Blog | (Still) Yes Highlandhttps://yeshighland.net/blog/2024-03-29T11:38:07+00:00The blog is our main discussion forum with with an eclectic selection of authors and thought-provoking articles. Grab a cuppa and join the debate, your contribution is always welcome.Emptying the pool2017-03-05T09:10:47+00:002024-03-29T11:38:07+00:00Editorhttps://yeshighland.net/blog/author/Editor/https://yeshighland.net/blog/2017/03/emptying-the-pool/<p>As a Yes supporter, and activist, I often feel that combating the anti-independence lies and deceptions is like emptying a swimming pool using a teaspoon, you'll get there eventually but it takes an awful long time. It isn't that our arguments are poor or that we don't have the skills to present them, it is just that we don't have access to the means of mass communication. No sooner do we make some progress than the mainstream media turn on their taps and the pool rapidly fills again.</p>
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/BerthanPete/status/837095034633793536" target="_blank"><img alt="" class="img-responsive" src="https://yeshighland.net/static/media/uploads/blog/2017/berthanpete.png"/></a></p>
<p>I was reminded of this recently in a Twitter exchange with Peter A. Bell when he expressed his frustration that the public remain blind to Westminster's treatment of Scotland and of our representatives. The public aren't blind, they just haven't seen. The problem, of course, is that very few people are aware of what really happens at Westminster. For those with the inclination it is possible to watch Parliament TV or the BBC Parliament channel and get the raw information from a primary source, but that is only for the dedicated politics geeks. Every other source is filtered: TV channels can edit clips, newspapers can ignore inconvenient truths and radio stations invite "experts" to put the news in context. Even the veritable Hansard is flawed because it may archive the truth of the spoken word but cannot convey the feel of debates and committees. If only the undecided or soft No voter could see the rows of empty Tory & Labour benches as important debates take place or hear the jeers whenever a Scottish MP rises to speak.</p>
<p>People who do not actively search out political news, and those are very much the majority, still get fed a diet of misinformation through accidental consumption of the mainstream media. This is the power of the TV news trailer as people wait for Eastenders to start or the misleading newspaper front page headline seen from a distance. I can still recall vividly the feeling of elation after a day's campaigning, in 2014, as I felt we had really got our message across to the undecided voters we spoke to. My elation was short-lived however when I encountered the wall of newspaper front pages displayed at the local fuel station, every headline was a dire warning about independence. It wasn't just my home town area, every fuel station, supermarket and newsagents across the country would have had the same display; our efforts seemed puny in comparison.</p>
<p>Perhaps our small scale, activist led campaigning against the mainstream media machine is a complete waste of time and we should all just admit defeat now before the referendum has even been announced. Except, we have two huge advantages on our side: firstly once people convert to Yes it seems very few ever return to No and secondly there are potentially thousands of us out there just itching to start campaigning. Put these two things together and we've got a winning combination. We came close in 2014 but this time we win.</p>
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/MARC0VALD0/status/836885844556414978" target="_blank"><img alt="" class="img-responsive" src="https://yeshighland.net/static/media/uploads/blog/2017/marcovaldo.png"/></a></p>
<p>To really make our activist led campaigning successful we need to ensure that our alternative media is properly funded and this leads me on to a suggestion that might be really difficult for some independence supporters. It might involve going cold turkey on your Eastenders habit. Instead of funding the mainstream media use your money to help the indie supporting websites, magazines and new media organisations. Cancel your subscription to that daily newspaper (but not The National or Sunday Herald, of course), stop paying the BBC TV tax and instead use the money to help fund your favourite indie organisation. To give you some ideas we have listed three well known indie groups who are currently crowdfunding and are certainly worthy of your support.</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/iscot-magazine-phase-3-the-last-call#/" target="_blank">iScot Magazine</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/levelling-the-field#/" target="_blank">Wings Over Scotland</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/glasgow-studio-more-freedom#/" target="_blank">Independence Live</a></li>
</ul>
<p>There are many more worthy groups out there and you'll know who they are. Feel free to add any names in the comments section below.</p>
<p>Let's make it a win-win for independence by withdrawing our funds from the mass media propaganda machine and get our new media funded instead. We may only be armed with teaspoons but we have the power of thousands on our side.</p>Rise and Fall of a No Campaign Meme2017-02-13T10:06:47+00:002024-03-28T17:34:44+00:00Editorhttps://yeshighland.net/blog/author/Editor/https://yeshighland.net/blog/2017/02/rise-and-fall-of-a-no-campaign-meme/<p>Two things happened on June 23rd, 2016: the UK voted to leave the EU and the campaign for Scottish independence was reinvigorated. One of the foundations of the Better Together campaign in 2014 was that by voting "No" people were guaranteed to stay members of the EU. In the course of one day in June these foundations were completely undermined and the No campaign knew they were in trouble.</p>
<p>The Leave side winning the EU referendum by 52% to 48% <a href="https://yeshighland.net/blog/2016/06/too-close-to-call/" target="_blank" title="Too close to call">was a surprise to many,</a> none more so than former PM David Cameron <a href="https://yeshighland.net/blog/2016/06/have-eu-heard/" title="Have EU heard?">who promptly announced</a> his resignation. However, it was the scale of the Remain vote in Scotland (at very nearly two-thirds of the vote) in combination with the rUK Leave that set <a href="https://www.cairnstoon.com/product/cat-among-the-pigeons/" target="_blank">the cat among the unionist pigeons</a>. Scotland would be taken out of the EU against its will and, as has transpired since, also removed from the Single Market, the very definition of a hard Brexit. David Cameron's EU referendum, instigated to plaster over the cracks in his own party, had instead delivered the only likely <strong><em>material change</em></strong> required to hasten a second independence referendum.</p>
<p><img alt="Theresa May - hard Brexit" class="img-responsive" src="https://yeshighland.net/static/media/uploads/blog/2017/theresa-may-hard-brexit.png"/></p>
<p>Consistently, in the run up to the 2014 referendum, Better Together played their Project Fear card that an independent Scotland would be dumped out of the trading bloc and spend years trying to get back in. Better Together: the Tory, Labour and LibDem joint venture, may have gone but most of the principal actors are still around and they needed a new campaign meme, and needed it quick.</p>
<p><img alt="Better Together Team" class="img-responsive" src="https://yeshighland.net/static/media/uploads/blog/2017/better-together-team.jpg"/></p>
<p>Without an official campaign group the Unionists also required someone to deliver the new meme. Step forward The Scotland Office, the UK government's outpost in Scotland and, although staffed by civil servants, has been <a href="https://www.commonspace.scot/articles/1441/alistair-carmichael-and-memogate-timeline-leaks-lies-and-denials" target="_blank">used for party political purposes before</a>. The newly devised meme needed to play on an economic fear that leaving the UK would be far worse for Scotland than leaving the EU. Towards the end of 2016 The Scotland Office started Tweeting the graphic, shown below.</p>
<p><img alt="Scotland Office - Scotland exports to rUK" class="img-responsive" src="https://yeshighland.net/static/media/uploads/blog/2017/scotland-office-scot-exports.png"/></p>
<p>In essence the new No Campaign meme is:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Don't leave us Scotland, look how important our trade is (but if you do think about leaving here is a threat: we'll block your exports).</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Let's investigate this new meme and see if there is any substance to it.</p>
<p>Good old HM Government (Scotland Office) didn't bother giving a source and ignored repeated requests to supply one. The information is actually sourced from a series of Scottish Government publications called <a href="http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Economy/Exports" target="_blank">Export Statistics Scotland</a>. Here is how the Scottish Government website describes the ESS:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Export Statistics Scotland (ESS) is based on the Global Connections Survey, an annual survey run by the Scottish Government, as well as other survey and administrative data sources. It produces estimates of the cash value of exports by destination and industry sector for all sectors of the Scottish economy including the primary, manufacturing and service sectors. This source should be used to obtain estimates of the cash value of exports.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The first thing to note is that the information comes from a survey. The respondents are self-selecting and the information provided is voluntary. The sampled information is then multiplied by the turnover of all companies in the relevant sector. The civil servants will take great care to ensure the methodology makes the data as reliable as possible <em>but the resultant statistics should only be considered as a guide</em>.</p>
<p>There are some more limitations with the statistics which you can <a href="https://yeshighland.net/blog/category/media/feeds/atom/#note1">read about below<sup>1</sup></a>. However, there is one gaping chasm in the Scottish trade figures estimated by ESS, namely the exports <strong><em>do not include oil and gas</em></strong>. Approximately 90% of oil and gas reserves are in Scottish territorial waters and the scale of new discoveries west of Shetland may increase that percentage.</p>
<p>We have established that the statistics should be treated with some caution as they may not be a true reflection of Scottish exports and we know that the oil & and gas exports have been excluded which would further close the gap. However, there will be some truth in the Scotland Office graphic as it is completely normal for adjoining states to trade more with each other. Shared language, cultural similarities and geographical proximity will all help increase trade between neighbours. Of course, this <strong>trade goes both ways<sup>2</sup></strong>.</p>
<p><img alt="" class="img-responsive" src="https://yeshighland.net/static/media/uploads/blog/2017/colin-dunn-lorries.jpg"/></p>
<p>The rest of the UK actually sells more to Scotland than the other way round (figures in graphic above is for England & rUK). It would be an incredible piece of economic self harm for rUK to impose any trade restrictions with Scotland as it would hurt them even more. The Prime Minister, Theresa May, has already been courting the US and Turkey as potential trading partners with the prospect of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Article_50" target="_blank">Article 50</a> about to be triggered. At the same time her government is trying to make us believe that rUK would impose trading restrictions with their nearest neighbours. It doesn't make sense, and wouldn't happen.</p>
<p><img alt="" class="img-responsive" src="https://yeshighland.net/static/media/uploads/blog/2017/wishart-desperate.png"/></p>
<p>The great thing about a meme is it allows other parties to pick it up and run it with a little customisation to fit their message. In Scotland this means that <a href="https://twitter.com/STVNews/status/824267132032651264" target="_blank">the media</a> (almost all the press and broadcasters take a pro-Union position) and the political parties can join in. The following graphic was <a href="https://twitter.com/scottishlabour/status/824238109923614720" target="_blank">Tweeted</a> by The Labour Party in late January 2017 (Burns' Day to be precise).</p>
<p><img alt="" class="img-responsive" src="https://yeshighland.net/static/media/uploads/blog/2017/labour-join-in.jpg"/></p>
<p>The first rectangle is a repeat of the line from their friends at The Scotland Office. The second line is presumably Labour's own spin which makes absolutely no sense at all. According to Labour just having the option of an independence referendum puts our economy at risk but this is left unexplained. Labour also fail to mention the enormous effect a hard Brexit would have on the Scottish economy directly, and indirectly through the wider rUK economy suffering. Since late January we have learned that Labour are trying to play a two faced game when it comes to Brexit and the triggering of Article 50. In Scotland, Labour are <a href="https://www.holyrood.com/articles/news/scottish-labour-opposes-triggering-article-50-despite-uk-labour-supporting-it" target="_blank">trying to convince us</a> that they are against leaving the EU but the UK leadership, where the real decisions are made, <a href="http://archive.is/x3nTo" target="_blank">forced their MPs to vote for triggering Article 50</a> by imposing a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whip_(politics)" target="_blank">three line whip</a>.</p>
<p>The final coup de grâce for the exports meme ironically came from the Scotland Office themselves when they had a follow up graphic trying to reinforce the same message but instead made Scotland's position look even stronger.</p>
<p><img alt="" class="img-responsive" src="https://yeshighland.net/static/media/uploads/blog/2017/scotland-office-elec-exports.jpg"/></p>
<p>Quite rightly the UK Government are pointing out that Scotland is a net exporter of electricity and the vast majority of it goes to England. Think about it for a second or two and you will realise that if there were to be any restrictions in exports between an independent Scotland and rUK, quite literally, the lights would go out in England. That wouldn't happen, of course, because restrictions in trade between an independent Scotland and the remaining UK wont happen.</p>
<p>As easily discredited as the meme can be we fully expect the UK government, and other supporters of the UK union, to continue with it, in one form or another, because they don't have much else to build a campaign on.</p>
<p>To summarise, the statistics used by the Scotland Office should be treated with some caution particularly as the Scottish exports will have been substantially under-reported. If we treat the statistics as a guide only we still need to recognise that trade goes both ways and the rUK is a big beneficiary of exports to Scotland. As highlighted by The Scotland Office some of our exports, electricity in their second example, are of key importance to the rUK economy and domestic energy requirements. Restrictions on trade between Scotland and rUK will not happen, as it is not in the interests of any of the countries involved.</p>
<p>For these reasons the meme can be logically dismissed but getting the message out to voters is difficult to do if we don't have the same access to them. It is a concern that our media are still happy to uncritically report UK government press releases. In particular, it is disappointing that the broadcast media do this as, unlike the printed press, they still have large audiences. As always it will be down to independence supporting groups and individuals using blogs, websites and social media to help counter these misleading memes.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<hr id="note1"/>
<h4> </h4>
<h4>Notes</h4>
<p><strong>1.</strong> The ESS UK & export trade estimates should be treated with caution for three reasons. Firstly, companies are not obliged under UK law to produce accurate accounting reports below UK level. Without legal enforcement the accounting information provided may not be as accurate and the data may be inconsistent from one company to the net.</p>
<p>Secondly, trade figures to rUK may be masking Scottish exports because complex products may be being completed elsewhere in the UK before being shipped internationally. For example, if a company sells gearboxes to a car manufacturer in England and that car is then exported to Germany only the car sale may get counted towards EU exports, not the gearbox.</p>
<p>Thirdly, it is possible that survey respondents in Scotland may not be aware of final destination of products sold, even for non-complex products, due to the nature of distribution.</p>
<p><strong>2.</strong> Graphic courtesy of <a href="https://indyposterboy.scot" target="_blank">IndyPosterBoy</a>. Figures differ as they are from 2014 rather than 2015 as used by The Scotland Office.</p>Nasty campaign coming2017-01-31T23:00:52+00:002024-03-26T02:29:48+00:00Editorhttps://yeshighland.net/blog/author/Editor/https://yeshighland.net/blog/2017/01/nasty-campaign-coming/<h2>Plumbing the depths</h2>
<p>It is a common political technique to do some research prior to launching a campaign or announcing a new policy to assess how voters might react. Sometimes this research takes the form of focus groups, sometimes it is opinion polling. If you want to get genuine responses it is usually advisable to get an agency or polling company to conduct the research anonymously otherwise the respondents may tailor their answers according to their political prejudices. In recent times, with the prevalance of the Internet, online opinion polling is probably the most common and cost effective. The polling companies then manage panels of voters who they invite to complete the polls.</p>
<p>As some independence supporters are included on these online panels interesting questions sometimes leak on to the Internet. Yesterday, one such poll was leaked via Twitter but in this case it wasn't so much interesting as perturbing.</p>
<p><img alt="" class="img-responsive" src="https://yeshighland.net/static/media/uploads/blog/2017/panelbase1.jpg"/></p>
<p>We will allow readers to come to their own conclusions about the nature of the questions shown in the screenshot above. The curious mind would then turn to who would be commissioning a poll with such despicable questions. Without further information our minds immediately sprang to some far-right party or a nasty unionist group. However, it wasn't long before the next screenshot was posted that provided a big clue as to who commissioned the poll.</p>
<p><img alt="" class="img-responsive" src="https://yeshighland.net/static/media/uploads/blog/2017/panelbase2.jpg"/></p>
<p>Oh dear, we think we can see where this is heading. Should someone tell Kezia?</p>
<p>The poll may not have been commissioned by a political party, it might have been a newspaper or campaign group. Either way watch out for a major intervention coming our way soon.</p>Independence: it's not a game2016-01-22T17:37:59+00:002024-03-26T02:45:32+00:00Editorhttps://yeshighland.net/blog/author/Editor/https://yeshighland.net/blog/2016/01/independence-its-not-a-game/<p>Ad's so bad even Better Together didn't use them</p>
<p>Do you remember how bad the Better Together advert's were during the IndieRef campaign? Will anyone ever forget Patronising BT Lady? Well, you ain't seen nothing yet!</p>
<p>For your amusement and delectation we present the advertisements that were considered so bad that even Better Together decided not to use them.</p>
<p> <img alt="" class="img-responsive" src="https://yeshighland.net/static/media/uploads/blog/2016/natlottery.jpg"/></p>
<p> <img alt="" class="img-responsive" src="https://yeshighland.net/static/media/uploads/blog/2016/getmeout.jpg"/></p>
<p> <img alt="" class="img-responsive" src="https://yeshighland.net/static/media/uploads/blog/2016/alright.jpg"/></p>
<p>Many thanks to <a href="http://www.thedrum.com/news/2016/01/22/scrapped-ads-lampooning-alex-salmond-and-snp-scottish-independence-campaign" target="_blank">The Drum</a> for finding these images.</p>Corbyn honeymoon period?2015-09-14T07:44:01+00:002024-03-26T02:49:37+00:00Editorhttps://yeshighland.net/blog/author/Editor/https://yeshighland.net/blog/2015/09/corbyn-honeymoon-period/<h2>Corbyn honeymoon period? Don't be silly.</h2>
<p>The new Labour leader experiences what Project Fear II feels like. Just as we predicted Jeremy Corbyn is discovering what it is like to be lambasted by the English press on his first working day as the leader of the opposition. Prepared by the exceedingly long leadership contest the newspapers haven't lost time getting their knives stuck in:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Labour divisions widen as Corbyn takes charge</strong><br/><em>The Times</em></li>
<li><strong>Labour divide deepens as Umunna quits over Corbyn stance on Europe</strong><br/><em>The Guardian</em></li>
<li><strong>Unions threaten chaos after Corbyn win</strong><br/><em>The Daily Telegraph</em></li>
<li><strong>CORBYN: ABOLISH THE ARMY</strong><br/>New leader's potty plan for world peace<br/><em>The Sun</em></li>
<li><strong>CORBYN UNION PALS PLEDGE STRIKE CHAOS</strong><br/>As Labour plunges into bitter civil war<br/><em>Daily Mail</em></li>
</ul>
<p>The only surprise in the headlines comes from The Guardian which is probably holding fast to its Blairite sympathies.</p>
<p>Much more intriguing is the softer tack being taken by the "Scottish" newspapers:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Corbyn unveils his shadow team to take on the Tories</strong><br/>Burnham and Falconer<sup>1</sup> appointed as Hosie says SNP can work with Labour<br/><em>The Herald</em></li>
<li><strong>TRIDENT ON THE RADAR</strong><br/>Pressure mounts on Corbyn to make reversal of Labour's stance on missile system a top priority<br/><em>The National</em></li>
<li><strong>'Lack of powers could spark new referendum'</strong><br/>SNP deputy leader warns any promises not kept might trigger second vote<br/><em>The Scotsman</em></li>
</ul>
<p><br/>The Scotsman didn't see fit to have a Corbyn story as their main headline and instead led with the warning from Stewart Hosie. However, The Scotsman did have a smaller headline, presumably penned by Hans Christian Andersen, "Dugdale warns Corbyn: I'm boss in Scotland"</p>
<hr/>
<p class="text-muted">1. That'll be Lord Falconer appointed as Shadow Justice Secretary. Didn't Jeremy say something about scrapping the House of Lords?</p>Princess Nicola2015-04-29T17:36:28+00:002024-03-26T02:14:51+00:00Editorhttps://yeshighland.net/blog/author/Editor/https://yeshighland.net/blog/2015/04/princess-nicola/<h2>The most dangerous woman in the galaxy?</h2>
<p>Well, we weren't sure this was legitimate at first because it looked like they spent less than 10 minutes with the photo editing software to create this image.</p>
<p>However, it will be the front page of tomorrow's Scottish Sun complete with a collection of typical puns. You can read the <a href="http://www.sunnation.co.uk/the-scottish-sun-says-the-force-is-with-nicola" target="_blank">Sun's editorial online</a> which explains their reasoning for supporting the SNP for GE2015.</p>
<p>Just over 7 days to go until the election and we can't even imagine what else might happen in this quite exceptional campaign.</p>The National2014-11-21T13:31:50+00:002024-03-28T10:22:19+00:00Editorhttps://yeshighland.net/blog/author/Editor/https://yeshighland.net/blog/2014/11/the-national/<h2>New Indie supporting daily newspaper to launch next week</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.thedrum.com/news/2014/11/21/newsquest-launch-pro-independence-newspaper-national-scotland-5-day-pilot" target="_blank">The Drum is reporting</a> that owners of the Herald and Sunday Herald, Newsquest, will be launching a new daily newspaper next week. The newspaper will be priced at 50p, available from Monday November 24th and will support Scottish Independence. The "National" will initially be published as a pilot.</p>
<p>Malcolm MacDonald, head of circulation at Herald and Times group, is quoted as saying:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>"The pilot launch of the National is a response to reader requests for a daily title which supports independence."</p>
</blockquote>
<p>It is being assumed that Newsquest are publishing this new title on the back of the Sunday Herald's success in increasing circulation by 111% since coming out in support of Yes.</p>
<p>No further details about the National are known at the moment except for the publications website at <a href="http://www.national.scot/" target="_blank">www.national.scot</a> (currently just a holding page).</p>Tory MSP Ordered Out Of Indie Debate2014-05-16T10:02:47+00:002024-03-26T02:59:36+00:00Editorhttps://yeshighland.net/blog/author/Editor/https://yeshighland.net/blog/2014/05/tory-msp-ordered-out-of-indie-debate/<h2>Better Together give Jamie McGrigor his marching orders</h2>
<p>The <a href="http://obantimes.co.uk/" target="_blank">Oban Times</a> is reporting on a stushie surrounding Tory MSP for the Highlands and Islands Jamie McGrigor and his withdrawal from an independence debate on Skye. Now, there are all sorts of reasons why someone might pull out from a debate but in this case it is being reported that he was given his marching orders by the No campaign organisation Better Together.</p>
<p>The Tory MSP had originally agreed to the debate but it would seem at some later stage Better Together heard about it and ordered him to withdraw. Note that it wasn't David Cameron (Conservative leader) that ordered him to pull out nor even Ruth Davidson (Scottish branch leader) but the No campaign (currently) headed by Labour MP Alistair Darling. This really seems to confirm what Yes supporters have suspected for a long time, namely, that there is a single Unionist Party operating in Scotland.</p>
<p><img alt="" class="img-responsive" src="https://yeshighland.net/static/media/uploads/blog/2014/oban-times-bt-pulls-out-independence-debate.jpeg"/></p>
<p>It seems strange to us that an elected representative would agree to put his ideas to his own electorate but then be ordered off by Better Together.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>"The U-turn does Better Together little credit - and predictably leaves them open to accusations of short changing democracy."</p>
</blockquote>
<p>You might expect us to say something like that about our opponents but that is a direct quote from the impartial Oban Times editorial shown below.</p>
<p><img alt="" class="img-responsive" src="https://yeshighland.net/static/media/uploads/blog/2014/oban-times-editorial-2014-05-15-independence-debate.jpeg"/></p>
<p>Time and again it has been demonstrated that when the public are given the facts about independence huge numbers of them come over to the Yes side. It is for this reason that the No campaign, in the form of Better Together, only face the public in their own carefully stage managed and controlled events.</p>
<p><img alt="" class="img-responsive" src="https://yeshighland.net/static/media/uploads/blog/2014/feartie-cameron.jpg"/></p>
<p>We don't expect the No campaign to change their strategy now and we are beginning to doubt if David "feartie" Cameron will agree to debate Alex Salmond for the same reason.</p>
<p> </p>
<p class="text-muted">Many thanks to Alan Renwick for the newspaper images.</p>Manufacturing a "grassroots" campaign2014-05-01T21:00:30+00:002024-03-28T15:34:44+00:00Editorhttps://yeshighland.net/blog/author/Editor/https://yeshighland.net/blog/2014/05/manufacturing-a-grassroots-campaign/<h2>With a little help from your friends (BBC, city bankers and the UK government)</h2>
<p>So, your campaign is in the doldrums, the polls are looking bad and your public face is Alistair Darling. What to do? Bring in the brand consultants and see what they suggest.</p>
<p>The brand consultants identify the fact that your No campaign has a severe lack of activists and struggles to have a grassroot never mind grassroots.</p>
<p>The brand consultants suggest they can solve your problems by creating a grassroots campaign for you. They'll stick £400,000 in the bank, get some youngsters to sing an awful song, set up and run a campaign website and to top it all off get the BBC to promote it heavily.</p>
<p><img alt="" class="img-responsive" src="https://yeshighland.net/static/media/uploads/blog/2014/scooby-doo.jpg"/></p>
<p><em>"... and I would have gotten away with it, too, if it hadn't been for you meddling kids!"</em></p>
<p>We are being quite flippant in our treatment of this story because, frankly, it sounds like the script from a straight to video "C" movie or maybe an episode of Scooby-Doo. However, the implications and the players involved in this propaganda attempt are very serious as <a href="http://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2014/05/bbc-propaganda-hits-new-all-time-low/" target="_blank">Craig Murray</a> and <a href="http://wingsoverscotland.com/while-were-investigating/" target="_blank">WingsOverScotland</a> make clear.</p>
<p>Please read the blogs linked above and as Craig says:</p>
<blockquote>
<p><em>"I ask every single person who reads this to do what they can do to get this news out – it may open eyes about the BBC, media in general and the hidden hands behind the No campaign."</em></p>
</blockquote>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>We just don't seem to be able to escape from maritime metaphors. First, we had <a href="https://yeshighland.net/blog/2014/03/no-campaign-sunk/" target="_blank">sinking</a>, then <a href="https://yeshighland.net/blog/2014/04/something-for-the-weekend/" target="_blank">boats</a> and now the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doldrums" target="_blank">Doldrums</a>.</p>Sunday Herald Declares for Yes2014-05-01T20:24:23+00:002024-03-26T02:42:09+00:00Editorhttps://yeshighland.net/blog/author/Editor/https://yeshighland.net/blog/2014/05/sunday-herald-declares-for-yes/<h2>Front page designed by Alasdair Gray</h2>
<p>We have highlighted some previous Sunday Herald front pages in Wildfire because they have provided a welcome relief from the staunch unionist stance of all the other major newspapers sold in Scotland. However, we didn't expect the Sunday Herald to declare for Yes (or at least not this soon)</p>
<p> <img alt="Sunday Herald" class="img-responsive" src="https://yeshighland.net/static/media/uploads/blog/2014/sunday-herald-front-page-2014-05-04.jpeg"/></p>
<p>We hope the support continues until September 18th and wonder if they can do something about their sister paper on the other 6 days of the week.</p>
<p>Cynicism aside we do welcome the Sunday Herald declaring for Yes.</p>The Daily Propaganda2014-04-22T20:04:54+00:002024-03-28T23:10:06+00:00Editorhttps://yeshighland.net/blog/author/Editor/https://yeshighland.net/blog/2014/04/the-daily-propaganda/<h2>Propaganda and how it might have worked before the internet</h2>
<p>Front page of the Daily Express for Tuesday April 22nd 2014.</p>
<p>No further comment required.</p>
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<td><img alt="Daily Express rUK" class="img-responsive" src="https://yeshighland.net/static/media/uploads/blog/2014/daily-express-front-page-pensions-ruk.jpg"/></td>
<td><img alt="Daily Express Scotland" class="img-responsive" src="https://yeshighland.net/static/media/uploads/blog/2014/daily-express-front-page-pensions-scot.jpg"/></td>
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<td style="text-align: center;"><strong>Daily Express UK edition</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><strong>Daily Express Scottish edition</strong></td>
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<p><a href="https://twitter.com/hotrodcadets/status/458530303137816576/photo/1" target="_blank">Source</a></p>No to BBC censorship2014-03-02T22:42:00+00:002024-03-26T02:39:06+00:00Editorhttps://yeshighland.net/blog/author/Editor/https://yeshighland.net/blog/2014/03/no-to-bbc-censorship/<h2>Scottish TV owners pay the BBC tax too!</h2>
<p><img alt="" class="img-responsive" src="https://yeshighland.net/static/media/uploads/blog/2014/no-to-bbc-censorship.jpg"/></p>
<p><a href="https://www.kiltr.com/referendum/1756992341" target="_blank">Source</a></p>
<p>Please feel free to pass the image above onto friends, family and work colleagues via email or social media.</p>
<p>For a discussion of what Scotland pays for the BBC see <a href="http://wingsoverscotland.com/the-price-of-the-bbc/" target="_blank">this thread on Wings Over Scotland</a>.</p>George Osborne Running Scared2014-02-12T14:52:35+00:002024-03-28T14:18:37+00:00Editorhttps://yeshighland.net/blog/author/Editor/https://yeshighland.net/blog/2014/02/george-osborne-running-scared/<h2>UK Chancellor refuses interview or to answer questions</h2>
<p>Just like his coalition government colleagues, David Cameron and William Hague, George Osborne makes an anti-independence and, in this case, an anti-Scotland speech but refuses to answer questions from the press.</p>
<p>In the short video clip, shown below, Bernard Ponsonby of STV News decries the lack of scrutiny into the No campaign. Major pronouncements are made but the press aren't allowed to scrutinise them on behalf of Scottish voters.</p>
<p>Shutting down debate and avoiding any questions seem to be the stock in trade of the No campaign.</p>
<h4>Video: George Osborne refuses press scrutiny from Bernard Ponsonby of STV News.</h4>
<p><iframe height="259" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/heGdCXx_nKI" width="460"></iframe></p>BBC Journalist Tells The Truth2014-02-05T13:14:20+00:002024-03-29T09:16:05+00:00Editorhttps://yeshighland.net/blog/author/Editor/https://yeshighland.net/blog/2014/02/bbc-journalist-tells-the-truth/<h2>From the "surely not" files</h2>
<p>So ingrained has the expectation of biased reporting from the BBC become that when you see, or hear, a balanced and factual account you are taken aback.</p>
<p>In the clip below Kirsty Wark asks Allan Little why David Cameron has chosen this moment to intervene in the independence debate and a little later to comment on the state of the No campaign. To his credit Mr. Little tells it like it is.</p>
<p><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/F1a7SyMq_GU" width="560"></iframe></p>