In the Herald today: ‘The Scottish political world is holding its breath this weekend. Tomorrow, in Edinburgh’s High Court, Alex Salmond, the former SNP leader and First Minister of Scotland, will go on trial accused of 14 criminal charges including attempted rape, sexual assault and harassment.’ https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/18289801.iain-macwhirter-alex-salmond-trial-split-snp-top-bottom/ It’s more than a year now, since Paul Tabloid Hutcheon predicted that the Salmond affair would ‘wear the SNP administration down.’ The 2019 General Election result may have countered that notion. From the commonly mild-mannered, sometimes independence-supporting Macwhirter, the headline ‘top to bottom’ seems a bit OTT. Did he write it? He is correct in his … Continue reading Macwhirter joins the fools in praying for an SNP Civil War

In the Herald today: ‘GROWING numbers of senior doctors are quitting the NHS or are not working additional shifts after being hit with more than £8 million in pension charges for working extra hours, new figures show. Medics have been warning for more than a year they would cut back on workloads because of the complex pension rules, and now figures show that NHS Dumfries and Galloway, NHS Fife, NHS Lanarkshire and NHS Tayside are among the boards that have seen increasing numbers of consultants retire.’ https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/18289808.pension-rules-leaving-nhs-fewer-doctors-new-figures-show/ First, only 593 out of the 18 000 doctors (3.3%), in NHS Scotland, … Continue reading Pension rules having little effect on NHS Scotland staffing with 20% more consultants and 25% more GPS

Having avoided mentioning two obvious positive role models for Scots in the researcher leading the team in the US working to develop a vaccine for Coronavirus and the volunteer drugs worker planning to drive a safe injection van around Glasgow, don’t hold your breath for Reporting Scotland to give this much attention. Having watched their health correspondents over the years, I suspect this would do them some good. Sent to us by our non-chemical anti-depressant, Brian McGowan: Public urged to nominate their local health heroes People in Greater Glasgow and Clyde are being urged to nominate their local health heroes … Continue reading Hundreds of Health Service Heroes: Reporting Scotland’s kind of story?

Yesterday, a reader asked for evidence they could use to argue back against a flurry of comments in an online debate with a ‘unionist.’ My responses are here: https://talkingupscotlandtwo.com/2020/03/07/bbc-england-accused-of-pro-tory-bias-as-infected-patients-not-segregated-from-other-patients-by-untrained-essex-hospital-staff/ This prompted another reader and regular contributor to offer this: stewartb David, I’m sure you’ll find the info from John both ‘sound’ and useful. I’d like to take advantage of you raising the challenge you are facing on FB to make some wider, generic comments on the challenge that we all face in countering Unionist arguments successfully. I hope you find this of interest and value. INTRODUCING THE ‘GISH GALLOP’ (With … Continue reading Countering Unionist arguments when they come in a ‘Gish Gallop’

In the same day as Southend University Hospital was revealed to be unsafe and failing to segregate infected patients, a second hospital, Mid Essex, was also declared unsafe: Of particular concern to our health researcher, Liza Sommers, were these comments: Not all staff had completed the required mandatory training and competency assessments in key skills and had not met the trust’s compliance target for a number of modules. Not all staff had received children’s safeguarding level three training in line with national guidance. We found several areas where staff were not always fully completing risk assessments in line with national … Continue reading Coronavirus alert: Calls for resignations as second Essex hospital is declared unsafe!

BBC Scotland’s Propaganda Team have offered the above image as a free introductory sample, worth £1 500, to the UK Labour Party/NHS coalition as they struggle to weaken the Conservatives. It shows how the party of government can be undermined with attacks on the NHS. The Scottish team have long experience of this approach. In a relatively positive report compared to others shown here, featuring red warning signs, Southend University Hospital has, in the detail some scary sentences. Updated 6 March 2020 Our rating of safe stayed the same. We took into account the ratings of services not inspected this … Continue reading BBC England accused of pro-Tory bias as infected patients not segregated from other patients by untrained Essex hospital staff!

Little makes sense in Struan Stevenson’s piece today. He writes: ‘Barnier has already caused controversy by telling the UK that if they want a free trade agreement with the EU they will have to allow “continued, reciprocal access to markets and to waters with stable quota shares.’ and then, laughably insists: [T}he EU’s reliance on access to our waters and their dependence on UK seafood exports puts them in a vulnerable position which Britain should exploit in trade negotiations. Scottish fishermen claim the Europeans are entering negotiations from a position of weakness and their tough talking is simply bluff and … Continue reading London’s finance is worth at least 65 times more yet Scotsman allows Tory bluff on access to fishing waters

In the Herald today, spot the difference? Maybe it’s just one day? Too small a sample to be reliable? More for Herald Aberdeen councillor sex? 5 times the Tory is not headlined as such but 1 time and the SNP one is labelled. Change that to BBC and: Remind me, what party was he in? Conservative. Really? Continue reading One rule for a Tory sex pest but another for an SNP one?

In the Scotsman today, by ‘The Newsroom’, we read: Robert Peston: ‘BBC pulled my Indyref report over backlash from Alex Salmond fears’ Leaving aside the laughability of the BBC fearing Alex Salmond, given their participation in his demonisation in the months before the referendum, Peston’s headline makes little sense when you look back at what he was writing at the time. There are three pieces by him, from 2014, still on the Pearson site and still alive at their BBC urls: What price Scottish independence? BBC News, Robert Peston (12/9/14)What price Scottish independence? BBC News, Robert Peston (7/9/14)Economists can’t tell Scots how … Continue reading ‘Almost no one serious doubts that Scotland will be a relatively prosperous country in the long term, whichever road it chooses.’ Did BBC pull Peston’s Indyref report because it wasn’t gloomy enough?

Ludo Thierry Noticed this story about the W, Dunbartonshire Council (SNP/Ind coalition) managing to bring about an extended Free School Meals policy which is introducing these to ALL Primary School pupils. The SNP/Ind administration have committed hard cash funding of £1M to get this going. I happened upon this GOOD NEWS story on the beeb Education page. It was originally posted on the Glasgow and West Scotland page but must have been pulled after less than a day. Hmmm – wonder why that might have been done….? The thought struck me that the extraordinary Scottish political radical, (co-founder of both … Continue reading SNP/Independent coalition brings free school meals for all to home of Scottish hero