Tag: politics

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Scotland’s drug deaths crisis IS a human rights scandal but it is also a fundamental consequence of our subjection still within a dying, dysfunctional but still dominant and brutal empire

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From Third Force yesterday, the above, and: The Scottish Human Rights Commission (SHRC) chair has challenged ministers over their response to the continuing drugs’ death toll, insisting the loss of life is neither acceptable nor inevitable. Professor Angela O’Hagan’s intervention follows figures showing 1,133 people died from drugs in Scotland during 2025 – an increase of 116 on the previous year and the sixth-highest annual total on record. The figures expose a devastating divide between Scotland’s richest and poorest communities, with people living in the most deprived areas 15 times more likely to die from drugs than those in the … Continue reading Scotland’s drug deaths crisis IS a human rights scandal but it is also a fundamental consequence of our subjection still within a dying, dysfunctional but still dominant and brutal empire

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Sadly the Herald is not the only media outlet where failures, even war criminals, are kept on

johnrobertson834

I’ve sworn off and of Kev many times then find myself angrily coming back for more. WTF is he talking about now? This is clearly a case for AI. I have better things to do, like wipe my……………. Here you are, 34 seconds of Grok: Are there prominent demonstrably failed political figures in the UK or beyond who are then or later rewarded? Yes. There are multiple prominent examples in the UK (and a similar pattern elsewhere) of political figures linked to clear, measurable failures—election defeats, policy disasters with documented economic or institutional harm, scandals, or inquiries finding serious shortcomings—who … Continue reading Sadly the Herald is not the only media outlet where failures, even war criminals, are kept on

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There has been a massive but unreported reduction in the number of children on the child protection register in Scotland and a widening gap with the other 3 nations despite the plague of English drug gangs using them as ‘mules’

johnrobertson834

In the Herald, today, the above and: and: Nowhere in this report is the question ‘Why is there an increase?’ even considered never mind answered. The answer is in existing MSM reports: First, there is a huge surge in child exploitation – carrying drugs in body cavities and sexual abuse – by English county lines drug gangs in Scotland From Human Trafficking NRM referrals re county lines – 10yrs published by Police Scotland today, that ‘referrals made by Police Scotland to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) where county lines and suspected criminal exploitation was a factor‘ was: Under 16 year-olds … Continue reading There has been a massive but unreported reduction in the number of children on the child protection register in Scotland and a widening gap with the other 3 nations despite the plague of English drug gangs using them as ‘mules’

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Half the recorded rape offence rate but more funding in Scotland – THE News?

johnrobertson834

because of a funding shortage. Glasgow and Clyde Rape Crisis has launched an urgent appeal to raise more money in the next four weeks. It comes amid a series of protests about cuts to similar services across the country when the number of sexual crimes recorded here reached its highest since the 1970s. BBC Scotland leading off today, as often before, with a story not fully worked out on its webpage so we cannot check its accuracy and sources. There is, of course, no rape story across the other BBC broadcasts or websites, despite higher rape offences reported in each … Continue reading Half the recorded rape offence rate but more funding in Scotland – THE News?

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Has any country ever becoming independent of the UK or British Empire ever needed to explain how it would be able to pay pensions?

johnrobertson834

Has any country ever becoming independent of the UK or British Empire ever needed to explain how it would be able to pay pensions? No. There is no historical precedent of a country becoming independent from the UK or British Empire being required to publicly explain, in detail, how it would fund pensions for its own population as a condition of independence. What actually happened in practice Public officers / colonial service pensions: Independence negotiations routinely included Public Officers Agreements (or equivalent). The new government typically assumed liability for the pensions of British and local civil servants who had worked … Continue reading Has any country ever becoming independent of the UK or British Empire ever needed to explain how it would be able to pay pensions?

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Lord Union Jack dreaming of Lord Palmerston and putting Britain First

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By Liz S Labour peer Lord McConnell is speaking at this year’s Battle of Ideas Festival on the following : “Should we put Britain first ? The ‘National interest’ question” When you click on this subject these are some of the things that are noted: “The term ‘national interest’ has re-entered political conversation. Immigration, energy security, national defence and protecting domestic industries are recurring popular concerns. A survey by More in Common found 63 per cent of Britons now support a ‘Britain First’ approach” “Britain First” ? Is that not the name of the ‘party’ that is described as being … Continue reading Lord Union Jack dreaming of Lord Palmerston and putting Britain First

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‘England’s Atrocity’ hanging petty thieves and children – Scotland historically applied the death penalty far less often than England, pro rata half as many in the 20th Century, but Mark Smith of the Glasgow Herald knows SFA of that

johnrobertson834

Mark Smith, today, once more revealing his little knowledge of Scotland, tries to drag us into the wider world of state brutality, as the US plans a public execution by firing squad, with ill-researched work on the history of capital punishment in Scotland and in the wider UK. He quickly tells us of Scotland’s last hanging in 1963: but ignores this key information: Scotland historically applied the death penalty far less often than England, mainly because of differences in legal tradition after the 1707 Act of Union. Scotland kept its own courts, criminal procedure, and much of its substantive law … Continue reading ‘England’s Atrocity’ hanging petty thieves and children – Scotland historically applied the death penalty far less often than England, pro rata half as many in the 20th Century, but Mark Smith of the Glasgow Herald knows SFA of that

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As NHS England’s Fonagy review into mental health support reveals a ‘dire lack of support’ how NHS Scotland hit 90% or more target for 8th time in a row

johnrobertson834

In the Guardian today, we hear of  ‘an inquiry into England’s ever-extending waiting lists for the diagnosis of mental illness and neurodevelopmental conditions, and the dire lack of support for people who experience one or both of them.’ BBC Scotland relies on another RCEM Scotland claim that A&E doctors are ‘completely terrified‘ in Scotland yet not so in England where the more than 12 hour waits strongly associated with excess death are twice as comon. This is, of course, is fully swept under the Editor’s carpet: From Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) waiting times Quarter ending June 2026 … Continue reading As NHS England’s Fonagy review into mental health support reveals a ‘dire lack of support’ how NHS Scotland hit 90% or more target for 8th time in a row

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Why does the Royal College of Emergency Medicine avoid comparisons with Scotland when they reveal England to be the ‘Capital of Deadly Long Waits?’

johnrobertson834

By stewartb When reading across the press statements that the RCEM makes regularly on the waiting times performances of the NHS in England, the north of Ireland, Scotland and Wales, it is rare to find it refer directly to between nation comparisons. In particular, the longstanding better performance of NHS Scotland tends not to be acknowledged although clearly evident in time series graphs tucked away in the RCEM’s website. Rare but not never! One such occurrence in a recent RCEM press statement on NHS Scotland (see below) strikes me as rather ‘odd’ if not perverse! For context, from the RCEM … Continue reading Why does the Royal College of Emergency Medicine avoid comparisons with Scotland when they reveal England to be the ‘Capital of Deadly Long Waits?’

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At last, a Labour MP sees how dangerous Labour’s nuclear energy policy is

johnrobertson834

Well, I suppose it’s good to see this, even if a little later and on contrary tack at times to our earlier predictions. First, from the high-status Foreign Policy on January 20th 2025: Labour’s planned small modular reactors – inefficient, polluting and carcinogenic – will also be dependent on high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) from Putin’s Russia which has ‘complete monopoly’ to undermine our energy security For the United States—a country that, especially under incoming President-elect Donald Trump, aspires to be not only energy secure but energy dominant—one energy insecurity problem remains, which could dog the development of a key source … Continue reading At last, a Labour MP sees how dangerous Labour’s nuclear energy policy is