Tag: art

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As unelected Lib Dem MSP imagines ferry disruption but what 1 064 real users actually think? 80% satisfaction and half-empty car decks

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Support Talking-up Scotland to keep rebutting the lies almost every day of the year, at https://t.co/xFcIcegHTy In the Ardrossan Herald two days ago: WEST Scotland Liberal Democrat [List] MSP Jamie Greene has hit out after it was revealed the cost of Arran’s newest ferry had now hit £197.5 million. It was confirmed last week that MV Glen Rosa, originally due to enter service in 2018, would now face an extra cost of £12.5 million. Nationalised [bad, to a newsrag owned by a corporation] shipyard Ferguson Marine confirmed last year that the vessel would not hit the waters until late 2026. That … Continue reading As unelected Lib Dem MSP imagines ferry disruption but what 1 064 real users actually think? 80% satisfaction and half-empty car decks

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Five serious incidents in only two years including drifting powerless near a rocky headland but New Zealand never blame government

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From Wellington.Scoop on January 10th 2026: Bluebridge troubles continue; crossings cancelled after ramp fault – More Bluebridge ferry services are being cancelled since a winch problem left passengers stranded overnight on the Connemara in Wellington Two hundred passengers spent about 15 hours on the vessel after Thursday’s 8.30pm Wellington to Picton service had to return to the capital shortly after departure following the discovery of a fault with the ramp. After the ramp problem, two scheduled Bluebridge crossings were cancelled – yesterday’s 2pm Picton to Wellington, and this morning’s 2.30am Picton to Wellington. More cancellations were expected. https://wellington.scoop.co.nz/?p=176968 The above … Continue reading Five serious incidents in only two years including drifting powerless near a rocky headland but New Zealand never blame government

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In the land with the best services for children the Herald’s sickening imagery and campaign to undermine the only party that does anything

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Professor John Robertson OBA The Herald today with another of their tasteless, exploitative images and demands from charities, the latter lead by folk often more interested in honours from Sir Keir, to demand more from the ‘SNP’ government and, of course, failing to inform their readers of just what that party has already done to radically reduce child poverty, only here, and with the clear commitment, only here, to push for its complete eradication! The Herald 18 October 2025 headlined their report on autism and ADHD waiting times with an apparently tragic image of tearful wee, Madeleine McCann-like, fair-haired girl of 3 to 4 … Continue reading In the land with the best services for children the Herald’s sickening imagery and campaign to undermine the only party that does anything

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How the SNP’s £1 purchase of Prestwick Airport could be the end of Heathrow’s domination of Scotland’s export trade to the World

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Professor John Robertson OBA This is conjecture and I will admit to only having an SCE Higher in Economics, C pass, 1969, but I sniff something good here. From BBC Glasgow & West Scotland, today, making it to the business page but not to the main page: Prestwick Airport has reported an increase in its financial performance as well as its cargo operations in the last year. The Scottish government-owned airport recorded a £3.5m operating profit for the year to 31 March 2025 – an increase of £300,000 from the previous year. The report said it has already achieved its … Continue reading How the SNP’s £1 purchase of Prestwick Airport could be the end of Heathrow’s domination of Scotland’s export trade to the World

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Our kids now hardly ever kill each other but BBC Scotland is killing our spirits with these distortions of reality

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BBC Scotland, careful to put the above as a quote but still hitting readers with the same message and one that does not inform us about the reality of our world. They know the scared and the anxious don’t vote for change. The family of a 16-year-old boy who was stabbed to death in Glasgow say police should be given more powers to search young people for knives. Kory McCrimmon’s family were speaking after BBC research showed that Police Scotland’s use of stop-and-search on under 18s increased by 38% last year. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn0x4k2xyw2o Before I go any further, isn’t that sequence … Continue reading Our kids now hardly ever kill each other but BBC Scotland is killing our spirits with these distortions of reality

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Isle of Wight Tory MP calls for ferry pricing regulation introduced by SNP in 2008 to transform Scottish island economies and then be forgotten by the ungrateful among them

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Professor John Robertson OBA From the Independent last week: Ferries which connect island communities to mainland Britain are in decline, an MP has warned in his push to bring boats more in line with buses and trains. Joe Robertson said the Isle of Wight’s 140,400 residents have little say over how ferries are run across the Solent to Hampshire. He has tabled the Ferry Services (Integration and Regulation) Bill which, if agreed, would set up a framework for regulating boat routes throughout the country. Bus and train operators must follow several laws, such as the new Bus Services Act this month, which gives councils the … Continue reading Isle of Wight Tory MP calls for ferry pricing regulation introduced by SNP in 2008 to transform Scottish island economies and then be forgotten by the ungrateful among them

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The case for developing a shipbuilding industry on the Clyde learning valuable skills from the two hybrids – as four cheap-build island ‘lifeline’, Turkey-built ferries are delayed again and again despite cheap and dangerous practice

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By Professor John Robertson OBA From the Scotsman in March 2025: A fleet of ferries being built in Turkey have been hit by a further setback, with their completion date pushed back by at least another three months due to labour shortages. The Isle of Islay – the first of four vessels being built at the Cemre Marin Endustri shipyard at Yalova – will now not be completed until at least June. The delay, which was blamed on the impact of “global geopolitical events”, was confirmed in a letter from Scottish Government ferry-buying firm Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (Cmal), sent to a key Scottish Parliament committee … Continue reading The case for developing a shipbuilding industry on the Clyde learning valuable skills from the two hybrids – as four cheap-build island ‘lifeline’, Turkey-built ferries are delayed again and again despite cheap and dangerous practice

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Health Secretary need not apologise over Glasgow drug room briefing

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Professor John Robertson OBA In the Herald today, the above and: Health Secretary Neil Gray is under pressure to apologise after an official briefing prepared for him included claims that residents in Glasgow’s East End have spread misinformation about the city’s drug consumption room. The internal paper — released under Freedom of Information laws to the Scottish Conservatives — was drawn up by Scottish Government officials ahead of Mr Gray’s appearance before the Westminster Scottish Affairs Committee in June, as part of its inquiry into “Problem Drug Use in Scotland” and the Thistle pilot facility in Calton. https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/25566391.neil-gray-urged-apologise-glasgow-drug-room-briefing/ Who is urging the apology? You won’t be surprised: What … Continue reading Health Secretary need not apologise over Glasgow drug room briefing

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BBC Scotland today restarts a media feeding frenzy in psychiatric care for children and adolescents which was already a new low in ethical standards across journalism in Scotland

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Professor John Robertson OBA BBC Scotland today has: A new report has raised concerns about the use of physical restraint and forced tube feeding in Edinburgh’s inpatient mental health ward for 12 to 17-year-olds. The inspection of the Melville Unit at the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People was the first in a series of visits to psychiatric wards. The visits were ordered by ministers after BBC Scotland’s Disclosure programme uncovered allegations of a “culture of cruelty” at Skye House, the young people’s inpatient facility in Glasgow. In the last paragraph there, the word ‘after‘ is doing some ‘heavy lifting.’ and … Continue reading BBC Scotland today restarts a media feeding frenzy in psychiatric care for children and adolescents which was already a new low in ethical standards across journalism in Scotland

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The false and immoral economy of cheap ferries from Communist Vietnam

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Professor John Robertson OBA The MV Alfred, leased to CalMac by Pentland Ferries, is back in Ayr dock today. Two years ago, she was tied up for gearbox problems in Ardrossan and was the cause of multiple cancellations on the Arran crossing. The MV Alfred was cheap. Only £14.5 million in 2019. It’s not clear what either the Communist Government subsidy, the wages rate or the death rate of workers in the Strategic Marine Shipyard was. It is also not clear just how much is lost to the Scottish economy by failing to build ferries here. On 5 July 2022, the Alfred grounded … Continue reading The false and immoral economy of cheap ferries from Communist Vietnam