Scottish independence

I know where I stand and it's pretty strongly on one side - looking for the international point of view with the vote only a week away what's the international media side of things ?

I had to look this up because I honestly I haven't heard much about this subject, but at the same time I think it's fascinating and similar in a way to the Canada/Quebec situation. I'm still not sure what Scotland's desire for independence is. Is it a lack of representation in the UK government? A pride thing? A "we'd be better by ourselves" thing? What the people in Scotland (as opposed to just politicians) think about the whole thing?

Here is just one of the things I found when searching for pros and cons:

Popular 'For' Arguments	Popular 'Against' Arguments
Many laws which are enforced in Scotland are decided and passed in England, and are intended primarily for England without much consideration for the Scottish people. For example, the winter allowance for pensioners in Scotland is the same as it is in England, despite the much colder and harsher climates which exist in Scotland.	Unity is strength: in its unity with the UK, Scotland is part of a very powerful, rich and influential state. Becoming independent would arguably significantly decrease Scotland's global presence and influence.
Scotland would have a much stronger economy. Scotland owns huge shares in oil, which we wouldn't have to split if we became independent.	Scotland's continued membership of the EU is not clear, as the European Commission has not been asked by the UK Government for a clear response. Experts and politicians have disagreed on whether or not Scotland's status as an EU member state could be established before Scotland becomes independent. The terms of this continued membership are also not guaranteed.
Britain is arguably founded on extremely undemocratic ideologies. For example, 26 seats in the house of lords (a senior committee which amends and passes laws) are taken up by bishops purely because they're members of the church of England. The Scottish parliament has a much more democratic system, which does not reserve places for church members and uses a proportional electoral system for appointing members of parliament. Becoming independent would therefore arguably be a step for democracy.	There has been speculation over how Scotland will survive if we no longer have access to the British "money pot". Many people say that going independent is an extremely large economic gamble, especially in times of recession and rising unemployment.
In becoming independent, we'd need to integrate ourselves more heavily with Europe. There are plans by independence parties here to set up ties with Nordic countries such as Norway and Denmark. Adopting a Nordic political model would arguably be more beneficial for Scotland, which traditionally and politically has more in common with Nordic countries than with England. Source	Britain owes some very large debts to foreign countries, which Scotland is partly responsible for. In becoming independent we'd have to negotiate which debts we should pay off, and how much we're singularly responsible for. We have so many ties with the rest of Britain that this would be a very tedious process that would take several years.
Scotland is currently heading in a different political direction from the rest of the UK. Scotland is represented to the world by the Conservative party which we have rejected for years.	Scotland will have a smaller voice on the world stage if independent.

I would be an independent if I were a Scot. The further away from the incompetent and corrupt tossers that make up the Downing street gang the better. I despise English politicians and I'm English myself.

@scotchmonkey: It would have been no better if they had got independence. Salmond had already been having meetings with Rupert Murdoch, and he was already super in bed with Donald Trump on a pretty dodgy golf resort deal. The sad fact is that it's pretty much impossible to have a spotless government in this day and age, there is simply too much money and influence concentrated outside the state.