Brexit, for once some facts.

guerney

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Saw my Consultant yesterday, and it turns out that my weight loss efforts through intermittent starvation (I mean intermittent fasting) and slow jogging has resulted in a blood pressure reading of 126/82. Pulse rate is 76, pulse pressure is 44. I haven't been slow jogging lately, but I expect lower blood pressure and pulse pressure, after a few more months of that and even more weight loss. I must lose this final stubborn stone in weight, to get to the middle of the green "Healthy weight" zone indicated in the NHS BMI calculator. I'm in the BMI green zone already, but only just. My body has adjusted it's metabolism to lower calories, so I'm going to have to reduce my daily calorie intake, and increase exercise by a smidge or several. I'm eating three chopped raw garlic cloves a day, and am hoping that engaging with all of the preceding will mean that statins will not be necessary in the near future.
 
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Woosh

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Russia "telling its armed forces war must end by 9 May ", according to Sky News.

Between end of April and end of May latest, maybe cease fire before.
No doubt there, flecc is doing a mind trick on Mr V. Putin.
 
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jonathan.agnew

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Saw my Consultant yesterday, and it turns out that my weight loss efforts through intermittent starvation (I mean intermittent fasting) and slow jogging has resulted in a blood pressure reading of 126/82. Pulse rate is 76, pulse pressure is 44. I haven't been slow jogging lately, but I expect lower blood pressure and pulse pressure, after a few more months of that and even more weight loss. I must lose this final stubborn stone in weight, to get to the middle of the green "Healthy weight" zone indicated in the NHS BMI calculator. I'm in the BMI green zone already, but only just. My body has adjusted it's metabolism to lower calories, so I'm going to have to reduce my daily calorie intake, and increase exercise by a smidge or several. I'm eating three chopped raw garlic cloves a day, and am hoping that engaging with all of the preceding will mean that statins will not be necessary in the near future.
Am about to go for a slow run, on a Friday afternoon (when a merlot in a sunny garden seems a better idea, but really truly isn't on the wrong side of fifty). Try to tell myself it's all just experience one way or another, there's no such thing as pleasure or pain (as an existential phenomenological I knew at uni would say). Good luck with the diet!
 
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flecc

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Russia "telling its armed forces war must end by 9 May ", according to Sky News.

No doubt there, flecc is doing a mind trick on Mr V. Putin.
Yes, Russia has announced that it has largely achieved its objectives so will now just concentrate on Donbass. That means finishing off Mariupol's latent resistance and widening their inland margin there to give an easily defended totally secure 100 km wide corridor from Russia to the Crimea. They've nearly got that now

It's as I've been posting since before the war even began. The main objective was always that corridor and Kiev and Kharkiv only have symbolic importance as the capital and second city. Of course they'd have liked to have achieved a more emphatic win, but again as I've posted, they never intended to retain Ukraine so that doesn't matter. They want Ukraine to be an independent non-NATO buffer like Belarus, Moldova and Georgia.

Whether they've blown that possibility and Ukraine becomes a NATO country will depend on America's wisdom. If they are wise enough they won't accept any more NATO members such as Ukraine and Finland on Russia's border in the interests of lasting peace.
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oldgroaner

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Yes, Russia has announced that it has largely achieved its objectives so will now just concentrate on Donbass. That means finishing off Mariupol's latent resistance and widening their inland margin there to give an easily defended totally secure 100 km wide corridor from Russia to the Crimea. They've nearly got that now

It's as I've been posting since before the war even began. The main objective was always that corridor and Kiev and Kharkiv only have symbolic importance as the capital and second city. Of course they'd have liked to have achieved a more emphatic win, but again as I've posted, they never intended to retain Ukraine so that doesn't matter. They want Ukraine to be an independent non-NATO buffer like Belarus, Moldova and Georgia.

Whether they've blown that possibility and Ukraine becomes a NATO country will depend on America's wisdom. If they are wise enough they won't accept any more NATO members such as Ukraine and Finland only Russia's border in the interests of lasting peace.
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Hopefully they will do the opposite and admit Ukraine to NATO, otherwise the can is just being kicked down the road, and it will happen again.
Russia should never be allowed to determine what policies neighboring countries can choose to follow
Remember someone saying
"I have no more territorial ambitions?"
 

guerney

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Am about to go for a slow run, on a Friday afternoon (when a merlot in a sunny garden seems a better idea, but really truly isn't on the wrong side of fifty). Try to tell myself it's all just experience one way or another, there's no such thing as pleasure or pain (as an existential phenomenological I knew at uni would say). Good luck with the diet!
That's great jonathan.agnew! Remember - No pain, NO PAIN! It's convenient when one is faced with a simple binary choice between a pair of sets of actions: Slow jog/drink merlot, eat whatever you like whenever you like/stop eating so much for gawd's sakes and save one's life! Eat odious slimy sprouted chickpea Natto for artery softening (allegedly) vitamin K2/aarrrgghh it's horrible throw it away! I'll go out for a slow jog after the druks have passed out. I had forgotten that one needs to ferment Natto in the yoghurt maker for 24 hours, not just 12... but here is a pic of my sprouted (only slightly sprouted) Natto. Full of heart artery softening (allegedly) Vitamin K2. It gets slimy, as soon as one empties it out of the jar... it tastes ever so slightly like okra, but without the flavour; tastes neutral and slimy... which necessitates the adding of savoury flavour - soya sauce or cold curry sauce from the night before are my go-tos. Probiotic slime is more visible at the bottom of the jar. It'd be much easier, far less unpleasant buying the vitamin K capsules. Mind you, add a bit of some strong but cold flavouring, it tastes quite (relatively, but relative to what specifically I can't possibly imagine) nice in a sandwich.


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flecc

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Hopefully they will do the opposite and admit Ukraine to NATO, otherwise the can is just being kicked down the road, and it will happen again.
Russia should never be allowed to determine what policies neighboring countries can choose to follow
Remember someone saying
"I have no more territorial ambitions?"
It won't be Russia deciding, it will be the USA's option. We only got this war through the USA getting that wrong 15 years ago.

Neither Putin nor Russia have any territorial ambitions during most current lifetimes. They ended when the USSR ended. Its why they left Georgia after taking it and why they will leave Ukraine shortly.
.
 
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guerney

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Hopefully they will do the opposite and admit Ukraine to NATO, otherwise the can is just being kicked down the road, and it will happen again.
Russia should never be allowed to determine what policies neighboring countries can choose to follow
Remember someone saying
"I have no more territorial ambitions?"
As you know Putin has been racing gerbils for the highest quality gerbil testosterone extract, and you'd be wrong if he's injected too much and invades Poland.
 
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guerney

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Looks like Sunak might no longer be the obvious person to replace Johnson.

Of the ones I have seen, not a single paper has a front page which could be seen as positive to Sunak or the government.
Sneaky Sunak is Tory-virtue signalling with that budget! Not helping Tory voting pensioners is a lapse.
 

Woosh

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We only got this war through the USA getting that wrong 15 years ago.
that may be but it will certainly Putin's last war, especially if the Ukrainians can hold on to Mariupol.
 

flecc

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that may be but it will certainly Putin's last war, especially if the Ukrainians can hold on to Mariupol.
Mariupol which is the Donbass fringe is already lost, it's only a matter of a little more time, especially with all the Russian resources concentrating there now. Russia will not leave Ukraine without the wide secure corridor alongside the Azov Sea they set out for, and that means no Ukrainian Mariupol will remain, even if it has to be totally flattened.

I agree it will be Putin's last war, the deadline isn't his, it's what he's been ordered to do.
.
 
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jonathan.agnew

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Mariupol which is the Donbass fringe is already lost, it's only a matter of a little more time, especially with all the Russian resources concentrating there now. Russia will not leave Ukraine without the wide secure corridor alongside the Azov Sea they set out for, and that means no Ukrainian Mariupol will remain, even if it has to be totally flattened.

I agree it will be Putin's last war, the deadline isn't his, it's what he's been ordered to do.
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I believe the technical term is "running away bravely". Not that they will be slaughtered with any more ceremony by the citizens with nlaws and stingers in eastern Ukraine
 
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Zlatan

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It won't be Russia deciding, it will be the USA's option. We only got this war through the USA getting that wrong 15 years ago.

Neither Putin nor Russia have any territorial ambitions during most current lifetimes. They ended when the USSR ended. Its why they left Georgia after taking it and why they will leave Ukraine shortly.
.
But the whole premise of wanting buffer zones between yourself and those you see as enemies suggest aggression down the line.
Defenders don't need buffer zones, they are sat at border defending the country behind them, as with Poland and numerous others. Aggressors on the other hand have war on their minds but don't want that war on home soil, it might affect their ability to build arms etc. They want to fight their war "in the buffer zone".
Putin has shown his hand now and its actual strength. He has commited war crimes, attacked civilians, bombed schools, hospitals and theatres all in his desire to recover what he sees as Russian soil. This stupid war would have happened in his next target had he not been stopped here,and its not over yet. If Russians say they are giving up on Kyiv my suspicion is that's the last thing on their minds. Putin wanted Ukraine, Moldova, the Baltics, and probably Poland. His corridor to the sea is along lines of denazification and delmilitarisation. Utter rubbish spouted to justify his grand belicose desires.


It's a strange turn of events where some in here are echoing Trump.
If US is to blame for current situation it's firmly at feet of Trump.
 
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oyster

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But the whole premise of wanting buffer zones between yourself and those you see as enemies suggest aggression down the line.
Do remember that Russia, in its USSR incarnation, didn't do anything to achieve buffer zone between East and West Germanies. If a buffer zone were so important, they could have ensured there was one by having an agreed no-reunification withdrawal from EG.
 
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flecc

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But the whole premise of wanting buffer zones between yourself and those you see as enemies suggest aggression down the line.
Defenders don't need buffer zones, they are sat at border defending the country behind them, as with Poland and numerous others. Aggressors on the other hand have war on their minds but don't want that war on home soil, it might affect their ability to build arms etc. They want to fight their war "in the buffer zone".
Putin has shown his hand now and its actual strength. He has commited war crimes, attacked civilians, bombed schools, hospitals and theatres all in his desire to recover what he sees as Russian soil. This stupid war would have happened in his next target had he not been stopped here,and its not over yet. If Russians say they are giving up on Kyiv my suspicion is that's the last thing on their minds. Putin wanted Ukraine, Moldova, the Baltics, and probably Poland. His corridor to the sea is along lines of denazification and delmilitarisation. Utter rubbish spouted to justify his grand belicose desires.


It's a strange turn of events where some in here are echoing Trump.
If US is to blame for current situation it's firmly at feet of Trump.
You couldn't be more wrong and will be proved to be wrong.

Going beyond Ukraine or Moldova or Georgia means attacking NATO, and neither Putin nor Russia will do that since they are well aware of the result, being outnumbered over 6 to 1 and unable to even beat Ukraine decisively.

That's why they withdrew from little Georgia having conquered it and why they will shortly withdraw from Ukraine which they never intended to retain.

And your last sentence is pure idiocy. How can Trump be to blame for the foolish US actions in the 1990s and early 2000s, long before Trump entered politics.
.
 
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Zlatan

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Do remember that Russia, in its USSR incarnation, didn't do anything to achieve buffer zone between East and West Germanies. If a buffer zone were so important, they could have ensured there was one by having an agreed no-reunification withdrawal from EG.
The planned battle ground was central Europe. Had the cold War turned hot the battles would not have been fought in Russia. Nato (a defensive alliance) strategy (originally) was to fight a retreating fight to coast. Advent of being able to take out massed ranks of MBTs by helicopter changed that doctrine. NATO realised they could halt advance with modern weaponry, even tactical Nuclear if needed.
 
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Zlatan

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You couldn't be more wrong and will be proved to be wrong.

Going beyond Ukraine or Moldova or Georgia means attacking NATO, and neither Putin nor Russia will do that since they are well aware of the result, being outnumbered over 6 to 1 and unable to even beat Ukraine decisively.

That's why they withdrew from little Georgia having conquered it and why they will shortly withdraw from Ukraine which they never intended to retain.

And your last sentence is pure idiocy. How can Trump be to blame for the foolish US actions in the 1990s and early 2000s, long before Trump entered politics.
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Read the article. Trump actually spouts some of your same rubbish.
But you didn't read my post, I actually agree blaming US for this situation is idiocy.
 
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Danidl

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Mariupol which is the Donbass fringe is already lost, it's only a matter of a little more time, especially with all the Russian resources concentrating there now. Russia will not leave Ukraine without the wide secure corridor alongside the Azov Sea they set out for, and that means no Ukrainian Mariupol will remain, even if it has to be totally flattened.

I agree it will be Putin's last war, the deadline isn't his, it's what he's been ordered to do.
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From my reading of other sites etc.my view is that Mariupol was a grudge vengeance attack. The success of the defenders there in 2014 twarted the failure to make the gains planned at that time fed into this denazification rant so everything which happened this time was all premeditated.
 
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Woosh

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You couldn't be more wrong and will be proved to be wrong.

Going beyond Ukraine or Moldova or Georgia means attacking NATO, and neither Putin nor Russia will do that since they are well aware of the result, being outnumbered over 6 to 1 and unable to even beat Ukraine decisively.

That's why they withdrew from little Georgia having conquered it and why they will shortly withdraw from Ukraine which they never intended to retain.

And your last sentence is pure idiocy. How can Trump be to blame for the foolish US actions in the 1990s and early 2000s, long before Trump entered politics.
.
Putin has always counted on European countries' reluctance to engage into a war with Russia. Had he been more successful in Ukraine, he may expand Russia's military power even more.
Ukraine may rid us of him and his politics of strong men for good.
 

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