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Crowds from both sides of the vote met in a volatile confrontation following the decision against independence on Friday. (Photo: Twitter)
Clashes Erupt in Glasgow Square Following Pro-UK Vote
Scottish National Party leader Alex Salmond steps down as tensions between voters rise
Sep 19, 2014
As Scotland voted against independence from the United Kingdom, rival supporters crowded into Glasgow's George Square on Friday in what became a contentious gathering quickly broken up by police officers.
According to a police spokeswoman, about 200 people total converged on the city's central plaza, although they were dispersed shortly. Police launched flares and Unionists waved U.K. flags in the air as they faced off with independence voters. According to the BBC, the confrontation started with a "coordinated" push from pro-Unionists. Peter Adam Smith, a journalist with STV News, posted a vine that captured some pro-U.K. demonstrators using Nazi salutes:
\u201cThis is George Square. https://t.co/qgf7BN7DrI\u201d— Peter A Smith (@Peter A Smith) 1411147768
The confrontation in the square followed a surprise in parliament as Scottish National Party (SNP) leader Alex Salmond announced his sudden resignation, telling a press conference, "Right now there is a decision as to who is best placed to lead this process forward politically."
"I believe that in this new exciting situation, redolent with possibility, party, parliament and country would benefit from new leadership," Salmond said.
Salmond had previously said he would stay on as SNP leader through 2016, but on Friday told reporters he would not accept a new nomination at the party's annual conference in November. He is likely to be succeeded by his deputy, Nicola Sturgeon, whom he appointed to lead the referendum process.
Updates and photos of George Square were being tracked on Twitter:
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Nadia Prupis
Nadia Prupis is a former Common Dreams staff writer. She wrote on media policy for Truthout.org and has been published in New America Media and AlterNet. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in English in 2008.
As Scotland voted against independence from the United Kingdom, rival supporters crowded into Glasgow's George Square on Friday in what became a contentious gathering quickly broken up by police officers.
According to a police spokeswoman, about 200 people total converged on the city's central plaza, although they were dispersed shortly. Police launched flares and Unionists waved U.K. flags in the air as they faced off with independence voters. According to the BBC, the confrontation started with a "coordinated" push from pro-Unionists. Peter Adam Smith, a journalist with STV News, posted a vine that captured some pro-U.K. demonstrators using Nazi salutes:
\u201cThis is George Square. https://t.co/qgf7BN7DrI\u201d— Peter A Smith (@Peter A Smith) 1411147768
The confrontation in the square followed a surprise in parliament as Scottish National Party (SNP) leader Alex Salmond announced his sudden resignation, telling a press conference, "Right now there is a decision as to who is best placed to lead this process forward politically."
"I believe that in this new exciting situation, redolent with possibility, party, parliament and country would benefit from new leadership," Salmond said.
Salmond had previously said he would stay on as SNP leader through 2016, but on Friday told reporters he would not accept a new nomination at the party's annual conference in November. He is likely to be succeeded by his deputy, Nicola Sturgeon, whom he appointed to lead the referendum process.
Updates and photos of George Square were being tracked on Twitter:
Nadia Prupis
Nadia Prupis is a former Common Dreams staff writer. She wrote on media policy for Truthout.org and has been published in New America Media and AlterNet. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in English in 2008.
As Scotland voted against independence from the United Kingdom, rival supporters crowded into Glasgow's George Square on Friday in what became a contentious gathering quickly broken up by police officers.
According to a police spokeswoman, about 200 people total converged on the city's central plaza, although they were dispersed shortly. Police launched flares and Unionists waved U.K. flags in the air as they faced off with independence voters. According to the BBC, the confrontation started with a "coordinated" push from pro-Unionists. Peter Adam Smith, a journalist with STV News, posted a vine that captured some pro-U.K. demonstrators using Nazi salutes:
\u201cThis is George Square. https://t.co/qgf7BN7DrI\u201d— Peter A Smith (@Peter A Smith) 1411147768
The confrontation in the square followed a surprise in parliament as Scottish National Party (SNP) leader Alex Salmond announced his sudden resignation, telling a press conference, "Right now there is a decision as to who is best placed to lead this process forward politically."
"I believe that in this new exciting situation, redolent with possibility, party, parliament and country would benefit from new leadership," Salmond said.
Salmond had previously said he would stay on as SNP leader through 2016, but on Friday told reporters he would not accept a new nomination at the party's annual conference in November. He is likely to be succeeded by his deputy, Nicola Sturgeon, whom he appointed to lead the referendum process.
Updates and photos of George Square were being tracked on Twitter:
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Senate GOP Fuels Privatization Fears by Confirming 'Quack Grifter' Dr. Oz
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Echoing a party-line vote by the U.S. Senate Finance Committee last week, the chamber's Republicans on Thursday confirmed President Donald Trump's nominee to head the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, former televison host Dr. Mehmet Oz.
Since Trump nominated Oz—who previously ran as a Republican for a U.S. Senate seat in Pennsylvania—a wide range of critics have argued that the celebrity cardiothoracic surgeon "is profoundly unqualified to lead any part of our healthcare system, let alone an agency as important as CMS," in the words of Robert Weissman, co-president of the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen.
After Thursday's 53-45 vote to confirm Oz, Weissman declared that "Republicans in the Senate continued to just be a rubber stamp for a dangerous agenda that threatens to turn back the clock on healthcare in America."
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In the middle of Trump's tariff disaster, the Senate is voting to confirm quack grifter Dr. Oz to lead the Centers for Medicaid & Medicare Services.
[image or embed]
— Jen Bendery (@jbendery.bsky.social) April 3, 2025 at 12:29 PM
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Gaza's Government Media Office said that at least 29 people—including 14 children and five women—were killed and over 100 others were wounded when at least four missiles struck the Dar al-Arqam school complex in the Tuffah neighborhood of eastern Gaza City, where hundreds of Palestinians were sheltering after being forcibly displaced from other parts of the embattled coastal enclave by Israel's 535-day assault.
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Warning: Video contains graphic images of death.
Horrifying scenes following the Dar Al-Arqam School Massacre!#Gaza pic.twitter.com/xOvuq3Zztx
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Gaza Health Ministry spokesperson Zaher al-Wahidi said that the death toll was likely to rise, as some survivors were critically injured.
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"While your kids are getting ready for school, kids in Gaza were once against just massacred in one," Australian journalist, activist, and progressive politician Sophie McNeill wrote on social media. "We must sanction Israel now!"
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"We could replace a billionaire with a mechanic," Osborn wrote in a thread on X on Thursday. "I'll run against Pete Ricketts—if the support is there." Osborn said that he's launching an exploratory committee and would run as Independent, as he did in 2024.
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