Latest University of California research with 300 000 nuclear workers reinforces fears of positive link with leukemia, Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphomas, and multiple myeloma as in WHO study and research in Germany and Scotland
By Professor John Robertson Today, from the University of California in Irvine, USA: A major update was made to the International Nuclear Workers Study (INWORKS), an international epidemiological study of workers in the nuclear sector to assess their risks of cancer and non-cancerous diseases. The researchers assembled a cohort of more than 300,000 radiation-monitored workers from France, the United Kingdom and the United States, employed at nuclear facilities between 1944 and 2016. The study revealed a positive association between prolonged low-dose exposure to ionizing radiation and mortality from these haematological cancers. https://www.newswise.com/articles/new-uc-irvine-study-provides-crucial-insights-into-radiation-exposure-s-impact-on-cancer-risk The University then tries to play down the risk, … Continue reading Latest University of California research with 300 000 nuclear workers reinforces fears of positive link with leukemia, Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphomas, and multiple myeloma as in WHO study and research in Germany and Scotland
Royal College of Emergency Medicine opts NOT to share own analysis with Scotland’s voters – that A&E performance in NHS Scotland is best in UK by FAR!
By stewartb Let’s begin by taking back control of the ‘framing’ from BBC Scotland: ‘A&E performance by NHS Scotland is indeed by far the best in UK’. The Scotland section of the BBC News website on 4 October ran one of its regular features on the state of A&E services within NHS Scotland. The article was constructed around the remarks of the Vice President for Scotland of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM). It followed a common pattern – negative, in parts alarmist, reported uncritically and without context or perspective. And being a BBC Scotland article, it omitted that … Continue reading Royal College of Emergency Medicine opts NOT to share own analysis with Scotland’s voters – that A&E performance in NHS Scotland is best in UK by FAR!
Factually correct but deliberately misleading -headlines matter
A bit of my regular column in Scots Independent, 98 years-old and still going, available, less than £4 per month, on paper so can be read anywhere, delivered right to your door. Available using these details: Christmas present for your…….? SI hosts the empire-free Oliver Brown Award, OBA, previously held by Sean Connery, Alex Salmond, Mary Marquis and….er….moi. Stilling hosting me despite my move from SNP to SSP. Continue reading Factually correct but deliberately misleading -headlines matter
Ferret Factchecked – Levels of recorded crime ARE at 40 and even 50-year lows and victims themselves report a halving of incidences since 2007/2008 – read the proper research, read your own graph
By Professor John Robertson: Once again, thanks to Dottie for sharing this with me. The often unreliable Ferret, so much less trustworthy than the English Canary factchecker, has this today: John Swinney defended the Scottish Government’s record on justice during first minister’s questions (FMQs) on October 26, claiming crime was at an all-time low. During questioning from Douglas Ross, appearing at his last FMQs as leader of the Scottish Conservatives, Swinney said he must “put on the record” that “levels of crime in Scotland are currently at 40-year lows”. Ferret Fact Service looked at this claim and found it Mostly False. The Ferret base their … Continue reading Ferret Factchecked – Levels of recorded crime ARE at 40 and even 50-year lows and victims themselves report a halving of incidences since 2007/2008 – read the proper research, read your own graph
Murder by stabbing in Scotland falls in steady trend to half of level 6 years ago
From Knife crime statistics: FOI release, published today, we see that there were 49 homicides by knife in Scotland in 2017/2018 and that there has been a steady and significant fall to 25, in 2022/2023, the most recent data. BBC Scotland have reported 10 of the above 24 cases but have never referred to the trend despite being paid to inform the public of that which is in the public interest. Source: https://www.gov.scot/publications/foi-202400427434/ Continue reading Murder by stabbing in Scotland falls in steady trend to half of level 6 years ago
Another nail in Scottish Labour’s nuclear balloon as cost of one station in England now exceeds total devolved budget for Scotland
I’m grateful to Dottie once more for alerting me to this and for the above headline mixing metaphors to good effect in triggering the above image in my head. From the FT yesterday: UK ministers have made contingency arrangements to fund the Sizewell C nuclear power project in case a final agreement with potential private investors is delayed by as much as two years, officials have admitted. A £5.5bn subsidy scheme set up in August to support the construction of Britain’s next nuclear power station at Sizewell in Suffolk envisages a scenario where there is no agreement with private sector … Continue reading Another nail in Scottish Labour’s nuclear balloon as cost of one station in England now exceeds total devolved budget for Scotland
FACTCHECK: ‘Ultra long’ A&E waits far less common in Scotland
By Professor John Robertson: Dr John Paul Loughrey of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Hot Yoga enthusiast (@Jploughrey) has no time to grapple with the the facts as he helps BBC Scotland headline with another emergency services scare story about long waits in A&E and the risk they poses, especially for the more vulnerable. Missing from Dr Loughrey’s assessment of ultra long delays, in this BBC Scotland report, this: First, NHS England: THREE times as many wait more than 12 hours in England’s A&E departments NHS England, Type one A&E, for May 2024, 138 770 waiting more … Continue reading FACTCHECK: ‘Ultra long’ A&E waits far less common in Scotland
Scotland – 8 times the percentage of the area protected for nature
In the Guardian today: Nature in England at risk as amount of protected land falls to 2.93%, data shows. The amount of land that is protected for nature in England has fallen to just 2.93%, despite government promises to conserve 30% of it by 2030, new data reveals. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/oct/03/nature-england-under-threat-protected-land-falls-data From NatureScot in August 2023: About 18% of Scotland’s land is protected for nature, but this increases to 23% if you include national parks. To reach the 30% target by 2030, Scotland needs to increase protection by 7–12%. https://www.nature.scot/professional-advice/planning-and-development/planning-and-development-advice/planning-and-development-protected-areas#:~:text=Search%20for%20protected%20areas%20on,Visit%20our%20Natural%20Spaces%20website. Continue reading Scotland – 8 times the percentage of the area protected for nature
A flood of water complaints in England and Wales but barely a dribble in Scotland
In the Guardian today: The number of customer complaints that were unable to be resolved by water companies in England and Wales has risen by almost a third to the highest level in nearly a decade. There was a 29% increase in 2023-24 in cases escalated to the Consumer Council for Water (CCW) by households that failed to achieve a resolution from their supplier, the watchdog said. The jump has been fuelled by consumer discontent over sewage spills, billing mistakes and problems with water meters, with customers having exhausted their water supplier’s two-stage complaints process by the time they turned to the CCW. Its annual report … Continue reading A flood of water complaints in England and Wales but barely a dribble in Scotland
Wales and Scotland – Labour’s double-think
Anonymous Labour exceptionalism Where we the public are expected to believe that only Labour in Wales, and now also Labour as the new UK government, have difficult barriers/obstacles that they alone must overcome because of the failings of others but never ever is it to be regarded as a failing(s) by their own hand. Yet alternatively , Scotland, whose government has the same status as Labour in Wales, as in they too are a devolved government , are somehow , as a Scottish devolved government, those who must accept 100% liability and all blame for any obstacles and barriers that they have been faced with and still are faced with , via decisions made (imposed), by the supposed ‘Big Daddy of all governments within the UK’ as in the … Continue reading Wales and Scotland – Labour’s double-think
