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I would consider the mass killing of civilians including children and hospitals, the flattening of entire cities across GAZA and now Lebanon, the harassment and murder of farmers in the West Bank as meeting that criteria. Also they are genocide actions as declared by the UN.

I have no doubt the effects of this war will linger for years. There will be lots of negative effects. But if the USA succeeds in ridding the world of the source of much of its international terrorism, the benefits are likely to greatly outweigh the costs. It is just too early to tell. But if you don’t have a go and roll the dice, nothing changes.

Yep , agree emu, never been a surprise to me half the world hates the Yanks , poss' more than half. Even in this now , they've done twice now in just a few mths what the whole world is pissed about Russia doing in Ukr, not to mention all the other trouble Russias done. And l know on the other hand there's the terrorism and nuke side of it but never the less, Russias come out with all that stuff to. He wants UKr disarmed to, hell he'd have all the Boltics disarmed if he could , and the rest. But eh, next breath rumps racing off about the oil or minerals or controlling ths controlling that anyway. Not that l'm knowing how the US or anyone should handle say Iran or other things no idea what the answers are but l do know the Yanks haven't been much better and it's no surprise as l say they're so hated. Couldn't even tell me Russia/Putin even likes Rump or the west, nor would China truly, l think they both despise them actually and Rump but just have to work with them. Middle east , Arabs, all of them also def despises him and the US deep down is my guess.

The actions of the Party through its Gestapo have been compared to the recent actions of ICE agents in the Land of the Free. The USA has been doing things that towrads the end of the 20th Century came to be defined as terrorism since the late 19th Century. Remember the Spanish-American War when the USA attacked the Spanish territory of Cuba and at the end gained control of the Phillipines. Not to forget, either, the interference of the USA in just about every South American country as each gained independence from its colonial rulers.

On that basis most of the wars are terrorism

A terrorist organization is a group that uses violence, intimidation, or coercion, often against civilians, to achieve ideological, political, or religious goals. Does the Adminsitration of the USA fit that definition?

I wonder when the Qatari’s are going to repossess the jet they gave Trump. That gift hasn’t worked out too well for them now his excursion into Iran has resulted in missiles and drones heading in their direction.

NO Laws apply to Trump. Nev

The AI company, Anthropic, which owns Claude, is suing the US Government. It says that as part of its contract details bans the use of its AI for the deploying weapons unless the go ahead to fire was given by a human. Of course, Trump and Hegseth are ignoring that contract detail. In response to Anthropic's lawsuit, which still has to be dealt with in Court, Trump has decreed that Anthropic cna no longer be granted government contracts.

The one I thought at first was a An-124 is definitely not so. It's an old Boeing 747-100 by the look of it. This article says the world's last operational 747-100 was destroyed in the strikes on the airport. https://www.sofx.com/israeli-strikes-destroy-worlds-last-operational-boeing-747-100-in-tehran/

Yeah right , you might think in being careful not to damage them then butttt, then again , the parts could be anything to so they don't want anything damaged. Don't know , know nothing about the aircraft business but it does make sense them being close to the workshops bc they sure don't look like they'll be flown anywhere.

Looking at the clearer photo in that Iranian link posted above, it doesn't look like any are stacked with a crane. It looks more like they all fit in with the varying height of the wings and tailplanes. Maybe the big one is a 747 and not an An-124.

From Google AI: 'Over 20 decommissioned, "cannibalized" aircraft have been parked at Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport for over a decade due to international sanctions, which hinder maintenance and parts procurement. Mehrabad International Airport also serves as a major graveyard, with satellite images showing damaged or abandoned planes from Boeing, Airbus, and other manufactures.' https://www.iranintl.com/en/202309292594

On the otherside of the coin Boeing and Airbus use, or did use, Russian made parts. They were doing so only a handful of years ago, don't know if they still are. I know they made undercarriages and brake systems. Russia had high hopes for the big joint venture with Boeing they were building, but I think going to war with Ukraine stuffed that.

I had a look on Google Maps and zoomed in on high res, and that's exactly what it is - a big pile of scrap. Some have been craned on top of others. The big one is an An-124. It's most likely a section of the airport where all the workshops are. It would be a variety of scrapped planes not worth fixing or in the case of US and Ukrainian (Antonov) planes, they can't get vital parts. I remember back when Iran and Russia were looking at a deal for Iran to license build the Sukhoi Superjet and the US knocked the plan on the head as they had the veto call due to the percentage of US made parts in the Sukhoi. I forget the percentage, I think it's around 10 or 15 percent content and they can block things. At the time I was surprised at how many airliners Iran has and needs for domestic use.

Yeah, was looking at that too. If it's a google satellite shot though, well ldk. That batch in the middle though how would they even get them placed like that ? But at the same time, if they're just spares wouldn't they just be out in a paddock? That's smack in the middle of the complex.

I'd say they are all scrapped aircraft just stacked there as a source of parts. With sanctions they need every spare nut and bolt they can get.

Lots of shortcomings in Claudes answers, and "he" constantly probes for more information from Margaret, to add to his knowledge bank. Give it 20 years, and we may struggle to determine if we're speaking to an AI robot or a real human being.

Is it the servos or is it the oil companies? The servo is the retailer - the link between the oil company, local distributor and the customer. It is the oil companies which set the wholesale price of fuel. If they raise the wholesale price, then that rise passes down the chain. The oil companies also set the price at their own sites and their franchised sites. Have you ever noticed that the price changes at competing oil company sites rise and fall in unison? It is the independents who can control their price more closely. I suppose the idea of servos price gouging comes from the independents going from being cheaper than the oil company sites to matching those sites in the same area. So, perhaps the action taken by the ACCC, or Fair Trading would be appreciated by the oil companies as it might drive an independent out of the local market.

Treasurer and the ACCC to take serious action against petrol stations hiking prices and gouging. You see, same old , nothing new.

If you think about it, you could almost say that terrorism in modern times started with the first raid by German Zeppelins in WWI. However, I suppose a deeper look would find examples of attacks on non-combatants throughout human history.

Yes but it doesn't count because Trump is sent by Dog to do his work. ....... ? Nev

There's an interesting through-line. Atwood's picture of Claude: Vonnegut's asshole in Breakfast of Champions looks like this:

This link takes you to a conversation between Claude (A.I.) and Margret Attwood. Totally worth a read. https://margaretatwood.substack.com/p/claude-you-are-a-cutie-pie?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=1195719&post_id=190895157 Does A.I. have emotions? Is it a psychopath in sheep's clothing? Does it tell lies just to shut you up?

Given that terrorism is idiocy, and global terrorism therefore is a part of global idiocy, I would start with the terrorism. But, yep, would be great to take out all the idiocy.

Normally, I would agree with you, but the costs to the government are also going up as well, unless they hedge their fuel costs, and even then the hedges will only last a shorter duration I would expect. . So all it would mean is that they have to borrow more and we would also have to pay interest as well. They may as well slug some of us now (we have the same issue in the UK).

Be careful what you wish for. The outcome of this punch-up could be vastly detrimental economically to all Western Nations, most companies and corporations, and certainly a lot of employees. Inflation is likely to triple the percentage of what it is now, interest rates will follow, and a major recession follows on from those two. I've seen 17% inflation under Whitlam and it's a shocking thing to try and cope with. You may recall the period, it was one of high unemployment as well as high inflation, as well as the ongoing effects of the '73 oil crisis. The oil price tripled from $4 a barrel to $12 barrel in late '73, long lines formed at servos, and there were major fuel shortages. The oil crisis only lasted from Oct '73 to March '74, but the effects of it lingered for years afterwards.

Before the start of the "war", petrol at my place was $1.70 for 91 octane. It is now $2.25. That's and increase of 55 cents. Since GST is 10% the current price returns Treasury an extra 5.5 cents per litre. As well as calling out the oil companies for gouging, we should also call out the Government. Notice that I said that GST generates money going into Treasury. At the moment the Government is Labor, but if the LNP was the Government, then I reckon they would accept the windfall as well. I'm not trying to say that Labor is being nasty and the LNP wouldn't be. I'm saying that both would not deny the exra money coming into Treasury. Apparently, the voters are "unhappy" about rising food prices, layoff, inflation, etc., but they are totally pissed off, furious and more than somewhat upset that the price of petrol is sky-rocketed. I suppose those who drive ICE vehicle are also annoyed with the drivers of EVs.

Trump bombed all the military installations on Kharg Island today which Iran uses to export 90% of its oil, nearly all to China. He has also threatened to bomb the oil infrastructure on the island if Iran continues to block the Strait of Hormuz. I think the Iranians will call his bluff. They can’t stop him, but it would just give them more incentive to hit back and keep the blockade up if he does go ahead. The regime will fight to the bitter end because they have nothing to lose. Trump is also supposed to meet with Xi Jin Ping at the end of the month. Xi won’t be happy if Trump has demolished his main source of oil.

There ya go, Govs have had to double fines for gouging, l wonder why, and servos all over the country have so far already been fined- what a surprise. On another note they've also lowered diesel fuel standards for 60 days, means they add things to increase supply. For anyone mechanical, is that still ok for the motor, especially one like mine with high k's ?

Even if he's in perfect health it makes sense to stay hidden. His father, wife and at least one child have already been killed, and Trumpanyahu have said they want to kill him too. If it's open season on leaders, not sure why Putin, Trump and Netanyahu aren't fair game too.

I'd rather start with global idiocy.

It is only the Maga faithful nutters who believe the Bullshit Trump and Hegseth continue to spew out. The majority of US voters are unhappy with this war and the escalation with Iran continuing to inflict more damage each time they come out with comments like totally destroyed, and obliterated etc. The US is running short of its top end missiles at $50 million a pop & is getting help from Ukraine to provide attack drones. Iran has thousands & will be manufacturing more at full speed. The only good thing is they won't be sending many if any to Russia for use against Ukraine. There is now no doubt that the US under Trump is a dictatorship & when congress & the senate try to reign things in he will declare some sort of wartime emergency to assume absolute power which he almost has now.

Peter, that's got to be some image manipulation, no-one could stack aircraft like that - and then, you'd have to ask why, if the image isn't falsified? Basic protection from attack is to spread out. One bomb in the centre of that tightly packed lot, and it's all gone.

A slight aside. I was looking up Tehran on Google Maps satellite view when I noticed this interesting scene at the airport. Look at the aircraft storage area in the centre of the image.

This thread feels like an echo chamber. I think attacking Iran is the best good thing Trump has done. In all wars, the outcome cannot be predicted and you just have to act against evil when it's manifestation becomes unbearable.

Finally! My bank account looks like a telephone number. $0.00.

Yes, that make the USA and Israel the two biggest sponsors and users of terrorism currently today.