Author: johnrobertson834

Retired Professor of Media Politics Not-for-profit independent political analysis
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Ferry fiasco as older Australian ferries have to be brought back into service when cheap Chinese replacements fail

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From North Beaches Advocate tomorrow: Emerald-class ferry fiasco Feb 12, 2024 – Unreliable engines will be replaced with ‘renewable ready’ upgrades in the three Emerald-class Manly ferries. Concerns over the reliability of the new Generation 2 Emerald-class ferry fleet have been mounting since they first entered service in October 2021. Although criticised for being Chinese built, the shipbuilder claimed the design of the ferries and propulsion systems were all sourced in Australia.As the new Generation 2 Emerald-class fleet entered service, the older Freshwater-class ferries were due to be retired, but gradually, all but one has re-entered service as concerns over safety and reliability issues mounted. https://www.northernbeachesadvocate.com.au/2024/02/12/emerald-class-ferry-fiasco/ Cheap … Continue reading Ferry fiasco as older Australian ferries have to be brought back into service when cheap Chinese replacements fail

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Already worse, how much more so can England’s pupil-teacher ratio get?

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Today in the Observer: Schools across England are warning they will soon be unsafe because they are having to cut teachers and support staff to save money, with record numbers now in deficit. With escalating behavioural problems, soaring numbers of children with special educational needs, and increased pupil numbers, schools say staff are already stretched to the limit. Yet heads across the country say they now have no choice but to plan redundancies or not replace leaving staff in order to balance their books. One in eight local authority maintained schools were in deficit in 2022-23, the highest number on … Continue reading Already worse, how much more so can England’s pupil-teacher ratio get?

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Scotland’s cancer incidence level is much higher than the average in every part of world – SNP MP exposes likely cause in pollution from the most dangerous nuclear site in Europe

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Apologies for posting and then quickly deleting this yesterday. I made a mistake with the stats and know from previous errors that one wee slip and all your other work is cast into doubt. I’m 72, on my own, still impulsive after all these years and breengin’ to the end. It’s sorted now. Two recent reports in the National (links below), by Ayr MP Allan Dorans, have exposed levels of radioactivity in seafood, other wildlife and in river estuary sediment, from the Sellafield nuclear reprocessing plant in Cumbria, described recently in the Guardian as ‘Europe’s most toxic nuclear site‘. These … Continue reading Scotland’s cancer incidence level is much higher than the average in every part of world – SNP MP exposes likely cause in pollution from the most dangerous nuclear site in Europe

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Prevent another deadly health strike or check a colleague’s phone bill – What should Humza have done with his time?

johnrobertson834

BBC Scotland are going with the Tories on the news of the day – Humza Yousaf must apologise for refusing to sack former health secretary Michael Matheson, the Scottish Conservatives have said. The, THE news, today, of the Junior Doctor’s next, looming, strike, is nowhere other than in the Health Service Journal: Junior doctors have announced a further five full days of strike action this month, while their union has accused the health and social care secretary of refusing to extend their strike mandate to allow pay talks to continue. The strike will run from 7am on Saturday 24 February … Continue reading Prevent another deadly health strike or check a colleague’s phone bill – What should Humza have done with his time?

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NHS Scotland is far better staffed and is returning to pre-pandemic treatment levels but this IFS twit can’t even do basic arithmetic!

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Straight after we hear that Neil Grey is ‘facing‘ his first day as Health Secretary, Reporting Scotland at 06:27am: It comes as the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) says the NHS is handling fewer patients – including 21% fewer elective in-patients – but costing more. A Scottish Government spokesperson said they remain committed to reducing waits for planned and emergency care. Then from Max, above: I think this should be one of the highest priorities for the new health secretary. NHS and health spending is one of the largest fings (sic) the Scottish Government or most governments do and when you … Continue reading NHS Scotland is far better staffed and is returning to pre-pandemic treatment levels but this IFS twit can’t even do basic arithmetic!

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Scottish Government funding enables Scottish company to test ground-breaking new giant gravity battery

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From the Independent today: An abandoned mine in Finland is set to be transformed into a giant battery to store renewable energy during periods of excess production. The Pyhäsalmi Mine, roughly 450 kilometres north of Helsinki, is Europe’s deepest zinc and copper mine and holds the potential to store up to 2 MW of energy within its 1,400-metre-deep shafts. The disused mine will be fitted with a gravity battery, which uses excess energy from renewable sources like solar and wind in order to lift a heavy weight. During periods of low production, the weight is released and used to power a turbine as it … Continue reading Scottish Government funding enables Scottish company to test ground-breaking new giant gravity battery

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Minimal alcohol pricing – Charity leader really wants support FOR SNP project contrary to Herald’s attempt to mislead

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What on earth do you think the Herald is up to now with the image above and the headline – Minimum alcohol pricing: Charity leader calls for probe? Probe? A charity leader is opposed to MUP? Really? No. The charity is Favor UK. Here’s what they think. Probe? Nobe. The charity leader wants the Scot Gov to publish more research evidence in favour of MUP. She doesn’t, as the headline implies, want a ‘probe’ to find out why it’s a bad idea. Quite the reverse. Has the Scottish Government perhaps already published the research and the media have ignored it, … Continue reading Minimal alcohol pricing – Charity leader really wants support FOR SNP project contrary to Herald’s attempt to mislead

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You won’t hear this – ‘SNP help families with cost of living’

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Nowhere in Scottish media: Over 43,000 automatic payments to help families with cost of living. More than 43,000 payments have been paid automatically to help parents and carers with the cost of living and starting school, latest official figures show. The introduction of automatic payments means that tens of thousands of people getting Scottish Child Payment have been awarded Best Start Grant Early Learning and School Age Payments without the need to apply separately. For each of the two benefits, people are awarded one-off payments of £294.70 per child to help with costs like clothes, toys and school trips. Some … Continue reading You won’t hear this – ‘SNP help families with cost of living’

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NHS England told to treat the less sick BEFORE those ‘at death’s door’ to meet Tory ‘political’ targets

johnrobertson834

This is all-too-familiar to us here. I’ve reported on NHS England re-starting the clock after A&E arrivals have been admitted to a department, to improve published statistics; on NHS Wales reducing targets from 95% for cancer waiting times, to 70%, to make things look less bad; on Public Health England not counting care home deaths to make their Covid death rate seem comparable to those in Scotland; on BBC UK using the ‘All’ A&E waiting time figures to compare with our ‘ED’ only performance to make theirs seem bearable and on English hospitals ‘coping’ with third world hospital-acquired Covid infection … Continue reading NHS England told to treat the less sick BEFORE those ‘at death’s door’ to meet Tory ‘political’ targets

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STV stick in thumb and come out with clear bias against SNP

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In their own latest poll with Ipsos MORI, the strong SNP lead of 9 points is down from 14 in their November 2023 poll but it’s up significantly from the two 5 point leads in the other two polls in 2024. Similarly, the 6 point lead for Yes in the same poll is down from 8% in November 2023 but it’s up on 5 other polls in between. It’s all about choices and STV is choosing a world. Continue reading STV stick in thumb and come out with clear bias against SNP