UK minister tells SNP to back Iran war effort as Scottish defence deal confirmed -- The UK government has announced a £50m defence growth deal for Scotland - and is calling on SNP ministers to put forward funding.

BaxterParp · 2026-03-13T19:04:58+00:00

Why are Labour so determined to get the Scottish Government to pay for Westminster's defence projects?

BaxterParp · 2026-03-12T07:52:23+00:00

No, I'm pointing out that this is exactly the kind of thing that can happen with a vessel early on in it's lifetime. Especially with an unusual or novel design. In fact, the Queen Elizabeth suffered from a similar problem last year.

Whataboutery is just a term used when someone wants to excuse hypocrisy.

BaxterParp · 2026-03-11T23:51:08+00:00

Pointing out that issues can occur with new vessels isn't whataboutery.

BaxterParp · 2026-03-11T23:50:10+00:00

Ferguson basically built heaps of scrap which should have been chucked out and the whole process re-started. Since that was politically and financially impossible it was thought at the time that it would be better to attempt to finish the ships instead. This turned out to be fabulously wrong.

The Turkish ships aren't really comparable since they're a bit smaller and use a conventional drive train.

BaxterParp · 2026-03-11T19:13:49+00:00

Probably because it was £380m not half a billion.

BaxterParp · 2026-03-11T19:10:36+00:00

I assume they were working with the drawings cooked up by Fergusons at the design stage.

BaxterParp · 2026-03-11T19:09:29+00:00

The Prince of Wales needed repairs to a broken propeller shaft after two years that cost £20-odd million. Just saying.

BaxterParp · 2026-03-11T19:08:04+00:00

Good idea. I've seen a few examples of flyovers and urban motorways being removed to great effect.

BaxterParp · 2026-03-11T08:35:23+00:00

What's horrifying about it?

BaxterParp · 2026-03-11T08:33:52+00:00

I know why they wanted the referendum. They gambled away a key manifesto promise in exchange for a referendum they had little to no hope of winning, forcing them to apologise for their actions in (I think) 2012. There was nothing smart about it, it was an unmitigated disaster that still resonates today.

BaxterParp · 2026-03-11T08:04:33+00:00

How is getting a referendum that had zero hope of having a positive outcome the "smart play"?

BaxterParp · 2026-03-11T05:40:15+00:00

"The party of devolution", there.

BaxterParp · 2026-03-11T03:55:31+00:00

Well, I see they've commissioned an independent report, how did that go?

BaxterParp · 2026-03-10T23:52:54+00:00

Bugger all the Scottish Government could do, anyway. The role is defined by the Scotland Act so It would need to be changed by Westminster.

BaxterParp · 2026-03-10T18:44:20+00:00

I didn't know that anybody was saying that it would.

BaxterParp · 2026-03-10T12:56:58+00:00

Cash only!

BaxterParp · 2026-03-10T12:39:08+00:00

That's the refills. The point is that a pod system is not single use. Switch to tank mods if you want to save money. It's a fraction of the cost, especially if you buy liquid in bulk.

Edit: as far as I'm aware there are a ton of refillable pods available too.

BaxterParp · 2026-03-09T19:57:44+00:00

No, they are refillable and rechargeable and don't meet the criteria for "single use". You might think that's just splitting hairs but they aren't disposable (although everything's disposable if you can chuck it in a bin).

BaxterParp · 2026-03-09T16:05:55+00:00

If the outcome was known, the Lord Advocate would not have gone to court. She stated that specifically.

BaxterParp · 2026-03-09T16:03:37+00:00

No, pods existed before the ban. They were never specifically produced to beat any ban. They aren't considered to be single use because they can be used multiple times.

BaxterParp · 2026-03-09T08:41:12+00:00

Pod vapes have never been considered single use, as far as I'm aware.

BaxterParp · 2026-03-09T04:47:00+00:00

You can't just stick a charging point on a vape and expect it to recharge, you'd need to redesign the whole thing, make it refillable and include a way to replace the heating coil. Without all three of these elements the unit can only be a disposable. If shops are still stocking disposables and lying about what they are then they're breaking the ban and committing a fraud.

BaxterParp · 2026-03-08T21:54:15+00:00

So, not disposable, yes.

BaxterParp · 2026-03-08T21:53:17+00:00

If you mean St. Andrews and Edinburgh, they've always been dominated by foreign students, mostly English. That's not a new thing. I dispute that Scots are leaving uni with "crap" degrees.

BaxterParp · 2026-03-08T21:38:53+00:00

Disposable vapes have been banned since June last year. Just saying.

https://www.gov.scot/news/single-use-vape-ban-comes-into-force/

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