3 by 50, A birthday wish.

Today is a milestone, I’ve managed to reach the ripe old age of 47 and my doomsday clock is ticking down to my inevitable end. That may sound gloomy, but being a Glaswegian male, my life expectancy is around the 59-60 mark, so not long to go now.

But hey, I’m not sad, in fact I’m pretty upbeat about everything, except for the small tell-tale signs I’ve noticed developing, like my inability to watch BBC news programmes, without shouting at the television like some crazed, buck fast induced troglodyte. And the inevitable intolerance of mediocre talent shows that infest TV channels like an STD you just can’t get rid of.

Since it’s my birthday I’ve decided to be generous, since my coming out into this world, at the Queen mum’s hospital in Glasgow, in the heady days of 1965. I’ve managed to witness some incredible sights, men landing on the moon, govt’s of all descriptions annihilate vast swathes of humanity, in their indecent haste to prove their tougher than rival states.

I’ve watched govt’s be subsumed by Multi-nationals, and greed becomes the byword for progress, democracies fall and rise, only to be sold to the highest bidder, for the aforementioned greed.

I now live in a world ruled and controlled by faceless executives of Global multi national corporations, who transfer wealth from country to corporation and the politicians’ just sit back and take it , like good little public school boys, who’s the faggot now, eh.

If you beleive, then it's just 1 click away, http://t.co/IEUZmHVe

So what do I want for my birthday, world peace would be a start, but to have that you first have to find a country committed to such an ideal, so I’ve lowered my sights slightly, I would settle for a country I can be proud to call home, which at it’s core is based on equality, not just any equality, but equality for all, regardless of race, colour or creed or indeed gender.

What I wish for is my homeland, country of birth, Scotland to become an independent country, and take its place in the world. A country unafraid to shine a light into the darkest of places, where inhumanity is rife. With neither fear nor favour. A country willing to challenge those global corporate interests with impunity, to speak up for those without a voice.

On Friday the 25^th of May, pro independence parties in Scotland launched @YesScotland, the first initial steps, in what I hope is the emancipation of the Scot’s people, freedom from oppressive UK govt rule, who without a blink on an eye, spend billions on a squalid and sleazy London, while at the same time castigate the poor, for simply being poor.

So my birthday wish is simple, I want to be free by 50, I want to live in a country willing to take on the challenge of the 21^st century head on, who will stand firm against intolerance and cruelty, who is willing to challenge vested interests and protect the weak. That’s what I wish for; I can only hope that it can come true.

On a lighter note, rumours are the No campaign, those that wish Scotland's continual  subjugation by London are planning a glitzy launch, I hear, though this may not be true. That Lord Foulkes, that estimable Labour peer, plans to get the campaign underway, by running down Princess street in Edinburgh stark bollock naked with his Heart’s scarf and a Union Jack for company. I will reiterate this is only a rumour, heaven forbid anyone actually turns up to see this event.

Whatever happened to the 67%

The results of May 3 local election, have brought the usual political hysteria of ‘Mine’s bigger than your’s’ and 'we won this and held that', shit. The wall to wall depressing media coverage of Party spin doctors convincing us their side had won, and promising to deliver services, that in all probability will never be delivered and had no hope of ever being so in the 1^st place.

Depressing regurgitation of national politics onto local issues, had distorted local accountability and skewed debate. All this gleefully cheered on by none less than the ‘inscrutable’ BBCscotland, an organisation who’s in-ability to report factual voter numbers, rather than its own self delusional statistics‘. Added to this, the undue haste to proclaim ‘labour ‘as victors. Based on nothing more than wishful thinking was indeed a sight to behold. If not to be gazed in absolute horror.

This bastion of the ‘free press', who gleefully pedal those values across the globe, like some moral kevlar. Yet in the UK it's acted like no more than a state broadcaster, more akin to Syria than the contrived image the BBC would like to pretend it represents worldwide.

Enough of bbc bashing, they’re clearly not the only one’s to blame, there are other’s equally culpable

And some who are just downright guilty.

The disengagement of 67% of Glasgow electorate is shocking, appalling this tragedy, played out to a background of a Labour national leadership celebrating like a 2^nd Division team who had just won the Scottish cup, had they not been listening 67% didn’t vote.

Labour the party of the working class, whose social engineering policies have led to this endemic and systematic failure,  has disempowered and disengaged the vast majority of this city. Glasgow is a European city, but it has an identity crisis, it feels like I’m living in a city, gripped with ‘Stockholm syndrome’.

So it’s a big hand, to Glasgow labour party, we’ve had less than a century of universal suffrage and the right to vote, and you’ve managed to turn the clock back 150yrs, a big thank you.

On a slightly different tack, I at least live in an area were there is some hope, ‘Partick West’ returned 2 SNP and 1 Green cllr, an aside to this. The term ‘Partick West’ may look good in estate agents windows; it sounds like we’ve been annexed by the trendy west end. House prices anyone? Can we not have the correct burgh names, ‘Scotstoun and Whiteinch’ this would sound far better and include historic accuracy.

As I write Rangers have been told their SFA sanction stands, now there are those who persist this is disproportionate, well Rangers are not being judged on a Scottish standard, but a European standard. Supporters should take a look around some of the European clubs and penalties they’ve incurred, to realise this is in reality, pretty light and should now ‘man up’ and take the medicine,