First Minister on Referendum Outcome

Thank you Scotland for 1.6 million votes for Scottish independence. Our friends in the Highlands of Scotland are still to speak, so the final results aren’t in but we know that there is going to be a majority for the No campaign.

It’s important to say that our referendum was an agreed and consented process and Scotland has by majority decided not at this stage to become an independent country. I accept that verdict of the people and I call on all of Scotland to follow suit in accepting the democratic verdict of the people of Scotland.

But I think all of us in this campaign say that that 45 per cent, that 1.6 million votes, is a substantial vote for Scottish independence and the future of this country. Let us say something which I hope that unites all campaigns and all Scots. I think the process by which we have made our decision as a nation reflects enormous credit upon Scotland. A turnout of 86 per cent is one of the highest in the democratic world for any election or any referendum in history. This has been a triumph for the democratic process and for participation in politics.

For example, the initiative by which 16 and 17 year olds were able to vote has proved to be a resounding success. I suspect that no one will ever again dispute their right and ability to participate fully and responsibly in democratic elections.

So we now face the consequences of Scotland’s democratic decision. Firstly, Clause 30 of the Edinburgh Agreement is now in operation. On behalf of the Scottish Government I accept the results and I pledge to work constructively in the interest of Scotland and the rest of the United Kingdom.

Secondly, the unionist parties made vows late in the campaign to devolve more powers to Scotland. Scotland will expect these to be honoured in rapid course. Just as a reminder, we have been promised a second reading of a Scotland Bill by the 27th of March next year and not just the 1.6 million Scots who voted for independence will demand that that timetable is followed but all Scots who participated in this referendum will demand that that timetable is followed.

I’ll be speaking to the Prime Minister shortly after this statement but can I return thirdly to the empowerment of so many Scots entering the political process for the very first time. It is something that is so valuable it has to be cherished, preserved and built upon.

I’ve said before many times in this campaign that the most moving things I saw was the queue of people in Dundee two or three weeks ago patiently waiting to register to vote. Most of them for the first time ever deciding to participate in the democratic process. Today in Inverurie I met a 61 year old lady just coming out of the polling station who had never voted before in her life. I met a soldier, a former soldier, who hadn’t voted since he left the army some 24 years ago. And these people were inspired to enter democratic politics by the thought that they could make a difference in building something better for the country.

These are people who all of us as we campaigned have met and been inspired by. And all of us are a part of all of that experience that we have encountered. Whatever else we can say about this referendum campaign, we have touched sections of the community who’ve never before been touched by politics. These sections of the community have touched us and touched the political process. I don’t think that will ever be allowed to go back to business as usual in politics again.

So friends, sometimes it’s best to reflect where we are on a journey. 45 per cent, 1.6 million of our fellow citizens voting for independence, I don’t think that any of us whenever we entered politics would have thought such a thing to be either credible or possible.

Today of all days as we bring Scotland together let us not dwell on the distance we have fallen short. Let us dwell on the distance we have travelled and have confidence that the movement is so broad in Scotland that it will take this nation forward and we shall go forward as one nation. Thank you very much.

(Version of statement delivered by the First Minister at Dynamic Earth on 19 September 2014.)

Result: http://scotlandreferendum.info/

Cameron: ‘Yes’ Vote Will Make Scottish ‘More Vulnerable to Islamic Terror’

It’s official: the UK are in full panic mode on Scottish independence.

As ubiquitous political tools go, nothing beats the old ‘terror threat’. Coming just one week after British PM David Cameron announced that due to the ISIS crisis in Iraq, the terror threat was being raised to SEVERE, Cameron seems to be threatening Scotland with a wave of “Islamic terror” if the Scottish dare to vote ‘Yes’ on independence from London.

CHANNELING HIS INNER BUSH: As Westminster paedophiles threaten public confidence in their ability to govern, Dave falls back on the terror widget (Photo: Coolness of Hind)

Clearly, Cameron was beaming with confidence from inside the Welsh castle fortified specially for NATO’s annual chest-puffing photo session and circle jerk, so much so that he’s allowing the public to see his true colours. According the PM, Scotland will be more vulnerable to terror attacks if it votes for independence on Sept. 18th. Cameron’s justification for this precarious position is that all of us now live in a “very dangerous and insecure world”.

Help us Dave. Tell us why would ISIS or al Qaeda would want to target the Scots? 

Is Scotland flooding the Middle East with arms? Is Scotland regularly lying its way into war after war? On the contrary, by separating itself from the Empire, Scotland’s Jihadi Threat Index would drop somewhere down near Ireland.

In his own divisive and overly confident way, the “big idea” that David is trying sell here is that being part of Great Britain somehow gives Scots the protective benefits of being a feather in London’s cap.

“With terrorist threats and other threats, isn’t it better to be part of a United Kingdom that has a top-five defense budget, some of the best intelligence and security services anywhere in the world, that is part of every single alliance that really matters in the world in terms of NATO, the G-8, the G-20, the European Union, a member of the security council of the UN?” Cameron said. 

With all due respect Dave, your proposition sounds just like a protection racket.

Yes Dave. The best defense, the best ‘intelligence’ and a full-blown police and surveillance state – yet, year in, year out, according to successive British governments, the UK is always the world’s number two target for terrorist attacks at home. That’s the narrative anyway.

“All those networks and abilities to work with allies to keep us safe. Isn’t it better to have those things than separate yourself from them?”

‘Be afraid!’, says Dave.

Desperate, very desperate. 

Scots should take note. This is the level of psychological, fear-based manipulation that Westminster has been using on its own population for years, but to weaponise it and target Scottish voters is beyond shameful. 

And to think, this man is meant to be in charge of things.

Student tried to smuggle €20,000 to Syrian rebels, court told

priceofliberty:

A British student concealed thousands of pounds in her underwear at Heathrow airport in an attempt to smuggle money to jihadist rebels in Syria, a court has heard.

Nawal Masaad, 26, had €20,000 (£16,300) when she was stopped by police while trying to board a flight to Turkey on 16 January, the Old Bailey was told.

Prosecutors claim Masaad was recruited by her friend Amal El-Wahabi, 27, to take the money to El-Wahabi’s husband, who was fighting with jihadist groups in Syria. Mark Dennis QC, prosecuting, said the €20,000 had been collected in Britain and was “destined to support the jihadist cause” in Syria.

Masaad, a human resources student at London Metropolitan University, was promised a reward of €1,000 if she successfully smuggled the money to an intermediary in Istanbul “in circumstances of secrecy and mutual trust”, jurors were told.

Masaad was stopped by police at Heathrow’s Terminal 5 as she went to board the 9.40am British Airways flight to Istanbul on 16 January. She told officers she was going to Turkey for a short break, and wanted to buy gold for her mother, the court heard.

Asked how much cash she had, Masaad said she had €20,000 “around me”. She was then taken by counter-terrorism officers to a private room, jurors were told, where she pulled a roll of banknotes from her underwear, comprising 38 €500 notes, four €200 notes and two €100 notes. Dennis said some of the money had been wrapped in a condom and placed inside her body.

Student tried to smuggle €20,000 to Syrian rebels, court told