Poster Campaign

Here is a brilliant WWll Russian propaganda Poster. I've decided to update it like it was Vassili Zaitzev in "Enemy at the Gates" in 1999, who -  after others seem to have been somewhat exclusivist for a very very long time - bursts in on their Party and says ........

The Caucasus - the most dangerous Place on Earth!!!!

This was something I wrote in about 2007 after the Georgian Conflict. It was originally posted on a Website at that time - but rather mysteriously disappeared, or at least seemed to have when I tried finding it to post here! It's an Analysis of the myriad Groupings, Ethnicities and Conflicts in the Region known as the Caucasus. After 'Operation Tidy Up' I found a printed copy - which I have scanned and posted in this Thread. I guess the Appearance gives it that archival Look and gives it an Authenticity that might not be apparent if it was just typed. Click on each in order of Appearance, using your Browsers zoom Facility if you have to .......

Some of the following appears as a Reply to a Comment someone on the Website made.......

Finally, having wrested back Control of some Work where a lot of Research. Writing and fact Checking resulted in this you can now read it here! 

Because of the ensuing Tragedy in the Ukraine, something that shouldn't be happening at all, here's a Poster you can print and display. Written in Russian Cyrillic, it was the Promise made to Gorbachev in 1990 by US Secretary of State James Baker saying; "Not one Inch Eastwards" with any NATO expansion into former Warsaw Pact and Soviet Countries. It was because this was ignored in more recent years the War in Ukraine broke out on February 24th 2022.....

This Post is continually updated with Comments current to Events as they happen, so scroll through to the end to read these!

Cold War 2?????

27 Years after the end of Cold War1 I thought I'd do something of an update ........ so here it is!!!!

Erm, yeah - very nice, but before all that some of us had to do this ........

It's a Scene from a Film in 2002, set in 1942, but could have been 1991 even the Russian Civil War Bill Bailey mentions. And there was also this .............

Then we had the obligatory and everso re-affirming Handshake ..........

So, comrade Commissar - everything is gonna be like this when this is done huh?

Look, there's Beer and white Wine and Coffee - and there's Music - wow, now that's something to look forward to and fight for..... (And they're not in a Cafe etc)

Then a few years ago I was with someone from Poland and I asked him what he thought of all the new build we were looking at .........

He said it looked like Warsaw .......

Ahh, that's what he meant (maybe), but wasn't it all supposed to be like this .......?

So why does it feel more like this?

Oh, and let's not forget that we also had some of this .......... Not much "Beer and white Wine and Coffee" going on here huh!

When we were hoping it would be like this ........

Bet they know how to make each other Tea and Coffee.

So, without any Ado, there's nothing for it but this ............

Dang right, you tell 'em Jack!!!!!!!

Maybe he should borrow a Megaphone from one of those Blokes in the Film and yell it intro the eras of these People

Honecker/Hitler - by 1989 there wasn't really any difference!!!!!!

To Be a Coin - or not To Be a Coin .......... the Billion Coin.

This has to be the weirdest Cryptocurrency on the Market.

It claims to want to alleviate global Poverty etc but how it works - or at least how it does now - seems anathema to that Idea.

When it was launched you could by a TBC for 0.001 Euro. Brilliant, except it might be if anyone who wanted to actually knew about it's existence. Then it began its meteoric Rise in Value. At time of writing it is valued at 251153 Euros. So anyone wanting to buy a TBC now has to pay the equivalent of the Price of an average Flat in Britain to do so. How many People knew about Bitcoin when it was launched, and now have to find $4000 to buy one?

No Problem People might think and start looking for anyone who might sell TBC cheap. After all, isn't it the same with anything - that you will do this to try and secure a Bargain that could prove a useful Investment?

This is what those running TBC call "Discounting" - which they say is against the Rules of the TBC Agreement. So you have to find over a quarter of a Million Euros to do so. How many People trapped in Poverty have that sort of Money - or access to it? Surely, isn't it the Prerogative of any TBC Owner to sell them at whatever Price they wish? If they withdrew $1000,000 from a Bank and sold it to a homeless Fella for $10 that's completely up to them. If a TBC Owner wants to sell TBC for that - and some do - that's completely up to them, and aren't they doing their bit to help People who have very little Money? They're like the Philanthropist who gives their Money to the Needy. Some of these People have so many of them - which they probably bought when it was launched - that to them a few Coins aren't going to be missed.

To force People to pay more than 250,000 Euro's saying that they will be able to sell them in some Future for a Billion is almost as much of a Myth as a Property Market that sells you a House for 250,000 Euros - saying it will be worth more in the Future, but then so will every other Property - particularly if you want to upgrade. So whatever you make in Profit - you might not have enough to buy a bigger House should you want to.

TBC Wallet Owners now have to pay $10 to have the "Send" Button reactivated so they can send and receive Coin. They say this is because they have some sort of Backlog of Transactions which are slowing the Process down. Some TBC Users have said their Transactions have gone through recently, the same day and within the 1-8 Hours the Blockchain takes to process them. So what "Backlog" are they on about? There are currently 1,285,775 TBC Wallets in existence so they stand to make 10 times that in USD when People pay their $10. They then ask People to get 100 Referrals (that dreaded Word in Internet Marketing) - so the Equation reads 1,285,775 X 10 X 100USD. Phew, that's a lot of Money!!!!

This is supposed to make you a "Trusted Seller" - but how does it make you a trusted anything? Peoples trust comes cheap these days it seems. They also say that People should hold on to their TBC because it will be worth considerably more in the Future. It's difficult enough now to find anyone with 251153 Euros to spare - so how difficult will it be 1000,000 - and certainly 1Billion? If People trapped in Poverty now - a very immediate Problem for many - why shouldn't they sell their Coin on an Exchange and use that Money to improve Lives now?

So, instead of alleviating Poverty TBC isn't just becoming another Cryptocurrency that is increasingly only available to those who can afford the now expensive Value of it - it also makes vast amounts of Money for those who run it.

Even those who have paid huge amounts for TBC now have that Money effectively held Hostage by that Admin - who say that paying your $10 doesn't instantly reactivate your Wallet - but merely puts you in a Queue to have it done in the Future. The thing here is we might pay our Tenner to become a "Trusted Seller" - but can they be trusted as a Coin Admin with that Money? For a Currency that claims to be sooo not like Fiat Currencies it is acting like  Greek ATMs recently that told People they couldn't withdraw any Money.

In Memorium to Manchester Arena........

I thought I'd wait for the Kerfuffle to simmer down for a few Days before I did this - but in Memorium to the People at the Manchester Arena I'd dedicate a Song by Mancunian Indie Band Puressence - from their Album "Only Forever!" - "Standing in your Shadow" -

from .......

Globalscam....grift....cheat ..... con ...... erm - Shares!!!!!

Here is another one. Yep, same old HYIP Scuzz dressed up slightly differently with its "Unique Design" and it's "secure" HTTP/SSL - but it's still the same old douche, same old Spivery, same old Con. So, here's the Scamsite..........

Yeah, brilliant isn't it - in that lovely Mauve - those flowery Images, all that reassuring Stuff, the "secure" SSL - wow, a Phone Number, Live Chat, "Fast Payouts" "Strong Account Security" etc. Lots of Investors, latest Payouts, high ROI  - awesome.....

So we make a modest Deposit $10 on a 2000% in an Hour Program, stand back and wait...... an Hour,

(Here's where we use some Timelapsed Photography - then in an Hour), Horrah, it's made $200, so we make a Withdrawal of $190. Except you can't - because the minimum is $240. Ouch, so what about this "No withdraw minimum"? Hmm, we try and do a Deposit from Account Balance - except you get this.........

Oh, so where's the "Deposit from Account Balance" Button their Support told me about when asked about this? There isn't one, so we deposit another $10 on the 2000% in an Hour Program to increase the Balance to $400 - $160 above that $240 we were told about..... then wait an Hour..... It's now at $400 ...... so we should be able to withdraw from it now..... except -

Hmm, so now we're told the minimum Withdrawal is $480! I must be using a different Website to these People ...........

Can't see any $480 Withdrawals there - can you? Not even $48 for many of them. Here, who's that Birch Chappy in the List? Don't they tell you there's "no withdraw minimum"?

Deciding not to make another Deposit and opting to do one using the account Balance I'm told to use the "Deposit from Account Balance" Button by their Support. Right, no Problem, hoping that their Techies might have added or repaired it by now - let's do it!!!!!

So, again - where here is said Button, can anyone find it because I can't. Hmm, seems this is a Scam to get People to deposit, and deposit, and deposit, and deposit, while the minimum keeps going up. $240 becomes $480, becomes $720 etc so you never get to withdraw anything. That maybe the Ponzi has reached that Point where anyone joining now will just fund those there before if anyone at all apart from the Site Admin. Heck, lets' see what "Live Chat" has to say about it ...... Click! Click! Click! Click! - nothing, because there is no "Live Chat"! The Phone Number - dialed from that shown gives "The System is busy - please try again later"  while if you add a + then the Number it's just a Fax or a Modem. "Contact us" don't even reply to your Email inbox either!

Yet another disappointing Vampire of Time and Money - and when you read the Terms and Conditions it tells you not to vote negatively or mention it on Websites and Forums etc. That's so they can scam you in secret - and no-body knows!

Will Bitcoin replace Fiat Currency?

The Answer to that is; no, it won't

Bitcoin has invoked an almost religious Fervor among its Supporters - but why won't it replace Fiat Currency?

It's Infrastructure is chronically unreliable....

Have you ever tried buying any?

There are many Companies where you can do this - except every one I've used, tried or signed up to is hopeless and unreliable.

There's one - where you can use your Visa Debit Card - which keeps getting declined when you do. Another, where you have to do it via Wire Transfer - which can take up to 8 Days and cost anything up to £25 in IBAN Fees, or you use one of these Merchants - who are hopelessly unreliable - and you spend days grappling with the Website, Errors, and the like - and Email Inquires that can also take days. Some, where you have to buy Euros before you even deposit, others that take anything up to an Hour before your Deposit reaches your Wallet Account, and Exchanges where you have to hope the other Guy is honest. Some charge exorbitant Fees - and then there's the Disparity between what you buy them for and sell them - anything up to a £200 or 25% Deficit. You lose almost that much on something you bought  in a Shop as soon as you leave the Premises.

Then there are the myriad Scams involved - while all of it is a shambles run by People who don't seem to have any common sense.

Yeah, we all know that the current Financial System is flawed - and about the Bailouts a few years ago, the other things that go on in the Recesses of it all, the Subterfuge, but until someone creates an Alternative that doesn't give you Stomach Ulcers trying to use - or cause days of Stress and Aggravation - then Cryptocurrency will always be regarded as a sort of Monopoly Money that you can't even buy a plastic House with. We also know that Currency now isn't backed by any Gold or Silver Standard - and is just a Number whose Value could, and sometimes has plummeted.

I suggest a Vendor that does accept Visa Debit, and one that works, that is as quick as any Bureau de Change might be when you buy them, and where you can sell them either for the same Amount - or whatever the Exchange Rate might be. Who could email Coin to you rather than you having to wait an Hour before they arrive, and one that is discreet.

I have just been through a Process that took over a Week to have Documents verified, where Bitcoin went up by about £250 when that went on, only to find that a Dysfunction now exists with the Merchant you deposit with - via whom you buy your Coin from a Wallet Provider. Ironic considering they issue a Visa Debit Card - but you can't deposit with one. If it was set up properly it is instant, reliable and - above all - refundable in the Event of a Dispute.

Also, and this is the most crucial part, Bitcoin will stop being produced in about 2040, which limits the amount available to anyone, so while Fiat Currency can almost seem like it's being printed like there was no tomorrow - at least it's available.

So, until you can do everything from Busk for Bitcoin to buy and make a Transaction with it that doesn't mean the World goes into Metastasis while it grinds into action it will never become the mainstream Currency.