Author: johnrobertson834

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

Dare to be different on smart phones, Scotland – since they were first introduced – teenage sex, pregnancy rates, crime, violence, alcohol and drugs all down!

johnrobertson834

21 years ago I read the above book by Steven Johnson so it was with delight that I received an email today from ‘scunhur’ making the case for smart phones making you smart, By ‘scunhur’: Imagine these Scottish news headlines: SEXUAL ACTIVITY DOWN IN TEENAGERS TEENAGE PREGNANCY RATES DOWN BY TWO THIRDS DECLINE IN TEENAGE CRIME DECLINE IN TEENAGE VIOLENCE STEEP REDUCTION IN TEENAGE ALCOHOL INTAKE REDUCTION IN TEENAGE DRUG USAGE It’s all true (well…see 6.): https://researchonline.gcu.ac.uk/en/publications/trends-in-the-sexual-behaviour-of-15-year-olds-in-scotland-2002-1/.  Since this report it has become harder to obtain useful information due to unethical Government and research behaviour https://www.cypcs.org.uk/news-and-stories/statement-commissioner-raises-concerns-with-scottish-government-about-rights-impact-of-health-and-wellbeing-survey/ and https://www.enlighten.scot/ethical-concerns-of-the-health-wellbeing-census/ https://publichealthscotland.scot/publications/teenage-pregnancies/teenage-pregnancies-year-of-conception-ending-31-december-2023/  There is a small uptick during … Continue reading Dare to be different on smart phones, Scotland – since they were first introduced – teenage sex, pregnancy rates, crime, violence, alcohol and drugs all down!

2 Comments

Knife crimes plummet here to only half the level under Labour and 90 times as many, per head, ‘Zombie/Rambo’ knives were mentioned in crime reports in England & Wales

johnrobertson834

As the Daily Record continues to milk the blood of dead teenagers to keep from running out of morbid front page headlines, their latest, today, is as ill-informed as ever. Here’s what you and your family need to know but the Daily Record feels no obligation to tell you of. In Scotland in 2006/2007, there were just over 4 000 recorded crimes of ‘having in a public place and article with a blade or point.’ By 2016/2017, the figure had fallen by half to just over 2 000.1 By 2019/2020, the figure had climbed to 2 666 before falling again to 2 582 … Continue reading Knife crimes plummet here to only half the level under Labour and 90 times as many, per head, ‘Zombie/Rambo’ knives were mentioned in crime reports in England & Wales

6 Comments

As Unionist rapist of an eight-year-old girl fades from the media two polls confirm SNP support increasing AFTER Murrell verdict and Sturgeon witch hunt

johnrobertson834

Child rapist, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, former leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, has been forgotten already but the media operating in Scotland are still in a froth over the SNP chief exec who bought daft stuff with SNP money. Luckily it matters little in the great sweep of things. There have been two polls since Peter Murrell was found guilty, on May 25th 2026, and media went into slavering overdrive, accusing his wife of lying and calling for an inquiry. They’ll be disappointed. YouGov 25-26 May In the sample for Scotland – SNP 34, Reform UK 21, Labour 12, Greens 10, … Continue reading As Unionist rapist of an eight-year-old girl fades from the media two polls confirm SNP support increasing AFTER Murrell verdict and Sturgeon witch hunt

2 Comments

‘Scottish’ Daily Express today desperately tries to link it to Scotland but nothing in Scotland looks anything like the mass child grooming rape gangs in England

johnrobertson834

The Daily Express ‘Scottish’ today, above with an English/Pakistani rape gang leader and one of his victims in England on the front page. Below in the UK, where is the story? Why is this unacceptable propaganda? From the First Minister 9 February 2026, responding to calls for a national review: However, in order for any action to be effective, we must appropriately consider the relevance of these recommendations for our specific legislative, statutory service and regulatory landscape, and the scale of this specific form of organised gang-related sexual abuse of children and young people in Scotland. I would firstly like … Continue reading ‘Scottish’ Daily Express today desperately tries to link it to Scotland but nothing in Scotland looks anything like the mass child grooming rape gangs in England

2 Comments

NHS Scotland’s greater spending, some independence, better staffing and care integration will offset some of the 20 000 avoidable deaths Starmer offers us in his US deal

johnrobertson834

In the Guardian today: The NHS will have to divert £45bn from essential services to pay for new medicines under the terms of the UK-US trade deal agreed last December, leading to more than 200,000 avoidable deaths [229 000] of patients, analysis has found. Ministers have defended the deal as a way of helping British drug exports to the US avoid tariffs, and giving patients in England access to potentially life-extending drugs that would otherwise be denied. But they have been accused of caving in to US demands to spend billions of pounds a year extra on drugs supplied to the NHS … Continue reading NHS Scotland’s greater spending, some independence, better staffing and care integration will offset some of the 20 000 avoidable deaths Starmer offers us in his US deal

4 Comments

NHS Scotland to be hammered for hundreds of millions in US drug deal Scotland had no say in

johnrobertson834

In the Guardian today something we, well stewartb, warned was coming. The NHS across the UK will have to divert £45bn from essential services to pay for the trade ‘deal’ the UK Labour Government has just done with big pharma in the US. Scotland’s share, unavoidably as the deal is done by the UK Government alone, will cost NHS Scotland around 8% of that or £360 million. In April 2026, stewartb, warned this was coming and NHS Scotland would just have to meet the cost from its finite budget unless the UK Government did something. stewartb Seems like another example … Continue reading NHS Scotland to be hammered for hundreds of millions in US drug deal Scotland had no say in

2 Comments

‘Localised pollution’ in Fife ‘could’ be a risk but the were no could be’s when Cryptosporidium in London, Diarrhoea in Devon, Human Waste in the Thames and in Windermere and Sick sheep in a Yorkshire burn were found

johnrobertson834

BBC Scotland yesterday, making as much as they can from this: Environmental inspectors have warned the public to avoid entering the water at a beach in Fife due to “localised pollution” in a stream. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) said water quality in the Kinghorn Burn had been found to be “intermittently poor” during recent testing. The watchdog said the water, which flows under the town into Kinghorn harbour beach, could be a risk to human and animal health. You have to worry about the wee souls at BBC Scotland’s Pacific Quay site on the Clyde watching folk falling … Continue reading ‘Localised pollution’ in Fife ‘could’ be a risk but the were no could be’s when Cryptosporidium in London, Diarrhoea in Devon, Human Waste in the Thames and in Windermere and Sick sheep in a Yorkshire burn were found

3 Comments

Researchers cast serious doubt on reality of hate crimes ‘surging’ in Scotland – I’m certain they’re not – they probably fell by around 4%

johnrobertson834

BBC Scotland today try to have it both ways in this headline. What percentage of the population is, like TuS readers, media students and other perceptive folk out there, thinking ‘Ah it’s just charges. It might not really be soaring at all?’ It’s not. Hate crimes in Scotland are not ‘soaring.’ I’m as certain as I can be. Why? First, from the same report: A new law introduced in 2024 created a new crime of “stirring up hatred” relating to age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, transgender identity or being intersex.1 Broaden the definition of hate crime and more cases are … Continue reading Researchers cast serious doubt on reality of hate crimes ‘surging’ in Scotland – I’m certain they’re not – they probably fell by around 4%

10 Comments

Little delight as brand-new Turkish-built ferry doors last only 15weeks and the other unfinished three vessels have to be paid for in full meaning they might need to be towed somewhere for finishing-off – How about the Clyde?

johnrobertson834

From BBC Scotland today: CalMac’s newest ship – the Turkish-built MV Isle of Islay – is to be withdrawn from service for repairs later this month, just 15 weeks after carrying its first passengers. The roll-on roll-off ferry entered service on 31 March, but six weeks later a hinge problem with its bow doors meant it has had to operate “single ended” ever since. The issue is understood to be the only “big ticket” item out of about 150 lesser problems that CalMac wants fixed under warranty. Separately, Scotland’s state-owned ferries body is trying to establish if three other CalMac … Continue reading Little delight as brand-new Turkish-built ferry doors last only 15weeks and the other unfinished three vessels have to be paid for in full meaning they might need to be towed somewhere for finishing-off – How about the Clyde?