As I have said here I routinely had stopped watching the Scottish First Minister but when I realised an entrancement to be made on Tuesday decided frustratingly to listen to her stuff to the Scottish Parliament. So once again a damn shutdown until the 11th December except of course supermarkets. Traditionally I am not a fan of Scottish Labour but I do say that his answer to Sturgeon was a positive one.  I have places I pop into for  tea/coffee and occasionally chat to few others and find they are as annoyed as me and in addition the Scottish tv news interviewed folk in the street and some small shopkeepers (going to be struggling again). The thing I especially noticed was that when the BBC on Glasgow streets the impression I got was that working class people were not very keen on this new closing.

It is for many a negative importance being stuck at home with essentially nowhere to go but the supermarket. For me I will miss the enjoyable times going for a walk then popping into a popular shop or a cafe to sit, relax, read my paper and have a snack or whatever. This thing will of course lose more jobs and business places and as I have illustrated it is medication that will help reduce things not this damnable shutting everything down then acting like a dictator.

She's just doing it to annoy you rj. 

Would you rather Scotland was like the rest of the UK where England, Wales and NI have been in lockdown for weeks. She has tried to keep things open as normal as possible, but that's never good enough for some folk. If folk would stick to the bloody rules then areas wouldn't be back in lockdown.

this damnable shutting everything down then acting like a dictator.

Like your pal Boris the bufoon at Westminster has done with the full lockdown in England. Aye he's a dictator right enough.

My employer has several gov't contracts so I was deemed essential the one time we locked down.

I have about 10 books I've bought this year that I've been unable to read. Also never have caught up on sleep what with having logged 875 Overtime hours this year. I wouldn't mind two weeks of lockdown. Our citizens have mostly given up on precautions, ergo the dramatic rise in cases in MS.

I wouldn't mind two weeks of lockdown.

It get's boring very quickly Colonel. I envy you being classed as essential. Hope you get to read your books eventually
.
I fall into the vulnerable group and I've barely seen a soul since March, it's no fun and not something I would recommend. Yet some people who will moan for moaning sake, are bleating because they can't go out for a coffee. 

Our citizens have mostly given up on precautions, ergo the dramatic rise in cases in MS.

It's fatigue, we're all fed up with it, it's not natural as we are sociable creatures. I can understand why folk are just giving up taking precautions.  But as we see, that has consequences and the case numbers go up.

If folk would stick to the bloody rules then areas wouldn't be back in lockdown.

I live in California's Central Valley and I can tell you that following the "rules" of a lockdown is no guarantee... Governments often "do something" because the alternative is a chance for the electorate to see how ineffective government actions can be. The risk of unintended consequences is presumed to be beyond the ken of average voters; or, at least, beyond their memories' capacity. Besides, such will not be tabulated until after the next election...

Have other localities given up on reporting flu cases and deaths?

Of course I am being noted for to be locked down Luxor! As for the PM I would add that your wee female fuhrer is just as damning up here. When we got the first one lasting ages I got extremely bored as heck and my two sisters and brother live a distance away and I found boredom became a rapid groan as I also live myself. As for what Johnston said at that meeting it will be handy for your corner to go wonky but would remind that the GB government INCREASED money to Scotland on top of the usual annual money which you of course subtly ignored!  Had an MSP who had to be jailed for fraud and another who was parliamentary Treasurer stepping down after his attempt at a long association with a schoolboy. Throw in the mess merging all the police forces NHS issues jings you are doing a dance! 

Do please note what I said about people who are further down socially and miss everything getting shut for 3 damn weeks for goodness sake! When routine shops have to close yet again it is a threat to their eventual continuation and they themselves not a problem and did well as folk are not in shops for very long. Would also say that Sturgeon's dance when pressed by opposition leaders you carefully did a wee dance on too! Now an active man like me is to get bored too and what a hellish three weeks to be stuck with again. 

your wee female fuhrer is just as damning up here.

As usual you are in the ever shrinking minority of people who have that opinion of her.

When we got the first one lasting ages I got extremely bored as heck and my two sisters and brother live a distance away and I found boredom became a rapid groan as I also live myself.

Well boohoo for you. 

Get back to me when you've been practically in isolation for 8 months then I might feel some pity for you.

GB government INCREASED money to Scotland

It's the UK treasury, it's our money they gave us nothing we're not entitled to. We pay taxes if you hadn't noticed.

I live in California's Central Valley and I can tell you that following the "rules" of a lockdown is no guarantee

I don't think there was any guarantee that if the rules were followed then everything would be fine, definitely not here anyway. Impossible to do when your relying on people to do the right thing. People who even with the best intentions easily forget the rules, especially in the home.

Have other localities given up on reporting flu cases and deaths?

Bit early, just the start of flu season here and there's been a big push for people to get the flu vaccine this year.

In the UK, people usually get seasonal flu between December and March

Flu vaccines are generally 50% effective... (Flu virus mutates quite rapidly.) CoVid-19 seems more contagious but less adaptable; as to its severity, we have little to no idea, really -- not without the comparison: Our CDC stopped reporting flu/pneumonia numbers, making such an exercise for (forgive the term) forensic science; which is to say, in a year or two we'll have data enough to sift... Until then co-morbidities seem to account for most deaths. As with flu... (The worst being cytokine storm, which thankfully is rare.)

But the news about potential vaccines -the two here in the U.S. and the one in the UK- is highly promising: The two here are reported to be about 95% effective and the one there is reported to be effective even for the aged (that'd be me, you and Howie!), although it hasn't been reported what its efficacy is... If it's similar to the U.S. products, that's very good news indeed.

The lock-downs were sold as a means of preserving hospital capacity; in other words, a stop-gap. It made sense. As a semi-permanent tactic, it is bound to fail. And not just for the reasons you cite: We have studies showing that quarantine, social distancing and face coverings (other than N95, which even doctors can't wear all the time!) are much less protection than touted by governments. Still, they're better than nothing!
Silly as it sounds, a positive attitude is likely beneficial.

Well in the passing move away I got my annual flue jab on Thursday early evening......

California's Governor "Gavin the Craven" has ordered a month-long curfew from 10pm to 5am... Which won't be enforced. (My county's sheriff -among others- has said they'll refer calls about "violations" to 3-1-1, the Health Department's job line. They can then send out compliance officers, to write tickets.)

It's strange that puritans think people only go out after 10 to party.

Also it's quite odd how common curfews seem to be in America (pre-covid). I consider curfews a symbol of the nazi occupation, a breach of our proud constitutions.

They instituted a curfew here too, for the first time since WW2. I doubt it'll hold up in court, but for now we're stuck with it. It was quite disturbing a few weeks ago when I wanted to get on with moving-related business and had to look up whether I was in fact allowed to be out.^[1] Because let's see, what's the risk associated with me by myself... I can't quite figure it out. 

¹ And even now I already forgot if the curfew thing was 0 or 1. I'd read 22 somewhere but that was about Wallonia.↵

I doubt it'll hold up in court, but for now we're stuck with it. I

Here, it was necessary that the President declared in the first place the Emergence State (which suspends certain constitutional rights and freedoms) and only after that it was possible to impose a curfew.

Also it's quite odd how common curfews seem to be in America (pre-covid). I consider curfews a symbol of the nazi occupation, a breach of our proud constitutions.

Well as you may have noticed, the Right had attempted and continues to try to attempt a coup and install Herr Trumpenfuhrer as President for life. Thankfully sanity has prevailed thus far.

As such, the Right has lost all credibility when they cotton about "freedom and liberty.

As a matter of fact, this was seen at their recent "Million MAGA March" (12,000 showed up).

(Can't post the pic as apparently it's too large.) Anyway, the nazi swatika was present.

I was particularly pleased with the results from Georgia.

I was particularly pleased with the results from Georgia.

As was I. Most of my coworkers are most upset, and I won $1500 in bets on the outcome of the election.

What ridiculous nonsense from Luxor who is intelligent? Regarding tax he is being very strange.  Things are dearer up here and Scotland DOES get more than it pays in re taxation. This year the UK did give extra on top of the annual Barnett Formula and may I also inform readers that the Scottish Government with the power on taxing increased that so that area is higher than England, Wales, Ulster. So Luxor is not giving a proper picture at all and the enthusiasm on the EU would be due to Scotland going there with a begging bowl as it WOULD have a tax problem if independent. Scots who go bananas on independence   are carried away with emotional stuff and ignore the fact that breaking away would not have enough money to cover things.

And for Sturgeon to keep being on tv every day is head shaking. Don't mind her being there on occasions but at present it is just a pointless exercise to the pointless being seen every day! It will be tablets to control the virus that is sensible but stretcing out things all week, etc is a nonsense.

Re: The results from Georgia, I'll bet "governor" Stacey Abrams was pleased, too! Although she may not be so happy about the Senate run-offs... The re-count there was what the Democrats like: No way to verify a voter's eligibility...

rj, I'll ignore the majority of your post because you've already been told about repeating the same old guff over and over.

breaking away would not have enough money to cover things.

Ah Scotland, the first country in the world that couldn't afford to be independent. The most ridiculous statement that any unionist can ever come out with.

And for Sturgeon to keep being on tv every day is head shaking.

All that head shaking you appear to do is probably causing you an injury. It would most likely account for why you keep repeating the same old stuff over and over at least. I would stop doing it if I was you.

https://youtu.be/h0Wz8ig2y9Y

Very often the guff you wax about Luxor is a rather head shaking nonsense of an answer because dear readers he totally ignores that annual Barnett Formula given to the Scottish Government and it also this time got an added sum. It also organised the highest tax system in Gt Britain. So on Jacobites lost the independence referendum Sturgeon did say publicly tat it WOULD BE A GENERATION THING ( was also stated some 10 times) things that Luxor will ignore and instead slag me or call names rather than face these truths. The latest ignorance from the Nationalists was to ignorantly lie about what the PM said to the Scottish Conservative & Unionist Party meeting and that he was rubbishing having a Scottish Parliament etc. The truth was that he was not rubbishing the Scot parliament but the way the SNP runs the system. Now here is an additional concern about Luxor's lot.

The recent court case against the former SNP leader and First Minister Alex Salmond is not yet finished. He won the case and the Scots parliament committee looking into the matter has been trying to get two people in front of it but the SNP blocking it (SNP MSP on that body not happy with that). Seems that Sturgeon's husband knows something and high time more honesty as the legal challenge against the former SNP leader in Court cost the system over half a million!

Avoiding the things I raise by slagging me off calling me names is a sign of passing ignorance disrespect and avoiding the truth is a terribly poor way of avoiding the truth things known publicly.

Such is the lot, of those stuck with a "wide democracy"!

Surely you are aware that Brexit is going to cause the current Union of 4 nations to break apart, Mr. Howie?

Little England will finally happen, the Scottish Nationalists will get their wish, and the IRA will be and no doubt is ( @SmileyFaze ) most pleased that Ireland will again be united as One?

All this because your Tories and uber-left Labour voted for that most remarkable gun to your current nation's collective head. Now THAT, is head-shaking.

As Casey Stengel said: "Never make predictions, especially about the future."

head shaking nonsense

Again it's not good for you, stop doing it, you'll hurt yourself.

As to the rest of your post, you've been told what to do with your repetitive crap.

Accept that we will never agree when it comes to Scotland, trust me it will be better for you in the long run.