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mackpomm

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Everything posted by mackpomm

  1. Read the words I wrote Minister for Truth. It's not "my" proposed energy company. It's the energy company our First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, pledged to create in 2017. It's the energy company SNP members voted for with a massive majority in 2021. It's the energy company that doesn't exist.
  2. SNP members call for creation of state-run energy company... Motion will be seen as rebuke to party leader Nicola Sturgeon, who pledged to establish national firm in 2017 https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/sep/11/snp-members-call-for-creation-of-state-run-energy-company That's certainly one route.
  3. That's worrying. I'm sure the Scottish Government will do due dilligence and protect the interests of taxpayers. Erm... "The Scottish Government pointed out that most business taxes were the responsibility of the UK government" But they are still responsible for drawing up the contracts so they should be able to do something?
  4. See my post above in response to Bonbon19. I could spare you a few hours a week but presumably your Ministry of Truth job offer is a full time post?
  5. I think the cost of floating wind capture might be different. I agree private secor expertise is required. Having read the report below I begin to realise just how complex the issues are. Whilst SOWEC is a public /private partnership there does not seem to have been discussion of capital, profit and reward structures and to this extent the leasing round creates a similar structure to that of the oil industry. https://www.offshorewindscotland.org.uk/media/1573/strategic-investment-assessment-report-august-2021.pdf The foreword to the report emphasises the success of Scotwind's leasing and supply chain requirements is entirely dependent on the Scottish Government directing initial revenues from the leasing round towards infrastructure investment eg upgrading ports.....and obtaining matching finance through equivalence to the Hull/Dogger Bank schemes. What is immediately apparent is that Scotland will be a tiny part of the global wind generation industry and the economic benefits to the public purse and wider economy will only be achieved by being ultra competive. Aside from the initial revenue stream from the leasing round there really is no Windfall....
  6. I think their being "our incompetents" is one of the strongest arguments for independence. As long as it is accompanied by transparency and accountability.
  7. So Labour bad! Okay Orwell's Animal Farm has Napoleon and Squealer disallowing critical question from the animals about the Windmill, by rhetorical and threatening means. I wonder at what point in Orwell's story Scotland currently stands? Asking questions about the sell-off should be allowed. A conceptual description from our government of why one particular path - the auction of sea bed leases to multinational companies - has been chosen in preference to others, doesn't seem too much to ask. We 'need to do this quickly' doesn't reach any bar.
  8. Absolutely, the SNP are just the same as other political parties. It is dangerous to believe otherwise. If wealth creation in a capitalist society is one of the seeds of it's own destruction then prolonged electoral success, whether Thatcher, Blair or Sturgeon, obvious in a smug complacency and absence of internal party audit, is likewise the seed of destruction for elected governments within a capitalist society. And hopefully for autocratic leaders like Putin too. Focussing our critical skills on whataboutery and odorous comparisons is a waste and encourages hate. Critical analysis of what our current government is up to, recognising that all parties are self interested and incompetent, eschewing party allegiances, is all that we have to maximise the good and limit the damage they do. Like just about everybody else on this forum I struggle to keep this in mind but perhaps Putin is a good example of what zombified loyalty allows. I willl protest that my hot air is still broadly on topic for Wind. Scrutiny is the Power
  9. Do you mean the current Scottish Government are incompetent but at least they are our incompetents?
  10. https://www.holyrood.com/inside-politics/view,wind-in-the-sails ....thought this was a balanced introduction to the subject. This scottish government isn't fond of public scrutiny or the freedom of information act but i guess we'll learn more over time. The amount recieved might potentially cover the potential liabilities on the Lochaber Smelter electricity contract and Ferguson Shipyard debacle(s). But I really hope funds raised are going to be ringfenced in some capital account and not squandered on short term electoral bribes from the revenue account.... and the aggrandisement of Scotland's centrallising government. No announcement of a WindWindfall Fund so far. Whatever the tricky sums, the lead times are long and uncertain, making discounted values of revenues and costs, including manufacturing and installation costs, highly unreliable. Not involving solely multinational companies and instead keeping the profits in Scotland would require a lot of detailed work over a long period of time, together with some innovative thinking; not our government's skill set. Selling the family silver at auction is perhaps just easier whilst admittedly less risky if the long term discount rate used by the government is largely determined by short term political considerations. I think the Scottish people deserve better. This is just more of the same-old-same-old.
  11. Wholeheartedly agree although First Minister Sturgeon's popularity in the face of her record on education, health, drug-related deaths and child poverty comes close.
  12. Michael Colborne. I agree with him. Most politicians make uncomfortable compromises. The post i responded to was another example of a puritanical pursuit of Nazi-herring.
  13. So then, Putin gets a free pass?
  14. I found this quote in the Spectator... Putin, as a slightly comic alpha male authoritarian, saw in Trump something he recognised — an unstable, unpredictable yet potentially decisive actor on the world stage. ...and feel tempted to agree with you. I wasn't aware of events in Syria. As I've read more... of Trump's threats to leave NATO or at least not support Europe unless defence budgets were increased; his passivity re Crimea which seemed to extend to acceptance it was Russian; his desire to readmit Russia to the G7.... I've wondered if these were interpretated as signs of encouragement by Putin. But even the mixed messaging might confirm his unpredictability, an uncertainty of response magnified by his apparent personal pride. Maybe in his extreme dotage, if there is nothing to be gained politically or militarily from lying, Putin will tell us what the answer is....
  15. ......the price of nickel soars, oil and gas supplies soon to be rationed, wheat shortages, global food price inflation...this came to mind..
  16. Agreed. But I'll go with the bad guys instead of the badder guys. Isn't that the only choice we ever really have? Apologies to any world power with a genuinely saintly foreign policy hiding out there....
  17. Yes...and possibly Trump would have used any prior knowledge to rebalance his equity portfolio towards defence companies. Perhaps we'll learn in the future that he did anyway. With both eyes on the November mid term elections, I don't believe Trump would have taken any subsequent action, either with economic sanctions which will see sharp increases in US petrol and food prices or military aid/intervention. Surely his make america great again policy is basically isolationist. He thrives on sound bites, anarchy, greed and mistrust and is focussed on short term reward. A presidential term wouldn't allow him to reap any reward for intervention. He'd watch and gloat at Europe's impotence...."Putin wouldn't have invaded if I was President of Europe...I told 'em" Just opinions.
  18. I think the Palestinian question would justify a separate thread, suffice to say I think it's a more complex issue than it suits you to admit. I can't relate to any of your statements regarding 'independent" Donbas. In particular, your claim that 1.5 million refugees were created by 8 years of Ukranian shelling is entirely bogus. Unrest in Donbas was militarised by the direct intervention of the Russian Army in order to create a foothold of influence in Ukranian politics. Subsequently likely war crimes have been reported (by the UN) on both sides, the bulk of non Russian commentators seem to agree the bulk by separatists. This seems consistent with the figures I find of 1.6 million refugees resettled in Ukraine, 1 million in Russia. But good on you.....if Putin didn't appear to have sufficient skilled apologists, I'd recommend giving up the day job.
  19. The UK govt may be inconsistent in its foreign policy but in the case of Ukraine I see no reason to think the UK public is being manipulated. The UK public's response to Zelensky remaining in the war zone and the Ukrainian people's determination to remain independent is overwhelmingly supportive. I believe what i see and hear on the bbc and german tv stations, but this may be niavety as i also believe in the moon landings. In particular, I don't believe the German people or government take the decision to remilitarise lightly, that Viktor Orban is a tool of the west or that the people of Moldova just need to read different newspapers to disappate their fears. The two biggest wars this country has ever been involved in were white, christian, wars and it seems there are direct parallels between these two world wars and current events in Ukraine. If you are advocating the supply of stinger missiles to Palestinian forces, I'm tempted to ask which ones? But regardless of your answer it's a no from me. I think the paperwork required at the Scottish border by any English force or trading company would be so prohibitive that there is no real danger here, so I'll move on. The Donbas is not an example of one country invading another. Unless you count Russia invading the Donbas...not to mention Crimea....so the Russians were already involved. I agree there is a great deal of duplicity and inconsistency in the UK's foreign policy. But your argument suggests that we say to Zelensky and the Ukranian people "sorry, unable to take the moral high ground here, we've made mistakes elsewhere, sins of ommission and commission y'know, just can't help". I don't think this response is justified, not least because of our own selfish interest in our own security, western Europe's security and European democracy. If we were retranslating and interpreting the world's holy books and the mindset of a righteous God, then hypocrisy, bullying, discussion of the nature of truth are very relevant. But the western democracies, imperfect as they are, are currently writing history in a dirty, dangerous and complex world; we do the best we can in the circumstances knowing already that in the best of all possible worlds we would behave differently. And yes, on my part at least, whilst acknowledging that arms sales to Saudi Arabia and tolerance of Israeli behaviour is far from ideal.
  20. It may just be that Zelenksy calculates that asking for the impossible makes getting more of the possible more likely. Like asking for an air gun or a bike at Christmas? And a US president risking rising auto gas prices by embargoing Russian oil imports is a rare thing. Even if the US isn't directly heavily reliant on Russian oil, encouraging his European allies to do the same would have a significant effect on the price of a global commodity. Likewise his lack of follow through on military supply to Saudi may be far sighted to the extent that Saudi can be persauded to take up the slack in supply as quickly as possible, they are the only oil producer with that capability. I find it difficult to believe that Bennet's Moscow visit was not briefed and debriefed? I don't think Joe's that sleepy.
  21. The link below is a google search of the Guardian's coverage of events in Yemen; nearly all of these articles predate and contain all of the information quoted relating to Yemen, in the link you shared. A search of the killie.com forums finds only 21 mentions of Yemen dating back to 2017, all of which fall into the "whataboutery" category unless relating to discussions about Killie Pies. Taking forum members as representative, this lack of interest and attention rather highlights the point you raise about focussing on some situations whilst ignoring others. But the Guardian's coverage suggests we have not been unaware. So there's a hard and humiliating lesson to be learned from events in Ukraine. Not listening and/or doing nothing when, for example, our government is involved in supporting Saudi activity in Yemen is shameful. The UK public's response to events in Ukraine has forced our government's hand. If we choose to, UK, European and US public opinion and activism can help Yemen - and we must, I agree. We got it wrong re Yemen. We can change our behaviour and make Yemen an issue for our government. But our inactivity to date re Yemen is not a justification for similar inactivity, or delegitimise our stance, re Ukraine. https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=yemen&as_sitesearch=www.theguardian.com
  22. Feels like we've formed a circle around the fight, cheering David on, keeping him on his feet, ensuring Goliath does maximum damage. We're supplying pebbles for his sling when what he needs is a plague raining down from the skies. The offer of eu membership is, but for chronology, a posthumous award and meaningless. Even the best of media coverage begins to feel voyeuristic - perhaps best kept in archives for some far distant war crimes commission. I wonder how many folk that think would claim their thinking is clear on this subject. For the first time in my lifetime i find myself thinking NATO/the west should get involved and then I force myself to think again. It feels wrong just to watch. F*ck, it's a dark night.
  23. https://www.kas.de/en/web/auslandsinformationen/artikel/detail/-/content/ukraine-transparent-but-corrupt Perhaps the impetus for change in countries like Ukraine can often be found to be the result of a leg up from a nasty oligarch. I dont think this means the outcome is deterministic of a same-old-same-old repeat of history. In the context of discussion about Ukraine in 2014/2019 and how the country has begun to slowly move away from its history of autocracy and corruption I found this fascinating. Stating the obvious, that change isn't possible overnight, it's a hopeful document to the extent it suggests, supported by evidence, that genuine democratisation is possible.
  24. I asked a very simple question that you have so far declined to answer. Instead there is a constant ejaculation of wordy analysis unrelated to any of the facts presented or questions asked. It must be exhausting, I admire your stamina. Meanwhile, I feel chastened by killiebillieskumpel's point that people are dying whilst we bicker over propoganda. I respectfully withdraw.
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