A poll conducted by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation found that barely half of Scots were in favour of making the cards compulsory, compared with 72 per cent for Britain as a whole.Maybe people in England are more concerned about terrorism.
I'm not at all comfortable with this part of the survey:
It found that almost two-thirds of voters would support some state funding of political parties to reduce their dependence on donations from wealthy individuals.Why on earth should we be forced to pay for political parties? Many people won't approve of any party and might prefer to vote for independents. There are good intellectual arguments in favour of anarchism.
I understand why some members of the public want to "limit the danger of individuals seeking to buy influence". I share that concern. However, the way to reduce undue influence is not to restrict free speech but to limit the powers of the state to protecting us from those who initiate force or fraud. In such a society there is no political benefit in being rich or poor and therefore no reason to seek to influence politicians for personal gain.
4 comments:
Comments made on previous template:
Squander Two (81.178.233.163)
> Scotland is one of the most wonderful countries in the world and not the violent, racist, stupid country that Squander Two tries to portray.
My position, as I've made pretty clear, is that it is both.
> He is going to have a very difficult and unhappy time in his new home in Northern Ireland with his attitude.
You are going to have to make a difficult decision at work this week, but Saturn is in the ascendant so you will meet a dwarf with a limp who will try to sell you ravioli.
> I am in agreement with Neil's summary.
Me too. Neil says essentially the same things I've said.
Toodle-pip.
26 July 2004, 20:27:27 GMT+01:00
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Stuart Dickson (217.211.160.56)
My partner, who hails from outwith these north-western isles, was just reading the Comments and saying nice things like "you've made your point well darling" and "good use of supporting information", in that gently patronising way that partners can have, when she spoilt it all at the end by saying:
"Well I do agree with them about one thing though, the sectarianism in Glasgow is dreadful. Those Orange Walks terrify me."
Well I don't like them either, but I try not to let it get to me. If you let it get to you, like Squander Two has, then the bigots have won.
To paraphrase what they say about Swedish Prime Minister Göran Persson ("Han Som Bestämmer"), it is "She Who Decides", so I have clearly lost the sub-point.
Certainly sectarianism remains a problem in Glasgow, but Scotland is one of the most wonderful countries in the world and not the violent, racist, stupid country that Squander Two tries to portray. He is going to have a very difficult and unhappy time in his new home in Northern Ireland with his attitude.
If Squander Two aspires to settle among the Irish for longer than the 10 years he managed in Scotland then he is going to have to allow the Irish to do their own self-denigration.
Therefore, I am in agreement with Neil's summary.
(I seem to remember, somewhere in the distant past, that this strand was about the remarkable results of the 2004 Joseph Rowntree Foundation annual survey, not about sectarianism. The Scotland portrayed in those learned pages differs starkly from the land in Squander Two's imagination.)
26 July 2004, 19:37:52 GMT+01:00
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David Farrer (62.49.21.253)
Sorry Andy. This thread is getting rather long...
26 July 2004, 06:49:39 GMT+01:00
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Andy Wood (213.122.14.236)
Too late David. I cracked that joke about ten posts ago.
25 July 2004, 23:35:55 GMT+01:00
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David Farrer (62.49.21.253)
"I speak as an atheist tho' the God I don't believe in is a Protestant God."
And spoken like a true Scot!
(Wasn't there a story of a guy who was approached by a group of youths in Glasgow who demanded that he reveal his religion? As he was unable to determine whether they were of the Rangers or Celtic variety, the man replied that he was a Jew. "Aye, but are you a Protestant or a Catholic Jew?" they responded.)
25 July 2004, 10:11:22 GMT+01:00
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David Farrer (62.49.21.253)
"Is this Freedom & Whisky's longest ever comments thread?"
I think that's the case.
25 July 2004, 10:09:52 GMT+01:00
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Squander Two (81.178.233.163)
Is this Freedom & Whisky's longest ever comments thread?
24 July 2004, 22:51:02 GMT+01:00
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Neil (195.93.34.10)
I remember some time ago that there was an article here about an opinion poll held by Reform on economic matters in which the Scots consistently showed themselves to the left of England - but only by 1 or 2% (the only case where they were to the right was on the question of whether lower business taxes would help growth - 70% agreed). Regular readers will appreciate that I consider the Scots to be more liberal & "agin the government" than truly socialist (the original topic of ID cards bears this out). The problem has been that, because of the political 2 party straitjacket of FPTP we have had the appearance of Scotland being socialist - a position were are barely coming out of yet.
As regards anti-Englishness - I am told by an Englishwoman that it has markedly declined since Holyrood. This is not unreasonable. As regards sectarianism - it is a national blot & many of the worst sectarians are in the "anti-sectarian" movement - I speak as an atheist tho' the God I don't believe in is a Protestant God.
True most people don't respect the Scots Parliament much - most people don't respect any parliament much. The main complaint, however, is on the building, which was rushed through by Dewar & London specifically to prevent our Parliament controling it. It is only those who convinced themselves a Scots Parliament was going to make everything wonderful (ie most of us) who are disappointed.
24 July 2004, 22:41:03 GMT+01:00
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Andrew Duffin (213.206.148.225)
Stuart - "You don't deny that you are a Tory then?"
I do deny it, actually. But since I don't regard the word "Tory" as a generalised term of abuse I don't think it is a very big deal, which is why I didn't rise to that bait.
As a matter of fact I have not voted Tory since 1987.
But I suppose the fact that I ever did, will condemn me in some peoples' eyes.
23 July 2004, 12:22:47 GMT+01:00
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Squander Two (195.92.244.188)
> Luckily Squander Two explained his "joke" for me, but I think that he was just using that as a tactic to wriggle himself out of a corner he had painted himself into.
Yeah, that's the only possible explanation. Because it is unknown in human experience for one person not to get another person's joke.
I'm with Andy on the sectarianism in Glasgow: it's constant background noise. I've never been a victim of it (my father is a Jewish catholic spiritualist protestant and my mother is a Church of England atheist, which tends to get me out of those sorts of arguments), but it got tiresome nonetheless.
Oh, and you can cross the road when there's an Orange march in NI. Try that in Glasgow and count your teeth.
> I think I saw 2, perhaps 3, Orange walks in Glasgow.
Yeah, and how many did you hear? Not been woken up by the drums at seven on a Saturday morning in a catholic area, then? Lucky you.
I'll graciously ignore your Nazi slur.
> If you are so far out on the far right that even the Conservative Party is starting to look socialist
The Scottish Conservative Party, last I heard, want to increase taxes and government spending on public services. You don't need to be right-wing to call that socialism. Socialists call it socialism. It doesn't cease to be socialism just because the person who says it has bad hair.
> I love how you just dismiss a vast Scottish private sector, worth hundreds of billions of pounds, with just the regal sweep of your hand.
You seem to be unable to distinguish between the idea that the private sector is smaller than in other countries and the idea that it doesn't exist.
> this has been such a long strand that I am in danger of getting repetitive strain injuries.
Oh dear. If you do, may I recommend that you go to a hospital outside Scotland to get some decent treatment.
Andy,
Followed your link; like your blog. So I might clog up your comments sometime.
22 July 2004, 17:10:31 GMT+01:00
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Stuart Dickson (217.211.160.56)
You see. You're actually funny! The genuine article.
Can't you give Squander Two some coaching?
22 July 2004, 15:32:31 GMT+01:00
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Andy Wood (192.168.128.186)
Does the nominal religion of my parent's have any bearing on my value as a human being?
Ah-ha, you're a greengrocer.
I honestly, honestly, really don't know what that means. Honest. I have never heard of it before. Please tell me, please...
Can't I'm afraid. I fear I have already given away too much.
22 July 2004, 15:17:25 GMT+01:00
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Stuart Dickson (217.211.160.56)
Andy
"Are you a Protestant Humanist or a Catholic Humanist?"
You can take the Glaswegian out of Glasgow, but you can't take Glasgow out of the Glaswegian.
A masterly attempt to ascertain which sect I should be allocated to.
Does the nominal religion of my parent's have any bearing on my value as a human being?
"Nobody ever asked you how old your grandmother was?" I honestly, honestly, really don't know what that means. Honest. I have never heard of it before. Please tell me, please...
As stated before, being brought up in the east, I am completely devoid of a sense of humour. Luckily Squander Two explained his "joke" for me, but I think that he was just using that as a tactic to wriggle himself out of a corner he had painted himself into.
"Doesn't bother me in the slightest."
You are a better Scot than I. Well done for turning the other cheek. Jolly Christian of you.
22 July 2004, 14:07:50 GMT+01:00
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Andy Wood (192.168.128.186)
Sorry about the double posting above. Don't know how that happened.
...being a humanist, I do not belong to either sect.
Very naive. Are you a Protestant Humanist or a Catholic Humanist?
Your social circle doesn't sound too disimilar to mine, as it happens.
I suppose that the nearest I got to it was a "funny" handshake...
Nobody ever asked you how old your grandmother was?
Squander Two said (at Comment 13 above): "I usually go out of my way to let my dislike of the Scots show through in my writing"
Andy, being a Scot, that includes you too!
Doesn't bother me in the slightest. He also said "I should add that all my best friends are Scottish." He obviously picked up some of that legendary Glaswegian talent: wit.
22 July 2004, 13:48:20 GMT+01:00
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Stuart Dickson (217.211.160.56)
Van der Leun's Corollary to Godwin's Law:
"As global connectivity improves, the probability of actual Nazis being on the Net approaches one."
22 July 2004, 13:40:44 GMT+01:00
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