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It's Outrageous

by Rab Bruce’s Spider   Mastodon: @RabBrucesSpider1@Mastodon.Scot BlueSky: @RabBrucesSpider.Bsky.Social X/Twitter: @RabBrucesSpider   I must admit that I always thought it wrong that the two most senior people in the SNP should be married. Many financial institutions have a policy under which one of a married couple would be moved to a different office to avoid any chance of collusion in financial misconduct. I know the SNP is a political party rather than a financial institution, but they clearly had access to a lot of money, and it would have been prudent to ensure that no married couple had control of the Party’s funds. Even if both were scrupulously honest – and Peter Murrell clearly wasn’t – allowing them to work together in such senior positions placed both of them in an invidious situation.   As for Nicola Sturgeon’s claims that she knew nothing about her estranged husband’s embezzlement, I am inclined to give her the benefit of the doubt. Many marr...
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Hitting the Headlines

by Rab Bruce’s Spider   Mastodon: @RabBrucesSpider1@Mastodon.Scot BlueSky: @RabBrucesSpider.Bsky.Social X/Twitter: @RabBrucesSpider     In these days of AI-generated misinformation, it’s often hard to tell whether a news story has any foundation in fact. To be fair, even following supposedly reputable news outlets can often leave you misinformed. However, I still check my RSS newsfeed app every day, browsing through headlines from a variety of mainstream media outlets, alternative media organisations and even a few bloggers. I do try to get a variety of perspectives, which means I am often confronted with a right wing view of a story. And some of them are so barking mad I often wonder whether AI is responsible.   This morning, for example, I picked up on a few interpretations of news which left me shaking my head in despair. I think it is only fair that I spread some of the gloom around, if only to make me feel better. My apologies to anyone who is ...
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Food For Thought

by Rab Bruce’s Spider   Mastodon: @RabBrucesSpider1@Mastodon.Scot BlueSky: @RabBrucesSpider.Bsky.Social X/Twitter: @RabBrucesSpider     John Swinney’s announcement that he intends to impose price caps on supermarkets selling basic essential foodstuffs has caused quite an uproar. On the City AM website the other day, I saw one writer describe it as “ludicrous” and “insane”. It was the usual anti-Scottish diatribe we have become so accustomed to, and I wonder how the author feels now that news has emerged that the UK Government has been in discussions with supermarket bosses about price caps.   Needless to say, the supermarket bosses have come out strongly against this idea, and the UK Government now seems to be back-tracking quite vigorously.   But is this policy a good idea? Or is it just a bad idea because greedy capitalism demands that the public must be exploited for every penny? Interestingly, a little research suggests that the UK Tory...
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Where Now?

by Rab Bruce’s Spider   Mastodon: @RabBrucesSpider1@Mastodon.Scot BlueSky: @RabBrucesSpider.Bsky.Social X/Twitter: @RabBrucesSpider     Over the next few days, I’m sure we’ll see every political party putting its own spin on the results of the election. As expected by most people, the SNP fell well short of a majority of seats, but the Greens did particularly well, perhaps because more Yessers appreciated that voting SNP 1 & 2 was almost certainly going to result in their List vote being wasted.   There are a couple of positive things we can take from the outcome. First, the SNP won more seats than all the BBC-backed parties combined, and when you add in the Green seats, there is a very strong majority in favour of Scotland becoming a normal, self-governing country.   I did try to listen to the election coverage provided by BBC Scotland but it really was tough to sit through. What was noticeable was that they kept banging on about the S...
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Countering the Narrative

by Rab Bruce’s Spider   Mastodon: @RabBrucesSpider1@Mastodon.Scot BlueSky: @RabBrucesSpider.Bsky.Social X/Twitter: @RabBrucesSpider     Labour’s Scottish Branch office have decided to put the NHS at the heart of their election campaign. Given the state of the NHS in England and Wales, that’s a bold strategy, although the UK media in Scotland, led by the BBC, will undoubtedly do their best to ensure that the majority of Scots never see any comparisons or hear good news about NHS Scotland. For that reason, I think it is incumbent on all Yessers to promote good service from the NHS when they receive it.   Now, I’m not foolish enough to believe that NHS Scotland is perfect. Like many others, I’ve had to wait several weeks for appointments or treatment, but those have almost all been minor issues with no health emergency involved. When accidents do happen, the treatment and kind service I and my family have received has been truly excellent. Likewise, wh...
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Taking a Gamble

            by Rab Bruce’s Spider   Mastodon: @RabBrucesSpider1@Mastodon.Scot BlueSky: @RabBrucesSpider.Bsky.Social X/Twitter: @RabBrucesSpider     Has Anas Sarwar found some backbone? Having been doing a first rate impression of being Starmer's poodle, he has now broken ranks with UK Labour Ministers and called for Starmer to stand down, citing the good of Scotland as his motivation. Believe that if you will. Personally, I think that it is a desperate gamble designed to show the voters of Scotland that he has their best interests at heart. That’s probably a tough sell given all the backing he’s given to UK Labour since they were elected into power at Westminster, and I doubt that wrapping himself in a Saltire will be enough.   The problem for Anas Sarwar is that this gamble could see him being removed as Scottish Branch Office Manager. If Sir Keir (Knight of the Realm) Starmer survives, he’s not going to want a di...
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Short Memories

by Rab Bruce’s Spider   Mastodon: @RabBrucesSpider1@Mastodon.Scot BlueSky: @RabBrucesSpider.Bsky.Social X/Twitter: @RabBrucesSpider   It’s amazing how so many people have such short memories. Driven by the media, particularly the BBC, Reform continue to do well in the polls, and we cannot kid ourselves that Scotland is immune to their agenda. This is despite so many Tories defecting to join Reform, including some who have held ministerial positions in the former Tory Government.   I’m so old I can remember when people were prepared to vote for any party in order to get the incompetent and venal Tories out of Government. The problem back in those heady days was that far too many Scots forgot how Labour had lied to us in 2014. In spite of warnings from those of us who did remember, a lot of voters decided to give Labour another chance. Yet now, clearly disgusted by the bungling and cruelty of the new UK Government, they are looking to Reform to provide an al...
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