By stewartb: With so much ‘negativity’ being pumped out by media outlets and opposition politicians concerning the Scottish Government’s cautious approach to ending lockdown for schools, it’s worthwhile keeping an eye on what’s happening now in other countries.  The TuSC has already highlighted recent examples of schools in South Korea, France and The Netherlands having to close shortly after re-opening because of new local outbreaks of coronavirus. See: https://talkingupscotlandtwo.com/2020/06/18/why-carlaw-and-the-mums-in-his-inbox-are-all-wrong-on-school-opening/ News from England There are now media reports of individual cases of schools in England having to close due to a local outbreak shortly after re-opening. This is from the BBC: … Continue reading Why Carlaw’s ‘mums’ should not be listened to: Evidence from England and Wales

While the Labour-controlled Kirklees Council in Yorkshire colluded with Matt Hancock to delay informing locals for up to 10 days, of the mass outbreak in a meat-packing plant owned by Asda, the Plaid Cymru-led Anglesey Council acted quickly to postpone school reopening on the 29th June, after 61 workers tested positive in the 2 Sisters plant. The decision came immediately after Public Health Wales statistics showed a growing number of positive cases of Covid-19 on Anglesey, in recent days. These two cases seem to suggest a willingness in Labour politicians at all levels, to be tending toward going even beyond … Continue reading Unlike Labour in Yorkshire, Welsh Nationalist council acts quickly to protect community

According to the Independent today, testing of the 300 workers at the Asda-owned meat-packing plant, which supplies Asda stores across the UK, including Scotland, began after workers starting falling ill on the 8th June. The factory was closed for a few days then and mobile testing tents appeared in the car park. 60 workers tested positive and were told to isolate at home. The Labour-controlled Kirklees Council chose not to inform the community. Health Secretary Matt Hancock was called in to chair an emergency action meeting, date unknown, and on Thursday 18th June, ten days later, released the information in … Continue reading ‘UK’ Health Secretary and Labour council knew about mass covid outbreak in Yorkshire factory 10 days before locals found out

It’s gone too far now. We’re in a nightmare world of surrealist journalism where nothing is ever as it seems. To protect my own mental health, I’m saying no more about the New Southern General and pigeon poo. If anyone can be bothered, try searching for pigeon or infection or shite in the box over to your right. I may have written as many as 100 rebuttals of MSM lies about Scotland’s hospitals. I’ve done my bit. I’m off to walk the dog and look at the clouds. Update: I did. There were: Continue reading Health Correspondent accused of endangering mental health of thousands!

Immediately after the shocking scenes of Yes supporting ‘attack mobs’ shouting at and then egging Jim Murphy of the No campaign in 2014, SNP leader Alex Salmond, forgiving the confusion about who was actually leading the Yes campaign, was quick to condemn those whom the Scottish media were keen to present as the extreme wing of ‘his’ movement. Manfuly shrugging of the death threats and road rage he had experienced, Salmond said: People shouldn’t throw eggs at somebody full stop, that’s something that happens in elections. I remember John Prescott getting a bit energised about it in a UK election. It … Continue reading Will Scottish Tories follow Alex Salmond’s example in 2014 and condemn Loyalist violence?

In the Herald yesterday: AN SNP MSP has blasted the co-chairman of the Scottish Government’s education recovery group – insisting that controversial blended learning proposals are “absolutely unacceptable”. Who is the co-chairman? Stephen McCabe, Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (CoSLA), Children and Young People spokesperson (co-chair) Stephen McCabe is a Labour councillor. The blended learning proposals are the work of the Education Recovery Group. It is not a government department but around 20, mainly teachers and trade union leaders, and only 3 SNP politicians. https://www.gov.scot/groups/covid-19-education-recovery-group/ Continue reading This Herald headline on schools is just a barefaced lie

A vulture flies over the factory attracted by the decaying aroma of Tory politics. From BBC Leeds and West Yorkshire, yesterday: A coronavirus outbreak at a meat factory was shrouded in “secrecy”, it has been claimed. Health Secretary Matt Hancock revealed at Thursday’s daily briefing there had been cases in Kirklees, West Yorkshire. Resident Alan Hair said he was “angry at the level of secrecy” while MP Tracy Brabin branded the announcement as “incredibly careless”. Kirklees Council said no-one at the factory was seriously ill, or had died, but the BBC understands about 100 people have been asked to self-isolate. … Continue reading As Scots face risk of covid-contaminated meat products will Jackson Carlaw call for resignation of Matt Hancock

In 2003, the toppling of Saddam Hussein’s statue in Firdos Square, Baghdad, received saturation media coverage which fuelled the perception that the war had been won. This event along with George Bush’s hackneyed declaration of victory aboard a battleship in the Persian Gulf, diverted attention from start of a long and costly conflict. In the same way,the statue toppling of Confederate generals across the US and the slave trader in Bristol is diverting attention from what really matters to the Black Lives Matter movement – real social change.  These violent emotional TV dramas have shifted the debate on to what, … Continue reading Why statue-toppling is a distraction that suits the powerful

On BBC Scotland’s flagship radio news show, today, they interviewed the makers of Unsubscribe, a 29-minute horror movie shot entirely on video-conferencing app Zoom which made $25,488 in ticket sales on one day, securing the US box office top spot. Hearing that the film’s ‘first night’ was in an empty theatre, presenter Bill Whiteford then says: ‘Maybe we should make radio for nobody to listen to, Laura?’ https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000k2vn This comes days since Ofcom revealed that only 8% of Scots were using Radio Scotland for news, the same as Channel 5 and only 1% ahead of Snapchat: https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0027/157914/uk-news-consumption-2019-report.pdf Continue reading BBC Good Morning Scotland accepts that it may have to broadcast to an audience of ZERO listeners

The Herald’s Helen McArdle throws her critics into confusion as she reveals the truth of what has been happening since the SNP, as Jackson Carlaw likes to label the Scottish Government, diverged from the UK Government’s heartless death-drive. Covid-related deaths, even using the unreliable Public Health England data are now three times higher in England than in Scotland. Will BBC Scotland catch up with these facts? Can they? Not, so far: I could be wrong and hope to be proved wrong but I think we might not hear anyone on Reporting Scotland say the words in that Herald headline. Of … Continue reading If the Herald can catch up with the truth about Covid deaths, will BBC Scotland?