Tag: Scotland

Seriously out of whack: Government makes it a crime to spank a child

Bob Unruh – March 21, 2022

Starting now, if a parent spanks a disobedient child that action could result in a criminal record in one country.

And it applies to anyone who has responsibility for a child, such as a relative or caretaker when the parent is absent.

And it applies to visitors – and their children – too.

The new law has been implemented in Wales, which followed Scotland in deciding that no corporal punishment on a child is legal, ever.

Physical punishment already was a violation of the law in schools, children’s homes, local authority foster care homes and childcare settings.

Even hitting a child already was considered common assault even by a parent or caretaker.

But the law allowed them to raise the defense that it was a reasonable punishment.

Now that option is gone.

The BBC said Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford called it a “historic” day for children there.

The ban is on anything involving a “smack, hit, or slap” of a child.

https://www.wnd.com

Schoolkids now pay for lunch by having their faces scanned

Ailan Evans – October 18, 2021

Nine schools in Scotland are using facial recognition technology to charge students for their cafeteria lunches.

The initiative, which debuted Monday in schools in the North Ayrshire area, was developed as a way of processing school lunch transactions faster and more efficiently, as well as eliminating close contact between individuals who may spread COVID-19, the Financial Times reported.

The technology scans the faces of students after they select their meal, identifying them and automatically charging their account, according to a pamphlet distributed by the North Ayrshire school system.

“It’s the fastest way of recognizing someone at the till — it’s faster than card, it’s faster than fingerprint,” David Swanston, managing director of CRB Cunninghams, the company that installed the technology, told the FT. “In a secondary school you have around about a 25 minute period to serve potentially 1,000 pupils. So we need fast throughput at the point of sale.”

Facial recognition is a controversial technology, with U.S. states including Maine, Washington and New York banning or severely curbing its use. However, the North Ayrshire council said 97% of children or parents consented to the new system.

https://www.wnd.com

Court Rules Against Campaigner’s Bid to Hold Scottish Independence Vote Without UK Govt’s Consent

Sputnik News – February 5, 2021

The claim comes ahead of parliamentary elections in May, pending the Scottish National Party remains in power and pushes for a second vote on independence after failing to receive backing from UK prime minister Boris Johnson.

A Scottish Independence campaigner has lost a bid to seek backing from a top civil court in Edinburgh, Reuters reported on Friday.

Scotland’s Court of Session ruled against campaigner Martin Keatings, who sought legal support for his claim the Scottish parliament could hold a fresh vote on independence from the United Kingdom without approval from Downing Street.

The Court of Sessions dismissed the case, stating Keatings argument was hypothetical and premature, and did not express a view concerning the legality of the case, Reuters added.

The news comes amid calls for a second referendum on Scottish independence, namely after Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution, Europe and External Affairs, Michael Russell, said a vote could take place in June after Holyrood unilaterally passes further legislation to approve the process.

https://sputniknews.com

In outright defiance of UK PM, Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon’s party promises second independence referendum after pandemic

RT – January 23, 2021

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is standing by her threat to hold a fresh referendum on independence if her party wins the May elections, despite Boris Johnson saying another one should not take place until at least 2055.

Sturgeon likened UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson to a “cowering tim’rous beastie” – a line from the poem ‘To a Mouse’, about a scared mouse, by Scotland’s national poet Robert Burns – during an interview with the BBC on Sunday. The Scottish leader also accused Johnson of being “frightened of democracy” by opposing another Scottish referendum until at least 2055 – just over 40 years after the last referendum in 2014, when a 55 percent majority of Scots voted against independence.

“The polls now show that a majority of people in Scotland want independence,” Sturgeon declared, adding, “If the SNP win the Scottish election in a few months’ time on a proposition of giving people that choice, then what democrat could rightly stand in the way of that?”

She added, “Boris Johnson clearly just fears the verdict and the will of the Scottish people.”

Various polls have repeatedly showed that a majority of Scots now support independence, with the most recent placing the number at around 52 percent. It was the 20th poll in a row to show that a majority of Scots support independence.

On Saturday, the SNP revealed in its “roadmap to a referendum” that a draft independence referendum bill “would be enacted if an SNP Scottish Government is re-elected with a majority to do so” in the May 2021 elections. The party claimed that such a referendum would be beyond any “legal challenge” from the UK government, though it stressed that any referendum would only be held after the Covid-19 pandemic.

https://www.rt.com

‘Assisted suicide an NHS moneysaver’, ‘disturbing’ report says

Christian Insitute – March 18, 2020

Academics in Scotland have been criticised for suggesting that legalising assisted suicide would financially benefit the NHS.

Ethicist Dr David Shaw and healthcare economist Professor Alec Morton say it would be “irresponsible not to consider” the economic costs of denying assisted suicide.

Dr Gordon Macdonald, Chief Executive of Care Not Killing, called the report “highly disturbing”.

Dr Macdonald said: “Very quickly the argument moves from that of personal autonomy to doctors and nurses making value judgments about the quality of other people’s lives while seeking to save money and tackle so-called ‘bed blocking’ in health services.”

He cited the situation in the US states of Oregon and Washington, where “a majority of those ending their lives cite fear of being a burden on their families and finances.

“We have also seen cancer patients denied life-saving and life-extending treatments due to their cost but offered the drugs to end their lives”.

The study claimed legalization would be positive, as helping some patients to kill themselves would free up resources for other patients.

The researchers also said the controversial practice should be legalized because where patients die naturally, their organs deteriorate and are less likely to be viable for transplant.

In the Netherlands and Belgium it is already possible for organs to be donated following an assisted suicide.

https://www.christian.org.uk