For someone who often sought sympathy for her experience of depression after being bullied and who complained of the toxic environment for women politicians, the former Tory leader in Scotland seems to have an unhealthy attraction to the language and the images of street violence. Today in the Herald we read: RUTH Davidson has said she regrets “not putting the boot in” to the losing side in the 2014 independence referendum. The former Scottish Conservative leader said it was a “huge strategic error” by the Unionist side not to press home its advantage and keep undermining the Nationalist cause. What sort … Continue reading The appeal of the jackboot on the right of politics in Scotland

In another heap of unreliable story-telling from Helen McArdle, two, just two dentists have a wee rant: Do these seem like reliable evidence to you? Are these two just typical dentists? Are they trade unionists or relatives of Anas Sarwar? It’s clear what really bothers them: How financially vulnerable are dentists? They’re well clustered so it looks like few earn much less. Nope. I’m still dry-eyed. Continue reading Scotland’s dentists in crisis thanks to that Sturgeon!

Before trying to answer the question above, it’s worth putting things in perspective: With 10 times the population, England’s infection rate might be expected to be 270 but it’s 710. With half the population, the infection rate in Wales might be expected to be 14 but it’s 30. Though recently increased, Scotland’s infection rate remains low. Returning to the graphs above, while the pattern is not precise, there is evidence there that increases in testing on the 8th to 10th, on the 15th to 18th and on the 21st to 24th July, precede peaks in the numbers tested positive. This … Continue reading Is Scotland’s increased infection level mostly a result of increased testing?

As, once more, the Conservative Government puts business interests before health and allows gyms to re-open, BBC Scotland asks why the Scottish Government does not follow suit. Note that they do not ask why, with death and new infections flat-lining, England’s gyms have opened? The basis for the criticism is this: Hotels, restaurants and pubs have welcomed customers back through their doors but the health and fitness industry is still waiting for a reopening date. It has led to frustration in the industry concerned that ministers appear to be prioritising alcohol-based entertainment over the nation’s long-term health and wellbeing. If … Continue reading Adam Tomkins and BBC Scotland’s irresponsible campaign for gyms to re-open and copy both England’s policy and death rate

Many times in the day we hear and read of the UK’s coronavirus outbreak, this way: Every day, audiences in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland hear, with no comparative context, how many deaths and cases of infection there are in their nation. Here are the data for yesterday: Audiences in England never hear the words ‘In the last 24 hours there were 61 deaths from coronavirus in England.’ That all of the deaths, sometimes only 99% of them, are in England, day after day, cannot be reported. They DID hear that there were more than 900 new cases of infection … Continue reading The awful truth that saying ‘There have been 61 deaths in the UK’ hides

You can choose either the Zero Tolerance for Covid Gang, above or the Take it on the Chin, Grandad Herd, below: What will it be? Five Alpha males or one guy with four women – easy? Continue reading Choose one of these teams to trust with your life

By Contrary: After watching an analysis by Professor John Robertson (full title because this is his profession) of the media coverage of the 2014 Independence Referendum again, I was reflecting on how interesting the bit about how the BBC and other media personified the independence movement: by constantly referring to ‘Alex Salmond’s referendum’ so they could attack the person, not the group or the idea. Interesting that that’s what a lot of the independence movement seem to be doing to themselves now with Nicola Sturgeon. I just wonder if that’s through choice, copying behaviour or through malign influence, that is, are … Continue reading On the personification of the Independence Movement

On Good Morning Scotland this morning at 9.40, Ben Nimmo was interviewed as Director of Investigations, @Graphika_NYC. This is no doubt accurate, but Nimmo is also known widely to be active in the undemocratic sometimes covert groups working to undermine the SNP and the Yes movement. Nimmo was listed as a senior fellow of the Institute for Statecraft on 25 November 2018: http://archive.ph/Df5eb and of the related Integrity Initiative, responsible for wrongly identifying SNP supporters as acting on behalf of Russia. I’m not competent to write more on this but Craig Murray has done so fully: https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2018/12/cui-bono-david-leask-ben-nimmo-and-the-attack-on-ordinary-scottish-nationalists/ My concerns here, once more, … Continue reading Good Morning Scotland interviews an anti-SNP ‘spook’ presented as an honest researcher

After plummeting to around 12 000, in the early days of the outbreak, attendances at Scotland’s A&E departments have climbed back toward the former average level, around 25 000 per week. Unsurprisingly, performance at the start of the outbreak began to hit the 95% target but, though attendance has since doubled, that performance is holding. NHS England, though experiencing similar decreases and a recent recovery in demand, has not managed to hit the target with, at best, 91.2% in May 2020: https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ae-waiting-times-and-activity/ae-attendances-and-emergency-admissions-2020-21/ Continue reading Emergency attendances double but performance holds at 95% target

SiU regular David Bone, third row down and three from the right, appears in the Herald yesterday to praise the Union: It’s not the content that matters so much, given its quality. It’s the fact that Bone is a member of an activist group writing to the media but pretending to be honest citizens and with an explicit commitment to deceive both journalists and readers. Bone and another regular, Allan Sutherland were together in the Herald only two weeks ago. The letter editor knows who and what they are. Sutherland was a caller to Kaye Adams on the same day. … Continue reading Scotland in Union’s secret letter writing group in the Herald again posing as honest citizens