Death of a Party, Death of a Political leader; former SNP Deputy Leader Jim Sillars says SNP may have to be replaced by new independence party, the truth is the SNP led by Nicola Sturgeon and her cohorts are unfit for purpose and rotten to the core, these people are destroying the body politic and Scotland by pushing their agenda, whatever Alex Salmond’s book reveals or what he decides to do, there may come a point where he has to choose ‘loyalty to the cause’ or ‘loyalty to the SNP’, a complete clear-out of the highest levels of the party isn’t going to be enough, like the virus, it isn’t localised

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Covid-19 Deaths Skyrocket in Scotland under Nicola Sturgeon; every time there is bad news for the SNP leader, a Sturgeon sob story is rolled off the production line, Sturgeon 'cries at night' with worry over coronavirus, interestingly, Scotland isn’t concerned about her mental health, they want answers, they want action and they want the truth, and yeah her to do the day job, not a telly show

Dear All

In literature, we are all familiar with the plucky heroine who overcomes hardship and crippling adversity while toiling tireless on behalf of others and in the end becomes a beacon for the nation. Such fairytales sometimes become real life when someone puts themselves before others, but I want to blog on someone who is trying to pull the wool over your eyes. Someone we all know, someone we despise, someone who is nasty, vain and according to some a narcissist who in any situation craves to be the centre of attention.

I am talking about SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon.

We are in a worldwide pandemic caused by Covid-19, thousands have already lost their lives that we know about and thousands more are going to die. Through-out this crisis in the UK, it is essential that there is teamwork, co-operation and leadership shown, but First Minister Nicola Sturgeon doesn’t want to play that game. Instead we in Scotland have had Covid -19 preparations with a tartan badge stuck on it. We have had Nicola Sturgeon for political purposes talking information from UK Cobra meetings and leaking it out before the UK. I put it to you that Sturgeon’s actions aren’t the integrity of what we expect in politicians, even ones who lead devolved government.

Nicola Sturgeon literally can’t stop playing petty vile nationalist politics because in her DNA, she is still the horrible nasty vile little woman she is before the SNP decided to re-brand her as the ‘mother of the nation’. The self confessed ‘Chief Mammy’ is in fact no mammy at all, at any level, and despite the force feeding of Sturgeon child in arms and fake smile for the cameras by the SNP, Scots don’t like her, don’t like what she does, don’t like how she acts and the stage-managed persona hasn’t worked with the public.

The Nicola Sturgeon Show on the BBC is dire, but worse than it being dire in content, we are learning how unreliable this information is in not painting a true picture of the death toll in Scotland. We are learning a lot about Nicola Sturgeon and none of it is good. We are learning that the SNP Government have been complacent about protecting our elderly in care homes, we are learning about shortages in protective equipment in the NHS and in care homes as well. We are learning about the SNP failing to protect business and then doing U turns. Aside from Sturgeon telling us all that she has made mistakes, she isn’t telling us what the mistakes were, when they took place and the consequences of those mistakes. Her mistakes are “packaged” in a sound bite of her generalisation that everyone has made mistakes!

There has been a massive rise in Covid-19 deaths in Scotland because we are learning about the ‘forgotten sector’, the care home sector, unprepared and under-sourced with the added knowledge that those who are elderly getting pressurised into signing DNR forms. DNR is ‘do not resuscitate’ in the event a patient’s heart stops. Has this been cancelled by Nicola Sturgeon?

No!

It seems her statement that all live is precious has a rather hollow ring to it, of course Sturgeon has a get out of jail free card; she can hide behind ‘clinical need’ in doing nothing. She isn’t willing to address the problem because she has washed her hands of it; it is up to families to fight for their loved ones. Just how important or how much weight can you put on Nicola Sturgeon’s statement that all life is precious?

In the wake of the knowledge that deaths in Scotland have taken a steep rise to circa 1600, the SNP want to get people not to focus on that statistic but rather to move the agenda on from it. This is why when bad news happens which the SNP feels damages them or Nicola Sturgeon; it is time for a sob story about Nicola. They have done this in the past and they will do this in the future, you see they follow a pattern or a modus operandi. So, what is the fallback story they use, well it is the ‘mother of the nation’ who is suffering due to the magnitude of the coronavirus pandemic. It is in her own words at times ‘overwhelming’. During an interview with Jennifer Reoch and Des Clarke on Heart Scotland Drive Nicola Sturgeon said that the worry of coronavirus, as well as having family members working on the front line, often takes its toll on her mental health.

Where is the rest of the SNP Cabinet?

What you are watching at her daily telly show is also election campaigning, campaigning that places Nicola Sturgeon at the centre of the effort to save Scotland. It is padded out with a few guests who eventually speak, say little of interest before handing back to her. Be in no doubt this pandemic has given Nicola Sturgeon a stage for the next Holyrood election which will be all about her. Her is a taste of her campaigning which is engineered to make seem like ‘one of the people’ who just happens to be in charge.

Nicola Sturgeon said:

“It’s about always remembering that – and I know people struggle with the notion that politicians are human – but we’re human beings. There are moments when, over the last few weeks, when I’ve got home at night and just felt a little bit overwhelmed by the magnitude of it, and I’ve shed a few tears over the course of the last few weeks.”

Are you buying into this nonsense, I suspect few will be, you can’t take a horrible person and re-invent them as nice, especially when we know, she has had media training, and also we have seen the mask slip.

Sturgeon added:

“But it’s really important – nobody wants me to be having a meltdown if I can avoid it – so I try to have these moments, not let them last too long, and pull myself together to get on with it. I’m trying to remind myself that there are aspects of this that are not normal, that are much bigger than anything I’ve dealt with before, so remembering that, I have to take time just to deal with that.”

Do you get the narrative, its all about her; it is the same narrative which has been used since Alex Salmond resigned in 2014 after losing the independence referendum. Another part of the narrative is to praise other people which is why we get that Sturgeon is proud of the thousands of volunteers who are selflessly helping during the pandemic and of how people and businesses who have helped at NHS Louisa Jordan. But you will notice that no mention whatsoever of the help of the British Army who pulled everything together which is why we have a hospital at the SECC in Glasgow.

Sturgeon also said:

“We launched the ‘Scotland Cares’ campaign asking for people to volunteer and within hours of doing that we’d had thousands, tens of thousands of people doing it. I’ve visited the NHS Louisa Jordan, the new hospital, a week or so ago, complying with all social distancing when I did it, but seeing that, the construction, I’ve never seen a happier group of construction workers, people knowing that they were doing something that mattered and people going the extra mile. The place was full of, you know, things that companies had donated, for staff and people involved there, and in every single community right now there will be people looking out for others. I’m sure there’s people looking out for neighbours they’ve never spoken to before. So, big and small, I think we’re really demonstrating what it means to be a community.”

And in case you missed it, she is also saying that when you read between the lines, all of this was done by the SNP Government, and the SNP Government is Nicola Sturgeon. It was Nicola who brought Scotland together, we that is notion running through her mind which the press is pumping out. In this crisis, you get the feeling that despite Sturgeon saying she wants to share information, that isn’t really the case. We are getting a patchwork of information, and although we suspected a higher death toll, Sturgeon and her team ‘managed’ it. What do you think will happen after the current lockdown extension ends?

Do you think everything will be back to normal?

Finally, Sturgeon added about how emotional she feels, saying:

“(The) Thursday night clap, I think has brought communities together, it’s actually, you were asking me about moments I felt emotional, I feel really emotional every Thursday night when we do that. But health and care workers are really important but I think it’s also really important that we don’t forget other essential workers, those that are keeping food on the table, keeping the lights on, our police, our prison staff and prison officers.”

Well, Nicola Sturgeon has the virus in front of her, Alex Salmond and his crew behind her; she has few allies it appears maybe the cause is down to her having a horrible personality. Less we forget and we shouldn’t, the realisation that she is living on borrowed time politically. When it comes Nicola Sturgeon’s time of need, there will be a deafening silence from Scotland. You might have got a taste of that when some people tried to float the idea of a ‘clap for Nicola’ which never got passed the sound bite stage.

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

No Silver Bullet for Coronavirus, ‘No evidence’ people who have survived Covid-19 have immunity from re-infection, according to World Health Organisation, we are all living in the darkest of times, a viable vaccine may not come as early as people hope, public told lockdown will last another 3 weeks, but we should brace ourselves for being locked down much longer, one thing is certain, society needs to demand better from our political class

Dear All

It has been awhile since I blogged, like many I am stuck at home, I am climbing the walls wondering if the bad news from the coronavirus will ever end. Today’s post is courtesy of my brother loaning me a device to access the internet. Each day, we see the stats coming in, hundreds of people right across the age range are dead, many more are infected and the brightest story are from people who in the midst of this hell are doing their bit. People like Captain Tom Moore who has become a symbol of hope for funding raising millions of pounds for the NHS at such an elderly age. While people like Sam Smith, the musician tell of the ‘hell’ of living in a big mansion and being bored, contrast this with Captain Tom Moore, who applied himself and whose idea of helping the NHS uplifted the nation.

Captain Tom Moore is a hero, and there are many more heroes fighting this virus, the ones in hospital frontlines, and also others on the front lines at Care Homes. They are up for the fight; they just want the protection of PPE equipment to do their jobs. Staffs at Care Homes have left their own homes to move into Care Homes to save their clients by limiting contact with the outside world. They are giving up their family life to protect people from other families, a rather selfless act in these desperate times.  

Many elderly people in Care Homes are sadly not going to make it, many NHS staff and patients are sadly not going to make it. How bad is it, even University Medical students are graduating early before their course ends, ‘straight out of uni and straight into the trenches’. This must tell you something about how serious things have gotten, it is an un-usual step to say the least regarding early graduation.

In many ways, I think people are being to wonder if we are getting the extent of how truly bad this pandemic actually is. We get stats ever day, the infected, the dead; the number in ICU, but we don’t have the stat of how much of the population is infected, how these people are moving amongst us and their patterns of movement. Although talk of an exit strategy is a news item by press and politicians, we shouldn’t get our hopes raised up, because this is the first wave of the pandemic. When Spanish Flu hit the world about 100 years ago, the first wave killed many, the second wave killed many more people. I saw an interesting documentary about Spanish Flu and how it was transported in troop ships which when it docked in Europe spread through the armies fighting in World War One.

At present, we are told many people right across the world are working flat out on a cure, a vaccine which will save us all. In the meantime, there is no evidence to suggest people who have recovered from coronavirus then have immunity; this is according to the World Health Organisation. Senior epidemiologists at the WHO have warned that there is no proof those who have been infected cannot be infected again, which if there was piece of news that you wouldn’t want to hear, this is it. We hear that Coronavirus vaccine trials are about to start, which means hundreds of people have to volunteer to be human guinea pigs, medical trials regardless are always a step into the unknown which carry risk. Risk the vaccine doesn’t work, and risk the vaccine doesn’t cause other problems which circulating in the human body. In the news, we read that a vaccine could be finished by mid-August. Many organisations are working on their version of a vaccine and others are working to see if current drugs can fight of coronavirus.

We live in hope.

The UK Government has been criticised for its approach to the virus, but when you look at everyone else in Europe and the rest of the world, this virus has left many countries flat footed. No matter who controls a government, Putin in Russia, Trump in America, Macron in France or Johnson in the UK, no one will be getting a pat on the back and a hearty handshake of well done.

Too many people will have died, and a celebration will look rather out of place.

People can talk about how we will all be wearing facemasks in the future, how testing is the great panacea, about how much is spent on testing kits, such as serology tests, which measure levels of antibodies in blood plasma. But tested and not infected today, might not mean not infected further down the line. Certain groups seem to be getting hard hit by the virus such as the BAME, is it genetic factors or social factors which are the cause, or a combination of both, we don’t know. Why is it some people get a slight flu and others get a crushing health crisis which results in death?

Speaking at a press conference in Geneva, Dr Maria van Kerkhove said:

“There are a lot of countries that are suggesting using rapid diagnostic serological tests to be able to capture what they think will be a measure of immunity. Right now, we have no evidence that the use of a serological test can show that an individual has immunity or is protected from re-infection.”

She added:

“These antibody tests will be able to measure that level of seroprevalence – that level of antibodies but that does not mean that somebody with antibodies means that they are immune.”

To achieve herd immunity, it means people have to get infected and then live, the downside side of the policy is death, Herd immunity has been talked about right from the start of the pandemic, but what needs to be talked about is the planning for how to deal with this type of crisis. Basically everyone is making it up as they go along, because everyone was caught unprepared and sadly a touch too slow to act. Shutting down a country isn’t an easy decision because it is very complicated not just in terms of health but also in terms of economics. We weren’t ready but then no one was, this is something which countries must come together to recognise, viruses recognise no borders.

We know that the lockdown is said to be three more weeks, but I suspect that the ‘three more weeks’ mentality is to give people a mental cushion. I would say if we still have hundreds dead each day, we can expect no change approaching a similar timeline of China who locked down Wuhan for nearly three months. Given we have done circa three weeks so far, we should realise that we are fighting a war, this period of fighting is deep war, defeat fought off but no victory insight, a time of grim forbearance.

In day to day life, the people who get paid not a lot who are not keeping our society going have come to the fore; they will get the recognition now that they should have gotten before. No one who has worked on the frontline of this crisis and sadly lost their lives should be forgotten. I would like to see all their names on a wall of remembrance, we really are fighting a war here; many more heroes will emerge and get recognition, and hopefully come through this. One thing is certain, we were unprepared, we were too slow to act, and we were too slow to ensure that as a country that our logistics supply lines and supplies were in place. The UK Government will have an inquiry into all that has happened, and the outcome must be the need to create more robust plans for acting sooner.

Finally, everyone got caught out, and everyone got caught out everywhere, which is why any celebration post coronavirus will feel rather hollow! One plan which is needed at the end of the ‘war’ is a UK ‘Marshall Plan’. If you know your history this was all about rebuilding post war Europe, but this time round, we need to do it for a post (coronavirus) war UK. The road back to normal is going to take a long time for those of us who survive and live through this. So far in the UK, 15,464 deaths recorded but that number is already being questioned as low due to lack of testing. We are living through the most trying of times and we can't afford to be careless about not following the rules or we may be added to that figure.   

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

The SNP are the Real Plague of Scotland; Alex Salmond supporter Mark Hirst is blasted by Rape Crisis Scotland charity over alleged "threatening" comments about female witnesses of Salmond trial, chilling youtube video talks about there is “going to be a bit of a reckoning” when the Coronavirus pandemic is over.

Dear All

There have been several sad stories of people who have lost their lives in the corona virus pandemic; each life lost is a tragedy in itself for society. Three deaths caught my eye while scanning the news, In Italy a 72 year old Priest gave up his ventilator so a younger patient could live, an ENT surgeon who saved many lives contracted the virus and passed away, a 13 year old boy died.

Whether you are young, whether you are old, the message is clear…… stay at home!

Stay at home to save lives, the life you save might be your own, a family member or a neighbour. Shop for essentials then get back indoors. Being isolated is hard, people by nature are social beings, after several days inside, I did some shopping; it was a surreal experience after being stuck at home. More surreal was the fact that the panic buying had eased off, I put this down to people who hoarded being stocked up rather than them coming to their senses.

It is a time of fear, but also a time of resolve, where we have to dig in as the number of people dying climbs; people infected weeks ago paint a grim picture, but it can get a lot grimmer. Today, we learned nearly four hundred souls had lost their lives; we can expect many more to add to that UK total hovering around 2,000 mark.

Defeat has been fought off but we are far from victory, this is a time of bitter endurance.

One issue in Scotland amid the concerns of coronavirus is the aftermath of the Alex Salmond trial. Although Salmond has postponed his day of reckoning, his supporters are as keen as mustard to show their vocal support. Kenny MacAskill, Alex Neil, Joanna Cherry, Wings over Scotland, Craig Murray, all have something to say about what transpired re Salmond. There is a lot of anger, and with the victory by Salmond, their cause has a spiritual zealot zeal to it while at the same time Sturgeon’s ‘allies’ if that term has any meaning seem to have melted away like snowdrops. Salmond’s 9 accusers penned a letter, but you get a feeling other than organisations like Rape Crisis Scotland who get the bulk of their funding from the Scottish Government, support for them is like the non-existent footfall on a Scottish street. 

Rape Crisis Scotland is headed up by former Glasgow University student called Sandy Brindley. I remember her from Glasgow University as she used the QMU and for some reason always seemed to be wearing a blue duffel coat, rain or shine. Why Rape Crisis Scotland is putting them forward into what is seen as an internal SNP civil war is something for them and Brindley to come to grips with. One thing is certain, in this scenario, there are no winners, no upside and negatives will come out later. In a post Salmond world, the Scottish political landscape will change because people attached to Salmond never forget and never forgive.

Present day, in the ‘phoney war’, an Alex Salmond supporter has been blasted by the rape crisis charity over alleged "threatening" comments about female witnesses who testified against Salmond. One chap on the radar is Mark Hirst, he is a former SNP candidate who said that he suspected the "precious anonymity" of Salmond's accusers would "not be continued".

Of course, people will continue to play the guessing game into the identity of  these women are, but even from the trial coverage by various people including the BBC, some people have pieced together who testified against Alex Salmond. And others from got it on tape apparently from the mouth of Salmond’s QC, Gordon Jackson. One wonders if the 9 women are also waiting for corona virus to be over before they also go public and reveal themselves. They may wish to do this before Mark Hirst gets to see the events that happen in which there is “going to be a bit of a reckoning”.

Sandy Brindley of Rape Crisis Scotland said:

“These comments are sinister, threatening and to identify the women would be illegal. This behaviour should be condemned in the strongest possible terms by all parties — it serves no-one and damages an already fractured and fraught public conversation.”

When she says all parties, does she mean political?

I am sure all political parties will condemn violence, sexual assault and rape against women, but in the Salmond case, a jury found him innocent of all charges, 12 not guilty and one not proven. However much Sandy Brindley of Rape Crisis Scotland might want other parties to stand as united front, she might find the ‘frontlines’ rather empty.

And I hope she isn’t a woman to trust Nicola Sturgeon.

For the record, a court order issued by trial judge Lady Dorrian means it is a criminal offence for anyone to publish the identities of the women.

In a YouTube video, Hirst said:

“I suspect very strongly that as this rumbles on, that precious anonymity that they’ve sought will not be continued. Because these women, and not just these women, some of the people involved in this, are senior members of the Scottish Government, senior members of the SNP.”

He continued:

“And they’ve been involved in this active collusion to try and destroy Alex Salmond’s reputation and there’s not a cat’s chance in hell that they’re going to get away with that. So they’re going to reap a whirlwind, no question about it. As soon as this virus emergency is out the way, then there’s going to be a bit of reckoning takes place. We’ll clear out the soft independence supporters which are currently leading the party, that’s why we’ve seen no movement in nearly six years.”

You might be unaware but Hirst has worked for several SNP MSPs over the years and also worked for Russian state news agency Sputnik. As well as accepting the Scottish rouble like Alex Salmond, he also contributed to programmes for The Alex Salmond Show which can be seen on Russian state broadcaster RT. In a game of winners and losers, it is clear that Mark Hirst thinks that Salmond’s camp are destine to be the victors in an SNP civil war. We will have to wait and see, because despite Salmond winning, the road back into the SNP maybe very bumpy for him if at all.

One word stands in the way of his application……… no!

Nicola Sturgeon is rumoured to stepping down after the 2021 election if that happens, when she goes, what future for the 9 professional women who gave evidence against Salmond. I would say their future doesn’t look bright post Sturgeon. A key test of the ‘war’ is the fight for selection at Edinburgh Central, between Joanna Cherry and Angus Roberston, a Sturgeon ally. I think we can expect a really dirty fight for the seat between these two and worse from their supporters.

Finally, as much as everyone loves a popcorn night in watching others destroy themselves, spare a thought for those who are dying, and going to die from corona virus. It is important to rout for the real victims in life, and not the made up ones. What some have expressed over the Salmond is a sincere hope that Sturgeon and Salmond groups destroy each other, wishful thinking maybe, because just as revenge is important in the SNP, so is greed, money, power, position and perks. Which is why I doubt that anyone will shed a tear for the internal civil war in SNP regardless if anyone considers themselves worth of victimhood in that fight!

     

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University