Wings Over Scotland

The two cheeks o the same erse.

Jeex oh, these bloomin tories hae mae faces than the toon clock, an mair positions than the kama sutra.

Always remember folk, never ever trust a tory.

i will never understand how these nuggets get away with it.
goes mostly unchallenged.
MSM are complicit & equally responsible for the state we are in.
couldn’t imagine scotgov getting away with such flip-flopping drivel.
hope the public are paying attention but i suspect they are focussing on the squirrels, sadly

Gives all those called Jeremy a bad name….. Oh wait!

@Marie Clark

8 positions X 8 variations = 64.

Heard it last night on radio 4 extra. Paul Sinha from the Chase says.

Honest! 🙁

Poor sod

He shouldn’t have crossed the border and visited Culloden.
He’s caught the dreaded Untruthful Davidson disease, wonder if we should tell him that there’s no known cure and it’s recurring.
Perhaps Ann Widdecome will be able to apply some scientific resources from the Brexit Ltd funds to help him out.
Even Boris may have caught it.
In the clip, Johnson says: “Donald Trump’s ill-informed comments are complete and utter nonsense. I think he’s betraying a quite stupefying ignorance that makes him frankly unfit to hold the office of President of the United States.

“I think Donald Trump is clearly out of his mind if he thinks that’s a sensible way to proceed, to ban people going to the United States in that way, or to any country.

“I would invite him to come and see the whole of London and take him round the city but I don’t want to expose Londoners to the risk to any unnecessary risk of meeting Donald Trump

Dunning- Kruger effect.

News of a sort.

George Galloway sacked by talk RADIO over allegedly anti-Semitic tweet. Footie/Spurs.

I say again that Trump and the American Corporations clearly see
the UK as a weak animal separated from the pack and easy pickings.

The Tories are desperate to present anything as a Trade Deal to partially replace EU membership.

No need to use these terms but the interpenetration of a US trade deal will allow Chlorinated Chicken, Steroid Beef, NHS Contract access, and Zero Hours contracts with no rights or privileges.

Do you think Trump has the capability to remember that every UK Politician asked thought he would lose the US Election to Clinton and put forward that he was a Joke candidate?

On a bright note, Trump has sacked so many politicians that Mrs Mayhem might well get kicked out today.
Gives his pal Boris an opening.

I think Hunt has already met his Waterloo at Culloden.

Donald Trump cannot give a trade deal. It has to be ratified by both the House of Representatives and the Senate since 2007.Trying to position yourself next to Trump is a waste of time.

Nancy Pelosi whose Democrats have the majority in the House of Representatives has made it very very clear that there will be no trade deal if the Good Friday Agreement is not honoured in full.

Hunt must know this too. This is another example of the idiocy which is currently in charge of the UK. They are like the ball bearing in a game of pin ball, hurtling around trying to score points , randomly bouncing one way then the other. They get no prizes for high scores I’m afraid.

What is anti semitism ??? If you state that the Jews killing the Palestinians and stealing their land is wrong is that anti semitism ??? Of course it is wrong no matter who is doing it ,it seems you must not say anything about Israel imagine if we had taken the same view about Nazi Germany I.e. Said and done nothing about the things they were doing to the Jews where would the Jewish people be today ??? Wrong is Wrong and to say nothing is to condone what is going on

Ruthies truthless disease must be catching – although the tories have always had it – principals – what principals – I have plenty more.

Even the dear old Jeremy – CND for all his life – then in a position of power to actually do something labour votes through the renewal of trident.

What is it with these people in power – have they have lost their moral compass and gained a lust for power itself.

As for Trump the American ambassador yesterday said for any trade deal everything would have to be on the table including health care – and we have people tripping over themselves to get his approval. We can respect the office of President but never this present president who bought the job with cash and lies, whipped up hatred and yet many were taken in by him. And that is before we even consider what he is doing in the Middle East.

Here’s a theory. Some of them only want to be seen to stand, to get the publicity, have their say, and for some their face better known. Some of the candidates are actually setting themselves up to be the replacement for one who does draw the short straw! Only the most stupid would actually want the poisoned chalice!

There is no good outcome, from a Tory perspective. I’m not saying they all accept that, some will be deluded enough to believe the ‘no deal’ is OK, or a renegotiation with the EU is possible guff. Some will also totally over estimate their own capabilities, no doubt.

Surely some of them know this is a lose-lose-lose role at the moment?

I am bemused by the utter tangle of knots Labour and the left has found itself in over accusations over anti-Semitic behaviour/thought crimes. It was only 4 years ago the party leader was Jewish. What has changed? Willsden espoused a conspiracy by a right wing Israeli government to ensure that an unsympathetic left wing leader in another country is undermined. Now to believe such an organised move against Corbyn has taken place might well be paranoia but is anti-Semitic? We are happy to believe Russia or China would do such a thing (and probably the US) is it then anti-Semitic to suggest the Israeli government moves to protect its interests?

Anti-Semitic people exist. That is a fact. The National Front used to be full of them. However, I don’t recall Labour people being like that in my day. Yes, the cause of the Palestinian people and leftist politics generally was championed but no one questioned Israel’s right to exist. Unless things have gone very strange in the last couple of years I find it hard to believe that there is a problem on the scale being pushed by the press and lobbying interests. Most of these people have been in Labour for decades although I concede I don’t know much about Momentum but as far as I can see most of the accused are crusty old left wingers not recent members.

However, in light of the feeding frenzy, George’s tweet looks ill considered…or a ploy to have a day in court at talk radio’s expense.

America’s infrastructure is decaying — here’s a look at how terrible things have gotten

link to archive.is

My guess is that “the Hunt” was expecting “Culloden” to have the same U-English affection as “Cadogan” in London, England.

ca-DUH-guhn
Cu-LUH-duhn

After all, what do we in Scotland know about the pronunciation of our own towns, compared to our “imperial masters”?

See also: “Greh-nock”, “Kir-kahl-dy”, etc, etc…

No deal no real. The end of boom and bust. No slate for the 51st state. Trickle down that.

Scotland has to save itself, and soon.

Again lots of nonsense talked about the NHS.
Look at Ireland, Nicola’s new best pal, where you have to make part payments every time you visit the GP, go to A&E or stay in hospital.
She never talks about those ‘progressive’ policies.
We need to have a new look at the NHS and look at the whole system as it can’t continue as it currently is set up, bearing in mind demographics and the higher than inflation costs in that industry.

Clootie says:

At that time both Jews and Arabs lived in the country.

Yes, by 1948. Have a look at this graph.

link to tinyurl.com

The UK largely created the Jewish pre-1948 presence during the Mandate period. It was foreign policy to build up a European community in the heart of the Middle East.

They certainly succeeded because there is a strong Western enclave in the ME now in the shape of Israel. Good, bad, fair, unjust … that’s a different minefield.

“So much nonsense is spouted by so many who know so little.” Yeah, by you.

Went to the poor areas did you? There are areas in the US which look like a third world country, where people don’t have jobs and no hope of getting one, where they are, in fact, forgotten. They can’t therefore access health care nor health insurance.

It is a country which throws people out in the street in their hospital gown because the hospital find they can’t pay for treatment.

Where a woman, after an accident at a train station, begged passers-by not to phone for an ambulance for her because it would cost $1,000 just to get taken to A and E at the local hospital and she couldn’t afford it.

Where insulin costs so much it can run to millions of dollars over a life time of someone who is a Type 1 diabetic.

The land of milk and honey right enough.

‘frivolous appointments’ ha! ha! ha!

I doubt anyone ever has had a frivolous dental or eye care appointment.

Go get raffled sunshine.

A C Bruce says:

There are areas in the US which look like a third world country

Indeed. I have heard the US described as the richest third world country. As far as I understand a quarter of the population have no real access to healthcare. Millions of Americans are only one serious accident or illness away from bankruptcy, destitution, and homelessness.

Some have a great life, but in truth it’s bought at others expense. The rich are only so rich because the poor are so miserable.

Already, the UK has among the worst inequality in Europe. Scotland needs to reverse the trend not make it worse.

Don’t know who was just being interviewed by BBC news

But he just said the Queen and trump have a lot on common

Both having Scottish mothers and both owning large chunks of Scotland.

“Hmmmm – maybes aye, maybes naw.”

@winifred mccartney says: 3 June, 2019 at 1:45 pm:

… this present president who bought the job with cash and lies, whipped up hatred and yet many were taken in by him. And that is before we even consider what he is doing in the Middle East.”

Not to mention what he is doing on the USA/Mexican Border where he steals little children from their parents and cages them like wild animals.

@Pete says: 3 June, 2019 at 2:00 pm:

” … Yes, Pete, and that is just exactly how it was just before the USA led the World into, “The Great Depression”,, (1929 to 1939), which also contributed greatly to WWII. Then it was exactly how it was in the USA just before the recent banking collapse that much of the World is still attempting to recover from.

So yes, Trump understands all right and he doesn’t care for the same reasons the dynastic banking families didn’t care before the fast two financial crisis – it’s known as, I’m all right Jack and stuff you.
Just back from the US where I’ve been going for years and the country is booming.
Never seen so much construction going on. Housing, shopping malls, infrastructure. Boom, boom boom.
His tax cuts have really got everyone buzzing and at all levels. Unemployment is at an all time low.
Unlike Derek Mackay, he understands the Laffer principle whereby lower tax rates produce more revenue.
Food standards in the US are top class and the choice and quality is amazing.
If you don’t want chlorinated chicken, no one will force you to buy it – it’ll be labelled.
The NHS will still be free at the point of delivery. If some of the providers are private – so what?
GP’s are private contractors. Nobody seems to complain about th

Jeremy Hunt quoting Culloden in the video that he made while in Scotland…that was 100% trolling…no way did the person who wrote his little spiel NOT realise the insensitivity or significance of mentioning Culloden..or indeed would he himself not realise…..using Culloden as reference to Scots while in Scotland…in the context of a……pro Brexit message.

This is what they, the Tories, from HQ party (aided by their ("Quizmaster" - Ed) MP members from Scotland) , do to Scots..a cheap and nasty jibe in the context of accepting nay embracing Brexit…directed at a country whose majority voted Remain…shut up and put up Jocks is the underlining message..with a side of snide referencing a la Butcher Cumberland style..not the sausage…and not easily digested by a Scot…..another recipe for disaster from another Tory leader wannabe…understandable to easily replace the ‘H’ in his surname with a ‘C’….is it not.

Calling him an arse does not do him justice….like all the other Tory leader wannabees….there is no hole big enough for their collective gaffe ridden egos to fit into….not even Cyril Smith’s humongous arse would suffice.

BTW did he get PermissionFromSajid to make this speech in Edinburgh to the Scots ?

The SNP are reporting that Alyn Smith is on course to be the new President of the European Free Alliance group at Strasbourg. The Greens and their EFA allies hold the balance of power in the new parliament. Useful for Scotland.

@galamcennalath

I fully agree with your description of the early 20th. Century build up. However like the Plantation of Ireland it does not solve the debate. Protestants moved in and displaced Catholics.

The Empire did it with India ( Hindi/ Muslim). India and East & West Pakistan.

The even tried it with Australia setting up and recognising States instead of a country pre Independence. (The Aboriginal people had no say!)

Unfortunately many people want a simple Good Guy/Bad Guy argument. I don’t like the way people are suffering. However I dislike the previous treatment of all the aboriginal peoples around the World and they won’t be getting their land back.

I look at a Wall build in N/Ireland during the troubles and a Wall in Palestine and they look identical to me. I see the same solution – talking not killing

@Pete says:3 June, 2019 at 2:59 pm:

Jings! Pete. Could you be more wrong?

This video was made 7 months ago in Los Angeles – one of The USA’s most wealthy cities and home of many of the best known to the World USA citizens many of them billionaires and millionaires:-

link to youtube.com

Go watch it – It’s only 7 months old – when was your last visit in the USA? Do you perhaps think this just began 7 months ago?

Here’s another question for you – have you ever heard of Slab City, California? Perhaps you missed that on your visits.

link to youtube.com

There is no mains electricity, mains water or sewerage pipes in Slab City and no fire service, ambulance service or police service. Believe it or not it belongs officially to the government.

Yeah! The USA is booming.

Well, weirdly, he’s right.

During negotiations they HAD to be willing (or LOOK like they were) to walk away had they not gotten the deal they wanted. In that case he had to put forward the view, as though he believed it, that ‘No Deal’ was just ‘super’

Having now done (part) of the deal he can say differently. Although the important part of the deal has NOT been done yet so his current pronouncements are just him shooting himself in the foot!

Of course none of them know what they’re doing and add to that they will say whatever they think people want to hear to be elected leader so…yeh, there’s that.

The only thing worse that Jeremy Hunt running the NHS would be Hunt as PM. He always came across as someone who was trying his best to appear human but failing dismally…

In 20 days time, it will be three years since EU Ref 2016, throughout which time Brexit has caused the UK to jump from a plane in a slow-motion freefall, with a ‘chute that refuses to open.
And because we haven’t smashed into the ground yet, the English in particular, are hoping and imagining and fantasising that something will turn up. For the Tories, it’s a new leader, for the Lib Dems it’s Jo Swinson, while for Nigel Farage, well, Nige is still just fantasising that he will sprout a pair of wings and just fly off into a new Imperial Supremacist No Deal Dawn.

Meanwhile, in Scotland, half the population know exactly what to do, while the Scot-British Nationalists in their brainwashed state of political anesthesia, remain only vaguely aware of what is happening to their beloved Union.

Actually, despite growing frustration and impatience, I’ll take Indy in slow motion if that’s how it’s going to be. Better late than never.

kapellmeister @ 4.35 pm

Good luck to Alyn Smith (and Scotland). Jill Evans MEP, Plaid Cymru, is also in that group. good news for Cymru, too!

Double scotch all round, perhaps!

As for the US health service , I remember a tv programme I saw a couple of years ago where a dollar multi millionaire was interviewed , his wife was discovered to be suffering from terminal cancer and in order to make her last days more comfortable paid all medical costs , there were complications with their medical insurance , not sure what the problems were , but at the end of the interview the man said that his wife had passed away and he was basically bankrupt , ALL his wealth had been used for medical bills to ease her suffering

So Pete our SNHS may not be perfect but as one who has had to use it occasionally for major issues , you and anyone else like nigella farago can take a flying fcuk at involving the US health vultures

And all these brexshit imperialists ( especially the older white cliffs of Dover exceptionalist fantasists ) will rue the day they heard of fandango nigella

OMG a Chelsea pensioner wins BGT. Singing on a bed of poppy leaves with a cohort of fellow pensioners at attention in support. A backdrop of falling poppy petals and war photos, the crowd interspersed with serving soldiers in full regimental kit saluting their hero. At the last moment a Union Jack ?? flutters!

The crowd goes mad waving Led poppies and joining out proud troops in a standing ovation.

Thank god we live in a democracy and are never subjected to staged propaganda like North Korea!

NOT!!!

Rob P just watched your first video on yatube, yes Pete that’s what you and the current political classes in englandshire want Scotland to look like

Never forget the destruction of the NHS by thatcher and her scum cohorts , the closure of all the social medical care centres and facilities , CARE IN THE COMMUNITY PISH just to sell these grounds and hospitals to developers and tory backers , now THE COUNTRY is facing the repercussions of her actions

How can this man be trusted with legal matters and a duty of care to the public? He can’t and is not worthy of high office. Very few of them are in Westminster, IMHO.

#DissolveTheUnion

during the candidates debates, donald trump was questioned on “single payer healthcare” i.e. an NHS similar to canada and the UK
– he said “it can work extremely well, like in SCAATLAAN”

he then put the impracticality on the actions of the insurance companies and individual peculiarities of state law

like a lot of what trump says, this was never reported

the US healthcare system is about the worst you can possibly get – custom designed to make doctors and insurance companies extremely rich

– hospitals are always trying to sell you the most expensive treatment
– insurance company lawyers are trying to stop you getting any at all
– it systematically overcharges for everything, then bankrupts you at the end, for an extra 6 months of painful misery

I know a couple of middling-rich americans – they DO NOT use the US healthcare system (for they would no longer be “middling rich”)
– one goes once a year to singapore for a full medical, whole body scan, all the tests, gets his prescriptions
– another went to switzerland, zurich for treatment for a brain tumour, top clinic, top guy – successfully done for $40K, which he regarded as a “bargain” as in the US it would be $250K and up, up, up …

overall, the US is heading for banana republic, brazil type of a nation – youre either dirt poor or filthy rich
– this “bringing back the good middle class jobs” was one of trumps messages that got him elected, possibly the main one

I just made the mistake of visiting the electoral calculus site. It has been very accurate in the past ???

No surprise to find Pete talking nonsense.

Nothing much to add to the informed corrections to his guff other than to point out that food labelling will be a casualty of ukexit, and would ypu really be surprised if WM allowed American imports to be described as ‘scottish’ as thats where it ended up ?

WM could do that out of pure spite.

Better to become independent and tell the USA to shove their dodgy foodstuffs.

America craves high quality produce, Scottish Salmon/Whisky etc, when has anyone EVER said, “you know what i really fancy tonight, chicken washed in a chlorine solution, think the local swimming pool would marinade a few chicken thighs for us” ?

Ach! Ronnie, when are you ever going to realise the difference between this guy and a Troll?

Only yesterday I posted the definition of a Troll and this guy doesn’t fit the description. This guy is, much, much worse.

You are right that the way to deal with trolls is to ignore them and they die. This guy will not die if ignored because he isn’t a troll.

He is probably a bought and paid for political activist. He pretends to be in favour of Scottish independence but is just sitting watching and waiting to jump in and attempt to gain a political advantage.

His comment has already done its job as it is posted and ignoring it only gives it credence. The way to deal with that is to demolish his views … … and then ignore him.

I do believe he has been properly and comprehensively demolished now. So now we can ignore him and his perverse views.

Perhaps he’s been cloned and he’s related to dolly the sheep.

I did try Hershey chocolate. It had a strange goats milk sort of flavour that I found very unappealing. Swiss or Belgian is the thing.

Whatever piles the pounds on in the US (growth hormone infused meat and corn oil I suspect) it isn’t their chocolate.

@HandandShrimp says: 3 June, 2019 at 7:05 pm:

” … Whatever piles the pounds on in the US (growth hormone infused meat and corn oil I suspect) it isn’t their chocolate.”

You may be wrong there, HandandShrimp. The USA food regulations for chocolate stipulate less cocoa and more sugar than UK or other EU chocolates.

O/T cont
Dear Mr Anderson

Thank you for your email of 16 May and for letting me know of your concern about some of the comments made by Willie Rennie during First Minister’s Questions.

I appreciate the point you make and am sorry to hear about how the remarks that day have affected you, particularly given your personal experience.

As Presiding Officer, my role is to chair meetings of the Parliament and maintain order in the Chamber rather than to rule on the content of contributions. The Parliament is intended to allow for an exchange of views and, as long as they are within the Parliament’s rules, I cannot comment on the arguments made by Members in the course of a debate. Members, including the leaders of the political parties, are responsible for what they say during proceedings and they can be held to account by other Members in the Chamber and by members of the public. I recognise that many people find certain arguments frustrating, but in the end, it is for the viewer to decide whether they find them convincing.

On this basis, it is my view that it would not be appropriate to undertake an investigation into this matter. However, you may wish to highlight your views to Willie Rennie directly. Given his Party’s position on mental health services, Mr Rennie may be able to offer you some reassurance about the background to his comments in the Chamber and his intentions.

I wish you well if you decide to pursue this matter further. Thank you for taking the time to write to me and I hope that my response is of assistance to you.

Yours sincerely

Ken Macintosh

Rt Hon Ken Macintosh MSP

Presiding Officer

In a word Msps can lie cheat & wont be held to account for misleading Parliament .

OK Pete. It appears you think a radical change is required in how our society provides / or how we access healthcare because the current setup is unsustainable due to funding constraints of our tax system.
Why don’t you instead consider pushing for a radical reforming of the tax system we use to cut out the corruption and tax loopholes that reduce the overall tax take which is used to fund not only health, but other essential and important services?

The use of the word “radical” sounds scary, but if the current system is radically bad, you need a radical change to fix it.
See, “radical” isn’t so bad after all.

What do you make of the Annual Ground Rent proposal as an alternative system of raising revenue?

Brand Scotland is largely based on quality, of environment and specialised food and drink, for example. This will all end up in the bin thanks to the full-English Brexit. Are Scotland’s farming and fishing communities happy about this? Has the corporate media highlighted this threat to their livelihoods and way-of-life? To their local culture?

@Dan says:3 June, 2019 at 8:06 pm:

” … if the current system is radically bad, you need a radical change to fix it.”

There is a very simple answer to, Pete’s daft claims. In the first place the idea of the, “Trickle up”, form of economics is that it is quite simply a bare faced lie and it never has worked that way – ever.

Since the Tory governments gained power, and before them NuLabour who first changed the tax system from direct to indirect taxation knowing full well this would move the main burden of taxation from those most able to pay to those least able to pay. This was/is a well known fact.

Since that day the most rich have become more rich while the poor have continued to become more poor and that gap grows wider every year.

In fact statistics prove that while the poorest in our society are burdened further by austerity measures the richest have more than doubled their personal wealth.

If you want that in simple terms the wealthiest are not, “all in it together”, with us for you do not suffer austerity while increasing your wealth but the main lie is glaringly obvious. Trickle down economics in fact trickles wealth upwards from the poor to the rich.

They lied then and they knew they were lying – it really is as simple as that.

CameronB Brodie says:

Brand Scotland is largely based on quality, of environment and specialised food and drink

Indeed. The Scottish countryside as we know it is under huge threat. Loss of EU markets. Deregulation and therefore contamination of our food chain. EU geographical brand protection lost. Cheap and nasty imports. Loss of the CAP payments. Our agriculture and food industry will be decimated.

The people involved across rural communities could find things very hard and very different.

Most Scottish farms are small family affairs, so I’m not talking about the Range Rover driving gentleman farmers. Crofts and hill farms, especially across the Highlands, Islands and Southern Uplands will not survive if CAP disappears and markets dry up.

All those cute sheep and lambs – most will be culled.

Brexiteers, Tories, Faragists, don’t give a rat’s arse. Scotland will be collateral damage.

@Artyhetty says: 3 June, 2019 at 9:03 pm:

” … ‘Spin’ now there’s a word…”

Spin? Is yon no whit ye steer yer tea wi?

TJenny says:

I also think that synthetically sweetened pop smells like vomit

I’m not a fan of artificial sweeteners. I get bitter metallic tastes. I think too many foods and drinks are too sweet anyway. You can buy sugar free baked beans or tomato soup. What was sugar doing in those in the first place!?

If people want sweet things (like Rev Stu) then that should be up to them. However, the food industry seems to lace everything with sugar or sweeteners.

Cider. Most common brands now have artificial sweeteners. A traditional natural products screwed around with.

Which brings me to Brexit. Apparently the sugar industry is very keep on Brexit. Not sure if they are paying for campaigning, but it wouldn’t surprise me. Sugar in the EU comes from either beet or trade deals with ex colonies for cane sugar. Sugar on the open world market (from Brazil for instance) is much cheaper. The sugar industry and food producers want to use this stuff to boost profits.

So, what did Betty Windsor give the Trump family for their tea?

Steamed fillet of halibut followed by saddle of new season Windsor lamb, strawberry sable with lemon verbena cream and fresh fruit.

Liz g says:

the environment

Also, the far right has an infestation of climate change deniers. So heaven knows where that might lead to in a Brexitized UK.

The cost of US healthcare;

‘Faced with rising premiums, U.S. employers are sharing more of their costs with their workers, particularly through higher deductibles, copayments, and coinsurance. Recent research indicates that employer plan premium contributions and out-of-pocket costs, like those for prescription drugs, are eating up an increasing portion of household budgets…We find an estimated 17.4 million working-age adults and children — 11.6 percent of those living in nonelderly households with employer coverage — had high premium contributions relative to income. This means household spending on plan premiums equaled or exceeded 10 percent of income’

link to commonwealthfund.org?

‘With regard to taxes being about values, a participant suggested looking to other countries that have different values than the United States and that operationalize those values in very different kinds of tax structures that, from an evaluation perspective, yield much better population health outcomes than the United States has’

Exploring Tax Policy to Advance Population Health, Health Equity, and Economic Prosperity: Proceedings of a Workshop (2019)
ISBN 978-0-309-48359-9 | DOI 10.17226/25237

Could that be the NHS? Yielding better population health outcomes and not at risk of massive health care fraud US style that employs the investigative talents of a whole FBI dept.

‘In 2011, $2.27 trillion was spent on health care and more than four billion health insurance claims were processed in the United States. It is an undisputed reality that some of these health insurance claims are fraudulent…The National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association (NHCAA) estimates that the financial losses due to health care fraud are in the tens of billions of dollars each year…These are people who are exploited and subjected to unnecessary or unsafe medical procedures. Or whose medical records are compromised or whose legitimate insurance information is used to submit falsified claims’

link to nhcaa.org

‘Health care-related schemes attempt to defraud private or government health care programs, which usually involve health care providers, companies, or individuals. These schemes may include offers for (fake) insurance cards; health insurance marketplace assistance; stolen health information; or medications, supplements, weight loss products, or pill mill practices’

link to fbi.gov

‘Health care fraud may be perpetrated against all types of health insurers and health insurance companies, including Medicare, Medicaid, Blue Cross Blue Shield, workers compensation, and other private entities. Medicare services are divided into Part A and Part B coverage. Part A coverage includes hospital care, home health care, and skilled nursing care; Part B coverage includes physician services, laboratory tests and x-rays, outpatient services, and medical supplies’

link to justice.gov

‘The Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced that $2.5 billion of the total $2.8 billion recovered under the False Claims Act can be attributed to fraud and improper claims from healthcare providers during the fiscal year.
This was the ninth consecutive year that civil healthcare fraud settlements and judgments have topped $2 billion, officials added’

link to healthpayerintelligence.com

Liz g says:
3 June, 2019 at 9:54 pm

We could be at risk of going back to the bad old days of any old industry dumping any old stuff, without EU standards.

Ha ha. Funny Liz G, but I was thinking the very same thing about HSE rules a couple of days ago watching John Noakes of Blue Peter climbing up Nelson’s Column back in the 70’s without as much as a safety harness, and secured at the top by having a rope tied round him. Extremely brave gutsy fella Mr Noakes was, but Health and Safety, for all the ridicule it gets, has come on tremendously. Deregulation will throw it in reverse just to save the expense.

@Dan

Remember someone bringing back some Hershey chocolate from the USA, what a let down, possibly the worst chocolate I’ve tasted, even worse than Kinnerton which is hard to beat for that yuk feeling.

@Liz g
I posted this earlier …

link to youtube.com

Breeks @10.19pm
I’m dead against Brexit but if I have to attend 50% less bullshit H&S courses per year just to do my job it just might be the thinnest of silver linings.

Honestly, 31 training days last year to be reminded how to run a distribution facility safely, which I’ve been doing for two decades without incident. F***ing ridiculous.

@Liz g

Oppps

I meant this one about food poisoning…

link to youtube.com

Though I did post the mone about militaristic propaganda too earlier.

I’m reminded of a card game we used to play as children known by various names. It was no more than a take on pass the parcel the aim being that you did not want to end up being the one holding the Queen of spades.

When it was a boys only game it was quite often called ‘*unt the *unt’.

was discussing our forward plans today with friends.

we agreed that

1. a no deal tory pm will be elected in 4 weeks

2. a ge will be called within days of this

3. we should wait until all parties produce a manifesto

at which point i suggested the snp should switch tactics and put iindy to the forefront of the snp manifesto. there was some reluctance by my friends to do this.

we discussed the past tactics of separating the snp and yes (change of flags and hats when expedient. I understand why we did this in the past, eg to show that yes was not just the snp and included others ric, greens etc and that in 2015/16/17, indy was specifically removed from the manifesto (at least as a short term result of voting snp in those elections)

genuine question, what are the pros and cons of the snp doing this?

one friend said that we only will get one other shot at indy, to which i replied, if you are talking about referendum, then possibly, but i am talking about elections? is this the same thing? they can say no to another referendum, but not to another election?

isnt the time of convincing voters that the snp is fit to govern over? wont we have a very good idea what brexit mean by then? as the election campaign draws to a close, the exact brexit position will become clearer.

btw, im not suggesting we drop calls for indyref2, that process should and will continue in parallel to the ge, i’m saying we should change our tactics in elections.

even if you agree with this, please still post up any thoughts as to any drawbacks to this change. eg, what if the libs win etc?

chicmac – we called it Scabby Queen. (the Queen of Spades). 🙂

It’ll all be over soon, Boris appears to have the numbers

Let’s just see what Edna Rennie and Bobbin Leonard have to say to Scotland then because every word that comes out of their mouths will condemn them to oblivian in Scotland

American big business:

Back in the 70/80s as the AIDS alert was at its worse, big American Pharmaceuticals realized that a lot of the hemoglobin (I think) that they had paid for from donors, was contaminated by the AIDS virus. (Drug Addicts in the USA made money, by selling their blood to these companies)

They knew if they sold these products in the USA they would be sued and they could face prison for corporate manslaughter…

So they sold it onto the UK/NHS because yet again our ‘Special relationship’ only works when it suits the Americans.

I think the SNP government has paid out some compensation to the victims because the Americans wouldn’t.

Does anyone think for one second, we could ever trust American businesses to care about our health and safety?

If so, Iv’e got a large castle in Edinburgh I’d like to sell you!

Galamcennalath @ 10.52
Sorry for the late reply… Airport run AGAIN….
Anyhoo thanks for that link,truly scary stuff… And it certainly demonstrated that the U.S. food standards are down right dangerous. Imagine that stuff being fed to people in hospitals or schools!!!

Re the US food trade.Is tinned whole chicken that different to tinned mince, tinned haggis,fray bentos,or tinned anything for that matter?

I will scoof the lot,Trump,Farage,Bojo,et al if that’s the nonsense which turns the dopey feeble minded britnat scots to Yes.

Bring the whole fucking lot on obviously.

Crazy Cat @ 12.44
Thanks Crazy Cat,it’s chilling to read…
Who in their right mind would reduce food standards,the Americans should be demanding that their government raise theirs!!!

There was a programme on earlier at 8pm on the 3rd on ch4 I think , re the American chicken industry and their chlorine washing and processing it was horrendous , try and get it on catchup , if that doesn’t sicken people nothing will

Ach, from now on the Tories should be called “The Flip-flops”. There isn’t an outrageous U-turn any of them wouldn’t attempt in order to hang on to power.

Even if as things are, it’s more likely “in office” rather than “in power”.

And no-deal looking ever more likely as every wasted day slides by.

There’s another world out there, where the money is very big and very quiet, but, not unlike the blue whale, carries a lot of weight. Except that we’re talking influence, as in throwing one’s financial weight around. The world of fund management. It’s an eye opener.

link to bbc.co.uk

Hershey bars ! Had to have one when I went to the USA , god awful !

My wee niece lives in Minnesota and crosses the border to Canada on raiding missions for ‘real’ chocolate.

US standards in foods – no thanks.

I see that Mr Hammond has decided that the UN report on poverty in the UK is worthy only of dismissal – he has applied the Nelson method , he sees none therefore none exist.

I am operating on an irritatingly small screen but I can refresh now so I am looking forward to Nana springing into action – hope you are OK Nana.

@Terry callachan says: 3 June, 2019 at 10:51 pm:

” … To Robert peffers your post of 9.32 3rd June
MRDA Robert
Who knows maybe you will find one
One of these days haha”

Oh! And by the way Terry, I’ve never accused anyone of being a Troll. A Troll is quite another thing than someone who shows themselves to be anti-FM/SG or SNP.

Now get this, if you imagine people have the right of freedom of speech to attack the FM/SG/SNP then so do people have the right of freedom of speech to attack the attackers.

Claiming freedom of speech is a double edged sword, live with it or take yourself off.

@Patrick at 12.05am
======

It was not just HIV – that was just fro 1981. From 1973 blood plasma infected with Hepatitis was bought in by the NHS in the UK.

That was only half the scandal. Once it was discovered, the government blocked/delayed accepting the full extent of what had happened, in effect lowering potential payments to those infected by procrastinating long enough for many of them to die off. Private Eye has been covering his for years.

Was difficult to find detail for above which is partly from memory but here are a couple of links:
link to www2.gov.scot
link to haemophilia.org.uk

Health and Safety,

pre H&S 73 people died building the Forth rail bridge,

with H&S 1 person died building the new Forth road bridge.

Just saw that another Orange march is to be diverted away from the catholic church where the trouble was last year. Reading comment from the O-O I could hardly believe their hypocrisy (well if I make the effort I suppose I can) – they had the nerve to claim that this action by Glasgow Council would encourage religious division in the city. Completely blanking out what their followers did last year (and many times before). If they really believed in stopping religious division they would never have chosen the routes they did for their marches.

Should add this new stance by the council and the police seems less because they’ve seen the light about standing up to these neanderthals (apologies to the real neanderthals it’s just a saying) but because of stated worry about trouble between them and the “Call it Out” group who have been demonstrating outside churches (to protect them and demonstrate against the march). In other words the authorities only act because some folk decide to stand up to these bigots.

Scott @ 8.55 am.

Anyone else noticed that there is no National front page in the BBC Scotland papers website today, maybe its because of this.
Shocking images reveal ‘attempt to sabotage’ Yes Bikers with screws
_________

Seconded. I always have a quick glance @ ‘the papers’ – if only to see what ‘the enemy’ are up to. Surprised … but not … by the omission of the National. (Maybe a phone call/email might work – I’ve ‘persuaded’ BBC Cymru on a few things that way before today …)

One thing that is striking about the state visit being afforded to Trump is that it is nothing more than a Tory party / Brexit campaign road show.

With Trump rolling into town bad mouthng the elected Mayor of London and promoting Brexit it is our tax money that is being spent in support of partisan political promotion

And with Sajid Javid omitted you can tell that 2nd gen Pakistani leadership hopefuls are off the card.

And Queenie, ever there to play the state prostitute that she is.

Half of London don’t want this, and this is an rxame of the state being used to fuck ordinary citizens.

As Trump would say, I’ve got a great great deal for you all – and he has in Boris, Farage, Brexit and a NHS special trade deal.

Duck it up folks.

macalbasite.wordpress.com/2019/06/03/the-cost-of-the-union/?fbclid=IwAR2fKyJkCWFzwmuO47yzHUZNfOtevQzXATlwIl8wgFNAvJY_kArfH2XYtpA#more-2450

Food for thought from the Irish Times

Are the British really as xenophobic as they’ve been made out to be since Brexit?

” Meanwhile the EU faces a philosophical crisis of its own, and it’s much worse than just Britain quitting. All Britain wants to do is leave – the likes of Hungary and Poland want to stay, and use their influence to challenge the liberal values on which the Union was founded.As painful as the British have made their departure, it’s time to consider who we’re being left behind with. “

link to archive.is

I ‘knew’ from memory, about the blood products scandal, but (thanks for the extra information and links on this thread), it beggars belief what’s been going on for so long.

Let’s not kid ourselves any longer, these scandals happen as much under Labour as they do under the Tories.

The fact that successive Westminster governments treat the UK voters with such complete contempt, yet people keep voting for them..

Why?

That’s easy…Our pathetic compliant media doesn’t tell us what’s going on!

just went on the bbc paper front pages and noticed the national is missing

Dunno when it appeared – but someone @ BBC Scotland follows Wings.

The National front page is now there in the newspaper reviews.

Wingers 1 BBC Scotland 0

* collective: :eyeroll: *