Brexit, for once some facts.

[flecc]

The ship that was destroyed was probably an uncomfortable reminder of unpleasant possibilities to the Russian navy.

True, but it was a sitting duck in dock. The USI reported that Russia has developed a new breed of small platform cruise missile launching ships and that a number of them have been added to the already impressive missile capabilities of the large Southern fleet. Those multiple small moving targets won't be so easy to knock out.

This expansion of the Southern fleet supports Woosh's contention that Putin planned the Ukraine assault a long time ago.
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[oldgroaner]

He may have cancer, I don't know but l don't believe that has much influenced his decision to invade Ukraine. He's prepared Russia for war with the West at least since Ukraine failed to implement the Minks protocol.

Looking at the performance of his campaign he seems to have prepare his forces well.
Assuming the expectation was that they would be fighting WW2 again.

 

[Woosh]

In my experience people who contract terminal cancer of any kind sometimes react in any of these ways due to the frustration of being able to doing anything about their situation.



Very dodgy I'd say, this is the second wave of stories about Putin and cancer. I think wishful thinking is probably more responsible than facts.

Patience called for I think. Russia will pull out of most of Ukraine long before Putin dies of any illness. They are consolidating the land north of Mariupol to give themselves a wide enough corridor to easily defend their access from Russia direct to Crimea and have almost achieved that and total control of Mariupol already.

The only remaining question is, will they attempt to take Odessa? With their fleet standing just offshore and its hugely expanded missile capability, reported on in the last year by our United Services Institute, they may well try.

A massive cruise missiles and shelling assault from the sea, then the land force, newly reinforced from the northern withdrawals, moving in would seem a likely tactic.
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The West can easily let Putin know that it is prepared to supply Ukrainians with enough Exocet missiles to defend Odessa.
Likewise, Putin already knows that if he hasn't won then it is futile to push on, his soldiers will soon be fed up living in foxholes. It's time to negotiate.

 

[flecc]

The West can easily let Putin know that it is prepared to supply Ukrainians with enough Exocet missiles to defend Odessa.

Agreed, no problem on the supply, but I don't know if the Ukrainians have any Exocet launch capability.

Looks like they may be ready with enough of their own anti-ship missiles though. We know they've used one already:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neptune_(cruise_missile)

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[oyster]

The West can easily let Putin know that it is prepared to supply Ukrainians with enough Exocet missiles to defend Odessa.
Likewise, Putin already knows that if he hasn't won then it is futile to push on, his soldiers will soon be fed up living in foxholes. It's time to negotiate.

Are Exocets still up to attacking Russian ships? Their origin, at least, is rather long in the tooth. And, having been around so long, Russia might be able to defend against it rather more effectively than the UK and USA have in the past.

 

[flecc]

Are Exocets still up to attacking Russian ships? Their origin, at least, is rather long in the tooth. And, having been around so long, Russia might be able to defend against it rather more effectively than the UK and USA have in the past.

I think they are up to attacking any ship and are likely to remain so.

Their particular cunning is that their approach is at just above the surface of the sea instead of at some height like most ballistic or cruise missiles.

That means radar cannot see them since their send and return radar signal is mixed up with the water surface waves, swell or ripple and shown as on screen noise (fuzz) if the radar is beamed that low.
.

 

[flecc]

Energy prices again, now we have all the facts and April 1st has passed.

The following based on my electricity suppliers new rates ( I have no gas), sticking to the current cap:

My total usage for 2021 was 7274 units, costing £1428, including daily standing charges and VAT.

At the new rates that same usage for a year will cost £2411.

That is an increase of £983, up 68.8%, year on year. It seems the increase of 54% being widely bandied about is only that over recent prices, not a true year on year rate.

And it seems Rishi Sunak's £150 rebate per household in A to D band is giving councils headaches on how to give it to us since they can only give it easily if one is paying by direct debit. So they are thinking that we'll have to apply for it if we dont receive it.

Of course if they had a working brain cell between them all, they'd deduct it from all A to D council tax bills in the first place!

But no, I've now got my bill and they haven't done that, the twerps, saying I have to make payments at the full rate and they'll give the rebate shortly.
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[oyster]

Energy prices again, now we have all the facts and April 1st has passed.

The following based on my electricity suppliers new rates ( I have no gas), sticking to the current cap:

My total usage for 2021 was 7274 units, costing £1428, including daily standing charges and VAT.

At the new rates that same usage for a year will cost £2411.

That is an increase of £983, up 68.8%, year on year. It seems the increase of 54% being widely bandied about is only that over recent prices, not a true year on year rate.

And it seems Rishi Sunak's £150 rebate per household in A to D band is giving councils headaches on how to give it to us since they can only give it easily if one is paying by direct debit. So they are thinking that we'll have to apply for it if we dont receive it.

Of course if they had a working brain cell between them all, they'd deduct it from all A to D council tax bills in the first place!

But no, I've now got my bill and they haven't done that, the twerps, saying I have to make payments at the full rate and they'll give the rebate shortly.
.

I believe Northern Ireland doesn't have Council Tax - but some rates system. Wonder if the same approach will be applied there? And what will happen to people who move house, especially to a higher band in a different nation.

 

[flecc]

I believe Northern Ireland doesn't have Council Tax - but some rates system. Wonder if the same approach will be applied there?

Rishi Sunak's scheme is England only, though your government is going to do similar for the rising cost of living. Belfast News has reported these but made no mention for themselves, so it appears they wont be getting anything.

And what will happen to people who move house, especially to a higher band in a different nation.

They'll just pocket the £150 and move, no need to pay back since it's a one off grant, not tied to any period.
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[daveboy]

My jury service was cancelled last year.. I hope to get called again on a "fiddled the meter" case so I can find them not guilty.

 

[Danidl]

I believe Northern Ireland doesn't have Council Tax - but some rates system. Wonder if the same approach will be applied there? And what will happen to people who move house, especially to a higher band in a different nation.

Oyster, NI no longer has a Government, so it cannot make any decisions.

 

[oyster]

Oyster, NI no longer has a Government, so it cannot make any decisions.

I didn't say it was Stormont that would decide. Just questioning what will be decided.

 

[flecc]

Oyster, NI no longer has a Government, so it cannot make any decisions.

Much of the time when it did have the Assembly running, it still couldn't make decisions !
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[Woosh]

Energy prices again, now we have all the facts and April 1st has passed.

The following based on my electricity suppliers new rates ( I have no gas), sticking to the current cap:

My total usage for 2021 was 7274 units, costing £1428, including daily standing charges and VAT.

At the new rates that same usage for a year will cost £2411.

That is an increase of £983, up 68.8%, year on year. It seems the increase of 54% being widely bandied about is only that over recent prices, not a true year on year rate.

And it seems Rishi Sunak's £150 rebate per household in A to D band is giving councils headaches on how to give it to us since they can only give it easily if one is paying by direct debit. So they are thinking that we'll have to apply for it if we dont receive it.

Of course if they had a working brain cell between them all, they'd deduct it from all A to D council tax bills in the first place!

But no, I've now got my bill and they haven't done that, the twerps, saying I have to make payments at the full rate and they'll give the rebate shortly.
.

There's plenty of oil and gas to make up for the reduction of Russian supply. The big multi nationals exploit the turmoil to inflict misery on billions of human beings especially on the third world too poor to compete for supply. It just like the price of sea freight containers. 1,000% increase in price when Covid struck. 600% on gas when Putin struck.
I wonder what is worse, the oil and gas or Putin.

 

[flecc]

There's plenty of oil and gas to make up for the reduction of Russian supply. The big multi nationals exploit the turmoil to inflict misery on billions of human beings especially on thethird world too poor to compete forsupply. It just like the price of sea freight containers. 1,000% increase in price when Covid struck. 600% on gas when Putin struck.
I wonder what is worse, the oil and gas or Putin.

Indeed, there's so much surplus, especially of oil, that we aren't even exploiting it all. And daftest of all is that the sanctions on buying them from Russia have already failed so Russia wont even be affected by them. China has just signed a deal on gas supply from Russia, and being a big oil importer no doubt that will follow.

We are going to have to buy foods from Russia anyway, since the world is so short of grain and starvation already present as a result for the last two years now. With Ukraine's harvest almost certain to fail now with no seed planting done and currently increased droughts in Africa, the situation next year will get even more desperate for millions of the world's poorest.

Latest shortage is sunflower oil with the main UK supplier having only four weeks left. Their seed comes from Ukraine normally, but no chance currently of course. Many convenience food manufacturers are now hurriedly switching to rapeseed oil, but any reserves of that will soon run out in consequence, and it's too late for our farmers to switch to that for this year.
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[jonathan.agnew]

There's plenty of oil and gas to make up for the reduction of Russian supply. The big multi nationals exploit the turmoil to inflict misery on billions of human beings especially on the third world too poor to compete for supply. It just like the price of sea freight containers. 1,000% increase in price when Covid struck. 600% on gas when Putin struck.
I wonder what is worse, the oil and gas or Putin.

That's capitalism, same reason house prices are going up 20% a year in the teeth of a recession and affordability crisis. But it only works while its affordable, as with housing there's a bust period on the horizon once it becomes about arrears, defaulting

 

[oyster]

If this story is true, what is behind it?

Conflict Intelligence Team: Missile hitting Belgorod Oblast came from Russia. Observers from the CIT report that the missile that fell in the village of Nikolskoye in Russia’s Belgorod Oblast on April 1 came from the country’s northeast or east, ruling out Ukraine’s involvement. Russian media and authorities earlier accused Ukraine of attacking Belgorod Oblast.

 

[flecc]

If this story is true, what is behind it?

Conflict Intelligence Team: Missile hitting Belgorod Oblast came from Russia. Observers from the CIT report that the missile that fell in the village of Nikolskoye in Russia’s Belgorod Oblast on April 1 came from the country’s northeast or east, ruling out Ukraine’s involvement. Russian media and authorities earlier accused Ukraine of attacking Belgorod Oblast.

Maybe adding to the Russian army's assault on Kharkiv but this one fell short due to a fault? It fell close to the Ukrainian border at the red pointer in Google Map and Belgorod is near to Kharkiv where the Ukrainians are holding out against the Russians. They are in a straight line from the North or North East where it's said it launched from:

Map Link
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[Danidl]

If this story is true, what is behind it?

Conflict Intelligence Team: Missile hitting Belgorod Oblast came from Russia. Observers from the CIT report that the missile that fell in the village of Nikolskoye in Russia’s Belgorod Oblast on April 1 came from the country’s northeast or east, ruling out Ukraine’s involvement. Russian media and authorities earlier accused Ukraine of attacking Belgorod Oblast.

Unless there is incorrect footage.. the BBC had shown two helicopters , the second of which released a spray of missiles, and moments later the oil tanks were on fire.

 

[oyster]

Unless there is incorrect footage.. the BBC had shown two helicopters , the second of which released a spray of missiles, and moments later the oil tanks were on fire.

I think you are referring to the first explosive event there on the first of April. Ukraine have denied that - but who knows the truth?

The one I was wondering about was the missile(s) without any helicopters. Earlier today.