Tag: politics

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Jackie Baillie hides Matt Hancock’s denial of PPE to Scotland and our gift of two million facemasks to England

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Jackie Baillie yesterday knowingly, I’m sure, twists the truth of PPE supplies during the pandemic to blame the SNP for the sins of the UK Government as it tried to reserve PPE supplies, paid for by all across the UK, just for English care homes, in a desperate attempt to head of the storm of death they faced. She also omits to remind us of the failures of the privately owned care homes in Scotland, under-resourcing PPE themselves and underpaying staff so that those infected were unable to afford to stay at home. 15 July 2026, The Times had the … Continue reading Jackie Baillie hides Matt Hancock’s denial of PPE to Scotland and our gift of two million facemasks to England

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Devolved First Ministers offer expert advice on tackling poverty to UK Ministers but BBC Scotland won’t be telling you about that when they have a 32 year-old murder and Andy’s buses for you

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Published earlier today but as yet nowhere to be seen on BBC Scotland – Joint letter from the Scottish and Welsh Governments calling on the UK Government to scrap “punitive” welfare policies, adopt plans to cut energy bills, and to further devolve powers to help drive continued progress in tackling poverty, posted in full here: To: The Rt Hon Pat McFadden MPSecretary of State for Work and Pensions To: The Rt Hon Lucy Powell MPSecretary of State for Education 20 October 2026 Dear Pat and Lucy, We are writing jointly to congratulate you on your appointment and to restate our … Continue reading Devolved First Ministers offer expert advice on tackling poverty to UK Ministers but BBC Scotland won’t be telling you about that when they have a 32 year-old murder and Andy’s buses for you

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English Media say maternity care there is in a doom loop (no ”) but no matter how ‘our’ media try Scotland is not having England’s maternity crisis – It’s just a review

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In the Guardian today, the above with notably no speech marks around ‘doom loop’, and: The NHS Alliance has announced that up to 20 of the country’s 155 smaller, consultant-led maternity units, mostly in rural or coastal areas, might have to close, since their safety is in question. The problem – which will seem very pressing and obvious to anyone about to give birth, yet quite abstract and manageable to anyone who isn’t – is that those areas aren’t teeming with alternatives. There are women in Devon whose maternity hospital has been temporarily closed, whose next nearest hospital is 53 … Continue reading English Media say maternity care there is in a doom loop (no ”) but no matter how ‘our’ media try Scotland is not having England’s maternity crisis – It’s just a review

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Preparing for today’s lies about Covid deaths in care homes in Scotland 3 – Why Scotland’s higher PERCENTAGE of care home deaths was entirely expected because we had fewer deaths OVERALL

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All the necessary data to explain the above is deep in the bowels of the 14 000 or so Talking-up Scotland archives. I could have dug it all up and posted an answer later today but then I thought, what do I keep Grok AI (I imagine a Raven-like familiar) for? I asked him: Compare the percentage of Covid deaths which were in care homes in England and Scotland from March 2020 to February 2022? He did and then I asked: Is this an entirely expected and not negative outcome given that England had overall a much….. before hitting <RETURN> … Continue reading Preparing for today’s lies about Covid deaths in care homes in Scotland 3 – Why Scotland’s higher PERCENTAGE of care home deaths was entirely expected because we had fewer deaths OVERALL

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Preparing for today’s lies about Covid deaths in care homes in Scotland 2 – In the murderous first phase of the pandemic, they were 21% lower than in England & Wales

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In the Guardian 19th July 2020, six months after Boris Johnson’s incompetence and callousness allowed the virus free access t the UK and just over three months since the SNP Government got devolved authority for the pandemic tactics, here is what happened to care home residents. In a piece broadly sympathetic to the First Minister and Scotland’s Covid strategy, the Guardian writers seemed to feel the need for ‘balance’ and to use anything they can find even if it’s wrong. Truth, fairness and accuracy are what readers need. You wouldn’t expect to have balance on a piece about the health … Continue reading Preparing for today’s lies about Covid deaths in care homes in Scotland 2 – In the murderous first phase of the pandemic, they were 21% lower than in England & Wales

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Preparing for today’s lies about Covid deaths in care homes in Scotland 1 – How Jeanne Freeman saved thousands of lives

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In BBC Scotland’s retrospective comment on Jeanne Freeman’s time as Health Secretary, they write: Freeman stood beside Sturgeon in press conferences throughout the next year. There would be praise for their calm stewardship and she was there at the start of the vaccine roll-out. But the decision to discharge elderly hospital patients to care homes during the first few weeks of the pandemic without a requirement for a negative test was one which hung over Freeman for the rest of her time in politics and beyond. The worst mortality rates were later seen within care homes as the virus spread … Continue reading Preparing for today’s lies about Covid deaths in care homes in Scotland 1 – How Jeanne Freeman saved thousands of lives

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Burns had no connection to the slave trade and wrote the most powerful words against it

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The Times titillates with a headline today designed to cast doubt on the basis for Scots’ love for Robert Burns. There is nothing there. In short, direct or indirect economic benefit from Caribbean slavery was widespread among the artistic, collecting, and intellectual classes of the period. Burns’ case—an abandoned plan in period of despair with no material outcome is nothing of substance by comparison with the documented ownership, inheritance, investment, and patronage links of figures such as Beckford, Turner, Raeburn, and Reynolds. Many of us will look back with sadness, perhaps shame, at episodes in our lives or of those … Continue reading Burns had no connection to the slave trade and wrote the most powerful words against it

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Aren’t billionaires who tried to ‘help remove the SNP from power at Holyrood’ by using their money the undemocratic dictators?

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By Liz S BBC Website headline: “McGill’s accuse Swinney of behaving like dictator over bus plans” Surely the real headline should be “Labour donors , who own McGill’s, accuse Swinney of behaving like dictator over bus plans”. I mean let’s get some context here. Prior to the Scottish elections in May Sandy & James Easdale , owners of the McGill Bud Group, pledged a conditional six-figure donation to Anas Sarwar and the Scottish Labour Party ahead of the May 2026 Holyrood elections. The brothers stated their goal is to “help remove the SNP from power at Holyrood”. In this latest … Continue reading Aren’t billionaires who tried to ‘help remove the SNP from power at Holyrood’ by using their money the undemocratic dictators?

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Andy can only dream of English Neets working at Scotland’s level where 60% fewer of them are unemployed and we know why too

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As Andy Burnham joins the panic over NEETs, not in employment, education or in training in Englandwith a columnin the Times, there is, of course, no way he will be looking ‘north’ for guidance where, after nearly 20 years the SNP has achieved something he could only dream of. BBC Breakfast in May 2026, in an extended piece on the number not in work or in education – NEETS – seems to have confused that group – all 16-24 year-olds including economically inactive (not looking, e.g. due to illness, caring, discouraged) – with the unemployed, looking for work and available … Continue reading Andy can only dream of English Neets working at Scotland’s level where 60% fewer of them are unemployed and we know why too

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To what extent have former colonies of the British Empire achieved independence less because of their own direct efforts and more because of historical events that have happened to both the Empire and to them?

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Would you trust any human, academic or otherwise, to answer that honestly? Not me so this is AI based on my thesis and post-checking: To a substantial extent. Former British colonies achieved independence primarily because of historical events that weakened the Empire and reshaped the international order, with colonial nationalism and direct efforts acting as important accelerators, localizers, and shapers of outcomes rather than the sole or dominant drivers of the rapid collapse. The British Empire reached its peak territorial extent after World War I but unravelled with remarkable speed after 1945—most major dependencies independent by the mid-1960s (India/Pakistan 1947, … Continue reading To what extent have former colonies of the British Empire achieved independence less because of their own direct efforts and more because of historical events that have happened to both the Empire and to them?