Tag: scotland

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Inverness ‘wilful fire-raising incident’ – is this a second Scottish community fighting back against the plague of English County Lines gangs?

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The Talking-up Scotland fund raiser closing on Friday, primarily to enable the recruitment of some research assistance, in order to take pressure off me [74 in June and tiring] and hopefully to further improve the blog, has made a good start. To contribute, only if you can (!) go to: Talking-up Scotland – a Politics crowdfunding project in Ayr by Professor John Robertson By Professor John Robertson OBA, former Faculty Research Ethics Chair, UWS  BBC Scotland Highlands & Islands had this very brief report last night. Police say they are treating a blaze at a house in Inverness as a wilful fire-raising incident. … Continue reading Inverness ‘wilful fire-raising incident’ – is this a second Scottish community fighting back against the plague of English County Lines gangs?

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BBC Scotland and Prof Paterson shamefully misinterpret statistics to cast another cohort of Scottish students and staff as failures when they are not

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The Talking-up Scotland fund raiser closing on Friday, primarily to enable the recruitment of some research assistance, in order to take pressure off me [74 in June and tiring] and hopefully to further improve the blog, has made a good start. To contribute, only if you can (!) go to: Talking-up Scotland – a Politics crowdfunding project in Ayr by Professor John Robertson By Professor John Robertson OBA, former Faculty Research Ethics Chair, UWS  From BBC Scotland today: The attainment gap between Scotland’s richest and poorest school pupils increased last year, according to new figures. The Scottish government has said since 2015 that … Continue reading BBC Scotland and Prof Paterson shamefully misinterpret statistics to cast another cohort of Scottish students and staff as failures when they are not

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From the World’s End Murders to Scotland today

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By Professor John Robertson OBA, former Faculty Research Ethics Chair, UWS  As I watched the above, excellent but deeply disturbing BBC documentary series (two parts), I was cast back 55 years to a night in September 1969. I was to attend Glasgow School of art, the next morning and I could not sleep for anxiety about the next day. I wasn’t worried about the course, I was worried about Glasgow. I’d never been and my head was full of images of knife and meat cleaver attacks, from TV news reports and my dad’s Daily Record. It was newspaper then. In the end, I … Continue reading From the World’s End Murders to Scotland today

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As energy prices loom thanks to Labour’s failure, how a Scottish Government call for closer energy links with Europe to cut bills was ignored by ‘Scottish’ media

johnrobertson834

The Talking-up Scotland fund raiser closing on Friday, primarily to enable the recruitment of some research assistance, in order to take pressure off me [74 in June and tiring] and hopefully to further improve the blog, has made a good start. To contribute, only if you can (!) go to: Talking-up Scotland – a Politics crowdfunding project in Ayr by Professor John Robertson By Professor John Robertson OBA, former Faculty Research Ethics Chair, UWS  Posted just after midnight, on January 29th 2025, and so in plenty of time for consideration and publication, but there was none, the Scottish Government has called for closer … Continue reading As energy prices loom thanks to Labour’s failure, how a Scottish Government call for closer energy links with Europe to cut bills was ignored by ‘Scottish’ media

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As energy bills are set to rise again English financiers says ‘Scotland ‘subsidises’ London energy bills’ and it’s ‘better for Scots to pay over the odds than those living in the English capital’

johnrobertson834

The Talking-up Scotland fund raiser closing on Friday, primarily to enable the recruitment of some research assistance, in order to take pressure off me [74 in June and tiring] and hopefully to further improve the blog, has made a good start. To contribute, only if you can (!) go to: Talking-up Scotland – a Politics crowdfunding project in Ayr by Professor John Robertson By Professor John Robertson OBA, former Faculty Research Ethics Chair, UWS  From inkl in October 2024: Households in Scotland are paying higher energy bills than they ought to keep prices down south of the Border, according to experts at the … Continue reading As energy bills are set to rise again English financiers says ‘Scotland ‘subsidises’ London energy bills’ and it’s ‘better for Scots to pay over the odds than those living in the English capital’

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UK Labour government to cut funds for safety at Sellafield – the “bottomless pit of hell, money and despair” just upwind and upstream of millions of Scots

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By Professor John Robertson OBA, former Faculty Research Ethics Chair, UWS, former power station and dyeworks worker In the Guardian today, the above and this: Sellafield has said nearly £3bn in new funding is “not enough” and bosses are now examining swingeing cuts, prompting fears over jobs and safety at the vast nuclear waste dump. Sellafield’s chief executive, Euan Hutton, has told staff that the funding was “not enough” to carry out planned works, leaving bosses to make “difficult decisions” over spending, sources told the Guardian. The public spending watchdog has said the ultimate cost of cleaning up Sellafield is expected to rise … Continue reading UK Labour government to cut funds for safety at Sellafield – the “bottomless pit of hell, money and despair” just upwind and upstream of millions of Scots

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Labour will trail even further if Sarwar keeps giving bad interviews with the media

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The Talking-up Scotland fund raiser, finishing in 5 days, to enable the recruitment of some research assistance, in order to take pressure off me [74 in June and tiring] and hopefully to further improve the blog, has made a good start. To contribute, only if you can (!) go to: Talking-up Scotland – a Politics crowdfunding project in Ayr by Professor John Robertson By Liz S Labour will trail even further if Sarwar keeps giving bad interviews with the media. BBC The Sunday Show, saw a clip online from this programme. Martin Geissler interviewing Anas Sarwar this morning. MG: “Here’s … Continue reading Labour will trail even further if Sarwar keeps giving bad interviews with the media

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Why is ‘English drug dealer’ paying off ‘drug debt from England’ in Fraserburgh not connected to wider plague?

johnrobertson834

The Talking-up Scotland fund raiser, finishing in 4 days, to enable the recruitment of some research assistance, in order to take pressure off me [74 in June and tiring] and hopefully to further improve the blog, has made a good start. To contribute, only if you can (!) go to: Talking-up Scotland – a Politics crowdfunding project in Ayr by Professor John Robertson Thanks to reader Anonymous and Liz S (same?) for the above link and this today, not being covered by BBC North East nor by STV North East: More English drug dealers pitching up in the North East: … Continue reading Why is ‘English drug dealer’ paying off ‘drug debt from England’ in Fraserburgh not connected to wider plague?

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Why I blocked James Cook – Losing an argument, he suggests that those who criticise him are mentally unstable

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My post three days ago – BBC Scotland’s James Cook wallows in one town’s drug deaths but does not tell you what is really happening there – the trend is down, the treatment is there and the new powerful drugs are pushed by English gangs – prompted a response from James Cook, BBC Scotland News Editor. Leaving aside his frankly astonishing understanding of what a statistical trend might, he notes correctly that I have blocked him. I did. Here’s why. On 25 August 2018, I wrote to the Head of BBC Scotland, Donalda MacKinnon, to protest the appointment of James … Continue reading Why I blocked James Cook – Losing an argument, he suggests that those who criticise him are mentally unstable

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Sarwar will soon face public and political ridicule on his First Minster claim

johnrobertson834

The Talking-up Scotland fund raiser, finishing in 6 days, to enable the recruitment of some research assistance, in order to take pressure off me [74 in June and tiring] and hopefully to further improve the blog, has made a good start. To contribute, only if you can (!) go to: Talking-up Scotland – a Politics crowdfunding project in Ayr by Professor John Robertson By Liz S Anas Sarwar announced this week that he sees himself as the next FM in Scotland. I assume this was just yet another “Read my lips” moment, where the actual reality is that this declaration … Continue reading Sarwar will soon face public and political ridicule on his First Minster claim