red750

She has no genitals?

Just watched the first episode. It was so-so. Graham Norton is no Pat Sajak, and the prizes are a lot less.

Here's something really random. Can you imagine a TV program, promoted as an Australian version, filmed in the UK with a Welsh comedian as host? The show, Australian Wheel of Fortune, is hosted by Graham Norton, and aired on Channel 10. The Australian bit is that all contestants are ex-pat Aussies living in the UK. Jerry, are you there?

Trump’s ‘Border Czar’ Makes Big Promise if States Don’t Cooperate President-elect Donald Trump’s “border czar” nominee Tom Homan guaranteed to slash federal funding to states who don’t work with his new immigration policies while admitting he has received death threats. Homan appeared on Mark Levin’s show, Life, Liberty and Levin, on Sunday for an interview discussing the “border crisis.” Levin, a Trump supporter, told Homan he has a “powerful weapon” to use against governors–notably from sanctuary cities–who refuse to cooperate with the Trump administrations plans. “If you have a governor who says, ‘I’m not going to cooperate'...then federal funds should be slashed to that state, and I mean hugely so, so that the people of that state understand that the governor is the responsible party,” Levin said. Homan replied in the positive. “And that’s going to happen,. Guaranteed, President Trump is going to do that,” he said. Homan then claimed he was “being attacked” and that his family had been forced to move out of his home. “This administration has turned this world upside down, so now I’m being attacked,” Homan said. “I got death threats, my family’s not even living in my home right now,” he continued, without adding further context. “You can hate Trump all you want, but you gotta love your community more than you hate President Trump,” Homan said. Last week, Homan warned Democratic governors who pushed back on Fox and Friends, to “get the hell out of the way” and “don’t cross that line.”

Not Ted.

Trump’s counter terror pick Sebastian Gorka is a ‘conman’ who needs FBI background check, Bolton says When Donald Trump’s former national security adviser John Bolton appeared on CNN Friday night, he didn’t hold back when commenting on Trump’s pick for his counterterrorism director. “Sebastian Gorka is a con man,” Bolton told host Kaitlan Collins. “He needs a full-field FBI background investigation about his educational claims and things like that,” he added. “I think he is a perfect example of somebody who owes his position purely to Donald Trump, he doesn’t display loyalty, he displays fealty, and that’s what Trump wants.” Boltson said Trump “doesn’t want Gorka’s opinions.” “He wants Gorka to say, ‘Yes, sir,’ and I am fully confident that’s exactly what will happen, no matter what it is Trump says,” Bolton argued. To hear Trump put it, Gorka has been a “tireless advocate for the America First Agenda and the MAGA Movement” since 2015, according to the president-elect’s announcement on Friday. Read more here.

'Very concerned': Trump aims to bring Ukraine-Russia war to 'responsible end' President-elect Donald Trump is "very concerned" about the escalating Russia-Ukraine conflict, according to his national security adviser pick, Mike Waltz. Waltz stressed that Trump is focused on bringing the war to a "responsible end," with an emphasis on getting both sides to the table for a peace agreement or armistice. "President Trump has been very clear about the need to end this conflict," he told Fox News Sunday. The incoming administration is committed to ending the conflict, with Trump having previously stated he could resolve the war in 24 hours. "The president-elect has been very concerned about the escalation and where it's all going. If North Korea has made this move, we have made a move," Waltz said. "Russia has now responded. Iran is involved. South Korea is thinking about getting involved. "Our allies have now extended the range of their missiles as well. So, we need to, we need to bring this to a responsible end."

Russia general 'sacked by Putin for faking success stories in Ukraine' A general in Russia has been fired after he was accused of faking reports of battleground successes in Ukraine. Colonel General Gennady Anashkin had been the commander of the Russian Army's 'Southern Group' which is fighting in eastern Ukraine. A Russian military blogging channel, Military Informant, has claimed that 'false reports about supposedly deep successful breakthroughs' started to come from Siversk close to where Anashkin's soldiers are fighting Ukraine. Meanwhile, the pro-Putin Telegram channel Rybar claimed that Anashkin had uncessceraily killed hundreds of men after he sent them to the frontline poorly prepared and ill-equipped for the battle. The Daily Telegraph reported that the Kremlin or the Russian Army were yet to comment on the alleged sacking. State media has reported that a source in the ministry of defence acknowledged his dismissal but claimed that it was due to a 'planned rotation'. Read more, photos, here

Trump plans to kick transgender troops out of the military with 15,000 service members to be 'medically discharged' on his first day in office, report claims President elect Donald Trump reportedly plans to issue an executive order on his 'first day in office' to ban transgender members of the military. The controversial order would cause as many as 15,000 active service members to be 'medically discharged' - deeming them unfit to serve, according to The Sunday Times. Trump seeks to issue the executive action on January 20, 2025 or Day 1 of his term, the Times said, preventing any transgender people from enlisting in the military as all branches continue to struggle with recruitment. The 78-year-old former president has nominated former Fox News host Pete Hegseth to lead the Department of Defense and has pledged to purge all government agencies of 'woke' policies. In a podcast interview recently, Hegseth called the inclusion of transgender people in the service 'pushing boundaries.' He suggested that you can't integrate trans people in as easily as people of different races were integrated 'because being transgendered in the military causes complications and differences.” Hegseth also said that transgender people were 'not deployable' because they are 'reliant on chemicals.' It's not the first time Trump has attempted to get rid of trans people from the service. In 2017, then-President Trump announced through a series of tweets that he would ban transgender people from serving in the military. Hegseth supported the move. The White House said back then that retaining troops with a history or diagnosis of 'gender dysphoria' - those who may require substantial medical treatment - 'presents considerable risk to military effectiveness and lethality.' Trump said on Twitter at the time that the military 'cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail.' The Obama administration changed longstanding policy, declaring that troops could serve openly as transgender individuals. Since then, the military has attempted to highlight the stories of transgender soldiers. Major Jason Vero, a transgender pilot, has won multiple awards and decorations, the Air Force said in 2022. 'In 2017, I suffered a number of tragedies in a short span of time, I felt lost in the ocean with my head barely above water with waves continuously crashing down,' said Vero, Joint Base Andrews Air Show director. 'During that period, I did a lot of internal reflection and after speaking at length with my pastor made the decision to transition.'

Saudi ASaudi Arabia could plunge the Russian economy into crisis by flooding the oil market and sending oil prices crashing. According to Business Insider, the kingdom has suggested that crude prices could fall to as low as $50 a barrel. View video here

Cab we get on with the next puzzle?

There are many who think a federal law is all that is stopping Elon Musk from being appointed to the position of Vice President in place of J.D.Vance, who is considered an "interim Vice President". That law is that the Vice President must be a natural born American. Musk was born in South Africa.

'Scream out the truth': Lawmaker calls out Trump team's 'violation of federal law' Donald Trump's transition team was caught in a "violation of federal law," a Democratic lawmaker said on Sunday. Rep. Kweisi Mfume (D-MD) appeared on MSNBC over the weekend, where he was asked about the president-elect's government takeover. Mfume called attention to a recent news development causing outrage among Trump critics, saying the former and incoming president has "refused to sign the agreement on background checks, which is a violation of federal law." "The FBI can't do their background checks, and therefore, you can have Senate conferees coming before the Senate for confirmation that have serious issues in their background that we are unaware of," he said. "So it's good to keep our eye on all of this. The main thing is not to give up. We have seen this play out before. There were many people who stuck their head under a rock when Tricky Dick, Richard Nixon was elected, thinking that would be the end of everything. It happened again with Ronald Reagan in 1980." He continued, saying "This is something we have to build coalitions around. Work step by step, one goal after another, to get straight for the elections coming up 24 months from now." When asked what Democrats can do about the situation, Mfume said "the first thing we can do and ought to do is to scream out the truth and make sure people know what's going on here." "Trump's transition seem stands to lose $7 million in transition money under the Presidential Transition Act. They don't care. They can easily make that money up somewhere else, if no place other than Elon Musk, so they're not worried about losing $7 million as long as they can keep secret the information of who is pulling the strings," he added. "So I think we've got to talk about that, talk about it loudly. I hope that the larger press in this country starts doing real stories on that and turning a real light on it, simply for the fact that we need transparency in this transition. And it's really important to look at also what legally can be done. We're in this situation obviously now where the Justice Department is going through its own transition. The question becomes, who will bring charges? I don't know."

China unnerved by Russia’s growing ties with North Korea, claims US official China is increasingly uncomfortable about North Korea’s engagement with Russia and finds the growing cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow unnerving, Kurt Campbell, the US deputy secretary of state has said. He was leaning into a growing debate among the US’s security partners in Asia on whether China supports the decision of North Korea’s Kim Jong-un to send 10,000 troops to fight for Russia against Ukraine. It is said the North Korean troops are now inside Russia. There are also doubts in the Japanese foreign ministry that China supports North Korea’s dispatch of troops. Officials say China has largely been silent over the issue, and may be worried that the military collusion in Ukraine will help an American drive to form a network of alliances with South Korea and Japan in east Asia that Beijing already views as aimed at curbing its power. In a rare olive branch China has told Japan it intends to remove a buoy it installed inside Japan’s exclusive economic zone near the Japanese-administered Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. Although the step is small, the islands are a flashpoint between Japan and China, and it is seen as symbolic of an effort to encourage those inside Japan that do not want to be drawn into a US-led conflict with China. Read more here

UK's Top General Breaks Down Putin's Reluctance to Attack NATO Analysts are examining the factors that have prevented Russian President Vladimir Putin from escalating the invasion of Ukraine into a wider international conflict. View slideshow here

Russia aims to wipe out US missile base Russia has announced that it has identified a U.S. military base housing missiles in Poland as a potential target. The Kremlin considers the military complex in the city of Redzikowo, near the Baltic Sea, to be a provocation, particularly after Washington recently authorized Ukraine to use its long-range ATACMS missiles against targets in Russia. The base, originally opened in 2009, was officially inaugurated this November as part of a broad air defense program established by NATO in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. "This is another frankly provocative step in a series of deeply destabilising actions by the Americans and their allies in the North Atlantic Alliance in the strategic sphere," Maria Zakharova, the Russian foreign ministry’s spokeswoman, said. "This leads to undermining strategic stability, increasing strategic risks and, as a result, to an increase in the overall level of nuclear danger," she added. This week, Vladimir Putin revealed that Russia had launched an intermediate-range intercontinental ballistic missile at Ukraine, emphasizing that he would not hesitate to continue such actions if Russia were struck again. In addition to Washington, London has also authorized Kyiv to deploy Storm Shadow missiles on Russian territory.

Putin: his days are numbered Vladimir Putin could be ousted from power if he attacked the U.S. or the U.K, an expert argues. This week, the Russian president threatened the two Western nations after Washington and London approved Ukraine's use of their long-range missiles to strike targets on Russian soil. Vladimir Putin claimed he could now target London or Washington with his missiles in response. However, security expert Nicholas Drummond told the Daily Express that Vladimir Putin would never follow through with such an action. According to the expert, Russia's powerful elite would stop him from sparking a new world war. He said: "Putin has a very strong grip on power in Russia. He would be very difficult to remove. He is revered in Russia after that chaotic period of the Soviet Union. That is what gave him such a strong power base. "But if he is seen to be doing something reckless, the kingmakers among the oligarchs could rise against him. There could be civil war in Russia. China will play a role too, because China does not want a world war. China has not committed any serious act of aggression in a long time," he added to the British media.

'World War 3 has begun' Terrifying warning from Ukraine's former military chief who says North Korea, Iran and China are now openly standing beside Putin Ukraine's former military chief has warned that World War Three is already underway - with Vladimir Putin's autocratic allies, North Korea, Iran and China, openly supporting his forces on the battlefield. Valery Zaluzhny, who is now Ukraine's envoy to the United Kingdom, told the UP100 award ceremony in Kyiv: 'I believe that in 2024 we can absolutely believe that the Third World War has begun.' The General said that as of this year, 'Ukraine is no longer facing Russia. Soldiers from North Korea are standing in front of Ukraine.' Read more here

I can't believe you've never heard that expression before.

Weight, Nev, weight. It's a common expression meaning "You're not doing your share of the work." In other words, slacking off.

I found a report that although an outspoken opponent of Trump, De Niro is not leaving America. The common reason appears to be "It's not the America I know and love, democracy is dead."

The only ones I know are - Ellen DeGeneres and Portia De Rossi have moved to the Cotswolds, where they was met with banners saying 'Go Home', and Tom Hanks and his wife already own a property in Greece and have Greek citizenship. I believe some are going to Canada or Mexico.