Merlot22Merlot22 Blog Comments (343)

RE: Chaos in Russia

Who are the 'Elite' ?

RE: Chaos in Russia

I agree with that.

What's Medvedev up to? He disappeared on Saturday.
Went on holiday or something... to not be there when it happened?

RE: Chaos in Russia

Maybe.

My source:

Russian businessman and founder of PMC Wagner Yevgeny Prigozhin has halted the operations of media holding Patriot and closed the “troll factory” (officially known as the Internet Research Agency), St. Petersburg media outlet Rotonda reports.

novayagazeta.eu

RE: Chaos in Russia

One piece of good news coming from the crisis is that Prigozhin's news outlets, 6 of them are shut down. His catering company is shut down. Also more importantly his "Troll factory" is shut down, meaning less spam and cyber interference or whatever it was they were up to.

RE: Chaos in Russia

When Putin’s powerline was cut he took Crimea and invaded Donbas. That's history which nobody can change.

RE: Chaos in Russia

The reality is that this is a long overdue Civil War.
Ukraine is a country of two halves. What happened in 2014 would have happened without US provocation.
Yanukovych was a bad fit for Ukraine. He was from the eastern Ukraine and was loyal to Putin.
He was with the majority in the western Ukraine in applying for EU membership but Putin offered him a 12 billion bailout which he accepted. This is what caused the Euromaiden riots and led to his dismissal.
You give the US credit which they haven't earned.

RE: It's officially Ron DeSantis...

So does this mean you're thinking hmmm... maybe Trump wasn't too bad after all... ye know I might as well vote for him. Heck he's a helluva nice guy. laugh

RE: Chaos in Russia

Exactly, I give my opinion based on what are considered reliable direct sources, not blogcasts and other peoples opinions.
I also sometimes speculate which is purely what I am thinking and I give that separately.

So I expect to hear everybody's opinions but I like to know if it's backed up or a personal feeling.

I noticed very few people bother to express their views or discuss things so I might do likewise.
laugh

RE: Chaos in Russia

Can you tell us more?

What I read from books by Heidi Blake, Catherine Belton, Bill Browder and Mikhail Khodorkovsky is basically that Putin chose his people carefully and gave them very lucrative positions. He also made deals with the major Criminal groups and the Mafia.
Unlike any other leader he is a very good organiser where all factions are given very favourable opportunities which they can keep as long as they stay in line.

My opinion (based on my own thoughts) is that a successor has already been appointed and agreed upon by all factions which keeps the status quo.

So I need your counter argument for the assertion you make, if you wish.

RE: Chaos in Russia

Unlike Putins circle of KGB friends in government chosen by him Prigozhin was not KGB. He came into favour with Putin and can easily fall foul of him.
It looks like Putin has taken his private army with one phone call. We don't know this for sure, we will see.

I don't see Putin damaged by this storm in a teacup.
Prigozhin had to go and the Chechen leader might be following if he ever steps out of line.
The next step is to take Prigozhin's wealth. Then with charges served either hand him over to the ICC or give him a job in Siberia.

RE: Chaos in Russia

Most Russians who fall foul of a Russian leader have a choice of countries to go to in the west but Prigozhin doesn’t have those options because of his operations in Ukraine. Belarus is pro Russia so that is a poor choice. I still think that he could be charged by Russia with treason and made to be the sole instigator of the war crimes on the ICC list in Ukraine.
Isn't he walking straight into a trap in going to Belarus.
The African presidents will be pleased if he is no longer fighting in Ukraine. Maybe one of them would take him in.
Just mulling it over. There must be other options.

RE: Chaos in Russia

Seems it's over. Be interesting to see what Prigozhin got.

RE: Fingers crossed for a peaceful solution.

Because dissident fighters have been crossing from Ukraine to attack Russian towns Putin will now take a buffer corridor all the way across the top of Ukraine from the west to the land already occupied in the east. I think it will be 100 kilometres wide. This means a permanent Russian military occupation of a large chunk of Ukraine.

RE: Fingers crossed for a peaceful solution.

The total amount of gold in the world available to Central Banks is insignificant. Gold can never back a currency in any country. It's the Economy of a country that counts.

RE: How is it even feasible?

This might explain it. I just glanced at it so I don't know.

RE: 5 Common Cooking Methods That Are Surprisingly Unhealthy

A Colander, and a pot with a lid is all you need.
Cheap and cheerful. Steam what you can, fish, chicken and veg.

Embedded image from another site

RE: Fingers crossed for a peaceful solution.

"Vladimir Putin has been meeting a delegation of African leaders seeking to mediate in the war.

The Russian leader was told that it was time to negotiate an end to fighting, which the delegation said was harming the entire world.

But he insisted that while Russia is ready to consider any African proposals, it is Ukraine who's refusing to talk.

He says Russia has never refused to take part in any talks on the conflict."

Link sky.news.com

Seems it went as expected.

RE: Eyes to the above

Apparently no planet crossed the face of the moon, just the earth's shadow which caused a dulling of the intensity of light reflected by the moon. But this means that the earth's shadow must have been deflected. So I have no idea. dunno As the emoti says, I dunno.

RE: ProjectEuler

Thanks for the explanation. After I posted I was questioning the 15's and 30. I didn't think they would work.

RE: ProjectEuler

"we see 1*6*10, 2*3*5, 3*4*5, 4*3*5, 5*3*4, 6*none, 10*2*3, 12 none 15 none."

Why 2*3*5.

Also.

Why not 2*6*5, 6*5*2, 12*5*1, 15*4*1, 15*2*2, 30*2*1.

RE: Fox Entertainment Might Be Banned In Canada

It's interesting that the rumour about Fox started with a 'freedom of speech' post.
The media is like a multiple point road junction without traffic lights. In other words chaotic and best avoided.
"News" is just a category within a broadcasting entity, it carries no status as regards actual fact. They are after all called news stories.
Regulation takes place after the event. As they say "you can't unsee" something. Meaning the damage is done and in a lot of cases it's not worthwhile pursuing it.
Best policy is never believe anything you see or hear. It used to be half. laugh

RE: Advice

It may still be the same problem with a slightly different cause. Most splits and cracks are caused by expansion and contraction. If the material can't move it can split. You've heard plastic gutters and rwp's. They have expansion joints as part of the design to allow the pieces to slide.

Are these planks extruded hollow lengths and are the splits in one of the hollows, between fixings.

This is a bit like a board game without any clues. How many questions are we allowed. conversing laugh

RE: Advice

It was probably caused by shrinkage. It will split with the grain not across it. Wood needs to be dried to the right moisture content before it is fixed in place otherwise uneven drying, shrinkage and stress will occur resulting in splitting due to it being restricted by it's fixings and heat from the sun on the top side.
That batch was probably not suitably dried for the local climate. I've worked with timber a long time and that's my opinion (so-called CS expert). laugh

You may be able to bring it back.

RE: Oh, you're so rude...

Did anyone ever nick an item out of your trolley. It happened me but after ten minutes searching I found someone with one of those items in their trolley and nicked it. Hehe only kidding. laugh
By the way that was a joke earlier. Hence the grin

RE: Oh, you're so rude...

She must have been a Democrat. I saw oz's video on freindly Trump supporters. grin
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    Last Liked: May 30, 2023

RE: The pipes are callin' me...

laugh

RE: The pipes are callin' me...

He probably apprenticed with Andreas Rogge. Those pipes are either a Rogge set or an exact copy. The chanter would be his own and is one of the best I've heard for playability up the octaves.

I've worked on Rogge sets, reeding and tuning them. I like them.

RE: Keeping your oath...

Ches is right. I presume it was the 'woke' who decided that "everybody must have a degree".
Absolute nonsence. Jobs for the boys, perhaps.
Finally they have realised their stupid mistake and are now considering reversing things. Better late than never. Education has not helped the critics as is often evidenced in their writing. laugh

RE: What Will This Summer Bring?

"Worldwide, domestic cats have been implicated in the extinction of at least 2 reptile species, 21 mammal species and 40 bird species—ie 26% of all known contemporary extinctions in these species groups. Currently, domestic cats are posing a threat to a minimum of 367 species which are at risk of extinction. In a global ranking of alien species threatening the greatest numbers of vertebrates, domestic cats occupy the 3rd position."



"It's a built in instinct for cats to be predators and yes they do cause 'some' damage to the environment but they too are 'prey' out in the wild. It's called nature for a reason."

What animals 'prey' on cats in the UK?

I prefer birds to cats so 20 years ago I planted various flowering, berry bushes and a couple of fruit bushes in my gardens front and back. They are home to blackbirds, mistle trushes, finches, robins, wrens, wood pigeons and more that I can't identify. I have cordoned off the back garden as best I could but sometimes cats still get in, the front is open. The cats are all domestic pets which get well fed at home so hunting birds is just sport for them, and apparently entertainment for their owners, but that’s life, who's to judge, I'm just letting you know some information that you may choose to take on board.

RE: The chair draggers...

I was in a shared house once for a couple of months. My bedroom was over the dining area. There was a big old table and heavy chairs on a tiled floor. It was impossible to lift the chairs while standing up, I tried. So I bought good quality buffers and fixed them to all six chairs. After that the chairs slid back very easily and no noise. The landlady was delighted and I wasn't woken by those working night shifts.
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    Last Liked: May 25, 2023

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