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[Descan]

Maybe the Poles should just give up and move to Indonesia. I mean the flag is basically the same, right? That's all that really matters.

Monaco can come too.

[Owlbread]

Don't forget Malta.

[Descan]

MALTA IS DEAD TO ME.

[Owlbread]

MALTA IS DEAD TO ME.

I understand. I still struggle to accept the Netherlands after all these years.

[Helgoland]

My dearest Owlbread, ve know ze sufferings you are going through - perhaps ve can, how shall I put zis, be of some assistance?

[Ukrainian Ranger]

Yay! Full course to the dictatorship!

Ukraine got some very, very funny new laws:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/16/us-ukraine-law-idUSBREA0F1QV20140116

[Helgoland]

How are the protests going, anyway, UR?

[Ukrainian Ranger]

How are the protests going, anyway, UR?

In short - dying out.
Not because people are scared or something like that but because there are no trusts in that opposition anymore. Why bother going on the streets if "leaders" will say something like - "Let's sign the national anthem one more time to show our protests that we are not violent and demand Yanukovich to resign!"  that and "We'll ask the West to impose sanctions and this will surely work!"

I don't say that we'll not see  a million on the streets again, but that will happen only if people will believe that this will not end in a peaceful standing again. Going unarmed against riot police is not that popular anymore.
After all if protesting near the house of some judge if under the new laws  you'll get roughly the same punishment as if you burn it down, why choose the former?

[Owlbread]

Well, I stumbled across some youtube videos that may provide you fellows with a little taste of the far-left's case for Scottish independence.

Here's old Colin Fox, former Scottish Socialist Party MSP and now member of the Yes Campaign's advisory board, giving a 9 minute speech at the Radical Independence Campaign conference last year, held in Glasgow. He's got a lot of interesting things to say about the perils of British neo-liberalism.

To follow that I recommend listening to 16 year old Saffron Dickson's case, or at least if you want to hear a voice from the Scottish working class housing schemes on this issue. I was very impressed by this particular speech.

Patrick Harvie, leader of the Scottish Green Party, also explored the theme of the growing need for "inspiration", as brought up by Dickson, focussing on the idea that in the UK too many have become jaded with politics and no longer believe that it can change our lives for the better. He claims that the rise of UKIP south of the border is symptomatic of that growing apathy.

My favourite speech from that conference would be the one given by Cat Boyd, trade union organiser and activist, who talked about the way that the referendum and a progressive vision of independence is bringing all the broken strands of the Left together in a way we haven't seen in a very long time. It's a shame she's not in front line politics, I hope she goes further in the future.

[Dutchling]

While speeches are interesting, polls are even better.

Have there been any recent polls in favour of independence yet?

[misko27]

Have there been any recent polls in favour of independence yet?

This sounds remarkably prone to selection bias.

Have there been any polls at all? How is the spread?

[Descan]

I think most polls have it hovering around 35% for, 45% against, 10 undecided*?

That MIGHT be overestimating the support for...

*10 people. Scotland IS a small country, after all.

[LordSlowpoke]

You know what would solve this? An united European state. ~_~

It'd then become a matter of dividing the UK into two administrative divisions with everyone being able to blame Brussels for the bad things like they always do and nobody actually getting upset locally since it still only changes how things are governed on a local level. Sort of an empire-level title taking a duchy from a vassal kingdom and elevating it to a separate kingdom.

[Dutchling]

Have there been any recent polls in favour of independence yet?

This sounds remarkably prone to selection bias.

Have there been any polls at all? How is the spread?

I ask because I have only seen 2 or 3 in favour and that's with a 1% margin. All the others were against independence with way higher margins.

So selection bias isn't really a problem

[Helgoland]

You know what would solve this? An united European state.

Holy crap, what did you do to LordSlowpoke? But I like your views, identity thief~