Above Scotland’s ‘quality’ press take the perspective of club and pub-owners, utterly unqualified to criticise pandemic control measures, and accuse ministers in a manner, unique in these islands, and that should sicken. On the Herald website, this: Hospitality sector accused of trying to impose infection and death with help of media? This is not happening in the UK/English media where the Tory revolt last night dominates. No hospitality ‘industry’ rep is platformed in Northern Ireland or Wales. In Blackpool, where hospitality is all, the Gazette has 56 stories on their website and not one about the supposed ruin of the … Continue reading Scotland’s media are uniquely twisted

England has 10 times the population of Scotland so the sums are easy. In the last 24 hours, England had 53 093 new cases of Covid, almost twice the rate, per head of population of Scotland at 3 117. The 12 week trend in Scotland remains fairly flat despite the new variant but is climbing in England. Over the course of the pandemic, England had around 200 000 more cases than it would have, had it Scotland’s rate. No doubt there are many and complex factors for this difference but one is clear – lack of leadership and consequent inconsistency. … Continue reading 30 000 avoidable Covid deaths in England

From Public Health Scotland today: There was a 23% decrease in the total number of NHSScotland complaints received in 2020/21 (24,905) compared to the previous year. NHS Board complaints decreased by 29% to 17,333, while NHS Primary Care Service Contractors complaints reduced by 5% to 7572. Independent GP Practice contractor complaints increased by 14% to 5326. The total number of complaints that were closed in 2020/21 by NHS Boards went down by 31% (15,963).  https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications/annual-report-on-complaints/annual-report-on-nhs-complaints-2020-to-2021/ Continue reading Massive fall in hospital complaints

The FT’s line graph of new infections, 7 day average worked out daily, covering more than a year – wow! WTF! Run for the hills? Here are the same data: From Travelling Tabby, for just one month. Stretching the bottom y axis makes anything seem less dramatic and squeezing it can create a tsunami. Starting the x axis at 0 makes things look greater too. Seriously, is that fall from 10th, cautious cause for optimism? Is better face covering holding Omicron back quite well? Sources: Scotland Coronavirus Tracker Continue reading The scaling of the pandemic

Reporting Scotland 1.30pm today, tell us the above on drug deaths in 2021. 4%? A ‘slight fall’ when compared with the same period last year. Wrong. From the report: 4% does not appear anywhere in the report. BBC Scotland’s website has no mention. 10% is more than significant and certainly not slight.. No comment from Jackie Baillie? Continue reading Reporting Scotland lies about significant drug deaths reduction

‘You’re all just pissin’ in the wind. You don’t know but you are. And there ain’t nothing like a friend who’ll tell you just pissin’ in the wind‘ Neil Young I did not expect that. 70% of Tus readers approve of Kevin McKenna? It is a small sample of 5 944 twitter followers but I must accept it. 12 commented: Ouch. Just in case they haven’t read him: https://talkingupscotlandtwo.com/?s=McKenna Continue reading Wow!

By stewartb The independent research organisation, UK IN A CHANGING EUROPE has just published (11 December) an article – what it terms an ‘in depth exploration of an important topic’ – entitled ‘The British general election of 2019 and the future of British politics’. This is an organisation whose output I follow and generally regard as high quality. The title sounded interesting and the article worth a reading. Its take on this subject ended up triggering these reflections. Source: https://ukandeu.ac.uk/long-read-pdf/?postid=47621 The context of the 2019 General Election We are reminded that: ‘It is two years since the United Kingdom went … Continue reading ‘The future of British politics’ – Scotland’s democratic deficit justifying indifference?

I wonder who is having the fears of a crimewave? The Scottish Conservatives’ shadow community safety minister Russell Findlay said: “These absence rates, although unconfirmed, are concerning. “The thin blue line is already severely stretched and the last thing anyone wants is a reduction in officers leading to a Christmas crimewave. “If there’s any risk to the delivery of operational policing, people deserve to know. The SNP government must give urgent consideration to exempting officers from the new self-isolation rules.” https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/police-scotland-hit-deluge-coronavirus-25689811 Scotland’s crime has been plummeting for years now, we have 17 283 police officers, with only 700 of sick … Continue reading Thin blue line still robust as only 4% of cops off

The 7 day average has increased from around 2 500 new cases per day to 3 500 but, crucially, seeming to plateau there. There were 3 756 new cases today in Scotland and 54 661 across the UK making the Scottish rate, pro rata, 70-80% lower. The most likely explanation is this: Numerous research studies which have confirmed the value of face coverings, in protecting us. A large-scale study by Oxford University in October 2021, confirmed that People who wore face coverings or masks outside of the home, and were more exposed to infection due to their circumstances, had ‘significantly’ … Continue reading Higher face-covering compliance paying off in Scotland

Making it just onto BBC Scotland’s website and maybe, maybe not, onto reporting Scotland, we see from SEPA: 1 out of 85 sites passed, 1.17%, so BBC Scotland have rounded that down as you would. They do mention that the 32 excellent sites is the highest in the past six years but not that it is nearly twice the 2015/16 number. They do mention than only 1 site failed but not the massive improvement from 17 down to 1. DEFRA claim for England, 93% excellent or good, up from only 28%, 30 years ago, compared to only 67% in Scotland. … Continue reading Massive improvement in Scotland’s bathing water quality