My dear uber-paranoid other half has warned me to be careful what I write online , she thinks I get too political and I'm being watched by The Men In Black. This time The Men In Kilts will be sent round at 2 am to play bagpipes under my window.....I really am scared.
Censorship of your own, honestly held views out of fear in unacceptable. As Edmund Burke once famously said:
"All it takes for Evil to triumph is for good men ( or women) to do nothing".
This quote is so unerringly true as to be scary. Just look at what is happening in that other great conflict transfixing the world at the moment, the rise of global terrorism. No-one with even a handful of braincells believes that all Muslims believe that everyone who does not share their faith is evil and should be exterminated. Where I work, we have many, many different races, religions and creeds all working in harmony and all trying to do the best they can to advance themselves and their families to a better life through hard work. If the vast majority of their leaders spoke out against these people and challenged and disowned these intensely radical views then, just perhaps, the young people who leave the nurture of our society to join these gangs of sub-humans would cease.
Back to Scotland. Some frank and honest views from a Scotsman ( in 'The Scotsman').
The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ. Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit. Shall lure it back to cancal half a line, Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it.
I`ve made my opinion clear based on what I understand , I`m sure there are those that will vote for independence based upon their understandings which I accept and applaud ....but the perception might be that this issue is fuck all to do with the rest of the UK - which couldn`t be more wrong , the costs of the split have to come from somewhere , the court cases deciding custodies/costs etc in the divorce from hell will be messy , time consuming & therefore very expensive = more cuts to pay for a divorce in a country that is still spending more than it brings in , I`ll be interested in seeing how Salmond thinks that independence will stop that . Given as a fact that Scotland has a lot more older people , it will be (again) interesting to see how Scotland plans to pay for that - if anyone didn`t know , pensions from the government are paid from taxes paid currently not from a pot of set aside money or annuity type fund . If your workforce is slanted towards older people , more and more burden goes on each individual taxpayer to pay their weekly pension . Hence my previous note about requiring an immigrant influx .
"Read my posts and see why we`re not allowed nice things anymore" "Brought to you straight from the People`s Republic of There`s Something Wrong With You . The Hoi Polloi Capital of the World"
The other thing to bear in mind over this is, win or lose on Thursday, the Scottish Nationalists win. They either get Independence or they get a shed load of other benefits thrust at them to repay their 'loyalty' for not voting to go independent. Now, I'm not sure what other people think, but that sounds like win-win to me if you are Scottish. The average Scottish household already enjoys free optical tests, free university fees, free prescriptions and free care of the elderly over the rest of the UK, or certainly England. If my reading is correct, the hated Westminster Government currently subsidises Scotland to the tune of approx £11 billion pound to pay for these goodies and the average Scotsman receives 20% more in the way of benefits than his English counterpart. If they vote No, then this disproportion will only increase as a way of buying them off for not going independent.
Now, I can't answer for everyone else but how far does this gravy train go? In the wake of a yes vote, the Scots will very soon realise that Alex Salmond is nothing but piss and wind and has no answers to the above questions, which is why he gets on his bike and cries foul and accuses the establishment of trying to derail the wish of the Scottish people when the likes of the BBC's Nick Robinson asks him to explain a few pertinent points and give some much needed answers and stop prevaricating like a toss-pot.
If it is Yes, good luck to the Scots; you will need it. it should be a clean break and we all get on with life.
If it is No, then I think the calls from the rest of the regions and countries of the UK will be to have one system for all in our 'Union of Equals' and if there are to be free prescriptions, free care for the elderly etc, that they be available to all and not just a minority to stop them leaving the Union.
Anywhere else, such an arrangement would be called blackmail and, with blackmail, if you pay, then the demands just keep on escalating !
Fun times ahead.
Post edited by Urban_Tribesman at 2014-09-15 09:03:19
The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ. Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit. Shall lure it back to cancal half a line, Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it.
Aye, that will be Black Watch tartan unless I'm very much mistaken !
Post edited by Urban_Tribesman at 2014-09-15 09:14:05
The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ. Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit. Shall lure it back to cancal half a line, Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it.
Cats aren't as easy, or perhaps not taking to the kilt as much as dogs.
If you put Cat in a Kilt into Google, you gets lot of sites offering to sell you sporrans made out of cats. Anyway:
The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ. Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit. Shall lure it back to cancal half a line, Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it.
"Read my posts and see why we`re not allowed nice things anymore" "Brought to you straight from the People`s Republic of There`s Something Wrong With You . The Hoi Polloi Capital of the World"
Just been listening to Radio 4 (WTF?) and heard a very interesting piece about a party called AFD (alternatives for Deutschland) in Germany. It seems that the concern over all the regular parties drifting towards some kind of centre view with no discernible difference between them ( an amalgam of tossers if you like) is not only a concern for us in the UK, but also across Europe, hence AFD in Germany. They really have ruffled a few feathers in their view that the (lazy and idle - my words) southern countries of the EU ( you know who you are !) have no intention of ever fully contributing to the European Union and budget and are quite content with 50% + unemployment and bank bail outs by the richer nations (that's us kids !) and they feel Germany is being held back by the Euro and want to go back to having a German currency (just like we enlightened Brits have - Scotland too until they vote yes !) and choosing when they help poorer countries, not being bled like teathered sheep. Similar in view to UKIP but they do want to stay in the EU. So, what we really need is for the current parties to get a real shake up that their time is coming to an end and a new order is inevitable unless they get their heads out of their arses and make this great country a better place for all to live. That process will get a little push along in a few weeks in, of all places, Clacton on Sea when Douggie Carswell, who has defected to UKIP from the Tories , contests a by election. He is a shoe in for that vote as it can be overturned at next years general election so what have the voters got to lose? The main parties will then shit themselves and we may get some change prior to next years election. And, guess what? The Appy's and the UT's get a vote in that by election. As Blackadder would have said 'Heads on Spikes'!
Post edited by Urban_Tribesman at 2014-09-15 17:20:40
The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ. Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit. Shall lure it back to cancal half a line, Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it.
I love your wording UT - "prevaricating like a toss-pot" lol! It galls me ( should that be Gauls?) that so many are STill wavering with their vote! Sigh.... I have to say, though my political leanings are very much lefty, I do have big respect for DC as a politician, he really makes his points well and works hard for what he believes in. He comes across as so much more serious and mature than certain other MPs... Things to consider if Scotland turn their back on us...we turn our backs on highland midges Tartan pencil cases and car blankets Those naff boxes of shortbread Edinburgh Woollen Mill Katie Morag ( in the National Curriculum!) Dodgy dog coats!! Scottish whiskey - damn, but I can live with Jack Daniels. Just lightening the mood..........even tho we all know we re DOOMED lol. I'd run for the hills, but there aren't any round here on the Fens. Damn, another thing the Scots have.
Kat - you may have a point if we're dividing stuff up like a divorce then Scotland will need to relinquish some of there landscape to the Fens - that would piss off the Sunday tractor tormentors
I love your wording UT - "prevaricating like a toss-pot" lol!
How about obfuscating like a dick?
The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ. Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit. Shall lure it back to cancal half a line, Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it.
Well, tomorrow's the day we have all (yawn), been waiting for. Do we still have a United Kingdom or do we still have a United Kingdom with a little country called Scotland above it? Today, I listened to AS being interviewed by a Scottish BBC reporter. Now, I very rarely have sympathy for a Journo but this poor bugger could not get a word in edge ways. He tried and tried but Salmond got in full flow and he banged on for about 5 minutes straight. He didn't even pause for breath so he must have been breathing through his arse which makes a change from talking through it. Anyway, he finally gave away what this is all about. When the reporter did manage to get a word in, he asked about Salmond's view that the Westminster parliament/governor of the Bank of England etc were all still saying that Scotland cannot have use the pound and be linked to a currency that is controlled by another nation and still claim to be a sovereign nation. Also, the Spanish PM (or whatever their leader is - El Supremo?) had said that Scotland would have to apply to become part of the EU, just like any other Independant state seeking entry, and that this could take 5 years and that any new nations MUST accept the Euro as their currency. No exceptions, and Spain is one if the nations that holds a veto on nations joining (also scared shitless by the Catalans). Salmond's response? "Once we have independence, Scotland, per head of capita, will be the richest nation in the world ( yes, the world). We will hold 20% of Europes fish stocks, 25% of its renewable energy and 60% of its oil. With those under our control, they will not refuse us entry, but welcome us" Now, I don't know about anyone else but that sounds like blackmail to me. The fish stocks he seems to have forgotten about Iceland and Norway having equal call on those stocks (remember the Cod Wars?) 25% of renewable energy is mainly 25% of the pretty much discredited use of wind farms and 60% of the oil? Like any other asset developed under a joint venture (marriage or business) such assets are divided proportionately under the law under breakup of that relationship. They were developed by the UK in Union and all members would be entitled to a proportionate share on any breakup, just like any other business/partnership/Union. So that's not 60% AS, but a fair proportion of 60%. So there you have it. It's all about Oil and the wealth and power derived from it, just like every other conflict in recent history. Mr Salmond sees himself as a powerful leader, with a great chest if assets that everyone else will have no choice but to bow down to. His will, his demands. Typical little man complex; just like Hitler, which is why the older the Scottish voter, the more likely they are to vote No, because that's what they see ! What's that I can smell? Oh, coffee!
Post edited by Urban_Tribesman at 2014-09-17 19:07:07
The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ. Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit. Shall lure it back to cancal half a line, Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it.
Yes...today is the day....and I think I've burnt myself out with all the kerfufflymotion about it, and I'm not even Scottish! Question- is this little man complex part of the male menopause? Not a daft question, but a serious one. I see it all around me in the 50 something blokes ( some of them anyway) I know. I want to know what men think on the subject. Even if the Ni vote wins I suspect Mr Salmond will retire from politics, drive off in a nice flashy car to a nice grand mansion in the Highlands and bask in his own inflated idea of himself. Oh, and if the Yes vote wins I'm sure he ll do exactly the same while His country crumbles around him. Time will tell.