Not in the News - Referendum Special

Normally on our Not in the News segments, we poke fun at the main stream media (and in particular the British state broadcaster) for examples of bias and mis-information. That would have been tricky this week, as nearly everything the BBC, Sky News and the newspapers have done falls into this category, so instead we're going to offer our favourite moments from the referendum campaign.

  

Here is the Yes Scotland campaign from our perspective.

  

Favourite image

Our favourite image had to come from Bella Caledonia's poster competition. Our pick was one of the 20 finalists and we feel it summed up Independence perfectly. Vote YES and the Scottish butterfly can catch up with all our friends:

Other images include 'Scotland's future in Scotland's hands' by Yes Scotland, '142 countries have chosen independence' by Indy Poster Boy and 'Love Scotland, Be Yourself, Vote Yes', by Brave Many.

 

  
Favourite photo we've taken

This one was really tough because we have meet so many wonderful people and seen such fantastic sights beyond anything we were expecting. But we had to pick 1 and we decided that this image of Sign for Scotland with Mark Coburn, Indy Cyclist, was our favourite. Mark has done a great job not just for Yes Scotland, but also for Maryhill Foodbank and he's definitely one of our heroes:

  

 

Other images include at the 2013 Independence March and Rally, at the Scrap Trident Rally in Glasgow and wee Mo meeting Yes Scotland board member Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh:

 

  
Favourite photo we've seen

The British state broadcaster has been at the heart of the no campaign and our favourite photo from online comes from one of the BBC bias demonstrations. This has become even more poignant following the outburst by senior BBC political correspondent Nick Robinson.

 

 

  

Other images include Kirsty from Yes Scotland, the Radical Independence take-over of Glasgow and the Yes Scotland message to our friends from across the EU.

 

 

Favourite video

We've seen so many great videos during this campaign, but for us at Sign for Scotland, we find ourselves returning to this rendition of our national anthem by the ladies of 'Signed Songs R Us'.

  

  

Other videos include messages from Pink Indy Lassies, 'The morning after' by Lady Alba and the Independence Live broadcast of Veterans for Independence (which featured a live BSL signer).

 

Pink Indy Lassies give their reasons for an independent Scotland
  

Indy Live - Veterans for Independence [with BSL signer]

 
Favourite blog post

Now this will be tricky! There have been so many great features that we have read during the campaign and so many more that we haven't that this is going to be just a very incomplete list, but the one that made the strongest connection with the Sign for Scotland team came from Wee Ginger Dug; 'Proud like a Yes swan'.

  

Other memorable reads include 'The McCrone Legacy' by Dale Ross on Wings over Scotland

'An Open Letter To My Friends In Labour' by James Forrest

'Britain at War - The Never Ending Story' from Scrap Trident

And Derek Batemans fantastic slapdown of the Editor of the Scotsman in 'To the Editor'

 
Favourite resource

There are lots to choose from the Yes side of the campaign and because of that we've going to stick to the most prominent (although a special mention for Peter Bell's Referendum 2014 has to be made as he has been a great friend to Sign for Scotland and his comments to stories are always thought-provoking and based on reason).

  

The number 1 resource has to be the Wee Blue Book. Get it, share it, download it, send it to everyone you know and send it to everyone you don't know. The more people who read it, the more who will vote Yes.

  

The Scottish Government's White Paper on Independence (the summary of which can be viewed in multiple languages, including BSL), Business for Scotland, and Newsnet Scotland are all well deserving of praise.

 

  

Friends we've lost

I'm certain that everyone will know someone they have lost who would have wanted to see an independent Scotland, so this space is for them. RIP Margo MacDonald.

 

 

Friends we've gained

We've seen so many people campaigning for a better Scotland and we consider each of them a friend. So many thanks to Labour for Independence, Women for Independence, Scots Asians for Yes, the different political parties who back a Yes vote, Scottish CND, the Sunday Herald, Blair Jenkins, Dennis Canavan and everyone else at Yes Scotland.

  

 
Shameless plug

And finally, here are our 3 most popular videos from the campaign: I'm voting Yes, Reasons for Independence and Journey to Yes.

 

 

All that is left to say is 'thank you' to the 1,700+ people who have given us a 'like' on Facebook, the 2,000+ people who follow us on Twitter, those who contributed to our blog reaching over 70,000 hits and those who have added to the 5,000+ views we've had on our YouTube channel.

  

We are so close to regaining the powers we need to make a better Scotland. A more representative democracy, an end to paying for Westminster's waste and folly, a more peaceful foreign policy, a constitution written by us which will guarantee our rights, a cleaner environment, a more competitive economy and the breakup of media monopolies is the prize on offer. Let's take it with both hands and Vote YES!

Drew (and everyone else at Sign for Scotland HQ)

Not in the News - 6th of September Edition

Welcome to another edition of our weekly series looking back at the stories which the main stream media in Scotland didn't offer much attention to, and comparing them to those that hit the front pages. Our last edition can be found here.

  

Do you hate your children? You must be a Yes voter!

The No campaign, which had previously claimed that "the key factor (in determining how to vote) is the love of our families", made what is quite possibily the most ridiculous campaign poster since Mayor Quimby's disasterous "he'd vote for you" promise. "We love our kids. We're voting no thanks" (the obvious conclusion being that everyone voting Yes does hate their kids, even the ones who don't have kids!).

 

 

#Hamatime, #PatronisingBTLady and now #ilovemyfamily. The No campaign has been nothing but entertaining (really, they have been nothing!). We can confirm that this trend will continue, as we have seen a preview of their next poster campaign:

 

 

Taking it to the Max

Max Keiser, star of the internationally renowed Keiser Report and On the Edge, has previously stated his support for Scottish Independence. He confirmed that again with his website adding the following post: "YES! An independent Scotland would have the highest GDP per capita in the world. A 'No' vote is asinine".

 

 

No wonder he and his partner Stacy Herbert are considered the most dangerous people to the establishment in the financial media. Well done Max and keep up the great work you do!

 

Checking your purse before they check your pulse

The UK Government confirmed that the EU-US Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (also known as TTIP) will affect the NHS. The details can be found in these articles by Unite the union and International Business Times.

 

  

Independent EU nations have the right to safeguard their health services if there is an existing state monopoly (i.e. if privatisation is not already taking place). Scotland can only have this protection if we vote Yes on the 18th.

  

The Pot and the Singing Kettle

Yes supporters in Scotland were buoyed by the latest figures from polling agency YouGov. Whether or not you believe the initial figures isn't very important (or even the notion of polling altogether) the evidence that the movement is towards independence is very encouraging.

  

And we know this is important because the BBC (that bastian of impartiality [sarcasm]) considered the massive jump in support for Yes as being less news worthy than the music group the singing kettle announcing that they will stop touring in 2015. Maybe they could have squeezed them both in by dropping the 'New Paranormal Festival for Scotland' story...nah [sarcasm, extreme sarcasm].

 

The reason why this is important is because belief regarding how most other people will be voting is a consideration made by a very large proportion of the electorate at every election. If our fellow Scots believe that Yes can win, then this will translate into more votes. It shouldn't be this way (and with independence we will gain a representative parliament where every vote carries the same value - unlike Westminster) but it is a reality we should recognise.

 

Heartless Vandals!

Evidence has emerge of terrible acts of vandalism against 'no' campaign signs! First Minister Alex Salmond has had to deny personal involvement! Additional statement which hints at, but doesn't make a specific allegation which would need to be justified or could be subject to scrutiny, the Yes campaign being evil and bad!

 

Have these cows fully appreciated the choice facing Scotland?

 

Scotland has value (something the 'no' campaign doesn't appreciate)

We wrote a while ago in our blog 'Nobody wants you so please stay with us' how the primary tactic of those opposed to independence is to portray Scotland as a land which has no intrinsic value. Westminster wouldn't want to treat us as equals because we have no value. The EU won't try to keep us in the club because we have no value. And then NATO would expel us because we have no value. Just follow the links to see why each of these arguments are nonsense.

 

In each case we have shown that this just isn't true, and today we had more evidence of this as a former UK ambassador to NATO, Mariot Leslie, stated her intention to vote Yes and her confidence in Scotland being warmly welcomed within the military alliance.

 

And on a little side story which Russia Today mentioned: a country can be a member of the EU and use the currency of another. Luxembourg, which was a founding member of the EU, continued to use Belgian Francs until 2002. Of course, to the 'no' campaign, Luxembourg has value but Scotland does not. There are only obstacles and problems facing us and no-one will do anything to make things easy or fair.

 

I'm not ready for my closeup, Mr Ponsonby

David Cameron spent Prime Minister's Questions accusing STV of chickening out of hosting a debate between himself and undecided viewers. His exact words were: "On the television programme, I offered them [STV] a date and indeed a format but they seemed to run away themselves which is a great pity."

 

Mr Cameron made a few interesting demands:

No questions from a journalist

No representatives from the Yes Campaign (which STV would have agreed to)

And only 'genuine' floating voters, which Downing Street would arrange (ie, Dave's team would pick the audience)

 

  

Despite attempts to put pressure on the channel by claiming that this 'debate' would take place on Sky News or the BBC (Mr Cameron has so far taken part in nothing), STV refused to surrender editorial control.

 

The offer for Mr Cameron to speak to undecided voters on STV is still available, but we suspect he won't be ready for 'genuine' scrutiny any time soon...

 
Every little hinders

The no campaign used a frankly bizarre claim in their literature recently that the cost of food in supermarkets would increase following a Yes vote. This doesn't make sense for a number of reasons (most of which are explained here and here) but the interesting part is the use of Tesco. The image below was taken from a no campaign leaflet and clearly shows that the supermarket will increase every price by 16%.

 

"I can confirm that this [16% higher prices] is not true as we've got a great business in Scotland and our job is to create the best offer for customers whatever the outcome of the referendum." Sue Whitaker, Tesco Customer Service

The problem for the no campaign was that someone asked Tesco, and they confirmed that this story was a lie. So, the no campaign have been caught making up nonsense (again) and hiding their scares behind someone else. I guess in their world, every little hinders.

  

This fake story, which has been introduced whilst votes are being cast, is clearly against election rules. But fear not! Below is a photograph which shows all the work we have seen that the Electoral Commission, who describe their own objective as achieving "well-run elections", is doing to ensure a free and fair contest:

  

  
Strategically positioned paperwork jobs

This map below, which was shared by the Wings over Scotland's twitter account, shows where civilian jobs for the UK military are based.

 

Civilian jobs within the military are very important but they can by and large be located anywhere. Why do these jobs (and remember that a population share of their associated costs are attributed to Scotland despite the obvious shortfall in jobs being based here) have to be concentrated in the south of England? Does this map look fair to you?

 

It reminds me of this article by Business for Scotland. The maps there don't look very fair either.

  

Eh...mass canvas?

We at Sign for Scotland do not share links to the Scotsman newspaper (see our blog 'I read it in the paper' for the main reason why), but even they were highlighting how hopelessly unsuccessful Johann Lamont's mass canvassing attempt in Govan was on Friday.

"But despite an army of Labour supporters knocking doors, only three residents engaged in conversation with her - while several even came outside to return the leaflets pushed through their letter boxes." Scotsman Newspaper

Ouch! The reason why senior Labour politicians are finding such a hard response from people in Govan and other predominately working class areas is because they are campaigning to keep a Tory government in Westminster in power over Scotland. The argument that we should 'vote no and then hope people in England vote Labour next year, (just ignore our commitment to matching every Tory public service spending cut)' is not as strong or as reliable as 'vote Yes and the people will always get the government they vote for'.

 

We can even save a fortune by not paying for what we don't need!

 

But if you are an undecided Labour voter, then please compare any speech by Johann Lamont to the words of Jeane Freeman and decide which one more accurately reflects the founding principles of the Labour Party. What future would you rather have?

  

Join us again on Sunday for our final look at what's 'not in the news' before the referendum!

Drew
 
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Not in the News -31st of August Edition

Welcome to another edition of our weekly series looking back at the stories which the main stream media in Scotland didn't offer much attention to, and comparing them to those that hit the front pages. Our last edition can be found here.

 

 

Google-eyed!

No campaigner Kezia Dugdale MSP was caught on tape lying to an audience in Leith on Wednesday, the 20th of August. Further details about the meeting can be found here on Newsnet Scotland.

"I think Kezia is right and wonderful!" Fifi la Bonbon (probably)

And here is the list of main stream media outlets that reported this fact: [silence]

Scotland ahead

Credit Suisse made an announcement last week which highlighted their conviction that an independent Scotland would be a happier, more prosperous nation using the Human Development Index (even before we cut out Westminster's wasteful expenditure).

The internationally renowed finance company stressed that this wasn't dependent upon oil and gas, adding that even if Scotland had no north sea resources we would "still rank ahead of the UK".

 

And here is the list of main stream media outlets that reported this fact: [silence]

Finish him!!

The BBC may have ignored the wishes of over a thousand people to have a BSL interpreter on screen during the debate between Alex Salmond and Alistair Darling, but everyone knows who the winner was. In the words of Action 4 Equality Scotland, Yes played a blinder.

Note: not actual photograph from the debate

Despite initial claims by the BBC and the Guardian, it was a clear victory for the Yes Campaign and a defeat for project fear. 71% of people polled by ICM stated their belief that the First Minister of Scotland had won. So how did the papers react? Well the Times and Sky News both embarrassed themselves, but the prize for most blatantly ridiculous coverage comes from the Daily Mail, whose headlines in Scotland and the UK can be seen below:

 

 

Darling's cat is out of the bag

After bleating on about wanting to know what 'Plan B' was (something that Sign for Scotland blog readers have known since February), Alistair Darling, the Director of the 'no' campaign, answered his own question:

 

  

Of course we can use the pound. Anyone can use it and it was always ridiculous to suggest otherwise. Despite making jibes at the Republic of Panama (one of the most successful and stable countries in Central America) to try and defuse his momentary lapse into honesty, there was no escaping the fact that the main line of attack from the 'no' campaign just fell apart.

  

The cat is out of the bag. Mr Darling better make more corporate appearances over the next 3 weeks, because we suspect his £10,000 a night fee won't be lasting for much longer!

 

Floating Voters

Voters travelling to Shetland were treated to a Q&A session with Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. She was heading for a Women for Independence / Yes Shetland event.

 

Yes supporters on board reported that seeing such a leading figure answering questions during the ferry crossing had left them feeling buoyed!

 

What Women Want!

Hilarity was shared across social media this week as #PatronisingBTLady spread like wildfire. It was even reported in Irish, Russian and Italian news outlets. The story started with an embarrassingly bad video from the no campaign, which was then widely shared and parodied across the internet, including on Wings Over Scotland, The Science of Independence, Witterings of a Weegiewarbler, Women for Independence and Logic's Rock. The most stinging (and thus enjoyable) criticism came from the Huffington Post and online:

 

    

Whilst many people thought it would be impossible for the no campaign to surpass #Hamatime for sheer ineptitude (see: Two wrongs make a far right) they pulled their creative resources together, attended 'lots' of focus groups, and created a parody fit for Saturday Night Live. At least this campaign is paying the mortgage of many senior unionists and during the week they managed to find someone to blame!

 

 

But compare and contrast with the new video from Yes Scotland entitled 'Yes Means'. Here is the video with subtitles available (just turn on captions):

 

 
2,500 is larger than 132 (I need to clarify this for the BBC)

During this week, 132 business figures signed a letter stating that people in Scotland should vote no. The primary reasons appeared to be surrounding the currency (which the head of the 'no' campaign Alistair Darling confirmed can be the £ without Westminster's permission - see above), EU membership (ha ha) and that they don't like the prospect of changes (especially ones which will increase competition).

  

But looking at the list, I'm not sure I want to be on the same side as them anyway.

  

The BBC, whose colleagues in the anti-independence organisation the CBI make up a significant percentage of the signatories, gave this story a great deal of promanence. Of course, the number of business people who support independence is over 2,500 (over 19 times larger). Do you believe the BBC has offered 19 times more coverage to business leaders who support independence than oppose it? Didn't think so.

 

Putting the boot in

A source at Fifa, the governing body for international football, has stated that a 'no' vote in the referendum will likely see the end of the Scottish national football teams.

“If Scotland votes No then you're going to see that debate [about the UK pitching four teams] erupt again. There is going to be real pressure to have that UK disparity finally dealt with. In the wake of a No vote many of the countries envious of the UK's special footballing status would see this as a perfect opportunity,” NIA Novosti news agency

Vote no and you'll never see this again

Or this either

A Yes vote will give us the upper-hand in any negotations. A no vote gives Westminster and FIFA the opportunity to put the boot in. If you believe Scotland is a nation, and that we should be allowed to represent outselves, in either politics or sport, then you have to vote Yes.

 
What came first, the chicken or the egg?

Jim Murphy MP was the victim of a soft egg being patted onto his back (or 'an attack' if you read the Mail online, which you probably don't). But who was the perpetrator of this heinous crime? Yes International engaged in journalism, a rarity in Scotland, and found an interesting result:

 

 

That is a picture of the man who used the egg according to STV. And below is an image of what is believed to be the same person.

 

 

At Sign for Scotland, we know a little bit about hearing aids. What is in the picture above is not something you can pick up from Specsavers.

"[The earpiece is] known as an acoustic radio police radio earpiece with push to talk. Normally used by the police, by the security services on operations and by private security firms." Yes International

It is possible that this person is a Yes campaigner and not someone inciting trouble (see here for recent UK based examples of agent provocateurs from the Guardian, Channel 4 news, Liberal Conspiracy and Medialens) but the main stream media in Scotland should have attempted a little journalism before jumping to baseless conclusions. As a side note, Jim Murphy now has an excuse to cut short his disasterous 100 street tour.

 

The real mastermind behind the egg

In other, less serious news, a person has been found guilty of abuse after threatening to assassinate First Minster Alex Salmond. But that's not as important as an egg story.

 
#GlasgowTakeover

On Saturday, the 30th of August, Radical Independence made a mass gathering at the top of Buchanan Street in Glasgow. It was extremely well attended a featured a number of famous Yes supporters.

 

 

This is the type of grassroots campaigning that the no campaign just can't match. If you'd like to know more about this event, then check out this blog by James Owens.

  

Join us again on Sunday for our next look at what's 'not in the news'!

Drew
 
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