From stewartb: Too wee, too weak, too helpless Scotland? At least it’s a variation on a theme! The Secretary General of NATO, former Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg recently (3 November) addressed a session of the Nordic Council. This was the first time ever that the head of NATO had addressed Nordic parliamentarians directly so it seems there was considerable interest in what he had to say. He was of course addressing a group which includes nation states – including ones similar in many ways to what Scotland can be – that are co-operative and well integrated whilst also being … Continue reading How SNP vision will fit in Nordic defence

The worst ever performance figures have once again been recorded by hospital emergency departments and the ambulance service in Wales. Figures for October show fewer than 65% of patients spent less than four hours in departments like A&E. The ambulance service responded to just half of immediately life-threatening calls within eight minutes. The director of the Welsh NHS confederation said the service is facing “unsustainable pressures”. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-59332890 The response from the health boards – too many patients coming. The response from the Health Secretary – she wasn’t asked. The boards are responsible. The accusations from Plaid Cymru and the Welsh … Continue reading NHS Wales: Emergency services performance worst ever again but no resignations called for

Those who cling to the dream of a better Britain have been a shrinking group for some time now. Those who remain might be taking heart in the last six polls where the Tories no longer lead but it’s an average lead of less than 2 points for Labour. It’s still too close to call. The electorate or at least some of them have begun to shift toward Sir Keir but they’re not sure about it, despite the horrors of the Eton ‘Sleaze’ Government of 2019 to whenever. At best, they’d need another Lib Lab pact and with a leader … Continue reading Hope for Scottish Labour as Sir Keir’s lot pull ahead of worst UK government in history by massive 1.66%?

I’m still on the Weasel’s mailing list despite my regular rebuttals of their corporatist/unionist sewage. To my reckoning this was last week but, apologies to regulars, here’s what I dug up to tell the truth about Scotland’s performance compared to England, on water quality: Regular readers will know that the Ferret ‘Fact Checker’ is hopelessly compromised by its association with the Herald and Scottish Labour. The contrast with the Canary, which I pay for monthly, could not be sharper. See this if you need a wee, well big, résumé (face-covering recommended): My Ferret Newsletter needed correction Today, above, you see … Continue reading What the British Weasel misrepresented ‘this week?’

More than 100 charities, faith groups, trade unions and others have urged the Finance Secretary to use the upcoming budget to double a benefit payment made to poorer families immediately. In a letter to Kate Forbes, the organisations warn that action to increase the Scottish Child Payment is needed urgently to protect families from a “perfect storm of financial uncertainty”. https://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/19725150.kate-forbes-100-organisations-urge-finance-secretary-double-child-payment-now/ What benefit is this? This one? The Scottish Government’s decisive and compassionate move to bring in the new Scottish Child Payment is the lifeline children and their families need, and is a beacon of progressive policy for the rest of the … Continue reading What, the SNP’s ‘beacon of progressive policy for the rest of the UK’ helping child poverty level to be half that in England?

Over recent weeks we’ve seen tensions around the planet ratchet up considerably. There’s the weaponisation of space; Cold War in the Pacific threatening to turn hot; and tensions along Europe’s eastern frontier. https://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/19723673.neil-mackay-snp-vision-independent-scotland-fit-world-threat-war-grows-daily/ Straight-off, you think, well if it’s so dangerous out there for smaller countries, there must be examples of some applying to unite with bigger, more weaponised neighbours who could protect them from…..China? Russia? Iran? Belorus? Tell us Neil? Why not I wonder? Is that because nobody is currently threatening their smaller neighbours? Even North Korea has gone quiet. Has he seen this: As for the SNP vision, … Continue reading Neil Mackay, Scotland’s Ross Kemp

after contracting Coronavirus last year, has told the BBC she believes hospital officials concealed the full circumstances of his death to protect the reputation of the hospital. https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/live/bbcone This is today’s headline story which will be repeated as many as 12 times by the end of the day and dominates the website: Andrew Slorance went into Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital for cancer treatment a year ago. His wife Louise believes he caught Covid there as well as another life-threatening infection. The health board said it had been “open and honest”. It said there had been no attempt to conceal … Continue reading Proxy War: One more Glasgow Hospital infection rumour from only one more relative

By stewartb BBC News website on its Scotland pages today has an article entitled: ‘Cancellation avalanche fears over vaccine passports’. Now it’s one thing for this ‘public service’ organisation to amplify the commercial concerns of a company, in this case the Signature group of pubs/restaurants, but this BBC article goes way beyond that. It gives a platform to a Ms McLean who ‘runs 20 bars’ to express her views not just on business concerns but also on public health matters – on the role of vaccination in the management of a pandemic and on virus transmission. I’m also obliged (!) … Continue reading ‘Cancellation Avalanche’ is based on pub rhetoric

I’ve been asked why I don’t seek subscriptions, well one person has, and I say it’s because I’ve got a pension, have hippy low-materialism and a blog costs nothing to produce, but an independent TV station for Scotland, that costs a lot and really really needs help, so if you can, subscribe to this great team at: They’re at: https://www.broadcastingscotland.scot/ If, if you can manage it, no worries if you’re a bit strapped, subscribe a few quid and share this widely. Thanks, really, John. Continue reading Don’t fund me fund THEM!

Two weeks ago: Scottish Labour deputy leader, Jackie Baillie, accused him (Humza Yousaf) of having “no answers to the potential impact of Cop26 on our NHS. “We are looking down the barrel at a winter of extreme pressure on our NHS and potentially surging levels of Covid. “We need action from the Health Secretary to avoid this, not warm words.” Scottish Lib Dem leader and health spokesman, Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP, warned: “The NHS is already overwhelmed, it will struggle to cope with the extra added pressure an event like COP26 will bring https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/16523826/cop26-summit-spark-covid-surge-25000-delegates-glasgow/ Yesterday, we read: Throughout the summit, the … Continue reading Throughout COP26, 7-day incidence rate of diagnosed infection in Glasgow remained lowest in Scotland