Great Christmas idea for a member of the paper generation!
O Labour Rose thou art sick
The Sick Rose By William Blake O Rose thou art sick. The invisible worm, That flies in the night In the howling storm: Has found out thy bed Of crimson joy: And his dark secret love Does thy life destroy. A poem for a reading in the Rutherglen Labour Party meetings? Labour loses nearly 100,000 members and makes £5 million loss in 2021: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/labour-membership-loss-accounts-deficit-b2146691.html Continue reading O Labour Rose thou art sick
Schools concrete – Scots safety checks mostly done, pupils taught somewhere safe, no schools closed, UK Government deviates from advice from the Institution of Structural Engineers
As with the inflammable cladding, our media is scrabbling for a story of crumbling schools, pupils at risk and SNP Government failure but there’s no story there, again. From BBC UK More than 100 schools have been told to shut areas affected by reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) without safety measures in place. It follows the collapse last week of a beam previously thought to be safe. It is unclear how many schools have had to fully close, but it could be as many as 24. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-66681702 There are plenty of vaguely scary headlines here, worded carefully to imply governmental … Continue reading Schools concrete – Scots safety checks mostly done, pupils taught somewhere safe, no schools closed, UK Government deviates from advice from the Institution of Structural Engineers
The the bully and the child groomer – BBC Scotland shield Labour in run-up to by-election
Even the Herald is covering the story of Frank McAveety, former Scottish Labour minister is the subject of a formal complaint over alleged bullying and misogyny. BBC Scotland News and BBC Scotland Politics are both ignoring it. The Herald also covered David Graham, a Scottish Labour councillor arrested and charged over allegations of child grooming. It’s just business, I guess. BBC Scotland did eventually report it on their website but kept it low profile with no photograph and, to my knowledge, kept if off broadcasts. There is a by-election campaign underway in Rutherglen and Hamilton West. Labour stand a chance of … Continue reading The the bully and the child groomer – BBC Scotland shield Labour in run-up to by-election
Taxation – Scottish Labour follow their millionaire leader to the right to attract the wealthy
In response to the SNP plans to increase taxation for the better off, in order to improve public services and for the ring-fenced NHS funding promise that averted the junior doctors’ strikes, UK Labour convenor in Scotland and beneficiary of his mother’s low wage food production business, Ana Sarwar has come out against fair taxes in a sad attempt to win more former Tory voters. Here is the answer to his notion of ‘families’ being hammered: On average, the devolved income tax and benefit measures introduced since 2017 will decrease Scottish households’ incomes by £210 (0.5%). However, new benefits and … Continue reading Taxation – Scottish Labour follow their millionaire leader to the right to attract the wealthy
As junior and senior doctors in England strike together for first time in NHS history, BBC Scotland looks for something, anything to avoid the obvious fact – SNP Government works!
In the Guardian but nowhere or low down on the screen, on BBC England or BBC London or, of course BBC Scotland: Junior doctors and consultants in England will strike on the same days together for the first time in the history of the NHS, in a dramatic escalation of their bitter pay dispute with the government. The British Medical Association blamed ministers’ refusal to negotiate over doctors’ salaries for the union’s decision to organise stoppages involving both groups of medics. The joint action will reduce hospitals and other services in England to providing Christmas Day levels of care for four days … Continue reading As junior and senior doctors in England strike together for first time in NHS history, BBC Scotland looks for something, anything to avoid the obvious fact – SNP Government works!
Cancer – travel time to care may not affect survival for patients
Another health issue being weaponised today by Reporting Scotland: Blood cancer patients in Argyll face having to make round trips of 200 miles or more to access some of their care. In-person haematology consultations at their local hospital, Lorn and the Islands in Oban have been withdrawn. Health boards providing the cancer services said virtual appointments were available, but added that some patients would need to travel to Glasgow. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-66670592 The BBC report does not explicitly say that these longer journeys will directly affect outcomes but repeatedly implies so. This is because they have no research findings to offer. This … Continue reading Cancer – travel time to care may not affect survival for patients
Isle of Wight Ferries? Pay 3-6 times as much and take your chances with safety
TSMV Shanklin was a passenger ferry that operated between Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight between 1951 and 1980. Renamed Prince Ivanhoe she went on to become a pleasure cruiser in the Bristol Channel but in 1981 sank off the Welsh coast on her first season. No CalMac or previously Caledonian MacBrayne ferry has ever sunk. No passenger has been hurt but the fully privatised Isle of Wight ferries often breakdown at sea, burst into flames and in 2014, four passengers had to be hospitalised after an incident. Isle of Wight ferry costs? Most summer visitors pay somewhere around £150-£200, although … Continue reading Isle of Wight Ferries? Pay 3-6 times as much and take your chances with safety
‘As ferry woes mount, islanders ask for solutions’ in the USA
Just down the west coast from Vancouver where BC Ferries are in a crisis only Mull Tory councillors could dream of, the islanders of the equally affluent Washington State island of Vashon (population 10 000), essentially a Seattle suburb, howled their disbelief at the Triangle route ferry operators yesterday. In the local Beachcomber: At a packed meeting of Vashon’s Ferry Advisory Committee on Aug. 23, islanders poured out their concerns about continuing disruptions in Washington State Ferry (WSF) service to Vashon. It followed a weekend that saw even more than the usual delays to Vashon’s ferry service — part of … Continue reading ‘As ferry woes mount, islanders ask for solutions’ in the USA
US ferry trip of same duration costs nearly 9 times as much as subsidised Scots ferry
In Business Insider today: The high-speed ferry goes from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to Muskegon, Michigan, and cuts across Lake Michigan, turning a stress fest that can take well over three hours by car into a relaxing two-and-a-half-hour ferry excursion. My Lake Express ferry ticket cost $93.50 each way with an additional $36 dollars in charges for port and security fees and fuel, making for a grand total of $223 [£176]. https://www.insider.com/ferry-ride-michigan-lake-express-review-milwaukee-muskegon-2023-8#i-started-by-buying-my-ferry-ticket-which-i-thought-was-quite-expensive-1 The Ullapool to Stornoway ferry takes 2 hours and 45 minutes and costs only between £9 and £10 each way thanks to a massive Scottish Government/Taxpayer subsidy. Meanwhile in Scotland: Islanders who … Continue reading US ferry trip of same duration costs nearly 9 times as much as subsidised Scots ferry
