Things Worth Watching: Power of Decision (1958)

Maybe I'll make a sort of series out of this - I don't know we'll wait and see. But if I do this will be a series of documentaries and/or other interesting things that I find on the internet that are worth watching.

Power of Decision, is a little known documentary from the late-50s about a nuclear attack on 'The West' from who is referred to in this 55 minute film as either 'The Aggressor' or simply as 'Him,' probably referring to Khrushchev, the leader of the USSR at the time. It is obvious that the intended enemy is the Russians but little reference is made to this throughout the documentary apart from the maps which are used throughout.

The film revolves around the Operation Control Room, Nebraska, US. 100 feet below ground and surrounded by thick walls of concrete, it can withstand a nuclear attack and the radioactive fallout from any Communist attack. Operation Control Room's most important mission throughout is to prevent war by whatever means possible.

As is shown throughout, their theory behind this is to constantly monitor the airspace of the United States and the world around them by having an advanced network of bases throughout allied territory - stretching from Alaska to Europe and the Far East. With 'almost immediate' contact between the bases and the all important, 'Red Phone,' which is often referred to as, 'a conference call,' the Operation Control Room can do all in its power to stop war happening, 'no matter how big or small.'

During the documentary, and I'd suggest this is hardly a spoiler, there are unauthorized crafts in the air - suspected to be an aggressor, aka, those crafty Russians. This causes the immediate launch of a full scale defense mission whereby the biblically sized B planes - namely the B-52 being the most famous alongside B-47s and B-58s - are sent out on pedantically planned missions to attack key targets in enemy territory.

As the saga carries on it appears this is a legitimate attack and all hell breaks loose. The difference between this and a Holywood style nuclear apocalypse film however is that there is very little action throughout - basically this is a bunch of men talking, mostly saying how many people have died, how many planes blew up or how many enemy/ally bases have been destroyed - spoiler alert...the death toll in this film is in excess of 60 million.

The realistic nature of this observational piece creates a gripping nature that can only be put across in the apocalyptic, docudrama style. It reminds me very much of Peter Watkins', The War Game (1965), another docudrama masterpiece on a potential Russian attack - this time on the United Kingdom.

The twist in Power of Decision is that it was not intended for entertainment purposes. In fact this is actually a declassified US Government film that was intended to train members of the United States Air Force, whom it was also produced by. Therefore this is an educational piece but with a certain 'entertainment' value to it - I suppose I'd use the term far looser had I actually been living in 1958 when this was a situation that really could happen at any point.

If you are interested in the Cold War, East vs. West politics, apocalyptic films, nuclear war or just enjoy watching important men talking about people dying at their will, then this is something you need to watch. If you aren't familiar with older style documentaries then please excuse the less than desirable production quality that you may be used to - in my opinion it just adds to the strange vibe that it gives off.

Meta-note: I will be writing and RT'ing the last two articles again at a more reasonable hour when I have the mental capability to correct my errors - so if you keep seeing this pop up on Twitter then do accept my apologies. If you somehow got here not through Twitter however then gis' a follow @TheUlsterScot, if you enjoy watching someone lose their patience with everyone then you'll enjoy my tweets - I regard it my civil duty.

Good Night.

Seriously, how desperately sad is this tornado business?

For the sake of a better phrase I'm a big big fan of tornados. They're one of the most powerful and amazing features of mother nature. The force that these things carry is to be admired...but also feared. The picture above speaks the story in itself - this was once, I'd automatically assume, a thriving community in Oklahoma City. In a matter of moments, a two mile wide tornado, with winds in excess of 200 mph, had flattened it.

There have been many deaths - including children. While I admire these great feats of weather I can't help but feel sadness when I look at a photograph just like this. When you see an entire community just...gone. Schools, business and homes have been obliterated. Entire lives torn apart or even lost.

One thing we must admire is that great American spirit to carry on with life. We know that Oklahoma, especially the worst affected areas, will rebuild and continue on as normal within a couple of years despite the en masse destruction. I can only hope that this will be the case, anyway.

Never, ever, ever underestimate the power that mother nature can unleash on us mortals. We are at the hands of her wrath and she will punish indiscriminately and with little warning. This is why we should be thankful for the scores of good people who are out chasing these tornadoes, and putting their own lives on the line while doing it, to find out the truth behind them and how people can be alerted...ASAP.

The thoughts of this lucky UK resident, who thinks a gale force wind is serious, go out to those hurt by this crisis and my hopes go out to the communities there to maintain heart and hope through these troublesome times.

Mad Vlad sends Rangers fans: MAD

OK so there's going to be a perpetual shit storm caused by Hearts not being sent packing to the SFL after Ukio Bankas were made insolvent in Lithuania. I'm going to put my foot down here at this point and make it clear I fully support the motion that Hearts should be told where to go - they're near the bottom of the slippery slope and I think, much like The Rangers, Division Three would help them to rebuild from the bottom up.

However we have to remember that the current situation is not the exact same as Oldco Rangers. Oldco were quite clearly done. Winding up orders, a huge tax bill and let's not forget the illegal payment of players. There was no denying that Oldco were done for. Hearts aren't there quite yet but the sensationalist stories from The Rangers press won't stop that being the case, of course.

The Rangers fans should stop this victim card playing that they accuse the rest of Scottish football uses. We're in for big changes and some big names to drop out of the top level Scottish football scene. I welcome this news that football business should not overrule football itself. High time that ALL clubs in Scottish football (including The Rangers, Celtic & Hearts) were fully investigated and told were they stand - that way we can all see where we go from here and what the future of Scottish football really is.

At the moment it's all very up in the air and I'm still wondering whether or not Hearts will survive silly season. Time will tell - and it's going to be very silly.

Why are we still listening to homophobes?

Seriously, why?

The proposals to legislate same-sex marriage is possibly the stupidest debate we've had in this country for a long time. I'm usually open to debate from all sides of opposition to my opinions but there is having an opinion and listening to those who stand against those opinions but when we look at same-sex marriage - what is the argument against it?

I'm being serious. I'm yet to hear one legitimate argument against it. There have been the arguments - mainly from the religious community, especially the Christian Right and Islamists. Much fearmonging has been done amongst these communities as they see their power over the laws of this land slowly slip further and further away.

Arguments I have heard include;

Churches shouldn't be forced to marry gay couples. You're correct that they shouldn't - the state should play no role in forcing a religion to do anything unless to cause physical harm. This bill will not force the Church of England, the Church of Wales or ANY religion to marry anyone. Just like traditional marriage isn't forced upon any church nor shall same-sex marriage.

Marriage is between a man and a woman. No it isn't. Marriage is whatever you think it should be. Just because you believe that marriage is between a man and a woman doesn't mean that everyone else agrees that marriage is just between a man and a woman. Marriage is something that comes from an indefinite amount of love between two people. PEOPLE.

What about the rights of those who disagree. Once again, just because you disagree doesn't mean the rest of the country does. It's the duty of the state to respect the rights of all people to marry and it is not the right of anyone to not be offended by their own bigoted opinions.

They already have civil partnerships, why do they need marriage now? This is the stupidest of the lot. Freedom is not a compromise but an ends product. Imagine that a black couple desire to get married but can only get a civil partnership because of their skin colour. Should they be allowed to marry? Surely not considering they are allowed civil partnerships. See what I'm getting at?

It is the duty of the state to respect those of all sexual orientations who are so much in love that they wish to get married. The laws of this land and the duties of the state shall not be dictated by religious communities anymore - we are building a new and secular social society that shall base itself on the morals of man and not the morals of a, so called, god.

Can we all stop calling UKIP, "Libertarian"

Because they're not.

I won't deny there are many members of UKIP who would consider themselves libertarian (regardless of whether they actually are a libertarian or not is another matter) and consider UKIP to stand side by side with their libertarian views. Regardless of whether you are a social libertarian, fiscal libertarian or a pure anarchist like libertarian - you are not a member of a libertarian party if you are a member of UKIP.

When I ask a libertarian why they consider themselves one they would usually run off the usual points; less government intervention in private life, less taxes, anti-intervention, less welfare state etc. etc. Many of these points I'd agree with - especially in regard to the social libertarian aspects of life whereby the government feels the need to get involved in ones life from cradle to the grave.

However UKIP as a political party are not these things. This is a political party who now provide a ground for anti-equal marriage Tories and 'ban the burkah' types who get great support from the UKIP hierarchy. This, in itself, is not libertarianism but populism. Standing against same sex marriage is anti-libertarian. Banning the burkah is anti-libertarian. UKIP's immigration policy is anti-libertarian.

UKIP are not even classic liberals like American Libertarianism is styled nowadays - like the Ron Paul politics of social liberalism and fiscal conservatism; UKIP are not social liberals.

UKIP had the potential to become a socially libertarian voice in UK politics as a real alternative against LibLabCon and to break away from their one trick pony status of being anti-EU. With lots and lots of young people who were interested in their politics they could have, and should have, looked to the brighter future and allowed these grassroots supporters/members to mold a manifesto for young, socially liberal and anti-government types.

Instead UKIP has become a base for the Thatcherites and disgruntled Tories who are calling for the banning of certain religious clothing, the abolition of the marriage equality bills and in general scaring away young social libertarians/liberals - the people I firmly believe are the future of this nation's political sphere.

If UKIP keeps up this 'Alternative Tories' rhetoric then we can wave them farewell and good night as any legitimate force in British politics. Old Conservative Party social policy is a thing of the past and shall remain that way no matter how much the UKIP elders desire it to return to how it used to be. Reactionary politics will not work in the UK and the youth of today do not want it - they will NOT vote UKIP if they continue down this horrid path.

Basically Farage is faced with two choices; He continues down said path and creates a Thatcherite party for social conservatives who will all die off within 20 years...or he brushes off these age old policies and looks to the future. He also has the choice to stand against the neoliberal politics he supposedly stands against.

It's your call, Farage. Until you decide that you aren't going to stand for dinosaur politics your party won't be getting my vote and the vote of many other libertarians around the UK - no matter how anti-EU your party remains.

All this Eurovision rubbish has me frustrated

In light of the absolute crap that we are presented year after year in the Eurovision 'Song' Contest, I have continued my boycott against this rubbish ever since Sir Terry Wogan, Lord of the Radiowaves, decided to call it a day on the campest contest in the world.

It is worth remembering that there has been some absolute greats from this competition. So I present to you the three times champion, charming, good looking and quite frankly wonderful, Johnny Logan, with his 1987 winning song for Ireland, Hold Me Now, the undisputed greatest ballad of all time...ever.

Enjoy.

The end of an era

It really is the end of an era today. Look at that photo above and you'll notice that the only one still playing an active role at Manchester United is Ryan Giggs. This is a host of legends in the game and this season see's Becks, Paul Scholes and Sir Alex himself flutter away from the professional game.

These are players I grew up with in my mindset as a young football fan and as my interest in the English game falls away so do the players who I considered heros. 

On the lighter side of things at least Ryan Giggs will never retire.