BBC Scotland say 660 organised crime gang members from just two Scottish gangs? Won’t most of them be from the 55 English county lines gangs operating in Scotland from Thurso to Dumfries and 53 places in between?
Support Talking-up Scotland’s work to counter the lies and get you the facts, daily, at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/checkout/help-talking-up-scotland-tell-truth-about-scotland/payment/nBQxjVzq/details Professor John Robertson OBA BBC Scotland are telling us today: Scotland’s prison population stood at 8,251 on Monday. About 660 of those inmates are thought to have “strong SOCG associations” and many others are linked to lower level, local gangs. In recent years, Police Scotland and prosecutors at the Crown Office have secured dozens of gangland convictions. These have included those of top level figures like Jamie “Iceman” Stevenson and James “The Don” White, who were both involved in international drug smuggling. But tension has ramped up this year, … Continue reading BBC Scotland say 660 organised crime gang members from just two Scottish gangs? Won’t most of them be from the 55 English county lines gangs operating in Scotland from Thurso to Dumfries and 53 places in between?
Nearly 250 fewer in Scotland’s prisons after 18 years free of Con/Labour control
Support Talking-up Scotland’s work to counter the lies and get you the facts, daily, at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/checkout/help-talking-up-scotland-tell-truth-about-scotland/payment/nBQxjVzq/details Professor John Robertson OBA In 2024, a Council of Europe SPACE-I collection occurred on the 1st January and shows that Scotland continued to have one of the highest prison population rates in western Europe. On that date there were 140.5 prisoners per 100,000 inhabitants in Scotland. On this occasion, while in Northern Ireland it remained far lower at 94.2 per 100,000 inhabitants, the prison population rate in England & Wales was slightly higher than that in Scotland at 145.0 per 100,000.1 ‘Slightly higher?’ Once more, even … Continue reading Nearly 250 fewer in Scotland’s prisons after 18 years free of Con/Labour control
How BBC Scotland sought to suppress and to justify that suppression of the only academic research revealing their deep bias in 2014
Professor John Robertson OBA Looking for the first time in years at the above fascinating and comprehensive analysis of broadcast TV bias in the run-up to the Scottish Independence referendum of 2014, I read with interest, for I had forgotten much of it, my subsequent exchange with BBC Scotland (Ch 11). In the first few days of 2014, my content analysis research of the TV media coverage of the Independence Referendum campaigns of 2013, triggered a unique and bullish response from BBC Scotland News in the form of their external affairs guy, Ian Small. After reporting me to my Principal and accusing … Continue reading How BBC Scotland sought to suppress and to justify that suppression of the only academic research revealing their deep bias in 2014
Never done a real job Lib Dem thinks he can criticise SNP achievements in Education
Support Talking-up Scotland’s work to counter the lies and get you the facts, daily, at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/checkout/help-talking-up-scotland-tell-truth-about-scotland/payment/nBQxjVzq/details Professor John Robertson OBA, for nearly 40 years a schoolteacher, a teacher education lecturer, Associate Dean for Quality Assurance, research methods lecturer, PhD supervisor and Faculty Research Ethics Chair Thanks to rtpscott for alerting me to this. Willie Rennie is in the P&J today to claim ‘SNP’s attainment gap promise lying in ruins’. This allows me to repeat a response which I know only a few hundred of the thousands following TuS across social media have actually looked at. I include my experience above merely to suggest I … Continue reading Never done a real job Lib Dem thinks he can criticise SNP achievements in Education
“Kill ‘Em all” and “Palestine – time for action”
By Liz S I saw a picture yesterday on Blue Sky of a guy holding a placard that said “Kill ‘Em all” (Is ‘Em’ an abbreviated Scottish word for ‘them’…I do not think so ) . This picture and post on Blue Sky had been reposted by a guy called Colin Dunn (worth a follow as his Blue Sky account is great), The post also stated this……… “A woman was arrested in Glasgow today for wearing a T-shirt that said “Palestine – time for action” under terrorism legislation. Meanwhile this guy was allowed to stand outside an Asylum Seekers hostel … Continue reading “Kill ‘Em all” and “Palestine – time for action”
As Lib Dems and BBC Scotland reveal compensation to delayed passengers of only 0.1% of budget, they forget that their previous FoI revealed that CalMac is more than 97% reliable
Support Talking-up Scotland’s work to counter the lies and get you the facts, daily, at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/checkout/help-talking-up-scotland-tell-truth-about-scotland/payment/nBQxjVzq/details Professor John Robertson OBA BBC Scotland today have a report today based on a Freedom of Information request, by the Lib Dems: The state-owned ferry operator paid £432,735 in compensation to travellers in 2024-25. It marks a 37% rise on compensation payments in 2023-24, but a slight fall from 2022-23, when the operator paid £454,000 to delayed passengers, according to figures obtained by the Scottish Liberal Democrats. The total Scottish Government subsidy for CalMac is £370 million: https://www.gov.uk/cma-cases/referral-of-the-proposed-subsidy-to-calmac-ferries-limited-by-transport-scotland CalMac operates 36 ferries.A further 5 vessels are … Continue reading As Lib Dems and BBC Scotland reveal compensation to delayed passengers of only 0.1% of budget, they forget that their previous FoI revealed that CalMac is more than 97% reliable
Selective reporting on cancer treatment to conceal Scotland’s better performance
Support Talking-up Scotland’s work to counter the lies and get you the facts, daily, at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/checkout/help-talking-up-scotland-tell-truth-about-scotland/payment/nBQxjVzq/details Professor John Robertson OBA From the healthandcare.scot news channel, today: Scotland falling behind on lung cancer screening – A leading lung cancer charity says, with a national lung screening programme announced for Wales last month and a scheme in England having already diagnosed thousands of new cases – Scotland is being left behind. The ownership of this news and any associations they hold are not transparent though it seems to be owned and run by a John Keenan. Not included, for necessary context, as it should … Continue reading Selective reporting on cancer treatment to conceal Scotland’s better performance
A million more tourists in one year, outperforming the UK, as people head north away from the burning to make Scotland the new Monaco, but BBC Scotland miss this real trend too
Support Talking-up Scotland’s work to counter the lies and get you the facts, daily, at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/checkout/help-talking-up-scotland-tell-truth-about-scotland/payment/nBQxjVzq/details Professor John Robertson OBA From the Observer, yesterday: It may not offer a reliable tan, but Scotland has become the place to be this summer – midges and all. The most recent figures on Scottish tourism are from 2023, when almost 4 million international visitors set a new record. And Jill Walker, director of marketing and digital at VisitScotland, says early 2024 figures surpassed this by almost half a million, with anecdotal reports from this summer suggesting no slowdown. https://observer.co.uk/news/national/article/manic-in-the-glen-why-the-world-has-gone-wild-for-scotland-this-year From Daily Business in October 2024: There were 1,975,000 … Continue reading A million more tourists in one year, outperforming the UK, as people head north away from the burning to make Scotland the new Monaco, but BBC Scotland miss this real trend too
Only 0.01% of voters actually think gender reform is the key issue but the media will say it is for the SNP in 2026 – How the media try to influence election outcomes by deciding WHAT you think is important
Support Talking-up Scotland’s work to counter the lies and get you the facts, daily, at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/checkout/help-talking-up-scotland-tell-truth-about-scotland/payment/nBQxjVzq/details Professor John Robertson OBA The Trans issue has been central to media coverage in Scotland for years now and that coverage has uniformly sought to present it as controversial and to locate entirely within the affairs of the SNP, disregarding cross-party support, so as to protect, especially, Anas Sarwar. You see above, that the Times has decided that ‘trans’ is to be the ‘key issue for the SNP‘ at election, May 2026. What is that claim based on? In December 2022, in a poll of 1 … Continue reading Only 0.01% of voters actually think gender reform is the key issue but the media will say it is for the SNP in 2026 – How the media try to influence election outcomes by deciding WHAT you think is important
By 2012, two years before, Ms Rowling had already made up her mind!
By stewartb “ I came to the question of independence with an open mind” Question to ChatGPT: ‘Please summarise the public statements in the press and online made by the famous author JK Rowling in 2014 and in prior years concerning the campaign for and referendum on Scotland’s independence. Please include her first public comment on the matter.’ ChatGPT said: in part: ‘J.K. Rowling’s comments on Scotland’s independence were a topic of much attention, especially during the campaign leading up to the 2014 referendum. Here’s a summary of her key public statements made in 2014 and the years leading up to the … Continue reading By 2012, two years before, Ms Rowling had already made up her mind!
Talking-up Scotland 