Not A Bad Imprecation To Be Going On With
After all, the world would be an ever less-wonderful place to be if people actively sought to get less smart. Imagine deliberately forgetting how to drive, or fill out your tax returns, or how to open a tin of beans.
Nor do I refer to that Sixties 'spy-fi' series "Get Smart", which was a comedic response to the glut of James Bond knock-offs that were around at the time, in addition to the 'James Bond' films themselves. Art!
Your Humble Scribe has never seen it, bar the odd clip or two. It was created by Mel Brooks, who has a good track record in the business.
ANYWAY what I really wanted to focus on today is another Youtube channel that caught my eye - "Kyiv Post", where the host was <drum roll> Jason Jay Smart, whom I have now subsequently Followed on Twitter. Art!
He didn't look at all what I imagined, which was a straggly blonde-haired surfer dude in t-shirt and ripped jeans. He's a Ph. D and political consultant with a long history of working with different governments. His guest was one Volodymyr Lugovsky, an Ukrainian (you can tell by the first name), and if Art can bestir his gangly limbs -
JJS asked the opening question: "The Ruffian economy - what's happening?"
VL's response was, essentially, not good, though the Ruffians are trying to sound positive by quoting and promoting single indices like GDP and being upbeat about it. However - O! my favourite word again - inflation is increasing; major exporters are losing revenue; there is a decreasing ability to import, especially oil and gas sector components, and thus the technical decline in this area will affect oil and gas production; airlines are badly affected due to the inability to properly maintain planes or import authentic spare parts. Art!
The supply of poor-quality bearings led to the failure of five Il-76 landing aircraft, the Investigative Committee of the ruZZian Federation opened a criminal case, Kommersant writes.
Overall, Russian production is also down, whilst China and India are gouging Russia as much as they can. VL also mentioned that mortgage subsidies have now vanished, which were previously very popular, which we've also mentioned elsewhere.
JJS: "How much of that would you attribute to the sanctions the US, Europe and other countries have put against Russia?"
VL: At this stage sanctions are really hurting the Russian economy. Notable amongst Putin's demands about Ukraine is that sanctions have to be lifted. The US is being very persistent in closing channels the Russians are using to dodge sanctions. This only affects a small number of the potential players but is sufficiently effective to deter the others. Art!
Ol' Vloddy explained that the cost of extracting Russian oil will rise, as will that of operating airplanes and of supplying domestic products, as these had previously relied on Western technology to increase productivity. So volumes produced will shrink, and the cost will rise. Exemplified by eggs.
JJS: "Inflation is officially at 9.2%. Here are food inflation examples: Eggs = 42%; Bananas = 48%; Tomatoes = 40%; Beets = 53%; Apples = 33%. What's going on under the hood?"
VL: Ol' Vloddy explains that there are two problems with Russian statistics. First of all, they are cooked by the government and used as propaganda. One omission is that Russians have cut purchase of bananas by 20%, because they're now too expensive. You won't find this mentioned in the media because otherwise you may fall out of a window.
The second problem is that prices are totally controlled by the Russian government. A banana or tank costs what they say it costs. Art!
VL warned that blackouts will increase, along with an increase in the price of petrol and that there will be utility shortages. All in all, the quality of life for Russian citizens will decrease, and it wasn't that great to begin with. Which, strictly speaking, isn't about inflation. It does provide an insight into daily life in Modern-day Mordor, which isn't very flattering.
You now know too much and risk ten years in a gulag if you dare visit Russia.
PLEASE NOTE: for the duration of this Intro the usual term "Ruffia" and "Ruffians" has been substituted by "Russia" and "Russians" as perhaps Ol' Vloddy wouldn't be too happy with us perverting his responses.
"The War Illustrated Edition 190"
Let us have more pictures from August 1944 in France, which means I'm not going to put up a Roy Cross Airfix box art picture, as you can have too much of the internecine in one blog. Art!
I do apologise, these pictures are from the Italian front, which is where the Gothic line was situated. Picture 1 at upper port is an interesting study of the British 3" mortar in operation. You can see the fused mortar bombs lying next to the crewman, with explosive charges around the fins. The charges will affect how far the bomb travels, with the barrel's elevation also playing a part. The crew are Polish, so the bomb has probably been fired with a generous dose of swearing to help it on it's way. Mortars were universally loathed by infantrymen in all armies, as they gave little warning of arrival and the bombs packed a lot of explosive compared to other ordnance.
Picture 2 to upper starboard shows sensible Italian civilians taking shelter in a tunnel, with a curious British soldier probably trying how to say "It's all over" in Italian.
At lower port you have a British signaller operating a portable radio. Not very glamourous but a modern army runs on radio. This is the No. 38 set. Because he's standing upright out in the open, and because his aerial is erect, you can WASH OUT YOUR FILTHY MINDS! and assume he's well behind the lines, because an imprudently upright radio aerial is a dead giveaway.
And to lower starboard, you have British infantry and Sherman tanks on a recently captured hill. Note how everyone is prone bar those two behind a tank, a sure sign that things here are still 'hot'.
Out With The Old, In With The New
We all know Conrad is a dinosaur, and allow me to provide incontrovertible evidence of same. Art!
To port is my old notebook, which is now completely full. To starboard is my brand spanking-new notebook, which I got ages ago in anticipation, and yes, I have started to make notes in it.
More Marlowe Musings
I will say one thing for Phil, he has a fine eye for flowers, plants and trees. Whereas Conrad would dismiss a bloom as 'Pink flower', Ol' Phil, the hard-boiled hard-hitting hard-drinking gumshoe, would be able to tell you it was a hibiscus or azalea. Art!
TEA ROSE BEGONIA: There are sufficient of these outside the (very dodgy) sanitarium Doctor Sonderborg owned and ran that Phil notices them.
YEGG: I don't think this is anything to do with chickens. It seems to be a variety of hoodlum, to judge by context. Allow me to quickly Google. Aha! "One that breaks open safes to steal". How apt that I've just been watching "Inception", where being a yegg is central to the plot. Art!
"The crew doubles in brass up on the play decks": I think this means that the crew of a gambling ship (moored offshore outside the 3 mile limit) also work in the casino, but that's a guess and I'd need access to a Chandlerpedia to be certain, if such things exist.
Finally -
I think that's quite enough. We've hit 1,300 words without needing any fan-fiction to boost the count. Result!
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