[Devongone]

I suppose one of Scotland's problems is that having been tied so closely to England for so long it not only is ruled by England, it also in some ways rules England. It plays a bigger role in any English decision-making process than any UK region outside London and in many ways appears almost indispensable. So lots of Scottish people, as well as English people who live in Scotland, have vested interests in ensuring independence is so limited that it doesn't constitute independence. Plus the desire for independence seems still to be slightly fragile. If Nicola Sturgeon were accused tomorrow of child molestation would Scottish Nationalism reach 51% in a referendum? The desire seems both a bit fragile and polls seem to be affected by things that have nothing to do with the issue.

Are the English people as opposed to Scottish independence as their politicians? And if you look at Ireland and think Unity is the only long-term answer, why would you not support self-determination for Scotland.

[0762]

The NI comparison is certainly one of the most confounding issues when it comes to the right to decide Scotland's self-determination. The NI people can decide on a referendum being called in a far different way to the insinuated legal restriction that applies to Scotland and is refuted anyway by lotsa Scots who support Scotindy as well as many reputable political analysts from Scotland and elsewhere. Brexit also showed up a huge disregard for Scotland compared with their proposed deal and actions in NI.

[0762]

I've been watching this latest bbc/unionist political incursion against the SNP govt re the ferries fiasco for the past few days and wondering, "What are these bastards really up to"???? I've no doubts there are probs on both sides of this argument and, being an ex contracts' assessor, I believe the Scot govt should have taken some additional advice from business groups/individuals to ensure the best workable deal was possible to get these ferries built plus ensure the future of the yard. However, when watching the biased form of the bbc and orchestrated unionist bile on Twitter together with their RW "lapdog" press, it becomes apparent this is a massive political attack. The ferry saga is admittedly not good and has cost more than it should have, but at the end of the day we will have ferries and a Scottish shipbuilding yard. Compare and contrast with the PPE fast traffic procurement scandal in Westminster and linked to Baroness Mone - bought £46M of PPE from China and sold it on for£122M quid - all useless stuff that was condemned after inspection. Dozens more dodgy contracts with Tories "stuffing their pockets". HS2 overspend as well???? Hinckley Power Station overspend????? Where is the same scrutiny???? Also note an element of financial reality from a Scottish perspective and be enlightened - THE SCOTCH WHISKY INDUSTRY LOSES ABOUT £240M EVERY 10-12 DAYS TO BRIT DUTY/HM EXCHEQUER ON A "CRIMINAL" 72% DUTY HIT ON OUR WHISKY EXPORTS!!!! We've been "robbed blind" for decades and yet still they attack us over ferries!!! Our larger neighbour's greedy, grasping establishment has "shafted Scotland" for a long, long, long time and these bastards view it as OK; these same people obviously don't mind their own kids growing up with a nuclear monstrosity at the bottom of their beds, or watching food banks appear faster than the daffodils of spring!! I just can't stand the tiny clique who "pull all the strings" in England and have made such a mess of things for more decades than anyone can remember. One can see that a ferry excess of £240M is literally a "drop in the ocean" compared to the complete and utter mis-use of public funds by the Tory and Labour govts led by one after the other anti-Scottish charlatans from Blair onwards. Praise the heavens we have no control of the huge oil income being stolen from "under our noses" for five decades now or we may look on Norway as our poorer northern cousins! Ohhhh for the joys of Scottish independence and a better country and society to follow - definitely the way to go!! The serious debates re self-determination must start soon!!

[0762]

https://businessforscotland.cmail20.com/...uytrvtj-u/

On this particular day of bracing ourselves for a huge energy payment hike in the months ahead, it is worth reading why many savvy Scots (re renewable energy provision from Scotland) are seething re the way we are being "ripped off" up here. The National Grid connection "rip-off" alone (it costs energy providers in Scotland much more to connect to the grid compared with energy providers in England), compared with a more financially beneficial agreement in England, is astounding!! So we supply huge amounts of energy down south and we get "ripped" in the process when satisfying our own energy needs! Radical reform of this highly questionable arrangement is definitely in order!!

[0762]

On the day when many Scots will march and commemorate the Declaration of Arbroath and pledge to an independent Scotland, here's a wee anecdote re Malta's quest for independence all these years ago and the sanctimonious response from colonial Britain at that time:-

Today, Malta is a successful small independent country, the smallest in the EU. But when it sought its independence from Britain, it was told it was "too wee and too poor" to make a go of it.  Sound familiar eh?

In fact, Malta is much smaller than Scotland. Its population has grown 20% in the last decade to about 525,000 but it is still only about the size of Edinburgh in terms of inhabitants. There are three inhabited islands in the Maltese archipelago, the biggest, Malta island, is 27 miles long and 9 miles wide.  It is not particularly rich in natural resources. At the time it began its independence journey, it suffered widespread poverty.

Despite being a lot smaller and initially poorer than Scotland, Malta found the confidence to reject British rule in a referendum in 1964 and since gaining complete independence in 1979, it has built a thriving economy. Now it has a smaller percentage of its population in poverty than the UK does.

Malta celebrates Freedom Day to commemorate the day in 1979 when the British Navy and army forces finally withdrew from the islands. This year, it was celebrated on March 31.

What the Brits said about Maltese independence:-

In 1959, The Times published the following:

“Malta cannot live on its own … the island could pay for only one-fifth of her food and essential imports; well over one quarter of the present labour force would be out of work, and the economy would collapse without British Treasury subventions. Talk of full independence for Malta is therefore hopelessly exaggerated.

Boyyyy, how badly wrong Brit politicians and complicit media were in this case and thankfully the citizens of Malta didn't listen to the spin/"bullshit", unlike many foolish/duped Scot voters in 2014!!

[0762]

A spokesperson from Business for Scotland recently commented that the cost of living is spiralling out of control; our economy has been battered by Covid, Brexit and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine; in Scotland, the Tories and Labour faffing about as they try to become the more extreme unionist party; and the LibDems are, well … the LibDems.

Despite their subtle differences, there is one thing they all have in common – their desperation to retain the Union – and we have to wonder why they are striving to keep hold of what is undoubtedly becoming a poisoned chalice.

As both wee Doogie "U-turn" Ross and Anas Sarwar move closer to May’s local elections, they must realise their support for the Union is indefensible and if it continues, both will lose even more supporters. There are some indy-supporting Tories and a lot more Labour voters who back indyref2, and while both groups say they understand the stance of their respective leaders, they know their parties will be consigned further to the backwater if they fail to change tack before May.

They realise Ross and Sarwar are each backing their own “lame horse” – the Union – in the forthcoming polls, as the entire Unionist political system is falling apart, with Partygate, allegations of corruption, cash for peerages claims, MPs’ £2,200 pay rise and an austerity budget, to name a few.

So where do they go from here as they head for elections?

The Tories might have gained more support when Ross took a break from running the line and became the first senior party figure to call for Boris Johnson to quit over Downing Street being turned into Party Central, as well as saying the PM would not be invited to their Scottish conference in Aberdeen.

Many people have said they didn’t think he had it in him, and some confessed to seeing him in a new light after his display of bravado in writing to the 1922 Committee demanding his boss’s resignation. That, however, turned out to be simply a desperate act from a man described as “having the backbone of a jellyfish”, and who withdrew his demand, saying it should be “paused” because of the war in Europe????????? Ehhhhhhh?????? I think his head office masters in London have forced him and his Scot Tory unionist cabal to "eat humble pie" AGAIN as one listens to individuals reeling off the same excuse re the war in Ukraine deferring Johnson's departure from Tory ranks.

While this was going on, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said the war in Ukraine shouldn’t stop Johnson’s removal from power, a sentiment many would have shared had he not then called for SNP voters to return to Labour to help get rid of the PM. Sarwar is too preoccupied with Scotland remaining in the Union to do anything to stem the long-term haemorrhage of Labour supporters as his party continues its exodus from its former left-wing heartlands

Len McCluskey led the union Unite for over 10 years and now says Scottish party chiefs should “grasp the nettle” and support holding indyref2. Otherwise, he says, Labour’s chances of winning the next Westminster election will be “impossible”. He warned the party’s refusal to countenance such a poll had led to droves of Labour voters switching their allegiance to the SNP – something we on the Yes side are well aware of.

[0762]

I notice the Tories were recently annoyed at the SNP party political broadcast in which an older woman was asked how far she trusted a Tory. I think it is quite an important question and I know the answer esp after months of orchestrated attacks by the Tories, complicit unionists and the Tory RW media people who are clearly being paid to "keep it going" against the Scot Govt and the SNP.
Even the Scottish Tories called for Bozo to resign until they became spineless, toothless and "lost their nerve".
They think it is all over, but they are in for a shock, and if the Gray Report doesn't get put on the same dusty shelf as the Russia Report, we may soon know the complete lying truth re Bojo and his cabal in govt and all the wannabees who have been sent out to lie for him, thereby making themselves culpable.
Never mind, as we now have the Tory political broadcast and with them we can have food banks specially set up by their aspiring candidate. They must have had a long search to find a teenager to front their broadcast since most of their cohort is pensionable, but how very kind of them - maybe we would be more grateful if they had not actually been the perpetrators of all the grievances they highlighted in the broadcast!!

[0762]

Reading the RW MS newspaper front page headlines up here in Scotland and almost every one of these Tory-supporting bastards trying to dismiss and condone Johnson's "Partygate" faux pas and the MET Police fine!!!! An apology is enough says the Scottish Daily "hate" Mail?????????????????? IF THIS WAS NICOLA STURGEON INVOLVED IN SUCH A CLEAR POLITICAL SCANDAL, THE TORY/UNIONIST HORDES WOULD BE "SLAUGHTERING" HER AND DEMANDING HER RESIGNATION!!! We watched this shit last year when she was terrorised by Tory bastards like the "spineless" wee Doogie Ross and others for one apparent breach of the Ministerial Code. The "double standards" are jaw-dropping and clear for all to see. I think a leaflet highlighting that fact should be dropped through every letter box in Scotland - it's time to get to the "middle ground" voters, push for self-determination and "fire the starting gun" to prepare for an antagonistic campaign against these criminals.

[0762]

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/sport/news/joh...1bcef98ea9

John Higgins suddenly becomes English in the eyes of the beeb and totally unimpressed after competing in the game for a very long time and well known to most snooker enthusiasts!! It's just an honest mistake John!

[St Charles Owl]

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/sport/news/joh...1bcef98ea9

John Higgins suddenly becomes English in the eyes of the beeb and totally unimpressed after competing in the game for a very long time and well known to most snooker enthusiasts!! It's just an honest mistake John!

Wasn't actually the BBC who put the graphic together, it was a mistake by IMG who do all the graphics for the television production for this event and are the ones who control the live broadcasting.

But yes, that is a rookie mistake by someone!!