Scottish Politics / Independence - Vol 12

[irc]

alangla said:

If you want a laugh, watch the video of the Covid Inquiry from around 11:00 as Leitch gets himself tied up in knots about some advice to Yousaf around circumventing mask rules at social events.

Council to the inquiry comments that they got the transcript from Yousaf because Leitch had deleted it. I wonder how much of the information that’s been picked over so far came from him.

Got a link?

But we know our great and good didn't think masks were needed. Nippy caught a few times.

Edit - found it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PklqYov1Sto

Yes. I forgot that. The ludicrous rule where in a pub you needed a mask when walking about but not when sitting down. The virus obviously not spreading among seated people.

Edited by irc on Tuesday 23 January 11:21

[alangla]

A.J.M said:

Friends who live in the south side have had issues with bins not getting collected recently.
To the point they have contacted local councillors about it.
1 was as much use as a chocolate teapot.
Another did manage to get bins sorted.

They feel the bins are deliberately being missed.

They made a complete mess of the Christmas & New Year period here. No collections on Christmas Day, Boxing Day or 1/2 Jan, with the collections being moved to the 2 days later. There’s no way that number of bin men and lorries could be magicked up so loads were missed. In the past they used to throw overtime at crews to work Boxing Day & 2nd and spread the missed day out, but no doubt budget cuts prevented that. Couple that with presumably not replacing staff that leave to save money plus some people off sick and you’ve got a perfect storm. It’s like everything else the SNP touches, it’s gone to st.
I suspect the issue your friend has is more crew shortages rather than anything deliberate, as usual it’s the people who squeal to a decent councillor that will get stuff done.

[fat80b]

Starfighter said:

Do the legal powers exist to compel Meta to hand over backups etc?

Slightly off topic, but an interesting aside nonetheless:

I don't believe that is how Whatsapp works. In that even if there was a legal way to compel it, my understanding (from the tech side of things) is that Meta don't actually store long term backups of your (encrypted) messages. i.e. All of Nicola's deleted (and not yet deleted) Whatsapps aren't sat on some server somewhere . And if they were manually deleted by both users from both users' phones, then the content no longer exists.

I believe that Whatsapp only actually stores everything on the two users' phones (once messages have been delivered). In the case of a message being sent and not yet received, WA store it for a short amount of time whilst they try to deliver the message (something like a couple of weeks) . If it doesn't get delivered (e.g. because the receving device is off etc), then the message gets quietly dropped and not retained.

Even if Meta did keep a backup of the messages (which they don't) then they were all end to end encrypted anyway (a very good thing imho) which means that even if there was a backup, it is not actually useful to anyone as the encryption means that the only two devices that can decrypt the messages are the sending and receiving ones..

The thing that Meta do store (aiui) is the metadata (no pun intended) - This would likely show how many messages were sent, who they were sent to, perhaps how long they were, when they were deleted etc;- While not the smoking gun, it may demonstrate indirectly that the claim of "I didn't conduct business on Whatsapp" to be another Lie.....

[Roderick Spode]

alangla said:

If you want a laugh, watch the video of the Covid Inquiry from around 11:00 as Leitch gets himself tied up in knots about some advice to Yousaf around circumventing mask rules at social events.

Council to the inquiry comments that they got the transcript from Yousaf because Leitch had deleted it. I wonder how much of the information that’s been picked over so far came from him.

I'm starting to wonder if Yousless - or well more accurately one of his advisors probably, we all know Dumza is as stupid as a bag of rocks - is supplying 'deleted' information and messages to the inquiry, as a means of distancing himself from all the really condemnatory stuff. The big players in the Covid scandal (I won't detail my visceral dislike of it all here, I think that's well detailed in the Covid thread) are probably the Chief Mammy, The Dentist, etc. Yousless may consider himself a peripheral player, and so releasing this information may cause only circumstantial damage to his meagre reputation, but would allow him to say "hey yo, check me out, I'm totally open and transparent, unlike my predecessor..." thereby throwing off the chains from the cult of Sturgeon in time for the election. Dumza is intensely stupid and a dreadfully incompetent politician, but he may just have capable advisors behind the scenes.

Anything that has Foghorn Dreghorn and company squirming in their seats is okay by me. G'wan yersel Yousless.

[Evercross]

Roderick Spode said:

I'm starting to wonder if Yousless - or well more accurately one of his advisors probably, we all know Dumza is as stupid as a bag of rocks - is supplying 'deleted' information and messages to the inquiry, as a means of distancing himself from all the really condemnatory stuff. The big players in the Covid scandal (I won't detail my visceral dislike of it all here, I think that's well detailed in the Covid thread) are probably the Chief Mammy, The Dentist, etc. Yousless may consider himself a peripheral player, and so releasing this information may cause only circumstantial damage to his meagre reputation, but would allow him to say "hey yo, check me out, I'm totally open and transparent, unlike my predecessor..." thereby throwing off the chains from the cult of Sturgeon in time for the election. Dumza is intensely stupid and a dreadfully incompetent politician, but he may just have capable advisors behind the scenes.

Or, more likely he just brainfarted (the truth) that he still had some/most of his messages when confronted by a reporter and now cannot mysteriously make them disappear without looking totally shady, completely oblivious that the had just thrown his old boss and 'the dentist' under the bus. Dumza has a propensity to talk before thinking (see Gaza in laws for example).

Roderick Spode said:

Anything that has Foghorn Dreghorn and company squirming in their seats is okay by me. G'wan yersel Yousless.

This is true.

[irc]

A consequence of govt policy of letting politicians mark their own homework. You'll bin anything damaging to you but file anything damaging to your enemies.

As the Yes Minister had it. The other parties are the opposition the enemies are in your own party.

[irc]

An assessment of where Useless goes between now and the next SCottish election in 2026. Answer - nowhere. You would have to be mad to take the job between the UK election and a potential bloodbath at the Scottish election.

"He will survive for two reasons. Firstly, there is simply no alternative from within the Sturgeon continuity faction who still dominate the higher ranks of the SNP. We've so far had four previous Deputy First Ministers: Jim Wallace; Nicol Stephen; Nicola Sturgeon and John Swinney. Even their worst enemies would not have doubted their ability to step up to the top job as Wallace did (temporarily) twice and Sturgeon more permanently. The best Useless has been able to recruit is Shona Robison who, to be fair, given the limited pool he was prepared to fish in, was as good as it was going to get. But, suffice to say, when Useless eventually does go she will hardly be the first name on every, or indeed any, lip to succeed him.

But the second reason he will survive is that the obvious alternative candidate, Kate Forbes, would be mad to take the job on with perhaps less than 15 months until the next Holyrood election. The aftermath of a decisive reverse to the Nationalists will be a complete bloodbath. Dozens of Nationalists will be out of work. Not just MPs but their staff and other advisers. Fury will be in the air but not just fury, desperation to find other elected office. not least to pay the bills but also to continue to have a role in what was famously described as "showbusiness for ugly people"."

https://www.npr.org/2023/12/20/1219570870/washingt...

[Evercross]

Nicol Stephen and Jim Wallace were indeed former deputy First Ministers, but both were Lib-Dems.

I agree with the assessment that the SNP will be absolutely skinned after the General Election, but what happens afterwards depends on whether or not the party has the bottle to dump Dumza. If they do then Forbes will almost certainly take the job on the basis that she will have already shed the Westminster dead-wood and can say that the party is doomed unless it changes direction and rebuilds from within.

I suspect though that the party will resist getting rid of Yousless because of the 'progressive' faction's undue influence (and he will not gamble on losing support from that toxic group in order to garner favour from the mainstream party and the general public). In which case a proven failure takes on the Holyrood election with all the baggage he's already carrying and no money to run a campaign.

It bears recalling that Yousless was not the first choice of leader for a majority of SNP members.

Edited by Evercross on Tuesday 23 January 15:45

[irc]

Evercross said:

In which case a proven failure takes on the Holyrood election with all the baggage he's already carrying and no money to run a campaign.

What's not to like?

I think the only way Useless goes before 2026 is if he does a Sturgeon. Looks ahead - nothing but trouble - and chucks it without grooming a replacement.

I think he is more likely to stumble from crisis to crisis having surrounded himself with a clique who tel him how great things will get.

[anonymoususer]

irc said:

Got a link?

But we know our great and good didn't think masks were needed. Nippy caught a few times.

Edit - found it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PklqYov1Sto

Yes. I forgot that. The ludicrous rule where in a pub you needed a mask when walking about but not when sitting down. The virus obviously not spreading among seated people.

Edited by irc on Tuesday 23 January 11:21

It was to do with height
I did e mail my local MP and asked what if it was a really tall person sat down what should the procedure be then.
I didnt get a reply

[hutchst]

alangla said:

If you want a laugh, watch the video of the Covid Inquiry from around 11:00 as Leitch gets himself tied up in knots about some advice to Yousaf around circumventing mask rules at social events.

Counsel to the inquiry comments that they got the transcript from Yousaf because Leitch had deleted it. I wonder how much of the information that’s been picked over so far came from him.

Edit: it’s Counsel!! Bit late given it’s been quoted but never mind

Edited by alangla on Tuesday 23 January 12:27

So when Useless needs a legal opinion about the proper interpretation of the face covering regulations, he asks his dentist?

No wonder we're all fked

[Jasey_]

irc said:

Evercross said:

In which case a proven failure takes on the Holyrood election with all the baggage he's already carrying and no money to run a campaign.

What's not to like?

I think the only way Useless goes before 2026 is if he does a Sturgeon. Looks ahead - nothing but trouble - and chucks it without grooming a replacement.

I think he is more likely to stumble from crisis to crisis having surrounded himself with a clique who tel him how great things will get.

Apparently there is a big story about to break that could see the end of him.

[ninepoint2]

anonymoususer said:

It was to do with height
I did e mail my local MP and asked what if it was a really tall person sat down what should the procedure be then.
I didnt get a reply

There was also the rule in clubs that you did not need a mask on the dance floor, but did when you went to the toilet, utter madness, led by science my arse

[NoddyonNitrous]

Jasey_ said:

Apparently there is a big story about to break that could see the end of him.

We've heard this sort of thing before........... still waiting.

[Rick_1138]

Jasey_ said:

irc said:

Evercross said:

In which case a proven failure takes on the Holyrood election with all the baggage he's already carrying and no money to run a campaign.

What's not to like?

I think the only way Useless goes before 2026 is if he does a Sturgeon. Looks ahead - nothing but trouble - and chucks it without grooming a replacement.

I think he is more likely to stumble from crisis to crisis having surrounded himself with a clique who tel him how great things will get.

Apparently there is a big story about to break that could see the end of him.

Telling Fibs? Weve had this similar post a few times now, always "story about to break" and it never comes.

[Jader1973]

halo34 said:

Its like the whole independance thing, Nicolas sole aim was to get it over the line then run away as fast as possible - there is no way in hell she would of taken the fall for what happened next. None of them do.

The only thing Salmond and Sturgeon wanted was to get independence through and get their names in the history books. They didn’t care about anything else.

They thought free stuff would buy them votes - the problem is it didn’t buy them enough and now they’ve no chance of getting independence through and have no money to buy more votes.

They’re totally screwed.

[csd19]

Rick_1138 said:

Jasey_ said:

irc said:

Evercross said:

In which case a proven failure takes on the Holyrood election with all the baggage he's already carrying and no money to run a campaign.

What's not to like?

I think the only way Useless goes before 2026 is if he does a Sturgeon. Looks ahead - nothing but trouble - and chucks it without grooming a replacement.

I think he is more likely to stumble from crisis to crisis having surrounded himself with a clique who tel him how great things will get.

Apparently there is a big story about to break that could see the end of him.

Telling Fibs? Weve had this similar post a few times now, always "story about to break" and it never comes.

Unless it's his alleged COVID affair and they're both getting charged under the Scottish COVID regulations which were in place at the time, I'll be keeping the corn unpopped for the moment...

[irc]

Who knew? Saint Nicola was avoiding discussions using methods which could be disclosed under FOI. The most open govt ever. Told Devi to use her SNP email to contact her.

"Today the Scottish Covid Inquiry published text messages from the former First Minister to her onetime advisor, the sainted Devi Sridhar. They show that, at the height of the pandemic in summer 2020, Sturgeon was advising Sridhar to contact her by channels which would not fall under Scotland’s freedom of information laws and therefore could not be made public. "

"Less than a year prior to the text, in September 2019, Sturgeon’s spokesman told journalists that Sturgeon did not use a personal account to ‘conduct substantive government business’."

https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/sturgeon-dont-...

I'm shocked! Shocked!

[sherman]

JC KC is not holding back.
Large rat trying to leave the ship as he knows the game is up.
That trough is not going to fill itself

Edited by sherman on Wednesday 24th January 00:07

[Mercdriver]

Have we not suffered enough? The thought of this windbag droning on again makes me reach for the springbank