It's hard to believe it's happening in Europe, and in an ostensibly democratic country like Spain. But just as the autonomous region of Catalonia was planning to hold a referendum on whether or not to secede from Spain, the Spanish government has tried to block it by arresting some separatist leaders. The Spanish police detained more than a dozen people in the region of Catalonia on Wednesday, drastically escalating tensions between the national government and Catalan separatists. The episode occurred less than two weeks before a highly contentious referendum on independence that the government in Madrid has vowed to block. And stealing the ballots. Only to reap the righteous wrath of the Catalan people.
In a few hours I'll be leaving the country and setting off for Edinburgh, to attend the wedding of one of my oldest friends. And since I'll be racing between that city, and my family home in the north of Scotland, I probably won't have time to blog until I return.
About four years ago I made three political wishes. The first one was that Stephen Harper and foul regime be totally destroyed. And that one was granted. My second wish was that the Republican Party suffer the same fate. And whoever wins the U.S. election that also seems likely to be granted. Which leaves me with my third wish, the independence of Scotland.
Last Sunday was the second anniversary of Scotland's independence referendum, which as you may know, was for me a day of great disappointment. And one I'll always remember. But I haven't dared even mention the anniversary when talking to my family in the Scottish highlands, because for them it's a day best forgotten. They don't want to talk about it. It's too traumatic. And they all voted NO.
As Britain tries to recover from the shock of the Brexit referendum result. With its economy and its political scene in a turmoil. And its racist bigots on a rampage. I'm sure many of its REMAIN supporters were glad to hear Nicola Sturgeon, the First Minister of Scotland, vow to try to block Britain from divorcing the European Union.
It's been barely two days since the Brexit referendum, and no doubt some LEAVE supporters are still celebrating their big victory. But not all of them. Some of them it seems are now having sober second thoughts. And what with the pound having fallen to a thirty-year low, the stock markets shuddering, and the country split down the middle, and in danger of falling apart. Now some of them are saying they're sorry.
I knew the LEAVE side was going to win the Brexit referendum hours before the polls closed. When I heard that the poor who live in the Britain's rundown Council estates were turning out to vote in massive numbers. And the reason I did is because if you have ever taken the train from London to Edinburgh, as I sometimes like to do. Only about two hours after you leave the glittering prosperous capital, you enter a very different Britain.
In my last post I told you why I believe progressives need to build a mighty Canada-wide movement to ensure that Stephen Harper and his foul Con regime are defeated in the next election. I said I believe that a movement would make our struggle look more like a sacred cause, than a mere electoral contest. And would almost certainly ensure that more Canadians turn out to vote, which would seal the fate of the Harper cult. Because that's the last thing he wants.
And he also knows, like I do, that a movement is always more powerful than any political party. And how do I know that? Because I saw it with my own eyes in Scotland last summer.
It hasn't been easy being a YES supporter in the 48 hours since Scotland's latest glorious failure. First there was the pain of defeat. Then a mob of unionist bigots descended upon them in Glasgow's George Square where they had been peacefully camping out for days...
Tossing flares, singing Rule Britannia, chanting the Orange Lodge slogan "No Surrender," or racist stuff like "Asians out." Giving the Nazi salute...
Assaulting them, stealing their flags. Or just acting like only some of the Protestant supremacist thugs in that city can act...
Well it was a long night and a disappointing one. The YES side in the Scottish referendum didn't do as well as I had hoped it might. Scotland will have to wait a little longer to become independent. And fear conquered hope. Scotland voters have opted to continue as part of the United Kingdom after 307 years in an historic referendum vote, although most observers believe there will be a change in the relationship in the coming months.
With just one centre of 32 remaining to report, 55.4 per cent of voters had voted No to independence, with 44.6 in the Yes camp. But while that poor guy in the picture might not realize it for a while, there is still a lot to celebrate.
And so it ended, with wild rallies all over the country. After two long years of preparations and months of feverish debate, Scotland's amazing referendum campaign is finally over.
And as I write these lines, Scots are heading to the polls to decide whether Scotland should become an independent country. The campaign ended with a final message from the YES side urging them to take their own future in their hands, and choose hope over fear.
Our nation is alive with energy and excitement about the future. And the collective democratic awakening in Scotland goes further and deeper than the independence movement alone. For all of this, Scotland is richer. It is this popular energy which gives confidence for Scotland’s future. Together, we can harness the passion, drive and vision that abounds in Scotland today and use it to build a better society.
It ended with a final message from the NO side warning of doom and disaster.
With one day to go before Scotland's historic referendum vote, the excitement is building and the polls are narrowing. Support for the Yes campaign is increasing but it still lags just behind No on the eve of Scotland’s independence referendum, an exclusive poll conducted for The Scotsman reveals today. The Yes vote stands at 48 per cent compared with 52 per cent for No, when the undecided voters are excluded, the survey of more than 1,000 voters by ICM found. And the fact that the YES side is still standing, let alone so close to victory, is truly amazing. Considering the campaign of fear that has been waged against them. And the way they have been shafted by the media.
Well there he was today, David Cameron, the leader of Britain's savage Con regime. The Prime Minister who has inflicted the most pain on the British people since the bestial Margaret Thatcher. Trying to bully the Scottish people into voting NO by threatening them with a "painful divorce."
There couldn't have been an uglier sight. Thousands of members of the anti-Catholic Orange Lodge marching through Edinburgh to show their support for the NO side.
Or one more representative of the NO side's attempt to bully the YES side into submission.
For by now the combined forces of Big Business, the corporate media, and the Westminster political establishment have tried everything to crush this peaceful people's revolt. The crudest threats, the most absurd predictions of doom like this latest one...
All designed to scare people into voting NO. And the good news is that at this point at least it isn't working.
With one week to go in the Scottish referendum the YES side's surge to independence appears to have been at least temporarily halted, with a new poll suggesting the NO side is leading again. The YouGov survey for The Times and Sun newspapers put supporters of the union on 52 per cent, narrowly ahead of supporters of independence on 48 per cent, excluding those who said they did not know how they would vote. But with 97% of those eligible registered to vote, either side could still win. And the good news for the YES side is that most of its support is still intact even after being battered by an all-out assault worthy of Darth Vader himself...
It's been hard trying to explain that what's going on in Scotland is a bigger story than many progressives in this country can imagine. And that they should rejoice at the last minute surge of the YES side, because they are fighting for our kind of values, and we can use some of the lessons of their campaign to defeat the Harper regime in the next election. Because as soon as I mention the word "referendum" some people start muttering incoherently, and when I mention the word YES they think Quebec separatists. And either start screaming, or moaning, or mumbling stuff like: No. No. Not again. Not the NEVERENDUM !#@!!!! Which is a pity, because even though its happening in a small country it really is a huge story.
I've been seeing a lot of stories in the Canadian and British media, comparing the Scottish independence referendum campaign to the one in Quebec in 1995. And I've resigned myself to seeing a lot more of them after this latest development. Because it is so familiar. But here's the thing eh? I've seen the Scottish referendum campaign up close and in the flesh this summer, in this quiet northern place where my family lives...
I lived through the Quebec one in Montreal, in the crucible of the clash between the YES and the NO. And I can tell you that while the campaigns may be superficially similar, they are at their core radically different.
With less than two weeks to go before the Scottish independence referendum a new poll has shown the YES side ahead for the first time. Some 51% of those who have made up their mind and intend to vote back an independent Scotland while 49% plan to vote no, the YouGov poll suggests. The poll of 1,084 people, carried out between 2 and 5 September, is the first and only serious study to put the Yes campaign ahead, and suggests the pro-Union camp has lost its lead - once regularly in the double-digits.
Sending a shockwave rolling across Britain, and sending David Cameron's ghastly Con government, and almost the entire British establishment, into a state of almost total panic.
I have always believed that while a political party can change a government, only a movement can truly change a country. Or the world. I got a glimpse of the power of a movement during the Quebec student protests. When for a while at least, young and old came together to challenge the very foundations of the increasingly savage capitalist society we're living in. And dream of something better. And now I'm seeing it again in Scotland, where despite massive opposition from the Big Business and other forces of the establishment, it's one of the reasons the YES side may be heading for victory.
With just 15 days to go before the Scottish referendum, a new poll has confirmed the trend that I wrote about yestarday. The YES side is surging, and Scotland could be soon heading for independence.
The poll by YouGov showed the unionist lead had shrunk to 6 percentage points from 22 a month ago as support for independence jumped to 47 percent in August, suggesting a major shift in opinion ahead of the September 18 referendum. And although some may be surprised, I'm not. And neither is the English writer George Monbiot, who says voting NO would be an "astonishing act of self-harm."
