In April 2020, Scottish GMB leader at the time, Gary Smith, joined with private care home owner Robert Kilgour to try to shift the blame for care home Covid infections and subsequent deaths onto the SNP Government. Today, we read: Lebanese teachers’ union head Fateh al-Sharif has been murdered, along with his wife and his two children, by an Israeli missile strike targeted at their home in a refugee camp in southern Lebanon. The attack almost certainly used weapons made in, or using components made in, the UK – either fighter jets or Elbit Systems attack drones.  GMB boss Gary … Continue reading As Lebanese teachers’ union leader is murdered by British weapons will former Scottish GMB leader agree the factories should shut?

Yes, I do have an alert that allows reports in the Sun. It’s important as even more folk read it than watch BBC Scotland News. In the Sun, two days ago: A HUGE dam nicknamed ‘Britain’s biggest battery’ is due to be built on the shores of a Scottish loch and is expected to provide power for millions of homes. Coire Glas is the name of the huge energy storage facility that will harness power from water as it falls 1,640 feet in the Scottish Highlands. Wait, 3 million homes? As of 2023, there were an estimated 2.54 million households in Scotland, which is a 14% increase from 2003. … Continue reading WONDER WALL Massive £1.5bn dam correctly named Scotland’s ‘biggest battery’ is too big already!

By Professor John Robertson Thanks to AR for alerting me to this. Johann Lamont, who in the run-up to the 2014 referendum infamously said ‘We’re not genetically programmed in Scotland to make political decisions’, is in the Scotsman today clearly thinking Scots are not up to reading research on the economy. She argues – ‘Why universal offers such as free bus travel and tuition may not be in the public’s interest.’ That’s just wrong. It’s not a matter of opinion. The research is in. It’s unambiguous and it comes from Johann’s Glasgow, where she went to school and university before … Continue reading Genetically-challenged Johann Lamont rejects the undeniable truth that universal benefits are good for the economy proved by Jimmie Reid’s research foundation 12 years ago

The Talking-up Scotland fund raiser primarily to enable the recruitment of some research assistance, in order to take pressure off me [74 in June and tiring] and hopefully to further improve the blog, has made a good start. To contribute, only if you can (!) go to: Talking-up Scotland – a Politics crowdfunding project in Ayr by Professor John Robertson Professor John Robertson OBA What are the figures? From the House of Commons in 2023, the above. Although the overall trend may have flattened, the actual number, over 50 000 offences where a knife or sharp object was involved1, is … Continue reading Media matters – The highest drug abuse in the UK or the highest knife violence in the UK?