tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79721149918693540502024-03-14T11:13:58.559+00:00The Laird ReportThe real Glaswegian working class voice in the independence debate read by thousands, the BBC and other related media, secured the first criminal conviction against one of the seven top cybernats outed by the Daily Mail Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger4668125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7972114991869354050.post-7710701803218076162023-05-04T15:50:00.004+01:002023-05-04T15:50:42.680+01:00The Search for Murrell's Gold, Indiana Laird in the Valley of the Dragons, a George Laird Production<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/q8xNeVW1TgM" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe> <div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Hi Folks </div><div><br /></div><div>Working on a few clips to kick start my cgi learning back up again. </div><div><br /></div><div>Hope you enjoy. </div><div><br /></div><div>George</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7972114991869354050.post-55820185404078266262023-05-02T15:54:00.002+01:002023-05-02T15:54:22.593+01:00Dragon Alien World, a George Laird Production<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TGeqRlMrkFU" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7972114991869354050.post-64424910931117256002022-11-22T22:10:00.004+00:002022-11-22T22:10:46.613+00:00Police Scotland chase on Paisley Road West Glasgow ends in Crash<iframe class="rumble" width="540" height="360" src="https://rumble.com/embed/v1twy5o/?pub=z7mrf" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7972114991869354050.post-52664861390620816532022-11-10T01:18:00.001+00:002022-11-10T01:18:21.671+00:00The Laird Report Episode 20 Public Health Messaging in Scotland is Unethical, refuse covid boosters, it seems political decisions by the SNP Government take priority over clincal need and duty of care of the general public<iframe class="rumble" width="540" height="360" src="https://rumble.com/embed/v1qf0as/?pub=z7mrf" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7972114991869354050.post-59614415388803571892022-02-10T23:05:00.002+00:002022-02-10T23:05:43.806+00:00General thoughts and a new start<iframe frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/DoU4_Z2UyiY" style="background-image: url(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/DoU4_Z2UyiY/hqdefault.jpg);" width="480"></iframe><div><br /></div><div>This blog will be getting phased out, if you enjoy this blog, then please follow the link to my new one. </div><div><br /></div><div>In order to make improvements to the content, I have decided to incorporate more videos on my thoughts about the political scene in the UK, Scotland and beyond.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://thelairdreport.blogspot.com/">https://thelairdreport.blogspot.com/</a></div><div><br /></div><div>Thank you for supporting and reading this blog over the years, and I will keep it as an archive of what my views were on a range of topics over the 10 plus years of operation.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7972114991869354050.post-10568689187297208542022-01-31T15:12:00.001+00:002022-01-31T15:12:28.173+00:00The Smart Play By the Conservatives; UK Health Sec Sajid Javid will ‘scrap plans’ to make Covid jabs mandatory for NHS staff, the U turn means the health service doesn't need to sack 80,000 people by the April deadline, no UK Health Sec can plunge the NHS into catastrophic crisis and survive as a Government Minister nor as an MP <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjJUyiC77mNjvEnqfaS4_DGCLiEgCdZh2VM_sVRk3xr-wNFcjpNPFtZpdnlrRPtFa8crSpQyWPh_J5kXAcWP65HqBopxjos1vIJ2cMw3iRKPKu4xR1Zi09-wkUB1LUnUbgZenJ1s_leSB9jXW7tvCoVO3MuxKggdQGizlMELaPe5uKO-eWodJXovv8Nug=s930" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="558" data-original-width="930" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjJUyiC77mNjvEnqfaS4_DGCLiEgCdZh2VM_sVRk3xr-wNFcjpNPFtZpdnlrRPtFa8crSpQyWPh_J5kXAcWP65HqBopxjos1vIJ2cMw3iRKPKu4xR1Zi09-wkUB1LUnUbgZenJ1s_leSB9jXW7tvCoVO3MuxKggdQGizlMELaPe5uKO-eWodJXovv8Nug=w400-h240" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Through-out the entire Covid 19 pandemic, people across the world and the UK marveled at the un-selfishness of certain key workers. The health workers, the Drs, Nurses and other staff were rightly hailed for what they did in time of dark crisis. There was a national outpouring of affection towards people who stood in the line of fire when others were in the most perilous times of their lives. In the wake of their bravery, there came a suggestion which has been used in America, sack unvaccinated medical staff. After Health staff dealt with life and death situations at every turn, the Biden Administration decided to adopt a zero policy on unvaccinated staff in key sectors. At the same time of talking about liberty, the Biden Administration was practicing tyranny. There is a saying, if it happens in America, eventually it will happen here in the UK. Not every idea that comes from America is bad, but when it relates to health, it doesn't fit with the ethos of how the people view the NHS. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">When Sajid Javid, the Health Secretary mooted the idea of <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>mandatory Covid vaccinations for NHS and social care workers, all sorts of shrills emerge from the woodwork to jump on that bandwagon. In my mind, the worst subgroup was the especially selfish people who dumped their elderly relatives in care homes. They suddenly found themselves outraged that unvaccinated people were caring for their abandoned loved loves. Care homes had the one of the worst affected sectors in terms of Covid deaths, infected people with Covid were transferred to sterile care homes from hospitals. This move ensured that Covid ran through the place like wildfire, a lot of elderly patients died after being put in harm's way.</span> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">After targeting the care sector which the government thought was the weakest link to coerce staff to get vaccinated, the care sector was to go onto see 40,000 experienced and necessary staff lose their jobs. Their sacrifices of staying the course, fighting the virus in the thick of it didn't matter a jot. When I first started my new blog, The Laird Report, one of the earliest posts was quick frank about Covid 19 and how it was being handled, don't trust the governments, NHS, Big Tech such as Facebook, Twitter and Youtube, Big Pharma and the mainstream media of TV, radio and print, don't trust celebrities, such as Hilary Jones and Piers Morgan. I wrote a post on <a href="https://thelairdreport.blogspot.com/2022/01/the-snp-straw-that-broke-scottish-nhss.html">Wednesday, 26th January</a> because more and more evidence that there wasn't just something wrong, but something being 'covered up' started emerging. </span>Cover up seems to be the exactly the best phrase to describe how all those above have acted in relation to vaccine injury. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">When news of a vaccine started to become news, I was initially glad, but also as someone who spent 20 years at university, I was a bit uneasy. New vaccines generally take 10 to 15 years to come to market. They go through all sort of trial phases in animals and humans, but these drugs, the new vaccines were rolled out in less than two years. No long term data, and deaths and serious injury in the trials effectively airbrushed out. There was a targeted government, media and big pharma campaign all saying the same thing, false claims that the vaccines were safe and effective. There is clearly a problem, and growing data highlights this, which was why there was such a rush to get people vaccinated. It was almost as if governments and Big Pharma around the world wanted to destroy any large remaining unvaccinated sectors of the population which could be used as a 'control group' to measure the effectiveness of the vaccines. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">The next link is one of the most up tp date stories of someone 'suddenly' dying of a heart attack while playing sport. When you look for stories like this, you will notice a lot the use of the word, 'suddenly'. Another overused word to explain away sudden death is the word 'rare', well thousands are dead and hundreds of thousands are vaccine injured, there is nothing 'rare' about that. And when others' health suddenly fails as being predicted by others, there will be nothing 'rare' about that either. One side effect of covid drugs in auto immune suppression, that means other illness can flourish such as aggressive cancers because the body's defence system can't cope.</span> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/brit-footballer-dies-after-heart-26081907">https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/brit-footballer-dies-after-heart-26081907</a></span> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">As I mentioned above, early on I suspect that something was wrong, but as we have seen, anyone who spoke out faced being attacked and being censored on social media. The aspect of censorship would soon emerge as a key 'red flag' of the cover up. A term would start to emerge which to me rang true, Mass Formation Psychosis which I had never heard of,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>so I looked it up, but a good way of understanding it, is to listen to this Bitchute video of Dr Robert Malone speaking on the Joe Rogan Show.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #4d5156; font-size: 7pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-US">This is a description of how collective hysteria is generated by governments and their shrills to manipulate people into doing things that under normal circumstances they would be very hesitant, so they abandon their reason to follow a 'leader' who is seen as their saviour, in some respects, it seems like an adapted version of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cult_of_personality">'Cult of Personality'</a>. Since <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Robert Malone spoke on the Joe Rogan Show regarding Mass Formation Psychosis, you can see the press wasted no time across a range of publication discrediting him.</span> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.bitchute.com/video/1UrV9A4krmLz/">https://www.bitchute.com/video/1UrV9A4krmLz/</a></span> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">Here is a list of articles which weren't slow to discredit Robert Malone, such as <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/factcheck-coronavirus-psychology-idUSL1N2TN1RE">Reuters</a> who have links to big pharma. Copy of the narrative attacking Malone would appear in unusual places such as <a href="https://www.oregonlive.com/coronavirus/2022/01/so-called-mass-formation-psychosis-does-not-exist-despite-what-you-might-have-heard-on-joe-rogan.html">Oregon Live</a> in the US, <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/joe-rogan-mass-formation-psychosis-covid-b1990337.html">The Independent</a> in the UK, even the mighty publication <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2022/01/02/what-is-mass-formation-psychosis-robert-malone-makes-covid-19-vaccine-claims-on-joe-rogan-show/?sh=714afaf61d4c">Forbes.com</a> wade into Malone. There are a whole load of ways that be used to cover up the truth, from flat out lying, to omission of facts, to rearranging facts in a different timeline to interweaving lies with the truth to water down their impact. The fact so many publications written by university educated people all seem to produce the same narrative at roughly the same time is at least un-usual wouldn't you say? Can I ask you a question, do you think all these university educated people don't know about media manipulation of the press and the 'Cult of Personality'? Are these people who claim to be reporters and experts only looking for evidence in approved sources? Surely the role of the press is to present facts and allow the readers to draw their conclusions from facts while they remain neutral. If you can't get that type of forensic reporting, you don't have a free media, a free press, what you have is people who are "commentators" who masquerade as free press. How can it be that the entire establishment press is so blind to the truth? Why can people like me and others with effectively none of the resources, and contacts find out, by piecing the jigsaw together with random bits of information, come up with:</span> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">"In order to conceal the deaths and serious injury, the government decided to move the goal posts so that a person who was injected wasn't considered vaxxed until after 14 days, this way a huge amount of deaths and serious injury was wiped from being recorded from the official statistics. People were lied too, people were subjected to an organised campaign of constant fear which involved a multi level strategy, government, NHS, big tech, big pharma, the media and celebs all joined into pushing vaccination on the population."</span> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">Is it Mass Formation Psychosis on their part, or simply they are living in fear of losing their jobs and lifestyle by doing something so simple as questioning? Most people rail at government, and some with good reason, but the decision not to copy the disastrous American policy on sacking unvaccinated health staff is one of the smartest every <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">U-turns in UK government history. When Sajid Javid went on camera and did a sounding of health care staff on mandatory Covid vaccinations for NHS, most people focused on Dr Steve James, the Dr who said No, but as the publicity focused on him, there was an equally important group of people who were completely overlooked. These were the nurses who were also there when Sajid Javid trialed his policy, there is a video which I have posted before which I want you to watch. In this video you aren't looking for what is said, but instead you are looking at silence. Although the silence only lasts a few seconds, so much information was gleamed in that time, that anyone who thinks they know how to read a room can only come to the conclusion that the 5 nurses weren't backing Sajid Javid, the UK Health Sec.</span> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">I cannot understand why he or anyone else would have thought for a minute that this proposal wouldn't attract any support, especially in a Health service which is dealing with vaccine injured people. It is one thing to know that there are vaccine injure people, it is a whole different animal to see the results of this up close and personal. I am not surprised that the proposed mandatory jabs policy could lead to shortage of 80,000 workers. When you see day in and day out injured people, then someone offers to give you the same thing which caused the injuries, where is the logic in that? To me, it is like drink driving, you can keep doing it for a period of time then your luck runs out, you don't know it will run out, but you do know that you seed your own destruction by making a choice. I don't drink driving because I know it is wrong, more than that I value my health, and I value the health of others. I am not in the business of making illogical choices when presented with evidence. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOlEYcd1nyI">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOlEYcd1nyI</a></span> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">Although there are sound political reasons for a U turn on Mandatory Covid jabs, they should be secondary to duty of care to protect health and well being of staff. Simply put, you cannot just trample over the rights to make an informed choice. People shouldn't never be bullied, threatened or coerced. History has taught us the wrongness of imposing forced procedures on innocent people. These principles are enshrined in Human Rights and reaffirmed in many treaties and doctrines both in medicine and in law for the protection of all. Sajid Javid, the Health Secretary will today meet fellow ministers on the Covid-Operations Cabinet committee to rubber stamp the decision on the about-turn. This is the day that Sajid Javid saved his own political career, you see if he had pushed through and the Health service suffered a catastrophic loss of 80,000 people, his career would be destroyed, he would have to step down as a Minister and resign as an MP. The Royal College of Nursing, the Royal College of Midwives and the Royal College of GPs have all pushed for the requirement to be delayed, when in fact their stance should have been stronger. There is no grey area on personal medical choice, there are such things as areas where no compromise can be tolerate, where things come down to a binary choice.</span> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">This decision could be framed as a victory for common sense, human rights and good government, now an estimated 40,000 people lost their jobs over this awful policy will if they so chose able to return to work in the sector. Caring for the elderly is an important job, probably much more than many realise, people who do this need to have a toughness about them. They know the people they are caring for, many will only have a few years of life left and their goal is to provide them with as much quality of life s possible. A lot of people who suffered under the policy will be angry, especially in the care sector who lost so many staff, their experiences should be not by government how an entire sector was brought to its knees. The pandemic is over, the change of approach reflects the new focus on how the UK must "learn to live with Covid". There is a few months still to work through, and planning for next winter, but the increased mood of going back to normality is starting to take hold. There must be new planning in the NHS because we may face a health crisis going forward across many NHS disciplines, the cure many suspect could be worse than the disease. And someone should try to get ahead of that with resource planning. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">Finally, in the near future, we will see political parties try to reinvent themselves from being in lockstep with bad government decisions on restrictions to being the sole 'voice of reason'. In my mind, I don't a hostile public will buy into this, no one in politics is coming out of Covid a hero, there are politicians/ people who should have spoke up and didn't, those who spoke up and were wrong, and those who never got in the game through sheer disinterest. Nadra Ahmed OBE, who chairs the National Care Association, said of the U turn:</span> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">"This decision epitomises the lack of foresight by ministers in choosing to drive the implementation of this policy without producing impact assessment prior to taking it to the vote. Every parliamentarian who voted for it in social care needs to take responsibility for the loss of staff our sector have suffered because of an ill-thought out policy. Social care has been used as a pilot which has devastated our workforce and brought providers to their knees."</span> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">Why did so many allegedly independently minded parliamentarians not speak out?</span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7972114991869354050.post-24814192197614477222022-01-28T10:01:00.011+00:002022-01-28T12:00:38.299+00:00As Countries start to emerge from Covid lockdown, the return to normal must include a return to holidaying, people have to de-stress, people have put up with too much, it is time to look forward to a better tomorrow, anyone up for a leisurely cruise?<iframe frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/qP8jONoj57Y" width="480"></iframe><div><br /></div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">With
everything which has happened over the last two years, one thing which we all
could use is a holiday, something special, something which a huge amount of
people enjoy, and looks like it could be terrific fun, Cruising. What peaked my
interest in this type of holiday was watching <a href="https://deadline.com/tag/cruising-with-jane-mcdonald/">Cruising with Jane
McDonald</a>, when I came across it on youtube search. Jane McDonald is known as
a great singer and presenter, so top set the holiday mood, I found something to
listen too, hope you enjoy my choice. The quality of this VHS tape transferred
to digital is a bit sketchy however the sound quality is reasonably good. There
are many great songs on this recording, but I would urge you to go to 35.00
minutes into it, and listen to Jane sing, 'Do You Know The Way To San Jose', it is pitch perfect.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-22COAb4es">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-22COAb4es</a></span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">When
Jane McDonald started her holiday programmes, she really found her second bow
string <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>to her string, and an unique niche,
when she popped up on our screens and started giving her views and firsthand
experience on ideal holidays. You could say, this show was an instant hit, her
series had charm interwoven with facts and humour. Unlike some stars who seen
as divas, Jane McDonald rolled her sleeves up and pitched in, with the regular
cruisers, in effect they became 'episode' stars in their own right. It was
tragic when Channel 5 lost one of its biggest stars after Jane revealed
that she was stepping away from the long-running travel show. If there was ever
someone you would hope to meet on holiday, she was it. Jane's show won Channel
5 its first ever BAFTA award in 2018.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">The
great thing about cruising is that everything is planned, all you have to do is
turn up, sign in, unpack, find your way round the ship, and eat and enjoy. Cruising
does cost a bit of money, but it is an experience not to forget. The food is
great, and so is the entertainment, and if you want to stop off and visits the
sights on the various ports, with guided tours, how can you go wrong. Cruising
is an activity that pushes you towards other people, everyone is in the same
boat, and it is diversity in action, all types of people and all types of social
status can be found, from the people next door to the rather well off. It was
originally thought that cruising was an activity for people who have retired,
and you would meet plenty of them onboard, but you get your fair share of young
people too. And everyone is of course looking for the time of their life, and
some people certainly have that in spades. Cruising is a really good option for
adults with young families, so if you're a parent and wondering can you go and
see the nightly shows, both babysitting and créche services are available on
major cruise lines.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">In
life, you something come a TV show that is a must watch, mainly it can be down
to the subject matter, sometimes it is because you are a fan of the presenter,
but if you can get the perfect storm of material and presenter together, you
get an instant hit. It is a bit like mum's homemade chicken and rice, no matter
how many times you have had it, you can always go one more time. Of course Cruising
with Jane McDonald was a mega hit, but she also done a spin-off Holidaying with
Jane McDonald. Finding good quality footage of that series isn't easy, but to
give you two videos worth to watch with this post, please click on this link.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHCzdwkJ9VU">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHCzdwkJ9VU</a></span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">The
quality of the footage is excellent, and this episode is jam packed with fun
and educationally interesting experiences. Normally, I don't write about
holidays, mainly because for most of life, I have never had a traditional
holiday. When I went away for a jaunt, it was being put up in a friend or a
friend's relatives 's home, but when I did go away, and saw the sights, I knew
it confirmed something that I thought of a lot that I knew as a kid, I would
love to travel. Seeing others like Jane McDonald doing it only further embeds
my desire to go explore, and then explore some more. When Jane McDonald packed
in doing her holiday shows was a blow to the nation, it was like someone taking
a public information series off the air that people couldn't get enough of.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">Jane
McDonald said when leaving:</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">“It’s
been an incredible four and a half years of travelling, 38 Cruises and over 100
flights. It’s now time for me to spend some time in the UK, concentrate on my
music and tours and exciting new projects. I want to offer my most sincere
thanks to everyone who has worked on all my shows. Everyone at Channel 5 and
Viacom International Studios who have all helped make the most incredible and
successful programmes. It’s been a total joy to work with everyone and thank
you very much to everyone who has watched and supported the shows. I have had a
blast.”</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">Ben
Frow, Director of Programming at Channel 5 said:</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">“We’ve
loved working with Jane and are proud to have had her as part of the family.
She helped us to win our first BAFTA and her series have become solid staples
of our Friday night schedules. Thank you Jane. We are sorry to see you go but
wish you every happiness for the future.”</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">Finally,
as more green shots of leaving lockdown emerges across the globe, I cannot help
but think that many previous tourist countries will be keen not to be left
behind. There are plenty of videos of how lockdown has hit countries hard. I
don't to go with the official versions by State media, I prefer to see
independence vloggers give their versions of how Covid hit ordinary people. Because
I like travel, another vlogger I came across was an American guy who stays in
Pattaya Thailand, his vlog is varied, it comes a huge range, but he did touch
on the hardship faced by the people, and unlike some vloggers in Thailand, he
doesn't focus on the seedy side. His vlog is like an adventure on the day to
day living of an expat. Anyway, if you think you are having it tough, bear in
mind that even in paradise, some people struggle.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eqo2eYPt7E4">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eqo2eYPt7E4</a></span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I
am not sure if many people will get away in 2022, but it is something that
people will need to draw their focus towards. Everyone will eventually burn
out, the trick is, to know when to just pack a bag, and go see the world. One
of the best times in my life was being on holiday in Cologne, Germany, and
visiting the Cathedral there beside the train station. One night a dozen of us,
when and bought a Chinese to go visit a guy who was the security guard on a
building site. Holidays comes in all shapes and sizes, I remember this one
because, the weather, the location and the people were all great.</span></span></p></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7972114991869354050.post-6572392469994170932022-01-24T09:27:00.000+00:002022-01-24T09:27:04.953+00:00Re-drawing the Map of Ukraine; Is Russian President Valdimir Putin about to commit Russia to an invasion of the Ukraine, at a time when the West is so politically weak and divided, when the US isn't willing to fight on the ground, when senior Nato allies such as Germany and France don't want to upset the Russians, there appears to be an open invitation for Russia to scoop up a large part of Ukrainian territory, this eerily harks back to the annexing of the Czech republic in 1938 <p><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh2Dr4oF9qCzx6WRTySTVAo_nmv_VyvARqPVM2WPFVFG_D4OZrvbmuQPTSoQVolKsDgy2UlOOLmaAb3B0ws51oz5QLJGKMib6lQDJKx30C7JqhIz5xIRo8N1KfqDLSAZrXEIUl7G2px93ltFc83rDVFbp5pgWwtyLr5Xn1XhZYQKZ0PeyS4zesSwXE9Kw=s1752" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1752" data-original-width="1280" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh2Dr4oF9qCzx6WRTySTVAo_nmv_VyvARqPVM2WPFVFG_D4OZrvbmuQPTSoQVolKsDgy2UlOOLmaAb3B0ws51oz5QLJGKMib6lQDJKx30C7JqhIz5xIRo8N1KfqDLSAZrXEIUl7G2px93ltFc83rDVFbp5pgWwtyLr5Xn1XhZYQKZ0PeyS4zesSwXE9Kw=s320" width="234" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><span><br /></span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>In Geopolitics, countries make ridiculous demands and after a series of talks, things are compromised and peace returns, they say the best type of compromise is the deal that no one is happy with. Bearing this in mind, are Russian forces getting ready for war in Ukraine? The Russians have already blundered into and occupied the Crimea, a key critical area in the region. In the minds of the Russians, they basically see all of Ukraine as part of Greater Russia. We have seen from photos that the Russians are bring up troops and massing on the Ukrainian border, they didn't just turn up, they were ordered to be there. They could be there for many reason, such as training, or they could be there as pawns for the political game, or finally they could be massing for invasion. In real terms, if invasion is likely, the West led by the US will not back Ukraine via the acid test, boots on the ground. Although the West will supply military aid, and attempt to pressure the Russians, I think everyone knows that GI Joe Biden has a limit of 'helping' an supposed ally. Also when you look at where the economic power lies, you can see that Russian and China are the major economic players in the Ukraine.</span><span> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">The Russian grievance is well known, Russia wants the West to promise that Ukraine will not join its Nato defensive alliance. In fact if you look at the picture above, you can see what the real issue between Russia and the West is, the Russians want a large buffer zone, friendly to them yes, but also neutral. The West wants to build a missile ring around Russian much in the same way that they wish to do against China. Russia ideally wants a return to a position of 1997 where many former satellites weren't in Nato, and not part of the EU. Having Ukraine join the Nato alliance is like having armed people standing on your lawn and threatening you. The issue is security in the eyes of the Russians, they feel insecure and who can blame them, the West as we have seen in smaller countries in the Middle East has a first strike policy, usually there is a period of propaganda prior to any military action for the public to be onboard and sign off in theory to any military action. But what about Ukraine, will the people of the West sign off on a military adventure in the East? I very much doubt that there is an appetite to get behind GI Joe Biden, even the French and Germans aren't backing him as they have declared they want their own voice at any talks. One thing looks clear, just as the West stood idly back and sold out the Czechs, it would seem that <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munich_Agreement">history maybe about to repeat itself</a>. The West isn't going to attempt or support Ukraine in retaking Crimea beyond a certain point.</span><span> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">What the Russians want, they can't have, as I mentioned above, no reset of the 1997 Nato boundaries, and although the two sides are "negotiating", that is not going to happen. Those post 1997 who hitched their star to Nato such as Poland, Hungary and Romania are not willing to return to the old Russian Empire. The further West you go, the less appetite the others are as well, both societal and politically. Further north, places like Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were also not friends of the Russians. Russian post second world war did incredible harm in these places under the soviet system. The Cold War may have ended in 1989, with the fall of the Berlin war, but even today, the Russian presence in some countries isn't welcome. And let's face, the soviet regime was brutal. Although the Germans and their then allies, killed many Russians during WW2, it is something which didn't 'top' the murders and harm which flourished under people like Stalin. Stalin was a brutal dictator, he is the classic thug who rose to be a leader in the Soviet Union, WW2 gave him the power of life and death. The purges of the red army in the late 1930's were done so Stalin could secure his position, he literally beheaded the army of it best and most senior commanders. That period of Russia was part of its darkest hours.</span><span> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"><span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Purge">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Purge</a></span></span><span> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">If the Russians do invade Ukraine, they face a few problems, clearly they roll into recognised Nato countries, such a thing would be too much for even Putin, but redrawing the boundaries of the Ukraine wouldn't be. Putin is smart enough to know there is a limit on how far he can roll westwards without triggering nuclear war, and the Russians don't want that scenario. They want Crimea, lock, stock and barrel, an presumably anything else which is up for grabs. In looking at this, the West should remember that their concern of jeopardising Europe's entire security structure, started with their policy decisions. Top me, I think the endgame for Russia if there is an invasion is that they incorporate the Crimea into Russia, the area is known for having many Russians who live there, and one of the main languages is indeed Russian. There are many deep social and cultural ties with Russia which cannot be ignored. There is a great video on youtube to watch which explains better the issue and the players, it also touches on the problem of American foreign policy, the Americans are bad at it.</span><span> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"><span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrMiSQAGOS4">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrMiSQAGOS4</a></span></span><span> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">This video is worth watching all the way to the end. The title is blunt and direct, 'why is Ukraine the West's Fault, featuring John Mearsheimer. I have watched this and at over 74 minutes, it is a frank and steady piece of work laying out the problems. John Mearsheimer has rightly been described as the most influential realist of his generation. In other words, he looks at the problem, he cuts to the heart of the issue and blows away the smoke and mirrors created by politicians. I am sure that many of his ideas would ring true to you. So, to get a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Mearsheimer">sense of the man himself, best to visit wiki for a snapshot of his bio</a>. If a war between Russia and Ukraine does kick off, you may find him appearing on TV constantly for in-depth analysis. Nato's secretary general warns there is real risk of conflict, and President Biden says his "guess" is that Russia will move in. The US says it knows of Russian plans to boost its forces near Ukraine "on very short notice". One interesting thing which is of note is that Russian troops and tanks have headed to Belarus for exercises. If you factor in that the Russians hold Crimea, you could imagine that if the Russians invade, they could do so from Crimea, Belarus and Russia, that way they could effectively cut the country in half. If you get a map you could see this more clearly.</span><span> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">Finally, the Russian's armed forces chief Valery Gerasimov has denounced reports of an impending invasion as a lie. This might be true or it could be a stalling tactic while the Russians wait till spring. One of the drawbacks which hampered the Germans in WW2 invading Russia was that they wait till high summer before invading due to supply problems. I guess many will be wondering if the Russians have increased military arms provision, fuel, food and medical supplies for its forces over the recent months. Although economic warfare is a thing these days, a Russia/ Ukraine scrap will be rather traditional, old school warfare. It will be tanks, planes and infantry divisions conquering land. Another fly in the ointment is that if the Russians do go into Ukraine, it could also see the Chinese move on Taiwan. The West doesn't have the resources to fight two conflicts with reluctant 'allies' such as German and France who depend on Russian gas. Already we have seen the Germans veto UK military support flying across their airspace so as not to upset the Russians. As John Mearsheimer points out starkly, the West doesn't consider the Ukraine as being part of their strategic interests. Some allies are less important than others it seems, which to me seems to go against the ethos of why Nato was created in the first place. </span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7972114991869354050.post-30832480813037824982022-01-20T00:58:00.001+00:002022-01-20T00:59:53.098+00:00‘In the name of God, Stay’, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is looking increasingly safe in his premiership after his detractors in the Conservative, Labour, Lib Dems and SNP all fumble the ball at PMQs, although a Conservative MP Christian Wakeford deserted to the Labour Party, the only backlash is against the Bury South MP and his colossal stupidity, Boris has survived his trial by fire! <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiuRO_ii5gTAcqk0UBcO6zKhnJfE5VPTwwczTQemQk7bq4TMnzj8UCyZflkgjWjWRhQ5eyGf0e99KLUYp4Wc4gpLEkzOo5AyLZJXytadQlja7-aGppWDy2zPXn2ztEG9jHbeAyQrCfdBpRi4V3YyJiagUucJ090qvaSdbaJwLbS5UKJr4jtgRUi9YORrg=s2139" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1203" data-original-width="2139" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiuRO_ii5gTAcqk0UBcO6zKhnJfE5VPTwwczTQemQk7bq4TMnzj8UCyZflkgjWjWRhQ5eyGf0e99KLUYp4Wc4gpLEkzOo5AyLZJXytadQlja7-aGppWDy2zPXn2ztEG9jHbeAyQrCfdBpRi4V3YyJiagUucJ090qvaSdbaJwLbS5UKJr4jtgRUi9YORrg=w400-h225" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">One
of the things which the Conservative Party is known for is the ruthless and
efficient way that its MPs get rid of a leader, if they think that person has
become a liability. The most famous dispatching of a leader by the party was of
course, Margaret Thatcher. What made this episode even more disastrous, was her
replacement, John Major. John Major was Prime Minister for roughly 7 years, and
led the party to disaster after disaster. This sorry tale of destruction,
infighting and general bickering ended up with the rout of 1997. The other
highlight of the 1997 election was <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVvWE6V9ulE">the 'Portillo Moment'</a>.
The individual highlight of the night was named after Michael Portillo who
famously lost his seat in </span><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #202124; font-family: inherit; font-size: 8pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">the Enfield Southgate
constituency in the 1997 UK general election. This is when the result was announced
at around 3:10 am on 2 May 1997. Since leaving politics, it could be argued
that Michael Portillo has become a better person, far better than he ever was
in it. He became a regular political commentator and presenter, and carved out
for himself a second career, which I suspect was more enjoyable for him and the
nation.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">The
arrival of Tony Blair brought in the false hope for the that an new era of
fairness, justice and compassion had arrived, it didn't. Blair would then go
onto 'the crusades' against Muslim countries which the US wanted to de-stablise.
As history showed over a million people ended up dead, displaced and destitute
because Tony Blair joined George W Bush's Arabian adventures. You could ask
yourself the question, if Conservative MPs hadn't betrayed and stabbed Margaret
Thatcher in the back, would that have stopped the Labour win of 1997? Would every
event that flowed from that point forward have happened? It would be highly
doubtful that Margaret Thatcher would have joined 'the crusades'.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">Sometimes
betraying the leader is necessary, sometimes it can be a good thing, an act of
self preservation for country, but sometimes as borne out by unfolding history,
it can be the worst thing that has ever happened to a party. At present, there
is a rush to judgment by many Conservatives MPs regarding Prime Minister Boris
Johnson, the House of Commons is literally working themselves up to frenzy over
the possibility of toppling Johnson. The factions in the House of Commons are
banding together to displace Boris Johnson for various reasons, its politics,
but the real force behind the move to destroy him stems from an issue which was
decided by the people in 2016. The people of the United Kingdom voted for
Brexit, that led to David Cameron not wishing to honour the result and
resigning. It led to Theresa May being stalled as Prime Minister and attempting
to sabotage, and water down the progress of leaving, leading ultimately to her
demise. She cried when leaving as Prime Minister, but she was a price the
country wasn't willing to pay.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">After
Theresa May stepped down in disgrace, it was only then that we saw the era of
Boris Johnson emerge as an unlikely Prime Minister. There is a saying,
'stranger things happen at sea', well they also do on dry land. As Prime
Ministers go, it was Boris who steered us through, and out of Brexit, it was
Boris Johnson who steered the country into an increase in jobs and higher pay
in the UK for working class people. And it was Boris Johnson who led us through
the bumpy ride of Covid 19. Through-out all of this, Boris Johnson hasn't
crossed his rubicon, there has been terrible blunders made that could be argued
in health provision, on rules, on restrictions and on interpretation of rules,
but that would be the same if not worse under Keir Starmer's New Labour Mk2, as
Boris eased off on restrictions, New Labour called for increased, only for
Boris to be proved correct. None of Boris' achievements however can it seem to
invoke loyalty in some people, in fact, in what was a classically staged move
before Boris' crunch PMQs, one of his MPs did an early defection to the Labour
Party. This move was to add pressure to get Boris to resign, but like Margaret
Thatcher, Boris has taken a leaf out of her book, 'the lady is not for turning',
and neither is the gentleman it turns out. Boris Johnson has reiterated he is
not for resigning.</span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; border: 1pt none windowtext; color: #3f3f42; font-size: 8pt; padding: 0cm;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">Personally,
I don't know what was going on in the head of MP Christian Wakeford who has
defected to the Labour Party. To jump into bed with Keir Starmer is beyond a misjudgement
on his part. I don't care what his made up excuse is, his career in frontline politics
is over completely. Although Wakeford took the Bury South seat from Labour at
the 2019 general election, his constituents once they grasp the enormity of what
has happened they will be quick to get rid of him. Come the 2024 Westminster
election, whoever the Conservatives select for that seat, just got a massive
boost, people want to know that their MP can be trusted, do you think the
people of Bury South can put their faith in Christian Wakeford?</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">Conservative
MP Jake Berry, a former Northern Powerhouse Minister, said:</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">"I
think it was a terrible mistake by Christian... I think he's misjudged the mood
of his constituents."</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">And
everyone else!</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">If
you're wanting a short version, you would say, he has destroyed himself by an
act of sheer stupidity. You see although the Labour leadership will 'welcome'
Christian Wakeford in public, it is doubtful that the Labour rank and file, the members will come out and work for
him. In the eyes of the ordinary members, he is still the enemy. If you check
wikipedia, you will see that the </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Wakeford">Conservative Party has been very good to Christian
Wakeford</a></span><span lang="EN-US">,
and once the temperature dies down a bit, Wakeford will realise just how lonely
the House of Commons will be. The fact he jumped, and didn't hang around for
any possible contest against Boris to me shows that he probably fancies his
chances keeping his seat based on </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bury_South_(UK_Parliament_constituency)">historical voting patterns in
Bury South.</a></span><span lang="EN-US">
This begs the question, how long was he talking to Labour, and did they
guarantee him automatic selection as a sitting MP for this stunt?</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">One
thing which amazes me, yes, there has been a few bumps in the road in the Johnson
administration, including a slowdown of levelling up. Covid restrictions lifting
and a kind of return to normality steadily unfolding, the train can be put back
on track. A group of Conservatives who won their seats in the 2019 election
landslide appearing to have lost faith in the Prime Minister, is rather
premature. If it wasn't for Boris, the new intake of 2019 wouldn't be there in
the first place. So, let's be clear, Boris gave them their chance, he did the
heavy lifting, he sown the fertile ground that they stand on as MPs. Their job
post election was to cement their position in their seats by serving the
constituents and their local area. One thing to me which is clear is that the
Labour Party has shifted, Keir Starmer has acknowledged this, but I differ with
him on what that shift actually is. My view of the change in the Labour Party,
both north and south of the Scottish border, is a shift back to the bad old
days of New Labour.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">Over
the next two years, we will see a New Labour shift back to the bad old days of
non representation for the public. It will be back to the days of anti working
class legislation, and back to the days of a globalist/ EU agenda to the
detriment of ordinary people. If you think things are bad now, all the horrors
that people fought against in Brexit would return, but also increase under Keir
Starmer's New Labour Mk2 if he achieved power. New Labour would enact 'open
borders' a policy which was previously destructive for the United Kingdom, done
under Blair with disastrous results. There would be a 'new deal' with the EU,
as bit by bit, the Labour Party started a process to hand back control to
Brussels, and while they do this under the power of government, there would be
no referendum. Once they had placed the United Kingdom in such a compromised
position of their own making, engineered together with the EU Commission, the
Labour Party would offer a series of steps, as separate policies, think of
these steps as 'EU membership by stealth', to take us back into Europe.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">One
thing we should remember, and was said by the Prime Minister:</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">“Because
of the judgments that I’ve taken and that we’ve taken in Downing Street, we now
have the fastest growing economy in Europe.”</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">He
also added:</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">“The
Conservative party won Bury South for the first time in generations under a
Prime Minister with an agenda of uniting and levelling up and delivering for
the people of Bury South. And Mr Speaker, we will win again in Bury South at
the next election.”</span> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Finally,
the Boris effect hasn't hit Scottish Conservatives, this is plain to see by the
'remainer revenge' charge against Boris Johnson. The Scottish Conservatives MSPs
came out against Boris Johnson, now that it is clear that he will continue as
PM, what now for the ringleaders? Just as the MP for Bury South made a massive miscalculation,
how do you assess the damage caused by the Holyrood group? How does anyone
trust anyone now between Westminster and Holyrood? Professor Adam Tomkins in a
bizarre input called for the party separation, north and south of the Scottish
border, personally, I didn't hold much of a candle to that suggestion. The road
to greater advancement in Holyrood seats lies by clever manipulation of
Westminster finances coming to Scotland. This means the Conservatives can
outspend the SNP in every avenue of government for the benefit of the people.
Just as the SNP use Scottish government cash to bribe the electorate with freebies,
bike, laptop and baby box etc, the Scottish Conservatives could construct a
spending plan that could wipe out any SNP election bribe but only if people vote
Conservatives. Now that the dust is settling, Boris is staying and some people
wake to the new dawn and ponder what they have done, there will certainly be
some interesting fireworks in the near future.</span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7972114991869354050.post-61586348738619552282022-01-14T21:46:00.004+00:002022-01-14T23:35:12.751+00:00A Sheer Utter Embarrassment at Westminster; Deluded SNP MP Stewart McDonald shows his lack of understanding of geopolitics by saying that accepting Ukraine into Nato is the way to stop Vladimir Putin from drawing a new Iron Curtain across Europe, ex holiday rep comes up with a childlike solution to the Russia/ Ukraine conflict, in the 'Battle of Pollokshaws Library' warmonger McDonald allegedly hid under desk from a man who he allegedly defamed, until saved by Police Scotland, not exactly a hero in the making<iframe frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/2bNzjBJF_G0" width="480"></iframe><div><br /></div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">On
the Eastern front, there is a rammy brewing, the Russians sensing the weakness
of the West under President Joe Biden are making noises that they want to
blunder into Ukraine. There are some Russkies who yearn for the good old days
of the Soviet Union. Russia with a row of buffer States between them and the
West. The Ukraine isn't a country that is doing well economically, they like
many other countries cannot afford war. They can't also be the cat in the
middle of a Russia/ West power grab. If anything, the way out of Ukraine's
problems wopuld seem to be that they stake the same status Switzerland.
Neutrality would allow them to concentrate on fixing their internal domestic
ills to reshape their country. I happened to come across an article penned by
SNP MP Stewart McDonald, an ex Holiday rep, and Lesia Vasylenko who is an Ukrainian
MP. Their conclusion that to end issues in the region that this magically
happens by accepting Ukraine into Nato is naive. We have seen Ukrainian
soldiers in military exercises with United States and other Nato forces in the
past, we have heard talk of allowing Ukraine into the EU. We know that the West
is keen to ring what they call problem nations with missiles, they want to do
it with Russia and with China.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">Missiles
shields ring Russia and China remind me of the old failed policy of the <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maginot Line. It was said that a quarter of a
million men served this defence, the main fault lay in that fact that the
French didn't extend the line along the borders of friendly countries. So, the
Nazis just 'nipped round the back', making the embedded forts useless. As Covid
has shown, missile defence rings are costly pieces of hardware to buy and
maintain, so much more simple to have bio weapons destroy a country's ability
to fight, plan, train and be economically viable. If the Russians want to roll
into Ukraine and seize the country, they could do so easily. The West hasn't
the forces or indeed the will to defend Ukraine in the event of an attack. Just
as history teaches us, warfare in Russia or Ukraine isn't a viable option. The
Nazis found out to their cost that the colossal length and the security of the
supply chain is far too much. The notion by Stewart McDonald MP and Lesia
Vasylenko MP that a piece of paper signed by Ukraine of Nato membership as way
of stopping Vladimir Putin from drawing a new Iron Curtain across Europe is
backward thinking. Here is a question, do you remember <a href="https://www.history.com/news/chamberlain-declares-peace-for-our-time-75-years-ago#:~:text=On%20September%2030%2C%201938%2C%20British,peace%20pact%20with%20Nazi%20Germany.">Neville
Chamberlain's signed declaration of 1938, the famous 'peace in our time'?</a></span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">How
long did that last? It didn't stop military build up, it didn't stop military
planning and it didn't stop war in 1939 with the invasion of Poland which
triggered the second world war. In fact, the downtime allowed the Germans to
bring their industry up to a better war footing. When the fall of the Soviet
Union happened, it was right that European countries held hostage returned back
to their European roots such as East Germany, Poland and Hungary, as well that
the smaller countries of Estonia etc. You could argue Ukraine should have
remained part of Russian. If you watch the youtube commentator, Bald and
Bankrupt, you can see many Russians who settled in the Ukraine lamenting how
things were better under the Soviets. A single video as I have put up above
will not give you a totally rounded view of life in the Ukraine by if you
ferret through his other videos and listen to his conversations, see the local
colour and structures of the country as lived by ordinary people, I think it
would inform your view. Like many places, outside the glitz of the big cities,
life isn't all rosy in the garden for people. There is an interesting wee
conversation around 15 minute mark with the youtube vlogger and an elderly
woman. One thing that Ukraine doesn't need is war, it doesn't need Russia or
the West putting their big bloody boots on the ground in a power grab. Another
issue for the Ukrainians is the rogue militias operating in the country.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMMXuKB0BoY%20%20%20%20%20">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMMXuKB0BoY
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">At
present, we see a Russian military build-up on Ukraine’s border, we have from
Moscow, a litany of security concerns, of alleged fear based on irrationality.
Does anyone think for a moment that the West plans to invade Russia? Or that
Ukraine, an economic failed State plans to invade Russia? No one is going to
invade any major country, especially ones with nuclear weapons. It's too
expensive, and it is highly unlikely that the West will take the China route by
building up a country's infrastructure in the way that China has done in places
like Africa. Modern warfare has a new tool, economics, use to destroyed or
create, the Chinese have been very smart to use economic power to create, thus
creating goodwill and security of resources for them. Does anyone think that
the West will create infrastructure in the Ukraine when economically they are
struggling to support themselves, after all, if they can't take care of their
own citizens, o you think they have the means or interest to take care of
anyone else? Russia's interest in Ukraine is empire building, acquiring
resources, a land grab if they choose to blunder into the Ukraine on some made
up piece of mumbo jumbo. As if spinning a story actually changes history or the
actuality of what is happening on the ground. Will the Russians if they invade
make the lot of ordinary Ukrainians better? Meanwhile over in sunny Russia, you
can see this level of poverty play itself out, maybe someone should ask Putin,
why there isn't enough Russian State aid to help out his own people?</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANyXBB4TMwY">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANyXBB4TMwY</a></span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">Ukraine
is no stranger to Russian aggression in the not so distance past, the tyranny
of the Soviet era aren't easy scars to shake off. The Soviets were no stranger
to committing crimes against humanity, from Stalin's time of the purges which
is well documented right to up the present day with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poisoning_of_Sergei_and_Yulia_Skripal">the
Salisbury poisoning</a>. The Salisbury poisoning was a stupid event by Russian
military intelligence to murder a defector living in the UK, an old man who
posed them no serious threat of harm. Just like in our country, sometimes the
wrong type of people get into power and then abuse that power by making
decisions which defy any real logic. Although Ukrainian territory remains
illegally annexed and occupied in Crimea, this raises concern, especially for
the Russians, it is for them a diplomatic sore, much like Afghanistan when they
blundered in there, no one is forgetting, and no one is forgiving. If I was the
Ukrainian government, I would redraw the boundaries of Ukraine without Crimea.
Once that was achieved, then the Ukrainian government should be like Switzerland
and remove themselves from being used as a pawn by East and West. After this
move, there would be no place for Russian-backed terrorists who are waging a
war in Ukraine’s Donbas region. Ukraine needs to work out that the land they
stand is viewed as a battleground, they therefore need to neturalise that
concept. It is said that <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ukrainian
public opinion favours Nato and EU membership, no doubt this opinion has been
manipulated by politicians, the promise of nirvana, but the reality is plain,
warfare requires battlefields, and I think since we have seen were wars have
been fought over the last 100 years, you cannot help but conclude that both
East and West have designated Ukraine as a playing area, and while a war isn't
being played on the 'ground', that leaves time for the natural resources of the
Ukraine to be stripped an hived off to whoever gets in there first.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Finally,
God knows what interested SNP MP Stewart McDonald, an ex Holiday rep has in the
Ukraine, it isn't exactly a natural tourist spot beyond the notable urban
islands. As to Lesia Vasylenko who is an Ukrainian MP, well her interest is
obvious, she is in a position of power, if the Russians kick the door in and
invade, her job presumably is in flux. Would the Russians allow the Ukrainian
parliament to continue, do they abolish it, set new elections to their Russian
Parliament? Would someone like Lesia Vasylenko stand as a representative?
Another question, one of the biggies would be, would NATO if Ukraine was a
member start a war to recover it in the event of an invasion. Actual boots on
the grounds facing off against Russians soldiers, personally, I have my doubts,
for several reasons. One the West under Joe Biden is weak and leaderless,
secondly military forces have been crippled and run down in the West to such a
degree that they couldn't take and hold a country like Ukraine. It's just too
big for Western forces to hold. SNP MP Stewart McDonald maybe trying to
reinvent himself as a military expert and possible strategist, but he is as
dumb as they come out of the SNP ranks. In the 'Battle of Pollokshaws Library',
Stewart McDonald hid under a desk because he was scared to answer questions
from a man who he had allegedly defamed. You can see the video by watching this
link, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGmDt_BwEBI">regardless of what
you think of Robinson, the House of Commons allows any MP to defame a member of
the public without that person having recourse to law by virtue of doing it in
the Chamber of the Commons.</a> Also regardless who said what to who, it is striking
that an MP should be so cowardly and need police to attend because of actions
that they committed. Now SNP MP Stewart McDonald seems to want to gravitate
towards bigger fights, not taking part himself, too cowardly for that, no, someone
else has to do that chore for him. Having the SNP at any level trying to pontificate
on foreign an military policy is just an embarrassment, it really is, but to
put an ex Holiday rep as their front man is beyond a joke.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7972114991869354050.post-61316921530073633672022-01-12T17:41:00.001+00:002022-01-12T17:41:59.479+00:00The Last Downing Street Garden Party: Prime Minister Boris Johnson apologises at PMQs as he confirms he did attend "event" for 25 minutes to thank staff for their efforts, although Boris is battered and damaged, it is time not just for 'sorry' but to make amends for past wrongs, the country and NHS must return to normal operations, loved ones must be allowed admittance to see dying family members, the levelling up agenda needs to start here, and Boris needs to stay the course, a resignation threshold hasn't been reached <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhtOwfvhOjdN12FjBTTldUysXOCdG5VUipVxTA5VMeGciZVEU2_e6SFNKgLbbcXqWIEW2hTFWwSwoqNxaI1eoWvpgW1PEx9gusU9ilSpOHc2-KCw1h5inF4f_5Fad-7Oz7Pppkq9NJJ2Mz19IzNu3tloLq8A4XgBN3SXPbVsNCuZUz4O5wIe6zt1hQpkg=s1300" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="957" data-original-width="1300" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhtOwfvhOjdN12FjBTTldUysXOCdG5VUipVxTA5VMeGciZVEU2_e6SFNKgLbbcXqWIEW2hTFWwSwoqNxaI1eoWvpgW1PEx9gusU9ilSpOHc2-KCw1h5inF4f_5Fad-7Oz7Pppkq9NJJ2Mz19IzNu3tloLq8A4XgBN3SXPbVsNCuZUz4O5wIe6zt1hQpkg=w400-h295" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">So,
regarding the infamous Downing Street garden party, the first thing to say is
that this event shouldn't have gone ahead for two reasons, firstly people
hadn't a clue about the effects of the virus, and secondly, politicians
shouldn't be asking people to follow health rules that they aren't willing to
adhere to themselves. Am I surprised by the lack of thought here, well, yes and
no, we are told the best and the smartest are in government, so who failed on
being the gatekeeper of morality and conscience? Well, basically everyone from
the Prime Minister downwards to the lowest staffer, no one twigged this was
wrong, and no one grasped this would come back to haunt them all. If politics
teaches you anything, it is all actions are recorded and all actions will and
can be used against you, no matter what position you hold. Someone probably
your political enemy will used it against you, not because they are noble, but
because this is a tool to destroy you. I would suspect that many people beyond
the party knew of it, and then just sat on it, waiting for the right time to
use it against the Prime Minister. And let's be clear, the Prime Minister was
in the wrong, and must have known he was in the wrong, along with everyone else
who pitched up with their bottle of booze.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Since
the revelations have come out now, as we enter the tail end of the pandemic, I
ask you, is this a coincidence? I will be frank, no, it is not, I can only
assume that as we near the end of covid, someone or group as the bright idea
that getting rid of the PM, installing their choice who opens up the country is
like a pre-scripted drama. Enter the new hero who gets a honeymoon period of 24
months before a 6 month short campaign for the 2024 election. I suppose that
the current crisis was staged managed by various actors in the hope that there
would be such a huge public backlash against Boris Johnson. I can't say that I
will be joining in with the calls for Boris to resign, I think the personal
damage to his credibility will be enough in the eyes of the public. Boris broke
trust, the ball is in his court to win back that trust. His task now is to
bring the covid pandemic to a close, a return to normality in the public and
private sectors. Just like a storm, Boris has to ensure that the storm damage/
wreckage of the last two years is fixed, especially in the NHS. The immediate
task is to get the huge backlog of cases brought down to pre covid levels.</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Today,
Boris Johnson apologises at PMQs as he confirms he did attend covid event, he
will say that he will "take responsibility”. He rightly acknowledged the
public “rage” over the incident, where he went wrong was when he tried to slip
in a bit of mitigation by saying, he thought it could have been technically
within the rules. People want to hear a genuine apology, they don't want to
hear the last bit, that isn't necessary or indeed wanted. At PMQs, he said that
he attended the May 20, 2020 gathering for around 25 minutes to “thank groups
of staff”, he then returned to his office to continue working. Just think 25
minutes that could have cost him his Premiership, in this case, although people
are angry, it is an instant emotional response by many which will wane over
time. Some people who lost loved ones, and were denied the opportunity to see
them before they died in hospital will be less forgiving. I don't think anyone
could blame these people for their righteous anger on that issue. Relatives
should be allowed to see terminally ill family members, not on cctv, not
through a screen but by being by their bedside. This is something Boris must
and should act on, now. It is time not just for 'sorry' but to make amends for
past wrongs.</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The
acid test will be among Boris Johnson's MPs, there is an attempt to get rid of
him from within the party, Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross, an MP and
MSP, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-59969690">said
he would be writing to the 1922 committee</a> because he believed the PM's
position was "no longer tenable". Although people may find this
disheartening, I think it is worthwhile pointing out that Douglas Ross couldn't
be described as neutral when it comes to Boris Johnson. To me, it seems like
the Scottish wing of the Conservatives haven't adapted to the cold hard fact
that we are living in a post Brexit UK. Already we have seen arch Remainers,
Ruth Davidson and Dominic Grieve lead the charge for Boris Johnson removal. One
thing which is an open secret, Conservatives are very good at getting rid of
leaders that are an electoral threat. After his PMQs, he toured the Commons tea
rooms, where MPs gather, to shore up support among his backbenchers but some
people have already made their minds up. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Backbencher Sir Roger Gale who is said to be a
frequent critic of Boris Johnson said that politically the PM was now "a
dead man walking". I don't go with that assessment, certainly the PM is
battered, damaged and said to be crestfallen, but isn't that to be expected? I
don't think that the 'partygate' scandal, '25 minutes in May' should define the
tenability of any Prime Minister.</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Boris
said in the Commons:</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Mr
Speaker, I want to apologise. I know that millions of people across this
country have made extraordinary sacrifices over the last 18 months. I know the
anguish that they have been though, unable to mourn their relatives, unable to
live their lives as they want or to do the things they love. And I know the
rage they feel with me, with the Government I lead, when they think that
in Downing Street itself, the rules are not being properly followed
by the people who make the rules. And though I cannot anticipate the conclusion
of the current inquiry, I have learned enough to know there were things we
simply did not get right. And I must take responsibility.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“No.10
is a big department with the garden as an extension of the office, which had
been in constant use because there was a lot of pressure in stopping the virus
and when I went into that garden just after six [o’clock] on the 20th of May,
2020 to thank groups of staff before going back into my office 25 minutes later
to continue working, I believe implicity that this was a work event.”</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">He
added:</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“But
Mr Speaker, with hindsight I should have sent everyone back inside, I should
have found some other way to thank them. And I should have recognised that,
even if it could be said to technically fall within the guidance, there would
be millions and millions of people who would simply not see it that way, people
who suffered terribly, people who were forbidden from meeting loved ones at
all, inside or outside, and to them and to this House I offer my heartfelt
apologies.”</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I
think we can safely say that staff parties not just at Number 10 but also in
government will be shelved until we have normal operations of the NHS and the
country as a whole. I suppose the question is, what now, well this 'drama' like
the covid virus is going to die and fade away, not because of medication, or
smart political strategy but because of 'time'. It is also going to die because
Boris only spent 25 minutes at an event he believed was a work event before
returning to work. To be clear, this was an 8 hour bash where everyone ends up
steaming drunk and legless. It is something that shouldn't have happened, it
was carelessness, but I don't think that Boris, nor his advisors will be
careless again, they have had their electric shock, and I doubt they fancy
their chances if continually plugged into the mains.</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Finally,
should Boris Johnson resign on this matter, I think not. </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Conservative Party
MPs need to hold their nerve, no one is falling off a cliff just yet. They should if
anything get behind the PM, and demand that the levelling up agenda is pushed
through, the country returned to normal business with caveats where necessary,
and the realisation that 'remainer' revenge is the biggest threat to the party,
the government, and not in the UK national interest. All the usual suspects
will try and keep this going, but this matter dies if the Conservative MPs
don't go off half cocked writing to the 1922 Backbench Committee. Personally, I
think Douglas Ross' inexperience has lead to him jumping the gun on this issue.
Maybe he thinks he is carving out a separate identity for the Scottish
Conservatives by opposing Boris. Years ago, the view was expressed that at
election time, Boris wasn't welcome, I saw that s short term thinking. The
Scottish Conservatives, not just the Conservative MPs in Scotland should use
Westminster and its resources as the foundation for any platform for Holyrood.
After all, Nicola Sturgeon is using Westminster money to buy Scottish elections
with freebies. The Scottish Conservatives should use Westminster to best any conceivable
offer that the SNP could make. They should offer, new opportunities, new money
and a new narrative, they need to break the mould, to do that they need to work
hand in glove with Westminster. Winning elections is in part a team sport, but
it needs all players on the team to not just understand the goal, but also to
commit to the goal as a unit. Boris Johnson has hit a rocky patch, it is right
he should face criticism, but he is the captain, and all elected members are
duty bound to support him, and when need be put in their tuppence worth. </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7972114991869354050.post-66930955712262334052022-01-11T17:05:00.001+00:002022-01-11T17:05:56.027+00:00A Lonely Hill To Die On, Former Scottish Tories leader Ruth Davidson and former Conservative attorney general Dominic Grieve, both arch Remainers lead the charge calling for Boris Johnson to resign over Downing Street Covid party, in the rush to condemn the PM, the official investigation appears to be an inconvenient nuisance, Dominic Grieve looks like he wants to discard and go straight to a guilty verdict despite admitting he doesn't know the full facts, is this, 'don't know the facts, just hang him, its only details'! <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgnPdH8JOHqJA_7SZ63KKioyGPXBDq6IiR5i_yl4DQB9iSo4EcqA4N39XOKY5yGpWLZc9X-fScXqwbyekIQdnpNJGklaNgXRNP-xBWDLDKJD17FRBg0TePasAg7kdBZChlzL2rWhkzkN2DhvMJ_IC7O1fFtKIlssFzYccfbbe9qh0bdXtdMUv4RUsA8XQ=s2048" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgnPdH8JOHqJA_7SZ63KKioyGPXBDq6IiR5i_yl4DQB9iSo4EcqA4N39XOKY5yGpWLZc9X-fScXqwbyekIQdnpNJGklaNgXRNP-xBWDLDKJD17FRBg0TePasAg7kdBZChlzL2rWhkzkN2DhvMJ_IC7O1fFtKIlssFzYccfbbe9qh0bdXtdMUv4RUsA8XQ=w400-h225" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">In
politics, truth, honesty and integrity is something which the public rightly
demand, they demand that politicians rightly act at all times in good faith,
nothing that they wouldn't expect from themselves. There are several things in
politics which are papered over, such as division in political parties. The
most obvious division is in the Labour Party with the fight between the 'left'
and the 'right'. The reason for that fight is that the Labour Party has been
hijacked by middle class university graduates who talk the language of helping
the poor but really have no interest in it. If you are a political activist you
can see this not just at election time but also in the operations of the party.
In Scotland, the people rejected the right wing of the Labour Party for many
reasons, now the right wing of the Labour Party are back, not in power, I think
once the electorate cotton onto the 'sarwarisation' of the party, they wouldn't
hanker for a return to the bad old days of New Labour. Scottish Labour like
London Labour would rather lose elections under their control than under the
left. Under the Corbyn leadership, the right wing of the Labour actively
sabotaged the 2017 election, a fifth column working within. One party with two
wings which cannot "gel" together, their problem, not ours.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The
lost of the 2017 election was an act of self harm by the right wing of Labour
Party, but they aren't the only party to engage in self harm. When the people
who control a party get into government, they should have several objectives,
but one of the key objectives is to stay in public office. In that concept,
they need to be model politicians, in the eyes of the party and the public.
Recently, it is rather noticeable that there is a campaign to ditch Boris
Johnson as the leader of the Conservatives. Various players will have their
motives, and as such they will seek to use any and all methods or incidents of
alleged wrongdoing to further their cause. One such player is Ruth Davidson,
she isn't a fan of Boris Johnson, pre-peerage, and she isn't a fan post
peerage, she is a Remainer. In Scotland, the Scottish Conservatives, five years
after the vote, in some cases are still struggling with losing the 2016 Brexit
referendum. They want closer ties to the EU, and they want full membership
restored by baby steps as cover themselves and develop a narrative that current
arrangements work against the British interest. Membership of the EU is gone,
and if it wasn't for the nonsense of covid, we would have been starting to see
tangible benefits of that decision. One benefit already is that there are more
jobs for working class people and higher rates of pay for them as well.</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">One
fly in the ointment is that 'Remainers' think that they need to get rid of
Boris Johnson, replace him with a pro Euro stooge. Lockdown has been hard on
everyone, two years of a failure experiment, now covid is more about a power
grab than of health. For example, you were a mask going into shops, the blue
ones that you would see a dentist wear. Do you know what these masks are, they
are there to act as 'splashguards', they don't stop transmission of the virus
in much the same way that a trawler net doesn't stop water passing through its
net when being hauled onboard. The masks aren't the correct technical spec to
stop virus transmission. This is just one simple example of how we have been
manipulated during this lockdown, masks are designed to be a PR stunt to give
people false hope. To go back to the fishing net analogy, yes, there will be
water on the net when brought back onboard, but the bulk of the water will pass
right through it. Next time you wear a mask try standing near to someone smoking,
if you smell the smoke, your mask is useless, or try having someone spray
themselves with perfume, if you smell that your mask is useless. Truth is that
it is useless for everything except what it was designed for a temporary
splashguard.</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">At
present, Ruth Davidson who has waded into the fray about the Downing Street "parties"
has I think, pinned her colours to the mast by saying about the revelations and
those involved who appear to be denying it:</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“This
line won’t survive 48 hrs. Nobody needs an official to tell them if they were
at a boozy shindig in their own garden. People are (rightly) furious. They
sacrificed so much, visiting sick or grieving relatives, funerals. What if were
any of these people thinking?”</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">No
one likes to see double standards, and UK health minister Edward Argar said he
could completely understood why people were “angry, upset and hurt by these
allegations”. But Argar also said that they would have to wait for senior civil
servant Sue Gray’s internal investigation to be completed before coming to any
conclusions. To show how this appears to be shaping up as an internal
Conservative Party internal fight, former Conservative attorney general Dominic
Grieve said Mr Johnson was a “serial liar”, obviously not pulling any punches
there, he added as a parting shot that the PM should be ousted from office
after the latest revelation. Dominic Grieve wasn't just a prominent Remain
supporter on Brexit, in the aftermath of losing Grieve called for a second
referendum on EU membership. Before being expelled, he had said that he and
other Conservative rebels would support a vote of no confidence to
bring down a Conservative government. He reasoned this out as the only way to
block the “catastrophic” damage from a bad Brexit. In many ways, this type of
act is startling similar to the actions of right wingers in the Labour Party to
Corbyn. Here we are 5 years after the Brexit vote and prominent Remain
supporters want to oust Boris Johnson using any tool in the box on what they
think will damage him personally.</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">In
taking a lead role anti Boris role, Grieve accused the Prime Minister of a
pattern of behaviour that is undermining trust. He also went as far to say that
this included lying about potential rule-breaking gatherings at Number 10 during
the first coronavirus lockdown. Boris isn't just up against 'Remainers', his
former special advisor Dominic Cummings, has suggested the Prime Minister
attended the event with his wife Carrie. Cummings was <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominic_Cummings_scandal">dismissed over
internal fighting within Number 10 which was greatly helped by his road trip
during covid</a>. At the time, </span><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #202122; font-size: 7pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-US">Conservative MP Steve
Baker, said:</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"The
country can't afford this nonsense, this pantomime, Dominic should go and we
should move on and deal with things that matter in people's lives."</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In
politics, the rule of thumb is, when you as a special advisor become the story,
you go, that is how the game is played, and something that Dominic Cummings must
have known going into it. It is said that Cummings had run ins with Boris
Johnson's wife, so it seems the key players who want Boris gone have a noted
history of grievance against him. I suppose that people will look on with
interest and speculate why Dominic Grieve appears to want to have a leading
role in attempting to bring down the Prime Minister. He served as David
Cameron’s attorney general from 2010 to 2014, Cameron was also a 'Remainer',
anyway Grieve said that Conservative MPs who are “very unhappy” with the
current Prime Minister’s behaviour should move to replace him. Is this the hill
that Dominic Grieve really wants to die on, being seen as the man who twice
tried to destroy a sitting Conservative Government? On the latest allegation of
the Prime Minister and Downing Street staff flouting Covid-19 rules, Mr Grieve
said:</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“He
ought to be in a lot of trouble because he’s told a series of untruths about
these issues over a period of time and the latest evidence clearly suggests
that the rules were broken. There may be mitigating circumstances for that, I
don’t know. But it’s part of a pattern of behaviour by him which undermines
trust. And because trust is undermined, it then becomes very difficult to
accept anything he says on any topic whatsoever.”</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Surely
if Grieve acknowledges that he isn't in possession of all the facts, than it is
quite wrong to say that what has happened is "part of a pattern of
behaviour by him", the suggestion by Grieve appears to be to invite you
assume that everything gone before and now is wrongdoing. Given an
investigation is underway where no evidence has been published, one can only
say that anything said is just speculation. Something which Dominic Grieve did
say which I think is wrong, is that he thinks the public now has “very little”
trust in Mr Johnson. People know exactly what they are buying when they support
Boris Johnson, no one is being hoodwinked, but I have to say lack of attention
to detail is one of Boris Johnson's failings, but that to me doesn't rate
calling him as a serial liar. Boris is someone who 'wings' it when it comes to
detail, so his brain fills in the blanks, not because he knows everything and
wants to change the narrative, rather he talks for the sake of talking to sound
plausible because someone has stuck a microphone in front of him. </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Finally,
being attacked in politics is nothing new, the public see it all the times,
between the government and the opposition, they occasionally see it with party
infighting as well. Boris Johnson still remains an electoral asset to the
Conservative Party. His ship has taken a few bad turns, to not acknowledge this
is to deny facts, he has to right his government, right himself, and right the
party, all achievable. He needs to push forward with his levelling up policy especially
in 'red wall' seats, and then he has to fix Scotland. There is so much to do,
that 'in house' parties should be permanently off the agenda. If the people
stick to the rules, the priority should be that government sticks to the rules
as well. What we are seeing here is a fight over Brexit which was lost 5 years
ago where deep divisions were never healed. Well in politics, you win or lose
at the ballot box, when you lose you accept it and move onto the next fight, something
which 'Remainers' haven't learned. The world of 2016 and EU membership is gone
forever, when people see the other benefits coming down the line, people like
Ruth Davidson and Dominic Grieve will find that allies are hard to come by on
that lonely hill.</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7972114991869354050.post-60236183142890868812022-01-10T14:27:00.001+00:002022-01-14T23:31:26.739+00:00The Real Refusenik, its time that someone started taking Andrew Neil to task, former BBC Presenter Andrew Neil, in an extraordinary rant says "It's time to punish Britain's five million vaccine refuseniks: They put us all at risk of more restrictions. so why shouldn't we curb some of their freedoms?", the selfishness of Andrew Neil is breath taking, he wants people to risk their lives and health so he can have unrestricted and ease of travel to his home in France, the real issue is vaccine injury, something the "real refuseniks" don't want to talk about <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhlTgcOS0cMSR3BMUqBziqb7Ph4s4EFAmVCEIzXbiHaolhUnoLKotAQ0RMQxdyCHsLOBeG5L5XU3fgmNJsgMsD-nPZd4UpIFtkHmAmZzsO0K13ntXh0aSUt4cLbaMCpWhaMRZPninTad1qlfScQg1FSWeUOR_u6nca01CeMcdHLWPbdOO6CdIx9O-72Lw=s1280" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="726" data-original-width="1280" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhlTgcOS0cMSR3BMUqBziqb7Ph4s4EFAmVCEIzXbiHaolhUnoLKotAQ0RMQxdyCHsLOBeG5L5XU3fgmNJsgMsD-nPZd4UpIFtkHmAmZzsO0K13ntXh0aSUt4cLbaMCpWhaMRZPninTad1qlfScQg1FSWeUOR_u6nca01CeMcdHLWPbdOO6CdIx9O-72Lw=w400-h228" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">In
an ideal world, we would like in harmony, everyone would be treated equally
under the law, justice wouldn't just be done, it would be seen to be done. One
thing which I suspect many ordinary people know is that we live in a corrupt
society. Certain events during the course of our lives shape this view. For
example, the use of the false messiah who purport to want to help the poor and
vulnerable but in fact do the exact opposite, the classic of the false messiah
is Tony Blair. He and the Labour Party in the late 1990's used the goodwill of
the British people to change Britain for the worst, both internationally and
domestically. If you haven't signed the change.org petition to ask that he be stripped
of the recent honour by the Queen, please sign it by clicking on the link below. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.change.org/p/the-prime-minister-tony-blair-to-have-his-knight-companion-of-the-most-noble-order-of-the-garter-rescinded">https://www.change.org/p/the-prime-minister-tony-blair-to-have-his-knight-companion-of-the-most-noble-order-of-the-garter-rescinded</a></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Blair
is just one example of the false messiah, there are others, over the last 15
years in Scotland, the SNP did this using the same methodology as New Labour
done. The SNP's false messiah are Alex Salmond before he was cast out, and
Nicola Sturgeon. The public in Scotland has been manipulated, bought off, free
bikes, free laptops, and free baby boxes, the issue is helped by ineffective
opposition, asking the weak questions and failing to hold the SNP to account.
When you look back at the mentality of these people, you see a pattern, deliver
false hope and renege on promises. The false messiah isn't limited to the UK,
it is a pattern repeated through-out the world. If you caught the news today,
you will see that tennis star Novak Djokovic has been freed by a court from
detention in Australia. Illegally detained under the guise of public health,
rules ignored by the State, and brutality happening on the streets by police
acting under orders from politicians. There are two faces of the fascist, the
cuddly election time face, and the repressive dictator once the inconvenience
of the ballot box is overcome.</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Through-out
the Western world, dictatorship is happening, and opposition politicians aren't
speaking out. The reason is simple, the oppressive measures enacted against the
people would continue under their watch. A few politicians do speak out, they
are marginalised, they are a few lights in the darkness. The political class
has shown their true colours, and everyone else has fallen lockstep in behind
them. The press, radio, the television media, and celebrities, anyone who is
termed a social influencer has joined in assisting the oppression. Big tech companies
like Google, Youtube, Facebook and Twitter actively censor people on their platforms
who dare to question whether the covid injection is safe. People like Piers
Morgan and Andrew Neil using their celeb status rail against people who refuse
to get injected saying without shame that the drugs are safe. Well as we know
now, covid injections carry several risks, death and serious medical problems
are part of the risk that Morgan and Neil would have you and your family take.
Their rational could be described as 'I have had it, it's safe'. I view Covid
injections in the same way that I view German WW2 exploded bombs that failed to
detonate on impact. It isn't a case of 'if' but when. Just recently, we learned
that Mali star <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/17263117/ousmane-coulibaly-heart-attack-emergency-match-abandoned/#:~:text=MALI%20star%20Ousmane%20Coulibaly%20has,League%20clash%20with%20Al%20Rayyan.&text=But%20in%20horrifying%20scenes%2C%20Coulibaly,late%20in%20the%20firs">Ousmane
Coulibaly, 32, suffered a heart attack on pitch</a> and given emergency medical
attention as match abandoned. Icelandic midfielder <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/16610406/emil-palsson-cardiac-arrest-hospital/">Emil
Palsson, 28, collapses on pitch after suffering cardiac arrest</a> before being
airlifted to hospital with match stopped. BBC presenter Lisa <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-58330796">Shaw died of a
reaction to being given a covid injection</a>. These are people are victims,
under normal circumstances, and given the data available in the drug trials,
none of these drugs should ever have been passed for use in the general
population.</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">One
person who become a vaccine cheerleader is ex BBC presenter Andrew Neil, for
some time on twitter Andrew Neil has railed against people who are unvaccinated
as posing a threat to the rest of society, and from it being able to open
normally. Here is part of his interview in the press where he gives his
experience post vaccination.</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"Last
night I took a friend out to dinner near my home in the South of <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/france/index.html">France</a>. At the
restaurant door we were politely asked for our vaccine passports, the QR codes
on our smartphones were scanned and we were ushered to our table. The check had
taken seconds — a very minor inconvenience when a new wave of the <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/coronavirus/index.html">coronavirus</a> pandemic
is sweeping across the Continent. There was a sense of safety in knowing that
all the other diners had proved themselves to be fully vaccinated, or had very
recently tested negative, or had contracted the virus and recovered. If
smartphones are a bit recherché for you, you can print out a paper version of
your vaccine passport. It works just as well."</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">When
Ousmane Coulibaly turned up for his football, he probably had 5 star treatment
from the moment he boarded the team bus to the moment he ran on the pitch,
feeling fit and full of life. He like Andrew Neil probably had a sense of
safety in knowing that all the other footballers had been vaccinated. As he ran
about the pitch, we can only conclude that the movement triggered something in
his chest leading to his heart attack. This brings me back to my unexploded
bomb analogy above. The three people listed above, were probably very fit, certainly
the two footballers were, but their fitness and body couldn't cope because
something inside them had changed. Andrew Neil thinks that there is something
to celebrate by showing anyone who asks you for your papers, there isn't, the
vaccine passports don't stop you from getting covid, or transmitting covid to
others, they give a false sense of security. That false sense of security is
something that Andrew Neil feels is like a warm blanket, but he acknowledges
that People who have been vaccinated can still contract and pass on the virus.</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">To
me, this is like someone not grasp the problem. What will it take for Andrew
Neil to wise up? Heart attack? I genuinely have no idea, his claim vaccination
substantially reduces the risk of serious illness and hospitalisation to me
sounds spurious, there are people who are tripled vaccinate in ICU, the hospitals
are said to be full of vaccinated patients. But people like Andrew ignore them
in favour of point the finger at someone who is unvaccinated, the press it
seems like to miss out parts of the jigsaw of the other health problems that
people have for attending hospital. If they test for covid, then heart attack
and stroke etc play second fiddle. Andrew Neil clings onto medical experts are
unanimous in their view that the more people who are vaccinated the better the
chance we all have of beating this virus. To me, the more people with natural
immunity is the real chance of beating this virus, they also have the best
chance of donating uncontaminated blood for studies, and being used as a
control group to rate the covid drugs. The unvaccinated is a group of people
that the government want to destroy, they don't want a large section of
uncontaminated people being able to be use for a control group against these
experimental drugs.</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Why?</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As
Andrew Neil talks up the joy of how the French people are being <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>by President Emmanuel Macron, a record 3.7
million people booked to get their jabs. How many of the 3.7 million will
experience vaccine injury? How many will die? How many will have lifelong
serious illness, and who should be held to account? Are we looking at the
greatest man made medical disaster in the history of mankind? The censorship of
the media platforms has caused people to go to alternative media platforms,
like Bitchute, Rumble and Brand New Tube, the alternative to twitter called GETTR.</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">When
Andrew Neil says that there are still 5 million unvaccinated British adults,
who through fear, ignorance, irresponsibility or sheer stupidity refuse to be
jabbed, I just laugh. Why do I laugh because, the labels that Andrew Neil uses
against people like me are wrong. I am not anti vaccination, the proof is in my
medical records, I am not scared, I am not irresponsible and I am not stupid. I
read up, I read up on the information from both sides. I watched as people were
censored, I watched as media platforms didn't allow opposing views. I watched
how dissent wasn't tolerated in the NHS, people being dismissed. I looked at
articles that highlighted vaccine injury. Apparently vaccine injury, death and
serious injury isn't something that I should be concerned about. I don't
endanger anyone, and I have no faith that Andrew Neil is concerned about my
personal safety, to me, his gripe is that he doesn't want anyone to restrict
his ability to travel freely to France. He wants me to risk my life so he has
ease of passing through French customs, it should don on Andrew Neil that this
isn't just a big ask, it is highly unacceptable and morally bankrupt. His
further rationale that unvaccinated people are the ones who will put the
biggest strain on the NHS, denying the rest of us with serious non-Covid
ailments the treatment that is our right is a nonsense. Hospitals are full of
vaccinated people, were is his anger towards them for not having better health?
It is a joke by him to say with no shame whatsoever, "we are all paying a
heavy price for this hard core of the unvaccinated."</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I
would like to ask Andrew Neil his opinion on Steve James, a consultant
anaesthetist who has been treating coronavirus patients since the start of the
pandemic who has stated categorically that he will not be getting vaccinated.
Is this highly educated medical professional someone who is fearful, ignorant,
irresponsible or sheer stupid? I read online that the most resistant group of
people to getting jabbed are people with PhDs, why is that? What are people
like them and consultant anaesthetist Steve James reading that Andrew Neil
isn't? What is it, that consultant anaesthetist Steve James seeing in the
hospital that reinforces his views to not accept the covid drugs? Is he seeing
vaccine injury? As a Doctor, he would have been jabbed many times through-out
his career, so one more needle in the skin wouldn't phase him. The issue isn't
the needle but what is in the syringe. One thing which I think Andrew Neil
takes out of context is when he says, "we all have a responsibility to act
in ways that don't just protect our own health but also that of others".
If he meant don't do anything to proactively hurt someone like chuck a TV off a
block of flats, I would agree, but that argument doesn't cover me risking my
life for what he believes is a supposed benefit to him. I suppose you could
ask, given I reject his claims, what has he done to protect my health? Andrew
Neil has taken an experimental drug which was rushed through without in my
opinion proper safeguards and testing, normally drugs take circa 10 to 15
years, they cooked these up in little over a year with no long term safety data,
these are the facts and they shouldn't be in dispute.</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Finally,
the $64,000 question, if people follow Andrew Neil's advice, get jabbed and get
seriously injured, what will he do for them? He will do nothing, he will get on
with enjoying his life in France. Those vaccine injured would face a living
hell. Under the UK Government's Plan B, vaccine passports will be required for
entry to nightclubs and at major gatherings at large venues. Andrew argues that
it would not be difficult to extend them, "French-style, to other public places,
including restaurants, pubs and bars, and non-essential shops (even the
unvaxxed need food and medicines!)". He is right that tyranny can be
extended, but he is wrong when he says this would give people who haven't got
vaccinated, 'pause for thought'. Like Steve James, a consultant anaesthetist, I
did consider getting vaccinated, I read up in good faith what was written and said,
but I cannot blindly over look vaccine injury data.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The
answer is No, and it will always be No!</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7972114991869354050.post-7241355865926469542022-01-07T15:53:00.002+00:002022-01-10T22:13:51.149+00:00Locking People into Democracy, Conservative plans for compulsory voter ID at UK elections are long overdue and necessary to protect our democracy, as the Labour Party and the SNP oppose secure voting, ordinary people really need to ask themselves a serious and irrelevant question, what are the parties of the left trying to hide? <iframe frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/3hHRdXsOlHw" width="480"></iframe><div><br /></div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We
all understand that there is such a thing as "human rights", one such
right is the ability to take part in 'free and fair' elections. But, what constitutes
'free and fair' elections. The first part, 'free' is fairly straight forward,
this is that the right to vote is cost free. Where the arguments occur is
centre on what constitutes 'fair'. In an election, every part of the process
must be fair, fair for voters and fair for candidates, without this the system
would be corrupted and democracy dies. If you listen to certain people, you
would think that voter fraud isn't a serious issue, that is a lie. It is kind
of like the argument when someone steals, in that they only stole a little, or
what they stole didn't cost much. The true extent of voter fraud isn't known
because like most crime, it remains undetected. The reason why is simple, when
you turn up at a polling station, they ask you, your name and address, they
don't ask you to prove who you are. As someone from a poor working class
background, I can see that this omission is wrong. It isn't anti democratic to
support the right to a free and fair election, but there are people, mainly
from parties of the left who seek to destroy accountability on some made up
pretext of supporting poor people. I am poor, but I don't need the help of
middle class champagne socialists to secure my vote, I can do that myself. The
left wing parties tend to think that working class people are their property,
their voter cache, to keep them in power by hoodwinking us that they are making
a difference to our lives.</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">If
you take America for example, the Democrats (the supposed left) control many
major cities, in the ones they do control crime, decay, poverty and despair are
rampant. If Democrats are there to lift up the poor, why is it every decade
they failed?</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePorPQHCKrM%20">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePorPQHCKrM</a></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A
valuable resource that I would urge you to watch and listen to is Dinesh D'souza,
he is quite a speaker on the history of the Democratic Party and American
politics in general. He has also produced several impressive documentaries
which I would say, you cannot miss watching to educate yourself. Prior to
watching and learning about the Democratic Party, I was lead to believe they
were the 'good guys'. But the history of the Democratic Party is a history
about suppression of working class people, and of minorities. One of the lies
that you are sold is that parties of the left are interested in minorities, but
they are interested in their votes. The left in the UK like the Democrats in
the US have a few people of colour who make it to the top. If you take
Scotland, for a quick example, politically dominated by the left in Holyrood,
how many people of colour are in Holyrood as MSPs? It is seems to be an ethnic MSP
in Scotland, you have to be Muslim, rich, middle class, university educated and
of Pakistani descent. Why is there no poor non university educated Muslims of
Pakistani descent in Holyrood? Why is there no MSPs of Chinese origin, or of
Polish origin? The answer to all this is that system is rigged. Political representation
is in part based on identity politics, a form of tokenism, it is the lie of
being inclusive while at the same time, not being. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Politics
can be rigged at every level from candidate selection all the way to the ballot
box to who sits in councils and parliaments.</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Have
you ever complained about bad politicians, now in part, you know why!</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I
have always believed in a free and fair election, in fact, I have taken part as
a candidate in two council elections, one a by-election in 2013, the other the
main council election in 2017. This year, 2022, is the Council elections in
Scotland, people are ask to go to the ballot box, in council elections, the
turnout is usually dire anyway from 30% to under 50%, this is because the
political parties breed apathy in the voters generally. In fact, I would say
that parties of the left don't want everyone to vote because if people were
active, this would force them to do a better job. Not only do I think that
voter ID is essential in elections, I also believe that voting should be
compulsory as in some other countries. In Scottish councils were the supposed left
control them, services are bad, infrastructure is poor and decline is highly
visible to the naked eye. SNP Leader Nicola Sturgeon is marketed as a
'superwoman', all the answers to all the problems, able to fix every ill, and
concerned for all. If you look at her constituency in Glasgow, you would think
that her seat would be an oasis, a paradise of cosmopolitan chic and sophistication.
You would be wrong, like most leaders of the left, what they do is stand in a
poor area, buy off some of the local NGOs and other community organisations
using public funds and then periodically turn up at a few community events or
local issues to 'show face'. For the bulk of their time, they take nothing to
do with their area. Muslim leader Humza Yousaf represents Glasgow Pollok, he
stays in Brought Ferry in Dundee, this probably isn't widely known in Pollok,
but that is the reality of Scottish politics. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And
this scenario would be repeated in an almost identical fashion if another party
of the left replaced either Sturgeon or Yousaf via the ballot box. The phrase
you know all too well by people is, 'it doesn't make a difference who you vote
for'. </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">One
of the things people must understand, is that for years, the political class haven't
been serving the public, this is because they see power like a merry-go-round,
they get out taste power, get off and are replaced, then they wait their turn
to go back onto the merry-go-round. While this cosy arrangement goes on, they
have no pressure on them to act, to do their jobs, they rely on the loyalty of
people to fund their lifestyle. Anything that can threaten their opportunities
to access public funds is pounced and opposed fanatically. This is why the left
wing parties, and assorted supporters who call themselves campaigners oppose
voter ID. They use scare tactics to say that having your name verified at a
polling station by showing photographic ID at UK elections risks "locking
ordinary people out of democracy". It does not, it is a lie and an insult
to a person's intelligence, you see 'the left' usually university educated
middle class graduates view the working class as stupid, people to be
manipulated by them for their own ends, which is power, money and status. I am
entirely not unsurprised that the two parties in Scotland who are fighting
against the right to a free and fair election are the SNP and Labour. In order
to vote, you would simply have to show a photographic voter ID card which
doesn't cost the voter a single penny. Elections for Westminster will still
remain cost free, it will remain a free and fair election. Another unsurprising
opponent against voter ID appears to be elements of the left wing press, who
are in some cases connected to the left wing parties. They are running with the
narrative that the move required to clamp down on electoral fraud isn't
necessary because there is little evidence of it.</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The
press are using scare tactics which mirror what the political parties say, is
that just coincidence? My first post of the year gave you a message, don't
trust political leaders and don't trust the press, in this, my third post I
give you the same message. People have gotten into a rut when it comes to
voting, they are being tribal, giving misplaced loyalty to people who don't act
as their representatives, and in some cases actually work against their best
interests, and the interests of the country. It is time to stop and think, to
look beyond headlines, and sound bites and analyse what have the people in
power done for you, your community and your country. If you don't like the state
of your area, why keep in place the same people who do nothing of note to
improve your lives, and the quality of it? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Bill to make ID compulsory will eventually
pass, it is long overdue, but there are other areas which should also be addressed,
and that is the issue of postal votes. To me, this is another area particularly
open to systematic abuse, and he is an article by an MP raising this issue.</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.politicshome.com/thehouse/article/there-is-widespread-abuse-of-postal-votes-this-simply-cannot-go-on">https://www.politicshome.com/thehouse/article/there-is-widespread-abuse-of-postal-votes-this-simply-cannot-go-on</a></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Finally,
if you google online searching for election fraud, you find plenty of evidence,
I used the term, "UK councillor vote fraud" in my search, however you
could replace UK with the name of a political party of your choice to see who
if any has been accused or convicted of doing it. Every time there is election
fraud, someone or group is attempting to steal our democratic rights from all
of us. We cannot allow this to stand, I urge people to support the Conservative
Government in bring their Bill through the Commons and to get royal ascent.
Democratic is always under attack, and the fight to root out bad people who are
corrupt never ends. Dr Jess Garland, director of policy at the Electoral Reform
Society, said:</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"Compulsory
voter ID poses a huge risk to democratic access and equality. Millions of
people lack photo ID in this country. These proposals will make it harder to
vote for huge numbers of voters, locking ordinary people out of our democracy. The
UK Government has consistently failed to make a credible case for these
measures or set out how they will mitigate the negative impact of the changes. It's
time the Government stops and re-thinks these costly and unnecessary proposals
and comes back with an Elections Bill that strengthens our democracy, rather
than weakening it."</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Unless
you can verify the ID of the person casting a vote, you cannot strengthen our
democracy. Earlier I noted that the parties of the left and their supporters
would be against this measure. I did a quick search and found that Dr Jess
Garland is a former Senior Political Adviser to a Shadow Cabinet Minister,
ain't that no surprise! Is her objection really someone putting their hand in
their pocket and pulling out a free photo ID card, is that really a hardship? I
think not. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></p></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7972114991869354050.post-55273822539063345162022-01-06T16:02:00.000+00:002022-01-06T16:02:10.566+00:00The Devil's Advocate; Former SNP MP Margaret Ferrier to stand trial over Covid rule breach charges in August 2022, given the prosecution has a rather weak and unsteady case, I would venture that there is an 80% chance of Ferrier beating the rap, and walking away from Court a free woman, there are multiple issues where reasonable doubt could exist<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgEDux9H16P8NEA8vWkxKMFFLAVNRhq1rSVyw2DRGiHRWzzKuBu9wVhcr701H9cXYN5nbKnqMuveqkB1TVy00BPm7BuN0wewKUk_QkEJYWxpUxcyn7xlZatLHtofO8gi645r5G36DvXTSjlPnVs6YazeVUGfS4sgU_eVRy9EJAFc-yEQqF99bq6G4cWrg=s1200" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="627" data-original-width="1200" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgEDux9H16P8NEA8vWkxKMFFLAVNRhq1rSVyw2DRGiHRWzzKuBu9wVhcr701H9cXYN5nbKnqMuveqkB1TVy00BPm7BuN0wewKUk_QkEJYWxpUxcyn7xlZatLHtofO8gi645r5G36DvXTSjlPnVs6YazeVUGfS4sgU_eVRy9EJAFc-yEQqF99bq6G4cWrg=w400-h209" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">As
we launch into this new year, we can expect the Courts to be busy, in fact, one
of my friends got a jury citation for this month. It would appear to me, having
served on a jury previously myself that once you hit the age of 50, as if by a
miracle or magic, you get on their rota. So far, I have been cited three or four times
already, and each time I dread it. My brother also got a citation, wasn't picked, but it made me laugh, he is from the hang them high school of jury service, men, women kids, pack them off to jail. Jury selection we are told is supposed to be random, so either there is a
lot of crime in Glasgow, or that is rubbish. I met an old dear who said she had been cited six times, my heart sank on hearing that tome. </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">The population of Glasgow is said
to be by the last tally around 635,640, that is a lot of people, in fact you
might opine if you were picked once, you would out from under being cited. Of
course, law and order is a fairly interesting topic, and sitting in the jury as
one of 15 people can be semi interesting. I found from my experience having
been selected and been in the jury pool, that it isn't something I relish. There
are of course some crimes which peak everyone's interest for various reason.
One trial which is starting later in the year (allegedly) is the trial of ex SNP
MP Natalie McGarry, a pal of Nicola Sturgeon and Humza Yousaf, apparently from
the start of the process to date, it is said to have been about 8 years. Will
McGarry's trial go ahead in April or will it be put back further, why is the corrupt
Crown Office so slow? In the last trial, McGarry plead guilty, after she was
sent to jail, presumably not finding the accommodation to her likening, she
changed her mind, and said she was innocent.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">Stay
tuned for the rematch!</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">Another
'pal' of Nicola Sturgeon, who was elected as an SNP MP is Margaret Ferrier.
When news came out that that Ferrier allegedly travelled from Glasgow to London
in the knowledge she had symptoms of coronavirus, she was thrown under the
bus by Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP. Normally this wouldn't happen,
unfortunately for Ferrier, the SNP were trying to portray Nicola Sturgeon as a
Mother Theresa of Scotland. You can see the problem straight away, anything
that contradicts the narrative that Nicola Sturgeon is a warm caring human
being who deeply cares about the 'little people' must be erased. Hence, there
was 'no room at the inn' for Margaret Ferrier, for her, it was banishment. At
the same time, we should remember how Nicola Sturgeon has acted towards her
other SNP MPs. Patricia Gibson and Patrick Grady, both accused of inappropriate
behaviour with young SNP staff. Grady was alleged to have groped two male
researchers. </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">One thing for certain is that the SNP will not be taking any
action prior to the Westminster 2024 election against him, they didn't act
against Derek Mackay. Mackay was accused of allegedly grooming a 16 year old
boy, so the SNP let the clock run down on Holyrood, and he walked away. The modus operandi of SNP politicians et al who are close to Nicola
Sturgeon is to protect them at the expense of the victims. Another reason why
the SNP wouldn't act is that Glasgow is set to lose a seat in the boundary changes.
In the meantime, Grady it appears will continue to gobble down at Westminster
as much as he can. Who knows maybe he turns up at the Scottish Government as a
spad or at an SNP funded NGO. Nicola Sturgeon needs allies, however, giving the
allegations of allegedly groping two male researchers, you have to ask, what
kind of person would want to go campaigning with him?</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">The
trial of Scots MP Margaret Ferrier will start in August, as to a defence, I
think I would be minded to go down the road of medical incapacity, that's brain
fog to you and the those in the cheap seats. One symptom of covid is brain fog which
clouds a person's judgment, it is also documented, and here is a link to read
online.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/what-is-covid-19-brain-fog-and-how-can-you-clear-it-2021030822076">https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/what-is-covid-19-brain-fog-and-how-can-you-clear-it-2021030822076</a></span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">Her
defence pops up, says illness, makes a technical fight of not guilty by reason
of illness, gives the jury a slew of documents, maybe an expert witness or two, if the budget stretches to it, and throws herself on the mercy of the jury. Not
guilty by reason of impairment is a pretty good defence, it is better than 'I
did it' but I thought it was okay which doesn't hold water. In the event of a not
guilty verdict, especially if it is acquittal by reason of ill health, chances
are the SNP 'welcome' her back. When I say welcome, I don't mean 'welcome' as
you traditionally understand it. Of course, if she does go back in, she will no
doubt be looking to integrate herself back in asap, as a good little sheep. On the
inside, she will bide her time waiting to back the next SNP leader, post
Sturgeon by making herself useful. </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">Margaret Ferrier is alleged to have made several
journeys having been told to self-isolate between September 26 and 29, 2020.
So, you can see that the medical defence of brain fog really is the most viable
option. Of course, she wouldn't be in this mess if she had stayed off work, or not
been tested. SNP politicians aren't the brightest, cunning like rats for sure,
but similar to rats, in their quest for food and resources for themselves.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">You
can go through Ferrier's timeline, she went here, she went there, and although
trips to the Lifestyle Leisure centre, Sweet P Boutique, Vanilla Salon, Grace
and Flavour, Bearsden, East Dunbartonshire, St Mungo’s Church, Glasgow and
Vic’s Bar in Prestwick, Ayrshire might prove interesting, it isn't really that
interesting. Every day, infected people were they are vaxxed or not are walking
among us, they have been walking among us continuously for the past two years.
Anyone saying we should bring them to court? Another point is covid itself, it
is said that a live strain of the virus hasn't been isolated, in other words, if
she is guilty of spreading covid, the prosecution would have to prove a live
strain of the virus exists. In the same way if a person is shot dead, the
prosecution has to produce the gun. For all we know, and it could be argued,
Ferrier could have been the victim of false tests. False test is another string
to the bow of her defence, and there is plenty of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>evidence to be sourced that they exist. If it
was me, I would be putting my money on not proven by arguing several issues. To
me the prosecution case is rather weak, but as they are looking over their shoulder at
the SNP looking at them for a conviction, at least in public, they will jump
through the hoops.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">If
you don't want to find yourself in this position, don't get tested.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">Indy
supporter Paul Kavanagh <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(stroke
survivor) is defending Ferrier, he said:</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">“She
pleads not guilty. The trial will only take four to five days at most. Most of
the evidence will be capable of agreement.”</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">Prosecutor
Mark Allan said:</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">“Due
to the pandemic, the trial will not be fixed for a number of months. A
pre-trial hearing will be useful. There are number of civilian witnesses with
significant commitments to parliament that will require to be worked around.”</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The
witnesses evidence will be they saw her, but they don't know the medical
evidence or if there is evidence of a false positive. Having them there, aside
from the drama in my mind will produce nothing of real significance. It isn't
like they did a medical exam of Ferrier is it. In a trial, there is such a
thing for convicting as Mens Rea, this refers to criminal intent. The
literal translation from Latin is "guilty mind." If Ferrier's defence
is brain fog, if she says she wasn't trained to administer the test, if the
issue of false positive is raised, I would p[ut her at an 80% chance of beating
the rap. Because anything she said to the 'witnesses' is a layman's opinion on
health, so their evidence to me is probably more like circumstantial. We will
just have to wait till August and get some microwave popcorn and settle in for
the 'match'. Ferrier’s bail was also granted meantime which means she like you,
or me, or anyone else could be infected, and spreading it around like confetti.
The pandemic is over, so testing is a waste of time, we are now in the middle
of flu season, which is epidemic. I don't like justice being abused, and the Ferrier
trial in my mind is a waste of time, money and resources.</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7972114991869354050.post-9772050826346165872022-01-05T19:21:00.000+00:002022-01-05T19:21:20.167+00:00Happy New Year 2022, All that is necessary for evil to flourish is that good men and women say silent, we live in a time were silence is allowing evil people to do evil and get away with it, once people speak up, speak out, we live in a democracy, our political class have damaged not just our country, they have harmed society, they have helped by the media to lie to you, if you deserve anything, you deserve the truth <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhP9zVi08WcHdJjfIybWzuY52nJ5PTBRRbAyBqInBctAlo0yqLAlVdx9kYUXu5TsvRzxRMbN3mD4AAbqzl_9GIMOo1Ydb0V1b0GoCPiEPj8E2d1-XRRt-PeNLcOqpxBmLtbQcpi7OXJediq2wYBTW7EuYKfkUUiDILpk7b4Z2xA-mnHQyLEVe8abmPDQw=s225" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="197" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhP9zVi08WcHdJjfIybWzuY52nJ5PTBRRbAyBqInBctAlo0yqLAlVdx9kYUXu5TsvRzxRMbN3mD4AAbqzl_9GIMOo1Ydb0V1b0GoCPiEPj8E2d1-XRRt-PeNLcOqpxBmLtbQcpi7OXJediq2wYBTW7EuYKfkUUiDILpk7b4Z2xA-mnHQyLEVe8abmPDQw=w350-h400" width="350" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Happy New Year 2022.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">You would have noticed that I had stopped blogging,
this was due to computing problems, although, I had managed to do some twitter
stuff. The sad reality of life is that sometimes, pc hard drives crash, and
die. Although this isn't a big deal, it is when 100's of GBs of data go with
it, and cannot be recovered. Yes, that WTF moment happened to me, except getting
the replacement wasn't as straight forward. After the crash, I was like a few
days of tinkering about before I accept the dead meant dead. Then I searched
for a new drive and ordered it up, only to get shafted by a late delivery due
to the usual nonsense, whatever that was.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">When I got my bright shiny new drive, I decided in the
interests of cost to fit it myself. After that hurdle of installation was
complete, the thing didn't work, didn't register on my bios. So, back to
stripping out everything and trying again. After a period of self doubt
sprinkled with have I messed this up total and would need to seek professional
help, I managed to get it to register.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The data I had however was wiped out, so I had to go
and get as much of what I had lost back from various sources, luckily a few sources
are still on the web, as some people know, I try to do cgi stuff, and the files
are quite large. Anyway, back to normal, also I put in extra storage as a back-up.
I suppose you could say, all part of the learning process.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Whoopee!</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In the meantime, the new year has come and gone, and
it is time to get back to normal, this is so much to comment on, and mostly it
is all bad. We are living in an age of oppression, not just in Scotland under
the jackboot of Nicola Sturgeon and her cult, no, you can see this right across
the world, especially in places where you would have thought liberty meant
something, like the USA, Canada, New Zealand, Austria and Australia. Even you
can't have failed to noticed one of the worst examples of policing that I have
ever heard about or seem. The six van riot squad attack on a group of elderly
pensioners celebrating new year in a bar.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfWYtISincA%20">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfWYtISincA</a></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">When you watch this footage, you can clearly hear the
policewoman say, 'the pub is shut', this implies the pub staff are turfing out
the patrons, and the police have been called to assist staff. I suppose the
question is, did the pub staff call the police? Normally, when a pub closes,
the staff would go round before the place closes and tells the people to
finish, this is called drinking up time. You see this practice right across
Scotland. You have the security and bar staff do this job, you see the staff
flashing the lights on and off. But when you look at the video, were are the
staff asking the people to leave? Why was six vans of police outside? Six van
loads of police for elderly pensioners, doesn't that strike you as strange?</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I think this little episode will lose Police Scotland
public goodwill.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Last year, if we learnt anything, it was that were
cannot trust politicians, the press, the media and celebrities who all walked
in lock step to push harmful injections on the public. I suppose the first
thing would be to that claim where is the evidence. One source is the
statistically high number of perfectly fit and healthy footballers and athletes
that have collapsed and died playing their sport. People die, we know this, in
my 59 years on this planet, there has been only one occasion where I saw a
woman die. that was on the bus I was on in 2009. Funnily enough if you type in
the title of the post on google, you can't find it. So here it is, found using
microsoft edge.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://glasgowunihumanrights.blogspot.com/2009/07/20-minutes-in-life-of-george-laird_12.html">The
Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow Uni: 20 minutes in the life of George
Laird (glasgowunihumanrights.blogspot.com)</a></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Someone
pointed out to me that my posts were hard to find, well on google they
certainly are, which could be a form of censorship by them for people who hold
independent views. If you take anything from this post, which given the rise of
alternative media and platforms, understand this, trust in the establishment
has been eroded. Do not trust the leaders of the political class, newspapers, media,
so called experts attached to government, usually called shrills by some, and
also have no faith in celebrities who are used to hoodwink you. Read as many
different types of opinions as possible, always look for factual evidence and
people's personal experience, and don't accept any narrative except your own.</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Learn
to read beyond the headline!</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Welcome
back to the blog, and I hope that my views make you think, I don't expect you
to like or understand all my points of view, they are the result of my
upbringing, how I see the world. And it is a cruel world, it will get even
crueller, unless you also speak out and vote out bad people. At some point in
your life, you will be the victim of injustice, if you have, you will know how
that felt, and the isolation and hurt you experienced because of it. So, never
be silent. We are being lied too, cheated and abused, the fight back starts by
saying 'No more'! </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7972114991869354050.post-72423096119961290652021-11-24T16:57:00.000+00:002021-11-24T16:57:17.620+00:00The Great Scottish Independence Reset; SNP MP Joanna Cherry urges the SNP to work with Alex Salmond and Alba to win independence, Cherry's endorsement will not go un-noticed by the Nicola Sturgeon cabal, Cherry describes Sturgeon's worst enemies as 'great friends', with Sturgeon trying to escape Scottish politics, does Angus Robertson realise Sturgeon will ditch him if she finds an escape route out of Scottish politics, does he really want to be last 'Sturgeon man' in the bunker<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrU0bJNCvYK9M6FfGnJwO3LP0ryKCUfRciToUIxLujZSIbEnf4_FVR_GJKTRUac3IgONkS0dlAcsBswmPF0eGQ1JYJZUsZI759NGBJLNgceJwhRITRr6dG5A38vXW3ZK75cpybmKetwM67/s779/Cherry1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="779" data-original-width="619" height="334" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrU0bJNCvYK9M6FfGnJwO3LP0ryKCUfRciToUIxLujZSIbEnf4_FVR_GJKTRUac3IgONkS0dlAcsBswmPF0eGQ1JYJZUsZI759NGBJLNgceJwhRITRr6dG5A38vXW3ZK75cpybmKetwM67/w265-h334/Cherry1.jpg" width="265" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dear
All</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">One
of the things that the mainstream media like to do is to call Joanna Cherry, a
prominent SNP MP, she has no spokesman's role within the party, and she is
backbencher, and she is out of favour with the SNP leadership, principally
Nicola Sturgeon. Her prominence therefore comes from not her current status in
the SNP but more to do with her ability in the House of Commons, and her prominence
on TV and as a potential leader in waiting. Have you noticed that there is no
proper heir in waiting, there is Sturgeon's choice, the woefully inept Angus
Robertson. Robertson has shown himself to be a complete dud as a minister, all
his so called experience from Westminster doesn't add up to a hill of beans.
Another interesting point about Joanna Cherry is that a campaign has been waged
against to try and get the whip removed from her as an MP. Too many people,
this is an ongoing and active campaign over Cherry's support for women's rights
and their right to personal spaces. All placed in danger by Nicola Sturgeon's
gender recognition act.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">There
is another issue which irks Nicola Sturgeon and her cabal, that is Joanna
Cherry's continual involvement and some would say support for ex SNP leader
Alex Salmond. Even the Salmond case hasn't taken away any of the closeness
between Cherry and Salmond, what irks the SNP cabal is that Cherry is still choosing
Alex Salmond over Nicola Sturgeon as the natural leader of the independence
movement over Sturgeon. Recently Cherry has called on Nicola Sturgeon to work
with Alex Salmond and his breakaway Alba party in the fight for independence.
This won't happen, the criminal trial of Alex Salmond engineered by people
close to Nicola Sturgeon and her inner circle effectively kills that idea off
completely. There can be no false friendships, no paper that spans that crack,
and "sorry" will not do. There is an issue close to Alex Salmond's
heart in my opinion, that is to get justice, get revenge for those who have
wronged him. And to be clear, Alex Salmond is willing to play 'the long game'
to get it, something which has escaped Nicola Sturgeon and her cabal. Just like
Tommy Sheridan setup a vehicle to try and get his political career back called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solidarity_(Scotland)" title="">Solidarity</a>,
so Alex Salmond has setup a party called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alba_Party">Alba</a>, and in his exile from
the SNP, he has brought some SNP MPs, ex MPs and Councillors with him, the most
notable being Kenny MacAskill and Tasmina Ahmed Shiekh.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">Forgive
and forget, let's all be pals will not be happening.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">The
last move by Joanna Cherry could be seen as her giving her blessing to Alba by
posting a picture of herself and the former First Minister on Twitter. Meeting
people or politicians from different parties isn't new, posing for pictures
with them isn't new either. Standing beside the man who Nicola Sturgeon's cabal
tried to imprison and then smear post verdict is however an interesting twist.
Some may say this act is Joanna Cherry telling voters to give Alba a green
light on the ballot paper for the 2022 Scottish Council Elections. Is she
telling nationalist voters that Alba is okay? Cherry in having her photo taken
with Alex Salmond will enrage the SNP, but she says that in doing so, it was
“important to keep cross party lines of communication open” within the Yes
movement. Did you see lines of communication being opened by the SNP with Tommy
Sheridan and his <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solidarity_(Scotland)" title="">Solidarity</a> Party in the run up to the Scottish independence
referendum?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You didn't see anything of
the sort, Sheridan was cast out much the same as a leper. His Hope Over Fear
road shows were as much about indy campaigning as they were about <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_Sheridan">selling Tommy Sheridan who
done jail time as a political force again.</a></span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">There
will never be open lines of communication, friendly exchanges, bestie buddies
and big hugs between Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon. Sturgeon fell out with
Salmond in 2018 amid sexual misconduct claims against him. She has specifically
ruled out working with him and called his political comeback a “hindrance” to
the independence cause. Sturgeon wants Salmond gone, dead or imprisoned in her
universe, so far neither three options transpired for her, she has enemies
outside her party, and inside her party, some are active in opposing her, and
others, they are silent, they are sitting and waiting till the time is right. We
all know the extent of the issue between Salmond and Sturgeon, they gave conflicting
evidence to a Holyrood inquiry this year about each other. Sturgeon hide behind
a court ruling to stop people knowing the full extent of who in her inner
circle was involved in the Salmond case, and the same ruling 'gagged' Salmond
from naming them. Just as Salmond was the mentor for Sturgeon in the SNP,
Joanna Cherry is the new kid on the block, she was also mentored by Salmond.
Nicola Sturgeon is the old model, Joanna Cherry is the new model, people see
the difference, Sturgeon, the failed unsuccessful lawyer, Cherry, the
successful lawyer and QC.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">There
is a bigger picture beyond Cherry saying collaboration is necessary, Nicola
Sturgeon is now in bunker mentality, she is trapped, no real 'heir in waiting',
no unelected high flying job in the UN or EU to go too, and fearful of an
SNP/Alba merger once she steps down. If Cherry is leader, Nicola Sturgeon will
be wiped from the SNP website almost immediately, she won't get grandee status
like Winnie Ewing. Nicola Sturgeon is the 'leper in waiting'. Sturgeon isn't
stupid, she knows what will happen when she gives up the reins of power. All
those who had a hand in the Salmond trial, their future is also bleak. Those
who have positions in government will be pushed out the door, those in the SNP
will be either removed from the party, or put through open selection procedures
that they will lose any chance from standing from public office. It will be a
blood bath done gradually over time, all the little ducks all lined up and
picked off, one by one. An allegation here, a complaint there, you know the
drill, setup to fail.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">In
her public endorsement of the Alba Party ahead of the Council elections, Cherry
wrote:</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">“As
we take forward a campaign toward the next referendum we will need cross-party
working and co-operation.”</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">This
also could be taken as a sign, that Cherry doesn't see the leadership of the
SNP as being viable, particularly Nicola Sturgeon. As Joanna Cherry mixed with
her former colleagues, her language was very telling, she said it had been
“great to meet up with old friends”. Namely Salmond and his business partner,
Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh. In the last election, the SNP fought hard to stop voters
giving Alba their list vote in areas where they had no chance of picking up a list
seat. As the tide turns for Nicola Sturgeon, will voters realise that Nicola
Sturgeon will never deliver a second Scottish independence referendum? At what
point will there be a sea change among both hard and soft independence supports,
this is another thing that Nicola Sturgeon is fearful of. The long term plan of
Alba is simple, they want to seed in people's minds that they and only they can
deliver an independence ‘supermajority’ at Holyrood via the proportional list
system. As I have blogged before, it is my opinion that the list system should
be scrapped, an MSP should represent two wards, the list system doesn't enhance
democracy it produces what I term as 'list hostages'. People who get into power
who the public had no input in voting for, and importantly have no mechanism in
removing.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">Finally,
if you were asked, who does SNP MP Joanna Cherry like, who does she support,
who does she like to socialise with, who does she like to work with, do you think
at any level, she would say Nicola Sturgeon. Campaigning for the council
elections has already started, some people will argue that SNP MP Joanna Cherry
gave the Alba Party, a big thumbs up, some would argue she signed off in the
leadership, and importantly she signed off on Alex Salmond as a 'great friend'.
If you look at the picture, you see the happy faces, but you also see something
else, not just meeting out in the open, but appearing to meet in an up-market
venue. As I mentioned above, Nicola Sturgeon is now in bunker mentality, the
circle is tightening, it reminds me of the Russian assault on Stalingrad or
Berlin. Sturgeon like Hitler surrounded by impending loss of support, and
issuing orders and decrees. Here is what Nicola Sturgeon said of working with
Alex Salmond and Alba;</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">“I
have no intention, and no plans to work with Alba. I’m ruling out, having any
kind of, you know arrangement with Alex Salmond or with Alba. I have no plans,
no intention of having any kind of arrangement with Alex Salmond.”</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">At
the near end of the second world war, Hitler was betrayed by Heinrich Himmler, do
you think it is worthwhile placing a bet on whether Angus Robertson will do the
same? There is plenty of historical precedence of 'trusted <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>lieutenants' seeing the writing on the wall
and protecting their own self interest. If Nicola Sturgeon manages to get an
escape route out of Scottish politics, doubtful, but it may happen, will there
be any room for Angus Robertson or indeed the Sturgeon cabal?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Does Robertson really want to be the last man
in the bunker when the bunker is breached? Or will Angus Robertson do a deal
with Alba? <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">Yours sincerely</span> </span></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><p></p><p></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">George Laird The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University</span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7972114991869354050.post-9293021164760672912021-11-22T17:39:00.001+00:002021-11-22T17:40:30.123+00:00By-election in Fort William and Ardnamurchan, Independent candidate Joanne Matheson urges voters: 'don't vote for me', seldom do you see someone putting community before self when they realise they can't fully commit, 7 people standing in a by-election, but no one from Anas Sarwar's Labour Party contesting the seat, not even a paper candidate from Scottish Labour, this just confirms that Scottish Labour is just interested in central belt and urban cities<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1UCdxy_UdmWJzq3Lk1M6_pWmc5s3qppMYT-LBvKuPzUoaK8M1uEDeu9jeTn3rTtqSxqfkyY2xWFL6HOwGIty7UZgJQj06sXWfOlK160DdnujEnPNrbGGSuhSSTuGWkP_4ND-jthDpQJiO/s850/Fort+William.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="566" data-original-width="850" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1UCdxy_UdmWJzq3Lk1M6_pWmc5s3qppMYT-LBvKuPzUoaK8M1uEDeu9jeTn3rTtqSxqfkyY2xWFL6HOwGIty7UZgJQj06sXWfOlK160DdnujEnPNrbGGSuhSSTuGWkP_4ND-jthDpQJiO/w400-h266/Fort+William.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dear All </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">One of the stagnation events of the last 50
years has been the dominance of the two parties of the Left, the SNP and the
Labour Party. In order to restore more democracy and choice to the public, we
need to convince voters there is real and viable choice. Not just that there is real choice but
also that t is desirable to embrace that choice. 2022 is the Council elections,
in Glasgow, in areas like Pollok, the status quo means that two Labour and two
SNP has been bad for residents. You think you are voting for a full time
Councillor getting full time pay when in fact, wrong, you are voting for a part
time councillor. I suppose the question immediately is, how do you know? The
answer is simple, The Register of Interests, this a register that can tell you
various financial interests an elected politician has. In the case of all
Pollok Councillors, it tells you that they have second jobs. And while they are
doing these second jobs for an employer, they aren't working for you to solve
your problems in Pollok. Here is a link to the City of Glasgow website, if you
live in Glasgow, <a href="https://www.glasgow.gov.uk/article/22762/Elected-Members-Webpages---Ward-Information">look
up your Councillor</a> and then click on their register of interests, second
jobs are the norm. I personally want to see second jobs for councillors banned,
of course that means raising councillors' pay, which should be set around £35k
a year. We expect elected politicians to be full time working for us, but a
culture has grown up where second jobs is the norm and some people scoot by
doing the bare minimum for the communities they were elected to represent. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">If second jobs are to continue, and let's face
it, there is no political will to end the practice from any of the main
parties, then there at least should be a ban on doing them within normal
working hours of 9 to 5. Let me ask you this, do you seriously think that a (part
time) councillor is working 40 hours a week from your community? If not, how
many hours do you think they are doing? 20? 10? 5?, some councillors in Glasgow
only pre-covid did 4 surgeries a month, some fare a little better and have
registered 6 surgeries. In Cardonald, one councillor does 4 surgeries a month,
and only one is a weekday, all others are on a Saturday. The only issue beyond
poor service and a bad deal for constituents is how much can they spend looking
at the work of the council? I would ask you this question, what are the most
important things you need when being educated? The answers are quality of
tuition and time, time to understand and analyse what you have been taught,
everything you learn requires time for knowledge to sink in. In the case of
vast councils like Glasgow, do you think a few hours is enough to understand a multi
million pound enterprise? </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.glasgow.gov.uk/budget">https://www.glasgow.gov.uk/budget</a> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And that is just the budget, what about all the
departments of council, Councillors get a department contact for raising
issues, but how well do they know the inner workings of the numerous
departments in Glasgow, and their policies? Councillors sit on every committee,
is there a system to rotate them off onto other committees each year to better
understand the council operations? Local councillors sit on their area boards,
so they get an enhanced overview of their own patch, but what about the
processes and people which run the machine? You don't have to be a mechanic to
drive a car, but to be better as a councillor, you need training and time to
learn the operation. One story that came across my screen was someone who knows
that doing a bad job isn't acceptable as a councillor. <span lang="EN-US">Joanne Matheson is one of seven
candidates standing in the Fort William and Ardnamurchan by-election on
December 2. By-elections in rural aren't viewed as a big deal unless they are
for MSP or MP, council by-election, the parties' leadership bare register them
as worth their time beyond 'good luck to x'. In this upcoming by-election, Joanne
Matheson has an unique pitch, it is 'don't vote for me'. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ms Matheson stood previously for election in
2017 and said she intended to do so again, something which I am keen to do.
However, she said family health issues and starting a new business in
the past 18 months had taken up "increasing amounts of her time." As
I mentioned above, one of the most important things you can give to any
enterprise is 'time', to be good, you have to be diligent.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">She
said:</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">"I
realised that if a by-election in Ward 21 was to arise I would not be in a
position to stand."</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">After
realising that only one person, from the Green's had registered, she put in her
papers, I am surprised that she didn't wait longer because all the mainstream parties
would have stood and are standing. Seven people representing various parties
and none will contest this election on December 2. In 2017, Joanne Matheson got
177 votes at stage one, and as the stages moved forward, she dropped out of
contention at stage 4. But the thing is, she tried in a ward where an
independent in 2017 came top with 1,550 votes. The by-election is happening
following the the death of Conservative Councillor Ian Ramon, he was one
of 4 Councillors representing the Fort William and Ardnamurchan Ward. In many
by-elections, the supporters of the candidate who dies generally comes out to
support their replacement so maybe a Conservative could win this seat. There is
however also a strong independent vote as seen by the election of Andrew Baxter
so that may play a factor as people in the North of Scotland are more willing
to open minded to an independent as their representative. On paper, it would
seem to be a two horse race, Conservative and SNP, but it will partly depend on
how much resources parties and independents are willing to put in, in this
case, people on the ground to speak to voters. I don't see Scottish Labour as viable
particularly in the rural areas of Scotland. Scottish Labour tends to be
central Scotland orientated except in the big cities of the North like Dundee
and Aberdeen. Funny enough, with the deadline closed, there is no Scottish
Labour candidate listed as standing. I am surprised, actually beyond surprised,
Scottish Labour is a mainstream party, and they cannot find someone who is even
a paper candidate. What does this say about the state of Scottish Labour under
Anas Sarwar? Every seat at any time should be fought for if that seat is
available.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Finally,
there are six other candidates standing who are; Mark Drayton, Sarah Fanet,
SNP, Roger Liley, Scottish Liberal Democrats, Andy McKenna, independent,
Ruraidh Stewart, Conservative and Kate Willis, Green Party. Due to election regulations,
Joanne Matheson remains on the ballot paper. In a little over 10 days, we will
have the ballot and the result, either earlier in the morning or counted later
in the day. There can be only one winner in this by-election, so if there is
any surprises, then maybe I will do a story on the result. If you use google
maps you can see a layout of the place, and using street view, you can see this
looks like a lovely area with stunning views. It would be an interesting place
to do a campaign, if you were an activist. One thing I would say, if you know
you cannot commit to being an effective councillor, don't do it, sadly not
everyone has the integrity shown by Joanne Matheson, she is putting the
community before herself, something which should be the norm but sadly isn't.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">Yours sincerely</span> </span></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><p></p><p></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">George Laird The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University</span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7972114991869354050.post-40625358213625289922021-11-18T16:12:00.001+00:002021-11-18T16:12:37.502+00:00How Low is the Calibre of SNP Politicians; SNP MSP John Mason accuses the struggling hospitality sector of 'crying wolf' over vaccine passport fears, the pandemic is over, managing the epidemic is the new battlefield, that means businesses open, return to normality and an understanding the importance of generating cash to save businesses, the economy and finance the health service, there is no magic money tree, the money is in people's pockets, and we need to get them spending it <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVza8qLY_1ru5agOwc_7bO4lbiQFoPpwjeADUl7lj_rouYB_9rti03BEwXzf3E7_6ICbZLx44zO00iG7DgtCmLnJpEurvVVpmGNP_xYyn03RqB5uaHqn8GOoGVLjJusp9P-IH8cAm5CjgS/s2048/Mason.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1638" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVza8qLY_1ru5agOwc_7bO4lbiQFoPpwjeADUl7lj_rouYB_9rti03BEwXzf3E7_6ICbZLx44zO00iG7DgtCmLnJpEurvVVpmGNP_xYyn03RqB5uaHqn8GOoGVLjJusp9P-IH8cAm5CjgS/s320/Mason.jpg" width="256" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dear
All </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">There
are certain SNP MSPs who serve unusual functions inside and outside Holyrood,
in the chamber, you get people like Kenny Gibson MSP, whose sole objective at
FMQs is to sit behind SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon and bang a table
enthusiastically, you get others like Christine Graham who sit behind Sturgeon,
she scowls and looks miserable to give the impression that Sturgeon is talking
about 'weighty matters'. But there people two other people who also stick out,
they are seemly used for saying 'daft' things in the media usually at a time
when the heat is on Nicola Sturgeon. The two people who I am referring too are
John Mason and James Dornan, both Glasgow constituency MSPs. If you were to ask
me who is worse for verbal stupidity, I have to put my hands up and say, I
can't stick a playing card between them. I think however, it would be fair
comment to say that John Mason's comments and opinions are more 'daft' than
malicious, whereas James Dornan specialises in being more nasty and offensive.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">The
reason I think the reason it could be argued that they are playing a role is
that hardly any other SNP MSP does what they are going, it could be argued that
their interventions maybe used a release valve when a scandal threats to impact
on senior leadership. The use of diversion tactics isn't new in the SNP, it is
so common as to be noticeable. You see the SNP as well as having people like
Dornan and Mason have a spad operation who continuously generate 'product' in
the hope that the media will run with that instead of media releases from other
parties. This is why many people think the SNP is so crap, their spad operation
cannot produce high quality media releases so a never ending stream of garbage
is pumped out to 'tame' media professionals at newspapers and television
presenters. These people think they have an 'ear' to the wall within the SNP
but they are being used, in some ways it ranks as an abusive relationship. Too
much rubbish is pumped out with the occasional real news story to justify the
relationship.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">Trust
in politics has been dying for some time, trust in the media likewise has been
dying, Covid 19 has been a lightening rod that woke up many people to the
corrupting relationship between the political class and the press. We have seen
an extraordinary turn of events as the media has refused to be hands off
certain issues and stories, while some others are effectively ring fenced from
asking about the truth. What the SNP spads in the party and government, along with
people like Dornan and Mason have done is instill a sense of hopelessness, that
their nonsense is the way things are and cannot be changed. Is Holyrood’s Covid
Recovery Committee run by the SNP simply about rubber stamping what the SNP has
done? Have they ever spoken out as a group and held a position which is against
the SNP Government in any real sense? We were told Holyrood would be a new kind
of politics, there isn't a new kind of politics in Holyrood because it is now
engineering from being 'left' vs right' to 'pro UK vs Scottish independence'.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">The
SNP have no interest in seeing the Scottish Parliament evolve!</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">Today's
intervention by SNP MSP John Mason accusing Scotland’s hospitality sector of
“crying wolf” is typical of what the SNP do, attempt to shutdown criticism of Nicola
Sturgeon and the SNP Government. In the minds of the SNP, everything which is
decided on high cannot be questioned and must be seen as fact. So, when you get
business leaders telling MSPs that extending the vaccine passport scheme
would be “nothing short of devastating”. You get John Mason using 'data' which
isn't significant as it relates to his personal story and a few snapshots in
time which are not statistically relevant or meaningful. So, what exactly did
SNP MP John Mason say? What was his burning truth which counters what business
leaders across the entire hospitality sector are saying?</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">He
said: “Do you not think you have slightly over-stated your case and a certain
amount of crying wolf? People are not taking you seriously because you use such
strong language like ‘devastating’. I have tried to get into a restaurant in
Edinburgh on a Wednesday night and it was absolutely full. I’ve gone into a pub
on a Wednesday night in Edinburgh – couldn’t find a seat. (In) Glasgow last
Friday night, I was in a restaurant – absolutely full. Parts of the hospitality
and licensed trade sector seem to be doing absolutely fine. I just wonder, do
you not think you are somewhat exaggerating it?”</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">In
what is called urban like Edinburgh and like Glasgow, you have vast
populations, some establishments do better for many different reasons, such as
quality, location and price. So, should city centre location which can experience
high foot fall be compared to other locations locations when quite clearly you
cannot compare apples and pears in terms of cash flow? Holyrood is the poor
relation to Westminster, if you view Westminster as a Champions League, Holyrood
is a third division Scottish club. Some people wrongly I would suggest would
say that it is because the place is so young. That is not the cause of the
political poverty in Scotland, it is because of the calibre of certain
individuals who make up the bulk of the MSPs.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">They
are not thinkers!</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">To
me, Holyrood’s Covid Recovery Committee isn't really interested in evidence,
they are simply playing a role, what role is that? Being there! They are like
an extra in a movie who is talking in the background but says no words because
they have been asked to mimic speaking. Well, I would suggest that some MSPs
are just mimicking being politicians, there role is lobby fodder. They are told
how to vote, they are told when to ask questions, they are told to read out
questions prepare for them. In football, you would recognise this as a the 'set
piece', think of David Beckham.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUBk0J9ijjU%20">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUBk0J9ijjU</a></span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">The
set piece in politics in the SNP is usually done so that an MSP asks a question
to make Nicola Sturgeon look good, these people are just 'feeders', so that
Sturgeon scores the goal as all knowing and all seeing. This is to give the
impression that she is super intelligent, but as her track record in Government
away from the chamber and the 'set piece' shows the exact opposite. Bad judgment,
bad choices, bad decisions, no narrative and no vision. Nicola Sturgeon ran the
NHS in Scotland into the ground, and then bailed when the cracks couldn't be
papered over. Everyone after her, either failed to manage, was inept or just
plainly disinterested.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">If
there is a sector which Scotland sorely needs, it is the hospitality sector, a
huge amount of businesses who are part of what is called the 'tourist trade'
need to be financially active all year round. There are periods like Christmas and
the summer which are vitally important to them, losing such periods due to
covid is devastating. This isn't just a Scottish matter in terms of how covid
killed off the hospitality sector. It is happening all over the world, here is
a video of hospitality that has been devastated in the world famous City resort
of Pattaya in Thailand. This was done by an American vlogger who lives in
Pattaya, his channel if you are interested is called Ride4Kickz, I recommended
it because of its diverse content, and quality of production an presentation.
It is like watching someone living out their life and having adventures and
living a day to day life, good and bad.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNM4p0ZDXA8">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNM4p0ZDXA8</a></span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">In
Thailand, just like in Scotland, the hospitality sector has suffered badly,
however in Thailand, the problem has been much worse, we should feel lucky that
we had a UK Government in Westminster which has saved many jobs, many
businesses and done so much to keep people afloat, but not all people managed
to save their businesses. If there isn't a return to normality soon, either by
a significant” amount of funding or opening up the market without restrictions,
it is said that “a very substantial proportion of businesses will not survive
the winter”. Such information doesn't gel with people like John Mason, and even
if he acquired it what good would it do him, the SNP has a Cabinet in name
only, Nicola Sturgeon has gone down the same route as Tony Blair, 'sofa
government'. To me, looking at Holyrood, committee has been devalued so much
that under the current setup, you could ask, do they provide any real value.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">Is
there any value in a committee which cannot affect change?</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">Nicola
Sturgeon will announce whether the vaccine passport scheme, will be extended to
other parts of the hospitality sector. This reminds people of the 1930's and
the Gestapo where the phrase, 'show me your papers' was a staple in many WW2
movies. Given that double vaxxed people can still carry and transmit covid, the
passport scheme isn't about stopping covid, it is all about control and surveillance
of the population. Why is it that all governments seem to be following the
exact same measures of oppression at various stages?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is happening most notably in Austria, Canada,
and New Zealand, will it happen further in Scotland? Well that won't depend on
covid, it wouldn't depend on science, it will depend on polling. Polling for
the 2022 Council elections in Scotland. You could argue next year the SNP will
take a real interest in those elections than usual, since they are trying to
create a narrative that there will be indyref 2 in 2023. There wouldn't be, but
since Nicola Sturgeon didn't get an offer of future employment at #Cop26, she
needs to keep Nationalists turning on her by appearing to act interested. The
longer Nicola Sturgeon falls to deliver indyref 2, the more support she will
lose inside and outside her own party.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">Asking
for proof of double vaccination or exemption to enter nightclubs and large
gatherings, is a bit like asking for an MOT, thinking that a year's MOT must
mean a car is good for a year. An MOT only means on a set date a vehicle was
passed as roadworthy, it does mean that within that year the car will remain
roadworthy. A person who gets a covid passport can get infected any time after
getting the passport, so they have effectively a licence to infect others when
they get infected. Have a think about that for a moment! It has been too late
to stop covid spreading, it is now a matter of managing it. The reason for
opening all business back up is simple, the more places that are open, the less
chance of people becoming infected. We are told that the hospitals are filling up
with covid cases, mostly people who have been double vaxxed. Depending on who
you read and believe, there will be a second pandemic, which should be titled,
'Covid Vaccine Injury', that is covid with heart attack, covid with stroke,
covid with neurological disease and a whole host of other serious problems like
suppression of immune response. The more people who get injected, the more that
hospitals will fill up, this is a statement of fact, a brutal truth which can
be found in government data in many countries.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">I
would say that there is a financial imperative to opening back up the whole
economy, to draw in as much as possible in tax to supply money to our health
services, less business making money, less tax collected. If Nicola Sturgeon
doesn't grasp the nettle and allow the hospitality sector to remain open, and
hampers the sector by making changes on December 6, many people will be
affected in the long term. Scotland due to its location cannot allow a key
sector like hospitality to suffer any longer. As I mentioned on twitter, a
friend who has been double vaxxed was infected with covid, we should now be
treating covid in the same manner as a flu. If you get it, stay in ride it out,
if it is bad seek medical help. Gavin Stevenson from the Scottish Licensed
Trade Association said that extending the lockdown and restrictions scheme
would be “little short of devastating for a substantial proportion of
businesses”. He is making a valid point, and he added the worthless and it is
worthless vaccine passport scheme is “typically” seeing a drop in turnover of
between 20 per cent and 40%.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">Stevenson
said:</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">“There’s
a direct correlation there between the implementation of vaccine passports and
a substantial and unsustainable decrease in trade. Any proposed extension of
the scheme is deeply unwelcome for the sector and, of course, this is not
particular to just Scotland,
we have now got data from Wales – a survey this week showing there’s been a
substantial decrease in trade in the Welsh sector.”</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">He
added:</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">“If
the Scottish Government is determined to proceed with the rollout of the
scheme, it would be absolutely essential to have significant financial support
go in place – otherwise a very substantial proportion of businesses will not
survive this winter.”</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Finally,
politics is about power and money, so Nicola Sturgeon should take heed that
money, generation of money by business is a priority now and going forward. SNP SMP John Mason accusing
the hospitality sector of “exaggerating” the problems facing the industry is
wrong, to dismiss what they say by saying they had been “crying wolf” is also
wrong. His snapshots in time don't encompass an entire industry, and it should
be pointed out as done by Gavin Stevenson that all the venues John Mason had
mentioned are not currently subject to vaccine passports. This is what I mean
about how Holyrood is like a third division football league. In the past, I
said Holyrood is a second rate parliament full of third rate politicians. If
you wnt to learn about governance, if you want to learn about politics, if you
want to learn about Statehood and State craft, then Westminster is the place to
be. In the end, it could come down to polling which decides if the passport
scheme is extended, not science, not data, nothing more than one woman's desire
to minimize the seepage of support away from her. The pandemic is over, the epidemic
is here, and it will spring up at various points in time, it is now a
management operation for keeping as much normality as possible. I campaigned
for John Mason a few times when I first started being politically active, he
has fallen a long way since 2008 and the by-election of Glasgow East where he
won by 365 votes. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">Yours sincerely</span> </span></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><p></p><p></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">George Laird The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7972114991869354050.post-53776042696632413542021-11-17T15:55:00.000+00:002021-11-17T15:55:23.327+00:00The Cruel World of Scotland, Scotland has lost a beautiful and wonderful human being called Esther Brown, she was a beacon of light for many who lived in darkness and despair, the man who raped and murdered her, Jason Graham has been jailed for life with a minimum sentence of 19 years, this sentence is too light for a serial rapist and murderer, justice demands life without possibility of release<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSfZuFgPozL6UYAY2ECK5rCbZqVDtWIv1mk6h9EJevbinFPUEhzEaSwDZHEsROPkmLWpQiwiJxLhQL4bySYxoX4umJQqW3rn5vpBQ-z5MVeBBkpD7h1QQZdPLRQNfSnNKDf7aa1xxsZa8C/s650/woodlands.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="433" data-original-width="650" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSfZuFgPozL6UYAY2ECK5rCbZqVDtWIv1mk6h9EJevbinFPUEhzEaSwDZHEsROPkmLWpQiwiJxLhQL4bySYxoX4umJQqW3rn5vpBQ-z5MVeBBkpD7h1QQZdPLRQNfSnNKDf7aa1xxsZa8C/w400-h266/woodlands.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dear
All </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">It
takes a particularly disturbed mind to rape and murder an innocent woman, but
in the midst of Covid, one thing has never stopped is bad people committing
unspeakable crimes. Esther Brown was a 67-year-old woman who was a much-loved
and active member of her local <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>community,
she was also someone who helped others in their time of need preparing meals
for people in need. Her life was full of light as you can see by looking at her
eyes in the picture above, then Jason Graham came into her life. Someone was
dead inside, someone whom decency and empathy was an alien concept. There are
people on the fringes of our society who are feral, they care nothing for
people or society, Graham was one of these people. You might ask, why am I
commenting on this story, when there is a few good solid political stories to
get your teeth into?</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">I
recognise her.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">In
life, you get periods of joy, and periods of heartache can sometimes fall immediately
afterwards. At the weekend, I went through to a free speech event, it was invitation
only, it had many high brow panels through-out the day and interesting topics, along with some pretty notable people.
Afterwards, I left Edinburgh, and I met up with a university friend that I hadn't seen in 28 years, to do a lot of catching up, and meet their family. When I got
back to Glasgow on Monday night, I phoned my mate to tell him about my trip and to get the latest gossip, and tell him about my mini adventures. As we chatted </span><span lang="EN-US">he told me, one of my long time friends brother is in hospital and in ICU, and nothing more
can be done for him by the medics. My mate was close to his brother, his upcoming death will hit my friend hard, his
brother is severely disabled, has been all his life, and now this. Sometimes
life can be too much and too cruel. I had spent a weekend enjoying myself, for a
change, and come back to hear all about this.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">In
my life, I have came across all sorts of people, I have met people in passing
like Jason Graham, and also many good and decent people like Esther Brown. I feel so
sorry for the family and friends of Esther, they have lost such a unique human
being, someone who deserved love, respect and to be valued for what she was a
shining light in a country living in darkness. After the trial of Jason Graham,
the judge has jailed him for life with a minimum term of 19 years. Prison will
not be new to him, Graham had previously been jailed for raping an older woman
in 2013. Some people in society cannot be changed, some people have so much
hate in them, they have no intention of changing, Jason Graham was one of those
people. A minimum term of 19 years is a lot, but in the case of Graham, his
sentence should be life without possibility of release. I don't know if he will
have any regret about what he done, his regrets will be more practical, can't
get booze, can't get drugs and can't get a normal exists. If he gets out of
prison, this two time rapist will never be employed in the public sector, and
it is doubtful he would find a place in the private sector with no employment
record or skills.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">Just
as Jason Graham rape and murdered a kind lady, he also killed off his own life.
As he sits in the sex offenders wing, will he think back to horrific injuries
and death that he caused? Others will rightly wonder, why someone like Jason
Graham a known sex offender was better monitored, the answer is simple, not
enough resources and people to do so. For some time, I have been writing about
how society is in a bad way, it is being systematically destroyed, rule of law
has been eroded, we haven't entered the apocalypse but we are marching right up
towards the door. People like Graham look and see how rotten everything is at
the top, and think since the rich and powerful don't abide by the rules, why
should he. Graham was a person who didn't aspire, he gave up wanting to be a
better person, when did that start is anyone's guess. We have a society in
decline in Scotland, but crimes like these should be a wake-up call. Will this
be one for politicians to answer, or will they simply not show interest and
forget. There has been a trial, there has been a verdict, Jason Graham has been
removed from society, but that should not be the end of the matter.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">A
few days ago, the SNP and The National are putting together an edition of
propaganda, an independence rag that riches, wealth and happiness are just
round the corner. If you stand back and watch Scotland and the SNP Government,
you will know that 'nirvana' and their 'milk and honey' for all is a lie. There
is plenty of time for nonsense, but little time for getting Scotland back on
its feet, there is no time to get its people back on its feet. There is no
understanding that the real fight isn't about independence, it is about
continually raising people up from the bottom. We have a section in society
called the underclass, Jason Graham was a life time member it seems, people who
have nothing, who have no future, who have given up aspiration in favour of baser
needs. In the 14 years of SNP misrule, the SNP have abandoned government except
as a meal ticket and as a campaigning tool for independence. They have run down
all services at national and local level, they have caused division, they have
failed in key areas relating to policing, courts and social work.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">As
more people get trapped in poverty, living lives of despair and anger, we will
continue to see people like Jason Graham emerge for all the wrong reasons.
After his first rape, Jason Graham was said to be monitored by the police as a
registered sex offender. I would like to know, what does that really mean? Does
it mean, they knew where he lived, well obviously that comes from the register,
but does turning up at where he lives actually stop crime? The answer is no,
this is just police having a pick up address of 'known offenders' which they
can access for ease of investigation, and of course, they would have his DNA on
file from 2013. Graham already knew that the police had his DNA on file and
rape anyway, so where was the deterrent or the managing of his behaviour? In
some respects, you may ask if the current system is 'shutting the door after
the horse has bolted'.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">Finally,
after reading this post, I want you to forget the name Jason Graham, forget him
and cast what he did out of your mind. I want you instead to remember Esther
Brown as her family, friends and community knew her, “a much-loved and active
member of the community”. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Helen Moran,
who worked with Ms Brown in the community said of her:</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">“Esther
was honestly a wonderful person, we worked together preparing meals for people
in need.”</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">A
neighbour, Ms McKay added:</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">“The
impact of her death has been huge in the community. The sentencing is very
disappointing as many of us in the surrounding community have been victims of
perpetrators being let back into society. We need to see change in the justice
system.”</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Scotland
needs an Esther's Law, and an overhaul of the justice system, from 'soup to
nuts', we have a failed system, but I doubt there will be any real desire to
change it by the SNP Government. As I mentioned above, when I read about this
case, and looked at the picture, I immediately recognised her, she is now gone,
and the world is truly the worse for her passing. When Ms Mckay said, “The
impact of her death has been huge in the community”, let me tell you, it has
been felt in Craigton, may God welcome this beautiful soul into his kingdom. And may others have the courage to speak out to change our broken country and systems.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">Yours sincerely</span> </span></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><p></p><p></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">George Laird The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University</span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7972114991869354050.post-37653755561635450942021-11-11T15:38:00.002+00:002021-11-11T19:27:27.496+00:00Left to Suffer, Left to Die in SNP Controlled Scotland; Political choices by SNP Leader Nicola Sturgeon directly relate to the tragic death of Richard Brown from Maryhill, health budgets cut, staff not replaced, services not enhanced or developed, while Sturgeon was preparing for her next full round of 'selfies', Richard Brown suffering greatly for 5 hours in a dirty stairwell waiting for help which came too late<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlRb6HtSp4o5nsWwBYIuWOpBZe3K_o1sTtmvl1sU_3AtKm5_RctCQfsrMRIXS_IeBwReRpz8zE5dNnkYaY_e6u3Q4r3i8oiCS2QWBaW8o0eepoDNYxYZTZx8KOXaRYS-FSEVtXuDfgNcg0/s615/crank.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="409" data-original-width="615" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlRb6HtSp4o5nsWwBYIuWOpBZe3K_o1sTtmvl1sU_3AtKm5_RctCQfsrMRIXS_IeBwReRpz8zE5dNnkYaY_e6u3Q4r3i8oiCS2QWBaW8o0eepoDNYxYZTZx8KOXaRYS-FSEVtXuDfgNcg0/w400-h266/crank.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dear
All</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">It
seems that with Cop26 still running, SNP Leader Nicola Sturgeon has abandoned
her responsibilities as First Minister to continue her networking scheme in the
hope that this may lead to a job offer. On social media, you can see Nicola
Sturgeon zip about the place getting countless 'selfies' with anyone remotely
famous. It is truly a bizarre sight to behold, you get someone who turns up at
an event with no role whatsoever at it, then spends the time hawking herself
around the venue seeking opportunities for future employment. The price of a
ticket has no monetary value but there is a cost to Nicola Sturgeon abandoning
ship, that price is people dying. During Covid, Nicola Sturgeon said allowed
that 'I am in charge', that she is making the decisions, well we saw how bad
her decision making actually is, infected patients transferred into sterile
care homes, allowing Drs to try and get patients to sign DNR so they don't have
to try and save their lives.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">As
the Scottish Conservatives are making an impact now, it seems dealing with
problems and handling the heat isn't Sturgeon's forte at present. There is
plenty of questions to ask Nicola Sturgeon, some historic and some present, Sturgeon has ducked out of First Minister Questions. In doing this, she is leaving the disgraced Deputy
First Minister John Swinney to fill in for her again. Let's be clear, she isn't doing
her job as FM at Cop26 because there is no official role for her. In my opinion, this is
someone who has 'gate crashed' an event for personal advancement using her position of authority. When there is
bad news, it seems Nicola Sturgeon sloops off and gets her main Holyrood stooge
to take the flak. John Swinney has apologized to the family of Richard Brown
who died on the stairs outside his home after waiting five hours for an
ambulance. Let's remember the key point through-out this post, he was waiting five
hours for an ambulance. Before, I moved to Pollok in 1972, I previously lived
in Maryhill, in two places, Oran Street, and Gairbraid Place, so I know the
area well despite its partial regen. As a kid during the coal shortage in the
1970's, I used to do hunt for coal on the slagheap on the site of the JD Gym
just across from Tesco. Mr. Brown didn't live that far away from where I used
to live, he stayed in Hathaway Lane, again close to Tesco. The distance to the
Royal Infirmary was more or less a straight road, it takes about 10 minutes to
get from Hathaway Lane to the Royal Infirmary. The distance is only 3.2 miles,
but for Richard Brown, that hospital may have been a million miles away for all
the good it could do him. The police station on Maryhill Road is literally a
few minutes walk from his home, if he had been put in the back of a police
vehicle, he would have been in hospital in under 10 minutes with the police
doing what is called a 'blue light' run. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">Richard
Brown was only 55 years old when he died in the tenement stairs in Hathaway
Lane, in Maryhill, last Saturday. A neighbour who found him said he was struggling
to breath and called the ambulance several times. One can only wonder the pain
and suffering that was caused to Mr. Brown during those long hours last
Saturday evening as he awaited the arrival of paramedics. John Swinney's few
seconds of 'sorry' certainly will not be any comfort for the family. Everyone
knows the SNP are clueless when it comes to running the country, we have one of
the worst incompetent Health Secretaries ever in the history of devolution,
Humza Yousaf. A man who is so overwhelmed by the job, that he cannot do the
job, a man who has time for twitter but not time to organised a Health Service
to save lives. A man who has time for playing the race card, but no time to ensure
sick people are transported to hospitals. Just as Nicola Sturgeon was wrong to
promote Shona Robison as Health Sec, Sturgeon as no problem doubling down
appointing Humza Yousaf as her support an position in the SNP starts to ebb
away.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">John
Swinney apparently thinks it is okay to 'talk away' the death of Richard Brown
by using standard platitudes such as saying, Mr Brown "should not
have had the experience he had" and said he was “sorry his family are
enduring added agony”. Is John Swinney 'sorry'? No, I am sorry but I am not
buying he is sorry at all, and I hope that the guilt he should be feeling over
the death of Richard Brown and the countless others who have died will haunt
him and Nicola Sturgeon for the rest of their lives. Humza Yousaf, too stupid
to feel regret for what he has failed to do. Nicola Sturgeon appointed an
idiot, and the idiot was happy to fulfil a role. To clarify, that 'role' isn't
Health Sec, that is just a vehicle to concentrate power around Sturgeon, his
role is to shield any potential threat to Sturgeon's leadership from the bottom.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">As
per usual, Swinney is trying to deflect and pass the blame to Scottish ambulance
service into what happened. The SNP cut funding, the SNP allowed the service to
be run down, the SNP allowed the cutting of staff numbers by failing to ensure
staff were replaced.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">Political
choices by Nicola Sturgeon directly relate to the death of Richard Brown.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">One
trick the SNP like to use in deflection tactics is say part of the explanation for
his death was there were massive pressures on the Scottish Ambulance Service as
well as the wider NHS. That answer is not acceptable, it is a ploy to attempt
Sturgeon, Swinney and Yousaf as somehow 'defenders' of the Scottish Ambulance
Service and the wider NHS, they're not. They spent millions on a temp hospital,
but they didn't use it, they spent more money tearing it down, saying they were
'coping' and the temp hospital wasn't needed. Millions, and millions of pounds
wasted yet again. In another ploy, John Swinney started to waffle on about
since 2018 the ambulance service responded to 5788 life threatening incidents
and by October 2021 that has almost doubled to 10,733. This only shows that the
SNP failed to recognise that preventative health measures were needed in each
successive year since 2018. They knew that there was a problem, so didn't put
in multiple measures to try and break the cycle or at least mitigated the
impact by slowing it down?</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">Why
did the SNP do nothing?</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">Douglas
Ross, Conservative leader said:</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">“The
Scottish Government isn’t doing enough to support emergency health service in
its time of need.”</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">In
fact, he could have said more, he could have mentioned that the SNP election bribes
which siphoned off much need cash for core services, was a bad political
decision, just like the recent decision to provide free bus travel for the
under 22's is wrong. What is more important in society, a proper functioning
health service or a free hurl on a bus? Swinney responses that the SNP government
has put in place increased investment £20m and is recruiting 356 new ambulance
staff by the spring may sound good, but the reality is no one or few are asking
the right questions. Where did this £20 million come from, which budget was it
moved from, and question should be centred around the number 356. How many of
the 356 are to replace retiring or staff that have left? How many are genuinely
additional staff? One trick use by the SNP is when they give back money around
taken from budgets, and then claim that the budget has risen under this SNP government.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">Here
is an example, if I take your wallet and take £100 out of it, then later I give
you back £40, can I say that I have increased your budget? Technically the
answer is yes, but what the calculation doesn't take into account that £60 that
you previously had is now gone, and you have had indeed a £40 increase from
your current position of zero funds. It is political party nonsense, a mixture
of deception and falsehood. The SNP aren't the good guys, they never were, they
are destroying Scotland, Sturgeon has seen the writing on the wall, she wants
to get off the merry go round because having put in her 'shift', she thinks she
has earned the 'quiet life' where she can zip about like a former Statesman who
gets senior positions in big business.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Finally,
the lack of action by Nicola Sturgeon shows how she is a cold and callous
individual, people like Richard Brown could possibly have been saved if an
ambulance had turned up in time. Instead Richard spent his last five hours
struggling to breath, in immense pain and suffering, lying on a stair case,
waiting for help that came too late. How many other people like Richard have to
die before Nicola Sturgeon appoints a proper Health Sec, how many people have
to die before the necessary provisions are put in place to transport the sick?
How many people have to die before the SNP restores proper funding, and uses
public funding properly? You cannot help but feel sorry for the family of
Richard Brown, he is another casualty of the systematic neglect that Nicola
Sturgeon and the SNP have shown towards public services and governance in this
country. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">Yours sincerely</span> </span></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><p></p><p></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">George Laird The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University</span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7972114991869354050.post-57424220547139920562021-11-09T13:03:00.002+00:002021-11-09T14:27:46.193+00:00Pariahs in the Palace; inglorious SNP MP Pete Wishart plumbs the depths of the sewer by asking Cressida Dick, Met Police Commissioner to launch formal criminal probe into Boris Johnson and his predecessors, the SNP used the same smear campaign called 'cash for honours' nearly 14 years ago, smears, allegations and suspicion show the utter lack of class of the SNP, they are small people, and always will be<iframe frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/j4eF6GflZ14" width="480"></iframe><div><br /></div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dear
All</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Few
MPs from Scotland have been more embarrassing that SNP MP Pete Wishart, a
stupid and crass little in every sense of the word, in terms not just of
content but also of volume. Prior to Ian Blackford being appointed as the
leading embarrassment for the SNP in Westminster, no one could argue that
Wishart crave a name for himself as a fool. One thing, I have learned about
politics is that the person isn't always picked as a candidate and the best
candidate doesn't always win elections. The SNP at on a mission at Westminster
to discredit at every opportunity and by any means the UK Government. They have
of course relished this task of disruption whether it be clapping after speeches
by their own, (no one else claps them), or meaningless walk outs, causing
trouble in Commons bars, or just saying abusive things then being held to
account by the speaker. As they are constantly ignored and seen as irrelevant,
the UK Government has effectively shut them out as a sounding board for ideas
and there is no goodwill that exists between the SNP MPs and the bulk of
members of the House.</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">SNP
leader Nicola Sturgeon has no official role at Cop26, she isn't invited to the official
talks with world leaders, and rightly so. Nicola Sturgeon is no world leader in
much the same way as her stooge, Cllr Susan Aitken is no council leader. In
fact, the Prime Minister Boris Johnson is on record as saying that he didn't
want Nicola Sturgeon to be anywhere near Cop26. Having been embarrassed, Nicola
Sturgeon decided to turn up as much as humanly possible and be a 'selfie
queen', and it seems getting no job offers. Having 'not being invited to the
ball', the sycophants in the SNP were outraged for their dear leader, and as if
by magic, Pete Wishart has stepped forward to do some shit stirring. You might
ask why not that incredible buffoon Ian Blackford, this type of activity would
be right up his alley. I would say that using 'the minion' to blaze the trail,
allows the press to do a series of follow ups with him as he attempts to try
and position himself as having gravitas. The smearing over 'cash for honours'
isn't new, it has been used before by the SNP, notably SNP MP Angus MacNeil,
whose fame is centred on stories, 'three in a bed' (cheating on his then wife)
and chasing after some bird who was hanging around Stewart Hosie. MacNeil lost
out to Hosie, who was also cheating on his then wife, SNP MSP Shona Robison.</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As
Angus MacNeil is seen as a Salmond ally by some, it seems that 'Pension' Pete
or 'cosy slippers' Wishart is the man for the job. Wishart is the chair of the
Scottish Select Committee, which he does with the same gravitas a chimp at a
chimp's tea party. You could sum up his performances as chair of the Committee
as 'oh, ffs'. Tedious, torturous, boring, dry, you would have more excitement
ask people about how the fold and put away their laundry. Having been selected
to shit stir, Pete Wishart has lodged a formal complaint about Boris Johnson
and Conservative party officials over alleged corruption. At this point, you
could ask, does Pete Wishart have any evidence, eye witness accounts, smoking
gun documents, or information passed to him? No, he is going on a fishing expedition
and wants to use Cressida Dick, Met Police Commissioner to get the Met Police
to become politicised, something which the SNP have already attempted before in
the case of Marion Millar. The idea isn't to get a conviction because that is a
bridge too far, the idea is to put someone through a process in order to cause
alarm and stress. So, what will Pete Wishart's letter to Cressida Dick, Met
Police Commissioner asking her to investigate the Prime Minister and his
predecessors over so-called cash for honours claims achieve? Well, absolutely
nothing, if Wishart had a case, the buffoon, Ian Blackford would be front and
centre of this nonsense. This is a sheer waste of time, money and resources,
something which the SNP have no problem using up, especially when the money is
from the UK taxpayer.</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In
his letter, Pete Wishart says that he was said he was concerned about “criminal
misconduct” by Boris Johnson, and previous Conservative Prime Ministers, and other
senior Conservatives.</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">He
wrote:</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“I
write to inform you of potential criminal misconduct regarding the procurement
of honours and membership of the House of Lords. The emerging allegations,
which have been widely referred to as the 'cash for honours scandal, are deeply
undermining public trust and confidence. These widespread allegations and
suspicion of criminal activity need to be urgently addressed. I, therefore,
believe it is now essential that a formal criminal investigation is now
initiated by the Metropolitan Police.”</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">You
would think that Wishart would have included evidence, but all he has to work
with is allegations and suspicion which come from other opposition parties,
their members, supporters and allies. To jazz up his cimplaint, Wishart cited
that there could be breaches of the law under the Honours (Prevention
of Abuses) Act 1925. The SNP have played this game before when Tony Blair was
questioned by the police in 2006 and 2007, following a police complaint by
Angus MacNeil MP. 14 years later, we have Pete Wishart playing the same tune,
so why is he working his fiddle so hard? If you follow politics, the answer
could be that yet again, the SNP need to deflect attention away from
themselves. There is still issues which need address and questions answered.</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">1/
Where is the <a href="https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/police-probe-claims-funds-raised-23849173">£600k
of 'ring fenced' indyref2 money</a>?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">2/
Who authorised <a href="https://www.scotsman.com/news/opinion/columnists/if-snp-cabinet-secretary-angus-robertson-did-nothing-wrong-over-promotion-of-his-new-book-about-vienna-why-did-he-withdraw-from-taxpayer-funded-literary-festival-murdo-fraser-msp-3442186">£30k
of public money for Angus Robertson's book launch</a>?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">3/
What is the connection between <a href="https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/1517784/nicola-sturgeon-news-fraud-probe-sandstone-HIE-police-scotland">Nicola
Sturgeon and Sandstone Publishing</a>?</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Now,
these are questions!</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">To
pad out his letter, Wishart cited a joint investigation by OpenDemocracy and
the Sunday Times.</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">He
added:</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"Since
the Conservative party returned to power in 2010, successive Prime Ministers
have elevated nine of the party's former treasurers to the House of Lords. Each
of those appointed since 2014 has donated at least £3 million. Any
investigation must uncover any process or link between these donations and the
subsequent appointment of these individuals to the House of Lords. In total,
twenty two of the Conservative party's biggest financial contributors have been
made members of the House of Lords in the past eleven years. Together they have
donated some £54m to the Tories. I believe that it is only right to investigate
whether these donations were, in fact, rewarded with honours."</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Where
this falls down is that other people have been given peerages by the
Conservatives, in many different parts of society. So, the obvious question is
where is the evidence of wrongdoing? You argue that the honour system is
outdated, you could argue that it needs reform, but these issues don't pass the
mark to imply criminality?</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A
UK Government spokeswoman said:</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Peerages
reflect long-standing contributions to civic life and also a willingness to
further contribute to public life as a legislator in the Second Chamber. It is
wrong to criticise individuals being honoured just because they have also
chosen to support or donate to a political party. Donations should be
transparent, but that is not an excuse to knock people for broader
philanthropy, enterprise and public service. Volunteering and supporting a
political party is part of our civic democracy. In the UK, taxpayers do not
have to bankroll political parties’ campaigning. Political parties have to
raise money themselves, and follow transparency and compliance rules laid out
in law.”</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Wishart's
letter will be looked at carefully for evidence, but allegations and suspicion
don't trigger a police investigation anymore than saying someone 'looks guilty'
does. The SNP don't put forward names for the House of Lords, I suspect this is
down to the SNP being a republican party, you may remember in the four groups
that make up the modern SNP, I highlighted the 'Sein Fein lite' group. Although
the SNP have historically always been opposed to the House of Lords, and refused
to take any seats in the second chamber, the timing of their latest rant seems
curious. Wishart also lashed out at Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the
Conservatives for appointing anyone to the House of Lords, what he calls "that
corrupt circus". The second chamber is needed because it is an effective
break on the government, of course, the break can be removed by government, but
generally, this type of heavy handed approach isn't taken in favour of
amendments. I would say that although some people shouldn't be in the House of
Lords, their checks and balances on government is needed.</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Wishart
told MPs;</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"I
have now asked the Metropolitan Police to investigate the activities of the
Conservative Party and the awarding of places in the House of Lords. I'll say
ever so gently to my friends in the Labour Party, stop putting people in that
place. Stop giving it legitimacy and credibility. We don't need the Gordon
Brown Commission. We just need you guys as the opposition party to say you will
abolish it. It is a circus, it is a corrupt circus and it is the high point of
deference in the class system. To think that the Labour Party would defend that
place and put people in it is beyond ridiculous. Grow up. Get a sense of this,
help up get rid of that appalling circus down the corridor."</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Finally,
the SNP have a long history of trying to destroy British democracy, so nothing
new here from Wishart. Will Cressida Dick, Met Police Commissioner act? I see
her punting this letter down the chain to someone at Inspector level who will
make some noises, shuffle some paper, and declare that they couldn't find Pete
Wishart's needle in a haystack. Everyone knows that the SNP are playing
politics, everyone knows they are a nasty little bunch, and everyone knows
their modus operandi is rolling grievance. Sometime ago, Pete Wishart put
himself forward as a possible speaker of the House of Commons, he was never a
serious contender for the post, and no one in their right mind would have voted
for him outside the nationalist ranks. Could you imagine him sitting in the
Speaker causing chaos and giving the SNP preferential treatment? When I hear he
floated the idea as him as speaker, my first thought was immediately no, and
secondly, why would he think MPs would vote for him when he and his party continually
try to trash parliament? Did he simply come to the position that his past deeds
somehow would be wiped clean? Please enjoy the video of Kay Burley questioning
Pete Wishart, notice him squealing when asked about indyref 2 money. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">Yours sincerely</span> </span></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><p></p><p></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">George Laird The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University</span></p></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7972114991869354050.post-83547215553324641942021-11-04T13:14:00.001+00:002021-11-04T13:14:33.120+00:00Not a Hope in Hell, Gordon Brown-led pro right wing Labour think tank says Nicola Sturgeon should chair UK-wide climate agency, Nicola Sturgeon couldn't fake pass herself off as a green environmentalist, Sturgeon readily admits her inability to grow anything, or indeed save anything, Sturgeon chairing a UK-wide climate agency would be seen as a utter betrayal of the party and independence by SNP members<p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGX02HbygvQCpku32NqS0T5-xceLgLB47HOi5cSiOkV12ZMrLhTQGQFwQ1oQdZk6tNRkXwhAwP-pI2_5rh55nYGgntbQUzddOUVu9iZTQl3YiumOg-0bGuU3-niZUVcqU6di4449uEK-rW/s1280/cal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1280" height="349" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGX02HbygvQCpku32NqS0T5-xceLgLB47HOi5cSiOkV12ZMrLhTQGQFwQ1oQdZk6tNRkXwhAwP-pI2_5rh55nYGgntbQUzddOUVu9iZTQl3YiumOg-0bGuU3-niZUVcqU6di4449uEK-rW/w416-h349/cal.jpg" width="416" /></a></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">Dear
All</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">We
are know that SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon is looking for an escape route out of
her current situation. Having destroyed Scotland at national and local
government level, Sturgeon has it appears finally worked out that the longer
she fails to deliver a second Scottish independence referendum, the more of the
Nationalist community will turn against her. I think it would be fair comment
to say that a huge chunk of the wider Yes movement have wised up to her game.
Even within the SNP elected politicians, there is quiet dissent about the fact
independence campaigning is effectively dead, and has been since Sturgeon took over the SNP leadership in 2014.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In life imitating art, I am reminded of a
cartoon character Judge Cal, Cal appeared in the comic strip 2000AD in the series
of stories featuring the main character called Judge Dredd. Judge Cal was a madman who schemed his way
into power by backstabbing, but he was so fearful of his fellow judges that he
surrounded himself with his own external private army. This was due to him being totally mad and paranoid. In
some ways you can see the Cal narrative played in Nicola Sturgeon. Sturgeon surrounded
herself with sycophants, and then brought in her own private army in the shape
of the Scottish Greens to hold a tight grasp of power. All the while, the party
that she leads like Mega City One judges, voice their quiet disapproval which
doesn't go un-noticed. I look at Nicola Sturgeon and see the Judge Cal episodes
playing out in real life. During Cop26, an obsessed and clearly deranged
Sturgeon has turned up to the Cop26 event, and used it as a personal jobs fair.
The sight of her grabbing any world leader into an unofficial meeting to give
the impression that she was at Cop26 in her own right is so laughable and sad.
Cop26 is supposed to be about climate change, but Sturgeon is determined to
hijack it at every opportunity for self promotion and job hunting.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">A
key point to note is that SNP Leader Nicola Sturgeon isn't an environmentalist!</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">Nicola
Sturgeon and her incompetent SNP Government has failed to climate change
targets year in year out. No experience, no interest, and no deep understanding
of the issues of climate change. The main problem facing the world is over
population, it is not climate change, climate is a symptom of over population.
Just as Nicola Sturgeon is planning to go at some stage, it seems that a think-tank
has called for Nicola Sturgeon to chair a UK-wide agency on climate
co-operation. Putting Nicola Sturgeon in charge of a UK-wide agency on climate
co-operation is like putting a vegan in charge of an abattoir, it is a ludicrous
suggestion, I can only assume that the pro-unionist think-tank, Our Scottish
Future knows this. When you look at who is in Our Scottish Future, you maybe
minded to opine that this is a front for the Labour Party, despite the fact it
has Eddie Barnes listed in its who we are. It is not uncommon for political
parties to setup front organisations, then these same organisations then echo a
party's policies. The SNP did this during the 2014 referendum, they setup many
Yes Groups, supposedly independent but who were run by SNP members. The most
obvious SNP controlled group was Yes Scotland, run by the SNP, staffed by the
SNP and funded by the SNP, with a few Greens and SSP as cover.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">So,
what about Our Scottish Future, doing a casual search, leaving aside Gordon
Brown who we already know is Labour, others listed have also Labour Party
connections and former employment. So, I can assume that the think tanks
suggestion will find no takers into two key places, the UK Government and the
SNP Government. I am surprised that their suggestion would even rate as a
viable proposition, I can only assume that they are doing this because they are
under the misconception that this idea would boost Anas Sarwar as Labour leader
going forward into the 2022 council elections and 2024 Westminster elections. Anas
Sarwar isn't making an impact as leader, and polling for the party hovers
around the 20% mark with a blip of 22% which shows, nothing that Sarwar does actually
matters. London Labour will find that out to its cost in 2024, which I suspect
will lead them to the pragmatic choice that they will need to put a new centre
left in, which given the current cast of players, would mean Paul J Sweeney,
Glasgow list MSP.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">One
issue which they think tank doesn't grasp is that although Sturgeon wants to
bail out, it was been seen as utter betrayal to join a UK Government agency,
her name would be mud in the SNP. There would be no Winnie Ewing status
afforded to her. Nicola Sturgeon probably had her sights set on a cosy EU job
working in the Commission, but Brexit put pay to that idea. Other prestige
organisations like the UN or the WHO are so far out of her reach, she wouldn't
be able to scale those highs even with a B&Q extendable ladder. There is
only one direction of travel for Nicola Sturgeon, downwards, talk of a
university position is an option, but with her lack of teaching experience, and
less than impressive pre politician work history, who wants to scrap the bottom
of the barrel? Glasgow University or Herriot Watt? Could you imagine having
your work marked by Nicola Sturgeon, you would looking for the appeals process
even before you submitted an essay.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">If
there is anyone who has the credibility to chair a UK Government agency on
climate change from Scotland, it would have to be without question, former
leader of the Scottish Greens, Robin Harper. Harper at least has green
credentials, experience and importantly genuine interest in the subject. Harper
has also been roped into Our Scottish Future camp chairing environmental
commission.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">He
said:</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">“We
need to co-operate rather than compete; we need constructive dialogue; and in
the face of the environmental emergency that looms, we should be abandoning the
toxic binary <a href="https://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/">politics</a> of
today in favour of constructive dialogue.”</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">His
first sentence shows why Nicola Sturgeon would be unsuitable for the chair of a
UK Government agency, two reasons, not a leader, and not a team player.
Sturgeon has a known history of non cooperation with the UK Government and
personal animosity with the ruling party in Westminster. Also if you look at
the party she leads in Westminster, she is either complicit in their behaviour
or failing in leadership to manage them as a discipline body.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">A
Scottish Government spokesperson said: </span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">“The
First Minister has made clear to world leaders and COP26 delegates
Scotland will continue to lead by example on climate change issues.”</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">Scotland
isn't continuing to lead by example, the SNP failed to met their own targets.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">They
add:</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">“Scotland
has decarbonised faster than any G20 nation and was the first devolved nation
in the world to publish an indicative nationally determined contribution
showing how we will help meet the objectives of the Paris agreement, pledging
to cut emissions by three quarters by 2030, and to be net zero by 2045. Our
updated climate change plan and associated commitments provide a clear and
credible pathway, across all parts of the economy, to meeting Scotland’s
emissions targets out to 2032.”</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">I
would assume that Nicola Sturgeon will have left politics by that time, and due
to 'whatever', those targets will not be met.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">In
the last part of the spokesperson's address, they said:</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">“It
is disappointing that any annual emissions targets have been missed, but we are
proud to show our accountability by publishing a catch-up report setting out
our commitments to going further in our policy approach in order to ensure we
deliver on future targets. The proposals for any new body would need to be
considered alongside other organisations that already advise and assess
progress on Scotland’s just transition to net zero, such as the UK Climate
Change Committee, Environmental Standards Scotland and the Just Transition
Commission.”</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Finally,
the SNP drone basically, they said, 'we failed, but we published a report',
just like a new report will be produced when they fail to meet the future
targets they failed to meet the last time. If you don't know what this is, I will
explain, it is a 'paper chase', the purpose is to keep writing in order to buy
time, so the agenda can move onto something else. As to Nicola Sturgeon,
although she is keen to move onto new pastures, she deludes herself that there
is a magic job tree at Cop26, and if she rattles the delegates then someone
will come back with a plum job with big bucks, pension and perks. Every SNP leader
prior to Nicola Sturgeon saw their career trajectory go right down the crapper,
including Alex Salmond. If Salmond couldn't scale the heights, what chance does
a Dreghorn hairy wee ned have? Nicola Sturgeon couldn't fake being a nice
caring human being, even after a team did a makeover on her, what chance do you
really think she could pass herself off as a green environmentalist?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">Yours sincerely</span> </span></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><p></p><p></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">George Laird The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University</span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7972114991869354050.post-50717710698501971442021-11-03T12:12:00.003+00:002021-11-04T17:27:09.268+00:00Joining Up All The Dots; SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon and Health Secretary Humza Yousaf's stupidity leave Scotland exposed to a serious Covid outbreak so that Sturgeon can 'gatecrash' Cop26 as a 'selfie Queen' to try to make out she is an invited world leader, a Covid spike is the price of admission that she is willing to pay, an admission paid in Scottish deaths, how is the job hunting going Nicola, any offers, some people are paying a high price for your jobs fair<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2ZcV_6Zp1Y7AnS9H73xNhgPFn31V4vQ-fCuJGw_bL5Vi05HPYTiLuBV7nXG6Xfav_pTLpckBJyq7PO_9f7vC6_DUYrPlnDQ4zii4acDGV6YLGhd1kGHAKigTPyS8_jsDnunO0Hkzd6tm0/s770/Sturgeoncop26.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="513" data-original-width="770" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2ZcV_6Zp1Y7AnS9H73xNhgPFn31V4vQ-fCuJGw_bL5Vi05HPYTiLuBV7nXG6Xfav_pTLpckBJyq7PO_9f7vC6_DUYrPlnDQ4zii4acDGV6YLGhd1kGHAKigTPyS8_jsDnunO0Hkzd6tm0/w400-h266/Sturgeoncop26.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dear
All</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">Hopefully
one day, after the Covid pandemic is over, we have been through the sham of a
Scottish Enquiry which no one will be held responsible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For the record, I am saying the verdict will
say that 'lessons need to be learned', and no one will carry the can. After all
that is swept away, just maybe, a few academics will come out with some credible
reports into the real situation which faces people. Until this happens, the continuous
car crash of the SNP Government and their assorted shrills will be doing the 'wrong
thing', and saying the 'wrong thing' to deflect you away from the truth. I don't
know about you, but it doesn't take anything other than common sense to
understand that shipping Covid infected elderly patients into sterile care
homes is a universally bad idea. A few posts back, I highlighted that there
could be an additional problem of infection in complexes such as livingwell. Over
the course of the pandemic, I noticed an usually high number of vacancies in
livingwell complexes in Ibrox and Carmunnock. This is because I was checking
the website, My Housing, and noticed what appeared to be a trend. Twice a week,
this site posts housing vacancies from various housing associations in central
Scotland. So, to support my contention that there could be an issue which is
being ignored, have a look at the current vacancies, and you will notice a huge
amount all in a small area, in Ibrox at this moment in time.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.myhousing.org.uk/my-cbl/property-search">https://www.myhousing.org.uk/my-cbl/property-search
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></a></span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">These
houses have been advertised before, I assume since they are back up, either
applicants didn't qualify, or little interest was expressed in these mostly
studio flats. My point is, note the volume in a relatively small space. Some
people will have passed on due to age or illness, but I am concerned if Covid
and, or Covid vaccines played a part in their demise. As I have also mentioned
there seems to be an almost total media blackout on vaccine injury in the UK. There
has been some stories, usually the horrific or involving a celebrity which
surface but I suspect there a real story which will emerge over time relating
to vaccine injury. On Twitter, Facebook and Youtube, big tech working hand in
glove with governments sought to suppress videos and posts using the made up
criteria of disinformation. Truth is sometimes labelled as disinformation. One
fact which studies appear to support is that in certain countries with high
vaccination such as Israel, they have saw massive rises in Covid cases.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.clinicaltrialsarena.com/comment/israel-record-high-covid-19-cases/">https://www.clinicaltrialsarena.com/comment/israel-record-high-covid-19-cases/</a></span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">The
link above basically tells you that Israel observed a record high in Covid-19
cases in September despite mass vaccination. One theory for this is that the
vaccine which doesn't stop you getting Covid or transmitting it to others is
doing three things:</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">1/
Causing variants to be produced.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">2/
Suppressing the immune system leading to other illness to emerge.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">3/
Causing vaccine injury due to harmful reactions in the body via what is
contained in the injection.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">You
could possible come up with theory that after the pandemic seemed to be under
control in Israel due to various factors, the continual vaccination programme
effectively seeded so many people to have compromised immune systems. Once
vaccinated these people started mixing in large groups and this created a
cycle, people recovering were getting re-infected by other vaccinated people or
their bodies defences were so impacted, they couldn't cope, allowing any normal
illness to escalate to a serious problem like in the Aids epidemic. A study
shows that vaccinated and unvaccinated can carry the same viral load. Vaccine
mandates, vaccine passports and the continuous vaccine programme, doesn't appear
to work, doesn't certainly fix the problem. You might ask why is that, although
the Israelis were quick off the mark with restrictions, they weren't quick
enough. Any country which has entry points open is an access point for
variants, whether that be ports, airports or land borders. It isn't just
vaccine death which is an issue, it is the other elephant in the room, vaccine
injury, this is the second pandemic. Israel to give third jab to people aged
over 60, in normal circumstances, a vaccine with such limited protection would
never be approved for use. Some people wrongly cite repeated vaccination of
themselves as proof of safety, single cases in a clinical study are
statistically meaningless.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">You
can play Russian Roulette and possibly beat the odds for a length time, we all
understand this, because of various factors, such as time, selection of the
weapon, and the force used to spin the chamber. Eventually, the trigger will be
pulled and the pin will hit the bullet. The only way to beat Russian Roulette
is not to play it, this is part of people understanding risk, it is based on
information, and making an informed choice. Vaccine injury cannot be screened
out, and there isn't long term data to rely on to evaluate risk, one lie told
by an 'expert' who name escapes me was when she said we do partially know long
term data, the interviewer allowed her to get away with it without challenge.
In order to have long term data, it has to be collected over a long term, there
is no such thing as long term data collected in the short term.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">The
Cop26 event is a farce, leaving that aside, and Nicola Sturgeon's job hunting expedition,
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the underlying problem is so many additional
people roaming the streets of Glasgow who we can almost guarantee will be Covid
infected. So, it shouldn't come as a surprised that Humza Yousless, the inept,
overpaid and incompetent Health Sec has parroted out that the Scottish
Government “will not hesitate” to reimpose tough coronavirus restrictions
if cases rise again. Cases are going to rise again, you don't need data, you
don't need modelling, and you don't need a degree in any discipline. You don't
even need to the prewritten script that Humza Yousaf probably use to tell MSPs
that there were “early signs” the virus could increase.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">Humza
Yousaf said:</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">“The
decline in new cases has halted in recent weeks – and, at around 2,500 new
cases per day, it is still at a level well above previous lows. There are early
signs that case numbers may increase again hereafter and so the situation
remains precarious.”</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">Wow,
"precarious", this means dependent on chance circumstances, unknown
conditions, or uncertain developments, it seems that Humza is pulling out the
'big words', I assume to appear to have gravitas. I wonder if he is aware that
he doesn't have gravitas, or integrity, or leadership qualities? He may think
that using buzzwords, that the Scottish Government is looking at “all options”
may impress some, but not me. He may think that using jargon that we are
involved in an “evolving pandemic” sounds that he has a grasp of the big
picture, but he really is clueless. Humza Yousaf is a puppet who serves a
purpose, he talks about things he doesn't understand, he makes speeches and
sound bites which are bland, and if he is ever taken off script into detail, he
is lost. He is a race card player, his current fight with a nursery in Dundee
however has gone remarkably quiet, after threats to admit there were racist and
stump up a donation to a charity, the business appeared to not buckle or bend
the knee to him or his family.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">A
Covid surge is on the cards, after all, it happened after the Euro 2020 matches
and the G7 Summit in Cornwall. Cop26 is a circus, so a clown like Humza may
entertain an audience, but really once his 'act' is over focus switches
elsewhere. Him urging marchers to “think very carefully about their behaviours
and their impact on services” is meaningless, because people are going to do
what they want to do, drinking, protesting, mixing, eating and shagging. Cop26
opened the floodgates to disease, and the SNP Government said nothing, done
nothing and prepared for nothing, all because SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon wanted
to use the event for her own purposes. If you check twitter you can see how she
has tried to centre herself as somehow being part of the event in the same way
as people who actually are world leaders. This is supposed to be a climate
summit, but Sturgeon is running around getting selfies with anyone and
everyone. She wasn't invited but has piggyback into the event, the photo of her
hanging around US President Joe Biden shows what a shallow attention seeker she
really is. I could highlight some more of Humza Yousaf's waffle but the fact
is, his 'informed' opinion is of such low grade pap, it really isn't worth
hearing. Nicola Sturgeon and him have created an open door policy for Covid,
but then say they are monitoring things closely. That is a bit like saying, we
have let a wild tiger loose in Govan, we are doing everything we can to
minimise it not eating and attacking people. You see how stupidity his mentally
actually is, he is not protecting anyone, and the surge will take a few weeks
to break out, Cop26 by that time will have finished.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">Figures
recorded in the last 24 hours confirmed an additional 26 coronavirus-linked
deaths and 2,010 new Covid cases in Scotland. Although numbers are important,
there seems to be a lack of candour. For example, we need to know how many of
the 26 deaths were of people who had been vaccinated, this is important data,
because the assumption would be that the 26 were people who didn't get the
shots. The SNP has decided to press ahead with boosters, to that end they have
requested additional military personnel who will assist in booster rollout and
other unspecified duties. Because of financial mismanagement, lack of expertise
in running organisations an business, a lot of public funds have been improperly
squandered. One change is needed, Health and Higher education need to be under
the same Ministerial umbrella, but that is a discussion for another time, there
is not enough medics, nurses, dentists and surgeons in Scotland. There needs to
be a surplus, more home grown kids getting the opportunity to get those
qualifications.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">Finally,
so far 4,320,370 people have received their first dose of a Covid-19
vaccination and 3,910,253 have received their second dose. How many people will
end up need additional medical care or minor or serious health issues over the
couple of years. Illness don't just happen, they start small and grow within
the body until the body's coping mechanism cannot cope, like heart disease and
cancer. Is there going to be enough funding if what many suspect is going to
happen does happen? Is there going to be a capacity in the NHS to deal with
this? Who is going to be available to treat patients? Will there be a mandatory
vaccine for health workers which will cause many valuable people to drop out?
Here is a final thought to leave you with, if you drink too much water, it can
kill you, it can cause <a href="https://www.healthline.com/health/hyponatremia">hyponatremia</a>, which
happens when your blood sodium concentration becomes very low. If you drink
more water than your kidneys can flush out, it’ll dilute the sodium in your
bloodstream, causing cells to swell. Most people don't quite get that until it
is explained to them, in Israel the chief Covid 19 officer is advising a fourth
dose, this is despite growing evidence of vaccine injury. To me this is like
spinning the chamber in Russian Roulette, how many Israelis will experience an
adverse reaction or death? The Russians during World War 2, called Stalingrad
the mass grave of the German Army, how will Israel fare if some people's worst
fears materalise?</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/covid-vaccine-israel-fourth-dose-b1915076.html">https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/covid-vaccine-israel-fourth-dose-b1915076.html</a></span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And
then there is Scotland!<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">Yours sincerely</span> </span></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><p></p><p></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">George Laird The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University</span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7972114991869354050.post-81582759137768299712021-11-01T16:25:00.004+00:002021-11-01T16:25:41.698+00:00Bin Bag Black November; SNP Leader Nicola Sturgeon's job hunting jamboree hits the buffers as the Glasgow Bin Men elect to go on strike during Cop26, as the bins overflow, the world will see that Sturgeon incapable of leading, she also can't manage, or work as part of a team, the Bin Men say that the SNP Council is acting in 'bad faith' with them, so now it is time for some long overdue community payback<p><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9qvZgQIEF9J615qa1wgkupEtkNTlja3-4BpRFC0qiUqQlwZ9TG-e3gejaT4okxxH3AsqYaoKV9o5y-NOKzhXLJQ2W6VZuVx_0c-sHwqteL_oOBC4ZxDnWoyF-ALGJ-OGChmVDBVmSm7QT/s480/Sturgeon13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="480" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9qvZgQIEF9J615qa1wgkupEtkNTlja3-4BpRFC0qiUqQlwZ9TG-e3gejaT4okxxH3AsqYaoKV9o5y-NOKzhXLJQ2W6VZuVx_0c-sHwqteL_oOBC4ZxDnWoyF-ALGJ-OGChmVDBVmSm7QT/w400-h266/Sturgeon13.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></span></p><p><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">Dear All</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">All jobs are of value, some however have more status than others, some require more training and education than others and some just pay better. Through-out this country, there is a service which is critical to the public health, these people aren't Drs, educators or talked about unless they aren't there. The group of people that I speak of are those who go out in all weathers and do waste management, you collective know them as the 'bin men'. My first job at Glasgow University was as a 'womble', this was the name given to people who kept the main campus clean, the official title was precinct orderly. I did 6 weeks in that job before something better turned up, groundsman, same idea, keeping the campus looking nice. I have therefore experience and understanding of what being a bin man entails. During the summer months, the department would take on a few students to assist the grounds department, and you could find students from across the board, even medics. One medic student, I got talking too told me, his dad worked for STV, someone high up, which led me to ask couldn't he have found a temp slot in there. But his answer was vague about having to commit to something which would have ran in the back of his studies, and to be fair, I think he enjoyed a manual job.</span> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">The bin workers in Glasgow have a legitimate grievance, too few staff, too much work and too little pay and good conditions. The SNP Council in Glasgow has ran down the cleansing service much like pretty much all services that the council operates. We don't appreciate this until we find a service that directly impacts us personally, such as library closures. Libraries are essential services, because education is the best route out of poverty. Glasgow's council services are in crisis, the SNP sell the lie, that they are able to do more or the same with less resources. The truth is that cost cutting isn't about providing better services, it is to cover up that money has been diverted by the SNP Government elsewhere. Although a bin strike in Glasgow is an awful PR disaster for Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP run Council, having the fight now is just as good as any other time. Essential services like cleansing aren't treated as essential, this is because the SNP in Holyrood under Nicola Sturgeon don't give a monkey's about local government. Sturgeon is willing to strip financial resources out of the City of Glasgow. There comes a point when cutting and cutting can be done no more, I would suppose this decline is based on one idea, privatise as much of local government as possible. Privatise and give up the ability of oversight of services provided by the council, by reducing Councillors to only have input rather than control, why centralising power in the leader's office.</span> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">I support the bin workers in Glasgow who will proceed with strike action, I am not bothered that world leaders landing in the city centre for COP26 will see the City of Glasgow as it really is, a city in structural decline. Let them see the rubbish floating in the Clyde, let them see the fly tipping, let them see the overflowing bins. You can imagine that the SNP will already have a plan to call in private contractors to keep the city centre clean, Sturgeon and her proxy leader, Susan Aitken will want to keep up the illusion of a modern city. The fact is, once you look around the city, and then compare it to other cities, you will see other places in Europe and Far East fare much better in terms of economics, infrastructure, and quality of life. I grew up in the 1960's as a kid, My parents stayed in tenements in Oran Street and Gairbraid Place in Maryhill. In the 1970's as I became more aware of my surroundings, it was like living on a bomb site, destruction and decay was everywhere. Part of the problem was that plans for development were always small in nature. When I moved to Pollok in 1972, it would be 3 years before the Pollok Centre, opened by Princess Margaret would be opened. Today, on the Pollok Centre site stands Silverburn, but before that investment in Pollok was next to nil, the M77 allowed developers opportunities to make money. The developers certainly made money, but what about the opportunities and investment for residents? They got to continue in substandard housing, and I know that only too well, I lived in it. Coming from Pollok, getting a job wasn't easy, it was there was a postcode lottery and Pollok wasn't in it. Not enough kids made it too University or College, in many respects outlying areas of the City of Glasgow all had the same problem, lack of regeneration. Although I am talking about Pollok, places like Drumchapel are experiencing the same problems as they fight for services and infrastructure. Drumchapel is next door to Bearsden, the difference in quality of live is huge. Pollok is next door to Newton Mearns, the difference in quality of live is huge.</span> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">As the spotlight is turned on the mess that is Glasgow, SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon who "represents" one of the worst ghettos in the city has spoken out about people, talking Glasgow down. Unlike Nicola Sturgeon, I was born in the City of Glasgow, I grew up in the City of Glasgow, and I lived through the worst times of the last 50 years. Sturgeon talking about people talking Glasgow down is a classic PR manoeuvre on many fronts;</span> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">1/ Invite you to think she cares.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">2/ To dismiss the obvious neglect her and her gang have done.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">3/ To try and corral your goodwill towards her.</span> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">Nicola Sturgeon is in no way a defender of Glasgow, she doesn't give a monkey's, political leaders of the left love representing areas of neglect to foster an illusion that the poor are the rest they got into politics when in reality, the area they are elected too sees no real improvements. The worst shite hole in the City of Glasgow is Govanhill, this is where Sturgeon and her election campaign manager Mhairi Hunter are based as politicians. You could argue that Hunter's real job is just Sturgeon's election campaign manager and the other responsibilities Cllr, Sturgeon assistant et al are just there to charge up her bank account, to give her a wage that normally she couldn't get outside politics. Govanhill dubbed Govanhell by residents is an utter disgrace, and if you listen to Sturgeon, you would think that as MSP and First Minister of Scotland, it has entire sweet FA to do with her. It is an area plagued by crime, benefit fraud, fly tipping, decay, rogue landlords, disease pre covid, infestation of bugs and rats.</span> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">Just when the planned strike action seemed to be at Def Con 1, it was called off after a new pay offer from council umbrella body Cosla. This led to the GMB saying it would suspend the strike for two weeks to consult with members. Things dtook a downward spirial when GMB Scotland secretary, Louise Gilmour, accused Glasgow City Council of having “failed to give our members the proper time and space to consider the 11th hour offer from Cosla”.</span> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">She added:</span> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">“Therefore, our members in cleansing have informed us that they will still proceed with the planned strike action from 00.01 hours Monday 1 November. We are calling for an urgent meeting with the council as soon as possible and we will work until one-minute to midnight tonight to try and fix this. We have also made the Scottish Government aware of the situation and are liaising with the First Minister’s Office, but without any further dialogue the cleansing service in Glasgow City Council will take strike action from tomorrow and throughout the first full week of the COP26 summit.”</span> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Finally, if there is no action by the relevant parties to head this strike off at pass, then the delegates of Cop26 are in for a rare treat, some of them will marvel at how a city like Glasgow has been dragged into the gutter. This strike which will impact on SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon and her 'job hunting' during Cop26. It will be a negative signpost for any future employer to note, showing that not only is Sturgeon incapable of leading, she also can't manage, or work as part of a team. Through-out this week, SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon has been trying to make out that she is officially part of Cop26 when she really isn't, the door is closed to her for access to the world stage. Her suddenly found eco credentials are just a smokescreen as she struggles to find a suitably interested party to consider her for employment in a post FM world. Rather than trying to impress world leaders, she should try sucking up to her replacement once she steps down, if that turns out to be Joanna Cherry, I doubt her future prospects will rise above absolute zero. Given the way the SNP treated Alex Salmond, one cannot imagine that domestically in Scotland there is a place for her, so any chance to escape Scotland must be seized and seems to be her only hope.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">Yours sincerely</span> </span></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><p></p><p></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">George Laird The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University</span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1