The Scottish Government

as a roustabout on the rigs in 75 the americans said to me that the oil would last for at least 60 years.so far they have been right no matter what westminster has told us and this includes todays gordon brown alister darling ect ect.(turn coats i like to call them)that" oil is now 100$ a barrel.the opposition parties keep knocking the way the money has been allotted.double the revenue at 100$ a barrelworks out at 5 billion you dont have to be a rocket scientist to work it out and its scotlands money.with five billion we could live up too all the promises and quicker too.what i cannot understand is why we havent had them into an international courtfor theft .could someone please tell me as i sit and watch some of the people of scotland dieing of the cold and for lack of medication.yet the oil money still props up a bankrupt nation south of the border

124. Dave Eastabrook - Largs, Ayrshire
Friday, December 28, 2007 12:58

Thankyou for your guidance Dave, I take it you are snowed under by the response to the point you made back in November?

I presume you missed my comment that my part in fifeys ego trip is now terminated, stable doors and all that.

Happy New Year.

#124 Dave Easterbrook

You may not believe me but I agree with you. I am merely responding to comments which are clearly designed to forment division by attacking the opposition parties instead of debating the issues.

Do or did you expect the SNP to meet its promises? I did not and did not vote for them, so I was not disappointed.

It's quite another argument to accept that politicians excuse their failure to meet said promises by blaming others for their failure!! It flies in the face of reason to be told that the Government in Westminster is responsible when it is clearly bad management of the economy by the incumbents in Holyrood.

I just think that I am in order saying so. You, of course, are entitled to your own opinion. It is after all a democratic society I belong to.

122. Gordon Murray - Livingston and 123. I made no promises the SNP did 3 - Fife - Fife

Is there any chance you two could take your personal battle to email? I'm sure if you both emailed the moderator with your identities (well, one of the many for fifey), he/she would send each other your email addresses.

Seems to me your battle has nothing to do with the topics of the overall conversation, let alone with "Finance and Sustainable Growth" - the title of this blog.

#122

Instead of reading my comments and getting upset why don't you get upset with your own government? I use the term YOUR government because you seem to think I am making up the figures, when I am merely quoting YOUR First Minister. He said the 1,000 new recruits would NOT be met as an increase from the numbers of police BEFORE the election to AFTER the election. i.e. when asked if the numbers would increase from 16,000 + to 17,000 + YOUR Justice Minister almost disappeared as he went into a spin trying to justify the FM's stance. 'Weasel Words', is how the FM suggested the world would regard his climb down from 1,000 NEW to 1,000 EQUIVALENT. If Tulliallan turns out 1,000's of recruits then why the climbdown?

If your FM can claim the war in Iraq was not in his name despite a majority in the country and parliament supporting it, why should I support a minority government that does not even deliver on the promises it made to get elected?

In fact the Justice Minister's 'expose' of the numbers stopped by the British Transport Police of travellers on BR as opposed to the 137? stopped by Scottish Police forces says more of the paucity of police on our streets then anything else. If you were a terrorist where would you plant a bomb? Aeroplane, 100% check on passengers, Train ??% but thousands anyway 1%? or bus 0.0000?% If we can't stop and search efficiently for knives or bombs how are we going to remove air-guns from Scottish society. Enough to arm 1 in 10 of the population at the last count? Stop picking fights and start doing the job.

PS did you know that in 100% of criminal trials at least 1 person is guilty of perjury? In short if the defendant is found 'Guilty' every one who spoke in favour of the defendant is guilty of perjury because the jury or judge chose to believe the prosecution. Similarly if found 'Innocent', the prosecutors are guilty of perjury.

So why waste time on Tommy Sheridan, who was found 'Innocent' by the jury in a CIVIL trial and it is his accusers who are guilty of perjury until an appeal reverses the decision.

Same tactics as used by Mugabe in Zimbabwe and the ex-dictator of Pakistan, M'Beki in South Africa.....??? If you can't be sure your political opponents will be beaten at the ballot box have them arrested!!!! A complete waste of police resources!!

Maybe more searches in the Bus Stations would be more reassuring to the travelling public!!!

121. 119. I made no promises the SNP did - Fife 2 - Fife
Thursday, December 20, 2007 21:23

Sorry old Sourpuss, but this First Minister is as much yours as anybody else's. You've given him far more support than someone like me ever could.

btw What did YOUR First Minister promise? Not much he hadn't first cleared with his boss, other than not to get caught again committing adultery, like his ministers would now ditch lifelong committments to CND and support new WMD delivery systems and nuclear warheads to be stationed beside Scotland's main centers of population?

YOU SAID:
QUOTE
>>>the promise of 500 police recruits in training after 4 years still falls short of the target, especially since 2,500 + officers are due for retiral in the same time span.<<< END QUOTE.

Last comment from me on this, it's become tedious.
Tulliallan turns out thousands of new PCs every year, and has done for decades.

As for the SNP being my party, I am not and never have been a member, activist or a spokesman for any political party or organisation.
My views are my own.

However the more guph I see spouted like yours makes me consider my position, I expect I'm not the only one either.

Once again, the question is: do you have a point of view that is your own? Do you have even a single positive contribution to make, other than to make the old LibLab Executive appear less and less credible or attractive by your continual and petty sniping?

Frankly that big woman who keeps turning up on the ITV for Labour in Scotland is doing a grand enough job there that you shouldn't have to bother yourself.

#120

Who doesn't read what?

Who said that they would put 1.000 New police officers on the streets? The SNP did in their manifesto, not denied when challenged in the Parliament.

Who said that changing the commitment from 1,000 NEW to 1,000 EQUIVALENT? YOUR First Minister, not mine!

Who said the increase in training would be 500 by year 4, YOUR First Minister, not mine!

Do you walk about with your fingers in your ears, whilst looking at the world through rose coloured glasses?

Thought to ponder, now that Fife is run by SNP/Lib-Dem coalition. Fife has gone from the cheapest deliverer of care in the community to the most expensive. Who's fault? Why the last administration??? CARE COSTS IN ONE INSTANCE FROM £4.00 / WEEK TO £160.00 / WEEK. Yes a 40x increase. Still proud of your party?

Subsidised sporting options for single parent families reduced from 50% to 10%, while Fife employees now get the 50% reduction for the 'stress' of the work? So much for the youth of Fife participating in the 2012 Olympics and 2014 Commonwealth Games.

If this is what freezing the Community charge means, forget it. Only 3 years 8 months to go!!!

119. I made no promises the SNP did - Fife
Wednesday, December 12, 2007 23:49

Well I take my hat off to you, I can't imagine anyone but the 'Rainman' who might be able to write without being able to also read. Maybe its an attention span thing?

But anyway here goes one more time:
Try reading the post @ #118, use your finger to keep the place if it helps, then using your apparent cornucopia of human wisdom, explain how YOU would actually double the 1000 bobbies currently on the beat in Scotland.

MSPs read these bloggs, consider it your civic duty to assist them to deliver safer streets in Scotland.

btw Where was it you read that police recruitment in Scotland is to be capped at 500 for the next four years?

To my knowledge Tulliallan, which trains about 75% of all new police recruits in Scotland, turned out nearly 2500 probationer police officers last year(2006/7) alone, which although down by about 25% over the last few years hardly merits your desire for miracles.

I'll let you find out for yourself how many of those actually found their way onto the beat in Scotland.

If it's honesty you are after, howsabout showing the rest of us some yourself?

#118

The First Minister did not deny that the promise to give £2,000 to first time house buyers was an SNP promise, and he freely admitted that his conversion from promising 1,000 NEW police officers on the streets to the 'equivalence' of 1,000 police officers on the streets would be seen as 'Weasel words'. He is right! Still got on your rose coloured glasses?

Its a bit rich to accuse Labour of promising what they felt they could deliver, and boast that the SNP couldn't deliver what they promised, but really wanted to!!!


btw the promise of 1,000 'equivalence is not dated and the promise of 500 police recruits in training after 4 years still falls short of the target, especially since 2,500 + officers are due for retiral in the same time span.

I don't expect miracles, just honesty.

#117. Right to buy, that will be right - Methill
Wednesday, November 28, 2007 14:25

I checked the 2007 SNP manifesto.
Here's what it actually said
Quote:
""...We have already announced plans to introduce a first time buyers’ grant of
£2,000, to help with the costs and outlays of buying their first home.

We will provide additional support with the creation of a Scottish Housing Support Fund to work in partnership with lenders to provide loans to first time buyers on a shared equity basis.

The Scottish Housing Support Fund will assist over a thousand additional first time buyers into the housing market each year. By reinvesting the returns made on the loans it gives to assist future first time buyers it will become self financing over time...

...We will expect that a minimum of 25 per cent of all new housing developments are reserved for affordable
housing.
We will review current right to buy legislation – while protecting the rights of existing tenants – to make it more responsive to local needs.
We will ensure that any new build community housing is not sold for less than the valuation placed on it by a District Valuer..."" End Quote.

Now, which part of this is it you're having difficulty comprehending?


>>>A bit like 'We will put 1,000 NEW police on the streets'. Problem is when? 2017?<<<

Quote:
""...Visible policing plays a vital role in reducing the fear of crime, which can be as destructive as
the level of crime, which is why we are putting the emphasis on front line police..."" End Quote.

To continue as previous administrations have over the last eight years would mean recruiting an additional 17000 police cadets to put 1000 new bobbies on the beat by the time the fourth session of the Holyrood parliament took it's seats.

My information is that as things stand today Scotland only has of the order of 1000 bobbies on the beat at any given time.

Are you therefore suggesting we recruit an additional 1000 cadets in order to increase the police presence on the streets of Scotland by between 50 to 70 trained police officers by 2011?
or; That we double the size our current police force?
If the latter, where would you:
a)recruit them?
b)train them?
c)post them?
d)build the new police stations you'd need for them?
e)find the money to finance all of this?

Frankly I believe this government's stated aim of increasing the percentage of frontline police officers from the desultory 5 to 7% of the total strength as it has been, is more realistic and responds to what I for one would like to see.