SNP wins outright majority in Scottish Parliament

[LittleFuzzy]

This isn't a region we're talking about, Scotland already is a seperate country. The UK is a union of countries, Scotland is one of those countries. The criminal justice system of Scotland was never merged with that of England and Wales, etc, etc

Sources for Scotland being a country:
UK Statistics: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/geography/uk_countries.asp
10 Downing Street Website: http://webarchive.nationalarchives.g...gov.uk/Page823
ISO standard: http://www.iso.org/iso/newsletter_i-9.pdf

Ah, UK devolution. The process of loudly and reflexively insisting that the emperor is still naked, even after he put clothes on in shame and embarrassment.

[RandBlade]

Not saying anything about devolution. The present devolution settlement is both a farce and a mess, an attempt to gerrymander the UK into Labour-friendly constituent parts and then one national body. An attempt that has now backfired with amusing repercussions.

[Dreadnaught]

Not conquered by force, but "Bought and Sold for English Gold" doesn't come from nowhere after all. Okay, so Scotland is a completely separate place with little in common with England. So why has the Act of Union lasted so long? What's happened in the past 15 years to merit the creation of a new Scottish parliament? What's the actual issue besides the chest-beating of Scots?

Had Scotland been an independent country during the Cold War, what do people think is the likelihood Scotland would have been friendly with the Soviets?

[Loki]

Scotland was not conquered by force, the Act of Union was voted through democratically. It can be dissolved just the same too.

Democracy in 1707?

[Hazir]

I think the main reason why there never was a vote on the issue of independence for Scotland lies in the fact that before the SNP gained a majority neither Tories nor Labour had a real interest in pushing ahead with it. I still have to see the SNP go ahead with it, but it will be interesting.

I don't quite understand Rand's reference to Spain as holding an opinion of regional independence very different than that of British governments. When it comes to devolution and national identity I'd say Spain is as close as it gets to the UK in the world of today. Catalonians and Basques are considered separate nations within the Spanish nation and ever since the end of the Franco dictatorship Spanish governments have catered fully to their wishes for greater autonomy.

The Spanish state will not surrender to ETA, but it would allow an independent Euskadi or Catalunya if there was a vote on it. But like in the UK, the people against having such a vote were in control even in the regions concerned.

[Flixy]

Colour of the roadsurface very often, lamp posts, lettering on signs, and sometimes a sign telling you you are leaving one country followed by another sign telling you you are entering the other.

Sometimes you can still see where the old border checkpoints were, but most of them have been demolished.

Yes, but if you are on a train? You can only tell by the signs on the next station, really. Well, maybe a bit different building style next to the tracks before that, but that can also occur at other places than the border.

Though if you take a train from the Netherlands to Belgium, it rides on the right track in the Netherlands and on the left track in Belgium. But that's not the case at all borders!

[Hazir]

Yes, but if you are on a train? You can only tell by the signs on the next station, really. Well, maybe a bit different building style next to the tracks before that, but that can also occur at other places than the border.

Though if you take a train from the Netherlands to Belgium, it rides on the right track in the Netherlands and on the left track in Belgium. But that's not the case at all borders!

The messages your mobile provider sends you about tariffs in the new country.

[Flixy]

The messages your mobile provider sends you about tariffs in the new country.

I don't always get those - is there a limit on how often you get them? (I have not disabled them). Seems a bit random sometimes.

Besides, I often have Belgian reception several kms into the Netherlands, and can get Dutch reception a nice distance into Belgium. So it's not exactly the border