I've been walking my Mum's dog every day for the last few weeks. Mum's had a knee operation and hasn't been able to get out at all, so I've been taking her out for over an hour and a half every lunchtime
There's an old railway line, that's been changed to a footpath, round one side of the town that makes up about an hour of the walk. There she can be off the lead the whole way.
Today as we were walking down there, she had her head deep in a bush following some smell when a pheasant emerged with a huge squawk (do they squawk?) and full wings out from the other side of the bush.
I don't think she's ever met a pheasant before, and didn't seem immediately keen. Crouched down, she fled backwards - as fast as I've ever seen her move forwards - about fifteen foot away.
With all the storms a load of trees and branches have fallen down; they've been cleared but the path is still littered with leaves and twigs like it's Autumn. She stopped her reverse as she tripped over the pile of foliage she'd built up behind her.
She tried to recover with a bold leap and bark into the air towards the space recently vacated by the pheasant.
It's only rarely that I regret not filming everything.
Putinly sincere apologies to those who don't like canine tales.
Can we just clarify that the 'she' you refer to throughout, notwithstanding the second sentence, is a canine and not your mother?
I noticed that and thought it'd be funnier not to make it clear!
The Russian ambassador to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, has been presenting the Kremlin’s allegations that Ukraine and the US had a plot to spread biological weapons with migratory birds, bats and insects.
I still have an open mind about this, as the honesty of the Ukrainians today about the existence of the US bug factory sits uneasily with UK and US calling the Russian claims utter nonsense. What the Ukrainians have said is there was an American Bug Factory but it DEFINITELY NOT making war bugs, hence the Russian claims of Biden manufacturing biological weapons in Ukraine is utter rubbish.
I have it in my mind I’ll never know truth on this one
Correct me where I am wrong though if I have this bit of recent US politics wrong, I certainly have impression these days it’s the Democrat high command who in US politics carry most belligerence towards Russia, they wear it like a proud badge, even Bernie Sanders hates Russia, in a way the Republican leaders have a more pragmatic and moderate approach to Russia relations? So Vice President Biden for all those years in a Russian hating Obama White House, that was a bit lost and shambolic on foreign policy - we wouldn’t be shocked they liked the idea of peeling Ukraine away from Moscow, so not surprised if there’s a few things Biden wouldn’t like us to know at this moment? 🤔
A favourite was the account of the American scientist, who when helping clean up an abandoned lab on an island in the Aral Sea, found metric *tons* of anthrax spores....
Obama repeatedly reached out to Russia. Putin kept doing his war! war! shit.
Every country? I'd love to know what weaponised pathogens the Vatican is cooking up.
Biotech isn't "pathogens"
The Vatican has some tame researchers in biotech, associated with the Vatican Observatory, IIRC. The reason is to keep the church up to date with the whole ethics/religious perspective on biotechnology.
Also has a rather serious astronomical obsevatory operation, which has always puzzled me. Want to be the first to know about the Second Coming, presumably
Just checking when someone said "but it does move"
The Russian ambassador to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, has been presenting the Kremlin’s allegations that Ukraine and the US had a plot to spread biological weapons with migratory birds, bats and insects.
I still have an open mind about this, as the honesty of the Ukrainians today about the existence of the US bug factory sits uneasily with UK and US calling the Russian claims utter nonsense. What the Ukrainians have said is there was an American Bug Factory but it DEFINITELY NOT making war bugs, hence the Russian claims of Biden manufacturing biological weapons in Ukraine is utter rubbish.
I have it in my mind I’ll never know truth on this one
Correct me where I am wrong though if I have this bit of recent US politics wrong, I certainly have impression these days it’s the Democrat high command who in US politics carry most belligerence towards Russia, they wear it like a proud badge, even Bernie Sanders hates Russia, in a way the Republican leaders have a more pragmatic and moderate approach to Russia relations? So Vice President Biden for all those years in a Russian hating Obama White House, that was a bit lost and shambolic on foreign policy - we wouldn’t be shocked they liked the idea of peeling Ukraine away from Moscow, so not surprised if there’s a few things Biden wouldn’t like us to know at this moment? 🤔
A favourite was the account of the American scientist, who when helping clean up an abandoned lab on an island in the Aral Sea, found metric *tons* of anthrax spores....
Obama repeatedly reached out to Russia. Putin kept doing his war! war! shit.
We will have to agree to disagree if you think Obama’s White House was clear headed and excellent on Foreign Policy. But I totally agree with you EVERYONE has deep state, so there must be times opponents point at our deep state activities, and our governments lie to deny it, just like the same when we point to theirs, like Salisbury atrocity. And by opponents of our government deep state, not necessary China or Moscow, but amnesty or green peace. I think I have an excellent example, the Labour Government breaking law on torture with the rendition, and then lying that they had been involved.
Is it the more deep state you can do abroad the easier to deny at home it is you involved?
All states that are part of the Bioweapons Treaty (everyone except North Korea and the like) have an inspection regime. This mean people from other countries can poke around the sites that each government is allowed, under the treaty, to have for research.
Somewhat similar to the nuclear inspection regime. Think international groups of scientists wandering around, with clipboards....
In fact this was what caused the Russian thing to leak out in the first place. A Russian scientist who took part in the inspections, realised that he had been lied to (that the US was breaking the treaty as well) and defected...
This is how we can say that, for example, Japan doesn't have a nuclear weapons program. They are scrupulously open and honest about inspection. All their plutonium is nicely stacked and labelled.....
The Russian ambassador to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, has been presenting the Kremlin’s allegations that Ukraine and the US had a plot to spread biological weapons with migratory birds, bats and insects.
I still have an open mind about this, as the honesty of the Ukrainians today about the existence of the US bug factory sits uneasily with UK and US calling the Russian claims utter nonsense. What the Ukrainians have said is there was an American Bug Factory but it DEFINITELY NOT making war bugs, hence the Russian claims of Biden manufacturing biological weapons in Ukraine is utter rubbish.
I have it in my mind I’ll never know truth on this one
Correct me where I am wrong though if I have this bit of recent US politics wrong, I certainly have impression these days it’s the Democrat high command who in US politics carry most belligerence towards Russia, they wear it like a proud badge, even Bernie Sanders hates Russia, in a way the Republican leaders have a more pragmatic and moderate approach to Russia relations? So Vice President Biden for all those years in a Russian hating Obama White House, that was a bit lost and shambolic on foreign policy - we wouldn’t be shocked they liked the idea of peeling Ukraine away from Moscow, so not surprised if there’s a few things Biden wouldn’t like us to know at this moment? 🤔
A favourite was the account of the American scientist, who when helping clean up an abandoned lab on an island in the Aral Sea, found metric *tons* of anthrax spores....
Obama repeatedly reached out to Russia. Putin kept doing his war! war! shit.
Every country? I'd love to know what weaponised pathogens the Vatican is cooking up.
@BarakRavid New: Israeli Prime Minister Bennett told Ukraine President Zelensky he should take Putin's proposal to end war, a senior Ukrainian official said. "Bennett wants us to surrender but we have no intention of doing this", he said.
The Russian ambassador to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, has been presenting the Kremlin’s allegations that Ukraine and the US had a plot to spread biological weapons with migratory birds, bats and insects.
I still have an open mind about this, as the honesty of the Ukrainians today about the existence of the US bug factory sits uneasily with UK and US calling the Russian claims utter nonsense. What the Ukrainians have said is there was an American Bug Factory but it DEFINITELY NOT making war bugs, hence the Russian claims of Biden manufacturing biological weapons in Ukraine is utter rubbish.
I have it in my mind I’ll never know truth on this one
Correct me where I am wrong though if I have this bit of recent US politics wrong, I certainly have impression these days it’s the Democrat high command who in US politics carry most belligerence towards Russia, they wear it like a proud badge, even Bernie Sanders hates Russia, in a way the Republican leaders have a more pragmatic and moderate approach to Russia relations? So Vice President Biden for all those years in a Russian hating Obama White House, that was a bit lost and shambolic on foreign policy - we wouldn’t be shocked they liked the idea of peeling Ukraine away from Moscow, so not surprised if there’s a few things Biden wouldn’t like us to know at this moment? 🤔
A favourite was the account of the American scientist, who when helping clean up an abandoned lab on an island in the Aral Sea, found metric *tons* of anthrax spores....
Obama repeatedly reached out to Russia. Putin kept doing his war! war! shit.
We will have to agree to disagree if you think Obama’s White House was clear headed and excellent on Foreign Policy. But I totally agree with you EVERYONE has deep state, so there must be times opponents point at our deep state activities, and our governments lie to deny it, just like the same when we point to theirs, like Salisbury atrocity. And by opponents of our government deep state, not necessary China or Moscow, but amnesty or green peace. I think I have an excellent example, the Labour Government breaking law on torture with the rendition, and then lying that they had been involved.
Is it the more deep state you can do abroad the easier to deny at home it is you involved?
All states that are part of the Bioweapons Treaty (everyone except North Korea and the like) have an inspection regime. This mean people from other countries can poke around the sites that each government is allowed, under the treaty, to have for research.
Somewhat similar to the nuclear inspection regime. Think international groups of scientists wandering around, with clipboards....
In fact this was what caused the Russian thing to leak out in the first place. A Russian scientist who took part in the inspections, realised that he had been lied to (that the US was breaking the treaty as well) and defected...
This is how we can say that, for example, Japan doesn't have a nuclear weapons program. They are scrupulously open and honest about inspection. All their plutonium is nicely stacked and labelled.....
@BarakRavid New: Israeli Prime Minister Bennett told Ukraine President Zelensky he should take Putin's proposal to end war, a senior Ukrainian official said. "Bennett wants us to surrender but we have no intention of doing this", he said.
The Russian ambassador to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, has been presenting the Kremlin’s allegations that Ukraine and the US had a plot to spread biological weapons with migratory birds, bats and insects.
I still have an open mind about this, as the honesty of the Ukrainians today about the existence of the US bug factory sits uneasily with UK and US calling the Russian claims utter nonsense. What the Ukrainians have said is there was an American Bug Factory but it DEFINITELY NOT making war bugs, hence the Russian claims of Biden manufacturing biological weapons in Ukraine is utter rubbish.
I have it in my mind I’ll never know truth on this one
Correct me where I am wrong though if I have this bit of recent US politics wrong, I certainly have impression these days it’s the Democrat high command who in US politics carry most belligerence towards Russia, they wear it like a proud badge, even Bernie Sanders hates Russia, in a way the Republican leaders have a more pragmatic and moderate approach to Russia relations? So Vice President Biden for all those years in a Russian hating Obama White House, that was a bit lost and shambolic on foreign policy - we wouldn’t be shocked they liked the idea of peeling Ukraine away from Moscow, so not surprised if there’s a few things Biden wouldn’t like us to know at this moment? 🤔
A favourite was the account of the American scientist, who when helping clean up an abandoned lab on an island in the Aral Sea, found metric *tons* of anthrax spores....
Obama repeatedly reached out to Russia. Putin kept doing his war! war! shit.
Every country? I'd love to know what weaponised pathogens the Vatican is cooking up.
Biotech isn't "pathogens"
The Vatican has some tame researchers in biotech, associated with the Vatican Observatory, IIRC. The reason is to keep the church up to date with the whole ethics/religious perspective on biotechnology.
Also has a rather serious astronomical obsevatory operation, which has always puzzled me. Want to be the first to know about the Second Coming, presumably
Running the world calendar used to be a Church thing. Gregorian Calendar (Pope Gregory XIII) etc... Hence the astronomy.
It goes all the way back to Ancient Rome, when the Calendar was the job of the priests. A Pontifex Maximus (still a title of the Pope) by the name of Julius Caesar did the previous reformation of the calendar, before Gregory....
Definition of Easter, too. First Sunday following the full Moon that occurs on or just after the spring equinox. Though do they really need an observatory for that?
Government project. Always expanding, spending more money or more and more detailed data....
They also did a lot for navigation, over the centuries.
I've rarely before reined in my criticism of Corbyn, but I'm so confused by his reaction to the Salisbury poisonings.
He's always been anti-NATO, hence his STW criticism of them over Russia re Crimea etc. But he's also been otherwise persistently against everything Putin has done.
His request to send samples of the poisons to Russia was so weirdly specific, that it really didn't sound like the sort of vague platitude that he inevitably comes up with to sound like the man of peace.
Is there any chance that he was leaned on through his (China funded) mate Barry Gardiner's son who was playing for Zenit St Petersburg at the time?
If that happened I can respect his reason for saying what he did.
I see some of the International Brigade are getting cold feet when they find out that joining the Ukranian Army is for the duration not just for Instagram.
@BarakRavid New: Israeli Prime Minister Bennett told Ukraine President Zelensky he should take Putin's proposal to end war, a senior Ukrainian official said. "Bennett wants us to surrender but we have no intention of doing this", he said.
They shouldn't surrender, but they should (they may already have, I am not up to date today) offer counter proposals.
Counter proposal: Russia surrenders and dis-arms, well its nucks anyway.
Yes, and that would be a starting point. At the moment I'm just not sure that the Ukrainians engaging with the process. Which may be understandable because they hate the bones of Russia and would like America to sweep in and blow Putin to bits, but that's not the best solution for anyone else except Pagan2 who welcomes nuclear obliteration.
The Russian ambassador to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, has been presenting the Kremlin’s allegations that Ukraine and the US had a plot to spread biological weapons with migratory birds, bats and insects.
I still have an open mind about this, as the honesty of the Ukrainians today about the existence of the US bug factory sits uneasily with UK and US calling the Russian claims utter nonsense. What the Ukrainians have said is there was an American Bug Factory but it DEFINITELY NOT making war bugs, hence the Russian claims of Biden manufacturing biological weapons in Ukraine is utter rubbish.
I have it in my mind I’ll never know truth on this one
Correct me where I am wrong though if I have this bit of recent US politics wrong, I certainly have impression these days it’s the Democrat high command who in US politics carry most belligerence towards Russia, they wear it like a proud badge, even Bernie Sanders hates Russia, in a way the Republican leaders have a more pragmatic and moderate approach to Russia relations? So Vice President Biden for all those years in a Russian hating Obama White House, that was a bit lost and shambolic on foreign policy - we wouldn’t be shocked they liked the idea of peeling Ukraine away from Moscow, so not surprised if there’s a few things Biden wouldn’t like us to know at this moment? 🤔
A favourite was the account of the American scientist, who when helping clean up an abandoned lab on an island in the Aral Sea, found metric *tons* of anthrax spores....
Obama repeatedly reached out to Russia. Putin kept doing his war! war! shit.
Every country? I'd love to know what weaponised pathogens the Vatican is cooking up.
Biotech isn't "pathogens"
The Vatican has some tame researchers in biotech, associated with the Vatican Observatory, IIRC. The reason is to keep the church up to date with the whole ethics/religious perspective on biotechnology.
Also has a rather serious astronomical obsevatory operation, which has always puzzled me. Want to be the first to know about the Second Coming, presumably
Just checking when someone said "but it does move"
The Russian ambassador to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, has been presenting the Kremlin’s allegations that Ukraine and the US had a plot to spread biological weapons with migratory birds, bats and insects.
I still have an open mind about this, as the honesty of the Ukrainians today about the existence of the US bug factory sits uneasily with UK and US calling the Russian claims utter nonsense. What the Ukrainians have said is there was an American Bug Factory but it DEFINITELY NOT making war bugs, hence the Russian claims of Biden manufacturing biological weapons in Ukraine is utter rubbish.
I have it in my mind I’ll never know truth on this one
Correct me where I am wrong though if I have this bit of recent US politics wrong, I certainly have impression these days it’s the Democrat high command who in US politics carry most belligerence towards Russia, they wear it like a proud badge, even Bernie Sanders hates Russia, in a way the Republican leaders have a more pragmatic and moderate approach to Russia relations? So Vice President Biden for all those years in a Russian hating Obama White House, that was a bit lost and shambolic on foreign policy - we wouldn’t be shocked they liked the idea of peeling Ukraine away from Moscow, so not surprised if there’s a few things Biden wouldn’t like us to know at this moment? 🤔
A favourite was the account of the American scientist, who when helping clean up an abandoned lab on an island in the Aral Sea, found metric *tons* of anthrax spores....
Obama repeatedly reached out to Russia. Putin kept doing his war! war! shit.
We will have to agree to disagree if you think Obama’s White House was clear headed and excellent on Foreign Policy. But I totally agree with you EVERYONE has deep state, so there must be times opponents point at our deep state activities, and our governments lie to deny it, just like the same when we point to theirs, like Salisbury atrocity. And by opponents of our government deep state, not necessary China or Moscow, but amnesty or green peace. I think I have an excellent example, the Labour Government breaking law on torture with the rendition, and then lying that they had been involved.
Is it the more deep state you can do abroad the easier to deny at home it is you involved?
All states that are part of the Bioweapons Treaty (everyone except North Korea and the like) have an inspection regime. This mean people from other countries can poke around the sites that each government is allowed, under the treaty, to have for research.
Somewhat similar to the nuclear inspection regime. Think international groups of scientists wandering around, with clipboards....
In fact this was what caused the Russian thing to leak out in the first place. A Russian scientist who took part in the inspections, realised that he had been lied to (that the US was breaking the treaty as well) and defected...
This is how we can say that, for example, Japan doesn't have a nuclear weapons program. They are scrupulously open and honest about inspection. All their plutonium is nicely stacked and labelled.....
Evening all! Totally off topic but I have had fun* with my new work laptop. Needed upgrading from Windows 11 Home to Professional. Faff with the product key necessitated a clean install of Windows. Onto a brand new machine. To switch Home for Pro.
Glad to see that Microsoft are still brilliant at doing silly...
@BarakRavid New: Israeli Prime Minister Bennett told Ukraine President Zelensky he should take Putin's proposal to end war, a senior Ukrainian official said. "Bennett wants us to surrender but we have no intention of doing this", he said.
They shouldn't surrender, but they should (they may already have, I am not up to date today) offer counter proposals.
Counter proposal: Russia surrenders and dis-arms, well its nucks anyway.
Yes, and that would be a starting point. At the moment I'm just not sure that the Ukrainians engaging with the process. Which may be understandable because they hate the bones of Russia and would like America to sweep in and blow Putin to bits, but that's not the best solution for anyone else except Pagan2 who welcomes nuclear obliteration.
It is understandable that you would say the Ukrainians are not engaging with the process, as that is a rather pro-Russian viewpoint to take.
I see some of the International Brigade are getting cold feet when they find out that joining the Ukranian Army is for the duration not just for Instagram.
A petty concern like that won't put our Gallowgate off. He has no time for knicker wetters. He'll probably ask them why they're not signing up his next life too.
What's the matter with Serbia? Post-imperial hang up? So many countries in eastern Europe seem to be moving forward. Their President looks like a complete berk.
Evening all! Totally off topic but I have had fun* with my new work laptop. Needed upgrading from Windows 11 Home to Professional. Faff with the product key necessitated a clean install of Windows. Onto a brand new machine. To switch Home for Pro.
Glad to see that Microsoft are still brilliant at doing silly...
It's still pretty baffling that MS bother with home/pro versions of the same software. Just have one version, it removes so much complexity and hassle.
@BarakRavid New: Israeli Prime Minister Bennett told Ukraine President Zelensky he should take Putin's proposal to end war, a senior Ukrainian official said. "Bennett wants us to surrender but we have no intention of doing this", he said.
They shouldn't surrender, but they should (they may already have, I am not up to date today) offer counter proposals.
Counter proposal: Russia surrenders and dis-arms, well its nucks anyway.
Yes, and that would be a starting point. At the moment I'm just not sure that the Ukrainians engaging with the process. Which may be understandable because they hate the bones of Russia and would like America to sweep in and blow Putin to bits, but that's not the best solution for anyone else except Pagan2 who welcomes nuclear obliteration.
It is understandable that you would say the Ukrainians are not engaging with the process, as that is a rather pro-Russian viewpoint to take.
As ever, with you, comrade!
Is it? I said I'm not up to date today - can you tell me what their response has been to the proposals outlined in a thread header here some days ago?
What's the matter with Serbia? Post-imperial hang up? So many countries in eastern Europe seem to be moving forward. Their President looks like a complete berk.
Been mates with Russia since the year dot. See the reason World War One kicked off....
Interestingly, back then, Serbia was *effectively run* by a bunch of fucked-in-de-head Greater Serbian Nationalists....
The Russian ambassador to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, has been presenting the Kremlin’s allegations that Ukraine and the US had a plot to spread biological weapons with migratory birds, bats and insects.
I still have an open mind about this, as the honesty of the Ukrainians today about the existence of the US bug factory sits uneasily with UK and US calling the Russian claims utter nonsense. What the Ukrainians have said is there was an American Bug Factory but it DEFINITELY NOT making war bugs, hence the Russian claims of Biden manufacturing biological weapons in Ukraine is utter rubbish.
I have it in my mind I’ll never know truth on this one
Correct me where I am wrong though if I have this bit of recent US politics wrong, I certainly have impression these days it’s the Democrat high command who in US politics carry most belligerence towards Russia, they wear it like a proud badge, even Bernie Sanders hates Russia, in a way the Republican leaders have a more pragmatic and moderate approach to Russia relations? So Vice President Biden for all those years in a Russian hating Obama White House, that was a bit lost and shambolic on foreign policy - we wouldn’t be shocked they liked the idea of peeling Ukraine away from Moscow, so not surprised if there’s a few things Biden wouldn’t like us to know at this moment? 🤔
A favourite was the account of the American scientist, who when helping clean up an abandoned lab on an island in the Aral Sea, found metric *tons* of anthrax spores....
Obama repeatedly reached out to Russia. Putin kept doing his war! war! shit.
We will have to agree to disagree if you think Obama’s White House was clear headed and excellent on Foreign Policy. But I totally agree with you EVERYONE has deep state, so there must be times opponents point at our deep state activities, and our governments lie to deny it, just like the same when we point to theirs, like Salisbury atrocity. And by opponents of our government deep state, not necessary China or Moscow, but amnesty or green peace. I think I have an excellent example, the Labour Government breaking law on torture with the rendition, and then lying that they had been involved.
Is it the more deep state you can do abroad the easier to deny at home it is you involved?
All states that are part of the Bioweapons Treaty (everyone except North Korea and the like) have an inspection regime. This mean people from other countries can poke around the sites that each government is allowed, under the treaty, to have for research.
Somewhat similar to the nuclear inspection regime. Think international groups of scientists wandering around, with clipboards....
In fact this was what caused the Russian thing to leak out in the first place. A Russian scientist who took part in the inspections, realised that he had been lied to (that the US was breaking the treaty as well) and defected...
This is how we can say that, for example, Japan doesn't have a nuclear weapons program. They are scrupulously open and honest about inspection. All their plutonium is nicely stacked and labelled.....
Actually, no. The CWC has a verification regime, but the BWC does not. This year is one of the 5-yearly Review Conferences for the BWC and the issue of verification is back on the agenda. That is why I was in the UK last week.
PS I think your story must relate to the US, UK, Soviet trilaterals, which happened outside of the treaty apparatus.
What's the matter with Serbia? Post-imperial hang up? So many countries in eastern Europe seem to be moving forward. Their President looks like a complete berk.
Been mates with Russia since the year dot. See the reason World War One kicked off....
Interestingly, back then, Serbia was *effectively run* by a bunch of fucked-in-de-head Greater Serbian Nationalists....
I can't agree with you there. Germany was to blame.
Freedland: ..the chief value in making a comparison between this moment and the agony of September 2001 is to ensure we don’t make the same mistakes all over again.
The battle now is against Putin and Putinism, not Russia or Russians. Severing links with institutions tied to the Kremlin makes sense; banning a course on the novels of Dostoevsky is dumb. Most Russians are themselves victims of Putinism.
A new generation is seeing that in order to stand up to a murderous dictator who opposes everything they believe in – from minority rights to free expression – sometimes only force will do. In other words, this latest paradigm shift is already undoing the impact of the last one.
This invasion has provoked a reaction that its architect did not predict: a western resolve that not only must Putin be stopped in Ukraine, Putinism must be defeated. It is a determination fiercer than any since 2001. This battle matters more than that one – which is why it must not re-enact its follies and must not repeat its mistakes
“ The battle now is against Putin and Putinism, not Russia or Russians. Severing links with institutions tied to the Kremlin makes sense; banning a course on the novels of Dostoevsky is dumb. Most Russians are themselves victims of Putinism. “
Yes and no.
No. I don’t think Putin and Russian Nationalism is devoid of support in Russia. Yes, I am worried anti Russian sentiment all around us in this country remains more than this frustrated phase we are going through seeing all the horrible news from Ukraine. Why? This is 2022. With our screens constantly in our hands we may be the generations most exposed to all the horrors and unfairness in the world, and such a thing can change us, we can become something other than who we want to be. So we have to be mindful about that.
Take Chelsea for example. Certainly fans of the club are suffering, but is a Roman really going to suffer as much? Yeah right, you sure he has no loopholes? He’s probably diserfied into circumnavigating ban of western cigarettes into Russia so is going to add to his fortune exploiting the huge new black market between west and east.
We can’t control the barbarity Mad Vlad is doing, hence our frustration borderline depression, and explains all anger and transference on PB this week. We could have ensured our response was discriminate, not indiscriminate and cosmetic, and we have to some degree failed to haven’t we? We should have at least have had control over our own reaction. We’ve lost our minds, the moderation and humanity that put us in the right in the first place, a bit, haven’t we? ☹️
The Ukrainians are claiming another Su-34 has been shot down in the Chernihiv region.
as the Su-34 only entered service in 2014 I would have thought it would be quite good, but they do seem to have lost quite a few now.
It seems to be the inexplicable low flying in a high threat environment for manpads. Viewed with a western eye it’s bonkers. But it would seem to be a lack of stand off munitions, good countermeasures, and training.
A lot of Russia's weapons are warmed over variants of Cold War stuff. The T-90 is a face lift to the T-72. The Su-34 is how much of an advance on the Su-27?
As far as I'm aware it had a long gestation due to the problems Russia faced in the 1990s - it first flew in 1987. But it has had many upgrades, and appears to have performed well in Syria.
Yet they are being shot down over Ukraine.
In Syria, they are facing very little opposition.
Russia confused bombing bakeries and water treatment plants of people without anti aircraft weapons with being good at war.
Evening all! Totally off topic but I have had fun* with my new work laptop. Needed upgrading from Windows 11 Home to Professional. Faff with the product key necessitated a clean install of Windows. Onto a brand new machine. To switch Home for Pro.
Glad to see that Microsoft are still brilliant at doing silly...
It's still pretty baffling that MS bother with home/pro versions of the same software. Just have one version, it removes so much complexity and hassle.
Entertainingly that actually is the case for Windows 11. Pro just switches on functionality on top of the same version.
Have to laugh. Brand new Surface Pro 8, an hour old having to have a really old keyboard plugged in with adaptors to do the new install. Proper high tech user experience!
Can that commitment still be relied on for the likes of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania?
And more importantly, regardless of the answer, would Putin feel that the US commitment to those states was a genuine one, given the conduct of the US towards Ukraine thus far?
Laurence Fox ✝️ 🚚🚛🚚🚛🚚🚛 @LozzaFox After many months of secrecy and guilt, today we are able to celebrate our new shared beginning together here on Twatter. Thank you for making me the man I today. I look forward spending the rest of my life with you @JuliaHB1 https://twitter.com/LozzaFox/status/1502298419817287689
The Russian ambassador to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, has been presenting the Kremlin’s allegations that Ukraine and the US had a plot to spread biological weapons with migratory birds, bats and insects.
And this is what really pisses me off: everyone should know that it was the Belgians who were running the show. As ever, they manage to avoid approbation for their acts.
One option - apparently - is for the Russian to turn all Ukraine's cities into rubble. But if we're ruling out nukes do they actually have the firepower to do this? I mean how many missiles do they actually have in total and how many have been fired already?
The Russian ambassador to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, has been presenting the Kremlin’s allegations that Ukraine and the US had a plot to spread biological weapons with migratory birds, bats and insects.
And this is what really pisses me off: everyone should know that it was the Belgians who were running the show. As ever, they manage to avoid approbation for their acts.
Yes, it was that chap whose dad invented the question mark, wasn't it?
Even though I’m a republican, why should anyone expect a 95 year old to carry out any kind of work? Please let her carry out only those functions she is able and willing to carry out, and don’t expect more, if you really respect her.
What's the matter with Serbia? Post-imperial hang up? So many countries in eastern Europe seem to be moving forward. Their President looks like a complete berk.
Being bombed by NATO, and allied with Russia for a couple of centuries mostly, I think.
Hasn't it occurred to anyone that having an intermediary that has indulged in exactly the same kind of behaviour as Russia is a poor choice? Israel is hardly going to want to help negotiate the return of occupied territory.
The Ukrainians are saying that the Israelis are attempting to play the role of mediator as a way to avoid picking a side.
No-one chose them as a mediator, they're self-appointed.
Turkey possibly has similar motivations, but they seem to have better relationships with both sides, so can more credibly fulfil the role.
Evening all! Totally off topic but I have had fun* with my new work laptop. Needed upgrading from Windows 11 Home to Professional. Faff with the product key necessitated a clean install of Windows. Onto a brand new machine. To switch Home for Pro.
Glad to see that Microsoft are still brilliant at doing silly...
It's still pretty baffling that MS bother with home/pro versions of the same software. Just have one version, it removes so much complexity and hassle.
Entertainingly that actually is the case for Windows 11. Pro just switches on functionality on top of the same version.
Have to laugh. Brand new Surface Pro 8, an hour old having to have a really old keyboard plugged in with adaptors to do the new install. Proper high tech user experience!
This is what Apple get right, I flip the Mac open and it does just work. I got a 16" M1 Max for personal use and I had no setup, just had to make a login profile and everything just worked from day one. It's such a huge difference in experience compared to windows laptops which need very heavy handholding before you get to actually use it and if something fucks up then you're into recovery modes, clean installations, fixing drivers etc...
It's my first Mac for personal use and I have no regrets about switching from windows, even though the XPS was a very nice laptop.
One option - apparently - is for the Russian to turn all Ukraine's cities into rubble. But if we're ruling out nukes do they actually have the firepower to do this? I mean how many missiles do they actually have in total and how many have been fired already?
I think that is why they are now doing most of the destruction with artillery shells, still not cheep, but a hell of a lot cheaper than missiles and the Russians will have a lot more of them.
What's the matter with Serbia? Post-imperial hang up? So many countries in eastern Europe seem to be moving forward. Their President looks like a complete berk.
Been mates with Russia since the year dot. See the reason World War One kicked off....
Interestingly, back then, Serbia was *effectively run* by a bunch of fucked-in-de-head Greater Serbian Nationalists....
I can't agree with you there. Germany was to blame.
As I posted a few days ago: keep an eye on Republika Srpska.
It is far more likely to kick off there than in Moldova.
The whole of the Balkans could be aflame soon on top of Ukr.
Even though I’m a republican, why should anyone expect a 95 year old to carry out any kind of work? Please let her carry out only those functions she is able and willing to carry out, and don’t expect more, if you really respect her.
Who is saying she has to carry it out? The news is she isn't, not that she refuses to.
The Russian ambassador to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, has been presenting the Kremlin’s allegations that Ukraine and the US had a plot to spread biological weapons with migratory birds, bats and insects.
I still have an open mind about this, as the honesty of the Ukrainians today about the existence of the US bug factory sits uneasily with UK and US calling the Russian claims utter nonsense. What the Ukrainians have said is there was an American Bug Factory but it DEFINITELY NOT making war bugs, hence the Russian claims of Biden manufacturing biological weapons in Ukraine is utter rubbish.
I have it in my mind I’ll never know truth on this one
Correct me where I am wrong though if I have this bit of recent US politics wrong, I certainly have impression these days it’s the Democrat high command who in US politics carry most belligerence towards Russia, they wear it like a proud badge, even Bernie Sanders hates Russia, in a way the Republican leaders have a more pragmatic and moderate approach to Russia relations? So Vice President Biden for all those years in a Russian hating Obama White House, that was a bit lost and shambolic on foreign policy - we wouldn’t be shocked they liked the idea of peeling Ukraine away from Moscow, so not surprised if there’s a few things Biden wouldn’t like us to know at this moment? 🤔
A favourite was the account of the American scientist, who when helping clean up an abandoned lab on an island in the Aral Sea, found metric *tons* of anthrax spores....
Obama repeatedly reached out to Russia. Putin kept doing his war! war! shit.
We will have to agree to disagree if you think Obama’s White House was clear headed and excellent on Foreign Policy. But I totally agree with you EVERYONE has deep state, so there must be times opponents point at our deep state activities, and our governments lie to deny it, just like the same when we point to theirs, like Salisbury atrocity. And by opponents of our government deep state, not necessary China or Moscow, but amnesty or green peace. I think I have an excellent example, the Labour Government breaking law on torture with the rendition, and then lying that they had been involved.
Is it the more deep state you can do abroad the easier to deny at home it is you involved?
All states that are part of the Bioweapons Treaty (everyone except North Korea and the like) have an inspection regime. This mean people from other countries can poke around the sites that each government is allowed, under the treaty, to have for research.
Somewhat similar to the nuclear inspection regime. Think international groups of scientists wandering around, with clipboards....
In fact this was what caused the Russian thing to leak out in the first place. A Russian scientist who took part in the inspections, realised that he had been lied to (that the US was breaking the treaty as well) and defected...
This is how we can say that, for example, Japan doesn't have a nuclear weapons program. They are scrupulously open and honest about inspection. All their plutonium is nicely stacked and labelled.....
Actually, no. The CWC has a verification regime, but the BWC does not. This year is one of the 5-yearly Review Conferences for the BWC and the issue of verification is back on the agenda. That is why I was in the UK last week.
PS I think your story must relate to the US, UK, Soviet trilaterals, which happened outside of the treaty apparatus.
Yes - I was kinda blending it together. I would definitely be interested to hear what the thinking is, going forward, on the Biological Weapons Treaty.
And the judge’s shortlist for the Hound group is: the greyhound, Irish wolf, Rhodesian ridgeback, whippet, basset griffon, beagle, wire daschund, Ibizan, and the pharaoh.
I've been walking my Mum's dog every day for the last few weeks. Mum's had a knee operation and hasn't been able to get out at all, so I've been taking her out for over an hour and a half every lunchtime
There's an old railway line, that's been changed to a footpath, round one side of the town that makes up about an hour of the walk. There she can be off the lead the whole way.
Today as we were walking down there, she had her head deep in a bush following some smell when a pheasant emerged with a huge squawk (do they squawk?) and full wings out from the other side of the bush.
I don't think she's ever met a pheasant before, and didn't seem immediately keen. Crouched down, she fled backwards - as fast as I've ever seen her move forwards - about fifteen foot away.
With all the storms a load of trees and branches have fallen down; they've been cleared but the path is still littered with leaves and twigs like it's Autumn. She stopped her reverse as she tripped over the pile of foliage she'd built up behind her.
She tried to recover with a bold leap and bark into the air towards the space recently vacated by the pheasant.
It's only rarely that I regret not filming everything.
Putinly sincere apologies to those who don't like canine tales.
Can we just clarify that the 'she' you refer to throughout, notwithstanding the second sentence, is a canine and not your mother?
I noticed that and thought it'd be funnier not to make it clear!
Yes; my mum's labrador.
That makes a more convincing if somewhat less arresting mental image...
Always delighted to hear appealing tales about readers' in-house dogshit production facilities. Keep em coming. It is what the site is all about.
Talking about dog shite production, I do wonder what is going to happen with food shortages and price increases. The hounds might be facing competition for their dinners from the local students, that is if the owners can afford to feed them.
So NordStream and all the other European demands on Russian energy supplies (including our own - I'm pissed off that we're spending the year cutting them off) are their main and enormous source of sanction evading cash at this time.
Is Deutsche Bank the biggest institutional (if that's the right word..) block to proper sanctions being enforced by the West?
If both of these are true, could someone with better German than my beer ordering skills, please ask the Germans what the actual fuck they think they're playing at?
"Around 60 per cent of haddock and cod, the most popular choices in Britain, originates from Russia, which controls nearly 45 percent of the global whitefish supply."
Mail
Can this be true? 60%?
Who knew?
It’s not so long ago that the Russian klondykers were moored off Ullapool. Maybe we should eat herring like we used to, and leave the haddock and cod to the Russians. When was the last time anyone saw a bloater?
What's the matter with Serbia? Post-imperial hang up? So many countries in eastern Europe seem to be moving forward. Their President looks like a complete berk.
Been mates with Russia since the year dot. See the reason World War One kicked off....
Interestingly, back then, Serbia was *effectively run* by a bunch of fucked-in-de-head Greater Serbian Nationalists....
I can't agree with you there. Germany was to blame.
Well,
1) the nut jobs in Serbia assassinated the ArchDuck. 2) This upset his family, who ran the Austro-Hungarian Empire franchise thing. So they demanded that Serbia, essentially, surrender. 3) Russia stepped in and said "Not our mate, no". 4) Germany was low on friends, just had the AHE franchise as a besty - so said "All in, with them". 5The French were kinda dating the Russian Empire, backed them up.
And then the chairs started flying in the bar....
There is lots of of blame to share. But the Black Hand did start the ball rolling.
Downing Street put the brakes on Home Office initiatives to allow a bigger share of Ukrainians fleeing their homeland to settle in the United Kingdom, Sky News understands.
Home Secretary Priti Patel faced significant criticism this week from colleagues for failing to provide more routes for Ukrainians to reach the UK, prompting anger among Conservative MPs and speculation she could be removed from her role.
Sky News understands that Number 10 played a key role in reining in two initiatives from Ms Patel, which would have opened the system up even further.
Knightsbridge off limits to them? That might do it.
Start freezing assets as we've done to Russian oligarchs. Saudi is another Putin style regime killing kids in Yemen, we've just decided to ally ourselves with them because they have much more money than Russia.
The Russian ambassador to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, has been presenting the Kremlin’s allegations that Ukraine and the US had a plot to spread biological weapons with migratory birds, bats and insects.
I still have an open mind about this, as the honesty of the Ukrainians today about the existence of the US bug factory sits uneasily with UK and US calling the Russian claims utter nonsense. What the Ukrainians have said is there was an American Bug Factory but it DEFINITELY NOT making war bugs, hence the Russian claims of Biden manufacturing biological weapons in Ukraine is utter rubbish.
I have it in my mind I’ll never know truth on this one
Correct me where I am wrong though if I have this bit of recent US politics wrong, I certainly have impression these days it’s the Democrat high command who in US politics carry most belligerence towards Russia, they wear it like a proud badge, even Bernie Sanders hates Russia, in a way the Republican leaders have a more pragmatic and moderate approach to Russia relations? So Vice President Biden for all those years in a Russian hating Obama White House, that was a bit lost and shambolic on foreign policy - we wouldn’t be shocked they liked the idea of peeling Ukraine away from Moscow, so not surprised if there’s a few things Biden wouldn’t like us to know at this moment? 🤔
A favourite was the account of the American scientist, who when helping clean up an abandoned lab on an island in the Aral Sea, found metric *tons* of anthrax spores....
Obama repeatedly reached out to Russia. Putin kept doing his war! war! shit.
We will have to agree to disagree if you think Obama’s White House was clear headed and excellent on Foreign Policy. But I totally agree with you EVERYONE has deep state, so there must be times opponents point at our deep state activities, and our governments lie to deny it, just like the same when we point to theirs, like Salisbury atrocity. And by opponents of our government deep state, not necessary China or Moscow, but amnesty or green peace. I think I have an excellent example, the Labour Government breaking law on torture with the rendition, and then lying that they had been involved.
Is it the more deep state you can do abroad the easier to deny at home it is you involved?
All states that are part of the Bioweapons Treaty (everyone except North Korea and the like) have an inspection regime. This mean people from other countries can poke around the sites that each government is allowed, under the treaty, to have for research.
Somewhat similar to the nuclear inspection regime. Think international groups of scientists wandering around, with clipboards....
In fact this was what caused the Russian thing to leak out in the first place. A Russian scientist who took part in the inspections, realised that he had been lied to (that the US was breaking the treaty as well) and defected...
This is how we can say that, for example, Japan doesn't have a nuclear weapons program. They are scrupulously open and honest about inspection. All their plutonium is nicely stacked and labelled.....
That is why Ukrainian governments admission about Biden’s factory today either sort of refreshing and honest, or more likely a bit naive, like newbies not playing the game properly? I’m not saying Putin is right, thanks to Biden and Obama US deep state making biological bombs in Ukraine, but because Obama and Biden not very smart in foreign policy they have given Putin something to say to try to justify what to our ears but not all ears around world, is unjustifiable. To claim over last 15 years the US have beaten China and Russia in soft power and propaganda throughout Africa and many other places around the world is ludicrous - US have been rubbish at playing this game, and that only strengthens opponents.
The greatest immediate concern for Chelsea is that the crisis triggers an insolvency event, which runs the risk of a nine-point deduction under Premier League rules, increasing the urgency for a sale to go through.
Well that doesn't sound a tragedy. They're not in any danger of winning the league, nor of relegation, even with a nine point penalty. They'll finish slightly further down the table and start again next year afresh.
Out of Europe would be devastating for Chelses
I'm with Brian Clough on this. Europe's a sideshow.
Is it financially, though?
That’s what’s so sad. Football should be paid for by fans through the turnstiles at 3pm on Saturday. I hate Sky and their parasitical bloodsucking of the soul of football.
The Russian ambassador to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, has been presenting the Kremlin’s allegations that Ukraine and the US had a plot to spread biological weapons with migratory birds, bats and insects.
I still have an open mind about this, as the honesty of the Ukrainians today about the existence of the US bug factory sits uneasily with UK and US calling the Russian claims utter nonsense. What the Ukrainians have said is there was an American Bug Factory but it DEFINITELY NOT making war bugs, hence the Russian claims of Biden manufacturing biological weapons in Ukraine is utter rubbish.
I have it in my mind I’ll never know truth on this one
Correct me where I am wrong though if I have this bit of recent US politics wrong, I certainly have impression these days it’s the Democrat high command who in US politics carry most belligerence towards Russia, they wear it like a proud badge, even Bernie Sanders hates Russia, in a way the Republican leaders have a more pragmatic and moderate approach to Russia relations? So Vice President Biden for all those years in a Russian hating Obama White House, that was a bit lost and shambolic on foreign policy - we wouldn’t be shocked they liked the idea of peeling Ukraine away from Moscow, so not surprised if there’s a few things Biden wouldn’t like us to know at this moment? 🤔
A favourite was the account of the American scientist, who when helping clean up an abandoned lab on an island in the Aral Sea, found metric *tons* of anthrax spores....
Obama repeatedly reached out to Russia. Putin kept doing his war! war! shit.
We will have to agree to disagree if you think Obama’s White House was clear headed and excellent on Foreign Policy. But I totally agree with you EVERYONE has deep state, so there must be times opponents point at our deep state activities, and our governments lie to deny it, just like the same when we point to theirs, like Salisbury atrocity. And by opponents of our government deep state, not necessary China or Moscow, but amnesty or green peace. I think I have an excellent example, the Labour Government breaking law on torture with the rendition, and then lying that they had been involved.
Is it the more deep state you can do abroad the easier to deny at home it is you involved?
All states that are part of the Bioweapons Treaty (everyone except North Korea and the like) have an inspection regime. This mean people from other countries can poke around the sites that each government is allowed, under the treaty, to have for research.
Somewhat similar to the nuclear inspection regime. Think international groups of scientists wandering around, with clipboards....
In fact this was what caused the Russian thing to leak out in the first place. A Russian scientist who took part in the inspections, realised that he had been lied to (that the US was breaking the treaty as well) and defected...
This is how we can say that, for example, Japan doesn't have a nuclear weapons program. They are scrupulously open and honest about inspection. All their plutonium is nicely stacked and labelled.....
That is why Ukrainian governments admission about Biden’s factory today either sort of refreshing and honest, or more likely a bit naive, like newbies not playing the game properly? I’m not saying Putin is right, thanks to Biden and Obama US deep state making biological bombs in Ukraine, but because Obama and Biden not very smart in foreign policy they have given Putin something to say to try to justify what to our ears but not all ears around world, is unjustifiable. To claim over last 15 years the US have beaten China and Russia in soft power and propaganda throughout Africa and many other places around the world is ludicrous - US have been rubbish at playing this game, and that only strengthens opponents.
What admission? Are you reading Trump News or something?
The Russian ambassador to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, has been presenting the Kremlin’s allegations that Ukraine and the US had a plot to spread biological weapons with migratory birds, bats and insects.
I still have an open mind about this, as the honesty of the Ukrainians today about the existence of the US bug factory sits uneasily with UK and US calling the Russian claims utter nonsense. What the Ukrainians have said is there was an American Bug Factory but it DEFINITELY NOT making war bugs, hence the Russian claims of Biden manufacturing biological weapons in Ukraine is utter rubbish.
I have it in my mind I’ll never know truth on this one
Correct me where I am wrong though if I have this bit of recent US politics wrong, I certainly have impression these days it’s the Democrat high command who in US politics carry most belligerence towards Russia, they wear it like a proud badge, even Bernie Sanders hates Russia, in a way the Republican leaders have a more pragmatic and moderate approach to Russia relations? So Vice President Biden for all those years in a Russian hating Obama White House, that was a bit lost and shambolic on foreign policy - we wouldn’t be shocked they liked the idea of peeling Ukraine away from Moscow, so not surprised if there’s a few things Biden wouldn’t like us to know at this moment? 🤔
A favourite was the account of the American scientist, who when helping clean up an abandoned lab on an island in the Aral Sea, found metric *tons* of anthrax spores....
Obama repeatedly reached out to Russia. Putin kept doing his war! war! shit.
Not to mention the detail of the Russian allegations was utterly effing laughable.
Knightsbridge off limits to them? That might do it.
Start freezing assets as we've done to Russian oligarchs. Saudi is another Putin style regime killing kids in Yemen, we've just decided to ally ourselves with them because they have much more money than Russia.
Saudi for all its faults has not invaded another neighbouring country like Russia invaded Ukraine.
It just backed a side in the Yemen civil war and restored the previous government
Knightsbridge off limits to them? That might do it.
Start freezing assets as we've done to Russian oligarchs. Saudi is another Putin style regime killing kids in Yemen, we've just decided to ally ourselves with them because they have much more money than Russia.
“ Saudi is another Putin style regime killing kids in Yemen “
No you can’t throw that one, UK been assisting Saud in that war.
But what we can do is identify dirty China money and influence as being the same as dirty Putin oligarch influence. Otherwise we haven’t really learnt a lesson from this have we? Putin and China been grooming our country with incoming money for a purpose, have we properly learnt the lesson just by going after ruskie mafia not the Chinese version of same thing?
Yet again right now Boris government asleep at the wheel.
Laurence Fox ✝️ 🚚🚛🚚🚛🚚🚛 @LozzaFox After many months of secrecy and guilt, today we are able to celebrate our new shared beginning together here on Twatter. Thank you for making me the man I today. I look forward spending the rest of my life with you @JuliaHB1 https://twitter.com/LozzaFox/status/1502298419817287689
If they are happy it is fine.
I love the sideways look from the lady behind.
And what is this? More Crufts?
We can safely say they are made for each other and will ideally disappear up each other’s backsides never to be seen again
One option - apparently - is for the Russian to turn all Ukraine's cities into rubble. But if we're ruling out nukes do they actually have the firepower to do this? I mean how many missiles do they actually have in total and how many have been fired already?
I doubt Vlad has ruled out nukes.
My view is that sadly we will see the first nuke on european soil in next few weeks.
And the judge’s shortlist for the Hound group is: the greyhound, Irish wolf, Rhodesian ridgeback, whippet, basset griffon, beagle, wire daschund, Ibizan, and the pharaoh.
Tomorrow’s the important day. Miniature Schnauzers!
I was sceptical about the $20bn a day cost to Russia.
But given all the economic stuff now, and loss of kit, loss of lifetime GDP of 10k of dead military and partial loss for xxxxx k of wounded military, and perhaps reparations, I can see that we are ticking closer to the $20bn a day cost.
Evening all! Totally off topic but I have had fun* with my new work laptop. Needed upgrading from Windows 11 Home to Professional. Faff with the product key necessitated a clean install of Windows. Onto a brand new machine. To switch Home for Pro.
Glad to see that Microsoft are still brilliant at doing silly...
It's still pretty baffling that MS bother with home/pro versions of the same software. Just have one version, it removes so much complexity and hassle.
Entertainingly that actually is the case for Windows 11. Pro just switches on functionality on top of the same version.
Have to laugh. Brand new Surface Pro 8, an hour old having to have a really old keyboard plugged in with adaptors to do the new install. Proper high tech user experience!
This is what Apple get right, I flip the Mac open and it does just work. I got a 16" M1 Max for personal use and I had no setup, just had to make a login profile and everything just worked from day one. It's such a huge difference in experience compared to windows laptops which need very heavy handholding before you get to actually use it and if something fucks up then you're into recovery modes, clean installations, fixing drivers etc...
It's my first Mac for personal use and I have no regrets about switching from windows, even though the XPS was a very nice laptop.
That's why I eradicated Windows completely and switched to Chrome OS. But now need full fat Office apps etc, so...
Yeah his claims about Masi being forced out by Mercedes "bullying" were also a joke. He's more irritating than anyone else in F1, longing for the day when Adrian Newey retires/leaves and RBR can't produce rockets.
Downing Street put the brakes on Home Office initiatives to allow a bigger share of Ukrainians fleeing their homeland to settle in the United Kingdom, Sky News understands.
Home Secretary Priti Patel faced significant criticism this week from colleagues for failing to provide more routes for Ukrainians to reach the UK, prompting anger among Conservative MPs and speculation she could be removed from her role.
Sky News understands that Number 10 played a key role in reining in two initiatives from Ms Patel, which would have opened the system up even further.
The Ukrainians are claiming another Su-34 has been shot down in the Chernihiv region.
as the Su-34 only entered service in 2014 I would have thought it would be quite good, but they do seem to have lost quite a few now.
It seems to be the inexplicable low flying in a high threat environment for manpads. Viewed with a western eye it’s bonkers. But it would seem to be a lack of stand off munitions, good countermeasures, and training.
A lot of Russia's weapons are warmed over variants of Cold War stuff. The T-90 is a face lift to the T-72. The Su-34 is how much of an advance on the Su-27?
As far as I'm aware it had a long gestation due to the problems Russia faced in the 1990s - it first flew in 1987. But it has had many upgrades, and appears to have performed well in Syria.
Yet they are being shot down over Ukraine.
In Syria, they are facing very little opposition.
Russia confused bombing bakeries and water treatment plants of people without anti aircraft weapons with being good at war.
Thinking about it, is Ukraine the first well equipped force that the Soviet/Russian military have come up against since 1945? The Hungarians were a bunch of kids with submachine guns, Czechs not even that, Afghans tanned them, Chechens, Georgians, proxies etc.
What's the matter with Serbia? Post-imperial hang up? So many countries in eastern Europe seem to be moving forward. Their President looks like a complete berk.
Been mates with Russia since the year dot. See the reason World War One kicked off....
Interestingly, back then, Serbia was *effectively run* by a bunch of fucked-in-de-head Greater Serbian Nationalists....
I can't agree with you there. Germany was to blame.
George - "The war stated because of the vile Brits and their villainous empire-building!" Blackadder - "George, the Russian Empire at present covers a quarter of the globe, while the British Empire consists of a small curry house in Diego Garcia. I hardly think that we can be entirely absolved of blame on the imperialistic front."
Downing Street put the brakes on Home Office initiatives to allow a bigger share of Ukrainians fleeing their homeland to settle in the United Kingdom, Sky News understands.
Home Secretary Priti Patel faced significant criticism this week from colleagues for failing to provide more routes for Ukrainians to reach the UK, prompting anger among Conservative MPs and speculation she could be removed from her role.
Sky News understands that Number 10 played a key role in reining in two initiatives from Ms Patel, which would have opened the system up even further.
The Russian ambassador to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, has been presenting the Kremlin’s allegations that Ukraine and the US had a plot to spread biological weapons with migratory birds, bats and insects.
I still have an open mind about this, as the honesty of the Ukrainians today about the existence of the US bug factory sits uneasily with UK and US calling the Russian claims utter nonsense. What the Ukrainians have said is there was an American Bug Factory but it DEFINITELY NOT making war bugs, hence the Russian claims of Biden manufacturing biological weapons in Ukraine is utter rubbish.
I have it in my mind I’ll never know truth on this one
Correct me where I am wrong though if I have this bit of recent US politics wrong, I certainly have impression these days it’s the Democrat high command who in US politics carry most belligerence towards Russia, they wear it like a proud badge, even Bernie Sanders hates Russia, in a way the Republican leaders have a more pragmatic and moderate approach to Russia relations? So Vice President Biden for all those years in a Russian hating Obama White House, that was a bit lost and shambolic on foreign policy - we wouldn’t be shocked they liked the idea of peeling Ukraine away from Moscow, so not surprised if there’s a few things Biden wouldn’t like us to know at this moment? 🤔
A favourite was the account of the American scientist, who when helping clean up an abandoned lab on an island in the Aral Sea, found metric *tons* of anthrax spores....
Obama repeatedly reached out to Russia. Putin kept doing his war! war! shit.
We will have to agree to disagree if you think Obama’s White House was clear headed and excellent on Foreign Policy. But I totally agree with you EVERYONE has deep state, so there must be times opponents point at our deep state activities, and our governments lie to deny it, just like the same when we point to theirs, like Salisbury atrocity. And by opponents of our government deep state, not necessary China or Moscow, but amnesty or green peace. I think I have an excellent example, the Labour Government breaking law on torture with the rendition, and then lying that they had been involved.
Is it the more deep state you can do abroad the easier to deny at home it is you involved?
All states that are part of the Bioweapons Treaty (everyone except North Korea and the like) have an inspection regime. This mean people from other countries can poke around the sites that each government is allowed, under the treaty, to have for research.
Somewhat similar to the nuclear inspection regime. Think international groups of scientists wandering around, with clipboards....
In fact this was what caused the Russian thing to leak out in the first place. A Russian scientist who took part in the inspections, realised that he had been lied to (that the US was breaking the treaty as well) and defected...
This is how we can say that, for example, Japan doesn't have a nuclear weapons program. They are scrupulously open and honest about inspection. All their plutonium is nicely stacked and labelled.....
That is the problem with the stream of lies and nonsense from the fascist regime. Allegations are simple; debunking is effort.
Evening all! Totally off topic but I have had fun* with my new work laptop. Needed upgrading from Windows 11 Home to Professional. Faff with the product key necessitated a clean install of Windows. Onto a brand new machine. To switch Home for Pro.
Glad to see that Microsoft are still brilliant at doing silly...
It's still pretty baffling that MS bother with home/pro versions of the same software. Just have one version, it removes so much complexity and hassle.
Entertainingly that actually is the case for Windows 11. Pro just switches on functionality on top of the same version.
Have to laugh. Brand new Surface Pro 8, an hour old having to have a really old keyboard plugged in with adaptors to do the new install. Proper high tech user experience!
This is what Apple get right, I flip the Mac open and it does just work. I got a 16" M1 Max for personal use and I had no setup, just had to make a login profile and everything just worked from day one. It's such a huge difference in experience compared to windows laptops which need very heavy handholding before you get to actually use it and if something fucks up then you're into recovery modes, clean installations, fixing drivers etc...
It's my first Mac for personal use and I have no regrets about switching from windows, even though the XPS was a very nice laptop.
+1 - and for dev, you have a pretty decent UNIX
Apple really raised the bar for consumer electronics. I use a Garmin watch - and it is painfully obvious that their UX is still a million miles behind. Much better device than the iWatch, just harder to learn to use.
The Russian ambassador to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, has been presenting the Kremlin’s allegations that Ukraine and the US had a plot to spread biological weapons with migratory birds, bats and insects.
I still have an open mind about this, as the honesty of the Ukrainians today about the existence of the US bug factory sits uneasily with UK and US calling the Russian claims utter nonsense. What the Ukrainians have said is there was an American Bug Factory but it DEFINITELY NOT making war bugs, hence the Russian claims of Biden manufacturing biological weapons in Ukraine is utter rubbish.
I have it in my mind I’ll never know truth on this one
Correct me where I am wrong though if I have this bit of recent US politics wrong, I certainly have impression these days it’s the Democrat high command who in US politics carry most belligerence towards Russia, they wear it like a proud badge, even Bernie Sanders hates Russia, in a way the Republican leaders have a more pragmatic and moderate approach to Russia relations? So Vice President Biden for all those years in a Russian hating Obama White House, that was a bit lost and shambolic on foreign policy - we wouldn’t be shocked they liked the idea of peeling Ukraine away from Moscow, so not surprised if there’s a few things Biden wouldn’t like us to know at this moment? 🤔
A favourite was the account of the American scientist, who when helping clean up an abandoned lab on an island in the Aral Sea, found metric *tons* of anthrax spores....
Obama repeatedly reached out to Russia. Putin kept doing his war! war! shit.
We will have to agree to disagree if you think Obama’s White House was clear headed and excellent on Foreign Policy. But I totally agree with you EVERYONE has deep state, so there must be times opponents point at our deep state activities, and our governments lie to deny it, just like the same when we point to theirs, like Salisbury atrocity. And by opponents of our government deep state, not necessary China or Moscow, but amnesty or green peace. I think I have an excellent example, the Labour Government breaking law on torture with the rendition, and then lying that they had been involved.
Is it the more deep state you can do abroad the easier to deny at home it is you involved?
All states that are part of the Bioweapons Treaty (everyone except North Korea and the like) have an inspection regime. This mean people from other countries can poke around the sites that each government is allowed, under the treaty, to have for research.
Somewhat similar to the nuclear inspection regime. Think international groups of scientists wandering around, with clipboards....
In fact this was what caused the Russian thing to leak out in the first place. A Russian scientist who took part in the inspections, realised that he had been lied to (that the US was breaking the treaty as well) and defected...
This is how we can say that, for example, Japan doesn't have a nuclear weapons program. They are scrupulously open and honest about inspection. All their plutonium is nicely stacked and labelled.....
Actually, no. The CWC has a verification regime, but the BWC does not. This year is one of the 5-yearly Review Conferences for the BWC and the issue of verification is back on the agenda. That is why I was in the UK last week.
PS I think your story must relate to the US, UK, Soviet trilaterals, which happened outside of the treaty apparatus.
Yes - I was kinda blending it together. I would definitely be interested to hear what the thinking is, going forward, on the Biological Weapons Treaty.
Youngsters and idealists want an intrusive inspection regime. Old hands, particularly those who have first hand experience of Lavrov in the UNSC - like me - and people in industry, think it's pointless:
1. There are far too many 'biotech' facilities worldwide for inspection to even scratch the surface 2. If weaponizing live agents, material balance approaches from the NPT and CWC make no sense 3. The footprint is too small and getting smaller. A gene synthesizer is no bigger than a desktop printer these days. 4. What do you inspect? Pathogen list-based approaches make no sense in a world of CRISPR, cheap genome sequencing, GWAS studies, Big Data and AI-assisted genome and protein design. How do you inspect genomes kept in silico? 5. We live in a post-truth world. 'Proving' that someone has biological weapons or has used them is of very little real world value. Witness Lavrov on Russia not invading Ukraine.
I could go on. My own view is that an international inspection regime is worse than useless - it is horrendously expensive, adds cost to legitimate biotech, and will be abused to undermine confidence in the BWC. Far better to have verification based at the national/policing level (so that good actors can prove they are in compliance), and focus on the organizations and individuals to normalize abhorrence of BW, IMO.
That said, I was one of the very few 'old hands' at the meeting, and was a minority voice, even though there were a number of nodding heads around the room.
Evening all! Totally off topic but I have had fun* with my new work laptop. Needed upgrading from Windows 11 Home to Professional. Faff with the product key necessitated a clean install of Windows. Onto a brand new machine. To switch Home for Pro.
Glad to see that Microsoft are still brilliant at doing silly...
It's still pretty baffling that MS bother with home/pro versions of the same software. Just have one version, it removes so much complexity and hassle.
Entertainingly that actually is the case for Windows 11. Pro just switches on functionality on top of the same version.
Have to laugh. Brand new Surface Pro 8, an hour old having to have a really old keyboard plugged in with adaptors to do the new install. Proper high tech user experience!
This is what Apple get right, I flip the Mac open and it does just work. I got a 16" M1 Max for personal use and I had no setup, just had to make a login profile and everything just worked from day one. It's such a huge difference in experience compared to windows laptops which need very heavy handholding before you get to actually use it and if something fucks up then you're into recovery modes, clean installations, fixing drivers etc...
It's my first Mac for personal use and I have no regrets about switching from windows, even though the XPS was a very nice laptop.
That's why I eradicated Windows completely and switched to Chrome OS. But now need full fat Office apps etc, so...
FWIW if you're still in the return window for yours I'd recommend the 13" M1 Mac, I have one for work and it runs full fat Office 365 with no issues along with a whole host of other analytics apps a development environments. It's probably fairly price competitive with the Surface laptops as well.
Knightsbridge off limits to them? That might do it.
Start freezing assets as we've done to Russian oligarchs. Saudi is another Putin style regime killing kids in Yemen, we've just decided to ally ourselves with them because they have much more money than Russia.
Saudi for all its faults has not invaded another neighbouring country like Russia invaded Ukraine.
It just backed a side in the Yemen civil war and restored the previous government
Putin's plan was to restore a previous government too.
Have you not seen the death toll in Yemen?
There are some other Putinesque tendencies that would be best nipped in the bud too. Misogyny, subjugation of the people and torture, imprisonment and execution of critics to name but a few. Other than that I am sure they are a very, very nice government.
The Russian ambassador to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, has been presenting the Kremlin’s allegations that Ukraine and the US had a plot to spread biological weapons with migratory birds, bats and insects.
I still have an open mind about this, as the honesty of the Ukrainians today about the existence of the US bug factory sits uneasily with UK and US calling the Russian claims utter nonsense. What the Ukrainians have said is there was an American Bug Factory but it DEFINITELY NOT making war bugs, hence the Russian claims of Biden manufacturing biological weapons in Ukraine is utter rubbish.
I have it in my mind I’ll never know truth on this one
Correct me where I am wrong though if I have this bit of recent US politics wrong, I certainly have impression these days it’s the Democrat high command who in US politics carry most belligerence towards Russia, they wear it like a proud badge, even Bernie Sanders hates Russia, in a way the Republican leaders have a more pragmatic and moderate approach to Russia relations? So Vice President Biden for all those years in a Russian hating Obama White House, that was a bit lost and shambolic on foreign policy - we wouldn’t be shocked they liked the idea of peeling Ukraine away from Moscow, so not surprised if there’s a few things Biden wouldn’t like us to know at this moment? 🤔
A favourite was the account of the American scientist, who when helping clean up an abandoned lab on an island in the Aral Sea, found metric *tons* of anthrax spores....
Obama repeatedly reached out to Russia. Putin kept doing his war! war! shit.
We will have to agree to disagree if you think Obama’s White House was clear headed and excellent on Foreign Policy. But I totally agree with you EVERYONE has deep state, so there must be times opponents point at our deep state activities, and our governments lie to deny it, just like the same when we point to theirs, like Salisbury atrocity. And by opponents of our government deep state, not necessary China or Moscow, but amnesty or green peace. I think I have an excellent example, the Labour Government breaking law on torture with the rendition, and then lying that they had been involved.
Is it the more deep state you can do abroad the easier to deny at home it is you involved?
All states that are part of the Bioweapons Treaty (everyone except North Korea and the like) have an inspection regime. This mean people from other countries can poke around the sites that each government is allowed, under the treaty, to have for research.
Somewhat similar to the nuclear inspection regime. Think international groups of scientists wandering around, with clipboards....
In fact this was what caused the Russian thing to leak out in the first place. A Russian scientist who took part in the inspections, realised that he had been lied to (that the US was breaking the treaty as well) and defected...
This is how we can say that, for example, Japan doesn't have a nuclear weapons program. They are scrupulously open and honest about inspection. All their plutonium is nicely stacked and labelled.....
Actually, no. The CWC has a verification regime, but the BWC does not. This year is one of the 5-yearly Review Conferences for the BWC and the issue of verification is back on the agenda. That is why I was in the UK last week.
PS I think your story must relate to the US, UK, Soviet trilaterals, which happened outside of the treaty apparatus.
Yes - I was kinda blending it together. I would definitely be interested to hear what the thinking is, going forward, on the Biological Weapons Treaty.
Youngsters and idealists want an intrusive inspection regime. Old hands, particularly those who have first hand experience of Lavrov in the UNSC - like me - and people in industry, think it's pointless:
1. There are far too many 'biotech' facilities worldwide for inspection to even scratch the surface 2. If weaponizing live agents, material balance approaches from the NPT and CWC make no sense 3. The footprint is too small and getting smaller. A gene synthesizer is no bigger than a desktop printer these days. 4. What do you inspect? Pathogen list-based approaches make no sense in a world of CRISPR, cheap genome sequencing, GWAS studies, Big Data and AI-assisted genome and protein design. How do you inspect genomes kept in silico? 5. We live in a post-truth world. 'Proving' that someone has biological weapons or has used them is of very little real world value. Witness Lavrov on Russia not invading Ukraine.
I could go on. My own view is that an international inspection regime is worse than useless - it is horrendously expensive, adds cost to legitimate biotech, and will be abused to undermine confidence in the BWC. Far better to have verification based at the national/policing level (so that good actors can prove they are in compliance), and focus on the organizations and individuals to normalize abhorrence of BW, IMO.
That said, I was one of the very few 'old hands' at the meeting, and was a minority voice, even though there were a number of nodding heads around the room.
3) in particular - I did wonder, when I was sitting in London Hackspace as someone showed me how to muck with the E. Coli genome, how long before "New Rose Hotel" is merely a matter of buying kit on Amazon.
Evening all! Totally off topic but I have had fun* with my new work laptop. Needed upgrading from Windows 11 Home to Professional. Faff with the product key necessitated a clean install of Windows. Onto a brand new machine. To switch Home for Pro.
Glad to see that Microsoft are still brilliant at doing silly...
It's still pretty baffling that MS bother with home/pro versions of the same software. Just have one version, it removes so much complexity and hassle.
Entertainingly that actually is the case for Windows 11. Pro just switches on functionality on top of the same version.
Have to laugh. Brand new Surface Pro 8, an hour old having to have a really old keyboard plugged in with adaptors to do the new install. Proper high tech user experience!
This is what Apple get right, I flip the Mac open and it does just work. I got a 16" M1 Max for personal use and I had no setup, just had to make a login profile and everything just worked from day one. It's such a huge difference in experience compared to windows laptops which need very heavy handholding before you get to actually use it and if something fucks up then you're into recovery modes, clean installations, fixing drivers etc...
It's my first Mac for personal use and I have no regrets about switching from windows, even though the XPS was a very nice laptop.
+1 - and for dev, you have a pretty decent UNIX
Apple really raised the bar for consumer electronics. I use a Garmin watch - and it is painfully obvious that their UX is still a million miles behind. Much better device than the iWatch, just harder to learn to use.
Yeah the terminal functionality in MacOS is just so much better than powershell or something along those lines from windows. It's also got a really, really good native instance of VSCode for Apple Silicon. I just find the whole experience of working, developing and editing photos/videos on Mac so much easier than it was on Windows.
🚨🚨New Voting Intention🚨🚨 Labour lead at six points in latest results from Deltapoll. Con 34% (-) Lab 40% (-1) Lib Dem 10% (-) Other 16% (+1) Fieldwork: 8-11 Mar 2022 Sample: 2,003 Changes from 3-4 Feb 2022
I've grown quite fond of Illia and his reports over the last fortnight. My favourite thing about seeing them is seeing that he's still alive.
Illia Ponomarenko 🇺🇦 @IAPonomarenko The Pentagon: Ukraine has managed to preserve 80% of its Air Force in spite of Russian strikes. We now reportedly have 56 fighter fighter jets. 5 to 10 sorties a day against 200 Russian sorties. Not bad, ladies and gentlemen, not bad. https://twitter.com/IAPonomarenko/status/1502374682112282638
Illia Ponomarenko 🇺🇦 @IAPonomarenko Defense reporter with The Kyiv Independent. War, weapons, beer & heavy metal. A village guy from Donbas in a crusade for something better. JournalistKyiv, Ukrainekyivindependent.com/author/illia-p…Joined March 2011 https://twitter.com/IAPonomarenko
Evening all! Totally off topic but I have had fun* with my new work laptop. Needed upgrading from Windows 11 Home to Professional. Faff with the product key necessitated a clean install of Windows. Onto a brand new machine. To switch Home for Pro.
Glad to see that Microsoft are still brilliant at doing silly...
It's still pretty baffling that MS bother with home/pro versions of the same software. Just have one version, it removes so much complexity and hassle.
Entertainingly that actually is the case for Windows 11. Pro just switches on functionality on top of the same version.
Have to laugh. Brand new Surface Pro 8, an hour old having to have a really old keyboard plugged in with adaptors to do the new install. Proper high tech user experience!
This is what Apple get right, I flip the Mac open and it does just work. I got a 16" M1 Max for personal use and I had no setup, just had to make a login profile and everything just worked from day one. It's such a huge difference in experience compared to windows laptops which need very heavy handholding before you get to actually use it and if something fucks up then you're into recovery modes, clean installations, fixing drivers etc...
It's my first Mac for personal use and I have no regrets about switching from windows, even though the XPS was a very nice laptop.
+1 - and for dev, you have a pretty decent UNIX
Apple really raised the bar for consumer electronics. I use a Garmin watch - and it is painfully obvious that their UX is still a million miles behind. Much better device than the iWatch, just harder to learn to use.
Yeah the terminal functionality in MacOS is just so much better than powershell or something along those lines from windows. It's also got a really, really good native instance of VSCode for Apple Silicon. I just find the whole experience of working, developing and editing photos/videos on Mac so much easier than it was on Windows.
VSCode is good for an Electron app but it's still Electron. We really must get away from it, it's just horrible
🚨🚨New Voting Intention🚨🚨 Labour lead at six points in latest results from Deltapoll. Con 34% (-) Lab 40% (-1) Lib Dem 10% (-) Other 16% (+1) Fieldwork: 8-11 Mar 2022 Sample: 2,003 Changes from 3-4 Feb 2022
🚨🚨New Voting Intention🚨🚨 Labour lead at six points in latest results from Deltapoll. Con 34% (-) Lab 40% (-1) Lib Dem 10% (-) Other 16% (+1) Fieldwork: 8-11 Mar 2022 Sample: 2,003 Changes from 3-4 Feb 2022
So NordStream and all the other European demands on Russian energy supplies (including our own - I'm pissed off that we're spending the year cutting them off) are their main and enormous source of sanction evading cash at this time.
Is Deutsche Bank the biggest institutional (if that's the right word..) block to proper sanctions being enforced by the West?
If both of these are true, could someone with better German than my beer ordering skills, please ask the Germans what the actual fuck they think they're playing at?
Sie sind der Bruch.
I think I know what you are saying, because when you tackle a problem, in this case stopping our money funding Putin’s evil war and regime, you tackle the big things that make a difference first - due to previously getting dependent up to eyebrows it’s very slow to get away from handing Putin big money, so our media is full of piddling things, transfer ban on Chelsea they have to play euro matches behind closed doors, sanctioning hundreds of Rus MPs in a way they won’t notice, yet the big things, still pumping money into Putins hands, still going on!
Can you see the relationship I am making below between what you are saying, and where I am saying UK Having msde decision to get into bed with China on infrastructure such as coms, and declaring ages ago we were getting out of that, we are still in it! 🤦♀️
Evening all! Totally off topic but I have had fun* with my new work laptop. Needed upgrading from Windows 11 Home to Professional. Faff with the product key necessitated a clean install of Windows. Onto a brand new machine. To switch Home for Pro.
Glad to see that Microsoft are still brilliant at doing silly...
It's still pretty baffling that MS bother with home/pro versions of the same software. Just have one version, it removes so much complexity and hassle.
Entertainingly that actually is the case for Windows 11. Pro just switches on functionality on top of the same version.
Have to laugh. Brand new Surface Pro 8, an hour old having to have a really old keyboard plugged in with adaptors to do the new install. Proper high tech user experience!
This is what Apple get right, I flip the Mac open and it does just work. I got a 16" M1 Max for personal use and I had no setup, just had to make a login profile and everything just worked from day one. It's such a huge difference in experience compared to windows laptops which need very heavy handholding before you get to actually use it and if something fucks up then you're into recovery modes, clean installations, fixing drivers etc...
It's my first Mac for personal use and I have no regrets about switching from windows, even though the XPS was a very nice laptop.
+1 - and for dev, you have a pretty decent UNIX
Apple really raised the bar for consumer electronics. I use a Garmin watch - and it is painfully obvious that their UX is still a million miles behind. Much better device than the iWatch, just harder to learn to use.
Yeah the terminal functionality in MacOS is just so much better than powershell or something along those lines from windows. It's also got a really, really good native instance of VSCode for Apple Silicon. I just find the whole experience of working, developing and editing photos/videos on Mac so much easier than it was on Windows.
They need to get GPU acceleration support working for pytorch, tensorflow and jax.
🚨🚨New Voting Intention🚨🚨 Labour lead at six points in latest results from Deltapoll. Con 34% (-) Lab 40% (-1) Lib Dem 10% (-) Other 16% (+1) Fieldwork: 8-11 Mar 2022 Sample: 2,003 Changes from 3-4 Feb 2022
The Tories have been in power 12 years, most governments in power that long trail. Indeed only 3 governments since WW2 have lasted that long, the 1951 to 1964 Tory government, the 1979 to 1997 Tory government and the 1997 to 2010 Labour government. They often trailed by more than 6% 12 years in
Knightsbridge off limits to them? That might do it.
Start freezing assets as we've done to Russian oligarchs. Saudi is another Putin style regime killing kids in Yemen, we've just decided to ally ourselves with them because they have much more money than Russia.
Saudi for all its faults has not invaded another neighbouring country like Russia invaded Ukraine.
It just backed a side in the Yemen civil war and restored the previous government
Putin's plan was to restore a previous government too.
Have you not seen the death toll in Yemen?
There are some other Putinesque tendencies that would be best nipped in the bud too. Misogyny, subjugation of the people and torture, imprisonment and execution of critics to name but a few. Other than that I am sure they are a very, very nice government.
The Saudis score 7/100 for freedom according to Freedom House (1/40 for Political Rights, 6/60 for Civil Liberties).
🚨🚨New Voting Intention🚨🚨 Labour lead at six points in latest results from Deltapoll. Con 34% (-) Lab 40% (-1) Lib Dem 10% (-) Other 16% (+1) Fieldwork: 8-11 Mar 2022 Sample: 2,003 Changes from 3-4 Feb 2022
Comments
Somewhat similar to the nuclear inspection regime. Think international groups of scientists wandering around, with clipboards....
In fact this was what caused the Russian thing to leak out in the first place. A Russian scientist who took part in the inspections, realised that he had been lied to (that the US was breaking the treaty as well) and defected...
This is how we can say that, for example, Japan doesn't have a nuclear weapons program. They are scrupulously open and honest about inspection. All their plutonium is nicely stacked and labelled.....
It's fucking ace.
However he confirms US commitment to defence of NATO states
https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1502353759455821833?s=20&t=BtEyfSYL3vS_w7-K7ywltA
They also did a lot for navigation, over the centuries.
He's always been anti-NATO, hence his STW criticism of them over Russia re Crimea etc. But he's also been otherwise persistently against everything Putin has done.
His request to send samples of the poisons to Russia was so weirdly specific, that it really didn't sound like the sort of vague platitude that he inevitably comes up with to sound like the man of peace.
Is there any chance that he was leaned on through his (China funded) mate Barry Gardiner's son who was playing for Zenit St Petersburg at the time?
If that happened I can respect his reason for saying what he did.
https://www.economist.com/1843/2022/03/11/fighters-with-ukraines-foreign-legion-are-being-asked-to-sign-indefinite-contracts-some-have-refused
@IanB2 has left the building ..
Glad to see that Microsoft are still brilliant at doing silly...
As ever, with you, comrade!
Interestingly, back then, Serbia was *effectively run* by a bunch of fucked-in-de-head Greater Serbian Nationalists....
PS I think your story must relate to the US, UK, Soviet trilaterals, which happened outside of the treaty apparatus.
Yes and no.
No. I don’t think Putin and Russian Nationalism is devoid of support in Russia. Yes, I am worried anti Russian sentiment all around us in this country remains more than this frustrated phase we are going through seeing all the horrible news from Ukraine. Why? This is 2022. With our screens constantly in our hands we may be the generations most exposed to all the horrors and unfairness in the world, and such a thing can change us, we can become something other than who we want to be. So we have to be mindful about that.
Take Chelsea for example. Certainly fans of the club are suffering, but is a Roman really going to suffer as much? Yeah right, you sure he has no loopholes? He’s probably diserfied into circumnavigating ban of western cigarettes into Russia so is going to add to his fortune exploiting the huge new black market between west and east.
We can’t control the barbarity Mad Vlad is doing, hence our frustration borderline depression, and explains all anger and transference on PB this week. We could have ensured our response was discriminate, not indiscriminate and cosmetic, and we have to some degree failed to haven’t we? We should have at least have had control over our own reaction. We’ve lost our minds, the moderation and humanity that put us in the right in the first place, a bit, haven’t we? ☹️
Have to laugh. Brand new Surface Pro 8, an hour old having to have a really old keyboard plugged in with adaptors to do the new install. Proper high tech user experience!
And more importantly, regardless of the answer, would Putin feel that the US commitment to those states was a genuine one, given the conduct of the US towards Ukraine thus far?
I love the sideways look from the lady behind.
And what is this? More Crufts?
No-one chose them as a mediator, they're self-appointed.
Turkey possibly has similar motivations, but they seem to have better relationships with both sides, so can more credibly fulfil the role.
It's my first Mac for personal use and I have no regrets about switching from windows, even though the XPS was a very nice laptop.
It is far more likely to kick off there than in Moldova.
The whole of the Balkans could be aflame soon on top of Ukr.
https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/boris-holds-the-key-to-unlocking-saudi-oil
Is Deutsche Bank the biggest institutional (if that's the right word..) block to proper sanctions being enforced by the West?
If both of these are true, could someone with better German than my beer ordering skills, please ask the Germans what the actual fuck they think they're playing at?
Sie sind der Bruch.
Runner up is the whippet from Holland
1) the nut jobs in Serbia assassinated the ArchDuck.
2) This upset his family, who ran the Austro-Hungarian Empire franchise thing. So they demanded that Serbia, essentially, surrender.
3) Russia stepped in and said "Not our mate, no".
4) Germany was low on friends, just had the AHE franchise as a besty - so said "All in, with them".
5The French were kinda dating the Russian Empire, backed them up.
And then the chairs started flying in the bar....
There is lots of of blame to share. But the Black Hand did start the ball rolling.
Downing Street put the brakes on Home Office initiatives to allow a bigger share of Ukrainians fleeing their homeland to settle in the United Kingdom, Sky News understands.
Home Secretary Priti Patel faced significant criticism this week from colleagues for failing to provide more routes for Ukrainians to reach the UK, prompting anger among Conservative MPs and speculation she could be removed from her role.
Sky News understands that Number 10 played a key role in reining in two initiatives from Ms Patel, which would have opened the system up even further.
https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-war-number-10-put-brakes-on-home-office-plans-for-more-generous-refugee-offer-sky-news-understands-12563556
It just backed a side in the Yemen civil war and restored the previous government
No you can’t throw that one, UK been assisting Saud in that war.
But what we can do is identify dirty China money and influence as being the same as dirty Putin oligarch influence. Otherwise we haven’t really learnt a lesson from this have we? Putin and China been grooming our country with incoming money for a purpose, have we properly learnt the lesson just by going after ruskie mafia not the Chinese version of same thing?
Yet again right now Boris government asleep at the wheel.
My view is that sadly we will see the first nuke on european soil in next few weeks.
Barclays suspend Chelsea's bank accounts and their credit cards
More like evri where but my front door....
Blackadder - "George, the Russian Empire at present covers a quarter of the globe, while the British Empire consists of a small curry house in Diego Garcia. I hardly think that we can be entirely absolved of blame on the imperialistic front."
Apple really raised the bar for consumer electronics. I use a Garmin watch - and it is painfully obvious that their UX is still a million miles behind. Much better device than the iWatch, just harder to learn to use.
1. There are far too many 'biotech' facilities worldwide for inspection to even scratch the surface
2. If weaponizing live agents, material balance approaches from the NPT and CWC make no sense
3. The footprint is too small and getting smaller. A gene synthesizer is no bigger than a desktop printer these days.
4. What do you inspect? Pathogen list-based approaches make no sense in a world of CRISPR, cheap genome sequencing, GWAS studies, Big Data and AI-assisted genome and protein design. How do you inspect genomes kept in silico?
5. We live in a post-truth world. 'Proving' that someone has biological weapons or has used them is of very little real world value. Witness Lavrov on Russia not invading Ukraine.
I could go on. My own view is that an international inspection regime is worse than useless - it is horrendously expensive, adds cost to legitimate biotech, and will be abused to undermine confidence in the BWC. Far better to have verification based at the national/policing level (so that good actors can prove they are in compliance), and focus on the organizations and individuals to normalize abhorrence of BW, IMO.
That said, I was one of the very few 'old hands' at the meeting, and was a minority voice, even though there were a number of nodding heads around the room.
Have you not seen the death toll in Yemen?
There are some other Putinesque tendencies that would be best nipped in the bud too. Misogyny, subjugation of the people and torture, imprisonment and execution of critics to name but a few. Other than that I am sure they are a very, very nice government.
Labour lead at six points in latest results from Deltapoll.
Con 34% (-)
Lab 40% (-1)
Lib Dem 10% (-)
Other 16% (+1)
Fieldwork: 8-11 Mar 2022
Sample: 2,003
Changes from 3-4 Feb 2022
https://twitter.com/JoeTwyman/status/1502373803598491661
Will the Tories ever lead a poll again?
Illia Ponomarenko 🇺🇦
@IAPonomarenko
The Pentagon: Ukraine has managed to preserve 80% of its Air Force in spite of Russian strikes.
We now reportedly have 56 fighter fighter jets. 5 to 10 sorties a day against 200 Russian sorties.
Not bad, ladies and gentlemen, not bad.
https://twitter.com/IAPonomarenko/status/1502374682112282638
Illia Ponomarenko 🇺🇦
@IAPonomarenko
Defense reporter with The Kyiv Independent. War, weapons, beer & heavy metal. A village guy from Donbas in a crusade for something better.
JournalistKyiv, Ukrainekyivindependent.com/author/illia-p…Joined March 2011
https://twitter.com/IAPonomarenko
I am very, very long on Apple.
Can you see the relationship I am making below between what you are saying, and where I am saying UK Having msde decision to get into bed with China on infrastructure such as coms, and declaring ages ago we were getting out of that, we are still in it! 🤦♀️
https://freedomhouse.org/explore-the-map?type=fiw&year=2022