Scots manage the impossible

For many people, the entire concept of Scotland Versus England is nothing more than an archaic football match once a year, and for many, football matches are so far down the priority list, it is of little interest. But for a lot of people, people who remember the recent wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, the South Atlantic, will know the Scots are not only exceptionally brave but mightily powerful opponents. To hear the skirl of the pipes in the distance lifts many a heart to go on and work harder in the most appalling of conditions.

As a Brit, I have heard in the distance the pipes of 2 Para and have known with absolute assuredness, the Scots were there and prepared to hold the ground while refugees poured over the line. To quote the Infantry web site, "The Second Battalion forms part of 16 Air Assault Brigade. Through ...  hard training, the airborne soldier is expected to develop resilience, self-confidence and a fierce determination to succeed, whatever the difficulties. ...  a winning factor time and again on operations."

In other words, the Army trains and selects only the best, and the best are the best in the world, a lot of Scots are selected because Scots exhibit all the qualities  that are needed to be successful.

Problem solving is a skill that creates invention. Scots are among the most prolific of inventors, they solve so many problems it is hard to keep track of, some include Penicillin - Sir Alexander Fleming (1881 - 1955), The Television - John Logie Baird (1888 - 1946), The Telephone - Alexander Graham Bell (1847 - 1922),(Tarmac - John McAdam (1756 - 1836), RADAR - Sir Robert Alexander Watson-Watt (1892 - 1973) (visit http://www.scottish-at-heart.com for more information)

The above inventions changed the world, changed for the better, the above men were Scots, the men were problem solvers. And lets not forget people like King William I "The Lion" (1143-1214), he adopted the heraldic symbol of the red lion rampant on a yellow background. That symbol is still seen on Scotland's Lion Rampant flag today. William Wallace (1274 - 1305)  at the Battle of Stirling Bridge he Defeated  Edward I's Army.

Think about people like Arthur James Balfour, James Keir Hardie, John Mackenzie and others too numerous to mention. My point is, these people were not born to be famous, they were not given all the success automatically, they didn't all inherit the rights riches and privileges to become world famous and legends in their own right, they were for the most part, ordinary people, no, they were people of Scotland.

They were for  the most part advised and coerced to stop doing whatever it was they were trying to do, because it wouldn't work, or there was no money in it, or it simply couldn't be done. They all, to a man, had to struggle, work harder and stay focused because they had a feeling, a feeling they were right, it was something they wanted more than anything else.

They did not have 45% of the country on their side, they were most often alone, and entrenched in the profound belief that what they were doing was right.

These Scot's I talk about went on to achieve things that were believed to be impossible, they managed through self determination to change the world and every element in it. The Scots have now shown they are capable of self rule, of walking onto the world stage and staking a large claim of it. The Scots have the ability and determination to change the world as we know it. The Scots manage the impossible.

Should England be worried of this? The only people in England that worry are those that seek to milk and steal the fortunes of the Scots for their own advancement, from Parliament to the BBC, from the Banks to the Shipyards. Keep the Scots looking in bins for food and queuing up at food halls and you have them in your pocket, is the common misperception of many of the English Lords and Gentlemen who believe they have the power.

If you should ask an English politician , or even a past Prime Minister who was kicked out of office for complaining about a woman being dour, if this is true, they will fall over backwards to convince you it is anything but the truth. As soon as you turn your back, they change the rules, invoke new laws and make it harder for anyone to get a foot in the door, they have been doing this since Queen Elizabeth the first, and they are good at it.

Now we have all the ingredients for the Scots to secede from the United Kingdom, except for one thing, Mr Alex Salmond started a ball rolling, a ball that gathered so much momentum, a ball that was intercepted by a wall of lies and untruths, a wall of disinformation.

Yes it stalled, but we need only one person to get that ball rolling with so much more vigour and might than the English can hardly imagine. It is possible the country that has so many Inventors, poets, builders, politicians or note, so many explorers and soldiers, carers and nurses, is it possible that we can find one person with the ability to grab that ball and continue the devolution roll, is it possible in four million people, I bet you it is, and I can tell you with some certainty, that person will be a Scot, a Scot with a dream and a Scot with a sense of purpose, and they won't be working on their own, they will have forty five percent of the nation's population working with them, cheering them on and motivating them.

The Saltire will not be hidden from the World Stage, The freedom of the Scottish nation will not fade away.


Scots manage the impossible.

by Kaela Street  21st September 2014

Attributed in part to: Famous Scottish People http://www.scottish-at-heart.com/famous-scottish-people.html#ixzz3DwNdy5iA

I discovered the Shetlands

I discovered the Shetlands were treeless islands for the most part, with narrow unmade roads, with pubs open if someone needed a drink, and a taxi that flew between the islands. I discovered a spirit of togetherness unmatched by almost anywhere else in the UK. People were hard, but friendly, the weather was hard and unforgiving. Most of the Shetlander lives, revolved around the sea, from the fishermen to the inter-island ferry operators, from the postman to the Sheriff. 

Milk was expensive and the only shop near to where I lived, seemed to be able to charge anything they wanted for  their goods, often selling slightly older goods at a lower price, and making stock we thought they had, not available to us. Eggs were very expensive and petrol was almost rationed. I lived there while Piper Alpha was establishing itself, long before the great north sea tragedy that spewed forth onto the worlds newspapers as fire seemed to consume men and equipment for days.

I could walk the hills in absolute safety, save for the birds protecting the area they nested. The pure pristine beaches were heaven on earth and fishing with a single hook could net a feast  or at least a yarn to spin in the pub that night.

The cliffs were home to countless millions of seabirds and the local people seemed to live in the space below upturned boats, mail took three days or more to get to England and the air was so clean you could taste it. The wind blew relentlessly and clean air from the Atlantic ocean bathed and cleansed everything in the Shetlands.

I would love to go back there now I am retired, but I fear for my pension, my lifestyle  and the medical services I need from time to time. Had Scotland the money to look after it's pensioners, the freedom to let them buy the goods they want and have the medical help they need, I seriously would rethink my sojourn in England. I know now, sadly too late, that if the British Government had in fact looked for a way that England and Scotland could have been financial partners, best friends and supporters of a form of Independence that would allow Scotland to grow in the way she needs while England benefitted from every ounce of oil, whisky, tourism, invention, ship building etcetera to the Scots benefit, it would have been utopia on earth and I cannot think of any right minded individual who would not want to be a part of that.

I for one, would pack up my campervan, invest in a few quarts of petrol and a Ferry Ticket to Lerwick and to have a life in the most beautiful place on earth, a lovely place to write, to live and champion all that is right.

Without Let or Hinderence

I stayed up as late as I could waiting for the results of the Scottish Referendum to come in. My partner and I glued to the television for hour upon hour, sadly reflecting how the News on the BBC had turned into a regurgitated rotation of video bites and sound snatches. We lamented how all the footage gathered by hundreds of cameramen all day long resulted in about 7 minutes of scenes that seem to be replayed end to end every seven or eight minutes. "Has the BBC an agenda of simplicity?", we wondered. Has the BBC already made up its mind as to what it will show and how it will show it?

If the BBC is controlling the broadcast output in such a way, it surely is no longer reporting the 'news', but rather simply creating what it thinks we need to see. It worries me when an establishment relied upon so heavily by so many people, is not only being manipulated by the government, but by the BBC itself.

Add to this the argument dividing Scotland and the bias of the BBC will actively portray anything the 'Yes' campaigners do or say in a more negative light, often one of ridicule, and anything relating to the 'Better Together' camp as being perfect, truthful, honest and informative.

For a few days I heavily tweeted obstructions to the 'Yes' campaigners, sometimes lampooning them for wanting to break away from something that is strong and good, sometimes jeering their fundamental stupidity, or just tweeting silly statements designed to question their loyalty. I knew I was doing 'the right thing' as the UK Prime Minister, David Cameron was asking us all as a nation, to warn the Scots against separating from the UK, for it would plunge us all into darkness and an unstable market that would seemingly collapse overnight.

I wondered why Mr Alex Salmond, the Leader of the Scottish National Party, refused to explain what currency he was going to use in the future as the British Mandarins seemed united on the fact separation would mean exclusion from the British Pound. The Royal Bank of Scotland publically made a huge song and dance about moving the plaque for their head office to London, as though the very bank the Scots were going to need and rely upon had fled south before the border closed, in order to protect the investments it held. The bank we bailed out, it seemed, had been told by the UK Government, to show loyalty to England or  face a huge financial destabilisation.

Within hours, I was reading well written and articulated arguments that supported the concept the Royal Bank of Scotland was already Based in London, under one of its other names. The move was nothing more than a scare tactic. A penny started to drop.

Too late, I realised the bumbling stupidity of the nation of greed based in and around Whitehall had been injecting fear into the minds of millions, through Radio, television and the newspapers. They used commerce, retired politicians no one ever trusted, and by twisting the argument instead of reporting the news, the BBC became the primary tool for disinformation used by the British Government.

Alex Salmonds advisors failed to warn him the perilous act of not identifying a currency strength was to be his downfall, and I wonder now how many of those trusted advisors were actually on the payroll of our subversive government.

A whopping 45% of the adults in Scotland wanted change, needed change, but the campaign was ill thought out. It was essentially too simple, "Wave the Scottish Flag and they will follow". The vast majority of pensioners and a hundred percent of the school-goers would have been far better off, than if they were to stay as part of the UK. National Pride is a powerful weapon, it lifts people, it empowers people, it enables people, and in such a way, National Pride could have driven Scotland through the days, weeks and months of uncertainty while the change-over took place. How many had their passport open, how many read "Her Britannic Majesty's Secretary of State Requests and requires in the Name of Her Majesty all those whom it may concern to allow the bearer to pass freely without let or hindrance, and to afford the bearer such assistance and protection as may be necessary."

There was the very instruction to everyone, play nicely, let each other do what each other needs to do, let people do things and go places without barrier. Instead of trying to force Scottish People to be a part of something they did not want to be.

The UK government and people should have been working in a manner to support the people of Scotland, to allow them to have what they needed, and by cementing ties commercially, industrially and competitively with the Scotland based industry, banking, Health Services, Education Services, Transport and rail services, broadcasting services and most importantly, in matters relating to defence.

We should have created a mutually beneficial Commercial Partner, that would retain Scotland as a friend of the United Kingdom, but totally self controlled. We would be their biggest customer and would treat favourably requests for assistance and defence. We could have been the sole buyer of the oil reserves, and would provide all resources for the Scottish Defence Minister, in return for granting us time to relocate  our Nuclear Deterrent. Open border crossing and access to NATO and the EU would have continued, not as a fractious arm, but as an approved and supported loyal ally.

We did not do Scotland any good whatsoever, and now I feel gutted for my Scottish friends in a part of the world I have lived in and loved, I feel bad for the way we stood on the world stage and stabbed an emerging nation in the heart, and I now no longer trust anything that Mr Cameron and his sick minded bullies care to share. For my part, I utter the most profound apology to everyone in the #yesScotland campaign for every #indyref tweet I made. I was wrong, I made a huge mistake and I will live to regret it for the rest of my life.

Hanging or beheading. In Pictures

Hanging or beheading. In Pictures  Written by Kaela Street. 20th November 2013

Does your 'right' trump my 'right'?

Abolished in the 20th century, capital punishment was used from the creation of the state in 1707, and in 2004, according to the Wiki on Capital Punishment in the United Kingdom, the European Convention on Human Rights prohibited the restoration of the death penalty for the United Kingdom.

Most British subjects, can define in simple terms, when murdering another human being is wrong. Many people can however, justify why a life should be taken. Not since the last public execution, have people gathered together to witness the beheading or hanging of a person, and sometimes the victim had done no wrong in the eyes of many, simply had the wrong religion or the wrong family allegiance. But we agreed collectively, as a state, that Capital Punishment, the act of taking a life for taking another's life, was fundamentally flawed and morally wrong.

I do not have a care, if you, an unknown person to me, wished to share a picture of an act of murder  to one of your friends. I would ask if you needed to seek help, and I certainly would not want to see it, more especially, I probably would not want my children to see it either. Though I  am well versed in the use of computer searches on the internet, I am willing to bet a 12 year old with intent, could search better than I and if the picture were available on the child's social media site, they would find it simply because they knew they could, and I couldn't. And it is that where my worry lies.

If Mom and Pop un the USA have no regard for their children being given access to images of life being taken, I like to feel we in the United Kingdom are a little better than that. I am not saying the social media site should not allow images of violent life taking, but the wishes of the United Kingdom, or any other civilised country for that matter, should be able to restrict that image from crossing the digital border that separates common sense from the thrill of the gun toting, school children killing countries that host these so called Social Media sites.

My right, to restrict the images my children have access to, should not be trumped by some cash-hungry social networking site in another country, who believes they have a right to publish such images.