Pushing treacle up a hill
Perhaps they all need a holiday. There was a marked resemblance today between first minister's questions and the enervating task of pushing treacle up a hill.
Watching from the gallery, the would-be Labour leader David Miliband. Perhaps his party has opted for election by ordeal; a modern version of the labours of Hercules.
Indeed, the only moment when the exchanges came, briefly, to life was when they were discussing holidays. Or, specifically, one holiday.
Tavish Scott who leads the Liberal Democrats mused satirically on a letter from the FM exhorting councils to mark St Andrew's Day with a school holiday.
Were there not, Mr Scott suggested, more pressing matters in connection with education? Such as . . . education.
In response, Alex Salmond questioned Mr Scott's patriotism, in decidedly droll fashion, pausing only to take a comparably dry pop at Murdo "Bannockburn" Fraser who has urged Scots to pay more attention to their greatest victory over the Auld Enemy.
And that, pretty much, was that.
Solid and prolonged
Admittedly, there were weighty exchanges between the FM and Iain Gray / Annabel Goldie. They concerned, respectively, business rates and public spending.
Serious matters worthy of serious consideration. But did the discussion of them have to be so solid and prolonged?
As the Salmond / Gray interlocution entered its second millennium, the presiding officer Alex Fergusson suggested mildly that they might care to speed it up a little.
Annabel Goldie tried hard, claiming that the Scottish Government had "secret" plans for potential cuts.
Customarily, the word "secret" acts on journalists like catnip on a feline. Not this time.
As Mr Salmond explained the procedure for determining spending plans, you could almost feel the life oozing from the chamber.
Then again, perhaps I need a holiday.
I'm 
~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~20~RS~)
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Brian I particularly liked this nugget of information:
Annabel Goldie tried hard, claiming that the Scottish Government had "secret" plans for potential cuts.
Can anyone please, please tell me what her party’s cuts are? Apart from being ‘tougher and deeper than Maggie Thatcher’s were’.
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No mention of the Millepede looking on from the gallery then? he seemed very impressed ... by Eck, the grayman must have left him wondering how Labour managed 41 MPs.
And as stated previously but relevant to this new post (mods-be-ware) please stop attaching the electrodes to Cochrane's neck and sparking up the VanDeGraff, he is as irrelevant to modern Scottish politics as the Broons. I have connections to Dundee too and am sorry peoples livelihoods are at stake however perhaps if DC Thomson stopped peddling right wing rubbish more people would buy their papers.[Unsuitable/Broken URL removed by Moderator]
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Brian I thought FMQs was pretty feeble today. It is a pity that none of the opposition had bothered to look in COINS (Combined Online Information System).
They might have spotted some interesting figures about unfunded public sector pensions for the Scottish Government under Health and Education.
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Well done Brian, for managing not to repeat dour Iain's "small business bombshell" line from today's FMQs, although you might mention to your chums at DEMOCRACY LIVE that featuring that line, as they do on today's FMQ's recording, will hardly help "sell" the Gray product. At least they have managed to put the recording up promptly this week - wouldn't it be worth an update each week with the link to the recording as soon as it becomes available?
I'm sure we'd all also love to know why Alan Cochrane was on "Politics Scotland" with you for the second week running. Surely there is plenty of competition for who can be the most unionist print journalist on TV, isn't there?
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The First Minister should NOT be contacting councils regarding matters of education!!!!!
That is what the Education Minister does!!
I know that most of the parties know little or nothing about delegating power - and see it as a weakness - but a good (Great?) leader lets other people do their jobs...
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Anyone else think that David Miliband's expression, as he looked resolutely towards the Labour benches, looked like a forester assessing which deadwood needs to be felled (before the 2011 election) if he does indeed become leader of The Labour Party?
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I thought it a very cagey summing up of FMQ by you Brian and Cochrane as for Auntie and her Swinney Secret papers what a waste of time.If Cameron can fly the English flag above Parliament why can we not have a holiday for St Andrews day even though double standard Tavish is against it.Brian what name do you think Lab/NewLab will come up with after they have the election for a new leader,Amnesia/Lab maybe seeing they were not in favour of many things Blair and Broon stood for.
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Then again, perhaps I need a holiday.
Yep, that's how Alan Cochrane makes me feel as well...
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This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
Brian, I found your last sentence very interesting. Last week I suggested that, perhaps, you need a sabbatical. The Mods ruled that out of order on the grounds that it was potentially libelous. So let me rephrase it.
That footballing demi-god, Bill Shankly, once said "Politics is the stuff of life." I think he was right. Now, there is a lot of life beyond Holyrood (and Tannadice, come to that). So, once parliament shuffles off for its summer hols, why not pack a backpack and investigate life in places you wouldn't usually visit? Maybe you already do that for TV and radio. I wouldn't know, you see, because those of us who reside in the USA get very little BBC Scotland coverage on the internet.
Whatever you do, enjoy your break from Holyrood when it comes.
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Further to my #11, the website that I see from the USA has quite a bit of advertising. Is it the same for anyone accessing from the UK? I'm half-expecting FMQ coverage to be sponsored. Can you imagine if BP sponsored it? "BP - Beyond Piffle"
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2. "the grayman must have left him wondering how Labour managed 41 MPs".
the scottish people voted for them. duh!
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13.Kenstor..."the Scottish people voted for them . duh".........I still find it difficult to believe, that over a million Scots voted for an incompetant, corrupt , dinosuar of a party.....duh.
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Labour leadership contender David Miliband says his party needs to learn lessons from colleagues in Scotland.
It's very easy. What you do is ensure voters don't have too many jobs that pay more than the minimum wage, lower the standard of education, make sure football gets talked about on every BBC Scotland news programme (except NewsNicht which only gets watched by people with a job and/or a degree), make sure the wealth gap gets bigger, ensure house prices are so high that few people in Labour areas can buy them and don't vote to put alcohol prices up. Oh and make sure benefits are so good nobody needs to work.
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Saw the NHS election and Alcohol Bill reports on Reporting Scotland and as usual the antiSNP sting is always in the last "throwaway line".
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#12, Skip_NC wrote:
"Further to my #11, the website that I see from the USA has quite a bit of advertising. Is it the same for anyone accessing from the UK?"
Thankfully, not.
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Yes, Brian, I think they do all need a holiday. I, for that matter, feel I need a holiday myself from watching FMQs. Today really was a non event. Although Ian Gray has 4 questions, he actually only asks one each week now, four times. I feel that is such a waste as there is so much to be asked. He has never mastered the art of asking short, sharp questions tending to ramble on. This is such a pity as it leaves little time for back benchers to ask questions. Behaviour on the Labour benches was much improved. Could this be because David Milliband was watching proceedings?
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Blether away.... unless you want to ask about fictitious documents or question the integrity of a reporter who determinedly misleads the public, time and time again.
I do not believe any of my posts were worthy of banning. Once I trust the BBC Trust, I will make a complaint.
I am willing to wait.
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Skip_NC #12
Do you think Ferrari might sponsor the mods?
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Brian, can we see the documents that prove Skills Development Scotland was going to change its name to Scotland the Works?
You said that they exist. May we see the proof?
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I missed FMQ's today!
However I did notice an interesting ditty on the BBC 10.00 o’clock news regarding Mr Cameron in Afghanistan;
"He also visited a cultural school where he promised an extra £200 million in development aid to support policing and the local civil service."
Well bowl me over with a secretary of state for Scotland, an extra £200million, it seems at the drop of a hat.
So what’s the hold-up with the fossil fuel levy, which belongs to Scotland already, and anything else that we have already paid for, why are we being threatened with cuts? What's the script here?
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#17 NKH, thanks for that. Interesting article. I found the quote from Mr Sambrook amusing. "We won't be offering any highly intrusive advertising." If only. those of us who are ex-pats pay our way with the advertising. It would be really nice if the BBC would deign to condescend to give us more access to video put onto the website.
#21 snowthistle LOL! We can but hope....
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"Pushing treacle up a hill"
More pressing matters?
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Joker at 21,You have no chance of seeing the documents I have asked a few times even had my comments removed and I see Online Ed username has been barred from this blog,I wonder why.
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24. rog_rocks
""Pushing treacle up a hill"
More pressing matters?"
More like spreading lies thickly and covering up with a thick slice of ignorance.
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I'm sure if good old Tavish and his team sanctioned the new holiday it would give them more time for some gardening ;)
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#26 cynicalHighlander
It might not be the only thing they’re spreading but to be fair I think the Libdems enjoy "Pushing treacle up a hill" every bit as "Solid and prolonged" as the others during their "weighty exchanges".
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Pushing Treacle Up A Hill.
The Americans are pushing treacle in the gulf of Mexico without success, perhaps it's time they seized the assets of BP, a very Brittish way of handling a international crisis.
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Pushing Treacle Out At Sea.
Is this what the 'Square Mile' in London refer to as American rhetoric ?
http://www.seizebp.org/
Lest we forget.
''Government seizes £4bn of Iceland's assets in battle over £3bn of British savings held by failed banks''
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This blog seems to be losing credibility almost as quickly as the written media. Like most others I'm off join up the words Ed, Net, News & Online
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15. Wee-Scamp
Dodgy strategy that, leaves the door open for a great reforming government to come in and change well...absolutely nothing
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7. wildjackamo
Cameron flying het English flag. What a cheek! What an insult to Scotland. Lets get all indignant and march on York. Is this really worth commenting on at all?
Is this a positive argument to push the debate forward?
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29. Wansanshoo
About time our condem government stood up a bit here before another UK company disappears into foreign ownership. Time someone reminded Obama about the lax regulatory regime that has a fair bit of responsibility here, time he wound his neck in a bit.
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The drinks bill passes its first hurdle - SNP to be congratulated on that! They are actively trying to address Scotland's appalling drinks record, despite opposition from most quarters except those in the know, i.e. medical profession. Any credit from Scottish media (?), err don’t be silly!
Scotland has a horrific record on drink, one that mixed with drug abuse, poor diet, poor living conditions and high levels of smoking, places us at the bottom of the European health league. If there were two divisions, we would have been relegated long since. This is nb labour’s legacy not just from 1997, but from 1960s onwards.
north british labour will vote against the drinks bill on subsequent revisions through parliament, not because they think its wrong, but because they did not think of it (did in westminster, but not Holyrood).
This is nb labour at its truest, could not give a fig for poor people, would rather their health continued to deteriorate rather than eat some humble pie and come to their senses and vote with SNP Government.
Imagine if the SNP had decided to vote against the smoking ban, similar analogy applies.
You can imagine Jackie Bailey and her cronies in a coffee shop thinking up wheezes to thwart a minimum pricing bill being passed. Meanwhile, a couple of miles away folks in the Drum are sinking four hats and other assorted cheap booze.
nb labour’s dead hand is still strangling Scotland by the throat!
C McK
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34 Northern Sole.
Treat others as you would like to be treated,except for Iceland ?
Surely not ?
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Pushing Alcohol Pricing Up A Hill.
Alcohol Minimum Pricing.
''The Liberal Democrats abstained from voting on the amendment.
Their health spokesman Ross Finnie said Ms Sturgeon and the SNP Government were responsible for the defeat.''
Those yellow bellied gutless poltroons do what they do best !
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Annabel Goldie tried hard, claiming that the Scottish Government had "secret" plans for potential cuts.
Aye Brian, Aunt Bella can be very trying, but she is by no means in the same league as Elmer Fudd.
With moderation running at 1 - 2 hours I can but hope that this is published before Aunt Bella retires!
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36. Wansanshoo
Don't disagree with comment re Iceland, however do you think that letting the Americans destroy BP would benefit anyone? Or does your twisted logic think that destroying UK pensions would teach the imperialist dogs a lesson?
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Enjoyed your Big Debate, Brian. Mind you, when you appeared to suggest that Italian and German opera was nothing to do with Scotland, you should see how many are based on the works of Sir Walter Scott!
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What IS the purpose of First Minister's Questions?
Like most weeks, the only questions which had anything to do with the First Minister and his Ministerial responsibilities were the leaders' opening gambits.
I would suggest that Wee "I did, I ate all the pies" Eck should treat irrelevant questions with the disdain they deserve, and simply commend to the questioners that they put the questions to the member(s) of the Scottish Cabinet with direct responsibility for the matter.
As to Brian needing a holiday, if this, this and this are any guide, when aggregated with the current blog, I agree....
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35. Calum McKay
This is a situation where politics doesn't work. Rather than the two parties agree on a way forward to tackle drinking, which Scotland does have a problem with, but no worse than other parts of the UK, they squabble.
Both parties should have tried to find common ground here. But it suited both to play politics instead. The SNP have milked this one long enough. Need to move on now, to the public this just looks like a game of tit for tat now.
Minimum pricing is a blunt instrument to tackle the problem, it will have an effect, but a small one. We need to tackle the cultural issue, the bill is at best an effort to start that, but only a small one.
We need to do something radical over our national health, help people to help themselves. Far to many Scots take no personal responsibility.
That is what needs to change.
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Pushing Treacle Up A Hill.
Four Unionists Not Privileged Enough To Be Above The Law, What Is This Country Coming To ?
"conduct alleged against these defendants is not covered by parliamentary privilege and is triable in Crown Court"
Taxpayers rejoice !
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40 Northern Sole
''Don't disagree with comment re Iceland, however do you think that letting the Americans destroy BP would benefit anyone? Or does your twisted logic think that destroying UK pensions would teach the imperialist dogs a lesson?''
You dont disagree with the Iceland comment but BP should be treated differently, if so on what grounds ?
The Americans rightfully want compensation, you seem to disagree and compare it to 'letting the Americans destroy BP'
My twisted logic thinks that those affected by the BP spill should be compensated by BP.
I have no interest in any 'imperialist dog' lessons, justice for the victims of this BP made disaster at the expense of shareholders would suffice, yes ?
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#43 Northernsole............"tackle drinking that Scotland does have a problem with, but no worse than other parts of the UK".. and which planet are you visiting us from today,sir ??
"Thwe SNP have milked this long enough" And so have the entire Medical Profession, the Police, ACPOS and every NHS Health Board in Scotland.Oh and dont forget about the Coalition parties in Westminster.
The stance taken by Labour and the other Unionist parties aided and abetted of course by their friends in the "Scottish" press and media is purely political and has nothing to do with trying to improve the Bill going through Parliament and EVERYTHING to do with their hatred of the SNP.
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#43
So, like Elmer, you're against minimum pricing and believe education is the answer. That'll be the same education we've been trying since the nineties, the same education that has had zero effect on our culture, the same education that has consistently failed to curb Scotland's problem with drink.
Yet you confidently declare that minimum pricing won't work, despite the claims of many experts.
Sniping from the sidelines is great but actually coming up with a solution is just that wee bit harder. But of course, that'll be the SNP's fault as well, won't it?
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43. At 2:19pm on 11 Jun 2010, NorthernSole wrote:
The SNP have milked this one long enough.
The SNP are attempting to implement a policy that has the support of more national organisations that I can ever recall for such a radical proposal.
Health experts, charities, law enforcement, English Labour MPs, Walsh Labour MPs, One Scottish Labour MSP, Greens, Holyrood Independents, Westminster health bodies, WHO groups, academics not to mention very many ordinary Scots.
The only people opposing this proposal are Scottish Unionists and a small band of cheap alcohol manufacturers.
The Labour party in Scotland are unelectable. As has been said before only the compliant state controlled media propaganda keeps people ignorant.
The Caledonian Mercury has a very good take on Labour's antics over minimum pricing.
Saboteurs willing to sacrifice the nations health and its institutions in order to keep their coutrymen and women subservient and dependent.
Scots will waken up to what is happening soon, civic Scotland already has - I hope ordinary Scots are in forgiving mood when the penny drops.
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#43
Tackle the culture yes but tackle the price first. In any international studies done on this issue the only factor shown to reduce consumption has been PRICE.
I actually applaud the Nats for trying to do something on this issue because no else else will. It may not target supermarket sales but at least they are trying to do something.
Lasbour's position on this issue is shameful and its been that way for far too long.
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If you raise the price of alcohol either through increases in duty or by OTHER means then consumption falls AND increasing the price of alcohol is more effective in reducing consumption than any other method. These were the conclusions drawn from a meta-analysis of 112 studies of pricing effects on alcohol consumption – yes 112 studies -so much for no evidence. (see Wegenaar A.C. et al (2009) in Addiction vol 104 pp 179 – 190).
The Scottish Government does not have the power to raise the duty on alcohol so have come up with an imaginative alternative. It has the support of health professionals of every calibre and level in the NHS and beyond, the police and social work professionals. Minimum Pricing also has the support of International experts and is included as one of the measures to be tried to reduce alcohol consumption in a draft report by the WHO on tacklg the problem of excessive alcohol consumption worldwide
The minimum pricing commitment is part of a range of measures included in the billand has NEVER been represented by the SNP as the final solution to the problem of alcohol abuse but as a starting point for a concerted effort to bring the problem under control. It is the Unionist parties who have mis-represented it as a ’silver bullet’ in order to criticise it.
As soon as the SNP announced the contents of the Bill the other parties gave a blanket NO to the whole thing and then had to search around for reasons to support their (op)position. And the reasons they produced were pretty threadbare when they first put them forward and are even more so now. They are:
1. Adverse effect on reasonable drinkers: Begs a few questions – What is a ‘reasonable’ amount of drink? Never defined. Who are these ‘reasonable’ drinkers that they have to be protected when the costs of alcohol abuse to the NHS, Police and Social Services and to society at large is running at 3.5 billion pounds per annum? If reasonable drinkers moderated their drinking such that their weekly consumption lasted for 2 weeks rather than 1 then under minimum pricing they would SAVE money and their health would benefit. Even reasonable drinking will, over time, adversely effect their health. If they cannot moderate their drinking then they have passed from ‘reasonable’ to borderline alcoholic.
2. Adverse effect of MinPri on the poor. Same arguments as above – in spades
3. Supermarkets would profit. Figure given is 115 million pounds – a few weeks ago it was 90 million pounds. Is this inflation, at 20%, or increased consumption? No information on how the figure was calculated is ever given. Put this figure in context. We are talking of a sector which measures its total income in HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS. Tesco has overall earnings in the UK of 39 billion on a one third share of the market. Go figure. There are about 10 major supermarket chains so divide the 115 million amongst them then set it against the 3.5 BILLION cost to NHS etc.
4. It has not been tried before: When did Scotland accept that shuffling three steps behind, head down, shoulders hunched, hands in pockets was our alotted station in life? When did we become so feart?
5. We do not know what the minimum price will be: I believe it was the Sheffield study that set out three possible scenarios based on either – 40p, or 50p or 60p MinPri. Have they not read the document?
Education: That will be the Education system that fails to teach 20 per cent of the school population to read and write - that education system?
With the cuts that are coming down the line and the increasing cost to the NHS of PFI can we afford to go on paying the ever increasing cost of alcohol abuse on individuals, communities and society in general? We need to make savings and if you save here it will not be at the expense of jobs. How can labour scream ‘cuts now’ but demand increases in the NHS budget yet not support moves that would ease some of the costs in the NHS and other frontline services by reducing the cost vis-a-vis alcohol?
Each of the Unionist parties at UK level and Scottish level have bottled it when it comes to this issue. The details of their failures are too well known and I have gone on too long here to rehearse them again. The Unionists are a disgrace and should be wholeheartedly ashamed of themselves that they have put narrow party political advantage above the welfare and health of the people of Scotland.
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# 43 Scotland's problem with the bottle far exceeds that of its neighbours; look at levels of deaths from cirrhosis. Looking at England, there is certainly a rise in cirrhosis deaths, but Scotland is rocketing. This is not a badge of honour, but a badge of shame. Therefore it needs addressing, by Scots, no one else is going to do it for us, it is a problem born and bred here. We must take responsibility.
If we can't tackle our own drink problem, we may as well be living on a reservation called Scotland with those outside throwing us crumbs and drink to us.
The SNP did not try to spoil the no-smoking ban; they evaluated for what is was and supported it. I for one would reassess my support for the SNP if when in opposition they opposed for sake of opposing. labour are playing petty politics with people’s lives, despicable in the extreme!
What is labour's grand strategy for alcohol, banning caffeine at “X” levels? These are policies dreamt up in Byres Road coffee shops by people who should hang their heads in shame!
The long and short of it is labour do not want SNP to have a successful policy that people can look back on and say, yes, that when we started to turn the corner on drink.
C McK
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Labour's attitude to Scotland's Health?
Look at the shadow health secretary.
Is she bothered about her health?
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#52
Does she still smoke?
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"Blair Jenkins, former head of news and current affairs at BBC Scotland, becomes an OBE."
And you wonder why nationbalists question the impariality of this unionist tool?
C McK
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51. At 7:00pm on 11 Jun 2010, Calum McKay wrote:
The long and short of it is labour do not want SNP to have a successful policy that people can look back on and say, yes, that when we started to turn the corner on drink.
C McK
your Spot in John it is disappointing to see that a large section of the voting public can not see that the labour party are still in the ultimate huff over someone having the audacity to actually beat them in an election in Scotland (the Scottish Government elections) despite all the help afforded them by the BBC. The present "North British" Labour party could be described as the most feckless childish and allegedly corrupt group of people around. By corrupt I mean that they are willing to risk the health of the nation just to score a cheap political victory.
The following is labours contribution to reducing alcohol consumption in scotland.
LETS KEEP IT CHEEP just ban one type of drink that the neds will replace with a cocktail of drink and drugs to replicate the effect at the same cost. That way we make sure the neds and their families still vote for them the "alkies" will vote for them, and all those who like to spend their weekends on their couch or in the great outdoors,out of their skulls on endless cases of lager, the rubbish from which they leave at their backsides in parks or lochside beauty spots while shouting profanities towards their kids, at the top of their voices, whilst chopping down young trees for their campfires, just before they beat up the young family in the next tent because their car is posher than theirs and they have a tax disc, will continue to vote labour because they are the party of the people who keep drink cheep for them. Sometimes i wonder why I am so proud of Scotland, when i witness these degenerates, (that s the labour party not their supporters)
Also
just want to wish the USA all the best in this evenings world cup match. Just away to fly Old Glory outside the house!
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45. Wansanshoo
No argument polluter pays. But BP aren't saying they will dodge anything at all. They are saying they would pay. What I am arguing is that the Americans need to be told to stop the anti BP rhetoric and sort out the problem that they are partly responsible for.
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51. Calum McKay
My point here is that yes we do have a drink problem, no-one can deny that. So does other parts of the UK, continually making this a singularly Scottish disease is missing the wider point.
Minimum pricing has now become so politicised the real issue is being forgotten. To the public this just looks like another stupid political spat. So politically for the SNP this is going nowhere, the public look at this and say one is bad as the other.
I don't disagree that minimum pricing would make some kind of difference, but parliament has voted against it. That is democracy. I also don't think it would achieve all that is claimed, it is at best one strand of a much wider policy.
More could be achieved by finding alcohol policies that can be agreed on. Providing of course that the politicians really want to find policies to move the issue forward as opposed to playing tit for tat politics.
Where I live all social activities in our community revolve around the local pub. All revolve around drinking. Many communities in Scotland are the same. This is what needs to change. We associate socialising and relaxing with drinking.
We need to learn from other parts of the UK why the culture is different and try to change it. Only this will make any real difference. Much of the binge drinking especially amongst young people is done in pubs and clubs where minimum pricing will have no effect at all.
So really this focus on minimum pricing is stopping us getting on with the problem. Also we are polarising the political debate around the issue which won't help solve it.
We need to move on.
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48. Online Scot
"As has been said before only the compliant state controlled media propaganda keeps people ignorant"
Frankly this is a pathetic comment. Just in case you hadn't noticed Labour are not in power here or in Westminster. People are not ignorant just because they don't support your argument.
This type of absurd rhetoric puts the vast majority of people off the whole nationalist agenda. Telling a large section of the SNP target voters "You don't vote SNP because you are to stupid to see what is obvious" is a sure way of retaining the status quo. Pushing an argument onthe lines of "You are so stupid you are victims of a state controlled campaign to keep you stupid" is just ridiculous and a gift to Labour.
Every time you lose an argument, don't call the other side stupid and ignorant. You should look at the power of your own argument, why it did not win.
People like you put the cause of nationalism backwards with almost every post. lighten up a bit, stop seeing demons in every corner and insulting opponents, concentrate on the power of the argument.
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Interesting article in the Herald:
LibDems urged to give Scottish seabed rights to Holyrood.
The gauntlet is being thrown down by Andy Wightman, one of the leading authorities on public rights to Scottish land, to politicians whose constituencies cover huge swathes of rural Scotland.
The administration of Crown rights is reserved to Westminster under the Scotland Act, but a new Scotland Act is on the horizon and Wightman insists only minor legislative adjustments by Westminster would be required for repatriation.
It would mean the Crown Estate Commission would cease to exist in Scotland and all revenues from its rights and properties would go directly into the coffers of the Scottish Government.
That would mean that seabed leases granted to developers of offshore, wind, wave and tidal power projects could be administered by Marine Scotland and earn Scotland billions of pounds over the next two decades. Crofts could be created on some estates, and other assets used to benefit local communities.
We know that NuLabour have got ‘balls’, he’s running for leadership, but have the FibDems?
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afternoon , northernsole, on your 2 points from recent posts .
1. the USA have obviously not learned the lesson from the past year or so . LIGHT TOUCH REGULATION is a waste of time whether it is for banks or oil company's.
2. once again the labour party and others are CLINGING on DESPERATLY to one part of a raft of legislation that this country needs PDQ,we also need to use the legislation that is already there. yes the legislation that for whatever reason previous administrations and indeed the current administration have failed to use.
the situation is dire and we need to be using everything we can to tackle it and we also need to name and shame those who are blocking any attempts .
the days of doing nothing and ignoring the problem are long gone and I for one would be a lot happier if we as a country at least tried and possibly failed than just sat there and did nothing.IF we fail we try again and again and again until we get it right .
we have done nothing for the past couple of decades ,where has it got us?
Sid
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#56 NorthernSole wrote:
"No argument polluter pays."
So that would be [one or more of] the United States of America, who gave drilling licences in the first place then, anticipating a tax revenue stream which would exceed the CGP of all but a handful of nations.
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60. sid_ts63
More angry shouting, won't win the argument. Shouting and abusing does nothing to win the argument
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57 NORTHERNSOLE: I'm not sure you're right in your assertion that much of the binge drinking is done in clubs and pubs. I had understood that the problem was the cheap drink available in supermarkets and the like, whereby a large amount of alcohol is consumed before the young people hit the clubs and pubs.
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#63 Florence
Strathclyde Police force Chief Constable Steve House, as recent as four days ago went on record stating:
Tellingly, weekends can go by with not an incident in a bar or nightclub across the entire Strathclyde force area, with the trend in alcohol-related violence tending more and more to be concentrated at house parties and amongst families and friends drinking cider, tonic wine and cheap vodka at home together.
Market forces are undoubtedly determining the patterns of criminal behaviour, with The Herald discovering yesterday that in Glasgow a bottle of 70cl own-brand vodka can be bought from the UK’s market leading supermarkets, Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury’s, for less than £8.
House said: “We’ve seen a move away from violence on licensed premises and streets towards people’s houses and all-day drinking parties; public-space violence becoming private-space violence.
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I don’t quite know what the BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico is doing on a blog that is supposed to be about Scottish politics, but if the mods deem that o.k. that’s fine by me.
Wansanshoe (post 45) states, “My twisted logic thinks that those affected by the BP spill should be compensated by BP.”
According to Tony Hayward (Andrew Marr show last Sunday) BP were paying compensation within 48 hours of the claim being lodged. I don’t know if he was claiming all claims were being met within 48 hrs. or if only some were.
But here’s another point. That rig was being operated for BP an American company. The blow-out preventer, the gizmo that didn’t work, was designed and built by another American company (Haliburton, I think). So is BP the real culprit in all of this?
Presumably BP will be suing those companies for their failings, although I don’t imagine they’ll be too happy to open their cheque (or rather, check) books too soon.
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"As has been said before only the compliant state controlled media propaganda keeps people ignorant"
You are the abusive one Northernsole.
Your response to the above is off beam by a long way and I see no abuse from Sid either.
Therefore I would conclude that you should take your own advice to heart,
"More angry shouting, won't win the argument. Shouting and abusing does nothing to win the argument"
I have been tired of the smart , smug and manipulative for some time.
Sid , how are you?
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# 57 wrote - "My point here is that yes we do have a drink problem, no-one can deny that. So does other parts of the UK, continually making this a singularly Scottish disease is missing the wider point."
You are missing the point. England has a drinking problem it can handle, Scotland's is completely out of control. England can take its time, have a commission that last two years, etc. Scotland must act now!
I suggest you go and do some research on public health in Scotland, when you find anywhere in England with average life span for males being 53 as in Calton, drink takes a savage toll on poor people like the residents of Calton.
Why does Scotland have to wait for England to move, your argument is absolutely absurd! Move on, yes we must, in a way that benfits Scotland's health.
Go to any A&E across Scotland over the weekend, speak to a Trauma Consultant and tell him he and his colleagues across the medical profession don’t know what they are talking about. Have a look at the guy he is either stitching up or pulling a sheet up over his face.
Follow this up with a visit to any GP surgery on Monday and tell the GP the lady he has just seen who has months left to live, will be alright when England decides to act.
No country is an island, but it is a government first and foremost duty to look after its people, the SNP is trying to do that. labour have long abandoned this stance as they are bereft of ideas and seek to tear down rather than build, all at Scotland’s peoples expense.
It time for Scotland to grow up and do what is right for us, not wait for England to act.
C McK
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Caledonian Mercury article on minimum pricing:
I especially liked the punch line:
Nicola Sturgeon seriously asked her opponents to “rise above party politics”. I’ll have a pint of what she’s on. And I’ll have it safe in the knowledge it’ll be competitively priced.
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#67 diabloandco , afternoon/evening, I am doing not too bad thanks, got over my latest hurdle and am looking forward to a family holiday next month that was looking less and less likey but things wern't as bad as I thought.
thanks , Sid
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58. At 11:58am on 12 Jun 2010, NorthernSole wrote:
Telling a large section of the SNP target voters "You don't vote SNP because you are to stupid to see what is obvious" is a sure way of retaining the status quo. Pushing an argument onthe lines of "You are so stupid you are victims of a state controlled campaign to keep you stupid" is just ridiculous and a gift to Labour.
Nowhere did 'Online Scot' say that voters who do not vote SNP are stupid.
I registered as Online Scot but had the account blocked by whoever is controlling this site. I have had to re-register in order to address this defamatory statement.
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northernsole- good evening. as someone who is on record here on a good few occasions ,I was one of admittedly only a few people on this and other blogs who stated that calling your opponent's and people who didn't vote the way you wanted "idiots" was not helpful in the slightest.
I know when it is done to me how I react and I am but your average kind of guy.
I don't have the energy to waste on "angry" and I am through necessity a very positive guy .
Some people and organisations are just well past helping.
I admit it took a very nasty illness for me to see the light and to work out what really matters in this life but hey I am playing catch up.
Sid
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Have a good holiday Sid and many more.
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Funny any mention of recognising Scottish national identity or putting Scotland first London second is always greeted by the sell out unionists as not important or we hear the old favorite bread and butter issues first. Anyone who attacks our national identity should be voted out quite frankly though we have come to expect this nonsense from Tavish turncoat. Can you imagine their London masters being told britishness is irrelevant and they need to concentrate on more important issues. On the subject of bread and butter issues that will be the economy give us fiscal autonomy at the very least!
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Well talk of BP on this site has some relevance in the fact if Scottish people had gone the way of Norway. BP would be SP and we would be one of the richest countries in the world. However we haven't gone the way of Norway we have stayed part of the UK and as a result are broke. We have a wrecked economy and our oil is pouring into London to bail out the south east of England.
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The constant point put across on this site that people are thinking about possibly maybe voting for Scotland rather than unionism. Suddenly however they have noticed someone mentioning unionists are thick as mince and this has stopped them in their tracks and made them rethink all the arguments. Well that's just stupid! Frankly if someone's vote hinges on recognising and mentioning unionists are a bit thick their in the right club!
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Ref Post 75:
Thank you 'Vakov2000'.
You've proved my point: Scotland did not go the way of Norway, ergo there really isn't any point of talking about "BP's oil spill" on this blog.
Like you (probably), I wish Scotland was Independent (note the captial 'I'), but I can't agree with your comment about BP being called SP.
More than 50% of BP's shares are now actually owned by Americans.
Help needed: Could any contributors to this blog please tell me how to use italics on this blog, usually I compose the message on word (which does the spellcheck automatically) then copy and paste to any website Iblog on, but it doesn't seem to work here) I also see References that are hyperlinks but I don't know how to do that either on this blog
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This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
#77 AlastairGordon
By the way Alastair if you use Firefox as your browser you may find the two hyperlinks at the very top of the link-page useful. It describes how you can install and use the ‘BBC comment responder’. If you have any further queries feel free to ask.
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Of course the USA is very unhappy with the BP oil spill. You would be unhappy too if it happened off our shores and was about to destroy our fishing and tourist industries. On top of that the USA mid term elections are about to happen and Obama needs to find someone to blame for this catastrophe. Once the oil leak is under control, the oil cleaned up and compensation paid out by BP then the USA's attention will be drawn elsewhere. I am also confident that the British government is doing all that it can to aid BP in this difficult time.
I watched the England game last night and I was impressed to see that there were no Union flags flying at the match. I'm glad to see that the English supporters are finally getting the message that the St. George's Cross is their flag and that the Union flag belongs to all of us. Now all they have to do is get themselves their own national anthem and a large swathe of the non English parts of the UK might decide to support them in their quest for glory.
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I noticed that Saint George was prominent and I was delighted!
Come on you English folk ! Way to go!
If you need further convincing there is an excellent video on an excellent Scottish online paper and youtube!
You'll be demanding your own parliament!
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P.S [Unsuitable/Broken URL removed by Moderator] has a superb video!
But it can always be found on you tube too!
I think the word to google would be INDEPENDENCE but who knows what the " profanity" filter will do???!
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