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Sewell Chan reports at The New York Times that Britain's highest court has unanimously rejected an attempt by Donald J. Trump to block the construction of a wind farm near his luxury golf resort in northeast Scotland. Trump has vowed to stop further development on the project if the offshore wind farm — 11 turbines, which would be visible from the golf resort 2.2 miles away — goes forward. Trump spokesman George A. Sorial denounced the ruling as "extremely unfortunate for the residents of Aberdeen and anyone who cares about Scotland's economic future" adding that the wind farm will "completely destroy the bucolic Aberdeen Bay and cast a terrible shadow upon the future of tourism for the area. History will judge those involved unfavorably, and the outcome demonstrates the foolish, small-minded and parochial mentality which dominates the current Scottish government's dangerous experiment with wind energy."
Nicola Sturgeon, first minister of Scotland, withdrew Trump's status as a business ambassador to Scotland last week after Trump called for Muslims to be barred from entering the United States. Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen has stripped Mr. Trump of an honorary degree it awarded him in 2010. Trump's mother was born in Scotland and moved to the United States in the 1930s. "I think I do feel Scottish," said Trump at one time.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 17 2015, @03:29PM
> "I think I do feel Scottish," said Trump at one time.
Apparently the Scotts aren't feeling him back.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 17 2015, @05:13PM
"I think I do feel Scottish,"
It's called a prostate exam.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 17 2015, @06:34PM
Because his mother was born in Scotland, he might be able to claim UK citizenship. Then, surely, he could get himself made a baron, and go sit in the House of Lords.
(Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 17 2015, @08:31PM
> Because his mother was born in Scotland, he might be able to claim UK citizenship.
I'm pretty sure that Trump is no true Scotsman.
(Score: 2) by rts008 on Thursday December 17 2015, @10:39PM
Yes, Trump got trumped...again.
I'm glad to see someone still able to defy these self-entitled rich bastards. Many no longer can.
Side note, but related:
*disclaimer: I'm openly shilling for wolf-pac.com here*
GET MONEY OUT OF POLITICS!!!!
Take back democratic control of our gov't. ... now!
(Score: 5, Insightful) by SomeGuy on Thursday December 17 2015, @03:32PM
> construction of a wind farm near his luxury golf resort in northeast Scotland.
Because there is apparently a large source of wind there at times.... What could that source possibly be? :)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 18 2015, @02:28AM
You mean hot air?
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Thursday December 17 2015, @03:33PM
Whatever else you may thing about Trump - he is a member of the ruling class. He thinks his shit don't stink, and he really believes that investing is some stupid golf course should entitle him to dictate how the neighbors should act, speak, and do business.
A wind farm. Much needed renewable energy, and Trump wants to block it?
I'm happy the Scots told him where he can get off.
Hey, Donald - hike up your kilt, and do some deep knee bends on top of a wind tower. Or, just go fuck yourself.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Thexalon on Thursday December 17 2015, @03:59PM
And I should point out that he's not the first member of the ruling class to attempt to block a wind farm due to it spoiling his view. Ted Kennedy [reuters.com] did the exact same thing when the view from his family estate on Martha's Vinyard was threatened by a proposed wind farm, and managed to delay the project for 9 years.
And I doubt he'll be the last.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 17 2015, @04:25PM
I think it funny how these turbines sitting several miles offshore (which you'd need to have someone point out to you because you really have to try to look for them) would so completely ruin the scenery that tourism would plummet.
This isn't a ruling class vs. people thing, this is just a people thing. The rich just have an easier time throwing money at it. NIMBY-ism transcends class.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by bob_super on Thursday December 17 2015, @04:41PM
last time I saw an offshore windfarm while standing on the coast, In the Netherlands, it actually looked pretty cool in the distance. You could barely see the blades, but what it did is actually add a feature to the desperately flat grey-on-grey horizon.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Phoenix666 on Thursday December 17 2015, @04:16PM
That's always been true, and it's true now. It should not continue to be true in the future, if we, humanity, want to have a future at all. If we allow a system that accrues all profits to a financial sector that produces nothing of value, instead of flowing to people who build, innovate, and make the world a better place for everyone, our civilization will not last.
Traditionally the counter-point to this system we have now is Marxism, socialism, or its variants, but that's a false dichotomy. Teddy Roosevelt came along in the United States and gave our system an extra century of life with his trust-busting and progressive reforms. He set the stage for the rise of the American middle class. But the ruling class has now succeeded in rolling all of his progress back.
This wind farm kerfuffle in Scotland is a data point in that larger struggle to evolve something else, something better. If the ruling class, whom Trump represents, wind up winning these kinds of battles, they will find they will lose the war, at the cost of their lives.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2) by DECbot on Thursday December 17 2015, @05:37PM
Are you sir looking to resurrect the Bull-Moose party? [wikipedia.org]
cats~$ sudo chown -R us /home/base
(Score: 2) by mhajicek on Friday December 18 2015, @01:36AM
We need to see the financial system as damage and rout around it.
The spacelike surfaces of time foliations can have a cusp at the surface of discontinuity. - P. Hajicek
(Score: 3, Funny) by WillR on Thursday December 17 2015, @07:31PM
Much needed renewable energy
I think you mean "a dangerous experiment with wind energy."
I mean those things are seriously dangerous, what with the way they explode, catch fire, sink into the sea, and spew millions of barrels of wind into the water for months before they manage to get it back under control. /s
(Score: 5, Informative) by GreatAuntAnesthesia on Thursday December 17 2015, @03:35PM
Trump can take his money and shove it up his arse [wikipedia.org]
(Score: 5, Funny) by NickFortune on Thursday December 17 2015, @03:49PM
He's got a point. I mean you never know when one of those air currents will melt down and then BOOM! The whole of Scotland could be covered with air.
I mean, have these people really thought this through?
(Score: 2) by arslan on Friday December 18 2015, @03:51AM
I believe Mr. Trump is concerned that the excess air will have the unwanted effect of blowing up kilts and exposing some hairy Scot's arse.. or worse if they're going commando. That truly will ruin the scenery. I'm with Mr. Trump here.
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 17 2015, @03:54PM
It's going to so great, you won't believe it. It'll be the greatest course on the British Isles, if not all Europe. The other developers in Scotland are total LOSERS, they failed miserably on EVERY SINGLE PROJECT they ever attempted. What a joke!
And look at my poll numbers! I'll tell you the ones you should look at, they're the national poll numbers, not the Des Moines Register which always seems to be biased against me for some reason.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 18 2015, @02:40AM
Eat more corn, bro.
(Score: 4, Informative) by Vanderhoth on Thursday December 17 2015, @03:54PM
Where I'm from (Atlantic Canada) we have an area known as "The south shore", which is a popular cottage area. It also has some pretty great steady winds for turbines. A few years ago our provincial power company was going to put up a series of turbines in the area, but the "residents" of the area petitioned to put a stop to it. As it turned out most of the "residents" that signed the petition weren't even from the area. The people in the area were in favor of it because it would have meant more jobs in the area http://thechronicleherald.ca/novascotia/1120697-group-appeals-south-canoe-wind-project [thechronicleherald.ca]
The people that did have issues with it turned out to be mostly Americans that owned summer homes there and thought the turbines would hurt the sale values of the properties. It worked out in the end and the councilors decided to build the turbines, but, really, the nerve of people. The province could have lost a major opportunity, hundreds of jobs and the people who would have benefited the most would have been people that don't even live in the country, let alone the area.
What is it that American's (obviously not all Americans) seem to have against these projects?
Do you have this kind of resistance in the States or is it only against other countries doing it?
"Now we know", "And knowing is half the battle". -G.I. Joooooe
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Phoenix666 on Thursday December 17 2015, @04:03PM
Such resistance is dumb, and yes, we do have that in the United States. The most famous case is Teddy Kennedy, the liberal lion of the Senate, fighting tooth-and-nail to stop a windfarm in Cape Cod. They published pictures of what the wind turbines would look like from the shore, and you really couldn't see them at all.
It's quite ridiculous. Many maritime areas have slid into poverty because of the decline of commercial fishing. Off-shore wind farms are a great counter, much as terrestrial wind farms have been in de-populated places like the Great Plains, but heaven fucking forbid some plutocrats should feel their view would be affected.
In a just world, places like the Hamptons and Westchester County would be designated as new destinations for nuclear waste. "Oh, you don't like the idea of your property used as a nuclear waste dump? Well, it's either that, or accede to this offshore wind farm..."
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2) by ikanreed on Thursday December 17 2015, @04:10PM
Obsession with property values isn't a uniquely American thing, but it as an American thing. There's this entitlement that says that no investment should ever lose value. That damn it I've earned my X(which to be fair, is true) and I should be faced with no risk to it.
That's an okay attitude to have as a human being, except that it actually impedes the long term collective success of a nation. And when everyone is NIMBYing, everyone loses. But the holy shrines of property ownership and investment are more important values in the US than other nations. It maybe contributes more towards our economic inequality than even our taxation policies do.
(Score: 2) by The Archon V2.0 on Thursday December 17 2015, @05:00PM
Ah, I remember that. I also remember saying that NS Power should have offered the complainers the choice of building a wind farm or a good ol'-fashioned coal burner on the site.
(Score: 2) by Vanderhoth on Thursday December 17 2015, @05:44PM
HOLY SHIT!! I remember someone making that comment ^_^
"Now we know", "And knowing is half the battle". -G.I. Joooooe
(Score: 2) by morgauxo on Friday December 18 2015, @04:09PM
Maybe the trick is that the 'wind farmers' should first anounce they are building coal plants wherever they intend to put a wind farm. Then they can be seen to compromise when they erect the wind farm instead.
(Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Thursday December 17 2015, @05:01PM
My father works in a government department that decides where to put new powerlines and his job is basically to work around all the idiots who don't want power lines to cross their property for various retarded reasons as well. Mostly "it's an eyesore" and "electromagnetic radiation will make my dog sterile" or something. And "somehow this will reduce my property value because everyone is as idiotic as I am about property."
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: 2) by theluggage on Thursday December 17 2015, @07:26PM
What is it that American's (obviously not all Americans) seem to have against these projects?
We have them in England too: we call then NIMBYs (Not In My Back Yard) - is this not a universal phenomenon? File alongside "I want my children to be able to afford their own houses, but I don't want them built where I can see them and I want the value of my own property to keep going up at 10% a year!"
To be fair, there are some suggestions that wind turbines are harmful to birds & bats, and if you actually built enough of them to make a serious dent in fossil fuel use that might become significant - but at the current level I doubt it bears comparisons to the toll from domestic cats and destroying natural habitats with other forms of development (e.g. golf resorts!)
(Score: 2) by Vanderhoth on Thursday December 17 2015, @07:39PM
I was speaking specifically about wind turbines, which very few people in my neck of the woods seem to be against. I know what you're talking about though. I've heard the term NIMBY, but we normally call them CAVEs here (Citizens Against Virtually Everything). They usually only show up when someone wants a playground, dog park, query, or a ATV trail. We get people that drive into the city to complain about where a new dog park is going because people that live in cities shouldn't own dogs or have places where their kids aren't playing in traffic.
"Now we know", "And knowing is half the battle". -G.I. Joooooe
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 18 2015, @02:43AM
Query?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 17 2015, @10:52PM
> To be fair, there are some suggestions that wind turbines are harmful to birds & bats,
That is much less of an issue a couple of miles off shore. Sure there are some sea birds and the bases of the windmills will surely turn into artificial reefs attracting birds that eat the fish living on the reefs. But that might even make them a net positive for bird creation.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 17 2015, @03:54PM
His blowhardary is going to end up hurting his business in many cases. It will help him in others.
If he wasnt 24/7 on TV showing what sort of person he is. He probably could have got the project shut down or at least tied up in paperwork for years (his usual MO). Instead the counsel and courts decided to make a political statement as well.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 17 2015, @04:38PM
He should just build a wall...
(Score: 1) by Pax on Thursday December 17 2015, @05:16PM
Yeah but if it was over two meters high he'd have to apply for planning permission in Scotland .. I wonder if he'd get it now?:P
(Score: 2) by DECbot on Thursday December 17 2015, @05:47PM
Is that height relative to ground on the inside of the owner's property or outside? Or is it relative to the grade of the primary building/grade of the property? Its an important designation because one way of cheating a poorly worded rule like that is first building a 3-meter tall mound of earth and then building a 1.9 meter tall fence on top of that.
cats~$ sudo chown -R us /home/base
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 17 2015, @08:20PM
An 3 meter tall mound would need a permit too.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 17 2015, @05:44PM
> He should just build a wall...
And make the wind farm pay for it.
(Score: 2) by Joe Desertrat on Thursday December 17 2015, @06:36PM
I thought Trump was the wind farm.
(Score: 2) by rts008 on Thursday December 17 2015, @09:02PM
In your defense, he is a blowhard.
It seems to me, that with his hair, he should not bring up the subject of eyesores.
Just sayin'....
(Score: 1) by CHK6 on Thursday December 17 2015, @06:30PM
It's not like Trump was developing a hospital, orphanage, research center, school, or municipal service. It's an already built gold resort for the ultra rich. What I can see Scotland still has a great golf resort and will be getting a wind farm. That puts the score in Scotland's favor.
(Score: 1) by BrockDockdale on Thursday December 17 2015, @07:44PM
(Score: 4, Informative) by turgid on Thursday December 17 2015, @08:45PM
I grew up near that beach, and I used to play on it as a small boy.
I still have friends in that area, and I remember the controversy surrounding the golf course when plans fir it were first submitted.
I left the area and moved to England for work when I was 21. When Scotland got its own devolved government, the national British news (e.g. BBC) stopped covering events in Scotland in any detail, but I got to hear the pro- propaganda from my friends and family. Also, familiarity breeds contempt, and when I was a young man I was bored with the place but as I got older I got a bit nostalgic and decided that the golf course wasn't a good idea, because unspoilt beaches and countryside in general are becoming rarer, and it's nice to have somewhere quiet and natural to go. Also, it's a Site of Special Scientific Interest. You really shouldn't build on it.
The story went, and the Scottish government believed it, that the golf course, hotel and holiday housing complex was going to be great for the economy, and that Trump was going to invest $1.5 billion in the venture. I was extremely sceptical. It's only a golf course! The rest of the story was that 6000 jobs would be created, which would be vital to the economy, since the oil industry (the main source of wealth in the area) would be going into decline. That's an awful lot of jobs for a golf course and a hotel... So the Scottish government bent over backwards and let the build go ahead.
What Trump and his big mouth, big wig and big bucks didn't realise was that some of the people in the area to be developed didn't want to move, and weren't interested in being bought off. So the bullying began,
The development went ahead. The total investment was more like $100M, and only 100 jobs have been created and a Site of Special Scientific Interest has been dug up. An unspoilt piece of beautiful, peaceful nature has been concreted over.
Scotland is quite progressive when it comes to renewable energy, and there have been major efforts to develop wind power both on- and off-shore. In fact, offshore, were old oil platforms are located, has been mooted as a good place to build wind turbines.
So Scotland wants to put up an offshore wind farm which will be visible from the Trump gold course, and Trump is crying and stamping his feet like a big spoilt baby that it will ruin the natural beauty of the place...
Hypocrites and ugly egos on both sides. It's not pretty.
I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent [wikipedia.org].
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 17 2015, @09:04PM
Perhaps they could compromise by siting the wind turbines on the golf course. The view of the sea would be unspoilt, construction and maintenance costs would be lessened, and Mr. Trump would make money off the lease.
(Score: 2) by turgid on Thursday December 17 2015, @09:34PM
There's the flaw in your plan right there: Trump being able to make more money out of his personal arrogance :-)
I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent [wikipedia.org].
(Score: 2) by fido_dogstoyevsky on Friday December 18 2015, @02:43AM
Perhaps they could compromise by siting the wind turbines on the golf course. The view of the sea would be unspoilt, construction and maintenance costs would be lessened, and Mr. Trump would make money off the lease.
Lease? Lease? What about compulsory acquisition?
It's NOT a conspiracy... it's a plot.
(Score: 2) by arslan on Friday December 18 2015, @03:54AM
You're on to something there. Trump could covert that part of the course to mini-golf. The turbines would make good obstacles... quick someone call his campaign manager!