Author: johnrobertson834

Retired Professor of Media Politics Not-for-profit independent political analysis
4 Comments

Sadly the Herald is not the only media outlet where failures, even war criminals, are kept on

johnrobertson834

I’ve sworn off and of Kev many times then find myself angrily coming back for more. WTF is he talking about now? This is clearly a case for AI. I have better things to do, like wipe my……………. Here you are, 34 seconds of Grok: Are there prominent demonstrably failed political figures in the UK or beyond who are then or later rewarded? Yes. There are multiple prominent examples in the UK (and a similar pattern elsewhere) of political figures linked to clear, measurable failures—election defeats, policy disasters with documented economic or institutional harm, scandals, or inquiries finding serious shortcomings—who … Continue reading Sadly the Herald is not the only media outlet where failures, even war criminals, are kept on

3 Comments

Fighting obesity with drugs – BBC Scotland’s one-sided, unbalanced reporting fails to tell you of a more sustainable, equitable, and cost-effective population-level approach and the really ‘leading’ Scottish doctor who knows all about it

johnrobertson834

effective since 2023. BBC Scotland‘s insert in BBC Breakfast this morning tell us that the weight loss drug ‘jabs’ (sic) Wegovy and Mounjaro are only being prescribed free, on the NHS, for ‘fewer than 800′ Scots, that at least 300 000 are accessing them privately, that this discriminates against the obese and that they have been approved as ‘safe and cost effective.‘ In some ways strangely, given their close ties, the BBC Scotland writers have forgotten this from the Herald in May 2025: A Scottish GP has warned about society’s potential reliance on weight loss drugs as he calls for … Continue reading Fighting obesity with drugs – BBC Scotland’s one-sided, unbalanced reporting fails to tell you of a more sustainable, equitable, and cost-effective population-level approach and the really ‘leading’ Scottish doctor who knows all about it

5 Comments

As twice as many wait more than 12 hours in NHS England’s A&E, Jackie Baillie rides the Scotsman off its readership cliff again

johnrobertson834

Scottish Labour’s unhealthy spokesperson seem to be a columnist at the Unhealthy Scotsman these days. Today, further riding the Scotsman off its readership cliff, she has: The shocking figures that reveal how bad Scotland’s A&E crisis has got under SNP – Jackie Baillie Emergency departments in two flagship hospitals can sometimes be forced to deal with more than double or triple the number of patients they are designed to treat And then this sickly rib-tickler Candour is so important in politics. Voters deserve to hear the truth from those in power and to know they understand their duty to get … Continue reading As twice as many wait more than 12 hours in NHS England’s A&E, Jackie Baillie rides the Scotsman off its readership cliff again

4 Comments

There has been a massive but unreported reduction in the number of children on the child protection register in Scotland and a widening gap with the other 3 nations despite the plague of English drug gangs using them as ‘mules’

johnrobertson834

In the Herald, today, the above and: and: Nowhere in this report is the question ‘Why is there an increase?’ even considered never mind answered. The answer is in existing MSM reports: First, there is a huge surge in child exploitation – carrying drugs in body cavities and sexual abuse – by English county lines drug gangs in Scotland From Human Trafficking NRM referrals re county lines – 10yrs published by Police Scotland today, that ‘referrals made by Police Scotland to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) where county lines and suspected criminal exploitation was a factor‘ was: Under 16 year-olds … Continue reading There has been a massive but unreported reduction in the number of children on the child protection register in Scotland and a widening gap with the other 3 nations despite the plague of English drug gangs using them as ‘mules’

4 Comments

Half the recorded rape offence rate but more funding in Scotland – THE News?

johnrobertson834

because of a funding shortage. Glasgow and Clyde Rape Crisis has launched an urgent appeal to raise more money in the next four weeks. It comes amid a series of protests about cuts to similar services across the country when the number of sexual crimes recorded here reached its highest since the 1970s. BBC Scotland leading off today, as often before, with a story not fully worked out on its webpage so we cannot check its accuracy and sources. There is, of course, no rape story across the other BBC broadcasts or websites, despite higher rape offences reported in each … Continue reading Half the recorded rape offence rate but more funding in Scotland – THE News?

3 Comments

12 years after Erin Brockovich, Labour councillors approved massive nearby waste incinerator with a chimney barely taller and a plume containing deadly chromium hexavalent, lead and arsenic which the prevailing winds will send to the windows of wards of immunocompromised patients,

johnrobertson834

Thanks to reader Joe Murray for alerting us to this. As the media operating in Scotland desperately struggle to blame the SNP for a problem in the QEUH water supply and drainage, signed off by a Labour dominated health board in a Labour-led authority, in 2015, two years before the SNP victory, another problem for them emerges. Surely, they’d seen Erin Brockovich (2 000) and would have known about the deadly chromium hexavalent, if they did some reading? In 2012, Glasgow City Council granted planning permission for the South Clyde Energy Centre (an energy-from-waste/incinerator facility) at Bogmoor Road, North Cardonald … Continue reading 12 years after Erin Brockovich, Labour councillors approved massive nearby waste incinerator with a chimney barely taller and a plume containing deadly chromium hexavalent, lead and arsenic which the prevailing winds will send to the windows of wards of immunocompromised patients,

3 Comments

How the middle-class activists of Newton Mearns avoided Govan’s fate as Glasgow Labour’s new giant incinerator is built upwind of the QEUH and associated with congenital anomalies, infant death and miscarriage

johnrobertson834

From Ends Waste & Bioenergy in January 2015: Plans to build the UK’s largest waste management complex [image at top] and energy-from-waste plant have come to an end, it has emerged. Lifetime Recycling Village Ltd, which had planned to build the £640m plant 12 kilometres south of Glasgow, was officially wound up in February, according to government records. Proposal to build the facility were first unveiled in 2010 by three waste and construction entrepreneurs. Its three gasification lines would have processed a total of 900,000 tonnes of waste per year – over 100,000t more than London’s Riverside, the UK’s largest … Continue reading How the middle-class activists of Newton Mearns avoided Govan’s fate as Glasgow Labour’s new giant incinerator is built upwind of the QEUH and associated with congenital anomalies, infant death and miscarriage

3 Comments

It’s a giant incinerator just upwind of a giant hospital full of immuno-compromised patients – only in Labour Glasgow and too late for the SNP Government to stop

johnrobertson834

From STV yesterday, the above and, in the whole report, zero mentions of the word ‘incinerator‘ as the launch by end 2026 looms. We had a lot to say about this last month: The massive incinerator, called the South Clyde Energy Centre, positioned deliberately directly upwind and a short distance from Glasgow’s biggest hospital. The above facility is, of course, an incinerator. Located directly upwind of the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital to add to the current concerns regarding raw sewage ponds close to it. The new South Clyde Energy Centre due west of the QEUH to get the very most of the … Continue reading It’s a giant incinerator just upwind of a giant hospital full of immuno-compromised patients – only in Labour Glasgow and too late for the SNP Government to stop

2 Comments

Has any country ever becoming independent of the UK or British Empire ever needed to explain how it would be able to pay pensions?

johnrobertson834

Has any country ever becoming independent of the UK or British Empire ever needed to explain how it would be able to pay pensions? No. There is no historical precedent of a country becoming independent from the UK or British Empire being required to publicly explain, in detail, how it would fund pensions for its own population as a condition of independence. What actually happened in practice Public officers / colonial service pensions: Independence negotiations routinely included Public Officers Agreements (or equivalent). The new government typically assumed liability for the pensions of British and local civil servants who had worked … Continue reading Has any country ever becoming independent of the UK or British Empire ever needed to explain how it would be able to pay pensions?

4 Comments

Producing fish-free omega-3 from whisky waste using SNP Government funds

johnrobertson834

In Green Queen yesterday: University of Edinburgh spinout MiAlgae has secured £2.5M ($3.3M) from the Scottish National Investment Bank to support the construction of its facility to produce fish-free omega-3 from whisky waste. Scottish startup MiAlgae’s efforts to build a commercial-scale algal omega-3 facility have received a funding boost from the federal (sic) government. The Scottish National Investment Bank (SNIB) has poured £2.5M ($3.3M) into the firm to support the construction of the factory in Grangemouth, which will help the company scale up and bring new employment opportunities to the region. Full report at: https://www.greenqueen.com.hk/mialgae-algal-omega-3-fish-oil-whisky-waste-grangemouth-scotland-funding/ Where does the Scottish National … Continue reading Producing fish-free omega-3 from whisky waste using SNP Government funds