Mandy Lifeboats

2 minutes ago, Xela said:

Brilliant! Just the sort of 'retirement' I aspire to. What line of work were you in originally?

Civil Service.  

Danhausen seems to have returned to the independent scene whilst remaining on the AEW roster.  

That guy has amazing talent.  Its just a shame its not wrestling talent.  

I can't believe AEW hasn't found him a storyline outside of the ring.  But I also wonder if his desire to actually wrestle will end up costing him dearly.  

I have not watched any of the most recent Star Trek shows.  

Can someone explain how Data has got older and fatter please?  

Ruble to Gold exchange rate. 

Over 10 years the ruble is down 300%

Over 1 year the ruble is down 30%

https://www.xe.com/en-gb/currencycharts/?from=XAU&to=RUB&view=10Y

This is an excellent website that allows you to track currency values with a few clicks.  So far I have only note 1 currency performing worse than the ruble.  North Korea. 

Eggs..........

Nothing could sum up the Russian economy than their recent egg problem.

Russia egg producers (the farmers not the hens) could not get spare parts to maintain their hatcheries.  Nor could they find skilled workers to maintain the hatcheries.   All the engineering companies who could make spare parts were supporting the war. 

The cost of spare parts rocketed.  The cost of labour rocketed.  Egg prices went crazy.  Putin ordered punishments for the farmers for blatantly profiteering.  But this was quickly withdrawn when it was realised that the price rises were justified. 

The solution was simple. 

The Russian government purchased eggs from abroad at sky high prices and sold them on the domestic market for much less than their purchase value.  But they were still 40% more expensive than a year ago.  

The resultant expenditure could not be used for the war. 

The same scenario with occur with car parts, plane parts, mobile phone infrastructure, computers, central heating systems, lifts, escalators, cranes, oil refineries, train parts etc.  

7 hours ago, Panto_Villan said:

I think you're overstating this. They do still have a pretty enormous amount of foriegn currency and gold. They are burning through it, but I've seen estimates of between six to eighteen months before they actually run out.

Actually we are both correct. 

Russia still has supplies of foreign currency but the steps they have taken to obtain it are draconian and completely unsustainable. 

Since the start of the war all companies and citizens were obligated to surrender 80% of foreign currency to the Russian central bank at a ridiculous "official" exchange rate.  They have also just raised interest rates to 16%.  They compelled western companies to sell Russian assets at a tiny % of their true value.  They simply stole other assets from the west and Ukraine.  Unemployment is low because of conscription and deaths.  Prison costs have never been lower because most of them are rotting in the fields around Bakhmut.  

Those measures are all short term wins but medium/long term disasters.  They can't raid the population's foreign reserves again.  There's nothing left and what is left has been hidden outside Russia.  

I have posted this many times. Sanctions will not ruin Russia overnight.  They simply make imports expensive and exports cheap.  The resultant financial loss then snowballs. 

Russia imports refined fuel.

Ukraine's attacks are increasing the demand for imported refined products. 

The ruble is now worthless and nobody will accept payment in rubles. 

This gives Russia a major problem.  They need to pay for their imports with something.  They have run out of foreign currency and gold.  So their only option is to pay for refined oil with unrefined oil.  This further reduces the need for the echange of rubles.  

The ruble will crash soon.  That will make imports even more expensive and exports even cheaper.  

It's a vicious cycle for Russia.  

10 years ago there were 55 rubles to the £.  Its now 115.  

34 minutes ago, Follyfoot said:

I can lay bricks

What are all those gaps? 

That whole period of history was truly depressing.  The miners strike, mass unemployment, derelict industry, recession etc.   

"The Boys From The Black Stuff" just summed up the era. 

3 minutes ago, A'Villan said:

he couldn't police my file to ensure people who shouldn't be accessing it, 

I will be certain to stay in touch. 

 

1. This cou.d be interpreted as a paranoid thought. That worries me. 

2. Just stay in touch.   Self diagnosing mental health is obviously ridiculous.  Your condition could prevent an objective view.

1 hour ago, A'Villan said:

Three months without medication. Clinic called me last week, my case manager, a fantastic young psychologist. 

He asked if i could come in that day with a tone of urgency. I asked if it was in relation to my medication, while thinking that the last session i had where i spoke with a sense of urgency i was nearly admitted to psychiatric confinement. 

I let him know last week, as best i could, that i was doing fine. 

You could be doing fine. A professional can make that judgement. 

You could be doing badly but THINKING you are fine,  A professional can make that judgement. 

Make sure you check in with the professionals.  That's why they are there. 

1 hour ago, magnkarl said:

As far as I gather they're still holding Krynky. 

I think they withdrew a few weeks ago.  

They simply didn't have the ammunition to stop Russian artillery controlling the area. 

NATO surveillance drones downed by the Russian airforce = 1

Russian surveillance planes downed by pigeons = 1

The pigeons are winning the air war!  

3 hours ago, Mandy Lifeboats said:

Plane crash -  

Russia state media are saying 15 dead after an engine "fell off".  

The plane crashed into a cemetery.  Very efficient.  

 

 

 

The engine did indeed fall off.  

Plane crash -  

Russia state media are saying 15 dead after an engine "fell off".  

The plane crashed into a cemetery.  Very efficient.  

Ooops.  Another Russian plane gone.

1. Its not genuine. The signature and handwriting comes from another document. 

2. It basically says that Russia plans to expand further and encourage turmoil and chaos in the west. 

There are no gods.  

Religion causes evil.  

6 hours ago, bickster said:

It's an official holiday in North Korea. Lucky ladies. 

5 hours ago, T-Dog said:

Thanks for all the replies, really appreciate it. 

I've been on since January - upped the dosage to 100mg couple of weeks ago.

It worked fine, all the usual 'ticky' stuff dropped off after a few weeks, but since I've come back from a festival in Feb, I've dropped like a stone. I didn't really 'feel' depressed previously, I was taking it for anxiety, but now I feel absolutely flat. Not suicidal, not like that, just absolutely no energy, no drive, no go in me.

That's not really enough time to make any judgements especially if you have gone to a festival. You will understandably get a natural high and a noticeable drop once that natural high has worn off.  

Chat to a professional regarding dosage amounts and the best time to take them. 

35 minutes ago, blandy said:

my understanding is that we do next to nothing for Israel and a lot for Ukraine

That's very much my understanding.  Israel has ample weapons.  The US has been supplying them with ammunition to fire from those weapons. 

Our contribution has been minimal. 

Quote

Since 2008, the UK has licenced arms worth over £574 million to Israel

https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-9964/

Our press misrepresented the French policy because its popular to criticise our  beloved neighbours. 

Frances policy is "strategic ambiguity".  To put it simply they aren't ruling out anything and are discussing things they have no intention of doing.  This is to keep Russia guessing and expending resources in the wrong places. 

Quote

I’m choosing not to tell you the specifics of what France can and will do, because I would otherwise weaken the efficiency of aid and support to Ukraine,” Macron said.

He also pointed towards the EU’s general “tendency” to be too transparent on military tactics and next moves, in the face of “[Vladimir Putin], who doesn’t say a thing but acts, even in unthinkable ways”.

https://www.euractiv.com/section/defence-and-security/news/mustnt-be-cowards-macron-clarifies-strategic-ambiguity-after-ukraine-troops-on-ground-remarks/

45 minutes ago, tonyh29 said:

goes without saying I'm not a Doctor   

You could have mentioned this before you did my prostate examination. 

@T-Dog

It seems many of us have experience of Sertraline and its generally a very good drug with few side effects.  

How long have you been taking it?  

It caused me to feel sick.  But this steadily got better until it disappeared completely after a few months.  

I don't suffer from OCD but it did give me some very, very mild OCD for a few weeks.  

It can make me feel sleepy but not straight after taking it. As I mentioned earlier in the thread, try taking it at different times. Find the time of day when it does most good with the least side effect.  

But most importantly - GIVE IT TIME TO WORK.  

Your body and mind is trying to repair after your trauma.  It's now trying to deal with Sertraline at the same time.  Give it time.  Its not going to work at its best until things are more stable.  

I am happy to answer any further questions in this thread or privately. I feel no embarrassment or disgrace talking about my mental health.  No one should.