We happened to be looking at a couple of old articles this morning, and noticed that some of them had blank spaces where videos should be.
We didn’t think much of it at first, because people do sometimes delete old videos or shut down their accounts, but when we checked one of them we discovered it was hosted on the Wings Over Scotland channel.
An alert reader sent us a piece of interesting follow-up info to yesterday’s piece on NHS Scotland costs. Because comparable figures for NHS England are available too, and they make for surprising reading.
These are the Scottish figures for medicine costs at list price, ie before any negotiated discounts that the health service is able to obtain:
The population of England, at 55 million, is just over 10 times that of Scotland (5.4m). So one would imagine that its like-for-like costs would come in at around £12 billion.
The BBC front page headline for this is actually just the alarming-sounding “Scottish prescription costs rise by 25%”, without even the qualifier about the timespan.
It’s probably overdue that we start collecting these together. So here’s Sir John Major on the Andrew Marr show yesterday, explaining why a “once in a lifetime” referendum should in fact be held again because its outcome was determined by something that turned out to be untrue.
Which is, of course, totally different to Scotland being told to vote No in 2014 in order to stay in the European Union, because [REASONS TO FOLLOW AT SOME POINT]
The entire Scottish media has today leapt like starving dogs at a tin of Chappie on a new “study” by right-wing flag-crazed imperialist nutjobs T***e I*****s, which claims to prove that an independent Scotland would have a BLACK HOLE!!! of infinity squillion pounds and all the crops would wither in the fields and stamps would be £5000 each and we’d be invaded by space monsters and all the usual stuff you’d expect.
(In all seriousness for a moment, it genuinely tries to flog the “fiscal transfer” myth and the “Scotland would have to join the Euro” myth and a bunch of other Better Together Greatest Hits that were utterly debunked old hat half a decade ago, and in order to make its economic case work it basically pretends that Brexit isn’t happening.)
But at the bottom of its article the New Statesman offers to link its readers to the full extent of the author’s professional economic expertise and well-argued case, and in fairness if you click the link they do exactly that.
Credit where due, it’s an uncanny likeness of the gloomy wee fella.
Labour MP Stella Creasy, explaining to Sarah Smith on today’s Sunday Politics why she backs a so-called “People’s Vote” on Brexit because voters should have the right to change their mind about a referendum if circumstances change.
Alf Baird on Clocks And Calendars: “Past time The Hootsman changed its teetle tae ‘The Hoose Jock’; or just go the hale hog as ‘The Colonialist’.…” Mar 30, 15:50
Aidan on Clocks And Calendars: “Labour are really going to form a coalition with Reform are they? Oh aye i bet they’ll be shouting about…” Mar 30, 15:14
Captain Caveman on Sicknote Slippers: “Although approaching things from a different perspective to my own, what a marvelous post, though doubtless largely wasted here. Bravo.…” Mar 30, 14:12
Mark Beggan on Clocks And Calendars: “If you thought that was crazy did anyone see Scottish Labours political broadcast online. A day in the life of…” Mar 30, 14:11
David on Clocks And Calendars: “I assume this was written and supplied to The Scotsman by a deluded Labour Hack. Why don’t The Scotsman republish…” Mar 30, 14:10
Campbell Clansman on Clocks And Calendars: “Labour, and The Scotsman, must think voters are dumb enough to take this “analysis” seriously. Which says a lot about…” Mar 30, 13:28
Lorncal on Sicknote Slippers: “The real far right is a tiny minority of heid-the-bas. Always was. Even in the halcyon days of Mosley. What…” Mar 30, 13:25
Confused on Sicknote Slippers: “better together, pooling and sharing so, exactly what benefit do we draw from this “arrangement”, being siamese-twinned to these kleptomaniac…” Mar 30, 12:59
Northcode on Protest But Don’t Survive: “A fine adaptation from Allende’s speech, James, and a quote most apt in the context of Scotland’s subjugation by a…” Mar 30, 12:11
Northcode on Sicknote Slippers: “*Do yous want tae march? Apparently 99% of actual, real and genuine liberty seeking, independence supporting Scots didn’t want to……” Mar 30, 11:47
Stevie on Sicknote Slippers: “I thought last year that REFORM would bevcome the official opposition and I still think that. Why would anyone who…” Mar 30, 11:47
Captain Caveman on Protest But Don’t Survive: “… So who, pray, are you giving your hard fought and hard won vote for, Northie? Or – don’t tell…” Mar 30, 11:20
100%Yes on Sicknote Slippers: “If you weren’t convinced the SNP didn’t won’t Independence you will now, “FRIST Minister John Swinney will push the UK…” Mar 30, 10:53
100%Yes on Sicknote Slippers: “In a Independent Scotland we shouldn’t pay pension pots of these individuals who have made a carer out of the…” Mar 30, 10:23
Northcode on Protest But Don’t Survive: “Saturday’s “We Believe in Scotland… but only as a region of England” march was bad for the SNP, bad for…” Mar 30, 10:08
Willie on Sicknote Slippers: “A Lordship in waiting he hopes is Me Peter Wishart. And where else would one be than in London over…” Mar 30, 10:04
Andy on Sicknote Slippers: “I am an anti semite. I did not realise this till 2 years ago when Netanyahu announced that anyone who…” Mar 30, 09:59
Northcode on Protest But Don’t Survive: “Even the acting talent that is the world famous Brian Cox (albeit he was working with a poor script) could…” Mar 30, 09:24
Jamie on Sicknote Slippers: “Read the roll of honour, Scotland’s bravest men…” Mar 30, 07:47
Mark Beggan on Sicknote Slippers: “Anyone waving the Iranian regime flag is advocating the destruction of Israel. The emblem on this flag states that the…” Mar 30, 02:41
Cactus on Irony you can’t buy: “Hey… You’ve got to hide yer love away… Groovy whit Scotland’s calling. Cheers. REV.” Mar 30, 02:39
Cynicus on Sicknote Slippers: “Rev, your link to “a pretty openly anti-Semitic protest “ shows nothing of the kind. It is to a Twitter…” Mar 30, 02:21
Young Lochinvar on Sicknote Slippers: “Meant to conclude: Signed: Your angry and defrauded long term true independence voter base..” Mar 30, 01:12
Young Lochinvar on Protest But Don’t Survive: “Yup.. You know what grips me; these testimonial interviews? What about his rank failures in post on transport (ultimately passed…” Mar 30, 01:06
Young Lochinvar on Sicknote Slippers: “Absolutely Geri, but also Dhondt (Westminsters git) as well! The non-achieving political and Quango class parasites are everywhere, and, I…” Mar 30, 00:51
Geri on Sicknote Slippers: “Aye, “Trust in Nicola” I’m still waiting on this grand plan she was supposedly working on in the background. Whit…” Mar 29, 23:26
100%Yes on Sicknote Slippers: “Well done to Fiona for her tweet it must have taken this coward hours to reply with a correct response.…” Mar 29, 23:07
Mark Beggan on Sicknote Slippers: “Fat Pete has joined the elite. and the far right he will defeat. All his career he’s been on the…” Mar 29, 23:05
100%Yes on Sicknote Slippers: “To be honest Farage can be PM for all I care and certainly couldn’t give a flying F*cking if he…” Mar 29, 23:01
