Russia has the stomach for high casualties though, see WW2. Though that was a war of defence not offence
Putin apparently stated at the start of the war that he was prepared for 50,000 casualties.
Easy for him to say from a nice safe distance.
He is never more than one table length from the action. Of course, no one said there was an upper limit on table size...
Once, we thought a table was a table. But now... Now we dare to dream.
Smaller areas have seats at the UN.
It's worrying, I find that everything that happens is adequately explained by either aliens or The Death of Stalin. In this case D o S and some people trying to get an outsize wreath into the funeral and SRB as Beria saying "It's bigger than the region itself."
We got a thousand points of light For the homeless man We got a kinder, gentler machine gun hand We got department stores and toilet paper Got Styrofoam boxes for the ozone layer Got a man of the people, says keep hope alive Got fuel to burn, got roads to drive
Monumental from Neil.
For those who haven't seen it - 12 min version with Pearl Jam.
Russia has the stomach for high casualties though, see WW2. Though that was a war of defence not offence
The Soviet Union seized a whole bunch of territory -- several countries' worth -- between 1939 and 1945. And they kept it a long, long time. So no, calling it a war of defence is really not accurate.
The vast majority of the casualties were inflicted defending the USSR after Nazi invasion. Yes they did take some Eastern European countries later on but they also liberated them from the Nazis too
I rather think that 22,000 Polish men murdered at Katyn, could they speak - plus countless thousands more, elsewhere in Poland, in Belarus, in Ukrraine, in Latvia, in Estonia, and in Lithuania, men, women and children - might dispute your take on the Soviet 'war of defence'.
Most of those were in the Soviet Union before the war and after the war except Poland ie not foreign nations
You are bullying Horse now into agreeing with your narrative.
Now I really am off. I'm gone, I'm dust!
How is asking a question bullying?
Very easily. Have you stopped beating your wife, yes or no? yes or no? YES OR NO?
And the first and worst bully I met on my first day at prep school kicked off with asking whether I ever let a little bit of wee out in bed?
So your question, ironically, establishes exactly what it seeks to disprove.
do you feel a bit of a tit now? (See what I did there?)
Absolutely spot on. Bullies should be called out for what they are.
This is a chat room, anonymous for the most part. I think you have a thing about BigG, and it provokes you to ‘call out’ stuff. We all have different view points. NPXMP has views I strongly disagree with on many things, but he is unfailingly polite. He makes this site better by his presence. I believe we would all do well to try to do the same. Are you trying to cancel BigG? Why not just disagree, and state your reasons?
Big G never apologised for insulting and degrading my Grandmother who sadly passed away and has never apologised for his condescending and rude manner.
I will put this to bed
There was a time when you and others, including myself, were involved in a frenzied debate when lots of things were said by many and you left this forum
Now as far as your grandmother is concerned I would not have insulted her and maybe at the time you misunderstood or were mistaken
However, I unequivocally apologise to you if you feel I have insulted your grandmother, it was not intentional, and I hope you will accept this apology in the spirit it is given
The temptation to cause mischief by using my admin rights to edit BigG's post and add
"Also, your grandmother can go fuck herself"
was almost too much for me.
Almost.
‘Also, CHB grandmother, go fuck yourself’ shirly?
This conversation probably still isn't that fun for CHB
No, but looking back it’s clear to me that BigG did not say what CHB thinks/remembers he did, so I’m not sure quite why he is so angry. He did suggest that CHB gloated about having an inheritance, which was probably not true, and at best a poor choice of words. He has apologised tonight, unacknowledged so far, but tbf it’s late and people hav3 better things to do than endless chat on pb, and have to work in the morning. Well the younger ones at least...
Russia has the stomach for high casualties though, see WW2. Though that was a war of defence not offence
The Soviet Union seized a whole bunch of territory -- several countries' worth -- between 1939 and 1945. And they kept it a long, long time. So no, calling it a war of defence is really not accurate.
The vast majority of the casualties were inflicted defending the USSR after Nazi invasion. Yes they did take some Eastern European countries later on but they also liberated them from the Nazis too
"After"? How about the invasion of Poland in 1939?
I was talking the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941
Russia has the stomach for high casualties though, see WW2. Though that was a war of defence not offence
The Soviet Union seized a whole bunch of territory -- several countries' worth -- between 1939 and 1945. And they kept it a long, long time. So no, calling it a war of defence is really not accurate.
The vast majority of the casualties were inflicted defending the USSR after Nazi invasion. Yes they did take some Eastern European countries later on but they also liberated them from the Nazis too
I rather think that 22,000 Polish men murdered at Katyn, could they speak - plus countless thousands more, elsewhere in Poland, in Belarus, in Ukrraine, in Latvia, in Estonia, and in Lithuania, men, women and children - might dispute your take on the Soviet 'war of defence'.
Most of those were in the Soviet Union before the war and after the war except Poland ie not foreign nations
Russia has the stomach for high casualties though, see WW2. Though that was a war of defence not offence
The Soviet Union seized a whole bunch of territory -- several countries' worth -- between 1939 and 1945. And they kept it a long, long time. So no, calling it a war of defence is really not accurate.
The vast majority of the casualties were inflicted defending the USSR after Nazi invasion. Yes they did take some Eastern European countries later on but they also liberated them from the Nazis too
I rather think that 22,000 Polish men murdered at Katyn, could they speak - plus countless thousands more, elsewhere in Poland, in Belarus, in Ukrraine, in Latvia, in Estonia, and in Lithuania, men, women and children - might dispute your take on the Soviet 'war of defence'.
They don't have a vote in a Tory leadership election though, so what is their view really worth on any subject?
Sunak has been an absolute disaster as Chancellor the more time has gone on.
I knew it when he did the useless "Eat Out To Help Out".
He is going one way and that is down.
So who will save the Tories now? How do they get a majority?
As Starmer has the charisma of a damp rag. If he wins it will be more Tory and Boris unpopularity than enthusiasm for Starmer, it will not be Blair as the new Messiah and New Labour 1997.
However only 1 party has won a majority after 10 years in power since 1918, the Tories in 1992, so the odds still favour a Labour government
Do you know I would prefer all our leaders to be boring but competent rather than showmen/women but useless.
Plenty of boring and not that great PMs too eg Heath, Brown and May
Sunak has been an absolute disaster as Chancellor the more time has gone on.
I knew it when he did the useless "Eat Out To Help Out".
He is going one way and that is down.
So who will save the Tories now? How do they get a majority?
As Starmer has the charisma of a damp rag. If he wins it will be more Tory and Boris unpopularity than enthusiasm for Starmer, it will not be Blair as the new Messiah and New Labour 1997.
However only 1 party has won a majority after 10 years in power since 1918, the Tories in 1992, so the odds still favour a Labour government
Do you know I would prefer all our leaders to be boring but competent rather than showmen/women but useless.
Plenty of boring and not that great PMs too eg Heath, Brown and May
Politics goes in cycles. Have a showman/woman, flamboyant, theatrical leader for a while and we crave boring competence. Then after a few dull years we will back looking for that sense of theatre again...
Sunak has been an absolute disaster as Chancellor the more time has gone on.
I knew it when he did the useless "Eat Out To Help Out".
He is going one way and that is down.
So who will save the Tories now? How do they get a majority?
As Starmer has the charisma of a damp rag. If he wins it will be more Tory and Boris unpopularity than enthusiasm for Starmer, it will not be Blair as the new Messiah and New Labour 1997.
However only 1 party has won a majority after 10 years in power since 1918, the Tories in 1992, so the odds still favour a Labour government
Do you know I would prefer all our leaders to be boring but competent rather than showmen/women but useless.
Plenty of boring and not that great PMs too eg Heath, Brown and May
Politics goes in cycles. Have a showman/woman, flamboyant, theatrical leader for a while and we crave boring competence. Then after a few dull years we will back looking for that sense of theatre again...
The qualities required to get oneself elected as PM are orthogonal to the qualities required to be a great PM.
On that profundity (which I'm pretty sure I am quoting, but I can't be bothered to look it up) I'm off to bed.
Russia has the stomach for high casualties though, see WW2. Though that was a war of defence not offence
Putin apparently stated at the start of the war that he was prepared for 50,000 casualties.
Easy for him to say from a nice safe distance.
He is never more than one table length from the action. Of course, no one said there was an upper limit on table size...
Once, we thought a table was a table. But now... Now we dare to dream.
Smaller areas have seats at the UN.
It's worrying, I find that everything that happens is adequately explained by either aliens or The Death of Stalin. In this case D o S and some people trying to get an outsize wreath into the funeral and SRB as Beria saying "It's bigger than the region itself."
Why is this worrying?
Also, you are wrong. You need to include Hot Fuzz on the list.
Russia has the stomach for high casualties though, see WW2. Though that was a war of defence not offence
The Soviet Union seized a whole bunch of territory -- several countries' worth -- between 1939 and 1945. And they kept it a long, long time. So no, calling it a war of defence is really not accurate.
The vast majority of the casualties were inflicted defending the USSR after Nazi invasion. Yes they did take some Eastern European countries later on but they also liberated them from the Nazis too
I rather think that 22,000 Polish men murdered at Katyn, could they speak - plus countless thousands more, elsewhere in Poland, in Belarus, in Ukrraine, in Latvia, in Estonia, and in Lithuania, men, women and children - might dispute your take on the Soviet 'war of defence'.
An early example of burying embarrassing news by putting out a story with the same search terms is the way the Soviets memorialised a different massacre committed by the Germans at Khatyn in order to confuse people.
I know its a pro-Ukranian source, but if this is even close to true then we either see mass Russian surrender or a breakout retreat. Total humiliation for the Russian army on the west side of Kyiv.
At the moment I think this is perhaps someone misunderstanding "we have cut off supplies to.." as "we have cut off..." to mean "those guys are encircled".
Given the apparent reliance of the Russians on roads for resupply, then if the Ukrainians have taken control of the roads behind them, the Russians are in a world of shit.
The Ukrainians don't even need to have control of the roads, as such, they just have to have enough roving bands of ambushers to deny the Russians any possibility of safe passage. And then, yes, the Russians to the NW of Kyiv will run out of fuel, food and ammunition.
I think you are seeing US, UK and other European surveillance and intelligence of the highest quality at work here that is being given to the Ukrainians during this conflict and it's contributing to Russia's problems.
That's not to downplay how tough and resilient the Ukrainian armed forces are, they are literally fighting for Ukraine's survival and it shows.
Sunak has been an absolute disaster as Chancellor the more time has gone on.
I knew it when he did the useless "Eat Out To Help Out".
He is going one way and that is down.
So who will save the Tories now? How do they get a majority?
As Starmer has the charisma of a damp rag. If he wins it will be more Tory and Boris unpopularity than enthusiasm for Starmer, it will not be Blair as the new Messiah and New Labour 1997.
However only 1 party has won a majority after 10 years in power since 1918, the Tories in 1992, so the odds still favour a Labour government
Do you know I would prefer all our leaders to be boring but competent rather than showmen/women but useless.
Plenty of boring and not that great PMs too eg Heath, Brown and May
Politics goes in cycles. Have a showman/woman, flamboyant, theatrical leader for a while and we crave boring competence. Then after a few dull years we will back looking for that sense of theatre again...
The qualities required to get oneself elected as PM are orthogonal to the qualities required to be a great PM.
On that profundity (which I'm pretty sure I am quoting, but I can't be bothered to look it up) I'm off to bed.
May was boring, but the times were not, so I think we are overdue for that.
We got a thousand points of light For the homeless man We got a kinder, gentler machine gun hand We got department stores and toilet paper Got Styrofoam boxes for the ozone layer Got a man of the people, says keep hope alive Got fuel to burn, got roads to drive
Monumental from Neil.
For those who haven't seen it - 12 min version with Pearl Jam.
Russia has the stomach for high casualties though, see WW2. Though that was a war of defence not offence
Putin apparently stated at the start of the war that he was prepared for 50,000 casualties.
Easy for him to say from a nice safe distance.
He is never more than one table length from the action. Of course, no one said there was an upper limit on table size...
Once, we thought a table was a table. But now... Now we dare to dream.
Smaller areas have seats at the UN.
It's worrying, I find that everything that happens is adequately explained by either aliens or The Death of Stalin. In this case D o S and some people trying to get an outsize wreath into the funeral and SRB as Beria saying "It's bigger than the region itself."
Why is this worrying?
Also, you are wrong. You need to include Hot Fuzz on the list.
I realise it's late, and this is not new, but I do want to make sure that everyone knows that George Galloway is an enormous bell end:
Lord fucking Haw-Haw lives.
Beggars belief really.
The question has been asked many times, but I really struggle with how someone can be obsessed by their partisan politics that they cannot alter them even in the face of epoch shattering events such as have been witnessed. It just gets fed into the accepted opinion.
It's probably why we often assume such people are phony, as if it would be better somehow for them to not believe what they are shilling, but I fear that is wishful thinking - he means every word.
I've been mostly off the forum for a few days, but see we're debating insults and Soviet policy in 1945, so perhaps haven't missed much. Glad to see BigG apologising for whatever upset CHB - hope that resolves it, CHB.
I was in Parliament today for the first time for a few years (Covid) and was struck by the ramping up of security since I was last there - multiple card readers to pass (some of which weren't working) and a maze of concrete barriers. Otherwise still the same unique surroundings - I'm not much interested in architecture, but although it'd certainly be cheaper to have it in an office block in Birmingham, it does still have magic, and I hope the repair work can be made to happen before it deteriorates too far.
Tomorrow's Sunak statement is going to be odd, overshadowed by Ukraine and in the teeth of the economic challenges - mainly a question of who gets hurt least, although I'm sure he'll try to spin it as generosity. 5p off petrol and maybe some help on home heating seems to be the bottom line, but if that's it I think it'll be forgotten in a week.
If evil bug-eyed aliens invaded from Mars with a plan to wipe out the earth, Galloway would be rooting for them over the US.
You're only calling them evil because you have been duped by the mainstream media into accepting Imperial american attitudes that the martians' culture of genocidal atrocity towards humanity is somehow less worthy than our own.
Russia has the stomach for high casualties though, see WW2. Though that was a war of defence not offence
The Soviet Union seized a whole bunch of territory -- several countries' worth -- between 1939 and 1945. And they kept it a long, long time. So no, calling it a war of defence is really not accurate.
The vast majority of the casualties were inflicted defending the USSR after Nazi invasion. Yes they did take some Eastern European countries later on but they also liberated them from the Nazis too
I rather think that 22,000 Polish men murdered at Katyn, could they speak - plus countless thousands more, elsewhere in Poland, in Belarus, in Ukrraine, in Latvia, in Estonia, and in Lithuania, men, women and children - might dispute your take on the Soviet 'war of defence'.
Most of those were in the Soviet Union before the war and after the war except Poland ie not foreign nations
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were not in the Soviet Union until invaded in 1940.
Russia has the stomach for high casualties though, see WW2. Though that was a war of defence not offence
Putin apparently stated at the start of the war that he was prepared for 50,000 casualties.
Easy for him to say from a nice safe distance.
He is never more than one table length from the action. Of course, no one said there was an upper limit on table size...
Once, we thought a table was a table. But now... Now we dare to dream.
Smaller areas have seats at the UN.
It's worrying, I find that everything that happens is adequately explained by either aliens or The Death of Stalin. In this case D o S and some people trying to get an outsize wreath into the funeral and SRB as Beria saying "It's bigger than the region itself."
Why is this worrying?
Also, you are wrong. You need to include Hot Fuzz on the list.
I know its a pro-Ukranian source, but if this is even close to true then we either see mass Russian surrender or a breakout retreat. Total humiliation for the Russian army on the west side of Kyiv.
AH.com have been reporting this since this afternoon. Flagging it as RUMINT, but great news if so. I believe the army surrounded in question is the 6th Army.
I know its a pro-Ukranian source, but if this is even close to true then we either see mass Russian surrender or a breakout retreat. Total humiliation for the Russian army on the west side of Kyiv.
At the moment I think this is perhaps someone misunderstanding "we have cut off supplies to.." as "we have cut off..." to mean "those guys are encircled".
Given the apparent reliance of the Russians on roads for resupply, then if the Ukrainians have taken control of the roads behind them, the Russians are in a world of shit.
The Ukrainians don't even need to have control of the roads, as such, they just have to have enough roving bands of ambushers to deny the Russians any possibility of safe passage. And then, yes, the Russians to the NW of Kyiv will run out of fuel, food and ammunition.
I think you are seeing US, UK and other European surveillance and intelligence of the highest quality at work here that is being given to the Ukrainians during this conflict and it's contributing to Russia's problems.
That's not to downplay how tough and resilient the Ukrainian armed forces are, they are literally fighting for Ukraine's survival and it shows.
IN the first gulf war, JSTARS tracked the Iraqi army nearly continuously - people who saw the plots later said that they were seeing individual tracking of all the vehicles in Iraqi units. A Gods eye view of everything that was happening on the ground.
I realise it's late, and this is not new, but I do want to make sure that everyone knows that George Galloway is an enormous bell end:
Lord fucking Haw-Haw lives.
Beggars belief really.
The question has been asked many times, but I really struggle with how someone can be obsessed by their partisan politics that they cannot alter them even in the face of epoch shattering events such as have been witnessed. It just gets fed into the accepted opinion.
It's probably why we often assume such people are phony, as if it would be better somehow for them to not believe what they are shilling, but I fear that is wishful thinking - he means every word.
All kinds of belief are hard for non believers to understand. I’m a complete atheist, and cannot understand how people believe in (a) god(s), but for those who believe I am the odd one. Take holocaust denial a la Irving. How could you deny the mountains of evidence and testimony from those who were there? But then I remember one of my uni friends who frequently told tall tales of exploits, ones that I knew were not true. In the end I became sure that he convinced himself they were true, they were his reality. Weird.
I realise it's late, and this is not new, but I do want to make sure that everyone knows that George Galloway is an enormous bell end:
Dear God, This nonsense is all over parts of Twitter. What would the US gain from it ? It’s barmy.
The logic (if one can used such a word) goes something like this:
The USA is evil incarnate, that's just a given. Iraq and what have you. The USA would defeat the Russians in a conventional military contest. Accordingly, the Russians would never provoke such a contest. Therefore, any Russian atrocity must actually be planned by the USA.
The great thing is the existence of an event is itself proof of american involvement, so no further evidence is needed.
I realise it's late, and this is not new, but I do want to make sure that everyone knows that George Galloway is an enormous bell end:
Dear God, This nonsense is all over parts of Twitter. What would the US gain from it ? It’s barmy.
This isn't even the barmiest fake news of the day. A group of Russian Liberal Democrat MPs said that covid originated from American biolabs in Ukraine and the world should ask for compensation from them.
Russia has the stomach for high casualties though, see WW2. Though that was a war of defence not offence
Putin apparently stated at the start of the war that he was prepared for 50,000 casualties.
Easy for him to say from a nice safe distance.
He is never more than one table length from the action. Of course, no one said there was an upper limit on table size...
Once, we thought a table was a table. But now... Now we dare to dream.
Smaller areas have seats at the UN.
It's worrying, I find that everything that happens is adequately explained by either aliens or The Death of Stalin. In this case D o S and some people trying to get an outsize wreath into the funeral and SRB as Beria saying "It's bigger than the region itself."
Why is this worrying?
Also, you are wrong. You need to include Hot Fuzz on the list.
On topic, it is probably also worth noting that both the Soviet disaster in Afghanistan and America's occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan were sustained by countries with much larger populations than Russia has now, and without its death-spiral demographics.
Also that the Russian army will presumably need a long time to rebuild itself, like Ukraine's did after 2014, but without British and American help. (Though maybe with Chinese aid ...)
I know its a pro-Ukranian source, but if this is even close to true then we either see mass Russian surrender or a breakout retreat. Total humiliation for the Russian army on the west side of Kyiv.
At the moment I think this is perhaps someone misunderstanding "we have cut off supplies to.." as "we have cut off..." to mean "those guys are encircled".
Given the apparent reliance of the Russians on roads for resupply, then if the Ukrainians have taken control of the roads behind them, the Russians are in a world of shit.
The Ukrainians don't even need to have control of the roads, as such, they just have to have enough roving bands of ambushers to deny the Russians any possibility of safe passage. And then, yes, the Russians to the NW of Kyiv will run out of fuel, food and ammunition.
I think you are seeing US, UK and other European surveillance and intelligence of the highest quality at work here that is being given to the Ukrainians during this conflict and it's contributing to Russia's problems.
That's not to downplay how tough and resilient the Ukrainian armed forces are, they are literally fighting for Ukraine's survival and it shows.
Russia is not a first rate technological power. There is all manner of assistance the west can provide without putting boots on the ground.
On Galloway, unless he has some serious evidence to back up his outrageous claim (and I doubt he has) ought to face complete ridicule.
I realise it's late, and this is not new, but I do want to make sure that everyone knows that George Galloway is an enormous bell end:
Dear God, This nonsense is all over parts of Twitter. What would the US gain from it ? It’s barmy.
This isn't even the barmiest fake news of the day. A group of Russian Liberal Democrat MPs said that covid originated from American biolabs in Ukraine and the world should ask for compensation from them.
The craziest take I read was that Putin was a hero of the free world as he has stood up against the world economic forum and this conflict has been orchestrated to hand Russia over to the forces behind the WEF by removing Putin.
I realise it's late, and this is not new, but I do want to make sure that everyone knows that George Galloway is an enormous bell end:
Dear God, This nonsense is all over parts of Twitter. What would the US gain from it ? It’s barmy.
This isn't even the barmiest fake news of the day. A group of Russian Liberal Democrat MPs said that covid originated from American biolabs in Ukraine and the world should ask for compensation from them.
I've been mostly off the forum for a few days, but see we're debating insults and Soviet policy in 1945, so perhaps haven't missed much. Glad to see BigG apologising for whatever upset CHB - hope that resolves it, CHB.
I was in Parliament today for the first time for a few years (Covid) and was struck by the ramping up of security since I was last there - multiple card readers to pass (some of which weren't working) and a maze of concrete barriers. Otherwise still the same unique surroundings - I'm not much interested in architecture, but although it'd certainly be cheaper to have it in an office block in Birmingham, it does still have magic, and I hope the repair work can be made to happen before it deteriorates too far.
Tomorrow's Sunak statement is going to be odd, overshadowed by Ukraine and in the teeth of the economic challenges - mainly a question of who gets hurt least, although I'm sure he'll try to spin it as generosity. 5p off petrol and maybe some help on home heating seems to be the bottom line, but if that's it I think it'll be forgotten in a week.
Sadly, I doubt it will make any difference to CHB. BigG has apologised at least twice previously and has specifically stated that he was wrong to say what he did.
Sunak has been an absolute disaster as Chancellor the more time has gone on.
I knew it when he did the useless "Eat Out To Help Out".
He is going one way and that is down.
So who will save the Tories now? How do they get a majority?
As Starmer has the charisma of a damp rag. If he wins it will be more Tory and Boris unpopularity than enthusiasm for Starmer, it will not be Blair as the new Messiah and New Labour 1997.
However only 1 party has won a majority after 10 years in power since 1918, the Tories in 1992, so the odds still favour a Labour government
Do you know I would prefer all our leaders to be boring but competent rather than showmen/women but useless.
Plenty of boring and not that great PMs too eg Heath, Brown and May
I think Starmer is in that tradition. People think he's competent just because he's boring, but actually I think he has no political or policy judgement, as has been shown by his record when he was shadow Brexit secretary and during the epidemic.
(Also, I don't like Heath, but I wouldn't say, with his skill as a musician and a yachtsman, that he was particularly boring. Arrogant, unpleasant and lacking in judgement perhaps, but not boring).
On topic, it is probably also worth noting that both the Soviet disaster in Afghanistan and America's occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan were sustained by countries with much larger populations than Russia has now, and without its death-spiral demographics.
Also that the Russian army will presumably need a long time to rebuild itself, like Ukraine's did after 2014, but without British and American help. (Though maybe with Chinese aid ...)
There are rumours that a lot of the frontline troops are from the remoter republics. Of course that might lead to increased strife in places like the Caucuses.
Sunak has been an absolute disaster as Chancellor the more time has gone on.
I knew it when he did the useless "Eat Out To Help Out".
He is going one way and that is down.
So who will save the Tories now? How do they get a majority?
As Starmer has the charisma of a damp rag. If he wins it will be more Tory and Boris unpopularity than enthusiasm for Starmer, it will not be Blair as the new Messiah and New Labour 1997.
However only 1 party has won a majority after 10 years in power since 1918, the Tories in 1992, so the odds still favour a Labour government
Do you know I would prefer all our leaders to be boring but competent rather than showmen/women but useless.
Plenty of boring and not that great PMs too eg Heath, Brown and May
I think Starmer is in that tradition. People think he's competent just because he's boring, but actually I think he has no political or policy judgement, as has been shown by his record when he was shadow Brexit secretary and during the epidemic.
(Also, I don't like Heath, but I wouldn't say, with his skill as a musician and a yachtsman, that he was particularly boring. Arrogant, unpleasant and lacking in judgement perhaps, but not boring).
Yes. "Confirmed Batchelor" in the era of nudge nudge Larry Grayson and John Inman. And in the Normandy landings too. Not really boring. Useless PM, mind. Starmer will be better judged during an election campaign. He may yet surprise with competence. But he still seems dull.
Russia has the stomach for high casualties though, see WW2. Though that was a war of defence not offence
Putin apparently stated at the start of the war that he was prepared for 50,000 casualties.
Russian or Ukrainian casualties?
Russian.
The Russian invasion force would ve unable to take 50k casualties and still be operational
Nah, there's loads coming in from Syria apparently.
That'll sort it all.
Yeah, I mean the world has like 8 billion people, half of whom are very poor. If you're prepared to pay and you don't require a high level of education you're not going to run out of guys.
Russia won't run out of money to pay these people as long as the world wants oil and gas.
I guess at some point they might run out of guns and bombs, but not for a while, and presumably China, India and Pakistan will all be happy to build up their industries to help with that.
So basically they can keep going for as long as they think the benefits are greater than the costs. This is a hard thing to predict since on any rational basis they never were and were never going to be, but Putin thinks they are.
I know its a pro-Ukranian source, but if this is even close to true then we either see mass Russian surrender or a breakout retreat. Total humiliation for the Russian army on the west side of Kyiv.
AH.com have been reporting this since this afternoon. Flagging it as RUMINT, but great news if so. I believe the army surrounded in question is the 6th Army.
Now THAT would be poetic justice......
I really what it to be accurate for lots of reasons
and sadly strongly suspect its not, or at lest saying we intercepted all the supply columns in the last 24 hours and saying it is surrounded are not the same thing.
However if it is surrounded being the '6th Army' would be hysterical, and in 100 years very confusing for kids in history lessons, 'I thought the 6th army was surrounded in ww2' 'no it wasn't it was surrounded in Putin war'
As a parting thought, I've been watching some Blackadder, and I feel like this line represents the two competing strands of appeal people find in PB, depending on their personal preference for confrontational debate. I'll go for the first. Edmund Blackadder: It is said, Percy, that civilised man seeks out good and intelligent company, so that through learned discourse he may rise above the savage, and closer to God. Percy Percy: Yes, I'd heard that. Edmund Blackadder: Personally, however, I like to start the day with a total dickhead to remind me I'm best.
Russia has the stomach for high casualties though, see WW2. Though that was a war of defence not offence
Putin apparently stated at the start of the war that he was prepared for 50,000 casualties.
Russian or Ukrainian casualties?
Russian.
The Russian invasion force would ve unable to take 50k casualties and still be operational
Nah, there's loads coming in from Syria apparently.
That'll sort it all.
Yeah, I mean the world has like 8 billion people, half of whom are very poor. If you're prepared to pay and you don't require a high level of education you're not going to run out of guys.
Russia won't run out of money to pay these people as long as the world wants oil and gas.
I guess at some point they might run out of guns and bombs, but not for a while, and presumably China, India and Pakistan will all be happy to build up their industries to help with that.
So basically they can keep going for as long as they think the benefits are greater than the costs. This is a hard thing to predict since on any rational basis they never were and were never going to be, but Putin thinks they are.
I don't think that's really true. Invading places is hard. And people - even the world's poorest - usually prefer not to die.
Russia has the stomach for high casualties though, see WW2. Though that was a war of defence not offence
Putin apparently stated at the start of the war that he was prepared for 50,000 casualties.
Russian or Ukrainian casualties?
Russian.
The Russian invasion force would ve unable to take 50k casualties and still be operational
Nah, there's loads coming in from Syria apparently.
That'll sort it all.
Yeah, I mean the world has like 8 billion people, half of whom are very poor. If you're prepared to pay and you don't require a high level of education you're not going to run out of guys.
Russia won't run out of money to pay these people as long as the world wants oil and gas.
I guess at some point they might run out of guns and bombs, but not for a while, and presumably China, India and Pakistan will all be happy to build up their industries to help with that.
So basically they can keep going for as long as they think the benefits are greater than the costs. This is a hard thing to predict since on any rational basis they never were and were never going to be, but Putin thinks they are.
Eventually it gets to the point where other Russians might make Putin's decision for him, however.
Not that it hasn't been horrific, and the level of destruction that has been seem speaks for itself, but I have been surprised that the official reports of civilian casualties has not been higher. I don't doubt the difficulty in tallying though, so I'm sure it will rise significantly, and that lots will be missing right now.
10 MILLION displaced
Sadly, I'm guessing tens of thousands are dead, for that kind of refugee crisis to happen
I realise it's late, and this is not new, but I do want to make sure that everyone knows that George Galloway is an enormous bell end:
Dear God, This nonsense is all over parts of Twitter. What would the US gain from it ? It’s barmy.
What Galloway is telling us is so obvious isn’t it, a false US bug operation to disguise leak of actuall bugs from Biden’s Bug Laboratories he built there, that Galloway also believes is true. 🤣
Actual this got me thinking the other day, why didn’t Rebel Alliance attack the Death Star with bug warfare? It’s basically a big ship? What goes on big ship is going round big ship, like a cruise ship. Just needs an operative with dysentery to use the Death Star loos and not wash their hands. Vader and storm troopers would have a problem doing a dash and splash in all that get up.
I realise it's late, and this is not new, but I do want to make sure that everyone knows that George Galloway is an enormous bell end:
Dear God, This nonsense is all over parts of Twitter. What would the US gain from it ? It’s barmy.
This isn't even the barmiest fake news of the day. A group of Russian Liberal Democrat MPs said that covid originated from American biolabs in Ukraine and the world should ask for compensation from them.
I realise it's late, and this is not new, but I do want to make sure that everyone knows that George Galloway is an enormous bell end:
Dear God, This nonsense is all over parts of Twitter. What would the US gain from it ? It’s barmy.
This isn't even the barmiest fake news of the day. A group of Russian Liberal Democrat MPs said that covid originated from American biolabs in Ukraine and the world should ask for compensation from them.
Do they offer a barchart?*
* (NB this is a joke. The Russian variety are mad ultras, not our domestic kind.)
Not that it hasn't been horrific, and the level of destruction that has been seem speaks for itself, but I have been surprised that the official reports of civilian casualties has not been higher. I don't doubt the difficulty in tallying though, so I'm sure it will rise significantly, and that lots will be missing right now.
10 MILLION displaced
Sadly, I'm guessing tens of thousands are dead, for that kind of refugee crisis to happen
20k? 30k?
I think that, as a relatively economically advanced country (compared to the locations of other recent wars), its people will have a greater capacity to move to escape the violence, and so you would expect more displaced people and fewer casualties, compared to a war where the civilian population was more static.
London mask report: about 10% in most places, but higher in the posh areas like Sloane Square.
I've noticed a significant uptick lately. Maybe that's just me.
Even in my local pharmacy very few customers coming in with masks.
Around 30% of the Tubes around Westminster. 0% on the train into London, but it was almost empty - I had a carriage to myself, so I wasn't wearing one either. Virtually none at the crowded Parl'y reception that I was attending.
I realise it's late, and this is not new, but I do want to make sure that everyone knows that George Galloway is an enormous bell end:
Dear God, This nonsense is all over parts of Twitter. What would the US gain from it ? It’s barmy.
This isn't even the barmiest fake news of the day. A group of Russian Liberal Democrat MPs said that covid originated from American biolabs in Ukraine and the world should ask for compensation from them.
Was it illustrated with a bar chart?
There's a rumour they're sending brochures to the front line saying "only the Russians can win here".
I know its a pro-Ukranian source, but if this is even close to true then we either see mass Russian surrender or a breakout retreat. Total humiliation for the Russian army on the west side of Kyiv.
At the moment I think this is perhaps someone misunderstanding "we have cut off supplies to.." as "we have cut off..." to mean "those guys are encircled".
Given the apparent reliance of the Russians on roads for resupply, then if the Ukrainians have taken control of the roads behind them, the Russians are in a world of shit.
The Ukrainians don't even need to have control of the roads, as such, they just have to have enough roving bands of ambushers to deny the Russians any possibility of safe passage. And then, yes, the Russians to the NW of Kyiv will run out of fuel, food and ammunition.
I think you are seeing US, UK and other European surveillance and intelligence of the highest quality at work here that is being given to the Ukrainians during this conflict and it's contributing to Russia's problems.
That's not to downplay how tough and resilient the Ukrainian armed forces are, they are literally fighting for Ukraine's survival and it shows.
Russia is not a first rate technological power. There is all manner of assistance the west can provide without putting boots on the ground.
On Galloway, unless he has some serious evidence to back up his outrageous claim (and I doubt he has) ought to face complete ridicule.
For someone prepared to stand in front of a psychopathic killer and say "Sir I salute your courage your strength and your indefatigability" 'complete ridicule' is unlikely to be a new concept.
I mentioned this earlier, a good question for PB midnight gmt club perhaps.
What do we think will happen to interest rates next couple of years?
Will there be moves to “a neutral rate that neither aids nor hampers growth?”
What is to be impact of rate rises? Despite what was put in place when they said “never again” after sub prime crash in the 00’s, can the price of mortgages cope with the neutral rate?
Not that it hasn't been horrific, and the level of destruction that has been seem speaks for itself, but I have been surprised that the official reports of civilian casualties has not been higher. I don't doubt the difficulty in tallying though, so I'm sure it will rise significantly, and that lots will be missing right now.
10 MILLION displaced
Sadly, I'm guessing tens of thousands are dead, for that kind of refugee crisis to happen
20k? 30k?
I think that, as a relatively economically advanced country (compared to the locations of other recent wars), its people will have a greater capacity to move to escape the violence, and so you would expect more displaced people and fewer casualties, compared to a war where the civilian population was more static.
But I fear for what is happening in Mariupol.
Yes, Mariupol alone...
I agree that Ukrainians are unusually mobile (relative to horrible wars through history) but nonetheless the sheer scale of damage and destruction must put deaths in 5 figures
10,000, for example, would be the Ukrainian death toll in a bad flu season. We are talking near-total war over a quarter of the country, for almost a month (and in winter)
And the earliest war predictions said 5m refugees and 50k dead. And we now have 10m refugees....
I mentioned this earlier, a good question for PB midnight gmt club perhaps.
What do we think will happen to interest rates next couple of years?
Will there be moves to “a neutral rate that neither aids nor hampers growth?”
What is to be impact of rate rises? Despite what was put in place when they said “never again” after sub prime crash in the 00’s, can the price of mortgages cope with the neutral rate?
I don’t know about the US, but I don’t know how our housing market survives if rates go much above 2%. Even 2% would be very painful.
I mentioned this earlier, a good question for PB midnight gmt club perhaps.
What do we think will happen to interest rates next couple of years?
Will there be moves to “a neutral rate that neither aids nor hampers growth?”
What is to be impact of rate rises? Despite what was put in place when they said “never again” after sub prime crash in the 00’s, can the price of mortgages cope with the neutral rate?
I don’t know about the US, but I don’t know how our housing market survives if rates go much above 2%. Even 2% would be very painful.
Not that it hasn't been horrific, and the level of destruction that has been seem speaks for itself, but I have been surprised that the official reports of civilian casualties has not been higher. I don't doubt the difficulty in tallying though, so I'm sure it will rise significantly, and that lots will be missing right now.
10 MILLION displaced
Sadly, I'm guessing tens of thousands are dead, for that kind of refugee crisis to happen
20k? 30k?
I think that, as a relatively economically advanced country (compared to the locations of other recent wars), its people will have a greater capacity to move to escape the violence, and so you would expect more displaced people and fewer casualties, compared to a war where the civilian population was more static.
But I fear for what is happening in Mariupol.
Yes, Mariupol alone...
I agree that Ukrainians are unusually mobile (relative to horrible wars through history) but nonetheless the sheer scale of damage and destruction must put deaths in 5 figures
10,000, for example, would be the Ukrainian death toll in a bad flu season. We are talking near-total war over a quarter of the country, for almost a month (and in winter)
And the earliest war predictions said 5m refugees and 50k dead. And we now have 10m refugees....
The eventual count of the civilian dead will greatly depend on whether Ukraine wins the war and so the evidence can be collected.
@DAlperovitch Fascinating claimed intercepted call from Russian officer near Mykolaiv to superiors in Russia. He says: - This is worse than Chechnya - 50% of troops have frostbite - They can’t evacuate the dead - Don’t have enough tents - RU plane dropped a bomb on their own position
I realise it's late, and this is not new, but I do want to make sure that everyone knows that George Galloway is an enormous bell end:
Lord fucking Haw-Haw lives.
Beggars belief really.
The question has been asked many times, but I really struggle with how someone can be obsessed by their partisan politics that they cannot alter them even in the face of epoch shattering events such as have been witnessed. It just gets fed into the accepted opinion.
It's probably why we often assume such people are phony, as if it would be better somehow for them to not believe what they are shilling, but I fear that is wishful thinking - he means every word.
All kinds of belief are hard for non believers to understand. I’m a complete atheist, and cannot understand how people believe in (a) god(s), but for those who believe I am the odd one. Take holocaust denial a la Irving. How could you deny the mountains of evidence and testimony from those who were there? But then I remember one of my uni friends who frequently told tall tales of exploits, ones that I knew were not true. In the end I became sure that he convinced himself they were true, they were his reality. Weird.
And amazing to have been at school with the future PM.
Russia has the stomach for high casualties though, see WW2. Though that was a war of defence not offence
The Soviet Union seized a whole bunch of territory -- several countries' worth -- between 1939 and 1945. And they kept it a long, long time. So no, calling it a war of defence is really not accurate.
The vast majority of the casualties were inflicted defending the USSR after Nazi invasion. Yes they did take some Eastern European countries later on but they also liberated them from the Nazis too
I rather think that 22,000 Polish men murdered at Katyn, could they speak - plus countless thousands more, elsewhere in Poland, in Belarus, in Ukrraine, in Latvia, in Estonia, and in Lithuania, men, women and children - might dispute your take on the Soviet 'war of defence'.
Most of those were in the Soviet Union before the war and after the war except Poland ie not foreign nations
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were not in the Soviet Union until invaded in 1940.
Still part of the Soviet Union when the Nazis invaded in 1941
@DAlperovitch Fascinating claimed intercepted call from Russian officer near Mykolaiv to superiors in Russia. He says: - This is worse than Chechnya - 50% of troops have frostbite - They can’t evacuate the dead - Don’t have enough tents - RU plane dropped a bomb on their own position
I realise it's late, and this is not new, but I do want to make sure that everyone knows that George Galloway is an enormous bell end:
Lord fucking Haw-Haw lives.
Beggars belief really.
The question has been asked many times, but I really struggle with how someone can be obsessed by their partisan politics that they cannot alter them even in the face of epoch shattering events such as have been witnessed. It just gets fed into the accepted opinion.
It's probably why we often assume such people are phony, as if it would be better somehow for them to not believe what they are shilling, but I fear that is wishful thinking - he means every word.
All kinds of belief are hard for non believers to understand. I’m a complete atheist, and cannot understand how people believe in (a) god(s), but for those who believe I am the odd one. Take holocaust denial a la Irving. How could you deny the mountains of evidence and testimony from those who were there? But then I remember one of my uni friends who frequently told tall tales of exploits, ones that I knew were not true. In the end I became sure that he convinced himself they were true, they were his reality. Weird.
"Take holocaust denial a la Irving" - weren't you around, on PB, for Rod Crosby?
Good deed of the day done before lunchtime. Two Ukranian refugees (friend of my wife and her daughter, from Kiev) put in touch with willing hosts in the UK (neighbours of my parents) and starting the process.
‘Our’ refugees (father-in-law and lady friend) planning their trip to our place in the sandpit at the moment too.
Russia has the stomach for high casualties though, see WW2. Though that was a war of defence not offence
The Soviet Union seized a whole bunch of territory -- several countries' worth -- between 1939 and 1945. And they kept it a long, long time. So no, calling it a war of defence is really not accurate.
The vast majority of the casualties were inflicted defending the USSR after Nazi invasion. Yes they did take some Eastern European countries later on but they also liberated them from the Nazis too
I rather think that 22,000 Polish men murdered at Katyn, could they speak - plus countless thousands more, elsewhere in Poland, in Belarus, in Ukrraine, in Latvia, in Estonia, and in Lithuania, men, women and children - might dispute your take on the Soviet 'war of defence'.
Most of those were in the Soviet Union before the war and after the war except Poland ie not foreign nations
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were not in the Soviet Union until invaded in 1940.
Still part of the Soviet Union when the Nazis invaded in 1941
@DAlperovitch Fascinating claimed intercepted call from Russian officer near Mykolaiv to superiors in Russia. He says: - This is worse than Chechnya - 50% of troops have frostbite - They can’t evacuate the dead - Don’t have enough tents - RU plane dropped a bomb on their own position
@DAlperovitch Fascinating claimed intercepted call from Russian officer near Mykolaiv to superiors in Russia. He says: - This is worse than Chechnya - 50% of troops have frostbite - They can’t evacuate the dead - Don’t have enough tents - RU plane dropped a bomb on their own position
@DAlperovitch Fascinating claimed intercepted call from Russian officer near Mykolaiv to superiors in Russia. He says: - This is worse than Chechnya - 50% of troops have frostbite - They can’t evacuate the dead - Don’t have enough tents - RU plane dropped a bomb on their own position
Comments
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvtdbfI1sqQ
On that profundity (which I'm pretty sure I am quoting, but I can't be bothered to look it up) I'm off to bed.
Also, you are wrong. You need to include Hot Fuzz on the list.
For The Greater Good.
That's not to downplay how tough and resilient the Ukrainian armed forces are, they are literally fighting for Ukraine's survival and it shows.
https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2022/03/22/more-than-15000-russians-have-been-arrested-in-anti-war-protests
It's probably why we often assume such people are phony, as if it would be better somehow for them to not believe what they are shilling, but I fear that is wishful thinking - he means every word.
I was in Parliament today for the first time for a few years (Covid) and was struck by the ramping up of security since I was last there - multiple card readers to pass (some of which weren't working) and a maze of concrete barriers. Otherwise still the same unique surroundings - I'm not much interested in architecture, but although it'd certainly be cheaper to have it in an office block in Birmingham, it does still have magic, and I hope the repair work can be made to happen before it deteriorates too far.
Tomorrow's Sunak statement is going to be odd, overshadowed by Ukraine and in the teeth of the economic challenges - mainly a question of who gets hurt least, although I'm sure he'll try to spin it as generosity. 5p off petrol and maybe some help on home heating seems to be the bottom line, but if that's it I think it'll be forgotten in a week.
That'll sort it all.
I believe the army surrounded in question is the 6th Army.
Now THAT would be poetic justice......
https://www.defenseone.com/threats/2022/02/above-ukraine-cold-war-spy-plane-finally-tracking-russian-invasion/362288/
Take holocaust denial a la Irving. How could you deny the mountains of evidence and testimony from those who were there?
But then I remember one of my uni friends who frequently told tall tales of exploits, ones that I knew were not true. In the end I became sure that he convinced himself they were true, they were his reality.
Weird.
The USA is evil incarnate, that's just a given. Iraq and what have you.
The USA would defeat the Russians in a conventional military contest.
Accordingly, the Russians would never provoke such a contest.
Therefore, any Russian atrocity must actually be planned by the USA.
The great thing is the existence of an event is itself proof of american involvement, so no further evidence is needed.
Also that the Russian army will presumably need a long time to rebuild itself, like Ukraine's did after 2014, but without British and American help. (Though maybe with Chinese aid ...)
On Galloway, unless he has some serious evidence to back up his outrageous claim (and I doubt he has) ought to face complete ridicule.
Admittedly your comment is bonkers too.
(Also, I don't like Heath, but I wouldn't say, with his skill as a musician and a yachtsman, that he was particularly boring. Arrogant, unpleasant and lacking in judgement perhaps, but not boring).
https://www.pprune.org/rumours-news/645805-china-eastern-737-800-mu5735-accident-march-2022-a-4.html
Not really boring.
Useless PM, mind.
Starmer will be better judged during an election campaign. He may yet surprise with competence. But he still seems dull.
Russia won't run out of money to pay these people as long as the world wants oil and gas.
I guess at some point they might run out of guns and bombs, but not for a while, and presumably China, India and Pakistan will all be happy to build up their industries to help with that.
So basically they can keep going for as long as they think the benefits are greater than the costs. This is a hard thing to predict since on any rational basis they never were and were never going to be, but Putin thinks they are.
and sadly strongly suspect its not, or at lest saying we intercepted all the supply columns in the last 24 hours and saying it is surrounded are not the same thing.
However if it is surrounded being the '6th Army' would be hysterical, and in 100 years very confusing for kids in history lessons, 'I thought the 6th army was surrounded in ww2' 'no it wasn't it was surrounded in Putin war'
Edmund Blackadder: It is said, Percy, that civilised man seeks out good and intelligent company, so that through learned discourse he may rise above the savage, and closer to God.
Percy Percy: Yes, I'd heard that.
Edmund Blackadder: Personally, however, I like to start the day with a total dickhead to remind me I'm best.
Sadly, I'm guessing tens of thousands are dead, for that kind of refugee crisis to happen
20k? 30k?
Actual this got me thinking the other day, why didn’t Rebel Alliance attack the Death Star with bug warfare? It’s basically a big ship? What goes on big ship is going round big ship, like a cruise ship. Just needs an operative with dysentery to use the Death Star loos and not wash their hands. Vader and storm troopers would have a problem doing a dash and splash in all that get up.
* (NB this is a joke. The Russian variety are mad ultras, not our domestic kind.)
But I fear for what is happening in Mariupol.
What do we think will happen to interest rates next couple of years?
Will there be moves to “a neutral rate that neither aids nor hampers growth?”
What is to be impact of rate rises? Despite what was put in place when they said “never again” after sub prime crash in the 00’s, can the price of mortgages cope with the neutral rate?
I agree that Ukrainians are unusually mobile (relative to horrible wars through history) but nonetheless the sheer scale of damage and destruction must put deaths in 5 figures
10,000, for example, would be the Ukrainian death toll in a bad flu season. We are talking near-total war over a quarter of the country, for almost a month (and in winter)
And the earliest war predictions said 5m refugees and 50k dead. And we now have 10m refugees....
Wordle2 127 2/6 #wordle2 #peace
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https://www.wordle2.in
Fascinating claimed intercepted call from Russian officer near Mykolaiv to superiors in Russia. He says:
- This is worse than Chechnya
- 50% of troops have frostbite
- They can’t evacuate the dead
- Don’t have enough tents
- RU plane dropped a bomb on their own position
https://twitter.com/DAlperovitch/status/1506453063267241994
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/03/ukraine-is-winning-war-russia/627121/
Cold, wet conditions, no changes of boots or socks.....
‘Our’ refugees (father-in-law and lady friend) planning their trip to our place in the sandpit at the moment too.