Leicester, England | Glasgow, Scotland

Leicester, England Once A Eurpean City Leicester Today Destroyed by Capitalist Class Source | here Glasgow, Scotland "First skirts ... now Pyjamas" SOURCE | here

History - Charles I of England - Stormed Parliament Today (373 Years Ago)

ꕤ History Charles I Charles I - On Trial  | Wikipedia 1883 painting /  Photo: BRIDGEMAN ART LIBRARY Charles I  - Execution via Telegraph Charles I 4 January 1642 King Charles I attacks the English parliament with 400 soldiers [TDH] monarch x3 kingdoms English, Irish and Scottish thrones on death of his elder brother Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales, 1612 issues: religion tyrannical rule taxes etc unpopular Civil War - 1642 Charles 1 fights: English parliament army Scottish parliaments army Charles I was defeated:  1645 / Charles 1 captured Surrendered to English parliament / refuses to accept demands for a constitutional monarchy Charles 1 Parliament sought to curb Charles I royal prerogative [comment:  ie  aristocracy wanted more power to themselves] Charles 1 forged an alliance with Scotland, / but by end 1648 Oliver Cromwell 'New Model Army' = consolidated control England Charles I tried, convicted, & executed for high treason 30 January, 1649 (age 48) / monarchy abolished / Commonwealth of England established Charles 1 executed in front Banqueting House, Palace of Whitehall surrounded by soldiers /  beheaded with one clean stroke Charles I - last words: "A subject and a sovereign are clean different things" Said going to:   "incorruptible Crown" public beheading: crowd dipped their handkerchiefs in the king's blood as a memento. confirmed clean strike:   execution carried out by an experienced 'headsman' / head exhibited / 'traitor' not used. day after execution king's head sewn back onto his body / corpse of king embalmed & placed in lead coffin burial at Westminster Abbey REFUSED / rests at Windsor Castle Henry VIII vault next to Henry VIII & Jane Seymour https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_I_of_England ---------------------- ꕤ ---------------------- Other Tyburn (close to Marble Arch LDN) 600 years executions first in:  1196 Tyburn Tree  3-sided gallows marked by stone Oliver Cromwell -->  body exhumed -->  symbolically, hanged at Tyburn in 1661 Tyburn Gallows over 1,000 hanged x3 connecting 9ft beam suspended 18ft high x24 condemned single hanging capacity Source | here ---------------------- ꕤ ---------------------- German Example 3-Sided Gallows Beerfelden, Germany, 3-Sided Gallows 1550 (refurbished 1597) condemned would stand at stone cross under linden tree to receive last rites last execution 1804 (gypsy stealing food) source of image & info Link | here ---------------------- ꕤ ---------------------- Other: Charles I http://www.royal.gov.uk/historyofthemonarchy/kingsandqueensoftheunitedkingdom/thestuarts/charlesi.aspx ---------------------- ꕤ ---------------------- COMMENT Looked at Charles I of England because he attacked Parliament today (373 years ago). I've only very quickly skimmed on Charles I. Sounds to me like the aristocracy just wanted more power to themselves. ꕤ

Europe - Organised Mass Immigration Invasion

ꕤ Article SOURCE http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-34447677 Scottish minister Humza Yousaf helps Syrian refugees on Greek island Scotland's international development minister Humza Yousaf has described how he witnessed "utter chaos" as he helped Syrian refugees off a boat. The politician was on he Greek island of Lesbos to see what help was being given to those coming ashore. Mr Yousaf said an estimated 5,000 people had arrived on the island in the 24 hours he was there. [...] "The first thing that hits you when you see the coast is the thousands, if not tens of thousands, of life jackets piled up on the shores." [...] http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-34447677 ---------------------- ꕤ ---------------------- COMMENT Humza Yousaf has pledged that Scotland will take 2,000.  Yousaf is a member of the Scottish National Party.  Centre-left.   The article refers to women and children.   Sounds like BBC propaganda.  For starters they refer to 'Syrian refugees.'  But the majority are from all over the planet. And, for the most part it's able bodied young men that are descending on Europe.  Young guys that should be defending or rebuilding their countries.  So what's with the 'women and children' now? I also call bullshit on the 'people smugglers'. This is an organised operation -- and we're not talking people smugglers of the profit-making kind. This is being funded by someone:  it's the UN, EU, USA, Soros or someone.   Hey, it could be Saudi Arabians.  Saudis are really keen on mosque building & spreading the fundamentalism in Europe. Either that, or it's the CIA.  Russia would be vulnerable from the both the west and the south if there's a caliphate established in Europe. Aside from the massive numbers, the clue is: "The first thing that hits you when you see the coast is the thousands, if not tens of thousands, of life jackets piled up on the shores." 'People smugglers' my ass. As if people smugglers -- ie criminals making a fast buck -- provide life-jackets. ꕤ

Julian Assange - Commonwealth Law Conference Glasgow

Judges withdraw from legal forum because Assange booked as speaker https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubkB5myS9Eo Reporter (RT News): Senior judges have walked out of a legal conference in Glasgow after realising that whistleblower Julian Assange was booked to speak at the event.  They say it would have been inappropriate to engage with a fugitive from justice.  The WikiLeaks founder went on to speak via video link to the Commonwealth Law Conference, and suggested Scottish nationalists were right to be concerned about interference by intelligence agencies in last year's referendum campaign. Well, Assange has been holed up at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London since losing his legal challenge to an extradition request from Sweden in 2012. Peter Tatchell is a human rights campaigner, and he joins me live in the studio now. Now, Peter, how do you assess the judges' reaction to Assange's appearance at this conference? Peter Tatchell: I think the decision of those senior British judges to walk out was yet another example of the heavy handed over-reaction by the British state.  Julian Assange is, to many people, a hero.  He blew the whistle on very grave abuses of state power.  I think he performed an incredibly important public service.  These judges, according to a statement released, claim that he's a fugitive from justice.   Julian Assange - there are no charges against him.  The man is innocent until proven guilty and just because there are allegations against him, that does not mean that he forfeits his right to free speech. He was talking - not about his case - he was talking about the issue of lawyer-client confidentiality and the intrusion of state surveillance into that; a completely separate issue. Reporter (RT News): But he is a fugitive from justice, isn't he - I'm just going to read out what the note said.  They said he's a fugitive from justice and it would therefore not be appropriate for them to be addressed by him.  The moment he entered the Ecuadorian Embassy, surely he became a fugitive from justice?  Peter Tatchell: Well, even today,  the whole case against him is up in the air.  Right now the Swedish Supreme Court is considering whether to proceed with any charges or not.  So there are no charges and even whether there should be charges is a matter of legal dispute and contestation - and the other thing to remember, very importantly, is that when someone like Julian Assange seeks to speak before a conference about an issue unrelated to his case, surely, on the basis of the principle of free speech, he ought to be entitled to do so, and most of the judges at that conference agree that he should be able to speak.  It was a tiny minority that walked out.  They did not represent the majority of judges at that conference. Reporter (RT News): And what do you think of what Julian was saying at this conference that Scottish nationalists could have been monitored by surveillance agencies?  What was your opinion on that? Peter Tatchell: Well, given the incredible intrusions and abuses of state power that his WikiLeaks organisation has exposed in the past, I wouldn't be surprised.  I haven't got any evidence, but I wouldn't be surprised and, certainly, the campaign against Nicola Sturgeon (the leader of the SNP) - the leaking of that so-called claim that she wanted a Conservative victory - it smacks of a dirty tricks operation.  Who was behind it, we don't yet know, but there's something very fishy going on and, of course, it suits the interest of the British state which wants to keep Britain together and stop the Scottish people having their own choice to be independent.  It suits them to discredit her in the way this kind of leak did. Reporter (RT News): We've heard today that Assange has formally agreed to let Swedish prosecutors interview him at the Ecuadorian Embassy.  He's been saying this for a little while.  Is this a step forward? Peter Tatchell: Well, absolutely - and it's astonishing, astounding and disgraceful that the Swedish prosecutors did not take up his offer all those years ago when he first made it.  After all, Swedish prosecutors have gone to other countries to interview suspects subject to allegations, so why shouldn't they come to Britain?  Their refusal to do so, again, it smacks of some kind of wilful persecution of this man. Reporter (RT News): All right, Peter Tatchell, human rights campaigner, thank you very much. [video concludes]

HYPOCRISY - WESTERN ELITES, OIL & CONTROL OF MIDDLE EAST

HYPOCRISY - WESTERN ELITES, OIL & CONTROL OF MIDDLE EAST Britain British Heir to Throne, Prince Charles Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976 Whitehall’s King Abdullah half-mast flag tribute criticised by MPs Decision to mark Saudi royal’s death at parliament and Westminster Abbey called ‘extraordinary misjudgment’ http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/23/king-abdullah-half-mast-flag-tribute-mps Most fawning quotes about King Abdullah  http://i100.independent.co.uk/article/the-most-fawning-quotes-about-king-abdullah--ekPWXs_Hoe   Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976 https://twitter.com/HansdeBoer18/status/559013408939704320/photo/1   Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976 https://twitter.com/OnlyTheTruthNow/status/558951368795635712/photo/1 Australia Tweet containing photo of a lashed female back (as per topmost of the UK trio directly above, reportedly of a lashed rape victim in Saudi Arabia).   Tweet expressed disapproval that the Australian flag had been lowered: https://twitter.com/Ms_Mosman/status/558837274050183168/photo/1pic.twitter.com/QHuqfW2zxQ That tweet appears to have been blocked:  Tweet https://twitter.com/Ms_Mosman/status/558837274050183168/photo/1pic.twitter.com/QHuqfW2zxQ  re #SaudiArabia flogging & Aussie flag half mast  appears BLOCKED by @twitter  #TonyAbbott complain? #auspol  .............................. Australian rationale for flag lowering: Liberals following British protocol  http://www.smh.com.au/national/flags-at-halfmast-to-mark-death-of-saudi-arabias-king-abdullah-20150124-12xg8o.html  .............................. Checked internet to find out more about that flogged woman photo: Saudi Arabia: Moroccan Woman Flagellated Over Prostitution Charges Rabat -A Moroccan woman has been sentenced to flogging and imprisonment after she has allegedly been caught by Saudi Arabian police while offering sex services for money. http://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2014/08/137434/saudi-arabia-moroccan-woman-flagellated-over-prostitution-charges/ From the Moroccan newspaper article, that photo on Twitter  isn't what it purports to be, which is very annoying (and which probably explains why the tweet/post may have been blocked or deleted). However, the flogging and imprisonment of individuals who offer sexual services isn't exactly a humane act and religious (or moral) police isn't really a democratic ideal.  .............................. Here's an example of a Saudi Arabia flogging, from DailyMail: Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976 Source:  Daily Mail Blogger sentenced to ten years in prison and 1,000 lashes set to be publicly flogged in Saudi Arabia for 'insulting 'Islam' A Saudi blogger will be publicly flogged tomorrow as part of his 10-year jail term for 'ridiculing Islamic religious figures'. Raif Badawi, who co-founded the Free Saudi Liberals website, was arrested in 2012 and sentenced to 1,000 lashes and a decade in prison for insulting Islam on his online forum.  His corporal punishment will be carried out after Friday prayers, outside the Al-Juffali mosque in Jiddah, which has earned the grisly nickname 'Chop Chop Square' as the site of executions. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2902014/Saudi-blogger-publicly-flogged-insulting-Islam.html  .............................. There's also a photo of a recent public beheading of a woman in Saudi Arabia currently doing the rounds.  The leaked video was removed from YouTube, which I think is wrong.  Removing that type of content is taking part in whitewashing what is really taking place, and I think that's wrong & what becomes public should remain public and should be available to those that wish to witness it (however appalling the content).   Below is an article on the subject published in Daily Mail: Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976 Step-mother screams her innocence before being beheaded for murdering and sexually abusing six-year-old daughter in leaked footage that has outraged Saudi Arabia  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2916583/Step-mother-screams-innocence-beheaded-murdering-sexually-abusing-six-year-old-daughter-leaked-footage-outraged-Saudi-Arabia.html To an outsider who has encountered some of these beheading photos online, it looks as if the authorities just take people out to car parks or beaches or other public places and lop their heads off with swords. Find this really disturbing, so I haven't looked closely at the beheadings (which are quite a common occurrence).  ..............................   More on beheadings in Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabia steps up beheadings; some see political message Saudi Arabia beheaded 26 people in August, more than in the first seven months of the year combined. The total for the year now stands at 59, compared to 69 for all of last year, according to Human Rights Watch. http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/10/20/us-saudi-execution-idUSKCN0I91G220141020 The figures referred to in the Reuters article (above) are figures for 2014, to publishing date:  20 October 2014.  Think the grand total for 2014 is in the high 80s.  Yep.  Saudi Arabia "executed 87 people in 2014" (Breitbart News-17 Jan 2015) OTHER [via @beyndfunds] All the garbage about #KingAbddullah being a reformer should read about what he did to his own daughters http://www.nationalpost.com/m/wp/blog.html?b=news.nationalpost.com/2015/01/24/reformer-late-king-abdullah-may-have-been-keeping-four-daughters-captive-for-talking-about-womens-rights … [via @lhbroch] The ‘jailed’ princesses of #SaudiArabia: The late King Abdullah allegedly kept four of his daughters in captivity. http://wpo.st/AZ820   .............................. 'They are hanging to life' - Saudi king's ex-wife speaks out Exclusive: in her first television interview, the former wife of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia claims her four daughters have suffered years trapped in the royal compound in Jeddah. http://www.channel4.com/news/saudi-arabia-king-abdullah-alanoud-al-fayez-daughters-jeddah   .............................. #FreeThe4 Protest for Imprisoned Saudi Princesses to be Staged at Saudi Embassy in London http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/freethe4-protest-imprisoned-saudi-princesses-be-staged-saudi-embassy-london-1461520   .............................. King Abdullah, a feminist? Don’t make me laugh Christine Lagarde has praised the Saudi despot’s contribution to women’s rights. But his record was dismal and the more we shout about it, the better  Christine Lagarde, the first woman to head the IMF, has paid tribute to the late King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. He was a strong advocate of women, she said. This is almost certainly not what she thinks. She even hedged her remarks about with qualifiers like “discreet” and “appropriate”.  [ . . . ]  Abdullah led a country that abuses women’s rights, and indeed all human rights, in a way that places it beyond normal diplomacy. http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jan/23/king-abdullah-feminist-christine-lagarde-saudi-arabia-women  .............................. State Department reveals Hillary Clinton received $500K worth of jewelry from Saudi king Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was given a half-million bucks worth of diamond and ruby jewelry by Saudi Arabian King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz and received $58,000 worth of bling from Brunei. http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/state-department-reveals-political-swag-article-1.1441301   .............................. Hillary Clinton Photo:  Associated Press, Source:  DailyMail Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976 Foreign leaders gave lavish gifts to a number of U.S. officials last year, including the Saudi Arabian king, who gave Hillary Clinton diamond-and-ruby-encrusted jewels worth half a million dollars. Clinton's gifts from King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz - which included a necklace, bracelet, earrings and a ring - were by far the most expensive items among the hundreds of gifts given to U.S. officials in 2012. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2406099/The-lavish-gifts-given-President-Obama-Hillary-Clinton-foreign-dignitaries.html COMMENT The West has some disturbing social issues of its own: Death Penalty - USA  According to a Sputnik article on the cruelty of lethal injections and US Supreme Court case on whether execution by lethal injection violates the US Constitution: The death penalty is authorized in a total of 38 US States. The death penalty is barbaric, whether carried out in America or in Saudi Arabia.  .............................. Ireland's lack of action on blasphemy law disappoints atheists and secularists Irish atheists and secularists have accused their government of breaking a promise to call a referendum over the Republic’s controversial blasphemy laws in the lifetime of the current coalition. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/dec/30/ireland-blasphemy-law-inaction-disappoints-atheists For a civilised and presumably secular Western nation to retain a medieval blasphemy law is ridiculous beyond belief.  .............................. Last ditch bid to ban creationism in Scottish classrooms Last year, the Scottish Secularist Society (SSS) petitioned MSPs to urge the Scottish Government to bar the "presentation" of young earth doctrines as viable alternatives to the established science of evolution in the classroom. The SSS believes schools are being subjected to what they describe as an "attack" on established scientific theories from imported US doctrines known as creation science and intelligent design. However, School Leaders' Scotland (SLS), which represents secondary headteachers, the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS), the country's largest teaching union, and the Scottish Government all wrote to the committee outlining their objections. These organisations backed the long-standing principle that protection from extremist views in Scottish education relies on the professionalism of teaching staff and the regulatory role of bodies such as local authorities, the General Teaching Council for Scotland and the schools inspectorate. However, in a new submission to the public petitions committee the SSS said sufficient safeguards were not in place and creationism was "institutionalised". EXTRACT ONLY - FULL @ SOURCE  http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/education/last-ditch-bid-to-ban-creationism-in-scottish-classrooms.116556313  .............................. School chaplaincy program funding revised following High Court decision  The Federal Government has announced changes to its school chaplaincy program to get around a recent adverse High Court decision. In June, the court upheld a challenge to the National School Chaplaincy Program, saying providing funding directly to chaplaincy organisations was constitutionally invalid. The main question examined in the case was whether the executive government had the power to fund such programs directly through local organisations. As a result, the Government has now decided to ask state and territory governments to administer the program using Commonwealth funds. If they agree, the $250 million program - to run over four years - will remain open to chaplains of any faith as long as they do not attempt to convert students. EXTRACT ONLY - FULL @ SOURCE http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-08-27/chaplaincy-program-revised-after-high-court-ruling/5701390  .............................. And religion is to be promoted in secular Australian schools, why? Being of the view that religion and the State (including services of the State, such as education etc) should be completely separated (and, in an ideal world, religiosity of any kind would be actively discouraged by government), the swing towards forcing religion in Western schools is disturbing.  .............................. Stop the Government paying for religion with your taxes! End the National Schools Chaplaincy Program now! That the Liberal government in Australia has bypassed the High Court and the Australian Constitution to sneak in religious mumbo jumbo while cutting funding for secular services should be a real cause for concern. This program should be opposed as direct government funding of religion bad public policy. Taxpayers' money spent in education should employ the best people available to help students, not just the religious.The preferencing of the religious, over the non-religious, for no reason other than their religiousness, is unacceptable in Government policy, particularly at a Commonwealth level. At the very least all schools should to given the choice employ non-religious counsellors or welfare workers under this program, not just those that cannot find a chaplain. The NSCP breaches the spirit of the Australian Constitution. It undermines the separation of church and state. EXTRACT ONLY - FULL @ SOURCE - http://www.stopthenscp.org/  .............................. Going through the above articles, one comes to the conclusion that Western ruling elites exhibit hypocrisy and a disregard for national symbols, which they cynically exploit without regard for public opinion or sentiment, to further corporate-imperialist and strategic aims in the Middle East, and it's a win-win for corporations and politicians in a corporate-political alliance that sees both players profiting handsomely. Meanwhile, if left to the devices of politicians, what freedoms we have in the West will be eroded by unscrupulous politicians, passing legislation to further the agendas of whoever has propped them up in politics. That the Liberal party in Australia has sidestepped a High Court ruling, and that it is willing to disregard the Australian Constitution by finding a by-pass that enables them to pursue the Liberal (and backer) agenda, should be of grave concern to the Australian public. There's probably a whole lot more that could be said, but I'm not much of a thinker or a blogger. This is just my overall opinion on current events, given my particular focus.   .............................. PS   Canada's Blasphemy Law - post.

In Summary

Miscellaneous First-ever #UN summit on indigenous ppl held now @ NY - calls 4 more reporting / monitoring rights / http://goo.gl/zGrqHL ------------------------------------------ #Lithuania trawler Jūros Vilkas in the Barents Sea /arrest of crew & ship's redirection 2 Murmansk/ admin violations  -  Russia  -   http://goo.gl/4sMQz5 ------------------------------------------ Stefan Löfven working on budget / hoping Red-Green coalition 2 push thru http://goo.gl/eIHVKW  - crucial meeting FRI Parl speaker #Sweden ------------------------------------------ #Scotland - http://goo.gl/4Q11iG  - voting age / Mr Salmond's successor noms / changing the role of Scottish politicians at Westminster call for 16 and 17-year-olds to be given the vote at future elections. ------------------------------------------ #Spain $340mil sale of vacant landmark 25-story Edificio España - opens door to further Chinese investment - http://goo.gl/Kb85LZ  >>"Telefónica, the Spanish telecommunications giant, halved its stake in China Unicom in 2012 to cut its debt." NYT >> BBVA - Spanish lender - now earns more from banking ops in #Mexico than in its home market. [NYT] > BBVA Oct 2013 cut its stake in Citic Bank, part conglomerate controlled by China govt, 2 help meet intl capital requirements #Spain - Chinese citizens received 282 of 1,880 “golden visas” granted. Visas give residency to any foreigner buying ppty @ $205,500 / NYT ------------------------------------------ #France - PM Manuel Valls pledged @ Berlin to push economic reform package - http://goo.gl/RzW1Fq  / zero growth & record unemployment Germany's media has been highly critical of France, Germany's top partner in Europe / "Frankreich" / "Krankreich" / 'sick' {AFP} Frenchie Pilots' union rejects Air France offer to end strike >> Giving #Hollande a migraine, along with IMF & Bling Bling's come-back RT >> "75% of France's electricity comes from nuclear energy. In the future, it will be 50% nuclear, 50% renewable" [CFR] ------------------------------------------ COMMENT Various bits of information that ought to be self-explanatory. Economy in France and in Spain bad.  Guessing Spain is worse off.

UK - SOCIALITY EQUALITY PARTY - Scotland’s No vote and the crisis of the British nation state

SCOTLAND Scotland’s No vote and the crisis of the British nation state Statement of the Socialist Equality Party (UK) 19 September 2014 Independence for Scotland was defeated in Thursday’s referendum by 55.3 percent to 44.7 percent on an 84.6 percent turnout. There was an initial sense of relief in ruling circles, given that at one point, according to opinion polls, the Yes campaign looked set to secure a majority—threatening the imminent dissolution of the 307-year union between Scotland, England and Wales. Such a prospect had been likened to a new “Lehman’s moment”—a reference to the bank failure that triggered the 2008 financial crash. There were fears too that a Yes victory would have weakened Britain’s ruling elite on all fronts, prompting warnings by politicians, economists, corporate executives and military figures. The British pound and UK shares both rallied Friday morning, after having suffered major losses in recent days. Alex Salmond, leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP), announced his intention to resign in recognition of the Yes campaign’s failure. But by the end of the day, gains for shares and sterling had swung into reverse as it became clear that the acute crisis of the British nation state was far from over. Most worrying for the bourgeoisie was the fact that the majority against separation came despite, not because of, the campaign by the major parties—Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat—which formed the backbone of the “Better Together” camp. The campaign revealed the huge level of disaffection and hostility towards the Westminster elite, all of whom are associated with illegal colonial wars and austerity. That a majority rejected efforts to divert anger over this state of affairs into support for the creation of new national borders is testimony to the strong sense of shared identity among working people [Whose identity?] and a well-founded mistrust of the pro-big business SNP. However, the Yes campaign was able to successfully exploit social and political discontent among a section of workers and youth to increase support for independence by approximately 15 percent from 2012. More than two out of five voted for separation, with Glasgow, Scotland’s largest city, registering a majority Yes vote. The SNP owes everything to fake-left forces—the Scottish Socialist Party (SSP), Tommy Sheridan, the Socialist Workers Party (SWP) and the Radical Independence Campaign. Their role was to conceal the reactionary social and political interests represented by Scottish separatism and paint it in pseudo-socialist colours. To this end they acted as the foot-soldiers of the Yes campaign, recasting the SNP as part of a broad movement for a more progressive post-independence Scotland. The fake-left tendencies now claim that the increase in the Yes vote is itself proof of the working class credentials of Scottish nationalism. It is nothing of the sort. The enormous development of globalised production and financial markets has provided a section of the regional bourgeoisie with the opportunity to secure direct relations with the transnational corporations and banks, bypassing central government.  That is why the SNP’s central demand was for a cut in corporation tax. Around this bourgeois faction gravitates a middle class layer of state functionaries, academics and trade union bureaucrats that provides the social basis for the fake-left groups. SSP leader Colin Fox summed up their future course, claiming that the result was “independence deferred.” They are mooting the possibility of forming a new “left,” i.e., nationalist, party in Scotland that could include sections of the Labour Party and the SNP. The No vote has in no way lessened the dangers facing working people across Britain. There are deep divisions within the ruling elite on virtually every question. Far from a period of “reconciliation” opening up, the next months will see a bitter struggle on every front. In the aftermath of their defeat, the SNP and its allies are demanding the greatest possible concessions from Westminster in a bitter scramble to control vital resources, such as taxes on North Sea Oil, from which they hope to become personally very wealthy. For his part, Prime Minister David Cameron used the result to insist that Scotland had had its say and it was now time to listen to the “millions of voices of England.” While guaranteeing that the three parties’ pledge of more powers for the Scottish parliament would be “honoured in full,” he pledged to introduce “English votes for English laws”—ending the right of Scottish and Welsh MPs to vote on certain issues now dealt with in the Scottish parliament and Welsh Assembly. Drafted by Labour, and presented as an alternative path to “home rule” for Scotland, the measures to expand the powers of the Scottish parliament include a commitment to extend tax-varying powers and oversight of certain areas of social welfare to Holyrood. Cameron’s announcement makes clear that these measures will, in fact, be used to encourage national and regional competition everywhere, with one commentator claiming that the “slumbering beast of English nationalism” had been awakened.  [Uncertain what this means] In addition, Cameron hopes to permanently cripple the Labour Party by excluding Scottish and Welsh MPs, on whom Labour relies, from voting on English matters—prompting Labour Party leader Ed Miliband to reject Cameron’s proposals. Whatever emerges from the internecine [mutually destructive] conflict in ruling circles, the bill will be paid by the working class, who will be pitted against one another in a race to the bottom in terms of jobs, wages and social conditions. The referendum campaign must serve as a profound warning. Without a socialist reorientation of the working class, the deepening crisis of British and world capitalism can take on reactionary forms—above all in the deliberate fostering of national divisions. The Socialist Equality Party is the only tendency that advanced a political alternative. We urged a No vote in the referendum based on uniting working people against all sections of the bourgeoisie in the fight for a socialist Britain.  [Great.  So Scotland doesn't get its independence ... & working classes everywhere are shafted regardless.  Meanwhile a 'socialist Britain' is a fantasy that will *never* be realised.  Bad call.] We warned that the nationalism whipped up by the SNP and the fake-left would strengthen similar right-wing tendencies in Europe and internationally. The SEP counterposed [set against] to the Balkanization of the continent into a patchwork of mini-states and ethnic cantons the fight for the United Socialist States of Europe. In the course of our campaign, we sold over 10,000 copies of our statement “ Vote No in the Scottish referendum—Fight for a Socialist Britain ” and discussed with tens of thousands of workers and young people. Many expressed relief at meeting socialists opposed to nationalism and upholding working class unity. Our intervention centered on combating the lies and distortions of the pseudo-left groups. Explaining that the potential breakup of the UK was rooted in the deepening crisis of world capitalism and the outmoded division of the planet into antagonistic nation states, we urged the adoption by the working class of a new socialist and internationalist program and leadership. In the next period, this political offensive must and will be deepened, not just in Britain, but in a unified offensive by our comrades in Europe and internationally. https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2014/09/19/scot-s20.html

COMMENT

The notion of international socialism is an unappealing and unrealistic concept.

Very disappointed to read that a socialist organisation supported a 'No' to the Scottish independence vote, on the basis of nothing more than some fantasy nirvana of worldwide socialism.