Scottish Independence

[Cain]

It becomes an EU border.  So unlesss you've got some audacious plans for smuggling in Norwegians across the border in that kayak of yours...

[P3nT4gR4m]

Foiled again 

We could still declare war on the english tho, right?

[Cain]

Oh dear:

The publication of the report that details Scotland's fiscal health has confirmed that Scotland is subsidising the UK.  There's really no other way to portray the figures contained in GERS.

Well, not unless you are BBC Scotland who yesterday provided yet more evidence to the growing list of incriminatory episodes that are fast leading to the conclusion that there is a corrupt element at Pacific Quay.

In the introduction to last night's News at Ten, Jackie Bird trailed the Scottish slot with the following statement: "The official figures that show how much Scotland relies on oil money to pay the bills if it became an independent country"

Scotland apparently produces nothing at all – save for some oil and gas near our shores that is volatile and running out, it'll be gone the day after we vote for independence.

The late night introduction ended a particularly bruising and brutal day for those of us who longed for the days of honest journalism.  It began with a carefully contrived 'leak' of a document that set the tone for how BBC Scotland would approach the release of official figures that demonstrated the relative wealth of those Scots who pay their wages.

The leaked document was timed to deflect attention from the GERS report, as was the 'downgrading' of the Scottish economy by the Fraser of Allander Institute, the Mystic Meg of economic forecasters.

In any war, the propaganda vehicle must diminish the 'gains' of the enemy whilst embellishing positive news for its own side.  Thus, BBC Scotland's role yesterday wasn't to report on the GERS report in a factual manner, it was to diminish the effectiveness of the figures and blunt what was certain to be a considerable boost for the Yes campaign.

The Reporting Scotland tea-time news item witnessed former Herald Political Editor Douglas Fraser dispense with any pretence of journalistic integrity as he sought to turn good news about his own nation into bad.

The introduction from Jackie Bird was always expected "Can we afford independence? ... the Government are spending a lot more than Scots are paying in tax".

Fraser's job as the Business and Economy Editor ought to have been restricted to the report itself and an explanation of the figures.  Indeed it is acceptable to highlight the deficit if it is clearly explained that this is the norm for countries and that Scotland's deficit as a proportion of GDP is a sign of rude good health.

But alas what we got was a mixture of the BBC 'leak' and a prediction of doom from a think tank that has well documented links to the Labour party.  The mixing of three different subjects allowed Fraser to dilute the effectiveness of the GERS figures and introduce all kinds of politically motivated rhetoric.  Good news thus sounded bad when all three were mixed and conflated.

[LMNO]

So what exactly is Scotland doing to keep their economy so strong? 

[Cain]

A very diverse industrial base producing luxury goods, agriculture, electronics, textiles, housing construction and financial services, in addition to oil and gas.  Scotland also heavily invests in education.

Tourism brings in a pretty decent amount, too.

[LMNO]

No shit?  I thought it was a bunch of drunk yahoos punching each other in the face.






Wait, no, that's America.  My bad.

[Cain]

No, that's Glasgow.

Glasgow was best summed up by Frankie Boyle, the Scottish comedian, on an episode of Mock The Week.  When asked to come up with lines one wouldn't hear in Doctor Who, Boyle said:

"Looks like we've materialised in the 19th century.  Oh no, it's Glasgow, 2007."

[LMNO]

 

[P3nT4gR4m]

No, that's Glasgow.

Glasgow was best summed up by Frankie Boyle, the Scottish comedian, on an episode of Mock The Week.  When asked to come up with lines one wouldn't hear in Doctor Who, Boyle said:

"Looks like we've materialised in the 19th century.  Oh no, it's Glasgow, 2007."

This. Everything north of Calander is like fucking paradise. Watch the movie Local Hero, you'll get the picture. Then watch Neds and you'll have Strathclyde and Central in a nutshell.

I live in Central, so I stomp anyone who comes within stomping range on general principle. Soon as I'm north, I'm the nicest guy you ever met.

[Cain]

The propaganda is picking up again:

But what makes this propaganda utterly unforgiveable is that Vote No Borders is not a grassroots campaign at all but a government organized campaign which has mysteriously acquired start-up cash of 400,000 pounds with no declared origin.

The registered office of Vote No Borders, a private limited company, is at 24 Chiswell Street, London, EC2Y 4YX . Which is perhaps surprising for a "Scottish grassroots campaign".  The directors are Malcolm Offord and Fiona Gilmore.

Now pay close attention: Fiona Gilmore is chief executive of Acanchi a PR Consultany which specializes in "Country Branding".  Its clients include Israel, Dubai, Bahrain and "England".  Yes, it actually specifies "England" on the company website.  Acanchi also works for DFID – in short, it gets UK taxpayers' money, plus Israeli and Gulf Arab money.  Are you familiar with the word fungibility?

Malcolm Offord, it turns out, has donated over 120,000 pounds to the Conservative Party plus made personal donations to Michael Gove.  He is the author of the report "Bankrupt Britain" on the Conservative Home website.  In his paper Offord suggests that further cuts in UK public spending should continue to be made  even after the present debt crisis has been passed[.]

What is it with Tories and Gulf money?  I'm noticing that connection popping up a LOT lately.

[P3nT4gR4m]

I've said from the git go - if westminster wants to retain ownership of scotland then the people of scotland will vote "no", regardless of how the people of scotland vote.

Most likely scenario? - this is a huge fucking propaganda exercise to quell dissent, ahead of a massive austery asset stripping exercise

[Rev. St. Syn, KSC (Ret.)]

Zombie thread mode - It's hilarious to come back to this thread and see how ACCURATE AND RITE P3nT was (and generally is). 

[P3nT4gR4m]

It's a pretty simple formula really. The truth of the matter is always the exact opposite of what they say on the BBC. That's how I knew all along that boris johnson is actually a woman and thus predicted the "covid infection" story half way through the third trimester, as I just new that a well heeled tart like that was going to take extended (paid) maternity leave upon the arrival of her bouncing baby daughter, pandemic or no pandemic.

[Rev. St. Syn, KSC (Ret.)]

It's a pretty simple formula really. The truth of the matter is always the exact opposite of what they say on the BBC.

[Chaos_Zebra]

Red Lodge Scottish Rite

Drink The Red Stuff

There Is a Man In Scotland Who Can Help You With That

Where Wisdom Grows On Trees

Why Did The Unicorn Cross The Street?
Because The Lion Was Goin To Kick It's Ass.