Absolutely Anything Else

Visa and Mastercard announce suspension of operations in Russia

PayPall has already stopped.

SimCityAT wrote:

It is interesting that his 40-mile convoy has come to a standstill because they have broken down and run out of fuel. It was meant to take 24 hours, but its been days now, so I guess they could well be low on supplies i.e food now?

I get a few stories from my own contacts over that way.

The convoy is being severely harassed by Ukrainian forces. Russian soldiers are reportedly draining the fuel out of their vehicles to sell it.  And Russians are raiding supermarkets in the war zone as they are out of food options. 

There's a story that Belarussian troops are refusing to fight and if pressed by their officers, there would be a mutiny.   Read it here:

Belarusian Soldiers And Officers Massively Refuse To Fight Against Ukraine

I don't know that web site and there's no corroboration but it seems to have some substance.  I've also heard Belarussian railways have been paralysed by BY (Belarussian) hackers.  It means RU cannot move up heavy armour except via road which takes fuel, machinery and manpower.

Lukashenko is still publicly saying he's helping Putin but it's looking like he's no longer in control of Belarus and he's ignored.   He must be a grade-A moron (sorry to all other morons) to think there was any other outcome for him when he hitched his wagon to Putin.

Personally I think the HUF development is only partially due to Ukraine, most  (in my view) due to the massive handouts given, for Orban it is good to have a scapegoat (implicitly)
Inflation EUR/US/TRY/HUF remains a serious issue.

Also for normal people in Russia/Ukraine the situation is even more horrific.

Vicces1 wrote:

In another topic closer to home.... The HUF...
I work here in Hungary, getting paid in Forints. The value of my salary has fallen precipitously in recent weeks -- how are you all faring?
As of today:
1 Eur = 387.6 Fts / On Feb 22, it was 355.6 -- a fall of 9%...
1 Eur = 32.99 Ukrainian hryvnia / On Feb 22, it was 32.8 -- a fall of less than 1%
1 Eur = 135.5 Russian Rubles / On Feb 22, it was 89.3 -- a fall of 34%

In June of 2021, the Forint was trading at about 350 Fts to the Euro.

So the HUF is performing significantly worse than the Ukrainian currency!
And every day I get paid less, travel becomes more expensive, and I see the value of everything I try to do to save here in Hungary eroded by inflation and devaluation. It is humongously frustrating and depressing...

That's incredible that UAH is doing better than the HUF.

I feel for you.  Prices are rocketing up.  We are fearful of our gas bill.  We have to heat up our kids.  Mrs F said there was a sign at the local petrol station/benzinkut which said please do not fill up with more 10 litres.  This is a  new and ominous development.

BTW, I worked once in an African country that was coming out of civil war and even during the war period before I got there, the currency had been remarkably stable.  It made no sense at all.

cdw057 wrote:

Personally I think the HUF development is only partially due to Ukraine, most  (in my view) due to the massive handouts given, for Orban it is good to have a scapegoat (implicitly)
Inflation EUR/US/TRY/HUF remains a serious issue.

Also for normal people in Russia/Ukraine the situation is even more horrific.

If you look at the national debt, it's going up.  I monitor the national debt and HU is not in disaster territory yet but it's really jumped in the past year.  If he's borrowing to finance these giveaways, then it's going to mean austerity post-election. 

People will vote for him now and be complaining  later.  4 years is not going to be enough time in office to fix it. 

All those vanity projects like stadiums and Chinese university islands will probably get cancelled or reduced.

WHO has just tweeted that Russia has targeted Healthcare units and hospitals.

There are other reports of cases of rape by Russian soldiers but this could not be verified.

SimCityAT wrote:

It is interesting that his 40-mile convoy has come to a standstill because they have broken down and run out of fuel. It was meant to take 24 hours, but its been days now, so I guess they could well be low on supplies i.e food now?

The original feedback was that they were taking a pause to arrange their next moves. Then it became clear they had no fuel or food. Evidently, these assets came fresh from their "war exercises" in Belarus and were insufficiently prepared.  They are continuing to await resupply.
At least as of yesterday...

BTW, I watched the Netflix movie  Munich  - Edge  of War last night.

You could cross out Hitler and insert Putin just about anywhere in that movie.

Chamberlain is given a relatively sympathetic treatment as a man of peace.

History hasn't remembered him well and he's thought of as a Hitler appeaser.  One thing I didn't know is that Chamberlain knew war was coming and used the time to build forces up.  As it happened he didn't buy that much time - only a year. Useful time to re-arm but not decisive as we know.

It makes me wonder if NATO countries are delaying because they are working very hard behind the scenes to put into place the materiel and forces for escalation.

There's a report this morning that Putin has bowel cancer due to steroid use.

I am also wondering what Russia will look like post-Putin.  I expect it will be reconstituted as a federal system like the USA.  No longer will the President be able to wage war on his/her own.

SimCityAT wrote:

WHO has just tweeted that Russia has targeted Healthcare units and hospitals.

There are other reports of cases of rape by Russian soldiers but this could not be verified.

This is a Putin MO.  It's the same as he did in Grozny.  It's to demoralise the enemy and remove their will to fight.  Continuous shelling and destruction of services like water/electricity/heating/healthcare etc.

The Russians doing that should realise they will be held accountable for their crimes.

This is scarry 'I’m hit': Extended video of harrowing ambush

https://news.sky.com/video/share-12559691

I do not (yet) have total corroboration on the following:

In Russia, they're confiscating property.   Putin is saying that if someone has more than 3 x a monthly salary in a bank account, it's his for his war machine.   Same with other property.   It looks like he could be running out of money.    They are doing the same in Belarus. 

It's also been said that all foreign currency debt has to be settled in Roubles.  This is a disaster as the Rouble has plummeted.   He must be burning through his reserves.

It's also said Putin has moved himself  and his family to the Altai region of Siberia.  He has an underground city there. I suppose he thinks he'll be protected from nuclear destruction. 

Bad news is that everyone knows where it is and what it looks like - photos were in the newspapers a while back.

There's a video purporting to show Putin with some Aeroflot training school in Moscow.  I've seen some analysis and it looks like the Russians faked it.

fluffy2560 wrote:

BTW, I watched the Netflix movie  Munich  - Edge  of War last night.

You could cross out Hitler and insert Putin just about anywhere in that movie.

Chamberlain is given a relatively sympathetic treatment as a man of peace.

History hasn't remembered him well and he's thought of as a Hitler appeaser.  One thing I didn't know is that Chamberlain knew war was coming and used the time to build forces up.  As it happened he didn't buy that much time - only a year. Useful time to re-arm but not decisive as we know.

It makes me wonder if NATO countries are delaying because they are working very hard behind the scenes to put into place the materiel and forces for escalation.

There's a report this morning that Putin has bowel cancer due to steroid use.

I am also wondering what Russia will look like post-Putin.  I expect it will be reconstituted as a federal system like the USA.  No longer will the President be able to wage war on his/her own.

If anyone deserves bowel cancer, it's Putin!
My brother is stage 4 colon cancer ATM and as far as I know he never tried to take over the world or impose himself on anyone.
The wrong people seem to suffer the most...

Well, my dad (81) in the last few months, Cancer, Heart Attack and while in the hospital gets COVID.

It never rains for some, it pisses it down.

SimCityAT wrote:

Well, my dad (81) in the last few months, Cancer, Heart Attack and while in the hospital gets COVID.

It never rains for some, it pisses it down.

Sorry your father is having it so rough.Some ,"Golden Years".
Never know why some people have to suffer more then others, life is not fair at all.
I had a huge falling out with an old friend of over 50 years. ( Her being hadicapped might of made her a bit unstable at the time plus another good friend of ours that she was super close to was going through cancer at the time... Just to much stress for her to handle)
We hadn't had contact in over 3 years.
She reached out to me a few days ago and now we are all good again.
She has had her share of physical issues.
Been in a wheelchair for ages and now both of her shoulders are going.
She is 65, totally dependant on her husband to care for her and his health isn't good either.
It's sort of heartbreaking to remember her as a teenager. She was so active, always on the go, so pretty with her long red hair and skinny little legs...
Time is hard on everyone,
no such thing as a healthy older person, everyone has something going wrong on them.
Just pray your father isn't in pain and can enjoy each day as it comes.

HUF looks like it's going down rapidly:

As of today:

1 EUR = 375 HUF
1 GBP = 454 HUF
1 USD = 343 HUF

Just a few weeks ago, it was 320 HUF to the EUR and about 400 HUF to GBP.

Not looking very good

Yes, the HUF is one of the worst performing currencies right now...
https://hungarytoday.hu/hungarys-forint … toric-low/

The govt seems powerless...

Vicces1 wrote:

Yes, the HUF is one of the worst performing currencies right now...
https://hungarytoday.hu/hungarys-forint … toric-low/

The govt seems powerless...

There's nowhere to go with it.   If the national bank spends their foreign reserves supporting the currency (but buying HUF), they'd soon be bankrupt in quick order. 

This is one of the tactics they are using to bring down Putin.

Other countries that matter, Slovakia or Slovenia for example, are in the Eurozone and Bulgarian Lev is pegged to the Euro.   The Romanian Lei is relatively stable but has lost some value these past weeks.

One spin on it might be that it makes exports cheaper but it's getting into Turkey's Erdoganomics territory if they don't raise interest rates here.  As we know  Erdogan is keeping interest rates low but this hasn't stopped inflation eating away people's savings and now he's had to guarantee losses.   It's like a crazy export subsidy.  It's all completely against accepted wisdom and it's not going to work long term.

Luckily, it's not something they normally do here but anything is possible these days.

BTW, petrol will go up on Wednesday.

Oh, I am aware that there is little the government can do now, but that doesn't mean I can't blame O1G for the problem.
This crash is a direct result of his refusal to connect with Western Europe and instead try to be a broker for Russia, against NATO and EU priorities. He tried to be a kingpin and now all of us are suffering... I assume his tens of millions of Euros are safe in Switzerland...

Vicces1 wrote:

Oh, I am aware that there is little the government can do now, but that doesn't mean I can't blame O1G for the problem.
This crash is a direct result of his refusal to connect with Western Europe and instead try to be a broker for Russia, against NATO and EU priorities. He tried to be a kingpin and now all of us are suffering... I assume his tens of millions of Euros are safe in Switzerland...

Oh for sure, I wasn't suggesting you needed the explanation.  I was just taking the opportunity to complain about O1G and others.

It really is his fault.  He's a victim of his own rhetoric.  He's tried to get into bed with a snake and is surprised when the snake wants to eat him.   Playing with the big boys and wondered why he got punched.

Tens of millions might be an underestimate.   The oligarch model of holding funds for Putin might be in operation here.   Just OV instead. Question is if OV tries to make a run for it.  And where to? Dubai? Russia?

You know all those yachts parked up in the Maldives? I am sure they are going to surrender them to the US in exchange for some aid money.   But what to do with multiple fancy yachts costing $500M a pop?  I suppose they can be sold and the money redirected to Ukraine for rebuilding.

Orban signs decree to let NATO troops in Hungary, bans weapons passage

I don't think he had any choice but to allow it.   And he'll have to allow weapons through in the end.  Strange he said NATO troops are not being asked to assist in defending the border.

There's a story that Russian planes violated Romanian airspace and American  fighters intercepted them.  I haven't found any reliable links to that rumour.

France and Germany have already seized some superyachts from Billionaire Russians, not sure what use that will do, not sure it will harm their pockets.

I am getting slightly tired of the news on TV now because it just seems to be all about Russia and Ukraine. No other news matters.

I just scan through the Guardian for bits of other news.

As I mentioned before, careful on the "fake news".... Lots of bad press out there.
https://www.bbc.com/news/60589965

In other news, I heard yesterday that Putin stated that any country giving aid/solace to Ukraine's defense forces will be considered an enemy as well. This is in reference to Romania allowing Ukrainian AF jets to land at their bases. Dangerous escalation if Putin continues down that path...

SimCityAT wrote:

France and Germany have already seized some superyachts from Billionaire Russians, not sure what use that will do, not sure it will harm their pockets.

I am getting slightly tired of the news on TV now because it just seems to be all about Russia and Ukraine. No other news matters.

I just scan through the Guardian for bits of other news.

I'm now limiting myself on reading about the war.  It's horrible of course but my entire day was being taken up with it.

BTW, experts on the radio said the pain the oligarchs are feeling is simply not enough to make a difference or to break Putin's grip.

fluffy2560 wrote:

I am getting slightly tired of the news on TV now because it just seems to be all about Russia and Ukraine. No other news matters.

I just like having my morning coffee and getting the headlines. The Radio is just as bad,

Vicces1 wrote:

As I mentioned before, careful on the "fake news".... Lots of bad press out there.
https://www.bbc.com/news/60589965

In other news, I heard yesterday that Putin stated that any country giving aid/solace to Ukraine's defense forces will be considered an enemy as well. This is in reference to Romania allowing Ukrainian AF jets to land at their bases. Dangerous escalation if Putin continues down that path...

In other news, it's also International Women's Day (IWD). Flowers all around.   

Yes, saw that fake news thing.  It's a bit like the fake COVID pandemic.  Or 9/11 or Sandy Hook hoax claims.  This idea of "crisis actors" seems ludicrous.

I'm casually monitoring air traffic around the area and I see UA registered planes flying around outside of UA itself.   They mainly look like cargo planes some of them are of Russian manufacture - Ilyushin models. Antonov planes are of course mainly Ukrainian. In this region, they seem to be flying into places like Moldova. 

BTW, most Aeroflot planes seem to be registered in Bermuda.  And many are on lease.   The lessors can demand their return if they are exposed to too high a risk and do not have insurance.

In other NEWS?

SimCityAT wrote:

In other NEWS?

COVID seems to have just about disappeared. 

I'm concerned about the planned launch of the  OneWeb satellites and the Mars rover Rosalind Franklin, 

I am also thinking it might lead to the abandonment of the ISS currently crewed primarily by Russian and US personnel.

If that goes out of control, it's 500 tonnes coming down somewhere.

......and what happened with Boris and Partygate? I bet he is hoping that it will just go away and people will forget?

SimCityAT wrote:

......and what happened with Boris and Partygate? I bet he is hoping that it will just go away and people will forget?

Yes, swept under the carpet.  And we don't know who will lead the Met.  Nothing like a war for distraction.  But on the other hand, we're seeing more unity cross party over Ukraine except the SNP wittering on about that Trident should be cancelled.  Not going to work out for them.  Talk about bad timing.  I'd have thought the war would increase national unity.

I'm also waiting for Germany to reverse the closure of its nuclear power stations.

Meanwhile, I should go and see my Dad but I had a crisis of doubt about travel. I believed things would get worse and I'd be needed here to help the Fluffy family escape. So postponed that until later, after Easter perhaps.  I have not seen any reduction in ticket prices due to lack of demand. In fact I've seen the number of flights increase on BA.

BTW, I've just realised the TV meerkats will have to be readjusted. 

Perhaps to be speaking with Ukrainian accents or wearing UA flag T-shirts.

It was such a marketing success.  I've even got the book. It's quite funny.

How is it going to work for them?

fluffy2560 wrote:

BTW, I've just realised the TV meerkats will have to be readjusted. 

Perhaps to be speaking with Ukrainian accents or wearing UA flag T-shirts.

It was such a marketing success.  I've even got the book. It's quite funny.

How is it going to work for them?

Yeah, they had to take it down, so as not to offend anyone.

SimCityAT wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

BTW, I've just realised the TV meerkats will have to be readjusted. 

Perhaps to be speaking with Ukrainian accents or wearing UA flag T-shirts.

It was such a marketing success.  I've even got the book. It's quite funny.

How is it going to work for them?

Yeah, they had to take it down, so as not to offend anyone.

They could always introduce the Meerkats' Caribbean or Australian or international "UN" meerkat cousins.

Russia will be a pariah state for a generation or two now.  Moreover, if they are beaten or if there's regime change - both likely - they will have to be disarmed to prevent them waging war on anyone again.

We were at the vet's place with  our dog and cat in an attempt to get Pet Passports. 

The vet said it was started to be a very popular request last week. 

They issued 50 Pet Passports in a week. 

And that's just one vet practice.

Obviously people have the same idea.

fluffy2560 wrote:

SimCityAT wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

BTW, I've just realised the TV meerkats will have to be readjusted. 

Perhaps to be speaking with Ukrainian accents or wearing UA flag T-shirts.

It was such a marketing success.  I've even got the book. It's quite funny.

How is it going to work for them?

Yeah, they had to take it down, so as not to offend anyone.

They could always introduce the Meerkats' Caribbean or Australian or international "UN" meerkat cousins.

Russia will be a pariah state for a generation or two now.  Moreover, if they are beaten or if there's regime change - both likely - they will have to be disarmed to prevent them waging war on anyone again.

I was thinking what will happen after all this? Will Russia be isolated until Putin goes?

fluffy2560 wrote:

We were at the vet's place with  our dog and cat in an attempt to get Pet Passports. 

The vet said it was started to be a very popular request last week. 

They issued 50 Pet Passports in a week. 

And that's just one vet practice.

Obviously people have the same idea.

You need a pet passport if you want to leave the country even if it's a day trip.

SimCityAT wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

We were at the vet's place with  our dog and cat in an attempt to get Pet Passports. 

The vet said it was started to be a very popular request last week. 

They issued 50 Pet Passports in a week. 

And that's just one vet practice.

Obviously people have the same idea.

You need a pet passport if you want to leave the country even if it's a day trip.

Yes, for sure.  That's why we were there.   The interesting thing is that there was a sudden upswing in demand.  Obviously war related.  People are planning to leave. 

Pet requirements are for the pet to be chipped, have rabies vaccination, de-worming and the stamped documents.  We are now good to go.

We were also at the local unmanned petrol station/tankstelle/benzinkut.  Only 1 lane in 4 open and sign up saying please take only 10 litres.

fluffy2560 wrote:

We were also at the local unmanned petrol station/tankstelle/benzinkut.  Only 1 lane in 4 open and sign up saying please take only 10 litres.

Maybe to stop panic buying?

SimCityAT wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

We were also at the local unmanned petrol station/tankstelle/benzinkut.  Only 1 lane in 4 open and sign up saying please take only 10 litres.

Maybe to stop panic buying?

Yes, for sure but also a possible problem with the price cap here.  it would mean the petrol places selling at lower profit/perhaps a loss if they have to buy in new stocks.   The obvious thing would be trying to limit that for the moment until tomorrow's price rise.   The unused pumps were disabled with an "out of service" message on them.   Another way might be to just close it down until tomorrow.

I've just read on the BBC  that the UK and US intend to stop buying Russian oil.  It's going to put Germany in a very difficult position.

McDonald's has announced it will temporarily close all restaurants and pause all operations in Russia.

The fast-food chain is hugely popular in Russia, with around 850 stores and 62,000 employees.

McDonald's had been facing growing criticism for not following many other food and drinks brands by pulling out of the country after the invasion of Ukraine.

In a statement, its CEO Chris Kempczinski says the conflict has "caused unspeakable suffering to innocent people" and "we join the world in condemning aggression and violence and praying for peace".

SimCityAT wrote:

McDonald's has announced it will temporarily close all restaurants and pause all operations in Russia.

The fast-food chain is hugely popular in Russia, with around 850 stores and 62,000 employees.

McDonald's had been facing growing criticism for not following many other food and drinks brands by pulling out of the country after the invasion of Ukraine.

In a statement, its CEO Chris Kempczinski says the conflict has "caused unspeakable suffering to innocent people" and "we join the world in condemning aggression and violence and praying for peace".

That's a massive change.   Russia is one market where they own most of the stores.  But will they continue paying their staff.   Some of the others have pledged to do that. 

But there are others yet to follow -   should think Coca-Cola will be doing the same soon enough.

It doesn't seem likely that Putin will be able to keep bluffing the Russian population.  The staff will be wondering what happened. If Russia was so in the right, why are these chains cutting ties? Seems a reasonable question.

BTW, BBC reported that they buy EUR 118 million worth of oil from Russia PER DAY.   That's a sizeable chunk of money but they couldn't get out of the dependency until 2030.  That's a very long way in the future.   Things will be very different by then.

I am still waiting for Germany to say it's restarting its nuclear power stations.