[This is the headline over a feature just published on the Newsnet Scotland website. It reads as follows:]
An antidote to BBC Scotland's carnival of ignorance
It’s taken on the form of a regular parade on the airwaves of BBC Scotland, a bandwagon hitched to ignorance and manned by misrepresentation is once again being whipped up to high speed.
Mr al-Megrahi, the man whose conviction is now considered so unsafe by so many people that a (posthumous?) pardon now surely beckons, has refused to die on schedule. His appearance, frail and gaunt, sitting in a wheelchair at a rally in Tripoli was seized on by Pacific Quay who have spent the last few days questioning the decision to release him.
On Friday the state broadcaster ran yet another phone in with Shereen Nanjiani in the chair as the usual half-truths, misinformation and ignorance were broadcast to a bewildered nation. Labour’s Iain Gray was invited on to provide the same nauseating politicised commentary that has so infected the debate since the decision was taken to release Mr al-Megrahi on compassionate grounds. Gray's party’s role in oil deals, secret negotiations with Libyans and arms sales to Gaddafi an apparent irrelevant detail.
Only in Scotland would the ‘national’ broadcaster and opposition amplify and promulgate with relish any and all accusations against the nation's medical profession, government and centuries old law. The Lockerbie bombing has been used, abused and spat out by these politically motivated ghouls, who parade faux outrage as the real victims are forgotten.
Newsnet Scotland has chronicled the excesses of the Scottish media on this issue, mainly BBC Scotland, and few of their presenters, with the exception of Revel Alderson, emerge with any credit. For almost £150 per year per licence we expect more than poorly informed tabloid style sensationalism - we expect journalism of the highest quality and we are being let down.
The one aspect of the whole affair that has been all but ignored by what’s left of the Scottish media is the soundness of Megrahi’s conviction. So, rather than waste time on what’s left of the BBC in Scotland, Newsnet Scotland invites you to instead form your own judgement on the conviction of Mr Abdel Basset al-Megrahi by watching a documentary that sought to investigate some of the key evidence presented at his trial.
Lockerbie: The Pan Am bomber?
Having watched Al-Jazeera's thought-provoking documentary, you may care to read my article Lockerbie: J'accuse....Eeben Barlow.
ReplyDeleteThis is the same Newsnet Scotland who previously ran a series of articles entitled "Megrahi, the Media and the Myths" which completely ignored the SCCRC report and the second appeal which was delayed for more than two years. And whose "on-line Ed" did not take kindly when reminded that Mr Salmond and Mr MacAskill were not helping by, repeatedly, publicly insisting the original verdict was sound. They don't like the BBC of course but it would have been nice, and honest, of them had they mentioned in this latest piece that along with the BBC Mr Salmond and Mr MacAskill are also leading all of us away from the truth. But then on Newsnet Scotland they don't like anyone saying anything bad about the SNP as I learned to my cost at the time for stating certain facts. I had also said quite clearly that I was an admirer of Salmond and had voted for him and that I personally felt shocked that he had not used his considerable talents to sweep aside the lies we have heard about Lockerbie for many years now and go after the truth, not just to get justice for Megrahi, but for all of Scotland. This latest piece by them omits, once again, the roles played by Salmond and MacAskill in continuing the original deception started by those bad "Unionists".
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ReplyDeleteI should have said also that Newsnet Scotland's "Megrahi, the Media and the Myths" wasn't actually concerned with the many questions on Lockerbie. It was just about defending the SNP for choosing to release him on compassionate grounds.
ReplyDeleteAs for the nitty gritty, they didn't want to know! And they especially didn't want to know anyone who remotely intended to suggest Salmond and his SNP could have changed everything by telling the political and judicial establishments to go to hell because the truth about Lockerbie was more important.
http://newsnetscotland.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=381:megrahi-the-media-and-the-myths-part-2-outrage-at-the-bbc&catid=4:speakers&Itemid=3#comments
Do read the comments. In those days I posted as Clare (my middle name). Do read the responses of the "on-line ed" to any suggestion that the SNP were remotely responsible for the absolute balls up of the Megrahi release. But, as I said earlier, if you remotely criticise Salmond or the SNP on the Newsnet Scotland site, you are toast.
I hope this will explain to readers of Robert's blog why I am sceptical of this post he has posted from NNS today. But then obviously the post today includes no links to Salmond's role in any of it. Figures. It criticises BBC Scotland but conveniently overlooks Salmond's role in all of this. Salmond was First Minister when the SCCRC announced its findings on Megrahi's original trial. (June 2007) What did he do? What did his Justice Minister do? NOTHING! Well, apart from saying the original verdict was sound and that was more than two years later!!
When NNS challenges Salmond to go all out for the truth about Lockerbie THEN I will be impressed.
PS there were two other threads on "Megrahi,the Media and the Myths" on Newsnet Scotland. I only saved one. You'll need to hunt for the other two. I believe one includes a comment from a rabid Nationalist that "The appeal is irrelevant!"
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