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Picture/caption synergy

Posted on July 17, 2013 by

From Russia Today.

offensive

“…sends in dispensable penal battalion first.”

83 to “Picture/caption synergy”

  1. max says:

    PR offensive? That’s Putin it mildly.

    Reply
  2. Seanair says:

    Jings, crivvens–an impartial broadcaster!

    Reply
  3. Tony Little says:

    I have always thought that RT could be the channel to put the cat among the pigeons on MSM bias.  Could be interesting times 😉

    Reply
  4. Geoff Huijer says:

    RT putting the Beeb in Scotland to shame…

    Reply
  5. Angus McLellan says:

    I am wondering if this is what comes from making people redundant.

    Reply
  6. Gallowglass says:

    Hahaha.  Excellent. 

    Reply
  7. Robert Kerr says:

    RT followed up their piece on “Project Fear” with Five Days of Belfast Disturbances. 
    The games afoot !

    Reply
  8. Craig P says:

    What benefit to Russia will the end of the UK bring? i doubt their editorial approach is for our edification.  

    Reply
  9. ianbrotherhood says:

    Gaunyersel RT!
     
    ‘Project Fear’ now known globally…result!

    Reply
  10. ianbrotherhood says:

    Competition suggestion:
     
    What will Alan Cochrane say when he sees this?

    Reply
  11. CameronB says:

    Although not the state broadcaster, RT was the principle “enemy” identified by Hillary Clinton, as being “in a propaganda war with America”. This will be interesting.

    Reply
  12. Jeannie says:

    Well, they got one thing right – the Scotsman is most certainly offensive.

    Reply
  13. The Flamster says:

    Goodness sake that was a pleasant surprise.  Not so the FB page I’ve just had a look at called ‘Alex Salmond is a deluded Banker with a W’ Has 1222 likes and atrocious is an understatement!!

    Reply
  14. seoc says:

    Dependence on Westminster for handouts is not good for Scotland.
    We will earn our own corn, thank you very much,and be far better off financially, politically and generally just without the obscene cost and unwanted presence of WMD in our fair country. 

    Reply
  15. muttley79 says:

    @Jeannie
     
    Well, they got one thing right – the Scotsman is most certainly offensive.
     
    The Russia Today presenter is certainly not offensive…
     
     

    Reply
  16. James Westland says:

    Cant stand seeing those shots of that ghastly butchers apron flying in an elevated position over the Saltire. That needs rectified pronto.

    Reply
  17. Jeannie says:

    @The Flamster
     
    Do you know, for the life of me I just can’t understand the vitriolic attacks on this man.  What on earth has he done that’s so terrible?  I’m not in any political party, so I’ve no axe to grind, but who on earth is it that people think would do a better job of First Minister at the moment?  If we get a Yes majority next year, I would personally much rather trust Alex Salmond to negotiate on our behalf than any other Scottish politician I can think of in any of the parties, with the possible exception of my personal favourite politician, Nicola Sturgeon.  Would anybody seriously trust a Labour, Tory or Lib Dem team to get the best deal for Scotland? 

    Reply
  18. Jeannie says:

    @muttley79
    The Russia Today presenter is certainly not offensive……..
     
    Yes….I suspect Mr. Jeannie would agree with you 🙂
     

    Reply
  19. Jimbo says:

    She described them as “The Anti Independence Campaign” – not, Better Together.  
    I liked that.
     
    Craig P wrote: “What benefit to Russia will the end of the UK bring?”
     
    Craig, having commented a few times in Russian papers about BBC bias, there are, it would seem, quite a few over there who would like to see the UK government brought down a peg or two.

    Reply
  20. Robert Bryce says:

    Jeannie,
    I may be shot down for saying this but It’s based on personal experience.

    These people are predominantly of the west of Scotland unionist / loyalist protestant orange order variety.

    As utterly bizarre as this may seem I do know a few who will be voting yes but will quite openly admit that they wouldn’t piss on Alex Salmond if he were on fire.

    I still can’t work out their logic and all previous attempts to do so have resulted in time wasted that I will never get back but there you go!

    Reply
  21. James Westland says:

    @Jeannie
    I think its just sheer jealousy. AS wipes the floor with other politicians. After the last Holyrood result, Labour, LibDems and the Tories ended up changing their leaders. AS and the SNP just anihilated them. Plus, its not as if any of these parties have got anyone remotely capable of taking on AS. Lamont? Hopeless. Davidson? Lightweight. Rennie? Who he?
    The opposition are simply rubbish and thats what they cant stand. They’ve had their bahookies handed to them on a plate!

    Reply
  22. Shinty says:

    Jeanie – couldn’t agree more, I cannot seriously believe that AS is doing this for any personal gain, I would say he had more to lose than any of us, but he must wonder sometimes why he fights so hard for Scotland when he gets kicked in the teeth every day. (and has done for most of his political career). I think it must be his hatred of Westminster that keeps him going!
    As for the negotiating table I am with you there too – AS, Swinney & NS a formidable team – imagine Willie Rennie or Lamont – we’d end up with nothing except trident and the entire UK debt!

    Reply
  23. KOF says:

    Shinty 
    ” I think it must be his hatred of Westminster that keeps him going!”
    I believe it is his love for Scotland that keeps him going. Better to fight with love in your heart rather than hate.
    Love conquers all, after all.

    Reply
  24. Robert Bryce says:

    Shinty,
    I agree totally. Like Jeannie I am not an SNP member but it has to be said that AS, NS & JS are by far the three most talented politicians in Scotland.

    If there is one thing that frightens me about independence it would be Lamont, Davidson & Rennie being part of the negotiation team. They would be the silly schoolkids in the background giving away our hand!

    Reply
  25. Jeannie says:

    I just feel really sorry for him sometimes.  I don’t think he deserves it.  There’s a lot worse than the First Minister doing the rounds.  And here we are hoping for a fairer society in Scotland and so many of our citizens can’t even demonstrate a smidgen of fairness, goodwill or gratitude for somebody who works so hard on their behalf.  What a shame.

    Reply
  26. Craig says:

    I wouldn’t say that RT are impartial. I’ve long suspected a bias there which seems to suggest that they take the view that an EU which was as Balkanised as possible would lead to greater Russian influence.

    I’m not saying that one should discount their reporting on this basis however. Merely that one should note the angle from which they’re coming (as one should do with every source).

    “Understanding is a three-edged sword. Your side, my side, and the truth.” – J Michael Straczynski.

    Reply
  27. Angus says:

    Link this onto your Facebook guys and accompany it with a witty and erudite comment suitable to encourage a guaranteed viewing! 
    And then wait………
    Class.

    Reply
  28. Robert Bryce says:

    Jeannie says:

    I just feel really sorry for him sometimes.  I don’t think he deserves it.  There’s a lot worse than the First Minister doing the rounds.  And here we are hoping for a fairer society in Scotland and so many of our citizens can’t even demonstrate a smidgen of fairness, goodwill or gratitude for somebody who works so hard on their behalf.  What a shame.

     
    He’s a perceived threat to these folk Jeannie. He represents everything they’ve been conditioned to resist by the British state & media.

    God willing we will have a Yes vote next year. I’m sure their opinions will change over time when it dawns on them that they were led up the garden path all along.

    Reply
  29. dee says:

    Regarding BBC Bias,  may I suggest something that could get the message of BBC Scotland Bias told to people all over Scotland, by putting up roadside posters at the side of really busy roads, or messages on trains, on notice boards at work or pin them up where ever you can. In fields next to busy roads, you get the idea, We cant get the message across in the MSM so we can do it ourselves, if we could get the message out  then Iam sure your ordinary punter would soon get the message about how bias and anti Scottish this outfit at Pacific Quay really are. The idea came to me after I read on Wings that somebody had put banners up on the “Squinty Bridge” on the road to BBC Scotland building at Pacific Quay.

    Reply
  30. Yesitis says:

    A UK diplomatic friend told me that recently all British embassies were sent instructions to lobby host governments against Scottish independence.
     
    link to twitter.com

    Reply
  31. Bill C says:

    I  normally don’t do heroes. In my youth I was a fan of Bob Dylan, politically John McLean and James Connolly were also right up there with Jimmy Reid not far behind. However in the great scheme of things William Wallace above a’. Yet I cannot help feeling that Alex Salmond will rank with the greatest Scots of all time. As an SNP member for over forty years, I have witnessed the highs and lows (many lows!), no nationalist could have found it an easy journey, but then I pinch myself and look at where we are today, months away from a referendum on our independence. Alex Salmond is many things to many people, but to me he is the man who offered his country the opportunity to grasp the  freedom of self determination. I think that’s pretty historic in anybody’s book.

    Reply
  32. pmcrek says:

    I find it rather amusing that telling Scots we are all a load of doomed shite is a “Public Relations Exercise”.

    Reply
  33. Barontorc says:

    First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they come to fight you, and then you win.” (M.K. Gandhi)
     
    You could not better the meaning of this quote in respect to the abuse Alex Salmond is getting daily. Graham Spiers in particular was astoundingly spotlighted by the crassness of his piece re the golf winner photo shoot. The game’s a bogey for these pathetic folk and they are well aware it is irretrievable. 
     
    Now looking with great interest for further international takes on dear old Auntie after this RT article, given the stature and respect it held throughout the world.
    It was on par with any world heritage site and is as well known as Coke – but now  it’s shown to be merely a state propaganda tool. A quite shameful indictment of the political nonentities who have used and trashed it.
     
    The BBC will rue the day it turned it’s poisoned eye on Scotland and I agree that a priority for Scots should be to mount a public demonstration of non-payment of the quite absurdly mis-used licence fee.

    Reply
  34. clochoderic says:

    Dee – I like your thinking, will think about local circumstances.  I was also previously thinking of a solemn ceremony on the Clyde, accompanied by a lone piper,  where some telly tax resistance could fold their demanding letters into wee paper boats, set them alight and then send them down the river past the BBC.

    Reply
  35. Angus McLellan says:

    (h/t Ed Conway of Sky News and the New Statesman)
    Page 106 of the OBR’s Fiscal Sustainability Report contains a graph showing past and current HMRC, Treasury and OBR forecasts of oil revenues: link to twitter.com
    Smartest guys in the room, eh? Looks like a chicken dipped its feet in some ink.
    The scariest graph is this one on page 11: link to twitpic.com What that says is that given the chance Westminster will make austerity last for at least the next fifty years. Except, of course, when it comes to stuff like HSR2, replacement Trident submarines, replacement Trident missiles and a new Thames Barrier.
     

    Reply
  36. CameronB says:

    I went for a pint with my 80 year old dad the other week, (bare floor, doms league, very working class). Despite his protestations, I got chatting to a couple of locals re. TV report on the referendum. Imagine my surprise when they turned out to be Tories, in Dundee. Anyway, I knew I had the arguments to correct their belief in TWTPTS and possibly even their hatred of AS, as it was clearly based on MSM dissembling. Like a Jedi though, I seemed to sensed that the cringe was strong within them.
     
    In the end, I thought it best not to poison my dad’s watering hole. Sorry, but there are limits. And I’m not Pyrrhus either. 🙂

    Reply
  37. john king says:

    o/t 
    A retired general laying the groundwork for a war with Syria,
    telling us how if we are to make any difference in that troubled country we need boots on the ground and that amounts to all out war,
    now how convenient for call me Dave, to have a nice wee war to distract the Scottish public from the yes/no debate, because one thing is certain , people WILL  vote no while their kids are in harms way in a bloody war not of our making and sod all to do with us.

    Reply
  38. Patrick Roden says:

    One things for sure, even when someone argues blind that they are unionists and Scotland is crap etc, as long as you arguments are simple and true, they will stay inside their brain/mind and haunt them for an answer to the points you have made.
     
    The next time they hear similar scares on the BBC or MSM they will have a more critical eye on the stories, no matter how hard they try not to.
     
    No matter what they are they are humans and we are designed to ask questions and question answers, this is why no one has ever been able to genuinely control a populace even at the point of a gun.
     
    So no matter how badly your encounter with a unionist has went or has seemed to go, and no matter if they tell you that you have not convinced them, they will walk away with a head full of counter claims and these seeds will grow into doubts.
     
    once the seeds have grown into doubts, the definite No has become a don’t know.
     
    From don’t know, most people will start searching for the truth, once they do that they will soon be a committed Yes.
     
    Job Done ! 🙂

    Reply
  39. Dal Riata says:

    Well done Russia Today! Thank god someone else recognises British state propaganda for what it is.
     
    Anyone know of any other country with a TV network which gives Scotland a fair shout?
     
    I’m not aware of the situation regarding Catalonia having its own dedicated TV station or not, although I’d presume so. I’d also presume that if they do they’d be more sympathetic to Scotland’s cause than Spain’s national broadcaster!

    Reply
  40. john king says:

    polly is fit

    Reply
  41. Craig P says:

    Thanks Jimbo. I’ve not seen RT and don’t know what particular editorial policy it has. If you follow the line of thinking that independence > no nukes > no seat on security council then it might conceivably be in the Russian government’s interest to promote indy. And Britain has been hostile – or at least suspicious – of Russia for most of the last 200 years. Though as Craig says it might be part of a greater EU thing.

    Reply
  42. Robert Kerr says:

    the Imperial Russian Ensign was the Andreyevsky flag indistinguishable from our own saltire. The present flag of Arkangelsk Oblast is based on the Saltire. 
    link to en.wikipedia.org.
    I had expected Al Jezeera TV to cover this first but RT is much harder to vilify. 
    As I said earlier,
     
    The game is afoot.
    Hail Alba

    Reply
  43. Another London Dividend says:

    O/T
    Yesterday it was announced that BBC TV will spend a further £100 million over next four years to television FA Cup ties in a joint agreement worth £50 million a year with BT.
    Yet the BBC refuses to even bid for Scottish Premier league football TV rights despite spending millions a year on English Championship (2nd division) football.
     

    Reply
  44. CameronB says:

    ‘We aired lies’: Al Jazeera staff quit over ‘misleading’ Egypt coverage
     Tuesday, 9 July 2013
     
    link to english.alarabiya.net
     
    link to nybooks.com

    Reply
  45. Shinty says:

    KOF – I concede it will indeed be his love of Scotland and not his hate of Westminster.

    I often think how hard it has been for the SNP or any supporter of Scottish Independence throughout the last century, we stand on the shoulders of giants right enough. Many of whom will not be here to see they day, so for them alone we must take our part in ensuring it is a resounding YES.
     

    Reply
  46. Macart says:

    Just checked out the whole newscast. What a breath of fresh air.
     
    It just shows how far the BEEB have fallen. On the FM, the reason he is FM despite all of the flak that’s been flung his way over the years, is down IMO to one thing. Yes he is the standout politician in the UK and yes he has a fierce intellect. In fact he seems to love causing and winning a good rammie. Were it down to just these tools he wouldn’t be the FM. I really think those that practice the dark arts should be kept as far away from power over the electorate as possible.
     
    Nope IMO its down to the one thing you can’t buy, fake or steal (even as a politician). I believe he actually cares about his electorate (regardless of how much bile some of them throw his way). To him its not about the career or the power, Jeez if it was down to that he could have stayed in the finance sector and been quids in without the daily plate of shite he’s forced to endure. I mean look at the guy’s life….. seriously, who would want that dished up to them 24/7 for several decades unless they really believed in what they were trying to achieve. Whatever anyone else says in the daily blah, if you were looking for someone to stand up for your rights and fight your corner and had your choice of any politician in the British Isles…. well let’s just say the rest come in a very poor second.

    Reply
  47. Shinty says:

    Macart – well said.

    Reply
  48. mato21 says:

    Todays offering
    Oor nation’s been treated like a wee dancing poodle  
    Twa steps ahint is oor place don’t ye ken
    Then oot o’ the hills and the mists o’ Linlithgow
    Came a bonnie wee fechter, a leader o’ men
     
    Noo this wis a shock,this never should be
    Past the end o’ their nose nae unionist could see
    Nae baubles nor sillar could pit this man aff
    As he took up his cudgel, but contained his wrath
    Wi’ rapier wit he could ootsmart the rest
    As he batted them doon, they keeched in their nest
    So he marched his troops onward and against a’ the odds
    He delivered  a promise  a date wi’ the Gods
    He’ll tak us tae greatness,it ‘s just like a dream
    A’ the time he wll grin like the cat wi’ the cream
     
    While a’ roon aboot they gripe an’ they groan
    As he strips them each week richt doon tae the bone
    So tak yer time Eck, as much as ye want
    Let the Unionists fume let the Unionists rant
    The folk, them that matter, are happy ye see
    For they ken their no skint too stupid too wee
    The world is awaiting an’ we’ll tak up oor place
     We’ll be welcomed nae doot wi’ much warmth an’ much grace
     
     
     

    Reply
  49. Dal Riata says:

    Over on the Guardian Roy Greenslade is reporting upcoming job losses at the Herald.
     
    link to guardian.co.uk
     

    Reply
  50. Barontorc says:

    Agreed on everything Macart says. The BBC is going down the tubes fast when other broadcasters question partiality and bias, though perhaps not specifically, the implication is that truth is being subverted and thereby lies editorial impotence. It’s open season on any broadcaster if they let their principle guidelines slip and quite rightly so. 
     
    The despicable BBC mouth – Kay with an E is facing up to the challenge thrown up by yesterday’s overdue announcement that the public don’t believe a single word coming from dear old auntie and true to form she’s setting the goal posts where she and her paymasters like them to be. Give us more Monarch of the Glen, Rab C, Hamish Macbeth, a dedicated hour long Scottish news service each night – what for? To be told even more risible pi** ?
     
    While the truth of their situation is getting painted in by external/other country broadcasters like RT – they continue to operate like an ostrich and soon will be seen as no better than North Korea mark2 for deluding and misinforming its people! Stop – paying their TAX!

    Reply
  51. Macart says:

    @mato21
     
    Superb. 🙂

    Reply
  52. mato21 says:

    Thanks Macart it was your post that made me remember this one

    Reply
  53. Macart says:

    @Barontorc
     
    Couldn’t agree more Baron. I don’t want a channel that serves up an updated version of the White Heather Club. I want a channel that reflects 21st century Scotland, one with an independent body of review with teeth. Step out of line to toe someones political agenda and get stepped on from a great height, kind of review panel.

    Reply
  54. John Lyons says:

    Jeannie, Alex Salmond is a terrible person, accept it.

    He has made life better for the sick (Free prescriptions) the poor (Council tax freezes) and the elderly (Free bus passes) He has tried to bring about improvement for Scotlands youth (Apprenticeships.) and hopes to have a by product of a second enlightenment (Free Tuition) He may very well lead his entire country to self determination without a single drop of blood being shed.
     
    How on EARTH can you not hate the man!!!???
     
    He has not made a single banker a millionaire, he’s never driven a disabled person to suicide and he most certainly does not prefer nuclear weapons to healthy well nourished weans. He, get this, he believes in social justice and equality!!!
     
    The man’s a MONSTER!

    Reply
  55. Luigi says:

    Tories that say they can’t stand AS subconciously know that they have nothing to stand on. Take away the pomp and nostalgia for British Nationalism and there is nothing left. Desperate for any traction to shore up their own shoogly position, they use AS as an anchor for their insecurity. He is the cause of all their problems. 
     
    Labour politicians hate the SNP because SNP socialist policies shows the Labour leadership up for what it really is – deceiptful, right-wing and unionist. And AS being the effective leader is hated especially because he makes them look bad, really bad. On vital issues like Trident, NHS, Europe; Labour looks weak. They don’t like it.

    Reply
  56. Macart says:

    Hmmm, wonder if that would work. Not a state broadcaster in Scotland, but Scotland’s broadcaster, the people’s broadcaster with a board which collects and administers the licence fee directly. No more state backed news, just the people being the boss.
     
    Just a thought, might be pants and unworkable.

    Reply
  57. Ken McDonald says:

    Macart,   I agree with your comment that AS ‘cares’.
     
    A good few years back I sought the support of Scottish MP’s on a major tourism project that I was driving.  I wrote to every Scottish MP and enclosed a signed copy of a book on the subject matter.  Of all MP’s that took the time to respond, the majority thanked me for the book and passed the letter on to a n other department for comment which never materialised.   AS was the only MP who took the time to ask how he could help with the project and even enclosed his card with contact details.
    My opinion of AS is that he is a politician ‘ who can be bothered’ to make a difference and I have a healthy respect for the man, even more so when he has to faceup to and suffer the daily tsunami of rabid wolf pack attacks on his person by the unionist MSM.
    It vexes me greatly that the debate has never raised it’s level above the gutter, but what concerns me most is the dark lingering thoughts that even though we are slowly winning the argument, dark forces will see to the ballot being appropriately directed to the desired outcome.

    Reply
  58. John Lyon, agreed, a right bastard.

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  59. roboscot says:

    John Lyon
     
    And he does it deliberately!

    Reply
  60. Robert Kerr says:

    Aye but he is OUR bastard !
    Or was it SoaB ?
    Hail Alba

    Reply
  61. Macart says:

    @Ken McDonald
     
    I think that’s probably one of the best descriptions yet “My opinion of AS is that he is a politician ‘ who can be bothered’ “. 😀 But I know what you mean.
    As to your other point of course they’ll try and stack the deck as much as possible, hell they’re well into that just now. But it still relies on how the public reacts to the rigging. They still have to stop people from getting out there and voting, as they found out to their cost at almost every ballot bar 2010, since 2007. If the white paper has anything like the route map we’re hoping for, then they’re in trouble. Even without it to date, there’s only percentage points of swing between the campaigns.
     
    I firmly believe that people want independence. Its a natural state of affairs that human beings want to be in charge of their own lives, make their own choices. But it takes confidence and encouragement. If you’re lucky to have the right parents or mentors, they’ll fill you with that confidence, that belief in your innate abilities that you’ll need to make your own way. That’s what the SG have displayed over the past six years. They’re basically saying look what we’ve done! Look at how we don’t have to do everything Westminster’s way and still make forward steps. We can do and be so much more, just give yourselves the chance to prove it.
     
    If the numbers can be motivated, as they were in 2011, all the stacking in the world won’t stop independence.

    Reply
  62. MajorBloodnok says:

    I can never forgive AS for hiding the key to the blanket cupboard at the Royal Alexandria Hospital in Paisley last year.  He dropped it into a curry for melting down later to make into a crown for himself.  Jackie Baillie told me that, so it must be true.

    Reply
  63. wullie says:

    A wee snippiit I heard on tv last night,BBC programme chefs cooking grub on the cheap for the poor.                    Ten thousand children in the UK in hospital due  malnutrition.

    Reply
  64. NorthBrit says:

    Soft focus shots of Polly Boiko on the Wings site now.
    Misogynist.
    Unfortunately fully offset by the multiple images of George Robertson’s ghastly map and his permanent anti-smile.

    Reply
  65. Willie Zwigerland says:

    Must admit, all the Russo-philia on this site lately looks a bit odd given the news about Navalny today.

    Reply
  66. Braco says:

    ‘Russo-philia’ ?!

    Reply
  67. NorthBrit says:

    There is nothing odd about considering that “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.”

    Following the admirable lead of HMG, which is happy to enlist the aid of foreign governments (no doubt all of unimpeachable integrity).

    link to twitter.com

    If you feel that you “must admit” anything perhaps you could explain your motivations for posting here.  I don’t see any evidence that anyone was interrogating you on whether “Russo-philia” on this site was odd.

    Reply
  68. The Rough Bounds says:

    Nobody should be in the least surprised at the disgusting vitriol that is thrown at Alex Salmond every day by the British Unionists.
    It’s part of their war games tactics.
    During the 19th century at the time of the the Zulu wars (1879-1896) the Zulu leader, Chief Cetshwayo was portrayed in the British Press as a savage brute with thick lips and staring eyes and a necklace of animal teeth and fangs. It was a hate campaign.
    When Chief Cetshwayo eventually arrived in London after his country had been beaten, he came to London wearing a suit and bowler hat. Every inch a gentleman.
     
    Nice people the British aren’t they?

    Reply
  69. Bugger (the Panda) says:

    @ CameronB
     
    18 July, 2013 at 8:39 am
     

    ‘We aired lies’: Al Jazeera staff quit over ‘misleading’ Egypt coverage
     Tuesday, 9 July 2013
    Seems like principles and truth still exist in the MSM, although it is to be found with journalists working for an Arab based media and not in the halls of the hallowed BBC.
     
    Defenstration called for, post 2014

    Reply
  70. Andy-B says:

    Is that Jackie Baillie with the blue top on and the backpack, she must have said something to Alistair Darling thats him with his hands around his own neck..probably said somehting like “Yes Alistair the Scotsman, is laying on a magnificent buffet for me today, but you’re not invited”….on another note, how could such a scurrilous, media rag, such as the Scotsman, reside in such a beautiful building.

    Reply
    • Bugger (the Panda) says:

      They don’t anymore. the sold it and now it is an hotel.
      link to thescotsmanhotel.co.uk?
       
      I think the typesetting subbing and printing are now done in Englandshire and I would wager as are most of the articles

      Reply
  71. Caroline Corfield says:

    it’s funny but I posted up the comment to Jeannie by John Lyons as my fb status and one of my friends, who is a Green, admitted it was irrational but he didn’t like Alex because he was smug and he found it difficult to trust him. 

    My reply which was very much thinking out loud was that we’re probably brought up not to trust politicians who show conviction and ability together. I find Cameron smug but I don’t find him able, so his smugness is no threat. I reckon it is the establishment, old money, Whitehall, who have conditioned us into distrusting able and principled politicians, because they are a threat. I point out how often Westminster goes into recess and how few of our elected representatives actually attend as an indication of how unnecessary to the ‘running’ of the country they actually are. It’s why people liked Ken Livingstone, Boris and Tony Benn, they are unthreatening and that’s what we are beginning to think our politicians should be like. 

    What is threatening about Alex Salmond is he has conviction and he tries his best to make things happen, he wants Scotland to have a real say in her future: yer usual politician handed such a stunning Parliamentary majority under PR would, and could, have successfully prosecuted a Universal Declaration of Independence, but he wants a referendum so the whole of Scotland get a say. He is a patriot and the British (I use this to denote all the home nations of the UK of GB and NI) have been told to not to trust patriots. He believes in democracy, and there simply aren’t too many of those kind of politicians left of any hue in any of our home nations, that’s why people have an irrational distrust –  it’s something they no longer recognise as being political.

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  72. Scott Douglas says:

    Interesting that the BBC were doing an attempt at a hatchet job on Putin on tonights Newsnight.  Surely they can’t be worried?

    Reply
  73. Lochside says:

    The Herald and Scotsman in circulation freefall, BBC Scotland approved by less than half of the listeners, Johan Lamont et al silent and no where to be seen or heard….what is going on?
    Maybe things are turning..Operation Fear (More like Operation Ludicrous) is maybe the final straw for the undecided and the ‘old’ Labour vote. Maybe the endless vilification of AS is finally striking a chord with the old Scottish characteristic of a sense of fair play and supporting the underdog (tho’ AS is no pathetic weakling!). Maybe the overwhelming hypocrisy and insanity of the austerity neo-con bullshit being perpetrated by Cameron ,Cable and the pathetic compliance of the two MR. Eds is finally penetrating the Scottish cringe once and for all. Maybe despite BBC in Scotland Pravda’s constant pro Gov drivel and replacement of any internal pro Indy staff with Stalinist sycophantic reporting staff is finally pissing off everyone. The tory Macauley, the labour placemen and women from John Boothman, Head of News and Current Affairs, who also happens to be bidie-in of Susan Deacon ex Labour MSP (and now an ‘academic’?), to the metropolitan parachuted in celebs such as ‘Call Kaye’ (Why?) and now James Naughtie (Labour tosser). Even braindead Brit cybertwats must pause and start to understand that the game is a bigger bogey than the  one that passes for Gordon Brown’s brain.

    Reply
  74. Macart says:

    @Caroline Corfield
     
    Hammer – nail – head. 🙂

    Reply
  75. CameronB says:

    The neo-conservatives have an answer to the lack of trust that Caroline reffers too, which the political class interporates as creeping nihilism. Perpetual war, or to give it its brand name, the ‘War on Terror’.

    Reply
  76. Macart says:

    @CameronB
     
    Well they do believe in giving the masses a target or a demon don’t they?

    Reply
  77. CameronB says:

    @ Macart
    I helps Westminster if the great unwashed are distracted.
    BTW, I hope you are on the back shift. 😉

    Reply
  78. Bugger (the Panda) says:

    I have left a comment in the Quarantine section for CameronB and Chic McGregor

    Reply
  79. Macart says:

    @Cameron
     
    Nope, machine downtime. Techies in today and lots of mugs of coffee doin’ the rounds. 😀

    Reply
  80. CameronB says:

    @ Bugger (the Panda)
    Cheers. I spotted it earlier, but its one for later on I think. Not sure what I could add though, other than it’s looking like it’s going to be a two speed Euro zone.
     
    The end of austerity in Europe?
    26/04 20:16 CET
    link to euronews.com

    Reply
  81. Bugger (the Panda) says:

    CameronB
     
    The end of austerity in Europe?
    26/04 20:16 CET
    link to euronews.com
     
    The Parliamentary side of my arse it is.
     
    France is hovering on the brink and Hollande is paralysed like a rabbit caught in the headlights of an oncoming 30 tonne juggernaut.
    There are already demands for a  Fifth Republic so that the stables can be cleansed.
     
     

    Reply
  82. RT has consistently given the Nationalist campaign a fair hearing whenever it has addressed the issue of Scottish independence. Its analyses are in sharp contrast to the Stalinist-like uniformity of Unionist propaganda in the UK media.
     

    Reply


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