Author: johnrobertson834

Retired Professor of Media Politics Not-for-profit independent political analysis
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Life-extending drug for ‘incurable cancer’ now on NHS in England, three years after Scotland, should mean fewer saying “We shouldn’t be having to think of moving to Scotland or selling our houses”

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Help Talking-up Scotland keep goin Crowdfunder at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/help-talking-up-scotland-keep-going Or by direct bank transfer to: JOHN WATSON ROBERTSON Sort Code – 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 From BBC UK this morning, the above, and: Patients in England with a specific type of incurable breast cancer can now access a life-extending drug on the NHS, two years after it was deemed too expensive by a health body. Enhertu can give patients almost seven extra months to live on average – with some living up to three years longer. Women in Scotland have had access to the drug on the NHS since 2023, and it is available in 26 other European countries. … Continue reading Life-extending drug for ‘incurable cancer’ now on NHS in England, three years after Scotland, should mean fewer saying “We shouldn’t be having to think of moving to Scotland or selling our houses”

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14 more of ‘the smallest and sickest babies’ who make it in Scotland would not have survived in England but a consultant from Nottingham (!) tells us that Scottish Government delays are putting them at risk here

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are being put at risk by delaye in the reorganisation of neonatal care. Help Talking-up Scotland keep goin Crowdfunder at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/help-talking-up-scotland-keep-going Or by direct bank transfer to: JOHN WATSON ROBERTSON Sort Code – 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 BBC Scotland‘s insert in BBC Breakfast today includes this evidence from Dr Stephen Wardle, president of the British Association of Perinatal Medicine: So yes, delays in making progress with these proposals will be affecting the outcome for some of these babies. Wardle is a Consultant Neonatologist at Nottingham University Hospitals. The BAMP is essentially a trade union and not some leading research centre for neonatal medicine. Nottingham University Hospitals? From BBC … Continue reading 14 more of ‘the smallest and sickest babies’ who make it in Scotland would not have survived in England but a consultant from Nottingham (!) tells us that Scottish Government delays are putting them at risk here

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Drawing a Line in the Constitutional Sand – Should SNP MPs withdraw from Westminster?

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Help Talking-up Scotland keep goin Crowdfunder at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/help-talking-up-scotland-keep-going Or by direct bank transfer to: JOHN WATSON ROBERTSON Sort Code – 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 By Mark E. Saunders of “The Scottish Minuteman” https://www.facebook.com/profile.php/?id=61575625542197 “It is in truth not for glory, nor riches, nor honours that we are fighting, but for freedom alone, which no good man gives up but with his life.” — The Declaration of Arbroath, 1320 Is the moment fast approaching when Scotland needs to stand up — by sitting out? At the very moment Scotland returned the largest independence-supporting majority in the history of the devolution settlement, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom chose to ignore the democratic significance … Continue reading Drawing a Line in the Constitutional Sand – Should SNP MPs withdraw from Westminster?

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Large and hyperscale datacentres are not even required

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Help Talking-up Scotland keep goin Crowdfunder at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/help-talking-up-scotland-keep-going Or by direct bank transfer to: JOHN WATSON ROBERTSON Sort Code – 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 From one of our many Anonymouses yesterday this comment relevant to the current debate on large data centres in Scotland. it is, of course, beyond my competence. Large and hyperscale datacentres are not even required. ‘AI’ is just clever programming using certain types of data modelling and (Bayesian) statistics, following programming instructions like any other software. Most of the desirable functions of AI are perfectly suited to running in a distributed manner especially in modern peer to peer networks incorporating edge datacentres, basically currently … Continue reading Large and hyperscale datacentres are not even required

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Consent for large AI data centres – BBC Scotland deliberately conceals the rigorous science behind today’s Scottish Government guidance

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Help Talking-up Scotland keep goin Crowdfunder at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/help-talking-up-scotland-keep-going Or by direct bank transfer to: JOHN WATSON ROBERTSON Sort Code – 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Earlier today, the Scottish Government published the above statement after the Holyrood debate on large data centres. At around 18:00, BBC Scotland, the taxpayer-funded, public service provider, responded with this: Planning consent for large data centres in Scotland is “highly unlikely” to be granted in the next three months, the Scottish government says. The Scottish Greens have called for application processes to be paused until new national guidelines are in force – with an emphasis on energy demand and the environment. Ministers, while rejecting … Continue reading Consent for large AI data centres – BBC Scotland deliberately conceals the rigorous science behind today’s Scottish Government guidance

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English single malt whisky fails the test

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Help Talking-up Scotland keep goin Crowdfunder at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/help-talking-up-scotland-keep-going Or by direct bank transfer to: JOHN WATSON ROBERTSON Sort Code – 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 By Liz S The Herald posted the above yesterday, mainly I suspect , because the video they attached to their post was of a UK politician , Wendy Chamberlain, highlighting this in the HOC. I suspect that she, Chamberlain, only raised it in the HOC as she has certain Distilleries within her constituency which could be impacted with this below announcement. I also suspect that had she not had any distilleries in her constituency then, as a Lib Dem MP elected in Scotland , she probably would not have even bothered to … Continue reading English single malt whisky fails the test

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As Police Scotland confiscate more of this ‘preferred transport for [English] county lines drug gangs’, how Scottish Government caution on rental schemes has limited e-bike/scooter chaos, injury and death

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[e-bikes and e-scooters] were taken off Scotland’s streets in 2025. Help Talking-up Scotland keep goin Crowdfunder at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/help-talking-up-scotland-keep-going Or by direct bank transfer to: JOHN WATSON ROBERTSON Sort Code – 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 The Daily Record, four days ago, put its finger on the underlying factor in the above surge of e-bike police confiscations: Beyond local anti-social behaviour, they have become the preferred transport for county lines drug-running and street robbery, offering escape for criminals. https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/take-back-control-e-bike-37654208 While many of the children riding these e-bikes to deliver drugs are local, the entire drug distribution operation in Scotland has been colonised by a violent culture that emerged in large … Continue reading As Police Scotland confiscate more of this ‘preferred transport for [English] county lines drug gangs’, how Scottish Government caution on rental schemes has limited e-bike/scooter chaos, injury and death

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Near-Shore Underwater Data Centres with Waste Heat Recovery – A Distinctly Scottish Opportunity with 3 thousand billion litres of water in our 31 thousand lochs

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I sense danger here for the Scottish Government, the SNP and the wider movement as the media operating in Scotland increasingly focus on the debate over large data centres and see opportunities to divide it within itself. A growing grass roots opposition and Scottish Greens campaigning for a ‘pause’ is get increasing attention and putting the SNP Government on the back foot. Help Talking-up Scotland keep goin Crowdfunder at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/help-talking-up-scotland-keep-going Or by direct bank transfer to: JOHN WATSON ROBERTSON Sort Code – 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 I’m torn. If, IF, an independent Scotland can properly tax the corporations that need these facilities, get the revenue for the surplus … Continue reading Near-Shore Underwater Data Centres with Waste Heat Recovery – A Distinctly Scottish Opportunity with 3 thousand billion litres of water in our 31 thousand lochs

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For at least 8 years now – English drug gangs bringing misery to Scotland from Liverpool but ignored by the media operating here

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Help Talking-up Scotland keep goin Crowdfunder at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/help-talking-up-scotland-keep-going Or by direct bank transfer to: JOHN WATSON ROBERTSON Sort Code – 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 From the Sun today, the above and: A COUNTY lines gang leader who flooded communities in Scotland with heroin has been jailed for more than six years. Lee Campbell ran the county lines operation which transported the Class A drug from his home city of Liverpool to Aberdeen. Merseyside Police carried out an investigation where the 36-year-old was identified as running the network using his mobile phone. Cumbria Constabulary assisted in his arrest on 15 July this year where officers intercepted Campbell as he drove his Land Rover Defender … Continue reading For at least 8 years now – English drug gangs bringing misery to Scotland from Liverpool but ignored by the media operating here

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Tell me Grok my AI familiar – Why is Talking-up Scotland little referenced in the MSM or by politicians, on both sides in Scotland, and struggling to fundraise? ‘You’re too partisan, do too much and are not glamorous…awk!’

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Tell me Grok my AI familiar – Why is Talking-up Scotland little referenced in MSM or by politicians on both sides in Scotland? Help Talking-up Scotland keep goin Crowdfunder at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/help-talking-up-scotland-keep-going Or by direct bank transfer to: JOHN WATSON ROBERTSON Sort Code – 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Talking-up Scotland is a long-running, data-heavy pro-independence blog written mainly by retired University of the West of Scotland media politics professor John Robertson. It specialises in daily statistical rebuttals of BBC Scotland, the Herald, Scotsman and similar outlets, arguing they systematically omit positive Scottish Government figures (crime, NHS waits, child poverty, energy, etc.) or frame stories to damage the SNP and … Continue reading Tell me Grok my AI familiar – Why is Talking-up Scotland little referenced in the MSM or by politicians, on both sides in Scotland, and struggling to fundraise? ‘You’re too partisan, do too much and are not glamorous…awk!’