Cant stop thinking about this. A reminder of what is happening right now in Ukraine, and a warning if Ukraine fail.
Update. Teams4u have prepared 59,000 shoe boxes. Thats 59,000 children who will know Christmas this year. Teams4u are currently in Bosnia. Not sure if they have already gone to Ukraine, i suspect they have or will shortly, as Christmas is close.
Lost faith in the Shoebox scenario I collected my own shoeboxes from shops (so not supplied as usual) wrapped them in NON RELIGIOUS gift paper I then went to town and markets and bought wooly hats thermal gloves and some small toys several of the small gifts were wind up torches or flying toys Donated them to my work for forwarding to Romania The Saturday before Crimbo I visited our companies flea market crimbo stall, and there were my gifts for sale I could not see what could be wrong with a wind up generated torch or thermal gloves One gift I could POSSIBLY see a problem with was a wind up flying butler that you stuck on the ceiling and it went round like superman holding a tray Unfortunately the box was labelled the Flying Barsteward Now I do not bother
I would have gone bonkers if that happened to me. I donate cash to the charity and they make up the boxes from that. Google Teans4u and see the faces of the kids receiving the boxes. This is why I do it. I have no connection at all with Teams4u, but with Christmas an all...
Just on the charity point (sorry it's off topic) we provide plants for charity sales but we always ask what they are going to charge and if it is not enough we tell them we shan't provide them any more.
Warmest 24 December recorded in Britain since 1997, with forecast for 13C in south of England on Christmas Day Putin will be disappointed - looks like it's going to be another warm winter. It's either climate change or external intervention - again... I see that Mark has confirmed that 18 F16 fighter jets are about to land in Ukraine. Well done the Netherlands.
Interesting that Olaf is providing 7 billion Euros worth of support to Ukraine this year. All Rishi can muster is, by comparison, a miserable 2.5 billion quid. How things have changed from 1939 as the aggressor to 2024 as the second largest contributor to the defence of Ukraine - who would have thought that.... Another tipped hat to Olaf.
Reports of Russians coming across Ukranian 15 year old child soldiers and guys in their seventies. 500,000 dead Ukranian soldiers so far, a figure recently confirmed by Ukraine after denying it for months. Ukraine is finished. Theres no more men left to fight. ( All the feminists didn't volunteer to fight either, so much for equality ). The west still think they have a chance, really. Their lands will be sold off cheaply to the Us corporations as it's got some of the planets best farm soils meters deep. The industrial east will be kept and rebuilt by Russia. The Ukranians were used by the West.
I still reckon that the war will be ended by the sanctions - it's looking dire for the Russian economy - it's not going to improve when the war ends - Europe won't go back to buying Russian energy. The 500k figure looks to be total deaths - Russian and Ukrainian - Ukraine's entire army is 500k. strong. The UK army is a pathetic 75k - now that's something to worry about...
I still think Putin is gambling on Trump winning the election. He's likely to stop aid for Ukraine, where that would leave Ukraine I dont know. Or us for that matter.
Interesting factoid. Rishi has asked Olaf if he will sell us their Taurus missiles, so that we can send our remaining Storm Shadows to Ukraine. Where there is a will, there is a way.
Possibly a cartoon Viking, more likely to be a reference to Olaf Scholz, current German Prime Minister.