hippo Posted March 16, 2022 Share Posted March 16, 2022 1 minute ago, Amsterdam_Neil_D said: Hmmm, not so sure. Russia, for over 50 % of the worlds economy is now a bit Jimmy Saville in terms of overall popularity. If all goes to plan the Russian economy will reduce to such a size that I don't see a gain for China, only Brand Reputation risk by association. (What happens if Putin goes for another country and they are holding hands with Putin in economic terms) Yeah but Russia and China share a sense of the how the world should work - limited freedom of speech - non free elections etc. Putin didn't want a western style state on his doorstep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyh29 Posted March 16, 2022 Share Posted March 16, 2022 4 minutes ago, KentVillan said: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/03/biden-answered-3-am-call/626976/ Whole article is good, but pasted the key bits. that's just someone writing an article to justify that Biden basically slept through the whole thing 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hippo Posted March 16, 2022 Share Posted March 16, 2022 4 minutes ago, KentVillan said: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/03/biden-answered-3-am-call/626976/ Whole article is good, but pasted the key bits. You can see what Trump and his mates are going to say though. Indeed Zelensky has pretty much said it today - Biden is supposed to be leader of the free world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidcow Posted March 16, 2022 VT Supporter Share Posted March 16, 2022 (edited) I think the Sanctions are more a way of hitting the Russian people and Oligarchs to try and force regime change. Maybe it will work and maybe it won't. However I think the REAL danger for Russia is that the world will accelerate away from Oil and Gas. It was anyway due to environmental reasons, but I think this has really brought it home how dangerous it is to rely for energy security on a few, in the main potentially volatile countries. Green energy is already far cheaper than oil and gas, I think there will be more, proper investment in making the shift now. I suspect that loss of tax revenues has been a big driver for Governments dragging their feet, but the danger has been laid bare this last month. I suspect we are going to see more troubles ahead as nations realise their Oil and Gas wealth is melting away. Power bases will change. The UK really need to be building our own Solar Panels and batteries, it's starting but we need to ramp this up massively. We've got a big wind-turbine industry but mostly foreign owned. Again we need to be doing more of this stuff for ourselves. Where does that leave Russia when there is no one wanting to buy Oil and Gas from them? I really don't know, as I said earlier in this thread instead of building massive armies they should have been investing in high tech industries and modernising their farming. Edited March 16, 2022 by sidcow 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidcow Posted March 16, 2022 VT Supporter Share Posted March 16, 2022 Speaking of which, I am surprised James Dyson hasn't been looking at things like heat pumps. You would have thought it would be right up his street and it's going to be a massive growth business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharkyvilla Posted March 16, 2022 Share Posted March 16, 2022 14 minutes ago, hippo said: You can see what Trump and his mates are going to say though. Indeed Zelensky has pretty much said it today - Biden is supposed to be leader of the free world. Hopefully Putin will either be gone or virtually impotent by the time it comes to the next election which would be a massive dent to Trump's chances I'd have thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hippo Posted March 16, 2022 Share Posted March 16, 2022 5 minutes ago, sharkyvilla said: Hopefully Putin will either be gone or virtually impotent by the time it comes to the next election which would be a massive dent to Trump's chances I'd have thought. Watch the US midterms - that could mean Biden is a lame duck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ingram85 Posted March 16, 2022 Share Posted March 16, 2022 I can’t afford an electric car, I can’t afford a heat pump and I can’t afford solar panels. These things are simply out of reach for the working class and those on benefits and we make up a lot of the UK population. All well and good having this environment saving stuff, making it available to normal people just above or below the breadline is the real challenge. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lichfield Dean Posted March 16, 2022 VT Supporter Share Posted March 16, 2022 31 minutes ago, tinker said: He's surrendered, retreating with his tail between his legs. That is exactly how it comes across. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post chrisp65 Posted March 16, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted March 16, 2022 15 minutes ago, sidcow said: Speaking of which, I am surprised James Dyson hasn't been looking at things like heat pumps. You would have thought it would be right up his street and it's going to be a massive growth business. A Dyson heat pump would be awesome. By awesome, I mean pretty average but really expensive and available in purple plastic. 3 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lichfield Dean Posted March 16, 2022 VT Supporter Share Posted March 16, 2022 2 minutes ago, Ingram85 said: I can’t afford an electric car, I can’t afford a heat pump and I can’t afford solar panels. These things are simply out of reach for the working class and those on benefits and we make up a lot of the UK population. All well and good having this environment saving stuff, making it available to normal people just above or below the breadline is the real challenge. Interestingly the only reason we can afford an electric car is via the Motability scheme. One of the few areas where it actually works out well for those receiving the right kind of benefits. Somewhat off topic however Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyh29 Posted March 16, 2022 Share Posted March 16, 2022 1 minute ago, chrisp65 said: A Dyson heat pump would be awesome. By awesome, I mean pretty average but really expensive and available in purple plastic. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidcow Posted March 16, 2022 VT Supporter Share Posted March 16, 2022 4 minutes ago, chrisp65 said: A Dyson heat pump would be awesome. By awesome, I mean pretty average but really expensive and available in purple plastic. Hmmmmm. I wasn't actually interested in a heat pump, but now you say they may be available in purple I'm getting kind of excited. I'm going to join twitter so I can tweet Mr Dyson about it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidcow Posted March 16, 2022 VT Supporter Share Posted March 16, 2022 (edited) 12 minutes ago, Ingram85 said: I can’t afford an electric car, I can’t afford a heat pump and I can’t afford solar panels. These things are simply out of reach for the working class and those on benefits and we make up a lot of the UK population. All well and good having this environment saving stuff, making it available to normal people just above or below the breadline is the real challenge. Electric cars will be cheaper than petrol cars once the manufacturers really ramp up production and start actually selling smaller cars. Give it a couple of years. Octopus Energy reckon their heat pumps out later this year will be price proximate with a new gas boiler. Again as that industry ramps up they will be almost certainly cheaper than Gas Boilers. What needs to happen is these things need to accelerate with more Government intervention rather than let the market dictate the pace. Edited March 16, 2022 by sidcow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mic09 Posted March 16, 2022 Share Posted March 16, 2022 5 minutes ago, sidcow said: Electric cars will be cheaper than petrol cars once the manufacturers really ramp up production and start actually selling smaller cars. Give it a couple of years. See, small cars aren't an issue. There is plenty of small electrics to choose from. 2nd hand market is also growing. I have a young family, and we frequently travel longer distances. I need an estate that's got a long range. And that isn't possible unless I splash £30k. Might settle for a 2nd hand plug in in the next year, depending on the economy, but that's still 5/6k more than an equivalent petrol. But that's not on topic Back to Russia! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LondonLax Posted March 16, 2022 Share Posted March 16, 2022 21 minutes ago, chrisp65 said: A Dyson heat pump would be awesome. By awesome, I mean pretty average but really expensive and available in purple plastic. The guys a bit of a dick and I don’t like his politics but he makes good kit, whichever colour you go for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magnkarl Posted March 16, 2022 Share Posted March 16, 2022 US politicians saying they need to give Ukraine whatever they need to end the bombing and rockets. Patriot systems incoming? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidcow Posted March 16, 2022 VT Supporter Share Posted March 16, 2022 (edited) 1 minute ago, magnkarl said: US politicians saying they need to give Ukraine whatever they need to end the bombing and rockets. Patriot systems incoming? I think they just meant a good Gee Up Edited March 16, 2022 by sidcow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LondonLax Posted March 16, 2022 Share Posted March 16, 2022 7 minutes ago, Mic09 said: See, small cars aren't an issue. There is plenty of small electrics to choose from. 2nd hand market is also growing. I have a young family, and we frequently travel longer distances. I need an estate that's got a long range. And that isn't possible unless I splash £30k. Might settle for a 2nd hand plug in in the next year, depending on the economy, but that's still 5/6k more than an equivalent petrol. But that's not on topic Back to Russia! It’s not just the cars but the trucks. Trucks spew out way more pollutants than modern compact cars but we have no way to replace them with ‘green’ technology. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genie Posted March 16, 2022 Share Posted March 16, 2022 Imagine in a few years time all these countries that have given expensive kit to Ukraine slip a huge bill into their post box. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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