The Forum Site - Join the conversation
Forums: Politics:
UK Elections & Politics

Scottish Independence Referendum

Reply to Topic
AuthorMessage
Pages: << · 1 2 3 4 · >>
someone_else_again On May 20, 2021
Really. Not a dude.





, Washington
#31New Post! Jul 25, 2014 @ 21:35:13
@chaski Said

Not Taxesicans?



That sounds inbred. Maybe more accurate though.
crazylikeafox On June 02, 2017




McKinney, Texas
#32New Post! Jul 27, 2014 @ 03:25:33
@chaski Said

Wasn't there a petition where many Texans were saying that they wanted to leave the USA?

Yes... seems to me it happened right after the last presidential election...


It was created by (and mostly signed by) non-Texans who were thinking along the lines of "hur hur, let's get rid of Texas by creating a petition." They did the same bit of nonsense with my state, despite my state going Democratic that year. But even if it was legitimate, so few people signed the petitions that they hardly meant anything at all. The fact the MEDIA reported on them as if they were in any way important, however, is a different thing altogether.
shadowen On March 22, 2024




Bunyip Bend, Australia
#33New Post! Sep 14, 2014 @ 15:57:33
The fact that 97% of eligible voters have registered for the independence referendum is really positive. To have so many people living in Scotland getting involved is i think very healthy. What's not been healthy has been the outrageous bias of all forms of media (eg radio, print, electronic, tv) in their reporting of stories concerning issues to do with independence. There is not even any pretence re presenting a balanced view. For the most part it's all scaremongering using often incredibly biased views from people that quite often have a vested interest in the 'no' vote.

In the media (on both sides of the border) they are selectively trotting out high profile people to spruik the 'no' message. But don’t report the views of supporters of the 'yes' vote. There are for example professors of economics, of petroleum, of history who have provided very interesting views on the reasons why Scotland should vote 'yes' and yet they are all but ignored by the mainstream media in the uk. There have been interesting stories from Czechs and Slovaks about their positive experiences after independence but again they are ignored by the mainstream media.

Papers like The Guardian and the Daily Mail (to name but two) have sunk to new lows in their personal attacks on prominent 'yes' campaigners like Salmond. One article i read recently suggested that a failed love affair with an english student in his youth is the reason why Salmond is so determined to see Scotland a free nation once again!

Another article even managed a swipe at the Germans whilst attacking Scottish nationalists! The article concentrated on the fact that some 1,800 Scottish residents born in Germany will be eligible to vote, including one “Herr Mitler”. They even went so far as to say that the Germans couldn’t break up the union in two world wars but now they were attempting to do so by stealth! The writer also expressed outrage that Germans could vote on the fate of the union whilst the english had no such vote. Of course this ignored the fact that some 440,000 englishmen now residing in Scotland have registered to vote and, surprise surprise, polls show that around 90% intend on voting 'no'. 440,000 out of a total of nearly 4.3 million is a very significant number. In such a tight vote these english voters may well determine the outcome. There are also a little under 14,000 Poles who are registered to vote and polling suggests that around 70% of them have indicated that they will vote 'no'. But whilst they have an issue with the German residents voting they have no such issue with the Poles! Surely it's not because more Germans than not have indicated that they will vote 'yes'.
shadowen On March 22, 2024




Bunyip Bend, Australia
#34New Post! Sep 14, 2014 @ 16:28:20
What I find interesting is that the vote looks like being very close (though the 'no' vote is likely to prevail). Interesting because;

- all of the major political parties have united and used their considerable resources, experience and contacts in campaigning for the 'no' vote
- all of the mainstream media is outrageously biased towards the 'no' vote
- the 'no' campaign has so much more funding, so many more resources than the 'yes' side
- so many big businesses have recently come out to support the scare campaign being waged by the 'no' side
- the US President, the US congress, Putin, China etc have all come out in support of the union (it's a matter for the Scots but...)
- the same pollies who strongly opposed devo-max are suddenly supporting it
- pollies and others have been coming out saying that an independent Scotland might not be admitted to NATO and the EU (based on nothing)
- these same pollies and others have stated that Scotland would become a soft target for terrorists and that travel across the border may well be restricted by the UK government and so on and so forth...

So with so much stacked against them why are so many Scots in favour of independence? For many it's because voting to be a free and independent country once again is more important that simple economic arguments. Because they have grown sick of the scare tactics being used by the 'no' campaign. Because they have become sick of people telling them that without a union with england Scotland would collapse. Unlike other smaller countries Scotland wouldn't be able to stand on their own two feet. The economy would collapse, the NHS would go into meltdown, people would see their pensions savagely cut and people's super would be significantly devalued etc etc etc. Then there is the arrogance of the 'no' supporters who even now dismiss the 'yes' supporters as a mere vocal minority who don't understand the issues. Who have blindly followed a handful of deluded leaders. Supporters of an truly independent Scotland are dismissed by unionists as being at best naive and misguided, and at worst plain stupid.

Also interesting how the pollies in London were content for ages to simply espouse the view that Scotland couldn’t make it on its own...until just recently when the polls really tightened. Now they are making all sorts of promises to Scottish voters in the form of a new devo-max. Well if they were genuine why did they not offer devo-max when the referendum was announced? Why wait until the last minute when there looked like the possibility that the 'yes' vote could prevail? I wonder.

What's interesting is that had the Scots been allowed to vote in a 2014 style referendum back in 1706/07 then this referendum wouldn't even be happening, as 300 years ago all of the primary evidence suggests that the vote against a union with england would have run at over 90%.

Indeed, let's imagine for a moment that Scotland never went into a union with england and that a referendum was being held today asking Scots if they wanted to enter into a union with england. Wonder how that would play out. In return for a union with england Scots would have to surrender all foreign policy decisions to an english dominated parliament in London. This parliament would now decide who Scotland had treaties and alliances with, when Scottish soldiers were or were not sent into battle. London would make all of the key decisions effecting the Scottish economy. They would control all of Scotland's natural resources and decide how these resources would be managed and how the revenue would be distributed etc etc etc. Wonder how many Scots would vote for such a union?
shinobinoz On May 28, 2017
Stnd w Standing Rock





Wichita, Kansas
#35New Post! Sep 19, 2014 @ 04:51:13
I find this very intriguing. First Nation's are keeping an eye on this as well we should:
"Could this movement even spread across the ocean? When you think about it, what’s the difference in the self-rule of Scotland to that of Hawaii? Or Alaska? Or Nunavut? Or even Navajo?

In Scotland, the people are sovereign."


Read more at https://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2014/09/18/will-scotland-go-independent-and-if-yes-future-tribal-nations-156942
El_Tino On October 12, 2023
booyaka!





Albuquerque, New Mexico
#36New Post! Sep 19, 2014 @ 05:52:17
https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/19/world/europe/scotland-independence-vote.html?_r=0

"Voters in Scotland rejected independence from Britain in a referendum that had threatened to break up the 307-year union between them, according to projections by the BBC and Sky News early Friday"
DuLu On January 11, 2017
CHOOSE HAPPINESS!!!





Waverly, Washington
#37New Post! Sep 19, 2014 @ 05:54:53
The time difference!! I was 'just' hearing on the news here that it was 65% 'no', thus far.
El_Tino On October 12, 2023
booyaka!





Albuquerque, New Mexico
#38New Post! Sep 19, 2014 @ 05:57:17
@DuLu Said

The time difference!! I was 'just' hearing on the news here that it was 65% 'no', thus far.



They often declare the winner before all votes are counted.
DuLu On January 11, 2017
CHOOSE HAPPINESS!!!





Waverly, Washington
#39New Post! Sep 19, 2014 @ 06:24:27
That's so true.
Sometimes, not often, but 'sometimes' it comes back to haunt them.

@El_Tino Said

They often declare the winner before all votes are counted.
shinobinoz On May 28, 2017
Stnd w Standing Rock





Wichita, Kansas
#40New Post! Sep 19, 2014 @ 13:25:21
@DuLu Said

That's so true.
Sometimes, not often, but 'sometimes' it comes back to haunt them.


jmo On April 29, 2021
Beruset af Julebryg





Yorkshire, United Kingdom
#41New Post! Sep 19, 2014 @ 13:39:18



The people have spoken. The issue is finally settled. We do not want independence.
shinobinoz On May 28, 2017
Stnd w Standing Rock





Wichita, Kansas
#42New Post! Sep 22, 2014 @ 03:01:02
@jmo Said




The people have spoken. The issue is finally settled. We do not want independence.


Co-dependency?
Jennifer1984 On July 20, 2022
Returner and proud





Penzance, United Kingdom
#43New Post! Oct 22, 2014 @ 18:32:10
@shadowen Said

What I find interesting is that the vote looks like being very close



It wasn't close. It wasn't even close to being close.

That's two referendums in the last year, asking pretty much the same question and on both occasions, the result has been a resounding "No" to breaking their ties with Britain.

The people have spoken.
shadowen On March 22, 2024




Bunyip Bend, Australia
#44New Post! Oct 25, 2014 @ 16:01:45
over 1.6 million Scots voted YES for independence. The No vote won by less than 400,000 votes...and by coincidence over 400,000 english born residents now living in Scotland voted in the referendum. An estimated 93-98% of them voted NO...so the result was hardly resounding...and with just 2 weeks to go the YES vote was leading in some polls. But the scare campaign was well run, and the outrageous media biased achieved it's aim...for now.
shadowen On March 22, 2024




Bunyip Bend, Australia
#45New Post! Nov 06, 2014 @ 06:44:11
By the way...the majority of voters under the age of 23 voted "yes"...
Reply to Topic<< Previous Topic | Next Topic >>
Pages: << · 1 2 3 4 · >>

1 browsing (0 members - 1 guest)

Quick Reply
Politics Forum - Some Rudeness Allowed

      
Subscribe to topic prefs

Similar Topics
    Forum Topic Last Post Replies Views
New posts   Politics
Tue May 10, 2011 @ 19:27
55 6696
New posts   Random
Fri Feb 17, 2006 @ 11:05
47 3296
New posts   Politics
Mon Apr 04, 2011 @ 11:45
6 1058
New posts   Politics
Wed Oct 26, 2011 @ 11:55
9 1004
New posts   Gaming
Wed Jan 05, 2011 @ 09:36
5 972