Herald and Daily Record spin postal bombs and bullets as a Celtic issue

What's in a headline?

It's been a vintage week for the Laptop Loyal. It started with staunch affirmation of another highly-debatable Rangers penalty award, the kind they invariably get in their hour of need, which allowed them to overcome a spirited St Mirren defence and turn 1 point into 3.

TV pictures showed that John Potter of St Mirren made the merest of contact with Nikica Jelavic which was enough for the Rangers striker to fling himself spectacularly to the ground. Rather than debate the merits of the controversial decision the media offered only stoic support of referee Norris's decision.

On Radio Scotland, Scott Booth stated emphatically that it was "100% the correct decision" and on Sportscene Pat Nevin launched into his best doth-protest-too-much routine by attacking Celtic fans for their future thought crimes. "This is the kind of the thing that will get the Celtic fans coming up with conspiracy theories but it was a stonewaller" said soup-taker Nevin, begging the question - if it was such a "stonewaller", how could it simultaneously be "the kind of thing" that leads to conspiracy theories?

Doublethink rules OK.

John Potter tells the press that it wasn't a penalty and the press give his comments less column inches than a forced apology to Martin O'Neill.

The next day, Celtic comfortably dispatched Aberdeen out of the Scottish Cup courtesy of a 4-0 win at Hampden. Aberdeen were dead in the water after central defender Andrew Considine naively tripped Gary Hooper when through on goal, conceding a penalty and earning himself a red card. The hundits on Radio Scotland, for reasons known only to themselves and the paranoid, were unable to verify the validity of the referee's decision preferring to speculate at length over the potential "controversy" of the award.

In a post-match interview, Chris Maguire "rages" at the first Celtic penalty stating emphatically that Considine didn't touch Hooper and Aberdeen were "ROBBED". The Daily Record gives these comments a double-page spread under a headline of "Decision to red card Andy Considine cost us a chance of reaching Final"

Not a bad effort from the sub-editor, but I'd like to suggest a couple of more accurate headlines that could have been used:

"Andy Considine's diddy defending cost us a chance of reaching Final" or
"Our shiteness cost us a chance of reaching Final"

A bit of a contrast there in the column inches afforded by the Laptop Loyal to comments made in very similar circumstances. What is the variable that accounts for the disparity in headlines then? If you don't know the answer then you're reading the wrong blog.

The following Tuesday, Rangers broke their own World Record when they were awarded THREE penalties against Dundee United at Tannadice, who had THREE players sent off.

United manager, Peter "Celtic thought they'd won the League here today" Houston - he of the infamous "Dougie McDonald conspired to give a penalty against us for nothing" rant - was remarkably low key in his after-match comments.

Houston said he had "no complaints" about the three penalties despite the second being clearly outside the box (see below). He did express a degree of frustration at the number of red cards issued but did so by bizarrely linking it to the red card given to Considine the previous Sunday, as if to helpfully remind everyone that players are sent-off against Celtic too.

One can only imagine the excesses of Peter "Stevie Naismith didnae dive" Houston's rage if a United player is ever sent off against Celtic.



Now the usual spin to perpetuate the "O** F*** get all the decisions" myth is one thing, but for the Laptop Loyal to muddy the waters with "bad as each other" propaganda where bullets and bombs are involved is simply beyond the pale.



On Wednesday 20th April 2011, it was revealed that "viable explosive devices" were posted to Neil Lennon, Paul McBride QC and Trish Godman MSP. Over the next few days Cardinal Keith O'Brien and former MP Brian Wilson were sent similar devices.

The Herald chose to headline the story as a Police hunt for a "Celtic bomb fiend" (see above). This is an outrageously misleading headline and gives the impression to anyone who doesn't go on to read the full contents of the article that the "bomb fiend" in question must be someone with a connection to Celtic.

Perhaps it was a journalistic "honest mistake"?



But there was no-way Jabba Traynor and his Daily Record propaganda rag were going to be out-Rangered by any upstart broadsheet in Rangers' hour of need; an hour of need that seems to have lasted longer than the mythical 48 hours of fakeover fame.

To that end the Record fabricated a "Celtic threat" against essentially everyone connected with Rangers FC. The excuse for this misleading anti-Celtic story was the "news" that police had briefed Moonbeams, Mr Nosurname and Baldy "about their security", a not unexpected if supremely cautious course of action in the absence of any "threats" actually existing in the real world in which the rest of us all exist.

"Rangers bosses on terror alert following Celtic threats

"RANGERS bosses Walter Smith, David Murray and Martin Bain were warned last night by anti-terror cops that they are at risk of attack.

Officers briefed the men about their security in the wake of the attempted nail-bomb attacks on Celtic manager Neil Lennon, his QC Paul McBride and Celtic-supporting MSP Trish Godman.

A Rangers source said: "What happened to Neil Lennon is despicable, and there's a concern that some twisted individual might think it's a good idea to gain some kind of revenge."

So the "concern" of a "Rangers source" is reported by the Daily Ranger as a "Celtic threat" where no such threat has actually been made. It's the ultimate "Whattaboutery" just when you thought Jabba & co couldn't sink any lower.

The source said: "It all happened very quickly, without prior warning, which tends to suggest a bit more urgency about it."

What, no warning about the warning? It must've been serious.

"Rangers players were also being spoken to about their security, with particular attention paid to Ulstermen Kyle Lafferty and Steven Davis."

After all, we're both as bad as each other aint we? I mean these guys have been receiving bullets in the post as retaliation for the same being sent to Paddy, Neil and Niall. Oh no, wait...

"And police advised Gers staff to search the mail rooms at Ibrox and the Murray Park training complex. The searches were carried out by the club's own security team."

The police advised Ibrox and Murray Park staff to go on some sort of bomb hunt?? Surely if the "threat" was so credible the police would take this responsibility on themselves with suitably qualified personnel?

I smell made-up shite again...

"But the Record's source said the terror cops were "most concerned" about the potential threat to Smith, Murray and Bain."

Ah, and at last we get a peek behind the smoke and mirrors; this is a "potential" threat, which in the world of the Daily Ranger translates as an excuse to denigrate the image of Celtic fans to drag them into the gutter occupied by Rangers.

Despite the Record's baseless hysteria, it's likely the police are currently spending a lot more time dealing with the numerous threats that actually exist in the real world we live in and not the fantasies of a Daily Record editor's imagination.

This is no more than the usual "Whattaboutery" deflection, based on "insiders" and the Record's "sources" (i.e. no credible, verifiable sources) that ultimately allows the bigots to justify their actions by pointing their fingers to the other side, except in this case, the justification is for bombs rather than words of hate.

The Scottish media have proven themselves a barrier in attempts to eradicate sectarianism and anti-Irish racism by, not only their failure to recognise the true nature of the issue, but by consciously conflating it as a "bad as each other" problem.

The Daily Record have presented speculation as fact, exaggerating a common sense, worst-case scenario approach from the police into some sort of mortal threat against the lives of Rangers employees.

Does this not feed the bigot monster further?
Will those who sent bombs to Neil Lennon & co not feel that they need to escalate things in the face of "threats" to their club?

With this article alone, the Daily Record has proven there is no level below which it will not sink in its willingness to whore itself to the Rangers pound and pander to their bigots.

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