Recent content by Flanged

  1. Flanged

    UK Election 2015 Poll, Vote Here!

    Mosin Nagant said:
    The election system sucks in the UK. SNP gets %5 and has 56 seats while UKIP gets %13 and has 1 seat :lol:

  2. Flanged

    Scottish Independence

    Oooofttt!!!  That was a sair yin, especially for me.

    Never actually expected to win it outright, but hoped to get around 48% or more.  That would've sent a very clear message, and maybe delivered a long and lingering death blow to the Union.  Didn't happen though.

    Salmond isn't taking it well, he's really let himself go in the last few hours:

    iKVwOJa.jpg


    I was thinking of setting up a small business selling decorative glass bottles, but there are already two million bottle merchants in Scotland.  :lol:

    Seriously, though, I'm fcuking gutted.  That was our one real chance, and we blew it.

    I look forward to paying the House of Lords expenses for Lord Alistair Darling, Lord Jim Murphy, and Lord Gordon Brown over the next twenty years.  Can't wait for the renewal of Trident too, and the coming £25 billion worth of public spending cuts.  It's gonnae be glorious.  Our brave boys will have their boots on the ground in Syria before you know it.  Hurrah for Britain! 
  3. Flanged

    Scottish Independence

    Daniel. said:
    Its also practically guaranteed that if Scotland does go independent that the current water boundaries would be changed

    They already have been, a bit controversially, by Westminster, in order to benefit England.  Look up the Scottish Adjacent Waters Boundaries Order 1999 to see what I mean. 

    Daniel. said:
    considering legally "Scottish waters" do not exist

    It's probably a bit late to be having this discussion, but the Adjacent Waters Boundaries Order, and the various UK Continental Shelf Acts, define Scottish waters pretty clearly.  They are the waters that fall under the jurisdiction of Scots Law.  The rest of the UK's waters fall under either English or Northern Irish law. 

    With the UK having always had a couple of different legal systems operating within it (Scots law, English common law, etc.), the legal territories - including marine territories - are already defined by the extent of their jurisdiction.

    The UK Government's own business secretary admitted long ago that there is such a thing as "Scottish waters."

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/energy/9959715/North-Sea-oil-is-in-Scottish-waters-admits-Vince-Cable.html 

    The final boundary will likely be decided under international law, though, under UNCLOS III.

    Daniel. said:
    This is how the water boundaries should look.
    6937858_1.png

    I'd be okay with that boundary. 

    Sorry if I'm coming across as a bit of a **** here btw Daniel (and anybody else I might've pissed off over the years on this thread).  I don't usually argue like this, but it's an important issue.

  4. Flanged

    Scottish Independence

    Kobrag said:
    Unpredictability also scare investors to the point of wearing gas-masks, digging bunkers or committing suicide.

    Foreign inward investment in Scotland is at a 16-year high right now.  Small business start-ups are at their highest level since records began.  Just sayin'.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-27747527

    Kobrag said:
    The Shetlands want to be independent of scotlandin if there is a yes vote...a large portion of 'scottish' oil is inside the seabed that international law would recognize as The Shetlands x3
    This is beautiful, if there is a yes vote I can't wait until Salmond turns into an obvious hypocrite.

    The only poll ever conducted on this issue showed that 82% of Shetlanders want to remain as part of Scotland, whether we become independent or not.  It was in the Press and Journal about a year and a half ago.

    The islanders probably know that if they remained with the UK, or became Crown protectorates, they would become "enclaves" in Scottish waters under international maritime law, and the bulk of the oil fields would lie outside the 12-mile limit of their new territorial waters.

    Taiwanese news is the best news there is.  :lol:
  5. Flanged

    Scottish Independence

    kurczak said:
    I'm hopin for a no, because 21st century Europe should be above 19th century romantic nationalism.

    A large part of the No vote is motivated by 19th century romantic British nationalism.  The Better Together campaign has reflected this.  Other parts are motivated by 21st century British nationalism, which is not a very pretty sight either. 

    Look at the groups who are supporting the No side, and you will find a far more unpleasant strand of nationalism among them than has ever existed in the Yes camp.

    The National Front, BNP, Orange Order, Britannica (a BNP spin-off), Britain First, etc.  These are all unionist groups.  Always have been.

    Anyway, off to vote.
  6. Flanged

    Scottish Independence

    Jhessail said:
    Private Eye does an expose:

    cutjqbR.jpg

    That's not too much of a surprise.  You should read the stuff he comes out with. 

    Here's an example:

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/scottish-independence/11073598/Alex-Salmond-Meet-the-bully-behind-the-mask.html

    :lol:

  7. Flanged

    Scottish Independence

    Sorry, I misspoke.  Public spending per head is £1,200 higher in Scotland than in the rest of the UK, as you pointed out earlier, but Scotland contributes £1,700 per head more to the Treasury than the rest of the UK.  So we lose out by roughly £500 per person from being part of the Union.

    We would also have a lower deficit and higher GDP if we were independent, as mentioned earlier, and confirmed by Professor McCrone in his evidence to the Lords' Committee on the Economic Impact of Independence:


  8. Flanged

    Scottish Independence

    Wellenbrecher said:
    The inner city of Glasgow doesn't look like what Frankie Boyle told me it would be. I feel betrayed, somehow.

    The city centre's not too bad, it's mainly the outlying schemes that are rough. 
  9. Flanged

    Scottish Independence

    Daniel. said:
    The simple truth of the situation is that the UK has nothing to gain in allowing Scotland to use the currency and much to potentially lose.

    The UK has quite a lot to lose from denying a currency union too - at least 10% of Sterling's current GDP backing would go, as well as the backing of the massive natural resource asset in the North Sea which has kept the pound strong for (most of) the last thirty years, plus £100 billion per year in exports that would no longer be counted as part of the UK's balance of trade.  It is ultimately a decision for the Uk Government to make though.

    Anybody worried about the Union flag should sleep easy.  It still has St. Patrick's saltire as part of it, though Ireland got independence in 1922.  The blue that's used in the Union flag isn't even the same colour that's on the saltire anyway.  Many Commonwealth countries have miniature Union flags in the corner of their own national flags, though they are not part of the Union.  The UK is still often called Great Britain, even though we lost Little Britain (Brittany, in France) a very long time ago. 

    In short, nothing will change with the Union flag, because nobody in a position of power will care enough to change it.
  10. Flanged

    Scottish Independence

    Daniel. said:
    EDIT: The UK government has promised even more money to Scotland if it stays, more? more you say?

    They haven't promised more money, only more powers.  It's only the same powers they were promising months ago anyway, and would still leave the national parliament of Scotland with fewer powers at it's disposal than a Canadian province, US state, or German Lander. 

    It's unlikely we'll ever get as much back as we contribute anyway.  Annual public spendng per head in Scotland is £1,200.  The tax contribution per head is £1,700. 

    There's no way we'll ever be given back anything close to what we put in under the Union - that's not how it's supposed to work.  :wink:   

    Daniel. said:
    what a joke and they have now turned down the idea of an English Parliament, the Tories are so far removed from reality its actually hilarious, England is what put them in power but they are OK to shaft the English people with low government funding, how sad. I guess the Conservatives are gonna lose even more seats to UKIP next general election, utter tools.

    I was very impressed by how quickly the English regions, city councils, and Welsh Assembly started demanding more powers for themselves!  As soon as Westminster made the (false) promise to Scotland, everyone else was on their feet demanding better treatement too.  Makes me proud.  Just keep pushing them and you'll get what you want in the end.  We've forced open the gates for you - an English Parliament is actually on the agenda for the first time in 307 years - and now the castle is yours to storm. 

  11. Flanged

    Scottish Independence

    Mage246 said:
    Subsidies are life support; they're not a way to keep a company competitive, but just to keep them alive. Zombie companies.

    Yes, but companies, like people, can recover.  They can be kept alive on life support for a few years, then recover and come back stronger and more profitable than ever.  That's what happened in France and Germany.  They subsidized their industrial base during the hard years of unprofitability, and as a result those industries are still alive, and in Germany's case thriving.  They utterly dominate the European market in terms of manufacturing and exported goods.

    The UK's decision to turn off the life support machines meant that huge sections of industry died out altogether (no more British steel, etc.) leaving entire communities devastated, generational unemployment rampant, and saddling the country with a burgeoning benefits bill.  All this left Britain much less competitive than it's peers, rather than making us leaner, meaner, and more productive.

    This kind of self-destructive short-termism is the curse of business all across the Anglosphere, but particularly in the UK. 
  12. Flanged

    Scottish Independence

    I know that the "managed decline" has happened UK-wide Leifr.  That's what I've been saying all through the thread - the UK state (in other words, the Union) is harmful to the interests of every country that falls under it's governance, and we would all be better off without it - Scotland, England, Wales, Northern Ireland/Ireland.  Scottish independence will hopefully be the first step towards getting rid of it entirely.

    I'm not claiming any special victim status.  The Union has screwed us all at one time or another. 
  13. Flanged

    Scottish Independence

    Thought this was funny.  After the poll showing 51% support for independence, the Labour Party sent 100 of it's MPs north to remind us that we are Better Together.  An appropriate welcoming ceremony was arranged:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bGuCGdLxW0
  14. Flanged

    Scottish Independence

    Daniel. said:
    Well some things are near enough certain, such as the death of Scottish shipbuilding which is pretty important for the local economy around the Glasgow area, The worst city in the UK by measure of crime would likely get a severe boost in criminal activities if unemployment rises as a result of the shipbuilding industry disappearing.

    There were 30,000 men employed in the Glasgow shipyards back in 1980.  Today there are less than 6,000.  This chronic decline in the city's premier industry happened under the Union, on Westminster's watch, and probably did contribute to the high crime figures we see today.

    Luckily, Ferguson's shipyard, which was shutting down, has now been bought up by an independence-supporting businessman (Jim McColl) and will continue to work as a commercial yard.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-29150147

    It's a shame that the UK is unable to sustain it's shipbuilding sector like Denmark, Norway, Poland, etc. have, but Scotland may yet be able to salvage what remains.
  15. Flanged

    Scottish Independence

    Madhal said:
    if Scotland become independent will it have any effect on Doctor Who Show :smile:  Both Steven Moffat and Peter Capaldi are Scottish.

    Perhaps unwisely, Alex Salmond (First Minister of Scotland) chose to answer this question during a Q+A session with members of the Scottish public on Facebook.

    S6Lftkr.jpg


    Madhal said:
    On serious note if polls are this close on voting day i predict some votes will change to No.  its hard to choose a unknown economic future.

    A lot of people will waver, for sure.  But then again, the economic future as part of the Uk is known - more austerity, more job losses, more "managed decline."  That makes the choice a bit easier.
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