Tag: scotland

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52 days of doctors strikes averted, more than 100 000 appointments and 5 000 lives saved by Humza Yousaf but his removal is what Labour desire most

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This site costs nothing to run so donate to our friends at  https://www.broadcastingscotland.scot/donate/ Above, the shocking picture of 52 out of the last 365 when doctors were on strike in England. There were no days lost to action in Scotland. According to the Guardian on 10 January, junior doctor strikes caused around 1.3 million appointments to be cancelled. Had there been comparable action in Scotland, around 130 000 appointments would have been lost. According to the Telegraph on 2 January, there were nearly 53 000 excess deaths in 2023 ‘amid’ the strikes across the UK so, had there been strikes … Continue reading 52 days of doctors strikes averted, more than 100 000 appointments and 5 000 lives saved by Humza Yousaf but his removal is what Labour desire most

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Desperation dogs ageing Herald ferry team with three gammons trying to do the work

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This site costs nothing to run so donate to our friends at  https://www.broadcastingscotland.scot/donate/ The 39 year-old MV Hebridean Isles saying ‘Ah’ to reveal its rust free doors. Today, the Herald of Free Flotsam and Jetsam has from one of their ferry correspondents: Rust dogs ageing CalMac fleet with two ferries sidelined for 3rd year Oooh, there’ll be some creepy shots of rusty old boats in this, won’t there? Nope. All they have is a shot of the MV Clansman (25) looking great with not a trace of rust and the MV Caledonian Isles (30) with some not-rusty scuffs on the … Continue reading Desperation dogs ageing Herald ferry team with three gammons trying to do the work

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Campaigners say improved social attitudes towards trans people makes it easier for them to come out, only 10 years after SNP legislation

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This site costs nothing to run so donate to our friends at  https://www.broadcastingscotland.scot/donate/ identity clinic in Scotland – a fivefold rise since 2018. BBC Scotland News has learned that some are now waiting up to six years for a first appointment. GPs say they’ve been left to care for those on waiting lists with guidelines that are now 12 years old. Reporting Scotland, one again, with a heavy dose of early morning gloom for their ever diminishing audience. The full report on the website does have this key context: Campaigners say the high demand for specialist help is down to … Continue reading Campaigners say improved social attitudes towards trans people makes it easier for them to come out, only 10 years after SNP legislation

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New evidence from Fiona Bruce that waiting lists in England are far far longer than in Scotland

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From Fiona Bruce of BBC News at 6: The BBC has discovered that many NHS patients in England are stuck on waiting lists potentially running into millions. People who are referred to a specialist for treatment for cancer or heart failure for example are no longer counted on the main waiting lists. The Director of Data Analytics at the The Health Foundation then says: It’s very difficult to get an idea of the number…it’s not quite clear which hospital record it and which don’t…but I would guess it’s in the millions! Imagine that was in Scotland? Imagine Jackie Baillie on … Continue reading New evidence from Fiona Bruce that waiting lists in England are far far longer than in Scotland

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Beyond the media circus – evidence the UK Covid-19 Inquiry has on Scotland’s pandemic response and outcomes

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By stewartb – a long read We can only speculate what profile the UK Covid-19 Inquiry will end up giving to different sources of evidence on the Scottish Government’s response to the pandemic. How will the Inquiry weigh what it receives from dispassionate experts in comparison to what is favoured by the politically partisan? Will the Inquiry’s reporting major on WhatsApp messaging and alleged political motivation as its public hearings in Edinburgh appeared to do, at least according to media coverage? Regardless of what emerges, will BBC Scotland still trawl the Inquiry’s findings for that precious phrase which will deliver … Continue reading Beyond the media circus – evidence the UK Covid-19 Inquiry has on Scotland’s pandemic response and outcomes

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BBC Scotland ignore Oxford University expert saying Scotland’s contribution to hosting displaced people is 50% greater than England

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From BBC Scotland today: Home Secretary James Cleverly has urged the Scottish government to use a cruise ship and other large sites to accommodate more asylum seekers. Mr Cleverly said that for dispersal and initial accommodation alone, Scotland houses eight asylum seekers for every 10,000 people. This compares to nine in Wales and 16 in England. This morning, at least 12 hours earlier, on BBC Radio Good Mourning Scotland, we hear from Peter William Walsh of the Migration Observatory at Oxford University: The Home Secretary criticises the Scottish Government for not taking enough asylum seekers. So asylum seekers are those … Continue reading BBC Scotland ignore Oxford University expert saying Scotland’s contribution to hosting displaced people is 50% greater than England

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NHS new building on pause – a trade union convenor is not an ‘independent expert’

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Headlining early today for the Labour Party on Reporting Scotland, we see a Fife Labour councillor condemn one wee GP surgery building, specially chosen for their campaign. On the BBC Scotland website and, no doubt, on longer broadcasts, we read: Independent experts warned it was unlikely NHS Scotland would “survive” without extra funding this year. Basic journalism standards require that both the independent experts and the word ‘survive’ will re-appear in the full text below. Neither do. The only comments are from Donald Campbell, chairman of the Kincardine community council and from Dr Iain Kennedy, chair of BMA Scotland. The word … Continue reading NHS new building on pause – a trade union convenor is not an ‘independent expert’

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Labour Civil War as ‘Scottish’ Labour vote for SNP motion on Gaza ceasefire

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Above, in November 2023, a pretty clear indication of how the two Scottish Labour MPs, Murray and Shanks, will vote on an SNP motion in the House of Commons next week. Below, today, this bizarre BBC Scotland report: Were Murray and Shanks there? Did they support this motion, essentially the same as the SNP motion in the House of Commons next week? Murray and Shanks? You know, these two: In the BBC Scotland report, only this one mention of these two: The SNP is urging Mr Sarwar to whip Michael Shanks and Ian Murray to side with them in a … Continue reading Labour Civil War as ‘Scottish’ Labour vote for SNP motion on Gaza ceasefire

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Rabidly anti-Scotland journalism in coverage of the latest report on anti-Semitism.

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By stewartb I have no wish to underplay the awful impacts of discrimination, abuse and acts of violence against individuals and their communities that are motivated by religious or ethnic prejudice or hate. Nor do I wish to appear complacent. However, those seeking to address serious issues involved in sustaining community safety and respectful co-existence are IMHO not well served by ‘misrepresentation’ of statistics or worse. I offer the example of the Scottish Daily Express (15 February) which has been exhibiting its all too familiar rabidly anti-Scotland journalism in coverage of the Community Security Trust’s (CST) latest report on anti-semitism. Express … Continue reading Rabidly anti-Scotland journalism in coverage of the latest report on anti-Semitism.

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So it’s political blackmail now is it from Sarwar?

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By NMRN “Scottish Labour would use the money raised from closing the non-dom tax loophole in the UK to slash NHS waiting lists in Scotland, Anas Sarwar will pledge“ Does that mean that this ‘pledge’ from Sarwar would ONLY happen if Scotland voted Labour in Scotland at the next Holyrood elections and they were elected as the next Scottish government…..as the above quote stated “Scottish Labour would use the money”…….and not…..the Scottish government (meaning existing one) could have extra money for say the NHS for example….. I think we all know that if there is a Labour government at WM and the SNP are … Continue reading So it’s political blackmail now is it from Sarwar?