THE JOYS OF BEING A SMALL INSIGNIFICANT PART OF A WOULD-BE WORLD POWER

FUR COAT AND NAE KNICKERS

IN ORDER TO FINANCE THE TORY AUSTERITY CUTS...

...We would have to put up taxes on Scottish people who, remember, did not vote for the Tories' cuts, while still paying taxes to London to pay for HS2, London's sewers, and Crossrail...

Was this what the Vow was all about? Was this what Gordon Brown promised on behalf of Better Together? Was this what Smith intended? 

Was this what convinced all these people to change from Yes to No?

I don't think so...

RANDOM THOUGHTS ON THE LAST FEW DAYS: CHINA, NORTHERN POWERHOUSE AND EVEL

The last day of the charade that is the Golden Era celebration will be over today. After Mr Xi takes a trip to what the English call "The North", he will escape back to China.

In OUR United Kingdom though, "The North" isn't Shetland or Orkney, nor is it the Hebrides, Highlands, Central Belt, nor even the Southern Uplands. 

Nope, it is far south of all of these things. 

It's almost like the Brits drew a map and replaced the word Scotland with "Here be Dragons". Or Haggis!

This is where I left the kid.

The North is Manchester, some 200 kms south of Scotland, from where the Brits are going to build a Northern Powerhouse, presumably with Chinese money, becasue they have none themselves.

The cornerstone of this powerhouse will be, if they ever get it started, the High Speed Train from the centre of the universe that is London, to "The North". HS2.

The costs of the line are difficult to pin down. Having started off at a reasonable price of around £16 billion, the building of the line is now estimated by the English Transport Department to have risen to £43 billion. But we all know thay can;t count much after 20, so it is wise to look at other estimates. Boris Johnson, the London Mayor and MP, has it at £70 billion, and the Institute of Economic Affairs at £80 billion.  Bit of a difference there...

TGV Network running into Belgium, Luxembourg and Switzerland

A House of Lords Committee has suggested that the cost of building the line will be nine times more expensive than the French equivalent. The French of course had the foresight to build high speed trains (TGV) across the country decades ago when Mitterrand was president and Thatcher was favouring roads and private transport.

You might rub your hands together with glee, thinking that if Mr Osborne was pouring all this money into "The North" then there would be benefits for Scotland in the form of Barnett consequentials. But I fear you would be wrong.

There will be no consequentials, just as there were not for Crossrail or the Olympics.

This despite the fact that the negative impact of the line on certain areas outside of England (particularly including Eastern Scotland and South Wales) will be severe.

And now that we have EVEL, Scottish MPs won't even be allowed to vote on this railway which will have such a negative effect on our country. 

It's not just English foxes that will rue the passing of the EVEL bill last night and the second class status now accorded to our MPs.

(I wonder if that means that Muddle will be excluded from Cabinet when English matters are being discussed, or if the English Members of the Scottish Affairs Committee will now be excluded from the Scottish Affairs Committee... and, given that Scotland was excluded from this state visit, did Muddle have a meeting with President Xi... OK, silly question.)

The last few days have shown where the London government (which we can now reasonably call the English Government) places the Scots in OUR United Kingdom, the one that Cameron goes on and on about ad nauseam.

Roll on the next opportunity to, like Mr Xi, escape from this ridiculous and pathetic little third rate union.

RANDOM THOUGHTS AND SOME SNAPS FOR SUNDAY

Mark Coburn, who cycled from Rome to Scotland to raise money for the YES campaign arrived home last night. Munguin's intrepid reporter was on hand to catch a couple of photos of him. It's worth mentioning that he did the bike ride with a broken bone in his elbow and four cracked ribs.

Munguin's woman on the scene was none other than Arbroath to whom Munguin sends his sincere thanks for sharing the pictures. Expenses are paid, he reminds her, on the usual basis. (Anything over £500,000 is reimbursed fully.)

Mark, his bike and Arbroath's car!

Mark with Arbroath, her partner and a friend from YES.
More photos on Yes South Annandale Facebook page

The Euro part of the election results hasn't even been announced yet (counting can't begin till after the polls close in all countries... and even then Western Isles won't count on the Sabbath so we won't have the final results till tomorrow), but based on what, I'm sure UK politicians see as the more important elections (English local councils) the knives are out for all the party leaders.

It's been hilarious listening to them wriggle and squirm over the last few days.

The parties are turning on their leaders and factions are setting up. Conservatives like our old favourite Jacob Rees Mogg are urging a pact with UKIP; Labour MPs are calling Ed Miliband weird and there are widespread calls for Nick Clegg to stand down.

But fear not. None of them will go. It's far too near the UK elections and the Scottish referendum for that, so we will have all of them to laugh at for a while longer.

My favourite interview has been Gideot telling us he respects Nigel and the people who voted for him and that they/he must do more listening to and understanding "ordinary" people. (He'll have to meet some first.)

The phrase that keeps coming to mind is: "when thieves fall out, honest men come by their own".

Talking of which...

How useful this will be to the average person from Glasgow or Wick.
Will Londoners be helping to pay for new sewerage in Stornoway?
And isn't sewerage in England a matter from private companies?

How handy this train will be for people in Kirkcaldy, or  Keith.
Hop on and hop off.
Studies have shown that it has the potential to damage the economies of Eastern Scotland
and yet we will end up paying £& or £8 BILLION towards it.
Oh the benefits of the greatest union ever known to man or beast...

And, just a few months in they are starting to question whether
the will be able to sustain the universal delivery. Look out
fro massive price rises in all but the biggest cities in Scotland

It speaks for itself. Add in the BBC money taken from Scotland
to be spent in the UK. All the taxes from Tesco and its
 likes  that go to London. What a rip off.

This is what I just don't understand Labour.
What is their motivation?

Well, of course, there is this. Eh Robertson, ffoulkes, Martin,
Liddell, and Wee Jock (it's a kilt I tell ye) McConnell.
No daft Tory aristocratic titles in Scotland

Oh yeah... and that.
Doubt you'll do that in Edinburgh.
Actually, you have to travel every day. Tough!

Unless of course you like having the lowest pension
by comparison to average wage in the developed world, in
which case the UK is just superb.

In fact what you pay would buy a far far better set of public services

So, you read it in the Financial Times,
that well-known pro independence paper...?

They used our taxes to commission a report and when it didn't
 say what they wanted it to say they hid it.
Does that sound familiar?

Oh, I feel so safe with that big safety blanket of the UK's
broad shoulders and clout to keep me from harm.

THE THINGS THEY SAY...

Well... actually, I think we are pretty good to you too.
Take for example, the HS2 Project...

Now, that is a pretty big give from a little country
 that's too poor, stupid and small to run its own affairs..

RANDOM THOUGHTS

From Speech

Cameron: "We've already got technical colleges run by great companies like JCB... ...I say: let’s have one of those colleges in every single major town."

Since David Cameron became leader of the Conservative party it has received a total of £1,973,937.89 in donations from JCB's Chairman Sir Anthony Bamford, as well as from JC Bamford Excavators Ltd and JCB Research.

(Not the first time this man has been mentioned in a Cameron speech. I' wonder at his judgment.)

**********

From STN News

Harry Smith: What about the argument that you are the head of the government that is putting a lot of resources, a lot of money, a lot of civil servants’ time into producing arguments in support of the union, and therefore you should explain why to those who will vote at the referendum.

David Cameron: I think the right place to do that is in the Westminster Parliament where I am open to question by Scottish MPs, those who want Scotland to leave the United Kingdom, those who want Scotland to stay, every Wednesday, 12 o’clock, do tune in, and I am open to question by them all the time. The real question is for the Scottish people, do they want to stay or do they want to go? That is where the debate should take place, between the people with a vote.

(In short you are scared of a face to face with a better man with a bigger intellect and superior vision.)

**********

From Yes Scotland

Westminster almost unique in its failure to ensure revenues from finite oil and gas reserves are invested so future generations can benefit too

An independent Scotland could have built a fund worth £100 billion by now, but with North Sea remaining productive for decades to come, a great opportunity remains.

(Imagine what we could have done with £100 billion)

**********

And how about this little gem from Cameron?

Cameron: "HS2 is about bringing North and South together in our national endeavour. Because think of what more we could do with the pistons firing in all parts of our country. With its wind and wave power, let’s make the Humber the centre of clean energy.

"With its resources under the ground, let’s make Blackpool the centre of Europe for the shale gas industry. With its brains and research centres, let’s make Manchester the world leader in advanced materials. We're building an economy for the North and South, embracing new technologies, producing things and selling them to the world."

(So, London and Leeds are the south and north of the country. And... producing things and selling them to the world? What planet is this idiot on?)

SNAPS ON SUNDAY (ON MONDAY)

(Oh, get over it. It's not like it hasn't happened before)

"Just ignore him. It's Prince Andrew again..."

Don't know how he'd feel but the rest of us would get a good laugh...

Yeah, like Salmond would believe anything Dave the Spiv says...

What can you say...?

...specially on a Saturday night! (From the Urchin)

We'll just stay drunk, maybe even you will seem funny then, although I doubt it

Indeed, still, it must have been nice for Ruth to look out and see a few people had turned up. It's not like she is used to that.

Well, what do they expect if they try to keep themselves secret?

Time he joined Allan Grogan

LOL Plonker

It will, of course cost more than the GDP of the world

So, just to chill, seeing it's Monday, here are some  relaxing pictures from Norway, Greenland and a library, somewhere!

THIS AND THAT...

The Coalition parties appeared to be too scared to defend their controversial welfare reforms, after opting out of a televised debate on the independence referendum, as reported in today’s Sunday Herald.

Both the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats ducked thechance to appear on next month’s head-to-head debate on STV about welfare and pensions. Scottish Labour’s deputy leader Anas Sarwar will speak for the No campaign, with Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon representing the Yes campaign.

 Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “It speaks volumes that both parties in the UK Government are running away from debating their welfare and pensions policies – but it is hardly surprising given how deeply unpopular those punitive policies are.

“However, people will be shocked that Labour is prepared to do their work for them, and that Anas Sarwar has been sent in to bat in defence of the Bedroom Tax.  His party have refused to commit to scrapping it, and only a Yes vote next year will ensure it is axed.

“I am looking forward to the chance to debate with Labour on why they believe decisions on welfare should remain in Westminster’s hands.

“And I’m relishing the opportunity to spell out to people how an independent Scotland, in which we always get the governments we vote for, will have a fairer welfare system that protects the most vulnerable in our society.”

**********

The controversial decision of the UK government to celebrate the beginning of

the First World War, [conveniently in Glasgow where all-UK state events are never held, only weeks before the referendum on the future of Scotland] is causing some disquiet in Germany. 

This of course may be of no interest to the average Brit, but Cameron might want to consider that about the same time he will be trying to persuade other EU countries to allow the UK (or England, Wales, NI) to have special conditions attached to its memberships, and opt outs from almost everything that doesn't make the UK money. 

Having already made himself unpopular with Spain, upsetting Germany might be considered to be a pretty silly move. 

Imagine! Cameron doing something stupid.  

**********

Having only a couple of weeks ago read that the estimated cost of the new British (ha ha) high speed train link between London and Birmingham, which is supposed eventually to go as far as the "north" of the country (Leicester and Manchester... you know, a couple of hundred miles south of here) had doubled to £40 billion, it came as a bit of a surprise this morning to hear that it had happened again. 

The estimate cost for the Birmingham part is now some £80 billion. If it doubles every month and isn't due to start until 2017, would anyone care to offer an opinion on the final cost?

**********

On top of stories about the Queen and Prince Charles having bills changed to

suit them, we now read that MPs are concerned that Charlie has put moles into a couple of government departments (Cabinet Office and the Department of the Environment) without the knowledge of the ministers concerned.

It's bad enough having to fork out vast sums for this family to live in unseemly luxury while their subjects are being thrown onto the street for having a spare bedroom, but adding yet another level of undemocratic government, Charlie Rothsay, to a house of placemen, churchmen and aristos and a whipped first past the post commons, was step too far. it's outrageous he now appoint people to departments of government without letting the government know. 

No wonder there's a shortage of jobs for ordinary people.

**********

Oh yeah. I thought you might like to see a picture of the Scottish Defence League march in Edinburgh on Saturday. You'll note that they have decided to adopt a novel version of the Saltire and that they come from McBlackburn and MacSunderland...  Oh Aye, hoots the noo...innit?