As for the rest of the stuff you've posted, Cookie, just think about the implications of what you've said - the case for ScotIndy is weak as at present and/or it would be foolhardy to call a second referendum in present circumstances (I heartily agree btw), precisely because the arguments for it simply do not stack up - and you know they'd lose, probably even more heavily than last time (support has fallen away further since the last vote, as per above poll). The SNP themselves are apparently resorting to spreading misinformation according to respected entrepreneur and columnist Kevin Hague - because if you haven't got a compelling argument, whipping up grievance on the basis of myths is all you're left with?
From Kevin Hague's blog:-
Quote:
The problem with political debate in Scotland is not that people aren’t well informed, it’s that the SNP ensure they’re very well misinformed.
It’s not a sophisticated strategy, but it seems to be an effective one. By using Twitter, official party representatives can basically get away with saying whatever they like by avoiding having to deal with pesky journalists who tend to like to check facts before they report them. On social media, complete lies can be read by tens of thousands of people before they’re exposed and debunked, by which time it’s too late. People seeking to give themselves permission to ignore awkward facts have been satisfied and the tweeter’s mission is accomplished.
Take the example of the Scottish Government’s own GERS figures. When these showed Scotland’s economy being a positive contributor to the UK, they were rightly quoted by the SNP as authoritative statistics. Since the figures started showing Scotland effectively receiving cash from the rest of the UK (roughly £1,700 for every man woman and child in Scotland last year) the figures have instead been cynically and systematically undermined
The SNP and their social media mouth-pieces have been so successful with their campaign of misinformation that, whenever GERS figures are debated now, the following points have to be endlessly repeated: there’s no missing whisky duty, there’s no missing export income, the figures aren’t affected by corporate head-office locations, London infrastructure costs aren’t allocated to Scotland and the figures are not guesswork compiled by HM Treasury, they’re qualified National Statistics compiled and published by the Scottish Government
...
Of course it’s obvious why an SNP MP would want to falsely suggest that Scottish export figures to the UK are over-stated and those to the EU under-stated. One of the gaping holes in the SNP’s argument for Brexit as an independence trigger is the fact that Scotland sells more than four times as much to the rest of the UK as we do to the EU3. This means - if Brexit does turn out to mean UK/EU trade barriers exist - Scotland would risk damaging four times as much trade by ending up on the EU rather than the UK side of any such barriers.
So faced with a clear logical flaw in their argument, this SNP MP resorts to the tried and tested strategy of misrepresenting the facts and spreading misunderstanding. ...
http://chokkablog.blogspot.co.uk/2016/1 ... aghan.htmlThe bottom line for me is that, whatever the alleged whys and wherefores of an argument - if you resort to cherry picking, deliberate selective quoting of some bits of information but not others (and/or cite out of date information, without correcting such issues when duly called out on it), well, you've clearly lost (IMO).