ALBIONSAINT

Bollox. You really can't get to grips with arithmetic, can you? Norway, like the UK, has a progressive taxation system for occupational earnings.

Much better post. ;)

Everybody's a critic

Word of advice from Quebec

I suspect the young man in question engenders the entrepreneurial spirit and tax evasive skills that are required to remain competitive in the burgeoning cottage industry known as ' growin weed'

I suspect the young man in question engenders the entrepreneurial spirit and tax evasive skills that are required to remain competitive in the burgeoning cottage industry known as ' growin weed'

I listened to the John Beattie Show on Radio Scotland today where a discussion of the BT announcement about more powers for Scotland after a No vote took place.
Prof Jim Gallagher, adviser on policy and strategy issues to BT, admitted that no new powers had been proposed, only those announced earlier in the year and a timetable to start setting up these very limited powers. He also admitted that there was still no agreement among the three major parties about the detail of these powers.
Angus Robertson MP said that you can almost smell the panic in Westminster now and went on to emphasise that what is being offered is far short of devo-max; only a small percentage of the Scottish tax take might be devolved, leaving the Scottish Parliament as a "pocket money parliament".
With respect to the timetable, the only definite stages are discussions among the UK parties to begin on 19th September, a"command paper" to be published by the UK government by the end of October and a draft bill by January.
Does anyone really believe that such a Bill will have any hope of being enacted soon, given that all Westminster parties will be concentrating their efforts on the UK General Election in May and a possible EU Referendum in 2017. If Scotland votes No it is likely that any additional powers for the Scottish Government will be pushed to the bottom of a very thick pile.

The No campaign is in a real panic now, sending the three amigos up on the same day seems like an incredible blunder!
The best deal for the Scottish people is simply won by voting for independence. A small and prosperous nation that plays a responsible role in the world, that's the future country most Scots want.
If it doesn't happen this month, it will happen in the not too distant future.
The Union is dead. I'll raise a glass to that.

Nice one.
I especially liked this:
"Earlier this month, the UK Treasury declared that, following a period of intense and prolonged analysis of the economic numbers, each of us would be £1 a year worse off in an independent Scotland. Put another way, for £1 a year you will never have to endure the economic privations of a Conservative government ever again. You will not be penalised for being poor or old and nor will you suffer the pain of watching your young boys being killed in illegal wars or occupations.
We won't be lacking friends, either. Of matters concerning oil and Europe in an independent Scotland, the Norwegian government officials I met in Oslo last month were very upbeat. "Come and talk to us before you commit to the EU," they said, "and let us advise you how to manage your oil fund and how to negotiate with the oil companies."

£1 a year worse off eh? and that was in January last year that the Treasury said that!

Oh well, I guess I'll need to tighten my belt...

very good article here from the guardian, the paragraph on London adresses this very point.
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jan/20/scottish-independence-becoming-only-option

the UK is one of the most unequal countries in the world. Being I dependant can address that. The UK Labour Party in the UK is not the labour pArty that was set up to stop an unjust in the UK we have MR Darling getting paid from private health care company's for services to the national health service. Labour Scotland in independence will go back to its roots to make Scotland a more caring and fair country. The no camp are trying to climb up a hill now full of ice.

FFS "The Newspapers" are Yes supporters? Whoda thunk it!
So Scottish companies provide the highest returns?
So how do the other 'foreign' companies make a profit?

I agree 100% we need to move on after the result regardless but have you been to the home counties / London recently ? It's like a different world (never mind country) to up here yet we are told we are "better together". It might seem like a shoulder chip but the Tory boiz trip up north smacks totally of a last ditch attempt to get us back to toeing their party line no matter how you dress it up. A longing for the same level of investment and wealth as the home counties is hardly looking inward - it's something the vast majority of us in Scotland can only dream about (or move to if you have a spare half million for the 3 bed semi). If we had a level playing field we wouldn't be in this situation today.

Dave, Nick and the boys are going on a road trip up north to quell the rebelling savages and this has required the setting aside of the main parliamentary event of the week (according to the BBC) SO THE POTENTIAL BREAK-UP OF THE UK IS LESS IMPORTANT THAN PMQ'S TO PARLIAMENT.
Will be the red-eye up and back to the home counties in time for tea no doubt
And they wonder why their huge lead is ebbing away ?

Bluto, I am not criticising you, nor am I talking up the Yes campaign. The current Westminster Government agreed to this referendum as the SNP had a mandate with majority government in Holyrood.
Westminster agreed Scotland's future should be decided solely by those who live in Scotland and then to involve the rest of the UK in subsequent discussions.
To blame the Yes campaign for all the wrongs in the world by holding a referendum when they have majority representation in Holyrood and therefore a mandate to do so is slightly off the mark in my opinion. The electorate knew what voting SNP and Green meant prior to the last Scottish election.
My point which has not been addressed is that the BT campaign have changed their argument in response to recent opinion polls AFTER many voters have voted.
As you say they are welcome change their policies and message, but it is wrong to argue at the start of the campaign it is all or nothing and then only change your mind after people have started voting...
This for me shows the lack of cohesion and vision for a future Scotland which has hampered the No campaign and made this much more of a close run thing than many would ever have dared imagine.
Where is the positive message? Where are the lists of positives for the Union? Why are these issues not being lauded? Why was there no agreement on what additional powers were being provided well in advance of the 18th?
As for me, nothing that the BT campaign have said has convinced me in the slightest to question my view. Despite this it still angers me that this campaign has not been taken seriously until now by one side.
Put simply, I believe that Scotland will be better served by looking after it's own affairs.

Strange how this managed to escape any prime slots on the uk media, NOT .
Here is my take on the last few days on the indyref trail.... Please feel free to discuss
1. Bluff and bluster by no campaign starting to unravel big style.
2. Panic stricken no campaign promising 'a timetable for powers ' what are they? Are they labour,Tory, or libdem ones? ( note of caution to younger forum members ' google 1979 home rule promise' its true what they say if you wait long enough you see most things twice.
3. Apparently the rest of the UK didn't know we were thinking about leaving the union until today! Well it seems that way watching all the London centric media today, if there are any don't knows out there this should tell you all you need to know about how Scotland is viewed by the establishment.
4. Apparently the sky has already started to fall in as half a dozen company's shares dip by a bawhair, who would of thunk it, share prices going up and down.
5. Seeing the chance to get some air time , one time chancellor and PM who stewarded the worst financial crises in the UKs history ( and hater of stupid, ignorant woman) grabs the opportunity to market his new cologne ' desperation ' by Gordon Brown .
Think I covered everything there.

Strange how this managed to escape any prime slots on the uk media, NOT .
Here is my take on the last few days on the indyref trail.... Please feel free to discuss
1. Bluff and bluster by no campaign starting to unravel big style.
2. Panic stricken no campaign promising 'a timetable for powers ' what are they? Are they labour,Tory, or libdem ones? ( note of caution to younger forum members ' google 1979 home rule promise' its true what they say if you wait long enough you see most things twice.
3. Apparently the rest of the UK didn't know we were thinking about leaving the union until today! Well it seems that way watching all the London centric media today, if there are any don't knows out there this should tell you all you need to know about how Scotland is viewed by the establishment.
4. Apparently the sky has already started to fall in as half a dozen company's shares dip by a bawhair, who would of thunk it, share prices going up and down.
5. Seeing the chance to get some air time , one time chancellor and PM who stewarded the worst financial crises in the UKs history ( and hater of stupid, ignorant woman) grabs the opportunity to market his new cologne ' desperation ' by Gordon Brown .
Think I covered everything there.

Strange how this managed to escape any prime slots on the uk media, NOT .
Here is my take on the last few days on the indyref trail.... Please feel free to discuss
1. Bluff and bluster by no campaign starting to unravel big style.
2. Panic stricken no campaign promising 'a timetable for powers ' what are they? Are they labour,Tory, or libdem ones? ( note of caution to younger forum members ' google 1979 home rule promise' its true what they say if you wait long enough you see most things twice.
3. Apparently the rest of the UK didn't know we were thinking about leaving the union until today! Well it seems that way watching all the London centric media today, if there are any don't knows out there this should tell you all you need to know about how Scotland is viewed by the establishment.
4. Apparently the sky has already started to fall in as half a dozen company's shares dip by a bawhair, who would of thunk it, share prices going up and down.
5. Seeing the chance to get some air time , one time chancellor and PM who stewarded the worst financial crises in the UKs history ( and hater of stupid, ignorant woman) grabs the opportunity to market his new cologne ' desperation ' by Gordon Brown .
Think I covered everything there.

Strange how this managed to escape any prime slots on the uk media, NOT .
Here is my take on the last few days on the indyref trail.... Please feel free to discuss
1. Bluff and bluster by no campaign starting to unravel big style.
2. Panic stricken no campaign promising 'a timetable for powers ' what are they? Are they labour,Tory, or libdem ones? ( note of caution to younger forum members ' google 1979 home rule promise' its true what they say if you wait long enough you see most things twice.
3. Apparently the rest of the UK didn't know we were thinking about leaving the union until today! Well it seems that way watching all the London centric media today, if there are any don't knows out there this should tell you all you need to know about how Scotland is viewed by the establishment.
4. Apparently the sky has already started to fall in as half a dozen company's shares dip by a bawhair, who would of thunk it, share prices going up and down.
5. Seeing the chance to get some air time , one time chancellor and PM who stewarded the worst financial crises in the UKs history ( and hater of stupid, ignorant woman) grabs the opportunity to market his new cologne ' desperation ' by Gordon Brown .
Think I covered everything there.

All Media outlets are giving The Reffy the full blast ...........

so you went from country to country unchecked,don't see why you felt the need to quote my post,my point was that having border posts dont scare me,in fact a border post might be a good thing if people who are doing wrong or have done wrong are stopped from entering or leaving a country,and it could disrupt the trafficking of drugs etc,

I drove from France to Belgium a few months ago and tried to find the border and couldn't. Again on the way back I couldn't find the border. Only when I noticed the language on the signs change did I know I had changed countries.
Last Tuesday I flew from Sicily to France and upon landing at Orly airport I didn't have to show my passport to a single person or pass through any security checks whatsoever.

Maybe if the firms affected hadn't been so over confident of a No vote and spent their time whining about all the perceived negatives of a Yes vote, then they might be better prepared and their firms would be in a position to make positive statements to the city and their shareholders,with regards to their businesses.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pvnLwUarkU#action=share

Funnily enough, there was a recommendation from papers to buy Standard Life shares on Friday! That was largely based on the sale of a Canadian asset.
I think Standard Life, in terms of the books would be largely unaffected by independence and it will keep ticking on. Whether they retain as much operations in Scotland is more uncertain. They are such a large firm I suspect people will trust them.
Peston was speculating that certain financials may move south, but energy companies were looking north.