Would You Support A Protest Of The Bbc

[caseyjones 3,009]

How would you explain decisions taken to discuss generic sectarianism stories from outside Ibrox? Or letter bomb stories from outside Ibrox?

I agree some smaller examples of employee problems are petty. However, juxtapose them with clear editorial/production issues such as they ones above, the McCoist smile and other slanted debates on Newsnight and radio, then it's clear there is a problem.

Do you think RFC would take this decision for a laugh?

If the decision taken by RFC was about the past incidents it would have been made back in July. This is solely about tonight's documentary and the expected personal nature of it towards Whyte.

[Zulu 990]

Yes and I'd start with not watching their shitey documentary tonight.

That makes two of us

[Frankie 505]

BBC Scotland are slanted, biased and spin-happy. However it's not exclusively against Rangers - I'm sure if you read any Celtic board they would say exactly the same thing and have similar selective evidence to back them up. That's as close to parity as any of us are likely to get.

I don't really see what you're claiming - are you saying there's a culture at the BBC to always show Rangers in a bad light? That's laughable.

Let's just look at the last 6-12months:

Why are 'neutral' sectarianism stories presented outside Ibrox?

Why are stories about 'letter bombs to the Celtic manager' presented outside Ibrox?

Why was our manager made to look like a fool with regard to sectarianism?

Why, in the same report, do the organisation show our fans singing sectarian songs while showing Celtic fans carrying anti-racism banners?

Why do the organisation choose to cover some sectarianism stories and not others?

Why do they have 'karaoke' lyrics for offensive RFC songs and not others?

Why are radio/TV debates not presented properly and in a balanced fashion (see Graham Spiers radio docu)?

Why does Stuart Cosgrove suggest problems of bias?

Why have Rangers has three examples of editorial problems this season alone?

If you can show me the evidence from other clubs suffering from similar problems, I'd be interested.

[Frankie 505]

If the decision taken by RFC was about the past incidents it would have been made back in July. This is solely about tonight's documentary and the expected personal nature of it towards Whyte.

I don't disagree with that (and said as much the other day). However, it could easily be suggested an alleged poorly presented documentary was the final straw after previous warnings.

[Frankie 505]

Is he not the not-quite-as-fat one from Off The Ball?

Yes he is.

That's not his only job.

[TravelingWilBEARy 4,319]

Let's just look at the last 6-12months:

Why are 'neutral' sectarianism stories presented outside Ibrox?

Why are stories about 'letter bombs to the Celtic manager' presented outside Ibrox?

Why was our manager made to look like a fool with regard to sectarianism?

Why, in the same report, do the organisation show our fans singing sectarian songs while showing Celtic fans carrying anti-racism banners?

Why do the organisation choose to cover some sectarianism stories and not others?

Why do they have 'karaoke' lyrics for offensive RFC songs and not others?

Why are radio/TV debates not presented properly and in a balanced fashion (see Graham Spiers radio docu)?

Why does Stuart Cosgrove suggest problems of bias?

Why have Rangers has three examples of editorial problems this season alone?

If you can show me the evidence from other clubs suffering from similar problems, I'd be interested.

Why did you include some of the stuff you admitted was petty?

I'm afraid I have better things to do than collect similar 'evidence' from paranoid internet tims. I'm sure you can find it relatively quickly though - they are also suffering similar problems to us it seems (they think the World is against them too).

[Frankie 505]

Why did you include some of the stuff you admitted was petty?

I'm afraid I have better things to do than collect similar 'evidence' from paranoid internet tims. I'm sure you can find it relatively quickly though - they are also suffering similar problems to us it seems (they think the World is against them too).

I find the photograph HTML/Castle Greyskull stuff petty. I don't find the stuff above petty.

FWIW, I've asked doubting journalists and Celtic supporting friends to show me some similar examples of strange productions/editorial standards. Like you, they can't.

I appreciate you don't have time to canvas Celtic fans. Perhaps though you could tell me why some of the issues above happened?

[TravelingWilBEARy 4,319]

I find the photograph HTML/Castle Greyskull stuff petty. I don't find the stuff above petty.

FWIW, I've asked doubting journalists and Celtic supporting friends to show me some similar examples of strange productions/editorial standards. Like you, they can't.

I appreciate you don't have time to canvas Celtic fans. Perhaps though you could tell me why some of the issues above happened?

There's no way I can accurately answer this. I'm not directly involved in BBC Scotland production for some reason (bias probably).

[Adoniram 1,919]

Let's just look at the last 6-12months:

Why are 'neutral' sectarianism stories presented outside Ibrox?

Why are stories about 'letter bombs to the Celtic manager' presented outside Ibrox?

Why was our manager made to look like a fool with regard to sectarianism?

Why, in the same report, do the organisation show our fans singing sectarian songs while showing Celtic fans carrying anti-racism banners?

Why do the organisation choose to cover some sectarianism stories and not others?

Why do they have 'karaoke' lyrics for offensive RFC songs and not others?

Why are radio/TV debates not presented properly and in a balanced fashion (see Graham Spiers radio docu)?

Why does Stuart Cosgrove suggest problems of bias?

Why have Rangers has three examples of editorial problems this season alone?

If you can show me the evidence from other clubs suffering from similar problems, I'd be interested.

He can't and won't and never will.

[Frankie 505]

There's no way I can accurately answer this. I'm not directly involved in BBC Scotland production for some reason (bias probably).

I'm not asking you to accurately answer my questions. Just offer an opinion why there seems to be so many examples of poor editorial standards at the BBC when it comes to one subject and club?

Like I say, I don't doubt the club are making hay because of tonight's docusoap but the evidence is more than circumstantial and certainly isn't laughable.

[Adoniram 1,919]

This is what Cosgrove said a few years back

Having said that he likes to poke fun at the Glasgow giants, Cosgrove, as a serious analyst of the nation's culture and history, also recognises that there is a less superficial side to the whole question. "I work in the film and television industry, and it's much, much harder to find Rangers fans than it is to find Celtic fans. I don't know why that is, and it runs counter to the old presumption from the 1940s or Fifties that all public life in Scotland is institutionally biased towards Rangers.

"The wider democratisation of Scottish life means that has changed for ever, probably even in the old-fashioned institutions like the army and the police. Certainly in the media the idea that the BBC was run by a bunch of Rangers-supporting men in blazers is a fiction from many decades ago. Therefore when the Rangers Supporters Trust questions the media about bias, they're doing it from a position of realising that their opinion is a minority one within the culture.

"There's probably been more of a closeting of Rangers fans over the years, which is why I think the current generation of them are engaged in a campaign to fight back, as it were. The fans that find a modern way of fighting back have got a lot of right on their side if they feel discriminated against. The ones that actually retreat deeper into discrimination are the ones you could do without."

[NessFTW 40]

Let's just look at the last 6-12months:

Why are 'neutral' sectarianism stories presented outside Ibrox?

Why are stories about 'letter bombs to the Celtic manager' presented outside Ibrox?

Why was our manager made to look like a fool with regard to sectarianism?

Why, in the same report, do the organisation show our fans singing sectarian songs while showing Celtic fans carrying anti-racism banners?

Why do the organisation choose to cover some sectarianism stories and not others?

Why do they have 'karaoke' lyrics for offensive RFC songs and not others?

Why are radio/TV debates not presented properly and in a balanced fashion (see Graham Spiers radio docu)?

Why does Stuart Cosgrove suggest problems of bias?

Why have Rangers has three examples of editorial problems this season alone?

If you can show me the evidence from other clubs suffering from similar problems, I'd be interested.

I believe they have been biased against Rangers, but not from a pro Celtic point of view.

They're just trying to sensationalise the biggest current issue with their own interests in mind. This is what the media in this country do and it is deplorable .

[ricksen_da_best 2,034]

5th of november, outside the BBC offices, see you their.

[keithgersbear 3,225]

Any good way we could Boycott the BBC?

[Ped faeIbroxStreet 5]

Evidence of alleged criminality in the past business dealings of Rangers FC's new owner has been uncovered by a BBC Scotland investigation.

It found that Craig Whyte was banned from being a director for seven years.

The BBC heard allegations that Mr Whyte controlled a company despite his ban, an offence which could incur a two-year jail term. It was later wound up after misleading potential shareholders.

Mr Whyte denied all the claims "in the strongest possible terms".

The 40-year-old businessman from Motherwell owns an 85% stake in Rangers.

Mr Whyte paid Sir David Murray £1 for the Glasgow club six months ago, and settled its £18m debt to Lloyds Banking Group.

Rangers: An Inside Story, which will be broadcast on BBC1 Scotland at 19:00, heard allegations about the man who took over the 138-year-old club in May.

The BBC understands Mr Whyte was banned from acting as a director after the government began pursuing his company, Vital Holdings Ltd, for failing to produce satisfactory accounts.

The programme also uncovered evidence that HM Revenue and Customs was chasing some of Mr Whyte's companies for unpaid taxes.

The programme heard claims about Mr Whyte's involvement in a company called Re-tex Plastic Technology, during his ban.

Re-tex was wound up in 2003, after it offered to sell shares to the public using company statements which were said to contain false and misleading information.

The firm was investigated by the UK government's Insolvency Service - the agency that probes corrupt business practice.

Robert Burns, head of investigations at the agency, said: "We took the view that the company was being controlled, or certainly had the involvement of, an individual who was disqualified. That raised concerns."

'Be prosecuted'

When asked who that individual was, he said: "I'm talking about Craig Whyte, who had been disqualified as a director in June 2000, for seven years.

"We found a number of suggestions, and indeed evidence, that he was in some way, shape or form, behind the company. For example he was signatory to the bank account, he was giving instructions to certain payments.

Current Scottish champions Rangers have a 140-year history

"In relation to his involvement in running the company then it is an offence and the individual can be prosecuted. Clearly there would have had to be a criminal investigation and a trial."

Responding to the claims, Mr Whyte's lawyers said he had a small investment in Re-tex, but was never a director or a de facto director.

Mr Burns told the BBC that his team had uncovered evidence that Mr Whyte had taken two sums of £100,000 from the company, apparently to pay a tax bill.

"There's no trace of the money being received by the Inland Revenue," Mr Burns said.

He told the programme that Mr Whyte had appointed fake auditors called Mullet and Co, which signed off misleading Re-tex accounts.

Mr Whyte's lawyers said their client had no control over Re-tex's bank account or finances and denied "in the strongest possible terms" withdrawing any money from the company accounts or appointing any auditors.

'Outsourcing services'

The Insolvency Service believes a convicted fraudster, Kevin Sykes, was one of the individuals behind Mullet and Co.

Mr Burns said: "We have investigated a number of companies which Kevin Sykes has been behind.

"We also know Mr Sykes because of a Serious Fraud Office investigation. In October 2004, he was convicted and received a sentence in total of eight years for his part in a theft from a pension fund which totalled £3m."

Mr Whyte lived in Monaco for several years

This conviction came three years after Sykes' last known involvement with Craig Whyte.

The documentary reveals other previous links between Mr Whyte and Sykes, with the latter acting as secretary in four of Mr Whyte's companies which were dissolved in the late 1990s.

Mr Whyte moved to Monaco for several years around 2000, following his disqualification and the demise of 24 companies in which he was involved.

In March 2001, Sykes told his bankruptcy hearing at the High Court in London that he travelled to Monaco to be paid in cash by Mr Whyte for "outsourcing services".

Mr Whyte's lawyers said its client had never been a close business associate of Kevin Sykes, and denied paying him a retainer.

Rangers' finances have hit the headlines in recent months, after a judge ruled more than £3m of its assets should be frozen, pending further court action.

The Court of Session in Edinburgh heard that a disputed tax bill of up to £49m left the SPL champions at a "real and substantial risk of insolvency". The tax hearing is due to begin next month.

The documentary comes just days after Rangers announced it was withdrawing all co-operation with the BBC.

In a statement, Craig Whyte and Rangers FC said: "As a result of the BBC's approach, Mr Whyte and Rangers FC believe there is a strong risk that the programme will mislead and misinform viewers about matters concerning the club, and has suspended the BBC's access to the club.

"Mr Whyte and Rangers wish to reassure viewers - and those of the club's valued fans who may be watching - that the best interests and secure future of the club are and will remain their priority."

BBC Scotland Investigates - Rangers: The Inside Story was broadcast on BBC1 Scotland at 19:00 on Thursday 20 October, and will be available for a week on the iPlayer. THESE BASTARDS HAVE EXPOSED THEMSELVES AS HAVING A WARPED ANTI RANGERS AGENDA, WE MUST TAKE STAND 10,000 CALLING ON THE CUNTS AFTER THE NEXT HOME GAME SHOULD GET THEIR ATTENTION! IF WE DON'T STAND UP TO THIS I FEAR FOR OUR CLUB AS THESE EVIL TARRIER SCUMBAGS WILL STOP AT NOTHING IN THERE ATTEMPTS TO BLACKEN OUR NAME!

[Adoniram 1,919]

I don't recall the BBC rushing out to commission a documentary on this one or any of Desmond Decker's dodgy deals and ALLEGED links to "Criminal activity"

Celtic boss Neil The Bigot has lost nearly pounds 600,000 on a failed property firm - and the man he set it up with was embroiled in an IRA money laundering racket, the Sunday Mirror can reveal.

The Bigot's business partner Julian Dowe had his house seized by anti-crime chiefs as part of Britain's biggest ever investigation into the financing of the IRA, we have learned.

And, as well as losing a large slice of his own savings in the collapsed firm, Hoops hero The Bigot is now being sued for more than pounds 2million by the Bank of Ireland which loaned money to the project.

The extraordinary revelations come in the week Celtic appointed former captain The Bigot, 38, as caretaker manager after the sacking of flop boss Tony Mowbray.

Parkhead chiefs will be concerned that fans' favourite The Bigot, hit in the past by a series of sex scandals, will now be engulfed in lengthy and high-profile legal action relating to his business dealings. The Bigot set up a property development firm in the Republic in December, 2005, with former professional footballer Dowe, we reveal today.

But, embarrassingly for The Bigot, within months of founding the firm, Do We was caught up in a massive pounds 11million IRA money laundering scam. There is no suggestion that The Bigot has been accused of any involvement.

Dowe's pounds 230,000 property in Manchester was targeted by investigators who alleged he was an associate of Thomas 'Slab' Murphy, the IRA former chief of staff.

Investigators won a court order under Proceeds of Crime laws to confiscate the home from Do We on the grounds he was involved in a mortgage fraud connected to the IRA laundering scam.

Do We, 34, later resigned as a director of The Bigot's firm, which was set up to build 61 luxury homes on a prime site near the M1 outside Dundalk, Co Louth.

Now, the firm which The Bigot set up, called Rocket Developments, has collapsed without a single house being built - leaving fuming The Bigot out of pocket to the tune of nearly EUR650,000.

Worried The Bigot has now hired one of the country's top barristers to begin court action in the High Court in Dublin to recover the cash, which he invested in the company when it was set up.

Meanwhile, the Bank of Ireland has filed a separate lawsuit against The Bigot seeking to recover around pounds 2.7million which it loaned to the company.

The Bigot intends to vigorously contest the bank's action - filed at the High Court in November last year - in what could be a lengthy and highly expensive legal wrangle.

A source said: "The bank is trying to make Neil the fall guy for the firm going down.

"It's a nightmare scenario for him. "He's suing to get his money back - while being sued himself by the bank.

"Neil insists that the bank is totally wrong and is determined to fight his corner all the way.

"But, obviously, if the bank wins, which his lawyers say is very unlikely, he's facing shelling out the best part of pounds 3million plus legal fees - which is one heck of a lot of money.

"And, apart from all that, there's the issue of his former co director being caught up in an IRA money laundering investigation w h i c h h e knew nothing about. It really is the stuff of nightmares."

The Bigot and former striker Do We were football trainees at Manchester City.

Whereas The Bigot, from Lurgan, Co Armagh, went on to star for Leicester and then captain Celtic, Do We faded away from football after spells with non-league clubs. In December, 2005, at the height of the property boom, The Bigot and his co-director Do We founded Rocket Developments Ltd to build a new housing estate close to the M1 Dublin-Belfast motorway.

The firm paid around pounds 3.5m for the plot - six acres of muddy fields which now lie empty and are up for sale again.

And, with thousands of new-build houses lying unsold across the country, the land is now worth an estimated pounds 350,000, just 10 per cent of what the firm paid for it.

Planning permission was applied for in March, 2006.

Then in October, 2006, Dove's home was one of dozens of houses and flats across Manchester frozen by the Assets Recovery Agency in the biggest investigation ever conducted into IRA money laundering and mortgage fraud.

The operation followed a raid on IRA chief Murphy's Armagh home in which records were found of a massive trail of pounds 11m worth of properties stretching across Greater Manchester. The agency said the properties were part of an intricate laundering and racketeering operation linked to the IRA.

Dove's home and 35 other properties were eventually confiscated following lengthy court battles which concluded in June last year.

Dove's house - a large semi-detached villa - was one of the first to be successfully seized. The Assets Recovery Agency, set up to remove houses, cars and other proceeds of crime from villains, alleged in court papers that Do We was an associate of IRA chief Murphy.

And the agency said that Do We had committed a mortgage fraud to buy the property, which he purchased in 2005. The house has now been sold to a new owner. Shortly after the home was seized, Do We quit the board of Rocket Developments in January, 2007. Planning permission was then finally granted in September 2007 - just as the credit crunch was about to derail the Irish property boom.

The fields bought by Rocket Developments almost five years ago are back up for sale. But the total collapse of the Irish property market makes it unlikely there will be any buyers.

Company records show that The Bigot was owed EUR646,706 (around pounds 580,000) when Rocket Developments was dissolved on December 18 last year.

Meanwhile, the Bank of Ireland was owed around pounds 2.7million, according to the same records - which the bank is now trying to recover from the caretaker Hoops boss.

The Bigot's Scottish solicitor Leo Martin said last night: "I have been consulted by Mr The Bigot who finds himself the innocent victim and who has now suffered a significant financial loss in this transaction.

"We have instructed the most senior commercial barristers in Dublin to defend his position and to pursue those parties who should have been protecting his interests."

The work of the Assets Recovery Agency is now part of the England and Wales Serious and Organised Crime Agency (SOCA). A SOCA spokesman last night confirmed that Dove's former home on Rowan Avenue in the Sale area of Manchester was one of the properties it confiscated in the anti-IRA operation. The spokesman said: "The case was settled in June 2009, at which time a total of 36 properties were recovered by SOCA."

At his new home in Manchester, Do We said last night: "A house I used to live in was involved in the assets seizure but I have never been charged with anything."

[WMBear 0]

Most certainly would support it tonight was a hatchet job

[Rangers_Youth 6]

26 absolute arseholes on this thread

[hanleysguru 10]

I can't believe some of the crap I'm reading on here. I'm 42 and have watched Rangers for most of that time. I've also watched media coverage throughout and it's utterly farcical to suggest that there is some kind of BBC agenda against Rangers. For those that say there have been no equivalent outrages against Celtic, you only have to listen to one of their fans chunter on for 5 minutes to get a glimpse of true paranoia. I've seen poor reporting on any number of issues, but for me this centres entirely on Whyte, and for all I know he might be as bad for the club as some have suggested. I'm not going to support him just because he happens to have bought Rangers - I have no idea what his motives may have been. I'm certainly not going to join some laughable protest against the BBC in a ludicrous show of solidarity with him. I'll continue to support Rangers without embarassing the club.

[*Manticore* 1,893]

26 absolute arseholes on this thread

I've only noticed a couple.

[simplythebest 11,453]

26 absolute arseholes on this thread

Giving up TV licenses isn't something everyone will just do at the drop of a hat.

I think the BBC getting no interviews or invites to press conferences at all for Rangers games is pretty big punishment to be getting on with.

[trevelyan 44]

I can't believe some of the crap I'm reading on here. I'm 42 and have watched Rangers for most of that time. I've also watched media coverage throughout and it's utterly farcical to suggest that there is some kind of BBC agenda against Rangers. For those that say there have been no equivalent outrages against Celtic, you only have to listen to one of their fans chunter on for 5 minutes to get a glimpse of true paranoia. I've seen poor reporting on any number of issues, but for me this centres entirely on Whyte, and for all I know he might be as bad for the club as some have suggested. I'm not going to support him just because he happens to have bought Rangers - I have no idea what his motives may have been. I'm certainly not going to join some laughable protest against the BBC in a ludicrous show of solidarity with him. I'll continue to support Rangers without embarassing the club.

Four in a row

[RFE 35]

Let's just look at the last 6-12months:

Why are 'neutral' sectarianism stories presented outside Ibrox?

Why are stories about 'letter bombs to the Celtic manager' presented outside Ibrox?

Why was our manager made to look like a fool with regard to sectarianism?

Why, in the same report, do the organisation show our fans singing sectarian songs while showing Celtic fans carrying anti-racism banners?

Why do the organisation choose to cover some sectarianism stories and not others?

Why do they have 'karaoke' lyrics for offensive RFC songs and not others?

Why are radio/TV debates not presented properly and in a balanced fashion (see Graham Spiers radio docu)?

Why does Stuart Cosgrove suggest problems of bias?

Why have Rangers has three examples of editorial problems this season alone?

If you can show me the evidence from other clubs suffering from similar problems, I'd be interested.

Nail on the head and as you say that's only the past 6-12 months! Great post

[Frankie 505]

I can't believe some of the crap I'm reading on here. I'm 42 and have watched Rangers for most of that time. I've also watched media coverage throughout and it's utterly farcical to suggest that there is some kind of BBC agenda against Rangers. For those that say there have been no equivalent outrages against Celtic, you only have to listen to one of their fans chunter on for 5 minutes to get a glimpse of true paranoia. I've seen poor reporting on any number of issues, but for me this centres entirely on Whyte, and for all I know he might be as bad for the club as some have suggested. I'm not going to support him just because he happens to have bought Rangers - I have no idea what his motives may have been. I'm certainly not going to join some laughable protest against the BBC in a ludicrous show of solidarity with him. I'll continue to support Rangers without embarassing the club.

I'm 34 and have watched Rangers for most of that time. I, too, have anecdotal evidence of fans from other clubs moaning about media coverage and they often have a point. Ergo, I'm strongly of the opinion that the media per se are not anti-Rangers but simply incompetent vultures looking for the next story which they can exaggerate to make money.

That does not apply to BBC Scotland as my earlier posts have pointed out. As such, I put the same ten questions to you as the other protest critics in this thread - you'll, of course, note none of these questions 'centre entirely on Whyte':

Why are 'neutral' sectarianism stories presented outside Ibrox?

Why are stories about 'letter bombs to the Celtic manager' presented outside Ibrox?

Why was our manager made to look like a fool with regard to sectarianism?

Why, in the same report, do the organisation show our fans singing sectarian songs while showing Celtic fans carrying anti-racism banners?

Why do the organisation choose to cover some sectarianism stories and not others?

Why do they have 'karaoke' lyrics for offensive RFC songs and not others?

Why are radio/TV debates not presented properly and in a balanced fashion (see Graham Spiers radio docu)?

Why does Stuart Cosgrove suggest problems of bias?

Why have Rangers had three examples of editorial problems this season alone?

Can you please show me where other clubs have had similar imbalanced coverage?

If we are paranoid embarrassments, then these really should be simple questions to answer. I'm surprised nobody has managed to do this so far - hopefully you'll be able to.

[Edmiston Drive 3,846]

I can't believe some of the crap I'm reading on here. I'm 42 and have watched Rangers for most of that time. I've also watched media coverage throughout and it's utterly farcical to suggest that there is some kind of BBC agenda against Rangers. For those that say there have been no equivalent outrages against Celtic, you only have to listen to one of their fans chunter on for 5 minutes to get a glimpse of true paranoia. I've seen poor reporting on any number of issues, but for me this centres entirely on Whyte, and for all I know he might be as bad for the club as some have suggested. I'm not going to support him just because he happens to have bought Rangers - I have no idea what his motives may have been. I'm certainly not going to join some laughable protest against the BBC in a ludicrous show of solidarity with him. I'll continue to support Rangers without embarassing the club.

Re you last part (in bold) You have scored a better on goal than Cha. This has been going on long before Craig Whyte and the last number of weeks have just really brought this to a head.