"I'm sorry, but you'll have to explain how not having a foreign policy would cause Scotland to want to appease Gaddaffi ... and also how attendance at international events serves as a substitute for a foreign policy."

It seems obvious to me: with official foreign policy (running embassies, negotiating treaties, etc) being 'reserved' to the UK government, Salmond's bunch want to do what they can to pretend they have those powers too: sending representatives to international events in lieu of having an actual ambassador, etc.

If the Gaelic and English versions differ, considering the name is set by legislation negotiated by English-speakers and passed by Parliament in London, why assume it is the foreign-language translation which is wrong? Even here in Scotland it's spoken by less than 2% of the population (as of the 2001 Census). Indeed, as the Wikipedia page itself notes, the official name remains "Scottish Executive"; it is the English-language text of the Scotland Act, including the name Scottish Executive, which is the legal one: the Gaelic translation has no more legal force than an Urdu one would (and, interestingly, fewer potential readers in Scotland!) From a legal perspective, by definition it must be the Gaelic translation which is wrong - but as you note, it could have been translated correctly had the translator wished. Care to guess the political leanings of most of those who do Gaelic translations?

"But being employed in Scotland will not prevent her from going anywhere else in Britain, or anywhere else in the world, to carry out her duties, if that's what her employment entailed. Are you sure that the young lady in question was not given a British visa that happened to be issued in Scotland (just like some passports are) rather than a "Scottish visa"?"

Very - I handled part of the paperwork for it. I did not mean it was issued in Scotland, I mean it was a Scotland-specific visa scheme. To quote the announcement at the time: "Home Secretary David Blunkett has provisionally agreed to the request made by the Scottish premier to allow overseas stundent to remain in Scotland for an additional two years after they graduate and be able to look for any type of job during this time." It's issued by the UK government like all other visas - the Scottish government doesn't actually have the authority to issue visas, which is why it had to ask the then-Home Secretary to do it on their behalf. Just like Gaddaffi: a back door route to exercising a little bit more power than they have in their own right.