The reaction of the Scottish media and political opposition to Audit Scotland’s annual report on the NHS today has been nothing if not predictable. But we thought you might like an instructive and enlightening look at the two very different types of approach they’ve taken to trying to mislead the Scottish people about it.
First up is the non-specific Scottish Labour apparatchik (as far as we’re aware he has no official role in the party since Jim Murphy quit – indeed we don’t know what he does for a living at all any more) Blair McDougall:
This is what we in the writing trade call a “flat-out lie”.
This month we’ve been noting a sudden avalanche of factually-questionable articles in the media attacking the SNP’s record in government. At the weekend and yesterday we also picked apart a highly misleading and disingenuous claim by Andrew Neil on the BBC’s Sunday Politics that there had been no cuts to the Scottish Government budget since the Conservatives came to power in 2010.
At the weekend this site noted that on the BBC’s Sunday Politics, presenter Andrew Neil claimed that the Scottish Government’s budget had not been reduced in real terms in “the last five or six years”, and that therefore Scotland has not faced cuts.
But as we pointed out, the Scottish Government budget HAS been cut, year-on-year, since the Tories took office. The independent Fiscal Affairs Scotland assessed the cumulative reduction at a hefty 10%, or a little over £3bn a year.
Okay, so we’ve tried everything. We’ve read all the papers, we’ve been through all the emails, and we’ve even gone out for a walk, which usually never fails to trigger some cataclysmic political upheaval or animal-sex scandal.
As spectacular and mindboggling as some of the coverage undeniably is – most notably Alex Massie’s barking-mad, lie-filled howlatribe “J.K. Rowling and her heroic attack on the wicked cybernats” (whose title, remarkably, does not appear to be ironic) in ultra-right-wing loonzine CapX – even we’re fed up of reading people going on about us, so to pass the time we’re going to do something else instead.
Northcode on Yelling at the tide: ““Pax tecum” Et cum spiritu tuo. “An quhen all cessyt he spak” Thanks for the link, Fearghas.” Jan 25, 07:16
Willie on Yelling at the tide: “The use of troops to intimidate and kill protestors in Minnesota is now very much beginning to resemble the actions…” Jan 24, 23:02
Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on Yelling at the tide: “Meant to add this link to the online text: VIRGIL’S AENEID, TRANSLATED BY GAVIN DOUGLAS (1513) www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/49884/pg49884-images.html” Jan 24, 22:33
DaveL on Yelling at the tide: “Aye, there’s Wee Adolf McHateface reliable as ever. Wee Adolf, I’ve got to say it, It’d be a first for…” Jan 24, 21:35
Alf Baird on Yelling at the tide: ““You tell me whoever it was prevented you from learning Scots” First nursery school, then primary school, followed by secondary…” Jan 24, 21:12
Northcode on Yelling at the tide: ““hundered ” Aye, a ken aboot that yin anaw. Whit am a like the day? A’m aw flustered because nane…” Jan 24, 20:50
Hatey McHateface on Yelling at the tide: “Great post, Northy. See that “theirs” in your last sentence? Is that the Scots leid richt their? Always keen tae…” Jan 24, 20:41
Northcode on Yelling at the tide: “Aye, Hatey, they are a shower o cunts, right enough. Thank fuck for you, though…” Jan 24, 20:39
Hatey McHateface on Yelling at the tide: “@TURABDIN You just don’t get it. Scots invented the modern world. Only, the “modern” world our ancestors invented was the…” Jan 24, 20:34
Hatey McHateface on Yelling at the tide: “Aye, Willie, what’s the world coming to, eh? You can’t even threaten armed cops with your own handgun any more…” Jan 24, 20:26
Northcode on Yelling at the tide: ““…why are the online introductory pages of DSL all in English?” Whit leid sud thae be dae ye think? “Why…” Jan 24, 20:17
Hatey McHateface on Yelling at the tide: “Morning Northy! Sorry it’s been near 12 hours and nae cant has stirred himself to respond to your post, other…” Jan 24, 20:16
Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on Yelling at the tide: “Pax tecum. “Quhen he spak all cessyt” (Virgil’s AENEID, translated by Gavin Douglas, 1513)” Jan 24, 20:12
Hatey McHateface on Yelling at the tide: “Confused writes on humility and shutting your fucking mouth. Sorry, words fail.” Jan 24, 20:08
robertkknight on Yelling at the tide: “Ermmm… Last time I checked, Lowland Scots a.k.a Lallans, or synthetic (modern) Scots, isn’t the only dialect of Scots with…” Jan 24, 20:06
Hatey McHateface on Yelling at the tide: “You tell me whoever it was prevented you from learning Scots, Alf, and as one, Wings BTL will seek them…” Jan 24, 20:02
Willie on Yelling at the tide: “Just watched the latest citizen of Minnesota beaten to the ground by ICE agents and then dispatched with some 10…” Jan 24, 19:27
TURABDIN on Yelling at the tide: “Just a thought…why are the online introductory pages of DSL all in English? Why does the DSL effectively treat the…” Jan 24, 18:59
Northcode on Yelling at the tide: ““…if some cite “Pictish DNA” (not so Billy Kay) as prime reason for championing it [Scots?], that logic seems not…” Jan 24, 18:54
Alf Baird on Yelling at the tide: “Its not that complicated at all. What you are describing are merely various forms of Cultural Imperialism. Language is one…” Jan 24, 18:38
sam on Yelling at the tide: “It is rather more complicated. https://media.scotslanguage.com/library/document/Scots%20Timeline%20Post-1700.pdf 1720’s Introduction to Scotland of the New Method of teaching English based directly on…” Jan 24, 18:20
James Cheyne on Yelling at the tide: “Chagos Islands, Thank goodness that Trump is stopping the financial fraud of funneling tax payers money out of Britain, Foreign…” Jan 24, 17:35
Marie on Yelling at the tide: “The world’s greatest living half-Scotsman (lol) has backtracked on his offensive lies – trouble is the dough ball has already…” Jan 24, 17:33
Alf Baird on Yelling at the tide: “As ‘a fowk’s’ langage is a determinant o the identity o the ‘fowk’ wha speak hit, it staunds tae reason…” Jan 24, 17:14
TURABDIN on Yelling at the tide: “if you compose text offline then paste and post, do you get moderated? it does seem so.” Jan 24, 16:44
James Cheyne on Yelling at the tide: “Following the archaeology of pictish digs, there is a pattern that implies the territorial boundaries and scope of pictland, i…” Jan 24, 16:33
sam on Yelling at the tide: “https://theconversation.com/how-celtic-languages-spread-across-britain-and-ireland-why-we-need-to-reconsider-the-early-story-271338 “..Recent studies of ancient DNA have revealed waves of migration into Britain from regions that are now in France…” Jan 24, 16:13
TURABDIN on Yelling at the tide: “Lallans speaking Scots settling in Orkney & Shetland aka Hjatland eventually ousted the local Norse, athough it survived long enough…” Jan 24, 15:47
DaveL on Yelling at the tide: ““… which was better than WW1 where they were 3” Aye and it took them six months to organise themselves…” Jan 24, 15:39
