Thoughts on Rabbie Burns

Think I will write here about my interest today. Rabbie Burns is Scotland's greatest poet and I was born where he spent his final days that being Dumfries. I should know how long he lived and worked in Dumfries as I have books on him that I seldom get around to reading.

A letter has been discovered that shed's light on his last days and click here for bbc report.

When I go back to Dumfries for a visit I like to see his cottage there which you can walk around and as if you were in a museum. However Burns Cottage, the first home of Robert Burns is located in Alloway, South Ayrshire, Scotland. It was built by his father, William Burness in 1757. Burns, Scotland's national poet, was born there on 25 January 1759. It is a simple two-roomed clay and thatch cottage and is now a museum dedicated to him. It has been fully restored and is part of the Burns National Heritage Park.

Well I know Alloway is Burns Country but so is Dumfries as far as I and other Doonhamers are concerned.

Indeed like I said Dumfries is where I was born and lived there until 16 years of age. Even though Burns wrote some fine poetry there I prefer to read poetry rather than try to write it.

My favourite pastime nowadays is to write and post on the Internet. With the Internet you can research Burns online, and if like me cannot write poetry then try reading it and what better than Scotland's National Bard.

OK before I finish writing here about Burns I have included here the link for Burns Heritage Park if you get a chance to visit that part of Scotland. http://www.burnsheritagepark.com is the link.

Anyway I will try writing about what interests me as my personal diary on this weblog. Should be interesting.

Slainte
Larry

Why I prefer the Internet

I don't buy newspapers and have not since I have had the Internet for a few years. Anyway the Scottish media is biased against the present SNP minority Scottish Government. In other words newspapers like the Scotsman and Herald do not take Independence seriously enough.

So what do we do? Well there are plenty of interesting weblogs. You could also do no wrong by checking out the Newsnet website. As for the weblogs I have a list of recommended ones on my Scottish Republic weblog.

Furthermore as well as endless Scottish websites on the Internet I find the Forums a good source of information and opinions on news and Independence. There is Our Scotland. and the Scottish Republican Socialist Movement have their own web forum. I believe there are some choice of Scottish forums on the web. With most forums you can find out where the latest Scottish event is going to be held and organising it, so forums like social networking sites such as Facebook can be good ways to communicate also about the latest event and where to find it, time date venue, organisation etc...

Another interest I have is for Yahoo groups (also google groups exist) as a source of information or news and views. However the Yahoo groups vary somewhat, some are more interesting than others with a wee bit more debate included on a few.

Indeed I have got say that I use the Internet to not only debate but learn and communicate with others who usually have similar opinions to mine.

And finally I subscribe to the newsletter of Mediawatch at Mediawatch2010@aol.com prepared by SNP activists in the west of Scotland. I post copies of these to Forum for Scottish Democracy, on Yahoo groups. So click to join anyone of my Yahoo groups which are on my weblogs to click on.

Well that is my diary of thoughts today folks not much interesting in today's news.
Slainte
Larry

Republican Socialism and the Class Struggle

In April this year I joined the Scottish National Party in order to argue the case for Independence without the distraction of the British left prevalent in Solidarity and the Scottish Socialist Party. Yet Solidarity and the SSP are supposed to be pro-independence parties. Both are members of the Scottish Independence Convention. The purpose of the Scottish Independence Convention or SIC is to bring parties, organisations and individuals together to work for the common aim of Independence. However I wish the SIC success in their aim but only time will tell. What I do hope for is for an Independence Referendum that we can win for Scotland's velvet revolution of sorts. Yet consider Solidarity and the SSP rarely mention Independence on their websites and nothing on the need for an Independence Referendum. The SSP website is a clutter to say the least.

On the SNP website just click on Independence and Independence White Paper published where there is a link. Next click on Choosing Scotland's Future and there it is about the Independence Referendum proposed in the White Paper part of the National Conversation which the SNP used for feedback from the public. On this page is the National Referendum which is proposed and as pointed out here as the next step. The Scottish Government intends to bring forward the Referendum Bill early in 2010. The Scottish Parliament will be invited to pass the legislation.

Anyway the SNP have proposed an Independence Referendum albeit likely to be a multi-option one. The Unionists disagree in holding an Independence Referendum yet opinion polls show great support in Scotland for a Referendum on Scotland's Constitutional future. With this in mind I have always argued for public pressure to assist the present Scottish Government in their wishes. I would argue that parties and both political and non- political organisations should lead the way and lets take to the streets.

On a brighter note we have the Scottish Independence Convention, SNP White Paper and a new group of non-political individuals calling themselves March For Your Future (MFYF) a group dedicated to raising awareness about the need for Independence and a march through Edinburgh to be organised for April 2011. In view of this I believe a sea of change will grip Scotland and demand for change will come in it's own time. Already there is a need that is recognised that Scotland needs a Parliament with full fiscal powers.

And this leads me onto what I want for Scotland. Firstly a Republic through Independence and ditching the monarchy and crown powers the bad elements of the British state. However I am a Republican Socialist and that is part of my struggle in the mix when campaigning for Independence. We need to address what is bad in capitalism and build a fair democratic free society. A genuine and true Scottish Workers Republic. And that must be built through class struggle and public pressure from below. We cannot get a Workers Republic by parliamentary means.

So what is required for socialism? Well we need Conventions of Republican Socialists to meet and organise for class struggle. I understand the SSP have had an Republican Socialist Convention held in November 2009. This could be argued to be a healthy development. But it is required that such events go beyond organising by one group of party individuals. There is also the Scottish Republican Socialist Movement to consider and their experience on understanding the nature of the British left. Such Conventions require a united voice from Republican Socialists in the Scottish Left or nationalist left in the SNP. We need to see more Conventions that lead to Scottish Republican unity and to begin to take the campaign to parties, organisations and for us to hit the streets. In short we need to educate those in both politics and the public the merits and advantages of Republican Socialism and a Workers Republic built after Scottish Independence.

Scotland's class struggle in history is both nationalist and socialist as recognised in a good article by John McAllion of the SSP. Correctly the break up of the British state will provide a bigger platform for Republican socialists to agitate and educate workers and the poor that the Workers Republic is in every body's interest.

Scottish Water to remain publicly-owned

The Scottish Government has ruled out changing the status of Scottish Water. A Scottish Government spokesperson has said "that domestic water charges in Scotland were below the average of those in the privatised system in England and Wales." Well this is good who would want Scottish Water to be privatised? Privatisation of Scottish Water would likely lead to the introduction of water meters. A water meter is a device used to measure the volume of water usage. We can't have Water companies reaping in profit while families cut back on water usage. I hope this never happens in Scotland and Scottish Water remains a public utility. Scottish Water is performing well as a publicly-owned corporation in Scotland, and ministers have consistently said that there are no plans to change that. With this Scottish Government the cost of water can be kept down and cost less than England or Wales.

This weblog is Scottish Rebel

Anyone who has visited this site before will have noticed that I have changed the name to the Scottish Rebel. I am making changes to discuss more politics and I intend to post here more frequently. The design of the Blog has changed also to reflect my republican socialist beliefs. In April this year I joined the SNP for the second time in my life. I feel they are the only party that can deliver Independence most likely by way of an Independence Referendum. We are living in interesting times with a growth in Scottish culture since devolution. Everyone except the biased Scottish media seems to understand that Independence is a real possibility in our lifetime. What is certain is already there is more support for giving the Scottish Parliament more powers. Giving Holyrood full tax raising powers would better prepare us for Independence.

While I am writing here I will remind you I have joined Twitter as republicansoc. Indeed I am on a few sites from myspace to bebo to facebook. On these sites I am spreading the message of Independence and Republican Socialism. If you check my profile I post to four blogs. My most read webblog is probably Scottish Republic but I intend to post here more often and it will be different. Here I will write my views and opinions on a regular basis. Indeed a diary of my thoughts as I write about news and views. Scottish Rebel is my website to discuss both politics Scottish culture and my thinking in general not always political but mostly I prefer to write about politics. I like to write as if I am talking to you in my living room. Scottish Rebel is very much about me and my opinions so It is a we bit different to the format of Scottish Republic weblog but will be similar except I will spend more time writing my opinions on life and politics. Anyway I am off for a coffee so enough of writing on this post perhaps this can be my daily diary? I hope so we will have to wait and see.
Larry

New SNP Supporters Group

I have started a new SNP supporters Group which is for quite simply supporters and members of the Scottish National Party. I discovered there was a need for one in Yahoo Groups and already I have six members who have joined. Here we can debate the merits of Independence and keep up to date with events. Membership of the group is open only to those that support Independence and the SNP.

Click here to join

Slainte
Larry

Dealing with the issue of stress

Mental Health problems will affect one in four of us at sometime in our lives. Indeed psychiatric problems are very prevalent in capitalist society as is the issue of stress..

The NHS Choices website offers tips on dealing with stress whether at work, college or home.

It is important to recognise the signs of stress. Do you sleep OK? Do you drink too much? Do you get angry easily? Without a doubt stress drains us of energy and can easily lead to depression. Those of us that suffer are experts by experience.

If you suffer from stress or have a mental health issue because of stress factor then why not join the new Yahoo group I have created called The Relaxation Cafe. There you can discuss issues and factors of stress in our lives in a safe environment.

It is good to getting a break from politics to discuss lifestyle issues such as stress and how it affects us but I still leave plenty time to campaign for socialist politics because I believe a socialist republic in Scotland would adequately fund the Scottish NHS instead of wasting tax payers money on war or nuclear weapons like Trident.

If you would like to join the relaxation cafe click here