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Your sarcasm aside, you are being overly simplistic. The war powers act states that the president is required to inform congress within 48 hours of military action, and he is limited to 60 days without a congressional vote. Congress must vote to declare/fund military actions that go past 60 days. Obama could have been impeached for his 2011 Libya bombing actions by continuing the bombing beyond the 60 day limit. Congress could have cared less.

Hated to read that Rachael Carpani passed away. Beautiful lady, and I loved her as "Jodi" on McLeods Daughters.

The latest reports are saying the aircraft were F-15's.

The best way is to keep whittling them down until they fall apart in a mess, but does Israel and the US have enough readily available stockpiles of munitions to see the distance. The pace of things might depend on who runs out first.

The post regime plan put up by the crown prince would be the most workable in my opinion, except for one thing. It could only work if what's left of the military swung behind it. The people are diverse but most just want to live in peace. The problem will be the hard liners and how much control over the arms they have. They've had a lot of power for a long time and won't want to give it up.

I saw some footage of one rescued pilot being looked after by Kuwaitis. It said he was in an F-15 but don't know if that was accurate or not. If they are Airforce they would be F-15s, F-18s Marine Corps or Navy. Martin Baker seats in the F-18s, ACES II in the F-15.

The latest news is that it appears trigger-happy Kuwaitis have shot down 3 x USAAF F-18's, in a severe case of "friendly fire". It seems that all the crews baled out successfully.

Lust for oil has been the root cause of many wars over the last 80 or 90 years - but in this case, I'm not so sure it plays as big a part in the attempted removal of the regime. But Trump and Americans in general nurse a long-held and extremely bitter grudge against Iran, largely due to the constant chants of "Death to America", the 1979-81 hostage crisis, the bombing of the USS Cole and the bombing of the U.S. Marine barracks in Lebanon. Netanyahu nurses a bigger grudge than America against Iran and Islamic terrorists, because they killed his brother at Entebbe. He burns with anti-Islamic hatred. And Irans constantly repeated aim of "wiping Israel off the face of the Earth" only feeds Bibi's hatred of them. So, a big Yes. I would not say 100% subservient, but he's very happy that the Israelis aims, and his aims, align. Plus, he can see major gains for Trump Inc in beachside resorts, hotels, deals, etc, in a Middle East that he can move into, without a lot of opposition. Many Iranians want to be free of religious terror, but many hard-liners still exist in the country. Whether the former can subdue the latter without external support, seems dubious at this point. Civilians always suffer the most in wars. I can tell you this much - Trumps claim that the "war will be finished in 4 weeks", holds about as much value, as his claim that he would end the Ukraine War, in 1 day. I would have to opine this war is going to incur many civilian casualties over many months, maybe even years. I agree completely. I doubt Iran will get "better" for a long time to come, perhaps 20 or 30 years. Islamic hardliners will keep coming to the fore, and continue to gather up more adherents, after losing their initial adherents. That is the vexing question. Many world leaders and senior politicians seem to be quite happy that the Ayatollah is gone. But "justification" can only be measured by the eventual outcome, which is very unclear at this point in time.

I think most Iranians would say it's justified. The problem with these things is that we all know how well appeasement works. A lot of people are calling for the whole thing to stop and just go back to more of the same appeasement. If it's ever going to change, at some stage someone has to bite the bullet and have the courage to get rid of the regime. It's good that they've set a goal of regime change instead of the usual half baked adventures kicking the can down the road.

Does Iran have oil? That may provide the answer to Chump's ultimate goal, I would think. Does Iran pose a threat to Israel? I would suggest that is Netanyu's motivation, as well as keepong out of court. Does that make Chump subservient to Israel? Hmmm.. I will leave that one to the court ofpublic opinion. Do Iranians want to be free of the Sharia based regime? I guess that makes them at least partially supportive. Will the civilian deaths directly resulting from the offensive be more or less than those by the regime resulting from what looked like peaceful protests? We'll have to wait and see. Is there a good chance it will get worse before it gets better? Definitely.# Is there a good chance it will eventually get better (by that I mean restoring Iran to its political place or better than it was pre-1979)? Andiwhat time would that good chance take? That is subjective, but based on history of these interventions, especially in the region, I would not give it 50/50.. Is it justified?

Gday willedoo. Tried to like those but it wouldn't work, really appreciated though and yeah some really big points there to loved hearing about it. Not only helpful but really interested what different people are getting upto in things like this l reckon. Tbh, this is a lovely property and very easy to look after or , if you wanted you could go crazy and landscape it for fun or do as much or as little of whatever you want. Wouldn't even have to mow it if you didn't wanna could get it done every mth or so. Tbh, it's a perfect place really for what l like and l own it plus it's on solar and tank water, rates are nothin, so it's Scott free living. l could retire right now and actually save really well too plus do what l want. l've had a lot of moves in life and a few properties but lately the thought of doing any of that again makes me feel physically sick tbh especially as l'd prob need more money after selling this to so financing again and all, mateeee, l'd rather walk on razor blades. Not to mention l'd have debt again. Sorta all why l was thinking of maybe just renting somewhere if l did sell this, but eh- there goes saving any money to sooo, can't win on that one either. Yet l can bank money here l'd be wasting on rent or more mortgage and l splurge more and do what l want. Huge difference isn't it. l mean it's bloody nice here to, for sure, lovely spot. My dilemmas mainly only just that the town is tiny though, like no shops, just a pub, and it's 30mins to the main town or 20k to a couple of smaller ones. That's just the sorta parts l'm toslling with it . Dunno where the older people go either later on , docs or health things and stuff. But mate, so nice to hear you stayed put and love your plot, that's what it's all about eh, good for you. l'm on my own too, maybe l should set a girl trap up on the main street. Thanks again. ps, yeah fully agree if you can't decide sit it out. l just kinda feel an urgency thing l dunno , not 21 any more. lt's stupid though, 6 or 12 mths makes no difference whatsoever. Only been back here 3 so far.

I'm assuming there is some humour in the above, as there's been a fair share of slap-dash, if not shady mechanics in my pre-UK years. It has gone imnto the shop today, for the first time, I rolled up to a red light with both hands off the handlebars to relax them a bit. Blimey, the front wheel started oscillating right to left - not tank slapper terriroty as it steadied as soon as I my hands ont eh handlebars. So, I am guessing it is a balance issue - which will be done with the new tyres I decided to get. I have to admit, I am disappointed with the previous mechanic - he took over the business from the mechanic I used to use, who was a ripper. I didn't know, but all three motoircyclists in the village that I know used the same bloke, but switched to the one I took the bike to today because of hacing the same experience as me. I found that out afterwards of course.. should go to the pub more often, but I have all but given up drinking. Back onto the riding: Am now riding weekly into London. Apart from the heated grips, the bik performs very well and is comfortable. I would prefer it had slightly less fuel consumption, but, it is around 1/2 the consumption of the mini and a little less than that of the Volvo. Also, I am not spenging £24 for two days of travelcards (£10 on fuel and parking is free). Ride extensively with the son as we have an intercom set and he likes the company. Yesterday, the weather was OK and we did about 50 miles of just cruising around - windy country roads, which I don't like, and better A and B road twisties, as well as a stop for lunch. Nice continued bonding time. Son is prepping his license, which at 23 will give him up to a max of 47hp.. We love his little 125, which is quick for a 125, but he has already outgrown it. The plan is for him to do the theory test, which has two components - pure theory and an interactive threat awareness/avoideance test - the latter of which you cannot prepare for. Then he will do a 1 week course, which they book his test at the end of. When he has done that (and assumed he has passed), we will sell the 125 and look for a second hand Triumph Tiger Sport 660, Trident 660, or a Scrambler. If they are over 47bhp, then they can be restricted as long as they don't have a power rating greated than 94bhp.

It's a mixed up place, the Middle East. Just one example - in Saudi Arabia they don't watch The Flintstones, but the people in Abu Dhabi do.

Having said the above, I'm probably not the best person to be giving advice. I'm retired, own my own acerage property debt free, on my own these days and can live comfortable enough on the age pension. I live in a little slice of paradise and don't have any factors pushing me one way or another. For someone still in the workforce with a career, there would be a lot more things to consider than what I have to.

I'm no expert, but I think sometimes when it's really hard to decide, it's better to do nothing immediately and see how the thinking is later on. A lot of people sell up and regret it at a later date. I was nearly one of them. In 2021, I was selling up and moving interstate. I was at the stage of dealing with agents and almost ready to list the place when some medical issues came along and changed the whole plan. Now a bit over four years later, I'm still here and there's nowhere in the world I'd rather be, so I'm glad I didn't go through with the original plan. I'll never be rich living here but what it has to offer regarding lifestyle is worth it many times over. On the other side of the coin, a mate of mine sold up that same year and moved to a small country town in NSW and he's as happy as a pig in a poke. He doesn't miss his former home of 40+ years at all.

Yes; No, and Maybe. The first thing to acknowledge is that the ancient Hebrews were nomadic sheep herders. Their culture would have been a simple one which one could fairly equate to cultures like Aborigines, Indigenous Americans (North and South continents). Their religeous philosophy was without doubt an amalgam of those of the more advanced Mesopotamian cultures. In fact, if one compares the Biblical stories of creation with the creation stories of those advanced cultures, one can imagine that a lot of cut and paste took place. So, in respect of religious philosophies, one could conclude that the Scritpture is not factual. Then we move onto the historical content of the Scriptures. Many accounts in the Scripture relate to events which the Hebrews lived through. In recent times, the application of scientific principles in the area of archeology has produced physical and documentary evidence of a lot of the accounts in the Scripture. One can frequently see from that evidence that events did in fact occur, but their causes were misinterpreted by a people whose scientific knowledge of the forces of Nature was not as correct s ours. Therefore, with the recounting of evetns over generations, the fact were coated with additions that made the story more exciting, but still contained a kernel of truth. That is a common thing in cultures that do not have a written literature. I am pretty sure that I have experienced that in a story of the Aborigines of the Wollongong area of NSW. The story explains how some small islands just off the coast came to be. Basically they are supposed to be canoes that some people stole and saild to the Wollongong coast from the east. It is easy to think that the kernel of truth in this story is the inundation of the Eastern Australian coastal plains after the end of the last Ice Age about 12,000 years ago. Aborigines living futher to teh east may well have been forced westwards by rising sea levels flodding those plains. So, are the Scriptures historically factual? Maybe, but there is a lot of padding around the kernel of truth. So what about the Scriptures being the Word of God? They are definitely a blueprint for living a life in a community. All the leaders of the community, those with the power to rule the lives of others, have to do to ensure the masses comply is to set up a system where compliance with the dictates of the rulers means a trouble-free life for the individual. First invent an all-powerful deity whose commands are relayed by the powerful in the group. Then dress the system with ceremony and was to express praise to this deity. After that create a set of rules which have to be followed both to appease the deity and to separate the followers of the deity from non-followers. So, are the Scriptures a statement of religious fact? Yes, if the facts relate to the rules of the particular religion, but NO if one does not believe in the existence of a deity. Are the religous facts of the Scriptures of any use to a non-believer? If a non-believer accepts that rules for social cohesion arising from the Sriptures are sensible and useful to lead a trouble-free life, then the Scripture are of use.

They still have old Tomcats and Phantoms left over from the days of the Shah. I wonder how many of them will be left after this is all over. Iran was the only foreign nation that received Tomcats. Their variant had the same engines as our F-111s. A big part of the reason none of our civilian air museums were allowed to have F-111 engines for display. The Amberley air force museum has a cut-away display engine, but that's under air force control.

It surprised me, I would have guessed half that. It must have big city populations.

They're mostly inbreds. Marrying cousins.

Irans bloody 90 million gees, didn't know that . That'd be a huge population really for one of those countries wouldn't it ?.

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince has authorised a full military response from Saudi armed forces if Iran attacks them again.

I only ever rode an old Bonneville once and only for a few k's down the road. I remember the vibration was very noticeable after being used to the isolastic setup on the Commando. I also had a ride on a Norton SS and it was a beautiful handling bike. The only issue was that it had a very annoying vibration that kicked in around 55 to 60mph, right where you would want to sit on the speed limit. To have a comfortable ride, you had to slow down or go over the speed limit.

Not in the footage I saw, there were heaps of women and very few wearing head coverings. But that was footage taken by citizens and posted on social media, so it might have been from a prodominately anti-government suburb and maybe not representative of what you see in other areas.