More than 24 hours since the First Minister had to explain to Andrew Marr the blindingly obvious reason why Scotland had chosen to follow the expert advice of the UK Joint Committee on Vaccines and Immunisation, to prioritise care home residents ahead of all other groups, Severin Carrell is either parroting Douglas Ross or hopelessly behind the curve.
Writing for an at times, leftist newspaper and certainly one in the past, opposed to Tory brutalism, he does not once mention the JCVI advice. Surely a writer for a supposedly intelligent newspaper, favoured by professionals, should have been able to inform his readers of expert opinion from the top, independent, academics in the field.
The real stories here are why did the Conservative Government ignore expert advice and what are the emerging costs in terms of deaths in care homes there?
At he end of the report we see:
Since you’re here …
… we have a small favour to ask. You’ve read 369 articles in the last year. And you’re not alone; millions are flocking to the Guardian for open, independent, quality news every day, and readers in 180 countries around the world now support us financially.
It would have to be whole lot better Severin.
Falling into line with the other liars in the M.S.M. Does anyone in Scotland read the Guardian?
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I do Alex – I try to dip in to a range of news sites and find some of the Guardian stuff good. Severin Carroell rarely has anything good to say about Scotland but I sense there are some more positive signs slowly appearing though still with a very anglocentric base. For example Martin Kettle had a good piece yesterday and the comments were a lot more positive too.
I refuse to subscribe though until they bring in more balance re scotland. In a recent survey they did I pointed out that their UK sub sections included Scotland, Wales & N Ireland but not England which was a dreadful decision but I think they’ve ditched the subsections now
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Like Brogg I regularly reprise the Guardian online but refuse to subscribe due to their stance on issues Scottish.
For those who haven’t looked at their reporting, it is a fascinating insight into anglocentric London politics.
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Sorry, but I have to disagree with some of your conclusions. Martin Kettle’s article was generally good, but also deeply flawed in places. The guff about BoJo somehow forcing Scotgov into “triggering an illegal referendum” being the standout piece of ridiculousness. How can you agree with any conclusions if that is part of the train of thought?
It was your usual casually Anglocentric for Anglocentric eyes stuff the Guardian always does. The BTL comments were peppered with the usual tropes: GERS; subsidy junkies; Spanish or other EU veto; you’ve had/were allowed your referendum and the like.
Plenty of No to Yes comments, which is always encouraging. The article itself though was a “could do better”.
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Drew Anderson writes: ” The guff about BoJo somehow forcing Scotgov into “triggering an illegal referendum” ..” Guff?
For information, I listened to BBC Radio 4’s ‘Week in Westminster’ on Saturday a couple of weeks ago. One of the journalists on the panel was Christopher Hope, chief political correspondent of The Telegraph. Someone I suspect may have a good sense of Tory thinking.
He was asked if Boris Johnson will have to agree to a Section 30 request when the SNP wins a mandate for an IndyRef2 at next year’s Holyrood election. His answer was clear: ‘no he won’t’!
Hope suggested that the Johnson plan will be, through a game of brinkmanship, to try to force the FM’s hand in a way that leads to a Catalonia- type situation in Scotland.
Now we can insist that Scotland is NOT Catalonia but regardless of our view, will this prove to be Westminster’s plan? The Unionists may see this as a way to turn international, including EU opinion against Scotland at a critical time.
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I do, fairly regularly, as I like George Monbiot, John Crace, the odd article by Fintan O’Toole etc. I ignore their pleas to contribute as I’ve read x thousand articles in the past 6 months as I find any Scottish content irrelevant – and that’s when it actually is about Scotland rather than just being labelled as such, like when Scotland is mentioned in a ‘countryside’ piece.
I dont know who Severin and his friends speak to in Scotland but they do not speak for anyone I know. Comments are very seldom allowed and, when they are, can be shut down suddenly if there are too many disagreeing with what the article says.
They just are not prepared to listen to Scotland.
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If I were Severin,sCarrell,s Tutor
I would indeed be lamenting the banning of the cane
Silly Silly boy
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This is another another example of coordination of news themes by theBritish Nationalist media. The BBC Scotland phone-in is dealing with ….. “is Scotland falling behind on vaccination?” This has been running for about a week and is another example of the selective use of data out of context.
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The “media”.
It’s like watching squaddies shuffling to get perfectly lined up for inspection. They then shout the same response answer at exactly the same time to an order ( a form of conditioning necessary in their role)
You have to admire the display of loyalty, co-ordination, uniformity and effort…the same goes for the squaddies of course.
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Alas, Mr Carell has never been very “Scotland friendly”.
I always think of him thus:—
“Severin, Severin, speak so slightly,
Severin, down on your bended knee.
Taste the whip, in love not given lightly,
Taste the whip, now bleed for me.
Ermine furs adorn the imperious,
Severin, Severin awaits you there”!
The Velvet Underground..
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If you have an Edinburgh Libraries membership you can read most of these papers at no cost through EL membership of press reader. You can also get balance by accessing the Irish Times, China Daily or a host of other international newspapers. No pay walls and more information than any mortal would have time to read. Apply on line to join. You don’t need to be a resident of Edinburgh.
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Useful information, thanks a lot, Pentlander.
I get ebooks from Edinburgh Libraries which have been a great boon during lockdown but will certainly look into signing up for newspapers.
I have been blocked a few times by the Irish Times paywall.
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Pentlander – Press App is fantastic, I’ve already found an article by Fintan O’Toole in the Irish Times and one on the difficulties of French truck drivers post-Brexit in Liberation! Thanks again.
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People are getting vaccinated. Scotland has more elderly as a percentage (pro rata). Doctor/healthcare workers have been vaccinated.
The Guardian 16,000 readership will not be impressed. Losing more readership. JP sold. The Telegraph up for sale. Barclay brother died.
The difficulty with supply is because the EU financed the production. £3Billion. They want the supplies honoured. Westminster are now out of the loop. Brexit. Total incompetence. The Tories are a total disgrace. Along with the ‘journalists’ causing trouble. Trying to stir it.
The show trial Inquiry is a waste of time and money. No one cares. Or did anything wrong. The police did not want the charges brought. Nor did the women. The authorities were told it would not stand up in Court. Lesley Evans and the Lord Advocate wasting £Million of public money.
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Any pay wall. Just google or whatever it. Regurgitated ‘news’.
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Just another English publication who are no different to the Torygraf when it comes to Scotland.
Scotland bad,UK good.
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I stopped taking the Guardian several years ago, tired of its general ignorance about Scotland, exemplified all too often by S. Carrell. A highly inventive anecdote about a livestock sale in Dingwall, peopled with lazy stereotypes and featuring pigs (even though pigs were not actually on sale on the alleged date) was the final straw. His view is very much that of a prejudiced outsider looking in through tainted lenses.
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I still have the (withdrawn on UK orders) anticipated vaccine supply chart. It appears we have used as much as we can get.
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As has been commented above, this is all highly orchestrated.
There is no possible way these intelligent people can ignore the obvious other than by instruction or coercion.
However, we must remember that the vast majority of Marr’s viewers and Carrell’s readers are in England, where a predisposition to big bad SNP/SG/Scots persists following years of active promotion.
The shock and awe approach of all media singing from the same hymn sheet explains the distorted views from England, they are victims of every compass direction except London.
Few Scots bought into this, and now with health and lives on the line, all this wall of distortion is accomplishing north of the border is increased resentment toward the London circus and it’s propaganda outfit at Pacific Quay.
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The Guardian until recently gave the number of new cases of Covid 19 for each of the four nations of the U.K. It seems latterly to have fallen into line in giving one total for the U.K.
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So much for guardian being a left THINKIN paper
Sent from my iPad
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