I want something DANGEROUS or someone that actually MEANS something on the radio. I'm not talking about Scotty McClue, because frankly I don't like TalkSHITE or any form of Radio where they have more talk than they have records.

Nicky Campbell on Radio One once took the smeg out of Scottish Radio by taunting the DJs that they all sounded like Deputy Dog. For years I've never been able to listen to the local stations because I keep seeing the wee varmint in my head while some guy introduces some "70s Classics with Rah-Rah-Rasputin!!!

Because of Mr. Fujitsu Seimens here I get to listen to Last FM . If it wasn't for that I wouldn't have heard Shadows Fall... Ah... memories... Well, partially that's my point. I should be able to hear some guy in Scottish Accent taking his music seriously, being comedically dangerous or simply doing something different.

What seems to happen is this: Mr John Nightly gets his own show on some poxy channel no-one listens to for three weeks and electrifys the airwaves. Not too many people hear him except a big broadcaster who takes him somewhere else (TV, Radio in England, whatever...) I can live with that, because money is always going to talk, but we end up left with the pish that Glasgow's nightclubs spawn who frankly have more teeth than brains and can't have an Ad break without having a "funny" competition...

Reasons for Scottish Independence #4

Reasons for Scottish Independence #3

Strange Poster gotten by email

Reasons for Scottish Independence #2

"The failure to defend and promote the United Kingdom is becoming more a feature of the thinking of the Right, in contrast to Lady Thatcher, who rightly defended the Union." Gordon Brown, Labour, estoling the virtues of Margaret Thatcher.

Email your reasons for Scottish Independence to the usual email address.

Reasons for Scottish Independence #1

"People should be thankful that a Lib Dem's going out with a straight girl." - Gabriela Cheeky Girl.

You can submit your "reasons for Scottish Independence" to the usual email address.

A very late New Year post

Well my bloggerinos it's been a while, hasn't it? While you've been avidly awaiting an update to the Firefox Chronicles, I've been awaiting the upcoming premiers of Battlestar Gallactica and 24. Pointless, irrelevant and true...

Anyway, to business: 2007 heralds the year when Scotland has been three hundred years in the Union and frankly I know of a lot of shinto that has been planned and it's going to be memorable even if we lose the Scottish Parly elections.

January heralds a Republican Robert Burns Supper. February heralds the Glencoe Commemoration. March I've got a wee Nine of Diamonds Project stunt planned. April heralds the Delcaration of Independence Rally in Arbroath. May is the elections. Fun, fun, fun... as the beach boys might say.

Have a look here: http://www.srsm.net/srsm/events.htm

Politically, I've been feel more and more disenfranchised. I remain a paid up member of the Scottish Socialist Party. But the thing is... Airdrie. A friend of mine, John, pointed out that the citizens and residents of Airdrie voted Labour and Socialist Labour Party because they saw the SSP as being more aligned with the underclasses on benefit than those regular workers who wanted represented and didn't feel they could go to the SNP. When I told another friend of mine it was a watershed... As Socialists have we fogotten the majority at the expense of those we want to represent? Should there even be a dilemma?

Fuck it... I don't know. I only know that for now, the SSP represents the party closest to my own beliefs.

News wise: I'm one hundred pages away from completing my debut novel. I've even started planning my second. I've even got enough short stories for a short story collection.

In terms of photography, I'm almost done photographing the Rallies I go to. I don't see what else I can achieve photographing them. I'm still going to go, but simply taking pictures I've taken a dozen times before isn't enough any more.