Scottish Secession: Early July Update

As we close in on the two month mark before the referendum, here's what's been happening lately.

A European court has ruled (by precedent) that, contrary to SNP claims, a disunited Britain won't be obligated to subsidize Scottish wind farms. The precedent was set when the court backed Sweden's refusal to subsidize a Finnish wind farm.

One of my favorite global security blogs introduces a disturbing harbinger, given my newfound penchant for whisky: the currency crisis caused by Scottish secession would necessarily disrupt the price of whisky, particularly for those outside of Scotland whose purchase of whisky is dependent upon stable exchange rates. There's also no word from the SNP on how an independent Scotland, which would have virtually no navy, would be able to protect its sea lines of communication to ship the whisky to America. That leads into another issue of note: according to the Telegraph, Alex Salmond's intelligence plan 'contains entirely meaningless figures and fundamental flaws'.

Respected analysts are predicting that falling North Sea oil revenues will impact Scotland's budget; per his usual response, First Minister Salmond has responded that these figures are merely "stuff and nonsense", without providing any further reason to doubt his opponents' claims. Unfortunately for First Minister Salmond, even the SNP's fallback example of Norway, which they strive to emulate, is beginning to face challenges with its own petroleum-dependent social welfare model. In an older story, there was a bit of a row earlier this Spring when the Aberdeen City Council sent letters to its constituents encouraging a "No" vote on the referendum. There have also been a number of folks who have come forward and said that they've been subject to intimidation by the SNP, one such figure being author J.K. Rowling; the SNP's defense is that they're the victim of an MI5 smear campaign to discredit them.

First Minister Salmond and his associates have just over two months to convince the Scottish voters that they have a legitimate plan to govern. Time is running out, and shenanigans such as these do little to encourage confidence.

Recent Reminders of Scotland

Over the last few days, I've had a couple of good reminders of my time in Scotland.

First, I've been to IKEA about four times in the last month, which has reminded me of a couple of videos that IKEA UK released last summer. They're reminiscent of Burger King's classic "Creepy King" advertising campaign that ran from 2003 to 2011. Behold, "One Room Paradise" and "My Pad: Take the Tour".



Second was an article from The Guardian that Joanne sent me: Scotland to petition US to bring back haggis. I responded to Joanne with the following points:

1) Haggis = awesome. Imported haggis that's been sitting on a ship for two weeks = not awesome.

2) One of the lasses at my favorite pub in Orkney, aside from being easy on the eyes with a lovely Inverness accent, clued me into the fact that the pub occasionally made a haggis lasagna. AMAZING.

3) We should make repeal of the ban contingent upon Scotland remaining part of the United Kingdom. :)

Now I miss haggis. I wonder what it would take to get my hands on a sheep...

The Songs That Remind You: Instructors Special Edition

I've been negligent in posting two songs that will remind me of my time in Aberdeen. The first may seem like a bit of a cliche, but my memory of seeing Skyfall with my coursemates and E is a fond one, so Adele's title track will always remind me of E, that course, and that Autumn.


Then, in mid-2013, CN GBU-16 introduced me to a lovely track released by The Killers in October of 2012 - about a month after we'd started our course - entitled Miss Atomic Bomb. Who could such a song title remind me of but Critical Mass, my acclaimed Strategic Nuclear Doctrine instructor?


I don't actually have a song that reminds me of The Director, but if I had to choose one, it would be Vera Lynn's We'll Meet Again - both for its lyrics, and for its connection to one of the finest films on strategy ever made...

Orkney, Shetland, and Secession

While I haven't been in a position to blog lately, I've been doing my best to keep abreast of the Northern Isles' sentiments on the impending secession referendum. There have been several developments of note lately.

A couple of weeks ago, Scottish First Minister and SNP front man Alex Salmond visited Orkney to talk address the Our Islands, Our Future campaign (of which I've spoken previously)...

First Minister Alex Salmond has set out new powers proposed for Scotland's island authorities, in the event of a yes vote in September's referendum. Speaking in Orkney at lunchtime he said the proposals recognised the unique contribution that island communities make to modern Scotland. Under the plans Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles would receive 100% of net revenues from seabed leases for developments such as renewable energy and fish farming. Orkney + Shetland MP and Scottish Secretary Alistair Carmichael described the proposals as a 'naked bribe'.

... and was simultaneously protested by a local councillor:

Stromness and south isles councillor Maurice Davidson has used the opening ceremony for Copland's Dock to make a point to First Minister Alex Salmond. While Mr Salmond was carrying out the opening ceremony Mr Davidson appeared sailing a traditional Orkney yole with a message for the First Minister hanging from the mast. The protest continued as Mr Davidson sailed around the pier displaying his message about replacement ferries for the county.

The message on the sign alludes to some issues I've discussed here and here. The sign suggests that islands that are strong SNP constituencies receive better funding for their ferry services, while Orkney and Shetland (which vote fairly consistently for the Liberal Democrats) are marginalized in this regard. As I've mentioned previously, in the unlikely event that Scots vote to secede from the United Kingdom, there's talk of Orkney and Shetland remaining part of the United Kingdom, or even becoming independent themselves. (Shetland was specifically highlighted in a recent edition of the BBC's Global News Podcast, at 23:26 - it should be available until mid-July 2014 before it's taken offline.)

With the referendum less than three months away, time is quickly running out for Alex Salmond and the SNP to convince voters that they have a viable plan. While I'm obviously ineligible to vote in the referendum, I nonetheless remain unconvinced.

Island Paradise: Orkney in the News

I have three recent about Orkney to share.

Pope Francis has issued a blessing for the Italian Chapel. (You can review my own post about the Italian Chapel here, and you can read the text of the blessing here.

The BBC runs a weekly "Scotland in Pictures" page, and one of their recent editions included a picture of an Orkney blackening. You can see my own coverage of Orkney blackenings here.

And finally, Orkney.com has released a new video showcasing Orkney's many attractions. It' features many of the places I've written about here on the blog, so it's worth a look!


As always, more to come.

Sad News from Orkney

There's sad news from Orkney: my favorite Indian restaurant has been shut down due to immigration violations. According to the article:

Sixteen men have been detained by immigration enforcement officers after an operation in the north of Scotland.

Three restaurants - Dil Se and Indian Garden, both in Kirkwall in Orkney, and Spice Tandoori in Wick - were targeted.

Fifteen Bangladeshi men and a Nepalese man, aged between 23 and 47, were detained.

A Home Office spokesman said the business owners involved faced large fines if they could not prove that proper checks were carried out.

A few thoughts:

1) If these guys were actually illegal, they picked the right place to hide. Kirkwall and Wick have to be about as far as someone could go to get away from the long arm of the law (other than going to Shetland, which carries its own hazards). The one complication is that it would be tough for South Asians to blend in at a location that's both sparsely populated and ethnically homogeneous.

2) I can't for the life of me imagine the Kirkwall police force, which is tiny, hauling in ten Bangladeshis. I especially can't imagine ten Bangladeshis languishing in the Kirkwall police station, which is about the size of a large home.

Hopefully, the whole thing will be sorted out soon enough. Odds are that it will be: according to CN Ness, who brought the story to my attention:

I walked by it yesterday and it says it should be open by Wednesday.

Let's hope so. Their chow is outstanding.

Around Aberdeen: Ugly Wee Loaner Car

over the Summer, while I was working on my dissertation, I spent nearly every afternoon at a particular Starbucks in Aberdeen's city center. It was an interesting vantage point from whence to observe various goings-on in the city. One thing that I found exceptionally amusing was the day when an "Free Ugly Wee Loaner Car" - apparently the Scottish version of the cars that a mechanic's shop will loan you while they're repairing your car. Fortunately, it was stopped at the traffic light directly adjacent to Starbucks, so I was able to grab my phone and fire up the camera before it sped away. There was also some grocery store whose trucks said something along the lines of "Mums love XYZ", but I don't remember what the "XYZ" was - all I remember is that it was something that didn't quite translate back into the American dialect.

The Songs That Remind You 16: Taylor Swift Redux!

A few months ago, I did a Taylor Swift Special Edition(!), and since then I've picked up several additional songs by the fetching Ms. Swift that will continue to remind me of my year (and some change) spent in Scotland. The first of these was one that started getting airplay while I was still down in Aberdeen.


Here in Orkney, while studying at a local pub, I also discovered a track from her previous album entitled Back to December...


... as well as the title track from her current album, Red.


I don't know that I'd say that I actually have a bit of a thing for Ms. Swift. What I would say is that in an age of really vapid and oversexualized garbage (Miley Cyrus, to name but one), it's nice to see a female performer with actual talent who seems somewhat normal and doesn't resort to auto-tuning, flagrant sexualization, and bland lyrics written by committees in order to sell records.

I was going to include an interview with the fetching Ms. Swift on some radio station with a bunch of chumps, but I'll dispense with that. Have a great day!