Mandy Lifeboats

Amazingly it didn't. The British Army empowers its lower ranks to make decisions based upon what they see and encounter. The Russian Army still requires permission to be sought for any deviations from the generals plan. The example that summed it up for me was thus > The US fires a cruise missiles against a bridge. A video camera on board shows that it misses the target. Another missile will be dispatched within 20 minutes involving 2 tiers of command. The same scenario for Russia takes 2 days.

Russia places its top generals relativepy close to the front lines. That was considered to be a reasonably safe option until storm-shadow arrived. He's either dead or cowering in a bunker well away from Crimea. Either scenario is embarrassing for Russia. I think he's cowering in a bunker. His death "on the front lines" could be spun as a glorious sacrifice.

Russia has now arrested 12 top scientists who developed their "unstoppable" hypersonic missiles. They are charged with treason by selling details of the missiles. But it's more likely that the weapon doesn't work and/or has seen large amount of its budget used to buy houses in Chelsea.

Ukraine is officially reporting that the ship was hit, capsized and sank. Great news.

Amazing footage (if true)

This is a very interesting topic. The UK and Portugal have one of the oldest military alliances. But the UK agreed to refrain from activating that treaty in 1939. That allowed Portugal to stay neutral. It was also a way to pressure Spain into staying neutral. Had Spain joined the Axis the Portuguese would probably have joined the British. This would have tied up the Spanish forces who were still recovering after their civil war. It's unlikely that the Spanish forces could have defeated Portugal, defended Morocco from a US landing and helped the German defense of France. It would also have led to the Canary Islands being quickly conquered by our vastly superior navy. As opposed to being invaded by British tourists a few decades later. I think Franco is fairly unique in history. He's probably the only fascist dictator that left his country in a very good position.

Handy Hints & Tips - Get rid of an old sofa by smearing it with blood and making a 999 call to report screaming from your address. The police remove it for free. You're welcome.

The obsidian order notes your support

At the same time that the ancient Egyptians were building the pyramids they had archaeologists looking for more ancient buildings.

The fog of war makes it difficult to be sure about anything, But I have found an instance with a named individual and very specific details. https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2024/01/24/7438688/

"Is all that we see or seem but a dream within a dream?"

I partially agree. But we are a tiny country with 2 aircraft carriers, stealth fighters, 4 nuclear armed submarines and military bases in the northern hemisphere, southern hemisphere and on the equator. Our navy needs improvement but at the moment it's more than capable of defending the UK in our geographic location, with the allies we have and the limited ability of our enemies to reach our shorelines. Do we need carriers to defend the UK mainland? No. Would any of our enemies get a significant military force within 100 miles of us? No.

There will be no conscription. Russia's military model is based upon a moderate sized army, large reserve forces and then conscription. Its been shown to be ineffective. America's military model is based upon a massive army, large reserve and no conscription. Its been shown to be effective in warfare but ineffective in long term occupation. UK's military model is based upon a tiny army, small reserve and no conscription. Its been shown to be effective in warfare because we've fought weak opponents, had the US with us and have the luxury of living on an island that is surrounded by well armed allies. Nothing has changed with Russia's present hostile stance. The UK is incredibly well defended. But if the US pulled out of NATO the onus would be on all European countries to up their game and spend on their military. We (the UK) are in a very different position to Poland, Germany, Romania, Latvia, Estonia etc. Our castle has a great moat and is patrolled by a disproportionately powerful navy. They don't even have a moat. The present talk of conscription is a political tool to justify increased defence spending. Increased defence spending in the UK is a political tool to compel some of our European NATO colleagues to do the same. Increased spending in European NATO is a deterent to Russia and a political tool to hopefully ensure the USA remains in NATO. Worry about conscription when France falls. Until then - enjoy the security of our castle, surrounded by allies and massive moat that is protected by the most powerful military alliance in history.

Russia has produced a list of the 65 Ukrainian POW allegedly killed in the plane crash. But with typical Russian incompetence it includes 18 POW who had already been exchanged.

You need some context to understand this. Now is the time of year when government departments agree their funding for the next tax year. The military/MOD is outlining what would happen if there was a major conflict. They could conscript the general public OR they could expand. The British Army is presently around 75,000 strong and we spend 2% of GDP. The aim is to increase spending to 3% and increase the size of our forces. That will PREVENT conscription in the future and is therefore more palatable to the general public. We can't just blame the Tories on this one. Labour decided that we needed 2 aircraft carriers. Some would say that decision was more about protecting jobs in the ship building industry than our defense requirements.

In other news...... Air defences are being set up around St Petersburg. I wonder where these came from? It's a big country to defend with finite air defences. Putin recently passed a law that cancels any land purchases or land treaties made between Russia and "unfriendly" countries. This means Russia now considers Alaska to be part of Russia. There was a very humerous press briefing at the Whitehouse. Fast forward to 2.10 in the briefing.

Another Russia plane down. Russia claims it contained Ukrainian prisoners of war. Ukraine claims it contained Russian soldiers and supplies.

The mysterious fires continue. This one was probably caused by not keeping fireworks in an old biscuit tin.

Regarding my post above. If you don't know the full story >> This is a massive warehouse that was raided by Russian Police and Army. Many of the poorly paid migrant workers were taken away to serve in Ukraine. Then the factory developed a wiring fault and burnt to the ground. Oooops.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/russia-ap-associated-press-b2478172.html

1. Is a failure to do something an action or a lack of action. 2. I was only joking. 3. I am an ex- civil servant. In the service a conscious decision to do nothing is referred to as "proactive non-intervention". This distinguishes it from truly doing nothing.

I just looked this up again. The salesman was from a firm in the Jewellery Quarter called "Blinks & Blinks" Has anyone heard of them?

I think the title thread is wrong. The people listed have not necessarily done significant things. Some have done inignificant things that have had significant results. For example - Stanislav Petrov What he didn't do prevented a significant event. You're welcome.

The Brummy Button Salesman at Waterloo. This is someone who is well documented in history but I think is still unidentified. During the heat of the battle Wellington spotted a crucial problem in his formation. He turned to his last remaining messenger who immediately took a bullet. Wellington spotted a civilian on a horse nearby. He called him over. The man presented Wellington with a business card. He was a button salesman from a Birmingham firm. Wellington asked him to take a message for him. The man took the message, delivered it and was never seen again.

Liz Truss. A British Member of Parliament She stabbed the serving Prime Minister in the back before seizing power. The Queen died in very mysterious circumstances shortly after meeting her. She then crashed the economy, stated that she would not resign and then resigned. Today, still wanted by the Police, she survives as a soldier of fortune in the Los Angeles underground.