Salisbury

100% Richard,  I have family living & with a business near Salisbury & I get to hear the real impact in the town & its not funny. 

And sorry I have to plead guilty as charged for thread drifting.   

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Reading the news this morning;  the emergency case that turned out to be not an emergency in Salisbury last weekend is bizarre,  It begs the question(s) is it a publicity stunt,  or a dastardly Putin plan to discredit/belittle the Salisbury events, or what the heck is going on. 

 The people who set off the "emergency"  were Anna Shapiro, a model, & husband.  She claims she was targeted by assassins sent by Vladimir Putin.  She & her husband became ill at a Prezzo restaurant sparking fears of another nerve agent attack.    Ms Shapiro has claimed her father was a general in the Russian army & has publicly denounced the Putin regime.  He remains in hospital, some reports say he is seriously ill.

I slept in the Salisbury Sainsbury's car park once in my car when contracting near by and having not been able to find some digs for the night. 

The Salisbury "emergency" last weekend looks like it was a hoax.   The man involved in the incident in Salisbury after apparently falling ill in a restaurant is reported to have once hoaxed Prince Charles.

Police sources say a hoax is likely to be one line of inquiry & that until the man had been spoken to "we can't rule anything in or out".    No arrests have been made.

IMO if it does turn out to be a hoax/prank whatever you want to call it,  they should both be banged up & fined at least whatever the police incurred in expenses & other costs such as loss of income for all the businesses who had to shutdown.

Richard Dane posted:

Before this thread veers off on some odd tangent about Julian Assange, let's just stop a moment and consider that this thread is about Salisbury.  The town has experienced an attack with a deadly nerve agent which has so far killed two people, and nearly killed others, and may still do further harm to anyone who came into contact with it unwittingly. Furthermore, it has had a profound effect on the city's inhabitants and businesses, which are still suffering both fiscally and emotionally in the aftermath.  Please bear that in mind.  Thanks.

Two people. I must be out of touch.

Other than Dawn Sturgess, who else has now died ?

Don, my error.  Should have typed one (Dawn Sturgess). Will edit.  Charlie Rowley appears to have made a recovery of sorts, according to reports, but his eyesight has still not fully returned.

Interesting story coming from the Carnegie Moscow Centre, this is the leading think tank in Central and Eastern Europe focusing on domestic & foreign policy, international relations, security & the economy. As yes it's linked to the USA think tank of the same name, so maybe has “an agenda”.      

The organisations Alexander Baunov comments on the Russian “tourists” TV appearance saying those who want to believe still do, but others say it's a disaster & the TV appearance was ridiculous. The cover-up seems to have backfired as badly as the actual operation, many Russians are laughing at their spies. It's not just teasing, it's mockery. With jokes and memes flooding social media, some commentators suggest a line has been crossed.

This is in line with conversations I've had with some old Russia & Ukraine work colleagues.

I also note Russian political statements on this seem to have gone silent since the TV broadcast.

Some comments do seem to resemble those of Pootin’s cyber soldiers...

It’s all turning into a huge embarrassment for Russia, it makes you wonder what they might do to rectify the  situation....???

Well it turns out that one of the Russian tourists has been identified as a highly decorated GRU Colonel, having received Russian Military’s highest honour.

So certainly not an innocent civilian as claimed by Putin....

wenger2015 posted:

Well it turns out that one of the Russian tourists has been identified as a highly decorated GRU Colonel, having received Russian Military’s highest honour.

So certainly not an innocent civilian as claimed by Putin....

Oh, I'm sure GRU Colonel's, travelling under false names, often visit Salisbury Cathedral for a minute or two.  Nothing to see here!

What would be more worrying is if they were on a Naim factory tour. Come to think of it, some of the ‘forum members’ did look a bit dodgy. 

Now if they had come all the way from Russia just to go on a Naim factory tour...... the story would have been completely believable....

I always thought Salisbury was a city. According to Sky News yesterday, it's a town. Then Bellingcat, which clearly isn't that up on British geography, said it's a village. How long until a small industrial unit making quality audio?

Salmon Dave posted:

I always thought Salisbury was a city. According to Sky News yesterday, it's a town. Then Bellingcat, which clearly isn't that up on British geography, said it's a village. How long until a small industrial unit making quality audio?

Er, I think the rule of thumb is if it has a Cathedral (and Salisbury has a sodding big one), then it's a City. 

Jonners posted:

Salmon Dave posted:

I always thought Salisbury was a city. According to Sky News yesterday, it's a town. Then Bellingcat, which clearly isn't that up on British geography, said it's a village. How long until a small industrial unit making quality audio?

Er, I think the rule of thumb is if it has a Cathedral (and Salisbury has a sodding big one), then it's a City. 

Not necessarily - it has to have letters patent, granted by the Monarch, or something of that sort.  But Salisbury is definitely a city.

Beachcomber posted:

Jonners posted:

Salmon Dave posted:

I always thought Salisbury was a city. According to Sky News yesterday, it's a town. Then Bellingcat, which clearly isn't that up on British geography, said it's a village. How long until a small industrial unit making quality audio?

Er, I think the rule of thumb is if it has a Cathedral (and Salisbury has a sodding big one), then it's a City. 

Not necessarily - it has to have letters patent, granted by the Monarch, or something of that sort.  But Salisbury is definitely a city.

The Monarch has to grant city status, obviously based on the advice of ministers. Most of them found that having an Anglican cathedral was enough to obtain the letters patent. But Birmingham managed without and a few more followed. Rochester, on the other hand, lost out despite its cathedral, when it forgot to confirm its status after some sort of  reorganisation.

A population of more than 300,000 helps even without a cathedral, but is no guarantee.

Apparently Putin is still denying any involvement......??

wenger2015 posted:

Apparently Putin is still denying any involvement......??

Why worry ?

He knows they did it.

We know they did it.

He knows we know they did it.

He Knows there will be consequences, and the consequences will involve more than the UK

He doesn’t care what we think.

He probably would care a bit, if any of his operatives were held in custody, bu t they aren’t

He probably looks like a hero at home, especially if he is seen as waving two fingers at the U.K. in particular and the West in general.

If, and I say if, the operation was intended to kill the old spy, it was a failure. But there is no such thing as bad publicity.

The good will generated by the World Cup has soon been forgotten. Which is a bit of a pity.

Don Atkinson posted:

wenger2015 posted:

Apparently Putin is still denying any involvement......??

Why worry ?

He knows they did it.

We know they did it.

He knows we know they did it.

He Knows there will be consequences, and the consequences will involve more than the UK

He doesn’t care what we think.

He probably would care a bit, if any of his operatives were held in custody, bu t they aren’t

He probably looks like a hero at home, especially if he is seen as waving two fingers at the U.K. in particular and the West in general.

If, and I say if, the operation was intended to kill the old spy, it was a failure. But there is no such thing as bad publicity.

The good will generated by the World Cup has soon been forgotten. Which is a bit of a pity.

What I still find a little odd, is if Putin really doesn’t have any regard for what anyone thinks....if he doesn’t care about any sanctions that will be imposed....

why bother parading the two ‘tourists ‘ on the tv, and endeavour to come up with such a ridiculous story??

I think he needs some sort of pathetic cover up story.

He would have real difficulty with a cold blooded shooting, in public, in broad daylight.

So just enough slight doubt to be able to deny it.

Jonners posted:

Salmon Dave posted:

I always thought Salisbury was a city. According to Sky News yesterday, it's a town. Then Bellingcat, which clearly isn't that up on British geography, said it's a village. How long until a small industrial unit making quality audio?

Er, I think the rule of thumb is if it has a Cathedral (and Salisbury has a sodding big one), then it's a City. 

Well, yes, I know it's a city..... and am vaguely aware of the pre-requisites for a town to become one. Especially with a 123 metre spire.

My point was the ignorance of the news media....  

But... surely the height of Salisbury Cathedral should 404 feet? Tsk, these Russian tourists.

Salmon Dave posted:

...

Especially with a 123 metre spire.

But... surely the height of Salisbury Cathedral should 404 feet? Tsk, these Russian tourists.

Only really necessary after 29th of March 2019! 

It would be interesting to hear from the Salisbury ‘locals’ as opposed to the media..... on the impact recent events has had on the town......????

.. erm City, not town ... but yes would be interesting...

Simon-in-Suffolk posted:

.. erm City, not town ... but yes would be interesting...

apologies.... no offence intended.....