Wings Over Scotland

Eexie Peexie then……apart from the oil money and the hundred other things the UK government (for want of a better word) have stolen from Scotland.

Nicely spotted, Stu.

With Brexit, the lying BT chickens of 2014 are all coming home to roost with a vengeance now.

Old age is catching up with me I think. Now what drawer did I put that money in ?

How lucky are we to have such riches bestowed on us just for being a Scot.

Well for those who were concerned and voted no in Indy1, in case it hurt their income.There is the reason right there to vote Yes in Indy2.

@Croompenstein

I love how unionists prattle on about the mythical UK single market as if it was an actual, tangible thing that existed like the EU single market. The UK is a unitary state. There is no single market here! Scotland and England are currently one state. But they all think we button up the back like them. Going about how we must stay in the UK because we apparently sell more to England than we do to the EU. So? Will England stop buying Scottish exports out of spite post-indy? That would make them look like a right bunch of fannies, wouldn’t it?

Also, I should correct myself. Scotland does not export anything to England since, as I said, we’re currently one state. A nation-state cannot export something to itself.

Yep £40bn and counting. No word of financial black holes, soaring cost of ‘borrowing’, for the uk in the press. Of course anyone that understands the fiat economy knows that’s a pile of pish anyway.
The brexit bill could be £100bn and it wouldn’t affect the solvency of the uk. Neoliberal economics should be getting hauled over the coals.

Of course any ‘debt’ incurred by Scotland is a different matter since, unlike the Govt in WM, we don’t own a bank that issues our currency.

Imagine. This tedious rubbish is never-ending. Unless we are independent and free to lead normal lives in a functioning country.

Ah well, what’s £1400 eh, and is that every year for now into eternity. It’s what Britnat MPs can sometimes forget and claim in expenses by mistake. Oops, goodness, sorry plebs, not!

Of course the cost is far higher to Scotland due to ‘UK Gov for Scotland’ siphoning away even more revenues from our lucrative resources. Also anyone in the UK who will be put out of work and told to do workfare or starve, might feel a wee bit peeved at losing out in many more ways than one.

The tories must be rubbing their dirty scheming hands together in glee. That was a close one eh, May. Don’t count your chickens though May and your Tory pals, blue Labour, Scotland will see this Brexit facade for what it is and none but a few Britnats in Scotland can be fooled now.

We need another list of what they said and what has actually happened, oh yeh, a wee book, but what colour, what colour are massive lies? :-/

Is this an equivalence tho? Is it not much worse?

The figure given for Brexit is ONLY the divorce bill divided by the population size. It does not take any account of the additional negatives forecast for the Scottish and UK economies post Brexit.

So why do they want to hang on to us.

Donald anderson @ 7:51 pm

You ask “So why do they want to hang on to us.” Ironically perhaps?

Its Saturday night and I should be doing other things, but quickly, consider (just) this one out of many reasons which is one of ‘issues’ that I keep returning to.

Source: link to gov.uk
?
This indicates UK import dependency at 2016 for oil was 36% . It forecasts UK import dependency at 2025 for oil will be 52% and then rising.

Now assume that Scotland becomes independent and then consider the impact of this on the rUK’s oil import dependency – both immediately and into the future. Quite simply, it rises to almost 100% .

So whilst the impacts of oil price on tax take and on employment are of course economically important, the ongoing negative impact on Greater England’s balance of payments post Scottish independence, already a major problem, and on Greater England’s energy security, following the loss of oil from Scottish waters is another strategically crucial reason why the union with Scotland is so ‘precious’ to the Westminster government.

`Scottish people will be £1,400 better off as part of the UK analysis shows

From:HM Treasury, Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland, and The Rt Hon Danny Alexander`

the ginger rodent got well rewarded for that piece of manufactured fake betrayal,

he is now a Sir and vice president of Chinese run international bank `Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank` which the UK is a member,

I think it gives `infrastructure` loans at massive interest to countries that America and World Bank won`t touch,

Brutish Values en aw that ken.

TheItalianJob says:

Jim Rodgers is not an oil analyst, but he is a billionaire investor. He invests in lots of things including, oil, gold/silver and lots of commodities. He deviates when he sees a good opportunity.
He certainly knows his stuff. Good to see the clip again, the two reporters? could not handle what he had to say, he quietly made them squirm.

George Soros made a billion or more shorting the pound some time ago.I guess many will be eyeing that trade again.

On another financial note, when attending a committee Mark Cairney was questioned about the value of the Scottish GDP he looked down and quietly said ” over a trillion”.

I had the video clip of that bookmarked, but when searching for it, it was gone! Went to google and cannot now find the clip, it was on youtube and was very short.
Have never seen or heard anyone pick him up on what he said either.

@ les Wilson
Re Carniey answer.
I’m pretty certain he was asked what Scotlands financial assets were valued at, relunctantly he answered with ” north of a trillion “.

You would think that was something our media might have thought worthy of passing on to the public. I was sure I had it saved, but can’t find it, will continue looking.

RE:”north of a trillion“.

link to youtube.com

@Golfnut –

That would be north of a trillion

link to youtube.com

PS I see Stu is on the Frosty Jacks so the next person who mentions Stu saying 2017 would be dull could be in danger from the hammers 🙂

@Les Wilson
@Golfnut

Is this the clip of Mark Carney statement.

youtube.com/watch?v=WGpayte7KTE&feature=youtu.be

They screamed and threatened:

2014 You’ll be OUT of the EU Scotland if you vote YES and you’ll be poverty stricken
2017 You’ll be IN the EU Scotland if you vote YES and you’ll be poverty stricken

See that’s it, in out it’ll be our choice not theirs!

It’s not the lies so much it’s the consistant insult to our intelligence, well to those of us with some that is, but then again these lying pronouncements by a Government in another country who has every desperate reason on earth to hang on to Scotland, are not aimed at us, they’re aimed at their own racist bigoted brainwashed uneducated moron supporters who were brought up to think of nothing else but Rule Britannia and damn the rest of the world

Let’s all sing Jerusalem, for London shall never surrender

Eh, what about Scotland….. Shut up sweaties we’re singing

Golfnut
I had a look on the net and the quote which you are looking for may have been in January 2014, when Mark Carney said that the financial assets of the Royal Bank of Scotland in 2007 were briefly over £1 trillion. He was not in favour of Scotland sharing the pound. He said it would be too restricting for Scotland.
He was giving a fairly neutral comment on the Inderef.

North of Trillion. I remember that.

How did it all go wrong?

2017
-2016
—-
0001

So what’s this 20 years all about?

I suppose when it is you who compiles the accounts you can say whatever you wish to say without the inconvenience of somebody proving it wrong.

We are now supposed to believe that Westminster is a more trustworthy and efficient manager of finances than Scotland.

These past few months have put that nonsense to bed permanently. I would rather take a risk of living in a Scotland who may make bad decisions, than live under the governance of Westminster with the certainty that they would.

Got to read the revised UK v’s EU/Ireland settlement today following the DUP jolt to the hapless May on Monday.

It is even stronger on commitments than the first document to no borders – and the only way this can be done is within a common trade area between Ireland and Britain functioning as an extension of the EU

If Scotland declared independence in this context – these commitments would still apply and Ireland would have to agree to any English Brit-Nat removal of Scotland from Ireland’s common trade area – most improbable

An independent Scotland would then be trading freely in the EU cul-de-sac that would be the Irish/British free trade area – and could apply for full EU status at its leisure

Dr Jim at 9.44

Exactly. I call it the “half-wit factor” in Scottish politics but some folk don’t like me saying so.
But it is a fact the whole Better Together campaign was aimed unerringly at the stupid and the uninformed.

We have to deal with sections of the population beyond reason. There are those who have an emotional attachment to the union which is their right. We have those who have a vested interest in the continuance of the union and who will always vote in self interest. Some of them will move when they feel their self interest is better saved by independence.

Our biggest challenge however is those who believe stupid distortions and insults about Scotland being too small and too stupid and too poor. They are moved, not by accusing them of being stupid, but by establishing that much of what they believe is lies and untrue. This happens when figures or agencies they can relate to and understand and respect exposes the lies. They are not usually moved by SNP politicians on the “well they would say that wouldn’t they” basis.

We have to sharpen up how we talk to the non politically aware or motivated section of our population.

Stu said 2017 would be boring and pish 🙂 😀

@TheItalianJob says: 9 December, 2017 at 8:27 pm:

“And here is an oil analyst on Bloomberg emphasising to two idiot interviewers what the effect of Scotland leaving the U.K. and the effect the lost oil will have on England.”

link to bloomberg.com

The, (for want of a better description), “Lady”, in red went immediately into flannel mode. Red flannel mode.

@ Croompenstein – you’re for the hammers now. Looking forward to the 2018 prediction. 🙂

@Robert Peffers

Seems about right. 😀

@ Robert Peffers link no worky

@Robert Peffers

Correct Robert.

She didn’t know how to respond. Totally lost her argument. Although she didn’t have one in the first place. Kept turning to her colleague for help but she was just as incompetent as the “lady” in red.

Both clueless about anything concerning Scotland’s economic influence on the U.K.

The Tory party plays to win regardless of the pain it exacts on the UK public.

link to caltonjock.com

Its well past the watershed.

So I think its okay to draw attention to Theresa May having a Frosty Jack’s moment!

link to archive.is

How to spot a Unionist in a crowd :

When in a group, any group anywhere anytime somebody might make an innocent mention of something Scottish and BOOM! the Unionist inmmediately pipes up really sudden and anxious something like “Don’t talk aboot politics for God sake it always starts an argument ah jist take care o masel it’s the best way an leave politics oot, don’t waant tae know”

From that moment it’s best you make your excuses and run for it because the rumbling contained pressure inside you could kill you if you’re of a certain age
You have checked the hands and yes it’s there that thing you knew probably would be and wrongly spelled is the giveaway accompanied sometimes by the class or club ring which confirms all that you dreaded but suspected on first glance but were prepared to overlook because they were a friend of a friend and you wanted to be polite although from the start your every instinct was oh God

YOON!!

From that moment the “YOON” adopts a defensive posture suspecting everybody of being “The Scum” that’s us by the way, and he too wants to go but knows in his heart that if he does “The Scum” will think they’ve won, so he stays defending his area like a ready to anger badly trained dog not knowing who to growl at or bite

Yes, the British state created that in our country to keep the people The Disunited Kingdom just like they did throughout their entire Empire
Nearly all of that empire is gone now because people educated themselves and threw them out of their countries

Let’s throw them out of ours and celebrate Scotlands Independence day just the same as the rest of the formerly known British empire countries do now
I wont list them, even Yoons must have enough fingers and toes between around 6 or 7 of them to count that number on

@Robert Peffers

I am amazed how so many Scots have put up with this BS for so long. After 800 years the Irish finally got rid of Westminster rule. Scotland has been under that same rule for less than half of that time, yet many here seem far more content with it. Are Scots so easily cajoled and domesticated? It seems the Irish have more of a backbone than we do.

Dave McEwan Hill says:
9 December, 2017 at 10:08 pm
Dr Jim at 9.44

We have to sharpen up how we talk to the non politically aware or motivated section of our population….”

I agree with that observation Dave, but I would maybe risk splitting hairs between belief and misguided perspective. Many people are of one single state of mind not necessarily because they believe it, but because they have no wider perspective to appreciate alternative perceptions.

Look at European Trade Deals for example. All the UK rhetoric about negotiating a Free Trade Agreement with Europe isn’t just wishful thinking. It is wishful thinking with a dangerous lack of perspective and reality. The UK stumbles from crisis to crisis putting its faith in Europe being reasonable, and the archaic philosophy that money talks. If we dangle big enough carrots to the German car makers, they will oblige their politicians to agree an EU Trade Deal.

It seems clear at the top level of UK government there is a fundamental lack of appreciation for what the EU is and how it actually functions, and for the life of me, I’m not sure I can recall a time when the EU ever was understood by the British. Antithesis towards the EU is a British phenomenon. I saw a chart a while ago declaring 70%+ of EU citizens are happy being EU citizens. It is only the British who will themselves to believe the EU is on the point of collapse.

The EU doesn’t negotiate Trade Deals by bespoke concessions and tailored arrangement like the UK seems to believe. The EU dictates that all EU Trade respects the indivisible Four Freedoms and that protocols and standards are legislated by the EU Court of Justice. There is no opportunity or indeed occasion to make concessions. Once your Non-EU country acknowledges and accepts those ground rules, and demonstrates it can meet EU standards and respect the jurisdiction of the EUCJ, then, and only then, you can BEGIN to talk about a Trade Agreement. The UK is walking away from this, and wants a Trade Deal?…. emm…

Why is it, after 40 years of EU Membership, a numbingly narrow minded Brexit referendum, and month after month of ill-informed conjecture, it is only now that some parts of the British establishment are finally waking up to what the EU actually is? Throughout its entire EEC / EU Membership, the United Kingdom has had its head stuck up its own arse, and blamed Europe for the funny smell.

Sadly, I feel the same about Scottish Independence. Both YES campaigns and Better Together campaigns, “sheparatism” and unionism, are all matters of heated conjecture but neither of them are truly getting to grips with what Scottish Sovereign Independence actually means.

We Scots seem to be so collectively “institutionalised” by the Union that we have difficulty getting our heads around the concept of sovereignty. We casually tolerate the paradox of believing we Scots are sovereign by birthright, but live in a Union where we are not sovereign but beneath Westminster. We live on both sides of the looking glass.

The United Kingdom is quite literally Lewis Carroll’s Wonderland, where the worlds on either side of the looking glass, the real world and the fantasy world, both exist, and the population can only make sense of it all by suspending their deductive reasoning. “When we don’t understand something, we defer to the BBC to tell us what to think”. It is institutionalism.

I hope Brexit in the UK is a gentle Westerly breeze which blows away the fog of UK delusion and we finally recognise the great leviathan of the European Union edifice right on our doorstep; the mighty international collective which we were fully part of, but where we behaved like a bunch of dicks. We were stupid enough to leave, and now we’re stupid enough to think they’ll want anything to do with us. Very soon, we’re going to be stupid enough to expect them to let us back in again.

Scotland, for some of us, is just the same. We have sovereign Independence right there, in our grasp, the magic Constitutional “Get out of Jail Free” card which is there for the taking. Please, please, please, can this startling awareness of the Brexit reality transpose itself onto the same grasp of reality about Scottish Independence.

Do we stay with the UK, and a life of subjugation, proxy xenophobia, bestail austerity, decay and underachievement all made tolerable by BBC hallucinogenics? Or do we brace ourselves for the scary and challenging responsibility of becoming the independent Nation of Scotland?

With luck, because it seems reason won’t carry us, with luck, we might still hold on to the EU leviathan and save ourselves.

Breeks

“I saw a chart a while ago declaring 70%+ of EU citizens are happy being EU citizens. It is only the British who will themselves to believe the EU is on the point of collapse”

That may or may not be true, but there are other forces at work here.I read a lot of financial stuff, a lot of it from America.

There is a never ending volume of ” Europe is collapsing, the smart money will be transferred out to America as it continues they say.

Yes, America seems to be encouraging European collapse and they hope to clean up from it,in many ways. Beneficial trade deals, assets bought cheaply. etc etc.

This is a momentum situation where a European collapse would hugely benefit the US. Something we should bear in mind and be watchful of as the UK is a main target. The elites in the UK will have shares in the American companies who will benefit most. Brexit suits them all quite well.

Scotland should not have to pay a penny for this fiasco. Scotland voted to remain. Once again Scotland paying for Westminster lunatic mistakes.

The incompetent, ignorant, psycho bastard Tories. How anyone can vote for them in Scotland after Thatcher. Some auld screwed up gits who can’t even uses a computer, never mind count or read a balance sheet. Greedy millionaires robbing the public purse. Labour are no better just colluding. Lying sychophants. Frank Field ‘crocodile tears’ about universal credit. He supported it and caps on incomes. Increasing poverty. Complaining about the migration crisis they have caused. Illegal wars, financial fraud and tax evasion,

The Eurozone is not in debt. They have to keep a ration to debt. The US/UK have the highest debt. ratio. The UK is one the most unequal countries in the world. With poverty rates increasing under the Tories and life expectancy flat lining. Although it is still those in poverty that die younger. Most of the EU countries are happier more equal and have better lifestyles. The EU helps the poorer ones by development grants and invests in renewable projects etc. Making Europe more equal with better social Laws. It is the US/UK that are destroying the world with illegal wars etc. Destabilising people. 4 million in Syria. More in Iraq etc. Killing and maiming vulnerable people. The US spends half its revenues on the military. While people starve and die.

Scotland can vote for Independebce. Stop this farce.

@ronnie anderson says: 9 December, 2017 at 11:28 pm:

“@ Robert Peffers link no worky.

Which link, Ronnie?

link to skwawkbox.org

link to tompride.wordpress.com

link to infacts.org

link to voanews.com

link to nolanjazimreg.wordpress.com

Will not archive
link to independent.co.uk

link to bloomberg.com

link to blogs.lse.ac.uk

Breeks says:

America has the greatest amount of TOTAL debt than has ever been known. It is so big when taking everything in, that it is impossible to pay back, and at some point it will come home to roost and the whole fiat corrupt money system will collapse.

So there is consequences for all their QE and manipulations. Every fiat currency has collapsed over time. When it happens, and it will, to America. The worlds system will have the biggest collapse ever.

It takes no genius to see that America will do anything for money, It is the American way on stilts. We should all worry about this as it will effect us all. There is the possibility of civil war in the US also. Not much if anything said about it over here, but some knowledgeable commentators over there say the nation has never been this divided since the civil war.

In regards to Brexit, to help America and gain kudos points, and of course make themselves a ton of money, may be the real reason the elites (lots do not stay here) are pushing Brexit so much.

They care nothing for anyone else, they do not care what happens here, they will have their escape routes in place and still be able to influence and buy up UK assets cheap from anywhere in the world.

@Breeks at 9.55 am

“Personally, I think Scotland will go from strength to strength, and I don’t think we will ever look back”

Totally agree with your statement above. I know that within 5 years of our Independence the vast majority of Scots and EU residents in Scotland will wonder why we doubted our belief in our own destiny as an Independent country in Europe.

I don’t think the USA are encouraging a European collapse.
Encouraging the far right yes, but not a collapse.
The EU is if anything a construct of the US and was always the bulwark against the “Reds”. Their “Special relationship” was with Germany and remains so. How many US bases and personnel are in Germany?
At last estimate 22% of US troops were based in Europe. They have pushed their interests further into Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania etc. and Europe’s direct Eastern borders. Defence spending as GDP has surged from millions to billions in those countries, again US influence. Anyone remember that prick Obama praising plucky Estonia’s Independence and telling us to fuck off, yes? – The US led Nato troops and tanks pushing through Europe recently?

It’s a bit of a nightmare for them, as Europe “reeks of socialism” but they have to have it. So a Europe pushed to the right makes them a little more comfortable. The rise of ‘McArthyism’ and sales of War materiel is good for business naturally. Of course that is what actually endangers Europe, but they’re not the brightest when it comes to foreign policy. They do want a strong Europe, but one that dances to their tune. If they are endangering the structure of Europe it’s by accident rather than design in my opinion.

Lies, deceit and an utter utter mess. That is the shit which Westminster delivers to Scotland. They get away with such britnat shit because of the shitty britnat media.

For god’s sake! For Scotland’s sake! For all our sakes, we must get out of this shit-infected union with England! Now!

Iain mhor says:

I understand well what you said, I follow these things to, when the Berlin wall came down the Russians said, not an inch further.
Well, we can see how the US has adhered to that. They are pushing Russia into a corner and clearly provoking them, you have to as yourself why.
They are on the verge of nuclear war in other places to, they are deliberately causing tensions. World war 3, may not be far away.

This is what failing states do and have done since time immemorial. Europe is a pawn in these games,as is NATO, fortress America is emerging and they will care only for things that suit their interests. So you think they will not sacrifice Europe to lesser, but not eliminate the threat to the US. Then I think you are wrong.

From a financial view, yes they are spending billions on defense, but while all their people except their elites are suffering badly, discontent is growing quickly.

America needs more money, needs more worthwhile assets, the UK gives the opportunity for them to have us tied to trade deals that will overwhelmingly be in their favour. They will infiltrate all our industries for profit, NHS, Financial Groups, energy companies, they will take all they can, because they need it. No holds barred I am afraid.

I will reiterate what I said earlier, we are going to have a hard brexit, all this is a UK smokescreen they picked their wording carefully so everything can be turned around and we will be out.
It may happen quicker than we think, but it will be at the best point for the brexiteers, you can count on that.”

I think its all going to be one giant tory fudge, squeezed out, dragged out for decades. NI deal is just the start.

Selling it all as tory genius, is going to be one of the BBC’s greatest propaganda triumphs too, up there with their defeat of Scottish independence.

All that will really happen is that we the people will lose our EU passport and work rights, sick, parenting, holiday pay, time off etc will get squeezed and scrapped wherever a tory turd can do it.

But this is what Leave dopes wanted, take back control from the EU rotters.

Nana, thanks for the links. Very informative.

A few thoughts.

Friday’s deal is not workable, not when you try and see it working in the round,

One of the main drivers for Brexit was to allow the very rich to carve up UK public services, especially the NHS. No wonder dark moneys from the US appear involved.

I think its becoming increasingly clear that just as important for them – and the main driver to coming out of the ECJ ‘take back control of our own laws’ – is the EU drive to sort out the Tax Dodgers. This would undo 20 years of legislation to allow for their daylight robbery, and it is worth trillions. If anyone hasn’t seen the film The Spiders Web its worth seeing.

And lastly, they really can’t afford to lose Scotland. We’re the cash cow.

I wonder if it would be in the public interest for MP’s to have to declare if they currently have off shore tax dodging accounts – if they do, there is potentially a clear conflict of interest. I wonder if there is some way of forcing this issue in the House of Commons. Not that it would get reported.

Nothing about Brexit makes any kind of economic sense, until you consider the above, and the total selfishness of the Brexiteers.

link to facebook.com

Scottish Gov need to call this planned development i .

We need also to challenge the SNP’s flawed assumption that governing Scotland well will bring us to independence.

The SNP Government HAS to govern well,but it will not ever get full credit for that.

We win independence by campaigning for independence and portraying the vision of a better country that will become possible when we get there.

To do so we have to understand that getting mired in complicated arguments about economy, currency, social provision based on our present constitutional situation is exactly what our opponents want us to do.

Scottish Steve 2.07am.”it seems the irish have more of a backbone than we do”.You got that right in one Steve, the Irish dont do a**elicking and forelock tugging.

Tories have fallen to third place in latest polls in Scotland?

Bobp says:
10 December, 2017 at 12:19 pm
Scottish Steve 2.07am.”it seems the irish have more of a backbone than we do”.You got that right in one Steve, the Irish dont do a**elicking and forelock tugging.

Arise Sir Bob, of Boom Town Ratshire.

Tongue wedged in deep and hard too, like a true teen spirit rebel. And vote NO or else Scots baiter Sir Bob, kept his Irish/EU passport too.

How frightfully rebellious.

Bob Mack says:

You are right, that is where we are.

Who are the British:

Well it’s certainly not me, and not because I do or don’t want to be, that’s immaterial, because I live in Scotland and time after time my vote and my position has never been respected as a so called British citizen by the “British” in the big land of the real “British” which is England

Those who claim to be British and proud haven’t seemed to have clocked on to the fact that if they live in Scotland like me they’re not considered either, so why do the British and proud folk still cling to the idea or hope that one day they might be as equal in status as the actual British who live in England where votes actually count at a majority of about 11 to one against Scotland every single time anything is ever voted on

Did the British and proud folk not get the memo from the ruling country that they’re only British when it comes to taking stuff from them and not giving anything back because they live in the land of the Scottish underclass and that renders all opinion invalid to the “British” in England where votes actually do count

Why don’t people just call themselves English and proud I can respect that because that’s an actual country but this claim to be “British” is like comparing yourself to Bitcoin
the floating invisible currency that nobody knows how to access because it’s really just a big fabrication that means nothing to ordinary people and you’ll never benefit from it but you’re still told it exists and is important

Honest!

@Clydebuilt says: 10 December, 2017 at 11:33 am:

“The YES movement need to counter the lies and set the record straight. Irrespective of how soon Indyref2 is we need a national campaign to counter the medias lies. Many benefits will flow from this.”

Thing is, Clydebuilt, that the SG, SNP and YES movement have done the best they can in the past to do just that but you cannot force the,non-interested in politics, general public to listen, read and view political content – even if the indy movement could get such content into the Westminster Establishment’s controlled and compliant media outlets in the first place.

Yesterday I posted a bunch of links to actual parliamentary proceedings where the SG and Westminster SNP contingent were very active in rubbishing the Establishment’s totally anti-Scottish actions. None of this actual parliamentary SNP great hard work made it onto the Mainstream media.

To the extent that the very best of the SNP Westminster contingent were defeated in the last General Election. Such as Alex Salmond and Angus Robertson were defeated by the combined actions of the unionist parties, the Westminster controlled media and the hidden money of the shadowy figures of wealthy extreme right wing, (mainly), non-UK resident financial interests.

The SNP are doing their job well in both parliaments but their efforts go unreported, misreported or downright lied about. The foot soldiers of the SNP and larger YES movement worked very, very hard but, like taking horses to water, you can direct them to the true news but you cannot make them read, hear or view it. Especially, though, you cannot make them believe it.

Thing is, Clydebuilt, we did counter the lies and did set the record straight but the intended audiences just did not even want to receive the message much less absorb or believe the so very obvious lessons of the facts.

I’ve seen this effect all my life. When a party political item comes on there is a Scotland wide major switch of channels, radio stations and websites.

The general public would rather watch, listen or read about the totally mind numbing, “Great British dance off”, than get the truth from the people they elected to represent them.

Not to mention the simple fact that many of the electorate are still of the beliefs they were led to believe in when they were in their teens and believed that there were actual differences between the unionist political parties.

Imagine a mind-set that still thinks the Labour Party in Scotland ever actually ever represented the so called working class. Many of whom have never done an honest day’s toil in their miserable existence. Which is why Scotland has a drink & drugs problem. out of work provides opportunity for idle hands to become totally discouraged and drink and drugs are made readily available and exploited by those who have the financial clout to buy and distribute alcohol; and drugs for profit.

Organised crime has no conscience.

With independence, Scotland can take the credit of things, along with the bad things that is only get reported now .
Tell your friends vote YES next time.

Re. Brexit, Davis and “You know that deal we both signed two days ago? We’ve decided we don’t need to honour it.”.

Tory policy tends to lack ethical reflection, or essentially, Tory practice likes to follow a pragmatic approach that is free from moral bounds. Unfortunately for us all, pragmatism without ethical reflection, generally leads to social exclusion and marginalisation of the poor. Such an appraoch to government is also unable to give due consideration to the needs of future generations.

Pragmatism, Critical Theory and Business Ethics: Converging Lines

Abstract

There is a “Pragmatist turn” visible in the field of organization science today, resulting from a renewed interest in the work of Pragmatist philosophers like Dewey, Mead, Peirce, James and others, and in its implications for the study of organizations. Following Wicks and Freeman (1998), in the past decade Pragmatism has also entered the field of business ethics, which, however, has not been uniformly applauded in that field. Some (Critical) scholars fear that Pragmatism may enhance already existing positivist and managerialist tendencies in current business ethics, while others see more emancipatory potential in Pragmatism, arguing that it complements and supports stakeholder theory.

In this paper, a comparison of the philosophical underpinnings of Pragmatist and Critical conceptions of business ethics is offered, concentrating on the Pragmatism of John Dewey and the Critical theory of the Frankfurt School, in particular of Axel Honneth. It is argued that these two developed along two converging lines. Along the first line, Dewey was far more skeptical and critical of capitalism than is often thought. Along the second line, the reactions to Pragmatism of Frankfurt School Critical theorists developed over time from generally hostile (Horkheimer, Marcuse), to partially inclusive (Habermas), to more fully integrative (Honneth). At the crossroads of these converging lines a Pragmatist Critical perspective is developed and exemplified, and its implications for business ethics are outlined.

link to link.springer.com

What Is and What Should Pragmatic Ethics Be? Some Remarks on Recent Scholarship

Abstract. The aim of this paper is twofold. First, it offers a summary compilation of the main achievements in recent scholarship on the issue of pragmatic ethics—underlining the lack of consensus, but also showing basic agreement about the key features of the ethical philosophy of pragmatism. Second, it focus on two strands of pragmatism: the one spearheaded by Charles S. Peirce, which stresses the importance of habits, and the tendency of things (including human beings) to become habit-governed as the key to the development of ‘concrete reasonableness’, the ultimate end by which human action ought to be guided; and the one led by John Dewey, which stresses the importance of deliberative activity—a ‘dramatic rehearsal’ of the possible consequences of every course of action—and the central role of educational work in developing the ‘growth’ of human nature, in itself the highest ethical ideal—an ideal that manifests itself in the ‘reconstruction’ of a new and more democratic society.

link to lnx.journalofpragmatism.eu

What is PRAGMATIC ETHICS? What does PRAGMATIC ETHICS mean? PRAGMATIC ETHICS meaning & explanation
link to youtube.com

@ Dr Jim

I agree and would even extend that to Ulster Unionists. Yes, the DUP have enjoyed a moment in the sun, but they are being used, and the Brits will shit on them or lie to them as necessary.

I hope for the sake of the future, young people in NI see their future lies in reunification.

We know the Brexit decision lacked ethical reflection as there were no impact assessments carried out. Simples.

Pragmatic Ethics
link to hughlafollette.com

Thank you Alex Neil for speaking out (Mesh Implants Story). Thank you also for (previously)speaking out against the unfit for purpose SPSO, who often perform a similar function as those civil servants you criticised: they cover up the truth and try to deprive complainants of justice.

On another matter, I’ve written to Shona Robison and got a fob off referring me back to the SPSO. The Justice Secretary (Michaels Matheson) couldn’t find the time to reply – right enough, that’s understandable with the state of things under his oversight of Police Scotland etc.

The SNP came into power promising a new type of government. Open, transparent, reforming.

They certainly aren’t open and it’s transparent that the they treat the Scottish public with the same contempt as those that have gone before.

Cover-ups, denials, obstruction of justice, prolonging the suffering of those affected.

Disgraceful and disgusting.

Shame on you, Scottish Government.

BREXIT MEANS BREXIT!

A 2 minute FILM for Newbies and Weekenders. Welcome. 🙂

Published earlier this year.

link to tinyurl.com

colin alexander
Very good Colin, that a compelling story you have there. Now, here’s something for you to consider. I’m sure you wouldn’t want to be misleading or condescending to folk, would you?

Exploring symbolic violence in the everyday: misrecognition, condescension, consent and complicity

Abstract

In this article, we draw on Pierre Bourdieu’s concepts of ‘misrecognition’, ‘condescension’ and ‘consent and complicity’ to demonstrate how domination and violence are reproduced in everyday interactions, social practices, institutional processes and dispositions. Importantly, this constitutes symbolic violence, which removes the victim’s agency and voice. Indeed, we argue that as symbolic violence is impervious, insidious and invisible it also simultaneously legitimises and sustains other forms of violence as well. Understanding symbolic violence together with traditional discourses of violence is important because it provides a richer insight into the ‘workings’ of violence, provides new ways of conceptualising violence across a number of social fields and new strategies for intervention.

Symbolic violence is a valuable tool for understanding contentious debates on the disclosure of violence, women leaving or staying in abusive relationships or returning to their abusers. Whilst we focus only on violence against women, we recognise that the gendered nature of violence produces its own sets of vulnerabilities against men and marginalised groups, such as LGBT. The paper draws on empirical research conducted in Sweden in 2003 by the second-author. Sweden is an interesting case study because despite its progressive gender equality policies, there has been no marked decrease in the violence towards women by men.

link to research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk

Good afternoon, Heedtracker.

Correct. My criticism of the current Scottish Government, is criticism of a Mickey Mouse devolution set-up that are just glorified administrators of Westminster Govt – The Holyrood Branch Office,if you like – operating on a begging bowl principle of servility to London and the UK ruling Establishment.

Lower student fees, less student debt, social care, prescriptions, bus passes. Houses, roads, railways, ships built. Higher employment. No bedroom tax, welfare cuts mitigated, increased funds for the homeless etc, etc. SNP Gov standing up for Scotland.

Another Independence Ref soon. Just needs 5%.

Valerie says:

I hope for the sake of the future, young people in NI see their future lies in reunification.

Latest opinion poll puts reunification at ~50:50, but I wonder how the age demographic splits.

In both IndyRef and EURef we saw big differences in the way old and young vote.

People should vote for what is best for the generations to come, not as a homage to the generations which have passed. Younger people seem to get that more. Do young people in NI look forward, or backward?

colin alexander says:
10 December, 2017 at 2:29 pm
The sooner we get independence, the better,

Tis true. There’s not much bigger and important Scots gov policy than that is there Colin?

I mind you now Colin, you’re the one who kept raging at us to stop voting SNP, for Scots indy ref2, for a long time, then went all quiet, because that was the way forwards for Scottish democracy.

Hey ho Colin, takes all sorts. You’re not the nuttiest of nuts around, are you:D

Famous 15

Are you suggesting the SNP govt at Holyrood are an independent Scotland Govt? So, I’m attacking Scottish indy?

Or, do they run a devolution set-up designed and implemented to try and prevent independence being achieved? So,that politicians here get to play at a limited, glorified community council type of government with Mega-sized political salaries designed to appease the politicians and keep the restless natives pacified.

The UK Govt can take us to war, take us out the EU etc, they decide if we are allowed to decide our constitutional future, but hey, we get universal non-charged for prescriptions at the chemist ( we pay for them through taxation etc, so they aren’t free). Hooray for small mercies.

Ok who’s been feeding the “colin alexander”, have you seen the shite he’s producing.

Nae mare, its a Sunday.

colin alexander
So what do you recommend, UDI?

CameronB Brodie says:
10 December, 2017 at 3:07 pm
colin alexander
So what do you recommend, UDI?

A therapist. They can work wonders these days:D

But maybe he’s right, if he can just get the SNP out, then he can begin campaigning for indy ref2, by er, well, voting for the other Scottish parties that want Scotland to hold indy ref2.

He’s a genius, is our Co.

Bring on indyref. Let’s see what “no compromise” May says.

Think she’ll block it Co?

link to news.gov.scot

link to snp.org

link to media.info

link to taxresearch.org.uk

link to thelocal.de

link to theneweuropean.co.uk

link to euobserver.com

An end of year review of the Leave affiliated group figures published by the Electoral Commission
link to byline.com

@Heedtracker

If support for YES is within 10% of NO, the likelihood of the UK Govt giving loaned constitutional powers to the Scot Govt to hold a legally binding referendum that would empower the devolved assembly to declare independence is close to zero, in my opinion.

The likelihood of the SNP standing up to the UK Govt on that issue is about the same odds.

The likelihood of the SNP standing up to the UK Govt on that issue is about the same odds.

You are being dishonest with your WoS btl readership Co. You are a unionist, you’re cunning plan to get the SNP out of government and thereby cancelling indy ref2, is neatly matched by the endless SNP bad stuff, pouring of Pacific Quay alone.

But despite all that, Teresa is not going to block indy ref2. She knows that blocking indy ref2 might buy her BBC Scotland creep show a little more time to get the SNP out but its likely they will be able to do it, even in the next Scottish and UK GE’s. No one trusts the BBC now, just like red tory SLabour, their reputation, integrity, honour and probity were all sacrificed for the UKOK zone, 2014.

Teresa may have been a high stakes tory gambler like Cammers, before her catastrophic snap GE, but the result has clearly shaken the super confident, “my bbc will save me” tory gambler in her, let alone her aghast shire tory bankbench inbred freak show.

She knows that a block on indy ref2 by our imperial masters in London, say in 2019, will only make the SNP vote bigger and deeper.

And it wont make any difference how much SNP bad pressure BBC Scotland gimps try to inflict on Scots.

Surprised to see you creep back in to WoS btl though, and with exact same cunning unionist ploy as last time. Are you not bored of it? Your mental as anything unionist pal Rock, also parrots the exact same unionist nonsense over and over right enough and he’s a liar YES too.

Anyway, it is on Co!

One answer is that the UK government would always negotiate the issue because it is in mortal fear of having the matter dragged into courts. It can maintain a moral integrity (ha) via negotiation and fudges rather than having its ‘legal’ edifice torn to pieces.”

Add to this though, elections. Look at how Labour have not yet really taken a Brexit stand at all. They’re presumably dodging committing either way to keep Labour vote from UKIP again.

Same with the tories, they have the Telegraph, bbc, all the gutter press screaming for Brexit, with tory backbenchers.

Either way, England wants out of the EU and they’re going to vote who ever gets them out.

Look at the DUP joy, at losing last week. Its entirely possible Teresa doesn’t make it to the next Brexit round in the spring.

link to inews.co.uk

Where does that leave the indy supporters, now that all the eggs have gone into the devolutionist SNP’s basket and will sit there till they’ve gone rotten?

Out the EU and out the game.

Latest polls in Scotland have YES at 47% Colin. In the face of all the last 3 years long years of anti indy propaganda all the UK media can muster, and it is a lot.

Is that not higher than in 2014 Colin?

You seem so flat too, is this why?

I think being forcibly stripped of our EU citizenship, probably constitutes molestation by the British state, that is likely to injury Scotland’s social fabric and public health. I can’t be certain though as there haven’t been any impact assessments conducted.

On Liberty, by John Stuart Mill

Chapter 4
Of the Limits to the Authority of Society over the Individual

WHAT, then, is the rightful limit to the sovereignty of the individual over himself? Where does the authority of society begin? How much of human life should be assigned to individuality, and how much to society?

Each will receive its proper share, if each has that which more particularly concerns it. To individuality should belong the part of life in which it is chiefly the individual that is interested; to society, the part which chiefly interests society.

Though society is not founded on a contract, and though no good purpose is answered by inventing a contract in order to deduce social obligations from it, every one who receives the protection of society owes a return for the benefit, and the fact of living in society renders it indispensable that each should be bound to observe a certain line of conduct towards the rest. This conduct consists, first, in not injuring the interests of one another; or rather certain interests, which, either by express legal provision or by tacit understanding, ought to be considered as rights; and secondly, in each person’s bearing his share (to be fixed on some equitable principle) of the labors and sacrifices incurred for defending the society or its members from injury and molestation….

link to ebooks.adelaide.edu.au

How We Think
Chapter 8: Judgment: the Interpretation of Facts

I. The Three Factors of Judging

A MAN of good judgment in a given set of affairs is a man in so far educated, trained, whatever may be his literacy. And if our schools turn out their pupils in that attitude of mind which is conducive to good judgment in any department of affairs in which the pupils are placed, they have done more than if they sent out their pupils merely possessed of vast stores of information, or high degrees of skill in specialized branches. To know what is good judgment we need first to know what judgment is.

Judgment and inference

That there is an intimate connection between judgment and inference is obvious enough. The aim of inference is to terminate itself in an adequate judgment of a situation, and the course of inference goes on through a series of partial and tentative judgments. What are these units, these terms of inference when we examine them on their own account? Their significant traits may be readily gathered from a consideration of the operations to which the word judgment was originally applied : namely, the authoritative decision of matters in legal controversy ? the procedure of the judge on the bench. There are three such features : (I) a controversy, consisting of opposite claims regarding the same objective situation; (2) a process of defining and elaborating these claims and of sifting the facts adduced to (102) support them; (3) a final decision, or sentence, closing the particular matter in dispute and also serving as a rule or principle for deciding future cases….

link to brocku.ca

Transforming the Personal, Political, Historical and Sacred in Theory and Practice: Personal, Political, Historical, and Sacred

Abstract

The eminent political scientist Manfred Halpern viewed politics as belonging to each of us, as part of the nature of being human. In _A Comprehensive Philosophy of Transformation_, his magnum opus, Halpern elucidates the interconnected “four faces of our being”: the political, personal, historical, and sacred. This momentous volume identifies several modes of political activity, warns against the dangers of leaving politics to professional politicians, and urges us to build networks of compassion that include everyone in a just society. Overall, Halpern calls for a transformative politics achieved through enhanced participation and understanding

link to philpapers.org