I then argued that from this perspective, Scotland could plausibly enter Trump’s sights. Trump has a personal fixation with Scotland, claims ancestral ties, owns golf courses there, and views the country as familiar territory. More importantly, Scotland has significant strategic and economic value in a climate-stressed world: vast renewable energy potential, abundant clean water, and a central role in future European energy security. These assets align with Trump’s interest in Greenland’s mineral wealth as the ice recedes.
The First Minister will be Maduro’d.
Let’s say that this mad professors theory comes true, trump installs a puppet government and asks a fat pensioner in Ely to be its leader – he’d be on the next private jet to Edinburgh with his maga kilt on
Well, to an extent, Spud may have unconsciously revealed Scotlands potential if a Trumptastic economkc agenda were pursued. ( Same applies to the rest of the UK to be fair)
Drill baby drill, all bird blenders cancelled.
Glorious coal.
Frack baby frack
Reopen recently closed refineries.
Cancel the envirobollocks regulatory strangulation.
Lower taxes on middle & working classes.
Petrol< £1 a gallon.
Wonder how popular all of the above would be.
“Glorious coal” Apart from a few open-cast possibilities there’s no economic coal left in Britain, is there?
Ratcliffe at one point stated that he wanted to go for coal bed methane deep under the Forth and so to try using ( bacterial digesters?) to make coal pumpable.
All to keep Grangemouth tenable.
Of course it was all duly rejected by the Scottisch Natzis & Pedos ( marching in lockstep the UK uniparty)
More generally you are correct that UK deep cast is always going to be more expensive then lovely open cast Australian coal.
Woodhouse Colliery in Cumbria would have produced coking coal but Starmer’s government cancelled its licence.
To whom would it have sold the coking coal? We shall shortly have no blast furnaces. If they could have made a go of it, good luck, but it always sounded to me like a Government-Subsidy- in-Waiting.
I thought that you were above “bait and switch”.
The investors were not looking to receive an acceptable investment return out of government subsidies: they thought that they could sell it to Redcar, which would be viable without a Labour government, at a price acceptable to both because Australian coal has to travel 12,000 miles to get to Redcar.
There’s loads under Lincolnshire (estimated at 300 years supply in my chemistry class in the 1980s), but it’s deep coal, and only accessible with machines. It’s never going to be an employment industry.
Murphy is mental isn’t he?
Frankly, he can have the lot of them and the Spanish carbuncle can become the new US Consulate. Then, maybe, my income tax can come down to the merely ridiculous level imposed on the English.
Sod Scotland,
Can we get starmer Marduro’d?
Then the entire UK can be the next US state.
Think of the benefits (no particular order):
– 2nd amendment.
– Rid of the royal family parasites.
– cheap petrol
– free speech
– Less of the green bollocks
Rid of the royal family parasites.
Funny you mention that. I’m hearing a lot of that sentiment these days. Andrew is obviously very unpopular. Harry and his mad wife are hated – by women. The Royal Family can’t afford to lose the support of women, it’s essentially a feminine institution in our feminised society. Women are the ones who buy royal tea towels, wave little flags at Princess Anne, and turn the telly on to the King’s Speech at Christmas. Piss off women, and you’re fucked in all the worst ways – as the trannies only found out recently.
But King Charles is not a beloved figure either. Normies have noticed his love of Muslims and they don’t like it. His “you will own nothing and be happy” plan seems to have been largely forgotten in all the insanity of the last 5 years, but strangely his demonic painting has stuck in a lot of people’s imaginations.
William and Kate are very popular and the best assets the Firm currently has. That might be good enough, but my Counsellor Troi boobie senses are telling me the Firm is in serious trouble. The last time we had a monarchy that divorced itself so thoroughly from the national mood, we had a civil war.
This painting was a serious mistake. It’s usually the little things that can put people off a person, and a picture can say more than a windy speech at Klaus Schwab’s WEF. The King commissioning a portrait of himself looking like a demon wreathed in the flames of Hell was a bold choice.
The problem for the monarchy is competition. They used to be the real life soap opera but the likes of the Kardashians have become much bigger.
Women used to get a diet of monarchy from TV and newspapers but it’s now social media.
Yes but whose idea was it to turn the Royals into crap celebs?
Royalty used to be its own kind of celebrity. But they forgot what that means.
Foreign competition especially…
All the other remaining Royal Houses seem to be doing just fine..
Of course… They Refreshed regularly and didn’t have to go through the ..”issue” of an old fossil hanging on because her offspring just Didn’t Get The Message about their Prime Job: Separating *actual* power from the Politicians….
Ol’ Brenda did a fine Job… Jug-Ears hasn’t got a clue, and didn’t have the grace to conk out before his mother…
His son….*maybe* … If he’s willing to Learn from the plenty examples of successful Royalty in Eur’p..
William’s an idiot dork with great arms, which the women swoon over. Kate, by far the Firm’s best asset, knows how to behave, has a world-class smile and legs even after the cancer has put 10 years on her, but they won’t last. Anne is a very busy and creditable horse, but old.
What’s left?
Their children – the public loves those kids.
I will immediately open a daycare centre with federal funding.
Scotland with secure borders and a shedload of fossil fuel energy under Trump or tipping-point diverse England under TTK (powered by mad Ed’s windmills).
I know which way I’ll be heading.
“claims ancestral ties”
As in his Mum was a Gaelic-speaker from the Outer isles. “Claims” indeed. What a weasel Murphy is.
Donald John Trump is demonstrably more Scottish than the Scottishesque Noncey Party is these days.
They may take our lives, but they’ll never take
OUR OOGA BOOGA
DJT is certainly more scotch than Abu Humza Useless
.
I for one would like to join Richard Murphy in strongly criticising this appalling action by Trump.
Kidnapping a head of state is a disgraceful act, and I can only hope and pray that he does not next turn his attention to Keir Starmer, who lives weekdays at No10 Downing Street London SW1A 2AA and spends his weekends from 9pm on Fridays until 4pm on Sundays at Chequers, Butler’s Cross, Bucks HP17 0UZ, travelling between the two in a black Jaguar index no IM4NOB.
If he had a personalised plate that made the numeral 4 look like a letter A, I think a lot of people would agree with the sentiment
I just made that joke on Twitter. Great minds, eh?
I would never claim to have a great mind Tim.
Sur le X:
3 Jan
I’m devastated by this illegal capture of an elected head of state by Trump.
I live in constant fear my beloved leader, Macron who lives at 55 rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honoré, Paris share the same fate. He’s usually home with Brigitte by 9pm.
This tweet does not constitute legal advice, foreign policy, or actionable intelligence such as room on second floor east wing.
Free the hostages
@BTH_2024
4 Jan
Squeaky floorboard on third step.
On the same theme –
So what is going on? It seems to be three things.
First, the threat of violence is presumed sufficient to induce compliance. Trump’s language on Saturday highlighted the violent element of what happened.
Second, the aim is to create compliant puppet governments. Vichy, anyone?
Third, sanctions are the threat, for now. The effective choice is ‘take it or leave it, we’re having it’.
Where does that leave the world?
Firstly, this is open thuggery.
Second, diplomacy is over.
Third, the gunboat is back.
Fourth, colonialism has returned.
Fifth, abuse will follow.
Like Willy Hutton he seems to think being in the EU would give us stronger leverage over Trump. Clearly despite monitoring X he hasn’t seen Musk’s tweet suggesting the EU needs to be destroyed.
As for it being ‘Open thuggery’ he was noticeable silent over the Iranian situation, lending weight to the burgeoning reputation he has as an anti-semite of considerable viciousness…
Like Willy Hutton he seems to think being in the EU would give us stronger leverage over Trump
Lol. There’s no tardation like retardation.
The EU was forced to eat shit over Trump’s tariffs, while independent Britain got a better deal. The Yanks have told us in no uncertain terms they value bilateral ties based on commerce and shared civilisational values and the EU is complete cancer.
The EU’s arse is hanging out the window over Ukraine. After decades of pretending the EU means peace, they’ve been completely unwilling to try to stop a massive war in Europe that they also have no plausible plans to win. Now the Americans and Russians will decide what peace looks like, and the EU isn’t even at the big table. The new security architecture of Europe will be drawn up by Trump and Putin, and the Euros will be told to lump it.
This is what strategic defeat (of the European project) looks like, but as ever, *taps sign*
This is the whining of a follower of the Marquis de Fantaillier who insists *everybody else* should follow those rules, while having firmly parked his portly arse in his comfy chair…
The Sagiality seems to forget that throughout the Ages, diplomacy is *upheld* by the capacity to kick the other side’s teeth in. Conclusively.
Diplomacy is keeping that option in reserve, for now, and see if the other side isn’t stupid enough to invoke it.
It’s only wet rags like Spud, the EU and the UN who think that the Talking comes first, and complain, loudly, when they find out that the Talking doesn’t mean jack when you can’t back it up with Fists.
Mice voting the cat should wear a bell….
I’ve been thinking about this – the gunboat never went away, its just the ‘rules-based international order’ types deluded themselves about it.
They are, ironically, exactly the same as Sovereign Citizens. SC’s think magic words on paper and magic incantations will *free* them from the strictures of law. The EU types think their magic words and magic paper *will bind others to their law*.
But law has always just been power and power grows out of the barrel of a gun.
They’re afraid to use the gun, hence why no one listens to Europe (America has been dragging Europe into our ‘adventures’ as a sop to the RBO). Its why they stopped listening to the US over the last decade.
So when Russia steps out all they could do was whine about it. And when Russia ignored them they were left standing feckless. They do the same inside their own countries – immigrants attack people and they stand there repeating the same incantations as if they say it juuuuust right the spell will work.
Scotland is rich. It has oil, renewable energy and whisky.
A quarter of UK food and drink exports are Scotch Whisky.
Plus they have good footy sides like Celtic, Rangers, Aberdeen, Hibs, Hearts, and Dundee United.
Plus they have good footy sides like Celtic
Lol
It wasn’t rich in 1707. Oil and whisky can be obtained almost anywhere, and renewables only useful to foreigners with an IC. Association Football codified by the English.
The First Minister is suggesting a bank holiday after a game against Haiti (tip: lay scotland on betfair).
Scotland has a lot going for it, but it ain’t any of those.
Bored with gooning, are you?
No you are.
Oh Sod off Nancy Bhoy
All energy is renewable.
By Law. A real one.
For a particular and very unusual definition of “rich”
According to ONS Scotch Whisky exports amount to less than one-third of 1% of UK GDP. Renewable energy requires subsidies so it doesn’t make people in general rich – it makes them poorer (except Dale Vince); oil – yes while it lasts but Scotland has spent most of the capital as if it was net income, unlike Norway.
You keep repeating the same thing.
MURPHY has a personal fixation with Scotland.
FIFY.
Y’all need to get Starmer involved in drug trade to US. That’ll trigger DJT.
Scotland’s isolation makes it useless for all listed. Murphy is full of shite.
Scotland has great landscape. Yeah, cover it in windmills. That’ll make people want to visit.
Why windmills?
Plenty of Lochs in the middle of Feckall that look quite suitable for hydro.
The bigger ones should be well suitable for commercial fish farming at the same time. Quite “Sustainable” even if you get the food chains right.
Of course… the mere *thought* about Abusing Nature that way will have every Greenie up in Arms and protesting.
Then again… If you make your prime fishery produce catfish… Just as great recyclers as pigs… 0:)
Majority of lochs are too close to sea level so hydro is a fever dream with them.
Only way hydro works is if you build a nice big concrete dam 3/4 of the way up a mountain and use the loch 2000′ below as a lower reservoir, then use the top bit as a short term battery.
Cruachan actually works as intended.
Fish farming is a lot of kidology as well, best ones are on Orkney / Shetland where the constant current keeps pests to a minimum & the water supply clean at zero cost.
Seventy years ago there was a nice little hydroelectric station on the River Morar with a drop of less than forty feet and a salmon ladder to allow the salmon to travel upriver past the dam. You seem to think that one cannot have hydro unless the drop is big enough to justify pumped storage.
Keyword there is “little”
My opinion is that given the cost & scarcity of riverine hydro its always going to be of marginal impact and not worth worrrying about in the big picture
Also it suffers from the same problem as the birdblenders- transmission losses getting the power to where the demand is.
Pumped hydro is a sensible solution to intermittent demand.
“little”is the keyword here… I’m only looking at the stuf that’s visible on Google Maps.. Several square/cubit kilometers here…
The *height* is Stoopid nowadays with modern improvements in ( reverse) impeller tech.
You’re looking at gross flow, not absolute height. Nor are you even trying to satisfy National Demand with a couple of outlets…
Plenty of tech that’s change from the ’50’s y’know…
As for Fishing… Gimme a lake the size of a scottish loch, and I’ll bloody well show you how you can Arrange things to be Commercial.
As long as I can feed the Bureaucrats and Greenie Potesters to the Fish.
That feedin-to would actually be part and charm of the Starting Capital and “re-arranging” of the current Habitat…
Just give them to me and one pretty solid wood chipper, please….
NSHEB has been exporting power to the Central Lowlands for longer than I can remember. Riverine hydro is only couple of % on average but as most of it can be switched on and off like pumped storage it is valuable in coping with the unpredictability and sudden failure to supply of the other “renewables”.
Scotland and Britain could be profitably exporting huge volumes of gas to energy-starved Europe, but we have Ed Miliband and other wanks instead.
Net Zero transforms the whole thing from a profit centre to a money pit. Instead of UK hydrocarbons earning us money, we’re supposed to pay through the nose – forever – for windfarms instead. Energy “security” is meant to be delivered through multiple countries with unreliable but expensive power grids trying to do each other’s washing when the wind doesn’t blow.
It’s like a group of cripples leaning against each other to stay upright.
If you put the tallest cripple in the centre and eight (or, at least, six) leaning in the cripples would manage that – unlike EU countries relying on wind-power without the external support of France’s and Sweden’s nuclear power and Norway’s hydro.
It is unusual to find you flattering Ed Millionaireband.
“Security” is a commie euphemism for government control.
Millions could freeze to death under “energy security.”
Words have different, non-dictionary, meanings to commies like Murphy.
Excellent analogy Steve, and funny – let me just steal it.
Germany is energy-starved, the rest of us are doing fine, or are still used to communist-era shenanigans.
Clogland is hitting a bit of a bottleneck in *distribution* ( and working on it) but it’s not “starved” for anything. Belgium the same. The Scandinavian Block the same. They’ve got Norway *and* the Cloggie/Belgian nuclear backup, if Greater Rotterdam doesn’t eat it all….
The Mediterranians have their own thing going, and f8cking it up in their usual way, but they don’t *need* UK or Scottish power. They mess things up in their own mediterranian-latin way without preferably an erg from the Isles.
They’ll happily *sell* to you though….
The only nation in *need* of energy is Germany… But Germany does not Europe make… Which was the whole point of the WW II kerfuffle they are so Ashamed of….
The only Market for Scotland is Germany, or peeps who have Enough letting Scotland do the grunt work while Sitting Back.
No, that’s wrong. France, Italy and Spain are major importers of LNG and/or piped gas. Europe “enjoys” some of the highest energy costs in the world, so relatively low cost hydrocarbons from the UK do have a market waiting for them. More supply would help lower energy prices across the continent, good for Britain and good for Europe as a whole. It’s insane that Europe has to import expensive LNG from the USA.
Also, Germany pretty much is (was) the EU economy. Germany is the kind of customer a salesman would bite both your arms off to acquire. If we *only* exported to Germany, it’d still be worth many billions to us. Similarly, we should want Germany to have access to affordable fuel, an impoverished, broken and angry Germany isn’t a good thing for anybody.
Does he think
No
. . . and call it ‘energy security.’