James Devine

I watched 104 films during 2024. Here’s my 2025 log. 1. The Godfather (1972) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

You have to be sick in the head to be proud of legalising infanticide. I was born 10-12 weeks prematurely in 1971. My mum was told I would die in the incubator, or be stunted and handicapped. Though blind in 1 eye, I am six foot one, a Professor at Cambridge, and glad to be alive

appalling

Today, the Islamic Republic hanged multiple Iranian civilians, some of whom were just teenagers. Amnesty International? Silent. The UN? Silent. Human Rights Council? Silent. The Red Cross? Silent.

Oddly, if you submit an FOI request asking the Scottish Government for evidence that Scotland’s renewables are low-cost, or even just to identify a single low-cost generation asset, they have absolutely nothing. Because Swinney’s rhetoric is simply not true.

NHS anti-racism latest A Jewish employee was "investigated for 'Zionist beliefs', including posts celebrating Jewish festivals. A black friend who spoke up for her was smeared as a 'coconut', and a supportive Muslim branded a 'disgrace to her religion'” thejc.com/news/jewish-nh…

The ‘moderate’ who ran death squads: how BBC and Sky sanitise the Iranian regime thejc.com/opinion/the-mo…

My @theIFS colleague @StuartAdam_IFS & I have done lots of work on property taxes. Our scorecard for Scotland unfortunately isn't glowing. 🏡Council tax needs genuine revaluation & reform. 💷LBTT increases means its increasingly damaging. 🛍️Business rates increasingly complex.

A motion declaring Zionism is racism has been selected for debate at the Green Party’s conference. If adopted, it would be the first UK party to define Jewish self-determination as racist, and the first UK party to have hatred of Jews as its core value. thejc.com/news/politics/…

Christians have been prevented from freely worshipping in Hagia Sophia cathedral since 1453 without any authority and for completely arbitrary reasons.

Drug deaths in Scotland are up 8%. Glasgow opened a drug consumption room just over a year ago. The biggest rise in deaths is now in Glasgow itself. I ’ve just gone through the Scottish Drugs Forum’s 40-year anniversary discussion. It was meant to be a celebration.mWhat it actually reveals is something far more uncomfortable. Not just about policy. But about power. About who shapes the narrative. And about how difficult it has become to challenge a system from within it. There’s a moment in it that stopped me cold. “I didn’t really have much of a boss… three appraisals in 36 years.” That tells you more than any strategy document ever could. If the same voices shape the policy, the funding and the story we tell ourselves about it… Who exactly is holding the system to account? I’ve written this as carefully and honestly as I can. Have a read. I’d genuinely be interested in what people think. Link in comment

Now Canada’s closing drug rooms after deaths soar… just as SNP ramps them up Visit dailymail.co.uk/scotland dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1…

A big question for aspiring Presiding Officers in a few weeks time should be if they would allow any more bills or parliamentary time on assisted dying. Three times is enough when we need to modernise the economy and public services in Scotland.

@BloodyPolitics @graeme_from_IT Indeed. Very frustrating. David apparently blocked me while I was pouring him a glass of wine while sitting in the same room as him 🤷‍♂️

@graeme_from_IT It's all a bit sinister. You'd think X would have decent mechanism to report hijacked accounts and help people recover them.

Gutted that @dj_forrester hasn't been able to get his hacked account back. Scumbag hacker doesn't want me warning people that he's sending dodgy DMs and links to David's X pals. #ManDown

@NeilKing11 @kevverage @dj_forrester He has - working to regain control of his account.

@kevverage @dj_forrester I believe he is. (I got the same DM)

warning for those who follow @dj_forrester - be aware his account has been hacked (based on a DM i just received) - anybody with direct contact might want to ensure he’s aware

@Maureen6Johnson @Moonie_l @dj_forrester David has been hacked and is working to regain access to his account. It is slow going.

Hey @Moonie_l @dj_forrester / think your accounts hacked. Identical DMs from you. Didn’t click on.

@StewartNial It is so telling. Budapest last year was same. Munich not so much (potholes galore).

@jamesdev15 We were in Madrid in '24, the roads and footpaths are perfect.

Currently in Amsterdam and hugely impressed by roads without potholes as well as the general cleanliness of the city.

@DalgetySusan @lnmackenzie1 @jruddy99 @dj_forrester He has been hacked and is working through x processes to regain his account.

@lnmackenzie1 @jruddy99 @dj_forrester Yes, Lewis M as well

Has anyone else had a weird DM from @dj_forrester ? Has he been hacked?

@kevverage @dj_forrester He’s aware and working through the tortuously slow x process to regain his account.

@rogerlwhite @BloodyPolitics @dj_forrester As he often reports, he has a hard life.

@jamesdev15 @BloodyPolitics @dj_forrester Could be worse!