Why we* accept Neil Mackay of the Sunday Herald’s apology

JOURNALIST, novelist, radio broadcaster, film-maker and Head of News at Sunday Herald, Neil Mackay apologised to AhDinnaeKen editor, @Ergasiophobe, yesterday. Neil had foolishly retweeted a Wings Over Scotland defense of his newspaper. We* graciously accept that apology**. Here’s why:

And the sincerity just dripped off the tweet.

By Longshanker aka @Ergasiophobe

THE SUNDAY Herald, the Sunday newspaper which supports an independent Scotland, came under fire from Labour types yesterday.

The paper was accused by some of being a “mouthpiece” for the Scottish Government.

For honest journalists, such accusations must be tedious and tiresome, especially when you’re proud of the quality, time and hard work which went into your end product.

Head of News, Neil Mackay, quite rightly defended his paper from such attacks.

As part of his twitter strategy, Neil retweeted Wings Over Scotland. Wings said: “Incidentally, why are Labour all bleating about the Sunday Herald today? They know Cameron is the TORY leader, not theirs, right?”

According to the Society of Professional Journalists code of ethics, professional integrity is the cornerstone of a journalist’s credibility.

AhDinnaeKen doesn’t doubt Neil Mackay’s journalistic credibility or integrity for a minute. It’s why we tweeted Neil to say: “Cant believe @NeilMackay would RT vexatious slanderer and fraudulent liar @WingsScotland just because he’s defending Sun Herald. Dear dear!”

We* were disappointed in Neil. Stuart Campbell of Wings Over Scotland has no journalistic integrity. He uses his propaganda website and internet accounts to shut down debate, steal newspaper content and intimidate opponents through slanderous defamation, threat and surveillance.

Neil’s retweet, arguably, condones that. But there’s a further irony in Neil using Campbell’s statement to defend the Sunday Herald.

Until recently, Campbell used to effectively “steal content” from the Sunday Herald’s sister paper, The Herald, by posting archived links to stories within.

Such action, according to a Herald source, is “a deliberate act of theft and sabotage” designed to “deny clicks and ad revenue“.

Campbell still does this with other newspapers, particularly those – such as the Scotsman – he wants to see shut down.

Neil Mackay, by retweeting Wings defense of the Sunday Herald, could quite rightly be accused of condoning those actions and undermining his company’s business model. It was the reason for the @ergasiphobe tweet and it’s the reason this piece has been written.

AhDinnaeKen knows the hard work which goes into producing a paper. Seeing that paper traduced must be infuriating and frustrating for the people producing it.

But that doesn’t excuse promotion of agents, such as Wings, who are the enemy of professional journalism and free speech – not to mention, deliberate agents of sabotage of your company’s business model and revenue streams.

At best, for a journo of Neil’s stature, it was lazy to retweet Wings. At worst, it undermined his credibility and made him look a bit stupid and ignorant.

You’re the reader, you decide. Maybe Neil should apologise to the lot of us.

Neil asked what law was broken when no such thing was implied or inferred by our* initial tweet. We* recognise that Neil can retweet who he wants just as we’re at liberty to point out that it undermines his journalistic credibility.

 

*We – as in pompously vain and pretentious pluralis majestatis

** For any literalists out there, we* know that Neil’s faux apology to @ergasiophobe was heavily sarcastic and that’s why we accepted it in the same spirit – y’know, as a joke.

Moan McVulpine: Nationalist policy maker dreams of ‘mass annihilation’ of her enemies

MOAN witnesses the future of Nationalist gloating over the prospect of ‘mass annihilation’ for their Labour enemies within. 

One Party State: That’s the way to do it. said Joan McAlpine, yesterday.

By Moan McVulpine – putting the ‘lust’ into bloodlust

PRE-EMPTIVE TRIUMPHALISM according to the Collins and Oxford Nationalist dictionary, is an “excessive celebration” before the results are in.

Medical definitions suggest this can result in “gloating, hysterical behaviour” often in anticipation of “the defeat of one’s enemies or opponents”.

Pre-emptive Triumphalism has certainly affected Joan McAlpine MSP – she’s in full flight mode in this week’s Daily Redcoat.

It’s both a magnificent and terrifying sight to behold and I would recommend the reading of her most recent newspaper column to anyone – Nationalist and Unionist alike.

The bloodlust infected centraliser is indeed gloating in a hysterical way, constantly tripping over herself in her glee to stick the metaphorical knife into the festering corpse of Scottish Labour’s body politic.

Clearly the polls are getting to her. Recently, a YouGov survey had the SNP up on 48 per cent for voting intention in the upcoming General Election – streets and continents ahead of Scottish Labour’s core 27 per cent.

It’s so far ahead that it threatens to deliver the type of result which might just witness UDI becoming a feasible topic for serious discussion in polite Scottish society.

Joan also gloatingly predicts “mass annihilation” for the Scottish Labour Party.

Presumably she sees this ‘mass annihilation’ as part of the SNP’s ‘final solution’ for her motherland’s Scottish Labour problem.

Of course, that kind of language has been used elsewhere by other book burning  Nationalist types and we all know where that led.

All this unseemly gloating at the prospect of ‘mass annihilation’ however comes despite wiser Nationalists urging caution. Triumphalist Nationalist Party members and supporters really should see theirsels as ithers see them.

According to SNP ‘politics by spreadsheet’, ex-New Labour, and strategic analyst, Gordon Guthrie:

“The No campaign benefitted greatly from the Yes campaign in one crucial way during IndyRef — the high turnout of No’s was driven by the noise and activity that the Yes campaign was throwing out.”

Political turn-offs like the ‘convivial’ Ms McAlpine, along with some of her noisier Nationalist Front social media chums, are more likely to inspire non-voters and potential converts into voting tactically in the mould of ‘anything but the SNP’.

And such behaviour would be funny in a sardonically ironic kind of way.

But not half as funny as Joan’s frenzied build up to to a full scale grievance climax of apoplectic rage in her most recent column.

Firstly she berates the non-delivery of the “Vow” as an act of unclean Gordon Brown apostasy.

Then she ratchets up the wrath a thousand notches by reminding us of Jim Murphy’s ludicrously laughable heresy regarding nursing numbers where Jim proved that he’s still Old New Labour on a stick.

The “blatant piece of electioneering” that was and is the SNP fracking moratorium is trumpeted as a morally superior Nationalist virtue – reeking all the while of  “Ignorance is strength” groupthinkplus.

And her coup de grace of extant fury is directed at Labour’s recent vote for further austerity with the Tories at Westminster. Or, at least, that’s the way it has been painted by Labour’s enemies.

Who now, in Skintland, daur tae oppose a flag and soil Nationalist like Joanie in the full newsprint fury of her inflamed righteous indignation?

Not many – as the recent Ashcroft polls appear to suggest.

Scottish Labour undoubtedly deserve the electoral whipping coming their way.

The replacement of Labour MPs for SNP MPs however, will be like the replacement of dead wood for plywood – another load of planks floating on a sea of political mediocrity.

Nationalists think you won’t notice the difference between Labour’s second raters and their third raters.

And they’re probably right. Salmond’s ego led machine will keep the third raters in their place – nice and quiet in a tightly controlled box.

Nationalist style “iron discipline” and “personality cult” politics at Holyrood demonstrated that the New Labour model works well within any party when executed properly.

Like the New Labour machine of the nineties, Salmond’s Nationalist juggernaut is sailing high and fast on the wind of change currently blowing through the heady minds of a fevered Scottish electorate.

So far, the Nationalist faithful appear blind, or care less, regarding these cynically implemented New Labour style strategies. And who can blame them?

They see the results of the polls and it makes them feel as happy as a Putin believing Russian hearing the news that his fatherland had just annexed the Crimea by democratic decree.

But we Scots, so Joan flatters us, are “politically sophisticated” as a “result of the referendum”.

We should know when cheap stunt Nationalism is at work. With no credible voting alternative coming from the ‘Unionist’ parties, we clearly don’t.  And that’s why we’ll have to put up with Nationalist style pre-emptive triumphalism for months to come.

ZZZzzz…

COMEDY RELIEF

And here’s the result of calls for ‘mass annihilation’ – cleansing.