Hallo,
My name is Lina and I'm from St.Petersburg. I liked your picture and profile. If you want please write me on my E-mail lina20033@mail.ru
Lina Can't figure out if she's normal of if she's a scammer... Hmm.... Seems a bit pretty to be "on the shelf" and from browsing she's been there a while, can't decide... Thoughts...? Anyway, my reply is Hi there Lina!
How are you?
I'm Jarvis, and I'm from Hamilton in Scotland, UK.
I'd really glad you liked my profile and picture, and I'd like to get know you better. I'm quite excited you are from Saint Petersburg, it is quite a mythical city in the west, especially here in Scotland.
I'd like to know what you're interested in, what kind of person you are and what you enjoy about life.
Please ask me anything about what you want to know and I will answer!
Jarvis
xx ...Some days I feel like such a complete heel... Hope I scored a scammer on my first go
So, I was smoking something officer-I-can’t-remember-purchased in Easterhouse and I came up with an idea. And it didn’t involve sneaking into a childrens’ party and switching the “Nelly the Elephant” CD for Killswitch Engage.
It can’t have escaped your notice that there isn’t anything on this Blog for a while. I’ve been busy… it’s not you… it’s me… I know I’ve neglected you, but darlin’… (I’ll stop this now, it’s starting to bug me as well).
Henceforth, I’m going to test out a wee game I like to call: “Scam the Scammer”. For a project I’m working on, I required some pictures of a girl. Not just any girl: a normal girl. Just girly wandering about. Stuff I could put on a fake Blog. Now, since I didn’t want to use any from my own archive, I thought: “Let’s use someone else’s.”
Therefore, it came to me: who’s not going mind giving me loads of pictures and not mind me using them. Russian dating scammers. They have to convince their marks there’s a real girl for them and part you from your dosh.
I was reminded of the demonically crazy Peter Dow – an Aberdeen based guy who gets his kicks from stalking university students, lecturing Republicans like me and generally spamming the planet. He put up a webpage, devoted to himself and trying to get a woman. Here: http://scot.8k.com/cgi-bin/framed/1420/lookingforawoman.htm
I took one look at the idea and decided I could use it for evil. I’d set up a fake profile, to attract some scammers and get some pictures and some kicks stringing them along a bit. Consequently, I put up a profile of www.match-seeker.com under the name Jarvis Baird, who’s a successful management consultant from Hamilton.
He has this to say about himself: “My name is Jarvis, and I'm from Hamilton in Scotland. I've become moderately successful in my career and interests, but now I've decided to take time to meet someone special, wine and dine them...”
Makes you want to boke, doesn’t it… And who does Jarvis want? “Anyone, anywhere. I want to spoil my princess and make her feel special.” Urg. I feel like I’m writing a Danielle Steele novel. Anyway, if I get any replies you’ll read them on here.
(yes I am a bad person).
So it was last June, and I was in the Cathouse Nightclub on a friday night. I made a stop by cos I was off to Bannockburn the next day and was about to go through a weekend of folk music, mostly which I don't like.
Bannockburn, as ever, was good. The SNP make like they can't really be bothered to be there, but realise if they don't people like me will pick up the banner (and they REALLY don't want that).
At the end, it all filters out and I get ready head down to the nearest chippy to refuel before the nights festivities. Something interrupts me though, everyone is conglomerating around the sounds of drums in the distance. It was closer, after the main rally had finished, to what I would've imagined the real bannockburn would be like. Drums and pipes shaking the landscape, and no sappy Embra Tattoo band to be soon. Just a bunch of misfits calling themselves Clann an Drumma.
For a someone who thinks all instruments should be plugged in to be real instruments, it was a revelation.
Later they played in the Tartan Arms for the "do" and it was hypnotic.
Cut to some months later and the band have split into two entities. Great, I say, cos I like them both and finally listen to something that's verging on spiritual.
The only bit about their divorce I can't pretend to like is that clearly Albannach got hold of the webmaster in the divorce. For Clann an Drumma, an entity clearly beautiful, to have such a drastically ugly website is... jeez... The ideas are there, the music patently has been for years.
Check out the car crash: http://www.clannandrumma.com and tell me you disagree. For such a great outfit to have such a shitty website is strange. The animation they use is amateurish, the events listings is incoherent and both the videos they have prove their band profiles are lacking (their own forum has it's members asking who the girl(s) are/is?)
Coming out smelling of roses was Albannach, who clearly inherited the webskills in the divorce. Check out: http://www.albannachonline.com Still, would rather have two great bands than complain about a website, but the difference is patently obvious.
Ah ken't him weel, but ah didnae ken fae whaur,
just an auld man paralysed wi' awe in the street,
hugged by a few wha were there tae greet,
an' a few fae back then wha whaur there tae greet
when the Yeomanry hud murdered Baird and Hardie,
an' were sending a' oor finest awa in a British Fleet.
The glimmer in his lonely eyes wis fur us,
a people lang remembed, a lang regretted exile
aye, ah mind Thomas MacFarlane fae the 'twenty
even though forced separation had been a while
ah mind that irrepressible spirit fae the 'Scotsmen
when ah mind that inevitable spirit I still smile.
Everywhaur emptied and cam' oot fur an auld friend,
Condorrat, Airdrie, Stirling, worker, farmer, weaver,
we would talk aboot when the radical cam merchin' hame
whaur he telt about the English laming him fur his labour
an' bein' cramped in a stinkin' ship tae get there
But nae joy could be extinguished, and would thunder
Thomas said he would fecht like Muir till his last hour
a friend of the people, united an' proud
and wid accept nae quarter fae the rest ae us
because soon the day would come, and when
we, who survived Thomas would have to stand and
mak a' liberty minded Scots a free republic then.
Today I was one of one and half million Local Government workers to strike against the Labour Party's pension changes.
8am: I turn up at the office to meet the other Stewards who have joined the Picket Line. Over the following few hours the picketing was beset with various problems. Partly security guards overstepping their authority, partly members of the public who didn't know there was a strike on (jeezo guys, watch the fecking news). Because we don't know who's a Union member and who's not, we end up speaking to everyone who passes "Why are you going past the picket?" "Because I'm a builder, not a council worker!" And so on. One of the stewards complained about lack of public support (in the sense that it wasn't 100%. I argued that any visual presence was decent.
12pm: Glasgow for the Rally. We indulge a march from Blythswood Square to Glasgow Green. I point out we're switching one Red Light district for another, and what the hell are the unions thinking? Apparently I'm the only person who notices this... The turnout is 10,000 and that's magnificient. The SSP makes a decent turnout which I'm glad of, because if they're going to recruit these people (i.e. Council Workers) they had to come out in force. Unison has already threatened to withdraw support for the 2007 elections, and the SSP needed force out there, and they were very visual.
The rally speakers were all pretty good, pretty left wing. I was impressed enough to not joke as much as usual. Mike Kirby (Unison Dude) was excellent. Much better than I would've thought. All Union speakers, all left wing. Played to the crowd, remained left wing. There was even a "So why the fuck are we paying into labour!" heckle which I'm pretty sure I was the only one to cheer (other than the SSP at the back).
So, pretty good today. Fuck your Union Jack, we want our pensions back!
Spring Schedules on the UK's most right-wing group of smegheads.
Ze Breakfast Show with Adolf Eichmann
"Finally ve haff a morning show vith vhich to finally scrub the cuntry clean of ze Asylum seekers. YOU SHALL NOT PHONE YOU SHALL LISTEN!"
The Morning Program with Gorgeous George
Controversial MP George has joined the UK’s only national socialist commercial speech radio station talkSHITE as a phone-in show presenter. The first time he has hosted his own broadcast show. Gorgeous said: "Anyone that enjoyed me being a pussy on Big Brother can now hear me being one on a daily basis."
The Butcher's Apron with the Duke of Cumberland
talkSHITE opens the first in the Duke's series on political issues with a full analysis on Scottish and Welsh Independence aspirations. The series starts with "Why do all those Jock and Taffy bastards end up smelly and drinking in doors those dirty Celtic sponging bastards." Naturally talkSHITE remains as impartial as always. A london cabbie said: "They bloody come down 'ere and take our jobs after free-hundred years of us ruling and 'spect us to loike it? Fuck it, we liberated the Falklands didn't we, they should be bloody happy and stay in Jockland." [note: the cabbie seemed unaware that the Falklands were not "near stornoway."]
Tune into talkSHITE now!
I didn't think I'd start watching this BBC2 TV program, never mind end up being hypnotised by it. Imagine the plot to the Day of the Jackal carried out against Harold Wilson using the characters from All the Presidents Men.
Despite it's imaginative self-importance, there were several interesting nuggets tucked away, the main one being that Lord Mountbatten (who ended up as mush due to the INLA) was a Coup plotter in 1970s London against Harold Wilson.
To me, this seemed like a crisp-white shirt put on Peter Wright's Spycatcher. The program, with it's junior level spooks providing the "evidence" lacks the gravitas that Death of Yugoslavia had when it exposed it's conspiracy and which Peter Taylor's Irish Trilogy of Documentaries had in theirs. The biggest face they had was David Owen, failed Polician and failed Balkans negotiator.
Despite this, it was watchable, and exposed how close this country came to a Coup. Coming from the BBC this is surprising, but welcome. It didn't, and admittedly couldn't, go into what may have happened AFTER the alledged coup took place. Instead, and lamentably, it gave William Waldegrave the chance to crow about Democracy. How, exactly, one is supposed to draw a victory for democracy out of "Cold War Airstrip One," Private Armies plotting coups and communist infested trade unions is, to me, slightly exaggerating the pyrric victory.
But, anyway, to digress. Imagine Mountbatten DID lead his Coup and form an Interregnum Junta after toppling Labour. My own view is that Scotland was already on the brink as it was in the 1970s. Ireland was in flames anyway and Wales, well, they were slightly ahead of the Scots in the game.
Since the documentary COULDN'T make the point, I think I will. This documentary showed a number of interesting things, partly how close the Union came to it's final constitutional crisis. Neither the Scots nor the Welsh would have, or, presently, will not, accept an enforced junta.
It also shows the shape of things to come, if you really want to be THAT cynical. How WILL the ruling classes react when Scottish Independence is only a stones throw away? We know what they HAVE done, Willie Macrae's Grave marks that little example. But on a country wide level, out of the gutter of spooks and discarded guns, what does the ruling class itself do when it's ha'penny tricks don't work anymore? To me, you could see it in the tales of the coup plotters...
Bit of a paranoid / conspiracy theory'd blog tonight...
>> It's no use crying over spilt milk... Unless... was that Jack Bauer's milk?
>> Oh you are so screwed.
>>
>> The dinosaurs messed with Jack Bauer. Look what happened to them.
>>
>> Jack Bauer doesn't wish his girlfriend looked just like that Pussycat Doll.
>> Far from it. Jack is straight. Jack doesn't like transvestites.
>>
>> Jack Bauer is always far away. "This" far away from shooting you like the
>> dog you are.
>>
>> Bird Flu is a constant danger. We should never have let Jack Bauer go on
>> holiday.
>>
>> Jack Bauer gave Mike Tyson his lisp. Little bithch.
>>
>> An extract from his wedding vows: "Do you promise to love, honour, obey,
>> duck, roll, cover, shoot and look like Donald Sutherland for as long as
>> you both shall live so help your boab?"
>>
>> You cannot have safe secs with Jack Bauer.
>>
>> Jack Bauer has a sensitive side. Unfortunately it's just as violent as his
>> non-sensitive side. He likes Red Roses because of the thorns; he likes red
>> wine for the alcohol content and he likes cheerleaders because they've all
>> got Chlamydia.
>>
>> Jack Buer doesn't issue commands, he just points his gun at you until you
>> do what he wants.
>>
>> Jack Bauer's favourite quote: "I love the sound of snapped necks in the
>> morning."
>>
>> Jack Bauer's favourite colour is violet, but only because it sounds like
>> violent.
>>
>> Jack Bauer gets the "Where's Waldo?" every time.
>>
>> Jack Bauer CAN believe its not butter.
>>
>> Not even Jack Bauer can get Lynette to pick stuff up from the printer.
>>
>> the most common cause of death among middle eastern men is Jack Bauer.
>>
>> In 1921 the Belfast-built ship the Titanic sank in the middle of the
>> Atlantic. Even the laws of space and time can't stop Jack Bauer.
>>
>> There is no such thing as evolution, just animals Jack Bauer allows to
>> live.
>>
>> If Jack Bauer trips and falls, it wasn't a mistake. It was Jazz
>> interpretive dance.
>>
>> If you're running away from Jack Bauer and he shoots and misses, he wasn't
>> aiming at you. He was aiming at somebody else 12 miles away.
>>
>> You can fool some of the people, some of the time but you can't fool all
>> of the people all of the time. Jack Bauer can.
>>
>> You can lead a horse to water. Jack Bauer can make it drink.
>>
>> "It's 8am. Squirrels have stolen my cream bun and the door won't shut
>> right. I'm Jack Bauer, and this is my life. (Day not caught on film)"
>>
>> Superman wears Jack Bauer pyjamas.
>>
>> The only reason you're not unconscious right now is because Jack Bauer
>> doesn't feel like carrying you.
>>
>>
Bruce 700th, Saturday, March 25th 2007
There will be a commemoration to mark the 700th anniversary of Robert the Bruce's coronation as King of Scots. The time and place being the Bruce statue, Bannockburn, on Saturday, March the 25th, at 1pm.
t.
There shall be a short service conducted by the Scottish Knights Templar, along with talks by guest speakers who include historian David R Ross, the president of the Celtic league(Alba) Iain Ramsay, and the irrepressible Robbie the Pic
Then, over to the King Robert hotel for pints and a blether. All welcome.
I swear this is one of the funniest things I saw online tonight.
Course I may be hyper from too much coffee.
The Surrealist Dalek: "
The Surrealist Dalek
Click on the Dalek for another A lazy flashback addition to the empire of The Surrealist.
"
Go to the NOTW website for the horrible video and see what your taxes pay for yourself.
News Of the World - Online Edition: "SHAMED BY 42 BRAINLESS BLOWS
By Robert Kellaway
TODAY we expose a rogue squad of British soldiers who savagely attacked a defenceless bunch of Iraqi teenagers —and with 42 brutal blows brought shame on our nation and its proud army."
 Wandering around Cumbernauld with my camera occasionally turns out to be a fortuitous experience. I assume these were either added for Cumbernauld Park, or are a harking back to the long lost Cumbernauld Castle. Answers on a postards... (hell, even just tell me what the crest is).
 From the Cumbernauld News: "...the Dovecote which took pride of place in the grounds of the long-disappeared Cumbernauld Castle. When the ancestral seat of the Flemings, Cumbernauld House was created, there it remained. It was in its own way a symbol of power as only landowners were allowed to keep and kill birds."
I'll insert merely a section continued from the last part of a short story I had on here called "Flicker". Anyway, you can see for yourself:
The Diary of Jacob Strachan - Day 2 - Voice Recording (vocals slightly garbled, but still audible above a track behind it - Coriolan by Beethoven)
The monster at the centre of the Milky Way is a serene, apocalyptic novelty from the beginnings of the universe. First, let me take you past Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, through the Ice Giants and past that shard of frozen methane, Pluto and on, into the darkness, through that void until we pass the vast spears of Alpha and Proxima Centauri… Continue, further, until we reach the chaos and wonderment of our Galaxy as we spin into the gravity well of the supermassive Sagittarius A Black Hole. The beast, unkempt and isolated and the centre of the dance ring, twirls like a performer and waits until straying asteroids, comets and stars find themselves slipping and fall, descend, plummet into the archaic void and breathe the stale, crushed air and dark light of the centre, the beginning, of the antipodes of our home. All of this, crushed beyond the repair of even the most advanced civilisation. All of this, a Ballet to your worthless heritage. One day a brother, a remnant of long dead heavens having bred a civilisation of its own, too immense to survive for any sustained era went Supernova, collapsed, and drew the rest of the universe into itself. There were no seasons, no winds, no snow, no icy Armageddon here, but death and fear. However, it will stray into our Solar System, and on day one, swallow Pluto with little more than a smile. Day Two, it will draw Neptune and Uranus out to it with more violence, but still, no apparent regret. Inexorably drawn to the leviathans of our Solar System, Jupiter and Saturn, they will swirl and disintegrate away before your telescopic eyes, and it will be the end of time and hope. By then, we will have nothing, no hope, no fear, no four-minute warning because everything is doomed. If we are lucky, we will merely disintegrate on our own, instead of surviving the melancholy firestorm of Solar Flares previously unimagined. The thing is, though, your civilisation will not be remembered when the Sun is pulled apart and the atmosphere ripped from the Earth in little more than an hour. Everything you have fought for, campaigned for, worked for, is now nothing but the swirling dust clouds disappearing beyond time, beyond the event horizon of the last Black Hole your civilisation will ever witness, and you will disappear into that un-calculating Id void. It’s laughable, but you are now little more than an atom, where once you were Gods. It is cold, it is terrifying, but it is the basic building block of the universe. An example of Gravity at it’s most malingering and violent. There is no sentience; it is merely a universal law ripping a hole in space-time. It merely exists: thoughtless, cold, persistent and inevitable. Rape the sweetheart you’ve been too shy to talk to; masturbate over the cold, dead eyes of your employer. Quickly… try to find the meaning in the novel you never read. Beat the worthless souls of your enemies to a pulp. In the aimless brutality the universe concocted at its conception, all peace is pointless. Every second is the Revelation of Saint John. You should climb onto the stage and stand, be a preacher slamming his fist on the pulpit. Taunt the crowd with your unsatisfactory truth. Everything is disappearing into the void, and you, clearly, are nothing within this bright, beautiful, brutal cosmos. It is your last chance to avoid being the worm swallowing earth for meaningless microscopic tunnels, your last chance to evolve, to be something more. The pretty ones want the pretty ones, so you may as well have what you want since the universe did not create morals or vague, delightful rules for a better ascension into a greater, more energetic realm. Your pretty friends created that when they lied to you. The universe wants to slam giant slabs of ice the size of your town into gas giants and water worlds. This is the meaningless heritage of your nation; it is your heirloom, your reward for sitting through your lawyers numb words when he reads you the destination alpha of the Will to the Hyenas you call your Brothers and Sisters. I speak, humbly, as a witness.
"Your carnation will rot in a vase" - Derek W Dick.
Some of my Scottish readers may be perplexed by my insistant interest in Neurocam, the Austalian (initially) internet offering and even more perplexed my self-indulgent references to assignments I can't mention, and news that is of little relevance to you.
Neurocam is about perception and creativity, with tantalising echoes of 60s Spy movies and becomes a genre in of itself. Robin Hely, the alleged creator, is a genius. Those that seem to have spoke to him seem to hate the guy. I haven't and don't. I guess that's the price of genius.
I joined because I felt I had a lesson to learn in those two qualities I mentioned in paragraph two (the quote doesn't count).
And now, tragically, while I was still eager enough, it seems to have collapsed in on itself. The website is closed, there were two blogs blowing the roof off the whole theatre. A Blog by "Another Operative" and another by "Teigan" were masterpieces of anger and regret. Teigan's Blog is now free of the rage, but AO's isn't. AO's is Watergate for the Neurobabies.
On the right hand side of this page you'll notice a link that's been up there for a few months to Chris Titan in reciprocation for a link he gave me. I called him an internet prophet, and in Neurocam terms I was right. Small comfort since I fucking liked the experience thus far... He predicted everything. He might've have written the script for all I know.
I joined because it was art that seemed to connect with the disaffected. How can anyone disagree with that? Whether it was pointless or playacting it was still relevant. As Hely and at one point Teigan said: Tarnishing it is like throwing shit in an art gallery.
If it's done, then Hely has his conclusion to his artwork. As an artist myself I envy him that.
So, what can Scots learn from this? I think we tend to rant at the apathetic, rather than trying to seduce them. Neurocam seduced the apathetic of the world with an irreverence and a charm that you don't often witness. At times dodgy, at other's mysterious, and eventually it burned out like Jim Morrison and Sid Vicious. It was Jim Morrison at New Haven; Johnny Rotten spitting that: "Don't you feel like you've been cheated?" And we, as a culture, don't have that. What Scots have is tragic and porcelain and that saddens me.
So why do I want something for Scotland: perceptive, corny, mysterious and dramatic? Because we need to expand our own perceptions by delving into the surreal and confronting our own subconscious.
An Australian Artist touched the sky with something that only about perception and creativity. Tell me you don't want that for Alba... Caledonia... Scotland... Jock Tamson's Bairns...
"So make the best of this test
and don't ask why.
It's not a question
but a lesson learned in time.
It's something unpredictable
but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life." Time of your Life - Green Day
Comrades,
We have three more “DotSCO” letters. Two via Red Larry in Dundee, and one to myself.
First, to Red Larry’s Letters:
Dear Mr xxxxx
Thank you for your letter of 2nd February regarding the campaign for a Scottish Domain Name on the Internet.
I am happy to state my support for the campaign. Please do let me know if there is anything practicle that you would wish me to do from my end.
With best wishes
Yours sincerely
Stewart Srevenson MSP
Also reply from: Kate MacLean MSP acknowledges with thanks the receipt of your communication of 2/2/06, the contents of which have been noted.
(She sent this in a postcard)
Dear Mr Sheerin,
Thank you for your letter regarding a DotSCO domain name.
My colleague Rob Gibson, MSP, Convener of the Scots Cross Party Group for the Scots Language, has been actively involved in widening the dotSCO campaign, which I have enclosed a copy of two articles that were written about this last November that I hope you will find of interest.
The campaigners hope to communicate with as many users as possible, ranging from the producers of Scottish Traditional Music CDs to individuals like the current Mairi Mhor fellowship holder, Fiona MacKenzie of Dingwall. It is hoped the possibility of raising their public awareness, and association with all things Scottish, will provide the spur necessary for them to become involved and grow the campaign.
I will keep your details on file and will be in touch once I have further information on the campaign.
I hope this is helpful.
Best wishes,
Yours Sincerely,
Michael Matheson MSP
SNP-Central Scotland
Articles enclosed available on web via the main dotSCO website.
Six down out of thirteen. All positive, which is a good thing. NO LABOUR REPLIES! Can you say: “Hiding in cupboards?” Why is it so difficult to get a reply out of Labour? They can’t say it was lost. All five of my envelopes were in the same post bag, in the same sorting office in Cumbernauld.
I liked Michael Matheson’s reply. It expanded the point onto other relevant issues.
Like it.
We’ll see where this Shinto goes.
From the photos underneath this post, you can see I went along to the most recent demonstration against putting Electricity Pylons over the Battlefield Site of Sheriffmuir.
Most of the people I spoke to there seemed concerned about the numbers. Being a bit of a veteran of various protests here and there I think that it simply is a matter of momentum. You can't build anything without preparation and, more importantly, time. The fact that it's only the second demo against (specifically) the Sheriffmuir section of the Pylons and they had an increased turnout is remarkable in of itself.
In his speech, Michael of Albany said that he wanted another Demo in Stirling to try and pick up support in one of the areas affected by the Super-Pylons. Your narrator is struggling to find anything "super" about nearby kids getting Lukemia or about the inherently Labour Party ideals regarding the Bastardisation, disrespect and rampant humiliation of Scottish History.
I initially was troubled when the Chief of the Clan Fraser went up to speak. I wondered what he could possibly have to add that the actual campaigners couldn't. And, inevitably, I was proved wrong. His ancestors fought there. His ancestors repelled ten Hanoverian charges before succuming to fate and writing themselves into history. Who else better to speak for them than their own descendant?
Ken Shirra, the Knight's Templar guy, I got to admit to struggling with that one. Not the whole concept of Templarism (that's for another time) but more what relevance the bible passages he read out had? Didn't get it, but I'm an atheist, so I'm not likely to.
Carol Paterson, of Stirling Before Pylons, made a reasonably good speech outlining WHY it's a bad idea in scientific terms for the communities exposed to this Corporate violence.
So, that was all generally a good follow up, in my opinion, but clearly the ball needs to be kept rolling. Hopefully I'll have something to report on it in due course.
Next up, is news on the Nine of Diamonds Project I mentioned earlier. Someone, apparently, went around Glasgow Bookstores today with printed Nine of Diamonds with "John Maclean - RIP - 1923" and placed them in a series of books in Waterstones, Borders and Ottokars.
Michael of Albany made two appearance at the rally. Once to make his own appeal against putting pylons over the battlefield and the second to read a letter which would be submitted to George Reid, the Speaker of the Vichy Parliament. 
Introducing and managing the proceeding is Mr. Luath (I can't remember if I asked him his real name... erm... sorry).
The two main banners.
Carol Paterson, from a Stirling Group against Pylons like these, outlines some of the scientific evidence about the health damage the Pylons cause.
The Chief of the Clan Macrae tells the assembly of what the Sheriffmuir means to his Clan,and ends with the Battle Cry of the Clan Macrae.
The assembly poses for a picture for a couple of journos who were there.
Carol Roscoe reads a letter from the Battlefields Trust supporting the Demonstration.
A Jacobite waving a standard
Ken Shirra, Knichtie, makes his own comments on the Pylons and then prays.
Barbra-ann from the group "Scotia" sings a couple of songs relating to Sheriffmuir
A comrade of mine, Red Larry (http://spaces.msn.com/celticphoenix/) has contacted me about the dotSCO campaign and told me he has sent letters to:
Shona Robinson, Dundee East (SNP)
John Swinney, North Tayside (SNP)
Mr Andrew Welsh, Angus (SNP)
Kate MacLean, Dundee West (Labour)
Roseanna Cunningham, Perth (SNP)
Shiona Baird, Party List MSP (Greens)
Richard Lochhead, Party List MSP (SNP)
Stewart Stevenson Banff & Buchan (SNP)
He is sticking to MSPs in North East and Mid Scotland & Fife. Go here for more info about dotSCO and the campaign to get Scotland it’s own Top Level Domain.
Larry told me he’s putting the letter template I sent him on his Blog (URL above and immediate left).
Your narrator, the morra, is off to the Scottish Parliament to attend a Rally against placing Electricity Pylons on Sheriffmuir. A Siol member called Black Devon had been sending the e-mail round, and so briefly I’ll insert the comments of what’s happening tomorrow:
Guest Speakers:
Prince Michael of Albany
Fraser Macrae of Clan Macrae Ken Shirra, Grand Prior Scottish Knights Templar
Carol Paterson, Stirling Before Pylons
Songs o' Sherramuir sung by Barbrahann (of the Folk group Scotia)
When? 1pm on 4th February 2006
Where? Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh
Why?
Now, this rant is mine not theirs. (because when I go off on one, I tend to be in Mr. Kenny’s own little world…)
In 1715, in one of the more inconclusive battles of the First Jacobite War, why should a Republican care about the Pylons being on that particular Battlefield? Firstly, before Thomas Muir of Huntershill there wasn’t a Republican movement in Scotland to speak of. People have argued about proto-Republicans and etcetera, but for a definite lineage to the present, I, as a Republican have to look to Thomas Muir. To me that means that all Scottish History prior to that date has a relevance to the present, because it shaped the Scotland I live in. Thomas Muir and his political descendants contribute to the Scotland that I want to shape. It’s an ongoing process whereas the Jacobites of 1715 where one of the forces who made Scotland the culture and nation it is today. Nothing can change the sacrifice those men made on that field, on that day. No one, inevitably, must take that away.
Brenda Windsor, the uppity and last Elizabeth on the throne of Scotland would undoubtedly not let me piss on Edward the First’s grave in Westminster Abbey. Why should I let her piss on the grave of MY ancestors?
Culture and History makes us as we are today. The Muslims raging about misunderstanding pathetic European Taunts about cartoons about the Prophet Mohammad are clear examples of this.
Since the Crusades, our misunderstanding of Arabic and Muslim Culture has created a military decadence that has enslaved everyone in Europe afflicted by former Norman Culture. And their understanding blames everyone who is white. Fuck.
So we don’t commemorate ALL our dead and ALL our history, we are supposed to pick and choose and make ourselves slaves to a Norman Dynasty who think us Slaves to their wretched empire-guilt and supposed “War on Terror”. The dead of Sheriffmuir ARE our history and should be left untouched by the Capitalist Cultural Oppression of some power company that wants to build over it.
Fuck them. Fuck the Executive for doing nothing despite Jack “Toom Tabard” McConnell’s current Chameleon Nationalism. Fuck Westminster.
Why? Because with history we aren’t just commemorating the dead, but commemorating the living.
This "comment" was so good, it deserved to be promoted. Go through it, click the link and find yourself in a more interesting and dangerous place...
Michael, thanks for forwarding this (it's why Blogs are powerful!)
From: michael the tubthumper
Sorry for invading your blog with this but here is a chance to do something.
Please take a look at this post at amelopsis garden and lend a hand. There is an amazing old woman who needs your help.
"Truth is not only violated by falsehood; it may be equally outraged by silence."
- Henri Frederic Amiel, French philosopher and writer (1821-1881)
I encourage all to click and type a brief message of support for Rosemarie's Jackowski’s human rights and dignity. Wherever you work, whatever you believe, please think about what YOU would want done on your behalf and in your defense if and when it's your turn to displease the power structure. It is not safe, in today's political climate, to assume that YOU will never be the object of political targeting. Please, whether you're in agreement with the politics of this site or not, add your voice to the chorus of support for Rosemarie Jackowski. What's happening to her today could happen to any of us tomorrow.
Got this one as well... >>
>> Kenny,
>>
>>Right now, ExxonMobil is announcing a record-breaking profit of $36 billion
>>for the year! You can view the AP story here:
>>http://msnbc.msn.com/id/11098458/
>>
>>The Exxpose Exxon campaign has released a funny new flash video, "Toast the
>>Earth,"
>>
>>(http://www.exxposeexxon.com/movie/ ) lampooning this company's record
>>profits in the wake of sky-high spikes in oil prices this year.
>>
>>I hope the movie will make a humorous addition to your coverage of the
>>announcement.
>>
>>Best,
>>
>>Amelia Field
>>
>>On behalf of Exxpose Exxon
Black Hole Puts Dent In Space-time on Yahoo! News: "Black Hole Puts Dent In Space-time
Ker Than
Staff Writer
SPACE.comTue Jan 24, 8:00 AM ET
A spinning black hole in the constellation Scorpius has created a stable dent in the fabric of spacetime, scientists say.
The dent is the sort of thing predicted by Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity. It affects the movement of matter falling into the black hole.
The spacetime-dent is invisible, but scientists deduced its existence after detecting two X-ray frequencies from the black hole that were identical to emissions noted nine years ago. The finding will allow scientists to calculate the black hole's spin, a crucial measurement necessary for describing the object's behavior.
Blinking X-rays
Black holes form when very massive stars runs out of fuel. Their cores implode into a point of infinite density and their outer layers are blown away in a powerful supernova explosion. Within a theoretical boundary called the event horizon, the black hole's gravity is so strong that nothing, including light, can escape.
The X-ray frequencies detected by the team of researchers came from outside the event horizon of GRO J1655-40, a black hole located roughly 10,000 light-years from Earth. It is about seven times more mas"
DotSCO Letters… 2
As you may remember, your narrator, Mr. Kenny (for it is me) sent five letters to local MSPs about a “DotSCO” domain name (in support of the dotSCO campaign).
Out of five letters sent, two have replied, and these I publish. There’s three letters below: one from Carolyn Leckie (SSP), and two from Donald Gorrie (Lib Dem) – the first being a reply to my letter, the second being his own letter to Nicol Stephen.
Firstly, to the delectable and talented (I say this while they still – apparently – support the Saltire *ahem*) Carolyn Leckie, MSP for the Scottish Socialist Party.
12 January 2006.
Dear Mr. Sheerin,
Re: DotSCO Domain Name
Thank you very much for your letter about the campaign for a “.sco” doman name on the Internet.
I’m very happy to add my support to the campaign and have e-mailed accordingly. I’d also be happy to ask questions on our behalf – please send me draft questions and I will arrange for them to be tabled.
Yours Sincerely
[sig]
Carolyn Leckie
]
24 January 2006.
Dear Mr. Sheerin
DotSCO Domain Name
Thank you for your letter of 19 December, and apologise for the delay in reply.
Without being and expert in the technicalities of this subject, I think you make a good point and am happy to pass it on to my colleague, Nicol Stephen, for comment. As Enterprise Minister, his is the Department most likely to be interested in pursuing the idea of a Scottish Domain Name.
Many thanks for raising this with me.
Yours Sincerely
[sig]
DONALD GORRIE
[cc below]
Nicol Stephen MSP
Deputy First Minister and Minister for Enterprise & Lifelong Learnings
Scottish Executive
Meridan Court
Cadogan Street
Glasgow
G2 8AB
24 January 2006
Dear Nicol,
DotSCO Domain Name
I enclose a copy of a letter from my constituent, Mr. Kenneth Sheerin, of Cumbernauld, who raises an interesting issue abomut Scotland having it’s own Domain name on the Internet.
I don’t fully understand the technicalities, but wonder whether your Department has looked into the issue or whether you consider it would be a useful development in terms of helping businesses and organisations to identify themselves as Scottish – with all that entails for marketing and creating their distinctiveness.
I would welcome any comments that I can pass along to Mr. Sheerin.
Yours Sincerely
[sig]
Donald Gorrie.
I have this feeling, brothers and sisters, that Nicol Stephen going to get stuff passed onto him from Cathie Craigie as well.
The Lib-Dems are going to send the boys round. [Mr. Kenny struggles to avoid making an all to obvious joke at this point]
Naturally, Carolyn Leckie was prompt enough. Donald Gorrie, despite his apologies has a decent enough reply and acknowledges his own shortcomings. And he referred it up.
More when I get some replies.
I suspect that this is going to turn into one of my least coherent Blogs ever; and rightly so, based upon the subject matter.
I’m currently reading ‘The Illuminatus Trilogy!’ by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson. Ostensibly, it’s a trippy sixties meander through a host of conspiracy theories. I’m only about halfway through the first book in the trilogy, ‘The Eye in the Pyramid’ and the Rolling Stone quote in the inside cover perfectly surmises why it’s such a great classic: “The longest shaggy dog joke in literary history… A hundred pages in I couldn’t figure out why I was wasting my time with this nonsense… after three hundred I was having too much fun to quit, and by the end I was eager to believe every word – I loved it.”
The reason why I love it so much is for precisely the same reason I detested ‘The Da Vinci Code’. When I read the Da Vinci Code, I had the problem that I knew exactly what Dan Brown was talking about because it wasn't new to me. I’d read Baigent and the Templars, had inexorably cross paths with Abbé Sauniere and Rennes-le-chateau; and have even wandered around Roslin Chapel and some ruins just down the road from it. Because none of the Grail information was a surprise to me, all that was left for me was a substandard chase story that should really have borrowed a few more ideas from Bullitt than from Baigent.
With Illuminatus, you get a plot so over the top and convoluted that you are routed through so many different ideas and concepts. You can barely keep up. The book switches narratives half way through sentences, goes back and forth in time so often you’re dizzy. And, partly, from the stuff I have read about Illuminati conspiracies, instead of ruining the plot, actually helps me keep up.
Now, you’re probably going: that’s rather interesting Mr. Kenny, why for did you warn me and your other reader about this all being rather incoherent? Well, this is where I’m departing from Shea and Wilson and wandering around Neurocam and JK Rowling (not together you understand).
My own Neurocam experiences have been interesting, though occasionally perplexing. On the various boards and forums Neurocam seems to end up being linked to a number of books and movies, some I’ve watched, some not. A list, if you will:
Books:
- The Magus by John Fowles
- The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon
Movies & TV: - Strange Days - IMDB Page
- The Game - IMDB Page
- Videodrome - IMDB Page
- The Prisoner – Six of One Appreciation SocietyCourtesy of the Neurocam Wiki Project / Neuroboards
It surprises me that Illuminatus isn’t up there. “Get out of your mind” the Neurocam Slogan is one that appears in Illuminatus. ‘"You have to go out of your mind before you can come to your senses," as Tim Leary…’ from Eye of the Pyramid – Robert Anton Wilson and Robert Shea (the Illuminatus Trilogy. However, I’m not going to labour the point and move onto JK Rowling. (Like I said I would). Frequently in what I’ve read so far in Illuminatus comes ‘He who must not be named’. Now, Voldemort doesn’t make an appearance but Hastur, a fictional primal terror god does who is referred to by various Discordians as “he who must not be named” and who is based on a character from H.P. Lovecraft (who also makes a theoretical cameo appearance in Illuminatus). The dark symbology of Rowling (to continue my minor conspiracy theory) continues with one of the key characters of Rowling’s first book: The Philosophers Stone. The title object revealed, early on, to be made by one Nicolas Flamel who is named as a Grandmaster in the list of men of the ‘Priory of Sion’ a fictional dynasty of grandmasters of a fake organisation created by a French charlatan called Pierre Plantard. Flamel is mentioned in various archaic works like The Book of Abraham the Jew. I’m starting to sound like a paranoid delusional schizophrenic, so I’ll taper off and get to the point: I like literature and ideas that make you spike off in different directions, no matter how irrelevant or pastoral. To me it exercises your brain and makes you fitter. Clearly, though, for some people, any obsessional personality traits can be dangerous, but since I haven’t blown any up yet, I doubt I’ll start any time soon. That’s why Da Vinci Code is a relevant book (but I’ll maintain, not a well-written or constructed book) because it makes people argue and figure things out. It is also why Illuminatus is a great book, despite its convoluted nature: it makes you think.
Sent this to the SSP.
Sir / Madam, I write with reference to the following article which appeared in the Sunday Times. I'm wanting to know if this is a joke, a tactic or whether you actually want the Saltire replaced? Thanks in advance, Kenny Sheerin.
Call for Saltire to be ditched
Kathleen Nutt
The Sunday Times, January 22, 2006
POLITICIANS are being asked to ditch the Saltire as Scotland's
national flag because its "Christian symbolism" has little relevance
to large sections of the population.
A motion being presented to the Scottish parliament will ask MSPs to
approve a new "rainbow" flag that better reflects Scotland's cultural
and ethnic diversity.
Colin Fox, leader of the Scottish Socialist party, claims the Saltire,
which features the cross of St Andrew - Scotland's patron saint and
one of Christ's disciples - is a dated relic. He believes that
Scotland, as a secular country inhabited by people from many different
religions, should no longer have a Christian symbol as its national
emblem.
The Saltire, one of the oldest flags in the world, has been used since
832AD, when St Andrew is said to have appeared in a vision to Angus
MacFergus, the Pictish king, on the eve of the Battle of
Athelstaneford against the Northumbrians. The colours represent white
clouds in an azure sky.
Last year Jack McConnell, the first minister, ordered every public
building in Scotland to fly the Saltire, which remains a firm
favourite with fans at football and rugby internationals. However Fox
believes it is an "anachronism" and that it is time for it to go.
"Who was St Andrew? He was someone who never came here, so his
connection to Scotland is tenuous to say the least," he said. "I'd
like the Scotland of today to reflect the many different cultures
here. Scotland now has a considerable Asian population and a small and
important Chinese community, as well as Irish people. A flag that is
blue does not convey the impression of a multitude of backgrounds and
interests."
Fox said Scotland should consider adopting a flag similar to the
multicoloured emblem used by post-apartheid South Africa, dubbed the
rainbow nation.
His suggestion has the support of the Humanist Society of Scotland,
which said that after 1,000 years, it was time to consider a new flag.
"The relationship of St Andrew to Scotland is mythical," said Ron
McLaren, a spokesman for the society. "If we were going to redesign
the flag, I would like it to incorporate the symbol of Europe, to
indicate our wish to take a full part in its affairs."
Chris Ballance, the arts and culture spokesman for the Green party
said: "I think it would be interesting to have a debate on the
subject. Greens aren't interested in flag-waving nationalism but
Scotland has changed and is changing and, whether that is grounds for
having a new flag, should be up for debate."
The Saltire is regarded as a loyalist symbol in Protestant areas of
Northern Ireland. Three years ago it hit the headlines when the
Scottish parliament set the optimum colour of the flag - as Pantone
300, sky blue - after purists and manufacturers complained that the
shade varied widely.
The suggestion that it should be scrapped has provoked anger in some
quarters. "Colin Fox's proposal is absolute nonsense. The Saltire has
a long association with Scotland and is part of our history. It is the
most obvious symbol of Scotland," said Ian Scott, chairman of the
Saltire Society.
"I am appalled by any suggestion it should be downgraded or scrapped.
The idea that Scotland should pretend that it hasn't got a long
Christian heritage is ludicrous."
Bev Mayer, treasurer of the Perthshire branch of the Tartan Army,
said: "We have a real emotional attachment to the Saltire. It is the
internationally recognised symbol for Scotland and we're very proud of it.
Ayub Khan, chairman of the Multi-Faith Coalition, which represents
young Muslims, said he was proud to wear the Saltire. "Whenever I
change my car I stick the Saltire badge on the back. I also wear the
Saltire on my T-shirt when I go to Pakistan. "I have two identities,
my first is as a Muslim, and my second as a Scot. I'm proud of the
Saltire and don't think it should be changed."
# Bruce McFee, the Nationalist MSP, has called for the Union Jack to
be banned from public buildings north of the border. The list MSP for
the west of Scotland said the flag was associated with the suppression
of Scots and should not be on display. This week fellow Nationalist
Sandra White was forced to apologise after a press release issued in
her name described the flag as a "butcher's apron".
The battle of the flag
Historians believe the Saltire dates back to AD832 when a Pictish army
was fighting Northumbrian soldiers for control of part of eastern
Scotland.
The night before the battle King Angus MacFergus saw a vision of St
Andrew who promised him victory. Next day the soldiers saw a diagonal
cross in the sky above the battlefield, which encouraged the Picts and
Scots and frightened their enemy. A memorial to the "Battle of the
Saltire" stands in the village of Athelstaneford, East Lothian, today.
The Saltire became the national emblem of the Scots from that time.
The Saltire was also seen on the nation's first coins, introduced by
King David I in the 12th century.
SAY NO! TO PYLONS AT SHERIFFMUIR
 “Some say that we wan, some say that they wan and some say that nae’n wan at `a man”.We all say that we will win!!!The Battle begins!A rally has been organised for 4th February `06Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh 1pmGuest Speakers:HRH Prince Michael of AlbanyFraser Macrae of Clan MacraeKen Shirra, Grand Prior Scottish KnightsTemplarFor more information contact Colin tel. 07812 905073or Margaret tel. 01369 860510
>From: Carol Roscoe
>To: undisclosed-recipients:;
>Subject: Battle of Falkirk commenoration
>Date: Fri, 20 Jan 2006 09:00:30 +0000 >
>apologies for the short notice, please circulate on mailing lists
>
>The 1746 Battle of Falkirk commemoration takes place this weekend at 2pm
>Saturday 21 January 2006 at the memorial, Greenbank Road, Falkirk (usual
>place). This will be followed by pies and a blether at the Hurlot pub. This
>is a small gathering which the Scottish Knights Templar organise every
>year.
>
>regards
>
>carol
A while back I mentioned that the Dark Harvest Arts Group had borrowed my camera. Their founder, Max Von Denizen, returned it to me this morning and sent me the following post.
Naturally I have no knowledge of what transpired. I am, ahem, the reporter in this scenario.
Also note, if you click on the pictures you get an enlarged version (this is important for the final picture in this story).
----- Original Message ----- Sent: Friday, January 13, 2006 1:24 PM Subject: Condorrat Radicals Commemoration
Kenny, please add this to your Blog. Both your readers will no doubt appreciate the event. Last week, members of the Dark Harvest Arts Group (and don't let Mr. Kenny pretend he wasn't there) congregated in Condorrat to commemorate the Condorrat Villagers who took part in the Insurrection of 1820. Naturally the story isn't complete without Andrew Hardie, James Wilson of Strathaven and all the other Scottish Radicals, however a separate Glasgow Memorial along similiar lines is planned. Let their names live forever more: John Baird, Ex-Soldier and Weaver, Condorrat - Executed
John Barr, Weaver, Condorrat - Transported for Treason
Thomas McFarlane, Weaver, Condorrat - Transported for Treason
William Smith, Weaver, Condorrat - Transported for Treason
They lived as Heroes and were treated like slaves
 The Luggie in Condorrat Therefore, last week, we congregated at the Luggie in Condorrat, first to talk about the Radicals, what they meant to us, how they're relevant now, to read a couple of verses of various poems and ended our ceremony with a Burning of the Union Flag, the symbol of the Radical's Oppression. We chose a commemoration that wasn't a funeral, because we believe these men would've wanted us to be as Radical as they were. Outlined in Images and Text (and, obviously, without pictures of the participants - no John King's here you understand).  Before the Burning of the Butcher's Apron
It was at this point we had our speeches, our talk, all with our backs with the Luggie and modern Condorrat proper at our backs. A certain Blogger and SRSM member (who shall remain nameless) argued that since Thomas McFarlane of Condorrat and James Wilson of Strathaven (who was executed for Treason) were both United Scotsmen then it would be appropriate for each of us to recite a modern "secret oath" based on original. Naturally we had discussed this beforehand, but either way, each in turn, on a Saltire and Dirk took our oath and burned the Union Jack and swore allegiance to Scotland and Scotland alone (are you listening Gordon Brown?) This is important, purely because it symbolises committment to one's country. Unfortunately I didn't have the Radical Oath (if there was one) to work from, and used the next best source (i.e. the group at least two leading members came from previously).  The Burning of the Butcher's Apron [Kenny Note: Enlarge for a larger and clearer picture of this one - press back to get back here]The question, obviously, was what to do next. It's all well and good burning a Union Jack and swearing an oath. Scottish Independence seekers probably do something like this regularly. But we wanted more, we wanted something symbolic. It was therefore agreed, impromptu, that we return the tattered remains of the Butcher's Apron as a symbolic offering. We who were there considered ourselves the inheritors of the Legacy of the Radicals and the United Scotsmen. Who, pray tell, would you most likely suggest we enlist to play the part of the Yeomanry who turned our Heroes into Slaves?  The Tattered remnants of the Butcher's Apron, inspected before Stage Two
 So where did we choose? The local TA base - The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders TA Base on Glencryan Road, Cumbernauld.
And so, we took ourselves from Condorrat to Central Cumbernauld and a deserted little path only frequented by Dog Walkers and people who haven't got their bus fare home to Abronhill. The question we next had was what to do, and how to do it. This affair was all about symbolism (we are an arts group after all). The best course of action was to place it somewhere high, and somewhere relevant.  [Kenny Note: The picture looks better if you enlarge it, you can see the detail, so click on the link] It doesn't take Einstein to guess that we chose the location closest to the front entrace of the Barracks rather than the gates which are slightly further from the Barracks. Close enough to see those Red Checks on the door they stole from the Jacobites to trick a stolen people into joining. A comrade from Glasgow noted to us that while the Tartan was banned, the Army had introduced it as a way to get the tough Highlanders into the Army. That is, "You can't wear it out there, but you can in here." Let's be honest, this lot might as well be called the South Essex Fusiliers as 'Scots'.
History isn't just about Commemorating the dead, but commemorating the living.
Next commemoration Glasgow. Contact Kenny if you want to attend.
Max Von Denizen
Dark Harvest Arts Group
 As you may / may not have read, I joined Neurocam some time ago, and have been waiting for a new assignment. After checking out the Neuroboards there was rumours of new assignments out there.
Since I've had problems with my e-mail, I thought it better to e-mail Operations to check out if they'd sent it and if I hadn't got it.
As always, they're always very strict on details being leaked as to the exact nature, but I'm permitted to say that I've got a "Perception Assessment." Although I've had one of these before, the one they've sent me is rather intruiging...
3-hour trips to Mars' bid Scientists are thinking of building an extraordinary anti-gravity machine which - if it works - could make "hyperdrive" starships a reality. The design is based on the ideas of a little-known but brilliant German physicist who modified Albert Einstein's theories of space and time. Burkhard Heim postulated a multidimensional world in which the forces of gravity and electromagnetism are coupled together. Last year, a paper drawing on the concept won the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics' Future Flight prize. It envisaged an engine that could not only defeat gravity but propel a space craft through multidimensional hyperspace at unbelievable speed. from: http://tech.virgin.net/story/TEC/A3528161136551557A00 More info @
Okay, so... you're a principled and left wing politician. You win a shock victory in a seat in the General Election.
What do you do after the festive period to build up your profile and get your policies out there? Hold a press conference, stage a demonstration?
If you're George Galloway, apparently you go on Celebrity Big Brother. Unless he's planning a publicity stunt later on to wind up Davina, the man has sunk to the depths. Did the American's poison his water when he doing his defiant stand against them denying changes of making money off Saddam Hussain? Is that why he's there?
Unless business picks up for Gorgeous George soon, we'll be seeing him on "My Sister's Hot Friend" with Germaine Greer...
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