What do the Pope, the Palestinian Liberation Front and the SNP all have in common?
- They should all have observer status on the United Nations according to the SNP MSP Michael Matheson
Mr Matheson said: "I believe the Scottish government should consider applying for UN observer status as a prelude to full membership once independence is gained. "
Another commentator said "Scotland ought to be applying to the UN for observer status as a prelude to full membership once independence is here."
So much for a national conversation!
Monday, 20 August 2007
Thursday, 2 August 2007
Here's one little fishy in Hot Water...
Transcript of Good Morning Scotland with Nicola Sturgeon at 8.15am today regarding the news that a number of new health facilities across Ayrshire are under threat because of Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon's irritational plans to keep A&E services in Ayr.
* * * * * * * *
But we’ve heard from Gavin Tait, a consultant orthopaedic surgeon at Crosshouse Hospital in Kilmarnock, he’s worried that health services will suffer as a result of this decision. We know there are those on the health board who believe the same thing. Could it be that you are out of step that you have got it wrong?
Nicola Sturgeon “No, I don’t believe that for a minute, and I think the decision I took has the overwhelming support of people not just in Ayrshire but across Scotland. Health services will not suffer.. (interrupted)
It may well have popular support because people don’t want any kind of closure of health services, they don’t want any kind of suspension of them?
Nicola Sturgeon “I made it very clear, that there will be occasions when services have to close, when services should be in the interests of patients centralised but I believe the decision in Ayrshire was wrong for reasons of geography, transport, deprivation, for all of these reasons that decision was wrong and that’s why I took the decision to overturn it. As far as Gavin Tait is concerned, I respect Gavin Tait’s position but he didn’t want me to overturn the decision in the first place so I’m not surprised he’s perhaps still not happy about it, but I have to take decisions that are in the best interests not just of clinicians working in our hospitals, although of course they are important, but decisions that are in the interests of all patients and that’s what I’ll continue to do both in Ayrshire and Arran and right across the country.”
So a clinician who’s actually working in this field, who’s there on the ground has got it wrong?
Nicola Sturgeon “I didn’t say that, I said I respected his view but I have to take account not just of the views of clinicians like Gavin Tait, important though they are, but also take account of the views of clinicians across the health service and crucially the patients that the health service is there to serve.”
* * * * * * * *
But we’ve heard from Gavin Tait, a consultant orthopaedic surgeon at Crosshouse Hospital in Kilmarnock, he’s worried that health services will suffer as a result of this decision. We know there are those on the health board who believe the same thing. Could it be that you are out of step that you have got it wrong?
Nicola Sturgeon “No, I don’t believe that for a minute, and I think the decision I took has the overwhelming support of people not just in Ayrshire but across Scotland. Health services will not suffer.. (interrupted)
It may well have popular support because people don’t want any kind of closure of health services, they don’t want any kind of suspension of them?
Nicola Sturgeon “I made it very clear, that there will be occasions when services have to close, when services should be in the interests of patients centralised but I believe the decision in Ayrshire was wrong for reasons of geography, transport, deprivation, for all of these reasons that decision was wrong and that’s why I took the decision to overturn it. As far as Gavin Tait is concerned, I respect Gavin Tait’s position but he didn’t want me to overturn the decision in the first place so I’m not surprised he’s perhaps still not happy about it, but I have to take decisions that are in the best interests not just of clinicians working in our hospitals, although of course they are important, but decisions that are in the interests of all patients and that’s what I’ll continue to do both in Ayrshire and Arran and right across the country.”
So a clinician who’s actually working in this field, who’s there on the ground has got it wrong?
Nicola Sturgeon “I didn’t say that, I said I respected his view but I have to take account not just of the views of clinicians like Gavin Tait, important though they are, but also take account of the views of clinicians across the health service and crucially the patients that the health service is there to serve.”
Monday, 16 July 2007
SNP Manifesto written in Invisible Ink
Sturgeon's wishy washy comments on housing yesterday sparked the suggestion that the SNP's manifesto was written in invisible ink as each commitment is disappearing before the electorates eyes.
On the subject of affordable housing targets:
On a Sunday, Ms Sturgeon said "We will have a target. It will be a target that is achievable and realistic, and that will go where it needs to go to tackle the big shortage of housing we have in Scotland."
... Yet the SNP manifesto said "We will expect that a minimum of 25% of all new housing developments are reserved for affordable housing."
On 1st time buyers:
On Sunday, Ms Sturgeon said "The Executive will tackle the problem of affordability through a housing support fund that could include shared-equity schemes and possible grants for first-time buyers."
... Yet the SNP manifesto said "We have already announced plans to introudce a first time buyers' grant of £2000, to help with the costs and outlays of buying their first home...[we will create] a Scottish Housing Support Fund to work in partnership with lenders to provide loans to first time buyers on a share equity basis."
Alittlefishy.net has heard that the SNP have just been told how big the funding shortfall between their manifesto commitments and the pennies in their purse is - and they're crab-bit.
Thursday, 12 July 2007
Against the Tide...
It’s come to the attention of alittlefishy.net that the powers that be in the Scottish Parliament instructed that all the glass windows in the MSP meeting rooms should be frosted over.
Interesting isn’t it? - That after just a few weeks in power, all Salmon's references to taking ‘politics to the people’ have gone. He’s said he has no issue with ignoring the will of parliament. After years of consultation and scrutiny he’s binned EARL …And now he’s frosting the windows so people can’t see what’s going on behind closed doors!
It’s about time Salmon settled into his new Goldfish bowl and stopped swimming against the tide of openness and transparency enshrined in every inch of the parliament building.
Interesting isn’t it? - That after just a few weeks in power, all Salmon's references to taking ‘politics to the people’ have gone. He’s said he has no issue with ignoring the will of parliament. After years of consultation and scrutiny he’s binned EARL …And now he’s frosting the windows so people can’t see what’s going on behind closed doors!
It’s about time Salmon settled into his new Goldfish bowl and stopped swimming against the tide of openness and transparency enshrined in every inch of the parliament building.
Tuesday, 10 July 2007
Pull the Other One!
Apparently Salmon is going to give all his MSP salary away to a charity set up to fund youth and charity projects in the North-East of Scotland. Well that makes it ok then doesn't it???
...Nixon, Enron, Cash for Question Tory MPs in the 90s - they all said it was ok when they did it.
Well we can all rest in the knowledge that Salmon has promised the country not to accept a salary for job he is doing and accept a salary for a job he's not doing. Priceless.
Come on 'Eck, give up Banff & Buchan. We're all gagging for a by-election.
...Nixon, Enron, Cash for Question Tory MPs in the 90s - they all said it was ok when they did it.
Well we can all rest in the knowledge that Salmon has promised the country not to accept a salary for job he is doing and accept a salary for a job he's not doing. Priceless.
Come on 'Eck, give up Banff & Buchan. We're all gagging for a by-election.
Monday, 9 July 2007
1/3 of an MSP?
We all know that Alex Salmon gets about a bit but alittlefishy.net is beginning to wonder just how much time he's got for the fine people of Gordon.
Clearly not enough time to open a constituency office... All his constituency work is being directed to Edinburgh , at least that's what it says on the Scottish Parliament website.
But what if you live in Kintore and want to go to one of his surgeries with a worry about the local primary school? Well, you'll need to drive all the way to Peterhead where he shares an office with Stewart Stevenson the MSP for Banff & Buchan.
- It's 42.3 miles away according to the AA. That's like the MSP for Glasgow Kelvin sending her constituents to Edinburgh Central! But it's also 2 buses and 2 hours away.
Talk about getting taken for a ride.
Clearly not enough time to open a constituency office... All his constituency work is being directed to Edinburgh , at least that's what it says on the Scottish Parliament website.
But what if you live in Kintore and want to go to one of his surgeries with a worry about the local primary school? Well, you'll need to drive all the way to Peterhead where he shares an office with Stewart Stevenson the MSP for Banff & Buchan.
- It's 42.3 miles away according to the AA. That's like the MSP for Glasgow Kelvin sending her constituents to Edinburgh Central! But it's also 2 buses and 2 hours away.
Talk about getting taken for a ride.
Saturday, 7 July 2007
No Plaice for a Bully
Alittlefishy.net has learned that on the day the First Minister threw all his toys out of the pram regarding the status of Libyan prisoner El Megrahi, he demanded that the Presiding Officer come to his office to hear his justifications for tabling an emergency statement.
When Alex 'a bit of a wet fish' Fergusson questioned the legitmacy of the emergency, Salmon threatened that if he couldn't do it to parliament, he'd just do it to the press and say the PO was denying parliament the full facts!
Turns out the secret dossier Tony Blair signed with Libya, was the same two page template concordat the UK has signed with 92 other countries prior to official talks taking place.
Sounds like Salmon was deliberately stirring up trouble, or is just a little two fresh around the gills to know how Foreign Affairs work.
When Alex 'a bit of a wet fish' Fergusson questioned the legitmacy of the emergency, Salmon threatened that if he couldn't do it to parliament, he'd just do it to the press and say the PO was denying parliament the full facts!
Turns out the secret dossier Tony Blair signed with Libya, was the same two page template concordat the UK has signed with 92 other countries prior to official talks taking place.
Sounds like Salmon was deliberately stirring up trouble, or is just a little two fresh around the gills to know how Foreign Affairs work.
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