red750

A fairly new feature appearing at caravan parks around the country is dog-friendly campimg spaces. Many people would like the opportunity to take their dogs with them, but most parks are "No Dogs Allowed".

I use the handbrake at every lightnstop. If I just gey stopped, first car in the line, I can put it in neutral and take my feet off the pedals. Get ready when the light on the other street turns amber, or the right turn arrow turns amber. (They get first go.) The part I want removed is the one that turns traffic lights red when I'm 30 metres short of them.

I do.

C'mon, it's not that hard. You're overtthinking it. The phrase is "Drumming up support." Drumming, supporters?

Just 8% of new models in showrooms today have this once omnipresent feature A once omnipresent car component that millions of drivers on the road have learned to use and grown to love is nearing extinction, according to a new report. Just one out of 42 new cars launched in the last 12 months has the feature - and fewer than one in ten models in showrooms today have one, despite the item formerly being a staple of every interior. The part in question is the manual handbrake, which is rapidly becoming less popular in new models as manufacturers make electronic parking brakes the norm. Online car sales platform CarGurus carried out analysis and found just 49 out of the 587 different passenger cars on sale in dealers today are fitted with the 'analogue option' of a levered handbrake. This means buyers who want one in their next motor can only choose from 8 per cent of the market. But can you guess which car - from a firm UK favourite brand - is the only 2024 newcomer to have a manual handbrake installed? Dacia, the budget-friendly manufacturer, is the one car maker to release a new vehicle in the last 12 months with a manual handbrake. Its £14,995 Dacia Spring EV - the cheapest electric car on sale in the UK - has arrived on our shores with both a market-leading price and a levered handbrake. While it might not be a surprise to learn that Dacia has retained the old-hat feature - likely due to the lower cost of fitting one over an electronic parking brake - the decision does make the Spring an outlier in the EV segment. Almost all new electric vehicles come with an electronic parking brake, which is often the default choice for the latest cars with automatic gearboxes or single-speed transmission, as is the convention for battery-powered cars. Currently, four in five (80 per cent) of models in Dacia's product range can be ordered with a manual handbrake. However, the Romanian brand is very much the exception to the rule when it comes to retaining this old-fashioned component. This is especially the case after the discontinuation of a number of long-running models in the last 12 months, all of which had manual handbrakes. Read more here

A new slap in the face for Putin In recent weeks, arms deliveries, aid to Ukraine and an increased presence in Eastern Europe have shown that NATO is ready to contain Moscow. Deliveries of modern weapons, including long-range ATACMS missiles, have opened up the possibility for Ukraine to launch attacks against strategic targets on Russian territory, including airfields and ammunition depots. After the Americans, and Joe Biden's agreement to use ATACMS on Russian territory, and the British go ahead for the Storm Shadow of Keir Starmer's government, it's now France's turn to authorize the use of SCALPs to bomb Russian territory. This was yet another “slap in the face” for Moscow. In response, Putin carried out a demonstrative strike with an Oreshnik ballistic missile on the Dnieper, threatening the West with nuclear escalation.

Getting there. What's in the background?

Putin Aide Reveals Russia's World War 3 Targets In West View xideo here

Putin breaks nuclear taboo In his solemn address last Thursday, the Russian president threatened countries that help Ukraine with nuclear retaliation. In this respect, an extract from Vladimir Putin's speech about the new Russian doctrine is particularly illuminating: “In response to the use of American and British long-range weapons, on November 21 this year the Russian armed forces launched a combined strike on one of the objects of the Ukrainian military-industrial complex. One of Russia's latest medium-range missile systems was tested under combat conditions, in this case with a ballistic missile fitted with non-nuclear hypersonic equipment. Our rocket specialists call it the “Oreshnik”. The tests were successful, and the launch target was reached. On the territory of Ukraine, in the city of Dnepropetrovsk, one of the largest industrial complexes known since the days of the Soviet Union was hit, which is still producing missile and other weapons technology today.” And Putin put on the pressure and threatens: “We will determine the targets to be destroyed in subsequent tests of our new missile systems, based on threats to the security of the Russian Federation. We consider that we have the right to use our weapons against military targets in countries that allow their weapons to be used against our targets, and in the event of an escalation of aggressive actions, we will react just as decisively and in the same way.

Russia's automated nuclear retaliation system What's the "Dead Hand," Russia's last resort system if Putin and his top officials are killed? It's an automated defense system that guarantees nuclear retaliation even in the absence of the Russian leadership, designed to ensure the survival of the state in the event of a devastating attack. It's also an automated defense mechanism that allows Russia to respond to a nuclear attack even in the absence of its president or military leaders. Developed during the Cold War under the name "Perimeter," the system has been the subject of speculation and mystery, particularly after the fall of the Soviet Union and its continued existence in today's Russia. The creation of this system was in response to the possibility that a US nuclear first strike would disintegrate the USSR's chain of command, leaving Russia vulnerable. Perimeter was designed to automatically launch intercontinental ballistic missiles, without human intervention, if the country was confirmed to have suffered a devastating nuclear attack. Although Moscow has never officially confirmed its existence, in 2011, the commander of Russia's Strategic Missile Forces, Sergey Karakaev, acknowledged its operation to the daily Komsomolskaya Pravda, claiming that Russia could destroy the United States in less than 30 minutes.

Russia's economy on the brink as the 'market is dead' and prices soar Russia's economy is showing increasing signs of strain more than two years on from Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, with one insider gloomily admitting: "The market is dead". Prices for essentials such as milk, potatoes, and butter are soaring, hitting ordinary Russians hard, according to a report produced by Western-aligned Russian broadcaster Current Time. So serious is the situation becoming that retailers are even having to tighten up resorting security to combat shoplifting, while surging mortgage rates have caused a collapse in new apartment sales. Such issues reflect deeper economic turbulence, with the Central Bank battling to curb inflation as the costs of war and sanctions mount. The once-resilient economy, previously buoyed by wartime production and government spending, now faces stark challenges. Read more here

Sorry Pete. not quite.

No need to be rude. Oh, that's the catchphrase. That's correct. CP228.mp4

Five out of six train models in the Victorian metropolitan fleet will not fit in the Metro Tunnel due to enter service next year. They had to build a new fleet of trains especially for the tunnel, and the two lines (north and south) that will use the tunnel. Those lines will not run through the city loop. Labor claims that is world's best practice.

Read five reports on reactions to Trump's election (skip the one in the middle about Clinton's visit to a Swifties concert). Read reports here.

An endless subroutine loop.

Nev, you seem to know it all. Why don't you run for parliament and save us all?

Every government, no matter what flavour, blames the previous government for what is wrong, for the life of their tenure. And when in opposition, they try to block everything the government tries to do. That's why they are called "The Opposition".

Martry is correct.

Correct onetrack.

Correct onetrack.

It's not like they are banning it up to the age of 21. But there are some kids who have access who are barely out of nappies. They believe everything they see on the screen. Kids under sixteen who commit crimes like housebreaking and car stealing, and they go through a revolving door in the courts, only to do it again and again. But, OH! Good heavens, we can't punish them, their just kids. They are too young to know that they are ruining their lives -won't be able to get a job, won't be admitted to other countries if they want to travel. They have to be taught what is good for them and what is not. Ten minutes in the naughty corner doesn't cut it. The same with access to social media before they are 16. They are not mature enough to know right from wrong. This is where they get a lot of their misdeeds from.

Yes, Donald Trump Appeared To Make A Joke About Serving A Third Term As President, And People Are Reacting How You Would Expect During a recent meeting with House Republicans, President-elect Donald Trump made a comment about serving a third term — an action outlawed by the US Constitution. He said: "I suspect I won't be running again unless you [House Republicans] say, 'He's so good, we've got to figure something else out.'" The comment was met with laughter by those in the room. Then, when speaking to MSNBC, former Trump White House press aide Sarah Matthews added that "maybe there is a chance that he means it. But I highly doubt it,” she said. “But I do think that it is weird to joke about.” It's hard for some online to take Trump's words as a joke, though — especially following previous moments like when he asked, "After America has been made GREAT again and I leave the beautiful White House (do you think the people would demand that I stay longer? KEEP AMERICA GREAT)." Likewise, when given the chance to assure the American people that he would not act like a dictator, Trump responded by saying, ‘No, no, no, other than day one. We’re closing the border, and we’re drilling, drilling, drilling. After that, I’m not a dictator.’” So you can imagine how some reacted when news of him joking about a third term hit people's timelines. "He's talked about this before," one person reminded others, speaking of when Trump sparked concern over future voting rules when speaking at the Believers' Summit. The former president told audience members at the time: “Christians, get out and vote. Just this time. You won’t have to do it anymore, you know what? Four more years, it’ll be fixed, it’ll be fine, you won’t have to vote anymore, my beautiful Christians.” "This is what he always does," another said. "He floats an idea in the air, then slowly starts repeating until you're used to hearing it, so when he eventually does it, you're expecting it." "The thing about Trump 'joking' about running again in 2028 is that 1) he likes to test the water," another person agreed. Regardless of whether he was joking, many suggested Trump needed reminding that "there's a 2 term limit on the presidency"... ...as well as the fact that the Constitution holds this limit firm.

'Trump 1.0' Staffer Spells Out What Awaits Second Term Team: 'Not Going To Lie To You' Olivia Troye, who served as an adviser to then-Vice President Mike Pence during Donald Trump’s first term, has published a survival guide for those who will staff the White House upon Trump’s return to the Oval Office. In the latest issue of Troye’s email newsletter “We Lived It,” the now fierce Trump critic acknowledged the excitement that “probably super-MAGA” incoming staffers will have, just like she did during “Trump 1.0,” about working for the current president-elect. But she warned they will at some point “bear witness to something that changes your mind” that will let them “see Trump for who and what he truly is.” She then offered advice on how to deal with the “quandary” — from remembering who they serve to expecting the unexpected and being brave. Troye also issued further strategies for women working in the Trump White House who will face “an extra set of challenges,” she wrote, amid what she described as its “chauvinisticmale-dominated culture.” “I’m not going to lie to you. No matter who you are, you are entering a hostile environment,” she wrote. “I was fortunate—Mike Pence was a decent, respectful island in Trump’s sea of contempt. It will be much, much worse this time.” Read the full email here