Tag: news

10 Comments

BBC Scotland find ONE ‘Scottish’ drug smuggler through Stansted Airport to Gourock but ignore the SIXTY English groups bringing a plague of drug abuse, death, violence and sexual abuse to Scotland

johnrobertson834

BBC Scotland today: A man in Scotland has been arrested on suspicion of attempting to import £600,000 of cannabis from Thailand through Stansted Airport. The 33-year-old was arrested by National Crime Agency (NCA) officers in Gourock, Inverclyde, after an investigation supported by Police Scotland. English County Lines gangs, based on Police Scotland estimates, have for at least five years now, brought a wave of terror into at least 60 Scottish small towns and villages. They bring with them cheap drug supplies, extreme violence, the use of child drug carriers on the rail lines, people trafficking, prostitution, the exploitation (cuckooing) of … Continue reading BBC Scotland find ONE ‘Scottish’ drug smuggler through Stansted Airport to Gourock but ignore the SIXTY English groups bringing a plague of drug abuse, death, violence and sexual abuse to Scotland

Leave a comment

How the SNP’s Child Payment would save more than 100 000 children in England from the extreme poverty caused by the less talked-about ‘absolute’ benefit cap

johnrobertson834

By Professor John Robertson OBA In the Guardian today, always Anglocentric, there’s this: Statistics released today reveal that 123,000 households in England, Scotland and Wales were affected by the benefit cap in May 2024, a rise of about 46,000 in just three months according to government figures. Introduced by George Osborne in 2013, the cap means the most a family without regular work can claim is £25,323 in London and £22,020 in the rest of the country. and this example: In our research with families affected by the benefit cap, we have spoken to parents such as Lucy, who pays £1,375 a month to rent a mould-ridden, … Continue reading How the SNP’s Child Payment would save more than 100 000 children in England from the extreme poverty caused by the less talked-about ‘absolute’ benefit cap

7 Comments

Ferry ‘cross the Mersey? No thanks, I can’t swim!

johnrobertson834

stewartb In so many different places, ferry services seem to be ‘problematic’. in some way. Below gives an insight into Mersey Ferries: The current fleet consists of two vessels, the Royal Iris of the Mersey and Snowdrop. They entered service in the early 1960s on the Mersey – under different names – after being being launched in 1959 and received refits as long ago as 2002 and 2004, (according to Wikipedia) The Mersey Ferries company website confirmed (in 2023) a plan to build “the first new Mersey Ferry for more than 60 years’’. The plan has a longish history though. Back in … Continue reading Ferry ‘cross the Mersey? No thanks, I can’t swim!

1 Comment

Struggling Canadian ferry service, average vessel age 13 years older than CalMac to replace seven by 2037

johnrobertson834

From a September 2022, Ernst and Young LLP survey for the Scottish Government’s Transport Scotland department, CalMac ferries are, on average, newer (22) than those in Norway (26), Australia (24) and British Columbia, Canada (35!). https://www.transport.gov.scot/publication/strategic-framework-of-options-for-the-chfs-network-project-neptune/benchmarking From the Tyee in October 2023: The Crisis at BC Ferries – Why no reservations frequently means long waits on the main routes. https://thetyee.ca/News/2023/10/23/Crisis-BC-Ferries/ So, time to get on with so new ferry-building eh? From Marine Link, today: Canadian ferry operator BC Ferries announced it is moving forward with a program to build a series of new vessels for its busiest routes. The company said on … Continue reading Struggling Canadian ferry service, average vessel age 13 years older than CalMac to replace seven by 2037

4 Comments

The Titanic – Scotland’s part in its sinking

johnrobertson834

Anonymous Here we go again. This may be considered too petty of me by some people but for me it seems a tad suspicious, strange and also knowing how the BBC works in Scotland, in them often misinforming us in Scotland, then this also seems deliberate as an action by them. So what am I referring to? Well I noted this on the BBC website. BBC website has the exact same article on their UK main page, NI main page and Scotland main page but not on the England main page. Headline “Titanic shipyard to go into administration” So why on NI main page ? Well the Titanic was built in Belfast, NI. So why on UK page ? Well NI part of the UK. So why on Scotland main page ? … Continue reading The Titanic – Scotland’s part in its sinking

6 Comments

Labour attempts to scare Scots with fake news about the Shetland subsea cable cut in 2022 but fails to mention how many of the Royal Navy’s subs to defend us are currently stuck in dock

johnrobertson834

In a report reminiscent of George Robertson’s ‘dark forces’ that would circle an undefended independent Scotland after 2014, Luke Pollard ‘armed forces minister’ and MP for Devonport, son of a submariner: Scotland’s coastline has become a terrifying new front on the West’s conflict with Russia. Armed Forces Minister Luke Pollard has warned Vladimir Putin is likely operating fleets of unmanned submarines designed to sabotage sub-sea internet cables which could cripple the UK. Military intelligence experts have said communications lines severed off the coast of Shetland two years ago was almost certainly the work of Russia, which has also been accused of operating “spy ships” … Continue reading Labour attempts to scare Scots with fake news about the Shetland subsea cable cut in 2022 but fails to mention how many of the Royal Navy’s subs to defend us are currently stuck in dock

Leave a comment

NHS Scotland’s better performance is preventing around 1 400 ‘unnecessary’ deaths every year

johnrobertson834

By Professor John Robertson OBA In the Guardian yesterday: Long NHS delays leading to thousands of unnecessary deaths, inquiry finds – Darzi’s scathing indictment of the Conservatives’ 14-year stewardship of the NHS says that A&E is in “an awful state”. He cites evidence he received from the body representing A&E doctors that “long waits are likely to be causing an additional 14,000 more deaths a year – more than double all British armed forces combat deaths since the health service was founded in 1948”. Improvements in survival from cancer “slowed substantially during the 2010s”. More than 7.6 million people were awaiting … Continue reading NHS Scotland’s better performance is preventing around 1 400 ‘unnecessary’ deaths every year

5 Comments

Views of a children’s charity whose boss is ‘angry, very angry’ but ‘unleashes fury’ towards just one government. 

johnrobertson834

By stewartb – a long read This considers the news and views of a major children’s charity in Scotland gleaned from its website. It offers insights into the charity’s relations with the Scottish Government. But why is this worth writing about it? On September 8, an interview with the charity’s CEO was published in The Herald under the headline: ‘Scottish charity boss unleashes fury over poverty under SNP rule’. Here we learn that the CEO of the “acclaimed” Aberlour Children’s Charity is ‘angry, She’s very angry’. (my emphasis) So something is seriously amiss with this charity’s relations with Scotland’s government … Continue reading Views of a children’s charity whose boss is ‘angry, very angry’ but ‘unleashes fury’ towards just one government. 

5 Comments

2 000 mental health deaths in Essex not linked to Tory government but 1 in Scotland connects to the SNP government twice and earns the minister an photo

johnrobertson834

In May 2024, BBC Scotland connected a single death in a mental health institution to the minister above and included in the report: The Scottish government said the commission’s recommendations would be “fully implemented” at the unit, which was anonymised in the report. (para 4) and at the end: The Scottish government’s Mental Wellbeing minister Maree Todd said she extended her “heartfelt sympathies” to the family of Mrs F. She added: “The relevant health and social care services have been issued with specific recommendations and learning points and we expect these to be fully implemented.” https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c25rgzl55edo Yesterday BBC Essex had: … Continue reading 2 000 mental health deaths in Essex not linked to Tory government but 1 in Scotland connects to the SNP government twice and earns the minister an photo

1 Comment

Scottish alcohol deaths stabilise, after years of Tory austerity and pandemic lockdowns, as Scottish Government treatment programmes repeatedly beat 95% target, just in time for Labour to drive folk to drink again

johnrobertson834

By Professor John Robertson OBA BBC Scotland, typically thick in the junior ranks but sneaky at the top, have this today: Scottish alcohol deaths at 15-year high. The number of people in Scotland whose death was caused by alcohol remains at a high level, with the largest number of deaths in 15 years. The latest figures from National Records of Scotland, (NRS) show 1,277 people died from conditions caused by alcohol in 2023. This was one death more than the previous year, which was the highest number since 2008. As always, from BBC Scotland, a more meaningful look at longer trends … Continue reading Scottish alcohol deaths stabilise, after years of Tory austerity and pandemic lockdowns, as Scottish Government treatment programmes repeatedly beat 95% target, just in time for Labour to drive folk to drink again