From reader Contrary: The crowd-justice thing I promoted here yesterday has unfortunately reached its target – unfortunate because it’ll cost me more than I can really afford, oh well more the fool me – but good that it is now going ahead. It’s not a magic bullet, it’s just one thing, one stage in the process to finally allow us to be given a choice – and such a sad state of affairs it is that we need to push to be allowed to vote – all mandates are in order and all events have come to pass that should … Continue reading Does the Scottish Parliament have the right to hold a referendum on Scottish independence with the law as it currently stands?

From answers to House of Commons questions yesterday: Between 2010 and 2019 the annual cost of the Governor’s communications team rose from £108 439 to a staggering £819 640. The ‘reason’: ‘The Office is resourced to deliver all of the communications functions and activities expected and required of a Government Department in its own right and on behalf of the UK Government in Scotland. The number of staff, in communications, reflects this requirement.’ Click to access Written-Questions-Answers-Statements-Daily-Report-Commons-2020-01-14.pdf A government department ‘in its own right?’ Oh, come on! With responsibility for what function? Health? Transport? Crime and Justice? No? No? No? … Continue reading Part-time Junior Assistant Imperial Master’s communications team costs rise by 8 times in only 8 years!

Looking at the above three screenshots, yesterday, you might think that this is something new in the long-running Reporting Scotland saga with regular appearances by the Scottish opposition parties ranting against the SNP neglect of use of mesh in surgery and the many suffering women in Scotland. It turns out to be based on an extended report for Victoria Derbyshire which does feature one Scottish woman but which, otherwise, features only English data, English experts and many other English sufferers. The full online report, in more than 1 000 words, only mentions Scotland three times suggesting that the mesh is … Continue reading BBC Scotland’s NHS obsession leads them to headline an English story apparently NOT MUCH ‘in the public interest’ across the UK

Making the National news yesterday: The use of a Taser by police on a man who had thrown a TV at them before setting fire to his home was “necessary and proportionate”, a probe has found.Armed police had been called to a disturbance at the 40-year-old’s home in Easter Ross in August last year. During the incident, the man also threw a dart, garden shears and a metal pole at the officers. Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (Pirc) reviewed the use of the Taser in his arrest. Pirc’s investigation found the police actions were “justified in bringing the incident to … Continue reading One case of Police taser-use is not ‘the news.’

NO, neither pro-independence nor ‘pro-independence’ but just ‘better national income accounting for the country’ and not the openly pro-Union ‘completely rubbish approximations’ known as GERS. See this prof for more: https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/…/2018/08/22/gers-really-is…/ Seeing this triggered a quick look back at McKay’s recent comments and seeing there the kind of fighting spirit many of us long for. See these recent examples: I feel I’ve also noticed him taking no crap from interviewers like Gordon Brewer so is he one to watch? Continue reading Is this the man with the fighting spirit we need?

Boris has blustered often about making COP26 in Glasgow, the ‘best of British’, blissfully unaware that the UK’s ‘green achievements’ are mostly due to Scotland and typically infantile, has warned the FM to keep out of it. But true to the UK establishment’s long history of hypocrisy, his government seems unwilling to pay for it. From the BBC today: The cost of a UN climate change conference in Glasgow could be “several hundred million pounds”, police say. Up to 90,000 people – delegates, observers, heads of state and media – are expected to attend COP26, over 12 days in November. … Continue reading SNP Government told to keep away from climate conference but still likely to pay most of the costs

Ludo Thierry Gee whizz – it appears that lightweight labour leadership contender Jess Phillips MP has appointed oor auld pal Blair ‘Better Together’ McDougall to her campaign team, Cripes – no wonder she was spouting such utter, objectionable Lillian Gish about Scotland the other day. Worth checking out the full slate of ‘advisors’ – Creepy or what? The undead – they walk amongst us!! : Link and snippet below: https://labourlist.org/2020/01/jess-phillips-picks-wes-streeting-as-campaign-chair/ Labour leadership candidate Jess Phillips has appointed Wes Streeting as parliamentary chair of her campaign, along with Melanie Onn as an ex-parliamentarian campaign chair. Alicia Kennedy, who was until recently … Continue reading Jess ‘Up there’ Phillips hires Blair ‘Scaremonger’ McDougall!

Ludo Thierry Rugby ain’t my game but even a non-follower like me can see that the massive money being grabbed by the ‘executive’ high heid yins is money (in large amounts) that isn’t going into the grass roots of the game (where it is desperately needed). How much do we bet that Col. Davidson will take any Parliamentary opportunities to berate the ‘ rugger colonels’ at the SRU (a nice wee earner gig for them, doubtless?) for their demonstrated propensity to so obscenely richly reward such apparently mediocre performance by the Scottish Rugby executives? Link and snippets below: Scottish Rugby’s … Continue reading Scottish rugby chiefs siphoning off huge salaries and benefits

From Ludo Thierry: Thanks, John, for drawing to our attention Prof. Stanley and his GRI Team’s fantastic work in Malawi. (I can’t help but idly speculate whether any of his Malawian trainees josh him with the greeting “Professor Stanley I presume….”). A really fantastic illustration of the role our new Scotland can play even having not yet fully escaped the frustrating travails of Johnson’s britnat Ukania. Another couple of good news stories for the Scottish NHS were carried in the Courier (GMS also mentioned the introduction of the violence reduction Navigator Team at Ninewells – so kudos to Gary or … Continue reading NHS Tayside not so ‘dysfunctional’ Lisa Summers as their A&E busts waiting time target to be best in UK

From our Senior Health Researcher, Brian McGowan: A senior Glasgow doctor has just completed his 8th trip to Malawi, taking life-saving equipment and expertise to help patients with serious upper gastrointestinal disease. Prof. Adrian Stanley, Consultant Gastroenterologist at Glasgow Royal Infirmary, took with him a number of endoscopes donated by NHSGGC to help patients suffering from gastrointestinal bleeding and oesophageal cancer – both major health issues in Malawi. Prof Stanley delivered two days of training in endoscopic skills to staff in Mzuzu, the main hospital in northern Malawi, which has a particularly high rate of upper gastrointestinal bleeding related to … Continue reading BBC Scotland miss another good news story about the NHS in Glasgow