The biggest problem for Ukraine at this stage is whether their air force can hold on. I simply cannot understand the decision not to provide them with fighter jets.
The Ukrainians reckon they could train pilots to use the F15 type jets in 2-3 weeks. Maybe we don't think the Ukrainian air force is on its last legs but it would be a massive failure if we allowed Russia to eventually get air supremacy. Given the disparity that can't be ruled out at some point and we shouldn't be complacent.
One thing that we saw with the initial covid response is that governments have a really hard time adjusting to things that don't go according to their pre-crisis plans. Arguably the more thorough the planning was, the harder it is for them to adjust.
I wonder if western governments are still having trouble making the switch to deal with Ukraine successfully fighting a conventional war against Russia, when the pre-war planning must have assumed that they'd get flattened, have their planes and anywhere they could operate planes from destroyed, and fight a long guerilla war with weapons that were small enough to hide.
Yes, I think that's a factor. Recently there have been announcements of armoured personnel carriers of one sort or another being sent to Ukraine, which is a sign of that thinking shifting, but they'll only provide target practice for the Russian air force if Ukraine isn't given the assistance to maintain at least a reasonable level of air defence.
Is it too much to call this a paradigm shift?
Have we ever seen a professional NATO-style army fighting a defensive war like this before?
The closest I can think of is small operations in eg Afghanistan, unless you go back to 50s/60s operations, when Western armies were still partly conscript-based.
I think we tend to overgeneralise and simplify from past conflicts (and we will do so from this one too). Ever since the six-day war in 1967 (and then Yom Kippur, 1973, both Iraq Wars) we've seen lots of conflicts between state armies where one side is superior to the other, particularly in the air, and this has led to a rapid resolution of the conflict in favour of one side over the other.
We've also seen conflicts where it's essentially proved impossibly to defeat an insurgency - Vietnam, Afghanistan twice.
We've simply not seen so many conflicts which have been between two forces of broadly comparable and symmetric force. So we've forgotten what they look like. I don't think that constitutes a paradigm shift.
What it shows, as did the Iraq wars, is that there is a gulf in class between NATO and Russian kit, not just the guns but the communications networks and logistical support networks. I think there was always a gap but it got considerably wider at the time of the Reagan boost to US defence spending. And it means that Russia's traditional weight of numbers argument is no longer relevant.
Nukes apart, Russia is no longer a first rank military power. They can kill those who are virtually defenceless in the third world but if they take on a country with a modern army they are in serious trouble.
I don't think that's right. After all, the Ukrainians have been using a lot of Russian kit. It's clear that the Ukrainians have major advantages in morale, training, and tactical initiative of junior officers (as well as logistics and communications, as you highlight).
And yet, for all that, it's still Ukrainian cities that are being pounded to rubble.
If you imagine a future Russia where a new leadership has stamped out corruption in military expenditure and has improved training and morale, then I don't think the quality of its equipment would hold it back. I don't think the Indian Army needs to scrap all its Russian-purchased equipment, for example.
If we consider the implications for a Chinese attempt to seize Taiwan the two aspects that I think China would need to concentrate on are: the ability to establish air superiority, by being able to conduct large complex air operations, and, whether the Taiwanese would be willing to fight to defend their democracy.
Two points.
Firstly, a disproprotionate level of the damage caused to the Russians, especially in respect of armoured vehicles, has been with western made anti tank weapons.
Secondly, in the third paragraph you are imagining a Russia that is not Russia and which hasn't been since at least the Napoleonic wars. You are imagining it to be a technologically sophisticated modern state. It isn't.
Your first point is true, but it's also partly a function of the way in which Ukraine have fought a defensive war. This means they've also taken out a lot of Russian armour with their own man portable anti-tank weapon, the Stugna-P. A consequence of fighting the war in this way is that they've had to sacrifice space for time, which has enabled the Russians to bombard Ukrainian cities - this does not speak of an overwhelming Ukrainian advantage in terms of equipment.
I'm imagining a Russia where the leadership prioritises national success over personal theft. I'd suggest that is a possible reaction to a defeat in Ukraine.
Weird how this gets so much outrage yet when students get screwed not a peep
It's just a DT advertorial by the look of it. Drumming up business for the trade association's members by getting free advertising for the notion of equity release while portraying themselves as Wyatt Earp & Co by comparison with the cowboys.
Yes, Dominic Raab, it's quite odd. His CV indicates a man of high intelligence and deep learning yet he often comes across as rather dense. "Dim" Dom Raab he was known as, apparently, when at the FO, and one can see why.
Also odd (to me) is the instinctive reaction of many Tories, esp on the right of the party, when they hear the words "human rights", either in or out of a legal setting. Rather than cheer it's to boo. The notion of human rights seems to irritate or upset rather than inspire or reassure. It's an interesting bit of brain chemistry.
Anyway, great header. That's a good checklist of questions for proposed new laws. If it were applied to this incoherent "Bill of Rights" I think we'd get a fail.
I agree with your brain chemistry point. Those on the right claim to fear an overmighty totalitarian state and believe in individual freedom. Those on the left generally have a more collectivist view of society. So why is it that those on the right disapprove of restrictions on that overmighty state whilst those on the left are generally more supportive?
My provisional answer is that those on the right are generally more authoritairan than they like to admit. They have no problem with an overmighty state as long as they are in charge of it. Those on the left, however, still often have a strand of thinking of wanting to stick it to the man, an oppositional view of government, even when it claims to be their government.
This is not an answer I am entirely comfortable with.
I think we're all more authoritarian than we'd like to admit. Might (in the form of political dominance) makes right is a very common opinion, and as we've seen people in established democracies are happy to admit to pollsters many of them would like a strongman leader. And even leaders who don't trend that way often end up enacting things which are, since they get frustrated at what it takes to get things done otherwise.
The experience of being a parent can encourage the tyrant in all of us. And then it is very hard to let go.
The solution is obvious - we have eunuchs run our governments.
Wait, I'm being silly - with adoption and the like eunuchs can be parents too, so that won't help.
I don’t believe the Ottoman Empire was noted for good governance
Hey, it really lasted though.
You're probably going to dismiss my next suggestion which was to recruit our soldiers and civil service by taking child slaves from our outlying regions.
Though Ottoman practice might also have prevented Prince Andrew.
Urgh. Think of the moaning from our Scottish friends on here if you tried that…
Yes, Dominic Raab, it's quite odd. His CV indicates a man of high intelligence and deep learning yet he often comes across as rather dense. "Dim" Dom Raab he was known as, apparently, when at the FO, and one can see why.
Also odd (to me) is the instinctive reaction of many Tories, esp on the right of the party, when they hear the words "human rights", either in or out of a legal setting. Rather than cheer it's to boo. The notion of human rights seems to irritate or upset rather than inspire or reassure. It's an interesting bit of brain chemistry.
Anyway, great header. That's a good checklist of questions for proposed new laws. If it were applied to this incoherent "Bill of Rights" I think we'd get a fail.
I agree with your brain chemistry point. Those on the right claim to fear an overmighty totalitarian state and believe in individual freedom. Those on the left generally have a more collectivist view of society. So why is it that those on the right disapprove of restrictions on that overmighty state whilst those on the left are generally more supportive?
My provisional answer is that those on the right are generally more authoritairan than they like to admit. They have no problem with an overmighty state as long as they are in charge of it. Those on the left, however, still often have a strand of thinking of wanting to stick it to the man, an oppositional view of government, even when it claims to be their government.
This is not an answer I am entirely comfortable with.
I think we're all more authoritarian than we'd like to admit. Might (in the form of political dominance) makes right is a very common opinion, and as we've seen people in established democracies are happy to admit to pollsters many of them would like a strongman leader. And even leaders who don't trend that way often end up enacting things which are, since they get frustrated at what it takes to get things done otherwise.
The experience of being a parent can encourage the tyrant in all of us. And then it is very hard to let go.
The solution is obvious - we have eunuchs run our governments.
Wait, I'm being silly - with adoption and the like eunuchs can be parents too, so that won't help.
I don’t believe the Ottoman Empire was noted for good governance
Hey, it really lasted though.
You're probably going to dismiss my next suggestion which was to recruit our soldiers and civil service by taking child slaves from our outlying regions.
Though Ottoman practice might also have prevented Prince Andrew.
The Scots would probably moan about that
The really outlying areas were left well alone. Much more so than the Tories in the UK do today. Morocco and Egypt were pretty muchg independent for all purposes.
The modern equivalent would be if the PBTories got ideas about kidnapping Welsh Methodists and pagans - anyone not in the C of E - and lopped off their wollocks before sending them to one of those services schools.
On the subject of military help to Ukraine, there is an incomplete list on Wikipedia, but extracting from it just the helmets:
Austria: 10,000 Finland: 2,000 Germany: 23,000 Netherlands 3,000 New Zealand 473 Norway: 5,000 Poland 42,000 Romania 2,000 Sweden, 5,000 UK 84,000 US 25,000
Total: 201,473 Helmets
There are also a number of nations who have given, ether 'protective equipment' or 'non-lethal military equipment' both of which I assume include Helmets.
Wikipedia is great for a quick and dirty look at things, but I wonder does anybody know if there is a better site with the lists/breakdown of what has been supplied?
Why 473 from New Zealand? Is that just the ones they had in a cupboard somewhere?
I don't know exactly, it might be some they have left over after a round of defence cuts, reduced the number of solders? or the number that can fit on a fit on a plain. Link to the aftical:
It might also be that in most cases the nations that are giving modest amounts have chosen to not disclose the total, so it does not look small, and NZ was an exception to this rule.
It’s not a he amount - any help is welcome - but why not 500 or 450?
The UK did 84,000 on the basis they could pack 12,000 a day for 1 week
Weird how this gets so much outrage yet when students get screwed not a peep
The “outrage” is that the inheritances are assumed to be a given and pensioners should cut back on heating or whatever to protect their kids inheritances. Bollocks to that.
They earned the money and should spend it as needed.
It's about the framing of the question. I'm sure the HRA does a perfectly fine job of transposing ECHR rulings into UK law which is why judges and other legal types think is fine. The wider question - should we be doing this - isn't for the legal profession to answer, especially not self appointed experts about everything under the sun.
We need to decide whether the convention itself is still fit for purpose or whether it has become outdated. The HRA has no bearing on this discussion. It's the same as legal advice saying that the Treaty of Rome was just fine and then using it as an argument against Brexit. The two aren't necessarily related despite being adjacent.
Well, then. Please explain with specific examples in what ways the principles in the Convention are no longer fit for purpose or outdated.
For instance, the right to peaceful enjoyment of one's property and possessions. Or the prohibition against being imprisoned for a breach of a contractual obligation. Or the right to an effective remedy against violations of law committed by public officials.
And once you've done that, precisely how a Bill of Rights would remedy the problems you've identified.
Hold on, where did I suggest it was? I simply said that the decision on that shouldn't be left to the lawyers as it isn't a legal issue.
If I have mischaracterised your view, my apologies.
Applying your approach, which is a good one - these are indeed issues for all of us - it is odd that Raab gave so little time for consultation, almost as if he had already made his mind up and ignored what a lot of MPs, who do represent us, said to the Goss Review.
Also, applying to his own proposals, he does none of the things suggested here.
I also didn't suggest that I support the government's approach. Again, my wider point is that something which affects us all shouldn't simply be left to lawyers and activist judges who continue to widen the scope of the HRA into areas it was never intended for.
My view is that the lawyers and politicians are about as bad as each other. Moralising from the legal profession falls on deaf ears for this particular voter.
As I said, I agree with you that this is a matter for all of us. Law and what it means is something which ought to be understood and debated by all of us. You may have noticed that I write quite a lot about legal cases and proposed laws precisely in order - in my very small way - to widen the debate to non-lawyers.
But I'd like to understand - genuinely - what precisely you mean when you say that the HRA's scope has been widened "into areas it was never intended for".
What areas was it intended for? What was it not intended for? Where was this latter statement said? And how has it been widened?
The judgement on votes for prisoners (which the government duly ignored) was my major fault with the ECHR. Franchise is a political decision, the courts shouldn't be getting involved with widening the franchise and the lawyers and activist judges pushed the ECHR into expanding the franchise to prisoners, which was and still is a settled political argument in the UK.
I'd also contend that article 8, for a while, became very broad because activist judges and lawyers almost conspired to override the government of the day wherever possible (and this isn't a party political point, Labour struggled with this phenomenon as much as the Tories).
The issue I have is that I can't stand moralising from the legal profession when they/you are part of the problem along with the politicians and we, the voters, are just caught in the middle and given no consideration.
I think the prisoners judgement has been wilfully misconstrued to damage the credibility of the ECHR.
My understanding is that the ruling was that prisoners as a category of people should not be denied the vote on the basis of being imprisoned, but that if the vote was to be taken away from someone as part of their punishment then this should be done in the same way as other rights are removed from people convicted of crimes - by a judge, following sentencing guidelines, and open to appeal.
So my understanding was that you could still remove the right to vote from everyone convicted of imprisonment, for the term of their imprisonment, provided that was the decision of the trial judge following conviction.
I did not know that. My concern about removing the vote from prisoners is political corruption. Where do you draw the line and politicians can move the goal posts. See America. The idea of a judge deciding as part of the punishment seems a good idea. Provided they are on the electoral register of where they are from and not the prison it will have little impact. I am not happy with politicians deciding who can vote, although in the end it is them that have to.
Weird how this gets so much outrage yet when students get screwed not a peep
Horse, you and I agree that the financial burden on the young us too great. But I'm not sure it's true that nit a peep is heard when students get screwed. The issue gets plenty of attention, just not plenty of getting addressed.
Weird how this gets so much outrage yet when students get screwed not a peep
The “outrage” is that the inheritances are assumed to be a given and pensioners should cut back on heating or whatever to protect their kids inheritances. Bollocks to that.
They earned the money and should spend it as needed.
Excellent point. Too much of Tory guff today rests on the facile assumption: hey you pensioner, you will assuredly have umpteen £££ to leave to your middle aged children so vote Tory!!
You must be the wrong kind of pensioner (ie not Tory voting) if you don't leave your children anything.
On topic, I really find it hard to improve on the late PJ O'Rourke's view of human rights:
"Freedom is not empowerment. Empowerment is what the Serbs have in Bosnia. Anybody can grab a gun and be empowered. It's not entitlement. An entitlement is what people on welfare get, and how free are they? It's not an endlessly expanding list of rights -- the "right" to education, the "right" to food and housing. That's not freedom, that's dependency. Those aren't rights, those are the rations of slavery -- hay and a barn for human cattle. There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences.”
Edit, one qualification which I am pretty sure was in the original. The right is to do as you please without harming others.
Is this is quite on topic?. Human rights in this context is tightly defined as protection of individuals against arbitrary action against them by the state. None of your examples would seem to come into scope.
On the subject of military help to Ukraine, there is an incomplete list on Wikipedia, but extracting from it just the helmets:
Austria: 10,000 Finland: 2,000 Germany: 23,000 Netherlands 3,000 New Zealand 473 Norway: 5,000 Poland 42,000 Romania 2,000 Sweden, 5,000 UK 84,000 US 25,000
Total: 201,473 Helmets
There are also a number of nations who have given, ether 'protective equipment' or 'non-lethal military equipment' both of which I assume include Helmets.
Wikipedia is great for a quick and dirty look at things, but I wonder does anybody know if there is a better site with the lists/breakdown of what has been supplied?
Why 473 from New Zealand? Is that just the ones they had in a cupboard somewhere?
I don't know exactly, it might be some they have left over after a round of defence cuts, reduced the number of solders? or the number that can fit on a fit on a plain. Link to the aftical:
It might also be that in most cases the nations that are giving modest amounts have chosen to not disclose the total, so it does not look small, and NZ was an exception to this rule.
It’s not a he amount - any help is welcome - but why not 500 or 450?
The UK did 84,000 on the basis they could pack 12,000 a day for 1 week
I have a 1500 piece puzzle. Except it actually has 1530 pieces, which are arranged 51 x 30.
My assumption is that most of the figures have been rounded. The UK is said to have supplied 84,000 helmets, but I reckon if they had another 34 helmets at the end of the last day of packing, and room to pack them, that we would have actually sent 84,034 helmets (or equally, a small number of helmets might have been identified as defective during the process of packing, and so we might precisely have sent 83,956 helmets).
Weird how this gets so much outrage yet when students get screwed not a peep
The “outrage” is that the inheritances are assumed to be a given and pensioners should cut back on heating or whatever to protect their kids inheritances. Bollocks to that.
They earned the money and should spend it as needed.
Get the equity release, have a great holiday in proper nice hotel imo
Weird how this gets so much outrage yet when students get screwed not a peep
The “outrage” is that the inheritances are assumed to be a given and pensioners should cut back on heating or whatever to protect their kids inheritances. Bollocks to that.
They earned the money and should spend it as needed.
The article is mainly about how older people are using equity release in order to give money to their children who are struggling with the cost of living. So they are still getting their inheritance.
Weird how this gets so much outrage yet when students get screwed not a peep
The “outrage” is that the inheritances are assumed to be a given and pensioners should cut back on heating or whatever to protect their kids inheritances. Bollocks to that.
They earned the money and should spend it as needed.
Get the equity release, have a great holiday in proper nice hotel imo
Absolutely, if that’s what you want to do, go for it.
But it will be one hell of a holiday to compensate for the PITA that is equity release!
Weird how this gets so much outrage yet when students get screwed not a peep
The “outrage” is that the inheritances are assumed to be a given and pensioners should cut back on heating or whatever to protect their kids inheritances. Bollocks to that.
They earned the money and should spend it as needed.
The article is mainly about how older people are using equity release in order to give money to their children who are struggling with the cost of living. So they are still getting their inheritance.
I know - my original objection was to the headline/weblink.
It's about the framing of the question. I'm sure the HRA does a perfectly fine job of transposing ECHR rulings into UK law which is why judges and other legal types think is fine. The wider question - should we be doing this - isn't for the legal profession to answer, especially not self appointed experts about everything under the sun.
We need to decide whether the convention itself is still fit for purpose or whether it has become outdated. The HRA has no bearing on this discussion. It's the same as legal advice saying that the Treaty of Rome was just fine and then using it as an argument against Brexit. The two aren't necessarily related despite being adjacent.
Well, then. Please explain with specific examples in what ways the principles in the Convention are no longer fit for purpose or outdated.
For instance, the right to peaceful enjoyment of one's property and possessions. Or the prohibition against being imprisoned for a breach of a contractual obligation. Or the right to an effective remedy against violations of law committed by public officials.
And once you've done that, precisely how a Bill of Rights would remedy the problems you've identified.
Hold on, where did I suggest it was? I simply said that the decision on that shouldn't be left to the lawyers as it isn't a legal issue.
If I have mischaracterised your view, my apologies.
Applying your approach, which is a good one - these are indeed issues for all of us - it is odd that Raab gave so little time for consultation, almost as if he had already made his mind up and ignored what a lot of MPs, who do represent us, said to the Goss Review.
Also, applying to his own proposals, he does none of the things suggested here.
I also didn't suggest that I support the government's approach. Again, my wider point is that something which affects us all shouldn't simply be left to lawyers and activist judges who continue to widen the scope of the HRA into areas it was never intended for.
My view is that the lawyers and politicians are about as bad as each other. Moralising from the legal profession falls on deaf ears for this particular voter.
As I said, I agree with you that this is a matter for all of us. Law and what it means is something which ought to be understood and debated by all of us. You may have noticed that I write quite a lot about legal cases and proposed laws precisely in order - in my very small way - to widen the debate to non-lawyers.
But I'd like to understand - genuinely - what precisely you mean when you say that the HRA's scope has been widened "into areas it was never intended for".
What areas was it intended for? What was it not intended for? Where was this latter statement said? And how has it been widened?
In the case of Nadia Eweida the ECtHR ruled that it was a breach of her right to religious freedom that her employers, BA, said that she was not to wear a cross at work.
In the case of Abu Quatada the UK were initially stopped from extradicting him to Jordon because that country may, in accordance with their law, use evidence that may have been gained under torture elsewhere.
In the Bamber case the ECtHR said that a whole life sentence for a multiple murderer was contrary to article 3 and amounted to torture.
And of course there is the prisoners votes issue.
You can make arguments in each case whether this was right or wrong. In the Abu Quatada case the government got around it by negotiating a treaty with Jordan that gave him a fairer trial. But these types of cases do annoy people. They are not what the principles were for, they are not express in the text and they do not give governments what the ECJ would call a margin of appreciation in how the principle is to be applied.
The right to freedom of religion was very expressly in the ECHR right from the very start. So how can you say that it was never intended.
The issue re Abu Qatada was not that the right not to be tortured was a later invention. It was not. But rather that it extended to countries which had not signed up to the ECHR. That does raise the interesting question about whether we believe that human rights are universal in principle (even if not followed) or only a Western construct suitable for Western countries only. Those who objected to the Qatada decision are, it seems to me, implicitly accepting the latter view. And are therefore saying that while it is not ok for me or you to torture someone, it's all right to send a person to somewhere else where they are not so squeamish - essentially outsourcing our inner devil to someone else.
A sort of globalisation of sin.
It is a bit like us patting ourselves on the back for not having slavery in England (the Somerset case) while ignoring the fact that we were benefiting from slavery outside these shores.
I am not aware of the Bamber case. Isn't he still in prison?
You raise some valid points but the margin of appreciation issue is much more likely to be developed in a way which fits with English legal principles when it is done by English courts, especially as recent Supreme Court cases have shown (see, for instance, the Elan-Cane case - my commentary on it is here: https://medium.com/@cyclefree2/perception-and-reality-7cbe78a2b679) than if it is left to the ECHR.
Link not working I am afraid. But a right to have freedom of religion is a long way from the right to wear a cross at work when there is a uniform. It is taking the indisputable principle to extreme lengths. That is the problem with court made law.
In the Elan Cane case Lord Reed said this: "In relation to the second issue, the importance of a consensus within the Council of Europe is readily understood. Courts, including the European court, are expert in adjudication. They do not, on the other hand, possess the capacity, the resources, or the democratic credentials to be well-suited to social policy-making. When adjudication by the European court requires it to consider questions of social policy, it accordingly finds guidance in a consensus on the part of the contracting states, and is cautious before embarking on such policy-making in the absence of a consensus."
Definitely an echo of Sumption there. Had that always been the case I suspect that we would not be having this debate. But I not sure that could even have been said to be the case in the Supreme Court under Baroness Hale. I am not confident that will be the case in the future.
It's also quite possible there are 50 Ukrainian pilots somewhere in western Europe/USA currently undertaking that F15 training....
No it's not 'quite possible'. The USAF has a single F-15C/D training squadron at Kinglsey Field AFB. The idea that 50 Ukrainian pilots (that Ukraine can't spare) could turn up in Klamath Falls, Oregon without anybody noticing is ludicrous.
'Russian schoolchildren report teacher for anti-war comments - local media
A Russian schoolteacher has been arrested after being reported to police by her pupils for making anti-war comments, according to local media.
The teenagers in the southern city of Penza are said to have recorded a conversation with Irina Gen, their English teacher, on 18 March.
They were apparently upset that a planned sports trip to the Czech Republic was not going ahead and asked Ms Gen for her opinion.
According to an alleged transcript of the conversation published by the Meduza website, she said it was right that the trip had been cancelled and that such things would continue until Russia "started behaving in a civilised way".
The 55-year-old compared the country to North Korea and "expressed a view of the war in Ukraine different from the official one", Meduza said.
It is thought Ms Gen could face a fine of up to $60,000 or a jail term of up to 10 years.'
Unfortunately this is indicative of much of Russian society. Many Russians say that the country needs a "strong leader", but every time they end up with a bunch of snivelling cowards who grovel to any tyrant that shows them the whip. It is this fundamental lack of personal responsibility that lies at the heart of Russia´s broken political culture. So now Russia is under the control of not just the "crooks and theives" but murderers and torturers like Kadyrov not to mention the rapists on the front line.
However few societies cope with defeat unchanged, and if the casualties and equipment losses are anywhere close to the Ukrainian figures then Russia will struggle to renew the offensive in the Donbas. After that perhaps the people of Russia will begin to face up to the moral crisis of the country. However it may take much time and considerable pressure from outside. The world is beginning to understand that Pushkin does not make up for Putin, nor Prokofiev for Stalin. "Nigeria with nukes" is a pretty evil place these days and the West will need to remain alert and determined.
A notable feature of Russia’s decline in the twentieth century is the dearth of great artists, composers and writers that were so abundant in the late 19th and early 20th century. Prokofiev and Shostakovich, like Stravinsky were born into pre-Soviet Russia. Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky were giants of 19th century literature. They’ve not come close to producing anyone of similar stature since.
Bit unfair on Solzhenitsyn and Tarkovsky, but yes, it’s very much at the descending end of an arc. Otoh, perhaps depressingly, we may be at the end of the age of great artists generally; who are the giants of contemporary British composition, literature and art? We may possess a behemoth of international flint knapping, but..
For composition, The Beatles? The Who? Queen? Elton John? David Bowie? Whoever wrote the music for Coldplay?
Weird how this gets so much outrage yet when students get screwed not a peep
The “outrage” is that the inheritances are assumed to be a given and pensioners should cut back on heating or whatever to protect their kids inheritances. Bollocks to that.
They earned the money and should spend it as needed.
The article is mainly about how older people are using equity release in order to give money to their children who are struggling with the cost of living. So they are still getting their inheritance.
I suspect that some people had planned on spending their assumed inheritances on new cars and expensive holidays rather than on heating bills.
Weird how this gets so much outrage yet when students get screwed not a peep
The “outrage” is that the inheritances are assumed to be a given and pensioners should cut back on heating or whatever to protect their kids inheritances. Bollocks to that.
They earned the money and should spend it as needed.
The article is mainly about how older people are using equity release in order to give money to their children who are struggling with the cost of living. So they are still getting their inheritance.
I suspect that some people had planned on spending their assumed inheritances on new cars and expensive holidays rather than on heating bills.
Weird how this gets so much outrage yet when students get screwed not a peep
The “outrage” is that the inheritances are assumed to be a given and pensioners should cut back on heating or whatever to protect their kids inheritances. Bollocks to that.
They earned the money and should spend it as needed.
The article is mainly about how older people are using equity release in order to give money to their children who are struggling with the cost of living. So they are still getting their inheritance.
I suspect that some people had planned on spending their assumed inheritances on new cars and expensive holidays rather than on heating bills.
The Kyiv Independent @KyivIndependent · 1h ⚡️General Staff: Russia begins mobilizing troops in Moldova's occupied Transnistria.
Moscow is redeploying its troops in occupied Transnistria to demonstrate its readiness to attack Ukraine from the southwest and for potential provocations on the border, the General Staff said.
Weird how this gets so much outrage yet when students get screwed not a peep
Horse, you and I agree that the financial burden on the young us too great. But I'm not sure it's true that nit a peep is heard when students get screwed. The issue gets plenty of attention, just not plenty of getting addressed.
Does it get the attention it deserves? It's been mentioned, but as an inside page story (see yesterday's front pages).
Changes to student loan repayment terms represent the single biggest change in the public finances compared to the last Budget.
On the subject of military help to Ukraine, there is an incomplete list on Wikipedia, but extracting from it just the helmets:
Austria: 10,000 Finland: 2,000 Germany: 23,000 Netherlands 3,000 New Zealand 473 Norway: 5,000 Poland 42,000 Romania 2,000 Sweden, 5,000 UK 84,000 US 25,000
Total: 201,473 Helmets
There are also a number of nations who have given, ether 'protective equipment' or 'non-lethal military equipment' both of which I assume include Helmets.
Wikipedia is great for a quick and dirty look at things, but I wonder does anybody know if there is a better site with the lists/breakdown of what has been supplied?
Why 473 from New Zealand? Is that just the ones they had in a cupboard somewhere?
I don't know exactly, it might be some they have left over after a round of defence cuts, reduced the number of solders? or the number that can fit on a fit on a plain. Link to the aftical:
It might also be that in most cases the nations that are giving modest amounts have chosen to not disclose the total, so it does not look small, and NZ was an exception to this rule.
It’s not a he amount - any help is welcome - but why not 500 or 450?
The UK did 84,000 on the basis they could pack 12,000 a day for 1 week
Nope. AIUI.
They expected to take 2 weeks, and did it in 8 days
Weird how this gets so much outrage yet when students get screwed not a peep
Horse, you and I agree that the financial burden on the young us too great. But I'm not sure it's true that nit a peep is heard when students get screwed. The issue gets plenty of attention, just not plenty of getting addressed.
Does it get the attention it deserves? It's been mentioned, but as an inside page story (see yesterday's front pages).
Changes to student loan repayment terms represent the single biggest change in the public finances compared to the last Budget.
Her seat in Colorado is not particularly safe so I would like to think she could lose it even though that will obviously not happen this year with Democrats losing seats in congress.
There will be books written on what happened in the Ukrainian military between 2014 and 2022. The transformation of the Ukrainian military has been spectacular and seems to be both broad and deep. It can't just be foreign training, though that probably helped. Someone (or rather some group) designed and built a Revolution In Military Affairs for Ukraine.
Entire academic careers are going to be built on what happened to the Russian military in 2022. They appear to have made the confounding choice to fight in a manner that exaggerates their weaknesses and neglects their strengths.
Ah, the (relative) joys of poor leadership at play I suppose.
Problem being there are bound to be people in Russia who do know how to focus on the strengths and will be (or are) going to be found eventually.
They'll be the ones capable of independent thinking. Putin has already either dismissed them, or imprisoned them, or poisoned them.
Serdyukov was got rid of for upsetting the thieves, by clamping down on corruption - such as missing equipment, fake/poor quality equipment, missing/unusable ammunition stocks....
The Kyiv Independent @KyivIndependent · 1h ⚡️General Staff: Russia begins mobilizing troops in Moldova's occupied Transnistria.
Moscow is redeploying its troops in occupied Transnistria to demonstrate its readiness to attack Ukraine from the southwest and for potential provocations on the border, the General Staff said.
Seems unlikely, the Russians where thought to only have 1,400 - 1,500 troops in Transnistria before the war, and little to indicate it has gone up since then or where those troops might have come form, or how they would have got there.
It is possible,
Russia is keen to do anything that might distract some Ukrainians, at lest for a short time, so perhaps, publicly marching around the few troops they have in the area might help.
or
Moldova might be eyeing an reoccupation of the regain, seeing a moment of weakness, and perhaps, some western support. and the Russians in Transnistria are preparing for that.
or something else, e.g. routemen biasness in Transnistria, but being misinterpreted.
Weird how this gets so much outrage yet when students get screwed not a peep
The “outrage” is that the inheritances are assumed to be a given and pensioners should cut back on heating or whatever to protect their kids inheritances. Bollocks to that.
They earned the money and should spend it as needed.
Excellent point. Too much of Tory guff today rests on the facile assumption: hey you pensioner, you will assuredly have umpteen £££ to leave to your middle aged children so vote Tory!!
You must be the wrong kind of pensioner (ie not Tory voting) if you don't leave your children anything.
Yup, that’s me. If I’m saving for anything, it’s for enough for Mrs C and I to be comfortable in our Care Home.
The Kyiv Independent @KyivIndependent · 1h ⚡️General Staff: Russia begins mobilizing troops in Moldova's occupied Transnistria.
Moscow is redeploying its troops in occupied Transnistria to demonstrate its readiness to attack Ukraine from the southwest and for potential provocations on the border, the General Staff said.
Seems unlikely, the Russians where thought to only have 1,400 - 1,500 troops in Transnistria before the war, and little to indicate it has gone up since then or where those troops might have come form, or how they would have got there.
It is possible,
Russia is keen to do anything that might distract some Ukrainians, at lest for a short time, so perhaps, publicly marching around the few troops they have in the area might help.
or
Moldova might be eyeing an reoccupation of the regain, seeing a moment of weakness, and perhaps, some western support. and the Russians in Transnistria are preparing for that.
or something else, e.g. routemen biasness in Transnistria, but being misinterpreted.
IIRC the population of Transnistria is approximately equal numbers of Russians, Ukrainians and Moldovans so I wonder how much support the regime has currently.
Weird how this gets so much outrage yet when students get screwed not a peep
The “outrage” is that the inheritances are assumed to be a given and pensioners should cut back on heating or whatever to protect their kids inheritances. Bollocks to that.
They earned the money and should spend it as needed.
Any doctors in the house? I've been prescribed doxycycline for an infection, finding it's giving me a bit of nausea. Been advised taking it with a meal will help but reduce the effectiveness. Is this a significant drop or will I be okay?
The biggest problem for Ukraine at this stage is whether their air force can hold on. I simply cannot understand the decision not to provide them with fighter jets.
The Ukrainians reckon they could train pilots to use the F15 type jets in 2-3 weeks. Maybe we don't think the Ukrainian air force is on its last legs but it would be a massive failure if we allowed Russia to eventually get air supremacy. Given the disparity that can't be ruled out at some point and we shouldn't be complacent.
One thing that we saw with the initial covid response is that governments have a really hard time adjusting to things that don't go according to their pre-crisis plans. Arguably the more thorough the planning was, the harder it is for them to adjust.
I wonder if western governments are still having trouble making the switch to deal with Ukraine successfully fighting a conventional war against Russia, when the pre-war planning must have assumed that they'd get flattened, have their planes and anywhere they could operate planes from destroyed, and fight a long guerilla war with weapons that were small enough to hide.
Yes, I think that's a factor. Recently there have been announcements of armoured personnel carriers of one sort or another being sent to Ukraine, which is a sign of that thinking shifting, but they'll only provide target practice for the Russian air force if Ukraine isn't given the assistance to maintain at least a reasonable level of air defence.
Is it too much to call this a paradigm shift?
Have we ever seen a professional NATO-style army fighting a defensive war like this before?
The closest I can think of is small operations in eg Afghanistan, unless you go back to 50s/60s operations, when Western armies were still partly conscript-based.
I think we tend to overgeneralise and simplify from past conflicts (and we will do so from this one too). Ever since the six-day war in 1967 (and then Yom Kippur, 1973, both Iraq Wars) we've seen lots of conflicts between state armies where one side is superior to the other, particularly in the air, and this has led to a rapid resolution of the conflict in favour of one side over the other.
We've also seen conflicts where it's essentially proved impossibly to defeat an insurgency - Vietnam, Afghanistan twice.
We've simply not seen so many conflicts which have been between two forces of broadly comparable and symmetric force. So we've forgotten what they look like. I don't think that constitutes a paradigm shift.
What it shows, as did the Iraq wars, is that there is a gulf in class between NATO and Russian kit, not just the guns but the communications networks and logistical support networks. I think there was always a gap but it got considerably wider at the time of the Reagan boost to US defence spending. And it means that Russia's traditional weight of numbers argument is no longer relevant.
Nukes apart, Russia is no longer a first rank military power. They can kill those who are virtually defenceless in the third world but if they take on a country with a modern army they are in serious trouble.
I don't think that's right. After all, the Ukrainians have been using a lot of Russian kit. It's clear that the Ukrainians have major advantages in morale, training, and tactical initiative of junior officers (as well as logistics and communications, as you highlight).
And yet, for all that, it's still Ukrainian cities that are being pounded to rubble.
If you imagine a future Russia where a new leadership has stamped out corruption in military expenditure and has improved training and morale, then I don't think the quality of its equipment would hold it back. I don't think the Indian Army needs to scrap all its Russian-purchased equipment, for example.
If we consider the implications for a Chinese attempt to seize Taiwan the two aspects that I think China would need to concentrate on are: the ability to establish air superiority, by being able to conduct large complex air operations, and, whether the Taiwanese would be willing to fight to defend their democracy.
Two points.
Firstly, a disproprotionate level of the damage caused to the Russians, especially in respect of armoured vehicles, has been with western made anti tank weapons.
Secondly, in the third paragraph you are imagining a Russia that is not Russia and which hasn't been since at least the Napoleonic wars. You are imagining it to be a technologically sophisticated modern state. It isn't.
Your first point is true, but it's also partly a function of the way in which Ukraine have fought a defensive war. This means they've also taken out a lot of Russian armour with their own man portable anti-tank weapon, the Stugna-P. A consequence of fighting the war in this way is that they've had to sacrifice space for time, which has enabled the Russians to bombard Ukrainian cities - this does not speak of an overwhelming Ukrainian advantage in terms of equipment.
I'm imagining a Russia where the leadership prioritises national success over personal theft. I'd suggest that is a possible reaction to a defeat in Ukraine.
Above all, I think what we are seeing here is an evolution of warfare, with a centrally-controlled, heavily-armoured, numerically superior, lumbering force taking on a devolved decision-making, small unit, agile force: one side seeking to take land through a scorched earth approach, the other seeking to hit military assets without obsessing about land held.
This makes it really hard to know who is 'winning' - the maps of land held only capture the success metric of one side; the lists of percentage of war materiel attritted only capture the success metric of the other.
My own bias is that warfare is evolving to smaller, deadly weapons operated by smaller, semi-autonomous units but with coordinated swarming capability.
On the issue of air defence, the various options for helping the Ukrainians have been gamed by the US. The universal conclusion is that the numbers of aircraft that could be offered given NATO stocks would not have a big impact on controlling the skies. Whereas longer-range artillery, longer-range anti-aircraft capabilities, and anti-ship capabilities could have a huge impact on protecting both Ukraine's civilian population and its military operations, and tanks and armoured vehicles will increase their capacity to take back occupied land.
I left it late but am at Ayr for the national, managed to get a ticket from a tout. Place is rammed and most of of them steamboats. Hopefully get a winner or two
I left it late but am at Ayr for the national, managed to get a ticket from a tout. Place is rammed and most of of them steamboats. Hopefully get a winner or two
Politico.com - Sarah Palin announces run for Congress The former Republican VP candidate's announcement came minutes before the Alaska special election filing deadline.
Former Republican vice-presidential candidate and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin on Friday announced she’s running to fill the House seat held by the late Rep. Don Young.
Her announcement came about 45 minutes before the filing deadline to enter into the special election, throwing Palin into a crowded field of nearly 40 candidates to fill the seat held by Young, who died last month. Young was the GOP’s longest-serving congressman in history.
alin’s website on Friday said “Sarah Is Running For Congress!” and asked for support. She also filed a statement of candidacy with the FEC to get her name on the ballot for Alaska’s special election’s primary scheduled for June 11. The top four candidates will advance to the general election on Aug. 16.
The move comes after Palin spoke with former President Donald Trump last week, according to two people familiar with the conversation. Trump encouraged the Alaska Republican to run for Congress . . .
The Kyiv Independent @KyivIndependent · 1h ⚡️General Staff: Russia begins mobilizing troops in Moldova's occupied Transnistria.
Moscow is redeploying its troops in occupied Transnistria to demonstrate its readiness to attack Ukraine from the southwest and for potential provocations on the border, the General Staff said.
Seems unlikely, the Russians where thought to only have 1,400 - 1,500 troops in Transnistria before the war, and little to indicate it has gone up since then or where those troops might have come form, or how they would have got there.
It is possible,
Russia is keen to do anything that might distract some Ukrainians, at lest for a short time, so perhaps, publicly marching around the few troops they have in the area might help.
or
Moldova might be eyeing an reoccupation of the regain, seeing a moment of weakness, and perhaps, some western support. and the Russians in Transnistria are preparing for that.
or something else, e.g. routemen biasness in Transnistria, but being misinterpreted.
IIRC the population of Transnistria is approximately equal numbers of Russians, Ukrainians and Moldovans so I wonder how much support the regime has currently.
Yes absolute, I would be fascinated to know, It could go ether way: The best indication is that if you have access to multiple international media sources, then you are likely to be anti Putin at them moment, e.g. ethnic Russians in Estonia, who have in the past tended to be very sympathetic to Russia, are much less so at the movement. however if they people there identified with the 2 breakaway republics in the then perhaps you will have started off being so pro-Putin that you now only watch things which confirm you belief.
Also how much media can they get, the area is quite/very poor so perhaps not may have internet access, and I think almost all weather Russian Ukrainian, Moldovan, almost all speak Russian, this also goes for the Belarusian, and Greeks who are the other 2 smaller populations in Transnistria.
I dont think there has been any poling in Transnistria, but would like to see any if there is.
Politico.com - Sarah Palin announces run for Congress The former Republican VP candidate's announcement came minutes before the Alaska special election filing deadline.
Former Republican vice-presidential candidate and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin on Friday announced she’s running to fill the House seat held by the late Rep. Don Young.
Her announcement came about 45 minutes before the filing deadline to enter into the special election, throwing Palin into a crowded field of nearly 40 candidates to fill the seat held by Young, who died last month. Young was the GOP’s longest-serving congressman in history.
alin’s website on Friday said “Sarah Is Running For Congress!” and asked for support. She also filed a statement of candidacy with the FEC to get her name on the ballot for Alaska’s special election’s primary scheduled for June 11. The top four candidates will advance to the general election on Aug. 16.
The move comes after Palin spoke with former President Donald Trump last week, according to two people familiar with the conversation. Trump encouraged the Alaska Republican to run for Congress . . .
Alaska now has an unusual election proses, where the best 4 from any party go though to the final round, so there could be 3 republicans and one democrat in the final round. or lots of other possibilities,
Are people still obsessing about a No-Fly Zone? [...] to call for a No-Fly Zone is such weasel words.
This is too strongly worded particularly considering it is President Zelensky's position, the President of Ukraine.
It's a viable stance to take with considerable consequences but not one to be dismissed by armchair generals pontificating from their comfortable middle class armchairs in the currently safe west. That's not facetious. On the ground in Ukraine is clearly hell and we should, at least, listen to them and pause for consideration.
I hear a lot less about a no-fly zone from the Ukrainians recently, and a lot more for requests for specific, heavier equipment for them to use themselves.
I also think there's a big difference between Ukrainians asking for a no-fly zone, and naive Westerners doing so.
When the Ukrainians request a no-fly zone it is with a knowledge of the limitations, the practicalities, the difficulties and the consequences. I think they do it almost as much for propaganda purposes as anything else.
When the naive Westerners do so it is with some vague simplistic memory of painlessly imposing a no-fly zone over northern and southern Iraq, with no awareness of the difficulties of doing so over Ukraine were Russia to contest it, or of the fact that so many air-launched munitions that Russia has used have been fired from Russian or Belorussian airspace.
The anti-aircraft missiles we are now sending are giving them a far better chance of keeping the Russians out of Ukrainian skies. The first Starsteak to take out a Russian helicopter has already been reported. Its as near a no fly zone as we can give them without going to war with Russia. Ukraine accepts this. Other armchair generals with an agenda, not so much....
Actually that's not true. Ukraine needs - and has requested - both longer range AA missile systems, and more aircraft.
I left it late but am at Ayr for the national, managed to get a ticket from a tout. Place is rammed and most of of them steamboats. Hopefully get a winner or two
sorry if this is a silly question but, what is a steamboat in this context? drunk?
Any doctors in the house? I've been prescribed doxycycline for an infection, finding it's giving me a bit of nausea. Been advised taking it with a meal will help but reduce the effectiveness. Is this a significant drop or will I be okay?
I can not give any medical advice, but do hope you feel better soon.
I left it late but am at Ayr for the national, managed to get a ticket from a tout. Place is rammed and most of of them steamboats. Hopefully get a winner or two
sorry if this is a silly question but, what is a steamboat in this context? drunk?
West Central Belt urban demotic Scots for being pished, miraculous, fu as a partan, etc. AIUI from when being a traveller was the only way one could buy a drink in Scotland on a Sunday, so just take a steamboat down the Clyde for the day.
Are people still obsessing about a No-Fly Zone? [...] to call for a No-Fly Zone is such weasel words.
This is too strongly worded particularly considering it is President Zelensky's position, the President of Ukraine.
It's a viable stance to take with considerable consequences but not one to be dismissed by armchair generals pontificating from their comfortable middle class armchairs in the currently safe west. That's not facetious. On the ground in Ukraine is clearly hell and we should, at least, listen to them and pause for consideration.
I hear a lot less about a no-fly zone from the Ukrainians recently, and a lot more for requests for specific, heavier equipment for them to use themselves.
I also think there's a big difference between Ukrainians asking for a no-fly zone, and naive Westerners doing so.
When the Ukrainians request a no-fly zone it is with a knowledge of the limitations, the practicalities, the difficulties and the consequences. I think they do it almost as much for propaganda purposes as anything else.
When the naive Westerners do so it is with some vague simplistic memory of painlessly imposing a no-fly zone over northern and southern Iraq, with no awareness of the difficulties of doing so over Ukraine were Russia to contest it, or of the fact that so many air-launched munitions that Russia has used have been fired from Russian or Belorussian airspace.
The anti-aircraft missiles we are now sending are giving them a far better chance of keeping the Russians out of Ukrainian skies. The first Starsteak to take out a Russian helicopter has already been reported. Its as near a no fly zone as we can give them without going to war with Russia. Ukraine accepts this. Other armchair generals with an agenda, not so much....
Actually that's not true. Ukraine needs - and has requested - both longer range AA missile systems, and more aircraft.
Incidentally this might be footage of that first Russian helicopter taken out by a Starsteak missiles, provided by UK:
I left it late but am at Ayr for the national, managed to get a ticket from a tout. Place is rammed and most of of them steamboats. Hopefully get a winner or two
sorry if this is a silly question but, what is a steamboat in this context? drunk?
Mysteriously the Scottish vocab bag holds many a word/term for the state of being drunk:
Steamboats Steamin' Oot yer tree Oot the game Bleezin' Blitzed Pished Buckled Footered Reekin' Guttered Howlin' Minkit Rat arsed Slaughtered Mingin' Rubbered Wrecked etc
This posted by a reporter from The Kyiv Independent. If correct, it is astonishing, even when we have become accustomed and inured to the Ukrainians achieving the astonishing:
Illia Ponomarenko 🇺🇦 @IAPonomarenko · 2h 🇺🇦Ukraine’s military: up to 75 Russian battalion tactical groups involved in the Ukraine campaign, up to 34 BTGs are being restored, 16 BTGs have been totally destroyed.
The biggest problem for Ukraine at this stage is whether their air force can hold on. I simply cannot understand the decision not to provide them with fighter jets.
The Ukrainians reckon they could train pilots to use the F15 type jets in 2-3 weeks. Maybe we don't think the Ukrainian air force is on its last legs but it would be a massive failure if we allowed Russia to eventually get air supremacy. Given the disparity that can't be ruled out at some point and we shouldn't be complacent.
I'd like to think we are quietly providing more support than is being acknowledged publicly. Why is the US only providing 100 of these switchblade drones? Surely thousands would be a better idea. Does all military assistance have to be detailed publicly?
I am rather surprised by the suggestion that Ukrainian pilots could get up to speed on a new aircraft in 2-3 weeks.
Is there any precedent for such a fast type conversion?
Even during the Battle of Britain, in the worst point of pilots shortages, they still were taking longer than that to convert pilots from other types to the fighters. And aircraft back then, were orders of magnitude less complex.
I’d imagine the publicity of the jets being supplied is what the Ukrainians really want.
Maybe - but surely Mig29s* and S300s would be of more immediate use?
*The Mig29s in Europe might still need some conversion training, since they have (mostly) been considerably upgraded over the years.
They'd also have to be considerably downgraded before Ukrainians were allowed to get their hands on them to remove the NATO comms fit, IFF and probably lots of other shit.
Apart from the IFF, why ? Ukraine is already using (for example) a NATO standard battlefield information system.
It's also quite possible there are 50 Ukrainian pilots somewhere in western Europe/USA currently undertaking that F15 training....
No it's not 'quite possible'. The USAF has a single F-15C/D training squadron at Kinglsey Field AFB. The idea that 50 Ukrainian pilots (that Ukraine can't spare) could turn up in Klamath Falls, Oregon without anybody noticing is ludicrous.
I left it late but am at Ayr for the national, managed to get a ticket from a tout. Place is rammed and most of of them steamboats. Hopefully get a winner or two
The Kyiv Independent @KyivIndependent · 1h ⚡️General Staff: Russia begins mobilizing troops in Moldova's occupied Transnistria.
Moscow is redeploying its troops in occupied Transnistria to demonstrate its readiness to attack Ukraine from the southwest and for potential provocations on the border, the General Staff said.
Seems unlikely, the Russians where thought to only have 1,400 - 1,500 troops in Transnistria before the war, and little to indicate it has gone up since then or where those troops might have come form, or how they would have got there.
It is possible,
Russia is keen to do anything that might distract some Ukrainians, at lest for a short time, so perhaps, publicly marching around the few troops they have in the area might help.
or
Moldova might be eyeing an reoccupation of the regain, seeing a moment of weakness, and perhaps, some western support. and the Russians in Transnistria are preparing for that.
or something else, e.g. routemen biasness in Transnistria, but being misinterpreted.
IIRC the population of Transnistria is approximately equal numbers of Russians, Ukrainians and Moldovans so I wonder how much support the regime has currently.
It is a part of Moldova.
Like West Bridgford to Nottingham - a recalcitrant slice on the other side of the river .
On the subject of military help to Ukraine, there is an incomplete list on Wikipedia, but extracting from it just the helmets:
Austria: 10,000 Finland: 2,000 Germany: 23,000 Netherlands 3,000 New Zealand 473 Norway: 5,000 Poland 42,000 Romania 2,000 Sweden, 5,000 UK 84,000 US 25,000
Total: 201,473 Helmets
There are also a number of nations who have given, ether 'protective equipment' or 'non-lethal military equipment' both of which I assume include Helmets.
Wikipedia is great for a quick and dirty look at things, but I wonder does anybody know if there is a better site with the lists/breakdown of what has been supplied?
Why 473 from New Zealand? Is that just the ones they had in a cupboard somewhere?
I don't know exactly, it might be some they have left over after a round of defence cuts, reduced the number of solders? or the number that can fit on a fit on a plain. Link to the aftical:
It might also be that in most cases the nations that are giving modest amounts have chosen to not disclose the total, so it does not look small, and NZ was an exception to this rule.
It’s not a he amount - any help is welcome - but why not 500 or 450?
The UK did 84,000 on the basis they could pack 12,000 a day for 1 week
I have a 1500 piece puzzle. Except it actually has 1530 pieces, which are arranged 51 x 30.
My assumption is that most of the figures have been rounded. The UK is said to have supplied 84,000 helmets, but I reckon if they had another 34 helmets at the end of the last day of packing, and room to pack them, that we would have actually sent 84,034 helmets (or equally, a small number of helmets might have been identified as defective during the process of packing, and so we might precisely have sent 83,956 helmets).
Perhaps in the army no one is goofy enough to try and count that many exactly !
The Kyiv Independent @KyivIndependent · 1h ⚡️General Staff: Russia begins mobilizing troops in Moldova's occupied Transnistria.
Moscow is redeploying its troops in occupied Transnistria to demonstrate its readiness to attack Ukraine from the southwest and for potential provocations on the border, the General Staff said.
Seems unlikely, the Russians where thought to only have 1,400 - 1,500 troops in Transnistria before the war, and little to indicate it has gone up since then or where those troops might have come form, or how they would have got there.
It is possible,
Russia is keen to do anything that might distract some Ukrainians, at lest for a short time, so perhaps, publicly marching around the few troops they have in the area might help.
or
Moldova might be eyeing an reoccupation of the regain, seeing a moment of weakness, and perhaps, some western support. and the Russians in Transnistria are preparing for that.
or something else, e.g. routemen biasness in Transnistria, but being misinterpreted.
IIRC the population of Transnistria is approximately equal numbers of Russians, Ukrainians and Moldovans so I wonder how much support the regime has currently.
It is a part of Moldova.
Like West Bridgford to Nottingham - a recalcitrant slice on the other side of the river .
Bread and Butter Island, as WB was called when I was a kid.....
Politico.com - Sarah Palin announces run for Congress The former Republican VP candidate's announcement came minutes before the Alaska special election filing deadline.
Former Republican vice-presidential candidate and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin on Friday announced she’s running to fill the House seat held by the late Rep. Don Young.
Her announcement came about 45 minutes before the filing deadline to enter into the special election, throwing Palin into a crowded field of nearly 40 candidates to fill the seat held by Young, who died last month. Young was the GOP’s longest-serving congressman in history.
alin’s website on Friday said “Sarah Is Running For Congress!” and asked for support. She also filed a statement of candidacy with the FEC to get her name on the ballot for Alaska’s special election’s primary scheduled for June 11. The top four candidates will advance to the general election on Aug. 16.
The move comes after Palin spoke with former President Donald Trump last week, according to two people familiar with the conversation. Trump encouraged the Alaska Republican to run for Congress . . .
Alaska now has an unusual election proses, where the best 4 from any party go though to the final round, so there could be 3 republicans and one democrat in the final round. or lots of other possibilities,
Alaska special election primary for US House on June 11 is all vote-by-mail. Because logistically there's no other option for organizing & conducting it as required by state law.
Governor tried to get the legislature to change the law to replace top four June primary and ranked-choice August election (coinciding with the regular state primary) with a winner-take-all election for the remainder of the late Don Young's term which ends next January. But no dice.
This posted by a reporter from The Kyiv Independent. If correct, it is astonishing, even when we have become accustomed and inured to the Ukrainians achieving the astonishing:
Illia Ponomarenko 🇺🇦 @IAPonomarenko · 2h 🇺🇦Ukraine’s military: up to 75 Russian battalion tactical groups involved in the Ukraine campaign, up to 34 BTGs are being restored, 16 BTGs have been totally destroyed.
"restored" with conscripts and kit raided from museums?
(I have heard numbers from 95 to 115 BTGs, which would make it just impressive instead of OMFG impressive.)
Oryx now up to 389 Russian tanks lost, BTW - 204 abandoned or captured....
A field of more than 50 candidates has filed to run in the special election to fill Alaska’s lone U.S. House seat, in a slate that includes former Gov. Sarah Palin, Santa Claus, current and former lawmakers, a homebuilder and his brother.
The number of candidates is more than twice as large as that seen in any other primary in the state’s history, and greater than the number of mushers who ran this year’s Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.
The 51 candidates continued to stream in until the 5 p.m. Friday deadline, two weeks after the sudden death of Don Young, the state’s congressman of 49 years. Some of the candidates were proteges of Young; others were rivals. And their experience runs the gamut from political novices to veterans of statewide campaigns.
Watching the candidate list balloon on Friday was something of a jaw-dropper, with new candidates — known and unknown — appearing with each Division of Elections update. By the end of the day, Alaskans were looking at an election — actually, an upcoming series of them — unlike anything seen before, with dozens of candidates, a statewide mail-in primary and the implementation of ranked-choice voting, which fundamentally changes the way elections work here.
Ultimately, the list included Palin, Republican state Sen. Josh Revak, former Republican state Sen. John Coghill, former Republican Interior Department official Tara Sweeney, independent orthopedic surgeon Al Gross, Democratic Anchorage Assembly member Christopher Constant, former Republican lawmaker Andrew Halcro, former Democratic state legislator Mary Sattler Peltola, Alaska Native leader Emil Notti, Democratic state Rep. Adam Wool and attorney and gardening columnist Jeff Lowenfels. And Santa Claus, a self-described Democratic socialist who currently sits on the city council of North Pole, outside Fairbanks.
‘I didn’t expect that in a million years’ Palin, who ran unsuccessfully for vice president before resigning as Alaska’s governor in 2009, filed late Friday for both the special election to replace Young and the regular election in November.
“Public service is a calling, and I would be honored to represent the men and women of Alaska in Congress, just as Rep. Young did for 49 years,” Palin said on Facebook. . .
SSI - I urge PBers to check out this story, some great pixs of Sarah Palin plus don't forget the other 50 hopefuls!
Any doctors in the house? I've been prescribed doxycycline for an infection, finding it's giving me a bit of nausea. Been advised taking it with a meal will help but reduce the effectiveness. Is this a significant drop or will I be okay?
Not sure you've been correctly advised. Should be fine with food and will help the nausea. No issues from the bnf.
I left it late but am at Ayr for the national, managed to get a ticket from a tout. Place is rammed and most of of them steamboats. Hopefully get a winner or two
sorry if this is a silly question but, what is a steamboat in this context? drunk?
Mysteriously the Scottish vocab bag holds many a word/term for the state of being drunk:
Steamboats Steamin' Oot yer tree Oot the game Bleezin' Blitzed Pished Buckled Footered Reekin' Guttered Howlin' Minkit Rat arsed Slaughtered Mingin' Rubbered Wrecked etc
Interesting that the three I posted a little earlier included two not already on your list ...
The Kyiv Independent @KyivIndependent · 1h ⚡️General Staff: Russia begins mobilizing troops in Moldova's occupied Transnistria.
Moscow is redeploying its troops in occupied Transnistria to demonstrate its readiness to attack Ukraine from the southwest and for potential provocations on the border, the General Staff said.
Seems unlikely, the Russians where thought to only have 1,400 - 1,500 troops in Transnistria before the war, and little to indicate it has gone up since then or where those troops might have come form, or how they would have got there.
It is possible,
Russia is keen to do anything that might distract some Ukrainians, at lest for a short time, so perhaps, publicly marching around the few troops they have in the area might help.
or
Moldova might be eyeing an reoccupation of the regain, seeing a moment of weakness, and perhaps, some western support. and the Russians in Transnistria are preparing for that.
or something else, e.g. routemen biasness in Transnistria, but being misinterpreted.
IIRC the population of Transnistria is approximately equal numbers of Russians, Ukrainians and Moldovans so I wonder how much support the regime has currently.
It is a part of Moldova.
Like West Bridgford to Nottingham - a recalcitrant slice on the other side of the river .
Bread and Butter Island, as WB was called when I was a kid.....
Have PBers NOT noticed, the news that Santa Claus is a Democratic Socialist.
AND that he's currently member of North Pole, Alaska city council PLUS is running in the June special election for US House (it being Santa's off-season).
Have PBers NOT noticed, the news that Santa Claus is a Democratic Socialist.
AND that he's currently member of North Pole, Alaska city council PLUS is running in the June special election for US House (it being Santa's off-season).
Well, a socialist anyway. Opposed to slavery. Gave his wealth to the poor.
I left it late but am at Ayr for the national, managed to get a ticket from a tout. Place is rammed and most of of them steamboats. Hopefully get a winner or two
sorry if this is a silly question but, what is a steamboat in this context? drunk?
Mysteriously the Scottish vocab bag holds many a word/term for the state of being drunk:
Steamboats Steamin' Oot yer tree Oot the game Bleezin' Blitzed Pished Buckled Footered Reekin' Guttered Howlin' Minkit Rat arsed Slaughtered Mingin' Rubbered Wrecked etc
Interesting that the three I posted a little earlier included two not already on your list ...
The article is by an Argentinian and the use of language makes an important point to remind us what they think, even if we don't agree. The Graun uses Falklands just an inch away ...
Weird how this gets so much outrage yet when students get screwed not a peep
The “outrage” is that the inheritances are assumed to be a given and pensioners should cut back on heating or whatever to protect their kids inheritances. Bollocks to that.
They earned the money and should spend it as needed.
Excellent point. Too much of Tory guff today rests on the facile assumption: hey you pensioner, you will assuredly have umpteen £££ to leave to your middle aged children so vote Tory!!
You must be the wrong kind of pensioner (ie not Tory voting) if you don't leave your children anything.
Yup, that’s me. If I’m saving for anything, it’s for enough for Mrs C and I to be comfortable in our Care Home.
Go for the one you are happiest regardless of cost. The local authority won’t move you out if you run out of money
I left it late but am at Ayr for the national, managed to get a ticket from a tout. Place is rammed and most of of them steamboats. Hopefully get a winner or two
sorry if this is a silly question but, what is a steamboat in this context? drunk?
Mysteriously the Scottish vocab bag holds many a word/term for the state of being drunk:
Steamboats Steamin' Oot yer tree Oot the game Bleezin' Blitzed Pished Buckled Footered Reekin' Guttered Howlin' Minkit Rat arsed Slaughtered Mingin' Rubbered Wrecked etc
Interesting that the three I posted a little earlier included two not already on your list ...
I've always like the north eastern one: 'mortal'.
And its variant "mortalic"
"Steamin" comes from the Clyde paddle steamers that were licensed to sell alcohol on Sundays, which many of their male passengers took very full advantage of.
Kremlin: "We bombed the maternity hospital because it was a recruiting center for Azov. But we didn't bomb it, Ukrainians did. Also there were no pregnant women there, just actors. But here's the pregnant woman. She also played the other pregnant woman. The one who actually died"
Weird how this gets so much outrage yet when students get screwed not a peep
The “outrage” is that the inheritances are assumed to be a given and pensioners should cut back on heating or whatever to protect their kids inheritances. Bollocks to that.
They earned the money and should spend it as needed.
Excellent point. Too much of Tory guff today rests on the facile assumption: hey you pensioner, you will assuredly have umpteen £££ to leave to your middle aged children so vote Tory!!
You must be the wrong kind of pensioner (ie not Tory voting) if you don't leave your children anything.
Yup, that’s me. If I’m saving for anything, it’s for enough for Mrs C and I to be comfortable in our Care Home.
Go for the one you are happiest regardless of cost. The local authority won’t move you out if you run out of money
That's another thing that would worry me about downsizing to give money to the children. The LA could presumably regard one as having deliberately divested one's wealth to reduce, or evade, means testing for care home etc costs. Though IANAE.
The article is by an Argentinian and the use of language makes an important point to remind us what they think, even if we don't agree. The Graun uses Falklands just an inch away ...
In what way is the issue not settled? The residents want to be British.
The article is by an Argentinian and the use of language makes an important point to remind us what they think, even if we don't agree. The Graun uses Falklands just an inch away ...
His argument that allowing Argentina's defeat in a war of aggression to settle the matter "would set a dangerous precedent" sounds like something Sergey Lavrov would say.
I left it late but am at Ayr for the national, managed to get a ticket from a tout. Place is rammed and most of of them steamboats. Hopefully get a winner or two
I left it late but am at Ayr for the national, managed to get a ticket from a tout. Place is rammed and most of of them steamboats. Hopefully get a winner or two
I left it late but am at Ayr for the national, managed to get a ticket from a tout. Place is rammed and most of of them steamboats. Hopefully get a winner or two
Good luck Malc
Cheers G, been a hoot I had no cash left all atms broken or empty and they would not let you back in, persuaded steward to let me go to Tesco and got back in. Have had last 3 winners so hoping big one goes well
The article is by an Argentinian and the use of language makes an important point to remind us what they think, even if we don't agree. The Graun uses Falklands just an inch away ...
I love the way the Argenitinian name implicitly recognizes that the Islands should in fact be French.
The article is by an Argentinian and the use of language makes an important point to remind us what they think, even if we don't agree. The Graun uses Falklands just an inch away ...
In what way is the issue not settled? The residents want to be British.
Quite. But it is always good to be aware of people nearby who don't agree. Not paying such things enough attention led to the downsizings that led to the 1980s war.
I left it late but am at Ayr for the national, managed to get a ticket from a tout. Place is rammed and most of of them steamboats. Hopefully get a winner or two
I left it late but am at Ayr for the national, managed to get a ticket from a tout. Place is rammed and most of of them steamboats. Hopefully get a winner or two
I left it late but am at Ayr for the national, managed to get a ticket from a tout. Place is rammed and most of of them steamboats. Hopefully get a winner or two
Good luck Malc
Cheers G, been a hoot I had no cash left all atms broken or empty and they would not let you back in, persuaded steward to let me go to Tesco and got back in. Have had last 3 winners so hoping big one goes well
Have PBers NOT noticed, the news that Santa Claus is a Democratic Socialist.
AND that he's currently member of North Pole, Alaska city council PLUS is running in the June special election for US House (it being Santa's off-season).
Well, a socialist anyway. Opposed to slavery. Gave his wealth to the poor.
The article is by an Argentinian and the use of language makes an important point to remind us what they think, even if we don't agree. The Graun uses Falklands just an inch away ...
I love the way the Argenitinian name implicitly recognizes that the Islands should in fact be French.
The original name being a French name anyway, Les Malouines ... but consider New Holland, New Zealand ...
The article is by an Argentinian and the use of language makes an important point to remind us what they think, even if we don't agree. The Graun uses Falklands just an inch away ...
His argument that allowing Argentina's defeat in a war of aggression to settle the matter "would set a dangerous precedent" sounds like something Sergey Lavrov would say.
I think the problem Argentina has is that after Galtieri threw away 16 years of patient negotiations by a brutal invasion to suit his own purposes he did settle the sovereignty question. Just not in Argentina's favour.
I'm assuming, incidentally, that that article is to distract from his recent unfortunate attempt at speaking English - which was not entirely his fault, as the translator failed to turn up, leaving him stuck - but which led to him calling a journalist a 'dickhead' for criticising him.
one Hunter Biden made in his craft workshop after the paintings? ok probably not but what is it?
also
"small-to-large calibre non-standard ammunition"
hmmmm
Ukrainian - "What's this?" Advisor - "It's a rifle in .950 JDJ" Ukrainian - "What's it for" Advisor - "The larger kind of angry mutant dinosaurs. Blue whales. That sort of thing..."
Have PBers NOT noticed, the news that Santa Claus is a Democratic Socialist.
AND that he's currently member of North Pole, Alaska city council PLUS is running in the June special election for US House (it being Santa's off-season).
Well, a socialist anyway. Opposed to slavery. Gave his wealth to the poor.
Comments
I'm imagining a Russia where the leadership prioritises national success over personal theft. I'd suggest that is a possible reaction to a defeat in Ukraine.
The modern equivalent would be if the PBTories got ideas about kidnapping Welsh Methodists and pagans - anyone not in the C of E - and lopped off their wollocks before sending them to one of those services schools.
The UK did 84,000 on the basis they could pack 12,000 a day for 1 week
They earned the money and should spend it as needed.
You must be the wrong kind of pensioner (ie not Tory voting) if you don't leave your children anything.
My assumption is that most of the figures have been rounded. The UK is said to have supplied 84,000 helmets, but I reckon if they had another 34 helmets at the end of the last day of packing, and room to pack them, that we would have actually sent 84,034 helmets (or equally, a small number of helmets might have been identified as defective during the process of packing, and so we might precisely have sent 83,956 helmets).
But it will be one hell of a holiday to compensate for the PITA that is equity release!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lauren_Boebert
In the Elan Cane case Lord Reed said this: "In relation to the second issue, the importance of a consensus within the
Council of Europe is readily understood. Courts, including the European court, are expert in adjudication. They do not, on the other hand, possess the capacity, the resources, or the democratic credentials to be well-suited to social policy-making. When adjudication by the European court requires it to consider questions of social policy, it accordingly finds guidance in a consensus on the part of the contracting states, and is cautious before embarking on such policy-making in the absence of a consensus."
Definitely an echo of Sumption there. Had that always been the case I suspect that we would not be having this debate. But I not sure that could even have been said to be the case in the Supreme Court under Baroness Hale. I am not confident that will be the case in the future.
"Together they founded Shooters Grill, a restaurant in Rifle, Colorado, where staff members are encouraged to openly carry firearms."
https://twitter.com/Ogra_SF/status/1509896714949431299
Changes to student loan repayment terms represent the single biggest change in the public finances compared to the last Budget.
https://inews.co.uk/news/rishi-sunak-money-graduates-student-loan-changes-treasury-1535563
It dwarfs the other changes, but it only affects youngish people who had the temerity to go to Uni, so who gives a stuff?
They expected to take 2 weeks, and did it in 8 days
The I is comparing £35bn over 5 years with £12bn a year, and declaring the £35bn to be immensely greater.
Journalist complains to Editor about headline writers higher wages.
Journalist despatched to Essex to write about Library closures.
After his copy is ready to run, Editor summons journalist to see headline it is running under:
Book Lack in Ongar
It is possible,
Russia is keen to do anything that might distract some Ukrainians, at lest for a short time, so perhaps, publicly marching around the few troops they have in the area might help.
or
Moldova might be eyeing an reoccupation of the regain, seeing a moment of weakness, and perhaps, some western support. and the Russians in Transnistria are preparing for that.
or something else, e.g. routemen biasness in Transnistria, but being misinterpreted.
This makes it really hard to know who is 'winning' - the maps of land held only capture the success metric of one side; the lists of percentage of war materiel attritted only capture the success metric of the other.
My own bias is that warfare is evolving to smaller, deadly weapons operated by smaller, semi-autonomous units but with coordinated swarming capability.
On the issue of air defence, the various options for helping the Ukrainians have been gamed by the US. The universal conclusion is that the numbers of aircraft that could be offered given NATO stocks would not have a big impact on controlling the skies. Whereas longer-range artillery, longer-range anti-aircraft capabilities, and anti-ship capabilities could have a huge impact on protecting both Ukraine's civilian population and its military operations, and tanks and armoured vehicles will increase their capacity to take back occupied land.
The former Republican VP candidate's announcement came minutes before the Alaska special election filing deadline.
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/04/01/sarah-palin-announces-run-for-congress-00022538
Former Republican vice-presidential candidate and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin on Friday announced she’s running to fill the House seat held by the late Rep. Don Young.
Her announcement came about 45 minutes before the filing deadline to enter into the special election, throwing Palin into a crowded field of nearly 40 candidates to fill the seat held by Young, who died last month. Young was the GOP’s longest-serving congressman in history.
alin’s website on Friday said “Sarah Is Running For Congress!” and asked for support. She also filed a statement of candidacy with the FEC to get her name on the ballot for Alaska’s special election’s primary scheduled for June 11. The top four candidates will advance to the general election on Aug. 16.
The move comes after Palin spoke with former President Donald Trump last week, according to two people familiar with the conversation. Trump encouraged the Alaska Republican to run for Congress . . .
Also how much media can they get, the area is quite/very poor so perhaps not may have internet access, and I think almost all weather Russian Ukrainian, Moldovan, almost all speak Russian, this also goes for the Belarusian, and Greeks who are the other 2 smaller populations in Transnistria.
I dont think there has been any poling in Transnistria, but would like to see any if there is.
Ukraine needs - and has requested - both longer range AA missile systems, and more aircraft.
https://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/sndns3603
https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/history/glasgow-steamer-river-clyde-cruise-17583484
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXnjQmoV2D8
Steamboats
Steamin'
Oot yer tree
Oot the game
Bleezin'
Blitzed
Pished
Buckled
Footered
Reekin'
Guttered
Howlin'
Minkit
Rat arsed
Slaughtered
Mingin'
Rubbered
Wrecked
etc
https://twitter.com/AllieHBNews/status/1510003473097580553?s=20&t=7-6w1X1lZ5gdaeEso2RJ6g
Illia Ponomarenko 🇺🇦
@IAPonomarenko
·
2h
🇺🇦Ukraine’s military: up to 75 Russian battalion tactical groups involved in the Ukraine campaign, up to 34 BTGs are being restored, 16 BTGs have been totally destroyed.
Ukraine is already using (for example) a NATO standard battlefield information system.
https://twitter.com/paulmcleary/status/1510048726940803075
"R.I.P. Antonov An-225 Mriya."
https://twitter.com/IAPonomarenko/status/1509987506372198409?s=20&t=79ZMfNv0-J_AumVxwybcHA
Like West Bridgford to Nottingham - a recalcitrant slice on the other side of the river
Darth Putin
@DarthPutinKGB
·
3h
Day 38 of my 3 day war. My army advances backwards after a glorious defeat in Kiev
Alaska special election primary for US House on June 11 is all vote-by-mail. Because logistically there's no other option for organizing & conducting it as required by state law.
Governor tried to get the legislature to change the law to replace top four June primary and ranked-choice August election (coinciding with the regular state primary) with a winner-take-all election for the remainder of the late Don Young's term which ends next January. But no dice.
(I have heard numbers from 95 to 115 BTGs, which would make it just impressive instead of OMFG impressive.)
Oryx now up to 389 Russian tanks lost, BTW - 204 abandoned or captured....
https://www.oryxspioenkop.com/2022/02/attack-on-europe-documenting-equipment.html
https://www.adn.com/politics/2022/04/01/51-candidates-a-wild-us-house-race-takes-shape-in-alaska/
A field of more than 50 candidates has filed to run in the special election to fill Alaska’s lone U.S. House seat, in a slate that includes former Gov. Sarah Palin, Santa Claus, current and former lawmakers, a homebuilder and his brother.
The number of candidates is more than twice as large as that seen in any other primary in the state’s history, and greater than the number of mushers who ran this year’s Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.
The 51 candidates continued to stream in until the 5 p.m. Friday deadline, two weeks after the sudden death of Don Young, the state’s congressman of 49 years. Some of the candidates were proteges of Young; others were rivals. And their experience runs the gamut from political novices to veterans of statewide campaigns.
Watching the candidate list balloon on Friday was something of a jaw-dropper, with new candidates — known and unknown — appearing with each Division of Elections update. By the end of the day, Alaskans were looking at an election — actually, an upcoming series of them — unlike anything seen before, with dozens of candidates, a statewide mail-in primary and the implementation of ranked-choice voting, which fundamentally changes the way elections work here.
Ultimately, the list included Palin, Republican state Sen. Josh Revak, former Republican state Sen. John Coghill, former Republican Interior Department official Tara Sweeney, independent orthopedic surgeon Al Gross, Democratic Anchorage Assembly member Christopher Constant, former Republican lawmaker Andrew Halcro, former Democratic state legislator Mary Sattler Peltola, Alaska Native leader Emil Notti, Democratic state Rep. Adam Wool and attorney and gardening columnist Jeff Lowenfels. And Santa Claus, a self-described Democratic socialist who currently sits on the city council of North Pole, outside Fairbanks.
‘I didn’t expect that in a million years’
Palin, who ran unsuccessfully for vice president before resigning as Alaska’s governor in 2009, filed late Friday for both the special election to replace Young and the regular election in November.
“Public service is a calling, and I would be honored to represent the men and women of Alaska in Congress, just as Rep. Young did for 49 years,” Palin said on Facebook. . .
SSI - I urge PBers to check out this story, some great pixs of Sarah Palin plus don't forget the other 50 hopefuls!
one Hunter Biden made in his craft workshop after the paintings? ok probably not but what is it?
AND that he's currently member of North Pole, Alaska city council PLUS is running in the June special election for US House (it being Santa's off-season).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Nicholas#Generosity_and_travels
They say people, not occupiers must set rules.
Yet today they deliberately use "Malvinas" not Falklands on anniversary of a war that killed 255 Brits settling that issue.
https://twitter.com/MrHarryCole/status/1510229226406006787?s=20&t=YeGiurfncGLG-F8sqC2DVw
"Steamin" comes from the Clyde paddle steamers that were licensed to sell alcohol on Sundays, which many of their male passengers took very full advantage of.
Kremlin: "We bombed the maternity hospital because it was a recruiting center for Azov. But we didn't bomb it, Ukrainians did. Also there were no pregnant women there, just actors. But here's the pregnant woman. She also played the other pregnant woman. The one who actually died"
https://twitter.com/christogrozev/status/1510259539093987331
I'm assuming, incidentally, that that article is to distract from his recent unfortunate attempt at speaking English - which was not entirely his fault, as the translator failed to turn up, leaving him stuck - but which led to him calling a journalist a 'dickhead' for criticising him.
https://batimes.com.ar/news/opinion-and-analysis/communication-diplomacy-and-dickheads.phtml
"small-to-large calibre non-standard ammunition"
hmmmm
Ukrainian - "What's this?"
Advisor - "It's a rifle in .950 JDJ"
Ukrainian - "What's it for"
Advisor - "The larger kind of angry mutant dinosaurs. Blue whales. That sort of thing..."