Gaelic in Scottish History and Culture

[Scottish_Republican]

http://www.rfs.scotshome.com/

Well worth reading...

[gael]

hi my name is padraic i am very interested in scotish culture history and the language i am interested to hear native opinions about scotland. i have visited scotland on repeated occasions and have two sisters living there i feel ye have a wonderful country it has a lot going for it that the rest of britain lacks. being interested in politics and history i am naturally interested in the scotish situation. i had always assumed and had not been taught different that scotland was just part of a greater england in political terms and that it is meerly another province. i did not know that ye had devolved government and what is the significence of this government? i could never understand why scotland has been satisfied with an english empire that from my point of view has no obvious advantages. is there a large republican population in scotland or is it mainly loyalist. as you are probuably awair by now my knoledge of scotland is poor can anybody fill me in on the political situation in scotland or is it simply as it appears an english colony??.

[Scottish_Republican]

is it simply as it appears an english colony??. [/b]

One in denial

[keltic_bhoy]

It seems that there is a growing Republican population in Scotland but unfortunately there are too many Unionists for my liking. We've had a devolved government since 1999 and since then the number of MSPs who are in favour of a Scottish Republic has increased. The 3 main republican parties are the Scottish Nationalist Party, the Scottish Socialist Party and the Scottish Green Party. Sometimes I think by having 3 pro-independence parties instead of just one it doesnt do the cause any good. Maybe after the next Scots Parliament election in 2007 they could form some sort of coalition, whose aims include showing the Scottish people just how much better Scotland could be as a Nation opposed to being a Region, which we are considered as by the English and the Rest of the World. Personally I dont think the Parliament we currently have has been given enough powers by Westminster. Some people argue that it was just set up by Unionist parties to silence the call for complete independence.

[scotbot]

Originally posted by keltic_bhoy
I dont think the Parliament we currently have has been given enough powers by Westminster. Some people argue that it was just set up by Unionist parties to silence the call for complete independence.

Tony Blair did tell his English cronies not to worry about it because it would be no different from a parish council. Now, that may be so just now, given the one-party stateness of the UK, but when the English return Tory goverment and Scotland doesn't prepare to see some conflict arising. Those Scots that whinge about the parliament being a waste of time will start to make calls for greater power for it. When these are rebuffed by the Tory goverment, then things will start to get hot in Holyrood. It's all pretty much inevitable.

[keltic_bhoy]

Originally posted by scotbot
[/b]

When these are rebuffed by the Tory goverment, then things will start to get hot in Holyrood. It's all pretty much inevitable. [/b][/quote]

I would love to see that happen although I dont think the Tories are capable of winning an egg and spoon race never mind a General Election.

[scotbot]

Originally posted by keltic_bhoy
I dont think the Tories are capable of winning an egg and spoon race never mind a General Election.

well, that all depends on the world stage, since that's where New Labour fight their battles ... quite literally in some cases. when this backfires on them, ie the US/UK face defeat in the Middle East, then the Tories will get back in. that's inevitable - the US/UK can't defeat an entire nation (Iraq in this case) when the whole point of their war was liberation, and when that defeat comes they'll be major fallout in the West either democratically or to democracy itself (ie imposition of martial law in the States whilst the Bush clan attempt to remain in power). just watch and see...