War crimes, not festival acts, should be dominating the headlines
Predictably, Kneecap's performance enjoyed huge crowds with justifiable denunciation of the rabid right-wing Israeli government and Keir Starmer's continued immoral justification for his government's non-interventionist stance – apart, that is, from the maintenance of supplying arms to Netanyahu to enable the genocide of the Palestinian people.
READ MORE: Met police drop second terror charge against Kneecap
Daily reports of the IDF firing on desperate crowds trying to obtain food and water for themselves and their families are consistently ignored or obfuscated by the majority of the media and politicians in the UK. The systematic murder of civilians does not even warrant token coverage by the 'just and equitable' BBC as soldiers from the IDF use them for target practice.
It is accurate to state that Bob Vylan crossed the line of common decency in their rhetoric to the Glastonbury crowd but it is nonetheless frustrating to realise that this then becomes the story for television and newspapers, and not the acts of barbarity committed by the Netanyahu administration, a gang of heinous war criminals. There are governments in Europe that are prepared to make a righteous and humanitarian stance with regards the international crimes being carried out in Palestine. Spain and Ireland spring readily to mind.
READ MORE: Keir Starmer responds Bob Vylan's Glastonbury Festival chants
Would it be too much to ask that our own First Minister nail his colours to the mast by castigating the UK Government for its ongoing tangible support for the abhorrent Israeli government and the disproportionate overreaction of Starmer's government to the actions of the Palestine Action group and Kneecap? Scotland should be on the right side of history with compassion and humanitarianism at the fore.
And for those who believe young bands like Kneecap have an invidious political influence over their young (and not so young!) followers, please note that one of the headliners at Glastonbury, none other than Rod Stewart, was doing his best to sway his fans as well. The octogenarian, who plainly has a head emptier than the Albion Rovers trophy cabinet, seems to have channelled his inner John Lennon by entreating us all to 'give Farage a chance'. Really Rod, I don't want to talk about it.
Owen Kelly
Stirling
WAR and violence is the failure of leadership. The ultimate display of weakness and hypocrisy. Maybe the intellectually challenged occupant of Downing Street should read the above and inwardly digest it. That way, the rest of us might have a future.
Margaret Forbes
Blanefield
IT is difficult to suppress a very tiny smile when reading the story of convicted fraudster Thomas Robinson, also known as Tam O'Braan (was this alias not a wee hint?), who between 2014 and 2019 tricked high-end retailers and very well-known hotels into buying fake 'Scottish-grown' tea. He has just been jailed for three-and-a-half years. His 'Scottish' tea was in fact purchased from a wholesaler in Oxford and resold with an inflated price tag.
Apparently his scheme received support from the Scottish Government, and I seem to remember him appearing on at least one national TV news programme. Given his deception was to the value of more than £500,000 and ran for five years, a curious person might wonder why it has taken another five years to bring him to justice.
READ MORE: Fraudster jailed for 3 years over Scottish tea scam
Clearly he is a man of some considerable talent, however misguided, who one could imagine selling sand to Arabs and ice to Eskimos. Perhaps when he is released from prison he could find a senior position in the likes of Scottish Enterprise or in the public relations department of CalMac.
On the final day of the Scottish Parliament before its summer holiday break, legislation was passed to allow prisoners to be released having serving only 15% of their sentence. If this were to be applied to Mr O'Braan's 42-month sentence, he could be released some time in January 2026 – only six months from now. He would miss Christmas and New Year at home but I wonder if he would be eligible to stand in the May 2026 Scottish Parliament elections?
Brian Lawson
Paisley
THE description of a Hearts investor as a 'professional gambler, poker player and entrepreneur' in Saturday's edition neatly sums up the state of professional football in this country. Add in the 'apology' to Rangers fans from an erstwhile big wheel at Ibrox and it's plain that the game, once almost the sole preserve and passion of working people, has been infiltrated by money men operating near the edge of legality. Contempt for the rules has percolated down to player level, with blatant cheating now endemic and seemingly accepted as part of the game. Not the sport it used to be.
Jim Butchart
via email
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