Wings Over Scotland

My hatred of all things english is only surpassed by Andrew Marr’s hatred of all things Scottish.

What a slimy, crawling, dirty House Jock bastard that prick is.

And Nicola Sturgeon stands there like some naughty school girl getting a telling off from her headmaster.

Start getting angry with these bastards Sturgeon,,, otherwise they will continue to walk all over you,,,and Scotland.

Wullie ” 8.26am
To add to your post
… think about the inquiries into unionists’ journalism, blogging, social media – nup, nada, zilch. This is a very one sided attack, nothing to do with rights or wrongs just pure and simple ‘take downs’ from the Scottish and British establishment on pro independence figures. Two cheeks of the same arse.

Dog Biscuit@9.42
“How about Satan?”
Do you mean Santa?

@ Ian Brotherhood, ‘the hysteria must stop’

I agree with your comment.

I remember watching a survival program recalling an incident at sea – the ship sank and 2 lifeboats were deployed, tied together, both equal numbers of survivors on board.

They were all at sea for over a week, same amount of rations on both, same sea/weather conditions. The main difference on the lifeboats was attitude. On one, they got organised, kept busy, sorted out the rations, and deliberately kept their moral up. They all survived. On the other life boat, they did not.

One of the things about Covid/lockdown, is this, if the lockdown is successful, people will have little to no real experience of the disease and go, ‘well that was a waste of time, wasn’t it, a great big fuss about nothing’. It will be a victim of its own success.

I also think that as this goes on, people just can’t be in a state of hysteria any more, its not sustainable, and in a way that represents a danger of complacency.

What I think needs to happen, in a low key, sensible sort of way, is the adoption of everyday safety measures.

e.g.

the wearing of snoods/facemasks as a matter of routine for all (from what I can glean, a simple facemark/snood can reduce the spread by 30% – that’s a damned good reduction worth doing in my opinion)

the 2 metre separation in shops and public places

hand washing and gloves

the latest medical info re silent hypoxia – leading to self monitoring and early identification of the disease

the possible benefits of gargling with mild antiseptics such as salt, vinegar, lemon juices, and regular sipping of hot beverages throughout the day

and of course testing, isolating, contact tracing.

Zooming out a bit, and looking at the UK / Scottish set up more generally –

England has woken up to how much it needs the NHS – across all the age,social, political (and Brexit) divides. That is huge, how are they going to deal with it, because it seriously scuppers the potential ‘hand everything over to the yanks for a quick buck’ plan.

My guess is they will push through the deal in secret during this lockdown period and if they get pushed out of power thereafter, they will have cut their personal deals and made their fortunes out of it.

And with regards the First Minister/Scotland coming out of lockdown first – if we do, we will be a magnet for people of a selfish disposition from England to flock here, and have no legal powers to address it.

The trouble with not being independent is not having control of our own borders, or full financial levers. That’s a real problem.

Best wishes to all.

Time for some International Relations Theory?

no, Realism cannot explain the international Covid-19 response
As the world rushes to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic, international relations scholars have a lot to say. We are not public health experts, or pathologists. But we can speak to the way states respond to common threats and the political process needed to formulate an effective response. One common reference is the realist idea of self-interest driving state behavior and undermining collective action. Yet, while realism as an inclination can explain what’s going on, Realism as a scholarly theory cannot.

Many scholars and general observers of international relations have reacted with frustration at state responses to Covid-19. The Trump Administration delayed testing and has provided insufficient information or help to states and communities. Britain’s Boris Johnson vacillated from doing nothing to locking down the country. China failed to be sufficiently transparent during the early stages of the pandemic.

This led some to turn to realism as an explanation. For example, Steven Walt wrote in Foreign Policy that realism can “offer useful insights into some of the issues that the new coronavirus outbreak has raised.” And this makes sense. States are putting short-term interests ahead of long-term benefits through cooperation. Cosmopolitan values are suffering. Even when states do work together, it is to limit interaction, as seen with the US-Canada cessation of non-essential travel.

So does this mean realism is right? Well…no….

link to duckofminerva.com

Here one that suggest there is already light at the end of the tunnel we are in.

REALIST COVID-19 trial initiated

7 April, 2020
Researchers at Queen’s University Belfast are leading a UK-wide clinical trial, offering an innovative cell therapy treatment for COVID-19 patients with acute respiratory failure….

link to hospitalhealthcare.com

Sky News running an item entitled:-

“From Cornwall to Scotland
From Wakes to the North”.

WTF???

Do the ignorant english bastards who write these titles not know that there are also Regions in Scotland and Wales?

They still think Scotland is a wee village north of Carlisle, nestled in at the bottom of Ben Nevis.

Where we all work in the fishing industry and feast on deep fried Mars Bars.

And wear kilts and chase Haggis around the hills.

Being nice and submissive isn’t going to change the way they treat us any time soon.

And our passive SNP government doesn’t seem to have the balls to fight back on our behalf either.

That angers me more than anything.

Jackie makes Donald Trump , ddddddddaaaaare I say , sound intelligent.

jackie
Are you unable to express yourself without being a cultural bigot? England is not our enemy, dysfunctional constitutionalism is.

Cameron Brodie

“England is not our enemy”

WHERE THE FUCK HAVE YOU BEEN FOR THE PAST THREE HUNDRED YEARS???

WHAT A FUCKIN ZOOMER!!!

Daisy @ 10:56

“The trouble with not being independent is not having control of our own borders. ”

Errmmm…. actually we do in this case.

Nothing to stop the Humza Yousaf directing Iain Livingstone to establish vehicle checkpoints on cross-border roads comprising crawler/filter lanes and ANPR cameras.

Private vehicles, as opposed to commercial, are reduce in speed to 15mph through the ANPR zone and those not registered to an address in Scotland are pulled over and the driver asked what their business is in coming into Scotland.

If the explanation is not a satisfactory one – back you go.

Simples.

If only the SG would have the balls. Sigh…

Wouldn’t stop those heading north via public transport or in the guise of a commercial vehicle, but it would be a deterrent of sorts.

No, I’m not a snob. I just know a bit about overcoming structurally produced cultural oppression. Full text.

Prejudice Reduction and Collective Action:
A Conflict or Confluence of Interests?

Abstract
There is a growing body of research findings suggesting that prejudice reduction strategies can have unintended negative consequences, particularly by helping to stabilize systems of inequality. In light of these findings, a handful of scholars have suggested that the field be guided less by the prejudice reduction tradition, so as to focus more on collective action.

While agreeing with the recent critiques of prejudice reduction, I argue that in more robustly embracing a collective action approach we should be careful not to abandon the notion of perceptualism that colored original thinking on prejudice reduction, lest we artificially narrow the scope of social psychological research and unintentionally ignore communities that do not fit well within current thinking in the collective action tradition.

link to researchgate.net

Dog Biscuit@11.51
“malice and Labour Party”
Please explain.

Here’s the very tool you need when trying to explain complex causation in the natural world. Though as Brexitania is detached from the natural law, I’m not sure if Brexitania should be considered part of the natural world. 😉

Full text.

Critical realism and complex causality: On the assumptions you buy in to when you are making causal claims.
link to researchgate.net

The thing about a ‘replacement’ Nicola Sturgeon is missing the point. It is Nicola Sturgeons dead-end strategy which has created this stagnation, and replacing her without replacing the whole dismal strategy would achieve nothing.

If people want to keep Nicola Sturgeon as figurehead of the Indy movement, then I suggest you get busy and impress upon her how fkg livid and exasperated a lot of us are that people have lost their EU citizenship and witnessed Scotland’s Constitutional Sovereignty and Democratic majority being arbitrarily subjugated by Westminster, and all of it happening under their noses without metaphorical shots being fired by the SNP. The same SNP incidentally which didn’t even schedule any events to commemorate the 700th Anniversary of the Declaration of Arbroath. Champions for Independence??? Hardly.

Frankly, I’m not impressed that all that efforts to seduce tepid support of No to YES converts is finally creeping us into a majority situation, because it strikes me the small handful of recruits being won over nowadays needs to be offset by the exodus of loyal YESsers who are sick fed up of the constant SNP capitulation and gutless abandonment of strong constitutional arguments which exist to defend Scotland’s interests.

I don’t care whether Sturgeon stays or goes, because Nicola has driven her pet democratic IndyRef2 straight up a Cul de Sac as a direct consequence of her fixation with the Section 30 process drawn from the Scotland Act constitution of a devolved assembly. To that extent, I fear Nicola Sturgeon has pretty much killed off any democratic referendum in the foreseeable future. That’s probably just as well, given the emerging support for the BBC emanating from the SNP Wokists who seem perfectly content to abandon Independence altogether.

So, if the SNP have wrecked the prospects of a democratic path to Independence, then so be it. I will henceforth put my faith in someone else, someone who is competent in Constitutional Principles and International Law, and who at least recognises the unlawful and unconstitutional ramifications of Scotland’s colonial subjugation through our forced Brexit.

Scotland, as a matter of greatest urgency, now needs a team of determined Constitutional Lawyers presenting our unlawful subjugation by a colonial usurper before the UN, asserting that the UK Treaty of Union has been breached, the UK’s arbitrary unwritten convention on Parliamentary Sovereignty has been shredded, and consequently, the 1707 Treaty of Union no longer exists, and henceforth both Scottish and English sovereign Kingdoms require to recognised as separate and distinct entities and legal personalities.

This process in my humble opinion is the surest way to secure Scottish Independence, and with luck, do it in a timescale where the economic damage suffered by Brexit is kept to an absolute minimum. Personally, I hope, it sees Scotland exit the UK’s Brexit Transitional Period not by leaving the EU, but by entering the EU Holding Pen status which was already being discussed within hours of the Brexit result. I have doubts that is realistically deliverable, but perhaps some probationary arrangement can achieve similar stasis for our economic interests while we negotiate a more permanent reality as the Independent Sovereign Nation which we will be.

Once Scotland’s Constitutional interests have been respected, and the unlawful colonial subjugation of Scotland overturned, then Scotland can then move forward domestically to a progressive ratification discussion and National debate, unfettered by BBC indoctrination and propaganda, and in due course, hold a ratification plebiscite designed to consolidate Scotland’s Constitutional and lawful Independence with a full democratic endorsement… a political process where the SNP can knock itself out and pursue whatever lunatic interpretation of reason and logic it likes, but indulge it’s wilder misguided aspirations without throwing Scotland’s constitutional interests onto their own bizarre bonfire of self immolation.

Don’t you just love the Scottish Press – knives especially sharpened for this weekend it seems. Who knows what they will be like next week….

They are beginning to sound a bit desperate don’t you think?

So Jackie, you are a man. I thought by the spelling of yor name that you were a lady.And there I had a vision of you in twinset and pearls ,sitting behind your letter box and spying on your English neighbours.

We are ruled over by the Imperial Parliament at Westminster and the British colonial parliament at Holyrood.

At both, the politicians swear allegiance to the United Kingdom’s Empress Elizabeth.

How can anybody who asserts a belief that the people of Scotland are sovereign, swear allegiance to Empress Elizabeth?

Purring Betty, of “think very carefully” infamy, who arguably breached fundamental Scottish constitutional law, the Claim of Right 1689, by her deliberate interference in the 2014 indyref, at the request of the then UK Prime Minister, according to an admission by David Cameron.

“Purring Betty” who was crowned using the British Imperial oath at Westminster Abbey.

That’s who Scotland’s politicians swear their allegiance to, not to the people of Scotland.

Is it any surprise Scotland remains a colony, with our politicians swearing allegiance to the British Empress and the most “principled” play infantile games like crossing their fingers.

So they can take the “Sovereign’s” silver as administrators of the Empire.

Any Scottish politician that swears allegiance to the Empress betrays the sovereignty of the people of Scotland.

Neo-liberal practice in government tends to undermine the ethical content of governmental practice. England’s health care system has been exposed to greater levels of fragmentation through privatisation than Scotland’s. This will be contributing to the approach to the recording of death.

We should count our blessing but do more to protect Scottish cultural practice and our health, IMHO.

Specialty guides for patient management during the coronavirus pandemic
Clinical guide for the management of critical care for adults with COVID-19 during the coronavirus pandemic
8 April 2020 Version 2
This clinical guidance provides contemporary information on the care of critically ill adult patients with COVID-19 to practising clinicians at the bedside.
The COVID-19 pandemic is placing an extraordinary burden on critical care, which is being met through the creation of surge capacity within and beyond hospital walls.

A large number of non-specialist healthcare providers will be supporting critical care specialists to provide care. Staff safety and wellbeing will be crucial in maintaining the resilience of critical care provision.

This guide summarises the clinical characteristics of COVID-19 and offers advice on:
•Antibiotics and corticosteroids
•Treatment of other conditions in the context of COVID-19.
•Clinical decision-making when resources may be constrained
•Management of respiratory failure
•Management of other organ failure.
•Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) and non-invasive ventilation (NIV)
•Early intubation – indications and role

link to england.nhs.uk

Lets not forget comrades we are all on the same side arent we? We have descended into bickering among ourselves much like the malicious infighting the labour party are famous for. I liked what Breeks had to say but there seems no way forward as we are over taken by events. It is also impossible to hold political meetings at present so difficult to apply pressure on politicians.

Here’s a media thing

At the moment when media trust is at an alltime low

And they are desperate for our love.

Current ITV News National Editor .. Former BBC Newsnight Political Editor .. Former Guardian Journalist ..Former Times Journalist .. Former BBC Producer

Allegra Stratton is apparently away to be the Chancellor’s Head Of Strategic Communications

link to twitter.com

George Carlin got it spot on.

link to youtube.com

Col.BlimpIV@ 1.09
Thanks for the advice, no idea why I seemed to be getting lumped with Yoons and Trolls.
Now 58, first ever vote, the Labour party, (working class background.)
Got my eyes opened after that one, and have voted SNP in every election since then, party member, so thanks again for the advice, but it is wasted on me, I am already there.
“The Dream Shall Never Die.” as the big man said.
To squander the chance through infighting and impatience would be a travesty, united we stand, divided we fall.
Simples.

Full text.

COVID-19: Knowns, Unknowns, and Questions

ABSTRACT

The recent emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) from the Hubei province in China in late 2019 demonstrates the epidemic potential of coronaviruses. The rapid spread of this virus across the world in only 2 months highlights the transmissibility of this family of viruses and the significant morbidity and mortality that they can cause. We highlight the current state of knowledge of coronavirus biology while answering questions concerning the current outbreak of SARS-CoV-2.

link to msphere.asm.org

@bipod, 1.58
But the narrative from the gov has now changed, we need the lockdown to continue to prevent a second peak

By continuing the lockdown, everybody’s immune system is weakened so a second peak is guaranteed. Based on the data now collected on the disease, the doctors in the following clip are recommending that the lifting of the mass quarantine should begin now starting with the schools.

link to youtube.com
link to youtube.com

Jackie cheered me up. The advocates of Herd Immunity do not. Do I really need to provide a list to the morons who advocate Herd Immunity, a list of those with underlying health conditions who will die from Covid 19. Stick yer murderous Tory Brit Nat Social Darwinism up yer arses.

Not all scientific minds view the world from the same perspective. Not all perspectives are compatible with a systematic approach to strategic policy aimed at a global response. I’d suggest Dr. Erickson’s perspective has scientific value but lacks a holistic concern for the global poor.

How will country-based mitigation measures influence the course of the COVID-19 epidemic?
Published:March 09, 2020
Governments will not be able to minimise both deaths from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and the economic impact of viral spread. Keeping mortality as low as possible will be the highest priority for individuals; hence governments must put in place measures to ameliorate the inevitable economic downturn. In our view, COVID-19 has developed into a pandemic, with small chains of transmission in many countries and large chains resulting in extensive spread in a few countries, such as Italy, Iran, South Korea, and Japan.1

Most countries are likely to have spread of COVID-19, at least in the early stages, before any mitigation measures have an impact.

What has happened in China shows that quarantine, social distancing, and isolation of infected populations can contain the epidemic.1

This impact of the COVID-19 response in China is encouraging for the many countries where COVID-19 is beginning to spread. However, it is unclear whether other countries can implement the stringent measures China eventually adopted. Singapore and Hong Kong, both of which had severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemics in 2002–03, provide hope and many lessons to other countries. In both places, COVID-19 has been managed well to date, despite early cases, by early government action and through social distancing measures taken by individuals….

link to thelancet.com

@Cirsium (2.34) –

Thanks for that link.

Am about halfway through. It looks pretty clear cut.

Those in here who have been shouting at ‘lockdown’ critics might want to have a look at it and address the points raised. If these doctors are right then Covid is less lethal than regular winter flus and continued lockdown is weakening us with every passing day.

Gary45%

I only included your name in that list because you were all sniping at each other, nothing judgmental about it.

It was intended as a “Time Out” call, similar to the one I hadn’t noticed had been already made.

Also I was plugging that long forgotten LP, which I bet is no longer on sale at SNP HQ merchandise stands.

Here’s another medical opinion, from Dr Gregory Lewis, acting head of the Biosecurity Research Group at Oxford University’s Future of Humanity Institute.

Dr Greg Lewis on COVID-19 and reducing global catastrophic biological risks
link to 80000hours.org

Update as N. Ireland figures are posted.

I see big Auntie still not telling us the Total England deaths so far today neither are the Sun. ?

Scotland ………today……18………Total…..1249…BBC
Wales………….today……14………Total……788…BBC
England………..today…..336………Total…..(no fig)
N.Ireland………today….16……Total…..294…BBC
===========================================================
UK…………….today……413……..Total….20732…BBC

PS:
Seems nobody officially died in England today as I post this.

Here’s a wee task for Sturgeon.

Get her to Campaign publicly, in front of the World’s media, for Johnston to scrap HS2 and the Trident Submarine renewal projects.

That would save about £400 Billion pounds with the stroke of a pen.

In these troubled times we are going to need every penny we can get our hands on,,,and it would let’s us see that Sturgeon was doing something useful, for a change

Go Nicola,,,a fuckin dare you!!!

Why no response to the video Cirsium posted at 2.34 today?

Have we become so unaccustomed to ‘good news’ that we instantly dismiss it?

🙁

link to youtube.com

Ian Brotherhood
Did you not see my posts?

“Anyone know who Dr. Erickson is and what his politics might be?”

Col Blimp IV at 0109 – afraid i’m going to have to do a Jackie here and admit i have no idea what your post means/is meant to mean! Am I a unionist in your book? Am I wrong to have an opinion that Alex and Nicola have brought us nearer to independence than anyone and am I allowed an opinion? There’s too much division caused by a few who believe only they are right. I don’t believe i’m right but I do have an opinion. OK?

Ian Brotherhood
I’m not a doctor and I’m not going to argue against his medical opinion, re. secondary effects and stuff. From the perspective of public-health ethics, I’d suggest he has a somewhat cavalier attitude towards global health. I produced numerous medical opinions that suggest Dr. Erikson is not necessarily justified in his confidence. Did you check them out?

As one might have predicted the most lethal pathogen in this self-inflicted crisis is ignorance. Media awash with nonsense about ‘Coronavirus killers’, eucalyptus derivative sprays, disinfectants, bleaches, snake oil…
Government ineptitude + questionable advice from ‘clinicians’ has unleashed among many a wave of irrational fear.
Truly, the political class and the so-called ‘experts’ are infective.
Such a great pity that they are likely to recover and attempt to continue as before.
If we let them, that is.

@cirsium 2.34: thanks for that long clip from doctors at the front line in California.

I found the statistics re Covid mortality very surprising when compared with the MSM treatment here, but then our daily dose of Hancock’s Half Hour doesn’t look at the numbers in a meaningful way, nor do our politicians and SMO’s have to put up with aggressive questioning from “journalists” like the ones in the video.

The doctors took a very balanced approach, it seemed to me, to a virus whose mortality seemed in line with or less than seasonal ‘flu, against the dreadful effects of a total lockdown, both to our immune systems and the wider societal problems it exacerbates.

Something ain’t right, but then maybe some folk on here, after all we’ve been through since 2014, are still happy to believe uncritically what we are being fed by oor maisters. This ain’t to say seasonal ‘flu is not a killer, it’s just that, in the great scheme of things, those deaths have to be balanced with the effects on society as a whole of an unprecedented shutdown. Some years’ seasonal ‘flu deaths in isolation look really frightening and yet we’ve lived through them without it being mentioned in the media on a twenty-four hour, seven day a week basis.

I’ve had pneumonia twice and been hospitalised because of it but young people need to live their lives and the economy has to function. I’ll stay careful and hope to see my granchild some day but for now the drugs ain’t working and things have got to change for our country as a whole.

Here Jackie, don’t expect Sturgeon to do anything radical.

She is well and truly Westminster’s gal for Scotland. Trident, she for it, HS2 she’s for it. Keep her nose clean, stick with the London line, and they’ll be a big job in the UN / World Bank / or other such international organisation.

George Robertson, Lord George Robertson, Scottish Secretary of the “ devolution will kill independence stone dead ‘ ended up Secretary General of NATO.

See the similarity as Nic ditches Indy, keeping Scotland in the EU, and maintaining lockstep with Bojo.

Time for a new SNP or a new Independence Party.

It looks like I wasn’t wasting my time going to school after all. Full text.

Dilemmas of securitization and health risk management in the People’s Republic of China: the cases of SARS and avian influenza

Abstract
Since the SARS epidemic in 2003, the international community has urged Chinese leaders to do more to address infectious diseases. This paper looks at two cases in which the Chinese government securitized infectious disease (SARS and avian influenza) and examines the pros and cons of securitization.

It is argued that the reactive mobilization involved in a securitizing move runs counter to the preventive risk management strategy needed to address infectious diseases. Although the Copenhagen School favours desecuritization as a return to normal practices, in the Chinese cases desecuritizing moves proved detrimental, involving cover-ups and restrictions on activists pressing for greater information.

The article begins by examining the contributions of the Copenhagen School and sociological theories of risk to conceptualizing the security challenges that pandemics pose. Although analysis of the cases of SARS and avian influenza gives credence to criticisms of this approach, securitization theory proves useful in outlining the different stages in China’s reaction to epidemics involving reactive mobilization and subsequent efforts to return to politics as usual.

The second section examines securitizing and desecuritizing moves in Chinese responses to SARS and avian influenza. Each case study concludes with an assessment of the consequences for health risk management in China. The reactive mobilization implicit in Chinese securitization moves in the two cases is contrasted with the preventive logic of risk management.

A third section draws out the implications of these cases for theories of securitization and risk. It is argued here that when securitization has occurred, risk management has failed. Although Copenhagen School theorists see the return to politics as usual—what they call ‘desecuritization’—as optimal, this turns out to be far from the case in China during SARS and avian influenza, where the process involved retribution against whistleblowers and new restrictions on health information.

In conclusion, the article argues that alternatives to securitization, such as viewing health as a global public good, would require a prior commitment to risk management within affected states.

SARS, severe acute respiratory syndrome, avian influenza, risk, securitization

link to academic.oup.com

@Ian Brotherhood

Watched that video you posted. Very interesting and noted the ‘good’ news that you spoke off.

I’m out twice a day in the morning no mask , avoid other folk 2M rules etc. Get my antiseptic gel on my hands and trolley for shopping when required and also shop for for 2 older folk one a near neighbour and also for my ‘Daily Mail’ Tory nemesis from the cafe I have mentioned on here many times 1.5 miles away.

She’s too frail to shop but I see her through her widow and get her message list through the letter box the wrong way round.
I am the only person she has seen for about a month.
We sometimes blether for a few minutes as she stands at her open door and I’m well back on the pavement.
I can see she’s frightened and stir crazy only the daily rag to brighten her day plus big Auntie BBC no computer what a plight!

Me I’m content to dabble on the internet drop by on Wings for a while, on-line chess and like to see restoring old yankee cars and woodworking on lathes, you tube etc.
Buy The National paper + electronic edition too, what the hell cant spend money like I did before saving up big time. 🙂

Cooking always have done that and her indoors not allowed in the kitchen near the oven or pots and pans.

Anyhoo! The Americans and some European countries are beginning to break out of the lockdown and in about 2 or 3 weeks we shall see how the numbers stack up.

Thanks for posting the link enjoyed it all and hope these young doctors are right. 🙂

I am mulling over some of the things they said which chime in with what we see over here factories and large shops open folk milling around, rozzers moving us along in parks etc.

Colony + House arrest can’t be right init!

However I’m not going full monty yet I’ll wait and see what transpires in a couple of weeks. 🙂 🙂

Listen up folks. Sturgeon went with the quack science, spread the virus, protect the economy, secure herd immunity, and too bad if a few pensioners die.

Save for the pensioners dying, the herd immunity never materialised and the economy is well fucked.

Well done Nicola, very well done. Wait till the post COVID 19, post Brexit has to be paid for. The post 2008 banking collapse will be a fucking doodle by comparison to what’s coming.

Better Together. Yeh, you got it Nic!

“The stench is overpowering.”

Maybe it’s your overheated oxters, Ayeright.

Stay safe, now.

He could always try ‘Sure for Men’ Tinto.
?

Jackie My spouse is Devonian and I consider my kids to be half Scottish (not half English). One came home from his USA uni wearing his St Mirren shirt, He’s was there last year, on the pitch when they got promoted back into the SPL. Do you hate my family? By what you say I guess you must. How can you go on marches knowing there are English folks among the independence supporters? Do you confront them as the enemy when face to face? Or are you just a cowardly, bigoted keyboard warrior?

My one and only conversation with you. You are not what self governance for Scotland is about. The hatred of our closest neighbour with whom we will have to trade is a recipe for disaster. By the way have you ever read the Revs rules? You need to. How dare you use someone else’s blog for your disgusting anglophobia. Get your own blog and find like minded idiots to bounce off.

Ayeright you irritating SNP shill Shilling for this lockdown.We already know Dr Ericson owns seven clinics America has private healthcare remember?You were awfy quick with a rejoinder on lockdown but you have never answered any of my questions .Remember the Doctor was questioned by journalists was he not?Just what is your game ?You smell fishy to me.

Jackie, youre welcome to wind your neck back in again .Right now would be good.

@mike cassidy 8.57: that’s actually a very good question.

I don’t know where to find the answer though.

You are living in a police state.

Ian Brotherhood says:
26 April, 2020 at 6:03 pm

Ian, I have just watched the video and they both make very good points and certainly put things into perspective to me regards death rates from Covid vs. the common flu. I would agree with most of what they said.

The only slight thing that has still left me wondering is what would have happened if we didn’t have the lockdown at all in the UK and went full herd immunity? This may work in a country that has a decent health system. However, as we know, even before Covid reared it’s ugly head, both the English and Scottish NHS were totally struggling, they were brought to their knees with underfunding, lack of staff, especially as Brexit would have scared foreign nurses etc.from coming, along low moral and totally underpaid.

What I am getting at, would the NHS have coped in the initial first month or so with the outbreak? especially as the hospitals always struggle each year from the ordinary flu.

However, the video shows that we cannot hide for ever, especially as a vaccine will not be available on mass for some time yet. The whole idea was not to overwhelm the NHS, which I don’t think we will do if we start to ease restrictions very soon. If the NHS had been better funded in the first place, we might have taken this situation with a bit more confidence.

Both Sturgeon and Rabb keep saying that they are following the science. We don’t need to follow the science with great awe now, we should be following what is happening in other countries that had it first, like China and South Korea. They are currently the guinea pigs (no harm meant) that had it first and also the first to come out of isolation.

Anyway, that’s my tuppenceworth. 🙂

Meindevon
Interesting name you have given yourself.
let me say from the start my better half is from England and my daughter was born in England and has an English accent.
Firstly some twenty years ago my wife and I were in a pub near Heathrow when my Scottish money was refused in payment for drinks, I of course was used to this she however was not and was outraged at the indignity and humiliation especially when the locals sniggered as we left the premises. She couldn’t understand it saying it was no skin off their nose to take the money.
Then there is the British PM who is English and has agreed that Scots are vermin and should be exterminated. just think about these words and who said them. Can you tell me of any senior Scottish politician who has made a similar remark about the English people. More importantly when this story came to light there was no outraged reaction from the English MSM or the English public as a whole.
When Andy Murray won Wimbledon for the first time I was taken aback by the white hot hatred towards him with posts on legitimate sites which were laced with F`s and C`s. These posts were not from Scots.
Again there has never been a reaction from the English population to the injustice of the suppression of the McCrone report which had a significant effect on the Scottish people and their future.
AS for the number of English who are for independence, they are a mere handful of the resident population who are opposed to it.
The reality is the English public are not interested in Scotland as England is their number one priority and are comfortable with England`s complete dominance of the UK which of course includes Scotland.
In short the English may not be our enemies but they are not necessarily our friends.

Main stream media propaganda rules the hearts and minds of many on here. Some have become enthralled and obsessed by casualty lists and seem keen to keep reminding us at every oportunity much like the media .The way the media and certain Wingers bang on you would think our health service was like the field hospital at Gumrak Airfield.Youll need to look that one up Ayeright.Look to Sweden for a rational appraoch to virus.

Those wanting lock down to put in the dustbin then please sign this.

@ Ian Brotherhood – coming late to this thread and I haven’t watched the video yet. However, I’m not an anti vaccer and my research of the Chinese literature so far informs that:
Corona virus is not flu. It’s a different virus.
The death rate is aporox 2 -3%, way higher than flu.

BUT. This is a new virus and many questions are unanswered.
See this critiqe of research published in California which diidn’t use proper stat methods. Don’t know if it’s the same as referred to in the video.

link to arstechnica.com

The seasonal flu has a mortality rate of around 0.10%.

Some strains of this weird virus are at least 20 or 30 times that.

Not everywhere though.

India is somewhere I thought covid would have run amok by now.

Not so.

bipod
So you would have us throw caution to the wind? Can I ask what your logic is based on?

Health security as a public health concept: a critical analysis
link to academic.oup.com

Macduff. Sorry, I’m not really sure why you commented as you did. My comment was directed at Jackie (I broke the revs and my own rule there re replying to stirrers). I don’t disagree with most of what you say. I have had the same experiences and get cross at the same things.

I just feel that the Palace of Westminster is a bigger enemy than the English man/woman in the street with no real interest in Scotland (who are fed lies by their media) and also there’s plenty Scots in Westminster parties opposed to independence.

Anyway, stay safe and well.

OT

Little bit of Scotland in the Deep South.

And as George Harrison said

If there was no Lead Belly, there would have been no Lonnie Donegan; no Lonnie Donegan, no Beatles. Therefore no Lead Belly, no Beatles

Some folk on this site are getting madder by the day. The lock down was to stop our under funded NHS from collapsing under the strain of so many seriously ill patients.
Until we have a vaccine every one is in danger of being attacked by the virus. How we move on from where we are, who knows ?

cynicalHighlander@10.02pm Where do I sign?

Are the Yanks hiding something from us?

John Hopkins University Coronavirus Research Centre claims 1,000,000 confirmed cases in US and 52,000 deaths.

Their graph that shows a running total of deaths in the US, clearly shows that the cumulative death total as of 21st of April.

Was 3000 fewer than it had been the day before … What does that mean?

link to coronavirus.jhu.edu

The Rapture a Zombie Apocalypse or error!

Ok

Lets do clinical trial and test this

Just like flu v coronavirus covid 19

20 people volunteer.

10 go into a flu ward with people suffering from flu, have a wee chat for 10 mins about the good old times!Shake hands and have a wee cuddle.

10 go into a coronavirus ward and do as above.

Wait approx 14 days and test the results.

Which ward do you want to try?

The ward with flu and seasonal vaccine or the new coronavirus virus ward with NO fecking vaccine!

You don’t even need to be a doctor,scientist or virologist just use your common sense.

I’ll volunteer for the flu ward no problem and take my chances as I’ve had the flu jab every year for past 20 year due to a health condition.

How many do we have for the corona ward?

Might send you to bed with a smile.

Coronavirus Crisis Shows Marijuana Is ‘Essential’ And Mainstream

In the USA

link to archive.is

cockburn has his boots on
link to independent.co.uk

zero deaths, lockdown being lifted
link to latimes.com

Robbo ,yor silly scenarios are not very constructive .Why dont you tell us instead how to swoon into the arms of dictatorship and stay under house arrest for the greatet good.

Seriously surprised at some of the folk above seriously raising the issue of CV as being little more than flu, in terms of its management. Who knew, their were so many infectious disease experts and ICU medics posting on here.

Seriously, though, do you really, really, believe that all those front line medics and ICU nurses are wrong, or are just going along with this for ‘fun’??. That ‘you’, of all people, yes, little old ‘you’, have much greater knowledge of virology, therapy and acute respiratory care/patient management?

Most of you are just talking utter peurile p*sh, and honestly, I’m astonished at some of the folk involved. Get a grip.

Next up, ‘proof’ by some of the above, as to why NASA ‘really’ didn’t land on the moon, and the moon landings were all filmed in a movie set in California IN SECRET!…Because a man on youtube says so.

F***s sake.

It’s looking like Scotland needs another Independence Party which is a lot more radical, more fight and more ideas going into the future, the SNP seems to have lost any reason to question the Westminster government on anything they come up with that affects Scotland and which we don’t agree with, it’s going to be years before anything happens, and you can see with lots of comments on this site that folk are gie frustrated with what’s happening.

@Robert Louis (7.04) –

It’s not like you to messenger-shoot.

The substance of what those doctors are saying (and I assume you accept that they are indeed doctors, not actors) is up for expert debate. The point is, that debate isn’t happening. We are not hearing these alternative takes in msm. If they are talking nonsense then events will prove as much.

They have the right to state their concerns, journalists are free to interrogate them on those statements, and the rest of us have a duty to try and get our heads around what’s happening. We can’t do that by summarily excluding anyone from the debate.

Jackie….….I am disappointed that you hate my English wife and my two adult English born daughters.
All three living in and loving Scotland, all three staunch Independence supporters.

You are not a serious supporter of an independent Scotland as your immature views have the opposite effect than the one you desire.
No one wants to live in a country built on hatred.

@ Effijy.

I agree, we are were we are, but how we got here has to be examined.

Golfnut,
yes and stuart decides to destroy his blog because of
fannybawz.

If Bill Gates is coming up so early on a Monday morning

It is worthwhile pointing out that the antivaccination lobby hate Gates because his foundation supports general vaccination programmes.

This is why they spread the nonsense about his being part of some conspiracy thriller plot to reduce the world’s population.

Did Bill Gates Admit Vaccinations Are Designed So Governments Can Depopulate the World?

Spoiler alert – No

link to archive.is

Re the Corona Virus,

Its new, therefore no-one knows how it will move through the population or affect different groups, or what the fatalities will be or are likely to be, or what the best way to treat it will be.

Its new.

What they did know was that it ticked all the boxes for an international pandemic emergency.

I said this at the start, that if lockdown was successful, or indeed if Corona turns out not to be as devastating as feared, few people will have direct experience of the disease and turn around and say about lockdown, ‘well that was a waste of time, wasn’t it’.

Kind of upside down, inside out, hindsight.

What is undoubtedly happening, is that the political ends of the spectrum are using the crisis to push their own agendas (unfortunately the SNP are not included in this statement), and a lack of real data will enable them to spin their version of events until people’s head explode.

Here is a question I would love our fearless journalists to ask,

How much are testing kits, how hard are they to acquire and administer, how long would it take to test all key workers, and then most of the population.

And if they cannot answer this why not, it would surely be high on the list of actions in an emergency planning meeting.

By doing that, you would have an answer to how many people in the UK are currently infected with the Virus. Probably quite an important baseline figure after 6 weeks of lockdown, don’t you think.

Without those stats, any criticism of the Government policy is doing so with one leg of the stool missing and we enter the realms of opinion only.

How many people in Scotland have Corona, what are the obstacles to preventing us being tested to find this out.

Imagine the sites bouncer trying to patronise me.Robbo,youre not a very good ambassador for our cause.I do not appreciate little people like yourself, issuing orders, instructions to a poster who happens to disagree with you .You seem like one of those ‘right men’ who must be obeyed no matter how bonkers you sound. A question for you, how long are you personally prepared to carry on under this restricted regime? I suppose youll find fault with that terminology as well. And why have you fallen hook line and sinker for a coordinated Government media propaganda campaign?

Golfnut says:
27 April, 2020 at 8:48 am
This link is an important read, it highlights the vested financial interests( particularly the UK gov) of government and corporate manipulation regarding lockdown.

It’s not that I disagree with the conclusions, but I have a major problem with the definition of “Lockdown”, and what is meant by it.

Look at the videos of China in lockdown… everybody has masks, if they can’t get them they improvise, there are test booths and checkpoints for people moving about from zone to zone, there were roadblocks doing the same for cars, and testing for people with symptoms using swabs and thermometers for high temperatures. Being China, and without meaning it in a derogatory way, the people are proud of their country and will do what is asked of them. You had a Chinese government screaming warnings to the world of pneumonia like flu symptoms with a high mortality.

Then you look at UK lockdown, when even hospitals can’t get testing equipment or PPE. “Lockdown” to many people seems “optional”, if you’re a toff, you are free to travel the length of the country WHEN YOU KNOW YOU’RE INFECTED, but the virus doesn’t care if you’re in a Rolls Royce or a campervan. The airports are not closed, the schools are not closed, there are no discernible control measures on people using public transport. Initially big sporting events and gatherings were allowed to go ahead, and there is Manchester Police called to 500 house parties during “lockdown”. And of course you have a government lying through it’s teeth, with medical advice being manipulated by political stooges, and the number of deaths being deliberately manipulated to save the UK’s blushes at it’s incompetence.

When you are comparing the impact of Lockdown on the spread and containment of virus, I think you’re on thin ice to be using the UK’s version of “Lockdown” as an authoritative example. The UK’s lockdown was the work of pedestrian amateurs who were kidding themselves it was ok to just “take it on the chin”.

By Chinese or Korean standards, and probably by German standards, I suspect the UK’s lockdown looks like we were just going through the motions. We should count ourselves lucky that COV19 doesn’t come with the 80%-90% fatality rate of Ebola.

If your lockdown statistics suggest it had very little impact on containing the disease, before condemning lockdown in principle, I think the obvious suspect has to be how rigorous [or not] your lockdown actually was.

It is only now, nearly May, roughly four months in to this pandemic that the UK is finally bringing in quarantine and testing protocols at UK airports. Wow. Some lockdown. With that kind of response, the horse that bolted will be back from his holidays and arrive home to find the stable door still hasn’t been bolted.

To coin the phrase, if your Lockdown isn’t working, you’re not doing it right.

Effigy,your anti social atitude is the Governments desired result A very interesting article by Vanessa Beely linked by Golfnut You should read it all you who think your Government have your best interests at heart.

Dog biscuit says:
27 April, 2020 at 10:20 am

I really don’t give 2 fucks what you say,its all crap. Our cause my arse,don’t make me laugh. Every post you make is SNP bad, NS bad or or some other shit.

You don’t fool me. On an indy site talking about jocks!FFS

Breeks Golfnut

And Lockdown means different things to different people.

What if your community’s experience of virus fatality means you are not keen on the ending of lockdown.

link to archive.is

The truth will out?
link to globalresearch.ca
World economy close to ‘crash’ mode but lockdown will keep us healthy say the ‘experts’.
SARS CoV-2 genome still not thoroughly sequenced yet, despite press reports. Sequencing would not automatically provide a cure. HIV virus has been sequenced but as yet there is no vaccine
We need rational political leadership prepared to say, enough of this folly.
For that you need guts….not much of that among the eviscerated standard political class and their hangers on.
An SNP mark 2 will need plenty of guts, backbone, brains and brawn, something revolutionary in the regular political culture.

Robbo , have you calmed down yet? Ita in pace.By the by I say Jock to get a reaction a childish psychological trick I know but youre hardly a stretch for the imagination.Why are you so keen on Government policies by the by?

@ Dog biscuit

Your use of ‘Jocks’ in the pejorative makes me suspicious of you.

….the questions remain and require further examination as to why the UK gov acted the way it has…

Yes, I agree 100%. That the UK’s lockdown was so sloppy very much does need to be examined, partly to learn from mistakes, and also to weed out the truth about whether the amateurish implementation of the policy was deliberately lacklustre and criminally complacent.

I also think, which maybe addresses what Mike Cassidy says too, is that a lot of people have had lockdown imposed upon them with absolutely minimal information about how, or why, what it’s purpose is, and it’s objective. People who understand why they’re asked to do a thing will, I think, be more patient and cooperative, but they will also understand when the lockdown has done it’s job.

Better education means communities are better able both to think for themselves but also see their place in the team.

It’s almost like we need the Public Information films you used to see, with Charlie and the Cat, (or was Charlie the cat). I was going to say Duck and Cover, but that’s maybe not the best example. Bottom line is the Nation might benefit from having a lockdown drill so people know the score and don’t have to interpret the news headlines.