In classic, it’s all about England mode, after badgering Humza Yousaf about who he will support, BBC Scotland (not England) is pushing this story: Amazon has been accused of sexism after its Alexa voice assistant was unable to respond to a question about the Lionesses’ semi-final victory at the Women’s World Cup. When asked on Wednesday “for the result of the England-Australia football match today” it said there was no match. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-66508514?at_format=link&at_campaign_type=owned&at_link_origin=BBCScotlandNews&at_link_type=web_link&at_ptr_name=twitter&at_medium=social&at_link_id=0651F9AC-3D20-11EE-8427-C8C378A687CD&at_bbc_team=editorial&at_campaign=Social_Flow Perhaps this is useful background: Amazon Alexa, also known simply as Alexa is a virtual assistant technology largely based on a Polish speech synthesizer named Ivona, bought by Amazon in 2013. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_Alexa Maybe Alexa’s programmers … Continue reading Do Alexa’s polish genes mean she remembers England’s betrayal in World War II

Try searching for ‘BBC Scotland Dugdale’ in the last 24 hours and you get the above. Not one BBC hit. Try the same but taking out the 24hr limit: That’s just the start of a huge list before the algorithm has to consider other news outlets. They don’t want folk to know that a reasonably popular former Labour leader is becoming pro-independence. Although propaganda is typically thought of as something created through tangible words or images, it can also occur via the absence of such stimuli. This chapter illustrates how such “propaganda-by-omission” can be created. The particular focus is on … Continue reading Bias by omission as former Labour leader goes missing near Pacific Quay

The above from the National Records of Scotland in December 2022 reminds us that drug deaths, such a favourite of the opposition parties and media in Scotland, are only the tenth most common cause of death, accounting for only 1 in 50 deaths compared with more than 1 in 10 due to heart failure. None of the other causes are commonly politicised and linked to Scottish Government performance but as new drug death statistics loom next week, media outlets are beginning to salivate. Already an increase is being predicted though, perhaps, they may be confusing a predicted increase in the … Continue reading Drugs only 10th most common cause of death in Scotland

On BBC Scotland’s Mornings with Stephen Jardine, Dr Chris Smith, virologist at Cambridge University in South-East England (the nearest virologist to Scotland where we have none of that clever stuff ourselves), tells us that Covid infections will increase and: The school year is gonna kick off in September and that’s a big amplifier. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001pmhx at 55.54 Stephen Jardine makes no comment about that. Does Jardine know that Scottish schools went back yesterday and that if that amplifies Covid infection, listeners such as head teachers might want to take precautions a bit earlier than September? Continue reading Stephen Jardine worries about about a Covid spike when schools go back, 24 hours after they went back

Including an interview (below) with a very sweaty and distressed looking Fergus Smith ‘researcher’ in a sad attempt to join in with the Northern Ireland Police security breach, BBC Scotland’s repeated inserts in BBC Breakfast from around 06:30, opened with two dark reports not covered in their own website or by the press. Feeds directly to reporters? First, a ‘group of parents’ (Nicola from ASN Reform Scotland, Facebook) is going to protest about support for pupils with additional support needs. Not enough teachers they say and the Scottish Government, not the local authorities actually responsible for staffing schools, is asked … Continue reading Don’t look! Reporting Scotland down, down, down today with their own wee anecdotes

The media carpet-bombing of the SNP on party finances, ferries and f…anything they can dig up, could not last. The Yougov poll for 3-8 August has the SNP up at 41%, 10 points ahead of Labour and a 5% improvement on the last poll by Redfield & Wilton on 5-6 August. The inability of the MSM to completely conceal the Labour schisms on benefits, gas and oil, has surely weakened them. SNP supporters have used social media to good effect on this. Source: chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://docs.cdn.yougov.com/6i430fpvw4/Internal_Scotland_VI_230808_W_BPC.pdf Continue reading Boost for Yousaf with biggest lead over Labour since he was elected

When you click on the preview you get a story titled Do NHS staff feel safe to whistleblow? And when they do – what happens? which is entirely about an NHS England whistle-blower until McArdle claims: Mr Duffy’s case may have taken place in England, but it echoes experiences I have heard time and again from medics across NHS Scotland: colleagues closing ranks to accuse a whistleblower of wrongdoing; victimisation of a whistleblower through cuts in pay, changes to their job, and malicious grievances; retaliatory GMC referrals; bullying by senior management. https://www.heraldscotland.com/newsletters/bulletin/1698/ Evidence? One anonymous ‘medic’ and a BMA Scotland … Continue reading Is England performing better on waiting lists? How can a supposedly Scottish health correspondent even think this?

Today, 25.08.24, the Daily Record has: Ministers rejected £13.8m deal to buy catamaran and ploughed on with £400m ferry building fiasco It’s an old story based on this from 02 August 2023: Ministers have come under fire as an £800m scheme to create a Clyde shipbuilding revolution and solve Scotland’s ferry crisis with a fleet of 50 catamarans has been sunk. https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/23694719.anger-800m-clyde-shipbuilding-plan-resolve-ferries-crisis-sinks/ In August 2023, I see this Canadian catamaran had to call off in wind speeds of 55km/h or 34mph. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/hullo-ferries-cancellations-aug-15-aug-14-1.6936635 Meanwhile in Scotland with CalMac: Whether a sailing is cancelled or not is largely depending on the forecasted and current wind speeds … Continue reading Why the Scottish Government rejected catamarans for CalMac – safety in the stormiest waters any ferry service faces

Serious economists have long discounted GDP as a useful measure of the health of a country. GDP can rise at the same time as the incomes of 99% of the population falls and services are cut. In Scotland, but only in Scotland, the GDP deficit widens instantly [above] and revenue plummets as soon as you get an SNP Government, even before they get their feet under the table. It’s magic! Black Magic! Ireland’s GDP is soaring above every other country, as global corporations use it to funnel their wealth out of Europe, but life for the 99% in Ireland is … Continue reading GDP ‘deficit’ – rubbish I know but even that fell 27% in just one year under SNP government