I have toyed with the idea of simply wrapping up this blog given the huge amount of other actvities (and blogs on different topics) I've been involved in recently. This is a particularly convincing argument given the existence of intelligent commentaries such as those on scottishfutures.net But as the issue of a referendum has appeared on the horizon again it might be that we'll find ourselves using this blog as a campaigning venue. In the meantime though, I bid a temporary adieu but invite you to visit the sites of the Scottish independence convention and scottish futures. Links to be found on the side bars.

Apologies to those crazy folk that read this blog, for the long absence of updates and I appreciate the kind messages I've received. A combination of circumstances involving illness, working abroad and other issues all helped to clog up the system.

At the moment I'm dealing with a number of work related deadlines and issues, but will be keeping an eye on developments such as the Scottish Independence Convention's launch of their petition for an independence referendum. The show kicks off on Thursday the 24th at the Scottish parliament, but culminates in a shindig in Glasgow's Oran Mor on the 27th. Put it in your diaries now and head over to the Convention's website to book your tickets.

Best wishes for 2008!

School holidays here in Ireland and we're taking the opportunity to head to Scotland via Norn Iron. A blanket ban on computers and the internet imposed by a rigorous family policing unit however will mean delayed postings of reflections and comments until return. In the meantime, I'm afraid you'll just have to savour the delights of the mainstream media or the thundering outrage of fellow bloggers!

Enjoy.

Behind the scenes I'm tidying up this site and so for the time being comments and user accounts have been switched off. Sorry about this. It is not to stymie debate and discussion but just to avoid heavy trashing of the server by spambots and other undesirable security nasties. Once that aspect is tidy, then some new discussion features will be enabled and we'll open up to the 'voice of the people!'

In the meantime, if you wish to get in touch with me - as some have indicated in various comments posted to the site - then please email me as: iainmacl "at" smallnation.org

As reported in the press this weekend, a move described by those of only limited imagination as 'audacious', Alex Salmond has raised the question of Scotland being granted observer status at the forthcoming UN negotiations on Nuclear non-proliferation. Indeed, from the international perspective, the question that is most likely to be asked is why only 'observer' status? How long is the Scottish population going to wait before it reclaims full sovereignty and takes up 'member' status of the UN?

Perhaps the pending economic situation might hasten moves in that direction, as is hoped by the SNP in response to the budget 'settlement' for Scotland, announced the other week, but that is a risky road to take.

It continues to be amusing however to see just how the Labour party has completely transformed itself into Tories and more evidence in this weekend's papers with David Cairns (Governor General) describing the SNP as the "loony left", attempts to bring in immigration quotas and out-Powell the tories, their reaction to the abolition of council house sales, etc.

Time to stop laughing though, and prepare to roll up the sleeves and rejoin the rest of the world. It's a much brighter place once you crawl out of the shadow of that crumbling self-deluded Empire.

Link to interview in Holyrood Magazine.

Listening, paraphrasing, synthesising, sharing and reformulating ideas - all are at the heart of a decent, constructive conversation and that supposedly taking place on Scotland's constitutional future should be no exception. Whilst the website is up and running and comments are being added daily, there is a danger that that is all it will be. The usual mixture of sensible and rabid remarks, serial postings from deranged bloggers (ahem), etc, is inevitable, but surely fails spectacularly to move things forward in any substantive manner.

Pat Kane has passed on information (first mentioned on Newsnight) about the proposed (since they still need to raise the Canadian$2 million) CanadaJam event. There's also been a fair bit of chat online about youScotland and its participation lacuna, if not demise.

Coincidentally, however, James Fishkin has posted an article on openDemocracy extolling the virtues of deliberative polling as being an ideal way of exploring major constitutional issues and raising the standards of public debate. A current example of such, being "Tomorrow's Europe" (which finished today!).

So, now perhaps is the time to examine some of these initiatives in more depth and see to what extent they can be feasibly adapted to suit the Scottish situation. From an organisational perspective, not necessarily a trivial task, but from an intellectual and democratic standpoint we need to move forward and blogs are only one tiny aspect of what needs to be done.

Still in recovery following last week's surreal Labour conference where the complete eradication of all that party once stood for was completed and it took on the mantle of British-populism and all its trappings of right wing soundbites, corporate smooching and Brit-nationalistic drivel (you know the kind of thing: only the British would remain calm in a terrorist outrage, our people remain steadfast, etc...a bizzare self-conceit shared with the Americans, I suppose).

Many have commented on the blue backdrop, the Thatcher inheritance, the appeal to Tory voters, the number of times "British" and "I" was used in the droning speech. Private Eye this week (for all its faults) has neatly dissected much of what was going on in the background in terms of corporate stands and sponsorship and it makes for a very disturbing picture around contracts, PFI and even foreign policy influence, of what would be called 'corruption' in other countries - but that's libellous in GB's GB of course, hence the quotes.

But the concept of obtaining and retaining power as being the single purpose of contemporary political parties seems to be well described in Peter Oborne's new book "The Triumph of the Political Class" judging by some of the reviews/summaries, though I havent quite stooped to buying it. Nonetheless, the identification of the rot setting in when politics itself becomes a career option and personal goal (the Alexandars?) can only ultimately lead to the debasement of democracy.

As a long time advocate of greater democratic participation, you would think I'd be, for example, cheering on GB's announcement of spending money establishing 'citizen's juries' on key topics and hosting 'deliberative events', but sadly it looks all too clear (as reported in today's Observer) that these initiatives are completely run by PR companies and will be used to steer and control public opinion rather than to engage with it. Indeed, the organisations and individuals responsible for managing the initiative are completely at variance with the fundamental principles of deliberative democracy and it looks like this is going to be the next set of words and phrases which become debased and stripped of meaning in the new-Labour cultural hegemony. Ironically, the more they use the word 'democracy' the more meaningless it becomes and the more dis-empowered the citizenry.

All of which surely must lead to the conclusion that for the sake of the future of democracy, Scotland has to urgently progress its decoupling from the UK. A re-exploration of the fundamental principles of citizenship, participation and the broader social contract can no longer be separated from the constitutional question and is urgently needed lest the world continue to boil away in a haze of greenhouse inaction and vacuous corporate spin. Let's all make our own barefoot, silent march down the streets of our towns and cities and leave this madness behind, as we get on with doing what needs to be done.

Links:

Why Democracy?
The Observer
Review of "The Triumph of the Political Class"
Iain Macwhirter's comments on Labour conference
The sham of Brown's citizen's juries

BBC News

Cash for access to First Minister?!! The expose of political corruption at the heart of the new Scottish government that appears in today's Scotland on Sunday is spectacularly wide of the mark. Frustrated by 64% approval ratings, imaginative approaches to policy and an increasing national self-confidence it's time for the arch-unionists at the North Briton to pull out all the stops.

The story, when you read the headline (which they don't necessarily expect you to do - sensational headlines after all are designed as 'memes' to be implanted in as many brains as possible without any detailed rational discussion), is that the SNP is charging fees for private companies to set up stands and their party conference. Pardon? Why is that news? Well, apparently they don't like the fact that a company which does so might be able to 'bump into' government ministers, perhaps even have a chat with them. Something they wouldn't be able to do otherwise. After all, the government never meets with business leaders at special events, nor chats with the public at engagements, or joins debates in the media or has consultations, or have constituency offices, nor blogs on their 'national conversation' website which has free access to postings, nor..... you get the point!

This little story is of course, a joke. All parties have corporate stands at their conference, but what the unionists can't stand is that companies are now taking the SNP sufficiently seriously that they'd be prepared to spend thousands of pounds to be in the fringes of their conference. Fine if they stick to Labour, Tories and LibDems (if they can fit in the phonebox) - but to sup with the devil..tsk, tsk.

As for corruption and access to politicians...well there is a point in general, that if political parties were financially supported by the state then there would be no need to raise cash to fight elections and indeed there could be a more equal level of campaigning. For decades the SNP has had to rely totally on the energy of its passionately committed members to raise the call for independence, rather than donations from business, trades unions and, those keen on a knighthood or peerage. Not that we should be encouraging them to be like any other party and use this as an excuse of sorts, but rather that we recognise that they need to raise funds and charging for corporate presence, tickets for dinners, etc, can sound distasteful, but until state-funding of parties is accepted in this country, there is little option. As for whether this leads necessarily to corruption, I doubt it. It's a shared conceit of the companies trying 'to be seen' and the party appartchiks saying 'thanks for the money, now run along'.

The key issue is whether party conferences that become slick corporate events rather than an opportunity for serious political debate and the sharing of ideas serve ultimately to alienate the public and activists. There is much to be said for this point and it is perhaps part of the general political disaffection and malaise that characterises much of contemporary western politics. Politics should be about sharing responsibility for the future and not about careers, elections and polls. How we get to this richer, deeper level of a participatory democracy is a key question. A symbolic start could be for the party to have a more public linkage to the communities and people for whom each day is a challenge. The SNP does have a tradition of national conventions to debate issues and holding these away from fancy hotels and tourist venues. Perhaps a renewal of this aspect, through the National Conversation and other similar initiatives is what is called for. Ironically, after slagging of the preposterous impracticalities of Ackerman and Fishkin's 'Deliberation Day' earlier this year, the principle, at any rate, seems more and more attractive as time goes on. Then again perhaps I've just been infected with one of those stray memes and time will tell if its contagious or not.

Thanks to those avid readers/subscribers who have asked me about the gaps in posting. Nothing suspicious and I will keep smallnation current and up to date, but there are these really annoying things called family holidays that limit my access to the web during times in July or August. Promise to try and ignore them for at least the next few months and rededicate myself to the cause. I'll also resist the other media requests for contributions, well for as long as my ego can withstand the pressure!

Posting soon with all the latest on small nations and their struggles....at least a promise to have a weekly update is something I'll give!

best wishes and thanks for the mails, all welcome and its great to know someone reads this!!