Author: johnrobertson834

Retired Professor of Media Politics Not-for-profit independent political analysis
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After 8 years of English drug gang terror in the North of Scotland, BBC Scotland will still not mention this stain on their Union

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From STV and in the Aberdeen-based Press & Journal today, the above headline, carefully avoiding the origins of the dealer, in England:: A county lines drug dealer from Liverpool will serve almost six years for using a stolen BMW to supply class A narcotics in Scotland. James Stephen, 31, was arrested on June 17 last year after police in Aberdeen tracked down a white car that had been stolen from a home in the city the previous month. https://news.stv.tv/north/drug-dealer-caught-using-stolen-bmw-to-take-heroin-and-cocaine-into-scotland The report tells us little of what County lines gangs do and the effects they have. Assistant Chief Constable Andy Freeburn … Continue reading After 8 years of English drug gang terror in the North of Scotland, BBC Scotland will still not mention this stain on their Union

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Glasgow hospital infection inquiry – How under Scottish Labour, hospitals were ‘death traps’ of hospital acquired infections and how Nicola Sturgeon sorted it reducing the level to an eighth of the level in England and a third of the level in Europe.

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In the midst of the frenzy of ill-informed reporting on the Glasgow hospital infections inquiry, important facts you’ll never hear. From the Journal of Hospital Infections in November 2012: The prevalence of HAI was 4.9%, 2.5%, 6.1% and 1.2% in acute, non-acute, paediatric and independent hospitals respectively [in Scotland in 2006].  https://www.journalofhospitalinfection.com/article/S0195-6701(12)00277-0/abstract From the Scottish Public Health Observatory, in 2024: The most recent comprehensive data on hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) in Scotland comes from a 2021 study led by Glasgow Caledonian University, commissioned by the Scottish Government. This study, published in the Journal of Hospital Infection, found that approximately 1% of hospital patients … Continue reading Glasgow hospital infection inquiry – How under Scottish Labour, hospitals were ‘death traps’ of hospital acquired infections and how Nicola Sturgeon sorted it reducing the level to an eighth of the level in England and a third of the level in Europe.

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‘Brian Wilson’s anti-SNP vitriol is a clear and present danger to Celtic’

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In The Celtic Blog yesterday, the above image of Brian ‘Bad Vibrations’ Wilson, Celtic chairman (bottom left) and: He has been in post since the transfer window opened, which makes it roughly twenty days. In that time, he has made a public call for unity, which he has not followed through on, despite the Collective issuing an open invitation to dialogue. He has presided over what we all know has been a dreadful first two thirds of the transfer window. But right now I want to talk about something else. Because he has gone back to doing what he does … Continue reading ‘Brian Wilson’s anti-SNP vitriol is a clear and present danger to Celtic’

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Latest – In final statement Glasgow hospital correctly and based on repeated research denies evidence of definite link between the hospital environment and specific individual cases of infection

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From BBC Scotland in the last few minutes, the above puzzling choice of headline and buried in their report: NHSGGC offers an unreserved apology for the distress and trauma experienced by patients and families during this time. But while the health board acknowledged a casual [sic] connection to increased infections, he stressed that there was no definite link between the hospital environment and specific individual cases of infection. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckgkz2e5nr5o The above assertion is the key outcome of today’s session. To be clear, the health board is not accepting responsibility for any of the high profile cases, including that of Millie … Continue reading Latest – In final statement Glasgow hospital correctly and based on repeated research denies evidence of definite link between the hospital environment and specific individual cases of infection

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SNP Government’s world-first opioid overdose reversal programme increases reach to 84% and its protection of hospitals as it fights the effects of the English County Lines drug gangs plague in Scotland

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From the National naloxone programme Scotland – Quarterly monitoring bulletin Quarterly Monitoring Bulletin April to June (Q1) 2025/26 published today: The overall aim of Scotland’s NNP is to prevent fatal opioid overdoses. Administration of naloxone provides time for emergency services to arrive and for further treatment to be given. Following suitable training, THN kits are issued to people at risk of opioid overdose, their friends and family and service workers in order to help prevent overdose deaths.  Drug-related hospital admissions plummet for third year in a row after Scottish Government’s ‘world-first’ opioid overdose reversal Naloxone initiative but are not being … Continue reading SNP Government’s world-first opioid overdose reversal programme increases reach to 84% and its protection of hospitals as it fights the effects of the English County Lines drug gangs plague in Scotland

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Abortion rate shocking 28% higher in England than in Scotland is one more sign of what has been achieved these 19 years

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From Public Health Scotland – Scottish pregnancy, births and neonatal data dashboardA new home for maternity and neonatal data visualisations, published today: In 2024 there was a slowing of the rate of increase in the number of terminations undertaken in Scotland. There were 3% more terminations undertaken: 18,710 compared to 18,242 in 2023. This compares to a 10% increase in demand on services in 2023.1 The termination rate is 17.9 per 1 000 women. The rate in England & Wales will shock. 20324 data has been delayed but in 2023 it was 23 per 1 000, up from 21.1 the … Continue reading Abortion rate shocking 28% higher in England than in Scotland is one more sign of what has been achieved these 19 years

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Alex Cole Hamilton and Daily Record conceal massive 10 000 reduction in 12-hour A&E waits this year with infantile sums

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The Daily Record, still campaigning for Labour has this from the Lib Dem’s Alex Cole Hamilton, today: The number of people waiting more than 12 hours in A&E in the country has soared by more than 7000 per cent in a decade, the party said, with waits over four, eight and 12 hours the second worst since records began. Since 2016, waits longer than 12 hours increased by 7354 per cent – from 988 cases to 74,393 – according to its analysis of Public Health Scotland figures. https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/scotland-ae-waits-over-12-36569946 Why have they done these utterly daft percentages based on just adding up over 9 years … Continue reading Alex Cole Hamilton and Daily Record conceal massive 10 000 reduction in 12-hour A&E waits this year with infantile sums

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Unemployment rate in UK now nearly 40% higher than in Scotland means hundreds of thousands more Brits would be in work with SNP competence in government

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In the Guardian today, not being covered by Scottish media so far: The number of employed people in the UK has fallen, particularly in shops, restaurants, bars and hotels, reflecting weak hiring, while private sector wages grew at the slowest rate in five years, official figures show. Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed the number of employees on payrolls fell by 43,000 in December from the previous month, to 30.2 million – the biggest monthly drop since November 2020. The rate of unemployment remained at a four-year high of 5.1% in the three months to the end of November, … Continue reading Unemployment rate in UK now nearly 40% higher than in Scotland means hundreds of thousands more Brits would be in work with SNP competence in government

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US authorities seize shrimp with lethal radioactivity level only a fifth of that found on a Scottish beach upstream from Sellafield nuclear plant in North-West England

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From the Washington-based The Hill, two days ago, the above and: The specter of radioactivity in food just reared its head again, with another shipment of imported shrimp recalled for possible Cesium-137 contamination.   The MAHA Commission 2025 report unfotunately ignored radioactivity as a possible cause of rising cancer and chronic illness. But even leaving aside nuclear accidents, studies show living near nuclear plants elevates cancer risk. Nuclear reactors generate radioactive waste and ionizing radiation, which get into the environment, contaminating air, water, soil and food. Harmful isotopes like Cesium-137 aren’t natural; they’re made only in reactors, but persist in the environment and food for centuries. Decades after Chernobyl, for instance, researchers found Cesium-137 in meat from domestic … Continue reading US authorities seize shrimp with lethal radioactivity level only a fifth of that found on a Scottish beach upstream from Sellafield nuclear plant in North-West England