And for the weekend, 29th June 2013...

Well, here it is, the end of flaming June and what was flaming?

Well,  not the weather, but some highlights and some lows. 

Tennis highlights ...come on Andy.... / http://www.andymurray.com/  and the lows? 

I didn't get all the (festival) tickets I wanted.  / http://www.edinburghfestivals.co.uk/  and https://www.edbookfest.co.uk/ 

Boo hoo! 
But hey, what's wrong with saving some money, or getting two for one later, or maybe even free bees!

I love my free-bees, and must thank https://www.facebook.com/walker.neill  

for freely sharing an article: Natalie McGarry: Scotland needs clear constitution

http://www.scotsman.com/news/natalie-mcgarry-scotland-needs-clear-constitution 

It certainly brought back memories of the heady days the leading up to the devolution vote, the framing of the Scotland Act 1998.  Scotland Act 1998 - Legislation.gov.uk and the role of the Scottish Constitutional Convention. /wiki/Scottish_Constitutional_Convention 

Were they really heady days, or imagined heady days?
Did the You's and Me's here in Scotland really meet, talk, have a barnie now and then, but during all those heady times didn't we believe deep down that our time for change was definitely coming?
We weren't all sitting at the top table of the Convention but the connections were made through 'civic' society.
They had to be, since I was 'connected'. I went to meetings, banged on tables (metaphorically).
The Me's were there, and the You's too. I saw you there, in the womens' groups, the arts groups, the community groups, and more. 

Next year's referendum will produce change, big time. Whether it's yes for, or no against, life will not be the same again, for any of us.
Either way, Scotland is a nation, and will remain so.
But nations & nation-hood are not static. Nations & nation-hood by their very nature are in a virtual state of flux.
If planned, then through democratic processes & the voting power (or lack of it) of the people,with laws, policies, practices, underpinning effective governance of social & economic institutions.
Or, unplanned, and re-active to unforeseen circumstances (internal & external): wars, unforeseen economic forces (negative & positive), geo.political events and so much more.

So where's the civic debate in our nation? The coming together? The groups talking, linking, email, sharing? For the majority of us, is it a deafening silence, perchance even a conspiracy of silence?
Over the last few years, we've been told of the need for citizenship, and s#the sub divisions of 'active' and 'good'.
Yes, there's so much baggage attached to all of that including@ the right to, the need for, determining and proving.
But one pillar of being a citizen, being part of, being connected to & though the fabric of society.has to be using your vote in an informed manner.

So, is the civic debate alive, kicking& informing and am I just missing out this time round?

Perhaps it's a a case of  : just 'no-mates-Selma'? 

But in my own defence, do we have to wait till news, views, and pronouncements trickle down from on high? Surely Natalie McGarry got it right when she said......To see civic Scotland be proactive instead of dragging its collective heels on this would be desirable'

I don't see or hear the No Campaign/Better Together
/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Better_Togethhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Better_Together_%28campaign%29er
telling  me, my family, my extended family, and my country, what I will gain if I vote no to independence.

They tell me what I will loose, or how bad it will become.
So will I just be gaining more of the same? Is it a status quo?

Just exactly what is the Yes vote going to do for me? 

That might seem selfish, but I would like to know.

I appreciate that there's never a cast iron guarantee for anything in the future, and who other than a 'Mystic Neg' would predict some rosy futuristic picture?
Ask & all will be revealed? Not poss!
But as a simple person then, and a non-Mystic Meg, I can only go on 'the past', take that 'past' as a template, and project into the future, based on that past (experiences/outcomes)

Surely we're no' too feart to have those conversations? And, I don't mean the entrenched diatribes ...this-is-my-view-I-know-where-my-vote-is-going--I-want-to-convert-you-and-have-the-last-word. 

So please, come on civic Scotland, let's not wait for those already at the top tables to inform us.

let's do it for ourselves.......

or I really might be 'no-mates-Selma'.

well, that's the dirty washing then, and I don't mean the towels......

18th June, 2013.......

Am I the only person not surprised there's another/a new whistle blower out there? Am I alone in thinking that e surveillance came about as soon as e communication went live? Hit that button, and whoosh! It's out there, like a shooting star, except never ending, just doing the rounds.
With all the cheesy sayings doing the rounds (mine's cheddar and an oat cake, ta very much) we must know that..once it's out there, it stays there, stays there, stays........

But where do 'they' draw the line? Do we accept that such e-snooping (so much nicer that spying) is essential, and will take us down routes to safe-r futures?
That presumably is the premise adopted by governments, states, defence, offence and security organisations. And let's include 'security' and 'organisations' since, for such snooping to be effective it has to be on a grand scale. And grand scale would mean staff/operatives/officers, costing money, salaries, and God forbid, employment rights, pensions and the likes. So let's sub contract and get others to gather the information as well. Spread the costs about, create employment.
Whichever way, as the platitude goes, if we have nothing to hide, we have nothing to loose. or maybe not, and for another day...just what is privacy and what is private?

But today and now.......where do 'they' draw the line?
Will chilled drinks be chillier this evening in Northern Ireland following the revelation that 'we'  ALLEGEDLY spied on 'our' guests at the last G8 held in the UK?
Will our great leaders mumble into their mash this evening hoping to be too quiet to be heard, but really, just being too ineffectual to address poverty and hunger?
Will all the guns go silent in Syria as all the waring sides try to listen in to discover who will win and who will loose in the supply chain?

But we know who will loose and not gain.
The poor, the hungry, the weak, the homeless, the refugees.

Eat and drink well this evening, you political leaders at your summit, that pinnacle of power.....
........that broad base including the poor, the weak, the hungry, the homeless, the refugees......continues to prop you up.

17thJune 2013 so, the referendum isn’t all that far away……

17^th June, 2013….
Some choices needed, some debates required, and some decisions to be made….well, the referendum isn’t all that far away……  

It would appear to most of us that so far, the No Campaign depends on the fear quotient. There is little evidence being put forward by the @Better Together campaign of positive change in policies and the ilk that we might see in the event of a No vote, and any resultant, positive impact on Scotland if we remain in the Union. Could their view, i.e the No Campaigners,  be summarised as: change is bad, or change and see how bad it will become? 

Are we to assume therefore that those supporting & promoting the No vote believe that what we need is…more of the same in the meantime and the near future?

So  if confronted with nothing positive coming from the No campaign do Labour voters here in Scotland  believe that a yes vote could lead to their preference, namely a  Labour government  coming to power  in the first general elections in an independent Scotland?

Possibly, since when I speak to friends and colleagues who have never paid a party nor a union due, but have voted labour all their lives, I see/hear the emergence of Labour voters who utterly reject the coalition government at Westminster , their policies and practices, quite particularly the ‘welfare’ changes,  and the impact that those changes are having  and will have here. 

We have also seen the Labour party appearing time and time again with the Tories, providing the latter with a platform and coverage way beyond their normal capabilities. And to many, this sticks in the craw.  Having seen the emergence & establishment  of  ‘Better Together’, as a core group ajnd core message, would it not chime better with Labour supporters here to see and hear more (from the Labour party) as to how we will be better  off after a No vote?

 Are we in Scotland so politically immature that we are not aware of life post the referendum, namely the prospect of a 2015 general election and the implications that could be felt here: if we have said ‘no’ to independence,  may we see yet again some form of coaltion government?

What would such a coaltion government look like? Who knows, since so far, it is only@ David Cameron who has nailed his colours to the mast in such an open fashion.  His speech to the Tory faithful ( I believe that Ruth Davison could not must more than 200 in the auditorium for her ‘leader’s speech’).

David Cameron’s speech in Stirling appeared to outline his agenda over the coming years: he’d identified 2014 as the 
year for “saving our United Kingdom”, naturally. After all, as a ‘unionist’ he couldn’t be the one to be seen to lose the Union, could he?
But, good news, since he believes that2015 would then be the year for “giving Britain 
the Conservative government she needs”. So we know where we stand here, or do we? We have to wait our turn and come 2016 the Tory party would give ‘ Scotland the strong Conservative alternative she deserves”.
I see a difference between needing and deserving, but then hey, I just went to my local primary and secondary skuls.

And am I wrong in thinking he forgot to mention 2017 as the year when he plans to hold a referendum on leaving the EU? Or perhaps he feels than hand of destiny, or rather, Teresa May’s kitten heels!
Some vision, some planning, some disregard for us in Scotland.

But what of the others, Labour and Lib dems? What have they offered, what have they said? Nothing as clear as DC.
So, by my recokoning come 2017, we may have 1- rejected independence. 2- either a coalition government, i.e more of the same, because whichever way you cut it, an outright Labour majority is still doubtful…..check out the south of England , and its current voting demographics
or 3- have a strong, Tory government  based in Westminster, because whichever way you cut it, it’s very doubtful that Scotland would ever vote Tory in as our majority..check out our past voting  record, and 4-  to cap it all, we could also be in the process of leaving the EU.

So, am I being asked to hang in there: have more of the same in the meantime, and hope that come the UK elections there will be a majority Labour government that will consider the UK as a whole and not pander to the perceived needs and fears of the south of England in an effort to gain and maintain a majority?
Some choices needed, some debates required, and some decisions to be made.