I collected a thousand hours in Northern Ireland; most of it below 200 ft. I would think that during that time I was in a gunsight more than three hundred times.

However, getting back on thread. I, as a pensioner living in Scotland, hope that the Union prevails. The reason is selfish. Should Scotland become independent and the financial dreams don't work out then they are going to have to cut out a few perks. The first one is the very expensive free bus travel nationwide for the over sixties. I like that; I like going from Aberdeen to Ullapool for the weekend for free; and I want the British taxpayers to keep funding it.

Wwyvern

We did not qualify for the GSM because we were not on the Ration Strength in NI. IIRC the requirement was 30 days on the Ration Strength.

What the f*&^ has GSM and accumulated bits and bobs and being on someone's ration strength got to do with this thread which is titled Scottish Independence!!!

Wiretensioner

I suspect you would have also needed to be there for a bit longer than 90 minutes on each visit to qualify for rations :p

I am still waiting to find out whether cazatou thinks that my service to the UK should be coldly and completely dismissed should an independence referendum return an affirmative vote.

The thing is that caz can't stay on topic for very long without feeling the urge to tell us something marvelous about himself, or indeed apparently his wife...

In addition to the "I personally" comment being irrelevant to the debate, what has "my wife was a College Vice Principal who owned her own aircraft....." got to do with anything? The fact you are both UK taxpayers might indeed have some merit in the discussion, not that your wife is commenting directly - as for the rest? Do men whose wife owns an aircraft have a more important opinion than those who don't?

How many RAF log books is it you have again caz...? Just in case we have all forgotten.





Edited to add - He won't answer the question, as he won't have read it. Apparently I'm on his "ignore" list!

Making Caz' ignore list is dead easy, just ask him a question that he doesn't like and voilà, you are ignored :ok:

I asked him loads on the Mull thread, all of which at best he could stumble a response to but always ended up looking foolish, at one time he even tried to blame the crash on the Captain not sitting down in the mess for breakfast :p

Alex Salmond has just been on the Andrew Marr show, peddling backwards for all he's worth. Evidently now, an independent Scotland will still be a part of the United Kingdom i.e. the Queen will still be the reigning Monarch in Scotland, as in England, Northern Ireland and Wales. Scotland will also retain, for now, Sterling as the currency. Wonder what happened to the idea of signing up to the Euro?:E

Wonder what happened to the idea of a wholly independent Scotland, what's more, Mr Salmond was speaking most charmingly about the English!:p

FB:)

The Devo Max crap did not spring up by accident, more money more autonomy and the Westminster safety net would do nicely I suspect.

Also amusing watching him duck and dive Andrew Marrs question on whether the rest of the Union should get a vote on the Devo-Max question. Marr suggested that Devo-Max was more like a divorce and therefore both parties should be involved in negotiations ie if the Scots have a referendum to adopt Devo Max then so should the remainder of the Union as to whether they would allow it!

SFFP

The benefits of the fully independent Scotland, as far as the Mull is concerned, is they might bring corporate manslaughter charges against those responsible for the accident, and the apologists who covered it up.:E

Re Devo Max,

Personally Devo Max, as I understand it, looks a good option vice Independence. It would mean:

1. UK remains intact.
2. Scotland responsible for its own tax raising and expenditure - brings full
fiscal responsibility and puts paid to Barnet formula and complaints of
unfairness from South Watford gap.
3. England would gain its own parliament separate from UK Westminster
parliament - hopefully bringing greater sense of identity and
representation to the English regions.

Devo Max would certainly need a UK wide vote but I think the idea is progressive and looking more and more attractice. It's certainly worth discussing to tease the issues out.

:ok:

Devo Max is being sought because its a great deal for those south of the border :confused:

"Devo Max is being sought because its a great deal for those south of the border http://images.ibsrv.net/ibsrv/res/sr...s/confused.gif "



Errr,,,,,,,,,no, but that is perhaps a consequence! Only a thought!

What's the Tower for?

AS?

The question should be "Should Scotland leave the United Kingdom and become an independent sovereign state?". Very simple and candid.

Devo max has rightfully been rejected by Cameron because it's a silly idea. It would bring all the negatives of a federal system (inconsistent business laws, tax loopholes, more bureaucracies etc) but due to it's lopsided implementation in the UK it would bring virtually none of the benefits.

It would be like if America actually only had 2 states. One being California and the other being a flyover state like Minnesota. England would have to divide into smaller states too to make it relevent, but it seems the UK is too small for a federation.

In fact we should never have given them a Parliament in the first place - it's already proving detrimental to the UK overall - but the genie is now out of the lamp and it won't be revoked without a hissy fit.

If Scotland wants Devo Max they can go it alone, but they can't hold the rest of the UK to ransom to get their own way all the time. It's either in as an equal or out.

Salmond is of course fishing for a reaction like this off Cameron and the population of the UK because that is his plan: create a divide and animosity that doesn't exist between English and Scottish people. If they keep arguing long enough they'll hate each other and both will want to go their own way. This is probably why we have to wait so long for an answer to the most basic of questions. Sigh...

Perhaps California and either Louisana or Wyoming would be better choices.

California...leftist liberal, welfare state...high taxes...immigration problems...high crime...and some oil but lots of farming. Louisana and Wyoming...smaller more rural populations...lower crime...not much in the way of immigration problems and lots of oil.

I chose Cali because it's got the biggest population. But you're right. We'd have to make the small one the whining socialists.

SASless - I think you'll find Louisiana has a higher crime rate in all major categories than California. Indeed most of the Southern (generally Republican) states are higher crime. Wiki is a good pointer to various databases, colorful maps, etc.

As for immigration - well I see the point you're trying to make but that really has to be seen as a Federal issue. State hands are pretty tied, for better or worse. By and large border states will of course have bigger issues but every State in the Union is trying to figure this one out. Don't hold your breath for action from Congress. And until everybody - even the good folks from Wyoming - is prepared to pay ten bucks for a lettuce we can say everybody benefits - or is pained - equally.

Just my 2c ....

Avionker

My apologies - I have been dealing with other matters.

Regarding your Military Pension - it is defined as a UK Government Pension which HMG reserves the right to tax in the United Kingdom irrespective of where you live on this Planet. My Military Pension and my Wife's Teachers Pension, as well as our Old Age Pensions, are taxed in the UK - although we are resident in France.

If Scotland secedes from the UK then that situation will prevail as the UK will still exist without the participation of Scotland - thus such Pensions will still be taxed in UK!!!

Cazatou - you can get the UK state pension paid direct in €, taxed in France not UK, hence I paid 5% on it last year (2010)