While I don't imagine Jackie Baillie is a psychopath, Will Black postulates the notion that organisations can become psychopathic; in the beginning, someone with psychopathic traits might set the tone - but quite normal people are drawn in and compelled to behave like psychopaths without any of the psychiatric or physiological components.
Since some important markers of psychopathy are a superficial veneer of charm, a manipulative character and a complete inability to empathise or truly care about others - you begin to see why I've gone off on this particular tangent. I also wanted to recommend Will Black's book; in the same way that its fun to follow on Google Earth the route of a travelogue you might be reading, (such as - ahem - I have for sale*.) It is also fascinating (and thoroughly disturbing) to apply some of the knowledge gleaned from Will Black's book about psychopathy to well known Establishment figures - it puts a lot of things into a worrying perspective we all absolutely need to be aware of.
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| * Its the two previous short travelogues edited slightly and rolled into one, don't buy it if you already bought those. Please share the link though, proceeds still go to Scouts. |
Anyway, back to Jackie Baillie.
We all know her's are the politics of spin, indeed, it is a little known fact that when Jackie speaks, she has to be anchored to the ground - much like a helicopter in a strong breeze - lest she accidentally takes to the skies. In some regards, she's exactly the sort of person you want in politics, hold on now - bare with me... Honesty in a politician is subjective and always in doubt; when they speak, there is a small worm (or a huge alien space-monster) of doubt when it comes to the truth. However with Jackie Baillie; if she's communicating in any way, shape or form - she's lying. No ifs, buts or probably's - as Jimmy Nail sang in his 1992 smash hit Ain't No Doubt - "shes lying."
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| A huge alien space-monster |
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| Jackie Baillie |
You may be aware, the price of a barrel of oil has fallen to below $50 - the lowest price since 2009. While car drivers leap in to automobiles and recklessly drive hundreds of miles for no reason - Jackie Baillie; presumably at the behest of new boss John Murphy (snigger) took to twitter to say...
Meanwhile, not a million years ago...
Mmm; beware the giant space-monster.
For clarity; the SNP and wider Yes Campaign lost the referendum. While we're still periodically told to get over it by the 'winners' - that they think we're not, doesn't mean they can demand the Scottish Government bails out an industry it wanted to manage directly while the London exchequer continues to profit from. Its the same self-serving logic that applied to so-called Scottish banks who paid all their tax income to London pre-crash but miraculously became a Scottish responsibility post-crash.
Baillie is a no-mark politician ignored by most except me right now and the Daily Record more generally, but her comments tell a story. They shine a light on a renewed & reinforced Scottish economic reality since the referendum. In the same way Westminster socialised the ruinous loses made by banks while privatising profits - via Baillie, they now suggest offsetting the stagnation of economic activity within the oil industry by socialising the costs of a so-called 'resilience fund' (which is exactly the same thing as an oil fund) to the Scottish Government.
Deep breath...
Jackie wants the Scottish Government to shore up a UK-wide industry with money from a diminishing block grant which is already a sum far less than Scotland's total tax income - to the cost of Scottish services (the quality of which she complains about incessantly) - by creating and using a 'resilience fund' (A.K.A an oil fund) which is a thing she strongly disagreed with having seven months ago.
And relax.
Jackie Baillie must have a double garage to store all of her faces.
Reading that back, there's some serious opinion and commentary above. I fully expect it to appear in the sidebar on the letters page of The National and to be invited to offer my opinion during the end slot of Scotland 2015 with Duncan Hothersal or some other unionist lick-spittle...
No?
Oh well.
I tend to dismiss her completely as either a liar or a fool or probably both. Her fictions are so see-through that even pretty dim people must be aware of them.
ReplyDeleteThe last time that oil was at $50, was 2009. Jim Murphy was secretary of state for Scotland and I remember not a whisper of a fund of any kind.
The oil price is almost certainly a temporary situation caused by Saudi Arabia. While the drop in oil prices can be welcomed to an extent, particularly in non producing countries, I doubt if it will be allowed to continue for too long. Saudi can afford it, but sometimes, even as rich a country as Saudi needs its friends.
I'm sure that the Scottish government is monitoring the situation carefully. Jackie Baillie's suggestion that this has gone over their heads is ridiculous. The UK government of course needs to look carefully at the situation. It must be suffering a substantial drop in income (although I've yet to see a real drop in the cost of anything from petrol to gas and electricity!)
Oil companies are not poor. They can stand a drop in income, although I'm sure that they would welcome a fund to help them out. I really can't image any reason, apart from greed, that would make them pay people off in the short term. After all, as short a time ago as 5 years, this was the price that we operated at.
If they do start paying off, then of course areas like Aberdeen will be hurt by unemployment... but they start from a fairly strong position. Other area of Scotland have much worse unemployment. Maybe Ms Baillie would like a fund for them too.
Only if there is a crisis will there be a need to put money into the area. Any government would look seriously at that.
The sad thing is that the lack of an oil fund set up by the UK government, is why this price drop makes any difference at all.
Saudi can afford to push the price of its biggest export down and down, because its income from its oil far exceeds its income from oil. Norway is in the same situation as to a greater or lesser extent, is every other oil producing country.
Mismanaged finances from London as usual.
What tangled web they weave, when Labour speak and deceive.
ReplyDeleteThis is why I appreciate your comments so much Tris, they're so good - they mask all the glaring holes in my blogs. :-)
ReplyDeleteI published this then saw the Wings article and thought; oh dear; missed that, and that, and that too, oops should have said that, yup, that too...
I did manage to shoe horn in a space monster though, Stu missed a trick there I reckon.
I think I could have said what jimnarlene did and that would've got my message across.
Ah well.
(Agree with both comments, no idea how they get away with it. ANd Jackie Baillie leave me feeling ill.)
Paul
ReplyDeleteJackie Baillie has to be one the most loathsome politicians ever to misrepresent anywhere in Scotland. She truly is full of hate, more than Curran, more than Lamont, on a par with the liar and say anything Murphy. The problem though always seems to come back to the blind misguided people who continue to vote for this horrible woman and the media in Scotland, from all sides, who continue to give this woman a platform.
Baillie is just one of the worst of the many within Labour who are so self serving you really have to wonder about anyone who votes for these people, I mean I can understand believing in the Labour movement, I can understand believing in the internationalist tag but what I can never understand is voting for those loathsome self serving creatures. Now I tend to vote SNP but if Jackie Baillie was the SNP choice for my area she would never ever get my vote.
OT - I watched my first whole FMQs since Nicola Sturgeon became first minister and to be honest I didn't think she was put under any sort of pressure and I never thought I would ever say this, but Lamont is a better performer than Dugdale who was very poor. It is so obvious that Dugdale comes straight from the career never had a real job Labour drone machine. Reading from a script and sticking to it, of course the NHS is under pressure in the winter and no matter how much money is thrown at it it will never ever be enough. However back to Baillie, she is a liar and will say anything to anyone that forwards her own publicity seeking agenda. When you look at the opposition you see Dugdale/Murphy when they could have had Findlay, you see Davidson when they could have had Fraser and we'll forget about the Liberals. We need an honest and competent opposition to ensure good governance, what we get is mainly dross and I am not excluding the SNP from that. I often surmise that many of the wrong people are MSPs and we really do need more real people, will real experience in parliament and it's my one big reservation about re-joining the SNP.
Bruce
Agree with that Bruce.
ReplyDeleteFor me the problem seems to be, politics is now an industry instead of a vocation. Like you say, people come in at the bottom as spads or 'researchers' with no real world experience and think they have what it takes to 'lead' - which isn't even the right word any more, I'm not sure what they do - obfuscate maybe?
And you're quite right, the Scottish Government is not going to be held to account by some stuttering, script reading dolt, its not even as if she (Dugdale) has a decent team backing her up, they're all morons.
What pisses me off the most is these useless careerist think they can get all pious during interviews or at FMQ's etc - I mean, I'm not the most experienced or wisest of people, maybe some of my blogs can seem a bit hectoring or wanky - but I hope I never lecture or berate in the way some of these stunted omni-primitives do.
Oh lord no Paul. Not at all.
ReplyDeleteThe point of a good article is to get people talking or thinking. We can't include everything in them.
But I'm just like you. I see something that someone else has written and immediately wish that I'd said that... or often that I'd not said anything at all, because what I said pales into insignificance next to what they said.
I think it's a natural reaction.
I always welcome comments, they are just as important as the blog post, I reckon anyway.
ReplyDeleteIt all adds to the pot which is a good thing.
I like to keep it simple anyway, it suits me better.
;-)
Not a lot that I can add to the comments other than you an I share a same loathing for Jackie Baillie. I have to say I have stopped watching FMQ's because my blood pressure could not take it and I do not have high blood pressure.
ReplyDeleteHelena.
ReplyDeleteShe is a true horror. No idea how she gets away with so many lies and misrepresentations. People should be up in arms.
Thanks for reading.
Paul.