General News/Current Affairs Thread

theirsbailiff said:
US to go on the offensive against IS
In my mind's eye:
"Us" to go on the offensive against "is"

OXFORD, UNITED KINGDOM. Numerous leading contributors to the Oxford English Dictionary have launched a campaign to rid the English language of the word "is", arguing for a more suitable replacement to be found. The group, collectively referring to themselves as "Us", shocked linguists and philologists worldwide by describing the word as being "as outmoded as any form of auxiliary verb could become". Other leading academics have been quick to defend "is" from Us however, several of whom dismissing the group's plans as "the most complete and utter (continued page 94)
 
Do people think Scotland should be independant?

I don't really have much of an opinion on it though.

However, I do feel the Scottish are being naive thinking they can keep the GBP if they leave us. Erm, why would you have the GREAT BRITISH POUND if you leave GREAT BRITAIN?! Bit of silly thinking there Scotland. As George has said, it'd be like sharing a bank account after a divorce! So have a big think if you're happy to suddenly see the EUR in your wallet and as your price for things in bars and shops!

I for one would hate to have the EUR hehe :p I was SO happy when we kept the GBP all those years ago when it was questioned/up for discussion/deciding.
 
We and scotland are brothers

Wales
Scotland
England
Northern Ireland
Southern Ireland

We are one big family......And a family should stick together

Sure we have diffrent views
And we have had our ups and downs
But when I see these places on a map......I don't see England or Scotland ect

I see Britain.....one in the same family
 
I don't really have an opinion on Scottish independence either, I don't see how it can benefit them, but I don't see how it can be detrimental either. I do have relatives up in Scotland, and they say that they're going to move back down to England if the whole thing goes through though.
 
Funny, I wouldn't particularly want to see Britain split up (though it's not my decision, that's for the Scots, self determination and all that) but if it did I think I'd be more incline to move TO Scotland. Seems like their parliament at least gives a bit of a **** about people. Also England would probably be stuck with Tory rule, forever.
 
ayase said:
Funny, I wouldn't particularly want to see Britain split up (though it's not my decision, that's for the Scots, self determination and all that) but if it did I think I'd be more incline to move TO Scotland. Seems like their parliament at least gives a bit of a **** about people. Also England would probably be stuck with Tory rule, forever.


The politicians are just saying what they think the people want to hear, I very much doubt they're any different to English MPs or Parliament.
 
Yeah I don't think Salmonds going to do anything he's saying to the Scottish people to get their vote. It's all empty words and there's not going to be any improvement in health, jobs, benefits, less immigrants etc if they split. Won't get better, won't get worse either....I don't think?

As said by Memorium, I'm not sure how leaving or staying would benefit either way. I'd like them to stay though. It'd be weird that they wouldnt call themselves British and that if they vote Yes and succeed.
 
-Danielle- said:
Yeah I don't think Salmonds going to do anything he's saying to the Scottish people to get their vote. It's all empty words and there's not going to be any improvement in health, jobs, benefits, less immigrants etc if they split. Won't get better, won't get worse either....I don't think?

As said by Memorium, I'm not sure how leaving or staying would benefit either way. I'd like them to stay though. It'd be weird that they wouldnt call themselves British and that if they vote Yes and succeed.

The maina reas they think they'll be able to benefit from is by setting their own taxes, planning their own spending with regards to health, military, social etc etc. Salmond is claiming somehow that public spending will go up, but taxes will go down. He has yet to explain how this works, unless he is some sort of alchemist who can create something from nothing.

My concern is primarily on our economy. We have only just started to claw our way out of the last trouble it had, and if Scotland votes yes then potentially we could see the economy hit pretty hard. If the value of the £ drops then our buying power internationally decreases, so importing products would be much more expensive. I'm not talking about a Blu-Ray or a game, i'm talking about things like electricity, gas, food....importing these things would cost more, so as such we'd see increases in our bills and in our shops.

On the flip side, the value of our manufactured goods would be cheaper for people outside the UK due to the lower pound. There are many scenarios that this could create:

1) weaker pound means our products made from 100% british materials are cheaper for people outside the UK so exports increase and potentially balances out the pound weakness with regards to income for companies.

2) weaker pound means bringing in production materials from outside the UK is more expensive. This means that products made in the UK with outside goods would have to see their sale prices increased due to additional costs for the manufacturer. This could then lead to customers being alienated by the increase in costs from the manufacturers and going elsewhere.

3) weaker pound with no increase in exports see's a sizeable hit in terms of income for many companies who rely on export. This would then lead to job losses due to insufficient finances to keep operations going as they were beforehand.

It's quite a scary time imo. I hope if Scotland do get what they want that we aren't affected too adverseley.
 
I don't see any of the benefits for the Scots that Salmon has been saying. In terms of the NHS, the Scots decide on how it is run already so if it is doing badly then it is their fault not ours (they already get benefits like free prescriptions :evil: ). They cannot say what the alternative is to the currency if we don't let them use the pound (they Euro is not an option since they would have to apply for membership first and there is no guarantee they will be allowed in since countries like Spain might prefer them not to be allowed in to lessen the risk of parts of their own countries seeking independence).
 
Just FYI, Scotland could still keep the pound even without permission.

This would be done via an Informal Currency Union. However, many think that if this were to occur that Scotland would not be able to join the EU as they look down on countries that operate informal agreements and also they would have no central bank of their own.
 
Yes Scotland could have an informal currency union using the pound but they would have no control over monetary policy (they would not be able to issue new money for instance).
 
britguy said:
I hope if Scotland do get what they want that we aren't affected too adverseley.

You mean if the yes voters get what they want. I'm sure it was just poor choice of words, but that does make it sound as if the country is of one mind.
 
Professor Irony said:
britguy said:
I hope if Scotland do get what they want that we aren't affected too adverseley.

You mean if the yes voters get what they want. I'm sure it was just poor choice of words, but that does make it sound as if the country is of one mind.

Yes. Juggling work and posting. Simple mistake and Clearly you knew what I meant. I'm not stupid so please don't try and make me out to be ;)
 
Ah sorry didn't even realise you were Scottish then! I'd have to wager that there are people in Scotland with no real idea what a yes vote could do to either country.

Do you find there are people who plan to vote Yes just because "I hate the English" etc
 
I wouldn't like to point any specific fingers, but yeah, I do feel like anti-English sentiment feeds into the matter in quite a significant way, especially against English Conservatives. It's certainly not the only factor, but I think it's hardly a coincidence that Salmond would hold the referendum while an unpopular Tory government sits in Westminster.
 
Back
Top