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A rock and a hard place

Posted on March 08, 2013 by

Catastrophe! Scottish independence (surely “separation”?) will destroy your old-age pension, says yesterday’s Scottish Daily Express.

expresspensions1

We suppose we better vote No to keep them safe, then.

expresspensions2

Oh.

54 to “A rock and a hard place”

  1. The Man in the Jar says:

    I notice the unqualified use of the word “Government” in the later article.
    Or am I just getting paranoid?

    Reply
  2. Matt says:

    @The Man in the Jar

    Just paranoid I think in this case. It seems to be a UK-wide article, so it would be strange if they felt the need to say “UK Government”.

    Reply
  3. The Man in the Jar says:

    @Matt
    It is The Scottish Daily Express! BBC Scotland also have “form” regarding this.

    Reply
  4. Matt says:

    I’m not denying that some media outlets play that particular trick, just pointing out that in this case it is the UK-wide edition of the Express. I don’t know if they have a separate Scottish website – as they have a separate Scottish paper edition – but if they do then that is not it.

    Reply
  5. CameronB says:

    Is this leaked “top secret” report going to be the referendum’s “dodgy dossier”? How big can the porkies get?

    Reply
  6. The Man in the Jar says:

    Fair doos!
    I`l get my tinfoil tammy.

    Reply
  7. Braco says:

    Alex Salmond could mobilise and deploy to rUK weapons of mass destruction in 45 mins or  less.

    (in the event of a YES vote)

    Reply
  8. Stevie says:

    The BritNats have made me hate them.  Their venal B.S., the cruelty of their self-congratulatory Westminster debating club where people are the sport of things.

    I have desperately tried not to but now I do.  I would rather say fku to them than feel hate but it’s too late. 

    For all your cruelty that is making millions suffer needlessly, and your Westminster obsession that seems to be your crucible of self-serving privilege and unreal debating chamber that produces real pain for all those who apparently exist to serve your vision of some post-imperial ‘dreaming’ project that doesn’t actually benefit more than a very tiny few.  This notion has put people entirely subservient to you elected and un-elected lordly chamber and has led to war, child poverty and the disintegration of the 1945 createion of the NHS and welfare.  But you know that.

    BritNats, I hate you.

    Reply
  9. Stevie says:

    The only way out of this miasma of corruption and visceral pain is with independence.

    Vote YES

    Reply
  10. Ghengis says:

    Ah .. so good when the destroy their own arguments :))
    London government set to plunder our pension, yet again!!
    The logo is that of the English edition of the Express. They have some other logo for the Scottish edition. Not that they are that bothered for the online version.

    Reply
  11. Braco says:

    Stevie,
    I am trying my best not to hate you,
    but you are taking advantage of my nature
    I am not weak
    But i aint too strong
    I’ve just been wrong too long!
     
    Billy Paul ‘Am I black enough for you?’  youtube.com/watch?v=UaaY3slVuus
    Billy new how you felt, just keep on trying your best min!

    Reply
  12. The Man in the Jar says:

    I am only 5 years away from collecting my state pension. I know which government I want to be looking after it.
    Same goes for the NHS.

    Reply
  13. Braco says:

    Power to the people! (even if they don’t know how to post links anymore)

    Reply
  14. Adrian B says:

    @Braco
    Did you post your above link from a phone? As you can see your link has had http://www. striped out.
    Billy Paul –  ‘Am I black enough for you?’

    Reply
  15. Les Wilson says:

    Let me tell you if you did not know, the UK is technically bust, only money printing and high borrowing is keeping the facade working, so far.
    They are not mobilizing their Unionist Conspiracy against Scotland because they love us so much that they will do anything to keep us, er no.
    The reason is the same one that led to the McCrone being hidden for 30+ years, oil.
    Without our oil they really will be up shit creek, the have stolen our oil for 40 years or so, they want to steal it for another 40+ years, end of.
    As we now, they are trying to downgrade oil to liability status, as they did back then, they are doing now.
    Be sure, if we lose the YES vote they will up their game and strip our remaining assets with even more desperation than previous years, because they really need the revenue, stuff the Scots, they can wallow in their poverty.
    We, all of us. who are aware, need to up our game, it is Scotland’s only chance to lift our Nation out of the mire, let them sink, their greed is their undoing.

    Reply
  16. Stevie Cosmic says:

    Les Wilson, I don’t think that’s the case AT ALL. The rUK will do just fine on it’s own without the North Sea….it’s the other stuff that really matters.
    Think about it, just who are the most vocal opponents of independence? I’ll give you hint, here’s a short list:

    Lord Wallace
    Lord Forsyth
    Lord Foulkes
    Lord McConnell
    Lord Reid
    Michael Moore
    Danny Alexander
    Douglas Alexander
    Anas Sarwar
    Margaret Curran
    Jim Murphy
    Alistair Darling
    Ian Davidson
    David Blundell
    Gordon Brown
    Ming Campbell
    Charles Kennedy
    Ruth Davidson
    Johann Lamont
    Willie Rennie
     
    ….and these are just the most active ones. And what do all these people have in common?

    Reply
  17. Baheid says:

    @Stevie Cosmic
     
    Their all wankers?:)

    Reply
  18. Stevie Cosmic says:

    Exactly!

    Reply
  19. birnie says:

    To Steve . . .
    They are all members of “a parcel of rogues” who sold out to Westminster and are prepared to do down their constituents for the sake of personal aggrandizement. 
    There can be no other reason for denying a country’s citizens the right to govern themselves – particularly when the current governing state is in such a parlous economic position.

    Reply
  20. Braco says:

    Adrian B,
    Thanks for that! No, not from a phone, I was just trying to post a link rather than the actual youtube wotsit. Thanks again though brother, Stay cool!

    Reply
  21. creag an tuirc says:

    @Stevie Cosmic
    They’re all self-loathing Scots.

    Reply
  22. Stevie Cosmic says:

    Self loathing Scots with something monumentally important to lose if Scotland votes yes. Every single one of them will be out of a job.

    I find it odd that more is not made of the obvious.

    Reply
  23. Silverytay says:

    O/T  Scoop it Has an interesting article from the evening times about James Bond entering the Independence debate over the supposed leaking of the Scottish Governments secret paper .  It basically agrees with what a lot of us fear that behind the scenes there will be a lot of dirty tricks going on to preserve the union .
     

    Reply
  24. orkers says:

    Off topic, but what do you think of this assertion from the man that runs ‘Shelter’ in Scotland?
    link to thecourier.co.uk

    Reply
  25. Hermione says:

    I’m sorry, could anyone enlighten me as to the “commenting standards” being applied to this thread?
     
    “wankers”?
     
    “self-loathing Scots”?
     
    “I hate”?
     
    It all seems a bit more serious than matters of punctuation, does it not?

    Reply
    • Rev. Stuart Campbell says:

      “It all seems a bit more serious than matters of punctuation, does it not?”

      It’s not directed at other commenters.

      Reply
  26. Laura says:

    The Man in the Jar says:
    8 March, 2013 at 6:42 pm

    I am only 5 years away from collecting my state pension. I know which government I want to be looking after it.
    If it’s a NO vote, you can bet it will be another 10 years!

    Reply
  27. tartanfever says:

    Hermione, no need for that kind of language, really, I’m just, sitting down to watch a re-run of Miss Marple.

    Reply
  28. Tris says:

    Man in the Jar: Both appear to be from the website marked News and UK, so I think we can assume that government means UK government. In any case it is the UK government that  is proposing  the £144 pension.

    Reply
  29. mutterings says:

    Here’s the link to the article Silvertay mentioned: James Bond enters independence debate

    Reply
  30. Inbhir Anainn says:

    The logo for the online Scottish Daily & Sunday Express would appear to be a red coloured lion rampant carrying the saltire flag on a red flag pole.

    Reply
  31. Gaavster says:

    Chairchoob Davidson has been caught on camera letting slip his thoughts again
     
    Better together?
     
    Aye righttp://m.youtube.com/#/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=IU5AJAhb-sg&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DIU5AJAhb-sg%26feature%3Dyoutu.beht
     
     

    Reply
  32. Jiggsbro says:

    It all seems a bit more serious than matters of punctuation, does it not?
     
    You can now add ‘butt-hurt’ to your list.

    Reply
  33. mutterings says:

    Here’s a link to the article Silvertay mentioned: James Bond enters independence debate

    Reply
  34. Jiggsbro says:

    That Ian Davidson video from Gaavster:
     

    Reply
  35. mutterings says:

    My comments are not appearing anymore.

    Reply
    • Rev. Stuart Campbell says:

      “My comments are not appearing anymore.”

      Caught in spam filter, approved now.

      Reply
  36. Gaavster says:

    That’s what I tried to post jiggsbro before my fat fingers and tablet skills got in the way
     
    Thanks
     

    Reply
  37. ianbrotherhood says:

    @mutterings-
    Steady now, don’t go all Dadaist on us.

    Reply
  38. Les Wilson says:

    FAO STEVIE
    Yes, you are correct in what you say, and your list misses out quite a few. However,
    in the 70s the Uk was bust, had to be bailed out my the IMF. Then oil started to pump. Thatcher used the oil money to rejuvenate the South of England, while decimating Scotland. They have lied and cheated about the value of oil  from day one, it would soon run out, it will only last 10 years, and of course the utter disgrace of the McCrone report, which exposed our worse fears.
    They are in a very similar situation now. and that is why they want to dismantle the welfare state. They are utterly skint. So, skint that don’t rule out public disorder within the next year or so, after all their measures have kicked in and are hurting everyone. Particularly the weakest.
    So as I say you are also right, your list is something that Scotland has to bear when all attached to Westminster cling on to their golden path, while poverty here is on the rise.
    However, and for sure, they want our oil revenues for as long as they can keep their greasy little hands on them, and they will do anything to keep it. 
     

    Reply
  39. ianbrotherhood says:

    Davidson’s proper ‘ard. He’ll get another job no bother, doorstepping folk who haven’t paid their TV licence.

    Reply
  40. mato21 says:

    People are starting to see what is going on with the BBC
     
    link to weourselves.com
     

    Reply
  41. douglas clark says:

    Davidson’s proper ‘ard. He’ll get another job no bother, in a call centre for Wonga.com

    Reply
  42. ianbrotherhood says:

    Aye, he’s well ‘ard. I used to work in a Glasgow office shared by Clyde Action and Action Line. Clyde Action is most familiar to Scots in the West because of the Cash for Kids Appeal. Action Line was the STV equivalent responsible for supplying whatever ‘social action broadcasting’ quota they had to produce to keep regulators off their backs. Davidson had some senior role in Action Line, would pop in, usually on a Friday afternoon, frighten the bejaysus out of them all. On our side of the office we had another Labour roaster, forget her name, Anne-something, but she didn’t appear nearly as often as Davidson. Even then (this was the late 80’s) they were both tipped as big-hitters who were going to reach the top. And so it came to pass…
    Anyway, point I wanted to make was that back then Davidson sported a Souness-style tash – as he’s aged, despite ditching the tash, he seems to have developed some of the same alpha-male/borderline-sociopath mannerisms that make Souness so scary.  

    Reply
  43. ianbrotherhood says:

    PS
    Anne McGuire. That was her. Not as scary as Davidson. And she didn’t have a tash. (Well, not in the late 80’s anyway…)

    Reply
  44. Matt says:

    Hermione,

    “We reserve the right to edit/remove comments for legal reasons, or in the event of sustained personal abuse, trolling that’s aimed purely and intentionally at disrupting rather than promoting debate, or spam which somehow manages to evade Akismet. But you’ll have to try very hard indeed, and ignore repeated warnings, to have any sort of censorship applied here. Enjoy the site.”

    – From the WoS “about” page.

    “Commenting standards” are not applied here, except in the form of users encouraging each other to keep it civil. For good or ill, no-one will stop you – or anyone else – from speaking your/their mind on this site.

    Reply
  45. creag an tuirc says:

    @Hermione
    OK, They are all patriotic, ambitious, hard working, intelligent, selfless Scots that only have Scotland’s best interests at heart.

    Reply
  46. cath says:

    There was an interesting bit of attempted scaremongering on the Times front page today. wil
     
    Headline was something along the lines of “separate Scotland will pay loads more to the EU” – can’t remember the exact wording. The first paragraph then basically said we’d be forced to pay a lot more to the EU because – as Salmond has been insisting – we’d be among the richest counties in the EU.
     
    Scaremongering headline immediately countered by a first paragraph admitting Salmond has been right all along and we’ll be massively richer!

    Reply
  47. Macart says:

    Y’know I’ve just come into possession of a book of Bain’s political cartoons from the 70s and early eighties. A lot of it covers the referendum of 79, really its a case of the more things change……..
     
    The majority of this work appeared in the Scots Independent of the time and is just as funny and relevant now as then. The work on Wilson, Callaghan, Thatcher is priceless. But quite literally the unionist tactics haven’t changed in 35 years.
     
    Same old, same old.

    Reply
  48. ianbrotherhood says:

    Hermione – whatever you do, being ‘sensitive’ an’ all, don’t watch this. You really won’t enjoy it. (Maybe Morag will though?)

    Reply
  49. Indion says:

    There’s an ‘I’ word for this:
    IMF – Black Wednesday – Big Bang > Big Boom > Big Busts > Big Bailout > Big Devaluation > Big Bankcruptcy > Depresssion.
    Incompetence …. by back to back Con and Lab maladministrations and the BoE.
    And what do they do next?
    The departing Darling cut’s infrastructure spending.
    The arriving Osborne carries on and turns-off the oil & gas tap.
    And Merve the swerve prints and gives money to the banks to pay themselves bonuses.
    Whoever was on watch over us in HMS Brititanic has been looking the wrong way for most of our lifetimes.
    Where’s the something Better Together coming from and going?

    Reply
  50. douglas clark says:

    I am completely on ianbrotherhoods case. What starts out as a joke becomes a fact, becomes memory, gets written into the history books, get’s taught in school, becomes the meme of choice of unionists everywhere.
     
    _______________________________________
     
    And now we get Longshanker in drag!

    ______________________________________

    Anyway:

    Davidson’s proper ‘ard. He’ll get another job when John Smeaton resigns.
     
     

    Reply
  51. Yesitis says:

    @Douglas Clark
    “And now we get Longshanker in drag!”
    Oh no, now I have an image of Brian Eno circa 1973 in my head. Don`t spoil it for me. I was just listening to Roxy Music`s For Your Pleasure. Great album.
     

    Reply
  52. Stevie Cosmic says:

    Howdy Les Wilson.
     
    I agree with you in as much as hydrocarbon income will make a dent in the UK economy if Scotland leaves, but Scotland leaving in itself goes some way in covering the impact of that dent; the block grant for example.
     
    It is no accident that the most vocal opponents of independence in the political sphere are almost all Scottish; practically every one of them stands to lose big time if Scotland votes Yes. The vigour with which they have pursued their agenda overshadows all of their other endeavours in politics, to the point where they blatantly and openly were prepared to deny the Scottish people their democratic right to even have a referendum in the first place. The evidence for this is overwhelming.
     
    Just once, I’d like to hear an interviewer ask ” So, you haven’t provided one positive case for the union in 3 decades and you are all over the place on  policy, that is, where you have anything remotely resembling  policy, are you sure this has nothing to do with the fact that you’ll lose your Westminster seat and all the associated perks thereof?”

    Reply


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