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It is a quiet time for politics

Posted on August 12, 2018 by

Seriously, anyone got anything?

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  1. 12 08 18 14:56

    It is a quiet time for politics | speymouth
    Ignored

89 to “It is a quiet time for politics”

  1. gus1940
    Ignored
    says:

    Every few days for years rockets are fired form Gaza into Israel followed by massive retaliation by The IAF.

    Nowhere have we been told what sort of rockets are being fired into Israel.

    They could range from the sort one can buy for Nov5 thru RPGs, Katyusha type to Scuds plus home-made types.

    Given that even the Israelis seem incapable of producing evidence of any resultant major damage or casualties it would appear that the missiles fired from Gaza are of a fairly ineffectual variety.

    Does anybody have any info re what types of rockets are used?

  2. Robert Thomas
    Ignored
    says:

    Does this count?

    BBC Scores own goal by totally twisting the report of Independence Demonstration’s offer to hold public discussion over BBC Bias, outside the building in front of Internet, live-stream, cameras!

    They reported, instead, that the demonstrators refused to enter the BBC building to hold talks, where they could edit and spin the meeting toward their preferred Unionist bias!

    Only accurate report of this, so far, has been from Gordon Ross on IndyCar this afternoon.

  3. gus1940
    Ignored
    says:

    Has Derek Bateman retired from the Independence Fray?

  4. gus1940
    Ignored
    says:

    After a blissfully lengthy and uncharacteristically silent period I see that Scotland’s shameless self publicist has returned to turn our stomachs with a sickeningly cringing puff piece in the Daily Gerrard.

    After a typical fanfare of publicity a couple of months ago she launched her latest money making scheme which was promptly shot down in flames by by experts in the field of finance.

    Since then – silence until yesterday – Any news of how said scheme is doing?

  5. Robert Thomas
    Ignored
    says:

    Ok, I’ll try this one again. The previous post seems to have been lost in favour of the above post on Israel.

    The BBC scored a terrific own goal, as it refused to meet with pro-independence demonstrators oustide their Glasgow offices, to discuss clear BBC bias in reporting Scottish issues.

    As the discussion would be live and impossible to edit, they refused to come out of their building to meet with the protestors.

    Instead, they applied standard BBC bias and spun the story that it was the demonstrators who refused to enter the building, where the BBC would obviously have the control over what was eventually realeased to the public.

    This illustrated the BBC bias perfectly and couldn’t have been arranged more adeptly!

    The only news source to feature the story accurately was Gordon Ross’s Indycar broadcst this afternoon.

    Now it’s on Wings too.

  6. Robert Thomas
    Ignored
    says:

    Why are you dropping my comments?

    I’ve twice submitted this perfectly reasonable comment and twice it has been dropped.

    This is test comment to see if this wil also be dropped.

    “Ok, I’ll try this one again. The previous post seems to have been lost in favour of the above post on Israel.

    The BBC scored a terrific own goal, as it refused to meet with pro-independence demonstrators oustide their Glasgow offices, to discuss clear BBC bias in reporting Scottish issues.

    As the discussion would be live and impossible to edit, they refused to come out of their building to meet with the protestors.

    Instead, they applied standard BBC bias and spun the story that it was the demonstrators who refused to enter the building, where the BBC would obviously have the control over what was eventually realeased to the public.

    This illustrated the BBC bias perfectly and couldn’t have been arranged more adeptly!

    The only news source to feature the story accurately was Gordon Ross’s Indycar broadcst this afternoon.

    Now it’s on Wings too.”

  7. Welsh Sion
    Ignored
    says:

    A quiet time for politics? Really?

    Take a look at my home country – Plaid Cymru, the Tories and the Labour Party are all having Leadership elections for the National Assembly. (UKIP have just completed theirs as of yesterday.)

    And the other Party represented in the Senedd – the “Welsh” Lib Dems? They had theirs in November 2017. (No giggling at the back please – with only 1 AM (out of 60) at present, I don’t think they’re going to be having (another) Leadership election for Assembly Leader, any time soon. but, you never know …)

  8. Willie John
    Ignored
    says:

    gus1940:
    Have a wee look at http://www.jordansfireworks.co.uk. They seem to have quite a selection!

  9. Elizabeth
    Ignored
    says:

    @Robert Thomas

    Your posts have not been dropped, I can see all three posted at 1.16pm, 1.25pm and 1.28pm!

  10. Cmonindy
    Ignored
    says:

    Ruthonium Davidsoterex has been found 30 metres down in the Darkmoney shale formation.

  11. Capella
    Ignored
    says:

    @ Robert Thomas – comments are taking longer to show up. Probably the spam filter being finicky. Try waiting and refreshing.

    You will now probably have ten replies from all the commenteers who haven’t been published yet!

  12. Auld Rock
    Ignored
    says:

    Calm before the ‘Storm’ or are we really in the ‘Eye of the Hurricane’ about to engulf us?

  13. Flower of Scotland
    Ignored
    says:

    @gus1940

    Derek Bateman showing his true love of the BBC. Very much in the huff about the BBC Demo at PQ yesterday. He doesn’t think that the journalists there are to blame.

    I always thought that a public broadcaster,s journalists would be all for telling the truth!

  14. Iain mhor
    Ignored
    says:

    Only some light reading on “Imperial Preference” & “Commonwealth Preference”
    Lets see : Tory infighting, weak government, a depression, agenda pushed by the right wing press, promote unity of Britain, be a global power, free trade agreements with Commonewealth & Dominions instead of with ‘protectionist’ Germany & the U.S, everything a shitshow – thats Bingo!
    Except that was also the early 1900’s

    Those who cannot learn from… Yawn.

  15. Muscleguy
    Ignored
    says:

    Are there no bears in Bath that need patrols to fend off? I have it on good authority that bears are happy to eat children or dogs in the rain as well as bright sunshine.

    How can you call yourself Scottish if you do not go out in a minor Scots mist without even putting your hood up?

    /joke.

  16. Dave Albiston
    Ignored
    says:

    @Robert Thomas

    In their report, the BBC failed to mention that Ian Small had been invited to come out and address the demonstrators but he refused.

    Their spin was the demonstrators (maximum 4 persons) would not engage with the BBC but fail to mention the BBC refusal to engage with the demonstrators (all of them).

  17. Gary45%
    Ignored
    says:

    gus1940@1.15
    Have a look at a website called,
    breakingthesilence.org.
    Its run by ex IDF soldiers and they give accounts of what Zionist Israel gets away with.
    Its good to get info from the Israeli side, although the moment these Israelis speak out about the atrocities the Palestinians endure under Illegal occupation they are deemed “tractors”.
    Now and again Israeli media broadcasts will show a hole in something like a plastic “carport type” roof and show what looks like a rocket, but no casualties, and if there are its minor injuries compared to daily Genocide in Palestine by Zionist Israel.
    If memory serves me, I think the Israeli blockades don’t allow any timber thicker than 50mm/100mm x 25mm for constructing houses etc, as the Zionists say anything bigger will be used in constructing tunnels etc, recycling old bombed out buildings is the norm as far as construction goes.
    If you are in the Glasgow area have a wee talk with Margaret and John who run the “Glasgow Palestine Human Rights Campaign” (they have a website) you will find them on Buchannan Street every Saturday from I think 11 ish am till 5 ish, Margaret has plenty of evidence about what Israel gets up to.
    I have mentioned in the past about 2 documentary films, youtube “Peace, Propaganda and the Promised Land” and try and see “The Occupation of the American Mind, (I had to import the second DVD from the states) they will open your eyes.
    Thank you very much for showing interest into what to an innocent country has had to endure for decades.
    Israel are guilty of Apartheid, Genocide, UN War Crimes the list goes on and the Western Governments do nothing.(although some are now getting involved)
    Highland Palestine have their annual Palestine film festival starting next Sunday 19th, please have a look at their facebook page if you are in the area.

  18. winifred mccartney
    Ignored
    says:

    Why is anyone surprised about the BBC bias after all that’s why you were there – they are simply not capable of telling any news story involving indy without automatic bias – should have reported a stand off – bbc not willing to go out and demonstrators unwilling to enter bbc building because meeting would have been edited and corrupted into something it was not. BBC unwilling to come out since they might have said something that would condemn them. Talking live does not suit them since they might inadvertently give the game away.

    It does seem incredible in the circumstances at present that no-one in WM is appearing to do something except BJ who is eying up the PM’s job for himself and the extreme right wing of the tory party.

    Remember BBC is the mouthpiece of Maybot/WM and the protector of Ruthie.

  19. Flower of Scotland
    Ignored
    says:

    @Welsh Sion 1.32pm

    I just shared some great posts from Plaid Cymru on Facebook. Seems more Welsh are very interested in Welsh Independence. Great news!

  20. HandandShrimp
    Ignored
    says:

    I am pretty certain that a fair few members of staff in PQ voted Yes and vote SNP. With the SNP on about 42%+ it would be bizarre if nearly half of them were not sympathetic. The problem with the BBC is only partly to do with how content is treated. It is much more to do with senior management agenda setting, editorial control and headline spin. What is reported and what is not reported is not a decided by the staff. The emphasis and billing on the news is likewise decided at a senior level so I have some sympathy with Derek. He worked at the BBC, he knows how the game is played and the views of the rank and file. They are often fighting against this editorial dead hand too (not all obviously some don’t hide their allegiances).

    However, the BBC senior management are undoubtedly under pressure and the piece on the radio yesterday morning discussing bias and the BBC’s love of the status quo, not just in Scotland but also England, was not shied away from. Whether things change is moot. I would be surprised there was not a little more nuance in coming months…which will of course enrage Ian Davidson etc., However, I will surprised if the playing field is ever entirely even. Independence is about turning the UK’s world upside down. The BBC are not comfortable with change.

  21. Socrates MacSporran
    Ignored
    says:

    Can anyone tell me – when did Vyvyan change his name to Boris?

  22. Dan Huil
    Ignored
    says:

    Keep the pressure on the biased bbc. It’s the only thing it understands.

  23. mr thms
    Ignored
    says:

    Not sure if it counts as news, but I found a conundrum.

    When the Smith Commission was meeting to decide on the new powers coming to Scotland, the Scottish Conservatives wanted to devolve VAT. However, EU rules did not allow it. Hence the compromise of assigning 50% of revenues raised from VAT collected in Scotland from 2019/20. Had VAT been devolved it would have given Holyrood responsibility for raising 60% of Scotland’s revenues.

    Following Brexit, the UK Government made great play of maintaining the UK’s internal market, hence their determination that devolved powers the EU had responsibility for returned to Westminster and not Holyrood.

    So how can they explain the recent vote in the House of Commons for the UK to leave the EU’s VAT regime with the burden it places on small businesses?

    Explained here..

    https://www.accountancyage.com/2018/03/28/uk-exit-eu-vat-regime-january-2022/

    and devolving VAT to Scotland?

    UNLESS.. coming out of the EU’s VAT regime is a precursor to a momentous decision that will be in a second independence referendum?

  24. Welsh Sion
    Ignored
    says:

    Flower of Scotland @ 1:32 pm.

    Diolch o galon.

    As you may well know, being an independentista junkie, I get the best of both worlds being a member of both national parties! It’s also a convenient way of learning and sharing ideas with others of similar persuasion.

    I guess you are also aware of YES Cymru?

    Cofion,

  25. jfngw
    Ignored
    says:

    These protests outside the BBC are counter productive, the reporting to the mass of the public is controlled by them and just gives the No side more propaganda to use in the future.

    It may make those that attended feel good and get a big cheer from already convinced yessers, and online within the indy groups. Outside this arena it will have little effect and may deter those that you need to convince.

    Also not a good look that when some yes people disagree they are then turned on and accused of being closet unionists. Seems some independence supporters only want independence on their terms, no dissenters and definitely no Conservatives voting Yes (I suspect they really don’t want Labour either), just purity.

  26. Gullane No4
    Ignored
    says:

    Anyone got any ideas as to why the numbers were so low at Pacific Quay?
    I imagined thousands not hundreds would demonstrate.

  27. galamcennalath
    Ignored
    says:

    Reports in the media about a right wing plan to replace May with Davies asap. He would be an interim PM to achieve the hard Brexit they desire, while Johnson would hold out and get the top job post Brexit. Sun and Mail and others report.

    This would be excellent news for Scotland because it will clarify that Brexit is going to be unacceptably hard. And following that a nutter as PM.

    Plenty of reason to get the IndyRef2 train hurtling down the tracks!

  28. yesindyref2
    Ignored
    says:

    @jfngw
    I think Gullane No4 has the answer in a way. With hundreds demonstarting it keeps the idea of BBC bias in the news, and them on the defensive. They report just one side, but others non tinvolved can read that a counter-offer to discuss outside was made by the organisers, and refused or ignored by the BBC.

    On the other hand if there were tens of thousands, it could be counter-productive, as it would indicate that all Indy supporters thought the same.

    So I think it’s a good thing.

  29. Cactus
    Ignored
    says:

    Afternoon’ Robert Thomas ~

    Whenever a reader posts a valid comment, that comment gets assigned a unique reference number, which is then displayed on your devices path-line (at the top of your page.) Unless you are a new poster or your comment contains a filter-catch word, it should go through fine, best to persevere just a wee bit longer, cheers.

    Aussi, once your posting has posted, the date / time stamp is displayed at the bottom of your comment, as a link. For example, the link below takes you to your original posting.

    Unique reference post number:
    https://wingsoverscotland.com/it-is-a-quiet-time-for-politics/#comment-2383494

    We were passengers with Glasgow Cabbie yesterday, worth a share:
    https://www.facebook.com/glasgowcabbiepoetry/

    Cheers for the perkies, received with thx.

    Groovy day / night out Wingers. 🙂

  30. wul2
    Ignored
    says:

    The reason the cowed is reported as small. No one is interested in the BBC News anymore, only soaps that the BBC produce, they contain more facts.

  31. HandandShrimp
    Ignored
    says:

    David Davies was pretty inept as a Brexit negotiator so any plan to have him as a holding PM with Boris in the wings waiting to come on seems to me to be a desperate plan and not one that will play well.

    Kite flying or are the alt right just a bit mad?

  32. jfngw
    Ignored
    says:

    @yesindyref2

    Only current indy supporters will probably ever be aware of the counter offer, the vast majority will never hear about it.

    My opinion is a more widespread campaign with things like the ‘Is it the truth…’ being worn and on cars would garner more long term attention. This demo will be forgotten by next week, except of course by unionist that will use it like the last one, as indy supporters attacking free speech (it doesn’t matter if it’s not true, when has that ever worried them).

    At this moment a Yes vote is on a knife edge, I’m wary of any action that could repel some potential yes supporters.

  33. ronnie anderson
    Ignored
    says:

    Derek Bateman wasn’t privy to the conversation that transpired between David Milligan/Myself & the Security supervisor ( Mr Ian Small standing inside ) but used the Supervisor as the messenger . We offered a compromise we would talk to Mr Ian Small if he would address the licence fee payers/Bbc Scotland viewers/protesters , & no stipulation what he could or couldn’t say.

  34. Thepnr
    Ignored
    says:

    The final route for the AOUB march in Dundee next Saturday has been agreed with the police and the council.

    It leaves Baxter Park at 12:45 sharp, the route is mostly downhill with just short stretch uphill on the Nethergate/Perth Road and goes right through the centre of the city.

    Big turnout expected and one you won’t want to miss,even the ploice are estimating upwards of 20,000.

    Current forecast is for decent weather too so fingers crossed for another big and successful day.

    http://archive.fo/9ze77

  35. Artyhetty
    Ignored
    says:

    England are starting the dumping of their nuke(?) waste from Hinkley point, into the waters off Wales, in 5 days time.

    Scotland, you are next. London’s landfills are full. English trash anyone? Will cost you nowt!

  36. Artyhetty
    Ignored
    says:

    Edinburgh is being turned into a playground for the rich, with black boards, barriers up, benches blocked, and fenced off. Virgin money hosting concerts, don’t allow the plebs to see it from the main street though! Still I might go up and listen to it lolz!

  37. Dr Jim
    Ignored
    says:

    *Journalists* not wanting to criticise other *journalists* over political persuations or preferring to keep secret their own beliefs is more a reflection on the state of political oppression within the country from the British state that they have to conceal their beliefs for fear of either losing their jobs or getting a job at all

    What was all that about a free country again!

  38. Robert Peffers
    Ignored
    says:

    @Robert Thomas says: 12 August, 2018 at 1:28 pm:

    ” … Why are you dropping my comments?”

    Who are you addressing your question too, Robert?

    No I’m not trying to be unkind – just trying to explain a few things for you in the hope you won’t get upset as you seem to have reasonable comments.

    The point is that this is the Rev Stu Campbell’s blog and it is not happening in real time. Is more like a message board where messages appear and although you we are speaking to each other it isn’t like face to face conversation. Your comments have appeared and as there have been several you will inevitably get up everyone’s nose. So just be patient and your comment will be published.

    You see there are a few filters but no other moderators than Rev Stu himself and, if you look over to the top right of the page under Tweets you will see Stu is busy on twitter. So please keep posting but be a little more patient.

  39. Dan Huil
    Ignored
    says:

    If you haven’t read it already here’s an interesting article on brexit and SMEs in Scotland:

    http://newsnet.scot/news-analysis/powder-keg-waiting-explode/

  40. jfngw
    Ignored
    says:

    There was little point talking to Ian Small, he is effectively a PR person. He has no direct control over any editorial decisions, he is the person they send out to take the flak when they feel they need to say something. If you can’t meet with the department heads directly then it is a waste of time, not for the BBC as they can say they have listened to your concerns and issue a press release.

  41. Petra
    Ignored
    says:

    No news here? We’ll just have to go abroad.

    That’s the way to do it!

    ‘Judge orders plane carrying deported mother and child turned around, blocks more removals.’

    http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/immigration-border-crisis/judge-orders-plane-carrying-deported-mother-child-turned-around-blocks-n899311

  42. Alba woman
    Ignored
    says:

    Ruth Davidson lurking in the darkness of the Tory lot expressed her horror of Boris Johnston’s foul remarks about how a tiny minority of Moslem women dress….however she has yet to express such horror for the continuing disgrace of the rape clause wher women have to expose their trauma to DWP staff……beyond words is it Ruthie?

    Ruthie has also to explain her reasoning in supporting the political legitimisation of the OO and their friends to potentially undermine the stability of Scottish Society……the horror and actual reality of such legitimisation seen recently at the Barras. Beyond words again Ruthie baby?

    Give me peace as my mother used to say.

  43. Ronald Gillies
    Ignored
    says:

    Here’s a very small article I came across in the Dundee Courier, six weeks ago or something.I don’t see anyway to attach it so I’ll copy and paste I can’t do that either. I’ll need to attach it somehow. it’s about how the BBC want compulsory priority posting on social media.

  44. Famous15
    Ignored
    says:

    Only talk to the organ grinder.

    Foolish to talk to the

  45. galamcennalath
    Ignored
    says:

    There is always a lot of news in world we never hear about with our narrow focused media. The News where you aren’t …

    1. The five countries bordering the Caspian Sea have finally reached agreement how it is managed.
    2. New South Wales is in the midst a serious drought.
    3. China is expanding its force of multirole, all-weather J-16 fighters considered equivalent of US F15s.
    4. Rio de Janeiro’s hotels are in crisis blamed on the economy, poor marketing, and reports of violence.
    5. Widespread flooding has effected south India with 40k people evacuated from low lying area.
    6. Drought is also effecting Afghanistan with widespread crop failure and threats of food shortages.

    …. and so on 🙂

  46. yesindyref2
    Ignored
    says:

    @Robert Thomas
    Normally it takes about 10 minutes for a comment to appear, but just now it can take 20 minutes or even longer.

    Wings got subject to a DDOS attack some months back, a severe one, more than the “normal” ones, apparently, so there’s some kind of delay system built in now to keep it under control and prevent the whole blog being taken down. It’s automatic, the Rev isn’t involved in that, so there’s nothing personal.

    On top of that some words are filtered, and commetns with them won’t appear at all. Words like r*pe, *lb* replacing & with “a”, and others. Also too many links in a comment will be put in the moderation queue for Rev to have a look at.

  47. schrodingers cat
    Ignored
    says:

    peoples trust in the bbc is falling, little by little.

    good

    this lack of trust will serve us well in indyref2.

    but i believe there will be a ge before then where it is very possible bot the london tories and labour will support the no deal option.

    even bbcscotland will struggle to polish those turds for ruth and slab

  48. Robert Peffers
    Ignored
    says:

    @Socrates MacSporran says: 12 August, 2018 at 2:49 pm:

    ” … Can anyone tell me – when did Vyvyan change his name to Boris?”

    There are lots of wee unmentioned things about Boris, Socrates.

    Here are a few I know about:-

    “Boris Johnson was born on 19th June 1964. His full name is actually, Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson, but chooses to use the shortened version of Boris.

    Boris is the son of Stanley Johnson, who is descended from Turkish ancestry and a former member of the European Parliament.

    His nationality is joint between USA American and British as he was born in New York City NY, on 19 June 1964 and in 2016 his wealth was reported as $185 million.

    And here’s an odd one:-

    His Ancestral home of Kalfat, Turkey, birthplace of his great-grandfather Ali Kemal, pledged to honour Boris Johnson by sacrificing sheep in the event he visits the village.

    But as to a name change – I have no clue whatsoever.

  49. wull2
    Ignored
    says:

    The reason the cowed is reported as small. No one is interested in the BBC News anymore, because soaps that the BBC produce and contain more facts.

  50. schrodingers cat
    Ignored
    says:

    galamcennalath says:

    Reports in the media about a right wing plan to replace May with Davies asap.
    ——-

    if the labour party dont replace corbyn soon, any snap ge would see the labour party campaigning for the no deal option as well. what other option is open to corbyn?

    the planets are aligning in our favour

  51. Gullane No4
    Ignored
    says:

    RE Indyref 2 at 3.32pm.

    Not convinced with your thoughts.
    BBC demo was a bit of a damp squid, which surprised me

  52. yesindyref2
    Ignored
    says:

    @jfngw
    The thing is the media are doing the same to Corbyn and Labour, and that IS more noticeable to people, so keeping going with the Indy and SNP anti-bias is important, as it complements and becomes part of the action against Labour. Which is of more interest to Labour origins Scotland, and gives it “gravitas”, rather than being the voices of a few “loonies”.

  53. Robert Peffers
    Ignored
    says:

    @jfngw says: 12 August, 2018 at 3:06 pm:

    ” … These protests outside the BBC are counter productive, the reporting to the mass of the public is controlled by them and just gives the No side more propaganda to use in the future.”

    Absolutely and completely fake facts. The number of people in Scotland becoming non-licence payers is increasing and accelerating according to all the latest reports.

    Furthermore, the protests against BBC bias have spread throughout the entire United Kingdom and are certainly not now confined to only Scotland:-

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrMhFC2_4eE

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MgPQK-v__0

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rr8v-F8-KDA

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIK96eL6fPc

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_osAzGo2zM

    The BBC are no longer trusted throughout at least in Britain

  54. Proud Cybernat
    Ignored
    says:

    Given that the schools in many parts of Scotland return on Monday, holding the protest against BBC Bias/Censorship on Saturday was probably not the best day for a lot of people. Lots of people returning to work too from holiday. Lots to get organised to get back into the normal groove again so a protest @ BBC would not have been a viable option at this time for many people.

    Some news for you Rev – my daughter got 2 As & 3Bs in her Highers. I know you’ll be chuffed for her.

  55. galamcennalath
    Ignored
    says:

    yesindyref2 says:

    the media are doing the same to Corbyn and Labour, and that IS more noticeable to people

    Yes, bias is bias. We see anti Indy bias at a Scottish level while at a UK level, Scotland usually just gets ignored. Obvious bias at a UK level on a different set of topics brings it home to a wider group of people that the msm can’t be trusted.

    When you realise that an outlet is being biased on one topic by omission, by favouring one side with more coverage, wheeling out ‘experts’ who are actually highly partisan, expanding trivia while ignoring the important, and running with fake news …. then you don’t trust them on any topic.

    Once trust has gone, that’s it, lost.

    And if people lose trust on say the BBC over Corbyn, or Brexit, or the Middle East, then that will effect how they view reporting on other issues, like the Scottish constitutional crisis.

    It is ironic to listen to London Bubble commentators highlight bias, like it’s all a new revelation. When we complained in 2013/14 we were just grievance seeking Jocks. Now a far wider section of the UK realise the media is a danger to democracy.

  56. Juan
    Ignored
    says:

    This isn’t unrelated to the media bias, propaganda and manipulation of news. The BBC gets a well deserved mention. Worth a wee watch before it gets pulled from YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=PnZiDxkwgrU

  57. yesindyref2
    Ignored
    says:

    So I guess the next thing we’ve got to look forward to, apart from the Dundee march, is GERS 2017-18 being released about 23rd August. Should be fun!

    Apart from that the headlines are:

    Another Tory Minister is sacked / resigns
    Ruth Davidson not available for comment
    Saltire is banned by the UK Government
    Calls for Leonard to make it clear about anti-Semitism
    Labour revolting over anti-semitism
    Tories are anti-Muslim but that’s OK
    The council of Scotland were NOT having powers stripped
    Nicola Sturgeon is called Nippy ha ha ha
    Another few trolls post on Wings but it’t the same style
    The LibDems callr for EU Ref 2 but oppose Indy Ref 2
    Vince Cable gets another cool hat
    The SNP are bad, we don’t know why but try this one
    The Scottish NHS is in crisis
    Scotrail is in crisis
    Police Scotland is in crisis
    Queensferry is a white elephant when it comes to trunk calls
    Huge, massive demonstration by 4 members of Scottish Resistance outside Tunnocks
    Splits in the SNP emerge over ” ” (fill in the blanks)

  58. yesindyref2
    Ignored
    says:

    @galamcennalath
    The media is even biased against the MOD and equipment, something I should do more to point out.

  59. Meg merrilees
    Ignored
    says:

    https://www.rt.com/uk/435692-salisbury-military-factory-explosion/

    I think this is a more significant story than anyone is led to believe. Why is there an MOD factory making explosives so close to Porton Down.

    The firm is the “UK MoD’s design authority for all air IR decoys and chaff products, and the Eurofighter design authority for the Typhoon chaff and flare decoys,” the factory says on its web page.

    It just has a curious feel to it.

    You can rely on RT for interesting news like this
    https://www.rt.com/uk/435727-may-saudi-yemen-children-bus/ T May and Hunt silent as UK’s best arms kills dozens of children in Yemen bus attack.

    Or this one : even Israel is accusing the BBC of bias now over an article accusing an Israeli airstrike of killing a woman and baby.
    https://www.rt.com/uk/435568-israeli-spokesman-nahshon-bbc/

    Hmm – who to believe? I think I know who I trust and it isn’t the source nearest to home.

  60. Ian Brotherhood
    Ignored
    says:

    @Flower of Scotland & Gus –

    Aye, Derek Bateman’s being (very uncharacteristically) snidey on Twitter to Prof John Robertson, and losing the rag with Peter Bell. Don’t know what he’s getting so tetchy about, unless he perhaps knows he’s in the wrong on this one?

    The idea that any of the demo organisers should’ve gone into PQ for a chat with Ian Small et al is idiotic. Gripers can say whatever they like about the efficacy of these demos but the organisers are anything but daft.

  61. Robert Peffers
    Ignored
    says:

    @jfngw says: 12 August, 2018 at 3:53 pm:

    O” … Qnly current indy supporters will probably ever be aware of the counter offer, the vast majority will never hear about it.”

    Well! For starters the National will probably run with it and here’s a question for you, jfngw, what is the readership of Wings and how does it compare with The Scotsman, Daily Record, Daily Express and Daily mail for readership figures?

    Has it got a better daily average than any of the quoted individual publications?

    So the point is even if it is only the pro-indy papers and non-BBC broadcasters that report it there will indeed be plenty of non-Wingers get the message.

  62. twathater
    Ignored
    says:

    As one who attended the demo yesterday with my wife , I don’t feel I was wasting my time , okay it wasn’t well attended and others have opinions as to why this was , and the effectiveness of it , but are we supposed to just lap it up and say well it’s just the bbc and it won’t change anything .

    This demo was arranged by people who gave their time , money and great effort to allow US to have our say on the corrupt bias bbc and for that I thank them from the heart

    I have many opinions on many things but I also appreciate when people make the effort to DO something to help US forward our message , criticism and the effectiveness of the effort can and does lead to the organisers questioning whether their sacrifices are worth the bother

    I salute these organisers and THANK THEM WHOLEHEARTEDLY FOR THEIR ENDEAVOURS

  63. Jason Smoothpiece
    Ignored
    says:

    twathater

    Well said and seconded.

  64. Iain
    Ignored
    says:

    I didn’t hear about it until too late in the day.

    Does everyone know about AUOB march in Dundee next Saturday? While AUOB has a FB page, its website seems to be dormant, not updated in over a year, none of this year’s marches mentioned.

  65. HandandShrimp
    Ignored
    says:

    Iain

    Didn’t know that AOUB had a website. Everything is done via FB and Twitter. Route and times for Dundee on FB.

  66. Glamaig
    Ignored
    says:

    Meg merrilees says:
    12 August, 2018 at 6:10 pm

    ‘T May and Hunt silent as UK’s best arms kills dozens of children in Yemen bus attack.’

    Maybe because Saudi is the UK’s biggest customer for weapons by a very long way, and of course they want them to be used so more are ordered

    https://www.statista.com/chart/12207/the-uks-biggest-arms-export-partners/

    I was shocked when I saw this graph but it does explain a lot

  67. Legerwood
    Ignored
    says:

    Meg merrilees says:
    12 August, 2018 at 6:10 pm

    Yemen: bombing of bus by Saudi Arabia. Channel 4 news covered this incident very fully during the week. The BBC, not so much.

  68. Jon Drummond
    Ignored
    says:

    On topic… and genuine question,

    Does anyone know what pork was suffering from before it was cured?

  69. remo
    Ignored
    says:

    @ Gullane No4 5.19

    Do you mean “damp squib”?

  70. Sarah
    Ignored
    says:

    @twathater at 6.16.: Hear, hear. OF COURSE it was worth doing the PQ event – it will encourage the Yessers on BBC staff to see that the house style is NOT going unremarked. They may be able to make some difference one day.

    The organisers deserve thanks from all of us. And I liked the way that there was an open mic – everyone who spoke sounded at home, not nervous at all, and made some good points.

  71. Robert Peffers
    Ignored
    says:

    @Jason Smoothpiece says: 12 August, 2018 at 6:34 pm:

    twathater
    Well said and seconded.

    And, Jason, that goes for you too.

    As the monkey said when it piddled in the sea, “Every little helps”. The point can be made that if the BBC made an effort to have the organisers speak with them the BBC is concerned.

    Far as I know they have not done so before at other, perhaps better attended protest demos. Would they have done so unless they were worried?

    Their usual modus operandi is to simply ignore such things as being beneath their contempt.

    I read an long on-line article by a UK newspaper quoting other paper articles of a rising tide of protests against BBC bias.

    The reason I cannot remember which paper it was is simply because of the large number of papers concerned and many were local papers and not nationals. I may even have posted a link here on Wings.

    In truth I was very surprised that the BBC bias was being recognised throughout the British Isles. I was under the impression it was only Scotland and the SNP that were BBC victims.

  72. Breeks
    Ignored
    says:

    I couldn’t make Pacific Quay, I had to work, but I’m right behind the people who organised it and turned up.

    I’ve made about half the AUOB marches, all the ones I could make, and I’m right behind the people who organised it and turned up.

    I’m right behind Peter Bell, who isn’t a SNPbad agitator, but insightfully articulates frustrations which are already resonating in my head.

    I have a great deal of time for what Craig Murray has to say, and I also appreciate Craig Murray’s discretion about what he doesn’t say, not least because many of the frustrations he articulates also resonate with me.

    I don’t know how Wee Ginger Dug maintains his crescendo of excellence bulding up the anticipation for a dambusting type event on the Independence Front with one blistering article after another.

    I could go on, and on, Rev Stu, Chris Cairns, Prof Robertson, Phantom Power Films, IndyLive, on, and on, and on….

    But you know what? All of these fine Lieutenants in our Pro-Indy movement are pretty much running on empty until the Scottish Government finally decides to let the whole country in on the great plan.

    Of course nobody wants to jinx Indy, or disrupt the great Masterplan, but come on Scot Gov! FFS give these people some fuel for their engines.

    I’m not talking money, nor even direct endorsement, but we have SEVEN MONTHS to save ourselves from our humiliating subjugation and catastrophic expulsion from Europe, and yet one of the foremost Pro-Indy players in the media war, Wings Over Scotland, merely days after unprecedent exposure and a spike in online traffic courtesy of the BBC, is now writing about the conspicuous absence of any political discourse.

    All we get from our Leadership is “wait until October”???

    I hope to FK you know what you’re doing, and not just building up the mother of all anticlimaxes in October, and leaving us with just five dark and cold winter months to save Scotland from disaster, and all from a standing start…

  73. Robert Peffers
    Ignored
    says:

    @Jon Drummond says: 12 August, 2018 at 7:25 pm:

    ” … On topic… and genuine question,
    Does anyone know what pork was suffering from before it was cured?”

    No, Jon, but I suspect it suffered from being a bit of a pig.

  74. Robert Peffers
    Ignored
    says:

    @Breeks says: 12 August, 2018 at 8:44 pm:

    ” … Of course nobody wants to jinx Indy, or disrupt the great Masterplan,”

    Are you sure about that, breeks? For some that comment here on Wings can sure as hell fool me on that score.

    ” … but come on Scot Gov! FFS give these people some fuel for their engines.”

    Oh! Aye! And while they are about it they will be fuelling the enemy’s fuel tanks as they syphon off the fuel intended for the Indy Support. Don’t you realise that not only do they have people reading Wings, and all the other on-line indy sites.

    I’m certain they will have infiltrated the SNP and perhaps even the SG, That is how they work and, breeks, it wouldn’t be the first time they had someone on the inside of the SNP. They have worked like that throughout the World but particularly in Scotland.

    Never forget how The London Scot, William Paterson, a paid for employee of Sir Robert Harley, and Daniel Defoe had a hand in forcing the Treaty of Union.

    The FM and her advisors dinna button up the back.

  75. Ian Brotherhood
    Ignored
    says:

    Here’s a link to the Derek Bateman thread where he has a go at John Robertson.

    https://twitter.com/DerekBateman2/status/1028590404277551105

  76. Colin Alexander
    Ignored
    says:

    Stu, do you have permission from the copyright holder to share that Young Ones video on Wings? (Jist havin a laugh).

  77. Daisy Walker
    Ignored
    says:

    The first protest I ever went to was the 2nd BBC Bias protest. Never been to one before. I felt so strongly.

    It was April 2014 and the EU election had just happened. There was a big map of the UK on the studio floor, and every time the camera tried to ‘go north’… wheech, it was pulled away, with a Dimbleby smirk to accompany it. Because of course, if Scotland voted in a UKIP stooge, like in Englandshire, then we were ‘not so different’ were we.

    Bastards. That and the fucking weather map, slanted as fuck. Bastards. Lying bastards.

    So, in my background, you write a song – Folk of course (Scotland has a pedigree), or a poem… and a first ever for me, I took to trying to do posters. And I researched.

    My folks remembered the first Dimbleby, a man who followed the troops through the battlefields of WW2, and was with them when Belsen was discovered

    If you go on the internet, you can hear his recording of that terrible event. This may seem counter to common sense, but the older I get, and from work experience, I can say, the more horrific, obvious, overwhelmingly obvious a thing is, just by looking at it… the more difficult it is to report, record or write. It is as if your mind just goes, ‘you whit, have you no got eyes, just look will ye’. And it is at times like that, that anyone in the business of bearing witness, shows up professional, mediocre, or a spectator.

    If you go on the internet, you will hear Mr Dimbleby senior. A real pro.

    I wrote this, on the back of that April 2014 election, and a junior Dimbleby smirk. The TV got donated to a Folk club in fife and the licence – Cancelled.

    Angels in Khaki – Introduction

    At the end of WW2 Death Camps were uncovered and liberated by allied soldiers.

    BBC War Corrispondent – Richard Dimbleby reported. Many times he broke down at what he saw, and when the BBC refused to broadcast his report, he threatened to resign, forcing them to go public.

    He recorded the reactions and responses of allied soldiers – saying, ‘now we know what we’ve been fighting for’. And camp survivors naming them, ‘Angels in Khaki’.

    Years later he returned to Bergen Belson, identifying it as, ‘the place where the birds don’t sing.’

    Angels In Khaki

    Spring 1945, Bergen Belsen

    There’s a big man, a journalist,
    In tears,
    But speaking on, and bearing witness
    to unimagined horrors
    Uncovered at world wars end
    In the place where the birds don’t sing

    There’s a Big man, a journalist,
    In outrage,
    REFUSING to be censored by the BBC
    Showing the world a truth
    It cannot afford to ignore
    And finding solace, just a glimmer,
    In the controlled fury of veteran soldiers
    Angels in Khaki
    In the place where the birds don’t sing

    2014 a TV Studio, a European Election,
    There’s a big noise
    Cocks crowing, crowing as UKIP takes one seat,
    One seat in Scotland
    What ho your referendum hopes now.

    Can you hear the birds sing Dimbleby
    Singing for democracy? Maybe
    Can you hear your Dad, crying

    At the going down of the sun, and with our votes, we remember.

    So, going back to that first ever protest that I’ve ever attended. I know we mattered, because the BBC lied about our numbers. I know we mattered, because things had got so bad I was there.

    I could not be there yesterday, but I saw, I was so proud and grateful for all of you who could attend… and this time, they are not telling lies about your numbers, this time, they actually offered you an interview (within the lions den – well done for refusing). Lets have faith in the message and worry not about the numbers.

    One bit of decency at a time, even if it is getting to the point of through gritted teeth.
    Yes we can. Now we must.

  78. Ian Brotherhood
    Ignored
    says:

    @Daisy Walker –

    Would you be okay about reposting your comment onto the ongoing thread? A lot of readers, esp new ones, may not revisit this one.

    🙂

  79. Daisy Walker
    Ignored
    says:

    Breeks – agree with you, absolutely share your concerns, and very well said.

  80. Daisy Walker
    Ignored
    says:

    Ian – done. Will share the hammers;)

  81. Gerry
    Ignored
    says:

    Gove resisting being called to court to answer about his interventions into a historical abuse case in Somerset is a story that is probably being taken off the shelf by his tory opponents to keep him off the frontline in a potential leadership battle is interesting.

    His response that “no records of the intervention exist” is typical toryspeak for “you can’t prove it”, but the lack of a denial coupled with a refusal to appear under oath is telling to say the least. That story has potential to bite him and goodness knows who else hard. There’s more to it than the Guardian article lets on, that’s for sure.

  82. Chick McGregor
    Ignored
    says:

    Daisy,

    That wasn’t the second one. Maybe the fourth?

    I went to the first two (and others since) and honestly, I think there were more at those.

    Couldn’t make this one, but was somewhat surprised, despite the ominous neg. vibes about it among some yes voters beforehand, at the low turn out.

    Also, disappointing because it seemed to have been one of the best organized ‘indy’ events with great speeches, especially from Ruth Watson and Peter Bell and even good, well thought out, mash-up musical interludes. (I caught up on indy live).

    Perhaps there was an element of ‘BBC? Nobody believes them any more. Why bother?’ going on but we would have went if we could.

  83. Robert Thomas
    Ignored
    says:

    Yes I get the spam-filter delay thing.
    If I could delete two of the posts I would. LOL!

    I’ll know better next time. 🙂

  84. Chick McGregor
    Ignored
    says:

    Daisy,
    Great poem BTW.

  85. Valerie
    Ignored
    says:

    News from Westminster.

    After all these centuries, they have now drawn up a Code of Conduct. The Code prohibits bringing prostitutes into the workplace. It covers all areas, and applies to the Press Gallery too.

    Only in the UK. Only here we have this joke of a functioning democracy. Only here do we continually here the gammon cry of the greatness of the country.

  86. yesindyref2
    Ignored
    says:

    @Breeks
    Well said, it needs to be said. I still have faith, but it is wearing a bit thin.

  87. CameronB Brodie
    Ignored
    says:

    Re. BBC bias. If you don’t see it you’re simply not looking. This isn’t a matter of taste or loyalty, it is about whether you actually support liberal democracy, or simply pay lip service to liberal values. The BBC can not do balance as it is Charter bound to a particular style and culture of politics, one that does not include the SNP, for example.

    Rethinking balance and impartiality in journalism?
    How the BBC attempted and failed to change the paradigm

    Abstract

    This article reconsiders the concepts of balance and impartiality in journalism, in the context of a quantitative content analysis of sourcing patterns in BBC news programming on radio, television and online in 2007 and 2012. Impartiality is the cornerstone of principles of public service broadcasting at the BBC and other broadcasters modelled on it. However, the article suggests that in the case of the BBC, it is principally put into practice through juxtaposing the positions of the two main political parties – Conservative and Labour. On this basis, the article develops the idea of the ‘paradigm of impartiality as-balance.’ This paradigm prevails despite the news organisation’s commitment to representing a broader range of opinion. The paradigm of impartiality-as-balance means that only a narrow range of views and voices are heard on the most contentious and important issues. Further, it results in reporting that focuses on party-political conflict, to the detriment of a journalism which provides much-needed context.

    Keywords
    BBC, European Union, immigration, impartiality, journalism practice, objectivity, public service broadcasting, religion

    https://orca.cf.ac.uk/89096/1/1464884916648094.full.pdf

    The discursive construction of national identities

    Abstract

    The concept of the nation as an imagined community has gained importance in the relevant literature during the last decade. How do we construct national identities in discourse? Which topics, which discursive strategies and which linguistic devices are employed to construct national sameness and uniqueness on the one hand, and differences to other national collectives on the other hand? These questions were investigated in our study on the Austrian nation and identity. Taking several current social scientific approaches as our point of departure, we have developed a method of description and analysis of these phenomena which has applications beyond the discursive production of national identity in the specific Austrian example studied. By focusing particularly on the discursive construction of (national) sameness, this study has broken new ground in discourse-historical analysis, which until now has mainly been concerned with the analysis of the discursive construction of difference.

    https://www.jstor.org/stable/42888247?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents

    Ideology in the BBC and Press TV’s Coverage of Syria Unrest: A Schema-Based Approach

    Abstract

    The present paper investigates how far ideologies can be teased out in discourse by examining the schemata employed by two ideologically opposed news media, the BBC and Press TV, to cover the Syrian crisis during a period of nine months in 2011. By assuming that news is not a value-free construction of facts and drawing on micro structural approach of schema theory a comparative analysis of twenty six news texts posted by the two news agencies was conducted. Every attempt was made to choose the news posted by the agencies on the same topic on the same date. The analysis showed that the BBC and Press TV employed not only exclusive but also common schemata, which were significantly different in number hammering their contrasting perspectives in the minds of their viewers. The results are discussed from an educational perspective and suggestions are made for future research.

    Keywords: schema theory, ideology, discourse, semantic schemata

  88. CameronB Brodie
    Ignored
    says:

    The neo-liberal project aims to rob society of our critical resistance to authoritarian inequality. Honestly folks, anyone who suggest there is no bias at the BBC, perhaps needs to re-evaluate their own critical powers. Fascism is waiting eagerly for us all to drop our gaurd.

    Think Tanks, Television News and Impartiality
    The ideological balance of sources in BBC programming

    Abstract

    Is the use of think tanks ideologically balanced in BBC news and current affairs programming? This study answers this question empirically by establishing which think tanks are referenced in different BBC programming in 2009 and 2015, and then classifying them according to their ideological aims (either left, right, centrist or non-partisan). We draw on a sample size of over 30,000 BBC news and current affairs programmes in 2009 and 2015 to measure how often these think tanks were mentioned or quoted. Overall, BBC news reveals a clear preference for non-partisan or centrist think tanks. However, when the Labour Party was in power in 2009, left and right-leaning think tanks received similar levels of coverage, but in 2015, when the Conservative Party was in government, right-leaning think tanks outnumbered left-leaning think tanks by around two to one. Overall, our findings add weight to a pattern emerging from a number of recent academic studies that show, despite its undoubted commitment to impartiality, BBC news programming has shifted its centre of gravity to the right. We argue that broadcasters need to be more independently aware of how stories emerge, and how issues and sources should be balanced and explained in an increasingly partisan news environment.

    KEYWORDS: impartiality, partisan news environment, public service broadcasting, sources, television news, think tanks

    https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1461670X.2017.1389295

    Rethinking the BBC
    Public Media in the 21st Century

    Foreword

    Niki Seth-Smith and Dan Hind

    The majority of the contributions in this book were written before Britain voted to leave the European Union. Yet its core concerns are now more pressing than ever. The media in
    Britain are not adequate to the task that they claim for themselves. Public debate about politics, economics and social trends is distorted by all manner of internal biases and external pressures that are themselves ignored in mainstream coverage. The preoccupations of the private media lie outside the scope of this book. But the BBC is a
    public institution. It is the nearest instrument to hand for those who wish to create media that presents an accurate account of the world, and that challenges the fictions to which prejudice and the lavish expenditure of money render us all vulnerable….

    https://www.allysonpollock.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/RethinkingTheBBC_2016_Pollock_RemindUsWhyPublicServiceMatters.pdf

    In search of credibility: RT and the BBC in a ‘post-truth’ world

    ….In the global news market, the longstanding Anglo-American hegemony established through CNN and BBC World was first challenged by the rise of Qatar-based network Al Jazeera in the early 2000s.[3] The channel’s early success owed much to its reputation as a source of alternative frames for the US-led War on Terror, and the reactionary responses of US political elites seemed to underline its disruptive potential.[4] But it was the launch of its English-language channel in 2006, fronted by established and respected western journalists, which marked the most significant disruption to the BBC-CNN duopoly.

    What Al Jazeera exposed in both the BBC and CNN was not lies or propaganda in a crude sense, nor an exclusive preoccupation with issues that conformed to a Western ideological agenda, nor the omission of critical perspectives of Western governments and ideals. But they did expose a tendency towards selection of stories and facts that, on balance, aligned with a Western neoliberal consensus and definition of world problems. It was into this fracturing and polarising global agenda that RT emerged with an explicit mission to cover issues and perspectives marginalised by the so-called ‘mainstream media’.

    Underlying this discourse is an implicit critique of impartiality, and its association with news authority, credibility and professionalism. The problem with impartiality has always been about which critical perspectives are admitted into any given controversy or debate, the drawing of boundaries around what is acceptable criticism, beyond which ‘there is no alternative’.[5]

    The ideology of ‘There is No Alternative’ – or ‘TINA’ as the phrase has become known[6] was originally popularised by Margaret Thatcher in her repeated dismissal of arguments against economic liberalism.[7] Its sentiment was later echoed in Francis Fukuyama’s declaration of the ‘end of history’ following the collapse of Soviet Communism in 1989, signalling “the end point of mankind’s ideological evolution and the universalization of Western liberal democracy as the final form of human government.”[8]

    https://fpc.org.uk/search-credibility-rt-bbc-post-truth-world/



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