We need your help now
Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
By continuing, you are indicating that you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
THE SCOTTISH FIRST Minister Alex Salmond has insisted that his government has a mandate to hold a referendum on independence from the UK and will do so in the autumn of 2014, defying the the wishes of the UK government to hold it sooner.
While the UK says that Scotland cannot legally hold a referendum without its authority, Salmond is adamant that British Prime Minister David Cameron has “no mandate” to set the rules and suggested this morning that any attempt to do so would “increase support for independence”.
While Salmond yesterday said Scotland would hold an independence referendum in the autumn of 2014 – the 700th anniversary of the decisive Battle of Bannockburn during the First War of Scottish Independence – Cameron wants the issue to be sorted out sooner.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4′s Today programme this morning, Salmond said that Cameron had “suddenly this week decided to start pulling strings and setting conditions.”
“I thought his [Cameron's] intervention at the weekend was almost Thatcher-esque in its nature, the idea that London knows best and it is operating in our best interests but wanting to set the ground rules for our referendum despite the fact it has got no mandate whatsoever for doing so,” Salmond told the programme.
The leader of the Scottish National Party claimed the UK government’s Scottish Secretary Michael Moore had previously said the issue of a referendum was “entirely a matter for the Scottish government”.
He also denied that in potentially wanting a third option on any prospective ballot paper that he was seeking a “get out clause”.
Salmond said there needed to be a debate beyond a straightforward question of whether Scotland should be in or out of the UK as the Westminster government is keen for.
He said there needed to be a discussion about “a legitimate point of view” that there be a third option for voters, that being ‘devo max’ which would provide increased financial powers for the Scottish government but stop short of full independence from the UK.
As well as being at odds over the timing of a referendum and the ballot paper options, the Scottish and UK administrations differ on who should run the process and what the voting age should be with Scotland advocating that 16 and 17-year-olds be allowed to vote in the referendum.
The BBC’s political editor Nick Robinson has suggested that the dispute could lead to a historic Supreme Court battle between Westminster and Holyrood.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
The German Interior Minister was recently reported as saying that he reckons that there is going to be a new influx of migrants into Germany which will be even bigger than the one in 2015.Consifering that a lot of these will be from Syria it’s fair to say that a good number of them will be ex ISIS or head hacking “moderate” rebels. Will Germany be so welcoming of them this time around?
@CBD Suppliers: It won’t effect the political class living in their gated communities, with armed security paid for by the taxpayers.
@CBD Suppliers: awful lot of conjecture based on no facts
@CBD Suppliers: This is because of the imminent Turkish invasion of Syria, they are gearing up to ethnically cleanse Rojava, the Kurdish self governing region of north Syria. The Turks see them as an extension of the PKK. If there is a wave of refugees over this, time it will be Kurds, and Kurds fought ISIS.
And here some of the 9000 Kurdish fighters and Western volunteers who lost their lives fighting ISIS:
@CBD Suppliers: You might post the link which identifies the attackers as Syrian…
@CBD Suppliers: You might post the link which identifies the attackers as Syrian…
@CBD Suppliers: You might post the link which identifies the attackers as Syrian…
@Brenda Malloy: Conjecture? https://www.thelocal.de/20180313/three-syrians-jailed-over-is-sleeper-cell
You’d want a hole in your head to think that this isn’t happening.https://www.thedailybeast.com/isis-smuggler-sleeper-cells-and-undead-suicide-bombers-have-infiltrated-europe
Ask any clued in security, police or intelligence offical or analyst if IS and other terrorists are infiltrating Europe and you will get an affirmative answer every time.
IS are exploiting the fold of migrants into Europe to put their people in place. Immigration officials are overwhelmed with refugee requests and so it is easier for IS sleepers to slip through the cracks. At least in Ireland, the Syrians that we grant asylum to are checked out as thoroughly as possible. Germany on the other hand just let anyone and everyone in. Some of them are even going back on holidays to the countries that they claimed they are being persecuted in! Germany is facing an increasing threat of imported terrorism and there is no conjecture about that.
@David F O’Connell: I never said they were Syrian, I said that ” a lot of these will be from Syria”. IS is made up of a melting pot of nationalities but the main nationalities in Syria/Iraq are made up of Syrians and Iraqis. The rest are from Central Asia (AF/Pak), the various “stans”, Bangledesh, along with Europeans and a handful of other countries.
IS has a very well-financed intelligence network that is expert at producing false documents for its infiltrators. So even if someone arrives into the immigration office claiming to be Syrian, Iraqi or any other nationality the chances are that they could be from anywhere.
Hell, in Ireland you don’t even need a passport to get in here. https://www.independent.ie/regionals/argus/news/man-used-fake-passport-to-seek-irish-citizenship-38548088.html
“The defendant left war-torn Somali as an asylum seeker. He didn’t have a passport or documentation when he came here in 2011.”
How did he manage to get on a flight from Somalia (min 2 stops) and waltz into Ireland without a passport or any sort of documentation? IF that’s just one guy in Ireland then how is Germany going to cope with hundreds of thousnds probably doing the same thing in the future?
@Brenda Malloy: common sense I would say.
@CBD Suppliers: 30K people get killed in the US by guns alone every year…..so please so explain what exactly is your point?
@Peter Hughes: This story is about a shooting in Germany and you are going on about gun deaths in the US. Why don’t you explain your point?
@Peter Hughes:
60% of those would be suicide. So what’s your point?
@➕The Gray➕: Rubbish but even if it were true it still leaves 10K…….whats your point?
@Peter Hughes:
10k, accidental & homicide. What has that got to do with this article?
@Peter Hughes: https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/08/16/what-the-data-says-about-gun-deaths-in-the-u-s/
“Though they tend to get less attention than gun-related murders, suicides have long accounted for the majority of U.S. gun deaths. In 2017, six-in-ten gun-related deaths in the U.S. were suicides (23,854), while 37% were murders (14,542), according to the CDC. The remainder were unintentional (486), involved law enforcement (553) or had undetermined circumstances (338).
Considering that you commented “Rubbish but even if it were true” the fact that you are unsure of yourself and didn’t bother to do a simple bit of research, is it any surprise that you are confusing an article about a shooting in Germany with gun deaths in the US?
I see the racists and xenophobes are out.
@CBD Suppliers: Again, where’s the link that identifies the murderers as being IS, or immigrants..?
@David F O’Connell: I presume that you are totally ignoring my previous reply rebutting your assertion that I ever said that the attackers were Syrian or are members of IS. Oh no wait, you must have read it because now you have dropped your claim that I said they were Syrians and you are now focusing on IS and immigrants. So after been shown up for trying to put words in my mouth you have now put your head down and changed tack!
Ok, lets see who might possibly have attacked a synagogue. We haven’t heard much from the Judean People’s Front for a while but I doubt it’s them. It could be neo-Nazi’s/Far-Right extremists, however, most of their attacks are arson, stabbing and pipe bombs so if it is them then this is a major departure and upscale in violence on their part. The most obvious culprits are Islamists aligned to IS or AQ.
Whoever carried it out it’s a fair bet that is was Islamists seeing as how they have carried out twice as many attacks as FR/neo’s. It could be a copycat of the Whitechurch shootings. My money is still on Islamists.
@CBD Suppliers: So you still can’t identify them – here this might help: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/germany-shooting-synagogue-attack-latest-twitch-livestream-gunman-holocaust-jews-a9149381.html
@David F O’Connell: He sounds like a lot of the lads that post on here.
@Lisa Saputo: Straight in with the “it must have been migrants”
@CBD Suppliers: You lost your bet so. It’s a German lad.
@Patricia Mcnamara: I guess you were wrong.
@CBD Suppliers: I guess you were wrong.
RIP to the victims. Other reports say that the shooting happened outside a synagogue and that an explosive device was thrown into an adjacent Jewish cemetery. One suspect has been arrested apparently. Today is Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year for Jewish folk.
So much hate directed at Jews nowadays. You have a lot to answer for Mr. Corbyn.
@Darren B: ISRAELIS???
@Darren B: LOL. You’re blaming Jeremy Corbyn for some nutter shooting up a synagogue in Germany! Why don’t you just blame Brexit and the Russians while you are at it?
@Darren B: A good day to troll hard, it seems
@Patricia Mcnamara: interesting anti semitism. Not all Israelis are Jews. Not all Jews are Israeli. Corbyn is in part to blame but so is the rampant anti semitism in Europe which is always a sign bad things are coming.
@Darren B: You can be opposed to Israel and not be anti-Semitic. It’s not anti Christian to oppose European actions, it’s not Islamophobic to disagree with Isis.
@Darren B: Ive read some tripe on here but this takes the biscuit.
@Darren B: You’re blaming Corbyn? You are an absolute *Insert expletive here*
The Jewish people settled here after the war, they were refugees from the Camps and others. They buckled down, worked hard, mixed in, were gracious and mannerly and yet went to their synagogue. There was never any ‘Jew hatred’ for them.
They went on to be some of the biggest clothing companies employed hundreds of Irish people of all religions. What’s the problem ? corbyn is not an anti semitic.
@Rosie:
His Hezbollah and Hamas friends would disagree.
Use precise geolocation data. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Store and/or access information on a device. Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development.
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work.
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then these services may not function properly.
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not be able to monitor our performance.
Cookies, device or similar online identifiers (e.g. login-based identifiers, randomly assigned identifiers, network based identifiers) together with other information (e.g. browser type and information, language, screen size, supported technologies etc.) can be stored or read on your device to recognise it each time it connects to an app or to a website, for one or several of the purposes presented here.
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times an ad is presented to you).
Information about your activity on this service (such as forms you submit, content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (for example, information from your previous activity on this service and other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (that might include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present advertising that appears more relevant based on your possible interests by this and other entities.
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on your advertising profiles, which can reflect your activity on this service or other websites or apps (like the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects.
Information about your activity on this service (for instance, forms you submit, non-advertising content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (such as your previous activity on this service or other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (which might for example include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present content that appears more relevant based on your possible interests, such as by adapting the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find content that matches your interests.
Content presented to you on this service can be based on your content personalisation profiles, which can reflect your activity on this or other services (for instance, the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects. This can for example be used to adapt the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find (non-advertising) content that matches your interests.
Information regarding which advertising is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine how well an advert has worked for you or other users and whether the goals of the advertising were reached. For instance, whether you saw an ad, whether you clicked on it, whether it led you to buy a product or visit a website, etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of advertising campaigns.
Information regarding which content is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine whether the (non-advertising) content e.g. reached its intended audience and matched your interests. For instance, whether you read an article, watch a video, listen to a podcast or look at a product description, how long you spent on this service and the web pages you visit etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of (non-advertising) content that is shown to you.
Reports can be generated based on the combination of data sets (like user profiles, statistics, market research, analytics data) regarding your interactions and those of other users with advertising or (non-advertising) content to identify common characteristics (for instance, to determine which target audiences are more receptive to an ad campaign or to certain contents).
Information about your activity on this service, such as your interaction with ads or content, can be very helpful to improve products and services and to build new products and services based on user interactions, the type of audience, etc. This specific purpose does not include the development or improvement of user profiles and identifiers.
Content presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type, or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times a video or an article is presented to you).
With your acceptance, your precise location (within a radius of less than 500 metres) may be used in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
With your acceptance, certain characteristics specific to your device might be requested and used to distinguish it from other devices (such as the installed fonts or plugins, the resolution of your screen) in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Your data can be used to monitor for and prevent unusual and possibly fraudulent activity (for example, regarding advertising, ad clicks by bots), and ensure systems and processes work properly and securely. It can also be used to correct any problems you, the publisher or the advertiser may encounter in the delivery of content and ads and in your interaction with them.
Certain information (like an IP address or device capabilities) is used to ensure the technical compatibility of the content or advertising, and to facilitate the transmission of the content or ad to your device.
Information about your activity on this service may be matched and combined with other information relating to you and originating from various sources (for instance your activity on a separate online service, your use of a loyalty card in-store, or your answers to a survey), in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
In support of the purposes explained in this notice, your device might be considered as likely linked to other devices that belong to you or your household (for instance because you are logged in to the same service on both your phone and your computer, or because you may use the same Internet connection on both devices).
Your device might be distinguished from other devices based on information it automatically sends when accessing the Internet (for instance, the IP address of your Internet connection or the type of browser you are using) in support of the purposes exposed in this notice.
The choices you make regarding the purposes and entities listed in this notice are saved and made available to those entities in the form of digital signals (such as a string of characters). This is necessary in order to enable both this service and those entities to respect such choices.
have your say