I think your fervour is clouding your judgement, my friend. Putin is a dictator, answerable to nobody. His mouthpieces do exactly as they're told, pure and simple. To try and compare the two is, I repeat, ludicrous.
I am not here supporting Putin I am talking about Max Kaiser to imagine that he spouts Putins words is a little difficult to believe. In this case he presents the same case that I have heard from former a treasury advisor who at present advises the Scottish government on energy sinks and the same case presented by economists for Business for Scotland.
I won't bother to link it, but having read a précis of Mr Keiser's somewhat chequered career - singularly lacking in any credible economic grounding - I remain less than impressed. Really, Al Jazeera, Iran, and now Putin's Russia?
Surely the issue is that we really have no way of actually finding the objective truth about anything Spurf? We have no trust in newspapers and little in the broadcast media. There is a slant on everything we hear, including most of what was uttered by both sides during the campaign. To look at Russia Today as a beacon of truth and press freedom, just because they run an article you agree with, is every bit as naive as the No voters swallowing the "Westminster Lies"
I agree chirpy with the difficulty of finding the truth but we have had literally thousands of people checking government figures ie official government figures from the civil service. We have to believe that these civil service figures are accurate. It is from these figures that we present our financial case. I have posted on here the Ivor Mckee presentation of these basic figures on Scotland. They give the lie quite clearly to the information broadcast and delivered by MSM. The YES group is a very broad group with many skills. I have sat around a table with a Conservative who owns 6 hotels in the Isle of Man, an SNP government advisor, a retired former Labour minister, 2 shop owners of no particular party, A University Lecturer of Marketing/piano teacher and SNP member, and 2 economists. We were forming a branch of Business for Scotland which now has 3000 members. I have also met literally hundreds of people in the course of this 2 year campaign, attended dozens of public meetings and listened to people from all walks of life. The politicians supporting YES have lent their support to our meetings but esssentially this campaign has been run by ordinary people giving up their time and sometimes even suspending their jobs for the last 6 months. We are not interested in political spinning we all have a great desire to establish the truth of the situation and during all of this time we have been bombarded by a campaign from No of lies and deceit much of it documented by our supporters. We are now probably the best educated electorate in Europe. I am sure you could stop anyone of our 1.6 million voters and they would be able to answer questions on the economics of Scotland or the Welfare system and so on, simply because they have educated themselves and each other. The mantra has been if you say something make sure you check that it is correct first. Put all this together and we are sure of our case our position and what the facts of the matter are. It's not all cut and dried with a pat answer for every question. Oil for example is difficult to establish quite how much there is because even the oil companys are not sure, but we do know that BP & Shell are investing billions and that of course tells it's own story. The trouble is I am well aware when imparting this information that I am sounding rather extreme and a little odd. That is the problem when you are going against recieved wisdom and the Westminster machine is expert at their propaganda and it's been going on for a very long time. It's being exposed now because of the power of the internet which allows us all to talk and exchange information and help one another to gather that information. That is the differerence that has enabled us to almost beat the establishment despite their massive propaganda machine. Just 5% more and we would have won and it's now clear that it was the over 65s all 73% of them who voted No that cost us the referendum. We won't lose next time.
Yes, it tells the story that oil company`s invest billions all over the world looking for new oil reserves. Any idea of the percentage of naive, nationalistic 16-18 year olds voted yes, or haven`t you bothered to check on this?
"While wee birdies sing and the wild flowers spring. And in sunshine the water lies sleeping. But the broken heart it kens, nae second spring again. And the waeful will cease from their greetin."
Interesting to see labour wanting to keep the status quo and the conservatives pushing for devolution of powers across the whole uk.. The Tories playing the role of the people's party while labour prop up the elitist Status quo.
Labour are in trouble in Scotland and they know it. Their main power base, Glasgow, voted YES, 30% of their supporters voted YES. If I was Labour I would be very worried indeed. Right now the SNP membership is growing rapidly. The 45% are not going away, they intend to grow. The Tories have been quietly smiling throughout this referendum, letting Labour front Better Together while they stand there, or should I say David Mundell stood there, knowing that either way they would be in a better position than Labour.
I don't get this stuff about the 45% not going away. The referendum wasn't particularly close, the NO vote won hands down. The country has made it's decision to remain part of the UK and there isn't going to be another referendum for another generation at least. You nationalists can get as angry as you like and keep pushing as much as you like, you won't be given another referendum. My point was mainly that it's amusing that the Tories are supporting the will of the people while labour attempt to maintain the current elitist system.
This question will not be asked again for a generation. The age of people in Scotland is rising faster than any other part of the UK Spurf. Add that to the drain on young people who are moving South for work and in 15 years time the situation will be a lot worse. The only way the age profile of the population can be changed is by mass immigration. Try selling a break away to incomers who have made it to a country pretty high on the wish list of most economic migrants, or indeed have no real feeling for the country they live in. Or are the SNP going to cynically rope in another demographic whose idealism has not been tempered by having to plan for the future, get a job, take care of themselves and or their family or find somewhere to live?
Someone said scotland could become the new ireland. Divided with conflict not just opinions. Surely not.
There were only four small areas where the YES vote won and they are surrounded by areas where NO won. There won't be a geographic split like in Ireland, though I do think this referendum will have been very divisive and cause a lot of bitterness between a lot of scots for years to come.
I don't know why we keep hearing and seeing 45%, so what? If Scotland becomes the new Ireland who are they going to bomb and why?
Yes, the Tories have reaped immense political dividends from the referendum. Equal rights in devolution may now have nailed the "West Lothian question" dead, weakening Labour as an English party, and quashing the rise of UKIP. The SNP of course could re-brand as a Scottish "SDP" . Who knows, with sufficient time and track record, they could usurp the political ground held by Labour, and then attempt to export their political creed across the UK as a 'UKDP' .
"A new ukip snp hybrid?" I was thinking more of a SNP that drops the "national" (thus removing all vestiges of a one mantra party) , and gets on with things in the devolved Scotland. If this new party has common political ground with Labour, but does the business of government better, then why not have ambition to replace Labour UK-wide. "As long as we are in the eu I think ukip will maintain it's popularity tbh." Does the result strengthen the hand of the UK in Europe now ?? All the panic about what admitting an independent Scotland to the EU means for Belgium and Spain etc (even though Scotland would be a much more compliant member than UKminus would be) .
