Sturgeon calls for RT UK Ban
Sturgeon says she is appalled that Alex Salmond continues to work for a Russian State television company RT and has asked that Ofcom revoke RT’s licence so that they are prevented from broadcasting in the UK
It’s a matter for Ofcom, but I do think there is now a very serious question about whether RT should continue to have a broadcast here in Scotland.And I would certainly encourage Ofcom to look at that very, very seriously and closely indeed.I’m appalled at Alex Salmond’s continued involvement with RT, I don’t think it’s any secret now that I don’t think he should ever have had a television show on RT, but it is even more unthinkable now that that should continue.
https://youtu.be/dV1fCxA2e2Y
Salmond: Sturgeon’s Cambo stance will ‘sink independence’
Salmond compares Sturgeon’s opposition to the Cambo oil field to Mrs Thatcher’s abandonment of coal mining communities, saying it will sink the case for independence and cost the SNP tens of thousands of votes.
The consequences could be far reaching, and not just for the SNP but for the whole independence movement….It would be akin to Margaret Thatcher, having closed the pits, then campaigning for votes in the old mining areas of Cowdenbeath and Kelty…For the leader of the independence campaign to casually cast aside that card represents a stunning step backwards.
He says Cambo should be licensed on condition it is a zero carbon development:
Without it, then it is not just farewell to tens of thousands of north-east of Scotland votes for the SNP. Much more seriously, it’s Mossmorran no more, Grangemouth no more, St Fergus no more – and independence no more.
Tried to board flight as James T. Kirk
Salmond says that British Airways refused to let him on the plane at Heathrow because the name on his ticket, James T. Kirk (the name of the StarShip Enterprise’s commander, played by William Shatner in Star Trek) – didn’t match that in his passport. Salmond said, as a fan of the show, he had been using the name to travel incognito for years. But since resigning as First Minister he no longer travelled with protection officers who could explain the ruse. After some emails and calls to his staff, Salmond was allowed on the flight.
It was all sorted out. I just wanted BA to ‘Beam me up, Scotty’.
Announces resignation
Salmond announces that he will resign as First Minister and head of the SNP. He will remain in the post until the SNP’s annual conference in Perth on Nov. 13-15 and will then stand down and allow another leader to be elected. He does not endorse a successor. At his official residence in Edinburgh:
It has been the privilege of my life to serve Scotland as First Minister. But as I said often during the referendum campaign this is not about me or the SNP. It is much more important than that. The position is this. We lost the referendum vote but can still carry the political initiative. More importantly Scotland can still emerge as the real winner.
‘No-one can stop Scotland using the pound’
Salmond says that an independent Scotland would continue to use the pound:
All this stuff about being able to be vetoed from using the pound actually isn’t true. No one can stop us from using (it) … It’s sensible – England is our biggest trading partner, and Scotland is England’s second-biggest trading partner after the U.S. There will be a common sense agreement for a common currency.
Letter to public
Salmond writes an open letter to the Scottish public, saying that now the campaigning is almost over, the focus is on the people of the country and how they will decide:
So in these last days of the greatest campaign Scotland has ever seen, I want to ask you to take a step back from the arguments of politicians and the blizzard of statistics. The opportunity for our Parliament to gain real job creating powers, the ability to protect our treasured National Health Service and the building of a renewed relationship of respect and equality with our friends and neighbours in the rest of these Islands.
But for all that, the talking is nearly done. The campaigns will have had their say. What’s left is just us – the people who live and work here. The only people with a vote. The people who matter.
Murdoch criticizes SNP, Salmond
Murdoch criticizes the SNP just days before the Scottish Sun is expected to issue its editorial stance on the independence referendum. On a stop-off in a Glasgow pub during a tour of Glasgow, Aberdeen and Fife Murdoch says he is ‘considering’ giving the Yes campaign the Sun‘s backing – he later publishes several tweets critical of what he says is Salmond’s pro-EU, pro-welfare stance:
SNP not talking about independence, but more welfarism, expensive greenery, etc and passing sovereignty to Brussels.
Scotland. Have to worry about some of Salmond's allies. Far left socialists and extreme greenies. Must change course to prosper if he wins.
— Rupert Murdoch (@rupertmurdoch) September 14, 2014
Salmond: ‘Unspeakable barbarism’
Salmond says the execution by ISIS militants of British aid worker Haines is an ‘unspeakable act of barbarism.’ He indicates that an independent Scotland would favor combating ISIS as the murder of Haines underscores the growing threat the group poses to UK citizens, after the group threatened British volunteer Alan Henning in the video of Haines’s death. But unilateral action would not be considered:
You can’t have a strategy where you bow to terrorism. There’s an urgent requirement to get back to collective [action] under the United Nations.
GQ interview
Salmond discusses the referendum with Campbell for GQ. Asked if he considers himself a historic figure:
I prefer modern studies to history.
He says the Yes campaign is trying to dismiss ‘unreasonable’ fears about the outcome of independence, and that keeping the pound is the most likely scenario for an independent Scotland, drinking culture in Scotland, and whether Spain and other opponents of independence can keep the country out of the EU. His general view on Putin:
Well, I don’t approve of a range of Russian actions, but he is more effective than most and you can see why he carries support in Russia.
On whether he ‘admires’ Putin:
Certain aspects. He’s restored a substantial part of Russian pride and that must be a good thing. There are aspects of Russian constitutionality and the inter-mesh with business and politics that are difficult to admire.
He also discusses whether the Iraq War was illegal and former Prime Minister Blair a war criminal, Kosovo, Syria and Afghanistan. The leader he admires most is German Chancellor Merkel, and he admires Obama’s campaigns but says he should be effective despite running a minority government.
Defends Putin remark
Salmond defends his remark that Putin has ‘restored a substantial part of Russian pride’:
When people see the comments I made, they will see that they’re perfectly reasonable. I said I deprecated Russian actions in Ukraine and also its human rights record. I pointed out that the western press underestimated Putin and that’s obviously true … When I was talking about the pride issue, it was in the aftermath of the Sochi [winter] Olympics, which was obviously a restoration of Russian pride. Those are reasonably balanced remarks.