Local petition - please sign
The new Government petitions website has a way for us to increase the population, with the added benefit of improving the demographics very significantly.
Roll-up, roll-up and support this sane and sensible plan:
Out of sight, out of mind. Someone else's problem. Solution found.
It's all very typical of what has caused the problem in the first place - superficial answers that sound good and don't answer the root causes. Indeed, the root causes are to be avoided if there is an easier way to hide the issues; even if the author has his tongue firmly in his cheek.
h/t to j.
Roll-up, roll-up and support this sane and sensible plan:
Send rioters to the Outer Hebrides for 5 years
Responsible department: Ministry of Justice
All rioters and looters from the recent troubles in English cities should be banished to the Outer Hebrides for 5 years. This would be much, much, cheaper than keeping them in expensive prisons, saving the taxpayer money. Five years of being forced to live in the Outer Hebrides with none of the comforts of English city living e.g. running water, electricity, decent food, culture and shopping, will put them on the straight and narrow, and frighten them not to riot or loot again. Many local people there look after sheep part-time, so they can earn a small amount of extra money looking after rioters and looters as well.
Out of sight, out of mind. Someone else's problem. Solution found.
It's all very typical of what has caused the problem in the first place - superficial answers that sound good and don't answer the root causes. Indeed, the root causes are to be avoided if there is an easier way to hide the issues; even if the author has his tongue firmly in his cheek.
h/t to j.
51 comments:
Angus, perhaps a better idea is to take them all up to the Outer Hebrides for one night only - but it has to be a completely calm night. Send them all out into the middle of the Barvas moor..and let the midges do the rest! Then pick them up in the morning and send them back across the minch asap.
I don't think they would riot again in a hurry. :)
After seeing some of the other petitions, I don't think this one is genuine. The others, mostly about rioters or immigrants, seem to be often written by semi-literate sub-humans. This one is a work of poetry in comparison.
Found a similar petition for the Shetland Islands.
Hmmm. And a few more "let's put them all on a remote island" petitions...
Islands for prisoners instead of prisons.
That sounds very much like a Daily Mail reader.
Power to the people. God help us.
The leader of this petition should be ashamed by their ignorance!
1. In the hebrides we have an abundance of good clean running water - something that there is probably not in the inner city except 'hard' chlorine infused water.
2. Electricity /open fire with peat and coal - nothing better, I'm sure they have that in the slums of the 'big cities?'
3. Decent food - fresh fish of many kinds, shellfish, venison, prime lamb, home grown veg and potatoes...and if we don't have one or all of these at home then we can shop at the spar or the co-op or a variety of private shops down the road.
4. As far as culture is concerned, I have more culture in a certain appendage than any of these people put together, as has anyone on this island. Maybe the
retard that made this suggestion in the first place needs to get out and meet more human beings outside his obviously tiny sphere of present living. It only shows the 'massive' cultural divide between our esteemed friends in the corridors of power in London and South of the border in general.
With my own tongue ever so slightly in cheek
I thought given the calibre of some of our incomers that this 'social experiment' has been underway for some time.
Sending the rioters and looters to an uninhabited Scottish island and letting them fend for themselves might well be just what's required.
Daft prIck 7.53am
re; Domhnall beag an t-suicear
Pot calling the kettle black above me thinks!
Alas, if the petitioner had written "A place where some people only have broadband access at home during low tide", it would have been accurate...
This view appears to be widespread. It doesn't take much hunting online to find plenty of people demanding that rioters are sent to the Hebrides. See the answer from Nibbo in here, or this suggestion here. Plenty more online without much looking.
Typical comment from an Englishman who has absolutely no idea of what life in Scotland is like - ignorance personified.
Typical comment from an Englishman who has absolutely no idea of what life in Scotland is like, or how amazing it is. Ignorance personified. Makes a brilliant case for Scottish independence though !
I can't believe how worked up over this some people are getting. It would solve the problem of depopulation, enhance the gene pool & looking at the jobs of some of those convicted; some much needed skills! I don't know; some people can't:
a) see the positive side of anything
b) recognise a joke when they see one.
BTW, I live up here.
I think a prison would be a great idea. It would sustain the ferry and plane services, support accommodation providers, increase demand for hospital services and employ hundreds of people. Whats not to like?
A bit like an out of bounds course, but can they do my garden as well?
Before the increasingly ridiculous MP for the western isles continues on his "Actually, this is the most civilised part of the western world" defense, he might like to remember that this is the place with appalling broadband, some of the worst health rates in Europe (diabetes a recent addition to the list), and a local council who think it's okay to put autistic children in cages...
Re - 4.11
I totally agree that AB is over-reacting on this non-story. Have any of Shetland's representatives made any comment about it, including their press? I seriously doubt it. Isn't it about time that those in the Western Isles stopped being so prickly and treated a silly, trivial story like this with the contempt it utterly deserves? Or would that involve us growing up a little?
No matter how you look at this, it is a slur on the good people of these islads. To have the living conditions described in such a backward manner is just what is needed to encourage young people to settle here. Irrespective of what people believe to be the source of this, there is one thing for sure and that is these islands are being portrayed in a negative light. Remember when mud is thrown some of it sticks. This is not a specific political issue but an issue for us all.
Is the petition really completely wrong?
When the opportunist local MP repeats his mock outrage (while thinking "this is more votes for us") over the "inaccuracies" in it for the next journalist, perhaps he should pause, read the bit about running water, get off his arse and sort this out...
Nowhere is perfect. And that includes both riot-striken English cities, and the Western Isles.
I don't understand those who say that AB is over reacting over the e'petition. There is no question about it being authentic. The question which all islanders should be asking is why the civil service allowed it to be posted on an official government controlled site. Had it been Sandringham there would have been an almighty row.
Looked online tonight and timed myself to find the first derogatory reference to the Outer Hebrides online.
Took me 18 seconds.
Re- 9.33 and 3.01
One can only imagine the maturity levels of people who use Google to hunt up derogatory comments about their own community. Surely these can be found about any place, such as Motherwell, Barnstaple,Sandringham, South Shields ...
The difference is that you have an MP (with a salary of over £65,000) raising such silly, stupid concerns. Surely his common sense should tell him that they have no chance in becoming reality and he'd be better off ignoring them.
Surely too he should also save his breath and trouble himself with some of the more serious issues he has raised since being re-elected, such as goal line technology and the difficulties of filling in his expenses form online ...
The letters in Hebrides News over this are getting increasingly ridiculous again e.g.
"...this latest revelation is a national disgrace."
Really? Endemic phone hacking, MPs collectively gouging expenses; those are national disgraces. One person who either is winding up, testing the petition system, or has a beef with the islands, is not.
Get a sense of proportion. This is a noticeable trait before, this ridiculous over-defensiveness of the Outer Hebrides. Any deviation, no matter how minor, from "The Outer Hebrides is a perfect utopia" and the outrage and ridiculous counter-arguments begin.
Some people cannot take criticism; any criticism. Why is that?
Two words: Stornoway Grey.
If you don't stand up for yourself no one else will. Remember the previous Labour MP and MSP who did nothing for us. They never stood up for us ever, we were always wrong. This petition is bad for our image, bad for investment, bad for tourism, bad for everything. Only people like the the former MP and MSP and supporters would ignore it. Wll done Angus Macneil.
Oh Dear!! I think someone has hit a nerve. Who ever said "bad for everything" has got to someone. I don't know who and I don't care who it is. There is a valid point which I don't necessary agree with all of it. Unfortunately the response offers little reason for disagreement. By not offering reasoned argument the respondent is more hysterical and juvenile than the person they are challenging.
Re - 6.58 pm
There is a big difference between standing up for yourself and weeping and waling over every insignificant issue.
If you do the latter, no one treats you very seriously when your voice needs to count.
AB, in particular, falls into temptation of talking out about every piece of trivia. This meaningless petition is a case in point.
I se I'm pathetic and that I should grow up. Obviously you're looking at this from a narrow minded parochial perspective. If you had the ability to think laterally you would be able to see the underlying issues such a slur will cause.
There is no doubt that these type of statements will be used to further their argument. To ignore it in the manner that you have makes their case even stronger.
Are you one of those unionst's who have no pride in youself and your community ? Are you loke Gordon Brown, a man who denied his heritage for his own personal gain ? The next time you look in the mirror you'll see what a true pathetic person looks like.
Incredible, one minute AB gets slated for not speaking up for the islands, now he gets it in the ear for raising a significant point.
We are being described as living in third world conditions on an official government web site and you think it's trivia. There is enough fun being poked at the people of the Hebrides without it appearing on official sites. I think that you will find that the vast majority of the people on these islands support his stance.
Whoever raised the point on the former MSP and MP doing very little for these islands wasn't far wrong. That's why the people rejected them. The only thing that they did in the end was to see how many pictures of themselves they could get into the Stornoway Gazette each week.
The campaign against AB was very much over the top. Like myself many people got fed up with it and changed the way they voted.
To me we are getting more of this unwarranted AB negativity which is tiresome and boring.
Re - 3.39
What 'significant point'? Some absolutely insignicant individual makes a tongue-in-the-cheek comment about the Western Isles and MacNeil aims his blunderbuss in his direction. There are times when people should keep their powder dry and wait until something important is in their vicinity.
Can I set you a challenge? There are similar petitions about Shetland on that government website. Can you find, however, any response from the Orkney and Shetland MP or MSP to this ? Can you even find any letters on any website or Shetland newspaper about the topic?
The difference between the two groups of islanders is obvious.
One lot retains their dignity.
The others foam at the mouth.
Correction to 7.45
Clearly not all those from the Western Isles foam at the mouth when dealing with issues like these, but a minority do ...
And unfortunately they are encouraged by their representative in Westminster, someone who devalues himself, his party and his constituency by paying too much attention to a silly little issue like this!
Uh, after you get onto the east side of the Minch almost nobody cares.
It may be insignificant people who have made this smear, it is not insignificant people who allowed it to appear on a government web site. The issue is not about the insignificant people who made the statement, it is about those who allowed it onto a government web site.
The Western Isles deserves to be treated with the same fairness as any other community within the UK. The UK civil servants must have believed it to be credulous and there was reasonable feasibility
for them not to remove it.
You don't know that it was meant as "tongue in cheek" from these people. Personally I believe it was done in malice.
As far as Orkney and Shetland are concerned that is their choice. Their MP being part of the coalition may have felt it was not in his personal interest to complain, because he didn't raise any objections doesn't make it right. Are you suggesting that we follow Orkney and Shetland's lead on everything. There is no logical reason to follow it on this.
People in the Hebrides have been the butt of jokes for many decades. The people from Orkney and Shetland have not received the same harsh treatment. The jokes are bad enough without them appearing on official goverment sites. Macneil was quite right in taking issue.
If you are concerned that the nationalists are using it to their advantage, remember it was the unionists who have created it. The main assets the nationalists have had is Thatcher, Blair and Brown. Their righy wing policies have done more to split the union than anything Salmond could do.
I don't think many of those who oppose the actions of our MP are looking at the issue objectively. There appears to be a hot bed of anti-Macneil no matter what he does.
'People in the Hebrides have been the butt of jokes for many decades ...'
Unfortunately if we over-react like this, continuously polishing the chips on both our shoulders, we thoroughly deserve to be. Besides, I can recall a time when, say, Orcadians were the source of many jokes - especially in the aftermath of the South Ronaldsay child abuse case. But instead of whinging about it, in the way those that those in the Hebrides News and elsewhere have done, they grinned and suffered it. These things pass.
Finally, if the Hebrides want to stop being the butt of jokes, can I suggest a solution?
You can stop electing people whose first concern on being elected is goal-line technology and the difficulties of filling in his expenses form online.
Let's face it - he is utterly hilarious!
Yes the Orcadians were the butt of sick jokes for a short time. Don't remember any jokes about Shetland. The gaels have been the butt of jokes long before the Orcadian incident and have been the joke long after. You say it will pass, when will that be?
I think the comment where someone says this not about the e'petition is correct. It is about Macneil!!
If this is how the local Labourites intend to fight back we will have the nationalists a long time.
Face up to the reality of the situation and try to understand what it is they have to offer that you don't. Instead you people are wallowing in your miserable little world your opponets are strengthening their position. Do you think you can win back votes with the toxic rubbish you guys are spouting.
Dump the old MP, MSP and crazy councillors and start afresh with new idea's. That is the only way forward, these people are has been's. Stay with sickness and your party will wither and die which is not in the interest of political balance.
10:29 - you speak as though you think some fiendish committee of anti-Scottish civil servants read every e-petition, laughing and pointing at any that are anti-Celtic in nature, and passing it through.
Whereas the much more plausible possibility is that one lowly paid moderator, doing this and several other jobs at the same time, has to quickly read each petition and make a snap judgement about whether it's acceptable or not.
This one, he called wrong. Would you like him sacked, then hung, drawn and quartered?
Thinking that Jewish people do less complaining, have less angst, about the Holocaust than some Hebridean people do about every little negative (or perceived to be negative) thing they see in the papers or online.
There's an air of quiet, sanctimonious, satisfaction about some, a lot of those, whining about the e-petition. "Look! We have been abused! Slighted! Slandered! I told you no-one likes us!"
You know what? Instead of finding an almost gleeful opportunity to whine, why not do something POSITIVE. For a change. There's no positive e-petitions about the outer hebrides on the system. Why not create one? Get support for it?
But that would be positive, and involves a small bit of effort, and is therefore harder than bleating online and having your "We are the special people because we are Hebridean and therefore we are perfect and above all criticism" balloon punctured. So you won't.
Carry on whining...
'The gaels have been the butt of jokes long before the Orcadian incident and have been the joke long after. You say it will pass, when will that be? ...'
Three possible answers, 8.32. Take your pick...
1 When the likes of you stop fuelling that kind of humour by over-reacting every time the Western Isles is mentioned like this?
2 When your MP finally attains his life-long ambition of obtaining goal-line technology for every England football match?
3 When you grow up and stop seeing conspirancy theories in every silly mistake an overworked civil servant makes ...?
Take your pick - though I think 3 is never likely to occur.
PS - It's not a hotbed of 'anti MacNeil' to question an MP's record and activities. I think you'll find for most people, it's called 'democratic accountability'.
Or don't Nationalists believe in that?
I have never claimed to be a nationalist, you people have a basic belief that anyone who doesn't agree with you is a nationalist. I do believe in fairness and I give credit where credit is due.
The only people who appear to believe in conspiracies is you lot. You appear to be so caught up in your own misery that you cannot see what's going on in the real world.
Macneil and Allen beat you and the first thing you do is wallow in your own selfish pity. How does that win you back votes, who is going to vote for you when you fail at the first hurdle. The voters are never going to come back to and say we were wrong. Especially not to a group of people who are behaving like spoiled brats.
I'am a socialist born and bred, you crowd openly abandoned socialism and still felt that it was your God given right to be elected. That's not how it works.
How many socialist policies did the last Labour government implement? Don't think about the minimum wage and tax credits. You crowd have turned into the enemy of the working class.
As far as bleating goes, you guys are the ones bleating. Macneil this Macneil that, what a sad life you people are living. If he annoys you that much do something about, instead you bleat.
The fact that there is only one lowly paid moderator is not an excuse. If the job needs to be done it should be done right if it means additional resource. Forgot the Labour Party believes in scab labour.
It is not my MP it is our MP, you might not like it but he is also your representstive at Westminster.
Labelling me or calling me names will not change your situation. The only thing that will improve the despair you show will be to face up to reality and do something about it.
Re - 5.27
Clearly we don't need AB to go onto Newsnight Scotland to work out the result here. No requirememt for goalmouth technology either.
One endless prolonged bleat, I would say.
AB will be delighted!
I don't think anybody else cares.
When I look at your response there is no doubt that you have allowed yourself to become consumed and infatuated with AB to such an extent it is unhealthy. This must be a worry for your family and close friends.
You are left a number of options:-
1. You pull yourself together and pick up the political baton again and run with it. To do this you will need to forget about AB and focus on policies which will benefit these islands.
2. Stop your involvement in politics and focus your attentions on other things.
3. Take time out and go and live in your flat in Edinburgh where you can divorce yourself from the politics here on the island.
4. Continue as you are and suffer ill health.
I used to hold you in high regard and voted for you, encouraging others to do likewise. You have become so twisted and bitter it is like having a discussion with a corkscrew. I see little point in continuing our discussion as it is encouraging the resentment and bitterness which is consuming you.
God Bless.
3:25 PM It would be more useful if AB - the elected representative - stopped being obsessed with goal-mouth technology, flag waving, guga-hunting PR trips, and looking to forever perceive the Outer Hebrides as some kind of "victim culture" every time someone mildly criticises the islands.
Instead; get busy. The infrastructure - water, broadband, transport - is poor. Jobs need creating and protecting. Land issues, that prevent people from staying or moving to the islands, need addressing and transparency.
AB *could* be a good MP; he has the energy for it, and is relatively independent from the family-based power structures that run the Comhairle, and therefore the islands. But he needs to focus more of his time and energy on the essential stuff.
Re - 6.30
He's had six or seven years to focus his undoubted energies.
It hasn't happened yet.
Instead, he had allowed himself to be continually distracted by side issues that divert him from the serious concerns that truly affect these islands.
In his craving for self-publicity and fondness for largely irrelevant causes, he reminds me not a little of the former Lib Dem MP for Monmouthshire - another intelligent man whose career was ruined by his talent for 'diversions'.
That outrage because the petition alluded to the Outer Hebrides not having running water?
Ummm...
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