Derek 2.0

I agree.

To an extent, but extra berthing is still an issue aboard the 330s, any flag staff will require the removal of a portion of the ships complement……..realistically, with the state of the tankers, it’s unlikely we’ll be deploying our own task groups anytime soon…….coupled with the realization that due to modern communications, a task group’s flag could be raised aboard a stone frigate for most deployments.

And welcome the Harry DeWolf class

Other than the Command and Control facilities aboard the 280s, the ships have been obsolete since the 90s, there is no real upside in keeping them, other than as place holders……Much like the Royal Navy giving up Carrier Strike for a few years until the QE’s enter service…………The loss of an AOR will hurt, but after the fire and the ensuing metal fatigue, the ship is no longer safe to operate.

I think Preserver will stay, but her sister is done after the fire.......I don't see an actual benefit to keeping any of the 280s......let them all go and save the money on operating a unique type.......

Not a surprise: I wouldn't be surprised if Preserver followed too.........Will save the RCN a ton of money retiring these tired ships, allowing over 1000 positions to flush out the rest of the fleet and act as place holders for the AOPS, which start production, next year. Somewhat sad to see the 280s go, and I hope they share a similar fate as their sister Huron....

And Salmond resigns........not a surprise.

More so, if Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England will get the promised powers bringing them closer to a Canadian like Confederation.......The Dance has started already, with British Scottish Labour saying they would reject the Tories proposals in 2015.

Interesting but predictable........Edinburgh is a Labour bastion in Westminster.....Aberdeen (city) is the Houston/Calgary of Scotland, and BP's statements on independence weighed heavily.

Not surprised........I’ve been watching the Scottish BBC coverage all evening with my family, in particular, my 83 year young father, a native of Aberdeenshire (Ironically the area represented by Salmond in Holyrood) and though not surprised with the result, certainly a sense of relief….. One interesting point made by several of the BBC commentators, was that the areas with the greatest “yes” vote (Glasgow, Dundee etc.) are particularly poor and reliant upon social assistance, and historically lower voter turnout…..With this referendum, most of the council areas saw an average of over 85% turnout, with the poorer areas in the 70%s……..Another interesting point mentioned on the broadcast, like Quebec in ’95, the majority of new Scots were voting to maintain the Union…..I wonder if Nationalists will blame the immigrants, coupled with the rumbles of Westminster’s “fear machine” delivered by the BBC, for the result

But that's just it........to join the EU, which they want to do, it's conditional on them adopting the Euro.....unlike the founding members of the EU that could keep their own currency.....The Scots would trade London for Brussels.....I'm not sure that is an upgrade.

They can adopt the Sterling without the blessing of the Bank of England, much like a third world country adopting the Greenback.........The Euro would be a precondition to joining the the EU, which the SNP wishes to do, but has stated they would adopt their own currency ..... .........what can go wrong with a unstable country joining the unstable EU?

That's correct, and though I erred on it completion, that certainly doesn’t discount upgrades that have been performed to the entire class since commission (including the Toronto), some of which are a part of the HCM/FELEX program and have been ongoing for nearly a decade………Upgrades that would certainly interest the Russians.

Chicken and the egg really........What certainty is there in a yet to be established currency?

Yes, I know, I stated as much.......A pre-deployment refit………As I said, what was the extent of the work carried out? Coupled with other prior and post refits? Your linked picture isn’t proof of what work has since been completed and what work has not.

......except the picture of the Toronto in a floating drydock in late 2012

I’m sure most 16 year olds and other low information voters would favour voting for “free stuff” and not paying taxes……..the problem of course, to paraphrase Thatcher, the Scots won’t have other people’s money to pay for it.

A birth born into poverty, sans a safety-net.

If you have two sides willing to negotiate.... How ever the Queen wants her military to be divided........ It won't be up to England alone.......the Scottish banking and insurance industries, which factor heavily into the Scottish economy, have already stated an aye vote will trigger a move to England.........which of course makes sense, why would a Government secured industry, choose to remain in Scotland with a "Monoploy" valued currency as opposed to the safety found within the Bank of England.... As to how it will effect England.......quite well overall. The better question, how many Scots will move themselves and their money South, and of the remaining Scots, how many will favour keeping their own money in a foreign owned and regulated bank? What will Scots do when their ability to apply for credit/lending is greatly reduced? How would a Bank of Scotland secure it's own currency? I will predict, if an "aye" is the result (and we should know around 3pm PST), you will see a run on Scottish banks as the first shot fired in a rapidly declining Scotland......

One is a Syncopate if they don’t favour the “yes” side? How so? If “no” wins by a ~5% margin, what does that make the remaining 45%? Losers for coalescing with the majority? Or would you suggest they keep trying every generation until they get it “right”? The SNP and Alex Salmond make a poor Sinn Fein and Gerry Adams for Scotland…..

Ok, but that's why I asked why you favoured the "divorce".......no reason, "just because".

Your interpretation might jive to yourself…..

Yes I do, they will be bloody broke and worse off then they are now.......You have yet to suggest why they would be better off on their own.

No proof? What currency will they use? It won’t be the Sterling nor Euro……..Who will they trade with and how long will it take to create trade treaties? As to business, the Royal Bank of Scotland has already stated a “yes” will equal their move to England……..same with the current insurance industry. Who will protect Scotland? They won’t belong to NATO and will have to create a military from the ground-up……….And of course, when Scotland receives more money from Westminster then they contribute (ala our transfer payments to Provinces), how will they pay for everything without increasing taxes?

I’m curious as to why? For the Scots themselves, it will mean years of economic and diplomatic turmoil, coupled with higher taxes (for those that remain) to maintain a standard of living with a semblance of the Second-World……..At best, they will achieve with generations of struggle, what they already have. In retrospect, once the divorce is complete, the remaining UK will be far better off without the financial burden that is Scotland…..politically; the UK will shift to the right minus Scotland and almost certainly leave the EU within a few years……….England would be far better off. With that said, further devolution for all of the United Kingdom, turning the Union into a Federalist state along the lines of Canada is a far better solution for all involved.....