Spent the weekend in Cardiff after seeing Ed Sheeran - not my idea - the wife wanted to see him, but I have to say he put on a very good concert. Actually, I was extremely impressed with Cardiff - although I went to Uni there I never actually went into the city for a night out and actively avoided going there when watching the football!!!! It's really lively and vibrant - loads of nice bars and restaurants with outdoor eating areas. I particularly liked Heidi's Bier bar and the weather at the weekend was fantastic. Surprisingly I learned that Cardiff as we know it today is only about 170 years old - most of it was built on the coal boom of the Victorian era. That makes it about the same age as Swindon - what a HUGE difference between the 2 places over the same timescales - one is a lively attractive city with lovely arcades, a couple of castles, a lovely park area famous for it's tree collection and loads of places to eat, drink and socialise, the other is a concrete wasteland with most of the historic buildings destroyed to make way for more concrete - and what used to be the lively night spot at the bottom of town is now like a real life version of a zombie computer game as soon as the sun goes down, with 'creatures' stumbling out of dark doorways of boarded up shops Sorry - digressing the thread...........
with the promise.. imminent? .. delivery of some heavier missile systems there seems to be a lack of C17's in the area of the western coast of Black sea .... but strato tanker is on station so must some! Also PSYCHO26 seems to be on manouvres over Poland ... UK euro fighter ... Also Turkish plane patrolling the Bosphorous end of the black sea ... at low level ...
In an interview with French TV, Mr Lavrov said the Russian leader appears in public every day, and no sane person would see any signs of an ailment. once again this "observation rises to the fore" we all wish, well the sane people of the world, that president Putin has a speedy and painless end to his illness, and unfortunately we will not be sending flowers to his grave! Putrid, is very shy to have anyone near him in interviews and speech's so the odd picture of him presenting a medal or 2, in a crowded room/space to a soldier [ or potentially so called hero hero rapist/ murderer ]has to been taken with a pinch of body double! ! ! Lavrov interview again like all RUSSIAN... [ and if you cast your mind back Iraqi? diplomats ] are taught parrot lessons, only repeat what you are told to repeat "we can never do any wrong or tell any truth's as we are trained liars and greedy murderers" . I find it difficult to understand people like these, we do a job earn a wage go on holiday, go for days out, socialise watch sports, go for walks watch TV with multi choices ... these Diplo's seem to live boring lives of rehearsing the next script that makes them seem of extreme importance and useful human beings, they should all be clothed in green and blue and red feathered clothes .... ..............."You can watch him on screens, read and listen to his speeches," he said in comments released by the Russian foreign ministry. "I leave it to the conscience of those who spread such rumours despite daily opportunities to assess how anyone is looking." ............ I always get the impression in most close up pics he is wearing make up ... some pics are slightly different to others, odd bump or apparent shape difference to certain features or around eyes... !!! British intelligence sources were quoted telling media outlets that Mr Putin was seriously ill in the last week. However, rumours about the condition of the Russian leader, long known for his healthy lifestyle and love of sport, have surfaced periodically for years. Asked about the human cost of the fighting, which has seen devastating artillery and rocket attacks on some urban areas, the foreign minister insisted Russian soldiers were "under strict orders categorically to avoid attacks and strikes on civilian infrastructure". ... usual denial, you wouldnt expect them to say "yes, we have told the generals their lives are not worth living, should we not kill as many Ukrainians as is possible, raze their homes to the ground so they have no where to live, smash their workplaces so they have nowhere to earn a crust, and our young conscripts will be replaceable in the future and we can call them all protectors of the motherland and hero's " I cant wait to post RIP PUTIN .........
If by some chance you go first John, I will do it for you. That’s providing I’m still here, of course.
I was late for the Manic’s as I thought they was due on 7:30 to find they changed it to 7 that day. So came in and got to seat in time for She Sells Sanctuary, which I thought they done well with. Didn’t help that I got off the bus went into autopilot and tried walking into the entrance I always go in on Winterstoke Rd to find out I was supposed to go in Dolman side of Ashton road. I last saw the Manic’s on the Millennium at the Millennium, feels weird that is now 22 years ago. First gig at AG, thought transport was well done so was impressed apart from the bars. My wife don’t like the Manic’s so went to the bar and didn’t get back till 15 minutes prior to Killers coming on. Why was there no one going round with kegs on their backs like everywhere else I’ve been to. If she would have missed a minute of the Killers my life would not be worth living. Seeing Queen and Adam Lambert Sunday, followed by Keane at Westonbirt next Friday (never been there so looking forward to that). Elton John later in June at AG. Then Coldplay in August at Wembley. So busy summer of music. Wife is considering seeing the Killers on Saturday at the Emirates as she wants to see Sam Fender some time and he’s backing them up.
Seems like hurdle 1 is over Hungary comes round to solidarity ... now need Turkey to sort this problem and then settle differences with Sweden ... who by the way have probably one of the biggest fighter jet airforces of the world ... ! H
oooops wrong button! .... ! H having watched a few programmes on Putin, and the fall of Soviet union [ mostly after it fell apart and more active on Amatuer radio ] Russia had so much to give the world, when Yeltsin stopped his fantastic glorification of modern Russia it all looked rosy. Yeltsin in the latter lost direction, and his popularity waned, likely due to the rise of the corrupt Oligarh's ??? Putrid has since he took over 1999/2000 had a few wonderful years, possibly suppressed the Oligarch's until the temptation of untold wealth appealed to his criminal mind??? He became another Hitler, money/wealth was enough, a narcistic egoist with a violent jealous streak he wanted more .. so having once been part of a country [ a union of many ] he wanted to be a world number 1 leader like USA PRESIDENT / CHINESE PREMIER.... and there in his world acclaimed importance took a nose dive 2014 he became a villain, with no way back he was an historical failure, bad news and evil always feature moreso than good. He is now always going to known as a loser, a despot, a murderer overseer of a population that was drugged by propaganda.............. NATO with SWEDEN and Finland on board could push Russian and pro Russian separititists back across borders in less than a week .. Nato could put near on 2000 fighter/ fighter bombers in the air ... have an arsenal of over 700 cruise missiles deployed in 24 hours! At the very least they could protect the ports with armaments that would make the sinking of the flag ship Moscow a difficult task!!!! and free up 100million tonnes of grain ................. what are they waiting for ....
What are they stealing John? To me it looks like a bunch of steel used for making large diameter spiral pipe for the oil patch. I watched a movie on Netflix last night about the Munich accord prior to World War 2 and every single action by Hitler to avoid action by the rest of Europe mirrored Putin and his antics and lies down to the last word. If we sit back and do nothing then we all know the likely consequences and leaving it all to the hope that the Russian people will oust the thug looks to be a vain pursuit. Due to the idiocy with guns going on down south of me regrettably the Ukrainian situation has taken a bit of a back seat and I have to look elsewhere for news.
it is the same type of steel used for pressings depending on the thickness it could be for military vehicles troop carriers or if heavier then maybe lighter tanks or missile bodies /bombs etc
After my reply I saw a video of the ship leaving Mariupol and it is definitely steel intended for various end products including pressings and fabrication. I was in the machine shop business all my life and knew what it m ight be but my concern now is where it was heading? Did it come from the steel works in Mariupol and who is the end user? I'm certain it can be tracked but if it is on a ship I doubt that it is destined for Russia but rather for another customer which leads to the question as to who? Could the end user be Turkey and if it is then we know where their loyalties lie and it isn't the E.U. or a Nato ally? To be quite honest I still am not sure what this madman's end game is anymore and that is very dangerous for the world order and sanity. Why would you literally obliterate a city from the map if you intend to annex that place for you own purposes in the immediate future? No matter what Putin's full intentions may be we are still in a very dangerous place and even if the fighting stops I don't think Putin will back off on his own personal aggression against ex-soviet territories. He has to be stopped.
I've been to Cardiff a lot for gigs (in the Tramshed) and nights out drinking. The traffic from Bristol to Cardiff can be a nightmare but the selection of bars and restaurants (and shops) is brilliant and is all central as opposed to here where it's spread out somewhat.
came from azoz steel works ...have well over 20 ships worth of exports ... 500k tonnes plus ...all shapes and sizes / grades and is destined for Rostov ......
The US will send Ukraine more advanced rocket systems to help it defend itself, President Biden has announced. The weapons, long requested by Ukraine, are to help it strike enemy forces more precisely from a longer distance. Until now, the US had refused the request out of fear the weapons could be used against targets in Russia. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the US was "directly and intentionally adding fuel to the fire" with its weapons deliveries to Ukraine. Separately, the German government has promised to send an air defence system to Ukraine. The USA already has a {large] number of these weapons systems in Eastern Europe [ nato based ] but a more robust system of protection will be required to protect them. Storage for rearming will need to be well thought out. Peskykov is obviously very dissapointed his "threats" fell on deaf ears .. lets be fair the bloke has to be a real NUMPTYKOV.. expecting people not to come to the aid with more and better weapons! He expects Ukrainians to just be sitting targets and put up with all around them being flattened, stolen, raped, murdered, tortured without fighting back. . . . . . A promise is not really action, Denmark has sent an arsenal of Harpoon missiles, albeit likely to be fired from a coastal battery so needs robust defensive system range around 100miles? Air defence system needed for protection of coastal batteries NATO is starting to up the ante! it is a bit late!!! but Russian morale must be low, certainly not exhuberant end of the scale ... what could be a demoralisor .. is all forward battle groups are supplied with a number of spoof leaflets, laying it on thick .. dated say mid MAY and a sort of news item for the troops ... printed in Russian/ Ukrainian and stating some world sport results, how sanctions are demeaning the Russian economy and the soldiers you face are getting payments that worth very little and possibly might at some point not paid at all!! .. a few paragraphs on the war, stating that say mid MAY a rough guide to losses of enemy troops and hardware also war criminal carges have been started but lesser ranks are taking the brunt as officers stay clear ...... imagine finding that and being told by officers all is fine losses are minimal, everyone at home is rooting for you ... as opposed to your mum is worried where are you ...!!!!
I have to finally ask the question John - where the hell do you get all this detailed information from and how reliable are your sources? Trust me I am not doubting your commitment to the task of updating us on the situation but how many contacts in the Russian military and the Pentagon do you have for goodness sakes because I get better news from you than I do from CNN and the rest of the world's media. Keep it coming from whatever sources you think are valid because I must admit this situation has got me up on my hind legs due to it's monstrous affect on not only Ukraine but also the rest of the world.
John do you think “the west “ is working on a plan to free up the grain etc?, or will they just let it rot? , if it doesn’t move soon millions will starve.
I do have to be a little careful with some things.. some I cant really repeat as they are sort of ... like a doctor or solicitor to whom you are not a patient/client " if it was me I would!!!" some items are in news feeds but easily passed over sometimes, other than that .....!!!!! Ashton mentions about grain, brought up on farming... when grain is kept dry it can last a year or so [ save rats and mice eating it and occassionally birds! ] Problem in UKRAINE is is storage sound? some pics indicate ....NOT .... when specific moisture content gets above something like 5% [ memory when we used to harvest might have been 5-8% ] it decays/ germinates / process of rotting takes hold . They should, world powers, send in ships and escort vehicles to export grain to third world countries / europe COUNTRIES THAT DO NOT CONDEMN THE ATROCITIES SHOULD NOT get any.... Russia wouldnt risk a naval confrontation as Nato and other black sea navy's would on tit for tat wipe out the russian fleet which has been shown very vulnerable ... we dont hear much, ... but something like 10 or more russian ships/vessels now sit below the water line
