Wednesday, April 1, 2020

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

9 comments:

  1. This looks highly likely to split the SNP and Scottish nationalism.

    On the Sturgeon side, you'll have the 'progressives' gunning for her.
    On the Salmond side, you'll have the zoomers and the die hard idiots.

    I think that this battle will probably cause divisions among them that will divide them, and it's hard to tell, but at this stage, IF, and I emphasise IF someone steps into the breech and takes a larger share than them, it's going to be game over for them.

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  2. [1/3] Disappointed that you are pushing the panic, George, especially following the links I provided and points I made in my last post here.

    Not even the Black Death warrants this level of oppression: an entire population under house arrest. Road blocks preventing movement. Dog-walkers menaced by police drones, while council drones with loudspeakers harangue people, ordering ‘Stay home! Protect our NHS!’ Police prohibiting selling Easter eggs and other items arbitrarily deemed by them not ‘essential’; entering people’s homes without warrants to break up parties. Centuries of hard won liberties shredded.
    What little was left of our eroding community destroyed, as citizens cross the road to avoid each other, and become squalid little Stasi spies snitching on each other.
    Our economy deliberately crashed and burned (seems the debate between Keynes and Friedman has been jettisoned for Pol Pot’s theories).

    I refer you to the points (and links) I made about Diamond Princess; but to update stats: from first COVID-19 test-positive on 1st February, through final guest disembarkation on 27 February, to date (3 April):
    1,045 crew & 2,666 passengers—3,711 in total (average age on board 58).
    Tested positive: 712 (19.19% of those on board—suggests virus not quite as infectious as claimed)
    ‘Recovered’: 619 (86.94% of tested positive).
    Asymptomatic: 318 (44.66%); 265 (83.33%) of latter aged 60–89.
    Active cases: 82 (11.52%), of which 10 reported ‘Critical’ (5 downgraded since yesterday, and 2.11% of the 712).
    Died: 11 (1.54%)
    11 falls short of the horror story the media is pushing; and, to repeat, figure should be viewed in light of an ‘estimated 200 passenger deaths a year’ on ocean cruises. Esp. as they were aged 70–89 and had health issues.
    (Also see Eschenbach, W. (2020, Mar 16) Diamond Princess Mysteries. Watts Up With That. I trust the highly-regarded climate-sceptic WWAT site needs no introduction?)

    Recommended sites and articles:
    A Swiss Doctor on Covid-19 (at least daily updated; see esp. 1st Apr update for despatch from Italy about how panic is at least exacerbating mortality problems; cf. with ‘Woman is first UK victim to die of coronavirus caught in hospital’).
    Lee, J. (2020, Mar 29) How to understand—and report—figures for ‘Covid deaths’. Spectator. (And author’s linked companion article: How deadly is the coronavirus? It’s still far from clear.)
    Hart, J. (2020, Mar 19) The Coronavirus Dashboards Will Doom Us All. medium.
    12 Experts Questioning the Coronavirus Panic, Off-Guardian, 24 Mar 2020.
    10 MORE Experts Criticising the Coronavirus Panic, Off-Guardian, 28 Mar 2020.
    The BlogMire, from (Pastor) Rob Slane; posts well supported by links, and many comments likewise.

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  3. [2/] The media is deliberately whipping up panic. E.g. they headline story after story about people dying from coronavirus but if you read the details (where you can find them) you find story is always more complex—they’re elderly, and nearly always with serious underlying health issues too. It’s not at all clear that corona-chan is causing, or even contributing to, their deaths (and some qualified people doubt accuracy of these new tests for a new virus—might be many false-positives). Often """diagnoses""" are not from medical staff but mere guesswork from hysterical family.
    E.g. Mother, 65, with no underlying health problems dies from coronavirus and her NHS worker daughter is desperately ill after they attended funeral where 17 mourners caught the disease (Daily Mail).
    A mother with no underlying health conditions has died from coronavirus after attending a funeral where 17 mourners suspect they caught the disease. …
    But within days her niece Susan Nelson, 65, who had no underlying health conditions, became ill, and died of suspected Covid-19.
    Now 16 further family members all suspect they have the virus after catching it at the funeral—including Susan’s husband, daughter, a niece and a great-uncle. …
    “She died back in February, but we have just had so many people contract the virus that I can only think it was from then. …”

    Not a single medical opinion, no tests, no autopsies, just witterings of relatives (perhaps seeking their 15 minutes). And 65 is not a bad age to reach. As for ‘no underlying health problems’, article pics show she is morbidly obese.
    Is this Nineteen Eighty-Four and thanking BB for raising chocolate ration from 30g to 20? Or just feminist fat-acceptance ‘healthy at any size’ bs?

    To provide some perspective:
    ONS records 10,645 people having died of all ages from all causes in England & Wales, week ending 20 March; w/e 21 February, 10,841; w/e 17 January, 12,990. Less people died w/e 20 March than every other week this year—wither the great spike of deaths from the Dread Apocalypse Virus?
    Up to 20 Mar, only 108 are listed as ‘Deaths where COVID-19 was mentioned on the death certificate (ICD-10 U07.1 and U07.2)’; which is a mere ½% of the 21,320 ‘Deaths where the underlying cause was respiratory disease (ICD-10 J00-J99)’ E&W so far accumulated this year, and 0.08% of the 138,916 deaths in E&W from all causes. In comparison, for same period (up to week 12) in 2018, E&W had accumulated 28,241 deaths from ‘All respiratory diseases (ICD-10 J00-J99) ICD-10 v 2013 (IRIS)’, which was 18.26% of 154,684 deaths from all causes up to that point. Obv. we have to add NI (available) and Scottish (still waiting for March) figures to 2020 total, but they will inevitably add little due to our smaller populations.

    Taking 2018 in entirety, the UK counted 76,728 (E&W), 7,128 (S) and 2,201 (NI) deaths from ‘J00-99 X. Diseases of the respiratory system’ for a total of 86,057, itself a fraction of the 616,014 who died that year; and we coped without turning our country into a prison.

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  4. [3/3] ‘Virus’ is a scary word—ever had a ‘cold sore’? Aka ‘Herpes simplex virus’, remains with you for life; it is believed most of population has virus. Chickenpox—aka ‘varicella zoster virus’: common childhood sickness, another virus remaining for life. Glandular fever—aka ‘Epstein-Barr virus’, ditto.
    ‘coronavirus’ is actually a family of viruses ranging from common cold to more serious afflictions like SARS and MERS; and as I noted on my last post, while HMG’s ‘High Consequence Infectious Diseases’ page lists both of latter under HCIDs, ‘As of 19 March 2020, COVID-19 is no longer considered to be a high consequence infectious diseases (HCID) in the UK. … more information is available about mortality rates (low overall) …’
    iow, HMG deems COVID-19 less dangerous in GB than SARS or MERS, which we dealt with without crashing and burning economy and imposing a tyranny that is historically unprecedented and hitherto unimagined by any author of dystopian fiction.

    We have been had. And contemplating the universal support for the Prison State from every party, from Conservatives to IRA-Sinn Féin, and the similarity of govt. responses across the world; is it simply the mass-hysteria that once produced the Dancing Mania and witch-hunting frenzies but now given greater scope due to mass-media—TV, social media and internet—accessible by all, and boosted by the SJW mindset desperately seeking safety from all possible risk? Or are the NWO-conspiracy types right after all, if only by accident?

    And Salmond and Sturgeon and SNP and IRA and Corbyn and Tories and brexit and remain… none of that matters any more. Staunchly Unionist as I am, if Sturgeon had declared UDI I’d have been down to Hr volunteering for any militia being set up; but she’s embraced the new totalitarianism as enthusiastically (more, even) as everyone else.

    The old world is dead. All the old causes are obsolete—or at least must be set aside for this struggle.
    The only cause left is Parliament versus the people; Parliament, with their eager and willing slaves, versus those of us who wish to live as free men.

    (Despatches from HMP UK)

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  5. Salmond won't make a political return, as I feel he is now damaged politically in the eyes of some voters. If one or more of the accusers is named without their permission, then I think that there will be a legal hammer against who does it. Some people have said this is the work of MI5 and the 77th Brigade. Others claim an attack on democracy, which is ironic given that they refuse to accept the democratic result of 2014. As for Mcaskill, remember this is the man who wanted to remove corroboration.

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  6. Hi Scotched Earth

    One thing I always do is call it as I see it. This is an unusual time and although the SNP are car crashing all over the place, the latest is Calderwood, I wanted to point out what the real tragedy is. Sadly for us, the misery of the SNP is lasting longer than Covid 19.

    George

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  7. Hi Scotched Earth

    First up, thanks you for a great response, my problem is that I am not from a science background to do your piece justice.

    I wouldn’t say that I am pushing panic as you suggest, I watched the news, and a few items stood out for me, one being 13 dead in a care home at Stepps just outside Glasgow. 90 residents and 13 dead, to me this looks like something to be concerned about. It is well known that care homes are places to warehouse older people who have health problems, but 13 dead in such a short space of time is concerning. The people going the haranguing are like me short on the science so they are like the rest of us going with what they are told. I am like many are suspicious of government because we know they lie, but in this case, given the amount of deaths, I don’t feel I could pin my colours to the mast and say everyone do your own thing, don’t bother following the rules/ advice of government.

    For many and that includes me, I hate being isolated and stuck in my flat, it is tough, but I don’t want to be infected and then pass it onto someone. This is something I couldn’t live with if because of my actions someone or group perished. As to the ship you mentioned, I don’t know how the ship’s crew reacted and what protocols they used to contain the spread or how quick they caught it. But I remember watching a doc on the Spanish Flu about a troop ship which didn’t take precautions, and it ran through the entire ship like wildfire. Because they didn’t know what they were up against, and when they reach port, they passed the virus on. I think your 200 deaths a year stat isn’t based on a virus model so I don’t think natural causes stacks up well with the bug.

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  8. “The media is deliberately whipping up panic”.

    On this point, I would say that their coverage is wall to wall, 24/7 because this has become the big story in town. I would also say that part of the media’s job is public information and education; of course there is always room for disinformation and outright lies finding a platform as well. I would say I don’t find the Chinese claims on deaths to be realistic, and as one person pointed out, why no deaths in the Chinese Capital? Again, unless you are plugged into what is going out, everything is a mystery. I think the media is making people scared but if this virus is as others claim a real problem, wouldn’t that be their job. In war, the media is folded into pushing the government’s narrative unless compelling news overtakes that.

    “The old world is dead. All the old causes are obsolete—or at least must be set aside for this struggle. The only cause left is Parliament versus the people; Parliament, with their eager and willing slaves, versus those of us who wish to live as free men”.

    I would agree the old world is dead but I think it died long before Covid 19 sprang up. The type of people who rise to the top as politicians flagged that up to me years ago. I think you are right we live in Parliament versus the people, which is why I didn’t vote Keir Starmer as Labour leader. He represents the type of person who says one thing but does another, how can you trust someone like that? Remarkably the erosion of trust in politicians and the failure of the media to hold them to account used to puzzle me, but I realise they each feed off other and all move in the same social circle, something I clicked onto at university. At university I saw how merit was meaningless and people got jobs/ opportunities because they were part of the uni ‘group’.

    Finally, I don’t think I am buying into the panic or fuelling it, I feel something is wrong, but I acknowledge that I don’t have the background to define it as I would like. I am going on gut, I am not sure I am 100% right, who can be in a situation like this, but I am not willing to stop following the advice or tell others. In certain times, the common good must be preserved by measures which some would deem severe. I think the time for questions post coronavirus will happen soon enough. We all have to exercise patience and hope that if anything is untoward, we get to see it.

    George

    ps 25% of prison staff are off sick, they genuine?

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  9. A couple of posters on Wings being rather nasty with regards to Boris being hospitalised. No moderation. Ffs regardless of what his policies etc are you show some respect. Remember, Wings want their own party next year. Ffs God help anyone who disagrees with them.

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