Is it just coincidence...?
...You know, China is challenged by the USA as industrial king of the world, and trouble breaks out in Hong Kong - again. Stories are leaked reporting that Uighur people are being imprisoned in large numbers in the far west of China. The Uighurs are mostly Sunni Moslems. That should get Islamist extremists worked up. And China is fingered as the most polluting country in the world.
Donald Trump, president of the genuinely most polluting country in the world, remains as keen as ever to make friends wherever he goes: he claims to be a defender of the Kurds but allows Turkey to bomb parts of Syria where the population is made up of large numbers of Kurds. NATO says that's okay as long as the bombing is 'in moderation.' Any Americans reading this ever come across a bomb? Let alone a 'moderate' bomb? The UK has already made it known the Tory government will support Trump in actions against Iran. That means American and British boots on the ground in yet another Middle East country. More body bags, more young people coming home with 'life-changing injuries.'
The UK - or bits of it - continues with its brexit agony. Some of us just don't reckon this is about the EU any more: more about the failure of both the Tory party and the Labour 'Opposition' to serve the electorate. The Tory government is currently run by a PM and his side kick 'adviser'. It was bad enough in Theresa May's time when there was at least a cabinet in charge. Now we have to deal with a PM who is a sexual predator, can't talk sensibly in public and seems to be guided by the dead hand of the extreme right wing of his party and their fear of Nigel Farage. Meanwhile, we're all distracted by Greta Thunberg (and boy, do UK newspaper journalists hate her!) and the Extinction Rebellion protesters. Last week these protesters were the good guys. Now suddenly, they're being nicked and charged in large numbers. I read today that London 'bobbies' have 'lost patience' with the protesters. Is it up to the police to decide when protesters have to be stopped? Do we have civil rights in the UK?Or do our rights only extend as far as the government will allow?
Scotland, which has to be about the most peaceable country in Europe outside Luxembourg, has run pro-independence marches for a couple of years. No trouble. No need actually for a police presence at all but we pay for one, but if you're a polis and have to do an overtime stint, I reckon a Yes march would be the one to go for.
Then suddenly the city of Glasgow finds itself with up to 6 sectarian marches in one weekend. These are genuinely sectarian, based round one or other form of the Christian religion, even if most of the participants don't seem to cross the door of a church of any denomination very often. We're told police officers have to be drafted in from other areas of the UK in case there's trouble. There doesn't seem to be very much bother, but the marches cause major snarl-ups in city centre streets. Not a very nice picture for visitors to Glasgow - and there are many, because tourism is a big deal here now. The question is: who is paying for these sectarian marches? And why have they suddenly erupted now?
Michael Gove, a Tory minister, a bear of very little brain, claims - twice - that the SNP is 'sectarian.' I am not an SNP supporter, although I do support independence. I'm a Green. I have never - not once - come across any kind of sectarianism in the independence movement. In fact, the whole point of the movement is inclusion: if you support Scottish independence, you're in. Doesn't matter where you were born or where you live or what you for a living. Your colour, age, sexual orientation, which fitbaw team you support, etc, none of that matters a bit. Do you want Scotland to be an independent country? You're in.
I try very hard not to be a conspiracy nut. And maybe, looking at what I've written here, I've put 2 and 2 together and got 13.
But let me ask you a few questions:
- who gains if China has to deal with unrest?
- who gains if there's a war in yet another Middle East country?
- who gains if the UK crashes out of the EU?
- who gains if the world doesn't tackle the climate crisis?
- who gains if Scotland stays in the UK?
Well, friends, it ain't you and me.
PS I did try to find a graphic for this post but they were all crap. I think that is a genuine coincidence.
Donald Trump, president of the genuinely most polluting country in the world, remains as keen as ever to make friends wherever he goes: he claims to be a defender of the Kurds but allows Turkey to bomb parts of Syria where the population is made up of large numbers of Kurds. NATO says that's okay as long as the bombing is 'in moderation.' Any Americans reading this ever come across a bomb? Let alone a 'moderate' bomb? The UK has already made it known the Tory government will support Trump in actions against Iran. That means American and British boots on the ground in yet another Middle East country. More body bags, more young people coming home with 'life-changing injuries.'
The UK - or bits of it - continues with its brexit agony. Some of us just don't reckon this is about the EU any more: more about the failure of both the Tory party and the Labour 'Opposition' to serve the electorate. The Tory government is currently run by a PM and his side kick 'adviser'. It was bad enough in Theresa May's time when there was at least a cabinet in charge. Now we have to deal with a PM who is a sexual predator, can't talk sensibly in public and seems to be guided by the dead hand of the extreme right wing of his party and their fear of Nigel Farage. Meanwhile, we're all distracted by Greta Thunberg (and boy, do UK newspaper journalists hate her!) and the Extinction Rebellion protesters. Last week these protesters were the good guys. Now suddenly, they're being nicked and charged in large numbers. I read today that London 'bobbies' have 'lost patience' with the protesters. Is it up to the police to decide when protesters have to be stopped? Do we have civil rights in the UK?Or do our rights only extend as far as the government will allow?
Scotland, which has to be about the most peaceable country in Europe outside Luxembourg, has run pro-independence marches for a couple of years. No trouble. No need actually for a police presence at all but we pay for one, but if you're a polis and have to do an overtime stint, I reckon a Yes march would be the one to go for.
Then suddenly the city of Glasgow finds itself with up to 6 sectarian marches in one weekend. These are genuinely sectarian, based round one or other form of the Christian religion, even if most of the participants don't seem to cross the door of a church of any denomination very often. We're told police officers have to be drafted in from other areas of the UK in case there's trouble. There doesn't seem to be very much bother, but the marches cause major snarl-ups in city centre streets. Not a very nice picture for visitors to Glasgow - and there are many, because tourism is a big deal here now. The question is: who is paying for these sectarian marches? And why have they suddenly erupted now?
Michael Gove, a Tory minister, a bear of very little brain, claims - twice - that the SNP is 'sectarian.' I am not an SNP supporter, although I do support independence. I'm a Green. I have never - not once - come across any kind of sectarianism in the independence movement. In fact, the whole point of the movement is inclusion: if you support Scottish independence, you're in. Doesn't matter where you were born or where you live or what you for a living. Your colour, age, sexual orientation, which fitbaw team you support, etc, none of that matters a bit. Do you want Scotland to be an independent country? You're in.
I try very hard not to be a conspiracy nut. And maybe, looking at what I've written here, I've put 2 and 2 together and got 13.
But let me ask you a few questions:
- who gains if China has to deal with unrest?
- who gains if there's a war in yet another Middle East country?
- who gains if the UK crashes out of the EU?
- who gains if the world doesn't tackle the climate crisis?
- who gains if Scotland stays in the UK?
Well, friends, it ain't you and me.
PS I did try to find a graphic for this post but they were all crap. I think that is a genuine coincidence.
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