stewartb
The Scotland section of the BBC News website has from time to time provided ‘good news’ stories about local initiatives in rural Scotland. You know the kind of projects – the ones that have received Levelling Up funding from the Westminster government.
As an example, back in 25 October 2023, the BBC News website made much of a local project under the headline ‘Proposals for new Moray bridge take a step forward’. This was about repairing the Cloddach Bridge in the constituency of Douglas Ross MP/MSP. The BBC told us : ‘Mr Ross said in March he had directly lobbied the chancellor ahead of the Budget to see if the UK government could provide funding assistance.
‘Even the role of the Chancellor was profiled: ‘Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced £320m for public spending in Scotland in the next financial year, including for the bridge subject to a business case being developed for the repairs, to the “delight” of Mr Ross.’
So lots of information and emphasis on attribution here regarding the source of enabling funds.
There is a positive local news story from rural Scotland covered in the BBC News website today (20 April) under the headline: ‘Old school overhaul gives village new buzz’. From Thornhill in Dumfries & Galloway we learn: ‘A former school in southern Scotland is reopening its doors after a multi-million pound transformation.’ – the Old School Thornhill (OST)
The BBC informs readers that: ‘Funding was secured from a range of groups to buy it from Buccleuch Estates and also to redevelop it.’ (my emphasis)
Who I wondered does the BBC omit to mention when its journalist writes: ‘Funding was secured from a range of groups’? We can find out from https://www.oldschoolthornhill.com
‘“In 2017 we came together with an idea to buy and transform our ‘Old School’ into an innovative, design-led, community asset – a space that would foster creative collaboration and benefit our village and the surrounding communities. We had an enthusiastic response and it’s been exciting to see that initial idea grow and develop into a strong business model through our consultation.” £2.5 million has been raised for the project.
November 2017: the Scottish Government’s Scottish Land Fund awarded The Thornhill Collective £20,000 to support work to complete its Business Plan, Feasibility Study, Building Condition Survey and initial Architectural Drawings.
Additional funding was also awarded by the Architectural Heritage Fund (£5,000) and Thornhill Community Council (£2,000). AHF grants are made possible by funding from the public body Historic Environment Scotland and the William Grant Foundation
September 2018 – over £144,000 awarded again by The Scottish Land Fund to buy OST and fund initial revenue costs.
2020 / 2021: awarded £1.1 million from the Regeneration Capital Grant Fund (RCGF) via Dumfries and Galloway Council. RCGF is a Scottish Government grants programme delivered in partnership with COSLA and local government. The Fund supports locally developed place based regeneration projects that involve local communities, helping to tackle inequalities and deliver inclusive growth in deprived, disadvantaged and fragile remote communities across Scotland.
2022 / 2023 – Awarded £400,000 from South of Scotland Enterprise (SoSE). SoSE is funded by the Scottish Government.
To recap, how did the BBC Scotland journalist report the enabling funding in this ‘good news’ story from Dumfries & Galloway ‘‘Funding was secured from a range of groups’!
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
“POLICE have confirmed a 20-year-old man has been arrested and charged after footage on social media appeared to show a car driving towards a Scottish Independence march in Glasgow”……via The National newspaper.
Yet upon checking today I see that the BBC, via their website, fails to note this as an incident worthy of including in the ‘news where we are’ in Scotland….but they do have an excessive amount of stories relating to the supposed woes of both the SNP and Peter Murrell ….that includes 9 stories on their Scotland page and 5 stories on their Scotland Politics page .
Oh but they did have room for a positive story as they had a story on Labour’s Douglas Alexander’s ‘hopes’ for a comeback in Scotland as an MP in the next GE (on both their Scotland page & Scotland’s politics pages…and too as the top story on Edinburgh East & Fife page)……oh but then they also had #Ferrybad stories too which included one on their Scotland page, one on their Scotland Politics page and two stories in their Glasgow & West page…..that is #FerriesBad stories remember……
Re the incident in Glasgow yesterday this is not just ‘Hiding’ news it is completely ignoring news that one would have thought was significant enough, as news, for them to at least mention it considering it involved someone being arrested and charged for this serious incident …….but remember it’s not all doom and gloom as the BBC did have room on their website to include a positive story for one Douglas Alexander of the Labour party who hopes to make a comeback in Scotland….part of that hope and reliance is based upon media like the BBC doing various puff pieces in promoting him and also others from the Labour party in Scotland while they, the BBC, continue their onslaught of negativity against the SNP ….so a win win for Labour….or rather the BBC (and other media) hope that will indeed be the case. (as apparently every little (excessive) bit helps they, the BBC, think and hope…..and they are , as we have witnessed, if nothing else, most tenacious on this)……
NMRN
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Lo and behold….NOW…it has appeared as a story on the BBC website…….a very very brief story though with no speculation or inference as to why he would do it…..
NMRN
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BTW the STV News website notes that “the car appears to travel at speed towards them (marchers) from West Campbell Street”.
The BBC website stated …”the car appeared to be driven towards people on a Scottish independence march in Glasgow”…….
The “speed” part does make it seem intentional to try and cause harm, thus as a factor , it was quite a crucial point to include in this story….to omit it as a point diminishes the intention of the driver……does it not…..thus the BBC are once again “Hiding” by ignoring something in a story that they kinda covered but airbrushed/edited a significant factor of that story to downplay the incident …..as they wrote briefly upon this story in their website……which, as a story, did not include their usual speculations as to intentions of the driver….as speculation is apparently reserved only for #SNPBAD stories it appears…..and too comments from opposition parties on how bad they, the SNP, are…….
NMRN
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Look on the bright side – by only now reporting the car incident they have had to mention the March and in the process made themselves look stupid & incompetent journalists for not reporting on it yesterday when it took place.
It also alerts viewers/readers to the omissions perpretated by the media in Scotland.
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@ Legerwood @ 12.21
Exactly….I bet that hurt….as in mentioning where the incident happened….as normally, as an event, an independence march tis something usually ignored by them as a TOP story (or even as a story) as, tis as an event, deemed by them as insignificant to note or give much attention to……as it dispels the myth they (and others) promote that support for independence is declining….
NMRN
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I’m just surprised they failed to make a link to Nicola Sturgeon and her recent driving test pass or per chance Peter Murrell speeding away to avoid the Press.
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So appropriate that James Robertson after the Glasgow march recited his “The news where you are….”
What makes the news on BBC Scotland is beyond mere arrogance now, they truly believe they can dictate the news everywhere on matters Scotland because they dominate the news pool – eg The Daily Wrecker breaking the crowd/car story is the only reason PQ were forced to mention it, otherwise there’d not be a cheep…
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So the building was purchased from Buccleuch Estates – owned by the 10th Duke of Buccleuch’s offshore ownership group Pentland Ltd, and based in the Cayman Islands?
Looks like £2.5million of Scottish taxpayers’ money has been ferreted away in a tax haven. Some things never change…
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Yep, complete with other substantial tax breaks from his vast rentier portfolio such as CGT, etc, etc…
Having known the building as Wallace Hall, I looked it up on Wikipedia and found it to have originally been called Morton Academy, adopting the Wallace Hall moniker in the 1970s as you can read here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wallace_Hall_(Thornhill).
What is not so clear is where Buccleuch comes into it, but likely he (of the time) retained title to the land – Essentially the modern Pentland Ltd and Duke of Buccleuch did sod all for a grade C listed building, essentially leaving it derelict since a new building at ca 1.2M (doubtless on land also owned by Buccleuch and bought from him) in the late 2000s…
Yet his investment vehicle still creamed 2.5M “of Scottish taxpayers’ money” to acquire a decade later – It really makes you boak that they’re still getting away with it…
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Westminster decides how £50Billion of Scottish monies is spent. Then claims Scotland is in debt.
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Tax evasion, illegal wars, redundant weaponry, Trident, Brexit, Covid, lack of investment, oil & Gas revenues, decommissioning nuclear. No growth.
£Billions of Scottish money wasted by Westminster poor, bad decisions.
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O/T, I thought I would just throw this into the mix,Tories eh needs to be looked into.
Tories received legal advice that Mark Menzies’s alleged misuse of campaign funds amounted to fraud but decided they weren’t obliged to tell the police because it was donors’ rather than party money, whistleblower claims.
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O/T
Rishi Sunak stated yesterday that the police reaction was “appalling” to Mr Gideon Falter the ‘Chief Executive of the Campaign against anti Semitism’ who decided to be present at what was a Pro Palestine march in London..
Now I have seen the SKY News video, and Mr Falter, wearing a Kippah on his head and thus he was one who clearly wanted to be identified as a Jewish person, was telling the police officer that he wished to “cross the road” in between the people marching……not that wanted to be identified as Jewish was the actual problem during this march but his behaviour was clearly that of one hoping to cause a problem with the marchers…..and TBH the Police also.
Apparently the account that Mr Falter reported was a totally different account from the version (account) that was shown in the video footage by SKY News which they have now released, yet it was Mr Falter’s account that Rishi Sunak immediately accepted as the truthful version…..hence him, Sunak, stating he was “appalled at the Police Language”…..but somehow he had no problem with a prominent campaigner for anti Semitism being at a Pro Palestinian march and trying to force his way past a police officer (barging into police officer) to get into the march…..surely not the best choice or place for one who was obviously against against those marching in what they were marching for….as in supporting Palestine and opposing their treatment via Israel.
Mr Falter tried at various times to push past the Police officer to get among the marchers, when it was clear that in wearing a Kippah he was promoting the fact that he was Jewish, and based on what has now been exposed via the video, he obviously assumed that he could perhaps instigate a negative reaction, from some of the marchers (based on his antagonistic behaviour and his somewhat dismissive demeanour towards the Police as per the video now released by SKY News) which would then undermine the march and I think he hoped would then result in negative publicity for the march and the marchers too which would then give him victim status as a Jewish person he so obviously sought ….a victim…..which he is now choosing to portray himself as……and that is being endorsed as such by the Tory PM and some of his Tory colleagues.
He was clearly being provocative in being there……as we on here have often seen when we have independence marches as there is always a certain individual and his sorry gang who also attend …..in what is them clearly trying to antagonise those on the march….also known as provocation.
The Police offered to take Mr Falter to a crossing point to get to the other side of the road , he was not having it and thus declined this offer, and they were very patient with him and concerned that he should be “safe” and considering how belligerent he was being they had to advise him that he was in fact now causing a breach of the peace….but he was not arrested…..and the Police also advised him that they had already been seen him “deliberately leave the pavement” and go into the march and “walk against the march” and now he was telling the Police that he was wanting to now ‘cross over to the other side of the road”……..aye right…..troublemaker that was what he wanted to be…..and the Police quite rightly were stopping him from causing trouble…as is their JOB !
This incident stinks of a deliberate provocative act that he, Falter, had orchestrated to try and generate a problem/trouble….yet he, Mr Falter, now has the audacity to call for, as in demand, there should be resignations from the Police Met Chief…….and today Rishi Sunak has now said that “the Police Met Chief still needs to work to rebuild the trust of the Jewish community”……..and other Tories are wading in on their support for Mr Falter and their criticism of the Police on this incident…..however the public can both see and hear, via the SKY News video, who it is that should really be criticised and who it is that should be apologised to…and it is NOT who Rishi and other Tories have identified as the real victim and real culprits……tis the opposite.
Imagine if the scenario were reversed….as in it had been a Pro Israel march and a prominent Palestinian individual was acting in the same way towards the Police and marchers as Mr Falter did…..Rishi and his Tory colleagues would be praising the Police and condemning the Palestinian individual…..as would the newspapers…..this is what happens when a political party is compromised by donations to their party and organisations such as the ‘Conservative Friends of Israel’…..it stops truth and honesty being spoken and instead they side with those whose money they need for their party in them spinning reality in any situation to favour those from and supportive of Israel……Alas for Gideon Falter & the Tories…the camera, via SKY News, has exposed what really occurred….and tis far removed from what Mr Falter reported and too what Sunak has chosen to prefer as truthful version aka Mr Falter’s version…… as Gideon Falter’s version of (un)truth via this incident that he himself created for his own hoped for opportunity to try and gain negative press and decreasing support for Palestine….while increasing support and positive media for Israel.
Cheaters and Liars often have a visit by Karma….and that has what has happened here via this incident….
NMRN
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OMG is there no comment I make on here that has no bloody errors…LOL
(Rhetorical Q no response reqd…LOL)
Second paragraph
*not that wanted to be identified as Jewish was the actual problem
not that wanting to be identified or seen as Jewish was ‘the or an’ actual problem
Third paragraph
* for one who was obviously against against those marching
for one who was obviously against those marching
If there are other errors …well what can I say….serves me right for writing way too long comments….and assuming anyone actually read them…that’s also….LOL)
NMRN
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