World Politics

[python]

for anyone still not tired of the confusing developments in ukraine, some significat events took place today..this appears the case reading the alternative media. the reason i decided to post my impressions is b/c virtually no western msm gave a crap.

-today the uki prez has proposed a special status for 'some parts' controlled by the rebels. the thrust of what he reportedly said was decidedly a major compromise (a supposedly significant reversal of the previously held hard policies towards the rebels). the details are sketchy but if i got it right, the uki prez was proposing a 3 year period where the rebels may control their own political fortunes and their special links to russia..as long as they dont pretend to split the unitary ukraine. if true, this is a major unswallowable to the uki neo-nazis..is poro maneuvering under the german pressure ? i think so.

-the natural gas war is certainly heating up... almost in direct proportion to to europe's air cooling. the gazprom folks are postponing the tri-party meeting (the eu, russia ukraine) under all sorts of phony excuses, whilst cutting back the gas supplies to those countries (poland,d slovakia, hungary) that engaged in supplying ukraine with the so called 'reverse gas' - a virtual resale of undelivered russian gas still in the ukrainian pipes pls. recall, russia cut its supplies to ukraine due to huge arrears claimed to exceed 5 bills.

-today the ceasefire underwent its biggest challenge. its too confusing to call the culprits. one thing is clear - both sides used the breezing space to beef up their positional war...i am not optimistic the no shooting will hold another week.

it is certainly a geopolitical chess game i hesitate to interpret beyond what i already said...

 

[ferryman]

i have long been partial to the uk. in an anglophile way...i have also always harboured special interest towards everything celtic, particularly the scots. thus my personal opinion on the looming divorce is mixed... whilst i still don't understand many economic arguments on either side - not for the lack of trying - on a purely intuitive level i see the divorce as a lose-lose affair.

below are 3 emotion-free, nuts-and-bolts articles that have substantially increased my personal understanding of the fundamental economic and military issues involved in the divorce.

as usual, the financial and business media in the west showed most substance. including about the nuclear fleet fate normally subject to scare tactic and void of any objective look.

Independent Scotland’s prosperity hinges on five challenges
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/33f0e74e-3a6c-11e4-8ee4-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3DNkgpeGj

Scotland faces running gauntlet to join EU
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/195ffc62-343b-11e4-8832-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3DNkgpeGj

How Does The British Military Split With An Independent Scotland?
http://www.ibtimes.com/how-does-british-military-split-independent-scotland-1682076

I did't even bother reading the links. The die is almost set. Look, I work for the biggest of the financial companies that have come out against a YES vote. They simply CANNOT move out of Scotland without a MAJOR and destructive effect on their share price. They are going nowhere just like the rest of the rest of the others. It's actually ridiculous to even debate this. Moved me to London and double my salary, nice but no thanks.

 

[ferryman]

The MAJORITY of British people get a government they haven't voted for. That is democracy, Mon Ami.

After the independence vote, a huge proportion of Scots will be living in a state they don't want. That's democracy.

As for statistics and dammed lies, they are coming out thick and fast from both sides.

I'm sorry you missed my point. I'll make it simple so you can do the math. One Tory MP in Scotland divided by how many in the UK equals what representation? If you think that's democracy, well my points are here to be debated further.

 

[blutto]

....since the "fracking potential" of The Ukraine is one of the things driving the glorious revolution the following may be the future for arguably the richest farmland in the world....

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Faulty gas wells are the main cause of drinking water contamination near homes in Pennsylvania and Texas shale formations, according to a new report.

The study, conducted by scientists from five universities, examined the gas content of over 130 drinking water wells in the two states.

The scientists found that methane leaks from the natural gas drilling operations were more likely to come from the wells dues to a lack of cement surrounding its shaft, or "poor casing."

At every cluster of drinking water wells examined, increased levels of natural gas from the Marcellus shale in Pennsylvania and Barnett shale in Texas were found, the report states.

“People’s water has been harmed by drilling,” said Robert B. Jackson, professor of environmental and earth sciences at Stanford and Duke. "In Texas, we even saw two homes go from clean to contaminated after our sampling began."

Read more: http://thehill.com/policy/energy-en...king-main-source-of-water-contamination-study

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Cheers

 

[laurel1969]

I'm sorry you missed my point. I'll make it simple so you can do the math. One Tory MP in Scotland divided by how many in the UK equals what representation? If you think that's democracy, well my points are here to be debated further.

I got your point entirely, so you don't need to assume a patronising tone, thanks. 67.6% of the UK voters didn't vote conservative. That is how democracy works. There is a hidden paradox, it even has a name....the Wollheim paradox. The UK is still one country so just like other regions that didnt get the government they wanted it has to be accepted as a democratic decision. At least Scotland has some devolved powers.

 

[TheSpud]

I'm sorry you missed my point. I'll make it simple so you can do the math. One Tory MP in Scotland divided by how many in the UK equals what representation? If you think that's democracy, well my points are here to be debated further.

The point there is that the example you mention is for the UK election based in Westminster determining UK laws - therefore national boundaries are irrelevant.

As Laurel mentioned you have a devolved parliament for many areas, therefore giving better representation. What is odd is that the Scottish MPs in Westminster cant vote on those areas (unless they also happen to be MSPs) but can on areas affecting on England & Wales.

 

[TheSpud]

I got your point entirely, so you don't need to assume a patronising tone, thanks. 67.6% of the UK voters didn't vote conservative. That is how democracy works. There is a hidden paradox, it even has a name....the Wollheim paradox. The UK is still one country so just like other regions that didnt get the government they wanted it has to be accepted as a democratic decision. At least Scotland has some devolved powers.

But for once for the last 4+ years the government of the day is made up of political parties that polled more than 50%.

 

[TheSpud]

I did't even bother reading the links. The die is almost set. Look, I work for the biggest of the financial companies that have come out against a YES vote. They simply CANNOT move out of Scotland without a MAJOR and destructive effect on their share price. They are going nowhere just like the rest of the rest of the others. It's actually ridiculous to even debate this. Moved me to London and double my salary, nice but no thanks.

I agree - they wont all of a sudden move to London. Assuming you work for a bank then they will almost certainly move their official HQ to London as they will need a substantial "Lender of last resort" in the Bank of England. Longer term though, I would imagine the jobs would drift out of Scotland.

 

[Bustedknuckle]

What you forget is that (probably) most Scots will vote no.

This isn't the 17th century.

Check on Friday morning to see what 'most' Scots do...

 

[laurel1969]

Even if yes win it will be by a tiny margin. The problem with the word 'most' is that it covers a range of 48%

 

[TheSpud]

Check on Friday morning to see what 'most' Scots do...

I'm going for a dead heat ...

 

[python]

Scotland and Ukraine: The Ties That Bind?
David C. Hendrickson
http://nationalinterest.org/feature/scotland-ukraine-the-ties-bind-11288

"No one had anticipated the outbreak of a bitter civil war between Scotland and England..."

 

[Hawkwood]

Good luck on Thursday..my family(2 generations ago) is a small clan up east of Loch Ness..around Inverness(Chisholms)...I would like to see Scotland be removed from Great Britian once and for all. They have had their thumb on Scotland since what, Edward the First? Glad to see the various 'clans' of Scotland finally working together to form a free Scotland.

Alba gu bràth

How are you going to remove Scotland from Great Britain, the latter is simply the name for the largest island in the archipelago?

 

[hrotha]

A question for Yes voters: do the independentists have any particular plans for the Scots language?

 

[laurel1969]

http://m.scotsman.com/news/politics...rds-say-scots-is-not-a-real-language-1-786317

 

[hrotha]

Well that was a disappointing (though not surprising) read.

And this...

Tory culture spokesman Ted Brocklebank said: "It is no surprise that 64 per cent of the Scottish public do not believe that Scots is a language. This is because we already have a Scots language – it is called Gaelic.

...was stupid.

 

[laurel1969]

I really have no opinion on it as I'm pretty far away from it all but Scots does strike me as a dialect rather than a language.

In Wales, there is a determined political attempt to promote Welsh but really the number of fluent speakers amounts to only about 15% of the population. Welsh kids have their education in Welsh, but many regard it as a hindrance, especially if they then move to higher education in England.

 

[hrotha]

I don't mind considering Scots a dialect of English. Although on historical grounds it's a separate branch of the Anglic family that split off directly from Old English, there have been centuries of confluence as Scots speakers took English as a higher standard. That's perfectly natural, it happens all the time.

However, I'm concerned by what I perceive as the average Scotsman disparaging their own native speech. Calling Scots a dialect of English is fine if it's not paired with a view that it's simply uneducated or vulgar speech, but from my experience that is exactly what many (most?) people think. That's why its acknowledgment as a separate language would be a good sign in my opinion.

 

[The Hitch]

I don't mind considering Scots a dialect of English. Although on historical grounds it's a separate branch of the Anglic family that split off directly from Old English, there have been centuries of confluence as Scots speakers took English as a higher standard. That's perfectly natural, it happens all the time.

However, I'm concerned by what I perceive as the average Scotsman disparaging their own native speech. Calling Scots a dialect of English is fine if it's not paired with a view that it's simply uneducated or vulgar speech, but from my experience that is exactly what many (most?) people think. That's why its acknowledgment as a separate language would be a good sign in my opinion.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=S-XxCZZEFzQ

 

[blutto]

....on the eve of the distinct possibility that the US of A will attempt to bring democracy and stuff to Syria by the proven means of dropping bombs on it lets take a gander at a history of US of A post WW2 bombing for democracy and stuff....

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List of countries the USA has bombed since the end of World War II


We just love to bomb other countries! ....to spread democracy and stuff....plus its piles of fun playing with lots of shiny toys and buttons and nobody really dies, except for the bad guys natch, and the videos are just so forking cool....


http://www.globalresearch.ca/list-o...as-bombed-since-the-end-of-world-war-ii/24626


China 1945-46

Korea 1950-53

China 1950-53

Guatemala 1954

Indonesia 1958

Cuba 1959-60

Guatemala 1960

Belgian Congo 1964

Guatemala 1964

Dominican Republic 1965-66

Peru 1965

Laos 1964-73

Vietnam 1961-73

Cambodia 1969-70

Guatemala 1967-69

Lebanon 1982-84

Grenada 1983-84

Libya 1986

El Salvador 1981-92

Nicaragua 1981-90

Iran 1987-88

Libya 1989

Panama 1989-90

Iraq 1991

Kuwait 1991

Somalia 1992-94

Bosnia 1995

Iran 1998

Sudan 1998

Afghanistan 1998

Yugoslavia – Serbia 1999

Afghanistan 2001

Libya 2011

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Cheers

 

[laurel1969]

So the Scotland vote. Polls are opening and pollsters are saying it is neck and neck.

I'm hopefully predicting a no this time around, as the Yes vote revolves around Salmond's emotionally charged pleas that 'We can take our own destiny in our hands, its our future' blah, which seems very appealling, emotionally, but doesn't answer any of the practical questions as to what an independent Scotland may look like in a decade. In fact, nobody has produced any credible answers to this despite the onus being on the Yes campaign as the status quo is economically not too bad for Scotland, but it could get a lot worse without the subsidising effect of a large union.

Salmond was shown yesterday to have misled over an independent Scotland's ability to maintain a free health service which stands as a fairly central pillar of the campaign in sharp refrain the the current UK government's attempts to kill the NHS off throughout the nation.

I'm hoping that the No vote wins, allowing the Yes vote to be recognised as a serious proposition. This would hopefully allow a proper informed debate about the issues not in the crucible of an election campaign and would lead to a future referendum.

 

[TheSpud]

So the Scotland vote. Polls are opening and pollsters are saying it is neck and neck.

I'm hopefully predicting a no this time around, as the Yes vote revolves around Salmond's emotionally charged pleas that 'We can take our own destiny in our hands, its our future' blah, which seems very appealling, emotionally, but doesn't answer any of the practical questions as to what an independent Scotland may look like in a decade. In fact, nobody has produced any credible answers to this despite the onus being on the Yes campaign as the status quo is economically not too bad for Scotland, but it could get a lot worse without the subsidising effect of a large union.

Salmond was shown yesterday to have misled over an independent Scotland's ability to maintain a free health service which stands as a fairly central pillar of the campaign in sharp refrain the the current UK government's attempts to kill the NHS off throughout the nation.

I'm hoping that the No vote wins, allowing the Yes vote to be recognised as a serious proposition. This would hopefully allow a proper informed debate about the issues not in the crucible of an election campaign and would lead to a future referendum.

Getting ahead of yourself there - the polls open tomorrow, unless Salmond has already moved the country on to some kind of 'Scottish Mean Time' that is 24 hours ahead of the rest of the UK!

Salmond is lying about the NHS - Scotland already has devolved powers to control NHS spending, but then it wouldn't be a proper election without lies (on both sides).

 

[TheSpud]

How are you going to remove Scotland from Great Britain, the latter is simply the name for the largest island in the archipelago?

Correct, in the same way that Cuba is in South America.

 

[del1962]

I don't mind considering Scots a dialect of English. Although on historical grounds it's a separate branch of the Anglic family that split off directly from Old English, there have been centuries of confluence as Scots speakers took English as a higher standard. That's perfectly natural, it happens all the time.

However, I'm concerned by what I perceive as the average Scotsman disparaging their own native speech. Calling Scots a dialect of English is fine if it's not paired with a view that it's simply uneducated or vulgar speech, but from my experience that is exactly what many (most?) people think. That's why its acknowledgment as a separate language would be a good sign in my opinion.

There isn't really a single Scottish Dialect though, someone from Edinborough sounds very different than someone from Oban, who both sound very different from someone from Aberdeen etc.

 

[Jagartrott]

This is an informative piece by George Monbiot on the role of the media in the referendum. As an absolute outsider, it felt pretty obvious to me reading on BBC and The Guardian of how biased the media seem to be in favour of 'no'.

As I said earlier, negative emotions (fear in this case) usually win the day. So I predict 'no' will win. But this whole thing will have inflicted wounds. The obviousness with which UK politicians are trying to bribe Scotland all of a sudden, is pretty staggering by the way.