Quote: Chappers @ 14th September 2014, 10:32 PM BST

I heard that apparently if it does go ahead the border would be extended into the sea along the same diagonal line so we'd have all the oil.

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There is actually a dispute between Canada (Yukon) and the US (Alaska) on the demarcation of their respective exclusive economic zones in the Beaufort Sea, where this is pretty much what the Canadians have been arguing. However, that is based on the interpretation of an 1825 treaty between Britain an Russia: I doubt there would be a basis in international law for applying the same approach to the North Sea.

Andthat's forgetting all those Wooly hatted Stills on the isle of Shetland, thinking [woo hoo lets go independent keep all the oil and the sheep and finally be able to shop at Tescos]

Quote: Chappers @ 14th September 2014, 10:32 PM BST

I heard that apparently if it does go ahead the border would be extended into the sea along the same diagonal line so we'd have all the oil.

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The line across the sea used to be a horizontal out to sea from the eastern land boundary point. In 1999 the Government moved it upwards diagonally just before the Scottish Parliament sat for the first time. Some oil fields therefore "went south". SNP intend to fight it through the international law courts. They say it was sneaky of Blair and the right procedures weren't followed, ie a HOC debate , but it was done by Statutory Instrument which doesn't require a debate. Nevertheless they are expected to win it on a technicality.

In truth, they were never Scottish oil fields. All waters are UK waters but they were originally divided into Scottish and UK administration and with the change some oil fields that were in the first were transferred to the other. I reckon the line should be diagonal and it should be a diagonal as an extension of the land boundary. That is steeper than anyone thinks until they look at the map so re-drawing it on those lines would give the UK more oil. The problem is that if they win on it, they will be wanting Berwick and then Carlisle. The scope for carping is unfortunately endless and, money aside, it will be in nobody's interests.

Carlisle the Scots can't have Stott, the bounders.

That should be the clincher !

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/piers-morgan-attempts-to-save-the-union-by-promising-to-go-back-to-the-us-if-scotland-votes-no-to-independence-9732207.html?dkdk

You know that thing the Scots did to William Wallace at the end of Braveheart, they should do it PM.
Don't know if it'll swing the vote but they should still do it.

All The Facts You Need To Know About the Referendum

01. Salmond's wife is old enough to be his mother. She is nearly 77 and cooks him tea.
02. His own mother was a Conservative and a big fan of Winston Churchill.
03. While he moans daily about London toffs, he's never denied he's a millionaire.
04. When he joined SNP, they were very anti EU and they still were until the late 1980s.
05. The Scots mainly massacre Scots. There have been clan wars in most centuries.

06. Rather than being anti-Empire as they say, they had their own - Nova Scotia.
07. They wanted Panama but failed expensively; the reason independence was lost.
08. England had to protect Jamaica from them; but that's why Jamaica's flag has a saltire.
09. In the Union, the Scots were no less responsible for Empire than Team England.
10. Every member of the SNP youth movement is mentally aged 47 and weirdly square.

11. The claim that the Scots don't get the UK Governments they want is totally bogus.
12. Labour have won in 3 out of 4 - and have also mainly won in the Scottish Parliament.
13. SNP were on the far right of politics from the 1930s to the 1960s.
14. In 1979, the SNP voted with Margaret Thatcher against Labour on devolution.
15. There are so few SNP councillors from ethnic groups they couldn't form a football team.

16. SNP rival GCHQ in the amount of personal information they hold on voters.
17. Their success is partially due to placing every voter in a group and targeting support.
18. Among those they often ignore are people on council estates who rarely bother to vote.
19. While supposedly anti British, they intend to keep the BBC but call it SBC.
20. Salmond probably has doubts about independence himself; he expected devo-max.

Quote: A Horseradish @ 15th September 2014, 5:59 PM BST

01. Salmond's wife is old enough to be his mother. She is nearly 77 and cooks him tea.

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Lol, so? He's almost 60. He'd look bad if he had a 20 year old trophy wife, not one more or less his own age.

Quote: zooo @ 15th September 2014, 6:18 PM BST

Lol, so? He's almost 60. He'd look bad if he had a 20 year old trophy wife, not one more or less his own age.

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I knew that would be the most controversial one.

There's nothing wrong with it.

It was only a few weeks ago when I was saying that the 19 year difference between Cathy McGowan and Michael Ball could be a record. It might still be but it was then I discovered the existence of Mrs Salmond.

Alex was 27. She was 44. Fair enough - but the major difference is that I quite like McGowan and Ball.

Heh, yes he is nice. I'm always surprised when I remember he's married to a lady.

It's definitely not a record, Madonna's been with at least one man where there was a 30 year gap.

Quote: zooo @ 15th September 2014, 6:24 PM BST

Heh, yes he is nice. I'm always surprised when I remember he's married to a lady.

It's definitely not a record, Madonna's been with at least one man where there was a 30 year gap.

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Michael Ball also doesn't make you think "can I bear to read the papers today".

As for Madonna, I'd have thought her partners have spanned every conceivable category.

It's a good job she doesn't live in Scotland or the SNP database would be all over the place.

I like Devo they had awesome hats

Quote: A Horseradish @ 15th September 2014, 6:21 PM BST

I knew that would be the most controversial one.

There's nothing wrong with it.

It was only a few weeks ago when I was saying that the 19 year difference between Cathy McGowan and Michael Ball could be a record. It might still be but it was then I discovered the existence of Mrs Salmond.

Alex was 27. She was 44. Fair enough - but the major difference is that I quite like McGowan and Ball.

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Charlie Chaplin was 54 when he married 18 year old Oona O'Neil (daughter of Eugene - same age as Chaplin!) and had eight children with her- the last one when he was 73.

His grand-daughter, also called Oona, was in the Inside No. 9 episode "A Quiet Night In"

Quote: sootyj @ 15th September 2014, 7:08 PM BST

I like Devo they had awesome hats

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"Are we not men? We are Devo".

There's something about the construction of it, I can hear it being said by Gordon Brown.

Quote: Hercules Grytpype Thynne @ 15th September 2014, 7:10 PM BST

Charlie Chaplin was 54 when he married 18 year old Oona O'Neil (daughter of Eugene - same age as Chaplin!) and had eight children with her- the last one when he was 73.

His grand-daughter, also called Oona, was in the Inside No. 9 episode "A Quiet Night In"

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Big fan of Chaplin and had thought about including him on the Swiss thread. I didn't know those interesting facts but the age gap is more typical that way round. It reminds me a bit of a friend I had from Newcastle who was the fifth of nine offspring. Not the age of his parents but the sheer number of children. His Mum's claim to being unusual was that she got married at 19 and had her first child at 30. He said that she liked the experience so much she decided there and then to have one each year until it was no longer possible.

Quote: A Horseradish @ 15th September 2014, 5:59 PM BST

13. SNP were on the far right of politics from the 1930s to the 1960s.

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C.J. Sansom has a lot to say about that sort of thing in his book Dominion:

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/scots-author-condemns-dangerous-snp-in-book.19134105