Tag: history

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Sturgeon has repeatedly championed women’s rights and women in both Scotland and the rest of the UK have a lot to thank her for

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By stewartb To the question: ‘Whatever happened to the heroes?‘ I’m strongly inclined to take the Stranglers’ advice when musing about the state of the world and those in leadership positions: ‘No more heroes anymore’! So why write the following? When evidence-free opinions are given in derogatory terms – ‘Wee Nippy’, ‘worst FM’, ‘disgrace to Scotland’ and Prof Robertson singled out as ‘coming across as a dafty’ – on a topic that is (surely) more nuanced, it’s hard not to be motivated to offer some balance, some perspective: seems to me that’s something TuS always strives to do! My humble opinion of … Continue reading Sturgeon has repeatedly championed women’s rights and women in both Scotland and the rest of the UK have a lot to thank her for

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‘The Trump administration’s reckless attack on radiation protection will have long-term consequences for public safety’ – Starmer and Sarwar plan to stupidly follow him

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From the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientist, yesterday: Worldwide, regulations limiting doses from the radiation emitted by nuclear fissions and decays are based on the Linear No-Threshold (LNT) model. This hypothesis posits that, irrespective of whether ionizing radiation comes in a pulse or over years, the additional risk of developing cancer as a result is proportional to the cumulative amount of energy deposited per gram of tissue, with weighting risk factors for radiation type, sex, age, and specific organs. Since 1975, the US nuclear industry has been required to limit exposures to workers and the public to “as low as reasonably achievable” … Continue reading ‘The Trump administration’s reckless attack on radiation protection will have long-term consequences for public safety’ – Starmer and Sarwar plan to stupidly follow him

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Trial backlog plummets to only a third but complex English County Lines drug gang cases increases those in highest courts

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Why is Scotland’s Auditor General telling us good news about trial backlogs falling? It’s not like him or is it? Is it BBC Scotland re-ordering his stuff? The backlog of trials in Scotland’s highest criminal courts has nearly tripled, due in part to an increase in complex cases involving serious organised crime and historic sex abuse. At the end of March about 1,000 trials were waiting to go ahead in the high court, almost three times the number before the Covid-19 pandemic. In contrast, across the whole system, the number of outstanding scheduled trials has fallen to 13,268 – around … Continue reading Trial backlog plummets to only a third but complex English County Lines drug gang cases increases those in highest courts

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Every colony which left the English Empire was told they were “not ready,” “not viable,” or would become unstable after independence, except Scotland where no reason can be offered

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From STV today: John Swinney is to press the Prime Minister for a second independence referendum after MSPs backed his call for Westminster to grant Holyrood the powers for such a vote to take place. The Scottish First Minister, who is due to meet Sir Keir Starmer for talks in June, said those talks would be “an opportunity for me to progress the will of Parliament”. He spoke out after MSPs backed, by 72 votes to 55, a motion demanding Westminster deliver a Section 30 order to transfer powers to Scotland that would allow a second referendum. However, Downing Street … Continue reading Every colony which left the English Empire was told they were “not ready,” “not viable,” or would become unstable after independence, except Scotland where no reason can be offered

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434 ‘UK’ nurses and midwives who should have been banned and have worked for last 12 years are almost certainly not in Scotland – here’s how I know

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In the Guardian today: Nurses and midwives who should have been banned from treating patients have practised over the last 12 years because of “potentially dangerous” failings by a medical regulator. The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) has admitted that its “completely and utterly unacceptable” mistakes meant it failed to protect the public from about 15 professionals whom it should have banned from ever working in healthcare in the UK because they had broken the law. The nurses and midwives told the NMC about their criminal convictions when they applied to join or stay on the regulator’s register, which they need to … Continue reading 434 ‘UK’ nurses and midwives who should have been banned and have worked for last 12 years are almost certainly not in Scotland – here’s how I know

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Is Tory monarchist and arch-loyalist Murdo Fraser MSP resiling from his past remarks praising the qualities of the late queen, Elizabeth?

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stewartb In an increasingly desperate pursuit of his political agenda, to rile up certain Unionists, is Tory monarchist and arch-loyalist Murdo Fraser MSP resiling from his past remarks praising the qualities of the late queen, Elizabeth? In The Scotsman (September 13, 2022): ‘King Charles needs no better role model than the late Queen Elizabeth – Murdo Fraser MSP’. ‘The tremendous outpouring of national grief and emotion we have seen over the past few days has been a recognition from a generally unemotional nation of the lengthy and enduring service provided by Queen Elizabeth over the 70 years of her reign.’ (my emphasis) Who … Continue reading Is Tory monarchist and arch-loyalist Murdo Fraser MSP resiling from his past remarks praising the qualities of the late queen, Elizabeth?

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Swinney and Sinn Fein – The staggering hypocrisy of Murdo Fraser and the media operating in Scotland

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See her smile at the former IRA leader – https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-18607911 There’s Con List MSP Murdo Fraser outside Holyrood three days ago to groom the relatives of Scottish soldiers killed in the Troubles in Northern Ireland and damn the First Minister for meeting with the Sinn Fein leadership. He writes: It was good to meet a group of our veterans and representatives of bereaved families from the Troubles outside Parliament today, protesting about the comments of Scotland’s First Minister on Sinn Fein. John Swinney’s comments last week that we should “move on” from concerns about him working with Sinn Fein show … Continue reading Swinney and Sinn Fein – The staggering hypocrisy of Murdo Fraser and the media operating in Scotland

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Drug deaths in England being seriously under-counted

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Opioid deaths in England 50% higher than recorded In September 2025 (most recent data for this purpose) , BBC UK reported: More than 13,000 heroin and opioid deaths have been missed off official statistics in England and Wales, raising concerns about the impact on the government’s approach to tackling addiction. Research from King’s College London, shared exclusively with BBC News, found that there were 39,232 opioid-related deaths between 2011 and 2022, more than 50% higher than previously known. The error has been blamed on the government’s official statistics body not having access to correct data and it is understood ministers are … Continue reading Drug deaths in England being seriously under-counted

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‘It isn’t tax payers money, it’s the government’s money and the government chooses what is spent’

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By rogercolkett You know that I support your untiring efforts to confront the lies obfuscations and omissions of the mainstream media that seek to show Scotland in as negative a way possible. And I share your annoyance at the waste of resources by the UK Government on projects that provide no benefit to Scotland, it’s part of the reason that I want  Scotland to be an independent country. The main reason, though, is that I would like to live in a Scotland that wasn’t tied to the anti-social and spurious neo-liberal Ideology that dominates the cities of London and Westminster. … Continue reading ‘It isn’t tax payers money, it’s the government’s money and the government chooses what is spent’

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Swinney need not apologise for Sinn Fein ‘links’ as IRA was not responsible for the deaths of any Scottish civilians in Scotland

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I understand why the relatives of Scottish soldiers, often just boys at the time, will be upset by links with Sinn Fein but their anger would be better directed at the UK government and senior officers who sent them, ill-prepared, into a brutal civil war, in the first place. The UK has full diplomatic relationships with political parties of government in countries, from Ireland, through Kenya, to Israel and Malaysia, where similar young Scottish soldiers were sent, similarly ill-prepared, to die. Should we ask UK ministers to apologise? This is another media/opposition campaign, exploiting these parents and relatives in an … Continue reading Swinney need not apologise for Sinn Fein ‘links’ as IRA was not responsible for the deaths of any Scottish civilians in Scotland