It’s not about the truth, it’s all about choices. It’s not about ‘the’ facts it’s about ‘which’ facts. Bottom left, someone at the Herald has ‘stuck their thumb‘ into yesterday’s Public Health Scotland data and come out, delighted, with that for their front-page headline. The actual report: The average weekly number of drug-related attendances at emergency departments increased between March and May 2023. A total of 1,081 attendances were recorded in this period – similar to 2021 (1,058), and 13% higher than in the same time period in 2022 (954). The headline is factually incorrect. The 13% rise is not in three … Continue reading Keeping Scotland’s drug ‘crisis’ alive by choosing always the ‘bad’ news

Reporting Scotland, as often before, heads off on a different path from BBC Scotland’s website, promotes the animal welfare crisis to headline story and replaces that ‘ugly’ dug with kittens. Readers will know that the cost-of-living crisis has not yet been successfully dumped at the door of the Scottish Government despite repeated attempts do so such as the recent, astonishing example where Scottish Labour tell that SNP Government to ‘use its existing powers’ and compensate for the two-child benefit cap! You know that benefit-cap which their leader, Sir Keir Starver, has told them Labour cannot afford to promise to end? … Continue reading Things are really bad in Scotland for kittens but who is to blame?

Politico.eu today have the strangest of takes on SNP funding – ‘Only dead people donate to the Scottish National Party’ – it relies on member subscriptions and bequests left by supporters in their wills. The seemingly healthier basis, for writer Andrew McDonald based on the thoughts of Prof James Mitchell, would be ‘big ticket donors.’ What? Like Russian oligarchs or hedge fund managers who want to turn your party, say Cons or Labour or Lib Dems, into their servants? In the context of democratic politics, isn’t the SNP model morally superior? Also, what would they need lots of money for? … Continue reading SNP Donors – the dead ask no favours?

Simple Lads Alert – I faked that above for comedic effect because BBC Scotland neglected the story, for their own reasons. Geddit? There’s been much about the democratic deficit in the Highlands and in the Islands and issues such as ferry and doctor recruitment but, not even on BBC Scotland’s Highlands & Islands page, this from PolicyMogul yesterday: Rural and island communities will have a chance to have their voices heard in local and national decision-making as a result of Scottish Government funding. Around £80,000 will help to deliver the next Scottish Rural and Islands Parliament – a grassroots democratic … Continue reading Bias by omission as Yousaf announces funding to support Scottish Rural Parliament

In case any of the lads at r/Scotland see this, there’s an element of humour, satire, in this. It’s not exactly true but don’t get upset. I’m trying to make a deeper (truer than mere facts) point about how slimy Labour are under those snakes Shllsstarmerr or Shllssarwarrr. From Christian Action Research & Education, in March 2023: On Thursday of this week, Sir Keir Starmer, leader of the Labour party, said that there were lessons to learn from Scotland, despite previously promising to reform the Gender Recognition Act to allow transgender people to self-identify. Speaking to reporters during a press … Continue reading Gender recognition – Putin follows Starmer’s lead as Sarwar hides in Pacific Quay cupboard

I’m guessing that former minister, Brian Wilson, means under New Labour from 1997 to 2010 and is not referring to the catastrophic failure of Labour, in the previous decades, to tackle poverty and ill-health in Scotland, such that folk were often still in damp, squalid, housing well into the 1960s. I’m guessing he doesn’t mean the period after that when Labour made sure Scots didn’t know about the oil wealth which they planned to just handover to their bosses in London. I’m guessing, also, he doesn’t mean the Iraq and Afghanistan wars where many Scots soldiers died thanks to the … Continue reading Things really didn’t get better under Labour and won’t for the majority under Starmer

By stewartb I’ve just seen this in the Daily Record: ‘Labour will not allow self-identification for trans people if it wins the next general election despite the policy being supported by its MSPs.’ We’re told: ‘Anneliese Dodds, the shadow equalities secretary, said today the party would keep the need for a medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria to obtain a gender recognition certificate as part of its proposed reforms.’ Adding: ‘Dodds, who was born in Aberdeen, said medical diagnosis would remain “an important part” of future Labour reforms.’ (Relevance of her place of birth in this context anyone?) So now Labour … Continue reading A Labour Party lost – ditching policies to win over England’s Tory voters and placate England’s right wing press?