Tag: books

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‘Better together to fight Covid?’ No, not only did UK Government try to divert supplies away from Scottish care homes they had previously caused the shortage, in the first place

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By Professor John Robertson OBA As the UK Covid Inquiry reconvenes, Lisa Summers is keen to remind us of how ‘Across the UK, teams worked together‘. In can see why BBC Scotland would love you to remember it that way. It’s not what I remember best. Many thanks to our feeder CMac (not the ferry operator) for this one. In the never-knowingly pro-SNP P&J and buried elsewhere: A UK Government decision to postpone a joint procurement process left emergency pandemic supplies “depleted” and dependent on extending expiry dates. Our investigation has found Scottish health chiefs privately questioned the move and asked whether it was driven by anything … Continue reading ‘Better together to fight Covid?’ No, not only did UK Government try to divert supplies away from Scottish care homes they had previously caused the shortage, in the first place

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Christmas Factcheck – Jackie Baillie’s local hospital cancels fewer operations than most yet she betrays the staff for cheap ill-informed point-scoring

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By Professor John Robertson OBA I know, get a life, but I’ve had a drink and rest of the family are watching Gavin an Stacey. I can’t concentrate, still furious and nauseated by the Jackie Baillie / Herald, Christmas Eve attack on the Royal Jubilee Hospital in Clydebank. Using their own data, ‘modelled’ in some way, they suggest that this hospital is doing less operations and that SNP failures lie behind that. So, at 01.10am, I access the actual, raw not ‘modelled’, data and, lo and behold, the Golden Jubilee, month after month for the last six (ringed in purple below) has … Continue reading Christmas Factcheck – Jackie Baillie’s local hospital cancels fewer operations than most yet she betrays the staff for cheap ill-informed point-scoring

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Children vanish out of schools in England 41 times more often than in Scotland – Herald must tackle vanishing of decent journalism

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In the Herald today, from Dani Garavelli: SNP must tackle the disturbing ‘vanishing’ of pupils from Scotland’s classrooms Not in the Herald today: From the Children’s Commissioner for England, in the wake of the Sara Sharif murder case: A register of children not in school to be implemented urgently. This must include children who are home educated and be introduced via legislation as a matter of urgency, backed by the resource to effectively implement and monitor it. https://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/resource/deaths-of-children-in-need/ Because of the above lack of record-keeping, there is only an estimate of how many children are in home education, in England – 92 000.  https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c704x7e5515o#:~:text=Home%20education%20register,by%20about%2011%2C000%20on%202022. In Scotland, the known, … Continue reading Children vanish out of schools in England 41 times more often than in Scotland – Herald must tackle vanishing of decent journalism

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A retired Scottish head teacher explains why England has no idea where many of its children are or what they are doing

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By Alasdair Macdonald The reason why there are so many children in England out of school is because local authorities now have very little to do with the management of schools. Academy trusts now run a high proportion of schools and many of such trusts have a rather cavalier attitude towards exclusion from school, particularly of children from materially poor backgrounds and those with social and behavioural difficulties. In Scotland, where schools are still run by Councils (c96%), the names of pupils excluded from school or missing from school are reported to Social Work via Councils and alternative provision can … Continue reading A retired Scottish head teacher explains why England has no idea where many of its children are or what they are doing

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‘The most heinous if not criminal failure of the media in general and public broadcasters in particular to inform the public in Scotland of the dangers these gangs represent

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The BBC‘s Mission, from Copy of Royal Charter for the continuance of the British Broadcasting Corporation Presented to Parliament by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport by Command of Her Majesty December 2016: The BBC’s Mission The Mission of the BBC is to act in the public interest, serving all audiences through the provision of impartial, high-quality and distinctive output and services which inform, educate and entertain. https://www.bbc.com/aboutthebbc/governance/charter This is a royal charter, approved by Parliament giving the BBC, including BBC Scotland, a clear requirement to inform the public on matters affecting their lives, such as drug … Continue reading ‘The most heinous if not criminal failure of the media in general and public broadcasters in particular to inform the public in Scotland of the dangers these gangs represent

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FT asks ‘What can England learn from Scotland’s community land buyouts?’ Increased by nearly 800% after SNP boost but were stalled in Tory England?

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By Professor John Robertson Behind a paywall for me but already answered here, I hope, and by the Guardian in January 2024: In the Guardian today: Local communities, often in deprived neighbourhoods, are buying up derelict and unused property for village shops, play parks, community centres and, in one case, a film set for war movies, using buyout powers introduced by the Scottish parliament since its foundation in 1999. The land reform debate is often overshadowed by the buyouts of islands or totemic Highland estates. Yet those sales have ground to halt, partly due to competition from private buyers pursuing speculative investments using woodland … Continue reading FT asks ‘What can England learn from Scotland’s community land buyouts?’ Increased by nearly 800% after SNP boost but were stalled in Tory England?

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Giftgate – Sarwar and Ross get freebies worth 20 times those of any SNP politician!

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Under the headline What expensive gifts have Scotland’s politicians declared? and the above image, BBC Scotland report: In the wake of a row over gifts received by high-ranking members of the Labour party, people are now scrutinising the freebies accepted by politicians in Scotland. These items, sometimes worth thousands of pounds, have to be declared on a public record. Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar declared the highest value of gifts, at £10,117.48, closely followed by Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross’ £10,028.72. Clearly disappointed, BBC Scotland leave this till well down their report: Health Secretary Neil Gray, whose remit also includes … Continue reading Giftgate – Sarwar and Ross get freebies worth 20 times those of any SNP politician!

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Is Police Scotland’s only armoured car which has LAIN in storage, like the one in tiny Guernsey, there because all the senior staff are from places where they get riots?

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The Daily Record today, challenged from grammar to politics. Police Scotland (5.4 million population who might riot) bought that one armoured car 2 years ago while the Island of Guernsey (64 thousand population!)12 years ago: Guernsey Police’s purchase of an armoured Land Rover had the full backing of the Home Department, its minister has revealed. Deputy Geoff Mahy, who is standing down from the States in April, said it had been agreed 15 months ago as part of upgrades to the force’s firearms unit. He said: “The police do not shape the undesirable changes of society. “However, it is important … Continue reading Is Police Scotland’s only armoured car which has LAIN in storage, like the one in tiny Guernsey, there because all the senior staff are from places where they get riots?

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England’s gangland bosses breaking Scotland’s prison system

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Neil Mackay in the Herald today has: Scotland’s gangland bosses break the nation’s ‘failed’ prison system. Jails are bursting at the seams, staff are exhausted, and as police arrest more and more organised crime members, Scotland’s prisons are in turmoil. Our Writer at Large reports IT sounds like life for prison officers at the height of Ulster’s Troubles: intimidation, threats to kill, assassination plots, fire-bombings, and looking over your shoulder when you clock off and walk through the jail gates. Given that overall crime is down by 40% since the SNP came to power in 2007, organised crime based on drugs, prostitution, … Continue reading England’s gangland bosses breaking Scotland’s prison system

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Herald headlines rabid Unionist, Clearances apologist and second home owner with ‘crude’ research to undermine SNP policy to double his council tax

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As soon as the above self-portrait popped up I knew what this was all about. Macleod is a constant critic of the SNP and has accused them, in 2017, of having a ‘divisive lynch-mob’ among the membership Macleod shares Neil Oliver’s position on the clearances ie that much was voluntary and beneficial to the communities it affected. In a bitter blog review of the work of Dr James Hunter he questions a key point: “The forcible displacement of much of northern Scotland’s population”. The appropriate word should be ‘some’ rather than ‘much’, which makes a big difference. I’m no expert on … Continue reading Herald headlines rabid Unionist, Clearances apologist and second home owner with ‘crude’ research to undermine SNP policy to double his council tax