Re: More future history questions - UK

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Scotland:

I'm 15/16th Scottish descent and my cousins are Scots. I heard a UK MP
talking about devolution of power to the Scottish parliament and so on
and
he said Scotland was better off economically being on the inside of the
British parliament than on the outside. I can see a logic for saying
that.

On the other hand, Scotland and England and Wales share a land mass.
That'll still keep trade, defence, tourism, etc. areas of common
cooperation. There's something deep in the psyche of people that drives
towards independence (even when the economics aren't better). Scotland,
Quebec, to an extent Australia wanting to get away from the Monarch,
etc.

The one thing I've seen talking to my cousin is how Scotland has been
used
as a testing ground for British law, especially where new taxes are
concerned, with them being introduced in Scotland 6 months to 24 months
ahead of in England. That's led to some lasting bad feelings. My cousin
didn't used to be a SNP supporter nor much in favour of independence,
but
he's now leaning that way.

Me, I don't care much as long as I can go visit my kinfolk. I hope it
works
out for them and for Britain whatever happens. I guess I can't be too
married to old grudges since I took an Oath of Loyalty to Her Majesty,
the
Queen. I know some Irish folks and some Acadians who revile the Monarch,
but I'm okay with the Monarchy. Canada has achieved a great standard in
the
overall world and we did that with the Monarchy. As a systems guy, I'm
not
big in favour of futzing with what has a proven track record.

But from a gaming perspective, I can see Scotland staying inside the UK
with some sort of greater local autonomy (how I expect Quebec to stay in
Canada) or I could see it a seperate country, but like Canada/US, maybe
sharing a defense entity like NORAD. If Scotland separates, I think
Wales
would as well. Those guys also want independence, which I find funny
since
you can't spell 'independence' without having some vowels! Ndpndnc!
(Doesn't look Welsh, does it? Need some extra 'w's and 'y's and 'r's.

More interesting questions to me are will the USA endure or will it
fragment and if so along what fault lines. North/South? Coasts versus
interior? Will it one day decide to annex its northern neighbor for
resources?

I don't see the USA easily being destroyed by external invasion, except
insofar as that is accompanied by some large fissure within the US
putting
the invader into alliance with some major US subfaction. The only real
enemy for US coherence that I see is the great polarization in the US
body
politic and the number of 'true believers' whose outlook denies science
or
rationality in favour of some alternate decision making process...

Tom