Tag: scotland

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In Scotland no actual ambulance crisis as in Wales but still even the possibility of delays has the BBC inviting Scottish Cons and Labour round to finish 2024 off with one more SNP-bad session

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By Professor John Robertson OBA You have to laugh as BBC Wales use the image on the left above for Ambulance chief says ‘drink sensibly’ over New Year after critical incident but BBC Scotland can only find the one parked outside a corner shop in Forfar as the paramedics nip in for bridies, for Ambulance crews put on highest level of emergency. BBC Wales have this staggering report: Welsh ambulance service chiefs have urged the public to “drink sensibly” at New Year to help reduce demand on emergency services that suffered a 340-call backlog on Monday. Jason Killens, chief executive of Welsh … Continue reading In Scotland no actual ambulance crisis as in Wales but still even the possibility of delays has the BBC inviting Scottish Cons and Labour round to finish 2024 off with one more SNP-bad session

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Women victims of homicide – selective reporting to exaggerate the phenomenon in Scotland and hide it in England & Wales

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In the Guardian today: Killed women count – 80 women allegedly killed by men in UK in 2024 – Throughout the year, the Guardian aimed to report on every woman whose death has led to a man being charged. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/ng-interactive/2024/dec/31/killed-women-count-a-project-highlighting-the-toll-and-tragedy-of-violence-against-women-in-the-uk There, then follow 80 tragic accounts. I can’t imagine many would want to read all the way. I started to read and something jumped out at me but before I discuss that, some important facts about women victims of homicide across the ‘UK.’ According to the ONS, there were 174 females victims of homicide in England and Wales, in 2023.1 … Continue reading Women victims of homicide – selective reporting to exaggerate the phenomenon in Scotland and hide it in England & Wales

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I could walk 140 000 miles or repaint the Sistine Chapel ceiling before Operation Branchform admits defeat

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From the ever-excellent Wee Ginger Dug in the National today, 15 things that took less time to resolve than Operation Branchform: I’m guessing Ukraine and Russia do a deal before a Scottish court, the second it sees the charges against Peter Murrell and/or Nicola Sturgeon, chucks them out. All things must end. The Ukraine war will end this year and Operation Branchform, soon after. Branchform was clearly set up, on orders from the UK Government, to milk this ridiculous case as long as possible, ignoring the scornful laughter, to weaken the SNP, as it has, as soon as we saw … Continue reading I could walk 140 000 miles or repaint the Sistine Chapel ceiling before Operation Branchform admits defeat

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As religious hate crime falls to lowest level for 20 years in Scotland, we are picked out for a campaign to fight it ‘across the UK’

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By Professor John Robertson OBA Many thanks once more to Dottie for alerting me to this. In the Guardian today, by Hannah Al-Othman North of England correspondent, an image of a hate crime billboard in Glasgow and: Some of the UK’s largest police forces have reported increases in religious hate crimes in the past 18 months, figures reveal, with the number of incidents rising after the start of the Hamas-Israel conflict in autumn 2023 and again after the Southport attacks in England this summer. Forces including Greater Manchester, West Midlands and the Metropolitan police recorded sharp increases in antisemitic offences in the weeks … Continue reading As religious hate crime falls to lowest level for 20 years in Scotland, we are picked out for a campaign to fight it ‘across the UK’

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As the Sunday Mail sickeningly exploits the story of a child coming from Morocco to the UK but denied treatment, to attack Scotland, how this small country has helped its big neighbour

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By Professor John Robertson OBA The above front page would be hard to dive below. There are only 12 beds in two facilities in the UK which can carry out this specialist procedure. A child living in Morocco cannot be helped quickly enough and NHS Scotland, one tenth the size of NHS England, is somehow blamed for a lack of capacity UK-wide. While the Sunday Mail may love to offer this kind of sickly tale, we never hear these stories: First, in the Guardian 12 September 2023 , but getting no coverage at all across the BBC or ITV or the press: … Continue reading As the Sunday Mail sickeningly exploits the story of a child coming from Morocco to the UK but denied treatment, to attack Scotland, how this small country has helped its big neighbour

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The Herald asks ‘Was NHS Scotland right not to prioritise longest waiters?’ What, instead of those who are on the 18-week list because they might die? Is that a tough one?

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By Professor John Robertson OBA The Herald’s Helen McCardle asks that first question above then proceeds to circle around it with a mass of information and comment, ending up by claiming: The above needs the addition – ‘but at what cost in lives?’ So, after the pandemic, NHS England’s two-year waiting list for those with life-diminishing but not life-threatening conditions, such as arthritis, was cleared but Scotland’s was not. How did they do that? The NHS has spent a record £12.3billion outsourcing patients to private hospitals to try to clear waiting lists, figures show. Official data reveals a 12 per cent increase over the past … Continue reading The Herald asks ‘Was NHS Scotland right not to prioritise longest waiters?’ What, instead of those who are on the 18-week list because they might die? Is that a tough one?

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CalMac ferries so generously subsidised and over-sized that tiny winter island traffic is unaffected by a temporary safety limit

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Today headlining on the BBC Scotland website: CalMac cuts passenger numbers over safety failure They open with: Ferry operator CalMac has been forced to cut passengers numbers on its MV Isle of Mull vessel to just 45 after it failed a safety check. Problems were identified with the ship’s evacuation system during its annual overhaul. CalMac has confirmed passenger numbers must be temporarily limited to reflect the spaces available on its lifeboats. BBC Scotland open with the above before going on to milk the story for a further 7 paragraphs before this: CalMac says passenger bookings on the Lochboisdale route … Continue reading CalMac ferries so generously subsidised and over-sized that tiny winter island traffic is unaffected by a temporary safety limit

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Talking-up Scotland 10 Year Anniversary

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Professor John Robertson OBA Just about 11 years ago, I published this research report, revealing clear media bias against the Yes campaign in the run-up to the 2014 Scottish Independence Referendum. It went viral in the following days and weeks. See: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/opendemocracyuk/bbc-bias-and-scots-referendum-new-report/ BBC Scotland challenged the findings and reported me for ‘professional misconduct‘ to my employer – the University of the West of Scotland. After a nervous month or so, no action against me was taken. In March 2014, I was called by the Scottish Parliament to defend my work. See: I was followed by four of the BBC Scotland … Continue reading Talking-up Scotland 10 Year Anniversary

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Lib Dems find nothing useful on part-time unpaid police officers who make up 2% of the best staffed force in the UK

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From STV yesterday: Numbers of special constables within Police Scotland have fallen by 73% since the national police service was formed, the Scottish Lib Dems say. Figures obtained by the party through freedom of information show there were 383 special constables in 2023/24. This is a decrease from 1,394 in 2013. The special constabulary is trained to the same standard as the rest of the police service, however, it operates on a volunteer basis. Lib Dem justice spokesman Liam McArthur said: “Special constables are an important link between communities and the police service because they can provide valuable local knowledge. … Continue reading Lib Dems find nothing useful on part-time unpaid police officers who make up 2% of the best staffed force in the UK

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“Scotland is now a dysfunctional example of failed devolution funded by English taxpayers”

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Anonymous Reform UK party ? Here are some actual snippets from Rupert Lowe’s speech at their 2024 Reform UK party conference , he is one of their new MP’s, from 2024 GE, for the constituency of Great Yarmouth, England. (Currently all 5 of their MP’s are elected in ENGLAND , one being a Tory defector, as in 30p Lee). So one or two snippets that Rupert said in his conference speech: “Defund the monopolistic malign BBC” (That’s the same BBC that Nigel Farage has frequently appeared in , on BBC QT as a member of the BBC QT panel, many many times actually, as has Richard Tice , but Richard Tice has also appeared on BBC ‘Politics Live’ as has … Continue reading “Scotland is now a dysfunctional example of failed devolution funded by English taxpayers”