Talking-up Scotland

BBC Scotland is utterly Ruth-less as well as utterly useless but ‘It is not all doom and gloom, even in Scotland’

Sir Jamie McGrigor former List MSP (©bigrab.wordpress.com)

 

Updated and re-posted to test a wee theory about titles and to include further evidence of imbalance. The main thrust here has been the neglect or protection of Scottish Tories despite serial faux pas. Hoover, there is also evidence of too much time for Labour. see below.

‘Tory MSP blows off key parliament vote to take part in World Cup referee training’

‘Tory toff MSP claimed eye-watering £113 for taxi to airport when catching train would have cost just £8.50’

‘Moneybags Tory MSP accused of exploiting parliamentary position to further his business interests’

‘Blows off’, Daily Record!? Disgraceful!

There, you have just three very recent bad news story headlines about the Scottish Tories, Scotland’s official opposition, neglected by BBC Scotland.  Even if we accept that BBC Scotland has no business damaging the Scottish Tories’ ‘reputation’ with the endless faux pas (pronounce ‘pasz’ for the plural and boy are they plural) and corruption of UK Tories such as Boris Johnson’s flip-flopping over Brexit or playing on his phone as the PM speaks or Amber Rudd’s offshore activities, the Scottish Toryboys have been providing plenty for the ever-Labour-faithful Daily Record to rage at so why are BBC Scotland ignoring these stories? Further and perhaps more important why are BBC Scotland protecting her this way?

Ruth has promised to hold Nicola’s feet to the fire. Leaving aside the likely damage to the latter’s expensive killer heels, did Ruth pick up this metaphor from that scene in her Toryboy chums’ favourite film and book, ‘Tom Brown’s [Private] Schooldays?’

The vivacious GA Ponsonby has already written on this, only last week in Indyref2, saying:

‘She’s the most popular political leader in Scotland – according to the Scottish media that is.  Ruth Davidson can do no wrong.  The Queen of the Unionists is on a high.’

GAP also reminds us of her earlier gaffes such as:

‘Who can forget the ‘line in the sand’ that marked her opposition to any further powers for the Scottish parliament?  Then in 2012 Ruth infamously claimed that only 12% of Scottish households “make a net contribution to the economy”. Perhaps her most widely known gaffe came courtesy of the indyref campaign when Ruth couldn’t resist using the EU card to maximum effect.  Appearing in a TV debate Ruth argued that only by voting No would Scotland ensure its EU membership.  Brexit of course has blown that one back in her face.’

Back in March 2016, the mighty and exclamatoryx4, caltonjock, exposed her gaffe-ridden thinking and spluttering on farm subsidies, writing:

‘In recent months Ruth Davidson and the Tory Party have been actively working, together with the National Farmers Union (NFU) intent on placing blame, with the Scottish government for alleged late payments of financial support entitlement to farmers in Scotland. But, under European Commission rules, the Scottish government is required to make payments between 1 December of the scheme year and 30 June the following year and almost 50% of claims have been settled before the end of March!!!!’

Perhaps the best recent example of their failure to report ruthily has been the neglect of the Scottish Conservative Equalities Spokeswoman, Annie Wells’ call for SNP MP Joanna Cherry to apologise for her tweet ‘Hilariously irreverent satire from brilliant #Witsherface still laughin’ referring to a rap satire calling Ruth Davidson ‘Dykey-D’. It’s important to point out that Cherry is a lesbian herself as are the writers of the satire and the performers in it. I am, of course, of the ‘dykes are drystane wa’s’ generation.

Can I say, with no editor to hold me back, thinking of Ruth on the tank above, does LGBT mean ‘Large Grey Battle Tank?’ Admit it. That was damn clever and funny. Was it sexist? Am I in deep doodoo now? I’d like to apologise to everyone just in case.

The Herald noted unusually wisely:

‘Black Americans use the n-word frequently, almost casually, and have done since the rap group Niggaz With Attitude started up in the 1980s. And it isn’t only used ironically. Watch how Samuel L. Jackson routinely uses the n-word to refer to a murder victim in the film Jackie Brown. It is used in a way that would be considered deeply offensive if uttered by a white man.’

Likewise, I’m a Jock (both a John and a Scot), so I can call you, dear male member of my readership, a Jock and laugh if you tell me a joke about a Jock without fear of the strap (geddit?).

Seriously though, I know, I’ve only recently said that bias by omission is usually impossible to prove but, sometimes, it’s so bloomin’ obvious that we can all agree it’s ‘there’….. or should  that be ‘not there?’ It is a bit strange that BBC Scotland have nothing bad to say about the Tories, these days. You’ll see from my table below we’ve had nothing over the last three days. Did we get anything today?

On Saturday morning, 24^th September 2016, at 06:45am, we hear ‘It is not all doom and gloom, even in Scotland, I have to say.’ OK, that’s nice even though it only came from the weather man. He was predicting 40-60mm at Celtic Park for the game with Kilmarnock. Hopefully, he can manage the same spirit-dampening level for the Old Firm game on 31^st December? Monday to Friday, the news ‘where you people are’ appears just before 06:30 am. It’s 07:00am now and we’ve heard of political events in England and the US but only weather and football in Scotland.  Are we shut? It’s 10am and there is still nothing from BBC Scotland. There will be full ten minutes at 5.30pm but I can’t wait for that. I’ll post a comment after that.

At 5:30 we get two murders and two Labour stories. In one, Kezia Dugdale is caught having a face like she’s witnessed a murder yet she goes on to kind of say Jeremy can win the next election. I know these are not absolutely good news stories for Labour but loyal media attention keeps them in a frame they have surely been slipping out of recently.

See: https://thoughtcontrolscotland.com/2016/09/22/the-power-of-nightmares-waking-up-to-early-morning-bad-news-on-bbc-scotland-and-fearing-the-unknown/ to read my reasons for looking at the early morning broadcasts even when there aren’t any..

 Running Total:

Running total 21 to 24/9/16                     Number of reports

Bad news for SG/SNP                                                            4

Good news for SG/SNP                                                         1

Bad news for Labour                                                              0

Good news for Labour                                                           3

Bad news for CP                                                                      0

Good news for CP                                                                   0

Sources:

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/politics/tory-msp-blows-key-parliament-8901030

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/politics/tory-toff-msp-claimed-eye-8891458

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/moneybags-tory-msp-accused-exploiting-8679718

http://indyref2.scot/protecting-ruth

https://caltonjock.com/2016/03/20/ruth-the-golden-child-davidson-farming-subsidies-liars-and-figures/

http://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/our-region/edinburgh/tories-demand-an-apology-following-ruth-davidson-indy-sketch-1-4234320

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/14751813.Tories_call_for_SNP_MP_apology_in_Ruth_Davidson_rap_song_row/

______________________________________________________

Older stuff:

Previous reports are all at:

https://thoughtcontrolscotland.com/

__________________________________________________

Fund raising:

If you want to reward me beyond the reading or sharing or commenting which I love and which is quite enough, my and Belle’s favourite charity is the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals:

https://www.scottishspca.org/support/donate/?gclid=CNf4uMD5pM8CFUE6Gwod_6EHQg

Belle in 2014 but still going strongish in 2016 despite no MOT (Ssshhh!)

Mind you don’t give to the RSPCA unless you really want to. They allegedly raise money in Scotland but don’t spend any of it here:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/7865965.stm

If you’re a ‘bit strapped’, in a different way from the Toryboys, don’t feel pressed by this.  Government expenditure should be meeting all the costs of a civilised society:

‘Charity is a cold grey loveless thing. If a rich man wants to help the poor, he should pay his taxes gladly, not dole out money at a whim.’  (Clement Atlee, future UK PM in 1920 and the last good PM England and Wales had before the Right Honourable Jeremy Corbyn PM in 2020)