Tag: history

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Practices of the mainstream media in Scotland – ‘grooming’ for the Union?

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By stewartb Motivating much of the work of TuS is a recognition that the mainstream news and current affairs media that supposedly ‘serve’ Scotland’s polity do nothing of the sort: they do NOT serve our democracy well when judged in terms of delivering balance and objectivity. Even the UK’s (and Scotland’s) prime public service broadcaster, the BBC – the organisation which promotes itself endlessly both domestically and internationally as a beacon of journalistic quality and integrity (or whatever other gushing self-aggrandisement it favours) – falls very far short within and towards Scotland. It fails to inform on relevant context; it … Continue reading Practices of the mainstream media in Scotland – ‘grooming’ for the Union?

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England and Wales releasing prisoners early at nearly TWICE the rate of Scotland

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By Professor John Robertson In the Guardian today, the above and: Rishi Sunak’s government released more than 10,000 prisoners up to 70 days early, figures reveal, as the new justice secretary prepares to announce further emergency measures to ease another overcrowding crisis in jails. Ministry of Justice figures show that 10,083 prisoners were allowed to walk free under the end of custody supervised licence (ECSL) scheme between October 2023 and June 2024 in England and Wales. https://www.theguardian.com/society/article/2024/jul/12/over-10000-prisoners-freed-70-days-early-sunak-government There is no mention of criticism by opposition parties nor any estimate of how many the new Labour Government might now release. From BBC Scotland … Continue reading England and Wales releasing prisoners early at nearly TWICE the rate of Scotland

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The Cringe Cartoonist

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The Herald’s Steven Camley has a long track record of cringy comments on the communities he lives among. Not for him, the wit, not the courage, to satirise the powerful who keep us down. Today he sneers at Scotland’s GPs and housing supply to reinforce that kind of ill-informed personal experience-based moaning that Reporting Scotland can always find. Never mind the facts when a cheap laugh at yer ain folk is what you love. Never mind: From the Scottish Government on 28 May 2024: 84% of people who needed to see or speak to a doctor / nurse quite urgently were … Continue reading The Cringe Cartoonist

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New Zealand ferry runs aground after button is ‘inadvertently pressed’ by crew member denying he had left the bridge for coffee

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From 1News today: Interislander ferry Aratere ran aground after a button was “inadvertently pressed”, sending the vessel off-course, according to an internal safety bulletin obtained by 1News. According to the bulletin, dated July 5, the bridge crew had switched the Aratere from hand steering to autopilot as it passed Mabel Island when an “execute button was inadvertently pressed” at 9.26pm. This led the vessel to “commence an alteration of course” by around 1 nautical mile earlier than planned. The bridge team attempted to switch back to hand steering mode but was unable to override the autopilot in time. Hewlett denied … Continue reading New Zealand ferry runs aground after button is ‘inadvertently pressed’ by crew member denying he had left the bridge for coffee

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As outsourced cleaning results in deadly infection outbreak via basins and showers in an English hospital how this Scottish Health Secretary kept cleaning in-house 16 years ago to save uncounted lives

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By Professor John Robertson Today in the Health Service Journal: Frimley Health had 94 cases of CPE last year, due to a major outbreak at Wexham Park The trust has ordered a mortality and morbidity review but does not say if it has been completed CPE thought to travel through drains, affecting wash basins and showers. A hospital trust has ordered a review of potential death and harm caused by an outbreak of a serious healthcare-acquired infection, which is resistant to many antibiotics. Frimley Health Foundation Trust has seen outbreaks of carbapenemase-producing enterobacterales at both its Frimley Park and Wexham … Continue reading As outsourced cleaning results in deadly infection outbreak via basins and showers in an English hospital how this Scottish Health Secretary kept cleaning in-house 16 years ago to save uncounted lives

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UK Labour funded by the rich and US corporations have always let our children die on foreign fields from Korea and Malaysia to Iraq and Afghanistan only to test their new weapons. Vote for them again and begin down a new path to your grandchildren dying for nothing in foreign fields

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I hope the headline is message enough but may a song or two will push things further in: And, if you need some numbers: By Professor John Robertson In May 2020, after reading new research on Scotland’s share of UK war dead, I was able to write this: ‘Yet while the war dead of some countries were too numerous to count, we should be mindful that ‘Scotland is small enough to know all her sons by heart’ My headline comes from the conclusions to a thorough examination of the facts published in May 2019. I missed it at the time and, … Continue reading UK Labour funded by the rich and US corporations have always let our children die on foreign fields from Korea and Malaysia to Iraq and Afghanistan only to test their new weapons. Vote for them again and begin down a new path to your grandchildren dying for nothing in foreign fields

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Tentacles of English drug gangs using children to fuel Scotland’s drug deaths reaches into every corner, even wee towns like Tarves in Aberdeenshire

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I know Tarves. A small, just over one thousand population town/village, only half an hour bus journey away from Aberdeen’s railway station. Why the railway station? County Lines drug, child abuse and people trafficking, gangs send their young dealers and armed enforcers into the heart of smaller ‘county’ towns, by rail. In these towns they ‘cuckoo’ vulnerable adults, moving into their homes to deal drugs at lower cost than local dealers can, backed up by threats and attacks at a level of violence previously unseen. Children as young as 11 have been known to be bullied into working as dealers. … Continue reading Tentacles of English drug gangs using children to fuel Scotland’s drug deaths reaches into every corner, even wee towns like Tarves in Aberdeenshire

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The plague of English drug gangs terrorising Scotland that cannot be named strikes Falkirk

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According to Police Scotland, two years ago, there were around 50 County Lines drugs, child sex and trafficking, gang groups, based in England, now operating in Scottish towns, from Fraserburgh to Dumfries. Only Auchinleck/Cumnock seems to have driven them out, when locals rioted against a Bradford-based group and burned their base, last November. See: https://talkingupscotlandtwo.com/2023/11/29/locals-confirm-ayrshire-riots-were-against-british-drug-gangs-who-abused-under-age-girls/ While the local press and the tabloids will be explicit about this curse, BBC Scotland, STV, and the ‘serious’ press will not. The words ‘County Lines’ almost never make it to a headline and rarely appear in the text. That this is a flow exclusively … Continue reading The plague of English drug gangs terrorising Scotland that cannot be named strikes Falkirk

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London-based County Lines drug gang exploits child in Aberdeenshire but BBC Scotland look away again as election looms

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By Professor John Robertson Yesterday, STV had this headline and sub: Man, 21, charged in connection with drugs offences and child exploitation – The 21-year-old man is due to appear at Peterhead Sheriff Court on Monday, June 24. They do mention London and County Lines in the text but keep this matter, which clearly harms the Better Together story, from too much attention. I doubt the story has made a TV broadcast. Correct me if you can. BBC Scotland? It is now more than 3 years since BBC Scotland mentioned County Lines gangs, for the only time, in a post. … Continue reading London-based County Lines drug gang exploits child in Aberdeenshire but BBC Scotland look away again as election looms

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Answering Fiona Bruce’s dishonest selective long waiting list question AGAIN when NHS Scotland treats more than 14 times as many of those at risk of imminent death, per head of population, within 18 weeks!

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By Professor John Robertson Fiona Bruce tonight, asked the same question she had asked Kate Forbes last week: Why is it in Scotland there are 7 000 people who’ve waited more than two years for treatment. In England it’s just over 200. To my amazement, Forbes was not ready for it and neither was Swinney tonight. Here it is again. The UK Government and NHS England have been sneaky again, as they did when they began restarting the clock for A&E patients, after they had been triaged. They knew how the media feasted on stories of patients waiting more than two years … Continue reading Answering Fiona Bruce’s dishonest selective long waiting list question AGAIN when NHS Scotland treats more than 14 times as many of those at risk of imminent death, per head of population, within 18 weeks!