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The forgotten women 227

Posted on May 28, 2024 by

Last week’s controversy around the Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre put the spotlight on the need for single-sex services to protect vulnerable women, but it’s very far from the only example of how Scottish women are being let down in this regard by both the Scottish Government and civic organisations.

The homelessness system in Scotland has collapsed. Emergency accommodation is dangerous, sub-standard, and overcrowded. There has been an epidemic of deaths in hotels and B&Bs in recent years.

Shockingly, 67 women in Scotland have died in homeless accommodation over the three-year period up to 2022, the most recent figures available, and the situation is steadily getting worse. Read the rest of this entry →

Virtual Reality 293

Posted on May 25, 2024 by

The Misogyny Alliance 99

Posted on May 24, 2024 by

As a writer, feminist and literary events organiser in Scotland, I’m regularly sent links to information someone thinks might be of interest to me. This week it was a document commissioned by one of Scotland’s leading and most powerful publicly-funded literary organisations, Literature Alliance Scotland (LAS).

Nobody, of course, objects to transgender writers being included or supported, but the content of the guidance raises several extremely serious and concerning issues.

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Contractual obligations 99

Posted on May 24, 2024 by

We suppose we should talk about the general election for a bit.

It’s going to be awful. Will that do?

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Adam Ramsay Is Definitely A Liar 126

Posted on May 22, 2024 by

There’s something very unusual – possibly unique, we think – about the reaction of the transactivist community to this week’s tribunal judgement in Roz Adams vs Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre (ERCC).

Normally in cases like these, there’s an instant and concerted attempt to rubbish the judgement, both from amateurs and activist lawyers like Robin Moira “Barry” White, Jolyon Maugham, and the anonymous “Pissed Off Lawyer” tweeting as @legaltweetz. They’ll issue spurious “analyses” dismissing the findings with jargon terms like “obiter”, and either question their correctness or attempt to minimise their significance.

For some reason that didn’t happen this time. The hyper-antagonist online trans army has very conspicuously failed to rush to the defence of ERCC CEO Mridul Wadhwa, perhaps because Judge Ian McFatridge’s conclusions were so relentlessly, brutally and comprehensively excoriating of Wadhwa’s appalling behaviour that no amount of spin or disingenuity could disguise it.

But then, on white charger and with papoose, enter a hero.

Ladies and gentlemen (and non-binary genderfluids), meet Adam Ramsay.

Read the rest of this entry →

The Innocent 215

Posted on May 18, 2024 by

A Better Togetherness 359

Posted on May 15, 2024 by

The National have buried this pretty quickly in understandable embarrassment:

Because some things are just a little TOO on-the-nose for comfort.

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You’ve Been Had 268

Posted on May 13, 2024 by

The picture editor of The Times must have been delighted with this gift.

But it’s a very accurate picture, and fairly used.

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Window Dressing 108

Posted on May 11, 2024 by

The Circus Of Hate 286

Posted on May 09, 2024 by

Well, what a nice statement of unity and tolerance this is:

And only slightly undermined by coming from THIS guy:

But Smith’s new message of tolerance hasn’t fully penetrated the party ranks.

Read the rest of this entry →

The Symbolist 71

Posted on May 09, 2024 by

Comment seems superfluous, really.

So we’ll just make a couple of the obvious points for the sake of it and then we’re off to the park.

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Continuity continued 87

Posted on May 08, 2024 by

So that was a big waste of everyone’s time.

We’re not sure why John Swinney made a big show of dragging all his ministers away from their desks to Bute House today in order to tell them nothing had changed. All he’s done is give Kate Forbes the smallest possible sliver of Shona Robison’s job and everything else has stayed the same.

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    • factchecker on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Serious question – why should a UK Government work in the best interests of any single geographical sub-section of the…Jul 23, 12:03
    • sam on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Scottish Social Attitudes Study 2025 “18% of respondents said that they trusted the UK Government to work in Scotland’s best…Jul 23, 10:20
    • Alf Baird on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Aye Hatey, up tae yer wee mischievous tricks agin: ‘divide and rule’, the colonizer’s tool.Jul 23, 10:14
    • sam on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Sarwar’s degree in dentristy and his role as Scottish Labour Leader where he led the party to its latest debacle…Jul 23, 10:13
    • sam on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Trial first?Jul 23, 09:58
    • Hatey McHateface on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Sure, Xaracen. But you’ll be long deid. 🙂 Me too. And, whilst no doubt Scotland will leave the UK as…Jul 23, 09:31
    • Aidan on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “What made Scotland “much better” before 1707 Xaracen? I doubt there is a single objective metric that could be used…Jul 23, 09:31
    • Hatey McHateface on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “With the departure of Sarwar, once again, we see that Scotland’s loss is England’s gain. And, as the pool of…Jul 23, 09:18
    • Xaracen on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Hatey said; “Scotland was a much better place when it was a monarchy.” Scotland was a much better place when…Jul 23, 08:55
    • Hatey McHateface on Ain’t it funny how things change?: ““buses; but I haven’t been on one for 30 years, and you’d have to get the gun out to get…Jul 23, 07:55
    • Hatey McHateface on Progressing To Oblivion: “His phone too, so there will go his language translation app. Come to think on it, taking his phone away…Jul 23, 07:44
    • Aidan on Progressing To Oblivion: “I think James’ clothes will need to be buried in concrete on Gruinard Island.Jul 23, 07:11
    • Aidan on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Culpable homicide isn’t an offence in England (it’s manslaughter) and Donald Findlay isn’t a member of the bar in England…Jul 23, 07:08
    • Captain Caveman on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Well, it certainly looks like someone hit you on the head a fair few times, reading that. 🙂Jul 23, 05:51
    • Cynicus on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Sarwar senior went to become Governor of Punjab. However Punjabophiles can relax since the office is not hereditary.Jul 23, 00:49
    • Confused on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Question of the day must be : how many times is it permissible to hit a tory on the head…Jul 22, 23:47
    • Alf Baird on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “The dishonesty is first and foremost in the mankit annexation and ‘Union’ hoax which gives rise to its need for…Jul 22, 23:26
    • Young Lochinvar on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “AX Tut tut.. I don’t think anyone has seriously given that moniker to Glasgow for quite some considerable time and…Jul 22, 23:06
    • James on Progressing To Oblivion: “Vete a la mierda…Jul 22, 22:33
    • Young Lochinvar on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “HMcH That bad? Really? Made you reply though didn’t it? Validation an’ that eh? Enjoy lock down through the night…Jul 22, 22:29
    • Hatey McHateface on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Sorry, Auld Lochnagar, but as a wind up that’s a piss poor effort. Try again around 2 AM. Your output…Jul 22, 22:22
    • Dick Wall on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Well now. Let’s have a wee bit of nuance. Most places have a way of appointing ministers who are not…Jul 22, 21:16
    • Young Lochinvar on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Chas Why do you lay that responsibility at Alfs door? Is it so you can blame him if things don’t…Jul 22, 21:10
    • Potace on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Maybe he’s going to help Ruth change the HoL from the inside?Jul 22, 20:50
    • Young Lochinvar on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “HMcH Aaaaah! In other words ie Yoda-speak; “Rampant Cringe leads to unhappiness, unhappiness leads to non conformance, non conformance leads…Jul 22, 20:48
    • Young Lochinvar on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “SF In fairness; “sins of the father” and that.. Not that I’m a fan!Jul 22, 20:39
    • Scot Finlayson on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “His dad, Chaudhry Sarwar, was knocked back for a Lordship, `His nomination by outgoing Prime Minister, Gordon Brown for a…Jul 22, 20:28
    • Hatey McHateface on Ain’t it funny how things change?: ““This I must say for Scotland, and I may truly vaunt it; here I sit, and govern it with my…Jul 22, 20:08
    • Hatey McHateface on The Wheels Of Industry: “If it’s gonna take 300 years to “decolonise”, we’re beyond fortunate to have a thousand year old Pict on our…Jul 22, 19:58
    • Lorncal on The Wheels Of Industry: “Alf: I have ever been the contrarian, but I have never considered our situation to be ‘colonial’ in the accepted…Jul 22, 19:57
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