Does England subsidise Scotland?

Oh yes!

I think it's crazy for bits of the British Isles to want to be totally independent states. Alex Salmond now seems to be embarking on taking a course which will end up in the SNP majority in the Scottish Parliament pushing through a vote for UDI (regardless of what the rest of what the UK of England, Wales and Northern Ireland might think).

I fear that Salmond's 'enthusiasm' for independence could well result in a situation similar to what we had (and to some extent, still do have) in Ireland. Especially with the present levels of unemployment, I'm sure we'll see some of the more disaffected Scottish 'patriots' rallying to the cause, and forming a Scottish Republican Army. We could well see similar sorts of action to what the IRA carried out against the oppressive English.

But what good will 'freedom' do for Scotland? In the long term, has the RoI really benefited from complete independence? At the time, their struggle was against what had been seen (with some justification) as a repressive and unrepresentative governmental system. However, we now live in more enlightened times, and we are all supposed to be coming together as one big European Community happy family federation. In the light of experience, was the Irish cessation from the UK really worth all the suffering it caused?

And what about Yugoslavia? Are all those now-separate Balkan states better off than they would have been? Is the old USSR better off than it would have been? Have the component parts of ANY fragmented nation ever resulted in lasting benefits for their people? Surely, these are the questions that Alex Salmond should be asking himself.

:Who decided that?

James VI of Scotland (after he also became James I of England) he then called both the United Kingdom. As he has the king arguing with him could shorten your career or even your stature...

:Is the fish off the cornwall coast jointly owned by Scotland?

If they are in UK territorial waters then Scotsmen can go and fish there.

Why should they close? I'm pretty sure those contracts/bases were not secured/sited off the back of pity. Hard-nosed commercial reasons, strategic advantage, political expediency and nepotism more likely.

Scotland will have

I think pragmatism ('terror') will keep the bases open in the short term. Personally, I'd agree with the line of 'bases out' - I don't think a few thousand defence jobs are morally or economically sustainable. But I accept they're there, and some good work is done.

I'm from England ;-)

The obvious freedoms the Scots lose are financial autonomy and self-determination on matters such as health and education.

I find the UK's emphasis on short-termism, private enterprise and the whole 'big society' agenda galling. I'd love to be free of that little lot.

The few Scots I know have a more nuanced view of oppression - several hundred years of land grab etc (forget the details!). That gets under your skin, I'd expect. It's all a case of living on your knees or risk death on your feet. At least that's how I understand it.

Rob

There's food for thought here, particularly in the opening paragraph with the "Yours for Scotland" quote by one Alex Salmond.

Maybe Scotland could form an alliance with that other great North Atlantic superpower. Iceland...or was it Rockall?

Nope, that's for bell jingling Muslims

Right up until the point the Americans arrived

What will they do with Balmoral etc. Maybe give it to the rightful heir?

Balmoral is owned personally by Mrs Windsor, so she might want to keep it as a foreign holiday residence.

The Slave Trade was somewhat similar. Black people sometimes blame the white people for the Slave Trade. They conveniently forget (or don't know) that one's enslavement usually started when a dominant or belligerent West African tribe (sometimes Arabs from the north) rounded up and captured their fellow-countrymen, then carted them off to the coast. Only here did the white slavers really become involved. As a result, our ancestors of several races should bear the guilt.

Sorry, the link itself would assist:

I don't think an African should feel guilt for the actions of a few dozen out of several hundred million. 'Africans' didn't want slavery. 'Europeans' and 'North Americans' (etc) did.

Rob

The slave traders did employ african tribes to capture members of other tribes to become slaves.

I never noticed this post before i posted mine. Sorry.

Ah, you probably missed the Royal Bank of Scotland and the Bank of Scotland - they went down the tubes as well, you know - nice plush offices in Edinburgh.