No posts until February due to my Open University course, but I cannot let the announcements about independence go without comment.
All we want is a grownup debate. But, here is my best guess about what will really happen.
But, what do people in the far east think about the situation. This has to be the best YouTube video about the referendum there will ever be :-
Seems to be the done thing to do a review of the year. As 2011 has been the most exciting, tumultuous and interesting years, I thought I would concentrate on my pesonal highlights.
January – nothing happened
February – nothing happened
March – nothing happened
April – nothing happened
May – something happened, but I was on holiday
June – nothing happened
July – nothing happened
August – nothing happened
September – nothing happened
October – got the Alan Partridge autobiography – aha!
November – nothing happened
December – discovered that Peat Worrier can correctly pronouncing scone
2011. What a year!
It will be a wake up call for England when this becomes more prominent
Nearly 18 million British people will experience more water shortages and 160,000 will be affected by coastal flooding by the end of the century if temperatures are left unchecked, according to new Met Office analysis.
Met Office warns of UK climate risks
But will it be too late – Grist reports on the Brutal logic of climate change.
But, hey, it’s not all bad news! The report states :-
But new projections of likely rainfall, soil moisture and evaporation suggest that farmers from Cornwall to the north of Scotland should benefit from warmer temperatures, longer growing seasons and fewer frosts that can be expected with climate change, says the report.
I assume the Scotsman will add this to their Climate Change is Good campaign.
Portobello & Leith Community Wind Energy Project has the potential to make a big difference to carbon emissions, generate funding for local sustainable development projects, and provide education and inspiration to many others around energy issues right on the coast of Scotland’s capital city!
Today is the last chance to vote in the excellent energyshare renewable energy fund and the Portobello & Leith Community Wind Energy Project needs your vote, if you’ve not already voted.
Look at the aims of the project and see how it would help the whole community, not just in Portobello and Leith, but be a learning tool for children and an inspiration for other local communities. They are up against a really strong challenge in the medium categories from the Scouts.
UPDATE: They won. Fantastic news.
10:30 The Guardian finally saves us all. But not with a live-blog, but with a twitter list.
Get weather reports with our #uksnowupdates Twitter list: bit.ly/tgYxr4 & you can join the Flickr group here: bit.ly/uFrweE
— The Guardian (@guardian) December 16, 2011
09:50 Reports coming in from out in the field. @loveandgarbage reports:
The Guardian has a strap across its webpage reading “Snow and heavy rain hit Britain – PA” for people too lazy to look out of their window
Thanks for the report, but don’t risk yourself out there. Conditions are still threatening.
16/12 08:20 Getting reports that the Guardian may be starting a live snow blog. Certainly this report indicates that the snow in the London area may be significantly more significant than any that falls in Scotland. We shall see. Anything could happen in the next half hour.
10:56 STV have their snowcam out – must be serious.
10:44 No snow blog yet – despite polar bears sighted in Central Scotland – but the Guardian do mention the snow in passing in a road traffic incident somewhere “up north”
08:49 BBC stepping up to the mark with live-snow information AS IT HAPPENS! http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-16027919
05/12 08:42 Snow is lying on the ground – not very deep, but quite even. Is there a Guardian live snow blog? Is there snow in London? No, twice no.
10:08 I thought there might be a snow-blog going up on the Guardian website, but it was just a piece about how George Osbourne’s skiing holiday is affected by Global Warming. That’s karma, working right there.
09:00 There are reports coming in that the snow may have been mentioned on Twitter. It’s not the same. It’s not the same, dammit!
4/12 08:45 Actual snow, on the actual ground. Is there any live-snow blogs running we ask? I’m afraid the leave the house if the Guardian hasn’t told me about the live-snow. NO. There is still no live-snow blog on the Guardiaw information AS IT HAPPENS! http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-16027919
05/12 08:42 Snow is lying on the ground – not very deep, but quite even. Is there a Guardian live snow blog? Is there snow in London? No, twice no.
10:08 I thought there might be a snow-blog going up on the Guardian website, but it was just a piece about how George Osbourne’s skiing holiday is affected by Global Warming. That’s karma, working right there.
09:00 There are reports coming in that the snow may have been mentioned on Twitter. It’s not the same. It’s not the same, dammit!
4/12 08:45 Actual snow, on the actual ground. Is there any live-snow blogs running we ask? I’m afraid the leave the house if the Guardian hasn’t told me about the live-snow. NO. There is still no live-snow blog on the Guardian website.
20:33 It is dark now and the Guardian leaves us in grave peril without a live snow blog
12:19 This isn’t a snow blog on the Guardian website. But if you are really worried, you can relive last years snow blog here. My personal favourite quote is :-
“It’s this train or bust, really. I can’t really do another expensive night in London.” Despite the queue, he said: “I’m pretty sure I’ll get on this one. I’m not sure what I’ll do if I don’t.”
12:10 There is no snow blog on the Guardian website.
12:01 As Love and Garbage notes, this time last year there was this white stuff on the ground that ultimately caused the resignation of Minister for Snow, Stewart Stevenson, because he failed to stop the snow falling on Scotland*, and specifically the M8. The current transport minister, Keith Brown must be under serious pressure to complete work on the giant umbrella that will stop this happening again.
I finally got round to seeing the film “You’ve Been Trumped” last Sunday. It really came to my attention just over a year ago when the BBC showed “Donald Trump’s Golf War”
I saw the film at the Edinburgh Filmhouse, but after persuading a friend to come with me, I was unable to go on the Friday when there was a Q&A session with the director Anthony Baxter and others, including Andy Wightman who appeared in the film offering legal land related advice. Instead I went to the Sunday showing. However, despite the lack of personal presence the film still got a round of applause when it finished.
The story, as you’ll probably know, follows the story of the residents near the Menie estate as Donald Trump started to build his golf course, club house and hotel complex. In the process, he destroyed a unique dune system, enraged local residents, got the Scottish Government to overrule the local council, used the police as his own security team, getting the film maker arrested, cut off the water supply to the local houses, built huge piles of earth to hide the “eyesores” from his golf course and trying to get the council to forcible evict the homeowners using Compulsory Purchase Orders.
Interposing clips from film Local Hero, Anthony Baxter has produced a film worthy of Michael Moore. Whilst I did think that there were some points that were not gone into as much detail as it could (the back story of Martin Ford and the initial decision of the council for example) it does a brilliant job of showing the intense stress caused on the people living at the site, not knowing what Trump and his bullies will do next (as well as not knowing if they’d be forcibly evicted).
The film also raises huge questions of the role of Alex Salmond and the Scottish Government, who overturned the initial council decision. What Trump did was totally the opposite of what I believe in, and against what I believe a better nation should do. And he was enabled to do so by Salmond. Independence is supposed to make Scotland a better nation, but the government’s actions does nothing to help me think that things will be any better. Actions speak louder than words and the SNP can talk very well, but their actions show them up.
Worse still were the actions of the Grampian police. Whilst, you can understand a government’s head being (wrongly) turned by false promises of jobs and money, nothing can excuse the behaviour of the police. I hope there is Complaints investigation into their behaviour in the future.
In summary, an excellent, must see film that will make you angry, not just for the destruction of a beautiful environment, but the behaviour of the politicians and the police, the naked money grabbing greed and the bullying tactics of Donald Trump.
I hope the golfers never come (preferring St. Andrews) and the sands blow over Trumps course and cover it up.
I urge you all to follow the advise of Kim at the ubiquitous blog and write to your SNP MSP (I’m fairly sure everyone has at least one) and ask them why they are going back on their manifesto promise. Use the Find your MSP service here
As pointed out on Cycling Dumfries “The SNP manifesto for the election last year promised to increase the proportion of transport spending on active and sustainable travel, including cycling.” but instead the budget wil “be cut from its meagre 11-12 £20m to just £15m in 12-13″
When you read the Spokes document, you will understand that the SNP are making targets and promises with regard to the future of the country without adding the necessary funding to stand a chance of meeting them
Government knows the public health and obesity
reasons – they included the 10% cycle target in the
national strategy to combat obesity.
Let’s face it, despite investing in renewables energy, the SNP are firmly on the side of the car. The budget for the new road bridge across the Forth could revolutionise Scotland’s cycling and walking infrastructure and bring it to into the 21st century.
Don’t tell me that everything will be better in an independent Scotland. There is no reason cycling and walking planning cannot be changed now in Holyrood, and there is money available, it is being spent elsewhere. The money towards transport as a whole is going up.
Spokes Handout on Budget Cuts
I note that Labour didn’t have a problem when the majority was a Labour/LibDem coalition, just an SNP one
Last night there was a really good debate on STV’s new daily politics show, Scotland Tonight, on rising fuel prices. Of course, I thought Patrick Harvie won the debate. Whilst the car lobby were talking about the government “targeting the driver” and the “need to drive”, Patrick rightly pointed out there is no “need” to drive, only the lack of investment in public transport, proper information and limited options, mean people “need” to drive because they have no choice when they do the things they need to do. You can decide for yourself by viewing the debate at Scotland Tonight but it is only available today (16th November)
So, this highlights the need for better public transport, so it is with great dismay that I learnt of the SNP proposals for rail services published yesterday. I won’t go into details, you can read all about it on James’s blog “Totally off the rails” Suffice to say they are bad ideas throughout.
With the bridge, the motorway building madness and now the rail breaking plans, it proves the SNP really don’t get it. We’re supposed to be considering independence to make the country a Better Nation not a worse one.
The cost of green taxes should be included on home energy bills to ensure a “rational debate” on paying for new low-carbon energy infrastructure in the UK, according to the influential head of the commons energy and climate change select committee.
This is an excellent idea. In the interests of full transparency, however, we need to include the cost of other subsidies. Like the cost of cleaning up after nuclear power, which is twice as much as the subsidy going to renewable energy.
That should help people focus on exactly where their taxes go.