Read this carefully then look back at the BBC’s loyalist headline above: Boris Johnson is launching a drive to equip the NHS with more ventilators, as No 10 indicated it could soon step up measures to tackle the coronavirus. These include “shielding” elderly and vulnerable people – where they are kept apart from the wider population – and asking entire families to self-isolate. The government has faced pressure to do more to tackle the epidemic after the UK death toll rose to 21 on Saturday. Elderly people and their families are being asked to shield themselves from risk. The UK … Continue reading Boris Johnson asks elderly to shield him from criticism

Catching Gordon Brewer off-guard, I’m guessing, Professor Devi Sridhar on Politics Scotland this morning said: ‘Yes but I have to say that this is a real positive move from the Scottish Government because if you look at what was announced by the UK-wide government at Westminster it was actually to not do testing at all outside of hospitals. We have to see it as a positive step. We have to see it as a positive step that at least we’re moving towards having it done in GP practices but testing is essential, testing, testing testing. This is what we have … Continue reading Scottish Government’s Coronavirus strategy praised by leading academic

Being dragged out of the EU against the wishes of a sizable majority of the Scottish electorate and being obliged to accept Boris Johnson as Prime Minister has boosted support for the Independence movement. That is undisputed. The experience of being reminded of Scotland’s impotence in decision-making of the utmost significance for our cultural, political, social and economic future, has been a reality check for many. The experience since then of the open contempt of the Tory Government for the views of the Scottish Parliament, in the process of negotiating the exit, has been like a slap in the face. … Continue reading Like Brexit, Coronavirus will be a blow to the Union

Iain Macwhirter, for reasons not apparent to me, has launched into this difficult topic with a stupid headline. No one is suggesting that the Johnson regime is actively trying to kill old people but many are saying that his preferred ‘herd immunity’ strategy will have that very effect of culling the old, the ill and the poor. His piece is all about supposed political manoeuvering by the First Minister to attempt to stay onside. Does anyone actually believe that she does not really care and is just another self-centred cynical, callous, political creature indistinguishable from Johnson? Astonishingly, he portrays her … Continue reading Astonishing defence of Johnson’s wrong herd immunity strategy and attack on First Minister

stewartb There have been newspaper articles in recent days implying that in a public health emergency such as we are facing now, the population of an independent Scotland would suffer because we would no longer be able to benefit from co-operation and sharing with our nearest neighbour.Of course this is simply fear-mongering by desperate Unionists – or by journalists who make a living out of pandering to desperate Unionists. We have shown previously on TUSC how Nordic countries co-operate as a matter of common practice on health, social care and range of other public policy areas.Today we learn of the … Continue reading Scotland’s ‘journalists’ love Johnson’s brutal swipe against their own people

This, on the Scottish Drugs Taskforce, ignored by BBC Scotland, was forwarded to us by indyref2soon ‘Kindness, Compassion and Hope’ is the title of the Dundee Commission report that laid bare the failings of treatment and care and monitoring of these services which led to the tragedy of escalating drug deaths in Dundee. After an intensive period of scrutiny and self-reflection it seems like local leaders, and those working in key positions, are now making the changes required. Representatives of the Dundee Commission and The Dundee Partnership came together to share their learnings with the Drug Death Taskforce when we … Continue reading Dundee tackles its drug problems but BBC Scotland prefer deaths

The Herald’s Tom Gordon presents a masterpiece of ambulance-chasing today as he warns us that the Coronavirus epidemic and the ensuing deaths have changed the political landscape, pushing Indyref2, perhaps even independence, into the long grass. SNP Civil Wars 1 to 3, Macdonald, Mackay and Salmond have all failed to halt the Indyref2 juggernaut but an epidemic will surely do it. His glee at, especially, the AUOB marchers being quarantined, is clear. He even confidently predicts: ‘The virus will be more than a match for Nicola Sturgeon, Mr Johnson and their respective public services.’  Now, I can be a risk-taker … Continue reading Tom Gordon misunderstands how epidemics can change things

It’s been a challenge for a mere virus but, at last, Alex Salmond is no longer the big story, at least on the website. Will Reporting Scotland drop him? Leading academic, Professor Jan Robertskovkaya of the School of Virology in the University of Vladivostok’s Paisley Campus has told us that Alex Salmond’s alleged behaviour toward women may have been caused by a viral infection, picked up on a home visit to Bathgate. His ‘zombie walk’ is a tell-tale sign of infection. Local sources have told us that walking like a zombie and being a bit too forward ‘with the burdz’, … Continue reading Coronavirus fears surge to push Salmond off the BBC Scotland page

Contrary Of course, just about everything is being cancelled this year because of the pandemic that the uk government is doing very little to try and stop – the fact is, the coronavirus is going to act like a cold, so having it once might make your immune system more alert to it but it won’t necessarily confer absolute immunity. So Boris’ plan to let us all get it and hope for herd immunity will allow the virus to spread and increase the likelihood of mutations (like the ‘common cold’ – it mutates too fast so that it’s impossible to … Continue reading Not everything needs to, or can be, put on hold because of the pandemic.

Contrary I nearly missed this! Martin James Keatings has started a petition to go along with the people’s court action (to rule on competence of Scottish govt to hold an independence referendum) which will be ready in just over a week : The purpose of this is to show everyone that this is not about one party, nor one campaign, nor one individual, but a matter which is of huge concern to the entirety of the population of Scotland and we expect elected representatives to back our right to ask such questions. He says it is to be presented to … Continue reading Support the people’s action on Section 30