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The KC-135 wreckage has apparently now been found, and the U.S. military are stating there were 6 on board (not 5 as previously advised), and 4 have been confirmed as deceased. There is no word of any survivors, and I expect the reason is simply because the military still haven't found or identified, the remaining 2 crew members. I fully expect they will eventually be reported as deceased, too. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy0dz5ql17vo

It will end up another Afghanistan, but with the added kick of causing a major worldwide recession. The Americans have yet to defeat any Islamic nation with a sucessful transition to a "democratic government" with free elections. They usually pull out after inflicting enormous damage, with no successful and thorough regime change, just leaving chaos and instability, as the country turns into individual fiefdoms ruled by warlords. This article below is pretty much spot on with its analysis, as I see it. The only factors that might make the country collapse totally, is a lack of water, and a lack of medical facilities and supplies. Tehran was nearly out of water before this war activity by the Americans - nothing will improve that situation, and a lack of water stops most human activity. https://www.iranintl.com/en/202602268309

All the early news reports kept saying "(the KC-135) went down in Western Iran". Now they're all saying, "went down in Western Iraq". I don't think half the news writers ever passed geography tests. The area where the KC-135 crashed is reportedly near-desert type of country. I fail to understand how the Americans couldn't spot a massive plume of burning fuel from their satellites. It's been over 12 hrs since it went down, and they still haven't found the wreckage. No parachutes, virtually must mean, no survivors. The other KC-135 landed at Ben Gurion airport after circling for an hour to burn up fuel, with a chunk missing from the top of its vertical stabiliser.

No, not according to my information. New off the shelf. It may have been forged in Turkey and finished off in Germany - or it just might have been fully manufactured in Turkey, and stamped "Made in Germany", or just sold as "German made". I recently did a deal with another major Czechia parts supplier, they supplied new Perkins aftermarket fuel injectors and claimed they were made in Italy. When they arrived, I realised they were made in China, as there were no markings on them that identified them as "Made in Italy" (as the Italians always do). The injectors only had a part number stamped on them, and that stamping was identical to the Chinese injectors for sale everywhere. So I got back to them and gave them a good serve for misrepresentation and fraud. They apologised profusely, and said it was due to a website error, and they refunded all my money (including the freight charge), so now I get to try out some Chinese injectors for free. I'm not overly concerned, because injector nozzles are easy enough to change, if they don't provide satisfactory service. But I prefer European, British or American-made products where possible, the Chinese lie through their teeth about the quality and performance of their products, and it is often highly variable. If the crankshaft ends up being Turkish-forged, I can live with that, I think the Turkish products are superior to Chinese-made stuff.

The Russian Internet disruptions story is backed by the Scandinavian Dagens.com, an online independent media company, owned by the Danish marketing group, Media Group Denmark. The Russian internet and mobile phone service shutdowns are regularly carried out by the Russian military anytime they suspect a Ukrainian drone attack is imminent. https://www.dagens.com/war/russians-furious-as-putin-cuts-off-internet-i-started-to-panic

And the Liberal Party voted to support voluntary voting at their 1988 Federal Council decision-making.

Yep, engine rebuilding is something I can do with a degree of skill, after having done it for over 60 years. Lifting equipment is necessary when you'e working on bigger diesels. This is a 6cyl Perkins. Yep, that's what I reckoned, too. The local suppliers wanted anywhere between AU$2,200 to AU$2,500 for a crank - this one I bought is made in Germany, too.

The cost to America of the Iranian War is rapidly escalating - and as always, American errors are high on the list. Two American KC-135 refuelling tankers have collided over Western Iraq. One landed safely, but the other one crash-landed somewhere in Western Iraq - and the crash location is currently unknown. If the Iranian forces get to the crash site first and grab American aviators as hostages, they will be dancing with glee. There were 5 crew members on board, and the U.S. military is declaring the aircraft "a loss". On that basis, one has to presume all the crew bailed out, and left the stricken aircraft to its fate, and the crew members have likely landed in a diverse number of areas, and are trying to hide from the Iranians, while the U.S. rescue crews try to figure out if they can get to rescue them before the Iranian forces find them. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/12/us-military-aircraft-iraq-crash

Shipping costs and disruptions, both air and sea, are the hidden costs of this American bombing expedition. It's going to have a major impact worldwide. Not to mention the number of people curtailing their holidays because of airspace and airport closures. A lot of people have forgotten that Russian airspace is already closed to all civilian aircraft, and that is impacting air freight and passenger movement and costs. Doha, Dubai, and Bahrain are big transport hubs and are currently closed, so flights are being diverted all over the place. Oman is presently reasonably secure, but that could change. Here's the latest news on air freight shipping. The news is not good for drugs and pharmaceuticals moving from India to Europe, they are forecasting major shortages in Europe, shortly. https://www.freightwaves.com/news/air-cargo-shippers-scramble-to-mitigate-iran-war-impacts I was a bit nervous as regards a new tractor crankshaft I'd ordered from Czechia, but ended up surprised at how the shipping cost was still reasonable, and the transit time was fast. The crankshaft is made in Germany, but it was shipped from Tuchomerice, Czechia (from Vaclav Havel Prague airport) on the 10th March (Tuesday) - from there it went to Koeln in Germany, thence to Shenzhen in China, then on to Singapore early yesterday morning. It landed in Perth early this morning, and they say it will be delivered this afternoon. Can't complain about that service! The crankshaft is big and heavy and weighs 47 kgs, and it cost me US$185 in freight cost, just under AU$260. I acquired the crankshaft for less than half the cost that local suppliers charge, including the airfreight cost. The total cost was AU$950.

It's the people with electronic item repair knowledge, or electrical installation knowledge, who will be unlikely to be out of a job because of AI, for a long time yet.

The odds of winning Powerball are 134,000,000 to 1. Scratchie tickets provide the best chance of winning something, but usually just small prizes. Here are the actual odds. I was surprised to see the "Set for Life" odds, are far better than I thought. https://help.thelott.com/hc/en-us/articles/35525459564441-What-are-the-odds-of-each-game

"Minge" seems to be a very old, specifically Pommy term for a womans genitals. I can't say I've heard it used very much here, although I did know about the word and its meaning. I think I've probably heard a couple of Poms I've worked with, use it, many years ago.

Minge repellant. It's either a send up, or someone did it on purpose. And when did "repellant" become "repellent". More Americanisms sneaking into the Queens English??

Malcolm told us, life wasn't meant to be easy. 😄

And we're full of vast amounts of knowledge and unbelievable cunning, too! All gained via a lifelong education from the University of Hard Knocks! 😄