I got Pfizered last week, a surgery local to my station is offering a shot to emergency services when they have any vaccines going spare. I was in and out in just over 20 minutes (I managed to convince them I didn't need to sit down for 15 minutes). Absolutely no side effects so far. A mate who had a jab the same day who is a copper has been shivering and crying all weekend. Proof, if it were needed, that we are the premier emergency service.
More likely he had already had the virus and you hadn’t. Strong evidence that prior infection leads to a strong immune response to the vaccine. And getting no side effects is not necessarily a good thing. Suggests your immune system may not be as good as you’d hope... (Of course that may not be the reason you shared the anecdote!)
No and she is not going to. There are 2 SNP muppets and an ex Green sock-puppet on the committee who will protect her regardless of the evidence. Fraser and Baillie are outgunned. The Lib Dems seem too stupid to contribute anything of note. At worst the head of our Civil Service will take early retirement on a generous package.
I'd like to think that this would cause both Sturgeon and her party real damage. It should. But it won't. People support the SNP because they want independence. Not because they are competent, honest, trustworthy or whatever. Its a very happy situation for a political party to be in.
Only the vague suspicion that Sturgeon is rather too fond of the trappings of office and doesn't want to risk a second referendum has caused murmurings in the ranks. A Sturgeon with a manifesto of a second referendum in the next Parliament will prevail over her domestic critics and all too probably over the opposing parties as well.
Is it even possible that the committee will get talked out until the Election?
Court challenge on something?
Very possible. The way things are going it is quite likely that Crown Office will demand changes to the report and who knows how long that might take?
A bit like the report on the desperate state of Scottish education that is on Swinney's desk but will not be published until after the election. These things happen in a one party state.
I think they happen in states regardless on the withholding as itd take time to force disclosure, it's just even harder when theres dominance. I dont even remember what report Boris was sat on, some intelligence report?
There is quite a lot of overlap in the two numbers, hence theory that the strength of the reaction to the jab depends on if the recipient has already had C-19 or not.
No and she is not going to. There are 2 SNP muppets and an ex Green sock-puppet on the committee who will protect her regardless of the evidence. Fraser and Baillie are outgunned. The Lib Dems seem too stupid to contribute anything of note. At worst the head of our Civil Service will take early retirement on a generous package.
I'd like to think that this would cause both Sturgeon and her party real damage. It should. But it won't. People support the SNP because they want independence. Not because they are competent, honest, trustworthy or whatever. Its a very happy situation for a political party to be in.
Only the vague suspicion that Sturgeon is rather too fond of the trappings of office and doesn't want to risk a second referendum has caused murmurings in the ranks. A Sturgeon with a manifesto of a second referendum in the next Parliament will prevail over her domestic critics and all too probably over the opposing parties as well.
Is it even possible that the committee will get talked out until the Election?
Court challenge on something?
Very possible. The way things are going it is quite likely that Crown Office will demand changes to the report and who knows how long that might take?
A bit like the report on the desperate state of Scottish education that is on Swinney's desk but will not be published until after the election. These things happen in a one party state.
Amazing that the party of (minority) government in a one party state is allowing an election to take place in just over two months. Notwithstanding the whiny noises emanating from Unionist parties that the election should be postponed due to Covid, I’m sure they’re ready to grasp this opportunity with a raft of exciting new policies, talented pols and a vision for Scotland within the UK.
30% equating to 37.5% of the adult population, of course. And things are looking very positive at the moment for the Government to hit its target of getting all the over 50s booked in by mid-April (in fact, if the supply rate doesn't drop again then I reckon they're back on course for Easter.)
Ed Miliband been unpersoned in Scotland over 2015?
Is he the first Asian leader of a major UK political party ?
Yes, if you don’t count Johnson (which for all my mischievous trolling, you probably shouldn’t). And I fully agree that is a good thing. And I have no doubt he will be the first of many.
But ‘ethnic minority’ and ‘Asian’ are not quite the same thing. All Asians in this country are members of an ethnic minority, but not all ethnic minorities are Asian.
The annoying thing about this claim he is the first EM leader of a political party is it distracts from the real achievement that you highlight above.
Thanks I said yesterday ethnic minority my mistake . His family have done very well from coming to Scotland a few generations ago. From hearing his acceptance speech, which was good.
Hardly your mistake, it’s Labour that were pushing that line.
If Jews are BAMEs does that mean you can convert to BAMEhood?
It is almost impossible to ‘convert’ to Judaism. It is not like Islam or Christianity. The only effective way to do it is to marry somebody who is Jewish.
That's not true. It is possible but difficult. My cousin's daughter did so to marry her Jewish boyfriend and we all then had a very jolly Irish-Jewish wedding near Harrogate a few years back.
Could someone please explain - briefly - why Salmond and Sturgeon fell out. I thought they were best mates. So why would she be - allegedly - trying to put him in prison?
The former "first daughter" Ivanka Trump was a high-profile convert, of course. She might yet become the first Jewish president of the United States if she stands in 2024.
Ed Miliband been unpersoned in Scotland over 2015?
Is he the first Asian leader of a major UK political party ?
Yes, if you don’t count Johnson (which for all my mischievous trolling, you probably shouldn’t). And I fully agree that is a good thing. And I have no doubt he will be the first of many.
But ‘ethnic minority’ and ‘Asian’ are not quite the same thing. All Asians in this country are members of an ethnic minority, but not all ethnic minorities are Asian.
The annoying thing about this claim he is the first EM leader of a political party is it distracts from the real achievement that you highlight above.
Thanks I said yesterday ethnic minority my mistake . His family have done very well from coming to Scotland a few generations ago. From hearing his acceptance speech, which was good.
Hardly your mistake, it’s Labour that were pushing that line.
If Jews are BAMEs does that mean you can convert to BAMEhood?
It is almost impossible to ‘convert’ to Judaism. It is not like Islam or Christianity. The only effective way to do it is to marry somebody who is Jewish.
That's not true. It is possible but difficult. My cousin's daughter did so to marry her Jewish boyfriend and we all then had a very jolly Irish-Jewish wedding near Harrogate a few years back.
Could someone please explain - briefly - why Salmond and Sturgeon fell out. I thought they were best mates. So why would she be - allegedly - trying to put him in prison?
There is a perception in the SNP that Nicola rather enjoys being first Minister and the trappings and salary that come with it and is reluctant to risk that by a second referendum that she thinks she might lose. I think @malcolmg is in that camp.
Salmond was perceived to be one of the stirrers of this and there was an apprehension that if he returned to Holyrood this might form a basis for challenging Nicola's leadership. She has been doing her best to keep him and his supporters (such as Cherry and MacAskill) out of Holyrood so this can't happen.
Plus she signed up big time to the #metoo bandwagon which meant she felt she had to be seen to take the allegations against Salmond very seriously.
No and she is not going to. There are 2 SNP muppets and an ex Green sock-puppet on the committee who will protect her regardless of the evidence. Fraser and Baillie are outgunned. The Lib Dems seem too stupid to contribute anything of note. At worst the head of our Civil Service will take early retirement on a generous package.
I'd like to think that this would cause both Sturgeon and her party real damage. It should. But it won't. People support the SNP because they want independence. Not because they are competent, honest, trustworthy or whatever. Its a very happy situation for a political party to be in.
Only the vague suspicion that Sturgeon is rather too fond of the trappings of office and doesn't want to risk a second referendum has caused murmurings in the ranks. A Sturgeon with a manifesto of a second referendum in the next Parliament will prevail over her domestic critics and all too probably over the opposing parties as well.
Is it even possible that the committee will get talked out until the Election?
Court challenge on something?
Very possible. The way things are going it is quite likely that Crown Office will demand changes to the report and who knows how long that might take?
A bit like the report on the desperate state of Scottish education that is on Swinney's desk but will not be published until after the election. These things happen in a one party state.
I think they happen in states regardless on the withholding as itd take time to force disclosure, it's just even harder when theres dominance. I dont even remember what report Boris was sat on, some intelligence report?
Something about how Putin's flying monkeys had interfered in the Brexit vote, or the Scottish independence referendum, or both. I don't recall the details either.
Ed Miliband been unpersoned in Scotland over 2015?
Is he the first Asian leader of a major UK political party ?
Yes, if you don’t count Johnson (which for all my mischievous trolling, you probably shouldn’t). And I fully agree that is a good thing. And I have no doubt he will be the first of many.
But ‘ethnic minority’ and ‘Asian’ are not quite the same thing. All Asians in this country are members of an ethnic minority, but not all ethnic minorities are Asian.
The annoying thing about this claim he is the first EM leader of a political party is it distracts from the real achievement that you highlight above.
Thanks I said yesterday ethnic minority my mistake . His family have done very well from coming to Scotland a few generations ago. From hearing his acceptance speech, which was good.
Hardly your mistake, it’s Labour that were pushing that line.
If Jews are BAMEs does that mean you can convert to BAMEhood?
It is almost impossible to ‘convert’ to Judaism. It is not like Islam or Christianity. The only effective way to do it is to marry somebody who is Jewish.
That's not true. It is possible but difficult. My cousin's daughter did so to marry her Jewish boyfriend and we all then had a very jolly Irish-Jewish wedding near Harrogate a few years back.
Could someone please explain - briefly - why Salmond and Sturgeon fell out. I thought they were best mates. So why would she be - allegedly - trying to put him in prison?
The former "first daughter" Ivanka Trump was a high-profile convert, of course. She might yet become the first Jewish president of the United States if she stands in 2024.
She still is fairly high profile, if only because of all the ongoing investigations into her.
I would point out however that actually both these examples involve marriage, which as I noted is about the only effective way of converting...
Your occasional reminder of what was being said around this time last year...
The UK faces having to wait longer and pay more to acquire a coronavirus vaccine because it has left the EU, health experts and international legal experts warn today.
In an article published today on the Guardian website, the academics and lawyers say Boris Johnson’s determination to “go it alone”, free of EU regulation, after Brexit means the UK will probably have to join other non-EU countries in a queue to acquire the vaccine after EU member states have had it, and on less-favourable terms.
No and she is not going to. There are 2 SNP muppets and an ex Green sock-puppet on the committee who will protect her regardless of the evidence. Fraser and Baillie are outgunned. The Lib Dems seem too stupid to contribute anything of note. At worst the head of our Civil Service will take early retirement on a generous package.
I'd like to think that this would cause both Sturgeon and her party real damage. It should. But it won't. People support the SNP because they want independence. Not because they are competent, honest, trustworthy or whatever. Its a very happy situation for a political party to be in.
Only the vague suspicion that Sturgeon is rather too fond of the trappings of office and doesn't want to risk a second referendum has caused murmurings in the ranks. A Sturgeon with a manifesto of a second referendum in the next Parliament will prevail over her domestic critics and all too probably over the opposing parties as well.
Is it even possible that the committee will get talked out until the Election?
Court challenge on something?
Very possible. The way things are going it is quite likely that Crown Office will demand changes to the report and who knows how long that might take?
A bit like the report on the desperate state of Scottish education that is on Swinney's desk but will not be published until after the election. These things happen in a one party state.
I think they happen in states regardless on the withholding as itd take time to force disclosure, it's just even harder when theres dominance. I dont even remember what report Boris was sat on, some intelligence report?
Something about how Putin's flying monkeys had interfered in the Brexit vote, or the Scottish independence referendum, or both. I don't recall the details either.
If you're expecting Boris Johnson to display intelligence, be prepared for a very long wait...
It seems weird, if not creepy, to keep referring to Michael Howard as “BAME”.
BLACK ASIAN and MINORITY ETHNIC. Jews are an ethnicity.
Labour still being blind to Jews really surprises and disappoints me. Labour trying to pass off "Scottish Labour" as a political party is just funny. After a succession of shite leaders up here who have been very firmly held in their box as a regional organisation with little authority, the idea that Sarwar is the big boss man is a joke.
No and she is not going to. There are 2 SNP muppets and an ex Green sock-puppet on the committee who will protect her regardless of the evidence. Fraser and Baillie are outgunned. The Lib Dems seem too stupid to contribute anything of note. At worst the head of our Civil Service will take early retirement on a generous package.
I'd like to think that this would cause both Sturgeon and her party real damage. It should. But it won't. People support the SNP because they want independence. Not because they are competent, honest, trustworthy or whatever. Its a very happy situation for a political party to be in.
Only the vague suspicion that Sturgeon is rather too fond of the trappings of office and doesn't want to risk a second referendum has caused murmurings in the ranks. A Sturgeon with a manifesto of a second referendum in the next Parliament will prevail over her domestic critics and all too probably over the opposing parties as well.
Is it even possible that the committee will get talked out until the Election?
Court challenge on something?
Very possible. The way things are going it is quite likely that Crown Office will demand changes to the report and who knows how long that might take?
A bit like the report on the desperate state of Scottish education that is on Swinney's desk but will not be published until after the election. These things happen in a one party state.
I think they happen in states regardless on the withholding as itd take time to force disclosure, it's just even harder when theres dominance. I dont even remember what report Boris was sat on, some intelligence report?
Oh sure, all governments do it. I am not claiming otherwise.
Ed Miliband been unpersoned in Scotland over 2015?
Is he the first Asian leader of a major UK political party ?
Yes, if you don’t count Johnson (which for all my mischievous trolling, you probably shouldn’t). And I fully agree that is a good thing. And I have no doubt he will be the first of many.
But ‘ethnic minority’ and ‘Asian’ are not quite the same thing. All Asians in this country are members of an ethnic minority, but not all ethnic minorities are Asian.
The annoying thing about this claim he is the first EM leader of a political party is it distracts from the real achievement that you highlight above.
Thanks I said yesterday ethnic minority my mistake . His family have done very well from coming to Scotland a few generations ago. From hearing his acceptance speech, which was good.
Hardly your mistake, it’s Labour that were pushing that line.
If Jews are BAMEs does that mean you can convert to BAMEhood?
It is almost impossible to ‘convert’ to Judaism. It is not like Islam or Christianity. The only effective way to do it is to marry somebody who is Jewish.
That's not true. It is possible but difficult. My cousin's daughter did so to marry her Jewish boyfriend and we all then had a very jolly Irish-Jewish wedding near Harrogate a few years back.
Could someone please explain - briefly - why Salmond and Sturgeon fell out. I thought they were best mates. So why would she be - allegedly - trying to put him in prison?
There is a perception in the SNP that Nicola rather enjoys being first Minister and the trappings and salary that come with it and is reluctant to risk that by a second referendum that she thinks she might lose. I think @malcolmg is in that camp.
Salmond was perceived to be one of the stirrers of this and there was an apprehension that if he returned to Holyrood this might form a basis for challenging Nicola's leadership. She has been doing her best to keep him and his supporters (such as Cherry and MacAskill) out of Holyrood so this can't happen.
Plus she signed up big time to the #metoo bandwagon which meant she felt she had to be seen to take the allegations against Salmond very seriously.
Do you think behaviour that even limited to what Salmond accepted had happened, i.e. fondling, kissing and touching subordinates after drinking late at night in their work place, shouldn’t have been taken very seriously?
I wasn’t aware Macaskill had made any attempt to get back into Holyrood.
No and she is not going to. There are 2 SNP muppets and an ex Green sock-puppet on the committee who will protect her regardless of the evidence. Fraser and Baillie are outgunned. The Lib Dems seem too stupid to contribute anything of note. At worst the head of our Civil Service will take early retirement on a generous package.
I'd like to think that this would cause both Sturgeon and her party real damage. It should. But it won't. People support the SNP because they want independence. Not because they are competent, honest, trustworthy or whatever. Its a very happy situation for a political party to be in.
Only the vague suspicion that Sturgeon is rather too fond of the trappings of office and doesn't want to risk a second referendum has caused murmurings in the ranks. A Sturgeon with a manifesto of a second referendum in the next Parliament will prevail over her domestic critics and all too probably over the opposing parties as well.
Is it even possible that the committee will get talked out until the Election?
Court challenge on something?
Very possible. The way things are going it is quite likely that Crown Office will demand changes to the report and who knows how long that might take?
A bit like the report on the desperate state of Scottish education that is on Swinney's desk but will not be published until after the election. These things happen in a one party state.
Amazing that the party of (minority) government in a one party state is allowing an election to take place in just over two months. Notwithstanding the whiny noises emanating from Unionist parties that the election should be postponed due to Covid, I’m sure they’re ready to grasp this opportunity with a raft of exciting new policies, talented pols and a vision for Scotland within the UK.
So you are quite happy with an election campaign where Nicola does 3 party political broadcasts on TV a week and everyone else is restricted? Why does this not surprise me.
It seems weird, if not creepy, to keep referring to Michael Howard as “BAME”.
BLACK ASIAN and MINORITY ETHNIC. Jews are an ethnicity.
Labour still being blind to Jews really surprises and disappoints me. Labour trying to pass off "Scottish Labour" as a political party is just funny. After a succession of shite leaders up here who have been very firmly held in their box as a regional organisation with little authority, the idea that Sarwar is the big boss man is a joke.
BAME is a horrible term. I have not yet heard anyone self describe themselves that way.
Ed Miliband been unpersoned in Scotland over 2015?
Is he the first Asian leader of a major UK political party ?
Yes, if you don’t count Johnson (which for all my mischievous trolling, you probably shouldn’t). And I fully agree that is a good thing. And I have no doubt he will be the first of many.
But ‘ethnic minority’ and ‘Asian’ are not quite the same thing. All Asians in this country are members of an ethnic minority, but not all ethnic minorities are Asian.
The annoying thing about this claim he is the first EM leader of a political party is it distracts from the real achievement that you highlight above.
Thanks I said yesterday ethnic minority my mistake . His family have done very well from coming to Scotland a few generations ago. From hearing his acceptance speech, which was good.
Hardly your mistake, it’s Labour that were pushing that line.
If Jews are BAMEs does that mean you can convert to BAMEhood?
It is almost impossible to ‘convert’ to Judaism. It is not like Islam or Christianity. The only effective way to do it is to marry somebody who is Jewish.
That's not true. It is possible but difficult. My cousin's daughter did so to marry her Jewish boyfriend and we all then had a very jolly Irish-Jewish wedding near Harrogate a few years back.
Could someone please explain - briefly - why Salmond and Sturgeon fell out. I thought they were best mates. So why would she be - allegedly - trying to put him in prison?
Sturgeon was Salmond's protege but outgrew him. Salmond wouldn't let go. He disappointed her by joining RT.
He is allegedly handy. Sturgeon used the #metoo movement to retrospectively have him investigated. Government, Civil Service and Crown Office all became involved.
Tories and Labour are trying to make capital out of it but it's actually a family tragedy - a messy divorce. Salmond and Sturgeon are both hurt and damaged by it but Sturgeon won't resign.
That's my take on it and I have £100 at stake that she won't resign this year.
EDIT: Massie in this week's Spectator has a very good take on it
Merkel remains the country’s most popular politician with an approval rating approaching 70 percent.
History is unlikely to be so forgiving.
Merkel’s biggest mistake during the pandemic — arguably of her entire tenure as chancellor — came last June when she agreed to strip responsibility from her own government to procure vaccines and hand it to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Of the many qualities von der Leyen showed in her years in Merkel’s Cabinet, competence was rarely among them. That’s why it should have surprised virtually no one that the procurement process turned into a fiasco, marked by protracted negotiations and delays, which will force Germany and other EU countries to maintain restrictions for much longer than would have otherwise been necessary. Even if Germany had gotten its act together on the logistics of delivering the vaccines to its citizens, it would have quickly run out anyway due to the lack of supply.
Dodds has got to be reshuffled out. I think she’s clearly highly intelligent but she simply cannot sell those ideas.
It would not have been difficult to explain that Labour opposes tax rises right now because they’re moronic economically and will choke the recovery. She could have pointed out the Tory about turn on this. Yet she could not - and that’s extremely distressing.
Reeves would do a much better job, even Ed M would be better. Or Kinnock.
No and she is not going to. There are 2 SNP muppets and an ex Green sock-puppet on the committee who will protect her regardless of the evidence. Fraser and Baillie are outgunned. The Lib Dems seem too stupid to contribute anything of note. At worst the head of our Civil Service will take early retirement on a generous package.
I'd like to think that this would cause both Sturgeon and her party real damage. It should. But it won't. People support the SNP because they want independence. Not because they are competent, honest, trustworthy or whatever. Its a very happy situation for a political party to be in.
Only the vague suspicion that Sturgeon is rather too fond of the trappings of office and doesn't want to risk a second referendum has caused murmurings in the ranks. A Sturgeon with a manifesto of a second referendum in the next Parliament will prevail over her domestic critics and all too probably over the opposing parties as well.
Is it even possible that the committee will get talked out until the Election?
Court challenge on something?
Very possible. The way things are going it is quite likely that Crown Office will demand changes to the report and who knows how long that might take?
A bit like the report on the desperate state of Scottish education that is on Swinney's desk but will not be published until after the election. These things happen in a one party state.
Amazing that the party of (minority) government in a one party state is allowing an election to take place in just over two months. Notwithstanding the whiny noises emanating from Unionist parties that the election should be postponed due to Covid, I’m sure they’re ready to grasp this opportunity with a raft of exciting new policies, talented pols and a vision for Scotland within the UK.
So you are quite happy with an election campaign where Nicola does 3 party political broadcasts on TV a week and everyone else is restricted? Why does this not surprise me.
Your state broadcaster allows your PM the same and your Unionist parties right of reply immediately after Sturgeon’s Covid briefings.
Sammy Davis Jr converted to Judaism, leapfrogging "white christian" on his way up. What a fabulous president he'd have made. Certainly better than the last one.
There is quite a lot of overlap in the two numbers, hence theory that the strength of the reaction to the jab depends on if the recipient has already had C-19 or not.
I posted yesterday that I had come to roughly the same conclusion by assuming the same proportion of people who have been vaccinated have had it as the general population. So, on these figures, you subtract an overlap of 5 million from the vaccinated to leave 15 million. Add 25% of the U.K. population (17 million) to that and you get to 32 million people with some degree of protection. That’s 47%. There is also some evidence that a small proportion of people have pre-existing and de novo humoral immunity to SARS-CoV-2 for whatever reason (I’ve no idea) so, on that basis, the 50% figure is not hard to believe.
I also think it's a bad thing for people to define themselves by their demographics, but there we are.
Ethnicity is one facet of self, and to deny that part of a person's experience is to diminish them, as much as it is to assume that is the entirety of them.
Ed Miliband been unpersoned in Scotland over 2015?
Is he the first Asian leader of a major UK political party ?
Yes, if you don’t count Johnson (which for all my mischievous trolling, you probably shouldn’t). And I fully agree that is a good thing. And I have no doubt he will be the first of many.
But ‘ethnic minority’ and ‘Asian’ are not quite the same thing. All Asians in this country are members of an ethnic minority, but not all ethnic minorities are Asian.
The annoying thing about this claim he is the first EM leader of a political party is it distracts from the real achievement that you highlight above.
Thanks I said yesterday ethnic minority my mistake . His family have done very well from coming to Scotland a few generations ago. From hearing his acceptance speech, which was good.
Hardly your mistake, it’s Labour that were pushing that line.
If Jews are BAMEs does that mean you can convert to BAMEhood?
It is almost impossible to ‘convert’ to Judaism. It is not like Islam or Christianity. The only effective way to do it is to marry somebody who is Jewish.
That's not true. It is possible but difficult. My cousin's daughter did so to marry her Jewish boyfriend and we all then had a very jolly Irish-Jewish wedding near Harrogate a few years back.
Could someone please explain - briefly - why Salmond and Sturgeon fell out. I thought they were best mates. So why would she be - allegedly - trying to put him in prison?
There is a perception in the SNP that Nicola rather enjoys being first Minister and the trappings and salary that come with it and is reluctant to risk that by a second referendum that she thinks she might lose. I think @malcolmg is in that camp.
Salmond was perceived to be one of the stirrers of this and there was an apprehension that if he returned to Holyrood this might form a basis for challenging Nicola's leadership. She has been doing her best to keep him and his supporters (such as Cherry and MacAskill) out of Holyrood so this can't happen.
Plus she signed up big time to the #metoo bandwagon which meant she felt she had to be seen to take the allegations against Salmond very seriously.
Do you think behaviour that even limited to what Salmond accepted had happened, i.e. fondling, kissing and touching subordinates after drinking late at night in their work place, shouldn’t have been taken very seriously?
I wasn’t aware Macaskill had made any attempt to get back into Holyrood.
If it had come out whilst he was FM it would have been a resigning matter. So many years on and with him holding no official position I think that it reflected very poorly on him but the need for the government to get involved at all (if that was the full extent of it and there were allegations of more of course) is not particularly obvious to me.
With regards to Scotland, if Sturgeon does go Scottish Labour have had the most amazing luck in history. They’re being given a wide open goal. Let’s hope Sarwar can make a good shot.
Your occasional reminder of what was being said around this time last year...
The UK faces having to wait longer and pay more to acquire a coronavirus vaccine because it has left the EU, health experts and international legal experts warn today.
In an article published today on the Guardian website, the academics and lawyers say Boris Johnson’s determination to “go it alone”, free of EU regulation, after Brexit means the UK will probably have to join other non-EU countries in a queue to acquire the vaccine after EU member states have had it, and on less-favourable terms.
It was an opinion, which I have no doubt they believed. Turned out wrong. I believed that the first two welsh tries should have been ruled out - turns out I was wrong too. Still not sure why though...
I also think it's a bad thing for people to define themselves by their demographics, but there we are.
I think the problem most people have is when other people define them by their demographics - and so they are forced to do likewise in order to complain about it.
It seems weird, if not creepy, to keep referring to Michael Howard as “BAME”.
BLACK ASIAN and MINORITY ETHNIC. Jews are an ethnicity.
Labour still being blind to Jews really surprises and disappoints me. Labour trying to pass off "Scottish Labour" as a political party is just funny. After a succession of shite leaders up here who have been very firmly held in their box as a regional organisation with little authority, the idea that Sarwar is the big boss man is a joke.
BAME is a horrible term. I have not yet heard anyone self describe themselves that way.
Its a dump bucket. Though I do wonder when the LGBTQI+whatever community creates a better catch-all. I can't keep up with the increasing added letters and whatever and I am LGBTIQeugh
Ed Miliband been unpersoned in Scotland over 2015?
Is he the first Asian leader of a major UK political party ?
Yes, if you don’t count Johnson (which for all my mischievous trolling, you probably shouldn’t). And I fully agree that is a good thing. And I have no doubt he will be the first of many.
But ‘ethnic minority’ and ‘Asian’ are not quite the same thing. All Asians in this country are members of an ethnic minority, but not all ethnic minorities are Asian.
The annoying thing about this claim he is the first EM leader of a political party is it distracts from the real achievement that you highlight above.
Thanks I said yesterday ethnic minority my mistake . His family have done very well from coming to Scotland a few generations ago. From hearing his acceptance speech, which was good.
Hardly your mistake, it’s Labour that were pushing that line.
If Jews are BAMEs does that mean you can convert to BAMEhood?
It is almost impossible to ‘convert’ to Judaism. It is not like Islam or Christianity. The only effective way to do it is to marry somebody who is Jewish.
Could someone please explain - briefly - why Salmond and Sturgeon fell out. I thought they were best mates. So why would she be - allegedly - trying to put him in prison?
Ms Cyclefree I'm also puzzled. And the fact that none of the experts on this board have come on in the last 10 or so minutes suggests that's there a lot more to it than meets the eye.
After her debacle in 2017 , losing lots of seats she was paranoid. The mention of him possibly making a comeback after they had stitched up McDonald on an innocent text and caused a by election panicked them.
Note the Redfield and Wilton subsample was conducted after the Ipsos Mori poll on 21st February when more of the Salmond and Sturgeon allegations would have come into view rather than the Ipsos Mori poll which was taken from 15th - 21st February.
We also await the first Scottish poll now Scottish Labour has a new leader, with Anas Sarwar elected to replace Richard Leonard yesterday
No and she is not going to. There are 2 SNP muppets and an ex Green sock-puppet on the committee who will protect her regardless of the evidence. Fraser and Baillie are outgunned. The Lib Dems seem too stupid to contribute anything of note. At worst the head of our Civil Service will take early retirement on a generous package.
I'd like to think that this would cause both Sturgeon and her party real damage. It should. But it won't. People support the SNP because they want independence. Not because they are competent, honest, trustworthy or whatever. Its a very happy situation for a political party to be in.
Only the vague suspicion that Sturgeon is rather too fond of the trappings of office and doesn't want to risk a second referendum has caused murmurings in the ranks. A Sturgeon with a manifesto of a second referendum in the next Parliament will prevail over her domestic critics and all too probably over the opposing parties as well.
Is it even possible that the committee will get talked out until the Election?
Court challenge on something?
Very possible. The way things are going it is quite likely that Crown Office will demand changes to the report and who knows how long that might take?
A bit like the report on the desperate state of Scottish education that is on Swinney's desk but will not be published until after the election. These things happen in a one party state.
Amazing that the party of (minority) government in a one party state is allowing an election to take place in just over two months. Notwithstanding the whiny noises emanating from Unionist parties that the election should be postponed due to Covid, I’m sure they’re ready to grasp this opportunity with a raft of exciting new policies, talented pols and a vision for Scotland within the UK.
Most of the posters complaining about a "one-party state" seem to be ignoring the fact that Wales is easily the country in the UK for which that moniker holds true.
Again, it is worth comparing the Salmond affair with the (much more serious in terms of outcome) Sergeant affair. Nothing has ever been published about the murky suicide of Carl Sergeant. Nothing ever will.
In a real one-party state, the same party is always in power. Transition of power happens internally, when the leader of the party changes. All important posts (like the Ombudsman) are chosen from the membership of the party.
That is Wales.
Curiously, very few posters (and certainly no English Labour posters) have been at all worried about the one-party state that Labour has created west of Clawdd Offa.
It seems weird, if not creepy, to keep referring to Michael Howard as “BAME”.
BLACK ASIAN and MINORITY ETHNIC. Jews are an ethnicity.
Labour still being blind to Jews really surprises and disappoints me. Labour trying to pass off "Scottish Labour" as a political party is just funny. After a succession of shite leaders up here who have been very firmly held in their box as a regional organisation with little authority, the idea that Sarwar is the big boss man is a joke.
Yes, but so are the Welsh. Was Neil Kinnock BAME?
Anyway, the point was that I don’t think Michael Howard went about advertising his Jewish background and it makes me uncomfortable to think of someone out there with a checklist putting him in the “Jew” box.
Ed Miliband been unpersoned in Scotland over 2015?
Is he the first Asian leader of a major UK political party ?
Yes, if you don’t count Johnson (which for all my mischievous trolling, you probably shouldn’t). And I fully agree that is a good thing. And I have no doubt he will be the first of many.
But ‘ethnic minority’ and ‘Asian’ are not quite the same thing. All Asians in this country are members of an ethnic minority, but not all ethnic minorities are Asian.
The annoying thing about this claim he is the first EM leader of a political party is it distracts from the real achievement that you highlight above.
Thanks I said yesterday ethnic minority my mistake . His family have done very well from coming to Scotland a few generations ago. From hearing his acceptance speech, which was good.
Hardly your mistake, it’s Labour that were pushing that line.
If Jews are BAMEs does that mean you can convert to BAMEhood?
It is almost impossible to ‘convert’ to Judaism. It is not like Islam or Christianity. The only effective way to do it is to marry somebody who is Jewish.
The Jews are an ethno-religious group. It was only with the advent of proselytising religions like Christianity and Islam that something of a distinction between your people and your religion began to be drawn. Judaism is older than that and was (and is) the religion of the Jewish people, you can’t practice Judaism and not be part of that demos - but you can be part of the Jewish people and not practice Judaism (Disraeli and Einstein being two examples). This kind of thing was common when Judaism was founded - each people had their own religion (eg the Roman pantheon) but it is now something of an exception. The most common way of becoming Jewish is through matrilineal succession. Conversion is of course possible but not (in contrast to Christianity and Islam) encouraged nor universally acknowledged by all strands of the faith.
It’s also worth noting that outsiders have always regarded Jewish people as an ethnic group. Even after conversion, Conversios in Spain were still subject to repression by the Inquisition, and one could not convert one’s way to safety under the Nazis. Debates about whether or not they actually are are somewhat otiose in that context.
That's a very good summary.
I think people use "ethnic minority" as shorthand for "group subject to prejudice" - nobody really talks of French or American residents in Britain as an ethnic minority, but I've seen it used of Poles. When anti-semitism was rampant and vast numbers of people were murdered merely for being Jewish, it was a very natural phrase; nowadays, with the prejudice relatively rare, it isn't used so much.
I've always thought the general principles of mainstream Judaism - which I see as solidarity, kindness and lack of aggressive proselytising - attractive, but have never believed in any kind of God. Since I discovered a few years ago that I was technically Jewish (through my very agnostic mother, who never bothered to mention it), I've felt vaguely interested in getting involved in a secular Jewish community, but time and ignorance have been a barrier. I'm not really looking for a political group, as I get enough of politics through my party activities, and anyway it feels intrusive to intrevene in arguments about what political stance the community should take. Are there non-political secular Jewish groups around?
Your occasional reminder of what was being said around this time last year...
The UK faces having to wait longer and pay more to acquire a coronavirus vaccine because it has left the EU, health experts and international legal experts warn today.
In an article published today on the Guardian website, the academics and lawyers say Boris Johnson’s determination to “go it alone”, free of EU regulation, after Brexit means the UK will probably have to join other non-EU countries in a queue to acquire the vaccine after EU member states have had it, and on less-favourable terms.
It was an opinion, which I have no doubt they believed. Turned out wrong. I believed that the first two welsh tries should have been ruled out - turns out I was wrong too. Still not sure why though...
It was also an entirely reasonable view to hold. Buying in bulk gives considerable leverage over transactions, in terms of price and delivery.
As it happens, in practice the EU concentrated far too much on the first and overlooked the second, as though this was a normal trade deal in normal times. We prioritised the second even at some cost on the first. Our approach has been proven right. Indeed, it should been obvious at the time but was apparently not obvious to the EU.
But to go with the larger purchase option is a mistake many people would have made in perfectly good faith - including me, if I am honest.
Whether we avoided that mistake because of the wisdom and judgement of the government or merely because of their emotional attachment to being seen to be 'Brexity' is of course a different question...
Ed Miliband been unpersoned in Scotland over 2015?
Is he the first Asian leader of a major UK political party ?
Yes, if you don’t count Johnson (which for all my mischievous trolling, you probably shouldn’t). And I fully agree that is a good thing. And I have no doubt he will be the first of many.
But ‘ethnic minority’ and ‘Asian’ are not quite the same thing. All Asians in this country are members of an ethnic minority, but not all ethnic minorities are Asian.
The annoying thing about this claim he is the first EM leader of a political party is it distracts from the real achievement that you highlight above.
Thanks I said yesterday ethnic minority my mistake . His family have done very well from coming to Scotland a few generations ago. From hearing his acceptance speech, which was good.
Hardly your mistake, it’s Labour that were pushing that line.
If Jews are BAMEs does that mean you can convert to BAMEhood?
It is almost impossible to ‘convert’ to Judaism. It is not like Islam or Christianity. The only effective way to do it is to marry somebody who is Jewish.
The Jews are an ethno-religious group. It was only with the advent of proselytising religions like Christianity and Islam that something of a distinction between your people and your religion began to be drawn. Judaism is older than that and was (and is) the religion of the Jewish people, you can’t practice Judaism and not be part of that demos - but you can be part of the Jewish people and not practice Judaism (Disraeli and Einstein being two examples). This kind of thing was common when Judaism was founded - each people had their own religion (eg the Roman pantheon) but it is now something of an exception. The most common way of becoming Jewish is through matrilineal succession. Conversion is of course possible but not (in contrast to Christianity and Islam) encouraged nor universally acknowledged by all strands of the faith.
It’s also worth noting that outsiders have always regarded Jewish people as an ethnic group. Even after conversion, Conversios in Spain were still subject to repression by the Inquisition, and one could not convert one’s way to safety under the Nazis. Debates about whether or not they actually are are somewhat otiose in that context.
That's a very good summary.
I think people use "ethnic minority" as shorthand for "group subject to prejudice" - nobody really talks of French or American residents in Britain as an ethnic minority, but I've seen it used of Poles. When anti-semitism was rampant and vast numbers of people were murdered merely for being Jewish, it was a very natural phrase; nowadays, with the prejudice relatively rare, it isn't used so much.
I've always thought the general principles of mainstream Judaism - which I see as solidarity, kindness and lack of aggressive proselytising - attractive, but have never believed in any kind of God. Since I discovered a few years ago that I was technically Jewish (through my very agnostic mother, who never bothered to mention it), I've felt vaguely interested in getting involved in a secular Jewish community, but time and ignorance have been a barrier. I'm not really looking for a political group, as I get enough of politics through my party activities, and anyway it feels intrusive to intrevene in arguments about what political stance the community should take. Are there non-political secular Jewish groups around?
Fred Trueman found out he was halachically Jewish quite late in his life.
Do they have an interest to declare, or are they merely foolish ?
Max Johnson, 36, the youngest of Stanley’s six children, who was born to his second wife, is a businessman who lives in Hong Kong and is keen to promote tech and investment from China as well as green issues. The ambiguity in the relationship, he said, was “causing hesitation, which means people don’t necessarily invest”. Regarding human rights as “the only issue that matters” was a “militant, unhinged, crackpot view”.
The two men are bound by a belief that China is too big to ignore, and have used diplomatic channels to advance co-operation between London and Beijing in recent years. They are taking that message public to counter a growing hawkishness in British public life towards a country they love.
I do find it quite funny though how people will call for Sturgeon’s head but not Patel’s. A person who actually broke the ministerial code.
Would people here agree that is inconsistent?
I agree that Patel should have resigned.
However, it is possible that someone might identify differences of degree between the two cases.
If the further reaches of the allegations against Sturgeon are true - that she conspired to pervert the course of justice in an attempt to send a political opponent to prison - surely that's a bit more serious than workplace bullying?
It seems weird, if not creepy, to keep referring to Michael Howard as “BAME”.
BLACK ASIAN and MINORITY ETHNIC. Jews are an ethnicity.
Labour still being blind to Jews really surprises and disappoints me. Labour trying to pass off "Scottish Labour" as a political party is just funny. After a succession of shite leaders up here who have been very firmly held in their box as a regional organisation with little authority, the idea that Sarwar is the big boss man is a joke.
BAME is a horrible term. I have not yet heard anyone self describe themselves that way.
It's HR speak. Yet it is clearly in widespread use as a catchall term, academically, in reporting, on any number of issues, and at least some of the people highlighting such reporting will be doing so on the basis of being within the classification.
There is quite a lot of overlap in the two numbers, hence theory that the strength of the reaction to the jab depends on if the recipient has already had C-19 or not.
I posted yesterday that I had come to roughly the same conclusion by assuming the same proportion of people who have been vaccinated have had it as the general population. So, on these figures, you subtract an overlap of 5 million from the vaccinated to leave 15 million. Add 25% of the U.K. population (17 million) to that and you get to 32 million people with some degree of protection. That’s 47%. There is also some evidence that a small proportion of people have pre-existing and de novo humoral immunity to SARS-CoV-2 for whatever reason (I’ve no idea) so, on that basis, the 50% figure is not hard to believe.
Thanks for doing the calculations: it's too early on a Sunday for me to do the same...
Ed Miliband been unpersoned in Scotland over 2015?
Is he the first Asian leader of a major UK political party ?
Yes, if you don’t count Johnson (which for all my mischievous trolling, you probably shouldn’t). And I fully agree that is a good thing. And I have no doubt he will be the first of many.
But ‘ethnic minority’ and ‘Asian’ are not quite the same thing. All Asians in this country are members of an ethnic minority, but not all ethnic minorities are Asian.
The annoying thing about this claim he is the first EM leader of a political party is it distracts from the real achievement that you highlight above.
Thanks I said yesterday ethnic minority my mistake . His family have done very well from coming to Scotland a few generations ago. From hearing his acceptance speech, which was good.
Hardly your mistake, it’s Labour that were pushing that line.
If Jews are BAMEs does that mean you can convert to BAMEhood?
It is almost impossible to ‘convert’ to Judaism. It is not like Islam or Christianity. The only effective way to do it is to marry somebody who is Jewish.
The Jews are an ethno-religious group. It was only with the advent of proselytising religions like Christianity and Islam that something of a distinction between your people and your religion began to be drawn. Judaism is older than that and was (and is) the religion of the Jewish people, you can’t practice Judaism and not be part of that demos - but you can be part of the Jewish people and not practice Judaism (Disraeli and Einstein being two examples). This kind of thing was common when Judaism was founded - each people had their own religion (eg the Roman pantheon) but it is now something of an exception. The most common way of becoming Jewish is through matrilineal succession. Conversion is of course possible but not (in contrast to Christianity and Islam) encouraged nor universally acknowledged by all strands of the faith.
It’s also worth noting that outsiders have always regarded Jewish people as an ethnic group. Even after conversion, Conversios in Spain were still subject to repression by the Inquisition, and one could not convert one’s way to safety under the Nazis. Debates about whether or not they actually are are somewhat otiose in that context.
That's a very good summary.
I think people use "ethnic minority" as shorthand for "group subject to prejudice" - nobody really talks of French or American residents in Britain as an ethnic minority, but I've seen it used of Poles.
I knew a lady (born in Britain to Polish parents in the 50s, married to a Pole) who certainly saw it that way, but had apparently not felt she really fit in when attending a (then) BME work session.
No and she is not going to. There are 2 SNP muppets and an ex Green sock-puppet on the committee who will protect her regardless of the evidence. Fraser and Baillie are outgunned. The Lib Dems seem too stupid to contribute anything of note. At worst the head of our Civil Service will take early retirement on a generous package.
I'd like to think that this would cause both Sturgeon and her party real damage. It should. But it won't. People support the SNP because they want independence. Not because they are competent, honest, trustworthy or whatever. Its a very happy situation for a political party to be in.
Only the vague suspicion that Sturgeon is rather too fond of the trappings of office and doesn't want to risk a second referendum has caused murmurings in the ranks. A Sturgeon with a manifesto of a second referendum in the next Parliament will prevail over her domestic critics and all too probably over the opposing parties as well.
Is it even possible that the committee will get talked out until the Election?
Court challenge on something?
Very possible. The way things are going it is quite likely that Crown Office will demand changes to the report and who knows how long that might take?
A bit like the report on the desperate state of Scottish education that is on Swinney's desk but will not be published until after the election. These things happen in a one party state.
Amazing that the party of (minority) government in a one party state is allowing an election to take place in just over two months. Notwithstanding the whiny noises emanating from Unionist parties that the election should be postponed due to Covid, I’m sure they’re ready to grasp this opportunity with a raft of exciting new policies, talented pols and a vision for Scotland within the UK.
Most of the posters complaining about a "one-party state" seem to be ignoring the fact that Wales is easily the country in the UK for which that moniker holds true.
Again, it is worth comparing the Salmond affair with the (much more serious in terms of outcome) Sergeant affair. Nothing has ever been published about the murky suicide of Carl Sergeant. Nothing ever will.
In a real one-party state, the same party is always in power. Transition of power happens internally, when the leader of the party changes. All important posts (like the Ombudsman) are chosen from the membership of the party.
That is Wales.
Curiously, very few posters (and certainly no English Labour posters) have been at all worried about the one-party state that Labour has created west of Clawdd Offa.
Yep, and the same applied to the Labour fiefdom of Scotland for decades. This was the icing on the irony cake over the last few days.
Mr. Seal, I never said or implied it was self-definition.
Indeed, I don't like third parties defining other people by their demographics.
Actions and words should be at the forefront of how we view others.
Looking at demographics first leads to nonsense like people boycotting authors for being white and male, or an MP describing a judge as unsuitable due to his being white.
I'm quite happy to accept that Jews are an ethnic (minority) group. However, there's a bit of rewriting of history going on here today. I don't recall anybody ever referring to Ed Miliband or Michael Howard as party leaders of a minority ethnic background, despite the hints of anti-semitism in some commentary on both of them. Until today, on here.
There is quite a lot of overlap in the two numbers, hence theory that the strength of the reaction to the jab depends on if the recipient has already had C-19 or not.
I posted yesterday that I had come to roughly the same conclusion by assuming the same proportion of people who have been vaccinated have had it as the general population. So, on these figures, you subtract an overlap of 5 million from the vaccinated to leave 15 million. Add 25% of the U.K. population (17 million) to that and you get to 32 million people with some degree of protection. That’s 47%. There is also some evidence that a small proportion of people have pre-existing and de novo humoral immunity to SARS-CoV-2 for whatever reason (I’ve no idea) so, on that basis, the 50% figure is not hard to believe.
Thanks for doing the calculations: it's too early on a Sunday for me to do the same...
Can you check them for me later? I’m terrible at maths.
No and she is not going to. There are 2 SNP muppets and an ex Green sock-puppet on the committee who will protect her regardless of the evidence. Fraser and Baillie are outgunned. The Lib Dems seem too stupid to contribute anything of note. At worst the head of our Civil Service will take early retirement on a generous package.
I'd like to think that this would cause both Sturgeon and her party real damage. It should. But it won't. People support the SNP because they want independence. Not because they are competent, honest, trustworthy or whatever. Its a very happy situation for a political party to be in.
Only the vague suspicion that Sturgeon is rather too fond of the trappings of office and doesn't want to risk a second referendum has caused murmurings in the ranks. A Sturgeon with a manifesto of a second referendum in the next Parliament will prevail over her domestic critics and all too probably over the opposing parties as well.
Is it even possible that the committee will get talked out until the Election?
Court challenge on something?
Very possible. The way things are going it is quite likely that Crown Office will demand changes to the report and who knows how long that might take?
A bit like the report on the desperate state of Scottish education that is on Swinney's desk but will not be published until after the election. These things happen in a one party state.
Amazing that the party of (minority) government in a one party state is allowing an election to take place in just over two months. Notwithstanding the whiny noises emanating from Unionist parties that the election should be postponed due to Covid, I’m sure they’re ready to grasp this opportunity with a raft of exciting new policies, talented pols and a vision for Scotland within the UK.
Most of the posters complaining about a "one-party state" seem to be ignoring the fact that Wales is easily the country in the UK for which that moniker holds true.
Again, it is worth comparing the Salmond affair with the (much more serious in terms of outcome) Sergeant affair. Nothing has ever been published about the murky suicide of Carl Sergeant. Nothing ever will.
In a real one-party state, the same party is always in power. Transition of power happens internally, when the leader of the party changes. All important posts (like the Ombudsman) are chosen from the membership of the party.
That is Wales.
Curiously, very few posters (and certainly no English Labour posters) have been at all worried about the one-party state that Labour has created west of Clawdd Offa.
Yep, and the same applied to the Labour fiefdom of Scotland for decades. This was the icing on the irony cake over the last few days.
It seems weird, if not creepy, to keep referring to Michael Howard as “BAME”.
BLACK ASIAN and MINORITY ETHNIC. Jews are an ethnicity.
Labour still being blind to Jews really surprises and disappoints me. Labour trying to pass off "Scottish Labour" as a political party is just funny. After a succession of shite leaders up here who have been very firmly held in their box as a regional organisation with little authority, the idea that Sarwar is the big boss man is a joke.
Yes, but so are the Welsh. Was Neil Kinnock BAME?
Anyway, the point was that I don’t think Michael Howard went about advertising his Jewish background and it makes me uncomfortable to think of someone out there with a checklist putting him in the “Jew” box.
Is really rather we didn’t obsess about race.
I agree that its better to seen people as people. But if Labour want to play a race card that once against sticks it to Jews, I'm happy to call them out for it.
Ed Miliband been unpersoned in Scotland over 2015?
Is he the first Asian leader of a major UK political party ?
Yes, if you don’t count Johnson (which for all my mischievous trolling, you probably shouldn’t). And I fully agree that is a good thing. And I have no doubt he will be the first of many.
But ‘ethnic minority’ and ‘Asian’ are not quite the same thing. All Asians in this country are members of an ethnic minority, but not all ethnic minorities are Asian.
The annoying thing about this claim he is the first EM leader of a political party is it distracts from the real achievement that you highlight above.
Thanks I said yesterday ethnic minority my mistake . His family have done very well from coming to Scotland a few generations ago. From hearing his acceptance speech, which was good.
Hardly your mistake, it’s Labour that were pushing that line.
If Jews are BAMEs does that mean you can convert to BAMEhood?
It is almost impossible to ‘convert’ to Judaism. It is not like Islam or Christianity. The only effective way to do it is to marry somebody who is Jewish.
That's not true. It is possible but difficult. My cousin's daughter did so to marry her Jewish boyfriend and we all then had a very jolly Irish-Jewish wedding near Harrogate a few years back.
Could someone please explain - briefly - why Salmond and Sturgeon fell out. I thought they were best mates. So why would she be - allegedly - trying to put him in prison?
There is a perception in the SNP that Nicola rather enjoys being first Minister and the trappings and salary that come with it and is reluctant to risk that by a second referendum that she thinks she might lose. I think @malcolmg is in that camp.
Salmond was perceived to be one of the stirrers of this and there was an apprehension that if he returned to Holyrood this might form a basis for challenging Nicola's leadership. She has been doing her best to keep him and his supporters (such as Cherry and MacAskill) out of Holyrood so this can't happen.
Plus she signed up big time to the #metoo bandwagon which meant she felt she had to be seen to take the allegations against Salmond very seriously.
David, she must in trouble now, it is falling to pieces around her. They can stall for a bit yet and use crown office etc but her goose is cooked now. She reputedly has a 5M property portfolio and both her and Uncle Fester have been coining it in for years so it cannot be cash. All down to ego and her doing a Margaret Thatcher, she actually believes she is the chosen one. Will be interesting to see who cracks first as the noose tightens. Evans has a gold plated pension and she may stay quiet if sent packing with a wheelbarrow pay off who knows. Interesting rumours of Salmond and others joining another independence party for list, that would really put the cat among the pigeons. This from Times does not help. New evidence that Nicola Sturgeon’s team leaked name of Alex Salmond accuser https://archive.vn/k7L3Q#selection-871.0-875.192
Do they have an interest to declare, or are they merely foolish ?
Max Johnson, 36, the youngest of Stanley’s six children, who was born to his second wife, is a businessman who lives in Hong Kong and is keen to promote tech and investment from China as well as green issues. The ambiguity in the relationship, he said, was “causing hesitation, which means people don’t necessarily invest”. Regarding human rights as “the only issue that matters” was a “militant, unhinged, crackpot view”.
The two men are bound by a belief that China is too big to ignore, and have used diplomatic channels to advance co-operation between London and Beijing in recent years. They are taking that message public to counter a growing hawkishness in British public life towards a country they love.
Thanks for answering. I am very far from a Sinophobe, but their attitude to the Xi regime is remarkably complacent.
Todays poll in the Herald is the first of 22 not to give independence a lead (50/50)
After Salmond’s 'tour de force' last week and with further documents requested by the committee from the Crown Office before Sturgeon appears on Wednesday it could be box office viewing and, as it is budget day as well, are all on here going to take a day off to keep up with events
Ed Miliband been unpersoned in Scotland over 2015?
Is he the first Asian leader of a major UK political party ?
Yes, if you don’t count Johnson (which for all my mischievous trolling, you probably shouldn’t). And I fully agree that is a good thing. And I have no doubt he will be the first of many.
But ‘ethnic minority’ and ‘Asian’ are not quite the same thing. All Asians in this country are members of an ethnic minority, but not all ethnic minorities are Asian.
The annoying thing about this claim he is the first EM leader of a political party is it distracts from the real achievement that you highlight above.
Thanks I said yesterday ethnic minority my mistake . His family have done very well from coming to Scotland a few generations ago. From hearing his acceptance speech, which was good.
Hardly your mistake, it’s Labour that were pushing that line.
If Jews are BAMEs does that mean you can convert to BAMEhood?
It is almost impossible to ‘convert’ to Judaism. It is not like Islam or Christianity. The only effective way to do it is to marry somebody who is Jewish.
The Jews are an ethno-religious group. It was only with the advent of proselytising religions like Christianity and Islam that something of a distinction between your people and your religion began to be drawn. Judaism is older than that and was (and is) the religion of the Jewish people, you can’t practice Judaism and not be part of that demos - but you can be part of the Jewish people and not practice Judaism (Disraeli and Einstein being two examples). This kind of thing was common when Judaism was founded - each people had their own religion (eg the Roman pantheon) but it is now something of an exception. The most common way of becoming Jewish is through matrilineal succession. Conversion is of course possible but not (in contrast to Christianity and Islam) encouraged nor universally acknowledged by all strands of the faith.
It’s also worth noting that outsiders have always regarded Jewish people as an ethnic group. Even after conversion, Conversios in Spain were still subject to repression by the Inquisition, and one could not convert one’s way to safety under the Nazis. Debates about whether or not they actually are are somewhat otiose in that context.
That's a very good summary.
I think people use "ethnic minority" as shorthand for "group subject to prejudice" - nobody really talks of French or American residents in Britain as an ethnic minority, but I've seen it used of Poles. When anti-semitism was rampant and vast numbers of people were murdered merely for being Jewish, it was a very natural phrase; nowadays, with the prejudice relatively rare, it isn't used so much.
I've always thought the general principles of mainstream Judaism - which I see as solidarity, kindness and lack of aggressive proselytising - attractive, but have never believed in any kind of God. Since I discovered a few years ago that I was technically Jewish (through my very agnostic mother, who never bothered to mention it), I've felt vaguely interested in getting involved in a secular Jewish community, but time and ignorance have been a barrier. I'm not really looking for a political group, as I get enough of politics through my party activities, and anyway it feels intrusive to intrevene in arguments about what political stance the community should take. Are there non-political secular Jewish groups around?
Lots. Really. Whatever your interest. My cousin is speaking at the Jewish Book week on Wednesday.
There is something like that in any such situation, as people will rely on some pretty precise detail with impressive recall, at the same time and even involving the same issues as something they claim to be pretty vague about. Granted, the human memory is a pretty bizarre thing, I can recall quotes from some movies I've seen once in 20 years, yet not what I had for breakfast 2 weeks, but it does always make the certainty of a lot of claims, in defence or attack, seem questionable.
I'm not sure what was wrong with the previous term of 'ethnic minorities' rather than BAME. It seems to me that by having an acronym referring specifically to two groups (even if quite broadly), people are more inclined to think unnamed groups aren't covered (e.g. Jewish people, as we're discussing).
It seems weird, if not creepy, to keep referring to Michael Howard as “BAME”.
BLACK ASIAN and MINORITY ETHNIC. Jews are an ethnicity.
Labour still being blind to Jews really surprises and disappoints me. Labour trying to pass off "Scottish Labour" as a political party is just funny. After a succession of shite leaders up here who have been very firmly held in their box as a regional organisation with little authority, the idea that Sarwar is the big boss man is a joke.
BAME is a horrible term. I have not yet heard anyone self describe themselves that way.
Its a dump bucket. Though I do wonder when the LGBTQI+whatever community creates a better catch-all. I can't keep up with the increasing added letters and whatever and I am LGBTIQeugh
I just stick with a Manly Man, descriptive enough.
I'm quite happy to accept that Jews are an ethnic (minority) group. However, there's a bit of rewriting of history going on here today. I don't recall anybody ever referring to Ed Miliband or Michael Howard as party leaders of a minority ethnic background, despite the hints of anti-semitism in some commentary on both of them. Until today, on here.
Because there’s a garbagey cheap point to be made at Angela Rayner’s expense.
Anyone, I think it is profoundly racist to omit Iain Duncan Smith’s part Japanese ethnicity.
Some interesting polling especially on the leaders:
It's like one of those fill in the missing words on HIGNFY. This week it's 'Goldfish Monthly'
(This garbage could only be the Mail surely?)
All the recent polls are showing Boris and the government increasing in popularity and this is despite your constant interventions
It must be very frustrating for you
Given that there appears to be a degree of sunshine on the horizon it's not surprising that the Tories poll numbers are increasing. The question is what will happen when the Government hasn't got a crisis to deal with, and been, in the latest phase very lucky in two respects, but the ordinary routine of government.
There is still talk, is there not, of a 'Celebration of Brexit' in 2022. I'm all for a party, but think that would be a mistake, since it only rubs salt into the wounds.
I got Pfizered last week, a surgery local to my station is offering a shot to emergency services when they have any vaccines going spare. I was in and out in just over 20 minutes (I managed to convince them I didn't need to sit down for 15 minutes). Absolutely no side effects so far. A mate who had a jab the same day who is a copper has been shivering and crying all weekend. Proof, if it were needed, that we are the premier emergency service.
I spoke to a guy aged ~20 who had the jab because he has got a job at a vaccine hub. He said he woke in the middle of the night with violent shivers and spent 24 hours with a horrible fever. His dad, on the other hand, was completely unaffected. According to Dr Campbell on YouTube you get a worse reaction if you have had the bug, even if you didn't know about it. Also at his age, I suppose his immune reaction might be particularly strong.
This is me right now, though I’m considerably older than 20. Deeply unpleasant.
Do they have an interest to declare, or are they merely foolish ?
Max Johnson, 36, the youngest of Stanley’s six children, who was born to his second wife, is a businessman who lives in Hong Kong and is keen to promote tech and investment from China as well as green issues. The ambiguity in the relationship, he said, was “causing hesitation, which means people don’t necessarily invest”. Regarding human rights as “the only issue that matters” was a “militant, unhinged, crackpot view”.
The two men are bound by a belief that China is too big to ignore, and have used diplomatic channels to advance co-operation between London and Beijing in recent years. They are taking that message public to counter a growing hawkishness in British public life towards a country they love.
Thanks for answering. I am very far from a Sinophobe, but their attitude to the Xi regime is remarkably complacent.
There's a big distance between human rights being the 'only issue that matters' to thinking that it is entirely irrelevant. I think a lot of people take or took a very pragmatic view of China, as we do with other awful regimes, but Xi has really stepped things up to push China's power, so that people really do have to confront their own complacent attitudes to his regime, they cannot pretend it is no big deal.
Dodds has got to be reshuffled out. I think she’s clearly highly intelligent but she simply cannot sell those ideas.
It would not have been difficult to explain that Labour opposes tax rises right now because they’re moronic economically and will choke the recovery. She could have pointed out the Tory about turn on this. Yet she could not - and that’s extremely distressing.
Reeves would do a much better job, even Ed M would be better. Or Kinnock.
Starmer needs to do something and fast.
I don't understand how Labour keep fucking up this badly. Standing up for the corporations whilst the Tories at least consider a tax rise is Nicola Murray announcing she agrees with cutting funding for school breakfast clubs just as the Tories drop the idea.
With regards to Scotland, if Sturgeon does go Scottish Labour have had the most amazing luck in history. They’re being given a wide open goal. Let’s hope Sarwar can make a good shot.
Don't hold your breath Anas is another duffer and the labour voters will not be pulled back by another millionaire out of touch donkey.
I also think it's a bad thing for people to define themselves by their demographics, but there we are.
Didn’t someone once say he wanted his kids to grow up in a world where they were judged by the content of their character, rather than by the colour of their skin?
It was a very profound comment at the time, and we would do very well as a society to think like that.
It seems weird, if not creepy, to keep referring to Michael Howard as “BAME”.
BLACK ASIAN and MINORITY ETHNIC. Jews are an ethnicity.
Labour still being blind to Jews really surprises and disappoints me. Labour trying to pass off "Scottish Labour" as a political party is just funny. After a succession of shite leaders up here who have been very firmly held in their box as a regional organisation with little authority, the idea that Sarwar is the big boss man is a joke.
BAME is a horrible term. I have not yet heard anyone self describe themselves that way.
Its a dump bucket. Though I do wonder when the LGBTQI+whatever community creates a better catch-all. I can't keep up with the increasing added letters and whatever and I am LGBTIQeugh
I just stick with a Manly Man, descriptive enough.
But what if I don't always want to be a *manly* man
Some interesting polling especially on the leaders:
It's like one of those fill in the missing words on HIGNFY. This week it's 'Goldfish Monthly'
(This garbage could only be the Mail surely?)
All the recent polls are showing Boris and the government increasing in popularity and this is despite your constant interventions
It must be very frustrating for you
Given that there appears to be a degree of sunshine on the horizon it's not surprising that the Tories poll numbers are increasing. The question is what will happen when the Government hasn't got a crisis to deal with, and been, in the latest phase very lucky in two respects, but the ordinary routine of government.
There is still talk, is there not, of a 'Celebration of Brexit' in 2022. I'm all for a party, but think that would be a mistake, since it only rubs salt into the wounds.
I do not want a celebration of brexit, we all need to move on to be fair
I'm quite happy to accept that Jews are an ethnic (minority) group. However, there's a bit of rewriting of history going on here today. I don't recall anybody ever referring to Ed Miliband or Michael Howard as party leaders of a minority ethnic background, despite the hints of anti-semitism in some commentary on both of them. Until today, on here.
Well you are wrong, people did mention it certainly of Ed M. Sadly it's also how I discovered by father was a racist based on how he referred to Ed M.
It's also completely immaterial whether people have been consistent as to whether something is a fact. The SLab position is not correct. I don't think there's anything sinister about that in the slightest, but whatever the motivation of people pointing it out that you wish to critique, the point being made is still correct.
Ed Miliband been unpersoned in Scotland over 2015?
Is he the first Asian leader of a major UK political party ?
Yes, if you don’t count Johnson (which for all my mischievous trolling, you probably shouldn’t). And I fully agree that is a good thing. And I have no doubt he will be the first of many.
But ‘ethnic minority’ and ‘Asian’ are not quite the same thing. All Asians in this country are members of an ethnic minority, but not all ethnic minorities are Asian.
The annoying thing about this claim he is the first EM leader of a political party is it distracts from the real achievement that you highlight above.
Thanks I said yesterday ethnic minority my mistake . His family have done very well from coming to Scotland a few generations ago. From hearing his acceptance speech, which was good.
Hardly your mistake, it’s Labour that were pushing that line.
If Jews are BAMEs does that mean you can convert to BAMEhood?
It is almost impossible to ‘convert’ to Judaism. It is not like Islam or Christianity. The only effective way to do it is to marry somebody who is Jewish.
That's not true. It is possible but difficult. My cousin's daughter did so to marry her Jewish boyfriend and we all then had a very jolly Irish-Jewish wedding near Harrogate a few years back.
Could someone please explain - briefly - why Salmond and Sturgeon fell out. I thought they were best mates. So why would she be - allegedly - trying to put him in prison?
Sturgeon was Salmond's protege but outgrew him. Salmond wouldn't let go. He disappointed her by joining RT.
He is allegedly handy. Sturgeon used the #metoo movement to retrospectively have him investigated. Government, Civil Service and Crown Office all became involved.
Tories and Labour are trying to make capital out of it but it's actually a family tragedy - a messy divorce. Salmond and Sturgeon are both hurt and damaged by it but Sturgeon won't resign.
That's my take on it and I have £100 at stake that she won't resign this year.
EDIT: Massie in this week's Spectator has a very good take on it
LOL, cowardy custard allegedly, found innocent on all charges and not a previous complaint in 30 years. Based on diehard unionist Massie as well, usual stuff from Scotch experts on here.
Polls don't matter... what matters is the fight between Salmond and the sainted Nicola. Round one only had a few jabs.. whats going to happen after that ?
Ed Miliband been unpersoned in Scotland over 2015?
Is he the first Asian leader of a major UK political party ?
Yes, if you don’t count Johnson (which for all my mischievous trolling, you probably shouldn’t). And I fully agree that is a good thing. And I have no doubt he will be the first of many.
But ‘ethnic minority’ and ‘Asian’ are not quite the same thing. All Asians in this country are members of an ethnic minority, but not all ethnic minorities are Asian.
The annoying thing about this claim he is the first EM leader of a political party is it distracts from the real achievement that you highlight above.
Thanks I said yesterday ethnic minority my mistake . His family have done very well from coming to Scotland a few generations ago. From hearing his acceptance speech, which was good.
Hardly your mistake, it’s Labour that were pushing that line.
If Jews are BAMEs does that mean you can convert to BAMEhood?
It is almost impossible to ‘convert’ to Judaism. It is not like Islam or Christianity. The only effective way to do it is to marry somebody who is Jewish.
That's not true. It is possible but difficult. My cousin's daughter did so to marry her Jewish boyfriend and we all then had a very jolly Irish-Jewish wedding near Harrogate a few years back.
Could someone please explain - briefly - why Salmond and Sturgeon fell out. I thought they were best mates. So why would she be - allegedly - trying to put him in prison?
There is a perception in the SNP that Nicola rather enjoys being first Minister and the trappings and salary that come with it and is reluctant to risk that by a second referendum that she thinks she might lose. I think @malcolmg is in that camp.
Salmond was perceived to be one of the stirrers of this and there was an apprehension that if he returned to Holyrood this might form a basis for challenging Nicola's leadership. She has been doing her best to keep him and his supporters (such as Cherry and MacAskill) out of Holyrood so this can't happen.
Plus she signed up big time to the #metoo bandwagon which meant she felt she had to be seen to take the allegations against Salmond very seriously.
David, she must in trouble now, it is falling to pieces around her. They can stall for a bit yet and use crown office etc but her goose is cooked now. She reputedly has a 5M property portfolio and both her and Uncle Fester have been coining it in for years so it cannot be cash. All down to ego and her doing a Margaret Thatcher, she actually believes she is the chosen one. Will be interesting to see who cracks first as the noose tightens. Evans has a gold plated pension and she may stay quiet if sent packing with a wheelbarrow pay off who knows. Interesting rumours of Salmond and others joining another independence party for list, that would really put the cat among the pigeons. This from Times does not help. New evidence that Nicola Sturgeon’s team leaked name of Alex Salmond accuser https://archive.vn/k7L3Q#selection-871.0-875.192
Operation Save Nicola underway:
SNP sources predict Leslie Evans, the head of Scotland’s civil service, will be ousted over her role in the affair. The SNP chief executive, Peter Murrell, who is also Sturgeon’s husband, and her chief of staff, Liz Lloyd, are also tipped to move.
No and she is not going to. There are 2 SNP muppets and an ex Green sock-puppet on the committee who will protect her regardless of the evidence. Fraser and Baillie are outgunned. The Lib Dems seem too stupid to contribute anything of note. At worst the head of our Civil Service will take early retirement on a generous package.
I'd like to think that this would cause both Sturgeon and her party real damage. It should. But it won't. People support the SNP because they want independence. Not because they are competent, honest, trustworthy or whatever. Its a very happy situation for a political party to be in.
Only the vague suspicion that Sturgeon is rather too fond of the trappings of office and doesn't want to risk a second referendum has caused murmurings in the ranks. A Sturgeon with a manifesto of a second referendum in the next Parliament will prevail over her domestic critics and all too probably over the opposing parties as well.
Is it even possible that the committee will get talked out until the Election?
Court challenge on something?
Very possible. The way things are going it is quite likely that Crown Office will demand changes to the report and who knows how long that might take?
A bit like the report on the desperate state of Scottish education that is on Swinney's desk but will not be published until after the election. These things happen in a one party state.
Amazing that the party of (minority) government in a one party state is allowing an election to take place in just over two months. Notwithstanding the whiny noises emanating from Unionist parties that the election should be postponed due to Covid, I’m sure they’re ready to grasp this opportunity with a raft of exciting new policies, talented pols and a vision for Scotland within the UK.
Most of the posters complaining about a "one-party state" seem to be ignoring the fact that Wales is easily the country in the UK for which that moniker holds true.
Again, it is worth comparing the Salmond affair with the (much more serious in terms of outcome) Sergeant affair. Nothing has ever been published about the murky suicide of Carl Sergeant. Nothing ever will.
In a real one-party state, the same party is always in power. Transition of power happens internally, when the leader of the party changes. All important posts (like the Ombudsman) are chosen from the membership of the party.
That is Wales.
Curiously, very few posters (and certainly no English Labour posters) have been at all worried about the one-party state that Labour has created west of Clawdd Offa.
Yep, and the same applied to the Labour fiefdom of Scotland for decades. This was the icing on the irony cake over the last few days.
It’s richly ironic, but that doesn’t mean we should just ignore it.
Scotland and Wales need proper PR, not the jerry-rigged and gerrymandered systems they have at present.
As far as I’m aware any change to the set ups for devolved government in Wales and Scotland would have to come via Westminster. What are the chances of the current lot going through a proper consultative process with the peoples of both countries without putting their thumbs, fingers and toes on the scales?
Ed Miliband been unpersoned in Scotland over 2015?
Is he the first Asian leader of a major UK political party ?
Yes, if you don’t count Johnson (which for all my mischievous trolling, you probably shouldn’t). And I fully agree that is a good thing. And I have no doubt he will be the first of many.
But ‘ethnic minority’ and ‘Asian’ are not quite the same thing. All Asians in this country are members of an ethnic minority, but not all ethnic minorities are Asian.
The annoying thing about this claim he is the first EM leader of a political party is it distracts from the real achievement that you highlight above.
Thanks I said yesterday ethnic minority my mistake . His family have done very well from coming to Scotland a few generations ago. From hearing his acceptance speech, which was good.
Hardly your mistake, it’s Labour that were pushing that line.
If Jews are BAMEs does that mean you can convert to BAMEhood?
It is almost impossible to ‘convert’ to Judaism. It is not like Islam or Christianity. The only effective way to do it is to marry somebody who is Jewish.
That's not true. It is possible but difficult. My cousin's daughter did so to marry her Jewish boyfriend and we all then had a very jolly Irish-Jewish wedding near Harrogate a few years back.
Could someone please explain - briefly - why Salmond and Sturgeon fell out. I thought they were best mates. So why would she be - allegedly - trying to put him in prison?
Sturgeon was Salmond's protege but outgrew him. Salmond wouldn't let go. He disappointed her by joining RT.
He is allegedly handy. Sturgeon used the #metoo movement to retrospectively have him investigated. Government, Civil Service and Crown Office all became involved.
Tories and Labour are trying to make capital out of it but it's actually a family tragedy - a messy divorce. Salmond and Sturgeon are both hurt and damaged by it but Sturgeon won't resign.
That's my take on it and I have £100 at stake that she won't resign this year.
EDIT: Massie in this week's Spectator has a very good take on it
LOL, cowardy custard allegedly, found innocent on all charges and not a previous complaint in 30 years. Based on diehard unionist Massie as well, usual stuff from Scotch experts on here.
I thought it was not proven on one is that the same as not guilty ?
Ed Miliband been unpersoned in Scotland over 2015?
Is he the first Asian leader of a major UK political party ?
Yes, if you don’t count Johnson (which for all my mischievous trolling, you probably shouldn’t). And I fully agree that is a good thing. And I have no doubt he will be the first of many.
But ‘ethnic minority’ and ‘Asian’ are not quite the same thing. All Asians in this country are members of an ethnic minority, but not all ethnic minorities are Asian.
The annoying thing about this claim he is the first EM leader of a political party is it distracts from the real achievement that you highlight above.
Thanks I said yesterday ethnic minority my mistake . His family have done very well from coming to Scotland a few generations ago. From hearing his acceptance speech, which was good.
Hardly your mistake, it’s Labour that were pushing that line.
If Jews are BAMEs does that mean you can convert to BAMEhood?
It is almost impossible to ‘convert’ to Judaism. It is not like Islam or Christianity. The only effective way to do it is to marry somebody who is Jewish.
The Jews are an ethno-religious group. It was only with the advent of proselytising religions like Christianity and Islam that something of a distinction between your people and your religion began to be drawn. Judaism is older than that and was (and is) the religion of the Jewish people, you can’t practice Judaism and not be part of that demos - but you can be part of the Jewish people and not practice Judaism (Disraeli and Einstein being two examples). This kind of thing was common when Judaism was founded - each people had their own religion (eg the Roman pantheon) but it is now something of an exception. The most common way of becoming Jewish is through matrilineal succession. Conversion is of course possible but not (in contrast to Christianity and Islam) encouraged nor universally acknowledged by all strands of the faith.
It’s also worth noting that outsiders have always regarded Jewish people as an ethnic group. Even after conversion, Conversios in Spain were still subject to repression by the Inquisition, and one could not convert one’s way to safety under the Nazis. Debates about whether or not they actually are are somewhat otiose in that context.
That's a very good summary.
I think people use "ethnic minority" as shorthand for "group subject to prejudice" - nobody really talks of French or American residents in Britain as an ethnic minority, but I've seen it used of Poles.
I knew a lady (born in Britain to Polish parents in the 50s, married to a Pole) who certainly saw it that way, but had apparently not felt she really fit in when attending a (then) BME work session.
I was once on a diversity course with a bunch of other (apparently) white people, where I was told that I wasn't Jewish enough for it to count.
Which, while sort-of true (only one half-Jewish grandmother), kind of felt like it missed the point of encouraging people to be more considerate of diversity.
Do they have an interest to declare, or are they merely foolish ?
Max Johnson, 36, the youngest of Stanley’s six children, who was born to his second wife, is a businessman who lives in Hong Kong and is keen to promote tech and investment from China as well as green issues. The ambiguity in the relationship, he said, was “causing hesitation, which means people don’t necessarily invest”. Regarding human rights as “the only issue that matters” was a “militant, unhinged, crackpot view”.
The two men are bound by a belief that China is too big to ignore, and have used diplomatic channels to advance co-operation between London and Beijing in recent years. They are taking that message public to counter a growing hawkishness in British public life towards a country they love.
Thanks for answering. I am very far from a Sinophobe, but their attitude to the Xi regime is remarkably complacent.
Max Johnson is a bit of a tool, not only did he work for Goldman Sachs but today he says
Asked about human rights abuses, he is candid. “Hong Kong,” he says, “is part of China ... I think that for people has been hard to understand and has provoked a sort of emotional reaction, and may even hark back to a sort of regret that Hong Kong was handed back.”
He adopts a similar tone on the Uighurs. He “can’t say” whether China hawks are right or wrong about what is going on.
44% say the Scottish government failed over the Salmond inquiry, only 32% disagree
Only 24 consecutive polls with YES in the lead, things are really bad. That is a few more than the union gangs setup to supposedly kill it that have ended in collapse, down now to Bozo, Gove , Union Jack and Frosty as the dream team going to save the union, we are quaking in our boots.
I'm quite happy to accept that Jews are an ethnic (minority) group. However, there's a bit of rewriting of history going on here today. I don't recall anybody ever referring to Ed Miliband or Michael Howard as party leaders of a minority ethnic background, despite the hints of anti-semitism in some commentary on both of them. Until today, on here.
Well you are wrong, people did mention it certainly of Ed M. Sadly it's also how I discovered by father was a racist based on how he referred to Ed M.
It's also completely immaterial whether people have been consistent as to whether something is a fact. The SLab position is not correct. I don't think there's anything sinister about that in the slightest, but whatever the motivation of people pointing it out that you wish to critique, the point being made is still correct.
I didn't say that people didn't mention Miliband's Jewishness - of course they did, and that of his father even more perniciously. All I was saying is that in the discourse at the time I don't recall any pronouncements such as "Labour elects its first minority ethnic leader". I don't think people made that connection between "Jew" and "minority ethnic", for all sorts of complex reasons.
Ed Miliband been unpersoned in Scotland over 2015?
Is he the first Asian leader of a major UK political party ?
Yes, if you don’t count Johnson (which for all my mischievous trolling, you probably shouldn’t). And I fully agree that is a good thing. And I have no doubt he will be the first of many.
But ‘ethnic minority’ and ‘Asian’ are not quite the same thing. All Asians in this country are members of an ethnic minority, but not all ethnic minorities are Asian.
The annoying thing about this claim he is the first EM leader of a political party is it distracts from the real achievement that you highlight above.
Thanks I said yesterday ethnic minority my mistake . His family have done very well from coming to Scotland a few generations ago. From hearing his acceptance speech, which was good.
Hardly your mistake, it’s Labour that were pushing that line.
If Jews are BAMEs does that mean you can convert to BAMEhood?
It is almost impossible to ‘convert’ to Judaism. It is not like Islam or Christianity. The only effective way to do it is to marry somebody who is Jewish.
That's not true. It is possible but difficult. My cousin's daughter did so to marry her Jewish boyfriend and we all then had a very jolly Irish-Jewish wedding near Harrogate a few years back.
Could someone please explain - briefly - why Salmond and Sturgeon fell out. I thought they were best mates. So why would she be - allegedly - trying to put him in prison?
The former "first daughter" Ivanka Trump was a high-profile convert, of course. She might yet become the first Jewish president of the United States if she stands in 2024.
I think can help explain the depth of Salmond's fury, having listened to the 6hr testimony.
One issue is over harrassment policies.
The former harrassment policy had been introduced by Mr Salmond, via what he regarded as the proper process, consultation etc, back soon after the SNP became the Government (2007 ?). Can't recall all the details so I will not attempt to rehearse it here.
After #Metoo NS very rapidly introduced a modified policy, which brought complaints about Former Ministers in scope ie historic complaints. That new policy was not subject to consultations, done via legislation, Salmond was not consulted etc etc.
Very rapidly he was the subject of a number of historic complaints, up to attempted rape. And these appeared very suddenly.
Subsequently it went into an official ScotGov investigation, which the Civil Court found to have been unlawfully run. Not sure of the reasons given by the Court but this is part of the controversy around withheld evidence, forgotten about meetings etc. Salmond won that case (was it a Judicial Review?) and 500k+ of his costs (=85% which is a punitive level).
After that started but before it reached a verdict, a parallel police Criminal investigation started, which raised the possibility that it would overtake and rub out the Civil Court Action against the other case (to - allegedly - Sturgeon's advantage). There are allegations about the way this police investigation was generated.
The Committee is investigating how the Scottish Gov handled these processes and the investigation, and seems to have been set up strangely (one afternoon a week, no Counsel), and evidence that seems relevant has been scoped out procedurally so they cannot consider it etc.
So it is all murky.
Without reaching any judgement, I think that Salmond faced up to years in prison would probably explain his determination / resolution. He feels he has been mugged via procedural politics with the possibility of his life being destroyed.
As for Sturgeon, various reasons have been suggested above. I have no comment in this post.
Do they have an interest to declare, or are they merely foolish ?
Max Johnson, 36, the youngest of Stanley’s six children, who was born to his second wife, is a businessman who lives in Hong Kong and is keen to promote tech and investment from China as well as green issues. The ambiguity in the relationship, he said, was “causing hesitation, which means people don’t necessarily invest”. Regarding human rights as “the only issue that matters” was a “militant, unhinged, crackpot view”.
The two men are bound by a belief that China is too big to ignore, and have used diplomatic channels to advance co-operation between London and Beijing in recent years. They are taking that message public to counter a growing hawkishness in British public life towards a country they love.
Thanks for answering. I am very far from a Sinophobe, but their attitude to the Xi regime is remarkably complacent.
Not so much complacent as consciously self serving IMO.
I think we do need to distinguish between regimes and nations. I loathed Trump but am not anti-american, and can loath Xi without being a Sinophobe whipping up a new Cold War.
So the Sunak master plan seems to be, raise corporation tax now/over the next two years, then prior to 2024 cut it again?
Seems a bit weird to me? Do they honestly expect the economy to have fully recovered by 2024, in which case why not just leave the raise in place.
This seems very incoherent and not well designed, a bit like the "young people" housing plan that also applies to existing homeowners.
Of course he gets away with it because Labour's SC is invisible and somehow worse. Sunak is not good, he is just not as bad as Labour's offering.
I think Chancellors have a pretty impossible job. I assume most measures have more than one effect, so there are tradeoffs, which mean you will always get attached for any proposal, then you have the ideologues opposed to any rise in tax/cut in benefit, then you have impossible political promises your PM won't let you ignore, there's always polling or elections coming up which tie you down even further as your party won't let you act, and so on.
So consistent, sensible ideas are pretty unlikely. Sunal generally presents well and on an institutional level the treasury did some decent things quickly in this pandemic, but whether he personally has any quality who knows.
It seems weird, if not creepy, to keep referring to Michael Howard as “BAME”.
Are you claiming Jews are not an ethnic minority? 🤔
No. Are you? 🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤡
So why was it wierd/creepy to refer to a BAME person as such?
I have to say I think the whole "BAME" thing is weird and creepy in of itself. Pigeon holing people is queer but does allow lots to make a great living out of it.
Comments
(Of course that may not be the reason you shared the anecdote!)
Salmond was perceived to be one of the stirrers of this and there was an apprehension that if he returned to Holyrood this might form a basis for challenging Nicola's leadership. She has been doing her best to keep him and his supporters (such as Cherry and MacAskill) out of Holyrood so this can't happen.
Plus she signed up big time to the #metoo bandwagon which meant she felt she had to be seen to take the allegations against Salmond very seriously.
I would point out however that actually both these examples involve marriage, which as I noted is about the only effective way of converting...
Labour still being blind to Jews really surprises and disappoints me. Labour trying to pass off "Scottish Labour" as a political party is just funny. After a succession of shite leaders up here who have been very firmly held in their box as a regional organisation with little authority, the idea that Sarwar is the big boss man is a joke.
https://www.politico.eu/coronavirus-in-europe/
I wasn’t aware Macaskill had made any attempt to get back into Holyrood.
I also think it's a bad thing for people to define themselves by their demographics, but there we are.
While supplies go unused. Let's hope that changes.
He is allegedly handy. Sturgeon used the #metoo movement to retrospectively have him investigated. Government, Civil Service and Crown Office all became involved.
Tories and Labour are trying to make capital out of it but it's actually a family tragedy - a messy divorce. Salmond and Sturgeon are both hurt and damaged by it but Sturgeon won't resign.
That's my take on it and I have £100 at stake that she won't resign this year.
EDIT: Massie in this week's Spectator has a very good take on it
https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/a-beginners-guide-to-the-salmond-inquiry?utm_medium=email&utm_source=CampaignMonitor_Editorial&utm_campaign=BOCH 20210226 GC+CID_d57d627f9fc90973aaf1bddce87cbb3c
[Link might not work]
History is unlikely to be so forgiving.
Merkel’s biggest mistake during the pandemic — arguably of her entire tenure as chancellor — came last June when she agreed to strip responsibility from her own government to procure vaccines and hand it to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Of the many qualities von der Leyen showed in her years in Merkel’s Cabinet, competence was rarely among them. That’s why it should have surprised virtually no one that the procurement process turned into a fiasco, marked by protracted negotiations and delays, which will force Germany and other EU countries to maintain restrictions for much longer than would have otherwise been necessary. Even if Germany had gotten its act together on the logistics of delivering the vaccines to its citizens, it would have quickly run out anyway due to the lack of supply.
https://www.politico.eu/article/trapped-in-germany-covid-coronavirus-nightmare/
It would not have been difficult to explain that Labour opposes tax rises right now because they’re moronic economically and will choke the recovery. She could have pointed out the Tory about turn on this. Yet she could not - and that’s extremely distressing.
Reeves would do a much better job, even Ed M would be better. Or Kinnock.
Starmer needs to do something and fast.
It must be very frustrating for you
We also await the first Scottish poll now Scottish Labour has a new leader, with Anas Sarwar elected to replace Richard Leonard yesterday
Would people here agree that is inconsistent?
Again, it is worth comparing the Salmond affair with the (much more serious in terms of outcome) Sergeant affair. Nothing has ever been published about the murky suicide of Carl Sergeant. Nothing ever will.
In a real one-party state, the same party is always in power. Transition of power happens internally, when the leader of the party changes. All important posts (like the Ombudsman) are chosen from the membership of the party.
That is Wales.
Curiously, very few posters (and certainly no English Labour posters) have been at all worried about the one-party state that Labour has created west of Clawdd Offa.
Was Neil Kinnock BAME?
Anyway, the point was that I don’t think Michael Howard went about advertising his Jewish background and it makes me uncomfortable to think of someone out there with a checklist putting him in the “Jew” box.
Is really rather we didn’t obsess about race.
I think people use "ethnic minority" as shorthand for "group subject to prejudice" - nobody really talks of French or American residents in Britain as an ethnic minority, but I've seen it used of Poles. When anti-semitism was rampant and vast numbers of people were murdered merely for being Jewish, it was a very natural phrase; nowadays, with the prejudice relatively rare, it isn't used so much.
I've always thought the general principles of mainstream Judaism - which I see as solidarity, kindness and lack of aggressive proselytising - attractive, but have never believed in any kind of God. Since I discovered a few years ago that I was technically Jewish (through my very agnostic mother, who never bothered to mention it), I've felt vaguely interested in getting involved in a secular Jewish community, but time and ignorance have been a barrier. I'm not really looking for a political group, as I get enough of politics through my party activities, and anyway it feels intrusive to intrevene in arguments about what political stance the community should take. Are there non-political secular Jewish groups around?
As it happens, in practice the EU concentrated far too much on the first and overlooked the second, as though this was a normal trade deal in normal times. We prioritised the second even at some cost on the first. Our approach has been proven right. Indeed, it should been obvious at the time but was apparently not obvious to the EU.
But to go with the larger purchase option is a mistake many people would have made in perfectly good faith - including me, if I am honest.
Whether we avoided that mistake because of the wisdom and judgement of the government or merely because of their emotional attachment to being seen to be 'Brexity' is of course a different question...
I’m sure other will be along shortly to explain why it’s a completely different matter.
So no change there, then.
https://twitter.com/phantompower14/status/1365783186953895937?s=21
The two men are bound by a belief that China is too big to ignore, and have used diplomatic channels to advance co-operation between London and Beijing in recent years. They are taking that message public to counter a growing hawkishness in British public life towards a country they love.
However, it is possible that someone might identify differences of degree between the two cases.
If the further reaches of the allegations against Sturgeon are true - that she conspired to pervert the course of justice in an attempt to send a political opponent to prison - surely that's a bit more serious than workplace bullying?
44% would vote No, so No is now ahead in this terrible poll for Sturgeon and the SNP and great poll for Unionists.
https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/19124089.latest-scottish-independence-poll-first-22-not-give-yes-lead/
44% say the Scottish government failed over the Salmond inquiry, only 32% disagree
Are you?
🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤡
https://twitter.com/kevverage/status/1365950935621591040?s=20
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/feb/21/boris-johnsons-warm-words-on-china-likely-to-infuriate-backbenchers
Something the Boris Johnson fanboys were denying as it was in the Guardian.
This was the icing on the irony cake over the last few days.
https://twitter.com/rhonddabryant/status/1365596615118094339?s=21
Indeed, I don't like third parties defining other people by their demographics.
Actions and words should be at the forefront of how we view others.
Looking at demographics first leads to nonsense like people boycotting authors for being white and male, or an MP describing a judge as unsuitable due to his being white.
Scotland and Wales need proper PR, not the jerry-rigged and gerrymandered systems they have at present.
Will be interesting to see who cracks first as the noose tightens. Evans has a gold plated pension and she may stay quiet if sent packing with a wheelbarrow pay off who knows.
Interesting rumours of Salmond and others joining another independence party for list, that would really put the cat among the pigeons.
This from Times does not help.
New evidence that Nicola Sturgeon’s team leaked name of Alex Salmond accuser
https://archive.vn/k7L3Q#selection-871.0-875.192
I am very far from a Sinophobe, but their attitude to the Xi regime is remarkably complacent.
After Salmond’s 'tour de force' last week and with further documents requested by the committee from the Crown Office before Sturgeon appears on Wednesday it could be box office viewing and, as it is budget day as well, are all on here going to take a day off to keep up with events
Anyone, I think it is profoundly racist to omit Iain Duncan Smith’s part Japanese ethnicity.
There is still talk, is there not, of a 'Celebration of Brexit' in 2022. I'm all for a party, but think that would be a mistake, since it only rubs salt into the wounds.
It was a very profound comment at the time, and we would do very well as a society to think like that.
It's also completely immaterial whether people have been consistent as to whether something is a fact. The SLab position is not correct. I don't think there's anything sinister about that in the slightest, but whatever the motivation of people pointing it out that you wish to critique, the point being made is still correct.
SNP sources predict Leslie Evans, the head of Scotland’s civil service, will be ousted over her role in the affair. The SNP chief executive, Peter Murrell, who is also Sturgeon’s husband, and her chief of staff, Liz Lloyd, are also tipped to move.
I appreciate others just view it as “matter of fact”.
Seems a bit weird to me? Do they honestly expect the economy to have fully recovered by 2024, in which case why not just leave the raise in place.
This seems very incoherent and not well designed, a bit like the "young people" housing plan that also applies to existing homeowners.
Of course he gets away with it because Labour's SC is invisible and somehow worse. Sunak is not good, he is just not as bad as Labour's offering.
Which, while sort-of true (only one half-Jewish grandmother), kind of felt like it missed the point of encouraging people to be more considerate of diversity.
Asked about human rights abuses, he is candid. “Hong Kong,” he says, “is part of China ... I think that for people has been hard to understand and has provoked a sort of emotional reaction, and may even hark back to a sort of regret that Hong Kong was handed back.”
He adopts a similar tone on the Uighurs. He “can’t say” whether China hawks are right or wrong about what is going on.
So you're saying you think Jews are an ethnic minority, but it is weird/creepy to say Howard is from an ethnic minority?
OK. 🤡 is right but for you.
https://yoursforscotlandcom.wordpress.com/2021/02/27/first-minister-and-jim-sillars-in-new-letter-exchange/
Am disappointed you wish to make cheap points on this matter.
One issue is over harrassment policies.
The former harrassment policy had been introduced by Mr Salmond, via what he regarded as the proper process, consultation etc, back soon after the SNP became the Government (2007 ?). Can't recall all the details so I will not attempt to rehearse it here.
After #Metoo NS very rapidly introduced a modified policy, which brought complaints about Former Ministers in scope ie historic complaints. That new policy was not subject to consultations, done via legislation, Salmond was not consulted etc etc.
Very rapidly he was the subject of a number of historic complaints, up to attempted rape. And these appeared very suddenly.
Subsequently it went into an official ScotGov investigation, which the Civil Court found to have been unlawfully run. Not sure of the reasons given by the Court but this is part of the controversy around withheld evidence, forgotten about meetings etc. Salmond won that case (was it a Judicial Review?) and 500k+ of his costs (=85% which is a punitive level).
After that started but before it reached a verdict, a parallel police Criminal investigation started, which raised the possibility that it would overtake and rub out the Civil Court Action against the other case (to - allegedly - Sturgeon's advantage). There are allegations about the way this police investigation was generated.
The Committee is investigating how the Scottish Gov handled these processes and the investigation, and seems to have been set up strangely (one afternoon a week, no Counsel), and evidence that seems relevant has been scoped out procedurally so they cannot consider it etc.
So it is all murky.
Without reaching any judgement, I think that Salmond faced up to years in prison would probably explain his determination / resolution. He feels he has been mugged via procedural politics with the possibility of his life being destroyed.
As for Sturgeon, various reasons have been suggested above. I have no comment in this post.
I think we do need to distinguish between regimes and nations. I loathed Trump but am not anti-american, and can loath Xi without being a Sinophobe whipping up a new Cold War.
So consistent, sensible ideas are pretty unlikely. Sunal generally presents well and on an institutional level the treasury did some decent things quickly in this pandemic, but whether he personally has any quality who knows.