Talking-up Scotland

(c) Peter Swanton

TuS’s disclosure team has discovered previous evidence of anti-semitism by Cybernat blogger Grouse Beater.

In June 24th 2016, writing about the Glasgow School of Art fire, he mentions the Philistines.

Oooooh!!

As anyone old enough to have gone to 20th Century Sunday School knows and as the DUP still remember, the Philistines attacked the Israelites and stole the Ark of the Covenant from them. They were clearly anti-Semitic and thus so is Grouse Beater, again.

In addition, the insensitive blogger has mentioned the Philistines and by association semites, in the shocking context of an all-consuming fire or holocaust.

The offending blog is here:

https://grousebeater.wordpress.com/2016/06/24/an-open-letter/

TuS’s visiting professor Johann von Robertstrumpensteiner said, angrily:

”First the Nazis, then the Philistines; what historical monsters will he mention next, cannibals, vandals, boiler-makers?’

Footnote: the TuS Disclosure Team is now following up suggestions of sexual perversion revealed in the blogger’s name – Grouse Beater.

Again, from Insider:

‘Edinburgh office market movement up nearly 30% in a year. Office market movement in Edinburgh in the third quarter of 2018 remained at the same level as the second quarter – but up 28% on the same quarter last year. Figures from CBRE show take-up for the third quarter was approximately 272,000 sq ft, a decrease in take-up from the second quarter although the letting of 525 Ferry Road to Edinburgh Palette in that quarter accounted for the majority of the difference.’

https://www.insider.co.uk/news/edinburgh-office-commercial-property-market-13512602

At risk of endless repetition, investment in property is real evidence of a real need for the physical space in which to do business because of a real demand for that business, in Scotland, in 2018 and at least for some time beyond that.

Previous evidence of the demand for property in 2018 only:

Umpteenth post on underlying strength in Scottish economy: Property investment up 19.8%!

‘Glasgow’s blistering commercial property market’

One more indicator of economic well-being as Investment in Glasgow office property surges four-fold and Scotland ‘very much on the wish list’

More real economic data: 37% surge in investment in Scottish commercial property, greater diversity and higher profitability than in the UK

Scottish economy’s underlying strength invisible to our Nomedia

Miles Better? Glasgow hotel revenue growing eight times faster than UK average

 

 

From the NHS Information Services Division, yesterday:

‘Over the last ten years, the overall age-adjusted cancer mortality rate has fallen by 10%.

Although the rate of deaths due to cancer has decreased over this period, the actual number of deaths due to cancer has not. This largely reflects an increase in older age groups within the population and the fact that cancer is a relatively common disease among the

elderly. The age-adjusted cancer mortality rate has fallen by 12% for males and 7% for females over the past decade.’

https://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Cancer/Publications/2018-10-30/2018-10-30-Cancer-Mortality-Summary.pdf?31153506041

Reporting Scotland had plenty of time, yesterday, for death and injury, depression, football and human waste on the tracks, but no time for this good news. When the ISD report something more worrying for Scots, they’re all over the story, blowing it up in our faces, so to speak. It was the same non-story for a major cancer waiting time target being met, only four weeks ago.

The 95% target for waiting times of 31 days or less, between decision to treat and first treatment, was met in June 2018, having been met or only just missed for the last six years.

95% of Scottish cancer patients treated within 31-day standard but NHS England in crisis

 

Breastfeeding continues to grow in Scotland with 42% of babies, up from 36%, breastfed at 6 to 8 weeks and 64% getting the benefit of having been breastfeed for at least some time. Our three shadowy health ministers have been going on about this for some time and condemned the SNP baby boxes for not having free pumps or guidance to encourage the practice.

Tell Jenny Mara to stop whining. I’m trying to concentrate here!

https://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Child-Health/Publications/2018-10-30/2018-10-30-Infant-Feeding-Summary.pdf?6995791197

Perhaps the SNP government was employing reverse psychology here, to good effect. It strikes me as the kind of thing where experts going on and on about the benefits would just make you even more reluctant to persevere with what seems, to me, quite a challenging thing to do.

 

I have a plan!

As the Scottish Labour Party in Scotland loses support to the Scottish Tories and to the SNP, attracted by unionist loyalty on the one wing and ‘The Real McKay’ progressive taxation on the other, its leader plans to abandon progressive politics to the SNP and to outflank the Tories on the extreme right. It’s basically a further extension of the Blair plan which was so successful in 1997.

The Kenneth Williams lookalike, Richard Leonard, supported by a gang of likeminded colleagues such as Andy Kerr and Jim Dempster, with the shock Brown Boilersuits from the GMB, on the streets, plans to ‘clean-up’ the Party by forcing out muslims, catholics, LGBTs and jews. Hindus will be allowed, on a technicality over rights to symbolism. Note the GMB was formerly the German-style Master-bakers of Britain union until, like the German Shepherd, their name became unpopular before WWI. While current GMB official, Rhea Wolfson, is thought to have a good name to lead the Brown Boilersuits and was effective in the recent Operation Brassneck, other undisclosed factors will, of necessity, lead to her departure.

Once the party has become properly WASPy, new policies such as ‘British Jobs for British Workers!’, based on the words of former Labour PM, Gordon Brownshirt, and Ian Paisley’s ‘No pot pourri here!’ will be presented to the voters.

Stage 2 of the plan will be full merger with the DUP in Northern Ireland to further strengthen the movement’s tough as schist discipline. The DUP’s current leader has promised to stay on after the merger and her name change to Arbeitistgut Voerster.

Stage 3 of the plan will be adoption of the Old Testament as a manifesto and the singing of Onward Christian Soldiers at conference.

Polls have already indicated that the new LDUP will have some success. Though it may actually strengthen their hated enemies the ‘Separatists’ as minorities and women flee, its hard-right policies will attract many Tories (Murder Fraser?) and its presence on the streets, is expected to keep the Lib Dems nervously behind their curtains.

Expert on anything you care to ask, Professor Johann von Robertskinweiner, now at the Universidad Catholica in Uruguay, was consulted but had to be taken away quickly, shouting:

‘Hitler! Hitler! Hitler! Hitler! Hitler! Hitler! Hitler! Hitler! Hitler! Hitler! Hitler! Hitler! Hitler! Hitler!….go on ban me! I double dare you………..aaaaaaaaaa’

Homicide England & Wales

These are just two signs, but they tell us something about a society. Like the canary in the mine, soaring stillbirth and homicide levels suggest that things are going very wrong. The murder of women, of children or of ethno-religious minorities is often characterised as such a sign, but low homicide rates generally are typical of those societies commonly lauded for their quality of life, such as the Scandinavian countries, Ireland and New Zealand. Similarly, these countries also have the lowest stillbirth levels.

I’ve already reported on stillbirth and infant deaths here:

Scottish stillbirth and early infant death rates lowest in the UK and approaching lowest in the world

This table shows the comparative situation, with regard to homicide in 2016:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_intentional_homicide_rate

In 2016, there were signs already of Scotland’s improvement from having been the most violent country in Europe only 13 years ago:

https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2005/sep/26/ukcrime.scotland

The homicide rate in 2005 was 2.33 per 100 000, twice the rate in 2016. With only 59 homicides in 2017/18, the rate is now 1.11, falling noticeably below that of England & Wales, now 1.25, and even Sweden, 1.22.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/283093/homicide-in-england-and-wales-uk-y-on-y/

https://voiceofeurope.com/2018/03/sweden-reports-highest-number-of-murders-in-fifteen-years/

If the low level for Northern Ireland in 2016 surprised you, it did me too. However, there were 22 ‘violent deaths’ in 2018 giving a ratio of 1.22. I don’t know why these contrasting figures are out there.

https://www.irishnews.com/news/2018/01/01/news/15-murders-in-northern-ireland-in-2017-1222255/

Here’s more detail on the Scottish figures:

‘Between 2016-17 and 2017-18, the number of homicide cases recorded by the police in Scotland decreased by 5% (three cases) from 62 to 59 (Table 1). This is the joint lowest number of recorded homicide cases for a single twelve month period since 1976, the first year for which comparable data are available. Over the ten year period from 2008-09 to 2017-18, the number of homicide cases in Scotland fell by 39% (38 cases) from 97 to 59 (Table 1). Glasgow City accounted for over one third (34%) of this decrease. In 2017-18, almost one fifth (11) of the 59 national recorded homicide cases occurred within Glasgow City (Table 2).’

https://www.gov.scot/Publications/2018/10/1417/2

The situation in England and Wales is being widely reported and discussed in the non-Scottish press:

Homicide rate in England and Wales highest since 2008

The murder and manslaughter rate in England and Wales has risen to the highest in a decade, official figures show.

There were 719 homicides – murder and manslaughter – in the year to June, a 14% increase from 630 in the previous year excluding exceptional incidents in 2017 such as the terrorist attacks in London and Manchester, the Office for National Statistics said. It was the highest number since 775 homicides were recorded in the year to March 2008.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/oct/18/homicide-rate-in-england-and-wales-highest-since-2008

Why is the homicide rate in Scotland falling? Well I’m sure it’s complex with multiple variables but SNP government health policies and those of Police Scotland must have played some part. Had we seen this under a Labour government in Scotland, you can be sure they’d be talking more of the credit than could be justified.

Less homicide, less knife crime, less domestic violence, safer cities and now much lower alcohol problems: should Scotland’s old stereotypes be sent south?

Against the odds: Evidence of how SNP policies have defended Scotland against a least some of Tory austerity

Long-term pay growth has been highest in Scotland and lowest in Wales. Median pay for full-time workers was 87% higher in Scotland than it was in 1997, whereas in Wales it was 69% higher.

https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/bulletins/annualsurveyofhoursandearnings/2018

Could SNP policies and some differences in our values, have played any part in this? See:

Are Scotland’s employers also different – more willing to pay a decent wage?

More mothers able to return to work as Scottish Government doubles free early learning and childcare

Scottish care workers to receive Living Wage for ‘sleepover’ hours while English care workers receive only the National Minimum Wage.

Scotland ‘poised to be a world leader’ in workplace gender equality

With 1 in 4 living wage employers already in Scotland, the Scottish Government aims to make this a ‘Living Wage Nation’

As the number of the employed yet homeless soars in Southern England it is falling and much lower in Scotland

UK Government urged to follow Scotland’s praised lead on employee ownership – another 8% story?

As oil prices soar and exploration increases, employment in Scotland’s oil industry returns to record levels

‘Scotland’s top private firms employed more people, increased salaries and witnessed a rise in profits in 2017.’

Once again, it’s the ‘8% of the UK population but much more of something good’ meme. This time it’s 33% of employee-owned firms in the UK

Is ‘insecure work’ far less common in Scotland and falling under the SNP? Is it as much as 54% more common in England and Wales?

Scotland has more educated workers than England: JRF Excerpt 2

80 000 lowest paid workers in NHS England still on poverty wages as NHS Scotland follows Scottish Government policy to pay a living wage to all public-sector employees

 

 

What a battering my previous post on telephone vs online polling gets here!

https://scotgoespop.blogspot.com/2018/10/are-online-polls-superior-to-telephone.html?showComment=1540881833142#c6144733363865226415

 

 

 

 

 

 More getting the living wage, 54% fewer in insecure work, more mothers able to return, better conditions, better jobs, more workplace gender equality, more employee-ownership, more educated workers, more apprenticeships, so much better than in Dickensian England – see below for the evidence. You know ‘evidence’, that stuff our Nomedia have little of.

More mothers able to return to work as Scottish Government doubles free early learning and childcare

Scottish care workers to receive Living Wage for ‘sleepover’ hours while English care workers receive only the National Minimum Wage.

Scotland ‘poised to be a world leader’ in workplace gender equality

3 500 additional new-style apprenticeships confirmed for Scotland in 2018 as Scottish Government pushes on to increase youth employment further ahead of rUK

With 1 in 4 living wage employers already in Scotland, the Scottish Government aims to make this a ‘Living Wage Nation’

Are Scotland’s employers also different – more willing to pay a decent wage?

As the number of the employed yet homeless soars in Southern England it is falling and much lower in Scotland

UK Government urged to follow Scotland’s praised lead on employee ownership – another 8% story?

As oil prices soar and exploration increases, employment in Scotland’s oil industry returns to record levels

‘Scotland’s top private firms employed more people, increased salaries and witnessed a rise in profits in 2017.’

Once again, it’s the ‘8% of the UK population but much more of something good’ meme. This time it’s 33% of employee-owned firms in the UK

Is ‘insecure work’ far less common in Scotland and falling under the SNP? Is it as much as 54% more common in England and Wales?

Scotland has more educated workers than England: JRF Excerpt 2

80 000 lowest paid workers in NHS England still on poverty wages as NHS Scotland follows Scottish Government policy to pay a living wage to all public-sector employees

That’s just the more recent stuff.