A not-so-happy Easter bunny
In the last 24 hours the Scottish and UK media has circled the wagons around the BBC’s James Cook, a good and balanced reporter who perhaps didn’t have his best day on Saturday. Predictable condemnation has poured in on “cybernats” alleged to have rained “vicious abuse” on the journalist in a co-ordinated fascist bullying attack etc etc, though as ever, actual quoted examples are in short supply.
(We’re aware of exactly two abusive tweets – one nutter identified by the Huffington Post calling the entire BBC “the scum of the Earth”), and one we ourselves saw and chided, which was then deleted by the normally-sensible user and which we honestly don’t remember the content of, beyond that it was unpleasant and excessive. It should go without saying that we deplore and condemn such abuse, while defending the right to civil, legitimate criticism of a public servant where justified.)
There’s nothing in the papers on this, though.
Simon J Fletcher is a marketing worker and self-proclaimed “professional writer”, from Bedford, though we’ve been unable to find any examples of his professional writing. He’s fond of sending angry tweets to supermarkets and all manner of other retailers and service providers, but above all else he appears to loathe Scottish nationalists. Many readers will have encountered his abusive tirades on Twitter.
Yesterday afternoon we managed to piece together his address. It’s now in the hands of Police Scotland. We’ll keep you abreast of any developments. Because we suspect you won’t be reading about them in the Spectator.
*Please DO NOT contact Mr Fletcher on Twitter. You’ll only make things worse, and might even jeopardise any possible prosecution.
I like James Cook – he may ask probing questions but by God we want that as Sturgeon can handle it and others cannot. As flawed as the BBC was during the referendum, there are still journalists there just getting their head down and doing a good job. Unfortunately, many of them are edited beyond influence. e.g. the brilliant Kenneth McDonald.
Stu,
While James Cook has been one of the more fair journalists in the past, he has a habit of making accusations by ommission. His article regardfing the 1979 vote of confidence says that the SNP brought down Callaghan’s government, yet does not mention the reason they supported the vote of confidence – i.e. the failure to whip the 33 backbenchers into line on the Referendum bill. It was a backstabbing too far – but the English press and BBC in particular (including Mr Cook) have studiously ignored the circumstances. At best this is shoddy and at worst, partisan churnalism. To be scrupulously fair, you need to tell all of the truth!
Johnny: those are legitimate criticisms, expressed in a reasoned way. Nothing wrong with that at all. Screaming abuse is stupid, unfair and counter-productive.
Aw poor James, there there son let someone kiss it better for you, poor wee lamb are those nasty cybernats calling you names
Haha, he really hates Tescos. What a wonderful glimpse into his mindset his little tirades give us. Thanks, it stiffens resolve to be reminded just how small-minded some of these trumpets are.
I take it people do realise that “dirty tricks” Carmichael (as he should called from now on) is up to his fucking neck in the shite with this blurted out ‘admission’.
“Dirty tricks” Carmichael has made a mere two public statements on the bullshit memo so far but he’s already implicated himself and is self-evidently lying.
Fact of the matter is he tried to claim the bullshit memo could have come from anywhere in government with his first statement to a journlist on C4 news. (which, happily for him, is on video catching him lying directly to camera.) “Dirty tricks” Carmichael also said this was a matter for the Cabinet Office inquiry and it would be wrong to go into any detail. Shortly afterwards he desperately tries to put a junior civil servant in the frame by telling the Record it was a civil servant!! LOL 😀
Normally “dirty tricks” Carmichael could rely on the establishment to cover up his incompetence and stupidity but the entire reason the civil service has these type of inquiries is basically to make certain no out of control minister has compromised their civil servants since they should answer to their civil service heirarchy and NOT some incompetent fat puddin of minister like “dirty tricks” Carmichael. It’s basically a turf war and the idiot Carmichael has already tried to drop the civil service in the shite before anyone has had a chance to investigate.
That’s why the Cabinet Office inquiry might well not take kindly to this fuckwit lib dem desperately trying to shove all the blame onto a junior civil servant by (and this is the best bit 😀 ) leaking it to a paper that it’s supposedly one of the civil service in the scotland office.
This is ALL to desperately try and deflect the blame from his his spad Euan Roddin or indeed the culprit most people recognise as the obvious one with his sticky wee fingers all over this mess, “dirty tricks” Carmichael himself.
So we now have the hilarious spectacle of this incompetent fool Carmichael on a direct collision course with the cabinet office inquiry over exactly who did what. Better still, WE ALREADY KNOW Carmichael has been lying since his second claim to the Record that he’s known all along who the leaker of the bullshit memo is completely contradicts what he first said to the channel 4 news journalist!
Yeah, even the Cabinet Office won’t need to spend more than five minutes to know that this yellow tory twat has got a HUGE amount of explaining to do.
“Dirty tricks” Carmichael is gong to be sweating a whole lot more as he prays that none of the civil service in the scotland office decide to tell the press precisely the kind of things he got up to now that he has tried to shove all the blame onto them.
This entire farce is only going to get more entertaining. 😀
Unionists believe they have Establishment and media protection, that they are untouchable and that they can be as rude or abusive as they want without prosecution.
It is about time they were made an example of as a warning to the rest of them.
The alternative view of James Cook’s interview is that he was able to give Nicola a wide spectrum of denial with every question he put to her. That is, oddly enough, a positive thing.
In other media, there is a recognition that the more shit you throw, the taller and more fragrant the roses become 🙂 link to irishtimes.com
“Aw poor James, there there son let someone kiss it better for you, poor wee lamb are those nasty cybernats calling you names”
Y’see, that sort of thing? That’s not helpful at all.
Aww.. bless his fluffy little Easter bunny ears.
Was she not to be hung form a tree outside Bute House the other day too. I think her diary might be a bit full to fit this in too. She’s a busy lady for heavens sake!
Seems like were going back to the good old days of the Monarchy where London would hang draw and quarter anyone who was a threat to their evil empire.. mwah ha ha ha ha ha..
“The alternative view of James Cook’s interview is that he was able to give Nicola a wide spectrum of denial with every question he put to her. That is, oddly enough, a positive thing.”
Yep, that’s a fair argument. My only criticisms of Cook over the weekend were on two very specific points – a piece of gratuitous editorialising on Friday night, and then a factual statement on Saturday lunchtime that at that time didn’t appear to have been supported by any solid evidence. We didn’t attack the interview as a whole, we just posted it for people to see.
David Bowie singing “Little sad/fat Man” on Extras comes to mind when you hear of such individuals
The reason the “dirty tricks” Carmichael stuff matters in this context is that – while the likes of the BBC were looking for yet more pathetic spin to try and implicate Nicola many of Wings posters and a good many on twitter had already managed to work out precisely where the bullshit memo had came from and were laughing at the fact that the unionist media were desperately trying to ignore the scotland office and Carmichael just as “dirty tricks” Carmichael was hiding away hoping nobody would notice his sticky wee fingerprints all over the bullshit memo!
Well the BBC and the rest of the unionist media sure as fuck didn’t care about the truth until the likes of channel 4 news decided to finally ask some questions long after we all KNEW who the culprit was.
London Evening Standard
Tanya Abraham, of YouGov, said: “Put bluntly, the electorate in Highgate don’t want the balance of power in Parliament to be dictated by the choice of voters in the Highlands.”
I see SLAB and Murphy are still lying about the biggest party forming the government, apparently it is in the history books! 😀
Excellent blog on this from Christian Wright.
link to weourselves.com
(Except he can’t spell “scurrilous”.)
in fairness to james cook he probably received hundreds of critical tweets. i think perhaps he may have responded to the tone, rather than taking a deep breath and responding to the content. he is normally very good.
at the other end of the quality spectrum is mr fletcher.
Simon J Fletcher is a poisonous turd who is a professional shit stirrer, I sincerely hope gets his collar felt.
My last cheque was written better than his entire twitter feed.
It would appear to me that the public are taking out their frustration with the BBC in Scotland, lets face it, the entire organisation is rotten and corrupt at the very core.
People have had enough and as James Cook was the only one to put his head up, he is in the firing line.
I do agree that online abuse is, like any type of abuse, unacceptable. Perhaps the BBC should be addressing the issues as to why the public are so enraged by their reporting than whinging about poor wee James.
The truth is the media wanted to believe the lie because as far as they were concerned the truth didn’t matter.
Journalists in circling the wagons around James Cook are also providing protection for the Daily Telegraph.
One thing we need to remember about MemoGate James Cook is not the victim.
@Grousebeater
O/T A couple of interesting comments in O/T from Thepnr and myself. We were not going nuts after all.
🙂
@Iain Gray’s Subway Lament
Well I didn’t know who the culprit was: until yesterday I was inclined to believe the Telegraph made it up. I was clearly wrong about that.
Now it seems that the “memo” is being used to support a narrative which has been alive in Labour circles for some time: that the SNP want a tory government because it suits their independence agenda by giving them 5 more years to feast on the alienation of the Scottish people suffering under such a regime.
That narrative started a while ago, and the memo allowed them to promote it as ” we all know this is true, even if she didn’t actually admit it”. I am seeing a lot of that and Mr Cook made it quite explicit in his interview with Ms Sturgeon.
I do not accept he was merely giving her an opportunity to rebut it: and that is because he claimed to have had discussions with members of the SNP where they said as much. Though if you watch the interview it is obvious that he was careful not to actually claim that, and was not prepared to name any names either. He said that they had admitted there was a “strategic attraction” and other such waffle: and it is not hard to imagine how that conversation might actually have gone. Seems obvious to me that the words did not come from any SNP member, but rather from the journalist who put a hypothetical at best. In a context where a politician is perhaps asked how they would deal with a situation in which the tories won an overall majority, did he expect them to say they would have no strategy at all? I hardly think so. It was a very very weaselly use of language from Mr Cook, and I do not think his intent was to give Ms Sturgeon an opportunity to rebut, though that is in fact what happened
Unsurprisingly that is not how it is reported, and the legacy of this row is being pushed as a “we all know it is true” impression in line with labour’s already established line.
It seems that the Labour party cannot conceive of any other possibility but it is telling that this is in line with what is normally presented as the trotskyite position: if you want a revolution don’t try to mitigate the effects of capitalism on the poor: things have to get worse before they get better. It is not hard to see that is entirely at odds with all the Scottish Government have done in office, within the constraints they have. The startling thing, for me, is that there are apparently a lot of trots inside the labour party. But then that is not true, really, for I have long been aware of the thread in labour opinion which is truly authoritarian. When they are young they are trots or stalinists: when they “mature” they undertake the long trek right (as an extreme example look at Melanie Philips). What does not change is the elitism which underpins all authoritarian thinking.
But I thought that CyberBrits / BritNats didn’t do online abuse ?
They don’t attract any nutters at all – Mr darling said so.
Its never ever been reported in the media – so Unionists can’t be involved in nasty Web threats; we’re told its only the very very nasty separatist element that bully and say distasteful things
I’m astonished – as will all at SNPout
Surely some mistake Rev ????
For those still in such doubt – try
link to twitter.com
For the record, all BBC stars get this kind of abuse all the time. I know because back in the day, their Scottish presenters etc in Englandshire used to moan about it a lot. But now they’re using anything they can to attack Scottish democracy.
Whatever happens, UK General Election 2015 has been turned into an almighty battle against SNP Scots.gov by the BBC. Just when you thought their BetterTogether campaign couldn’t get any worse.
At least eradicating vile sepratists, they’re actually working for their £3+bn a year now:D
Children dying of starvation, that’s abusive………….James Cook chose to work for the BBC.
“in fairness to james cook he probably received hundreds of critical tweets”
Then why can’t anybody find any of them?
” Rev. Stuart Campbell says:
“Aw poor James, there there son let someone kiss it better for you, poor wee lamb are those nasty cybernats calling you names”
Y’see, that sort of thing? That’s not helpful at all.”
It may not be helpful but it is true. It ill behoves people who are willing to throw all sorts of shit at others to complain when they get some thrown back.
James Cook’s pro Britnat/anti SNP bias is yet one of many examples of BBC groupthink.
While the bias in itself is disappointing, it is not quite as shocking as their refusal to recognise it & make adjustments.
The attendance by Ken MacQuarrie at the Scot Gov Committee last year when he was questioned about BBC bias was a profound example of an organisation in denial of its own cultural behaviour.
A private business can, within the law, do what it wants. But the BBC pretends to act as a public service with impartiality, frequently referring to its governance guidelines while flagrantly ignoring them.
And that the BBC aggressively demands a license fee from anyone they think is fair game while broadcasting such pervasive political bias provides China’s state broadcaster, CCTV a decent run for its money.
The BBC is the chief broadcaster of choice for the London based Establishment and as such will always work to service the needs of the self appointed, cultural & political elite in London, whatever the price upon our collective democracy.
I’ll cut James Cook some slack. He may just simply be unaware that he is a victim of organisational groupthink.
I think James Cook is generally pretty fair and balanced, but at the weekend he made the mistake of becoming part of the story, allowing what appeared to be his personal viewpoint overcome the appearance of impartiality.
The are no doubt a few voices within the SNP who forecast that another Tory government could maybe result in increased support. That does NOT mean that they want to see another Tory Government which would be a disaster for Scotland. Alex Neil once received a rare apology from the BBC on this very issue.
It’s obvious that the whole SNP strategy is to get enough seats to hold genuine power, not to play grievance politics. And it’s obvious from this whole episode, that the Tories are far more scared of SNP MPs than Labour ones.
I entirely agree with James Cook.
A good reporter/journalist is there to ask the tough questions.
Trouble is, he didn’t.
How many on-topic tough questions might he have asked instead of taking up his brief shot at it by mealy-mouthing about private conversations.
I have NO sympathy for James Cook or BBC Scotland. The sooner the whole organisation is changed, the better.
I saw him on Saturday, actually running back to the BBC Scotland editing van immediately after he interviewed Nicola Sturgeon.
He was like a school kid running home to mummy to tell her he came first in the school race.
He thought that he had “nailed” Nicola Sturgeon, but now we know that the whole thing was a set up, with BBC Scotland as a willing participant.
As I am not on twitter all are safe from me and Mr Cook has a job to do and to keep said job may have to do things which are distasteful. I have only read what was said and not having listened to the broadcast will not comment. He tried to do a decent job within the limitations put on him by his employer during the Referendum, as there are no decent broadcasters he is in a bind and should have some of our sympathy. Many of us have been put in positions in our employment which we would have preferred not to be.
The other character I saw whilst doing my lurking, I am glad that he has been reported to the Police, he seems to be a nut who thinks he can say anything.
Murphy really has to be sniffing glue today. Not content with the biggest party forms the government bollocks, he has now accused the SNP of spending forty times more on SLAB seats than the Tories’ one! Apparently Douglas Alexander has been deleting some of his tweets as well. You could not make up the continual clusterfuck that is SLAB. 😀 😀
Well done to Alex & Nicola for supporting / defending James Cook .
I think in his mind JC tries to be good , fair and unbiased .
Pre Ref we all applauded , James C was chairing the Panel when he said ” I received the email , I did not ask for it ”
He could easily have kept quiet .
Personally I do think he was naughty throwing in a comment at Nicola which was clearly said privately.
A comment which would be said by any Indy supporter , hardly news is it .
The real problem is the continuation of the MSM reporting SNP Bad and NAT as vile etc without foundation. Yet all Onionist ” terribles” remain un reported . Doh !
It might be read as a threat but might it not be the case that Simon is simply rather to fond of stained gussets and is simply offering to buy used underwear?
Bleh Bleh Bleh
Please ask yourself: Could such an episode in which the public broadcaster ran and ran with a completely unbelievable fake story be even *remotely* possible in a modern European democracy like Germany or Sweden or Switzerland or Finland?
NO
Could this episode in which the establishment first of all invents a fanastic lie and then runs it endlessly be possible to imagine in a third-world banana republic like Zimbabwe or Uzbekistan or North Korea or Belarus?
YES
Now ask yourself what sort of country you want to live in. The BBC has already answered this question for itself.
The BBC would rather have us live as in the Dark Ages, when the masses received all their information from the Church without even being able to read the Bible in their native language.
Don’t get mad… join the SNP! And if you have already joined the SNP, share your concerns with the long-term way the country is going with a relative, colleague or friend and urge them to get active with the SNP or the Greens or SSP.
Educate acquaintances in England about Nicola Sturgeon by sending links to the SNP channel on YouTube. Tell them of the success the SNP has had running the Scottish government with only a block grant which is being constantly cut.
Every action by Pravda and other establishment media demands an equivalent reaction by ourselves to spread the word throughout the country. Put wee Jimmy Cook and his imperial masters out of your minds and do something POSITIVE!
The whole idea about the SNP wanting 5 more years of tory rule and allowing yet more brutal financial and emotional savagery on the poor the sick and the disabled so the SNP can garner support,is quite frankly ridiculous.
105,000 members, soaring poll popularity, heading for another majority in 2016, but hey, not good enough, lets hope Cameron gets another 5 years of inflicting hateful policies on Scotland so we can be popular…!!
Are they actually on drugs ??
James Cook’s interview with Nicola sturgeon was some 12 x hours after the initial story broke. In that time he directed significant coverage to a third hand story that had no evidential support. if he does not like being in the firing line, let him, as a professional journalist, check his facts before speculating and drawing (incorrect) conclusions as he did on Friday evening. The level of incompetency/naivety he demonstrated during late Friday would get many of us the sack in our professions. the only thing that saved him, was that he works for a corrupted and discredited organisation that has decided it is to be the Establishment mouthpiece at all times. If he is the professional journalist he wishes to be portrayed as, he can walk away and find work where his undoubted integrity can be recognised.
Onwards says:
6 April, 2015 at 12:38 pm
I think James Cook is generally pretty fair and balanced, but at the weekend he made the mistake of becoming part of the story,
Cooke is a BBC professional at the top of their trade. So him being fair and balanced is a complete given and all BBC front men and women probably strive to and believe they are pros.
Until that is they are BBC vote No Thanks campaigning last year or BBC says vote Slabour May 7 campaigning this year. Then that smiley BBC face mask drops away completely and we get told how to vote in all kinds of clever clever ways, by same fair and balanced crew.
Its amazing how quickly the story can be turned aroubd on to us. James Cook is taking abuse because he works for a company who a good amount of people have had enough of. Independence is important to so many people and its only natural that they get angry when they are treated with so much contempt. Lets face it, no bullets and one egg in 3 years plus. Not bad going. If JC doesnt like taking it from people angry at the Bbc- stop working for the bbc. Bateman Style.
“Carbuncle” If you were to stir shit like this in the workplace it would be under gross industrial misconduct and fired never mind almost causing an International incident.
I’m all for James Cook as a reporter (tone can be surprising, not and then).
Ever since seeing him on the Big Debate Programmes where JoLa was going on about her Political Life being all about eradicating poverty. James, quick as a flash retorted that her WHOLE careers been a waste of time..
She was gobsmaked into silence – before going about how different things were when she was a wee girl.
Watch that and tell me he’s a Westminster Stooge.
link to bbc.co.uk at about 21mins 22mins.
Och, c’mon, all this drivvel since Friday is all about deversion.
Look back on the Debate Thursday, re-watch it, see again with you own two eyes the utter man rammy, the absolutely feckless Miliband, the side show circus act Faradge, the shakin stevens don gie a fek Clegg and the sneery, above it all Tory.
They don’t want YOU to discuss the resounding car-crash the ladies allowed them to descend to.
THAT’S what they want to wipe off our memories.
If James Cook had persisted to address me in that tone and manner, he’d have been picking his teeth up. No doubt about it, no stain on my conscious and no remorse.
I want a free press, but Cook was attempting to ambush the FM in an environment not conducive to measured debate and was hectoring her in order to get a rise, IMO. If he is such a credit to his employers, then perhaps he has started working to his employer’s instruction.
P.S. I’m not a member of the SNP.
Cook came across as being a bit too enthusiastic about the “some SNP people want the Tories to win” line that he was punting without offering any evidence.
However, I’m not sure why they think this is so damning. I’m encountering the odd ex-Tory voter who voted yes and will now vote SNP in May. It’s no secret that there’s at least one standing for election. When questioned they usually say they identify as Scottish not British and they support an independent Scotland because they believe it would be a more prosperous country. Not many on here would disagree.
I’m sure many of you have come across such voters when out canvassing, didn’t around 10% of Tories vote yes? I guess it’s not that unusual. It wouldn’t be all that controversial to suggest they’d prefer Cameron at Westminster. And they’d prefer him because they actually prefer his policies, not because they think it would promote an anti-Westminster agenda in Scotland.
My response, therefore, to anyone who uses the “Some SNP people would prefer David Cameron” in the belief that it’s a smear is to respond with “So?”
Unless they can offer some evidence that a high profile, senior SNP member said it or that it is any more than a tiny, minority view then it’s pretty irrelevant.
I’m worried about Ed Millipede…. he seems to have forgotten to apologise to the Ambassador and the First Minister. He appears to have taken the Telegraph at face value and appeared on television accepting the memo as factually accurate.
In the first instance he could have prefaced his comments by stating ” if these reports are true” … that would have been a wee bit statesman like.
Secondly he could have apologised the second everyone denied it and it became clear this was an inside smear … that would have been a wee bit statesman like.
Can we really be expected to contemplate a Prime Minister who takes an article in the Telegraph as gospel and acts on it unquestionably?
I’m also a wee bit worried that Kazia, Alexander and the Murph did the same. It’s almost as if they’re not too bright. All four should, as a matter of principal, apologise.
Since when does deleting a tweet count as’I never said it’?
As for Dirty Tricks Carmichael… the closest he could come to an apology, when caught with his c+ck in the custard, was to say, two days too late, “these things happen”.
It is up to you, the good people of Orkney, who you elect as your MP, but you cannot convince me that, out of your entire population, you see Dirty Tricks Carmichael as the brightest button in the sewing basket.
FFS, the man is up to his neck in lies on this one. Sack him.
And as for wee Willie Rennie, how come he was so fast on the scene with his condemnation? Where’s his apology? Was he tipped off by Dirty Tricks Carmichael?…
“Hi Willie, I’m standing here with my c+ck in the custard, so your job is to get off your mark and say how bad this makes Nicola look”
No, Mr Carmichael, it makes you disgusting, wee willie look like an idiot and confirms the First Minister to be so superior to both of you.
So I accept James Cook is not the villain of the piece, although this was not his finest hour.
Milliband, Murphy, Deputy Dug, Alexander and Rennie should offer fulsome apologies, forthwith.
Dirty Tricks Carmichael should resign and take his bowl of custard with him.
James Cook should simply try harder to be a good journalist… like reporting on the tweets suggesting harm to the First Minister or even shoving his big hairy microphone in Carmichael’s face and ask ” what the F++k are you doing with that bowl of custard”?
bookie from hell says:
6 April, 2015 at 12:11 pm
London Evening Standard
Tanya Abraham, of YouGov, said: “Put bluntly, the electorate in Highgate don’t want the balance of power in Parliament to be dictated by the choice of voters in the Highlands.”
Or
Tanya Abraham, of YouGov, said: “Put bluntly, the electorate in the Highlands don’t want the balance of power in Parliament to be dictated by the choice of voters in Highgate.”
There were more deeply ugly and racist comments from the SNPouters on Twitter last night. Account gone this morning.
Oddly, the electorate in Scotland don’t want the the power in parliament to be dictated by the choice of voters in Highgate.
Now what?
i think most of the stuff directed at Mr Cook is out of exasperation ,he is one of the better ones but he made a massive mistake during talking to our FM and for this he does have questions to answer ,was he just overawed by being in the presence of a great politician and lost his train of thought and bumbled out some rubbish or was it deliberate, if it was the first i can forgive him but if it was the second shame on you Mr Cook either way he learned a valuable lesson in next time do your job correctly.
As for this other chap well tut tut what a silly fellow.
1:02 CameronB Brodie:
So join
telegraph
smilingvulture • 19 hours ago
I cannae take no more,just joined SNP
Tom Philips > smilingvulture • 19 hours ago
SNP – the Somali National Party ?
smilingvulture > Tom Philips
why degrade a nation?Somali once fed the British
After British occupation of Aden in 1839, the Somali coast became its source of food
link to telegraph.co.uk
Mr cook instead of asking the first minister for her reaction to the smear his interview with Her just as she was about to address a very large crowd in George square was trying to be the news he was trying to enable further controversy on an all ready debunked and a obviously political smear this was not by accident but a deliberate ploy to catch her out making the statement as he did in full knowledge she had no time to fully answer this another unsubstantiated smear any other media organisation I would put it down to sloppy and looking for a flash headline but it was the with form bbc
BrianW says: @ 12:58
Brian, your post suggests the link will take us to Lamentable being interviewed by James Cook… well I clicked on it and got a completely different pair of tits!
James Cook is a strong interviewer and he probes and probes. He was to quick to jump on an unconfirmed story (bad practice) as he didn’t want to miss the news breaking without his input. He did quickly report that the story was iffy and he may have recorded his interviews in a good manner. However the BBC news editors who clipped together his story and interviews did it for two different audiences, one in Scotland and one in England. I witnessed first hand how it was being aired in London and it was still being done in such a way as to doubt the statement by Nicola and that there may yet be something for her to answer for. These were complete lies that were done in such a way as to smear the character of our Leader. James Cook you may be an upstanding journalist but you are being showcased in such a manner to suit your Bosses and their Masters.
As we sit here venting our collective spleens, the story has now virtually dropped off the BBC website.
Now a non-story, just as it was getting to the truth and the real intersting stuff – how disgracefull!
Carmichael, Boothman and McTernan walking away wiping their hands laughing because JOB DONE.
For all you BBC apologists out there get REAL!
BBC – OUT, OUT, OUT
Thanks for reporting this. To provide some balance.
James Cook is not perfect (no one is) and on the whole he does try to be balanced which must be difficult in BBC.
I have seen many very serious comments about Nicola Sturgeon the worst being about doing a ‘William Wallace’ on her in London.
As I recall, in his interview there were three items that caused consternation:
1. “What are you accusing…”, (and the tone in which it was said)
2. “I’ve spoken to many/some/one…”
3. The closing comment immediately afterwards.
The reaction was immediate and perfectly understandable. I would expect a rush of tweets objecting to both the content and his overall tone.
As an experienced journalist, he is well aware of the scrutiny he will be under, and that he is likely to be called out on such issues.
The idea that he’s “not as bad as the others” is hardly a ringing endorsement and, for me, simply isn’t good enough.
And his response to valid criticism, in claiming “vile abuse”, a term which he knows is only ever used to describe indy/SNP supporting views, and is guaranteed to cause a negative backlash, denegrates every ordinary, reasonable person who responded.
Spot on Shuggy at 1.17pm
I’m wondering if the Carbuncle’s lack of judgement was due it part to a seething determination to exact revenge. After all, was not the Carbuncle utterly humiliated by a certain Ms Sturgeon on a televised debate last year? Possibly, he saw, what he thought was an opportunity to get one back on his nemesis. The trouble is he did not think things through to its conclusion. The Carbuncle has acted like a really bad card player – excited to take his one opportune moment to cause some damage, without thinking he he has just ensured that he will loose the game.
I feel this guy is being used as a deflector shield away from:
The main story i.e. ‘The leaked memo’
The MSM
On a more general note,role models play an important part in setting the standards that everyone wants to achieve.
Who are the role models,Wark,Neil,Marr,Smith……..style over substance,biased,lazy,look at me I’m’e clever….I could go on…….however all with an ok strategy that worked well for them in the past,times have changed,we demand more (facts,due diligence,impartial reporting).
I recommend intensive re-training for all reporters/journalists,back to basics approach,the MSM/BBC should look Inward to solve their ongoing difficulties not outward……they need to get with the program…..no pun intended.
The Carbuncle had been waiting for revenge these past six months. Possibly a wee bit of hesitation, until he saw the massive success of NS at the debate last week. Possibly it was just too much, so he took the nuclear option?
This whole episode is an orchestrated attack on the SNP and Nicola Sturgeon in particular – “The Most Dangerous Woman in Britain”.
The Times today thinks Miliband is insane to agree to debate Nicola again next week. He’ll get slaughtered.
link to en.kiosko.net
The Scotsman reports George Osborne’s opinion that Miliband is too weak to stand up to Nicola Sturgeon.
link to en.kiosko.net
Yet SNP membership continues to soar alongside voting intentions.
Obviously the Scottish electorate have become immune to the most dangerous media in Britain. A good sign for democracy.
BrianW says:
6 April, 2015 at 12:58 pm
I’m all for James Cook as a reporter (tone can be surprising, not and then).
Ever since seeing him on the Big Debate Programmes where JoLa was going on about her Political Life being all about eradicating poverty. James, quick as a flash retorted that her WHOLE careers been a waste of time..
She was gobsmaked into silence – before going about how different things were when she was a wee girl.
Watch that and tell me he’s a Westminster Stooge.
———–
Link isn’t working, but I remember that.
I think there maybe have been something else going on here – perhaps the BBC were played for fools, with ‘personal assurances’ given that it was a real memo. Cook told it was the scoop of a lifetime etc..
You would have though the nature of the smear would have set alarm bells ringing for reporters though.
A leaked UK civil service memo saying Nicola secretly wants a Tory government, but NOT because it may help SNP support, but because Ed Miliband isn’t PM material !!
How much more obvious can it get really ??
Just looked at Simon Fletcher’s tweets … what a sad person!
Loved his one to Tesco… Ordered: guinea fowl. Substituted: duck fat
Yeh, well we ordered a professional statesman as Secretary of State for Scotland and look what we got instead!
James Cook as much as told us he had no actual quote from anyone high in the SNP expressing an actual desire for a second term for Cameron goes. All he has is an acknowledgement that there’s a strategic value in it. Less so than in 2009 when Alex Neil was taken out of context as saying something similar. Even then the conclusion was that it’d be far more preferable for a ninority Labour government needing the backing of the SNP. That scenario is much more probable this time around.
If anything Cameron has already delivered his part of “The Vow”, there’s draft legislation on the table. That may never pass through the HoC and HoL. If the Torys manage to get in again there’s very little to be gained from them either in being true to their words or not. Labour OTOH deserve their chance to prove how little use they are to the people of Scotland or how willing they are to work alongside our elected representatives for the good of the whole of the UK.
What Labour can do without is their Scottish contingent who, in Holyrood, vote against policies that sometimes they originally advocated simply in order to embarrass the SNP even though by doing so they fail the most vulnerable of their electorate.
The trouble with BBC reporters is that they dredge up all sorts of scurrilous comments on the SNP and include these in their reports whereas they don’t do the same for Labour or Tories.
[…] A not-so-happy Easter bunny […]
[…] In the last 24 hours the Scottish and UK media has circled the wagons around the BBC’s James Cook, a good and balanced reporter who perhaps didn’t have his best day on Saturday. Predictable condemnation has poured in on “cybernats” alleged to have rained “vicious abuse” on the journalist in a co-ordinated fascist bullying attack etc etc, though as ever, actual quoted examples are in short supply. […]
Rev wrote:
“Yesterday afternoon we managed to piece together his address. It’s now in the hands of Police Scotland. We’ll keep you abreast of any developments.”
Well done, Sir.
On reading this article i determined to do exactly that, report it to the police, but on reading your efforts i shall hang-fire.
And Just for the record, i wouldn’t trust any BBC employee as far as i could throw them, including wee Cookie bun.
Rev,
I agree with you on one level, in that politicians need to be held to account.But the tone of the interview was a disgrace. (would he have behaved the same way to a labour or tory mp).No respect was shown…..
I’m right off custard now. 😉
My only criticisms of Cook over the weekend were on two very specific points
A good journalist is not infallible.
On that occasion – interviewing Sturgeon just as she was about to address the crowds in George Square – reminded me of the over-ambitious journalist in a Bruce Willis action movies, the one who places himself front and centre of the news issue, the one in the plot’s coda who steps forward and thrusts his microphone in the face of the protagonist to get that exclusive interview but gets slugged by Willis.
It was the wrong place, Cook was belligerent, he presented his questions as if Sturgeon was guilty. When she insisted the charge was bogus he asserted he knew of a few SNP MSPs who felt a Tory government best in Westminster – implying Sturgeon was guilty by association – (he refused to name them) and he added that he had seen the memorandum thus leaving viewers with the impression it existed, its contents as described and verified, and consequently Sturgeon was a liar.
There’s no doubt in my mind Cook thought he had the scoop of his career and was going to pursue his quarry to the brutal end. Not quite the bull in a china shop approach to have made under the circumstances.
Meanwhile Nicola has just pulled on the knuckledusters and is giving Carmichael a severe doing. Full story on Stv news site, sorry don’t know how to link. He really is toast now! 🙂
No-one can object to hard questions but James Cook’s overall tone, his persistent interrogation and the three points enumerated by Shuggy at 1.17 are what infuriated many, including myself. Of course, he may about to use this technique on some Unionist politicians in the next few weeks, in the interest of balance.
Let’s wait and see…
Sorry Guys, I normally agree with the vast majority of posts and sentiment, but not for one second do I swallow that line about
the leaked memo as a misunderstanding.
Nicola has fought against right wing extremist like Thatcher since
her youth and has laid her cards on the table that she will have nothing to do with the Tories.
This act was a deliberate act to unfairly influence a democratic election with lies.
I know I have used strong words regarding the BBC as they too abuse their charter and are willing to corrupt,or cover any story
were the Westminster elite don’t appear to be supper heroes.
I am all for alternative opinions and points of view, but because of how the BBC act, they must be disbanded and lessons learned about broadcasting corruption.
Will any of you be surprised when the Fat Cats in there start collecting their gongs at the palace. Nice wee knighthood, Ermine Robe, £300.00 per sleep, subsidised food and drink, free car parking in central London.
It’s a hard life lying to the general public isn’t it?
@Fiona
Oddly enough, it’s the new normal….:)
Donald Urquhart
I can support and provide assistance without joining the party and intend doing so once shot of the lurgy (thanks ma and pa). I have only ever voted SNP and will continue doing so until we are an independent country. However, I see myself a little like Craig Murry (only notionally), so I’m probably more use as a free agent.
Just read Derek Bateman on the most astonishingly crass interview on BBC Today prog trying to get Hosie to say what the thinks of Ed as PM material and then if he would prefer Murph to lead Labour. I think I must have dreamed this.
Neat summation of the kind of BBC vote SLabour or else/we beg you dont vote SN, from rancid Graun.
If any of this con artist stuff from hard core Blair man Murphy is even remotely true, at the very least Sturgeon’s made SLabour think about what they are up actually meant to be as party.
You’re Fcuked if your going to university though. Tough SLabour love excludes universality in education
link to archive.today
Dont be angry, Vote Murphy. We beg you, says The Guardian. What a bunch.
CameronB Brodie says: 1:57pm
Cool, my partner’s the same. Hope you also find an alternative to custard
Bookie from Hell @ 12:11
Well, oddly enough that’s already the state of play if only the lady from YouGov and the electorate at large thought about it for a minute because the Lib Dems held the balance of power in the Parliament just dissolved and were the choice amongst Highland voters as well…..
Their rope just keeps getting longer and longer, and on the 7th of May it’ll hang ’em all.
While I agree that people like this should be brought to book for their vile comments part of me thinks we should not give them the oxygen of publicity. Report them to the police, archive the tweets for future reference then move along.
@ Donald Urquhart 1.03. Here MR between you & the Rev hiv put me of ma dessert today, ah wiz gonna hiv Peaches ( re hiz fingering)
noo U wie c+ck in the Custard
fek it a,ll jist hiv ah Banannaramma.
James Cook is one of the better reporters out there. He’s having to take pelters because of the level of smear against Nicola. Maybe he will see that the establishment lies have brought him the unwarranted criticism he is receiving.
———————–
ONLY 1 HOUR TO GO: AN APPEAL TO WINGS FOLLOWERS,
Can you help me to raise the final £160 in the next hour for my local SNP Westminster candidate?
link to bit.ly
I think the phrase “didn’t have his best day” is probably the most accurate description. JC had one question to ask and too much air time to fill. When the answer came back so categorically ‘no’ he couldn’t just hand back to the studio and couldn’t change the subject.
Writing in ‘The National’ newspaper today, Alex Salmond who I guess really knows the good from the bad in Scottish journalism, marks James Cook as one of the good guys.
Of course even good journalists can make mistakes, but I can’t see any MAJOR wrongdoing on the part of James Cook. It is just a pity that he works for such a blatantly biased and propagandist outfit like the Westminster controlled BBC.
Bad ‘journalists’ are the likes of Alan Cochrane and his bag carrier, Simon Johnson (who is allegedly also a ‘journalist’).
link to thenational.scot
OT but very funny.
The Famous moderators of the Guardian’s risibly named ‘comment is free’, have managed to moderate Martin Rowson on his own cartoon!
I don’t think I have seen a pouter tweet or Facebook post yet that didn’t come from an unpleasant, shooglie eyed, bampot.
I think the more they realise than no cares about their sad SNP fixation the more unpleasant they will get.
I wouldn’t defend any journalist
I always used to think their job was to investigate and report the news accurately (it would appear not)
otherwise this defending of newsreaders and presenters wouldn’t exist if they did what i thought they were supposed to
Todays reporter is now, like it’s boss, in the business of news creation
Do they see it as career boosting? kudos for a scoop that signifies nothing seems to be more important than any attempt at actual fact
Bias, innuendo, colouring the information for an agenda unknown to the general public seems to me exactly the same as fraud
It’s lying, on any scale you measure it by and it disgusts me
At least in America each individual news channel makes it obvious which side they support
So you can make your own choice of bias as you see fit
But here in the good old Yookay all news outlets pretend they’re attempting to (get at the truth)
and they do it straight to our faces
You have to admire the outright gall of them and the level to which they believe our intelligence as a nation does not reach
Of course they are correct on many levels the Yookay as a collective nation is as thick as two short planks politically,
It’s really only geeky people like us or the deeply concerned who care enough to be outraged by this stuff
the rest, sadly are in the normal life of day to day happenings and if it didn’t happen in their street it doesn’t really count then does it ( who’s the secretary of state for what now?)
Honour is a thing of the past
Sad that isn’t it
Well done on that Fletcher bam, I hope the Police treat it with due gravity.
On the Cook thing, up until Saturday, I was one of those thinking him – ok.
Shuggy at 1.17, has perfectly nailed my thoughts and impressions of the George Sq interview, all of which I picked up at the time. In particular, his voice went up several octaves when asking – what are you accusing…… At no point did Nicola come close to making an accusation, she was too busy laying out her response to charges made against her.
Cook: “What are you actually accusing people of here?”
He tried to turn this around into Nicola Sturgeon being guilty of something, anything. That is not professional or something to get your knickers in a twist about when people then question your impartiality, is it!
For some light relief have a look at the cartoon on Guido Flawkes.
Made my day.
link to order-order.com
I do not defend the bbc. I do not agree with the path the establishment have decided to take…..but, has anyone thought that maybe James Cook looked like he was enjoying himself so much doing the interview because he maybe had fought with the big boss over lack of story and was told to do it anyway. Cue big grin about how silly it all was. Journalistic integrity is everything to proper journalists but mortgages need paid, stuff needs bought etc. think about all the times you have pointed out the futility of something at work only to be told to get it done.
The real mission here is independence, if that is via 5 years of influence at Westmonster, so be it. We know this is not a level playing field, it has been amply evidenced. Stay the course, do not get annoyed with journalists, get annoyed with the political class. Make your voice heard in May.
I wonder if James Cook was ‘guided’ by his bosses about the questions he should ask.
There was certainly a case for pursuit and tough questioning of unionist politicians: what was the basis for their condemnation of Sturgeon and the SNP when there was no evidence for the allegations? And why have they now fallen silent: why has Douglas Alexander now deleted his accusatory tweets?
Dr Jim wrote:
“Todays reporter is now, like it’s boss, in the business of news creation”
How very true!
I don’t know if they still do it but the BBC used to proclaim:
“The BBC, making the news” prior to most news broadcasts.
Now looking back i wonder if that was their idea of a disclaimer.
🙂
Rev. Stuart Campbell says:
6 April, 2015 at 12:34 pm
“in fairness to james cook he probably received hundreds of critical tweets”
Then why can’t anybody find any of them?
> to be clear i meant that i personally saw what – dozens? of tweets critical of, and curious about, certain points from his various pieces and interviews throughout the eighteen-odd hour period, but NONE that were abusive or ad hominem.
@ CameronB Sames here Pal & WE done our thing in Dundee 3 weeks ago in supporting the SNP,as free agents.
fame at last……thank you very much for reporting this, Stu. I’ve heard that just tweeting Police Scotland means it’s not a proper complaint and is ignored; is this right? And if so, what is the proper way to report this sort of disgusting abuse? I’d feel the same if it had been directed at anyone, particularly a woman, with that sort of sleazy quasi-sexual language in the second tweet at least. Hope he hears more from the boys in blue. Couldn’t happen to a more deserving troll.
“I’ve heard that just tweeting Police Scotland means it’s not a proper complaint and is ignored; is this right?”
I think that’s the case, yes.
@Grouse Beater
Totally agree with your point of view over james Cook. I did meet him once and he seems an affable guy but his questioning of sturgeon was totally different to how most labour MPs especially murphy are questioned. For one thing the word ‘alleged’ wasn’t used unless I missed it. He didn’t refer to it as a ‘claim’. It was inferred to as a fact all along and he then used his own claim to knowing SNP Ministers who want the Tories to cement it.
This interviewing might be reasonable if the same style was applied to the likes of Jim Murphy. For example applying the same techniques might mean him calling Murphy out on the following..
His right wing society membership while claiming he’s a socialist.
His claims on being against austerity (.whilst voting for it)
Anti fracking stance (whilst not turning up to vote against the Tories)
Surely any decent journalist would call the above out as labour lying through its teeth?
The list goes on and just because Mr Cook shows brief lapses into impartiality I’m not got going to congratulate him for it.
Let’s just get this clear- James Cook is just as bad as the rest of them. He voluntarily works for a corrupt organisation and should get no credit for being slightly less biased than some others. He’s still f##king biased.
His performance on Saturday is down to one of two things:
1. He knew the whole story and still attempted to ambush the FM, treated her with contempt, and was downright bad mannered and belligerent. Ergo is just as biased and corrupt as his bosses.
2. Didn’t know the full story, thought it was a scoop of a lifetime, so he’s unprofessional and totally incompetent.
Stop sticking up for the f###king bloke. You remind me of this.
————————-
Interviewer – after they nailed your head to the floor, did you ever see the BBC again
SNP candidate – Yeah…..after that I used to go round to PQ every Sunday lunchtime to apologize and we’d shake hands and then they’d nail my head to the floor again.
Interviewer – Every Sunday?
SNP candidate – Yeah but they was very reasonable about it. I mean one Sunday when oor Eck were coming round for tea, I asked them if they’d mind very much not nailing my head to the floor that week and the DG agreed and just screwed my pelvis to a cake stand instead.
————————–
Mr. Cook stated that the memo was real, without any evidence to that fact. He also failed to clarify that the memo, if one did exist, was not written by someone attending the meeting nor was it written at the time of the meeting or shortly afterwards.
Mr. Cook made claims regarding the views of senior SNP politicians without quoting a source or evidence.
Mr. Cook implied Nicola held a view on the basis of the leak claims despite all evidence from previous speeches demonstrating the exact opposite.
I’m afraid I do not share the viewpoint of those defending his journalistic standard.
He was aggresive in stating several opinions as fact.He also failed to give balance to the article being unfounded gossip.
ronnie anderson
I’ll not see you next weekend, but probably the next, or the one after that. 😉
@Conan_the_Librarian
“The Famous moderators of the Guardian’s risibly named ‘comment is free’, have managed to moderate Martin Rowson on his own cartoon!”
What did poor Martin say to get himself moderated?
Scottie Dog: Totally agree with your point of view on James Cook
It’s the subject of my next but one essay. A problem we have with BBC journalists who appear to be garnering a reputation for fair-mindedness is, unless you are an insider you can’t tell if they are moonlighting for MI6.
Will keep you posted. 🙂
@ Ronnie Anderson, are you the shifty-looking character who tried to sell me badges in George Square on Saturday and whipped them away smartish when I tried fingering the merchandise? 🙂
I don’t know if anyone has already mentioned this in a previous post but i was just staring out into the garden, on this lovely spring day, while contemplating the rancid corrupt behaviour of Warminster and its hingersoan when it struck me.
Hundreds of thousands of relatively politically switched-on first time voters at the referendum will have just witnessed their first major example of UKOK political corruption thanks to Carbuncle & Co.
That will remain with them for life.
So, i believe a thank you is in order for the establishments efforts of trying to smear our First Minister with a filthy lie.
Thank you, cretins, you’ve just helped our cause no end.
Spring has sprung indeed!
@ X_Sticks
He told a troll where to get off.
link to twitter.com
Ronnie ? Shifty looking??
I take exception on his behalf , indeed I am outraged and offended!
The man with gold wings on his bunnet is NOT Shifty looking!
ClanDonald says:
6 April, 2015 at 1:03 pm
Cook came across as being a bit too enthusiastic about the “some SNP people want the Tories to win” line that he was punting without offering any evidence.
what about blair jenkins he wouldnt have a bad word for the bbc him being an ex executive old boys and all that he was totally crap with running yes scotland he could have done more but didnt.
he was waiting for his invite from bbc to go on and tell us sweet f$%^all now hes out of favour i wouldnt put it past him being the bbc mouth piece remember he said the bbc are not biased ye right if anybody i blame him
I agree that James Cook is one of the fairest of the reporters from Better-Together Broadcasting Corporation. What I can’t stand , are the utterly vile and snide remarks from people who dislike the snp.
If they dislike us so much , why don’t they shift their feckless tail feathers and go and actively support someone they DO like!
Look it’s not a nationalist problem, it’s an internet/people problem. I stated the opinion on a fan forum recently of a football club stating I thought it was a good thing for people directly responsible for success to be paid based on that success …. The next response I got called me “a proper pr**k”…
Now perhaps I am, but I feel the statement I made upon which the comment was made was harsh at best… but then that’s the internet.. it’s not a Nationalist think, it’s not a Unionist thing.. it’s just that people are sometimes rash and harsh on the internet
“Look it’s not a nationalist problem, it’s an internet/people problem.”
Absolutely. If you start a blog about chocolate and kittens, by the end of the day someone will be wishing you dead.
James Cook is undoubtedly the best journalist at the BBC. I and many others have thanked him many times in the past.
However, I think he overstepped the mark in this case. Unionists were already saying – “whether or not she said this to the ambassador, it’s what she thinks”.
What James said about there being senior figures in the SNP who would like a Tory win effectively colluded with the Unionist stories. It may be true but it has no bearing on the story since Nicola’s denial had already been made.
By those words, he made it appear that he didn’t really believe her – that’s why many of us were annoyed. I’m not saying James doesn’t believe her, but he was inadvertently sowing the seeds of doubt.
All through this thread, I’ve seen posts about James Cook being one of the beast and most impartial journalists on the BBC.
If this is true God help us.
If this is true the BBC should lose its charter, because it is clear and self-evident that it has abandoned any attempt to be fair and balanced.
James Cook is getting a lot of sympathy. I felt, during the referendum campaign, he was one of the few beebers who wasn’t completely hostile to Scotland, but these cybernat claims seem to be a diversion. We are en mass ignoring a staggeringly huge story – a UK Gov minister presides over a false, strategically leaked document, with the clear aim of harming a political opponent, and has not been asked, nor offered, to resign.
Why isn’t James Cook on his doorstep now?
Cook said the memo exists because it probably does, in two forms; the original and the doctored copy, so technically he was right but he didn’t try to make any distinction between the two which was simply sowing the seeds of doubt as to whether all parties involved were telling the truth.
He also stated that he has been told by senior SNP figures – that it suits their wider purpose to have a Tory Prime Minister because it rallies support for independence.
He would not reveal who apparently said it so even if it were true he should not have offered it up in the interview because he cannot prove it and it seemd like just another ploy to cast doubt on the FM as to whether or not she and the others participating in the meeting were telling the truth.
The thing is, he could have plucked any lie out of the ether and offered it up as corroboration but it still wouldn’t make it true unless he had proof he was willing to divulge so, he should have kept his mouth shut on such matters as it did nothing but further muddy the waters.
He didn’t keep his mouth shut because that was his intention all along.
Also, well done to pierre alain coffinier for completing the sky news doorstep challenge.
The reporter was going at him like a rabid dog trying to get him to say anything that would lend creedence to the lie, talk about leading the witness.
The poor guy was treated like a witness at a murder trial but held firm with the truth so well done that man.
@Barbara Watson says: 6 April, 2015 at 12:20 pm:
” … Perhaps the BBC should be addressing the issues as to why the public are so enraged by their reporting than whinging about poor wee James”.
My feelings exactly, Barbara. I am one who did criticise the BBC man right here on wings. I did so with nothing that could be construed, even loosely, as abuse. Neither did I witness any abuse of the BBC man here on Wings. Furthermore I’m not alone in noting James, on being challenged, produced no actual evidence to back his own vile accusations.
I made the point I had seen his clumsy attempt at doing a, “Paxo”, on the FM as a crude blatant attempt to bully a young Lady and a lady who holds high office that commands respect. I now must assume his snivelling and sobbing as a victim to be the normal bully’s reaction when the intended victim refuses to be bullied. He runs crying, not this time to his Mummy, but to his old and past it, Aunty BBC.
If he cannot produce firm evidence then the facts do show he has mistaken robust and justified criticism as vile Cybernat abuse and if he cannot stand the honest media heat must get out of the media kitchen.
Jim Mcintosh @ 2.55
Hear hear Jim!
Cook is not a “good guy”. He’s a willing part of an organisation which is dedicated to lying to the people of Scotland. He might appear “fairer” than most of the Labour lot in Pacific Quay but I think that just shows how sleekit he is!
To my mind, since the referendum, the BBC has made even less of an attempt to hide the fact they are there to spread propaganda for the unionist Labour cause. That IS their whole purpose. Never forget that.
I’m not really interested in whether Cook has a reputation for balance and integrity – you have to demonstrate these things when it counts. And his claim of cyber abuse doesn’t impress me much either.
I sent James Cook a critical tweet, expressing strong disapproval of his last comment on the BBC article. I don’t think I saw any tweets which attacked the person rather than the action, apart maybe from saying that his comment demonstrated a lack of integrity (can’t remember).
Just looked at some of the replies to his tweet ‘First Minister @NicolaSturgeon denies telling the French ambassador that she would prefer David Cameron as prime minister.’
There are a string of witty or sarcastic replies, the first being ‘Ha! Straight out of Propaganda 101. Where did this little nugget of disinformation come from, James. That’s a belter.’ I liked ‘lol, so it begins! Heard she told Kim jong un she would sell him some nukes’ (link to twitter.com)
Can’t find mine or Mcwhirter’s replies, maybe Coook’s first tweet has been deleted. However I defy you to build a case of sustained offensive abuse. (Perhaps some of Cook’s other tweets should be archived.)
O/T Had forgotten that I retweeted this
Jonathan Mackie @MackieJonathan · Apr 4
DEAR @simon_telegraph I AM NIGERIAN MINISTER OF GOVERNMENT. I HAVE SECRET MEMO BUT NEED $4000 TO SECURE RELEASE.
@Rev. Stuart Campbell says: 6 April, 2015 at 12:34 pm:
“in fairness to james cook he probably received hundreds of critical tweets”
Then why can’t anybody find any of them?
Ah! Yes but – note the salient difference between, “Critical Tweets”, and, “Vile Cybernat Abuse”.
Methinks the absence of produced evidence of either is a very telling factor. It indicates James is perhaps confusing the two. Many in the public eye are quite unable to see their own faults.
Aye Robert, perhaps James could have a quick peep at this wee tweet before he starts greetin’, have it wi him at all times should the need to greet keep arising in his line of work.
link to twitter.com
@DerekM says: 6 April, 2015 at 1:09 pm:
“i think most of the stuff directed at Mr Cook is out of exasperation ,he is one of the better ones … “
Oh! Come on! Just what kind of comparisons is, “He is one of the better ones”? It’s like saying, “Lord HawHaw didn’t run death camps – he was one of the better ones”
“As for this other chap well tut tut what a silly fellow”.
His, “These things happen”, should have immediately had the retort, “Aye! but they should not have happened”.
@carjamtic says:6 April, 2015 at 1:25 pm:
… On a more general note,role models play an important part in setting the standards that everyone wants to achieve.”
Very good point, carjamtic. In effect these people have become quite unlike the older style of BBC Newsreader. The same applies to the modern dead tree press. It the past when you read a paper or turned on a radio or TV for, “The News”, you got a more or less anonymous newsreader who reported, “The News”, no frills and no opinions.
Todays newsroom Prima Donnas are more akin to actors, stars or (shudder), ‘Celebs. We all know the fate of actors, stars or, (shudder), ‘Celebs – these are, “only as good as their last good picture/appearance”.
@Tinto Chiel says:6 April, 2015 at 1:52 pm:
” … he may about to use this technique on some Unionist politicians in the next few weeks, in the interest of balance”.
In which case he will get exactly as he deserves – a great deal of difficulty gaining interviews with anyone who matters. He overstepped several marks in that Nicola interview and now compounds his errors by claiming that perfectly legitimate criticism of his actions are evil Cybernat attacks.
He is a face before the cameras. He thus depends upon the audience to further his career. No matter how hard his bosses attempt to shield him he will sink into obscurity if his popularity fades. That, as they say, is Showbiz.
James Cook?, naw, he does not think quick enough to stop a politician purposely going off the main storyline at times, and allows the like of J Murphy to “over talk” him, I agree with others regarding his interview with Nicola Sturgeon, it left a lot to be desired.
Bring back Isabel Fraser!!.
@Valerie says: 6 April, 2015 at 2:23 pm:
“Shuggy at 1.17, has perfectly nailed my thoughts and impressions of the George Sq interview, all of which I picked up at the time.”
Aye! Valerie, so did I pick up on it at the time and have not changed my opinion since.
For some reason a wee, Tom Brown, verse kept popping into mind : –
I do not love thee, Dr Fell,
The reason why I cannot tell;
But this I know, and know full well,
I do not love thee, Dr Fell.
— Tom Brown
Donald Urquhart@1.03
Great post.Hits the nail on the head.
I’m also pishing myself laughing.
Sorry if I’ve missed a message about this topic,
but is there a date for issuing the Special Editions of the Wee Blue Book that were purchased in the crowd funder?
I hoped to take mine on a trip to preach to the uneducated.
Thanks!
Ah, the referendum trolls of Better Together. I remember them well. Ill-informed, menacing, threatening, abusive and somewhat unbalanced. They were a 24/7 service working in shifts so regular that you’d have thought they worked in the same office at adjacent desks. Ever ready with whatever central office were about to say and yet always accusing Salmond of controlling ‘Cybernats’. Rule No 1: if you’re doing something shameful, illegal and downright dirty, make sure you accuse your opponent of it before you get caught. If they say anything it makes them look as though they’re trying to take the heat off themselves. With a short break after the referendum, they’re back to work. They set up straw men to be knocked down and agent provocateurs to incite anger. They pick up where they left off to raise, or is it lower, their game. The punishments they had in mind after September will be as nothing if it goes wrong in May…
Very well expressed, Gary. The following spoke to me especially:
‘Rule No 1: if you’re doing something shameful, illegal and downright dirty, make sure you accuse your opponent of it before you get caught. If they say anything it makes them look as though they’re trying to take the heat off themselves.’
I may quote you in a work I am preparing which relates to Britain’s role in Greece in WWII. Does ‘Gary, Wings Over Scotland’ count as a scholarly reference? (Do I care? I’ll get away with it as it will be surrounded by refs from FO records and primary sources.)
I take it people do realise that “dirty tricks” Carmichael (as he should called from now on) is up to his fucking neck in the shite with this blurted out ‘admission’.
“Dirty tricks” Carmichael has made a mere two public statements on the bullshit memo so far but he’s already implicated himself and is self-evidently lying.
Fact of the matter is he tried to claim the bullshit memo could have come from anywhere in government with his first statement to a journlist on C4 news. (which, happily for him, is on video catching him lying directly to camera.) “Dirty tricks” Carmichael also said this was a matter for the Cabinet Office inquiry and it would be wrong to go into any detail. Shortly afterwards he desperately tries to put a junior civil servant in the frame by telling the Record it was a civil servant!! LOL 😀
Normally “dirty tricks” Carmichael could rely on the establishment to cover up his incompetence and stupidity but the entire reason the civil service has these type of inquiries is basically to make certain no out of control minister has compromised their civil servants since they should answer to their civil service heirarchy and NOT some incompetent fat puddin of minister like “dirty tricks” Carmichael. It’s basically a turf war and the idiot Carmichael has already tried to drop the civil service in the shite before anyone has had a chance to investigate.
That’s why the Cabinet Office inquiry might well not take kindly to this fuckwit lib dem desperately trying to shove all the blame onto a junior civil servant by (and this is the best bit 😀 ) leaking it to a paper that it’s supposedly one of the civil service in the scotland office.
This is ALL to desperately try and deflect the blame from his his spad Euan Roddin or indeed the culprit most people recognise as the obvious one with his sticky wee fingers all over this mess, “dirty tricks” Carmichael himself.
So we now have the hilarious spectacle of this incompetent fool Carmichael on a direct collision course with the cabinet office inquiry over exactly who did what. Better still, WE ALREADY KNOW Carmichael has been lying since his second claim to the Record that he’s known all along who the leaker of the bullshit memo is completely contradicts what he first said to the channel 4 news journalist!
Yeah, even the Cabinet Office won’t need to spend more than five minutes to know that this yellow tory twat has got a HUGE amount of explaining to do.
“Dirty tricks” Carmichael is gong to be sweating a whole lot more as he prays that none of the civil service in the scotland office decide to tell the press precisely the kind of things he got up to now that he has tried to shove all the blame onto them.
This entire farce is only going to get more entertaining.
Also, if the Northern Isles do vote him out, he may be in for a world of pain if criminal charges can be brought against him and he is no longer protected by parliament.
C’mon Orkney and Shetland. Land this slab of crap into serious hot water. He more than deserves it.
Morag says: “Excellent blog on this from Christian Wright.
link to weourselves.com
(Except he can’t spell “scurrilous”.)“
Spell it? I can’t even pronounce it! Thanks for the heads-up, Morag.
@ Donald Urquhart. Anent Dirty-Trix Carmichael. “Ah’m f—-n dis custard!”