When infection levels have been falling steadily for two months, with a very small increase in the last week, it’s hard to see any surge: The 7-day average for new cases has now fallen from a peak of 1 225 to 885. Can you have a downward surge? As for the death rate, it peaked on the 13th of November at 35 and is now 23. No tsunami of death either? If you’d like to see a surge or even a tsunami of new cases try England or Wales? Continue reading I see no surge

From BBC Scotland’s Tabloid Trash Section today: Police Scotland’s latest data on Covid breaches reveals that officers are repeatedly visiting the same properties to break up parties. The call logs, which have been obtained by BBC Scotland, also show that a number of people have been handed multiple fines. On 28 August the police were given the power to break up house parties contravening social gathering rules. Since that date, officers have been called out nearly 5,000 times. So, 5 000 call-outs with an unspecified (why?) number of them repeat call outs and an unspecified average number (why?) present. Given the headline, … Continue reading BREAKING NEWS: Only ONE in 19 355 Scots arrested for Covid house party breaches

Don’t call me a conspiracy theorist! Nobody is saying this is a conspiracy. Chomsky applies here too. These are members of the professional, political and media elites acting in what they feel are their own interests (attacking the SNP administration) and in so doing acting in the same interests of those elite groups. OK? Geddit? Many of them were at uni in the 70s and 80s where they ran around with the RCG (Revolutionary Communist Group) because the SWP (Socialist Workers Party) was too soft, pretending they ‘d handled a Kalashnikov, calling the police ‘pigs’ and, behind their backs of … Continue reading EIS/Labour/Media Chums CAMPAIGN AGAINST SNP IS CERTAINLY DETERMINED IF UNREPRESENTATIVE

Where are they rising? In Scotland? Well the total always is but the daily rate is not really. More below. Yesterday, the daily infection rate in England surged to 3.3 times that in Scotland. Over the last two weeks the 7-day average infection rate in England has surged to more than twice the rate in Scotland and the gap is widening as we approach the Christmas relaxation. The 7-day average has risen in the last 7 days but as you can see in the graph it has really plateaued for the last month after falling in the weeks before that. … Continue reading Conservatives blamed as infection rate in England surges to more than three times that in Scotland

After some delays caused by a flood of complaints, the BBC have offered only one standard response to all complainants to ‘ensure we use our licence fee resources as efficiently.‘ Contempt. I wrote these two complaints: Their general purpose response only addressed the first but was sent for both. I’ll complain again about the second. Here is the ‘response to the first: That Marr was referring only to the first wave in the Spring when he said: ‘When you look at the data, isn’t the truth that Scotland has the third worst record in deaths from Coronavirus of any country … Continue reading Astonishing contempt of BBC response to Andrew Marr complaints

The latest in the Herald/EIS campaign to undermine the SNP education strategy continues: SNP ministers have been accused of letting down teachers and pupils after an “embarrassing” failure to deliver on a pledge to cut class sizes.  Opposition figures criticised ministers for failing “to boost teacher numbers and support pupils despite 13 years in power”.  Who accuses them? Well, Jamie Greene MSP (Con): This is pure fantasy. From the Scottish Government yesterday: The total number of full time equivalent teachers has risen to its highest figure since 2008, official statistics confirm. New figures have revealed that there were 53,400 teachers … Continue reading Jamie Greene should be embarrassed…about Tory England’s understaffed, underqualified teaching staff and the betrayal of pupils.

For years now, we’ve seen BBC Scotland and the rest of the press pack in regular feeding frenzies when their opposition party feeders set them off in pursuit of SNP health ministers. Due to the wider competence of the Scottish Government, Education and Health, being infinitely improvable areas, have become the chosen battlegrounds for a form of proxy war against the SNP. Due to the mass popular interest in health issues and the fact that no matter how well you do, you could always do better, there have been repeated and extended ‘campaigns’ to unseat two health secretaries. Both objectively … Continue reading BBC Scotland’s thing about Women SNP leaders not apparent in Northern Ireland for a Woman Nationalist?

From the Scottish Government today: The total number of full time equivalent teachers has risen to its highest figure since 2008, official statistics confirm. New figures have revealed that there were 53,400 teachers employed in early learning and childcare, primary, secondary and special schools or centrally employed. This is 1,153 more than the 2019 total (52,247). Average class size in primary schools fell to their smallest since 2012, down to 23.1 from 23.5 in 2019. The 2020 pupil teacher ratio for all publicly funded schools was 13.3, an improvement on 2019 when it was 13.6. https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/FMfcgxwKjwwJqPcmVCVKZLFVDfWzJVSJ The ratio in Primary … Continue reading Teacher number in Scottish schools is highest since 2008 and ratio far better than in England

18 polls over 11 months and everyone suggesting 50% or more of voters will give the SNP their first vote yet throughout that time, pundits at the Herald and the Scotsman, from Tom Gordon in February, telling us SNP could pay a heavy price for skimping on police budget to him again, only last week, writing Alex Salmond inquiry: Nicola Sturgeon ‘sunk’ by husband’s evidence, claim Tories, have predicted doom. Many of the polls have followed days after reports of crises for the SNP or their leader. Not one has revealed a trace of falling support. It’s almost as if … Continue reading Are Scottish voters ‘too stupid’ to listen to expert advice?

There are two targets for the treatment of cancer patients in Scotland. From NHS Scotland for the period 1st July to 30th September 2020 : The 62-day standard states that 95% of eligible patients should wait a maximum of 62 days from urgent suspicion of cancer referral to first cancer treatment. 87.3% of patients started treatment within the 62-day standard, compared to 84.1% in the previous quarter, and 83.3% for quarter ending September 2019. The 31-day standard states that 95% of all patients should wait no more than 31 days from decision to treat to first cancer treatment. 98.4% of patients started treatment within … Continue reading More than 98% of cancer patients start treatment in 31 days