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70% Dissatisfaction with lifeline US ferry service costing 50% more than comparable CalMac 100% service

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By Professor John Robertson From the Dispatch in Washington State, USA, yesterday: Nearly 3,800 ferry riders and 544 non-riders took part in the FROG survey, with the number of riders on all routes saying they are either satisfied or mostly satisfied with service at 54%, which is down from 58% in 2023. The Vashon triangle had the greatest percentage of riders saying they are dissatisfied with service, at 70%. Last year, in Kiro 7, we read: Vashon Island (10 000) commuters to Seattle in Washington State are up in arms about their $27, 15-minute ferry service: Vashon Island residents are … Continue reading 70% Dissatisfaction with lifeline US ferry service costing 50% more than comparable CalMac 100% service

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NHS Scotland’s ‘hugely better’ performance that the Royal College prefers to obscure

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By stewartb The Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) is a persistent and highly critical commentator on the responses of UK and devolved governments to the waiting times and capacity challenges facing NHS Emergency Departments in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. For background, it is my contention – and I’d argue, provable by analysis of the RCEM’s past monthly press statements that following the release of performance data for the NHS in each of the four nations – that the RCEM (i) fails to acknowledge the relatively better performance of NHS Scotland; and (ii) adopts a tone in its … Continue reading NHS Scotland’s ‘hugely better’ performance that the Royal College prefers to obscure

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Expert says Labour’s pledge to restore 18-week waits for life-threatening conditions in five years IS feasible even though they’re miles behind Scotland with only one fourteenth of the waiting list pro rata

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By Professor John Robertson Contrary to the BBC Scotland reporting, the 18 week target for life-threatening conditions is more important than the 2 year target for non-life-threatening, admittedly demoralising hip and knee surgery, on which we apparently do worse than NHS England after massive UK Government investment in private treatment for political ends. According to Rob Findlay of the Health Service Journal last June: The biggest task will be keeping up with demand. Beyond that, restoring 18 weeks in one term looks feasible. Unless he quickly u-turns again on this one, Starmer faces a big challenge to even catch NHS … Continue reading Expert says Labour’s pledge to restore 18-week waits for life-threatening conditions in five years IS feasible even though they’re miles behind Scotland with only one fourteenth of the waiting list pro rata

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Labour pushing their pet prof ‘under a bus?’

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Prof Arthur Bloom, who died in 1992, had been based in Cardiff and was one of the UK’s leading haematologists In the Times Higher Education, today: Infected blood: how academics both caused and exposed tragedy Report into scandal highlights danger of relying on singular sources of knowledge, in contrast to inquiry itself, which utilised vast range of expertise to get to the bottom of what happened. Particularly criticised was Arthur Bloom, a professor in haematology at what was then the University of Wales College of Medicine, now part of Cardiff University, whose views were said to have been “overly influential”. Last … Continue reading Labour pushing their pet prof ‘under a bus?’

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At least SEVEN long years later Anas Sarwar’s multi-million family firm is forced to stop paying poverty wages….maybe….says unnamed union rep…just in time before the election

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Picture: John Devlin Today, BBC Scotland are headlining a story that a Usdaw (who?) union rep says Anas Sarwar’s family business are now paying the living wage. The rep is clearly camera shy. Might the workers be unhappy with the claim? BBC Scotland attempt to cover up the fact that Sarwar’s wife and kids get dividends and have been for years on the back of low-page workers. In September 2017, I wrote: Anas Sarwar is a shareholder in United Wholesale (Scotland) Ltd which is currently advertising jobs at £7.50 an hour rather than the £8.45 ‘real’ living wage and far … Continue reading At least SEVEN long years later Anas Sarwar’s multi-million family firm is forced to stop paying poverty wages….maybe….says unnamed union rep…just in time before the election

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Labour to ban Scots zero-hours contracts, maybe, as they climb to levels already in England & Wales but offer no rebuke to Mrs Sarwar as Scotland leads on Real Living Wage

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From the Herald, today: The Labour Party which is the favourite to form the next UK government has pledged to ban ‘exploitative’ zero hours contracts as their use hit record levels in Scotland, the Herald on Sunday can reveal. Official figures reveal that the average number of Scots on zero-hours contracts has soared to an average of 100,000 in the past year – a 42% rise on 2019, the year before the pandemic. According to Statista, there are around 1.2 million zero hours workers across the UK. The Scottish rate is now exactly the same as in the rest of the … Continue reading Labour to ban Scots zero-hours contracts, maybe, as they climb to levels already in England & Wales but offer no rebuke to Mrs Sarwar as Scotland leads on Real Living Wage

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Cryptosporidium in the Capital, Diarrhoea in Devon, a Toilet in the Thames, a Lavvy in the Lake and Sick sheep in the Swale? Eh…drug deaths…..ferries…

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By Professor John Robertson Today, in the Guardian, we see: Thames Water has sent samples of water for lab testing after dozens of people reported becoming unwell with stomach cramps, vomiting and diarrhoea in south-east London. Earlier this month, unsafe drinking water led to more than 100 cases of a waterborne disease in Devon, with people asked to boil their water because of contamination fears. After cryptosporidium, a disease that can cause symptoms such as diarrhoea and vomiting, was detected in the water supply in the Brixham area of Devon 10 days ago, 17,000 households and businesses were told by South … Continue reading Cryptosporidium in the Capital, Diarrhoea in Devon, a Toilet in the Thames, a Lavvy in the Lake and Sick sheep in the Swale? Eh…drug deaths…..ferries…

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Raynor praises Welsh Labour Government for being far less successful than SNP Government in Scotland

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By stewartb The BBC News website’s Wales section has this headline today: ‘Wales held back by UK Tory rule – Labour’s Rayner’. The article reports on Labour’s deputy leader launching the party’e GE campaign in Llandudno. We learn that she stated the following (with my emphasis and comment): ‘Addressing the launch, Ms Rayner praised the Welsh party’s achievements in government in Cardiff, despite what she labelled “14 years chaos” under the Conservatives at Westminster”. Has Scotland (miraculously) been immune to these 14 years of Westminster-induced chaos? She then listed Labour’s key achievements as she saw them: “You see what Welsh Labour has done, whether … Continue reading Raynor praises Welsh Labour Government for being far less successful than SNP Government in Scotland

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‘The Canary in the Coalmine’ – Abortions shocking 36% more common in England & Wales

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By Professor John Robertson From the Guardian today: There were 251,377 abortions for women resident in the two nations in 2022, official figures from the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) show. With 9% of the population of England & Wales, all things being equal, you might expect, Scotland to have had around 22 600 abortions in the same year. According to Abortion Rights in May 2023, it had 16 584, around 6 000 fewer. The abortion rate in England & Wales is a shocking 36% higher than in Scotland, after 17 years of SNP rule and 14 years … Continue reading ‘The Canary in the Coalmine’ – Abortions shocking 36% more common in England & Wales

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Can Modern Studies be taught by an International Court of Justice denier?

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S5 Modern Studies pupil, Tommy, seeing the above, in September 2024, asks newly returned and miserable Mr Shanks, after losing his Rutherglen seat in the 4 July Westminster General Election, can I do: Question 19 International organisations have had both success and failure in tackling international conflicts and issues. Describe, in detail, two successes or failures of an international organisation in tackling the international conflict or issue you have studied. In your answer you must state the world conflict or issue you have studied. on how the UN and the International Court of Justice failed to stop the genocide in … Continue reading Can Modern Studies be taught by an International Court of Justice denier?