Scotland Thread

[Flashermac]

I've yet to meet a Scot who was pro-independence.

 

Met a number of Englishmen who'd like to get rid of them though.

[SpiceMan]

I would be very sorry to see them go.

[The_Munchmaster]

_{Chewin' the fat - Gis a look at yer fanny}

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdAGgUNyvyw

[huumlaar]

A flake cone! Man I want one so bad now

[unit731]

Donald Mallard is from Scotland as is Illya Kuryakin.

[Flashermac]

UK-style immigrant blues, as American teacher fights deportation from rural Scotland

 

 

 

On a fishing boat off the coast of Massachusetts in the early 1960s an American boy first began to hear the call of a distant land echoing across an ocean and down through generations. David MacIsaac recalls fishing with his uncles and brothers, all lobstermen, and hearing stories of Scotland and the Hebrides, the land of his ancestors. “They would point in an east-north-east direction and say: ‘If you follow that direction in a straight line, you will reach Scotland’, and I knew in my heart that I would go there one day.â€

 

That day came 10 years ago when MacIsaac – now a teacher – at last visited Scotland and discovered on his travels that the country was crying out for teachers and headteachers in its rural communities. Within two years he had been given leave to come to Scotland to teach and is now the head and single teacher of Ae primary school, a 17-pupil facility just outside Dumfries, a post he has held for more than five years.

 

He felt he was fulfilling his destiny until one day last month when a letter from the Home Office arrived, informing him that he was no longer welcome in the land of his forefathers and that his application to remain in the UK indefinitely had been refused.

 

“It was as if time simply stopped when we got that letter,†said MacIsaac, as his wife Susan slipped her hand into his. “I left everything behind in America to come here and have done all that is required of me every step of the way to attain permanent residence status. When my first visa expired in 2009, I applied for a three-year skilled worker permit, and when that ran out last year I was advised by the Home Office to apply for leave to remain permanently.â€

 

The extraordinary case of MacIsaac has quickly become a Scottish cause celebre. Locally, he is held in high regard as an outstanding headteacher and there is dismay and deep resentment at the Home Office’s actions. A petition has been started, while the Dumfries and Galloway education authority and local politicians from all parties have asked the Home Office to think again.

 

Dumfries and Galloway councillor Andrew Wood is devastated at the prospect of the village losing him. “He is an outstanding teacher and leader and a real asset to this community. He has opened up our school to the community in so many ways. There is a petition under way and parents and children are devastated that he could be lost to us.â€

 

Russell Brown, the Labour MP for the area, has also contacted the Home Office. “We have a shortage of headteachers in local primary schools. It would be a real blow if David is prevented from continuing his job in Ae. We need the minister to use a bit of common sense.â€

 

When you read through Britain’s official thumbs-down to MacIsaac it doesn’t take long to realise that something has gone badly wrong in this case. The reasons given seem outlandish and the tone is callous, especially in respect of the status of his marriage to his wife of four years, Susan, a local artist, whom MacIsaac met in 2006. It seems he might have ticked a wrong box, though he heard nothing from the case worker assigned to his case in the 10 months it was in their possession.

 

All MacIsaac’s pupils and their parents attended the wedding, as well as teaching colleagues and friends who flew in from America. The Home Office was also made aware of the union. Now though, it believes it is a sham marriage, saying: “It is not accepted that the evidence you have provided is sufficient to confirm that there is a genuine and subsisting relationship between you and your sponsor [his spouse].â€

 

Sham marriage? Not long after the wedding took place, Susan’s elderly and infirm parents moved in with them and MacIsaac became their official carer. Last year his wife was diagnosed with cancer. A session of radiotherapy has just been completed and she will undergo surgery early next year. “He has been my rock,†she says, “and I simply don’t know how I would cope if he were to be deported.â€

 

The Home Office, though, is upbeat about the couple’s prospects should MacIsaac’s appeal against deportation fail, noting that: “English is the first language of both you and your partner; therefore language is not considered to be an insurmountable obstacle to your partner accompanying you to the United States.â€

 

MacIsaac’s many supporters say he is a poster boy for what the Home Office under the current coalition government seems to value in those it wants to remain in Britain. He is a highly qualified and gifted leader and has had paid work from the minute he stepped off the plane eight years ago. English is his first language and he is married to a UK national. And, in the dismal argot of the modern British bureaucrat, he has a transferable skill-set which has been put to good use in a rural community.

 

On his first visit to Scotland, MacIsaac travelled to the Hebrides and landed on the island of Eriskay to seek out his kinsmen. There he discovered that the MacIsaacs were among the thousands of islanders and highlanders to have been thrown off their land in the 1850s during the Highland Clearances and forced to sail to America. A century and a half later, according to his growing band of supporters, time is running out to prevent another gross injustice being visited on one of their descendants.

 

 

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/10/26/uk-style-immigrant-blues-as-american-teacher-fights-deportation-from-rural-scotland/

[The_Munchmaster]

I'm in Scotland at the moment and spent a couple of nights just outside Dumfries a couple of weeks ago but haven't heard anything about this case. Seems ridiculous though that a skilled person like this who pays his way could be deported when the UK is full of immigrants living off the welfare state.

[Flashermac]

Looney Planet says Scotland is third best country to visit

 

 

Scotland has been named one of the top countries in the world to visit in 2014 by travel guide Lonely Planet.

 

It was voted third best country to head to, behind Brazil which took the top spot and Antarctica which came second.

 

Lonely Planet said Scotland's "jam-packed schedule of world-class events" made it "the place to be" in 2014.

 

The Commonwealth Games take place in Glasgow next summer. The Ryder Cup will be held at Gleneagles and next year is also Scotland's Year of Homecoming.

 

The book also cited Highland Games and the Edinburgh festivals as events that will draw travellers to Scotland next year, and it said the country's cities were well worth a visit.

 

The guide described Edinburgh as "the most gothic city outside Transylvania" and encouraged travellers to "take the high road to Loch Lomond, Loch Ness and Cairngorms National Park and fall in love with the landscape that inspired poet Robert Burns".

 

Lonely Planet's Best in Travel 2014 contributor Tom Hall said: "Next year Scotland will be well-deservedly taking the spotlight on the world stage.

 

"The country's buzzing cities and stunning scenery have plenty to offer visitors, combined with an incredible calendar of events and Scotland looks set for a year-long celebration."

 

Mike Cantlay, chairman of VisitScotland, said: "It's clear that 2014 is Scotland's chance to shine on the world stage, and to have this commendation from Lonely Planet is a fantastic seal of approval.

 

"From the bells bringing in our year-long Homecoming celebrations on Hogmanay, to the biggest ever sporting events to take place in Scotland - the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games, and the Ryder Cup, this could be the greatest ever chance for our country to be seen as a globally recognised, must-visit destination for many years to come."

 

Lonely Planet said its Best in Travel annual is a collection of the world's hottest trends, destinations and experiences for the year ahead. It highlighted the top ten countries, cities and regions to visit in 2014.

 

Yorkshire came third in the list of top 10 world regions for 2014.

 

Alluding to the Olympics success of UK competitors from the English county, the guide said: "If the good people of Yorkshire were proud of their heritage before, the 2012 London Olympics only served to cement what they have always thought: that their county is better than - and really the best of - all the English counties."

 

The Lonely Planet guide went on: "In 2014, this welcoming region of rugged moorlands, heritage homes and cosy pubs will be able to hold its head even higher when the Tour de France begins its grand depart from Leeds."

 

The destinations featured in the book were selected because they meet certain criteria.

 

A Lonely Planet spokeswoman said: "It could be that there is something special going on that year, that there's been recent development and a lot of buzz about the place, or that we think it's up-and-coming and suggest travellers visit before the crowds do."

 

As host for the football World Cup, Brazil was the top country destination for 2014, with a visit to second placed Antarctica described as "a chance to take life on and follow in the path of other intrepid explorers". Next year marks the centenary of the start of Ernest Shackleton's infamous attempted Antarctic crossing.

 

The Sikkim area of India was chosen as the best region to go to, with Paris the top city in a list that also included Cape Town, Shanghai and Chicago, while the Greek Islands were seen as the best-value destination.

 

Best family travel spot was Denmark, while Cappadocia in Turkey with its "fairy chimney" landscape was the best honeymoon destination.

 

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk...otland-24712473

[JaiRai]

Scotland is the faggiest country in the history of human existence.

 

Just saying....

[Flashermac]

Security guard beat delegate to death at medical conference after she complained about how many times he'd checked her security pass

 

 

 

A security guard who beat a delegate at a health conference to death with a fire extinguisher has been jailed for a minimum of 20 years.

 

Clive Carter repeatedly smashed Khanokporn Satjawat over the head with the appliance in a rage after she complained about him repeatedly checking her security pass.

 

The pharmaceutical manager’s body was found on November 12 last year at an HIV medical conference in Glasgow’s Clyde Auditorium, part of the SECC complex.

 

Every bone on the left side of her face and neck was broken and her skull had been shattered into pieces.

 

Carter, a father of three, denied murder, claiming he had no memory of the incident and that he had a borderline personality disorder which meant he could not control his actions.

 

But a jury of eight men and seven women took just over three hours to find him guilty at the High Court in Glasgow yesterday after a trial.

 

Sentencing the killer to life imprisonment, with a minimum tariff of 20 years, judge Lord Matthews said: ‘Khanokporn Satjawat was a hard-working, well-educated and dedicated lady who came to this country to participate in a conference whose purpose was the alleviation of suffering and the saving of lives.

 

‘It is cruelly ironic that in the course of such an event that the life of that fragile lady should be taken in such a brutal fashion with an instrument whose primary purpose is also the saving of life and the hands of a man to whom she should have been able to look for assistance.’

 

Carter, 35, is said to have been obsessed with fire extinguishers and had an image of one on his computer. Only eight days before the murder he had terrified another young woman by knocking on her hotel room door with an extinguisher, claiming he had come to put out a fire.

 

The court heard he snapped after Miss Satjawat questioned him over repeatedly being asked to show her conference ID pass. He picked up a fire extinguisher, followed her into the ladies’ toilets and bludgeoned her to death.

 

The 6ft 5in security guard admitted killing the tiny Thai delegate, who weighed only six and a half stone, but claimed he had no memory of the incident.

 

 

He earlier told the trial the words ‘die, just die’ were in his head as he argued with Miss Satjawat. But after attacking her in the toilets, he went into the staff room and calmly ate the sandwiches he had for his lunch.

 

His victim’s body was discovered lying in a pool of blood by two French doctors who saw Carter leaving the ladies’ toilets holding the fire extinguisher.

 

However, he tried to cover up his brutal crime by washing blood off his weapon, hiding his blood-stained blazer and telling police he had seen a mystery Asian man carrying an extinguisher.

 

The jury heard the security guard had significant anger management issues and had been sent for counselling, but left after two sessions when he became enraged by the counsellor.

 

He has a hair-trigger temper with women and was verbally and physically abusive to his 33-year-old wife Paula, whom he attacked and throttled, the court heard.

 

His victim, Miss Satjawat, had planned to be in Glasgow for the HIV drug therapy conference over five days and was booked into the city’s Marriott Hotel. She had written on Facebook about how excited she was to visit Scotland, and her sister gave a statement on her family’s loss to the court.

 

Carter was found guilty of murder and breach of the peace, after terrifying another young woman on November 4 last year. Stephanie O’Brien, 24, from Cumbria, was staying with three friends at the Holiday Inn Express in Stockwell Street, Glasgow, where Carter also worked as a security guard.

 

He knocked on her door with a fire extinguisher, claiming there had been a report of a fire, but she managed to close and lock the door on him.

 

Lord Matthews told Carter: ‘You are plainly, on the evidence, a man who is disturbed. However, you are deeply disturbing, as the evidence in this trial has amply demonstrated, including the evidence as to the events at the Holiday Inn Express.

 

‘One is left to wonder what the outcome might have been had Stephanie O’Brien not had the presence of mind to extricate herself from the hotel room before the situation escalated.’

 

After the killer was led away to start his sentence, the judge told the jury: ‘Miss Satjawat was a completely innocent individual who came here to enjoy a conference and her body went back to her sister.’

 

Detective Superintendent John McDonald, of Police Scotland, said last night: ‘This was a particularly brutal and senseless attack which claimed the life of an innocent woman and caused fear and alarm to those attending the conference at the SECC last November.

 

‘We sincerely hope that this verdict will bring some comfort to the relatives of Miss Satjawat.’

 

http://www.dailymail...nce-jailed.html