OneGuyFromBarlick

It saddens me to see the way the West has sacrificed thousands of Ukrainians, including, civilians, women and children by not facing up against Putin at the start of the invasion. That's all he understands. Ever since he was a kid in the streets of St Petersburg he's believed that if you're going to fight always land the first punch. That's when we should have acted. I don't believe it would have led to nuclear war then - that wouldn't have been of any use to him, he wants to be a world legend, not destroy the world. Now we're in a stalemate situation and it could drag on for years with people being killed and possibly spreading elsewhere. Let's hope the Russian people begin to see through his disinformation and remove him.

Like you Peter, I can't see an end to it and it depresses me....

Don't worry about the Ukraine. Boris Johnson will have a plan that runs on the lines of asking Putin to stop it. Sorted.

The Conservatives have thrown in an extra conference at Blackpool where the Buffoon compared having to put your 'X' on a voting paper to the Ukrainians fighting for their lives. Javid has come out in support of Buffoon... by saying he didn't say it. Ministry of Truth strikes again.

The Conservative are gearing up for a two year election campaign with Buffoon.. in charge of course. The idea seams to be lets all talk about the nasties in life. Brexit, inflation Tax rises... nothing do do with us blame someone else. Partygate, what Partygate. If we talk about these things ad nauseam the electorate will get that sick of them they will accept any sunlit uplands unicorn promises we offer them. A repeat of the 'Get Brexit Done' which worked once so why not again?

I suspect you're right Ken but there may be a backlash. It will be interesting to see what we learn from the May elections. Did you hear the man from Sainsbury's saying that food inflation will double to 10% from the present 5% and last well into 2023 even if things go well. (As if.....)

plaques wrote: ↑22 Mar 2022, 09:43 Javid has come out in support of Buffoon... by saying he didn't say it. Ministry of Truth strikes again.

Every time Bozo opens his mouth he has to have a lackey jump up to explain what he meant or didn't say. He cant string a coherent and truthful sentence together.

In another forest. Pleased to announce that after a few years break, Pendle and Burnley Co operative party in conjunction with Pendle Labour Party have reinstated the annual Sydney Silverman Memorial Lecture. The event is open to all and will be held at Colne Municipal Hall this Thursday 24th March, doors open 6.30pm for a 7.00pm start. The Memorial Lecture will be delivered by John McDonnell.

Copied from the BBC Live News web page today...
`Ukrainian military are reporting that a company that produces and repairs Russian tanks has suspended work at its plant in the central Russian region of Chelyabinsk due to a shortage of imported parts. In a statement posted to Facebook, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reports that manufacturer Uralvagonzavod has had to pause production at the facility "due to the lack of receipts of foreign-made components". Ukrainian military information and consultancy company Defense Express reports that Uralvagonzavod provides the only plant that carries out the assembly of tanks. It goes on to report that the manufacturer routinely uses Western components. There are no reports referring to the Uralvagonzavod facility in Russian media and the BBC has not been able to confirm the information in the Ukrainian statement.'

The trouble in Ukraine means we aren't hearing other news which would otherwise get through to us. For example, in the US Florida is leading Republican states in a race to create dedicated teams of police `to crack down on voter fraud'. It's led by state governor Ron DeSantis who is now seen as a rival to Trump in the next presidential election. He will appoint the person who leads the force. To justify the move he cites unspecified incidents of fraud. It looks like the Republicans are going to be using Putin tactics to make sure the man they want gets put in charge of the USA. I wonder if Europe will end up sandwiched between two large authoritarian regimes?

Another example of missed news is that in the UK MPs have called for a new investigation into the Libor fraud in which Lloyds bank was fined £105 million in 2014 by the FCA for `serious failings over Libor and other benchmarks'. An investigation by the BBC suggested that `lowballing' of Libor had been instructed by the BoE and government officials. No senior figure was prosecuted but lower ranking traders were jailed for manipulation (no surprise there!). It's all been stirred up again by the former owner of Centre Point launching a £1.5 billion legal claim against Lloyds, linking the manipulation to the partial collapse of his property empire.

Peter, I heard a programme on R4 not long ago about what seems to be a clear miscarriage of justice in the LIBOR cases. They to came to the conclusion that the instructions to manipulate the rates were standard global practice (no other country prosecuted for it) and was orchestrated by the top management. None of whom were indicted.
As you say, no surprise there. Just another example of the desert that is ethics in the financial markets.

On Saturday The Times had a report on OneWeb - remember that company? Because we left the EU we had lost access to the EU satellite GPS system and Boris et al decided it was a good idea to buy a failing US company called OneWeb to do it for us (regardless of the fact it's satellites were intended for broadband provisions, not GPS). The Times report noted that OneWeb is dependent on Russian rockets to get it's satellites into orbit (another case of us depending on potential enemies). Six launches were planned for coming months but, whoops, we're now almost at war with Russia. I see the penny has dropped (perhaps they read The Times report!) and OneWeb now contracted the job to SpaceX. More money for Mr Musk! Don't these billionaires do well out of a good war!

Tripps wrote: ↑19 Mar 2022, 21:50 Re P&O 'redundancies'. The barrister and employment expert on LBC Daniel Barnett, has just said that P&O were delinquent in not advising the Government (Dep't B.E.I.S of their intentions at least 45 days before action. From what I read - they had less than 24 hours notice. This it seems, must be done when 20 or more employees are involved. He said that makes the directors personally criminally liable, and possibly subject to unlimited fines. He quoted that Act - chapter and verse. He says we will doubtless hear more of this in the coming days.
Good - says I.

Boris has just said exactly the same in PMQ's. It gave him the opportunity to skilfully avoid saying exactly when he was first told about it. The 45 days trumps (no pun intended) any lesser time interval. Good to see he is keeping up with us - whether anything will come of it is another matter. The long grass beckons.

There is talk of £100,000 + payoffs to those affected, That might temper their anger.
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PS. Keeping up - The politics spot on LBC this morning majored on the fact that fuel prices in France were subsidised by the state, and implied they were much cheaper than here. Mr O'Brien didn't actually say what the price was. Those on here who have been keeping up, thanks to Sue, know exactly what the price per litre paid in Britanny was just yesterday; and in a rapidly changing market, it was very close to our price.
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Moral - Read Oneguy and stay informed.


PPS Mr Sunak has just made his application to be Prime Minister.

Good post David..... I missed the Spring Statement but from what I hear you are right about Sunak's job application. However I did hear part of one report where someone said he had taken £6 off us and given £1 back..... Surely that can't be true......
Nice one Sue. I noted £1.80 a litre in Saltaire yesterday.....
I've listened to a brief summary and heard "The biggest tax cut in a decade." So what does it do for those who don't pay tax and benefit levels. He has done nothing concrete for the poorest. Have a look at THIS opinion from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. They have been studying this problem for 150 years.

Unfortunately, due to Sunak's statement yesterday, John McDonnell has had to cancel his presentation of the Silverman Memorial Lecture. He is required to contribute to the Labour Party reply in the house.

For those who are following the P&O sackings Boris Johnson said in Parliament that ' he believed' the action was unlawful' and they would be heavily fined . Lawyers are now pointing out that Chris Grayling who served as Secretary of State for Transport from 2016 to 2019. changed the wording of the bill in 2018 that would allow the P&O not to inform the British Secretary but only the secretaries of the countries where the ship where registered. P&O are now off this hook. Nice one Chris, A knighthood looks on the cards. BUT there may be something in the British employment laws where individuals could take them to court. All this sounds complicated, messy and long winded. Never fear our Buffoon will be on the case.

OG members might remember that in the past I've several times mentioned the Wagner Group of mercenaries run by the man known as `Putin's Chef'. They've been involved in all sorts of nasty incidents around the world ranging from assassinations to wars. Putin denies all knowledge of them and never been able to understand why the Western military didn't eliminate them - after all, Putin said they had nothing to do with him or Russia. They've been around since at least 2014 and it's only today that some action is being taken against them.
From today's BBC Live web page...
`What is the Wagner Group?'
As we've been reporting, the UK has announced it will be sanctioning the Wagner Group. The organisation is a group of mercenaries that was first identified in 2014 when it was backing pro-Russian separatists in the conflict in eastern Ukraine. Since then, it has been involved in other regions too, including Syria, Mozambique, Sudan, and the Central African Republic. The paramilitary group has been described as Vladimir Putin's private army. It's been warned that the group has been tasked with assassinating Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss described the group as "hired thugs" in her statement on the new sanctions - saying they, alongside oligarchs and businesses, are "complicit in the murder of innocent civilians and it is right they pay the price".

Officially there are no ties between the Wagner Group and the Russian government - it denies any state involvement with the group, while also maintaining it does not legally exist because private military contractors are illegal in Russia. It is believed to be funded by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a rich businessman with links to Putin. But Prigozhin has always denied any connection with Wagner.

Tripps wrote: ↑23 Mar 2022, 12:49 Mr Sunak has just made his application to be Prime Minister.

And I think the outcome is 'don't ring us we'll ring you'

I last paid, on 3rd March, £1.53.9 per litre for fuel, and even after the 'historic record reduction' in Fuel Duty and the VAT associated with that reduction I see from Confused .com that the cheapest for my postcode is now £1.68.9. Thanks Rishi.

Meanwhile my home energy bill will increase from £68 per month to £174 per month.

He increases NIC, and levels the allowances up so that it is almost indistinguishable from Income Tax, and then says he will reduce that from 20% to 19 % in two years time. Thanks again Rishi. As Judge Judy occasionally says - 'don't pee on my leg and tell me it's raining'.

I read that - which I vaguely knew - his wife is worth £500 millions, (which is even more than our dear Queen) and has shares in her father's company (Infosys) which continues to do business in Russia. Rishi is shown today buying a Twix bar and a can of Coca Cola, and it seems doesn't know how to 'tap and go' with a debit card. Definite man of the people stuff.

If that's his diet he won't last long.... Must have a furtle.
See THIS for the BBC's take on the Sunak millions 9 hours ago. Those of us who read Private Eye have known about these things for ages and of course other shenanigans....

Tripps wrote: ↑24 Mar 2022, 12:52 ...and has shares in her father's company (Infosys) which continues to do business in Russia...

BBC: A spokesperson for the chancellor said Ms Murty was "one of thousands of minority shareholders in the company" But the company is worth `hundreds of millions of pounds' so she must have millions invested in it.

I gave PE to Mick yesterday. If I hadn't I could have told you how much she has in the company. Her father sits on one of the advisory boards and they are still doing business in Russia.

The Russians have started another problem elsewhere in the world. Ever since 1945 Russia has claimed all the Kuril Islands are their territory but Japan claimed the South Kuril Islands. The dispute has rumbled on but Russia's invasion of Ukraine has spooked the Japanese government. The latest news is: On March 25th 2022, Russia started a military drill with over 3,000 troops and hundreds of vehicles on the Kuril islands, including the disputed islands (Wikipedia). This has prompted Japan to reconsider its position on nuclear weapons and the need to re-arm. This will be another headache for Joe Biden.

Just think, if Trump had won the last US election there would have been no Ukraine war - he would have given Ukraine to Russia in exchange for the right to build Trump hotels and golf courses in all the country's cities.

Good old Jacob Rees-Mogg claiming a Brexit benefit because the VAT on energy saving materials is something you couldn't do in the EU. These reductions are to take place 1st Oct meanwhile the EU have proposed similar reductions on both materials and service. The wheels of the EU grind slowly but you can bet that they will be in place before October.

The Office of Budget Responsibility have issued a report basically saying that leaving the Common Market may be reducing our world trade by 15%.

The OBR noted that “none of the new free trade agreements or other regulatory changes announced so far would be sufficient” to have a material impact on its forecasts for UK trade. It has estimated that leaving the EU would result in the total UK imports and exports being 15 per cent lower than if Britain had remained part of the EU.

Didn't see this on the side of a bus.

Last night at the all members meeting of the Constituency Labour Party we had Barry Gardiner MP who came to present the private members bill that he is promoting. The bill is designed to give safeguards against the widespread practice of fire and rehire. There is nothing currently in statute to protect workers from this practice. He formulated the bill last summer and brought it to parliament. It was welcomed with cross party support, Boris Johnson spoke in favour and even Jacob Reece Mogg waxed lyrical about the virtues of the bill. When it came to the vote though the Tories didn't actually vote against it but they talked it out so that there was not enough parliamentary time to properly present it. It was defeated as a result.

This is why we are in the current situation with P&O ferries. The bill would have been enshrined in law and regardless of where the flag is registered would still have protected those that have been sacked. Another perfect example of say one thing and do another to the detriment of all workers.

PanBiker wrote: ↑26 Mar 2022, 13:37 Last night at the all members meeting of the Constituency Labour Party we had Barry Gardiner MP

Did anyone ask him about the £420,000 pounds he accepted from an agent of the Chinese Government over several years, and the fact that he gave a job in his office to the son of the agent?

Iain Dale did

Must mention that I heard him whistle on a TV interview - he's actually very good at it.

Good question David. I watched the clip and he wriggled on the hook didn't he.... It's not only Tory MPs who obfuscate....
What really intrigues me in all cases where an MP receives money 'to help pay office expenses' is why they think strangers are giving them money in the first place. In my book, anyone that pays money to be your friend or associate is immediately suspect as they surely want a quid pro quo. This is true whatever the Party.

Have a look at THIS BBC report that the government are planning to force P&) Ferries to pay minimum wage on UK services 'in a bid to persuade them to re-hire the 800 they sacked. Question.... would the sacked operatives want to go back on minimum wage? I'm afraid this is a bluff by the Tories to make it appear they are doing something when in fact they are not. Typical smoke and mirrors which is the substance of so much politics these days.
They have calculated, quite possibly accurately, that Joe public will swallow this canard.....

We've all heard about this on today's news but I've linked it here and added some of the text from the BBC article because the interesting part is about Russian FSB database called Magistral and the way that it is being leaked to the West, including the BBC...
`Boris Nemtsov: Murdered Putin rival 'tailed' by agent linked to FSB hit squad' BBC
`....the agent's name is Valery Sukharev. All the evidence suggests that at the time, he served with the FSB, Russia's main security agency. One of the mandates of the FSB is to manage internal political threats on behalf of the Kremlin, including monitoring movements of people across the country. All flight and train reservations are recorded in an FSB database called Magistral. But the database not only captures the movements of people Russian agents might want to track, it can also be used to reveal the movements of the agents themselves - people like Mr Sukharev. This kind of information is often leaked on to the black market and ends up in the hands of journalists. "In a corrupt society like Russia, [Magistral] is a double-edged sword," says Christo Grozev, executive director of Bellingcat. "And it allows people like us to actually go and tail these same spies, these same FSB officers." Some of the original data for this investigation was bought by Bellingcat through brokers inside Russia. Those brokers acquired the data from corrupt officials who have access to Magistral. The BBC also used data that was given to us, without payment, from sources who have access to copies of Magistral.'...