New US law to compensate radiation emission victims needs to be introduced by UK Government for Essex breast cancer and Scottish child cancer cases

From Spectrum News yesterday: A Detroit-area woman is among those hailing a new law that expands a federal trust fund that makes payments to those who may have been sickened by nuclear contamination. Kim Visintine, a local ER nurse practitioner, was raised in the St. Louis area with a career in the automotive industry that ultimately brought her to Michigan. In 2000, her son was born in St. Louis with a rare brain cancer, underwent neurosurgeries at just days old and later went on chemotherapy. He died in 2006. In the years that followed, Visintine learned of others who grew … Continue reading New US law to compensate radiation emission victims needs to be introduced by UK Government for Essex breast cancer and Scottish child cancer cases

You’ll think I must be making this stuff up but English schools permanently excluded ONE THOUSAND times as many children, per head, as in Scotland but we’ll pay some of the price for that as they’re used as drug mules by the English County lines drug gangs plaguing Scotland

Professor John Robertson OBA Thanks to Dottie once again for alerting me to this: In the Guardian today: More than 10,000 children were permanently excluded from England’s state schools last year, alongside record numbers of suspensions involving pupils aged six or younger or with special needs, as teachers struggled to cope with worsening behaviour. The figures for the 2023-24 academic year revealed that the number of permanent exclusions leapt up by 16% compared with the year before, while the total number of suspension days rose by 21% to 955,000. https://www.theguardian.com/education/2025/jul/10/rise-in-school-exclusions-in-england-including-among-children-under-six There were 11 676 temporary and 1 permanent exclusion from Scotland’s schools in 2022/2023, … Continue reading You’ll think I must be making this stuff up but English schools permanently excluded ONE THOUSAND times as many children, per head, as in Scotland but we’ll pay some of the price for that as they’re used as drug mules by the English County lines drug gangs plaguing Scotland

A handful of assaults and damage to property in the Scottish news every day – the Scottish ‘gangland feud’ is dwarfed by the massive plague of extreme drug gang violence and surging overdoses from England’s cities but this is hidden from you

Professor John Robertson OBA BBC Scotland continue to report and of course misreport from Spain, Scotland’s gangland feud. How did they misreport from Spain to try to add two deaths to the list? See this: What is the list of crimes affecting Scotland? This: Timeline: How the gang feud developed Very upsetting, I know, for all involved but only damage to property and no serious violence, no deaths. How does the above compare with the effects of the now 6 years, at least, of County Lines gangs from cities in England? In the Express July 20th 2024, we read: Knife crime epidemic … Continue reading A handful of assaults and damage to property in the Scottish news every day – the Scottish ‘gangland feud’ is dwarfed by the massive plague of extreme drug gang violence and surging overdoses from England’s cities but this is hidden from you

How the media ‘play’ Scotland’s voters

stewartb How to ‘play’ Scotland’s voters – how to attempt deceit or manipulation for political advantage? Is there a recurring mainstream news reporting pattern in Scotland? Step 1: mainstream media outlet/s make ‘judicious’ selection of a ‘newsworthy’ item about Scotland – to qualify, it must be a negative story and ideally linked to a topic of natural concern to many; 2: report this on newspaper front page with a ‘scary’ headline – big black font visible from metres away on a supermarket rack and visually impactful when the front page is pictured on the BBC News website’s Scotland page; 3. avoid giving … Continue reading How the media ‘play’ Scotland’s voters

More than 300 published studies prove that safe drug injection facilities reduce mortality and crime in surrounding areas but Reporting Scotland find a handful of locals to claim otherwise.

….about the number of discarded needles that are being left outside it. Now the council have introduced bins to try to address the problem Professor John Robertson OBA BBC Reporting Scotland tonight reporting for the area around the pilot safe injection facility in Calton in Glasgow, now six months in operation, are uncritically accepting a few local residents’ claims that it has increased drug taking in the area. No reliable figures are offered. The report, typically, has no balance and lazily does not refer to the large body of existing published evidence on such facilities. From 8 years ago: The … Continue reading More than 300 published studies prove that safe drug injection facilities reduce mortality and crime in surrounding areas but Reporting Scotland find a handful of locals to claim otherwise.

Suspensions 25 times higher and Permanent Exclusions 3 000 times higher in English Schools than in Scottish Schools

By JB According to the most up to date Gov.UK education statistics for England, in the 2023/24 spring term they ‘shockingly’ had 295,559 suspensions from schools, which is actually a decrease from the 2023/24 autumn term when the figure was a ‘controversial’ 346,300 suspensions. This newest figure calculates as 35 suspensions for every 1000 students in England. There were also 3,107 students permanently excluded from schools in England. Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England, Spring term 2023/24 – Explore education statistics – GOV.UK In Scotland for the term year 2022/23 (Scottish statistics are calculated biennially) we had 11 676 suspensions, … Continue reading Suspensions 25 times higher and Permanent Exclusions 3 000 times higher in English Schools than in Scottish Schools

US doctor sees a trend in young St. Louis cancer patients living near nuclear waste sites to remind of Scotland’s highest cancer death rate in Europe just downwind and downstream of Sellafield

Professor John Robertson OBA From Fox News yesterday: ST. LOUIS – A St. Louis doctor is looking into cancer rates across the region, trying to figure out why he’s seeing more younger patients.  One of his younger patients was Dre Bergeson, a loving wife to her husband, Darryl, and mother to their 8-year-old son, Finn.  “She was kind, compassionate, and loving, always thinking about everyone else but herself, even through the diagnosis,” Darryl Bergeson said. He said Dre began having heartburn and pain in August of last year. She had a CT scan in September. “There was a large mass … Continue reading US doctor sees a trend in young St. Louis cancer patients living near nuclear waste sites to remind of Scotland’s highest cancer death rate in Europe just downwind and downstream of Sellafield

Our ferries are subsidised at nearly £1 billion, never full and the Arran vessels are mostly less than half full, but are they grateful? Well yes they are if you read the previous posts

Professor John Robertson OBA We regularly see media reports of long car queues for Scotland’s ferries presented as if somehow the Scottish Government has failed to run the service properly. We never, to my knowledge, see these basic facts about the actual utilisation of car deck space and passenger seat take-up despite the presence of such data in the public domain, published by CalMac because they are legally obliged to. They paint a very different picture of the capacity of the service we all fund at considerable expense for no apparent thanks from those island ‘representatives’ regularly platformed across the … Continue reading Our ferries are subsidised at nearly £1 billion, never full and the Arran vessels are mostly less than half full, but are they grateful? Well yes they are if you read the previous posts

New US hybrid ferries look like costing much more than the new CalMac vessels

From EUUSATODAY, today: Bids to build new plug-in Washington state ferries come in high It’s raising doubts about the state’s plans to construct up to five new hybrid-electric vessels with the $1.3 billion [£1 billion] lawmakers have set aside. Ferry system managers and state budget writers in Washington took a cold wave over the bow Monday upon opening the bids to construct up to five new hybrid electric ferries. “I don’t see how you get to five. There’s money for three [160 car vessels] on a good day,” said state House Transportation Committee Chair Jake Fey, D-Tacoma. The Washington Legislature … Continue reading New US hybrid ferries look like costing much more than the new CalMac vessels

How only one Scottish Labour MP opposed ‘the biggest attack on the welfare state since George Osborne ushered in the years of austerity’

By stewartb Back on June 13, 2024, a BBC Scotland editor published an article on the BBC News website (so it must be true) with this opening: “Read my lips,” said Anas Sarwar, during the BBC Scotland leaders’ debate this week. “No austerity under Labour.” Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp4409yejrwo Fast forward to today when the push back against the policies of Mr Sarwar’s Labour in Name Only (LINO) party in government in Westminster has been given further impetus. It is being reported that 42 Labour MPs have sent a letter of protest to the PM. Here is how two Labour-supporting online media organisations are covering the … Continue reading How only one Scottish Labour MP opposed ‘the biggest attack on the welfare state since George Osborne ushered in the years of austerity’