Author: johnrobertson834

Retired Professor of Media Politics Not-for-profit independent political analysis
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Guess who signed off the 53 redactions to conceal what Angus Robertson really said to the Israeli Depute Ambassador?

johnrobertson834

Remember all that above a few minutes ago, here? @TomlinJeanne just asked me: Redacted by whom? Good question, I thought. Here’s the first part of the answer: The External Affairs Directorate, eh? Sounds very professional. Who are they? I really want the SNP to win in 2026. There’s still time. He needs to go. It’s not the first time. In November 2023: An SNP MP has said he is “dismayed” at a Scottish government minister’s trip to China. External Affairs Secretary Angus Robertson is visiting several Chinese cities this week. A press release announcing the trip made no mention of … Continue reading Guess who signed off the 53 redactions to conceal what Angus Robertson really said to the Israeli Depute Ambassador?

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Latest – Police Scotland are aware of 30 County Lines groups in Scotland, have reported on them 60 times but BBC Scotland…..twice and not at all for more than 3 years

johnrobertson834

In response to my FoI request to them, today: Based on analysis of the most recent Police Scotland data, the number of ‘County Lines’groups operating across Scotland, including in Scottish cities, is assessed to be around30. Police Scotland, on a site surely a regular go-to for crime reporters, have reported on county lines gangs specifically, 60 times: https://www.scotland.police.uk/search/?query=County%20Lines&page=1 BBC Scotland? Twice only and not once in the last three years? Why? Clearly an editorial line. STV? Better but still not representing the scale of the problem. Scottish Daily Mail? Regular reports and this year: We get a never-ending reporting of … Continue reading Latest – Police Scotland are aware of 30 County Lines groups in Scotland, have reported on them 60 times but BBC Scotland…..twice and not at all for more than 3 years

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53 redactions to protect Angus Robertson from scrutiny is the real and ONLY SNP scandal

johnrobertson834

We all know that the Alex Salmond case, the camper van, the HQ decoration and the never ending SNP ‘fraud’ investigations were and are deliberate UK security services conspiracy attacks on the SNP, but their own circling of the wagons to protect Angus Robertson is a total self-inflicted cock-up. From an information request and response under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, published today: Information requested 1. The minutes of Angus Robertson’s meeting with Israel’s Deputy Ambassador to the UK which took place on 8 August 2024. Please also include the full list of attendees and any decisions that … Continue reading 53 redactions to protect Angus Robertson from scrutiny is the real and ONLY SNP scandal

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This psychiatrist says there’s a crisis in Scotland yet we have nearly 50% more psychiatrists than in England’s presumable hyper-super-crisis

johnrobertson834

Thanks to Dottie, once more, for this: From BBC Scotland this morning: The cost of bringing in locum psychiatrists on emergency contracts to treat mental health patients in Scotland has soared, according to new figures. Dr Jane Morris, chairwoman of the RCP, said the increased cost of the reliance on locums was “stark and very concerning”. She said: “I think the whole agency locum question is a reflection of a real crisis in the Scottish psychiatric workforce. There simply aren’t enough of us. The number of whole-time equivalent NHS psychiatrists has dropped from 781 in March 2019 to 651 in … Continue reading This psychiatrist says there’s a crisis in Scotland yet we have nearly 50% more psychiatrists than in England’s presumable hyper-super-crisis

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TOTAL spend on psychiatric locums is FALLING as mental health waiting lists are slashed

johnrobertson834

Cost of employing locum psychiatrists in the NHS is going up according to figures obtained by the BBC. Data from the country’s 14 health boards show £134 million has been spent on the temporary doctors since 2019. Psychiatrists say it’s reflective of wider recruitment challenges. BBC Reporting Scotland Wrongly is on the above scare this morning. Here are the data apparently: The total cost increased from £20.8m in 2019/20 to £34.8m last year according to figures obtained in a joint investigation by The Guardian and the BBC. This is a very strange graph indeed. The spend on emergency locum deals … Continue reading TOTAL spend on psychiatric locums is FALLING as mental health waiting lists are slashed

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“If the technologists and scientists involved in disposal [of nuclear waste] are so confident in the safety then they should do it in the cities which are demanding the energy,”

johnrobertson834

When I moved to Ayr in 1984, locals were protesting British Nuclear Fuel’s plans to bury nuclear waste under a hill only 15 miles to the south of the town. The protest worked and the waste is still being dumped at Sellafield in Cumbria. However, Ayr remains on the atmospheric and coastal water flows from it, the most toxic site in Europe, and local shellfish, estuary and beach sediment, bottom feeding fish and animals that feed on them, are more radioactive than EU legislation on consumption would allow. Scottish Labour, doing what they’re told, are in favour of the new … Continue reading “If the technologists and scientists involved in disposal [of nuclear waste] are so confident in the safety then they should do it in the cities which are demanding the energy,”

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Latest Scottish sub-poll has SNP 8 points clear and Reform ahead of Tories

johnrobertson834

Just a sub-poll of only 122 but it comes as the SNP humiliate Scottish Labour in 4 local by-elections in Perth and in Dundee, just after an Ipsos poll puts Anas Sarwar well behind both Swinney and Forbes in the popularity stakes and two weeks after a full Survation poll showed the SNP had caught Scottish Labour in period that should normally have been honeymoon period for the latter. We’ll need more evidence for confidence in a full SNP recovery but things are looking shaky for Sarwar. As for the Cons, Reform were only 3 points behind them, two weeks … Continue reading Latest Scottish sub-poll has SNP 8 points clear and Reform ahead of Tories

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New SNP hate crime legislation praised for giving public confidence as opponents trigger flood of politically motivated complaints in early weeks

johnrobertson834

I’ve had to modify, in the interests of accuracy, Libby Brooks’ Recorded hate crimes in Scotland up 63% since law introduced in April in the Guardian two days ago. She opens with this to feed me the better headline above: Recorded hate crimes in Scotland have risen by 63% since new legislation came into force, with officers saying the increase reflects greater public confidence that offences will be investigated. You have to read on to see: The deputy chief constable, Alan Speirs, said: “When there is increased public trust and confidence, people will speak out. I don’t think this rise suggests any … Continue reading New SNP hate crime legislation praised for giving public confidence as opponents trigger flood of politically motivated complaints in early weeks

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Latest University of California research with 300 000 nuclear workers reinforces fears of positive link with leukemia, Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphomas, and multiple myeloma as in WHO study and research in Germany and Scotland 

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By Professor John Robertson Today, from the University of California in Irvine, USA: A major update was made to the International Nuclear Workers Study (INWORKS), an international epidemiological study of workers in the nuclear sector to assess their risks of cancer and non-cancerous diseases.  The researchers assembled a cohort of more than 300,000 radiation-monitored workers from France, the United Kingdom and the United States, employed at nuclear facilities between 1944 and 2016. The study revealed a positive association between prolonged low-dose exposure to ionizing radiation and mortality from these haematological cancers. https://www.newswise.com/articles/new-uc-irvine-study-provides-crucial-insights-into-radiation-exposure-s-impact-on-cancer-risk The University then tries to play down the risk, … Continue reading Latest University of California research with 300 000 nuclear workers reinforces fears of positive link with leukemia, Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphomas, and multiple myeloma as in WHO study and research in Germany and Scotland 

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Royal College of Emergency Medicine opts NOT to share own analysis with Scotland’s voters – that A&E performance in NHS Scotland is best in UK by FAR!

johnrobertson834

By stewartb Let’s begin by taking back control of the ‘framing’ from BBC Scotland: ‘A&E performance by NHS Scotland is indeed by far the best in UK’. The Scotland section of the BBC News website on 4 October ran one of its regular features on the state of A&E services within NHS Scotland. The article was constructed around the remarks of the Vice President for Scotland of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM). It followed a common pattern – negative, in parts alarmist, reported uncritically and without context or perspective. And being a BBC Scotland article, it omitted that … Continue reading Royal College of Emergency Medicine opts NOT to share own analysis with Scotland’s voters – that A&E performance in NHS Scotland is best in UK by FAR!