New BBC Scotland tactic – ‘numbing the senses of the nation with trivia’

By stewartb The contributions to life in Scotland by the public service broadcaster, BBC Scotland are well known to TuS readers. Most readily analysed is its output appearing daily on the BBC News website: context-free, perspective-free news on economic and political matters; politicisation of public service issues to a degree unknown in the output of BBC Wales; an evident preference for negativity – candidly, gaslighting; and to reinforce this, a practice of bias by omission. All the foregoing is consistent with exerting influence in support for the Union. However, today on the Corporation’s News website we may be seeing a … Continue reading New BBC Scotland tactic – ‘numbing the senses of the nation with trivia’

Fury as taxpayers fork out BILLIONS on warships that have never fought but ferries, ferries, ferries………

As you can see , our wee sniffling rodents are all over the story of the crew that had to be recruited for the new ferries before delays set in. THREE POINT FNNNN MILLION! They were less interested in these far greater tales of wasted BILLIONS. First, in 2018, from the Mail: The £6 billion Royal Navy fleet that hardly ever went to sea: Warships that can’t sail in the heat spent 80 per cent of the year in dock The British Royal Navy’s six Type 45 £1 billion destroyers barely ever leave their docks HMS Dauntless and HMS Defender, … Continue reading Fury as taxpayers fork out BILLIONS on warships that have never fought but ferries, ferries, ferries………

The relative effectiveness of Scotland’s health services – so different from what Unionist politicians and their MSM allies portray in their gaslighting of Scotland’s electorate!

By stewartb You may be interested to learn the following about childhood vaccination take-up rates. Source: NHS England (28 Sep 2023) Childhood Vaccination Coverage Statistics, England, 2022-23.  See the section of the report entitled ‘Coverage in UK countries – 2022-23’: it has a table which displays the latest annual (2022-23) coverage values for all childhood vaccinations across the four UK countries. Overwhelmingly, the take-up rates in Scotland are the highest of any UK country across the full range of childhood vaccinations. (See https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-immunisation-statistics/england-2022-23/6in-1-vaccine  ) To prevent whooping cough, the childhood disease in the news today from England, the relevant vaccine is termed … Continue reading The relative effectiveness of Scotland’s health services – so different from what Unionist politicians and their MSM allies portray in their gaslighting of Scotland’s electorate!

Scotland to power millions of homes in England, for no return, for the moment

From the Yorkshire Post in February 2024: Landowners in East Yorkshire have complained of feeling “pressurised” over an undersea electricity “superhighway” from Scotland to England which will cross their land. The £2.1bn link between Peterhead in north east Scotland and Drax in north Yorkshire, is expected to provide enough “green” electricity from Scottish offshore wind farms to power 2m homes in England. England. https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/people/the-yorkshire-beach-where-ps21bn-cable-carrying-electricity-from-scottish-windfarms-will-come-onshore-4039515?s=03 Bloody Scots, comin’ down ere, powering our homes and blighting our landscapes with their pylons? 2 million homes eh? Based on average electricity bills, around £2 billion in revenue, taxed by the UK Treasury and kept there for … Continue reading Scotland to power millions of homes in England, for no return, for the moment

Cannabis use by Scotland’s teens – Lisa Summer’s deliberate attempt at obfuscation or just clumsy?

By stewartb The availability of the cannabis use statistic for Scotland may be very ‘fortuitous’ for the headline writer of the BBC News website’s article on Scotland. The same website’s piece on its main UK page which focuses on England tells us: ‘NO DATA ON CANNABIS WAS PROVIDED FOR ENGLAND.’ (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-68884005) The article on England now only has prominence on the BBC News website’s ‘health’ page. At the bottom of the article, the BBC provides links to ‘related topics’ which include ‘alcohol’ and ‘cannabis’. The BBC News website’s article on the same WHO data remains prominent on the main Scotland page (at … Continue reading Cannabis use by Scotland’s teens – Lisa Summer’s deliberate attempt at obfuscation or just clumsy?

Encouraging research reveals Scotland not ‘worst in world’ for teen drinking and smoking but England might be

By Professor John Robertson In the Guardian today, there’s some pretty bad news in the above graph regarding England’s 15 year-old girls, with a sharp increase from 2018 in the percentage having smoked. There’s some but far less so for Scotland, as our 15 year-old boys and girls, reveal a slight fall to stay significantly below the average in this WHO survey of 280 000 children in 48 countries . For alcohol consumption by 13 year-old boys, the picture in Scotland is very positive with a significant fall from 2018 in the percentage having drunk alcohol. For girls there is … Continue reading Encouraging research reveals Scotland not ‘worst in world’ for teen drinking and smoking but England might be

Tory Minister ‘wades into’ private ferry operator betraying Scilly islanders

By stewartb In a BBC News article dated 8 January 2024 entitled ‘Grant Shapps wades into Isles of Scilly ferry row’, in the context of the lengthy ongoing saga regarding the replacement of the ageing ferry to the Isles of Scilly, we learn this from islands’ Councillor Steve Sims: “People are quite worried, because you know, it’s quite a visceral thing this. “People would like to know what’s happening and when it’s going to happen, so they can put their minds at rest really.” He said this was a “huge, huge issue” for the Isles of Scilly.’ The incumbent service … Continue reading Tory Minister ‘wades into’ private ferry operator betraying Scilly islanders

You’re almost TWICE as likely to be on a waiting list for cardiac care in England than you are in Scotland

By Professor John Robertson From the Guardian today, we see that 408 548 are waiting for cardiac care in England. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/apr/11/number-waiting-for-nhs-care-for-serious-heart-problems-in-england-rises-fivefold You know the drill. With one-tenth of the population, all things being as equally bad as our media would hope, Scotland might expect to have around 40 000 on the waiting list for cardiac care but according to the Herald on 6 February 2024, it’s 23 000, just over half. https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/24091977.cardiology-waiting-lists-at-highest-level-record Is it just this or is there a wider picture of NHS Scotland waiting lists being shorter after 16 years of the SNP in Government? Search: https://talkingupscotlandtwo.com/?s=wait to … Continue reading You’re almost TWICE as likely to be on a waiting list for cardiac care in England than you are in Scotland

SNP policies continue to push worst form of poverty downward despite UK trends

From the Scottish Government yesterday, but getting no MSM coverage: Between 2018 and 2022, 10% of people in Scotland were in persistent poverty after housing costs. These rates have changed very little over time. Persistent poverty identifies individuals who live in relative poverty for three or more of the last survey periods. It therefore identifies people who have been living in poverty for a significant period of time, which is more damaging than brief periods spent with a low income. The impacts can affect an individual throughout their lifetime. Persistent poverty in both Wales, after forever Labour control, and in England, … Continue reading SNP policies continue to push worst form of poverty downward despite UK trends

‘Only seven countries meet WHO air quality standard, research finds’….plus Scotland

According to the Guardian today, Scotland is not a country and by implication falls with the UK into the failed group. The latest WHO level for the deadly PM2.5 particles is 5 micrograms per cubic metre. Though no Scottish average seems available, you can, I find, go to the IQAir site and find the level of PM2.5 where you live. How about Glasgow High Street? 3.1, well under the WHO level. https://www.iqair.com/gb/uk/scotland/glasgow/glasgow-high-street To my surprise the partly-pedestrianised Ayr High Street – 5.7, just over. Aberdeen Anderson Drive – 4.5 Edinburgh Tower Street – 1.5! Busy Queensferry Road – 1.9 Bainsford … Continue reading ‘Only seven countries meet WHO air quality standard, research finds’….plus Scotland