Flights of Pain

The Scottish National Party (SNP) at Westminster has today (Tuesday) raised the controversial issue of "rendition flights" which allegedly see the extra-judicial transportation of suspects through European airports including Prestwick and Glasgow.

SNP Question Rendition Flights — SNP - Scottish National Party

Like everyone else I have no idea whether the CIA flights that frequent Scottish airports actually contain captives being illegally trasnported to places of torture.

What sticks in my throat is the three monkeys approach of the Labour and Liberal Democrat executive.

If there is any chance that these flights contain illegally seized prisoners then they should be stopped immediately. The platitudes from people like Margaret Curran lamenting their lack of powers ("S'nothing to do with us Guv - it's a reserved matter" - translation - "Tony Blair has told us to keep our traps shut and go play in the wee end of the playground") are sickening.

If the executive want to be treated like grown ups then they must be involved in grown-up debates about grown-up issues. If not then they can go back to being trade union reps and social workers.

History in Schools

The SNP issued a five-point plan which it said would defend and enhance the teaching of history in time for St Andrew's Day next year.A row over history in Scottish schools erupted earlier this month after it emerged that it may be scrapped as a stand-alone subject in the first two years of secondary school.Peter Peacock, the education minister, has insisted that history lessons will be retained, but has not ruled out the possibility that they may be taught as part of other subjects in first and second year.Yesterday, Fiona Hyslop, the SNP education spokeswoman, said:"Scottish history must be recognised as a vital part of the curriculum."History helps Scotland's pupils understand their country, creating a greater sense of cultural awareness," she said.

Scotsman.com News - Scotland - SNP plan to safeguard future of history

It's high time that pupils in Scotland were taught about their own history. At school I hated the subject but that view was coloured by the way we were taught.

In 1978, at the height of the devolution/independence debate, we were taught about

1. the great plague of London
2. the great fire of London

Neither of which was likely to enthuse anyone in that class.

Now of course I can't get enough history books. A genuine thirst for knowledge has emerged. But no thanks to the history we got at school.

Independence Starts Here

The recent release of the SNP's blueprint for independence, "Raising the Standard", has prompted me to finally start my own independence blog.

Although a member of the SNP, and a past candidate for Westminster, I claim no inside knowledge of the party and the thoughts expressed here should not be construed as being official party policy. They are my policies, for good or ill. All I'll be doing is my best to raise the bar on political thinking.

And yes, I know that last sentence sounded awful pretentious but, hey, a guy's got to aim high. :-)