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Russia invaded the Baltic states three times last century, occupying them for decades after WWII.
It's not exactly surprising they're worried about a repeat.

Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia may become Putin's next target - because of this, the leaders of the Baltic countries criticized any attempts to force Ukraine to cede territory, writes FT.
https://x.com/front_ukrainian/status/1954123898296975865

It’s been a very long running piece of irredentism that any land that was ever part of the Russian Empire is part of the New Russian Empire (of whatever version)

The USSR had it as policy. Putin has made it the policy of his party.

Russia devastated the Baltics several times in the 20thC (twice playing tag team with the Germans).
Ideologically friendly Balts formed the backbone of the early Bolshevik Red Army, and the Cheka (and later died in Stalin's purges).

Others provided slave labour for various projects between the two world wars, or died in the gulags.

The hatred and distrust of Russia has deep and well grounded foundations.

As with Ukraine, history has inconvenient facts for anyone seeking one-dimensional heroes and villains, from Putin to each of us. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wartime_collaboration_in_the_Baltic_states for the other side of the story.

Rather than rely on history, with nearly all the actors no longer alive, it's best to concentrate on the present. The Baltic States seem all to have large majorities who are happy to be independent, and we should support that, while reserving the right to be critical of treatment of pro-Russian minorities. Personally I doubt if there's a serious threat, because of their NATO membership, which makes them very different from Ukraine, but there's no reason why we shouldn't reinforce the commitment to supporting their independence.

The problem is Nick, I don't believe you.

When Ukraine was invaded (again...) in 2022, you blamed everyone but Russia. We shouldn't 'poke' Russia into invading, Ukrainian Nazi's, etc. Pure victim-blaming and whitewashing of Putin's fascism and imperialism.

I daresay when Russia does invade the Baltics or elewhere, you will be full-on excusing-Russia mode.

Because he doesn't see the world in your simplistic black and white tones doesn't make him a liar. I'm not surprised he posts so lrarely when faced with your dribbling ignorance

Gee, thanks Roger!

"simplistic black and white tones"

The Ukraine war is as near black and white in such matters as you can get. Or, if you prefer, right and wrong. Good and evil. It is far more clear-cut in terms of "right and wrong" than (say) the situation in the Middle east with Israel versus Hamas.

Our country's interests are also fairly clear-cut: support Ukraine, oppose Russia.

It's amazing how many lefties are against imperialism and fascism - except when it comes to Russia, in which case it's a-okay. I'd have hoped you weren't one of them.

Many “anti-imperialists” turn out to be very much in favour of imperialism, when carried out by those they approve of.

Post-colonial discourse tends to prioritise between imperialists.

Well, the pyroclastic flow coming off Arthur's Seat has made this afternoon's run a bit more exciting than usual. Extinct - yeah right!

I'm heading SW to avoid wrecking my lungs any further.

This was too flippant. It's now very significant from my vantage point and there are likely hundreds if not thousands of tourists up there.

At this point I would like to point anyone to my favourite novel, which is Stephen Baxter's Moonseed.

Alien nanobug destroys planet, starting at Arthur's Seat (via Moon and Venus).

Arthur's seat has fond memories for my wife and I in our courting days in 1962 !!!

If a bit cold

Arthur's Seat was the last 'hill' of my coastal walk (I started and ended the walk at Edinburgh Castle). I headed inland from Leith and climbed Calton Hill, then Arthur's Seat, before descending and having ponies accompany me for the last quarter-mile to the castle.

Edinburgh really is a truly magical city. My original intention was to start the walk from London, but I am so happy I started from Edinburgh instead. It seems like a city tailor-made to start and end an adventure. I'm sad I don't get to go up there very often. I miss Scotland.

I just bought a handsome William IV mahogany table for £129

wtf. A friend tells me “antique prices have collapsed”. “Especially for old brown stuff”

Is this true? It seems true from this deal

OTOH I might get it and find it collapses on arrival

Yes, for quite a long time.

It's also driven by large furniture and houses getting smaller, and fashion.

Mum and dad were in a 5000sqft former manor house for their last 40 years, of which restoration took 25 years. They had at least 3 full size (8 person) dining tables from relatives, and had amassed a collection of Guy Rogers 1960s Manhattan teak furniture of 3 full size double bed converting sofas, and about 9 chairs, as old friends moved to smaller houses - different period, same principle.

Estate sales of boomers (OK: former boomers) are one place to be.

Big and brown has been difficult to give away for a long time.

When the LAB LEAKED covid killed my mother I burned most of her antique furniture in the paddock of her house in North Yorks because getting rid of it was such a tiresome pain in the dick. There is literally no way to get rid of a massive 300kg 18th C. Flemish oak wardrobe other than burning it.

We've been clearing my late MIL's house most of the year, it seems never ending. Most of the furniture has gone to charity. Attempts to sell stuff online have not really been worth the hassle. Problems like the 4 piece suite which doesn't have fire certificates on it (meaning charities will not trust it) have had us pulling our hair out.
.
Dinning room table with 6 matching chairs, crockery sideboards, glass cabinets, we literally cannot give them away.

We did ours via an auction house - they took all the stuff we did not want as a package, sold the good and the rest went to a charity they worked with for the purpose.

We ended up with about 3k, but it was 3 decent sized vans of furniture - so low prices.

And there was a gorgeous 1880s mirror backed sideboard which was about 8ft long and 8ft high, with arts and crafts decoration, but which just would not fit in a modern house and would need to go to the type of house for which it was made.

Most people will come across this problem sometime. The game ought to have rules.

Rule 1: Price is what you can get.There is no other measure. Madness follows if you overlook this.
Rule 2: It is massively in the public interest that Local Authorities have a statutory duty to collect and dispose of otherwise impossible items from domestic premises at no or small charge. (This prevents fly tipping).
Rule 3: What you can get depends on whether you want to make getting maximum price your full time job for an indefinite period. This especially applies to books.
Rule 4: The piano should never have been invented. It should be a criminal offence to try to own a grand piano.
Rule 5: No-one ever moves house/clears a house without leaving behind at least one piece of unfinished business.

I have had several friends say that they were reduced almost to tears when doing house clearance for their late parents, items of furniture and china that their parents really treasured and were convinced were worth a lot went for peanuts at auction because currently they are not fashionable.

When my old dad finally died his house on S.Harris was full of brown furniture from my then recently deceased gran. Out of sentimental attachment we spent quite a lot on transporting it back to the mainland, even then we were aware it wasn’t really financially sensible. Ironically there was quite a lot of modular Ercol furniture bought from the previous owner (widow of the retired head of SOE as it happens) which we left for the new owner, it would be worth a handy chunk of money now.

Ercol is definitely popular, including with younger generation. Has a bit of that Scandi design shtick abiut it. And it fits!

OTOH you simply cannot give away pianos, as am discovering with a perfectly nice upright that I'm trying to find a home for. Depressing really.

Aren't you near Portsmouth? The RN like to have old pianos to catapult off their aircraft carriers. Or used to.

Well, that would be a diverting way of saying Godspeed to the old Joanna. Sadly at the wrong end of the country. Wonder if the RAF could help out - they are somewhat more proximate.

You could phone the RN and ask them when a carrier is next visiting Rosyth.

Surely the correct way to dispose of a piano is to dangle it over a pavement and place a banana skin beneath it. The gods of slapstick will handle the rest

That is absolutely enormous.

World's longest wind blade (153m), heaviest nacelle (>500t) arrived in Shandong recently.
They are designed for world's 1st 26MW offshore turbine by Dongfang electric w/ turbine hub center height of 185m.
Each turbine can generate 100GWh of electricity/yr & cut > 80kt CO2.
Transporting such long blade & heavy nacelle is extremely difficult & they are finding ways to overcome such challenges to bring them to port & ship them.
500t nacelle also exceeds typical port crane lifting ability, so new solutions need to be developed to put them on cargo ships.
https://x.com/tphuang/status/1954360989207687179

For comparison, we have 15MW turbines with ~110m blades in the Dogger Bank field. The blades are made on Teeside.

Well, the pyroclastic flow coming off Arthur's Seat has made this afternoon's run a bit more exciting than usual. Extinct - yeah right!

I'm heading SW to avoid wrecking my lungs any further.

This was too flippant. It's now very significant from my vantage point and there are likely hundreds if not thousands of tourists up there.

At this point I would like to point anyone to my favourite novel, which is Stephen Baxter's Moonseed.

Alien nanobug destroys planet, starting at Arthur's Seat (via Moon and Venus).

Arthur's seat has fond memories for my wife and I in our courting days in 1962 !!!

If a bit cold

We have somthing in common! My Mother was from Edinburgh and we used to go up there three times a year. Arthur's Seat was always my most nostalgic memory

Russia invaded the Baltic states three times last century, occupying them for decades after WWII.
It's not exactly surprising they're worried about a repeat.

Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia may become Putin's next target - because of this, the leaders of the Baltic countries criticized any attempts to force Ukraine to cede territory, writes FT.
https://x.com/front_ukrainian/status/1954123898296975865

It’s been a very long running piece of irredentism that any land that was ever part of the Russian Empire is part of the New Russian Empire (of whatever version)

The USSR had it as policy. Putin has made it the policy of his party.

Russia devastated the Baltics several times in the 20thC (twice playing tag team with the Germans).
Ideologically friendly Balts formed the backbone of the early Bolshevik Red Army, and the Cheka (and later died in Stalin's purges).

Others provided slave labour for various projects between the two world wars, or died in the gulags.

The hatred and distrust of Russia has deep and well grounded foundations.

As with Ukraine, history has inconvenient facts for anyone seeking one-dimensional heroes and villains, from Putin to each of us. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wartime_collaboration_in_the_Baltic_states for the other side of the story.

Rather than rely on history, with nearly all the actors no longer alive, it's best to concentrate on the present. The Baltic States seem all to have large majorities who are happy to be independent, and we should support that, while reserving the right to be critical of treatment of pro-Russian minorities. Personally I doubt if there's a serious threat, because of their NATO membership, which makes them very different from Ukraine, but there's no reason why we shouldn't reinforce the commitment to supporting their independence.

The problem is Nick, I don't believe you.

When Ukraine was invaded (again...) in 2022, you blamed everyone but Russia. We shouldn't 'poke' Russia into invading, Ukrainian Nazi's, etc. Pure victim-blaming and whitewashing of Putin's fascism and imperialism.

I daresay when Russia does invade the Baltics or elewhere, you will be full-on excusing-Russia mode.

Germany was the ultimate collaborator with the Nazis. Since we are in “sins of the grandfathers mode” and the AfD is rising, should we give a shit if Germany gets attacked by Russia?

Also Austria - lots of far right there. I guess if Russia wants the occupation of Austria restarted , we should be AOK with that?