Year: 2025

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Trump and Zelensky – What would Bob say?

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From stewartb, TuS Dylanology Correspondent of the Year Courtesy of Bob Dylan (1963): ‘With God on Our Side’. ‘Oh my name it ain’t nothin’My age it means lessThe country I come fromIs called the MidwestI was taught and brought up thereThe laws to abideAnd that land that I live inHas God on its side ‘Oh, the history books tell itThey tell it so wellThe cavalries chargedThe Indians fellThe cavalries chargedThe Indians diedOh, the country was youngWith God on its side ‘The Spanish-AmericanWar had its dayAnd the Civil War, tooWas soon laid awayAnd the names of the heroesI was made to memorizeWith … Continue reading Trump and Zelensky – What would Bob say?

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Five times more, adjusted per head of population, at risk of being exploited by violent extremist narratives and drawn into terrorism in England & Wales than in Scotland

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By Professor John Robertson OBA In the Guardian today, the above and: The case is one of a growing number of school-shooting plots detected in the UK, where young men and boys are being inspired by online material glorifying US massacres, including the 1999 Columbine High School shooting. In the year to March 2024, 162 referrals were made to Prevent (the government-led counter-terrorism scheme) related to interest in school massacres, up 2% on the year before. Only 19 resulted in people being adopted for intervention and mentoring under the programme.1 https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/mar/02/i-hate-my-school-why-are-more-british-teenagers-plotting-shooting-attacks The total number of referrals to Prevent in England … Continue reading Five times more, adjusted per head of population, at risk of being exploited by violent extremist narratives and drawn into terrorism in England & Wales than in Scotland

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How Scotland’s disability benefits system has been kinder, remains affordable but is not apparently worthy of proper media coverage

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By Professor John Robertson OBA Today, BBC Reporting Scotland Down has the above story on disability payments in Scotland. As always there’s no context so that the narrative can remain pure – critical of the Scottish Government. What is the most important recent historical fact in disability payments in the UK? This: A leading disability rights charity has described new suicide statistics as the “tragic face of systemic inequality”. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) suggested disabled people had the highest rate of dying by suicide compared to other groups. It found 48 disabled men per 100,000 people and 19 … Continue reading How Scotland’s disability benefits system has been kinder, remains affordable but is not apparently worthy of proper media coverage

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Trump – Are you expecting us to believe that other American presidents and the CIA were incapable of acting in a way that put “America First” in the world?

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By Liz S Whatever you think of Trump or Zelensky one thing stands out with a Trump presidency. He is acting in a way that is normally hidden from public view when other presidents were in charge of America. I mean , come on , are some supposedly intelligent people , as in those who are political commentators for MSM and also those online, actually expecting us to believe that other American presidents and also their secret service organisation, the CIA, were incapable of acting in a way that put “America First” in the world. Or rather they, as political … Continue reading Trump – Are you expecting us to believe that other American presidents and the CIA were incapable of acting in a way that put “America First” in the world?

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Old ferries for travellers but luxury cars for ministers: A government’s blatant hypocrisy

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By Professor John Robertson OBA From Malta Independent yesterday: Taxpayers’ money funds public services, yet the government’s priorities reveal a striking disparity between its investments in essential transport for Gozitans and its lavish spending on luxury vehicles for ministers and persons of trust. The Gozo Channel vessels, the lifeline for thousands of commuters, continue to age well past their optimal years of service. The government spares no expense in providing brand-new high-end cars for its officials while refusing to allocate funds for new ferries in the yearly budget estimates. Ministers travel in comfort in the latest BMWs, Mercedes, Toyotas, Volvos, … Continue reading Old ferries for travellers but luxury cars for ministers: A government’s blatant hypocrisy

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Tasmania bedevilled by quadrupled new harbour costs six years late for new bigger ferries costing millions to berth in Leith, Scotland

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By Professor John Robertson OBA From BBC Scotland today: A newly-constructed Australian ferry will be moved from Edinburgh to the other side of the world after leasing negotiations broke down. Often described as a “fiasco”, the Spirit of Tasmania IV has been docked in Leith for three months due to issues with existing infrastructure in the Tasmanian city of Devonport. The ship was built at a yard in Finland, but had to be moved to Scotland before winter over concerns it could be damaged by pack ice. A new berth to accommodate the ship, and sister vessel Spirit of Tasmania … Continue reading Tasmania bedevilled by quadrupled new harbour costs six years late for new bigger ferries costing millions to berth in Leith, Scotland

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If Starmer says so, Scottish soldiers will be in Ukraine this year and a blood price will have to be paid

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By Professor John Robertson OBA I’m an SNP member and no one has consulted me on my views regarding the polices currently being developed on the hoof by First Minister John Swinney and Westminster Foreign Affairs spokesperson Stephen Gethins, apparently accepting the deployment of Scottish troops in the Ukraine and calling for a ban on a democratically elected US president visiting Scotland. Do I have to repeat how horrible I think Trump is before reminding people that he is the popular choice, whether we like it or not, of the American people. Further, if we’re into banning people, why is … Continue reading If Starmer says so, Scottish soldiers will be in Ukraine this year and a blood price will have to be paid

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The Guardian misses a bard, the Scottish one, though he has 6 times as many statues across the globe as Shakespeare does

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By Professor John Robertson OBA I’m well out of my comfort zone on this but in the Guardian today: ‘He contains the whole of literature’: is Dickens better than Shakespeare? After rereading the entire works of the great Victorian novelist during the pandemic, Peter Conrad became convinced – whisper it – that Dickens is an even greater writer than that other British literary giant, the Bard.1 Isn’t there another ‘British literary giant, called the Bard?‘ I think he lived down the road from me, you know – Robert Burns? The word ‘bard‘ is of Celtic origin too, not English, so … Continue reading The Guardian misses a bard, the Scottish one, though he has 6 times as many statues across the globe as Shakespeare does

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As Labour government cuts millions from funding for victims’ services, SNP increase it by 12% in one year

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By Professor John Robertson OBA In the Guardian today: The [UK] government has cut millions of pounds in funding for victims’ services, prompting warnings that “criminals will go unpunished” unless it urgently changes its position. The Victims’ Commissioner has written a letter to chancellor Rachel Reeves, shared exclusively with the Observer, saying a combination of funding reductions and the upcoming employers’ national insurance increase was creating an “existential crisis” for charities. The commissioner and charities in the sector are calling for an urgent funding increase in the next spending review, which concludes this spring. “These crucial services ensure victims have the … Continue reading As Labour government cuts millions from funding for victims’ services, SNP increase it by 12% in one year

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Rail fares in England and Wales to soar by 21% more than in Scotland but only Scottish opposition parties are platformed (!) to moan

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By Professor John Robertson OBA BBC Scotland on 31 January 2025: ScotRail fares set to increase by nearly 4% – Rail fares across Scotland are set to increase by 3.8% in April. Scottish Labour‘s transport spokeswoman Claire Baker said the price increase would “hammer” rail passengers and “consign ScotRail to a spiral of decline”. She added: “The SNP should be making rail more affordable, but instead it has hit passengers with painful fare hikes time and time again. This increase is bad for Scotland’s rail passengers, bad for our economy and bad for the environment.” Sue Webber, transport spokeswoman for … Continue reading Rail fares in England and Wales to soar by 21% more than in Scotland but only Scottish opposition parties are platformed (!) to moan