F1: from BBC gossip, it seems that the German deal expires this year and there's a chance it'll just fall off the calendar. Weirdly low attendance numbers (although Hockenheim isn't the greatest circuit, that doesn't stop Singapore working) given the large amount of German success with both teams and drivers.
The clearest cut cases last time for a personal vote that I spotted while putting this map together were Rob Marris in Wolverhampton South West and Paul Scully in Sutton & Cheam. Mhairi Black also relatively bucked the trend sharply.
Most other meaningful swings could be largely explained through other means.
I backed Labour at 14-1 to win back Black's seat, I was not happy!
Yep - anyone hoping for the kind of US backing of the UK that would have been automatic from any other American president after a Russian attack on British soil that may have had as many as 500 victims will be sorely disappointed. But, hey, the bloke’s put a Churchill bust in the Oval Office and he’s not an uppity African, so all is well.
The US Secretary of State from the Trump administration strongly condemned the Russian attack this morning.
Where's the tweet of condemnation from Trump? If there had been the slightest suspicion of a muslim connection he'd have been all over it, as we all know!
F1: from BBC gossip, it seems that the German deal expires this year and there's a chance it'll just fall off the calendar. Weirdly low attendance numbers (although Hockenheim isn't the greatest circuit, that doesn't stop Singapore working) given the large amount of German success with both teams and drivers.
The German attendance has fallen dramatically since Schumacher was winning everything a decade ago, despite Vettel and Mercedes enjoying recent successes. Both Hockenheim and Nurburg are in the middle of nowhere, and the tracks have both been somewhat shortened and sanitised over the years.
Singapore works for the same reasons Monaco does, they are showcase events even if the racing is less than exciting. I remember Murray Walker commenting 25 years ago that if there wasn't already a GP in Monaco it's unlikely they'd allow one now - but it's still there!
F1: from BBC gossip, it seems that the German deal expires this year and there's a chance it'll just fall off the calendar. Weirdly low attendance numbers (although Hockenheim isn't the greatest circuit, that doesn't stop Singapore working) given the large amount of German success with both teams and drivers.
The German attendance has fallen dramatically since Schumacher was winning everything a decade ago, despite Vettel and Mercedes enjoying recent successes. Both Hockenheim and Nurburg are in the middle of nowhere, and the tracks have both been somewhat shortened and sanitised over the years.
Singapore works for the same reasons Monaco does, they are showcase events even if the racing is less than exciting. I remember Murray Walker commenting 25 years ago that if there wasn't already a GP in Monaco it's unlikely they'd allow one now - but it's still there!
What is interesting is that the German Motogp event at the Sausagering Sachesenring is very well attended. It's one of the more interesting circuits on the calendar and usually produces good racing.
Yep - anyone hoping for the kind of US backing of the UK that would have been automatic from any other American president after a Russian attack on British soil that may have had as many as 500 victims will be sorely disappointed. But, hey, the bloke’s put a Churchill bust in the Oval Office and he’s not an uppity African, so all is well.
The US Secretary of State from the Trump administration strongly condemned the Russian attack this morning.
Where's the tweet of condemnation from Trump? If there had been the slightest suspicion of a muslim connection he'd have been all over it, as we all know!
The Secretary of State has made quite clear the administration's position and Trump has tweeted on how a new report has shown there was not the collusion with Russia some accused his campaign of
We have the most anti-UK leader of the opposition in living memory at the same time as the most anti-UK American president. What are the odds?
This would be the same US President who backed Brexit after his predecessor said the UK would 'go to the back of the queue' by voting Leave and who restored the bust of Winston Churchill his predecessor removed?
Corbyn is anti West and anti capitalist rather than anti UK as such, he still technically backs the Union with Scotland and Wales for example albeit in part because there are a majority of non Tory MPs in both countries
Yep, like Putin Trump backed Brexit. Funny that. As you point out, putting a bust of Churchill in the Oval Office has bought an awful lot of leeway for a US president who imposes trade sanctions on the UK and remains silent when the Russians launch an attack on British soil that may have affected up to 500 people and left a number in critical condition.
Has Putin offered us a trade deal like Trump? No. Putin also backed Corbyn and Tsipras.
It is also not yet certain we will get tariffs beyond those we already face on steel exports to the US, it is Mexican and Brazilian and Chinese and EU imports Trump is focused on reducing.
As stated the Secretary of State of the Trump administration strongly condemned the Russian attack this morning and promised the UK the administration's full support.
What trade deal has Trump offered us?
He has offered us a deal terms to be negotiated which is more than can be said for Putin
We have the most anti-UK leader of the opposition in living memory at the same time as the most anti-UK American president. What are the odds?
This would be the same US President who backed Brexit after his predecessor said the UK would 'go to the back of the queue' by voting Leave and who restored the bust of Winston Churchill his predecessor removed?
Corbyn is anti West and anti capitalist rather than anti UK as such, he still technically backs the Union with Scotland and Wales for example albeit in part because there are a majority of non Tory MPs in both countries
Yep, like Putin Trump backed Brexit. Funny that. As you point out, putting a bust of Churchill in the Oval Office has bought an awful lot of leeway for a US president who imposes trade sanctions on the UK and remains silent when the Russians launch an attack on British soil that may have affected up to 500 people and left a number in critical condition.
Has Putin offered us a trade deal like Trump? No. Putin also backed Corbyn and Tsipras.
It is also not yet certain we will get tariffs beyond those we already face on steel exports to the US, it is Mexican and Brazilian and Chinese and EU imports Trump is focused on reducing.
As stated the Secretary of State of the Trump administration strongly condemned the Russian attack this morning and promised the UK the administration's full support.
On the other hand, if Mercedes are that fast it looks nice for the Bottas bet. Be nice if he won the first race.
Yes, I'm liking the Bottas e/w bet, but am waiting to see everyone's true pace in Australia qualifying first. Not usually a strong Mercedes track in Melbourne, but Lewis was a quarter of a second clear of Vettel and Bottas last year on Saturday.
Mr. Sandpit, think I said this in my last blog, but if Mercedes dominate in Oz, then that may well be the season done and dusted.
Bit tempted to back Bottas more at 11, but I've already put down enough, I think. If he won the first race, I'd hedge, on the basis the win's unlikely and it'd pay out (the hedge) for top 3 as well.
Still, maybe we're all wrong. Aldo Costa reckons there'll be three at the sharp end, though the gaps are hard to tell.
F1: from BBC gossip, it seems that the German deal expires this year and there's a chance it'll just fall off the calendar. Weirdly low attendance numbers (although Hockenheim isn't the greatest circuit, that doesn't stop Singapore working) given the large amount of German success with both teams and drivers.
The German attendance has fallen dramatically since Schumacher was winning everything a decade ago, despite Vettel and Mercedes enjoying recent successes. Both Hockenheim and Nurburg are in the middle of nowhere, and the tracks have both been somewhat shortened and sanitised over the years.
Singapore works for the same reasons Monaco does, they are showcase events even if the racing is less than exciting. I remember Murray Walker commenting 25 years ago that if there wasn't already a GP in Monaco it's unlikely they'd allow one now - but it's still there!
What is interesting is that the German Motogp event at the Sausagering Sachesenring is very well attended. It's one of the more interesting circuits on the calendar and usually produces good racing.
Sachsenring has an anomalously high mu surface which can confound traction control systems leading to excitement. However, it's also an anti-clockwise circuit and therefore a killing field for Marc Marquez (won the last 5 in a row).
So has any concrete proof yet been offered that the Russian government was responsible for the bizarre failure to kill two people with so-called nerve agents then?
The official story has more holes than an Aberdeen fisherman's nets.
Or are we all happy to bang along the drums to our already massively discredited feral overlords' latest attempt to whip up sentiment against whatever the current official state enemy may be (we have always been at war with Eurasia)?
Amazing to see grown men and women acting like kids cheering for their favourite WWF wrestler.
So has any concrete proof yet been offered that the Russian government was responsible for the bizarre failure to kill two people with so-called nerve agents then?
The official story has more holes than an Aberdeen fisherman's nets.
Or are we all happy to bang along the drums to our already massively discredited feral overlords' latest attempt to whip up sentiment against whatever the current official state enemy may be (we have always been at war with Eurasia)?
Amazing to see grown men and women acting like kids cheering for their favourite WWF wrestler.
As a matter if interest, what do you think happened to Malaysia Flight 17 ?
So has any concrete proof yet been offered that the Russian government was responsible for the bizarre failure to kill two people with so-called nerve agents then?
The official story has more holes than an Aberdeen fisherman's nets.
Or are we all happy to bang along the drums to our already massively discredited feral overlords' latest attempt to whip up sentiment against whatever the current official state enemy may be (we have always been at war with Eurasia)?
Amazing to see grown men and women acting like kids cheering for their favourite WWF wrestler.
Wow.
Funnily enough the security services and police are not sharing sensitive information with the general public.
When the PM says it's 'highly likely' Russia was involved in a case like this, I for one believe her. To believe otherwise leads to madness and conspiracy theories.
So has any concrete proof yet been offered that the Russian government was responsible for the bizarre failure to kill two people with so-called nerve agents then?
The official story has more holes than an Aberdeen fisherman's nets.
Or are we all happy to bang along the drums to our already massively discredited feral overlords' latest attempt to whip up sentiment against whatever the current official state enemy may be (we have always been at war with Eurasia)?
Amazing to see grown men and women acting like kids cheering for their favourite WWF wrestler.
“So called nerve agents”... priceless... You’ll be first in the queue then for the trial to prove that the substance in question merely has a placebo effect...
We have the most anti-UK leader of the opposition in living memory at the same time as the most anti-UK American president. What are the odds?
This would be the same US President who backed Brexit after his predecessor said the UK would 'go to the back of the queue' by voting Leave and who restored the bust of Winston Churchill his predecessor removed?
Corbyn is anti West and anti capitalist rather than anti UK as such, he still technically backs the Union with Scotland and Wales for example albeit in part because there are a majority of non Tory MPs in both countries
Yep, like Putin Trump backed Brexit. Funny that. As you point out, putting a bust of Churchill in the Oval Office has bought an awful lot of leeway for a US president who imposes trade sanctions on the UK and remains silent when the Russians launch an attack on British soil that may have affected up to 500 people and left a number in critical condition.
Has Putin offered us a trade deal like Trump? No. Putin also backed Corbyn and Tsipras.
It is also not yet certain we will get tariffs beyond those we already face on steel exports to the US, it is Mexican and Brazilian and Chinese and EU imports Trump is focused on reducing.
As stated the Secretary of State of the Trump administration strongly condemned the Russian attack this morning and promised the UK the administration's full support.
What trade deal has Trump offered us?
He has offered us a deal terms to be negotiated which is more than can be said for Putin
No deal is better than a bad deal, as someone once said.
So has any concrete proof yet been offered that the Russian government was responsible for the bizarre failure to kill two people with so-called nerve agents then?
The official story has more holes than an Aberdeen fisherman's nets.
Or are we all happy to bang along the drums to our already massively discredited feral overlords' latest attempt to whip up sentiment against whatever the current official state enemy may be (we have always been at war with Eurasia)?
Amazing to see grown men and women acting like kids cheering for their favourite WWF wrestler.
As a matter if interest, what do you think happened to Malaysia Flight 17 ?
mate, I'm more interested in his views on Lord Lucan.
I doubt very much if people who spend so much time away from the Commons (including missing a key vote to take a birthday holiday) will fare well next time. As May found out the voters don't like being taken for granted.
The key thing about Skinner has always been his dedication (although it's decreasing as he ages). The current crop of left wingers come across as shallow and self-indulgent by comparison and in a direct comparison it's hard to believe they wouldn't suffer.
That's not to say Bolsover is vulnerable just to say I think it's not quite as safe as Alistair assumed.
To the original discussion I sort of feel like you've ended up at an argument that sort of agrees with my original point. If O'Mara and Pidcock were not elected for their personal vote but managed to increase the Labour vote share then Labour selecting someone like O'Mara or Pidcock is hardly likely to be a bigger negative than them replacing Skinner with someone else, it'll be a loss whoever but no more for it being someone left wing.
I think considering recent elections the idea that Labour voters are crying out for those good old centrist politicians rather than these dastardly left wingers is a little unlikely regardless of your personal opinions of left wingers.
It is true personal votes matter less than was once thought. Look at Twickenham.
But Skinner is a possible exception because he has been there so long and has hammered things around himself to such a degree.
(I don't think he would thank you for calling him a centrist either. Indeed the whole premise of my argument was that Labour would put a young left winger in to replace him as candidate, which is why it matters that with rare exceptions they come across as patronising and lazy idiots.)
Am I right in thinking that the demographics in Bolsover are changing. After all, there are no mines there any more, so any ‘miners’ are former or retired.
Bolsover has cheap housing and the M1 running through it so an increasing number of commuters north to Sheffield or south to Nottingham-Derby.
There are also new housing developments bringing in outsiders:
' Imagine a stunning new home in a picturesque location with every convenience nearby. That’s the idyllic setting of Cavendish Grange, bringing new houses for sale in Chesterfield.
Located off Oxcroft Lane in the charming historic town of Bolsover, Cavendish Grange offers a collection of beautifully designed 4 bedroom detached homes bursting with individuality and character. '
So has any concrete proof yet been offered that the Russian government was responsible for the bizarre failure to kill two people with so-called nerve agents then?
So you are expecting the security services to trot along and outline all the information they had received from confidential sources and national technical means ?
So has any concrete proof yet been offered that the Russian government was responsible for the bizarre failure to kill two people with so-called nerve agents then?
The official story has more holes than an Aberdeen fisherman's nets.
Or are we all happy to bang along the drums to our already massively discredited feral overlords' latest attempt to whip up sentiment against whatever the current official state enemy may be (we have always been at war with Eurasia)?
Amazing to see grown men and women acting like kids cheering for their favourite WWF wrestler.
So has any concrete proof yet been offered that the Russian government was responsible for the bizarre failure to kill two people with so-called nerve agents then?
The official story has more holes than an Aberdeen fisherman's nets.
Or are we all happy to bang along the drums to our already massively discredited feral overlords' latest attempt to whip up sentiment against whatever the current official state enemy may be (we have always been at war with Eurasia)?
Amazing to see grown men and women acting like kids cheering for their favourite WWF wrestler.
As a matter if interest, what do you think happened to Malaysia Flight 17 ?
I've read similar stories of foreign students expecting London Metropolitan to be a prestigious university.
The one I do have some sympathy for was the oxford one where the tutor went on Sabbatical towards the end of the degree and he got a relatively junior academic, if not PhD, for the crunch period.
That's tending towards negligence and there's a key action, or absence of an action, in there.
So has any concrete proof yet been offered that the Russian government was responsible for the bizarre failure to kill two people with so-called nerve agents then?
The official story has more holes than an Aberdeen fisherman's nets.
Or are we all happy to bang along the drums to our already massively discredited feral overlords' latest attempt to whip up sentiment against whatever the current official state enemy may be (we have always been at war with Eurasia)?
Amazing to see grown men and women acting like kids cheering for their favourite WWF wrestler.
Syka blyat'... unbelievable.
Cyka blyat, dear boy. But you're not wrong in your sentiment.
So has any concrete proof yet been offered that the Russian government was responsible for the bizarre failure to kill two people with so-called nerve agents then?
The official story has more holes than an Aberdeen fisherman's nets.
Or are we all happy to bang along the drums to our already massively discredited feral overlords' latest attempt to whip up sentiment against whatever the current official state enemy may be (we have always been at war with Eurasia)?
Amazing to see grown men and women acting like kids cheering for their favourite WWF wrestler.
As a matter if interest, what do you think happened to Malaysia Flight 17 ?
So has any concrete proof yet been offered that the Russian government was responsible for the bizarre failure to kill two people with so-called nerve agents then?
The official story has more holes than an Aberdeen fisherman's nets.
Or are we all happy to bang along the drums to our already massively discredited feral overlords' latest attempt to whip up sentiment against whatever the current official state enemy may be (we have always been at war with Eurasia)?
Amazing to see grown men and women acting like kids cheering for their favourite WWF wrestler.
As a matter if interest, what do you think happened to Malaysia Flight 17 ?
Yes, lets all trust Mrs May. After all its not as though we have all been spun an endless stream of mistruths by our security services over the last couple of decades (has everyone really forgotten the 45 minutes thing?)
Personally I hold no candle at all for Putin, though I think he has done the world a massive service by wiping out a vast horde of Tory-backed extremist jihadis from all over the world in Syria (if only the Soviets had managed similar back in Afghanistan). I also think that a multipolar world is far safer than one where a neocon-controlled US and their lapdogs here can run rampant across the globe for their own financial gain.
However, if one has the slightest bit of objectivity it is clear to see that we are a few years into a blanket demonisation campaign directed from the shadier parts of the transatlantic security establishment.
The looming destruction of the Tory-backed terrorists in East Ghouta is making them go particularly insane. The yanks are desperate to hit Damascus to save their jihadi forces and they can't because of the Russians. This kind of thing is why Russia is public enemy number one, not some murky attempted assassination for which the official story makes no sense whatsoever.
Still waiting for someone to explain how an attack with a supposedly extremely powerful nerve agent has so far yet to have killed a single person.
So has any concrete proof yet been offered that the Russian government was responsible for the bizarre failure to kill two people with so-called nerve agents then?
The official story has more holes than an Aberdeen fisherman's nets.
Or are we all happy to bang along the drums to our already massively discredited feral overlords' latest attempt to whip up sentiment against whatever the current official state enemy may be (we have always been at war with Eurasia)?
Amazing to see grown men and women acting like kids cheering for their favourite WWF wrestler.
As a matter if interest, what do you think happened to Malaysia Flight 17 ?
It was destroyed by Mossad.
No, Finchley Road was behind it.
Is that where the lizards live, or is that another one?
Anyway, Salisbury didn't actually happen, psychogenic chemtrails caused a mass hallucination, which has been exploited by the OWG by manipulating mobile phone signals to make us more suggestible. Or summat.
So has any concrete proof yet been offered that the Russian government was responsible for the bizarre failure to kill two people with so-called nerve agents then?
The official story has more holes than an Aberdeen fisherman's nets.
Or are we all happy to bang along the drums to our already massively discredited feral overlords' latest attempt to whip up sentiment against whatever the current official state enemy may be (we have always been at war with Eurasia)?
Amazing to see grown men and women acting like kids cheering for their favourite WWF wrestler.
Syka blyat'... unbelievable.
Cyka blyat, dear boy. But you're not wrong in your sentiment.
Syka starts with a Cyrillic 'С' which is transliterated as 'S' in most Roman alphabet languages. You need the ' on the end to represent the myagkii znak 'soft sign' otherwise the pronunciation will be wrong.
Yes, being sceptical of self-serving narratives by demonstrably dishonest politicians and a completely discredited security establishment is exactly the same as believing in chemtrails, thanks for bringing the quality of discourse back down to that of the aged two-year olds who inhabit this site.
Yes, lets all trust Mrs May. After all its not as though we have all been spun an endless stream of mistruths by our security services over the last couple of decades (has everyone really forgotten the 45 minutes thing?)
Personally I hold no candle at all for Putin, though I think he has done the world a massive service by wiping out a vast horde of Tory-backed extremist jihadis from all over the world in Syria (if only the Soviets had managed similar back in Afghanistan). I also think that a multipolar world is far safer than one where a neocon-controlled US and their lapdogs here can run rampant across the globe for their own financial gain.
However, if one has the slightest bit of objectivity it is clear to see that we are a few years into a blanket demonisation campaign directed from the shadier parts of the transatlantic security establishment.
The looming destruction of the Tory-backed terrorists in East Ghouta is making them go particularly insane. The yanks are desperate to hit Damascus to save their jihadi forces and they can't because of the Russians. This kind of thing is why Russia is public enemy number one, not some murky attempted assassination for which the official story makes no sense whatsoever.
Still waiting for someone to explain how an attack with a supposedly extremely powerful nerve agent has so far yet to have killed a single person.
I just feel pity now. I hope one day you'll see the world for how it is, and not how a dark and miserable corner of the internet says it is.
Yes, lets all trust Mrs May. After all its not as though we have all been spun an endless stream of mistruths by our security services over the last couple of decades (has everyone really forgotten the 45 minutes thing?)
Personally I hold no candle at all for Putin, though I think he has done the world a massive service by wiping out a vast horde of Tory-backed extremist jihadis from all over the world in Syria (if only the Soviets had managed similar back in Afghanistan). I also think that a multipolar world is far safer than one where a neocon-controlled US and their lapdogs here can run rampant across the globe for their own financial gain.
However, if one has the slightest bit of objectivity it is clear to see that we are a few years into a blanket demonisation campaign directed from the shadier parts of the transatlantic security establishment.
The looming destruction of the Tory-backed terrorists in East Ghouta is making them go particularly insane. The yanks are desperate to hit Damascus to save their jihadi forces and they can't because of the Russians. This kind of thing is why Russia is public enemy number one, not some murky attempted assassination for which the official story makes no sense whatsoever.
Still waiting for someone to explain how an attack with a supposedly extremely powerful nerve agent has so far yet to have killed a single person.
I just feel pity now. I hope one day you'll see the world for how it is, and not how a dark and miserable corner of the internet says it is.
Fancy actually tackling the substance of my assertions rather than resorting to playground-level debate? Sorry for rousing you out of your cosy faux-patriotic slumber (in fact the Tories are the least patriotic of all our political parties, abject traitors to everything that makes this country great).
Syka starts with a Cyrillic 'С' which is transliterated as 'S' in most Roman alphabet languages. You need the ' on the end to represent the myagkii znak 'soft sign' otherwise the pronunciation will be wrong.
Huh. I'm quite sure your translation/transliteration is technically the correct one. The gaming meme uses the corrupted version starting with a 'c'. It may be wrong, but it's fairly commonplace.
I just feel pity now. I hope one day you'll see the world for how it is, and not how a dark and miserable corner of the internet says it is.
Fancy actually tackling the substance of my assertions rather than resorting to playground-level debate? Sorry for rousing you out of your cosy faux-patriotic slumber (in fact the Tories are the least patriotic of all our political parties, abject traitors to everything that makes this country great).
"Substance" - very funny. Anyway, you are simply not worth the effort. Try someone else.
Syka starts with a Cyrillic 'С' which is transliterated as 'S' in most Roman alphabet languages. You need the ' on the end to represent the myagkii znak 'soft sign' otherwise the pronunciation will be wrong.
Huh. I'm quite sure your translation/transliteration is technically the correct one. The gaming meme uses the corrupted version starting with a 'c'. It may be wrong, but it's fairly commonplace.
My expertise in Russian swearing comes from living and working in Russia for 9 years not playing PUBG.
I've read similar stories of foreign students expecting London Metropolitan to be a prestigious university.
The one I do have some sympathy for was the oxford one where the tutor went on Sabbatical towards the end of the degree and he got a relatively junior academic, if not PhD, for the crunch period.
That's tending towards negligence and there's a key action, or absence of an action, in there.
In this context I wonder if I should be embarrassed to confess that I’ve got an Anglia Ruskin MA. It was very late in life though, and didn’t really affect my job or job prospects. TBH, too, I wasn’t that impressed with some of the teaching.
Used to be known as Anglia Polytechnic Uni; Almost a Proper University. Now Anglia Ruskin: Almost a Real University!
Syka starts with a Cyrillic 'С' which is transliterated as 'S' in most Roman alphabet languages. You need the ' on the end to represent the myagkii znak 'soft sign' otherwise the pronunciation will be wrong.
Huh. I'm quite sure your translation/transliteration is technically the correct one. The gaming meme uses the corrupted version starting with a 'c'. It may be wrong, but it's fairly commonplace.
My expertise in Russian swearing comes from living and working in Russia for 9 years not playing PUBG.
Fair enough. It may be an increasingly useful skill.
So May made a threat. Does anyone know what she has in mind? The World Cup boycott is silly and self-defeating, expelling a few diplomats would be weak. What is she going to do?
Yes, lets all trust Mrs May. After all its not as though we have all been spun an endless stream of mistruths by our security services over the last couple of decades (has everyone really forgotten the 45 minutes thing?)
Personally I hold no candle at all for Putin, though I think he has done the world a massive service by wiping out a vast horde of Tory-backed extremist jihadis from all over the world in Syria (if only the Soviets had managed similar back in Afghanistan). I also think that a multipolar world is far safer than one where a neocon-controlled US and their lapdogs here can run rampant across the globe for their own financial gain.
However, if one has the slightest bit of objectivity it is clear to see that we are a few years into a blanket demonisation campaign directed from the shadier parts of the transatlantic security establishment.
The looming destruction of the Tory-backed terrorists in East Ghouta is making them go particularly insane. The yanks are desperate to hit Damascus to save their jihadi forces and they can't because of the Russians. This kind of thing is why Russia is public enemy number one, not some murky attempted assassination for which the official story makes no sense whatsoever.
Still waiting for someone to explain how an attack with a supposedly extremely powerful nerve agent has so far yet to have killed a single person.
I just feel pity now. I hope one day you'll see the world for how it is, and not how a dark and miserable corner of the internet says it is.
Fancy actually tackling the substance of my assertions rather than resorting to playground-level debate? Sorry for rousing you out of your cosy faux-patriotic slumber (in fact the Tories are the least patriotic of all our political parties, abject traitors to everything that makes this country great).
It’s healthy to be skeptical of what the government tells us. And May was not unequivocal - “highly likely” is not “100% certain”.
But complaining about the neo-cons and their lapdogs doesn’t exactly make you sound sane.
Russia is a kleptocracy where opponents have a habit of being disappeared. It is moral blindness to advocate for that kind of regime. Sadly, very common these days on both left and right. You’re position is not in fact far off Farage’s.
Yes, lets all trust Mrs May. After all its not as though we have all been spun an endless stream of mistruths by our security services over the last couple of decades (has everyone really forgotten the 45 minutes thing?)
Personally I hold no candle at all for Putin, though I think he has done the world a massive service by wiping out a vast horde of Tory-backed extremist jihadis from all over the world in Syria (if only the Soviets had managed similar back in Afghanistan). I also think that a multipolar world is far safer than one where a neocon-controlled US and their lapdogs here can run rampant across the globe for their own financial gain.
However, if one has the slightest bit of objectivity it is clear to see that we are a few years into a blanket demonisation campaign directed from the shadier parts of the transatlantic security establishment.
The looming destruction of the Tory-backed terrorists in East Ghouta is making them go particularly insane. The yanks are desperate to hit Damascus to save their jihadi forces and they can't because of the Russians. This kind of thing is why Russia is public enemy number one, not some murky attempted assassination for which the official story makes no sense whatsoever.
Still waiting for someone to explain how an attack with a supposedly extremely powerful nerve agent has so far yet to have killed a single person.
I just feel pity now. I hope one day you'll see the world for how it is, and not how a dark and miserable corner of the internet says it is.
Fancy actually tackling the substance of my assertions rather than resorting to playground-level debate? Sorry for rousing you out of your cosy faux-patriotic slumber (in fact the Tories are the least patriotic of all our political parties, abject traitors to everything that makes this country great).
Still waiting for someone to explain how an attack with a supposedly extremely powerful nerve agent has so far yet to have killed a single person.
Well, being discovered just six miles from one of the best facilities in the world for dealing with nerve agents might have helped.
How lies the snow in Moscow, comrade? Or can you not see outside from your troll farm bunker?
I doubt the proximity to Porton Down helped the two initial victims much, at least initially.
It's much more likely to be incompetent delivery. If you remember the Litvinenko (sp?) case, the agents who delivered it were utterly incompetent, and it took them a couple of goes - and in the process they left a radioactive trail across London.
IAAAFFBAEAIIPTG, but may the chemical have been inexpertly delivered, so they got a sub-lethal dose?
Speaking of PUBG, I've heard that Steam once did a world map highlighting every one of its players. North Korea was dark, except for one spot in Pyongyang, raising the possibility that Kim Jong-un has a Steam account and may play PUBG.
Yes, lets all trust Mrs May. After all its not as though we have all been spun an endless stream of mistruths by our security services over the last couple of decades (has everyone really forgotten the 45 minutes thing?)
Personally I hold no candle at all for Putin, though I think he has done the world a massive service by wiping out a vast horde of Tory-backed extremist jihadis from all over the world in Syria (if only the Soviets had managed similar back in Afghanistan). I also think that a multipolar world is far safer than one where a neocon-controlled US and their lapdogs here can run rampant across the globe for their own financial gain.
However, if one has the slightest bit of objectivity it is clear to see that we are a few years into a blanket demonisation campaign directed from the shadier parts of the transatlantic security establishment.
The looming destruction of the Tory-backed terrorists in East Ghouta is making them go particularly insane. The yanks are desperate to hit Damascus to save their jihadi forces and they can't because of the Russians. This kind of thing is why Russia is public enemy number one, not some murky attempted assassination for which the official story makes no sense whatsoever.
Still waiting for someone to explain how an attack with a supposedly extremely powerful nerve agent has so far yet to have killed a single person.
Knock yourself out, fellow traveller...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novichok_agent Their effect on humans was demonstrated by the accidental exposure of Andrei Zheleznyakov, one of the scientists involved in their development, to the residue of an unspecified Novichok agent while working in a Moscow laboratory in May 1987. He was critically injured and took ten days to recover consciousness after the incident. He lost the ability to walk and was treated at a secret clinic in Leningrad for three months afterwards. The agent caused permanent harm, with effects that included "chronic weakness in his arms, a toxic hepatitis that gave rise to cirrhosis of the liver, epilepsy, spells of severe depression, and an inability to read or concentrate that left him totally disabled and unable to work." He never recovered and died in July 1992 after five years of deteriorating health….
So May made a threat. Does anyone know what she has in mind? The World Cup boycott is silly and self-defeating, expelling a few diplomats would be weak. What is she going to do?
Yes, lets all trust Mrs May. After all its not as though we have all been spun an endless stream of mistruths by our security services over the last couple of decades (has everyone really forgotten the 45 minutes thing?)
Personally I hold no candle at all for Putin, though I think he has done the world a massive service by wiping out a vast horde of Tory-backed extremist jihadis from all over the world in Syria (if only the Soviets had managed similar back in Afghanistan). I also think that a multipolar world is far safer than one where a neocon-controlled US and their lapdogs here can run rampant across the globe for their own financial gain.
However, if one has the slightest bit of objectivity it is clear to see that we are a few years into a blanket demonisation campaign directed from the shadier parts of the transatlantic security establishment.
The looming destruction of the Tory-backed terrorists in East Ghouta is making them go particularly insane. The yanks are desperate to hit Damascus to save their jihadi forces and they can't because of the Russians. This kind of thing is why Russia is public enemy number one, not some murky attempted assassination for which the official story makes no sense whatsoever.
Still waiting for someone to explain how an attack with a supposedly extremely powerful nerve agent has so far yet to have killed a single person.
I just feel pity now. I hope one day you'll see the world for how it is, and not how a dark and miserable corner of the internet says it is.
Fancy actually tackling the substance of my assertions rather than resorting to playground-level debate? Sorry for rousing you out of your cosy faux-patriotic slumber (in fact the Tories are the least patriotic of all our political parties, abject traitors to everything that makes this country great).
It’s healthy to be skeptical of what the government tells us. And May was not unequivocal - “highly likely” is not “100% certain”.
No politician is going to ever say "100% certain" in the same way that no scientists is ever going to say "100% safe", they need to leave themselves enough wriggle room incase they have been misled or there was a cockup down the chain of command.
So May made a threat. Does anyone know what she has in mind? The World Cup boycott is silly and self-defeating, expelling a few diplomats would be weak. What is she going to do?
I don't know if the world cup boycott would be silly. You'd have to know a fair bit about internal Russian politics to know what the impact would be which I certainly don't. I can't help but feel that those who rule it out are just Engurland fans who don't want their summer ruined.
rather than creating a bandwagon in favour of independence, Brexit served to expose a fissure in the nationalist movement that Nicola Sturgeon has struggled to straddle. Brexit has, perhaps, turned out to be more of a problem for the First Minister than an opportunity.
So May made a threat. Does anyone know what she has in mind? The World Cup boycott is silly and self-defeating, expelling a few diplomats would be weak. What is she going to do?
So May made a threat. Does anyone know what she has in mind? The World Cup boycott is silly and self-defeating, expelling a few diplomats would be weak. What is she going to do?
1. Kick every Russian diplomat out of the UK - they're pretty much all FSB anyway. 2. Shut down Russia Today's offices and studios in London, pull their broadcast licence. 3. Start freezing bank accounts of Russians linked to their government in London. 4. Clamp down on business and tourist visas for Russians. 5. Ban direct flights from UK to Russia. 6. Work to find other sources of gas for northern Europe by next winter. 7. Lead international efforts for increased sanctions and have friendly countries also start freezing assets of Russians. 8. Yes, lead international efforts to organise a sporting boycott - a farce of a World Cup with half the teams missing also has the nice side-effect of giving FIFA a bloody nose.
The issue is not so much direct flights but overflying rights - the UK is small and fairly easy to fly around. Russia is huge and in the direct path of flights from the UK to north Asia - a complete b*gger for BA/Virgin if they stopped over-flight rights.....
On topic, while I congratul;ate Mr Meeks on a lot of hard work, it’s not all that easy for those of us with slightly deteriorating eyesight to differentiate between some of the colours. Does need some study, although I take his point about English pink. Has anyone else commented on the significant swingn to the Tories in Scotland.
It’s rather sad we won’t be having Euro elections; that would give a pointer to whether the swings were likely to be maintained.
So May made a threat. Does anyone know what she has in mind? The World Cup boycott is silly and self-defeating, expelling a few diplomats would be weak. What is she going to do?
I don't know if the world cup boycott would be silly. You'd have to know a fair bit about internal Russian politics to know what the impact would be which I certainly don't. I can't help but feel that those who rule it out are just Engurland fans who don't want their summer ruined.
They wouldn't care about an England boycott. They would probably welcome a simplification of the policing situation. It would take a few other European countries to make it hurt. Particularly if France did it. Every Russian leader since Pyotr I has had a massive (and well earned) cultural inferiority complex toward France.
We're counting on Poland to take up the slack in the hooliganism stakes if England is a no show.
This was Osborne's initial target in 2010 and it has been achieved 2 years late. That's pretty good in the circumstances which included a largely unnecessary EZ crisis greatly aggravated by German intransigence. His subsequent target of an overall balance with "normal" investment covered by current income is the correct one and remains some way off.
The briefing is no public expenditure announcements today. I think that is a missed opportunity for the government to set a broader agenda for itself.
Yes, lets all trust Mrs May. After all its not as though we have all been spun an endless stream of mistruths by our security services over the last couple of decades (has everyone really forgotten the 45 minutes thing?)
Personally I hold no candle at all for Putin, though I think he has done the world a massive service by wiping out a vast horde of Tory-backed extremist jihadis from all over the world in Syria (if only the Soviets had managed similar back in Afghanistan). I also think that a multipolar world is far safer than one where a neocon-controlled US and their lapdogs here can run rampant across the globe for their own financial gain.
However, if one has the slightest bit of objectivity it is clear to see that we are a few years into a blanket demonisation campaign directed from the shadier parts of the transatlantic security establishment.
The looming destruction of the Tory-backed terrorists in East Ghouta is making them go particularly insane. The yanks are desperate to hit Damascus to save their jihadi forces and they can't because of the Russians. This kind of thing is why Russia is public enemy number one, not some murky attempted assassination for which the official story makes no sense whatsoever.
Still waiting for someone to explain how an attack with a supposedly extremely powerful nerve agent has so far yet to have killed a single person.
Knock yourself out, fellow traveller...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novichok_agent Their effect on humans was demonstrated by the accidental exposure of Andrei Zheleznyakov, one of the scientists involved in their development, to the residue of an unspecified Novichok agent while working in a Moscow laboratory in May 1987. He was critically injured and took ten days to recover consciousness after the incident. He lost the ability to walk and was treated at a secret clinic in Leningrad for three months afterwards. The agent caused permanent harm, with effects that included "chronic weakness in his arms, a toxic hepatitis that gave rise to cirrhosis of the liver, epilepsy, spells of severe depression, and an inability to read or concentrate that left him totally disabled and unable to work." He never recovered and died in July 1992 after five years of deteriorating health….
Note 'accidental exposure'. Presumably when deliberately used it would only take a miniscule amount to kill very quickly, given these alleged agents are supposed to be many times more powerful than VX and therefore lethal in the range of a few miligrams. So to try and fail to kill but still affect the target would seem to be quite difficult.
Yes, lets all trust Mrs May. After all its not as though we have all been spun an endless stream of mistruths by our security services over the last couple of decades (has everyone really forgotten the 45 minutes thing?)
Personally I hold no candle at all for Putin, though I think he has done the world a massive service by wiping out a vast horde of Tory-backed extremist jihadis from all over the world in Syria (if only the Soviets had managed similar back in Afghanistan). I also think that a multipolar world is far safer than one where a neocon-controlled US and their lapdogs here can run rampant across the globe for their own financial gain.
However, if one has the slightest bit of objectivity it is clear to see that we are a few years into a blanket demonisation campaign directed from the shadier parts of the transatlantic security establishment.
The looming destruction of the Tory-backed terrorists in East Ghouta is making them go particularly insane. The yanks are desperate to hit Damascus to save their jihadi forces and they can't because of the Russians. This kind of thing is why Russia is public enemy number one, not some murky attempted assassination for which the official story makes no sense whatsoever.
Still waiting for someone to explain how an attack with a supposedly extremely powerful nerve agent has so far yet to have killed a single person.
Knock yourself out, fellow traveller...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novichok_agent Their effect on humans was demonstrated by the accidental exposure of Andrei Zheleznyakov, one of the scientists involved in their development, to the residue of an unspecified Novichok agent while working in a Moscow laboratory in May 1987. He was critically injured and took ten days to recover consciousness after the incident. He lost the ability to walk and was treated at a secret clinic in Leningrad for three months afterwards. The agent caused permanent harm, with effects that included "chronic weakness in his arms, a toxic hepatitis that gave rise to cirrhosis of the liver, epilepsy, spells of severe depression, and an inability to read or concentrate that left him totally disabled and unable to work." He never recovered and died in July 1992 after five years of deteriorating health….
Note 'accidental exposure'. Presumably when deliberately used it would only take a miniscule amount to kill very quickly, given these alleged agents are supposed to be many times more powerful than VX and therefore lethal in the range of a few miligrams. So to try and fail to kill but still affect the target would seem to be quite difficult.
I bow to your superior expertise in small scale chemical weapons deployment...
So May made a threat. Does anyone know what she has in mind? The World Cup boycott is silly and self-defeating, expelling a few diplomats would be weak. What is she going to do?
I don't know if the world cup boycott would be silly. You'd have to know a fair bit about internal Russian politics to know what the impact would be which I certainly don't. I can't help but feel that those who rule it out are just Engurland fans who don't want their summer ruined.
They wouldn't care about an England boycott. They would probably welcome a simplification of the policing situation. It would take a few other European countries to make it hurt. Particularly if France did it. Every Russian leader since Pyotr I has had a massive (and well earned) cultural inferiority complex toward France.
We're counting on Poland to take up the slack in the hooliganism stakes if England is a no show.
The digs between the Russian MP and the Pole on the Today program this morning were very encouraging in that respect. Hilarious radio including calling Poland a prostitute country dependent upon the US and the Pole pointing out that the Russian was not really an MP at all because Russia had no elections worth a damn.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novichok_agent Their effect on humans was demonstrated by the accidental exposure of Andrei Zheleznyakov, one of the scientists involved in their development, to the residue of an unspecified Novichok agent while working in a Moscow laboratory in May 1987. He was critically injured and took ten days to recover consciousness after the incident. He lost the ability to walk and was treated at a secret clinic in Leningrad for three months afterwards. The agent caused permanent harm, with effects that included "chronic weakness in his arms, a toxic hepatitis that gave rise to cirrhosis of the liver, epilepsy, spells of severe depression, and an inability to read or concentrate that left him totally disabled and unable to work." He never recovered and died in July 1992 after five years of deteriorating health….
Note 'accidental exposure'. Presumably when deliberately used it would only take a miniscule amount to kill very quickly, given these alleged agents are supposed to be many times more powerful than VX and therefore lethal in the range of a few miligrams. So to try and fail to kill but still affect the target would seem to be quite difficult.
Additionally, precursors to the agents are usually much easier to stabilize than the agents themselves, so this technique also made it possible to increase the shelf life of the agents. This has the disadvantage that careless preparation may produce a non-optimal agent.
Unless prepared or delivered incompetently it seems.
So May made a threat. Does anyone know what she has in mind? The World Cup boycott is silly and self-defeating, expelling a few diplomats would be weak. What is she going to do?
1. Kick every Russian diplomat out of the UK - they're pretty much all FSB anyway. 2. Shut down Russia Today's offices and studios in London, pull their broadcast licence. 3. Start freezing bank accounts of Russians linked to their government in London. 4. Clamp down on business and tourist visas for Russians. 5. Ban direct flights from UK to Russia. 6. Work to find other sources of gas for northern Europe by next winter. 7. Lead international efforts for increased sanctions and have friendly countries also start freezing assets of Russians. 8. Yes, lead international efforts to organise a sporting boycott - a farce of a World Cup with half the teams missing also has the nice side-effect of giving FIFA a bloody nose.
Anything I've missed?
6. Looks like a great idea - can't think why we haven't thought about discovering new gas supplies before. Good Job we've got 6 months to find them and get them on-line!
Presumably though, it would be impossible for Russia to cut off supplies to Britain alone since it pretty much all comes via pipelines that serve the rest of Europe too.
Still waiting for someone to explain how an attack with a supposedly extremely powerful nerve agent has so far yet to have killed a single person.
Well, being discovered just six miles from one of the best facilities in the world for dealing with nerve agents might have helped.
How lies the snow in Moscow, comrade? Or can you not see outside from your troll farm bunker?
I doubt the proximity to Porton Down helped the two initial victims much, at least initially.
It's much more likely to be incompetent delivery. If you remember the Litvinenko (sp?) case, the agents who delivered it were utterly incompetent, and it took them a couple of goes - and in the process they left a radioactive trail across London.
IAAAFFBAEAIIPTG, but may the chemical have been inexpertly delivered, so they got a sub-lethal dose?
Sounds about right to me. These are weapons designed to be delivered on a mass scale, and it's not as though they have had a great deal of practice, or are unconstrained by simple happenstance, in carrying out an attack like this.
The briefing is no public expenditure announcements today. I think that is a missed opportunity for the government to set a broader agenda for itself.
Very much agree. There'll be a good number of Tory council candidates thinking the same....
In going from Osborne to Hammond we have swung wildly from a political tactician obsessed with putting his opponents in a difficult place even if the announcement wasn't really worth it to someone who seems to think politics is somehow completely beneath him. There isn't so much some middle ground as the west Siberian plain.
So May made a threat. Does anyone know what she has in mind? The World Cup boycott is silly and self-defeating, expelling a few diplomats would be weak. What is she going to do?
1. Kick every Russian diplomat out of the UK - they're pretty much all FSB anyway. 2. Shut down Russia Today's offices and studios in London, pull their broadcast licence. 3. Start freezing bank accounts of Russians linked to their government in London. 4. Clamp down on business and tourist visas for Russians. 5. Ban direct flights from UK to Russia. 6. Work to find other sources of gas for northern Europe by next winter. 7. Lead international efforts for increased sanctions and have friendly countries also start freezing assets of Russians. 8. Yes, lead international efforts to organise a sporting boycott - a farce of a World Cup with half the teams missing also has the nice side-effect of giving FIFA a bloody nose.
Anything I've missed?
6. Looks like a great idea - can't think why we haven't thought about discovering new gas supplies before. Good Job we've got 6 months to find them and get them on-line!
Presumably though, it would be impossible for Russia to cut off supplies to Britain alone since it pretty much all comes via pipelines that serve the rest of Europe too.
Yes, and because we have been so active in bringing our fracking fields online to give us energy independence incase Russian gets nasty in the future... oh wait!
Mr. B, also, if they erred on the other side (ie overdose) then the number of casualties could be hundreds. We have a diplomatic incident with this, but if hundreds died in a chemical weapons attack on UK soil, that would be of a far greater magnitude.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novichok_agent Their effect on humans was demonstrated by the accidental exposure of Andrei Zheleznyakov, one of the scientists involved in their development, to the residue of an unspecified Novichok agent while working in a Moscow laboratory in May 1987. He was critically injured and took ten days to recover consciousness after the incident. He lost the ability to walk and was treated at a secret clinic in Leningrad for three months afterwards. The agent caused permanent harm, with effects that included "chronic weakness in his arms, a toxic hepatitis that gave rise to cirrhosis of the liver, epilepsy, spells of severe depression, and an inability to read or concentrate that left him totally disabled and unable to work." He never recovered and died in July 1992 after five years of deteriorating health….
Note 'accidental exposure'. Presumably when deliberately used it would only take a miniscule amount to kill very quickly, given these alleged agents are supposed to be many times more powerful than VX and therefore lethal in the range of a few miligrams. So to try and fail to kill but still affect the target would seem to be quite difficult.
Additionally, precursors to the agents are usually much easier to stabilize than the agents themselves, so this technique also made it possible to increase the shelf life of the agents. This has the disadvantage that careless preparation may produce a non-optimal agent.
Unless prepared or delivered incompetently it seems.
The last Russian assassination left a trail of Polonium across London, Europe and several aircraft.....
Still waiting for someone to explain how an attack with a supposedly extremely powerful nerve agent has so far yet to have killed a single person.
Well, being discovered just six miles from one of the best facilities in the world for dealing with nerve agents might have helped.
How lies the snow in Moscow, comrade? Or can you not see outside from your troll farm bunker?
I doubt the proximity to Porton Down helped the two initial victims much, at least initially.
It's much more likely to be incompetent delivery. If you remember the Litvinenko (sp?) case, the agents who delivered it were utterly incompetent, and it took them a couple of goes - and in the process they left a radioactive trail across London.
IAAAFFBAEAIIPTG, but may the chemical have been inexpertly delivered, so they got a sub-lethal dose?
Sounds about right to me. These are weapons designed to be delivered on a mass scale, and it's not as though they have had a great deal of practice, or are unconstrained by simple happenstance, in carrying out an attack like this.
Interesting points (though WFT does IAAAFFBAEAIIPTG mean?!).
What chance the agents contaminated themselves btw - I presume the security services have done a trawl of the country's hospitals for any unexplained admissions?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novichok_agent Their effect on humans was demonstrated by the accidental exposure of Andrei Zheleznyakov, one of the scientists involved in their development, to the residue of an unspecified Novichok agent while working in a Moscow laboratory in May 1987. He was critically injured and took ten days to recover consciousness after the incident. He lost the ability to walk and was treated at a secret clinic in Leningrad for three months afterwards. The agent caused permanent harm, with effects that included "chronic weakness in his arms, a toxic hepatitis that gave rise to cirrhosis of the liver, epilepsy, spells of severe depression, and an inability to read or concentrate that left him totally disabled and unable to work." He never recovered and died in July 1992 after five years of deteriorating health….
Note 'accidental exposure'. Presumably when deliberately used it would only take a miniscule amount to kill very quickly, given these alleged agents are supposed to be many times more powerful than VX and therefore lethal in the range of a few miligrams. So to try and fail to kill but still affect the target would seem to be quite difficult.
Additionally, precursors to the agents are usually much easier to stabilize than the agents themselves, so this technique also made it possible to increase the shelf life of the agents. This has the disadvantage that careless preparation may produce a non-optimal agent.
Unless prepared or delivered incompetently it seems.
The last Russian assassination left a trail of Polonium across London, Europe and several aircraft.....
I somehow doubt their most skilled operatives are exactly queuing up to be the one to have to handle and deliver these sorts of substances.
Still waiting for someone to explain how an attack with a supposedly extremely powerful nerve agent has so far yet to have killed a single person.
Well, being discovered just six miles from one of the best facilities in the world for dealing with nerve agents might have helped.
How lies the snow in Moscow, comrade? Or can you not see outside from your troll farm bunker?
I doubt the proximity to Porton Down helped the two initial victims much, at least initially.
It's much more likely to be incompetent delivery. If you remember the Litvinenko (sp?) case, the agents who delivered it were utterly incompetent, and it took them a couple of goes - and in the process they left a radioactive trail across London.
IAAAFFBAEAIIPTG, but may the chemical have been inexpertly delivered, so they got a sub-lethal dose?
Sounds about right to me. These are weapons designed to be delivered on a mass scale, and it's not as though they have had a great deal of practice, or are unconstrained by simple happenstance, in carrying out an attack like this.
Interesting points (though WFT does IAAAFFBAEAIIPTG mean?!).
What chance the agents contaminated themselves btw - I presume the security services have done a trawl of the countries hospitals for any unexplained admissions?
I took it to mean "I am about as far from being an expert as it is possible to get....."
EDIT: or I could be reading too much into his forehead slamming into the keyboard.....
So May made a threat. Does anyone know what she has in mind? The World Cup boycott is silly and self-defeating, expelling a few diplomats would be weak. What is she going to do?
1. Kick every Russian diplomat out of the UK - they're pretty much all FSB anyway. 2. Shut down Russia Today's offices and studios in London, pull their broadcast licence. 3. Start freezing bank accounts of Russians linked to their government in London. 4. Clamp down on business and tourist visas for Russians. 5. Ban direct flights from UK to Russia. 6. Work to find other sources of gas for northern Europe by next winter. 7. Lead international efforts for increased sanctions and have friendly countries also start freezing assets of Russians. 8. Yes, lead international efforts to organise a sporting boycott - a farce of a World Cup with half the teams missing also has the nice side-effect of giving FIFA a bloody nose.
Anything I've missed?
6. Looks like a great idea - can't think why we haven't thought about discovering new gas supplies before. Good Job we've got 6 months to find them and get them on-line!
Presumably though, it would be impossible for Russia to cut off supplies to Britain alone since it pretty much all comes via pipelines that serve the rest of Europe too.
Yes, and because we have been so active in bringing our fracking fields online to give us energy independence incase Russian gets nasty in the future... oh wait!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novichok_agent Their effect on humans was demonstrated by the accidental exposure of Andrei Zheleznyakov, one of the scientists involved in their development, to the residue of an unspecified Novichok agent while working in a Moscow laboratory in May 1987. He was critically injured and took ten days to recover consciousness after the incident. He lost the ability to walk and was treated at a secret clinic in Leningrad for three months afterwards. The agent caused permanent harm, with effects that included "chronic weakness in his arms, a toxic hepatitis that gave rise to cirrhosis of the liver, epilepsy, spells of severe depression, and an inability to read or concentrate that left him totally disabled and unable to work." He never recovered and died in July 1992 after five years of deteriorating health….
Note 'accidental exposure'. Presumably when deliberately used it would only take a miniscule amount to kill very quickly, given these alleged agents are supposed to be many times more powerful than VX and therefore lethal in the range of a few miligrams. So to try and fail to kill but still affect the target would seem to be quite difficult.
Additionally, precursors to the agents are usually much easier to stabilize than the agents themselves, so this technique also made it possible to increase the shelf life of the agents. This has the disadvantage that careless preparation may produce a non-optimal agent.
Unless prepared or delivered incompetently it seems.
The last Russian assassination left a trail of Polonium across London, Europe and several aircraft.....
I'm avoiding the West of England Line Class 158/159s at the moment, just in case.
Comments
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/trump-moron-rex-tillerson-quit-resign-threat-boy-scouts-speech-a7982856.html
Singapore works for the same reasons Monaco does, they are showcase events even if the racing is less than exciting. I remember Murray Walker commenting 25 years ago that if there wasn't already a GP in Monaco it's unlikely they'd allow one now - but it's still there!
Edit: Interesting statistical analysis of the pace during testing. He reckons Mercedes are half a second quicker than Ferrari and RB.
https://f1metrics.wordpress.com/2018/03/10/2018-preseason-analysis/
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britian-russia-germany/merkel-ally-eyes-joint-western-response-against-russia-in-ex-spy-case-idUKKCN1GP0ZG?il=0
On the other hand, if Mercedes are that fast it looks nice for the Bottas bet. Be nice if he won the first race.
Bit tempted to back Bottas more at 11, but I've already put down enough, I think. If he won the first race, I'd hedge, on the basis the win's unlikely and it'd pay out (the hedge) for top 3 as well.
Still, maybe we're all wrong. Aldo Costa reckons there'll be three at the sharp end, though the gaps are hard to tell.
Time for those horses that love it hock deep.
DYOR
Ruth Davidson needs to do a James I* and come South of the Border and work her magic in the rest of Britain.
*or VI depending on your preference.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/student-anglia-ruskin-university-mickey-mouse-degree-pok-wong-tuition-fees-a8250441.html
I've read similar stories of foreign students expecting London Metropolitan to be a prestigious university.
The official story has more holes than an Aberdeen fisherman's nets.
Or are we all happy to bang along the drums to our already massively discredited feral overlords' latest attempt to whip up sentiment against whatever the current official state enemy may be (we have always been at war with Eurasia)?
Amazing to see grown men and women acting like kids cheering for their favourite WWF wrestler.
Obviously the university is as good as his polling.
Funnily enough the security services and police are not sharing sensitive information with the general public.
When the PM says it's 'highly likely' Russia was involved in a case like this, I for one believe her. To believe otherwise leads to madness and conspiracy theories.
There are also new housing developments bringing in outsiders:
' Imagine a stunning new home in a picturesque location with every convenience nearby. That’s the idyllic setting of Cavendish Grange, bringing new houses for sale in Chesterfield.
Located off Oxcroft Lane in the charming historic town of Bolsover, Cavendish Grange offers a collection of beautifully designed 4 bedroom detached homes bursting with individuality and character. '
http://www.jones-homes.co.uk/new-homes/bolsover_chesterfield/214/cavendish_grange/overview
Perhaps the first time that the words picturesque, idyllic and charming have been used to describe Bolsover.
That's tending towards negligence and there's a key action, or absence of an action, in there.
He's managed to stop us talking about Brexit.
https://twitter.com/BristOliver/status/973475645585010691
Personally I hold no candle at all for Putin, though I think he has done the world a massive service by wiping out a vast horde of Tory-backed extremist jihadis from all over the world in Syria (if only the Soviets had managed similar back in Afghanistan). I also think that a multipolar world is far safer than one where a neocon-controlled US and their lapdogs here can run rampant across the globe for their own financial gain.
However, if one has the slightest bit of objectivity it is clear to see that we are a few years into a blanket demonisation campaign directed from the shadier parts of the transatlantic security establishment.
The looming destruction of the Tory-backed terrorists in East Ghouta is making them go particularly insane. The yanks are desperate to hit Damascus to save their jihadi forces and they can't because of the Russians. This kind of thing is why Russia is public enemy number one, not some murky attempted assassination for which the official story makes no sense whatsoever.
Still waiting for someone to explain how an attack with a supposedly extremely powerful nerve agent has so far yet to have killed a single person.
Anyway, Salisbury didn't actually happen, psychogenic chemtrails caused a mass hallucination, which has been exploited by the OWG by manipulating mobile phone signals to make us more suggestible. Or summat.
Sorry for rousing you out of your cosy faux-patriotic slumber (in fact the Tories are the least patriotic of all our political parties, abject traitors to everything that makes this country great).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_stadiums_by_capacity
Used to be known as Anglia Polytechnic Uni; Almost a Proper University.
Now Anglia Ruskin: Almost a Real University!
How lies the snow in Moscow, comrade? Or can you not see outside from your troll farm bunker?
But complaining about the neo-cons and their lapdogs doesn’t exactly make you sound sane.
Russia is a kleptocracy where opponents have a habit of being disappeared. It is moral blindness to advocate for that kind of regime. Sadly, very common these days on both left and right. You’re position is not in fact far off Farage’s.
https://twitter.com/mogabee3/status/973504683934437376
It's much more likely to be incompetent delivery. If you remember the Litvinenko (sp?) case, the agents who delivered it were utterly incompetent, and it took them a couple of goes - and in the process they left a radioactive trail across London.
IAAAFFBAEAIIPTG, but may the chemical have been inexpertly delivered, so they got a sub-lethal dose?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novichok_agent
Their effect on humans was demonstrated by the accidental exposure of Andrei Zheleznyakov, one of the scientists involved in their development, to the residue of an unspecified Novichok agent while working in a Moscow laboratory in May 1987. He was critically injured and took ten days to recover consciousness after the incident. He lost the ability to walk and was treated at a secret clinic in Leningrad for three months afterwards. The agent caused permanent harm, with effects that included "chronic weakness in his arms, a toxic hepatitis that gave rise to cirrhosis of the liver, epilepsy, spells of severe depression, and an inability to read or concentrate that left him totally disabled and unable to work." He never recovered and died in July 1992 after five years of deteriorating health….
Sir John:
rather than creating a bandwagon in favour of independence, Brexit served to expose a fissure in the nationalist movement that Nicola Sturgeon has struggled to straddle. Brexit has, perhaps, turned out to be more of a problem for the First Minister than an opportunity.
http://ukandeu.ac.uk/the-politics-of-brexit-in-scotland/
2. Shut down Russia Today's offices and studios in London, pull their broadcast licence.
3. Start freezing bank accounts of Russians linked to their government in London.
4. Clamp down on business and tourist visas for Russians.
5. Ban direct flights from UK to Russia.
6. Work to find other sources of gas for northern Europe by next winter.
7. Lead international efforts for increased sanctions and have friendly countries also start freezing assets of Russians.
8. Yes, lead international efforts to organise a sporting boycott - a farce of a World Cup with half the teams missing also has the nice side-effect of giving FIFA a bloody nose.
Anything I've missed?
Owen Jones has gone on the attack in the Guardian against the Tories and their dodgy foreign friends.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/mar/12/tory-links-russia-saudi-links-corbyn-spy-extremism
What is it they love? Money, power or Britain? Another sign that the provincial vicar's daughter may have more electoral appeal than the Cameroons.
The issue is not so much direct flights but overflying rights - the UK is small and fairly easy to fly around. Russia is huge and in the direct path of flights from the UK to north Asia - a complete b*gger for BA/Virgin if they stopped over-flight rights.....
Does need some study, although I take his point about English pink. Has anyone else commented on the significant swingn to the Tories in Scotland.
It’s rather sad we won’t be having Euro elections; that would give a pointer to whether the swings were likely to be maintained.
We're counting on Poland to take up the slack in the hooliganism stakes if England is a no show.
https://twitter.com/BBCSteveR/status/973433684945711104
The briefing is no public expenditure announcements today. I think that is a missed opportunity for the government to set a broader agenda for itself.
https://www.rt.com/news/421123-uk-complicit-skripal-poisoning/
Unless prepared or delivered incompetently it seems.
Presumably though, it would be impossible for Russia to cut off supplies to Britain alone since it pretty much all comes via pipelines that serve the rest of Europe too.
These are weapons designed to be delivered on a mass scale, and it's not as though they have had a great deal of practice, or are unconstrained by simple happenstance, in carrying out an attack like this.
What chance the agents contaminated themselves btw - I presume the security services have done a trawl of the country's hospitals for any unexplained admissions?
But I can't, because it's interesting to see the collective thoughts of (mostly) intelligent people) on current affairs. And it's addictive, of course
EDIT: or I could be reading too much into his forehead slamming into the keyboard.....