Sovereign Shetland

[Spinner72]

Interesting article on SN tonight, Nobel Nominee for Sovereign Conference

 

Not just for the potential appearance of Dr Jim Garrow, but I am glad to note that Daniel Gear has (apparently) been appointed as spokesperson for the group.

 

Again, no personal ill intended towards Stuart Hill, but as pointed out in posts above and by the man himself, he will never shake the reputation he has earned in the past. I hope Stuart continues to provide his undoubted drive to the project, as with a capable young man like Daniel as the public face, receptions will undoubtably be more positive.

 

I will certainly be attending the conference.

[roadslave]

I think that there is 'something' in the argument that Mr Hill presents but there is one glaring problem which ultimately means that he is wasting his time.

 

That problem is: if Shetland cannot manage itself in its current guise, how on earth would we be able to manage the affairs of a small independent country?

 

There would simply be no one or one group capable enough to run an independent Shetland. The small number of people who would be equipped would never risk putting their reputations on the line or heads above the parapet - which is another reason in itself why you will never see any change in Shetland's overall situation.

[stuarthill]

The stats for the Sovereign Shetland website showed a high proportion coming from Shetlink, so I thought I’d come over and see what’s going on. I have to say I’m disappointed to find much of the old Captain Calamity stuff. How about playing the ball, not the man?

I’m delighted to say that a Shetlander, Daniel Gear, has now taken over from me as the ‘face’ of the Sovereign Nation of Shetland. More young Shetlanders are seeing past my media caricature and want to actually do something about the mess we’re in.

To deal with some of Ghostrider’s points: It is pointless looking back past 1468/69, because the Norwegians/Danes had acquired the territory by conquest – one of the legally recognised means for a territory to change hands. What is more interesting is that the pawning concerned only the king’s lands – about 3% of Shetland. That’s all king Christian could pawn – he couldn’t pawn something he didn’t own, so what James III actually got (and all the Crown has ever had) is 3% of Shetland, held in trust until the Danes came up with the money to redeem them. The remaining 97% was owned outright by other land-owners.

Those land-owners owned their land without superior, made their own laws and had an elected king. You could not have a clearer definition of sovereignty. That individual sovereignty has never been taken away and it would seem logical to me that those rights have been passed down to every single land-owner in Shetland today. That is one thing that makes Shetland so special and significant in political terms (and I don’t mean party politics). I'm no expert in any of this – all I do is ask questions, find out what I can and apply what logic I can. I end up with my-story, which is probably as valid as his-story.

I freely admit to making blunders – if you’re not making mistakes, you’re not trying. One thing I have never done is claim to speak for Shetland as a whole, or try to tell Shetlanders what to do – that's why I don't propose a particular outcome, because I don't know what the people of Shetland want. What I have done is try to unravel the deceptions of past governments and Crowns to show that they have no real basis for their authority here and challenge them to prove it if they think otherwise.

Would it not have been easy for the police to have me in court for no tax or MOT on the Land Rover, just the same as anyone else? Would it not have been easy for the VAT people to carry through their threat of court action after serving the court papers – just the same as with anyone else? Why did HMRC income tax department want nothing more to do with me? Why did the SIC planning department fail to demand that I remove the building on Forvik, as they would if anyone else had erected it on the mainland? These may all be ‘minor disobediences’ as Ghostrider puts it, but they would become a major inconvenience if a few others did the same. The question for the authorities is do they try and stamp it out, or will they run the risk of having to justify their authority in court. So far, they seem to be just ignoring me in the hope that I’ll go away.

I understand that it's difficult for anyone relying on the present system to follow such a lead, but it's the only thing that will have any real impact. If we want things to change, we have to assert our rights, not ask politely. Is it so difficult to ask for proof of an organisation's authority before paying the money it demands? That's all I've done. As far as I'm concerned, if they can't prove their authority, they're acting fraudulently in demanding money from me or anyone else.

Ghostrider asks why I don’t take these issues to court myself. It seems to me painfully obvious that I cannot take any matter to a court whose jurisdiction I do not recognise.

Ghostrider says this is a complex issue that deserves debate. Quite right, but where’s the debate? He asserts that I have presented solutions that I consider the only way – not so. I don’t know what the people of Shetland want. I only know they are not being offered a choice at the moment and my actions are designed to prove that a choice exists – nothing more. I don’t see it as my place to offer solutions. My only function (with the help of others) can be to hopefully provide a means to ask questions such as how do the various organisations derive their power in Shetland? When did Shetland become part of Scotland? These are basic questions to which we need answers and without which we are living in a fantasy world of someone else’s making.

The idea of standing as an MP or MSP is frankly risible. What chance does an individual with any integrity stand in such a corrupt system? It must be clear by now that the government is owned by the bankers. The national debt is owned by private banking corporations. They have the government in their grip, just the same as they have us all individually. Until we break that grip there is no hope. It’s not a matter of tinkering or ‘reform’ – the whole system is unsustainable and on the verge of collapse and I will do my bit to help it on its way. I’ve been quietly working away for the past year or so once I found out the enormity of the banks’ fraud. As a result, Natwest had to take me to the High Court in London to prevent me taking out a winding-up order on them. I lost that case, but learned a lot. Next in line are RBS and I have another ten cases in hand.

However, I believe you should not try to break anything if you are not prepared to put something in its place and that’s the reason for the conference. Once again, I have to stress this is not me telling anyone what to do. We’ve invited the best people we know of from throughout the world to help us decide how to set up the kind of society people really want, starting with a blank sheet. Nobel Peace Prize nominee Dr. Jim Garrow and others are coming at their own expense to be part of this. How do we put in place a structure for a new society that ensures fair democracy, fair money, fair law and does not allow power to be usurped by a select few?

The conference is structured so that each talk is followed by a group discussion session, out of which will come resolutions. Although we’ve had requests from outside, tickets are only available to Shetland residents, so the answers will be Shetland answers. The purpose of the conference is to set up a working document on which those who wish to do so can proceed to set up a new society. It is our earnest hope that the benefits of such a society will encourage others to join and that it will in time become the choice for the whole of Shetland.

The easy choice is to sit anonymous at your keyboard and pour scorn. If you really want to make a difference, put aside those three days, bring your ideas and make your contribution – you might even get the society you want.

This annoying old beggar intends to live to 117 and is not going away. Whether you continue to view him in that light or not is a matter of personal choice.

The conference programme continues to evolve as new speakers come forward. Advance donations of over £5,500 and speakers coming at their own expense from as far away as Canada have enabled us to eliminate the £30 cost of tickets, so the event is now free. Dates are 26th-28th August with free buffet on the evening of Wedneday 25th. Details at www.sovereignshetland.com

[EM]

^

I've not been particularly impressed by Mr Hill's wackier activities, but that is the best presentation I've seen from him so far.

[Guest Anonymous]

total admiration for any voice against this system as it stands , go for it soveriegn shetland

[paulb]

lets have some facts and figures. its very good to say it would be a utopia being free from the south but were is the cash going to come from. just looking at the sic something like 80% of there funding comes from south. the nhs someone said it costs 2000 a person per year. then theres the pension and benifits. if we were out side the eu then would our products not face import duties.

 

then we have northlink who pays for that. it maybe nice to think that we would be free from the bossy southerners but if we end up with more taxs and a lot worse living conditions. once done there would be no going back.

[Malachy]

Paulb, Stuart is assuming that Shetland would gain control of income from the oil industry. Without that money the sums won't add up. There's plenty to argue about here, but it makes it more interesting if folk pay attention to each other.

[Guest Anonymous]

might be a good chance for a new broom to sweep clean, reduce malingerers and horse out a lot of dead wood, but my personal views will upset the majority, best joost say nawtheen

[Malachy]

my personal views will upset the majority, best joost say nawtheen

 

Posts: 658

[Fifi]

my personal views will upset the majority, best joost say nawtheen

 

Posts: 658

Nice one, Malachy.

[Muppet]

Stuart is assuming that Shetland would gain control of income from the oil industry. Without that money the sums won't add up.

 

That's one mighty assumption! Alex Salmond was once quoted as saying we could have our independance but we wouldn't get the oil. I don't see the British Government handing it over too readily either.

 

The sums don't add up with or without the oil. Stuart claims that Shetland pays out £200 million in taxes and only gets £100 million back. That's just pure nonsense. If he gets simple facts like that so far wrong, then how on earth can he expect any credibility for anything he says?

[Malachy]

Stuart is assuming that Shetland would gain control of income from the oil industry. Without that money the sums won't add up.

 

That's one mighty assumption! Alex Salmond was once quoted as saying we could have our independance but we wouldn't get the oil. I don't see the British Government handing it over too readily either.

 

The sums don't add up with or without the oil. Stuart claims that Shetland pays out £200 million in taxes and only gets £100 million back. That's just pure nonsense. If he gets simple facts like that so far wrong, then how on earth can he expect any credibility for anything he says?

 

Oh, I'm not saying his assumption is correct, just that paulb was asking a question that Stuart had already given an answer for.

[Gorgonzola Butt-cheese]

I applied online today to attend the conference, does anybody know when you find out if you have tickets or not?

[Guest Anonymous]

my personal views will upset the majority, best joost say nawtheen

 

Posts: 658

Nice one, Malachy.

 

havin a go at me means absolutely nothing , having the whip hand must be great egotistical boost for folks like you

[beachcaster]

^ In all fairness, you walked straight into that one fleabee.

 

 

Now for my tupence's worth,

 

The sooner this lot of meetings are over, and have been proved to been an overwhelming failure, the better.

 

They won't change a single thing, mostly because the old "face" is seen as a laughing stock in Shetland (and further afield) and will never be taken seriously. Even without his involvement, it will be an impossible task.

 

This is never going to change anything, especially something like independance, which could never work in the first place. The UK will never give up control of Shetland while there is oil on the go, and who would want to be parts of an independant Shetland with no oil revenues?