Thought Id start this one going because its rather dead on this board at the moment and I suppose all my usual muckers are either at the Stella tennis event watching Dim Tim (lose again) or at Henly Regatta eating cucumber sandwiches (they wish,...NOT).

Anyway please feel free to just talk to yourself blast away and let it go on any company or subject you wish. Just wish Id thought of this one before.

cheers GF.

Hmmm? Could Jeremy Corbyn be right and everyone else wrong?

Ex-Soviet Intel Officers Reveal Why Skripal Was Poisoned by 'Non-Professionals'
From Sputnik
11:35 16.03.2018(updated 11:36 16.03.2018)

Topic: Alleged Poisoning Attack on Russian Ex-Spy Skripal in UK

On March 4, ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were found unconscious on a bench at a shopping mall in Salisbury, British police suspect they had been exposed to a nerve agent.

Commenting on Skripal’s case, Lieutenant General William Rooda, who used to work in the intelligence services, said that he probably had many personal enemies, who could want him dead, as he had disclosed the identities of dozens of fellow agents to Britain’s MI-6. Although, according to the retired spy, many questions arise regarding the time and place of the attempted murder, as well as the weapon.

Rooda proceeded to say that the alleged attack on Skripal was “obviously” carried out by non-professionals or by professionals whose aim was not to murder him but to cause an international scandal. At the same time, he noted that military intelligence never used any extraordinary poison or toxic substances to secretly eliminate its enemies.

The Lieutenant General elaborated that Skripal had already passed all sensitive information he had known to the UK’s intelligence and was no longer a threat to Moscow, therefore Rooda excluded the version of a Russia-sponsored attack on him, saying that the incident was intended as a “political provocation.”

A retired Russian intelligence agent, Colonel Mikhail Lyubimov, denounced accusations of Russia’s involvement in the alleged attack as “nonsense” and said that the allegations that Russian agents had used the Novichok nerve agent to kill Skripal were groundless.

“I’m a colonel from the KGB’s foreign intelligence and I do not remember us killing anyone. There was a direct ban, we did not have such a unit [to accomplish tasks like that], it was dismissed after Stalin. It’s nonsense, made up by the Brits. I’m surprised that people still believe in those things,” he told Sputnik.

On March 4, former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter collapsed with signs of poisoning; later British law enforcement officials identified the substance as the nerve agent Novichok. In an official response to the alleged attack, UK Prime Minister Theresa May stated that “Russia was culpable of an attempted murder,” and ordered the expulsion of Russian diplomats from the country.

Moscow, for its part, has repeatedly denied the allegations of state involvement in the incident, with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov voicing Russia’s readiness to cooperate on the investigation, provided the UK granted access to the case materials, including samples of the substance in question. As a reciprocal measure, Moscow has drawn up a list of British diplomats it shall expel from the country.

And from The Spectator:

Jeremy Corbyn is right about Russia
Melanie McDonagh
16 March 2018
10:29 AM

It’s not every day you find yourself thinking that, well, Jeremy Corbyn has a point, but that’s just how I felt when he wrote in yesterday’s Guardian and reiterated later that the Government was ‘rushing way ahead of the evidence’ in condemning Russia for the attack on Sergei Skripal. Yesterday he observed that ‘this horrific event demands..painstaking criminal investigation…to rush way ahead of the evidence being gathered by the police in a fevered parliamentary atmosphere, serves neither justice nor our national security.’ I don’t think he was being treasonous in suggesting that Russia should have been given more time to respond, and possibly a sample of the toxin to analyse. He didn’t say the Government was wrong; he simply said it was precipitate.

It’s difficult, in fact, to gainsay his analysis, that ‘either this was a crime authored by the Russian state; or that state has allowed these deadly toxins to slip out of the control it has an obligation to exercise. If the latter, a connection to Russian mafia-like groups…cannot be excluded’. Well, quite so. And if, as the Daily Telegraph reports today, the nerve agent was given to Yulia Skripal on a visit to Moscow – a nice present in a box for her father, perhaps – then the best chance of establishing who was to blame is if this poor woman does not die but survives, to tell the police who she met with, who had access to her belongings, who gave her stuff before she returned.

Of course I think that the Government has a duty of care towards its agents, especially those like Sergei Skripal, who were double agents. For one thing, if you don’t look after them, you won’t continue to recruit them. It’s also the case that the Russian government had the maximum access to the nerve toxin used to try to kill Mr Skripal, though security at chemical weapons sites appears to have been hair-raisingly negligent – culpably negligent.

But really, in this as in so much else the question is, cui bono? Who gains from this blatant attempted murder? It’s by no means certain that the Russian state gains a great deal. The probable result of attempted murder of a British agent on British soil (even if the toxin was transported from Moscow) was exactly what has happened: the expulsion of Russian diplomats, ratcheting up of sanctions and a general sense that Russia’s in the global dog house. I don’t think that’s a gain in the Russian elections; it’ll probably be discounted, but it’s not particularly an electoral asset. The argument that cuts most ice in favour of Russian involvement is that this would send a message to other would-be spies that defecting to the UK isn’t good for your health – but killing a man who has been traded years ago in an orderly exchange of agents is a breach of the rules that doesn’t make much sense.

Those who do stand to benefit from this attempted murder are opponents of the Russian regime; either organised criminals, Mr Corbyn’s ‘Russia mafia-style groups’ or other states – I dunno, maybe Ukraine? – which gain rather than lose if the Putin regime is even further discredited. If it were indeed a hostile state that carried out this attack, then it has worked better than they could ever have imagined. If it was the Putin regime, then a clumsy, terrifying murder bid has had precisely the predictable effect.

Either way, I can’t help thinking that Jeremy Corbyn cuts a more convincing figure in this awful affair than either Mrs May or poor Gavin Williamson who told the Russians they should ‘just shut up’. Show how it’s done, Gavin; show how it’s done.

the rest of the world backs TM to the hilt

as posted before, the investigation has been forensic and there'll be much other supporting evidence that has not and should not be divulged

http://www.newsnow.co.uk/h/

Click on 'More' in the Russian Spy Incident section.

To me, the "poisonings" seem to be too clumsy for it to be "professional".

I doubt that the processes for making the "Novichok" group, (A member of a group of nerve agents developed in the 1970 and similarities with glyphosate weedkillers which are available.) are only known to the Russians.

But its use seems superficially clumsy and as dangerous to the perpetrators of the crime as the "intended" victims.

-=-=-=-=-=-=

I think substantiation of the case against Russia would be better than loud-mouthed diversionary tactics.

I understand JC caution and have a distaste of those spoiling for and rushing for a political fight

-=-=-=

Puts me off Italian food for the time being.

a very funny Matt cartoon on the front of today's telegraph
if someone could post/paste it up - perhaps fred would be happy to oblige - i think all will enjoy the humour

the caption is
"Temperatures have plummeted, but Jeremy Corbyn says it's too early to blame winds from Siberia"

Did you mean this one?

try answering the question!
try posting the one from the front of TODAY's telegraph

i'ld guess the one you have just posted is several weeks old

For god's sake shut up Fred you are like a child ,just like to be controversial for the sake of it.

Manuel,

At your age, you shouldn't need spoonfeeding.

DYOW.

Perhaps you meant this one.




For Trite please read tory's.

8-)

Snap

thanks chaps .... i'm afraid i have no idea how to do these things, but then i am frightfully old, though apparently younger than our resident marxist and sogenannte good samaritan and christian

i'm sure that at this very moment he's battling the elements to take soup and succour to the homeless near his ivory tower .... he may even be seeking out a few more iraqi and other illegals to offer a share of his humble abode

as for me, i have no pretence to such charitable mentality and action, but having done some cooking, i am now awaiting the start of the rugby

From Sputnik

May Heckler Demands 'Clear Evidence' Russia Behind Skripal Poisoning
© REUTERS/ Peter Nicholls
EUROPE
16:27 17.03.2018

The nerve agent poisoning of a former Russian intelligence officer and his daughter in Britain, has sent relations between Russia and the UK to a near all-time low, with London producing not a single shred of evidence of Moscow's alleged role in the attack.

A Salisbury resident, who heckled Prime Minister Theresa May during her visit to the town earlier this week, feels angry about the government’s failure to explain why it is so sure about who was behind the March 4 poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter.

"How can you accuse Russia when you have no clear evidence?" Jessica McCarnun shouted at the Prime Minister.

In an interview with SkyNews, the anti-poverty campaigner said that "people want to see the evidence" behind the nerve agent attack.

"It isn't good enough — it's not how we conduct matters in our own courts where you present evidence to the people. We need to know why she is so sure she hasn't jumped the gun,” McCarnun added.

Sergei Skripal a former colonel in Russian military intelligence who was recruited as a spy by Britain, and his daughter Yulia remain in critical condition in hospital after they were found unconscious on a bench in Salisbury on March 4.

Prime Minister Theresa May was quick to point a finger at Russia saying that it was “highly likely” that the Skripals had been poisoned by the Novichok class military-grade nerve agent developed in the Soviet Union.

On Wednesday, May ordered the expulsion of 23 Russian diplomats, canceled a planned visit to London by Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and suspended other bilateral contacts with Moscow.

Russia, which strongly denies any involvement in the Skripals’ poisoning, has responded in a reciprocal manner by expelling 23 British diplomats.

Moscow has also nixed plans to open a British consulate office in St. Petersburg and suspended the work of the British Council in Russia.

Also from Sputnik:

'I Think Skripal Attempted Murder Staged by US, UK Intel' – Political Scientist

© REUTERS/ Peter Nicholls
14:13 17.03.2018(updated 14:15 17.03.2018)

Political scientist Basam Raja has explained to Sputnik what British intelligence might have gained from former Russian spy Sergei Skripal’s “attempted murder.”

Commenting on the heightened tensions between Russia and the UK, Raja said that recent “media and political attacks on Moscow by London are directly linked to the former’s advances in liberating Eastern Ghouta from militants.” According to him, the UK, France and the United States are “doing their utmost to halt the offensive on terrorists throughout Syrian territory.”

“We’ve seen these countries attempting to fuel war in Ukraine, thus striking a blow to Russia. They have repeatedly tried to force Moscow out of Syria, imposing umpteen economic sanctions and creating a restrictions list. They tried to influence Russia through the UN Security Council, raising, for instance, the issue of chemical weapons, however, they failed even to conduct an unbiased investigation into the matter,” Raja elaborated.

Moreover, the expert has suggested that the recent attack on Russia was controlled and orchestrated by the United States.

“I think that Skripal’s attempted murder was staged by the US and the UK intelligence services, and Donald Trump was aware of it. My conclusion is based on my reflections on who may take advantage of the killing. They may gain from accusing Russia of it. The Unites States and Great Britain want to undermine Russia’s position in the UNSC,” Raja proceeded to say, adding that they were explicitly exerting pressure on Moscow because of its success in Syria.

Washington Seeks to Restore Unipolar World

Meanwhile, Russian journalist Andrey Ontikov shares Raja’s views, insisting that Russia did not “let Western countries oust the Syrian government.”

“But aggressive Western policies towards Moscow are based on a greater reason, namely Crimea’s reunification with Russia. People in the West say that the sanctions imposed on Russia are detrimental to them and ask them to lift the restrictions. We, however, might expect bilateral sanctionsto be strengthened following the Skripal incident,” Ontikov stressed.

In addition, the journalist emphasized that Washington is seeking to reestablish the unipolar world order, which was replaced with a multipolar model after Russia’s military operation in Syria. According to him, such developments prevent the US from pursuing its interests.

Cynic

1. Do a Right Click hold down on the image you want to replicate.

Up will pop a little box with some information. We are looking for the image's address

2. Left Click on 'Copy image address' or maybe 'Copy link address'

Imagine this information is now stored inside your mouse. (ie. Inside your mouse there is now a 'copy' of the image's address)

3. Now look at MoneyAM's posting box. Note that there are 5 little symbols just above the top of this MoneyAM posting box. They are to assist posters and make doing things like copying images easy.

We are going to use the symbol to the extreme RHS.

4. Left click on the symbol on the extreme RHS

Up will pop a little box. Inside this box it says 'Enter the URL of the image'.

It already shows you 'http://' on the line we are going to use to enter the URL (ie. the address) of the image.

Notice the 'http://' is 'blued up'. We don't need that because we are going to swap the blued up 'http://' for the address of our image, the one that we stored inside our mouse.

5. To do this, put the mouse pointer over the blued up 'http://' and do a Right Click hold down.

Up pops another of those little boxes.

6. Left click on 'Paste'

The URL address of the image is transferred to the MoneyAM posting box tool
(You might like to notice it has some additional 'stuff' with it. The additional 'stuff' is simple HTML commands to make sure the image copies properly)

7. Now, do a Left Click on 'OK'.

The image's URL address is now transferred to the MoneyAM posting box.

8. Continue finishing your post.

Manuel,

"as for me, i have no pretence to such charitable mentality and action,"


Yes, you do seem to recognising yourself as a self-defined "bit of ".


But it is good to have pride in yourself for something.

better than being a hypocrite

thanks for the guidance EL, but can only bring up the address on advfn .... anyway, i'll post that there and see if anyone then knows how to "translate"

Manuel.

Yes, hypocrisy does appear to be another of your virtues,

(Indicative of a "flexible" morality?)

so-genannt = so-called.

-=-=-=

Didn't Ireland do well?