I haven’t read any of the above in Herald today. I don’t need to. I can guess. It’s about Nicola trying to stop Old Firm fans from singing offensive songs and some other supposed ‘totalitarian’ behaviour from a man who has no apparent problems with Papal bulls. The detail doesn’t really matter because the basic premise in the headline is plain daft. In the most recent full poll from YouGov, it’s clear that SNP support is and remains significantly (around 15%) stronger among the working classes (C2DE) than among the middle and upper classes (ABC1): Why might that be? It’s … Continue reading Is the SNP too popular with the working classes, Kevin?

In a remarkably out-of-touch piece, Douglas Fraser who, according to an odd BBC profile page, ‘is alleged that he has degrees from Oxford and Harvard‘ has written to argue that the GERS figures seriously undermine the case of Scottish Independence. Alleged? He writes: GERS shows the gap between Scottish tax take and spending is big, but coronavirus is set to make it humongous, with fiscal repairs requiring years of effort. GERS shows the gap between Scottish tax take and spending is big, but coronavirus is set to make it humongous, with fiscal repairs requiring years of effort. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-53924126 This is … Continue reading BBC Scotland economics heavyweights at odds over GERS

With no grateful comment on the efforts of the local contact tracing teams to shut down this large-scale outbreak and reminding us of the attempts by private care home owners to deflect blame away from their heavy reliance on agency staff and onto the Scottish Government, the 2 Sisters company is allowed, with no critical assessment from the BBC, to suggest the virus came into the plant from the local community: Whilst it is important to ensure our measures on site are robust and working, we believe it is also critically important for our people to understand their obligations away … Continue reading Coupar Angus factory owners try to blame local community and distract from use of agency workers

Reacting quickly to Conservative Party complaints on the 2nd July that: It’s absolute nonsense that @BBCScotlandNews are still broadcasting live every day a 30 minute Party Political Broadcast by the SNP, with no opportunity for a response by any other Party or contrary views expressed. This has to end. Baron Foulkes of Cumnock (Labour Con) has accused the BBC of breaking their royal charter by allowing the SNP Government to daily trumpet their success in reducing Covid deaths which of course, like earlier improvements in NHS Scotland, they are doing ‘deliberately‘ again, without right of reply. A source tells us … Continue reading Labour peer ‘accuses’ SNP of reducing Covid deaths ‘deliberately’

Imagine, in another country far far away, a deadly pandemic sweeps the land, killing thousands. The democratically elected, popular government acts to save lives by enacting ‘emergency power’s‘ to enable the nation’s unarmed and respected police force to tackle the greatest risk of infection spread, which scientists have identified – house parties with large numbers from several family groups. The trade union representing police officers, charged only with protecting their members’ interests, questions the feasibility of the emergency powers. In this other land, the state broadcaster, responsible for helping to communicate the changing national strategy to fight the virus asks … Continue reading Why does the Police Chief have to ‘defend’ emergency powers implemented in a democracy?

You’ve seen the picture of the FM today under the headline: Sturgeon refuses to say when she knew patients with Covid put in care homes. It’s a cheap immature attempt to imply grumpiness using a picture not even taken at the time of the incident being reported. It’s still up: https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/18681572.sturgeon-refuses-say-knew-patients-covid-put-care-homes/ The text, too, is deliberately misleading, suggesting that: Ms Sturgeon sidestepped the question I watched it. She didn’t have to side-step anything. She told Ruth Davidson repeatedly that ministers set policy and highly qualified professionals interpret and enact, daily, in the interests of patients. No previous ministers, even Tories, … Continue reading Tom Gordon chooses physical appearance as attack strategy on woman politician

Maintaining that putrescent tradition in Scotland’s media (below), the Herald attempts to shoot itself in its gout-ridden foot with the above. They may have topped this earlier challenger for stinker of the week: The First Minister has, of course and repeatedly, remind questioners that politicians set principles and highly qualified professionals interpret them in the context of individual cases. Everybody knows that and it’s apparent in the high levels of trust for those professionals: Where are the politicians? Well, clearly below the car salespeople in this US study. That reminds me, where is Jackson Carlaw? Is any politician in the … Continue reading Newspaper tries to finish itself off as First Minister refuses to distrust the most trusted professions?

In a not-so-exclusive report on Jamie Greene doing a Richard Leonard we hear: There’s only several things daft with this. One, the prevalence of cases IN schools is incredibly small, IN one or two of 5 000 schools and learning centres and mostly BETWEEN teachers not IN the weans. Two, research out yesterday suggests the risk of infection from weans is incredibly small, 0.3% of the 17 500 tested. Three, as McArdle points out down the page, where 99% have stopped reading, local health protection teams are already on this. Four, McArdle, Greene? Go away, we’re busy. Read your library … Continue reading I suppose the Scottish Tories should know all about chaos

Writing yesterday to assess the relative popularity of ‘the incredibly wide-ranging, mutually-supportive pro-Yes new media‘, the Rev Stuart Campbell presented the above graph. I was puzzled at the absence of The Tusker: Talking-up Scotland which according to WordPress has had the following figures over the last few months: In a free trial, I think SimilarWeb, the traffic analysis site, only lets you compare 5 sites. Why was TuS not chosen? Further confusing me is Talking-up Scotland coming second only to Wings at 17 and 22 respectively in a listing of the top 50 Scottish News websites with the Daily Record … Continue reading Wings blanks The Tusker