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It's interesting that Trump and the MAGA mob have just lost an important gubnertorial election in Iowa to a Democrat by the name of Zach Lahn. Lahn defeated the Republican incumbent, Trump-backed Randy Feenstra. Despite Iowa being a big support zone for Trump, with the State being a huge farming State - Lahn won on multiple angles associated with health issues that the State is grappling with. Des Moines water is so polluted with nitrate run-off into water aquifers, they have had to install special filtration equipment. Cancer rates are skyrocketing in Iowa, and a lot of Iowan people (including farmers) believe high levels of pesticide and herbicide use is to blame for both problems. Trump is trying to ensure Monsanto can't be sued, and has watered down EPA laws and controls. The Iowans see it differently, they want Monsanto held to account, and EPA laws and regulations kept in place. Lahn campaigned on the MAHA ticket - Make America Healthy Again, a vocal group who claim that Americans suffer from an epidemic of chronic illnesses, driven by ultra-processed foods, environmental toxins, over-medicalisation, and corporate corruption within the pharmaceutical and agricultural industries. MAHA is championed by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Lahn also campaigned on reducing major corporate ownership and control of farmland. This is an interesting turn of events, a Red State turning against Trumps corporate-loving policies.

There is a type of soft rubbery material that reverts to black crude oil over time and blackens your hand. I threw out a set of screwdrivers like that. Yesterday I spent a few hours replacing the foam surrounds around the speaker cones in my 30-year-old stereo, which had turned to black grease. And I have a pair of binoculars that have gone like that, I am reluctant to throw them out but they are black and sticky.

I’m sure that’s true. It’s the same here. Most people live their lives day to day without necessarily paying much attention to politics or the state of the world in general. However, the fact is that everyone is affected by the economy, the judicial and health systems, global supply chain disruptions, taxes, and the quality of the nation’s leadership. It’s the ordinary people who suffer the most when those systems don’t work for them and there’s a lot of that going on in the US these days. The wealthy are doing fine. Trump’s manipulated stock portfolio is looking pretty healthy, he can afford his increasingly frequent medical checkups, enjoy his special tax relief status and not worry about the cost of jet fuel for his weekly golf outings. Most Americans are just trying to make ends meet and get through another day.

Totally agree. The USofA will no longer be a land of opportunity for the people. But fine for the top few. They are already firmly on the road to international isolationism. The rest of the world is already getting along better without them. Long term damage has already be done. Just think of the outrage that will rise if Republicans and DJT get thrown out. Besides, there seems to be nobody else electable.

A friend just came back from the USA, says that ordinary people are just getting on with their lives and seem unaffected by it all.

That's a very informative video ... I should send it to my Local Council with a request to fix my unsealed street. In fact, I've heard rumors they will be doing something about it soon before One Nation cracks down on them.

Nice. Sit by the fire sipping a nice drop, looking out at the rain. Happy days to you both

I bought 3 pairs of Dunlop steel-toe workboots in the mid-1990's, because they were going out cheap. I didn't need them immediately, but I thought I'd "stock up" for when I did need them. I never even got to wear them. Within about 18 mths, the rubberised soles had turned into a gooey globby mess, that just fell off the uppers. So I ended up with a set of 3 perfect leather uppers with no soles. I kept those new uppers for ages, thinking I might be able to organise new soles of some type for them. No bootmaker would even look at them, so the uppers laid around my workshop for years, until I was evicted from it, ahead of workshop demolition, in early 2024. So they went in the bin, in the huge cleanup associated with the move out of the workshop. What a bloody waste. I know now, why they were going out cheap. Dunlop carried out some disastrous product moves in that era, and it still dogs them today. No Dunlop tyre I have ever bought, or acquired, has reached its full life without carcass separation, or just blowing out. I just disposed of the last of 4 Dunlops I acquired on 4 wheels I bought to fit my Hilux about 3 years ago. They were almost new when I acquired them. One separated within about 3 mths, another separated about 6 mths later, and the third separated about 6 mths after that. They just went completely out of round, developing huge carcass distortion. The last one nearly wore out, but the tread started coming off on the inside, and that scared me a bit, because it was on a front wheel. So I ditched it for a new Bridgestone A/T697 Dueler. I haven't actually bought any new Dunlops for about 40 years, I refuse to buy them. But I keep "inheriting" the darn things when they come on vehicles or wheels that I buy. They are total rubbish.

There's rough roads and Corrugated roads, They are not really the same. A corrugated road may still have a sound Base and just require a grader at the right time. Nev

Hopefully they'll have the money to fix it. Our council is flat broke to the tune of one billion dollars in the red. They've been spending money like drunken sailors trying to imitate the Gold Coast and now the shite has hit the fan. I'm a bit cynical I suppose, but my guess is higher rates and more potholes before any of the more than 1,000 bludgers sitting behind desks lose their jobs. They have way more sitting on their arse in the offices than they do out in the world doing some work. More than half the rates income goes to paying council staff.

Here is Richard Marles interview on 7:30 on the ABC that backs what Peter is saying... https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-06-03/aukus-deal-under-scrutiny/106756374

Richard Marles said that explicitly. I saw it on video.

No they are not saying that. They are saying this will be done sooner to meet our needs. We already have a lot of crew being trained on operating Subs. Nev

A great Ronnie Corbett classic, worth repeating .... "For some time, my wife’s had this ridiculous idea that I’m playing too much golf. Actually, it came to a head at about 11.30PM last night. She suddenly shouted at me: ‘Golf, golf, golf!! All you ever think about is bloody golf!’ And I’ll be honest, it frightened the life out of me. I mean, you don’t expect to meet somebody on the 14th green, at that time of night!"

Marty, we can only see limited and biased news, and from our distance it cannot reflect how the inhabitants see things. JerryA just gave you a little insight of how some USAnians see things.

It explains the puzzle, which is the words of a song, as described in this internet rhttps://search.brave.com/ask?q=100+bottles+of+beer+lyric&source=llmSuggest&conversation=0929f0d0ae5974bdbd76600141cc2866006eesult -

What is that supposed to mean?🧐

Yeah, that's the beast - and the video below is the one I saw last year. Watch for the screen readout in the cabin, about 13 secs in from the start. https://www.facebook.com/reel/1499670794616183

Obama and Biden weren't openly and transparently corrupt. They didn't put morons in charge of the armed forces, the FBI, the education system, the health system, etc. They didn't do everything they could to wreck the world's longest lived modern democracy for personal gain and to satisfy a bloated ego. They didn't do everything they could to stop the fight against climate change. They didn't rip up international agreements like the Iran deal just because they had a petty dislike of the previous president. They didn't shut down news organisations and use stand over tactics like thugs when facts were aired that they didn't like. But hey, if all that means absolutely nothing to your friends, I guess they have the president they deserve.

I haven't been on the thread for a while. I have just caught up with it. And, not much has changed. Chump makes stoopid decisions, divides his electorate, breaches the law, uses offensive diplomacy, and is blatantly corrupt. I am thinking it is a ploy to keep us wedded to the current and forget about what he had previously done. The yanks voted for him; they knew what they were getting and they got it. Unf, it has ramifications around the world. The democraps (intentional) aren't offering the US population any real alternative to vote for. Wasn't a senator by election or something just done with a MAGA maniac elected? The yanks don't like him, but the dislike the others even more. I read the news, sigh, and hop his reign of facism is over before he inflicts irreparable damage. Europe is heading in a s similar vain, albeit somewhat constrained. The UK is more so heading that way, with odds on Farage being the next elected PM. Pauline seems to be gaining popularity over notoriety. People are putting up with this crap because they have had enough of the status quo. Yep, they are getting shafted, but they are under no illusion they were getting shafted. MY US friends, albeit admitting it is a sad state of affairs, don't think it would be any better under anyone else, but at least there is transparency.

Now they are trying to tell us that they wanted second hand subs in the first place.

He’s got around that by appointing the guy as Acting Director. He can hold that position for something like 210 days before they need to do something about it. Plenty of time to get up to mischief on Trump’s behalf.