MORE STUFF RATTLING DOWN...

This in the Guardian!

The European Commission has clarified today (Monday) that its president, Jose Manuel Barroso, "did not want to interfere in the democratic process in place" in Scotland and Catalonia. Barroso warned on Sunday in an interview with the BBC to be "extremely difficult, if not impossible" that a country obtains the endorsement of 28 independent member states to stay in the EU.

He gave the example of Kosovo and the refusal to recognize the secession by Spain.

EU spokeswoman, Pia Ahrenkilde, clarified that Barroso "would not suggest" that the Serbian exprovíncia "was a perfect analogy" for Scotland or Catalonia, only that the case "illustrates the possible difficulties and uncertainties".

Scotland and Catalonia have again focused much of Monday's press conference day of the European Commission. The spokesman had to respond to six questions about the BBC interview in which Barroso said that Kosovo "is a somewhat similar case."

Ahrenkilde said that Barroso "repeatedly said he did not want to interfere in the democratic process in place."

 

Some old Lord called Jay, the daughter of Jim
Callaghan tells us that Yes may mean No.

"We cannot know in advance what the outcome and this is what the president meant," he insisted Ahrenkilde, trying to downplay the statements. According to his spokesman, Barroso under no circumstances "did he imply" Kosovo "was a perfect analogy."

"It was used only to illustrate the difficulties and uncertainties which could arise" in the process Scottish or Catalan. "But he did not want to interfere in the democratic process in place, it was just an illustrative example," argued Ahrenkilde.

The Danish spokesman reiterated that the EU executive "only expressed its opinion on the legal consequences for the EU" independence of Scotland or Catalonia "if a member state asks a scenario." Ahrenkilde denied that the European Commission is preparing to report and stated that despite the controversial statements Barroso, "there is no detailed analysis or opinion." "These are matters of internal constitutional order of member states," he added. (We all know that the UK has refused to ask for an opinion, despite the FM writing to Cameron to ask him to do so, because it reckons it would be favourable to us... and that would never do!)

Francie and Jose, without Francie

Meanwhile an article in the staunchly unionist Guardian written by their ex-European editor, describes about Barroso's vision of Scotland being ejected from the EU as politically maladroit, and goes on to say that his comments are "as ludicrous as his record in office".

To add to the rattling down, Professor David Edward, an ex-judge of the European Court, and now a Professor Emeritus of the University of Edinburgh, where he was Salvesen Professor of European Institutions and Director of the Europa Institute from 1985 to 1989, has rejected Barroso's view. Amazingly this has been covered by the BBC!

One of the best commentaries on this Barroso's pronouncements has been Iain MacWhirter's.

I know Andrew Marr is ailing and perhaps not as energetic as he used to be in his questioning since his stroke, but did none of the comments of these people pop into his, or his researchers' heads when they were preparing for this interview?

I love it when a series of Cameron's plans rattle down...as they inevitably do... as the truth starts to emerge.

**********

GIDEON: INEPTITUDE PERSONIFIED

Why does anyone care what this idiot says? Look at the mess he's made.

In  case any of you have missed James's hilarious post here, I'd suggest you read it, and you might also like to look at the Channel Four poll to which he refers.

As he says, the questions border on insulting, and it's clear from the wording that we are supposed to answer in the negative. Unfortunately for them, that seems not to have worked.

I don't really understand economics, but, as I see it the pound is a currency that both Scotland and England use. It doesn't belong to either country, nor does it belong to Northern Ireland, Wales, Gibraltar, Guernsey, Jersey, Sark, The Isle of man  or the Falkland Islands. It belongs to and in the world as an internationally recognized and tradable currency.

The UK government cannot stop us using it, no more than the Japanese government can stop us using the Yen. 

Not a fat lot of difference between Labour and the Tories then

What the Scottish government proposed was that we would continue to use it, with the backing of the rest of its users ...after all we helped pay for the printing of the notes, the minting of the coins and the very building that houses its offices and vaults. The gold stored therein (or what's left of it) is partly ours and our taxes help to pay for the salary of the staff including the  massive salaries and pensions of its top management and ex management.

In return for this the Scottish government was happy to work with the Bank of England (which should have been called the Bank of Britain), continuing to pay for its services, as presumably the government of Jersey does, and to take its share per capita, of the horrendous debt that it has built up. 

Fair's fair. It we share the benefits of being part of the sterling zone; it wouldn't be unreasonable to share the liabilities. 

It would work for England and the other countries in the sterling zone too, because Scotland's healthy exports would act in its favour.

Smart boy has a degree in history*

But smart boy Gideon, backed, somewhat publicly and indiscreetly, by the civil servant who heads the Treasury has said "no".

So Scotland has no alternative but to use the pound unofficially. This is perfectly legal. As I said earlier we could use any internationally traded currency; the Icelandic Krona, the Swiss Franc, or the Hungarian Forint... but it makes most sense to use the pound because it is what we already use; there would be no need to split the assets of the Bank of England, and there would be no exchange rates to consider between traders on either side of the border.

I see that as a relatively short term thing, because I can see no reason why Scotland should not have its own currency. 

However, using the currency unofficially absolves Scotland absolutely of any obligation to shoulder the trillion pound plus debt that sterling has built up. Just as we have to take the bad with the good, of we are refused the good, we are not likely to take the bad. But no, Gideon doesn't like that. Like all posh spoilt children he wants to have his cake and eat it.

Typical spoilt rich kid

Mystifyingly they tell us that if we do uses the pound and refuse to shoulder the debt, that they may well block independence, regardless of the vote, including our entry into the EU (how grown up is that?), and in the same breath tell us that we would be obliged to use the Euro, which is supposed to scare the living daylights out of people.

Dealing with the privileged, the elite of English society is really like working with spoilt children. 

They want it all their own way.

If this is designed to frighten the horses, then Gideon would know, that a) we don;t believe him and b) if he actually carries out the threat it only makes people more determined.

Scots don;t like being bossed about by posh Tories. And I include Balls in the second part of that. Posh he may not be, aren't but a Tory he surely is!

*After graduating in with a 2:1 in Modern History, Osborne did a few part-time jobs including as a data entry clerk, typing the details of recently deceased into an NHS computer database. He also worked for a week at Selfridges mainly re-folding towels. Osborne originally intended to pursue a career in journalism. He failed to gain a place on the Times trainee scheme, and instead did freelance work for The Telegraph. Then he got a job as a researcher at the Conservative Party. So he clearly is just the man for the job, erm... of folding the towels.

SNAPS ON SUNDAY

Well, Dennis knows all about it. He hid the figures

Where are the likes of Jimmy Reid when you need them?

Of course he feels your pain.
He's suffering every bit as much as you are, isn't he?

Och, you and your slips of the tongue, Dave

Oh, don't let us stop you Gideon, throat next?

Anyone can share the pound, even enemies.
JUST NOT SCOTLAND

I say, money is no object.
I'll have another large cognac, and one for all my friends

Well, it doesn't altogether agree with the treasury's analysis,
but then the treasury is full of half arsed political lick
spittles with their eyes on the K

But we ARE all in it together

Well, WE are all in it together

That's the sort of thing we are in... lying!

Vince matey... made a bit of a fool of yourself there, huh?

Not very good access, pretty slow by comparison to London,
but access nonetheless. Bugger, huh?

Do come up for the weekend Dave,
and bring all your lovely cabinet.

NO really, honestly, we ARE all in this together

Run ye wee fat get... if he catches you, he'll make haggis out of you

I want to tell you: We are all in this together.

Damn good spread, what, Lord Mayor.
 My buttons seem to have popped.
Damned glad that I wasn't paying.

Fine figure of a .... well, whatever.
Just don't harpoon him.

WE REALLY REALLY ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER

So now for a laugh...

Sorry to bother you, but the bird feeder is empty...

You wanna play with me...?

Ha ha, there's always one stupid bat who can't resist opening
her silly gob without thinking. And it's usually Sarah.

And, just in case you were having a good time, enjoying your Sunday, remember there is, or in one case here was, great evil in the world.

So, the caption competition is to write a funny caption for the last two photographs... Answers on a postcard enclosing the usual £10 entry fee addressed to Munguin, at Munguin Towers.

Oh and just one more little treat. I'm sure you'll all be delighted to know that Dave Cameron's barber was awarded an MBE for cutting David Cameron's hair in that amazingly creative style which we have all come to know and love. If the British honours system ever had anything to commend it, it surely sank without trace this week.

WHY NOT SCOTLAND?

These countries have all been allowed to be part of the Sterling Zone.

Can I ask Mr Osborne... do we smell, or something?

Gideon George Oliver Osborne  or GO as we like to call him

Federation of South Arabia,
Sudan,
Australia,
The Bahamas,
Bahrain,
Bangladesh,
Barbados, Lesotho Basutoland,
Bermuda,
Botswana,
British Antarctic Territory,
Guyana,
British Guiana
Belize British Honduras,
British Indian Ocean Territory,
Solomon Islands,
British Somaliland Protectorate (left in 1964),
British Virgin Islands, Brunei,

Burma (left in 1966),
Cayman Islands,Dominion of Ceylon Ceylon (Sri Lanka),
Cyprus,
Egypt (left in 1947),
Falkland Islands,
Fiji,
The Gambia,
Ghana,
Gibraltar,
Tuvalu Gilbert and Ellice Islands (Kiribati and Tuvalu),
Hong Kong,
Iceland,
Republic of Ireland (until 1971),
India (including Sikkim),
Iraq (left in 1959)
Jamaica,
Jordan,
Kenya,
Kuwait
Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis Leeward Islands (comprising Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Montserrat, and Saint Kitts (Saint Christopher and Nevis))
Libya (expelled in 1971)
Malawi,
Malaysia,
Maldives Maldive Islands,

Couldn't happen to a nicer bloke.

Malta,
Mauritius,
Oman Muscat and Oman (Sultanate of Oman),
Nauru ,
New Zealand (including, Cook Islands, Niue, and Tokelau Islands),
Nigeria,
Israel British Mandate for Palestine (required to withdraw in 1948),
Pakistan,
Papua New Guinea,
Pitcairn Islands,
Qatar,
Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) (expelled in 1965),
Saint Helena, Tristan da Cunha,
Seychelles,
Sierra Leone,
Singapore ,
South Africa,
Namibia South West Africa (Namibia),
Swaziland,
Tanganyika,
Tonga ,
Trinidad and Tobago,
Oman Trucial Oman (United Arab Emirates),
Turks and Caicos Islands,
Uganda,
The Channel Islands,

So tell us, what have they all got that we don't have?

The Isle of Man,
Samoa,
Dominica, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Windward Islands (comprising Dominica, Grenada, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines),
Zambia,
Zanzibar,

HMM ...THE WORD THEY ARE LOOKING FOR IS "BACKFIRED"

From the Unionist press "The Courier and Advertiser" in Dundee.

Bullingdon boys just don't really understand the Scots. We don't like to be threatened by posh people. Very very silly of people like Ed Balls, Michael Kelly et al to back them up.

A good day for YES; a good day for Scotland.

THIS IS THE CRÈME DE LA CRÈME

It seems that it may be that even if we vote for independence 

we won't get it.

This, apparently, is tomorrow's headline in the Herald which, according to YES DUNDEE, is saying that the Coalition may not accept the outcome of the referendum now that it is starting to look like the YES side will win it. 

Hey Ho, that's the Tories for you. 

Even I, who wouldn't believe a Tory if he told me the sea was wet, find it hard to believe that they would do this... 

Let's hope it is a hoax.

12.21: addition: It may not be a hoax.

We've also heard that on BBC Newsnight, Labour's Michael Kelly said that if the vote is YES all Labour MPs will act together against Scotland's interests.

This is beginning to sound a bit like war to me... What do you think?

It's certainly not much like my idea of democracy.

DON'T DO THAT, GEORGE

It always seemed to me that the current Conservative government largely comprised a bunch of over-privileged, upper middle class to lower upper class men from what the English somewhat weirdly call “public” school (as most of the public never get near them) and Oxbridge. After the relative egalitarianism of the previous 18-year spell of  Tory misrule, it was a return to the days of the old school tie.

In practical terms that meant that what you got was a bunch of incompetent Hooray Henrys, in post because of who they knew, rather than what they knew, and with absolutely no idea of what species populated the world outside of their own class (except for Nanny and Cook, the Butler and possibly the Head Gardener).

Scary, of course. But if these people had any saving grace it was that they were largely “gentlemen”. You know what I mean: “a chap’s word is A CHAP'S bond” dontcha know?

Well, that seems to have gone out the window.

A matter of days after the now infamous love bombing from the Olympic Park, which went disastrously wrong,  Gideon George Oliver Osborne (if they’d just transposed his two middle names, we could have called him Gogo), broke the terms of the Edinburgh agreement, which states [in more legal language] that the two governments agree to work together to co-operate with the free will of the Scottish population. He came to Scotland to tell us we couldn't hang on to the pound in an independent Scotland. I can't help but feel that it was a pretty silly thing to say.

It smacks of desperation.  It is pretty obviously designed to put the frighteners on Scots. It wouldn't be for the good of the UK economy or the Scottish economy, because, although our currency would be strong, we'd still have to do business with a UK whose currency wasn't worth the paper it was printed on. It appears to be a nasty move on Osborne's part, designed to scare, perhaps better described as bully boy (as opposed to Bullingdon Boy) tactics, which I suppose is what you get in “public school” playgrounds and “dorms” when a responsible member of staff isn't around to control the children.

Everyone knows that the pound is an internationally traded currency, and as such anyone can use it anywhere, with or without the agreement of the Bank of England, so technically they can't even say we can't use it. We can. We just can't use it with their blessing.

But it doesn't seem to be a threat that was ever designed to be carried out. It would damage the English and RUK economies. Almost certainly the pound would tumble without Scottish exports. Companies operating across the border would be lumbered with administration costs of working in two currencies (and although that works between Eire and Ulster, there are costs involved).

However, Osborne says the opposite to all this, and in what we know already has been agreed with Ed Balls and Osborne's glove puppet, Alexander, he adds: "I don't think any other chancellor of the exchequer would come to a different view."

This, in itself, is odd, given that ex-chancellor, Alistair Darling, the Tory’s stooge in Better Together, famously said exactly the opposite! Not to mention the SOS for Scotland and one of the No campaigns academic advisors!

My purpose in writing this is not to go into detailed analysis of the situation, which is, in any case, beyond my economic understanding. That is more expertly covered here by Iain MacWhirter, and the options open to our government here by James Kelly. I felt however, obliged to comment upon to what I see as some sort of change in their strategy. An almost desperate turning nasty, or nastier, of the campaign, precipitated, I have no doubt, by private polling showing that they are losing the argument.

It could, of course, work. There will be those who will be frightened at the idea of starting out with another currency. Of course people will worry about pensions paid in pounds by English pension companies (or the RUK government on contributions paid over a lifetime to London). There will be people who will swallow the “border posts” stories. Barbed wire posts set up to ensure that no pounds escape from England into the badlands of the Scottish borders, no matter how many pictures you put up of postless borders between other countries.

Mind you, if this were the plan, it might have been better to make the announcement a little closer to the time, when the truth would have more difficulty in getting out. 

But I suspect many will see it for what it is: a dirty tricks campaign designed to coerce Scotland to stay with the Uk and let the smug Tory boys continue to enjoy the benefits of Scottish exports to prop up their 19^th century dreams of importance and world statesmanship, and to not suffer the indignity of being the government that lost Scotland.

Those who take the trouble to read a little more than the tabloid stories of the “Hammer blow for SNP” type, will perhaps note what the Adam Smith Institute says.

No one likes a bully, Gideon George… and, I suspect, this may well be another blunder in a long list of blunders that will backfire badly. It can hardly be doubted that, if the referendum is to be won by lies, deceptions and tricks, it will not lead to a happy nor a permanent settlement of the matter. And it won't win you international respect.

Perhaps he should have listened to Joyce Grenfell “Don’t do that, George", which I add here for your entertainment.

WESTMINSTER IS FRIGHTENED, SAYS MR HAMILTON

SO, CHOICE FOR THE UK IN 2015 IS CAMERON OR THATCHER...

...AND THEY STILL REFUSE TO LEGALISE EUTHANASIA ?