FREEDOM!!!! [2]

If I were Scottish, the recession would be a major reason swaying me in favor of independence.  The Conservative government's austerity measures were poorly-conceived in the first place and haven't worked.  I'd be pretty upset continuing to be stuck with neo-Thatcherites during an economic crisis, especially if I lived in a centre-left leaning country.

Thats my hope Eldo.

but the Thatcher years were a boom time.

I assume thats sarcasm coming from a northern lass  

who me? sarcastic?

Got to love you Fjordians- I had no idea you were bringers of 'things'!  

'Archaeologists say they have confirmed the location of a meeting place of a medieval Norse parliament.
Called a "thing", evidence of the mound was uncovered during excavations of Dingwall's Cromartie Memorial car park.
When it was constructed in the 11th Century, the thing would have been on a man-made islet in the estuary of the Peffery.
Archaeologists and historians believe it was built on the instructions of Thorfinn the Mighty.
The powerful Viking earl, who died in 1065, is thought to have laid the foundations of what would later become the royal burgh of Dingwall in Ross-shire.
Experts suggest a road, ditch and an aqueduct, known as the Water of Dyke, that drew water from hillside springs were also constructed when Thorfinn was in control of Ross-shire and large parts of the north of Scotland.
Thorfinn's rise to power was aid by his victory in a battle at Torfnes on the south side of the Cromarty Firth.
At the height of his power he was lord of Caithness, Shetland and Orkney.'- BBC

Bit of a row brewed up btween Salmond and China on one hand and the Westminister governemtn on th eother-

'First Minister Alex Salmond has accused the Home Office of "sabotage" after visas were denied for two Chinese teachers returning to work in Scotland through a partnership programme.
The teaching programme is run by the Confucius Institute, backed by Strathclyde University and the Scottish government.
It involves teachers from China offering Scottish pupils the chance to acquire skills in Mandarin and Chinese culture.
Five teachers from Tian Jin municipality were due to return to Scotland for a second year, but two of them have been told their visas will not be renewed.
Mr Salmond has written to UK Home Secretary Theresa May voicing his shock and dismay and warned that the episode risks damaging Scotland's relationship with China.
he first minister said: "It is an absolutely extraordinary situation you couldn't make it up. It is deeply offensive to the Chinese and it is a decision that needs to be reversed as soon as possible.
"This amounts to sabotage of a programme that everyone thinks absolutely fantastic and doing great work in Scotland.
"The importance of this is quite fundamental. Our argument is to have a successful economic relationship with China you must have it underpinned by a successful cultural relationship, that is the view of the Chinese, that is the view of the Scottish government.
"If you undermine one you undermine the other."
A Home Office spokeswoman said: "We have received the letter from the Scottish government and we have been in contact with them over these cases.
"We are taking this matter seriously and will be looking into the decisions."- BBC

This seems to me to be one of three things-
1. a deliberate attempt to embarrass Salmond, the timing is suspicious as he is in China on a an official visit. (But this is also risk as Westminister also has an eye on Chinese wealth and this is just the sort of thing that offends them)

2- a result of the difference in the Westminister right wing approach to foreign workers and Scotlands pro-immigration stance.

3- incompetence, and they were ignorant of the cultural exchange program these teachers were a part of.

Pettytyrant101 wrote:

This seems to me to be one of three things-
1. a deliberate attempt to embarrass Salmond, the timing is suspicious as he is in China on a an official visit. (But this is also risk as Westminister also has an eye on Chinese wealth and this is just the sort of thing that offends them)

2- a result of the difference in the Westminister right wing approach to foreign workers and Scotlands pro-immigration stance.

3- incompetence, and they were ignorant of the cultural exchange program these teachers were a part of.

Maybe it's two, or even three, of three things?

Possibly, not convinced Westminister calibre politicians right now are capable of doing more than one thing at a time.

Its Raisin Weekend at St Andrews University (founded in 1410), its a 19th Century tradition that these days largely involves a massive pub crawl topped off with a foam fight-

The aftermath of this years-

so buisness as usual then.

 (Although not sure if that person is alive or dead. But then they are a student and thats always tricky to tell. Also curious to know if they had a foam fight in the 1800's too)

I hesitate to think what they used in the 19th century.  it was probably Haggis entrails.

Nah St Andrews is too posh- thats where they educate the Royals. Pheasant entrails maybe.

A slightly complex situation this, but if you like your politics its full of political potential.

BAE, who carry out the government contracts for building warships, and who own the UK's three shipbuilding yards- two in Glasgow one in Portsmouth, have announced they are sacking 1000 workers, and rumours are flying that one of the three shipyards is to close.

Until Thursday we wont find out which yard may close, or which will lose the 1000 workers.

To add further confusion the government is about to award BAE the contracts for a fleet of new frigates, and whichever yard gets that work will be safe.

This is where it gets interesting.

If BAE close down one of the Scottish yards before the referendum, its gold for Salmond.

If BAE award the contract to a Scottish yard and close Portsmouth they will feel they are the victims of politics, and the only reason Scotland got the contract was to avoid a political problem in the referendum.

To make matters more complex, if they award the contracts to the Scottish yards and Portsmouth closes then if Scotland votes yes in the referendum the RUK will have no ship building facilities left.

And as if that wasn't enough to further layer things the Royal Navy only ever awards contracts for their ships to be built in their home country, currently the UK.

So what happens if they award the contract to a Scottish yard, and then Scotland votes for independence?

Well the Scottish Labour party are proposing that if they award it to a Scottish yard it include a clause, that if Scotland votes yes, the jobs and the contract are pulled.

Thats a hell of a risky policy to sell, as it sounds hell of a close to blackmail.

This will be an intriguing one to watch develop and how it plays into the referendum issue.

Wow, I can't imagine the UK will risk losing all shipyards. I'm sure they've got BAE by the short hairs, so won't risk losing Portsmouth.

Yeah, it seems like a no-brainer to keep Portsmouth, even if you risk pissing off people in Scotland.

'BAE Systems is to cut 1,775 jobs at its yards in Scotland and England and end shipbuilding altogether at Portsmouth.
The firm said 940 staff posts and 170 agency workers will go at the Portsmouth site, which will retain repairs and maintenance work.
Some 835 jobs will be lost at yards in Govan and Scotstoun, on the River Clyde in Glasgow, and Rosyth in Fife and at the firm's Filton office, near Bristol.
They were told by management there would be about 800 jobs lost in Scotland but no breakdown was given.

Workers who left the yards said they were worried and disappointed, but that the announcement was not unexpected.
Alex Taylor, 63, a plater at Govan, said: "We've known for a while that the workload isn't there to carry the amount of people that we had building the carriers, but hopefully voluntary redundancies will take up the slack."
He added that those affected by the job cuts at Portsmouth were "working class guys the same as ourselves, they're just shipbuilders.
"We're obviously relieved that things are looking better for the Clyde, but that doesn't mean to say that we've not got feelings for our comrades in Portsmouth."'- BBC

I am amazed. If Scotland votes Yes now RUK will have no facilities for building its own ships.
Is this a political calculation to not gift Salmond anything? Banking on a no vote? If so thats a harsh price for the Portsmouth workers to pay.

(The BBC's political correspondent was told by someone in senior office (code for the cabinet) that the government was "acutely conscious of the politics of the Clyde" and did not want to give Alex Salmond a gift a little less than a year ahead of the independence referendum.')

Huh. That seems like a really risky gamble if that's the thought process they had.

Also, is RUK short of "rest of UK" or something else?

Yeah RUK is apparently what the remainder of the UK is called if we go independent. And it does just stand for rest of the UK.

And so it begins. This could get messy and unpleasant.

'Some political figures in England have claimed the BAE job losses have been politically weighted to favour Scotland ahead of the independence referendum.
Conservative MP Caroline Dineage said she believed English jobs were being sacrificed for Scottish ones.
Ms Dineage, the Conservative member for Gosport, told the BBC's World at One programme that BAE job losses in Portsmouth were "devastating news for families across the region".
Asked whether she thought English jobs were being sacrificed for Scottish ones, she replied: "Yes, definitely."
Gerald Vernon-Jackson, leader of Portsmouth City Council, also drew parallels between the BAE announcement and the independence referendum.
"The remaining yards with the capability to build advanced warships are in Scotland, and the referendum on Scottish independence is less than one year away," he said.
"Ministers have put the defence of the UK and the future of the Navy at real risk."
Portsmouth Conservative Councillor Alistair Thompson said: "Many of those who I represent as a councillor are hugely concerned that this decision has been taken for political reasons because of the referendum in Scotland next year." - BBC

And whilst this is all going on their is still no answer to what happens if Scotland votes yes.
Will the government pull the contracts and try to reopen Portsmouth at great expense (certainly more expense than if it had never shut).
How would that seem as a first act between our countries as independent countries?
And saying vote no or we will put all your shipyard workers on the dole is not exactly a subtle way to go about getting votes, and is more likely to make people angry.

Plans to build new Royal Navy vessels in Glasgow could be endangered by a Yes vote in the independence referendum, the Scottish Secretary has said.

"In the unlikely event of Scotland removing herself from the UK then the rest of the UK would let future contracts on the same basis as ones that we are discussing today, that is to yards within their country.
"If Scotland is no longer part of that country then yes, it's difficult to see how the work would go to Scotland."

Asked if independence could result in naval contracts being clawed back, Ms Sturgeon (SNP Deputy First Minister) said: "That's a preposterous suggestion - the idea that people in Scotland should be somehow punished for voting 'Yes'.
I would hope that all serious politicians would distance themselves from that kind of suggestion.
The Clyde is and will remain the best place to build these Type 26 frigates. The fact of the matter is, an independent Scotland would want some of these Type 26 frigates. We would want to see sensible joint procurement."

A very Glasgow sort of story-

This is the statue in Glasgow of Welington as it has traditionally looked -



Glasgow City Council however has plans.

'..to raise the plinth as part of a £65,000 project to refurbish the Duke of Wellington monument.  The council states: "For more than 30 years the Wellington monument has been defaced by traffic cones which regularly appear of the head of the horse or rider (and sometimes both) after the revelries of the weekend.
This depressing image of Glasgow has sadly featured in posters and postcards depicting the city. Putting cones on the Duke of Wellington statue may seem harmless but it is an act of vandalism and a fall from the statue could be very harmful.

An online petition called "Save Wellington's Cone", has gathered thousands of signatories in just a few hours, and a Facebook campaign which has planned a rally in support of the cone.
The petition stated: "The cone on Wellington's head is an iconic part of Glasgow's heritage, and means far more to the people of Glasgow and to visitors than Wellington himself ever has.
"Raising the statue will, in any case, only result in people injuring themselves attempting to put the cone on anyway: does anyone really think that a raised plinth will deter drunk Glaswegians?"
Writer and comedian Greg Hemphill wrote on his Twitter feed: "Raising the statue is a very sound idea cause if there's one thing every Glaswegian loves it's being told what they can and cannot do."

The cone hat image of the Wellington monument has been named by Lonely Planet as one of 10 Scottish inclusions in a list of the top 1,000 sights in the world.

You couldnt make it up.

So Petty, this might already have been discussed, what's the situation with the North Sea oil if Scotland goes independent?

Because I was discussing the concept of Scottish independence with a guy from Berwick a little while ago and he seemed convinced there was no way England would let that amount of natural resources go for nothing.

"The petition stated: "The cone on Wellington's head is an iconic part of Glasgow's heritage, and means far more to the people of Glasgow and to visitors than Wellington himself ever has."

I think I like the Scottish.