We’re on about Day 79 of NoScottishPoliticsNewsGate (today’s big “EXCLUSIVE!” in the Herald is something we told you about last Friday, and was also an “exclusive” in yesterday’s Scottish Sun), so we found ourselves getting diverted by something else in the papers this morning.
The Scottish Daily Mail had a piece on the cost of train journeys from Scotland, and living in Bath you don’t need to tell us how scandalously expensive British railways are compared to almost any other country in the Northern Hemisphere.
But the Mail is the Mail, and it couldn’t help distorting even an open-goal of a story like that until it had almost no relation to reality. And it’s a very useful illustration, should anybody need yet another one, of how this country’s newspapers vastly mislead their readers without actually technically lying.
At a time of unprecedented political chaos and uncertainty, just about the only thing you can still count on is that for any given situation, senior Labour figures will issue proclamations both firmly in favour of it and stoutly opposed to it, usually the same day.
So the stories below, which are respectively from today’s Scotsman and today’s Times, won’t come as much of a shock to anyone.
But against the odds, we think we’ve made some sense of it.
The front page lead of today’s Scottish Daily Mail:
As alert readers of this site will know, the Mail has a particular fondness for presenting statistics bereft of any context so that people have no idea how big or small they really are. So is 1,600 passengers a week receiving compensation for delays a lot or a little? Let’s find out.
All political discourse is plagued with genuine imbeciles, of course. But what’s far more depressing is when educated and normally perceptive people merely act like imbeciles for money, such as the case of Alex Massie in the Sunday Times today.
Because for the last two years, commentators who ought to know better have insisted in presenting Scotland’s choice as between Brexit or Brexit plus independence, and solemnly concluding that the uncertainties and risks of the latter being piled on top of those of the former prove that independence is no solution.
And we don’t care to have our intelligence insulted in that way.
Young Lochinvar on When the law breaks the law: “Anyone else reckon Bain’s heid has a similar(ish) profile to a movie Predator? Just without the odd breathy way of…” Feb 19, 22:36
robertkknight on When the law breaks the law: “Pay day next week…standby! The alphabets and their party connections are no secret. Nor indeed their motivations. They still enjoy…” Feb 19, 22:01
agentx on When the law breaks the law: “O/T – but the Mens’s curling team are through to the final – guaranteed at least a silver medal and…” Feb 19, 22:01
Hatey McHateface on When the law breaks the law: “You were on fire, Willie, until your second last para. Then you crashed and burned. The case we’re discussing here…” Feb 19, 18:40
Hatey McHateface on When the law breaks the law: “We’re only a few weeks out from choosing Scotland’s government for the next 5 years. Surely it’s not too much…” Feb 19, 18:31
Willie on When the law breaks the law: “As is now clear to see the rule of law is a hoodlum’s charter. When the state can maliciously try…” Feb 19, 18:18
Effijy on When the law breaks the law: “I’ve donated as we must when faced yet again by corrupt and immoral practices from government. Your courage is remarkable…” Feb 19, 18:12
Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on When the law breaks the law: “Not sure whether or not a video link to Fergus Ewing’s Holyrood intervention is embedded in the above article, but…” Feb 19, 17:51
ScotsRenewables on When the law breaks the law: “I;ve donated a tiny amount, and am pleased to see that the appeal is going well – is there any…” Feb 19, 15:04
Hatey McHateface on The Future Is Yesterday: “It’s a good day to bury news, whether bad, or just awkward. Plaid Cymru has dropped its pledge to get…” Feb 19, 14:37
Hatey McHateface on The Future Is Yesterday: “Sez you, Alf. When you continually claim that anyone who disagrees with you is a colonialist, nobody can be surprised…” Feb 19, 14:27
Iain More on The Future Is Yesterday: “Off Topic – I hear that the Sex Trafficker Andrew Mountbatten has been arrested. =============================================================== Re 100%Yes says: I am…” Feb 19, 13:08
Andrew Kidd on The Future Is Yesterday: “Embarrassing position for Tom Arthur. Govt Minister 5th on the West of Scotland list. Resounding vote of confidence for Stuart…” Feb 19, 13:02
Confused on The Future Is Yesterday: “ps – the royal household were paying their gofers below minimum wage. maybe Andy will be found drowned in a…” Feb 19, 12:53
Tony Little on The Future Is Yesterday: “I have felt for a long time, certainly the last 4 Holyrood elections, that NO constituency candidate should also be…” Feb 19, 12:39
Confused on The Future Is Yesterday: “crazy days – the royals are “untouchable” (usually); example – working for the royals is shit and some years ago…” Feb 19, 11:58
Young Lochinvar on The Future Is Yesterday: “Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s daily morning routine. 1. Wake up 2. Ablutions 3. Issue daily denial of any wrongdoing 4. Rearrange teddies…” Feb 19, 11:28
Alf Baird on The Future Is Yesterday: “We are no longer in the realm of ‘conspiracy theories’ when even colonialists in Holyrood are calling for another Lord…” Feb 19, 11:27
Hatey McHateface on The Future Is Yesterday: “Sez you, TURABDIN. Requires but an hundred driven, committed, savvy, rational, honest, authentic Scots prepared to stand on a plebiscitary…” Feb 19, 10:00
Aidan on The Future Is Yesterday: “That was the point I was avoiding admitting Hatey 😉” Feb 19, 09:53
TURABDIN on The Future Is Yesterday: “AS SCOTLAND is not a functioning authentic democracy does the outcome of any election matter? May as well burn the…” Feb 19, 09:26
Hatey McHateface on The Future Is Yesterday: “I hadn’t twigged that Your Party are an alternative route to Indy. After typing the question into Google, I got…” Feb 19, 09:16
100%Yes on The Future Is Yesterday: “AYE, The polling figures for most of the parties are at the lowest they have been in a long time…” Feb 19, 08:45
Hatey McHateface on The Future Is Yesterday: ““American English NAZI and Child Rapist Party “Reform”” You left out “faeces eating”, Iain. I think it goes best right…” Feb 19, 07:52
