- Cases are still falling slowly, overall. But getting close to flattening off. The increase in rates for the oldest groups is showing up as... - Increases in admissions, which are still small, but need watching. - In hospital is either flat or falling slightly - MV beds is either flat or falling slightly - Deaths falling steadily.
The day on day comparisons coming through, single day sample date figures vs same day last week for 1 or 2/3 (incomplete numerator) vs 22 or 23/2 shows a 20% average rise now across regions. Wales and NI are somewhat lower, but both have registered a rise.
I don't urge anything of the government at this stage other than to point out the rises and that people are still free to wear masks or distance if they want - I think we've landed back on the oscillating level that we had for Delta in July-November. Fourth doses will help.
Blinken and Stoltenberg wearing face masks just shows how utterly and completely delusional and distanced from reality many of the decision makers still are.
Why?
Covid deaths in EU-27 currently running at 1600 per week, having passed 1million in total a few days ago. Similarly cases running at 450k per day.
(For the record - UK total deaths somewhat above EU average in total per pop)
The Russian government has built armed forces highly capable of fighting on home soil or near its frontier and striking deep with long-range fires. However, they are not capable of a sustained ground offensive far beyond Russian railroads without a major logistical halt or a massive mobilization of reserves.
Putin will eventually crush Ukraine unless NATO intervenes
This isn't necessarily true. Russia has apparently lost three Su-25s today alone, so they don't have air superiority at the moment.
They have air supeiority but not supremacy. It is actually utterly bizarre that they should have invaded without first having wiped out Ukraine's air defence. I can only think they believed their own propaganda that the Ukrainians would wave them in as liberators
military analyst on the unherd video that was posted here a couple of days ago said all the signs are there was no planning.
It takes a while to plan an air supremacy campaign. Seems all the signs are that in order to maintain the fiction that all these troops were on the border just for training they told none of the troops or did any detailed planning until the v last minute when Vlad decided to go in.
This all explains the convoy of miles of troops who seem not to know what the plan is or why they are there. Basic tactical planning in detail just not done.
This doesn't make logical sense to me.
You could easily maintain the fiction whilst planning in detail. You just say "Okay guys - this military exercise is all about what we do if - heaven forbid - there was some dreadful NATO provocation that forced us to occupy Ukraine. So if you could all crack on and plan that in extreme detail on the off-chance that, as I say, those cheeky buggers at NATO do anything that forces our hand."
This war is going to be studied carefully and used in officer training in every army. So far it looks like strategic and tactical errors by Russia on a gigantic scale.
Johnson says he doesn't think Putin should be assassinated.
He is absolutely gormless.
The most useless, clueless, inept, oaf and the LAST person we need in charge at this perilous time.
You're suggesting that a leader of one nation call for another to be assassinated? Are you trying to start WW3?
No, he should say that it's not something on which it is useful to comment.
Even saying that is dangerous. Sack whoever asked him that publicly.
Questions like that will always be asked - there's long been a number which get the 'we will neither confirm nor deny' response.
"UK PM refuses to rule out targeted assassination of Putin SHOCK"
Honestly, the Russians are claiming they moved their nuclear preparedness level up one notch because of some utterly innocuous comments made by our Foreign Sec. What on earth do you think would happen if the PM implied he was OK with offing the guy with his finger on the button?
Tosh. All he needs to say is that there is a long established policy in such matters, and it would not be useful to share his feelings on the matter.
Tosh
There is a non zero chance that Johnson can actually arrange for Putin to be assassinated. I am in the minority of posters here, or at least that's how it feels, in not making nudge and wink claims about knowing more about MI5 than I can really let on, old boy, but I imagine he could ask the double 0 section to have a stab at it. But he can only do that if he has expressly ruled it out before he does it, because what if 007 dies in the attempt and is identified as English by his m&s underwear?
It reminds me of my days in MI6, Q kept parking in my space which was annoying as the Aston had quite a wide body so my space was perfect with no space to the right. Anyway I told Q I was going to send a tow truck round his place in Teddington if he didn’t stop. He stopped straight away - didn’t know if I actually could arrange a tow truck or not but he behaved just in case.
As the first of thousands of refugees have begun arriving in Estonia the mood is turning darker. Several guys I know have gone the join the "international brigade". Putin is reminding Estonians of the darkest parts of their history and there is growing rage that Russians continue to beleive the propaganda of the regime. If the Russians continue to follow Putin, then they will be the object of hate and contempt for years to come. There is respect for those who have resisted, but frustration and anger that this has not spread further.
Meanwhile the eastern border is seeing a flood of Russians getting out. They are unlikely to be greeted as warmly as the Ukrainian refugee families that are finding homes across the whole country.
Presumably, though, the Russians are people who detest Putin.
Or people who want to be able to have an iPhone, a working credit card, and cash in the ATM.
No doubt with Putin's security men inserting a few look alikes into the stream.
Johnson says he doesn't think Putin should be assassinated.
He is absolutely gormless.
The most useless, clueless, inept, oaf and the LAST person we need in charge at this perilous time.
it is clear behind the scenes a lot is going on .
Don't kid yourselves.
We in the west have done nothing. Nothing that actually matters. Nothing that stops Putin getting away with this. Putin is pulverising Ukraine.
Which he is and will continue to do.
To say the west have done nothing, that's just provable bullshit.
The Russian invasion has got massively bogged down as they have faced a lot more incoming from better weapons than they thought the Ukrainians had (which have been supplied ahead of time primarily via the UK).
Also many reports the Ukrainian SoF have recorded a lot of important wins, including against deployment of the Russian VDV, and it is known the SoF have received a lot of training from SAS in recent years.
That doesn't mean Putin won't flatten big parts of the Ukraine and claim victory, but it is clear the Ukrainians aren't going to just give up. It seems clear even if he claims military victory, a Ukrainian insurgency will be there.
Putin can't win quickly, his whole narrative has fallen apart. At best he is going to be bogged down in a war for years to come and bust his country in the process.
Putin's narrative may have fallen apart, but so has our government's narrative.
I have been hammered for posting this, but until 10 days ago it was government policy that climate change was the chief threat to mankind and policy must perforce be pointed in a direction that will end it.
A chief justification for this policy was that everyone in the world was on board. Glasgow told us that. Everyone believed it was two minutes to midnight and no-one serious would contemplate and tolerate war.
The way Putin is behaving, and the way the Chinese are ambivalent, shows voters that vast swathes of the world see the climate change argument as nothing more than a giant delusion.
Whether it is or it isn't a delusion is not important. The fact is it is never, ever going to be achievable, given the world's attitude to it. There clearly is no consensus whatever. The old certainties of power and territory prevail.
The policy is utterly shattered and an broken.
This global warming stuff is bonkers. It is possible to think about more than one thing at once.
I think the important point is that they're related - and worse, pull in opposite directions. Speeding up the rate at which the West stops producing gas and coal means we hand de facto monopolies to Russian and China (respectively) - which gives them unfortunate opportunities they wouldn't have had otherwise to abuse their newfound economic powers for geopolitical gains. And we'd possibly rather screw the planet in the long run than hand it over to authoritarian megalomaniacs in the short run.
Notwithstanding the overnight scare, I'm convinced we need more nuclear power stations. Fission, bien sur but we're quite close to the holy grail of Fusion reactors.
It's the most naturally occurring form of energy in the universe and the one from which all others ultimately derive (unless you believe in God.)'
Just make sure it doesn't leak.
Meanwhile loads more alternative local and off-grid homes: solar and wind powered. It's what I'm personally planning.
Down the line, fine
On nuclear, you mean.
But I can put up solar panels and a wind turbine and convert my energy intake in the next 24 hours.
The answer to this planet's anthropogenic global warming and other ravaging of the planet is absolutely NOT further rape of the earth.
The evil which men do ...
It is for the time being until we have fully viable and scalable renewable options.
What if everyone decided to put up solar panels and wind turbines. How long would that take. Where does the supply come from ? You need products from oil to make them anyway.
We need to replace every gas boiler too either with hydrogen (if it proves to be reliable) or electric. Again a colossal task. It will take years to do.
As has been mentioned before on here, I am not sure most people are aware of the huge issues with producing a secure, leak free hydrogen supply to houses. It is a frighteningly difficult task.
As the first of thousands of refugees have begun arriving in Estonia the mood is turning darker. Several guys I know have gone the join the "international brigade". Putin is reminding Estonians of the darkest parts of their history and there is growing rage that Russians continue to beleive the propaganda of the regime. If the Russians continue to follow Putin, then they will be the object of hate and contempt for years to come. There is respect for those who have resisted, but frustration and anger that this has not spread further.
Meanwhile the eastern border is seeing a flood of Russians getting out. They are unlikely to be greeted as warmly as the Ukrainian refugee families that are finding homes across the whole country.
Presumably, though, the Russians are people who detest Putin.
Or people who want to be able to have an iPhone, a working credit card, and cash in the ATM.
No doubt with Putin's security men inserting a few look alikes into the stream.
Being a Putin lookalike will be one of the shittiest jobs on the planet.....
The extent of Russian brainwashing is remarkable - parents in Russia won't even believe their own children in Ukraine that they are being bombarded. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-60600487
I cede to no one in contempt for BoJo as a leader in terms of personal character and at best "erratic" competence but the criticisms over the "assassinate Putin" question are ludicrous. Just conduct the thought experiment of the impact of him calling for assassination.
Doesn't sound like the Tories fancy getting rid of Ben Elliot as co-chairman despite Labour anger and backbench disquiet. Source accuses Starmer of trying to 'score cheap political points by smearing individuals based on their parentage'. Elliot's aunt is future Queen Camilla https://twitter.com/DavidTWilcock/status/1499793601265643528
What do my Brexiteer friends and former colleagues think of the fact that the EU has proven itself to be far more muscular and effective than the U.K. government led by Boris Johnson? Across the board: delivering weapons, increasing defence budgets and enforcing sanctions. https://twitter.com/NickBoles/status/1499789959137484806
Well he is wrong on the delivering weapons front. The UK was right there even before the invasion whilst the EU were still dithering. And as far as increasing defence budgets goes - about time. It is nothing for them to crow about that they have finally started to match what the UK has been spending for decades to help defend them.
On sanctions they are doing far better and deserve credit. But that has bugger all to do with Brexit and everything to do with the specific party we have in power.
So overall Boles is (as usual) talking bollocks.
I seem to remember that RAF planes delivering weapons to Ukraine were having to divert around German airspace. There may be issues about sanctioning plutocrats but in terms of delivering real help I don't think the UK has much to be ashamed of. We've been at it much longer than most others and it didn't need the tanks to cross the frontier and outrage to break out before we did so.
Johnson says he doesn't think Putin should be assassinated.
He is absolutely gormless.
The most useless, clueless, inept, oaf and the LAST person we need in charge at this perilous time.
Who would you like in charge? would it make a difference?
Maggie.
We need to give Putin an ultimatum, Cuban missile crisis style.
YOU HAVE 48 HOURS TO CEASEFIRE, AND ENTER TALKS, OR WE INSTALL A NO FLY ZONE.
At least with Maggie i/c they'd not be able to do her in I suppose..........
She was great.
Wish we had her in No. 10 right now.
Sigh.
You're confusing me. You said earlier that you were a "left of centre pragmatist" (who believes in "selective assassinations"). And now Maggie's biggest fan.
You're all over the place, with all due respect.
All over the place is not uncommon among the multiple identity community on PB. Not so much an Overton Window but a kaleidoscope.
Not 100% but having taken the time I think I'm smelling the (mystic) roses.
I think, to be fair to @Heathener, that we are seeing a bit of a conversion on the international relations front. From "There will be no war in Ukraine" to "We need to go to war with Russia". It's a fair old distance from one to t'other....
Yep. Reminds me of "MR" going from Remainiac to BoJo fan in short order.
I cede to no one in contempt for BoJo as a leader in terms of personal character and at best "erratic" competence but the criticisms over the "assassinate Putin" question are ludicrous. Just conduct the thought experiment of the impact of him calling for assassination.
BoJo has repeatedly chosen not to rise to the bait. Has a lot to answer for but in the most important respects he's acted responsibly.
Johnson says he doesn't think Putin should be assassinated.
He is absolutely gormless.
The most useless, clueless, inept, oaf and the LAST person we need in charge at this perilous time.
Who would you like in charge? would it make a difference?
Maggie.
We need to give Putin an ultimatum, Cuban missile crisis style.
YOU HAVE 48 HOURS TO CEASEFIRE, AND ENTER TALKS, OR WE INSTALL A NO FLY ZONE.
At least with Maggie i/c they'd not be able to do her in I suppose..........
She was great.
Wish we had her in No. 10 right now.
Sigh.
You're confusing me. You said earlier that you were a "left of centre pragmatist" (who believes in "selective assassinations"). And now Maggie's biggest fan.
You're all over the place, with all due respect.
All over the place is not uncommon among the multiple identity community on PB. Not so much an Overton Window but a kaleidoscope.
Not 100% but having taken the time I think I'm smelling the (mystic) roses.
I think, to be fair to @Heathener, that we are seeing a bit of a conversion on the international relations front. From "There will be no war in Ukraine" to "We need to go to war with Russia". It's a fair old distance from one to t'other....
Yep. Reminds me of "MR" going from Remainiac to BoJo fan in short order.
Not sure if it applies in this case, but think some people dislike having the mainstream median opinion on anything!
The extent of Russian brainwashing is remarkable - parents in Russia won't even believe their own children in Ukraine that they are being bombarded. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-60600487
Imagine their anger when they finally discover the truth.
Doesn't sound like the Tories fancy getting rid of Ben Elliot as co-chairman despite Labour anger and backbench disquiet. Source accuses Starmer of trying to 'score cheap political points by smearing individuals based on their parentage'. Elliot's aunt is future Queen Camilla https://twitter.com/DavidTWilcock/status/1499793601265643528
I think it's his career as self appointed flunky to a bunch of criminals, rather than the identity of his aunt, really
I also think the Tory party is much more corrupt than anyone thinks it is. When you can do serious favours for unprincipled billionaires the bungs are in the millions, not the odd £20,000 towards constituency expenses.
Doesn't sound like the Tories fancy getting rid of Ben Elliot as co-chairman despite Labour anger and backbench disquiet. Source accuses Starmer of trying to 'score cheap political points by smearing individuals based on their parentage'. Elliot's aunt is future Queen Camilla https://twitter.com/DavidTWilcock/status/1499793601265643528
That's Sir Ben Elliott. Or will be at any rate given his efforts to raise money. Not that there is a connection to those things.
Your obsessive hatred of Brexit Britain is at once pathological. And emotionally treasonous. You seize on every alleged example of Britain being wrong, evil, greedy, silly, stupid, misguided, cowardly, selfish, and you righteously ignore every example of the EU being similar, or, often, worse. Nothing Britain does can ever be right, it must all be seen as a tragic and immoral endeavour somehow linked to Brexit.
You are not well. Consider a long long break from the site.
This is not the moment for your lunatic and grotesque loathing of your own country
The extent of Russian brainwashing is remarkable - parents in Russia won't even believe their own children in Ukraine that they are being bombarded. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-60600487
Yes, I found that a jolting and very depressing thing to read. Also found this to be a useful summary today on the Beeb, describing different ways the war might end: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-60602936
Your obsessive hatred of Brexit Britain is at once pathological. And emotionally treasonous. You seize on every alleged example of Britain being wrong, evil, greedy, silly, stupid, misguided, cowardly, selfish, and you righteously ignore every example of the EU being similar, or, often, worse. Nothing Britain does can ever be right, it must all be seen as a tragic and immoral endeavour somehow linked to Brexit.
You are not well. Consider a long long break from the site.
This is not the moment for your lunatic and grotesque loathing of your own country
Better have a word with Gazza and all, or is it ok cos he's a foreign?
The extent of Russian brainwashing is remarkable - parents in Russia won't even believe their own children in Ukraine that they are being bombarded. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-60600487
Sadly true.
My wife has been arguing with an aunt in Russia today, who says that it was “Ukranian nationalists” who bombed the nuclear power plant last night.
She can’t be convinced, even by pictures of a house she’s visited in Ukraine minus all the windows, several hundred kilometres from the Donbass. Millions of Russians have been totally brainwashed by the state media.
If the UK wants to be regarded as a strong partner of the US then it is also necessary for the UK to be a strong partner in Europe. It’s not “either … or.” It’s “both … and..” and Blinken knows it. https://twitter.com/haggis_uk/status/1499763578982785025
Your obsessive hatred of Brexit Britain is at once pathological. And emotionally treasonous. You seize on every alleged example of Britain being wrong, evil, greedy, silly, stupid, misguided, cowardly, selfish, and you righteously ignore every example of the EU being similar, or, often, worse. Nothing Britain does can ever be right, it must all be seen as a tragic and immoral endeavour somehow linked to Brexit.
You are not well. Consider a long long break from the site.
This is not the moment for your lunatic and grotesque loathing of your own country
Rubbish and you know it. To accuse someone of treason for going against the government line is especially poignant considering we are trying to get Russians to go against their government line.
Johnson says he doesn't think Putin should be assassinated.
He is absolutely gormless.
The most useless, clueless, inept, oaf and the LAST person we need in charge at this perilous time.
it is clear behind the scenes a lot is going on .
Don't kid yourselves.
We in the west have done nothing. Nothing that actually matters. Nothing that stops Putin getting away with this. Putin is pulverising Ukraine.
Which he is and will continue to do.
To say the west have done nothing, that's just provable bullshit.
The Russian invasion has got massively bogged down as they have faced a lot more incoming from better weapons than they thought the Ukrainians had (which have been supplied ahead of time primarily via the UK).
Also many reports the Ukrainian SoF have recorded a lot of important wins, including against deployment of the Russian VDV, and it is known the SoF have received a lot of training from SAS in recent years.
That doesn't mean Putin won't flatten big parts of the Ukraine and claim victory, but it is clear the Ukrainians aren't going to just give up. It seems clear even if he claims military victory, a Ukrainian insurgency will be there.
Putin can't win quickly, his whole narrative has fallen apart. At best he is going to be bogged down in a war for years to come and bust his country in the process.
Putin's narrative may have fallen apart, but so has our government's narrative.
I have been hammered for posting this, but until 10 days ago it was government policy that climate change was the chief threat to mankind and policy must perforce be pointed in a direction that will end it.
A chief justification for this policy was that everyone in the world was on board. Glasgow told us that. Everyone believed it was two minutes to midnight and no-one serious would contemplate and tolerate war.
The way Putin is behaving, and the way the Chinese are ambivalent, shows voters that vast swathes of the world see the climate change argument as nothing more than a giant delusion.
Whether it is or it isn't a delusion is not important. The fact is it is never, ever going to be achievable, given the world's attitude to it. There clearly is no consensus whatever. The old certainties of power and territory prevail.
The policy is utterly shattered and an broken.
This global warming stuff is bonkers. It is possible to think about more than one thing at once.
I think the important point is that they're related - and worse, pull in opposite directions. Speeding up the rate at which the West stops producing gas and coal means we hand de facto monopolies to Russian and China (respectively) - which gives them unfortunate opportunities they wouldn't have had otherwise to abuse their newfound economic powers for geopolitical gains. And we'd possibly rather screw the planet in the long run than hand it over to authoritarian megalomaniacs in the short run.
Notwithstanding the overnight scare, I'm convinced we need more nuclear power stations. Fission, bien sur but we're quite close to the holy grail of Fusion reactors.
It's the most naturally occurring form of energy in the universe and the one from which all others ultimately derive (unless you believe in God.)'
Just make sure it doesn't leak.
Meanwhile loads more alternative local and off-grid homes: solar and wind powered. It's what I'm personally planning.
Down the line, fine
On nuclear, you mean.
But I can put up solar panels and a wind turbine and convert my energy intake in the next 24 hours.
The answer to this planet's anthropogenic global warming and other ravaging of the planet is absolutely NOT further rape of the earth.
The evil which men do ...
It is for the time being until we have fully viable and scalable renewable options.
What if everyone decided to put up solar panels and wind turbines. How long would that take. Where does the supply come from ? You need products from oil to make them anyway.
We need to replace every gas boiler too either with hydrogen (if it proves to be reliable) or electric. Again a colossal task. It will take years to do.
As has been mentioned before on here, I am not sure most people are aware of the huge issues with producing a secure, leak free hydrogen supply to houses. It is a frighteningly difficult task.
Yes, it is. Boiler producers are trialling hydrogen boilers currently. But the delivery has issues.
Hydrogen for commercial vehicles seems to be progressing. Birmingham recently introduced 129 hydrogen powered buses.
Johnson says he doesn't think Putin should be assassinated.
He is absolutely gormless.
The most useless, clueless, inept, oaf and the LAST person we need in charge at this perilous time.
it is clear behind the scenes a lot is going on .
Don't kid yourselves.
We in the west have done nothing. Nothing that actually matters. Nothing that stops Putin getting away with this. Putin is pulverising Ukraine.
Which he is and will continue to do.
To say the west have done nothing, that's just provable bullshit.
The Russian invasion has got massively bogged down as they have faced a lot more incoming from better weapons than they thought the Ukrainians had (which have been supplied ahead of time primarily via the UK).
Also many reports the Ukrainian SoF have recorded a lot of important wins, including against deployment of the Russian VDV, and it is known the SoF have received a lot of training from SAS in recent years.
That doesn't mean Putin won't flatten big parts of the Ukraine and claim victory, but it is clear the Ukrainians aren't going to just give up. It seems clear even if he claims military victory, a Ukrainian insurgency will be there.
Putin can't win quickly, his whole narrative has fallen apart. At best he is going to be bogged down in a war for years to come and bust his country in the process.
Putin's narrative may have fallen apart, but so has our government's narrative.
I have been hammered for posting this, but until 10 days ago it was government policy that climate change was the chief threat to mankind and policy must perforce be pointed in a direction that will end it.
A chief justification for this policy was that everyone in the world was on board. Glasgow told us that. Everyone believed it was two minutes to midnight and no-one serious would contemplate and tolerate war.
The way Putin is behaving, and the way the Chinese are ambivalent, shows voters that vast swathes of the world see the climate change argument as nothing more than a giant delusion.
Whether it is or it isn't a delusion is not important. The fact is it is never, ever going to be achievable, given the world's attitude to it. There clearly is no consensus whatever. The old certainties of power and territory prevail.
The policy is utterly shattered and an broken.
This global warming stuff is bonkers. It is possible to think about more than one thing at once.
I think the important point is that they're related - and worse, pull in opposite directions. Speeding up the rate at which the West stops producing gas and coal means we hand de facto monopolies to Russian and China (respectively) - which gives them unfortunate opportunities they wouldn't have had otherwise to abuse their newfound economic powers for geopolitical gains. And we'd possibly rather screw the planet in the long run than hand it over to authoritarian megalomaniacs in the short run.
Notwithstanding the overnight scare, I'm convinced we need more nuclear power stations. Fission, bien sur but we're quite close to the holy grail of Fusion reactors.
It's the most naturally occurring form of energy in the universe and the one from which all others ultimately derive (unless you believe in God.)'
Just make sure it doesn't leak.
Meanwhile loads more alternative local and off-grid homes: solar and wind powered. It's what I'm personally planning.
Down the line, fine
On nuclear, you mean.
But I can put up solar panels and a wind turbine and convert my energy intake in the next 24 hours.
The answer to this planet's anthropogenic global warming and other ravaging of the planet is absolutely NOT further rape of the earth.
The evil which men do ...
It is for the time being until we have fully viable and scalable renewable options.
What if everyone decided to put up solar panels and wind turbines. How long would that take. Where does the supply come from ? You need products from oil to make them anyway.
We need to replace every gas boiler too either with hydrogen (if it proves to be reliable) or electric. Again a colossal task. It will take years to do.
As has been mentioned before on here, I am not sure most people are aware of the huge issues with producing a secure, leak free hydrogen supply to houses. It is a frighteningly difficult task.
Just to note that if we go down the 'blue' hydrogen route, we will need more natural gas than we do now, to account for the conversion losses.
Missed this on QT last night. SNP doubling down on stripping away UK's nuclear deterrence.
The guy with his head in his hands is Konstantin Kisin, a kind of Russian version of Volodymyr Zelensky, ie, comedian going into politics. Sadly, not much chance of him being elected president anytime soon.
That hideous blob of an SNP witch needs to declare unilateral disavowal of dairy, chocolate and sugars . If she can’t govern her intake of double cheese lard burgers, how is she expected to govern Scotland?
Extremely personal attack which is distateful, however I agree that as an MP she is total crap and would struggle to run a bath.
Hahahaha
Like it
There is a more serious point here. The SNP’s anti-Trident position looks increasingly untenable, post Ukraine, and they need to either drop it or finesse it to oblivion, or find some brilliant new way of defending it. She lamentably did neither, just stuck to the usual “nukes are bad” bullshit (yes we know they are bad, but so are guns and you still need a gun in a gunfight).
The Russian guy who came after her humiliated her. This will happen every time the policy is mention, from now on
I suspect that Malcolm, the inarticulate poster most well known on here for being offensive is offended because I guess he is most probably the rotund image of his idol, the fat little man that was described by his QC as "a bully and a sex pest".
He probably needs to also declare unilateral disavowal of dairy, chocolate and sugars, burgers, beer and anything vaguely calorific. I do wish he would also declare unilateral disavowal of posting his juvenile command of the English language on this site and do us all a favour.
Sad Gammon alert, union jack panties in a bunch, red face bursting and dribbling his same old tired speech. Get a new line you turnip headed cretin.
Hello Malky. Hope you are keeping well. Grey here with occasional fine smirr. Though we did have gammon or rather bacon bits in our home-made lentil soup for lunch.
Hello Carnyx, I had same soup, been blue sky and sunshine here
This is not the moment for your lunatic and grotesque loathing of your own country
I don't loathe my Country.
But this is not the moment to be represented on the World stage by a fucking clown.
Anybody who doesn't think BoZo is a disgrace is not a patriot.
Your posts have been very good as I said recently, but unfortunately you lapse into words that can only come from someone who has been adversely affected by brexit and seems almost like you want to use the forum to console yourself in some way
What do my Brexiteer friends and former colleagues think of the fact that the EU has proven itself to be far more muscular and effective than the U.K. government led by Boris Johnson? Across the board: delivering weapons, increasing defence budgets and enforcing sanctions. https://twitter.com/NickBoles/status/1499789959137484806
Your obsessive hatred of Brexit Britain is at once pathological. And emotionally treasonous. You seize on every alleged example of Britain being wrong, evil, greedy, silly, stupid, misguided, cowardly, selfish, and you righteously ignore every example of the EU being similar, or, often, worse. Nothing Britain does can ever be right, it must all be seen as a tragic and immoral endeavour somehow linked to Brexit.
You are not well. Consider a long long break from the site.
This is not the moment for your lunatic and grotesque loathing of your own country
The EU figure is interestingly high ... until you divide it by 27 actual countries
If the UK wants to be regarded as a strong partner of the US then it is also necessary for the UK to be a strong partner in Europe. It’s not “either … or.” It’s “both … and..” and Blinken knows it. https://twitter.com/haggis_uk/status/1499763578982785025
UK is a strong partner in Europe and is appreciated by Ukraine more than any other
Your constant desire to belittle the UK is tedious
Missed this on QT last night. SNP doubling down on stripping away UK's nuclear deterrence.
The guy with his head in his hands is Konstantin Kisin, a kind of Russian version of Volodymyr Zelensky, ie, comedian going into politics. Sadly, not much chance of him being elected president anytime soon.
That hideous blob of an SNP witch needs to declare unilateral disavowal of dairy, chocolate and sugars . If she can’t govern her intake of double cheese lard burgers, how is she expected to govern Scotland?
Extremely personal attack which is distateful, however I agree that as an MP she is total crap and would struggle to run a bath.
Hahahaha
Like it
There is a more serious point here. The SNP’s anti-Trident position looks increasingly untenable, post Ukraine, and they need to either drop it or finesse it to oblivion, or find some brilliant new way of defending it. She lamentably did neither, just stuck to the usual “nukes are bad” bullshit (yes we know they are bad, but so are guns and you still need a gun in a gunfight).
The Russian guy who came after her humiliated her. This will happen every time the policy is mention, from now on
I suspect that Malcolm, the inarticulate poster most well known on here for being offensive is offended because I guess he is most probably the rotund image of his idol, the fat little man that was described by his QC as "a bully and a sex pest".
He probably needs to also declare unilateral disavowal of dairy, chocolate and sugars, burgers, beer and anything vaguely calorific. I do wish he would also declare unilateral disavowal of posting his juvenile command of the English language on this site and do us all a favour.
Sad Gammon alert, union jack panties in a bunch, red face bursting and dribbling his same old tired speech. Get a new line you turnip headed cretin.
4/10 - just sounds tired. You can do much better.
You are a tough one to please. I would not waste my time on doing anything good for sad old Foreskin, unless it was writing a cheque for the vet to have him put out of his misery.
Get a job.
Still working you halfwitted cretin. Enjoy paying your increased NI next month, luckily I don't need to pay on my wedge, though taxed to the hilt to provide tax credits for impoverished lawyers like you.
Johnson says he doesn't think Putin should be assassinated.
He is absolutely gormless.
The most useless, clueless, inept, oaf and the LAST person we need in charge at this perilous time.
Who would you like in charge? would it make a difference?
Maggie.
We need to give Putin an ultimatum, Cuban missile crisis style.
YOU HAVE 48 HOURS TO CEASEFIRE, AND ENTER TALKS, OR WE INSTALL A NO FLY ZONE.
At least with Maggie i/c they'd not be able to do her in I suppose..........
She was great.
Wish we had her in No. 10 right now.
Sigh.
You're confusing me. You said earlier that you were a "left of centre pragmatist" (who believes in "selective assassinations"). And now Maggie's biggest fan.
You're all over the place, with all due respect.
All over the place is not uncommon among the multiple identity community on PB. Not so much an Overton Window but a kaleidoscope.
Not 100% but having taken the time I think I'm smelling the (mystic) roses.
I think, to be fair to @Heathener, that we are seeing a bit of a conversion on the international relations front. From "There will be no war in Ukraine" to "We need to go to war with Russia". It's a fair old distance from one to t'other....
Yep. Reminds me of "MR" going from Remainiac to BoJo fan in short order.
Not sure if it applies in this case, but think some people dislike having the mainstream median opinion on anything!
It's the old 'stand out' technique. Eg the City pundit who predicts a Crash every year. You get exposure and clicks (because it's not boring) and one day you are also right and then 'guru' status beckons. And once you have 'guru' status you can be wrong many many times before you lose it, during which time you get yourself sorted financially and enjoy yourself doing it. This is just PB, of course, so I'm over-dramatizing slightly, but I think that's the essence of it.
If Russia have committed 80% of their troops into Ukraine where do they go from here? Their bogged down (literally?) north of Kiev, another front is coming in from the east and making progress. My sense is the Ukrainians are now short of firepower. How much of the stuff we've sent in is getting through to them is the question. The best Russian forces are in the south but they're having terrible trouble in Mariupol which should have been a quick gain. I question how long Russia can last in this war if it is going to have to occupy cities.
The alternative strategy doesn't really bear thinking about. Thermobaric/tactical nukes/chemical weapons?
I cede to no one in contempt for BoJo as a leader in terms of personal character and at best "erratic" competence but the criticisms over the "assassinate Putin" question are ludicrous. Just conduct the thought experiment of the impact of him calling for assassination.
What do my Brexiteer friends and former colleagues think of the fact that the EU has proven itself to be far more muscular and effective than the U.K. government led by Boris Johnson? Across the board: delivering weapons, increasing defence budgets and enforcing sanctions. https://twitter.com/NickBoles/status/1499789959137484806
If the UK wants to be regarded as a strong partner of the US then it is also necessary for the UK to be a strong partner in Europe. It’s not “either … or.” It’s “both … and..” and Blinken knows it. https://twitter.com/haggis_uk/status/1499763578982785025
Missed this on QT last night. SNP doubling down on stripping away UK's nuclear deterrence.
The guy with his head in his hands is Konstantin Kisin, a kind of Russian version of Volodymyr Zelensky, ie, comedian going into politics. Sadly, not much chance of him being elected president anytime soon.
That hideous blob of an SNP witch needs to declare unilateral disavowal of dairy, chocolate and sugars . If she can’t govern her intake of double cheese lard burgers, how is she expected to govern Scotland?
Extremely personal attack which is distateful, however I agree that as an MP she is total crap and would struggle to run a bath.
Hahahaha
Like it
There is a more serious point here. The SNP’s anti-Trident position looks increasingly untenable, post Ukraine, and they need to either drop it or finesse it to oblivion, or find some brilliant new way of defending it. She lamentably did neither, just stuck to the usual “nukes are bad” bullshit (yes we know they are bad, but so are guns and you still need a gun in a gunfight).
The Russian guy who came after her humiliated her. This will happen every time the policy is mention, from now on
I suspect that Malcolm, the inarticulate poster most well known on here for being offensive is offended because I guess he is most probably the rotund image of his idol, the fat little man that was described by his QC as "a bully and a sex pest".
He probably needs to also declare unilateral disavowal of dairy, chocolate and sugars, burgers, beer and anything vaguely calorific. I do wish he would also declare unilateral disavowal of posting his juvenile command of the English language on this site and do us all a favour.
Sad Gammon alert, union jack panties in a bunch, red face bursting and dribbling his same old tired speech. Get a new line you turnip headed cretin.
Hello Malky. Hope you are keeping well. Grey here with occasional fine smirr. Though we did have gammon or rather bacon bits in our home-made lentil soup for lunch.
Did you call it Soup de Foremain?
What a waste of a good plate of soup that would be.
I don't think the decimation facing Russia has been fully understood. War is costly. The UK may have won the 2nd world war but we were massively drained as a world power. Russia's economy is facing into the abyss. Diplomatically it is isolated alone with Belarus, Syria, Eritrea and North Korea. Having spent a decade trying to restore their military might they are running through men and equipment in no time and will not be in a position to replace it with the economic mess.
I honestly think we should start to question Russia's position on the UN Security Council. It has been a malevolent actor on the world stage for decades and giving up that seat could be one requirement to removing sanctions. How possible would it be to replace them with India or would Kashmir be too much of a problem?
A suspension would be great, but that's for another day. Post Putin as a major nuclear power Russia realistically needs to be on the security council.
The permanent members by mid-Century should really be USA, China, EU (or an EU/UK/Fr joint seat with 1 vote), Russia, India, Brazil and the African Union.
Your obsessive hatred of Brexit Britain is at once pathological. And emotionally treasonous. You seize on every alleged example of Britain being wrong, evil, greedy, silly, stupid, misguided, cowardly, selfish, and you righteously ignore every example of the EU being similar, or, often, worse. Nothing Britain does can ever be right, it must all be seen as a tragic and immoral endeavour somehow linked to Brexit.
You are not well. Consider a long long break from the site.
This is not the moment for your lunatic and grotesque loathing of your own country
The EU figure is interestingly high ... until you divide it by 27 actual countries
It's more that they sanctioned every individual in the Duma who voted war.
The extent of Russian brainwashing is remarkable - parents in Russia won't even believe their own children in Ukraine that they are being bombarded. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-60600487
Just had that confirmed by a good friend whose Russian mother-in-law in St Petersburg cannot believe that Russians are fighting Ukrainians. The regime's grip on news and information seems to be near total.
If Russia have committed 80% of their troops into Ukraine where do they go from here? Their bogged down (literally?) north of Kiev, another front is coming in from the east and making progress. My sense is the Ukrainians are now short of firepower. How much of the stuff we've sent in is getting through to them is the question. The best Russian forces are in the south but they're having terrible trouble in Mariupol which should have been a quick gain. I question how long Russia can last in this war if it is going to have to occupy cities.
The alternative strategy doesn't really bear thinking about. Thermobaric/tactical nukes/chemical weapons?
Military ousting Putin or forcing a climb down are probably more likely.
I don't think the decimation facing Russia has been fully understood. War is costly. The UK may have won the 2nd world war but we were massively drained as a world power. Russia's economy is facing into the abyss. Diplomatically it is isolated alone with Belarus, Syria, Eritrea and North Korea. Having spent a decade trying to restore their military might they are running through men and equipment in no time and will not be in a position to replace it with the economic mess.
I honestly think we should start to question Russia's position on the UN Security Council. It has been a malevolent actor on the world stage for decades and giving up that seat could be one requirement to removing sanctions. How possible would it be to replace them with India or would Kashmir be too much of a problem?
A suspension would be great, but that's for another day. Post Putin as a major nuclear power Russia realistically needs to be on the security council.
The permanent members by mid-Century should really be USA, China, EU (or an EU/UK/Fr joint seat with 1 vote), Russia, India, Brazil and the African Union.
I would suggest that the best change that could be made to the Security Council would be the removal of the veto of the permanent members. At the same time expand the permanent membership to, say 10 countries with the other 10 being on a rotational basis. But again the UN should be an organisation of independent member states, not collections or organisations. So the EU and the AU should not be given votes. Those votes should remain with the individual countries (which if the EU had any sense would mean they actually had more of a say rather than less assuming all their member countries were in agreement).
I don't think the decimation facing Russia has been fully understood. War is costly. The UK may have won the 2nd world war but we were massively drained as a world power. Russia's economy is facing into the abyss. Diplomatically it is isolated alone with Belarus, Syria, Eritrea and North Korea. Having spent a decade trying to restore their military might they are running through men and equipment in no time and will not be in a position to replace it with the economic mess.
I honestly think we should start to question Russia's position on the UN Security Council. It has been a malevolent actor on the world stage for decades and giving up that seat could be one requirement to removing sanctions. How possible would it be to replace them with India or would Kashmir be too much of a problem?
A suspension would be great, but that's for another day. Post Putin as a major nuclear power Russia realistically needs to be on the security council.
The permanent members by mid-Century should really be USA, China, EU (or an EU/UK/Fr joint seat with 1 vote), Russia, India, Brazil and the African Union.
Brazil does not have nuclear weapons nor does any African nation. That should be a minimum for any new P5 UN SC member as all current members have them.
Thank god for our rule of law, and refusal to abuse executive power.
I don't think this is Boris doing a favour for his old mates, I think they've got him by the balls. You sanction us, we blow the whistle.
I did hear a minister pointing out that the UK already had hundreds of Russians on sanctions from Salisbury etc so comparing what we have added to that is not comparing like with like. No idea if that is true.
Comments
I don't urge anything of the government at this stage other than to point out the rises and that people are still free to wear masks or distance if they want - I think we've landed back on the oscillating level that we had for Delta in July-November. Fourth doses will help.
I hate to imagine the next COVID wave in Kyiv.
Covid deaths in EU-27 currently running at 1600 per week, having passed 1million in total a few days ago.
Similarly cases running at 450k per day.
(For the record - UK total deaths somewhat above EU average in total per pop)
I don't think this is Boris doing a favour for his old mates, I think they've got him by the balls. You sanction us, we blow the whistle.
https://warontherocks.com/2021/11/feeding-the-bear-a-closer-look-at-russian-army-logistics/
The Russian government has built armed forces highly capable of fighting on home soil or near its frontier and striking deep with long-range fires. However, they are not capable of a sustained ground offensive far beyond Russian railroads without a major logistical halt or a massive mobilization of reserves.
But keep that to yourself ok.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-60600487
https://twitter.com/DavidTWilcock/status/1499793601265643528
I also think the Tory party is much more corrupt than anyone thinks it is. When you can do serious favours for unprincipled billionaires the bungs are in the millions, not the odd £20,000 towards constituency expenses.
You are not well. Consider a long long break from the site.
This is not the moment for your lunatic and grotesque loathing of your own country
Also found this to be a useful summary today on the Beeb, describing different ways the war might end:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-60602936
But this is not the moment to be represented on the World stage by a fucking clown.
Anybody who doesn't think BoZo is a disgrace is not a patriot.
My wife has been arguing with an aunt in Russia today, who says that it was “Ukranian nationalists” who bombed the nuclear power plant last night.
She can’t be convinced, even by pictures of a house she’s visited in Ukraine minus all the windows, several hundred kilometres from the Donbass. Millions of Russians have been totally brainwashed by the state media.
Hydrogen for commercial vehicles seems to be progressing. Birmingham recently introduced 129 hydrogen powered buses.
https://twitter.com/D_G_Alexander/status/1499644219513884674
https://twitter.com/RFERL/status/1499511055856328706/video/1
Telephone poll of 1,040 adults in Ukraine, 1-3 March 2022, weighted to be nationally representative. "Do you think each of the following are doing enough or not enough to help Ukraine?"
New Thread
Scholz too, if you consider the baseline he was working from.
The EU, as an institution, not so good. The jets thing was very silly.
Whitehall, as an institution, very good with intelligence and provision of weapons.
Looks like current briefing to Johnson is superb in that he hasn't completely fucked it up (yet).
Obviously his view counts for little this week, but there we go.
Your constant desire to belittle the UK is tedious
The alternative strategy doesn't really bear thinking about. Thermobaric/tactical nukes/chemical weapons?
The permanent members by mid-Century should really be USA, China, EU (or an EU/UK/Fr joint seat with 1 vote), Russia, India, Brazil and the African Union.
GOP Senator Lindsey Graham says someone should assassinate him
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/graham-faces-backlash-suggesting-assassinate-putin/story?id=83252288
The largest economies are already in the G20