Tag: food

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What mayors like Burnham would bring to Scotland – acting beyond the law to give away public assets cheap to cronies and for little in return

johnrobertson834

Talking-up Scotland follower, Scunnert, Grannies for Independence @Scunnert2 has asked us to investigate: Economic free zones, how they’re used by English mayors to hand public assets to private firms and are basically above the law. ‘Burnham’s neck deep in them.‘ The Herald and other MSM operating in Scotland are running with a report from Enlighten, Lord Jack McConnells ‘think tank’ arguing: Reform Scotland, the independent, non-partisan think tank, today calls on the incoming Scottish Government to endorse the creation of an elected mayoralty in every Scottish local authority. In its new report, ‘Local Heroes: Why Scotland Needs Directly-Elected Mayors’ (Download below), … Continue reading What mayors like Burnham would bring to Scotland – acting beyond the law to give away public assets cheap to cronies and for little in return

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Corridor care still shocking 3 times more common in NHS England than in NHS Scotland almost two years into this Labour government

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BBC Breakfast had the above, this morning based on another RCEM survey, in NHS England. It seems to reinforce ITV’s own survey findings in March (below) and to remind us of the very different picture in NHS Scotland, a picture not being used by the media operating in Scotland. From ITV News at 6.30pm March 16th 2026, based on their own survey, the above graphic: A special report on the corridor care crisis in Wales where it appears to be more common than in anywhere else in the UK. 89 000 treated in corridors in one health trust. and on their website: … Continue reading Corridor care still shocking 3 times more common in NHS England than in NHS Scotland almost two years into this Labour government

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Second US report of compensation for radiation exposure highlights the terrible cancer rates in Scotland living next to England’s waste reprocessing at Sellafield

johnrobertson834

From the website of Josh Hawley, US Senator for Missouri yesterday: Our state just passed a major milestone. The federal government has now paid out more than $100 million to the Missouri families poisoned by their government’s reckless handling of nuclear waste. Nothing can make up for the pain and suffering that radiation survivors have endured at the hands of their own government. But this compensation, made possible by the expanded Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA), provides a measure of relief— and a measure of justice. The application window is still open, and my office stands ready to assist survivors … Continue reading Second US report of compensation for radiation exposure highlights the terrible cancer rates in Scotland living next to England’s waste reprocessing at Sellafield

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Scotland’s IVF service – target-busting for 11 years saving lives and reducing NHS costs as NHS England prices people out of becoming parents

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From IVF waiting times in Scotland Quarter ending 31 March 2026 published today: During the quarter ending 31 March 2026, 373 patients were screened. The 90% standard was met, with all patients attending a screening appointment within 52 weeks of referral. Source: https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications/ivf-waiting-times-in-scotland/ivf-waiting-times-in-scotland-quarter-ending-31-march-2026/ In November 2019, I could write: The four IVF centres in Scotland screened 370 eligible patients, compared with 290 in the previous quarter. In all four centres, 100% of patients were screened for IVF treatment within 365 days. The 90% standard continues to be met [beaten] since it was first measured in March 2015. Click to access … Continue reading Scotland’s IVF service – target-busting for 11 years saving lives and reducing NHS costs as NHS England prices people out of becoming parents

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NHS England has 23% fewer beds and too high occupancy and we know how that turns out in a pandemic

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From Acute hospital activity and NHS beds information (quarterly) Quarter ending 31 December 2025 published today: There were on average 13,550 available staffed beds per day for all acute specialties in the quarter ending 31 December 2025 – a 0.1% decrease compared to the same quarter in the previous year. An available staffed bed is a bed which is resourced for inpatient or day case care. Of these, 9,604 (71%) were for medical specialties and 3,946 (29%) were for surgical specialties. These percentages are unchanged from the same quarter in 2024. For all acute specialties in the quarter ending 31 … Continue reading NHS England has 23% fewer beds and too high occupancy and we know how that turns out in a pandemic

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Shocking latest US research finds 80 000 unnecessary breast and other cancers near nuclear power stations to further condemn Scottish Labour’s energy strategy

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From A national analysis of the impact of proximity to nuclear power plants on lung, breast and colon cancer mortalities in the U.S., 2000–2020 in the Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology [5.5 impact factor- which is good to strong for a science journal] published yesterday: Results Proximity to nuclear power plants was associated with elevated mortality from breast, colon, and lung cancers. From 2000 to 2020, an estimated 39,767 female deaths (95% CI: 9312–69,381), representing 2.01% (95% CI: 0.47–3.50%), and 38,124 male deaths (95% CI: 16,106–59,600), representing 2.33% (95% CI: 0.98–3.64%), were attributable to this proximity. Lung cancer … Continue reading Shocking latest US research finds 80 000 unnecessary breast and other cancers near nuclear power stations to further condemn Scottish Labour’s energy strategy

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Newborn health at real risk near nuclear plants but Scottish Labour double down on new plants in Scotland

johnrobertson834

The Diablo Canyon Power Plant (DCPP) is located near Avila Beach in San Luis Obispo County, California, on approximately 1,000 acres along the Pacific coast. It is the state’s largest single power station and the only operational nuclear plant in California following the 2013 closure of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station. From the Santa Barbara Independent, yesterday: Just weeks after the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) approved a 20-year license extension for the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant, scrutiny surrounding the human health impacts from radiation have emerged from both academia and Diablo opponents. A recent Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health analysis found higher cancer mortality rates in U.S. counties located closer to nuclear plants, while a nonprofit-led report questioned whether decades of Diablo Canyon’s operation may be tied to worsening infant health in surrounding San Luis Obispo County. Federal regulators and health officials, however, maintain that radiation exposure from the plant … Continue reading Newborn health at real risk near nuclear plants but Scottish Labour double down on new plants in Scotland

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Interfering with democratic principles just before an election – BBC Scotland repeats ‘too-soon’ evaluation of new GP walk-in clinics just to let opposition, with no evidence on these presented, campaign free-of-charge

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BBC Scotland’s Andrew Picken, yesterday, had: One of the new flagship GP walk-in clinics has seen just 183 patients in its first five weeks, latest figures shows. The facility at Lochee Health Centre in Dundee is part of a network of clinics planned by the Scottish government where patients have access to GP-led care without an appointment. Data released to the BBC under freedom of information laws shows that in the five weeks to 30 April, the Dundee clinic – which is open every day between 12:00 and 20:00 – had 183 people attend. then only 5 paragraphs later: But the walk-in … Continue reading Interfering with democratic principles just before an election – BBC Scotland repeats ‘too-soon’ evaluation of new GP walk-in clinics just to let opposition, with no evidence on these presented, campaign free-of-charge

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UK Government ‘austerity’ measures the key driver of Scotland’s falling life expectancy in good health and Labour will do nothing to reverse it

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The Herald today has: The graph above from the BMJ in 2022 puts the trend in an historical perspective, revealing that expected life expectancy in ‘good health’ remains significantly higher than it was 30 years ago. The Herald report surprisingly, or not, dies not seem to have looked at the work of Glasgow University researchers led by David Walsh in 2022, which found Concerning changes in mortality and life expectancy trends have been observed across the UK since the early 2010: a ‘stalling’ of previous improvements alongside worsening trends among more deprived populations. Although the causes are still debated in … Continue reading UK Government ‘austerity’ measures the key driver of Scotland’s falling life expectancy in good health and Labour will do nothing to reverse it

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John Swinney helping those struggling with the cost of eating is not ‘communist’ but BBC Scotland’s Peter Smith is either thick or just another right-wing extremist – here’s why

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The essential MSM Monitor captured the above astonishing claim yesterday. This claim is nonsense. Communism requires the abolition of private property, elimination of the profit motive, central planning of the whole economy including actual ownership of the supermarkets. Swinney is merely telling the massively profitable supermarket chains to absorb some of the costs. In Imperial Rome, a slave based market economy, it often capped food prices.1 Medieval England, a feudal system identified by Karl Marx as utterly different from his ideas, often regulated bread and grain prices.2 During World War II, all of the allies, including the US and the … Continue reading John Swinney helping those struggling with the cost of eating is not ‘communist’ but BBC Scotland’s Peter Smith is either thick or just another right-wing extremist – here’s why