BBC Brownose

I was inspired to make this post by tory(ish) blogger Wrinkled Weasel's World who has performed an excellent public service by posting in full the text of Tory MEP Daniel Hannan's demolition of our beloved Prime Minister earlier this week in the European Parliament. Go visit the wrinkled one's blog for the text, play this youtube clip above to view it

But the thing I really wanted to highlight, is not so much the speech - which is great, a classic - but the total failure of the BBC to report it, in contrast to the other networks and papers, most of whom gave it well deserved big licks. It even made some US networks - but not the BBC

The BEEB really has become more New Labour than New Labour - craven, sycophantic and completely without independent judgement. "Don't upset the Government, Gordy in particular" would be the honest thing to write down as rule number 1 of its famous Producer Guidelines these days. Soon auntie will be doctoring Raith Rovers results to ensure, in the beloved leader's mind, his team always wins.

And having just read the wrinkled one's post , I turn on BBC 1 to find it has sent its Political Editor Nick Robinson, and no doubt a large crew of lovies (and maybe Tony McNulty's parents too) all the way to Brazil to report on a non event of a visit there by GB. This from the same BBC that passed on freely available, electric, topical and truly engaging footage of Danny Hannan, with Gordy and the rest of Europe watching in Strasbourg only a few days earlier.

Yet this shower of pampered, inefficient and overpaid cheerleaders have the brass neck to claim they are short of money!

I can't wait for the BEEB's "Gordy is our Obama" stuff when the G20 comes to town next week. All conveniently ignoring that the last place Obama wanted his first big international outing to be was Brown's (in near every way) bankrupt Britain.

"Where's Cuba?", I bet Barack will be thinking - "a country with a future and a youthful leader!" And a freer national broadcaster? - no, that's pushing it. But we are getting there.

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The Dream is Over?

There is a blog, "Scot goes Pop", that today tells us - one opinion poll, and "the dream is over" - forever. I am now being told the blogger is a nat and being sarcastic. But no doubt Angus McLeod in The Times, Magnus Gardham in The Record and co will soon be wtiting something similar for real.

I'd agree with Scot Goes Pop seriously in only one sense - between now and the next Scottish elections in 2011 is not a good time to hold a referendum. The essential idea, that a mega recession, is a time to pull together not divide the country with an inevitably divisive independence referendum is a sound one. And, from an SNP/pro- Independence perspective, sound tactically too, as we'd near inevitably end up as the smaller half, way smaller half in present circumstances. Defeated, in Eck's words, "the issue settled for a generation" But forever? Mince.

But without a referendum now ( and arithmetically it seems for now undeliverable), I'd say until 2014, co-incidentally Bannockburn 700 !

Why then? - mid way through the SNPs 2nd term I'd hope, when the SNP in Government had well and truly proven itself - and I'd also hope a genuinely autonomous and large non SNP Independence "movement" had emerged; And the recession would either be by then on the mend or so fundamental that we provably needed radical change - independence, and a social and economic revolution with it.

And perhaps even more significantly still - especially if the SNP had had the strategic foresight to not just suspend it demand for a referendum in 2011, but be seen to do this, it would be regarded by more and more as as a truly "national" party: One that had worked with others to fight and hopefully defeat the worst aspects of recession that threatened the people of Scotland.

I do think there is such a thing as reward in politics.

Scotland's day will come - if less rapidly than the SNP's unthinking ( and tiny) card carrying fan base might continue to dream.

But.... A second SNP term , a defeated near bankrupt Labour party with its job seekers base realising the game's up; a Tory party interested in consolidating its English base, its own second term, an Obama administration sorting out the world's hot spots including delivering a independent Palestine; some sort of united Ireland moving ever closer; Today's 14 year olds 18: The Scottish working class.

Our day is coming.

Dead forever? - You will never kill us - unionists surely you should have learned that centuries ago?

And, Tavish - ta!!

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Watch Now Before the BBC and M15 take it down again

This film ( in six YouTube sections) speaks for itself. But why only on YouTube?. Inexplicably this film, made for the BBC Alba Gaelic language channel is not available on BBC i-player. Well it was very briefly, before being inexplicably removed.

Big cheers for Chicmac1 posting it on his YouTube account, but how long before the dark forces behind its prompt removal from BBC i-player, are flooding YouTube with "copyright infingement" complaints. So watch now, not later - take notes!

My one additional comment is really adressed to what I would call naive, rather than misguideed nats - near all in the SNP, and some surprisingly senior. If the British state was up to this in the 1960s and 7os, where you were but a distant threat, what do you imagine they are up to right now? So be vigilant, be astute, hard where necessary - a smilling face and a few grand of ever so helpful donations to party funds, etc, might not be all they seem. Or just read what the British state got up to in Ireland pre and post independence, or what it did in near every other country in the former empire.

But wee Eck seriously thinks by pledging allegience to Lizzy - the epitome of this corrupt secret establishment - all this can be avoided here?

And well done the Gaels - a real public sevice we have waited for 50 years to see on BBC1 or 2. And you - the last of the free - did it within three months of BBC Alba's Launch. A true public service - worth every penny of public funds. Now just let the public see it BBC!

And nae wonder they won't let The Parliament of Scotland have control of our ain broadcasting systems.

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Bonnie Dundee!

I don't usually pay much attention to council by-elections - often local factors, specifically the circumstances of the previous councillor's departure - makes a huge difference.

But Dundee Mayfield - won by the SNP from Labour on Thursday - was a really significant by-election - upon it lay the balance of power in one of Scotland's main cities. It was fought fiercely by both sides and the SNP won by a mile.

In a way it was more signifcant than the Glasgow East or Glenrothes ( if you belive that result) Westminster by-elections, because something was at stake - control of a major council.

The Scottish media's near non-reporting of this takes the biscuit. First of all - if it ain't in Edinburgh or Glasgow (or somewhere in between) it dont really count. But more importantly still, because the SNP won, it is ignored, dismissed as a larely meaningless local joust at news editor level. But rest assured, had Labour held the seat, Angus McLeod, Magnus Linklater and co would have had a (London ) "Times" editorial proclaiming the "death of nationalism", and whoever is in charge of The Herald and The Scotsman these day ( difficult to keep up) would be right now chasing Muriel Gray to pen some pish on where its all gone wrong for the SNP. And the Daily Record would go one better - a feature item by Wee Douglie, Jimbo Murphy or even the PM himself - ghost wrtten by Magnus Gardham.

The Scottish Media, with a few honourable exceptions ( Bernard, Robbie, McWhirter, Riddoch, Bell, Cambell Gunn and the immaculate Dorothy-Grace, to name sadly a short few ) really is crap. A national embarassment almost. Toom Tabbards tae almost a man and woman

But not good enough to pull the wool over the eyes the folks 'o Bonnie Dundee - up wi them bonnets

Result (after Single Transferable vote Tranfers)

Craig Melville ( SNP) 1747
George McIrvine (Lab) 1188

Turnout 29.4%

And in a city Scottish Labour - Brown, Prescott, Harman, Murphy, Gray, et al) had held their annual conference in only 4 days previoiusly. And all the media were ther, knew fine well about this key by-election. In his speech Prezza made a special appeal for comrades from all over Scotland to give a day for Dundee to save the city from nationalism!

Save our country from neo-Stalinism, I say. Beria would give these Scots newspapers a medal.

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