phil.wellings

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Commented on Service update
I would say that nuclear policy will affect an independent Scotland because moving Faslane and associated facilities will be a long and costly process. So long and so costly that I suspect that the obvious thing to do for the...
Commented on Schroedinger's Kingdom: the Scottish Political Singularity Explained
As far as the continuance of the UK goes, realpolitik will rule the day. Scotland will be seen as a new state, and the remainder of the UK will continue to be called that. Why ? Simple, a large economy...
Commented on Schroedinger's Kingdom: the Scottish Political Singularity Explained
I think that approach is there for two reasons. The first is intended to keep the English happy against a perceived view that they see the Scots as spongers, or more kindly, against a view that the rest of the...
Commented on Schroedinger's Kingdom: the Scottish Political Singularity Explained
Hailing as I do from south of the border, I've found that my view has changed significantly over the last few months in light of the noises being made down here. I think that should Scotland vote yes the UK...
Commented on Schadenfreude
My view from down here in England is slightly different - not of what is being said, but of the target and intended effect. By now it's not about scaring Scotland into submission, it's about geeing up the rest of...

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rich! commented on Service update
I thought it was the media reaction to his policy in interviews. We Brits are very traditional about our feudal overlords, and the "Westminister media" tends to respect that. The bellicose Labour chap had such a long term relationship with the media pool that he was "call me Tony" Blair - "please, treat me as your friend rather than the head of state". The Rt Hon D. Cameron, Bullingdon Club, attempted to pick up some of this credibility, by playing down his formal rank, hence, "call-me-dave"....
Antonia T Tiger commented on Service update
"Feudal overlords" doesn't fit. Fealty goes both ways. If they don't protect us, if they don't put their lives and honour on the line for us, we cannot be their vassals. The media sucking up to those in power is a whole different ugliness....
Martin commented on Service update
:) You're not suggesting that there's a reason that the many children of the hereditary nobility get packed off to Sandhurst or Dartmouth*, and a few years of getting cold or hot, miserable, and shot at, are you? :) It's rather in contrast to the children of politicians getting packed off to an internship with a US Senator, then a quiet parachuting in for a constituency selection... You'll notice I didn't say Cranwell, one must have some standards :)...
El commented on Service update
I'm sure there's a reason. Not convinced an outdated sense of feudal duty is the one though. Some of them, like having a family doctor, lawyer and the like make sense when viewed from the outside. Family army officer or naval officer, not so immediately obvious. But it seems to work for them....
El commented on Service update
Well, those who were convinced there was a master plan how are you feeling in light of the appearance of a mad scrabble to firm up plans for both the time-table and the details of exactly what devo-max will entail after a no vote to try and persuade (or bribe depending on your POV) the Scots back to voting no? Even the BBC, which the Scots feel has been quite biased in it's coverage (pro-No) had an element of glee in their interview with Alistair Darling on Today this morning asking just how badly the wheels had come off and...

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Common Misconceptions About Publishing—a series of essays about the industry I work in.
How I Got Here In The End —my non-writing autobiography, or what I did before becoming a full-time writer.
Unwirer—an experiment in weblog mediated collaborative fiction.
Shaping the Future—a talk I gave on the social implications of Moore's Law.
Japan: first impressions — or, what I did on my holidays
Inside the MIT Media Lab—what it’s like to spend a day wandering around the Media Lab.
The High Frontier, Redux — space colonization: feasible or futile?
“Nothing like this will be built again”—inside a nuclear reactor complex.
Old blog—2003-2006 (RIP)

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