Wise words from Michael Russell in The National today. Wise and brave. As I have oft times discovered, one does not make oneself popular with the general public in Scotland by praising or defending the BBC. Not that I ever find much to praise. But I have constantly defended the BBC in very much the … Continue reading Save the best bits
We are entitled to ask why powers over broadcasting are being withheld from Scotland's democratically elected parliament. The only parliament with democratic legitimacy in Scotland. The only parliament that truly speaks for the people of Scotland. The reason cannot be that having powers over broadcasting held by a parliament furth of Scotland and not elected by the people of Scotland and unqualified to speak for Scotland results in a better service for Scotland. Not only is this jarringly counter-intuitive it is most definitely not borne out by the evidence.
The journalists who scavenge the British political plain - and occasionally prey on the wounded or weakened in the political herd - are no better than their hosts. Indeed, they tend to come from similar backgrounds.
We are being asked to believe that nobody in the production team realised that the laughter and jeering was the most significant part of that video clip.
I'm not sure what is newsworthy about a caller on a BBC programme being abysmally ignorant about and offensively condescending towards Scotland. The broadcasting arm of the British state does precisely what one would expect of it. Barbara from Wiltshire thinks and speaks exactly as one would expect of somebody whose opinions are informed entirely … Continue reading Barbara from Wiltshire says!
The BBC no longer merely promotes the Union, as its charter commands. The BBC has now adopted - or allowed to develop - an editorial stance which actively opposes a lawful democratic campaign for constitutional reform which is supported or condoned by the majority of Scotland's people.
The BBC can never serve Scotland.
Right now, the entire British state is in full defensive mode. Other, perhaps, than in time of war, the British establishment has never been more resistant to change.
BBC Question Time is propaganda. What it presents to the viewing audience is, not a reflection of the way things actually are, but a contrived impression of the way the British establishment thinks things should be.
The political smear story is an example of a lie which usually adds distortion to exaggeration, fabrication and deception in order to mislead the public about the conduct and character of a particular individual.
Peter A Bell 