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The subject that continues to take up a lot of space on the News page is Covid-19. Some folk argue that the coronavirus is over-rated, and that closing indoor entertainment spaces and pubs is a measure too far. That's an argument that I find myself in disagreement with, and I'm sure that the vast majority of NHS staff aren't impressed by it either.
My friend Jo lost her dad to the virus in November. He must have caught it from somebody. Somebody who was infected, probably without knowing it, didn't take all the necessary precautions and Jim, who ran away from home to fight against the Nazis when he was only 15, died in intensive care as a consequence.
The prominence given to the General Election in the United States decreased as it became clearer that Donald Trump would not be able to fix the result. My friends in the USA were urging people they know to vote for Joe Biden even if they didn't particularly like him, and it's hard to argue against that. Utilitarianism demands that if neither choice in a competition with only two contenders really appeals then the best thing you can do is to vote for the one less likely to bring on Armageddon. Trump's behaviour since he lost both the popular vote and the Electoral College result has been entirely as expected, which indicates the extent we have come to regard crazed stupidity as normality over the last 4 years. On 22 January we should be waking up in the post-Trump era, and that prospect should help keep us warm on these cold winter nights.
There's a touch of Lockdown Blues in our house at the moment, made worse by the fact that it's now December, my least favourite month. It's so cold that when we go for a wee in the night there's a polar bear in the bathroom. My birthday is on the 12th and the weather is always dreich. Last year was a particularly bad one because it was the day the people of England voted for Boris Johnson, Brexit and the Blue Wall. Man, I was glad to be living in Scotland when the results came in.
I don't know how you found the site but I'm glad you did so. Now you're here I hope you'll be staying. Let's aim to avoid fundamentalism, which takes enthusiasm for or adherence to an idea or cause beyond reasonable boundaries. It causes people to abuse and threaten folk that disagree, and to refuse to engage with anybody or acknowledge the validity of evidence that deviates from their own opinion. It's all over the internet and it's really boring.
I suppose you could argue that being fundamentally opposed to fundamentalism is, itself, an example of fundamentalism. When I think of a retort I'll let you know, but bear in mind that Falkirk is in Level 3 and you're not allowed to go there except for certain specified reasons. Being a smartarse isnae one of them!
What we wish for and what we get are rarely the same thing but what I'd like - what I really really want - is for folk to read this site and to treat it as an alternative to other news outlets, even though the news that gets uploaded here is borrowed from sites around the world. Much of what appears on the news stands is gash, frankly. I don't need to spell out in what way it's gash because it's obvious and I'd rather not insult your intelligence. All I'll say is that the Scots' Ee gives you a no-gash guarantee; if you don't like it then you're 100% free not to read it ever again.
News from Scotland and from around the world is updated during the day unless I'm away on a holiday or unexpectedly busy with something else. My opinions are more likely to be found in the Clatter section and on the Scots Jots page, which is a remnant of the original aw-Lallans site so only Scots speakers/readers will be able to understand it. It will probably not take you long to know where it is I'm coming from, but if you don't want to know, that's fine. I understand how you feel; other people's opinions get on my nerves as well.
I might as well say it here: as well as being anti-war and in favour of measures to combat climate change the Scots' Ee says Aye to Scottish Independence. Aye, and Llarga Vida Gratuita Catalunya too, with the caveats already mentioned.
News, especially World News, tends to be depressing. The events that make it so are sometimes caused by bad luck but, more frequently, are a consequence of decisions taken by men wearing suits or robes, and of actions taken by men with weapons. I'll keep looking for stories that buck the trend, just to stop everyone from turning off and looking at cats on You Tube instead. Not that there's anything wrong with cats on You Tube, obviously. Far from it.
There'll be no gossip or rumours. You'll not find out who it was that went to the cludgie in Johnny Depp's bed here. And if I think a story is propaganda or lies it doesn't get onto the page, although it's always possible that one or two exaggerations will slither their way in. You can let me know if you spot any.
In the digital age the media is so desperate to fill space that they publish stories about events that haven't even happened, but might do so. We'll be told that 2 million people could be vaccinated against Covid-19 by the end of the month, that Lionel Messi could play for Dumbarton or that eating celery could be a cure for scarlet fever, but unless and until these things actually take place they're not news, are they?
When I stayed in Sheffield it was reported that a pub on the outskirts might be converted into a mosque. It never happened, but the fact that it had even been mentioned was enough to attract busloads of drunken EDL supporters to the city, cost the Council over £1 million in police overtime and meant all the shops in the city centre had to close for an entire Saturday afternoon. The Ee's position is that if an event has not actually occurred it's not going to appear on the News page.
The Shop sells badges, including some made from the art of my dear friends The Wolf Gang and Coloquix.
If you like what you see please tell your friends. If you can, I recommend reading it using a laptop or PC rather than a phone, but that's just a bit of advice and not an instruction; it all looks a bit wordy on a mobile phone in my opinion, and sometimes the pictures obscure some of the words.
But never mind all that. Please carry on having a keek at this space, be kind and supportive to each other and Haste Ye Back.
