The news thread

[scotlad]

9 hours ago, Ally Bongo said:

And yet even just last night the Scotland's epistles FB page posted a Yes Saltire obviously in response to the result rather than politically motivated

Before they realised their boob there were umpteen comments like "losers flag" etc

Westminster could shite in these folks shoes daily without them bothering

A lot of people still see the British government as some kind of gold standard organisation, the be all and end all. The idea that it might be possible to do better just doesn't compute. And that they might be getting things not just wrong but disastrously wrong - let alone the fact they're most probably doing it on purpose - does not register.

[Kirk]

Coolio has gone to gangstas paradise

[ThistleWhistle]

2 hours ago, Kirk said:

Coolio has gone to gangstas paradise

Westminster?

[thplinth]

The US has essentially sabotaged a key gas pipeline to one of its closest and most loyal allies (Germany and Europe) just as we enter winter. It is stunning. The people running Biden are absolute neocon mental cases, that is clear at this point.

This is the most amazing turn of events I have witnessed. A lot of people will die and many more will be impoverished as a result of this act of sabotage.

We will all be coolio pretty soonio.

[thplinth]

 

Edited September 29, 2022 by thplinth

[scotlad]

 

 

 

[Kirk]

7 hours ago, ThistleWhistle said:

Westminster?

😂

[Ally Bongo]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/09/28/tucker-carlson-nord-stream/

 

Tucker Carlson’s shoddy case linking U.S. to alleged Nord Stream sabotage

[phart]

No reasonable person believes Tucker Carlson , that's his own lawyers who argue that. He's a demagogue for idealogues.

Tucker Carlson's own defence in court was

"Fox persuasively argues, that given Mr. Carlson's reputation, any reasonable viewer 'arrive[s] with an appropriate amount of skepticism' about the statement he makes."

Citing a case in defence where

The Fox team's legal briefs compared Carlson's show to radio talk-show programs hosted by ex-MSNBC and Fox Business star Don Imus, who won a case more than two decades ago because an appellate court ruled that "the complained of statements would not have been taken by reasonable listeners as factual pronouncements but simply as instances in which the defendant radio hosts had expressed their views over the air in the crude and hyperbolic manner that has, over the years, become their verbal stock in trade."

https://www.npr.org/2020/09/29/917747123/you-literally-cant-believe-the-facts-tucker-carlson-tells-you-so-say-fox-s-lawye

I have no idea what happened at the Nordstream1&2.

I do know 2 has been canceled since February by Germany after Russia formally recognised two breakaway in Russia. It's been cancelled for over half a year now.

https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/germanys-scholz-halts-nord-stream-2-certification-2022-02-22/

[aaid]

Electoral calculus broken

 

[King Of Paisley]

50 minutes ago, aaid said:

Electoral calculus broken

 

I knew things were mental but come on 🤣

No way that'll happen

[Squirrelhumper]

[Ally Bongo]

2 minutes ago, Squirrelhumper said:

Amazing how they worked that out with absolutely zero data on Scotland

(using the YouGov figures - note that due to lack of Scotland-specific polling of late, we can't read much into what'd go on up here, albeit the SNP figure at GB-level suggests they remain within 45-50% band.)

Edited September 29, 2022 by Ally Bongo

[Squirrelhumper]

Absolutely zero chance of SNP losing some of those seats to labour!

[Toepoke]

1 hour ago, aaid said:

Electoral calculus broken

 

Three Tory seats 😄

One thing we've not had yet is a large block of SNP MPs facing up to a Labour government, will be interesting to see how that changes things, if at all.

 

[Hertsscot]

3 hours ago, Squirrelhumper said:

Absolutely zero chance of SNP losing some of those seats to labour!

Really can't see Labour gaining seats from SNP. Working with Tories in local councils, PFI disaster that is still being felt, deep rooted sense of entitlement, anti rejoining the EU, pro nuclear weapons, anti referendum (therefore anti democratic), best policies look like they have simply been nicked from SNP, disastrous leadership from Sarwar, open hostility to SNP from UK Party leaders etc.  I just don't see why anyone would vote for them, and I don't think Starmer is rated or trusted by most Scots.

Edited September 29, 2022 by Hertsscot

[scotlad]

On the plus side, if - if - this poll is accurate it shows the SNP getting >50% of the Scottish vote, and if they follow through on their promise of a plebiscitary manifesto, then we could be offski. 🙂

 

 

[aaid]

People need to calm down and realise that this poll has  broken electoral calculus and other seat prediction sites.

Under FPTP, if a party picks up 54% of the vote across the country, they could theoretically pick up 100% of the seats.  We know though that won’t happen as the vote won’t be spread equally but they could easily pick up 80% of seats or higher. But that’s for England and Wales and not Scotland.  Labour are not polling anywhere near 54% in Scotland, they’re still in the low to mid 30s.  On the sub sample in that poll, the SNP vote is up from 4% to 5%.  If that translates across to a Scotland only poll then it’s 2015 numbers for the SNP.

[aaid]

1 hour ago, scotlad said:

On the plus side, if - if - this poll is accurate it shows the SNP getting >50% of the Scottish vote, and if they follow through on their promise of a plebiscitary manifesto, then we could be offski. 🙂

 

 

The SNP could be the official opposition.  Labour might not be too bothered about us pissing off

[Clyde1998]

6 hours ago, aaid said:

People need to calm down and realise that this poll has  broken electoral calculus and other seat prediction sites.

Under FPTP, if a party picks up 54% of the vote across the country, they could theoretically pick up 100% of the seats.  We know though that won’t happen as the vote won’t be spread equally but they could easily pick up 80% of seats or higher. But that’s for England and Wales and not Scotland.  Labour are not polling anywhere near 54% in Scotland, they’re still in the low to mid 30s.  On the sub sample in that poll, the SNP vote is up from 4% to 5%.  If that translates across to a Scotland only poll then it’s 2015 numbers for the SNP.

Based on some crude estimates where comparing YouGov's full-scale Scotland polls to the most recent Scottish sub-sample figures, I'd estimate a YouGov poll of Scotland right now would produce a result something like: SNP 47, Lab 27, Con 16, LDm 5, Grn 3, Oth 3; Labour would struggle to break through in terms of seats on those numbers - while the SNP should clean up most of the Conservative seats (and Lib Dem seats maybe, but they're the hardest to predict).

The irony that I've not seen anyone mention is if Labour are on only 27% in Scotland, it implies it's about Lab 58, Con 22, LDm 7, Grn 6, Oth 6 in England & Wales. That would completely dispel any lingering myths about Labour needs to win Scotland to win power at Westminster.

[thplinth]

Hmmm gonna stick with the pipeline sabotage story for a bit longer. Always good to read the other sides media... From TASS.

Russian diplomat urges EU to wake up, recalls Nuland's words about stopping Nord Stream 2

On Tuesday, Nord Stream AG reported "unprecedented destruction" on Monday "on three strings of the Nord Stream and Nord Stream-2 offshore pipelines"

MOSCOW, September 28. /TASS/. It’s time fro the EU to wake up, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said, posting a video on her Telegram channel with a statement of US Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland about stopping the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.

"Are you still looking for an answer to the question of who is behind the whole Ukrainian bloody scenario, the destruction of pan-European cooperation and the global world crisis?" the diplomat wrote, attaching a video of Nuland's January 27 briefing where she says, "If Russia invades Ukraine, one way or another Nord Stream 2 will not move forward".

"And before that, she had set out the goal very clearly, saying 'fuck the EU’. When will Brussels wake up?" Zakharova concluded.

On Tuesday, Nord Stream AG (Nord Stream Aktsiengesellschaft) reported "unprecedented destruction" on Monday "on three strings of the Nord Stream and Nord Stream-2 offshore pipelines." Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow was "extremely concerned by this news" and did not rule out that the disruption of the pipelines could have been the result of sabotage.

Later, Swedish seismologists said two explosions had been recorded along the routes of both pipelines on Monday. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen slammed the incidents as sabotage, pointing out that any "deliberate disruption of the European energy infrastructure is unacceptable and will lead to the strongest possible response".

Indeed when will we wake up.

US seeks to destroy energy cooperation in Europe, diplomat says

For many years, both during the Democrat administration and during the Republican administration before that, the US did everything to thwart supplies of Russian energy resources to other European states 

MOSCOW, September 28. /TASSS/. Washington has been trying to destroy the energy cooperation in Europe for years, and did everything possible and impossible to achieve that, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Russian TV Wednesday.

"For many years, both during the Democrat administration and during the Republican administration before that, the US did everything to thwart supplies of Russian energy resources to other European states. That’s first. And second - they did everything possible and even impossible […] to eradicate the single energy interaction and cooperation on the European continent. It was done, of course, in order to create competitive advantage for themselves, and to start shipping what they promised to Europe long ago - their own resources," the diplomat explained.

"But I believe that the goal that is even more for Washington - is to tear Europe apart in general, to draw no one, but many lines, to pit everyone on the European continent against each other, and to return back to the times when the states of the European continent were unable to agree with each other and solved their issues, their problems not at the negotiations table," Zakharova underscored.

IF you accept that the war in Ukraine started in 2014 with the US backed coup, followed by 8 years of steadily escalating provocations, until 2022 when Russia finally invades, then all the above would be obviously true.

Unfortunately the Biden administration is packed with full on extremist neocon nutters and they are determined to attack Russia no matter what. Throwing Europe to the dogs in the process is nothing to them. In fact they want it. They don't like us almost as much as they don't like the Russians. 

I am wondering at what point it is going to click in Europe (with the general public). When it does there are going to be a lot of very angry, betrayed people. I could see this really damaging NATO and the EU assuming we avoid a nuclear WWIII. The Biden administration seems absolutely hell bent on it, it has already started, but they want the real McCoy it seems). Really hard to see how it is avoidable given these circumstances. 

(Imagine spending years moaning about imaginary white supremacists to then support the psychotic regime running Biden. Strange world we live in. 😀)

[thplinth]

Nord Stream pipeline leaks are ‘catastrophic for the climate’

Methane leakage is likely to be the biggest burst of the powerful greenhouse gas on record in one of the most polluted bodies of water.

Methane leaking from yet-to-be explained damage on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines is likely to be the biggest burst of the potent greenhouse gas on record, raising new fears of the effect on the climate emergency.

The Nord Stream pipeline from Russia to Germany on Thursday was pumping huge volumes of methane into the Baltic Sea as well as the atmosphere – as much as five times more than escaped in the Aliso Canyon disaster – the largest known terrestrial release of methane in US history.

The leakage could be equivalent to one-third of Denmark’s total annual greenhouse gas emissions, head of the Danish Energy Agency Kristoffer Böttzauw said. Danish emissions in 2020 were about 45 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2).

Russia and the US and European allies have accused each other of deliberately sabotaging the gas pipeline as Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine intensifies.

“Whoever ordered this should be prosecuted for war crimes and go to jail,” said Rob Jackson, a Stanford University climate scientist.

The worst-case scenario is estimated to be 778 million cubic metres of gas leaked, according to the Danish government.

Jackson and David Hastings, a retired chemical oceanographer in Gainesville, Florida, each calculated that would be an equivalent of roughly half a million tonnes of methane. The Aliso Canyon disaster released 90-100,000 tonnes.

Methane is a major contributor to climate change, responsible for a significant share of the climate disruption people are already experiencing. That is because it is 82.5 times more potent than carbon dioxide at absorbing the Sun’s heat and warming the Earth.

‘Catastrophic’

Andrew Baxter, a chemical engineer working at the environmental group EDP, had a more conservative estimate than the Danish government, but it was still double the Aliso Canyon disaster.

Just one of the pipelines could release emissions equalling the annual emissions of two million cars, he noted.

“That’s one thing that is consistent with these estimates,” said Baxter. “It’s catastrophic for the climate.”

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/29/nord-stream-pipeline-leaks-are-catastrophic-for-the-climate

Not to mention catastrophic for the pensioners and poor of Europe along with all their economies.

Edited September 30, 2022 by thplinth

[hampden_loon2878]

1 hour ago, thplinth said:

Hmmm gonna stick with the pipeline sabotage story for a bit longer. Always good to read the other sides media... From TASS.

Russian diplomat urges EU to wake up, recalls Nuland's words about stopping Nord Stream 2

On Tuesday, Nord Stream AG reported "unprecedented destruction" on Monday "on three strings of the Nord Stream and Nord Stream-2 offshore pipelines"

MOSCOW, September 28. /TASS/. It’s time fro the EU to wake up, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said, posting a video on her Telegram channel with a statement of US Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland about stopping the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.

"Are you still looking for an answer to the question of who is behind the whole Ukrainian bloody scenario, the destruction of pan-European cooperation and the global world crisis?" the diplomat wrote, attaching a video of Nuland's January 27 briefing where she says, "If Russia invades Ukraine, one way or another Nord Stream 2 will not move forward".

"And before that, she had set out the goal very clearly, saying 'fuck the EU’. When will Brussels wake up?" Zakharova concluded.

On Tuesday, Nord Stream AG (Nord Stream Aktsiengesellschaft) reported "unprecedented destruction" on Monday "on three strings of the Nord Stream and Nord Stream-2 offshore pipelines." Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow was "extremely concerned by this news" and did not rule out that the disruption of the pipelines could have been the result of sabotage.

Later, Swedish seismologists said two explosions had been recorded along the routes of both pipelines on Monday. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen slammed the incidents as sabotage, pointing out that any "deliberate disruption of the European energy infrastructure is unacceptable and will lead to the strongest possible response".

Indeed when will we wake up.

US seeks to destroy energy cooperation in Europe, diplomat says

For many years, both during the Democrat administration and during the Republican administration before that, the US did everything to thwart supplies of Russian energy resources to other European states 

MOSCOW, September 28. /TASSS/. Washington has been trying to destroy the energy cooperation in Europe for years, and did everything possible and impossible to achieve that, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Russian TV Wednesday.

"For many years, both during the Democrat administration and during the Republican administration before that, the US did everything to thwart supplies of Russian energy resources to other European states. That’s first. And second - they did everything possible and even impossible […] to eradicate the single energy interaction and cooperation on the European continent. It was done, of course, in order to create competitive advantage for themselves, and to start shipping what they promised to Europe long ago - their own resources," the diplomat explained.

"But I believe that the goal that is even more for Washington - is to tear Europe apart in general, to draw no one, but many lines, to pit everyone on the European continent against each other, and to return back to the times when the states of the European continent were unable to agree with each other and solved their issues, their problems not at the negotiations table," Zakharova underscored.

IF you accept that the war in Ukraine started in 2014 with the US backed coup, followed by 8 years of steadily escalating provocations, until 2022 when Russia finally invades, then all the above would be obviously true.

Unfortunately the Biden administration is packed with full on extremist neocon nutters and they are determined to attack Russia no matter what. Throwing Europe to the dogs in the process is nothing to them. In fact they want it. They don't like us almost as much as they don't like the Russians. 

I am wondering at what point it is going to click in Europe (with the general public). When it does there are going to be a lot of very angry, betrayed people. I could see this really damaging NATO and the EU assuming we avoid a nuclear WWIII. The Biden administration seems absolutely hell bent on it, it has already started, but they want the real McCoy it seems). Really hard to see how it is avoidable given these circumstances. 

(Imagine spending years moaning about imaginary white supremacists to then support the psychotic regime running Biden. Strange world we live in. 😀)

I can’t believe how little coverage this is getting, it is insane that has happened on EU soil. Very very worrying 

[ThistleWhistle]

3 hours ago, thplinth said:

Hmmm gonna stick with the pipeline sabotage story for a bit longer. Always good to read the other sides media... From TASS.

Russian diplomat urges EU to wake up, recalls Nuland's words about stopping Nord Stream 2

On Tuesday, Nord Stream AG reported "unprecedented destruction" on Monday "on three strings of the Nord Stream and Nord Stream-2 offshore pipelines"

MOSCOW, September 28. /TASS/. It’s time fro the EU to wake up, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said, posting a video on her Telegram channel with a statement of US Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland about stopping the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.

"Are you still looking for an answer to the question of who is behind the whole Ukrainian bloody scenario, the destruction of pan-European cooperation and the global world crisis?" the diplomat wrote, attaching a video of Nuland's January 27 briefing where she says, "If Russia invades Ukraine, one way or another Nord Stream 2 will not move forward".

"And before that, she had set out the goal very clearly, saying 'fuck the EU’. When will Brussels wake up?" Zakharova concluded.

On Tuesday, Nord Stream AG (Nord Stream Aktsiengesellschaft) reported "unprecedented destruction" on Monday "on three strings of the Nord Stream and Nord Stream-2 offshore pipelines." Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow was "extremely concerned by this news" and did not rule out that the disruption of the pipelines could have been the result of sabotage.

Later, Swedish seismologists said two explosions had been recorded along the routes of both pipelines on Monday. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen slammed the incidents as sabotage, pointing out that any "deliberate disruption of the European energy infrastructure is unacceptable and will lead to the strongest possible response".

Indeed when will we wake up.

US seeks to destroy energy cooperation in Europe, diplomat says

For many years, both during the Democrat administration and during the Republican administration before that, the US did everything to thwart supplies of Russian energy resources to other European states 

MOSCOW, September 28. /TASSS/. Washington has been trying to destroy the energy cooperation in Europe for years, and did everything possible and impossible to achieve that, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Russian TV Wednesday.

"For many years, both during the Democrat administration and during the Republican administration before that, the US did everything to thwart supplies of Russian energy resources to other European states. That’s first. And second - they did everything possible and even impossible […] to eradicate the single energy interaction and cooperation on the European continent. It was done, of course, in order to create competitive advantage for themselves, and to start shipping what they promised to Europe long ago - their own resources," the diplomat explained.

"But I believe that the goal that is even more for Washington - is to tear Europe apart in general, to draw no one, but many lines, to pit everyone on the European continent against each other, and to return back to the times when the states of the European continent were unable to agree with each other and solved their issues, their problems not at the negotiations table," Zakharova underscored.

IF you accept that the war in Ukraine started in 2014 with the US backed coup, followed by 8 years of steadily escalating provocations, until 2022 when Russia finally invades, then all the above would be obviously true.

Unfortunately the Biden administration is packed with full on extremist neocon nutters and they are determined to attack Russia no matter what. Throwing Europe to the dogs in the process is nothing to them. In fact they want it. They don't like us almost as much as they don't like the Russians. 

I am wondering at what point it is going to click in Europe (with the general public). When it does there are going to be a lot of very angry, betrayed people. I could see this really damaging NATO and the EU assuming we avoid a nuclear WWIII. The Biden administration seems absolutely hell bent on it, it has already started, but they want the real McCoy it seems). Really hard to see how it is avoidable given these circumstances. 

(Imagine spending years moaning about imaginary white supremacists to then support the psychotic regime running Biden. Strange world we live in. 😀)

Press review: Will Nord Stream leaks be investigated and EU trucks facing ban from Russia - Press Review - TASS

As for the issue of restoring the pipelines, National Energy Security Fund expert Igor Yushkov thinks that it should be done by Gazprom or some other Russian company since foreign companies are not likely to get involved. According to him, repairing Nord Stream is theoretically possible yet might not be rational since "the Europeans are saying that they won’t use the pipelines and plan to reduce the purchases of Russian gas."

He noted that the accidents did not impact the supplies since Nord Stream 1 suspended deliveries in early September due to maintenance while Nord Stream 2 had never been launched. "Those are strategic risks for Europe," the expert says, noting that the pipelines served as a safety net in case of a cold winter or a gas deficit. Now, that safety net is gone.

 

So either the Russians have blown up a pipeline that would have aided their economic position if Europe had come calling during a cold winter or the US have blown it up to make sure it never came online as they are on record threatening in January and February - decisions decisions!  

[aaid]

13 minutes ago, ThistleWhistle said:

Press review: Will Nord Stream leaks be investigated and EU trucks facing ban from Russia - Press Review - TASS

As for the issue of restoring the pipelines, National Energy Security Fund expert Igor Yushkov thinks that it should be done by Gazprom or some other Russian company since foreign companies are not likely to get involved. According to him, repairing Nord Stream is theoretically possible yet might not be rational since "the Europeans are saying that they won’t use the pipelines and plan to reduce the purchases of Russian gas."

He noted that the accidents did not impact the supplies since Nord Stream 1 suspended deliveries in early September due to maintenance while Nord Stream 2 had never been launched. "Those are strategic risks for Europe," the expert says, noting that the pipelines served as a safety net in case of a cold winter or a gas deficit. Now, that safety net is gone.

 

So either the Russians have blown up a pipeline that would have aided their economic position if Europe had come calling during a cold winter or the US have blown it up to make sure it never came online as they are on record threatening in January and February - decisions decisions!  

Or alternatively Russia messing around with the supply to try to get Germany, etc., to put pressure on Ukraine to settle a war that Russia are losing and doing it in a way that also gets NATO countries suspicious of each other.

The simplest question is who benefits most, chances are that’s the culprit.