Other than the Scotsman’s residue of unionist trolls, that front page must disgust most. In opinion poll after opinion poll, the most popular, the most trusted political leader in the UK, presented as the hard, ruthless face of damage to part of the economy, as that is who she is. Trusted by well over twice the percentage who trust Johnson or, in Scotland, Ross or Sarwar. Following the advice of scientists, supported by a massive majority and with the courage to implement it in the interests of the people, Scotland’s first minister deserves better from the media she hesitates to … Continue reading Demonization of the most effective political leader in the UK

A friend, double-jagged with the AZ, became very, very, ill with Covid, a few months ago and was hospitalised twice, around 5 to 6 months after his second jag. Today, we read of an Edinburgh University study based on 2 million in Scotland and 42 million in Brazil suggesting the level of protection waned after only 3 months. Readers will remember problems with approval for the AZ in the EU and in the US. Anecdotally, older friends who got the Pfizer, told me they had read worrying accounts of the AZ and were relieved to have got, to their minds, … Continue reading Damning evidence that Oxford AZ vaccine quickly loses effect

On BBC 1 this morning, Rupert Clevely, owner of a 12 pub chain in London, does worry about the cost of new pandemic measures, but twice praises the Chancellor for all he’s done for him. There are no accusations levelled at the PM, no talk of ruin and closure. BBC Scotland never find that kind of guy. They find this kind of guy: Who are his two friends? I’ve seen them before. He prefers not to thank the FM for all she’s done. This is more his style: According to Alan Ferrier: Stephen Montgomery, voluntary and unpaid spokesman of the … Continue reading ‘Thank you Rishi Sunak for all your help and everything you have done!’ London Bar Owner on BBC 1

The further measures announced by the FM’s in Scotland and Wales were brave and in time to prevent things getting out of control. Scots already seem to be heeding the FMs advice. The 7 day average today is 5 608, the exact same as it was four days on the 18th. Far too high for comfort but, per capita, 30% lower than the UK figure, 83 527, 4 days ago. Continue reading Follow the rules but stay calm

The contrast between the infection rates for the 3 devolved nations and England could not be sharper. England gas around 50% more cases each day or around 30 000 avoidable infections because of Tory ‘leadership’ and outsourced methods. Being kind, you might also accept that smaller nations can be closer to their governments and can trust them because they’re not an essentially alien class. Continue reading Conservative government is 50% worse for your health

Alone across UK MSM, Scotland’s reporters platform ‘grim figures’ like Sandesh Ghoulhane and Jackie Baillie, to drool over Scotland’s A&E departments, in mid-Winter, ‘only’ treating 69.7% in 4 hours. Only in the 19th and last paragraph of the above do we read: “Scotland’s core A&E departments continue to outperform those in the rest of the UK, and have done so for more than six years.” Had BBC England and Sir Keir any interest, they’d still be unable to tell you what the comparable figures for NHS England are because they don’t come out weekly. We know that in November they … Continue reading Scotland’s Emergency services still more than 12% better than NHS England

the revealing case of Scotch Whisky From stewartb – a long read! Campaigners against Scotland’s independence make much of statements by ‘important’ business organisations when useful to induce anxiety or fear to bolster their case. And of course the corporate media and the BBC aggregate and amplify the statements, typically uncritically. Such negative campaign tactics are a given. In this context it is instructive to look at prior statements designed to influence big democratic decisions and reflect on how matters turned out. It’s important to assess what credence should be given in future to business interventions. I’m not concerned here … Continue reading PREMIUM: Business influence and a nation’s future: 

By ArtyHetty I think ‘trick’ is the operative word here. The NE of England have been tricked alright, usually they get some sweeties and a vanity project to keep the worker bees happy and non worker bees very unhappy and committing crimes, and their councils are all quite happy with the poverty and crime related to long term austerity and neglect by their English government. My dad in his latter years used to say that Gateshead was like ‘Bloody Beirut’ because it was a shambolic, run down neglected town/area/region. He couldn’t understand why people accepted it. Things are still the … Continue reading How to make your home town like ‘Bloody Beirut’

I did something on this in 2019 and have just stumbled on the Complete University Guide: ‘How safe is your city?’ for 2020. Like the earlier guide, Scotland’s university campuses reveal themselves to be far safer in 2020, than those elsewhere. Here are the results for Scotland’s 5 ‘ancient’ universities: I’ll get Belfast out of the way first. 13.0 incidents per year per 1 000 students, for violence against person with injury. Of the 26 in England & Wales, none come anywhere near the Glasgow figure, the average is around 10, and several beat Belfast. BBC Scotland’s Disclosure team should … Continue reading Glasgow University a safer place for your children to study than ALL English universities

This popped up from nowhere, it seems. It’s not dated but still there, telling lies about Glasgow and no doubt still feeding these ghouls with a reputation for being able to deal with hard men. The link to the IEP report gets you an error message. It needs to be taken down. The crime rate in Glasgow is currently 68 per 100 000 people. Scotland’s crime rate average is 45.1 compared to England’s 96.4. Glasgow is thus even more peaceful than England’s average. 30 cities in England, Wales and Northern Ireland have a higher crime rate than Glasgow. Sources: https://www.scotpho.org.uk/life-circumstances/crime/data/by-council/#:~:text=Glasgow%20City%20has%20the%20highest,are%20recorded%20in%20city%20councils. … Continue reading Glasgow lawyers exploiting their own city