Capeesh

@UrabugOr it could be the last 20 polls are right and the majority of voters in Scotland want independence.

I agree, democracy in action.

What? I'm fully aware there's a shellfish industry in other parts of the UK. Unless you're trying to imply I don't care about businesses struggling in England and Wales, I sympathise with everyone getting screwed because they weren't told what happens when you become a third country outside the EU. These companies were lied to, the companies themselves knew the ban existed, it's not a new 'get back at the UK ban' it's a ban that we enforced on third countries ourselves when we were EU members but they were expressly told by our hopeless government the ban would be lifted in April leading them to believe they had negotiated an exemption. Read the link, there's a Shellfish company director on it explaining all this, he's mad at the government not the EU. Spinning this to blame the EU for rules we were quite happy to enforce when we were members is a cop out. Shooting ourselves in the foot and blaming the EU for the pain has those responsible for this mess (our own government) rubbing their hands in glee, it's giving them a free pass. This is just another example of the many consequences of a hard Brexit, the point as far as the thread title goes, is the vast majority of Scotland's voters didn't want any of this.

Really grim reading, the thing that irks me is all you hear about from opponents of independence is how much of a *basket-case economy Scotland has.* Every time I hear or read it I think to myself, that's not much of an advert for the Union. 307 years of Westminster control has, according to them, turned Scotland into a sad, poor little country living of handouts. If this is the case, why don't they train some chimps, put them in suits, give them the vast natural resources and highly educated/skilled people Scotland has and get them to do a better job. Your link above is further proof of our gross mismanagement, a Tory party that Scotland has rejected for 65 years commit economic vandalism on a grand scale with a Brexit the vast majority in Scotland didn't want, bankrupting our businesses, inflicting more costs, putting people out of work etc etc and they have the temerity to tell us we're too poor... Cheeky so and so's! *I think they've been cooking the books myself.

Maybe they would've had more joy with something like this...

It's tempting to surmise that the last 20 polls that've shown a majority for Scottish independence is all down to Boris, I daresay having an incompetent joke as a PM is part of the reason but there's also a few other things that spring to mind... Disastrous Covid response. Brexit inflicted on Scotland against the will of the majority of Scottish voters. Yet another Tory government, rejected by the majority of Scottish voters. (Since 1955). Labour, the only other party that can possibly achieve government in Westminster, rejected by the majority of Scottish voters. The lies, threats and broken promises of the last independence referendum. These few examples might explain why those who want independence are dissatisfied with the status quo but imho the main reason the desire for Scottish independence isn't going away is the fact that anyone who bothers to look beyond our borders can see loads of small independent countries all over the world doing much better than Scotland, a significant proportion of them even manage to do it with fewer resources than Scotland has.

This guy went to Princeton University and Harvard Law School for goodness sake! Please tell me he knew the Paris Climate Agreement was named after the location the meeting took place and had nothing to do with the "...views of the citizens of Paris..." It could be the case he knew fine well and just said it anyway knowing it would play well with his target audience. I did like the comeback in the link though... ‘Quick question: do you also believe the Geneva Convention was about the views of the citizens of Geneva?’ Rep Ocasio-Cortez responded

If the terms agreed between the EU and other nations are so unfavourable why is the UK going cap in hand around the world begging those non EU countries to replicate the same terms we enjoyed as EU members? From the BBC... "...Before Brexit, the UK was automatically part of any trade deal the EU reached with other countries. When the UK left, the EU had about 40 trade deals covering more than 70 countries. So far, the UK has made deals to continue trading in the same way with 60 of these countries..."

Cobra Kai on Netflix was good for a bit of light hearted viewing, it's a fictional tv series follow up to the Karate Kid films but set 30 years later, the main characters have the same actors. The series has flashbacks to the films for those who haven't seen them, viewing the original films is not necessary for the younger generation or those who find 80's cheese flicks intolerable. Agree 100% with the Queens Gambit btw, I never thought a series about chess would get me hooked.

^The EU don't just trade with themselves, EU members trade with the rest of the world as well, (on very beneficial terms, one of the many advantages we lost by leaving the largest and richest trading bloc in the world), that's why, when we were members, we already sold seafood globally. The massive, lucrative market is the one on our doorstep, 100's of millions of relatively well off people who are willing to pay a premium to get their seafood fresh.

I love Ian Scott's quotes in the link, anybody who's met Ian will know how they were delivered. "...I always had faith in the trusty sword of free speech and the sturdy shield of truth to carry the day...” “...Many constituents have asked me if I feel I have been bullied, threatened or intimidated over the issue, but I just thanked them for their concern and said that I am a big boy now...” "...My poor old mother would have been horrified to hear that her son had sworn in such esteemed surroundings..."

Much more informative having Covid updates and information in the Shetland press from Dr Susan Laidlaw supplemented by input from the GP in Hillswick and other health professionals. Facts over feelz.

I think an attempted coup is a step too far for the vast majority of Americans, there's fanatical swivel-eyed loons everywhere but even the slightly less swivel-eyed Republicans are repulsed by Trumps actions after he lost the election.

*BREAKING* Afghanistan to send troops to US to restore democracy.

^ Thank you kind sir, starting to wonder if I'm in a parallel universe in here.

^^Anybody can google EU citizenship and find out what it means. You said the term doesn't exist when it clearly does, for a split second I wondered why then decided it didn't really matter, it's the benefits of being an EU citizen (or whatever you want to call it) that mattered to me.

Yep, those 'benefits' are what I'm not happy about losing, personally I don't care what it's called, if you don't want to call it EU citizenship call it anything you want, doesn't change the fact that Brexit has taken those things away.

Which is what, exactly. 'Citizenship' by definition is a person recognised under the law etc of a sovereign nation. The EU is neither a nation, nor is it sovereign (yet anyway, thankfully we've gotten out (sorta) before the final steps happen to convert the EU to 'USE', when it will be by default, if not intent a 'nation'). EU citizenship gave me, my children, their children and all my other family members the right to live, work and study in the 27 nations of the EU without restriction. It gave them the opportunity to work for the many businesses that will want unrestricted access to the massive EU market, those same businesses will inevitably want to be based in countries that are EU members and thats just for starters.So you tell me, what are the benefits of leaving??? Fishing...sold down the river...again Pound...crashed and burned making everything from the weekly shop to heating our houses more expensive Business...fleeing to the continent National debt spiralling out of control meaning more cuts to our vital services, Health, Education etc The only people to gain out of this are the rich Tory speculators, tax dodgers and business leaders that want to trample over the workers rights EU membership gave us, a return to a Dickensian nightmare. We're a small, isolated, inward looking place now, not what I wanted for my kids.

I see the horrible ex Tory Chancellor and Brexit supporter Nigel Lawson was denied French residency. Good to see him being denied the EU citizenship he helped deny me and my family.

^^Edit Was going to post a reply but decided against it considering the circumstances happening right now in Shetland.

There's not a soul on earth who could've negotiated what the leave campaign promised unless you believe in fairy dust, magic beans and unicorn horns. Having balls or bluffing like the UK negotiating team tried to do with their "no deal" threat at the eleventh hour makes absolutely no difference when the person at the other end of the table holds a royal flush.

Shock! Horror! The National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations said... "...the fishing industry had been sacrificed by Johnson..." “...In the end-game, the prime minister made the call and caved in on fish, despite the rhetoric and assurances...” “...There will of course be an extensive public relations exercise to portray the deal as a fabulous victory, but it will inevitably be seen by the fishing industry as a defeat...”

What's the point wasting an hour of my life posting multiple sources with in depth analysis explaining why Brexit is such a bad idea? There's already numerous links in the 64 pages on this thread alone. At this late stage nothing we say is going to make a blind bit of difference anyway, so instead of dwelling on the stupidity of it all I find it better to just air my thoughts as I see fit, sit back, relax and watch the horror show unfold in real time, my only tiny comfort is the knowledge that it wasn't my fault, I didn't vote for it.

France shutting the boarder over covid is definitely the fault of Brexit even though the UK hasn't even left yet! Yes, the French temporarily closed the border because of the new strain of covid but that's only part of the story, the ports were already jammed because businesses across the UK who know a car crash is coming but have had to guess how bad it'll be have been feverishly stockpiling before the transition period ends in a few days time.Unfortunately for us our bloated, shaved gorilla of a PM and his shifty gang of crooks have been trying to polish and sugarcoat the massive turd that is Brexit to present something...anything to our gullible Brexiteers that the oven ready dogs dinner he's going to be serving up is better than what we had before...an impossible task. To cap the whole thing off the grand finale will be to blame the whole mess on the EU, Covid, foreigners, the way the planets are aligned, the ghost of Elvis or any other scapegoat he can think of while his cronies backslap and congratulate him over champagne for making them an absolute fortune.

It's the EU's fault, it's covid to blame, it's the companies fault, the truck drivers are to blame...When will the Brexiteers take responsibility for the mess they've got us into?