Listen to the above from Richard J Murphy, suggesting that trump might buy Scotland from a Farage-led England. I’ll do a quick X poll on this but I have to say that US states have a lot more autonomy than we currently have. What do you think? Continue reading Better a US state than an English colony?
I’d kind of given up on reacting to Kevin McKenna, in the Herald, for the good of my mental health, but he’s got me going again today with: Human zoo drug rooms are win-win for SNP’s roasters and bangers – IS there no end to the SNP’s loathing of Scotland’s poor and vulnerable people, especially in Glasgow? If Scotland’s party of government isn’t threatening to imprison working-class people for speaking out of turn in their own homes they can be found trying to curb their drinking and inspecting the contents of their bins for signs of delinquent household waste practices. WTF … Continue reading ‘SNP’s roasters and bangers’ who ‘loathe the poor and vulnerable?’ With such blatant lies would Kevin McKenna even get a job at the Daily Express or Mail?
The Herald today, has the above ridiculous, propagandist, SNP-bad, headline, and: Senior MSPs have urged ministers to extend the national bowel screening programme to the under 50s after an alarming rise in the disease among younger Scots. Conservative MSP Edward Mountain, a survivor of bowel cancer, and Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie made the plea to health secretary Neil Gray. Absolutely, fully behind that but also behind more transparent reporting. Why does the Herald take 8 paragraphs to reveal this? A minor point, many will tell me, but we know that only around 40% of readers go beyond the … Continue reading Bowel cancer screening is already offered earlier in Scotland but you’ll need to read on a bit to find that out under Herald’s ridiculous propagandist SNP-bad headline
By stewartb There will be a Scottish Government debate in Holyrood on January 14 on ‘Valuing Culture: Scotland’s Support to the Culture Sector’. Will it generate heat or light? It will be worth observing how British Labour Party politicians in Scotland approach this debate. Will they acknowledge longstanding stresses and strains on Scottish Government finances due to Westminster austerity and inflation? Or will we hear the usual carping? And how will BBC Scotland and the rest of the mainstream media ‘serving’ Scotland report: devoid of context and perspective as usual? As we assess the various contributions, it will be worth … Continue reading Valuing ‘culture’ and public funding – how Wales with a Labour government in Cardiff fares!
On the BBC Scotland website today but written by BBC News Isle of Man: Solway Harvester tragedy ‘still felt’ 25 years on – The loss of seven fishermen in Manx waters “is still keenly felt” a quarter of a century after the Solway Harvester tragedy, the chief minister has said. The crewmen, from the Isle of Whithorn area of Dumfries and Galloway, died when the the scallop dredger sank off the coast of Douglas on 11 January 2000. Skipper Andrew Mills (known as Craig), 29, his brother Robin Mills, 33, their cousin David Mills, 17, Martin Milligan, 26, John Murphy, … Continue reading Update – The sinking of the Solway Harvester – BBC Scotland fails to explore, even mention, the several unexplained factors including the nuclear submarine with the ‘distracted’ crew
From BBC Business, minutes ago: The UK has enough gas to meet winter demand, the government has said, after British Gas owner-Centrica warned about “concerningly low” storage. Centrica, which owns the country’s largest gas storage facility, said the UK “has less than a week of gas demand in store” due to the colder-than-usual weather. The government said it monitors energy levels and says it has “all tools” at its disposal “if needed to secure our supply”. In 2023, Scotland produced 23 million tonnes and 71% of the total UK gas production.1 23 million tonnes of gas = 332 TWh.2 In … Continue reading ‘UK has enough gas says No 10 after storage warning’ – because Scotland produces 71% of the UK total production and 8 times the amount it consumes partly because we cannot afford it
By Professor John Robertson, International Ferry Correspondent Washington State has a population of 8 million, around 50% more than Scotland but it’s coastal islands off Seattle, sit in far milder and less stormy seas than on the West coast of Scotland. It’s GDP of around $680 billion is significantly higher than that of Scotland at $230bn (£187bn) but despite that Washington State Ferries (privately owned with dividend holders) may be the worst in the developed world. From King-TV Seattle, yesterday: Governor-elect Bob Ferguson boarded a state ferry Wednesday and sailed into uncharted waters on Wednesday. The state ferry system is sinking, with … Continue reading Maybe CalMac should call Trump and offer to take over the worst ferry service in the developed world
It’s a bit like BBC Question Time, filmed mostly in England and with Nigel Farage on the panel, counted as part of the BBC Scotland budget [It is! See below1] but the above much-delayed and inflated-cost ferry, built in Finland and stored at the cost of millions in Leith, over the winter, was supposed to benefit the local Tasmanian economy by using ‘local content’ but, from ABC Business, two days ago: Finnish-built ship engines have been included in the so-called “local content” in the new Spirit of Tasmania ferries. The delivery of the new ferries has dominated public discourse in … Continue reading Financial Ferry Fiasco in Tasmania as local funds are spent in Finland and Government ‘spruiks’ to cover up its bungles
By Professor John Robertson OBA From Public Health Scotland on 24 November 2024, the above graph showing a reducing number waiting for diagnostic tests for the last three quarters, a steady fall since the peak in early 2022, and this for the quarter ending 30 September 2024 [most recent data]: When compared to the previous quarter-end, six of the eight key diagnostic tests saw a decrease in the number of ongoing waits reported. Waits for a CT scan showed a reduction of 11% (-3,104), colonoscopy waits reduced by 11% (-1,433), non-obstetric ultrasound reduced by 9% (-5,122), and MRI waits reduced by … Continue reading As NHS England under Labour and with increasing referrals, freezes radiologist hiring, NHS Scotland cuts diagnostic waiting times for third quarter in a row
Professor John Robertson, Oliver Brown Award 2022, (Just after Sean Connery in 2012!) From my January 2025 column in Scots Independent, 99 years old this year (The paper not me!), non-party-aligned, on old-fashioned paper, to your door. The Story So Far November 1926 saw the launch, under the auspices of the Scots National League, of a new monthly Nationalist newspaper entitled The Scots Independent. Father and son, William and Ian Gillies, along with Tom H Gibson as Business Manager, set in motion what has proved to be, the longest surviving political newspaper in Scotland in the Twentieth Century — into … Continue reading Farage divides the Scottish opposition vote to help the SNP win
Talking-up Scotland 