Tag: history

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Daily Mail report highlights the great CalMac service we all enjoy by looking at affluent Washington State’s far older ferries and failing services

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In the Daily Mail, 8 January 2026 and the astonishing images above from the Independent two years ago: Almost a third of the lifeline ferries operating in Washington state are out of action because of lawmakers’ obsessions with electric boats, Republicans have claimed.  Six out of the 21 vessels used for critical operations off the coast of the Pacific Northwest state are currently unable to sail, according to the Seattle Times.  Two of the boats have been out of action due to ‘unexpected mechanical issues’ since January 1, while four are on planned maintenance, per the paper.  https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15445653/washington-state-ferry-electric-boats-democrats.html Washington State Ferries carry 20 million passengers a year in a … Continue reading Daily Mail report highlights the great CalMac service we all enjoy by looking at affluent Washington State’s far older ferries and failing services

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Major Scottish Government investments in eradicating child poverty that you’ll struggle to hear about

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From Investing in Scotland’s children, published 22 January 2026 09:20, covered by STV but nowhere else I can see: Children and families across Scotland will benefit from the Scottish Government’s sustained investment in Education and Skills as part of the national mission to eradicate child poverty. The proposed Scottish Budget for 2026-27 commits up to £200 million to the Scottish Attainment Challenge, which has already delivered sustained progress in closing the poverty-related attainment gap. This includes Pupil Equity Funding that aims to empower headteachers to tailor support to meet the specific needs of pupils and families in their communities. An … Continue reading Major Scottish Government investments in eradicating child poverty that you’ll struggle to hear about

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Far more police officers and far less crime – what today’s Reporting Scotland team will never tell you in this election year

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In BBC Reporting Scotland’s, BBC Breakfast, inserts and all today today, you’ll be hearing this meaningless fact – ‘but officer numbers have fallen 5% over five years.‘ BBC Scotland, the Daily Record, the Herald and the Scotsman are now fully dedicated to platforming Scottish Labour’s stash of manipulated Freedom of Information data on any aspect of public service that might look bad for the SNP Government. Recently, it’s been police officers giving up on the job or failing training courses. I could try to dig into these and find the usual lack of any methodology and sneaky fiddling with the figures, I’ve found several times … Continue reading Far more police officers and far less crime – what today’s Reporting Scotland team will never tell you in this election year

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After 8 years of English drug gang terror in the North of Scotland, BBC Scotland will still not mention this stain on their Union

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From STV and in the Aberdeen-based Press & Journal today, the above headline, carefully avoiding the origins of the dealer, in England:: A county lines drug dealer from Liverpool will serve almost six years for using a stolen BMW to supply class A narcotics in Scotland. James Stephen, 31, was arrested on June 17 last year after police in Aberdeen tracked down a white car that had been stolen from a home in the city the previous month. https://news.stv.tv/north/drug-dealer-caught-using-stolen-bmw-to-take-heroin-and-cocaine-into-scotland The report tells us little of what County lines gangs do and the effects they have. Assistant Chief Constable Andy Freeburn … Continue reading After 8 years of English drug gang terror in the North of Scotland, BBC Scotland will still not mention this stain on their Union

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SNP Government’s world-first opioid overdose reversal programme increases reach to 84% and its protection of hospitals as it fights the effects of the English County Lines drug gangs plague in Scotland

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From the National naloxone programme Scotland – Quarterly monitoring bulletin Quarterly Monitoring Bulletin April to June (Q1) 2025/26 published today: The overall aim of Scotland’s NNP is to prevent fatal opioid overdoses. Administration of naloxone provides time for emergency services to arrive and for further treatment to be given. Following suitable training, THN kits are issued to people at risk of opioid overdose, their friends and family and service workers in order to help prevent overdose deaths.  Drug-related hospital admissions plummet for third year in a row after Scottish Government’s ‘world-first’ opioid overdose reversal Naloxone initiative but are not being … Continue reading SNP Government’s world-first opioid overdose reversal programme increases reach to 84% and its protection of hospitals as it fights the effects of the English County Lines drug gangs plague in Scotland

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BBC Scotland repeating the lie that hospital infections ‘led to deaths in patients’ in reporting that exploits tragedy for political purposes

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For the second day running, BBC Scotland seeks to misrepresent the findings of an official inquiry into a hospital-acquired infections inquiry. They tell us: NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) had consistently denied bacteria in the water was responsible for causing some infections which led to the deaths of patients. But in closing submissions to the Scottish Hospitals Inquiry, external it has now admitted “on the balance of probabilities”, that there was a “causal connection” between some infections and the hospital environment. That’s correct, true, but you need to have your wits about you for for their next sneaky move. The above is … Continue reading BBC Scotland repeating the lie that hospital infections ‘led to deaths in patients’ in reporting that exploits tragedy for political purposes

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Scottish think-tank – ‘Value judgements’ over analysis-based conclusions.

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By stewartb: As a regular reader of the output of the Fraser of Allander Institute (FAI), I’m becoming increasingly disappointed in how it’s opting to express and emphasise what are ‘value judgements’ over analysis-based conclusions. Does it intend to become a quasi-political organisation? On January 15 this headline appeared above an FAI article: ‘Budget – day 3 reaction – Council tax & the Spending Review. Incoherent reforms to council tax: could have been worse, but not good enough.’ Within the piece we read (with my emphasis): ‘Scotland will follow the UK Government’s example and introduce higher taxes on higher value properties. Whereas … Continue reading Scottish think-tank – ‘Value judgements’ over analysis-based conclusions.

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Teachers vote goes against strike action – leaders and media disappointed they can’t blame SNP so will waste their member fees by having another vote

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Yesterday BBC Scotland and the teachers union leaders were willing on the vote for a teachers’ strike ,then in the early afternoon today, they saw this: Workload Ballot Falls Foul of Soon-to-be Repealed Thresholds: EIS to Re-Ballot Members for Strike Created on: 16 Jan 2026 The EIS announced that its recent statutory industrial action ballot on teacher workload has become a victim of soon-to-be repealed elements of UK anti-trade union laws, having fallen short of the strict thresholds set in that Tory-era legislation.  Workload Ballot Falls Foul of Soon-to-be Repealed Thresholds? Until 2007, that’d be ‘Teachers vote against strike action.’ Then 14 paragraphs … Continue reading Teachers vote goes against strike action – leaders and media disappointed they can’t blame SNP so will waste their member fees by having another vote

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BBC Scotland desperately keen to headline their hoped for ‘closure of almost every school in Scotland’ and confront the minister but then keep quiet when the teachers clearly can’t be bothered to strike

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BBC Scotland, 15 January 2025 from first thing. This captured at 10am. The following day it remained the headline story in the BBC Scotland inserts in BBC Breakfast. One of the teaching unions, the NAS UWT, had already given up because not enough members had voted but the BBC team still seem hopeful today that they might get some bad news they can connect to the Scottish Government. It’s now an hour or so since the comedic EIS announcement: The EIS announced that its recent statutory industrial action ballot on teacher workload has become a victim of soon-to-be repealed elements of UK … Continue reading BBC Scotland desperately keen to headline their hoped for ‘closure of almost every school in Scotland’ and confront the minister but then keep quiet when the teachers clearly can’t be bothered to strike

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If you’re one of the highest-earning 25% ‘pulled’ into higher tax bands you’re not ‘middle-class’, by definition

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The Herald today on behalf of the people, based on opinion polls, already predisposed to vote Labour, in the hope of cutting their taxes and the benefits of others (classic Labour these days), has: Middle-class Scots pulled into higher tax bands by Budget freeze There’s a long history of people in the UK calling themselves ‘middle-class’ when their economic circumstances are far from the middle in any objective sense. Just because sociologists recognise your cultural preferences to be ‘middle class’ doesn’t mean that entitles you to only pay income tax at the same level of people in the middle income … Continue reading If you’re one of the highest-earning 25% ‘pulled’ into higher tax bands you’re not ‘middle-class’, by definition