alanferrier - Network

Anas Sarwar's plan to reduce the number of health boards in Scotland down from his claimed count of 50 will be greatly assisted by the...

Anas Sarwar's plan to reduce the number of health boards in Scotland down from his claimed count of 50 will be greatly assisted by the fact that only 14 of them actually exist.

The UK has essentially had the same Tory government since 1979.

The UK has essentially had the same Tory government since 1979.

It’s all vintage Labour, swinging between callousness and flustered chaos.Prior to the election sceptics were told to keep the faith....

It’s all vintage Labour, swinging between callousness and flustered chaos.

Prior to the election sceptics were told to keep the faith. Focus on the prize of getting the Tories out. It’s all four-dimensional chess. Starmer’s caution and inconsistency is only pragmatism, which could turn to radicalism in office.

You don’t hear that much any more.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/mar/17/keir-starmer-tory-radical-prime-minister-poor-people

"I will stand up to Starmer for Scotland."Will ye, aye?https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4gekmnmy07o

"I will stand up to Starmer for Scotland."

Will ye, aye?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4gekmnmy07o

Thangam Debbonaire, 2022: "This has been rewarding cronies and that's just not on, and Keir Starmer would never do that, he would...

Thangam Debbonaire, 2022: "This has been rewarding cronies and that's just not on, and Keir Starmer would never do that, he would never exploit the honours system to do what Boris Johnson has done."
Thangam Debbonaire, 2025: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd657d4x7wgo

lolz, etc.

lolz, etc.

“The fundamental weakness of Western civilization is empathy.“—Elon Musk, 28 February 2025 “The death of human empathy is one of the...

“The fundamental weakness of Western civilization is empathy.“
—Elon Musk, 28 February 2025

“The death of human empathy is one of the earliest and most telling signs of a culture about to fall into barbarism.”
—Hannah Arendt

Here's one of the UK's so-called most astute and well-informed political analysts finally figuring out what the vast majority of us...

Here's one of the UK's so-called most astute and well-informed political analysts finally figuring out what the vast majority of us knew years ago. Wanker.

It's not like we weren't warned....

It's not like we weren't warned.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/oct/12/labour-benefits-tories-labour-rachel-reeves-welfare

For the first time in history you can simply post, "he's a complete fuckwit," and 90% of the world will know who you're...

For the first time in history you can simply post, "he's a complete fuckwit," and 90% of the world will know who you're talking about.

Without his daddy's money Trump would have struggled to hold down a job as assistant manager of the bowling alley in Buttfuck, Arizona.

Without his daddy's money Trump would have struggled to hold down a job as assistant manager of the bowling alley in Buttfuck, Arizona.

Via the Financial Times.The first "area of dangerous dependence" that should be "stripped out of the system" is those...

Via the Financial Times.

The first "area of dangerous dependence" that should be "stripped out of the system" is those obscene and obscenely expensive Trident WMDs which paint a target on my home city.

However the UK government apparently still requires them for some form of impotent international willy-waving.

A half-century ago, Norman Jewison's "Rollerball" warned that a corporate-owned world would threaten democracy.We should have...

A half-century ago, Norman Jewison's "Rollerball" warned that a corporate-owned world would threaten democracy.

We should have listened.
https://theconversation.com/norman-jewisons-rollerball-depicted-a-world-in-which-corporations-controlled-all-information-is-this-dystopian-vision-becoming-reality-222099

Some stuff I didn't know about James Doohan (Montgomery "Scotty" Scott in Star Trek), born #OTD 105 years ago, 3rd March 1920.

Some stuff I didn't know about James Doohan (Montgomery "Scotty" Scott in Star Trek), born #OTD 105 years ago, 3rd March 1920.

Where are they now? From left to right: war zone, golf course, skiing holiday.No more need be said.

Where are they now?

From left to right: war zone, golf course, skiing holiday.

No more need be said.

"Have you said thank you, even once?"

"Have you said thank you, even once?"

The Labour Government's Scottish Viceroy repeatedly pleads that he and his party are powerless to save Grangemouth because it's a...

The Labour Government's Scottish Viceroy repeatedly pleads that he and his party are powerless to save Grangemouth because it's a private company.

Someone should remind him it was a Labour government that handed over £137bn of public money in loans and capital to the banks between 2007 and 2009.

And that just recently handed Thames Water £3 billion. Another private company.

Some years ago I spent time working in Kyiv and found my Ukrainian colleagues uniformly kind, funny, hard-working and proud of their...

Some years ago I spent time working in Kyiv and found my Ukrainian colleagues uniformly kind, funny, hard-working and proud of their national identity. Thoughts and solidarity with them and with the rest of the Ukrainian people.

“Let them, when they once get in,Sell the nation for a pin;While they sit a-picking straws,Let them rave at making laws;While they never...

“Let them, when they once get in,
Sell the nation for a pin;
While they sit a-picking straws,
Let them rave at making laws;
While they never hold their tongue,
Let them dabble in their dung.
We may, while they strain their throats
Wipe our arses with their votes.”
—Jonathan Swift