We’re still here … even as the world appears to be crumbling around us all
IT has been a long time, but it’s late and I can’t sleep. However, I find myself wondering just where to start.
Every time you look at the news it gets worse — the horrors of Gaza with thousands of Palestinians, including children and the elderly, slaughtered as the obdurate Netanyahu pounds the region with firepower, paying only lip service to the fate of Israeli hostages as he tries to rid the world of Hamas.
The war shows little sign of ending any time soon and, if that weren’t bad enough, we have witnessed world leaders sitting on their hands instead of supporting calls for a ceasefire.
Rishi Sunak, for instance, standing on his tiptoes amongst world leaders looking like a startled schoolboy, when the best he can do is sack Tories who have the impertinence to demand a truce.
I’m no great fan of the SNP, but I did feel for our FM Humza Yousaf, with his in-laws stuck in what is an occupied territory. Thankfully they returned home safe.
Yousaf handled his family crisis with dignity while his party was crashing and burning around him as the chickens came home to roost.
I’ve watched hours of news programmes about the Gaza crisis but the BBC seem to be quite in Jerusalem judging by the output of their correspondents. Compare their output with that of ITV News or Al Jazeera.
Israel’s PR machine is well oiled, slick and you can usually work out where the Israeli Defence Force media folk have been leading the journos, who are fed a constant diet of interviewees and pic opportunities with Israeli victims of Hamas. I’m not denying that there are casualties of the war on both sides, but the IDF media operation knows that news organisations don’t want to see their people hurt and takes every opportunity to make their lives easier.
However, we are so consumed with the war in Gaza that we are in danger of forgetting about the continuing horrors of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Have we become so inured to such examples of inhuman atrocities that we consider them a fact of our daily lives?
I don’t know — I’m merely posing the question because that’s what it looks like.
Returning to domestic politics, I’m delighted to see the SNP given some comeuppance after years of failing to properly address 
the question of Scottish independence.
Ash Regan was always a favourite to jump ship to Alba after her failed bid for the SNP leadership, and it doesn’t matter that she’s their sole MSP — and therefore group leader — she will have the right to question the First Minister at FMQs. That will soon become required watching.
Still on the defection front and SNP MP Lisa Cameron has jumped to the Tories for some strange reason, followed by Chris Cullen, a councillor who’s joined Alba — all despite SNP attempts (particularly from MP Pete Wishart) to rubbish the new party and its main figures.
Keep shouting into the void Pete!
Pip pip.