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America was a better place in the 1930's and 1940's, but there was an overwhelming desire by Americans even back then, to not become involved in "foreign wars", in that period. But, yes, Americans have always been willing to supply armaments to combatants in "foreign wars". It has been said, "the U.S. economy runs on the manufacture of War equipment". "The Neutrality Acts were a series of U.S. Congressional acts passed between 1935 and 1939, driven by 1930s isolationist sentiment to prevent involvement in escalating foreign wars. They banned arms sales, loans, and credit to belligerent nations, and restricted American travel on ships owned by warring nations, specifically following the 1935, 1936, and 1937 legislation. Key Aspects of the Neutrality Acts: 1935 Act: Initiated by the threat of war, it prohibited exporting "arms, ammunition, and implements of war" to foreign nations at war and allowed for travel restrictions on belligerent ships. 1936 Act: Extended the 1935 restrictions and further prohibited extending loans or credit to belligerent nations. 1937 Act: Included a "cash-and-carry" provision, allowing warring nations to purchase non-military goods if they paid upfront and transported them on their own ships. It also restricted U.S. citizens from traveling on belligerent ships. 1939 Act: Passed after the invasion of Poland, this Act repealed the 1935 arms embargo, allowing the "cash and carry" of war materials, which primarily aided Britain and France. Impact and Legacy While designed to keep the U.S. out of World War II, these acts were ultimately considered ineffective, because they failed to distinguish between aggressor and victim, limiting support for allied nations. They were largely repealed in 1941 by the "Lend-Lease Act". The Lend Lease Act was initiated on 11th March 1941, and US$7B in free war goods was supplied immediately to Britain, Russia and China on that date. The aim of the L-L Act was to help those three countries repel war attacks on them, with ownership of the war goods remaining with the U.S. at all times, until the U.S. decided what it would then do with it. The original intention was the L-L equipment would be returned to America at the end of the War. The reality turned into a battle between the politicians who wanted the war goods returned and the industrialists who DIDN'T want the equipment returned to the U.S., because those industrialists feared the equipment (especially equipment with civilian use capabilities, such as trucks and jeeps) would seriously depress future sales and production from the industrialists manufacturing facilities. Of course, the industrialists won and very little of the L-L equipment was returned to the U.S. A lot of it was either dumped at sea, or abandoned (due to major damage and remote locations that meant the cost of transport exceeded the residual value of the equipment) - but a lot was sold off to scrap dealers, the Allied countries and individuals. All Allied countries benefited substantially from the cheap purchase of surplus U.S. war equipment and supplies (both L-L equipment, and equipment still owned by U.S. Forces) - which equipment and supplies was purchased at prices around 5% to 10% of its original manufacturing cost. "QUESTION: When did the U.S. start supplying free war equipment to Britain during WW2? The United States began supplying significant amounts of war equipment to Britain through two primary phases: an initial "paid" phase and the eventual "free" (or credit-based) phase known as Lend-Lease. 1. The Turning Point: Lend-Lease (March 1941) While the U.S. had been selling equipment to Britain since 1939, the transition to providing equipment without immediate payment—effectively "free" in the short term—began with the Lend-Lease Act, signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on 11 March 1941. By late 1940, Britain was nearly bankrupt and could no longer afford to pay gold or cash for supplies. Lend-Lease allowed the U.S. to "lend" or "lease" war materials to any nation deemed vital to U.S. defense, with the understanding that the equipment would be returned or settled after the war. 2. The Timeline of Support Before the "free" era of Lend-Lease, there were several critical steps in the supply chain: September 1939 (Neutrality Acts): The U.S. initially had an arms embargo. This was quickly changed to "Cash and Carry," meaning Britain could buy supplies but had to pay upfront in gold and transport the goods on their own ships. September 1940 (Destroyers for Bases Agreement): This was a precursor to Lend-Lease. The U.S. gave Britain 50 aging destroyers in exchange for 99-year leases on British naval and air bases in the Western Hemisphere. While not "free" (it was a trade), it was the first time equipment moved without a cash payment. March 1941 (Lend-Lease Act): This ended the "Cash and Carry" requirement. Massive shipments of food, oil, tanks, and aircraft began flowing to Britain (and later the USSR and China) on credit. 3. Was it actually free? Technically, it was a loan of goods, but in practice, much of it was never returned or fully paid for in cash. Reverse Lend-Lease: Britain "paid back" some of the debt by providing land, services, and supplies to U.S. troops stationed in Europe and the UK. Final Settlement: After the war, the U.S. sold the remaining "in-place" equipment to Britain at a massive discount (about 10 cents on the dollar), financed by low-interest loans. Britain made its final payment on these WWII loans in December 2006. Key Data at a Glance Program ........................ Start Date ....... Payment Method Cash and Carry ............ Nov 1939 ........ Immediate Cash/Gold Destroyers for Bases ... Sept 1940 ....... Land Leases (Trade) Lend-Lease ................. March 1941 ..... Credit / Deferred Payment Note: Between 1941 and 1945, the U.S. sent approximately $31.4 billion (equivalent to over $600 billion today) worth of supplies to Britain alone." To Summarise - WW2 did cost the U.S. a vast sum of money. That cost was born by U.S. taxpayers, though, the industrialists lost very little, but gained very substantial wealth via the production of war equipment. The U.S. Govt did impose a maximum allowable profit level of 10% on suppliers of war equipment during WW2, but that 10% made them a lot of money, thanks to the vast amounts of equipment produced. Some industrialists that had manufacturing facilities in Europe (such as Henry Ford and GM), had to endure serious damage to their overseas assets, such as bombed factories. In the same vein, those factories were previously supplying equipment to the Nazis at a profit, until those factories were taken over forcibly by the Nazis.

Climate change denier? We're developing a vaccine for that! 😄

On April 20, 1945, during an air battle over Germany, Eduard Schallmoser's Messerschmitt Me.262 collided with an American Martin B-26 Marauder medium bomber. Schallmoser managed to bail out and open his parachute. He landed in the back garden of his parents house, right in front of his amazed mother!

Your Mum's SIL wants to know why you put such huge bags under her eyes! 😄

Come and live in W.A.! - we don't have toll roads of any kind! - and no W.A. Govt of any persuasion will ever allow a toll road to be built, anywhere in W.A.

I think Jerry might be getting confused with the Holden Camira or the Holden Captiva. The Camira was bad enough, but the Captiva was worse! (if that's possible!). A mates sister bought a new Camira and on the first week of ownership, the entire dash fell out, into her lap! The Captiva was built by Daewoo, and promptly got nicknamed the Craptiva. But the Holden Nova was simply a rebadged Toyota Corolla, and those little Corollas were one of the best cars ever built. I've seen many of them with 300,000kms on the clock, untouched, and never a stoppage of any kind.

Money spent on improving a property for sale is rarely wasted.

Yep, the U.S. Supreme Court has essentially stated that Trumps claims that there's a major economic "emergency" that must be corrected by the application of his random and erratic and constantly-changing tariffs, is totally unbelievable BS. Just like most of what comes out of his mouth. https://www.scotusblog.com/2026/02/supreme-court-strikes-down-tariffs/#:~:text=IEEPA—'regulate' and ',Chief Justice John Roberts wrote.

Did you know that Chinese lanterns are banned in many U.S. States, because they're deemed an unacceptable fire hazard? They have caused a substantial number of house fires in the U.S. I guess oil lanterns are just a tiny bit safer - but fires started by kerosene lanterns were quite common before electric lighting, and they're still common in developing/third world countries, where they're still used.

One word - YES. She has no plan for Australia's future and no ability to weld her political associates into a cohesive group. She divides people endlessly and PHON history is full of "abdications", resignations, fights and dead-loss party members such as Rod Culleton, who is more erratic than Pauline herself.

Russia is in no position to help Iran, and Trump knows that. Normally, the Americans would be fearful of attacking Iran because Big Brother Putin would promptly rock up with a heap of armaments. But Putin's military is already stretched with a costly and poorly-planned war, and the Russians wouldn't be able to spare much equipment to help Iran fight off an American attack, without seriously damaging their Ukraine war efforts. As it is, the Ukraine has just made major gains in recovering territory lost to Russia in the last couple of years, and Putin must be looking at how to increase his Ukraine war efforts, not reduce them.

It pays to write down a list of what you consider important and unimportant features involved in moving to a new location. By doing so, you're crystallising a lot of scattered thoughts, and putting them in a concrete form right in front of you. Moving to a new location is quite unsettling when older. As humans,we like familiarity and routines. All that goes when you move to a new area. You lose your old friends and associates and have to make new ones. That gets much harder when you're older. The older buyers are right. As you enter "old age", your priorities change drastically. By "old age", I mean you start to realise you can't do what you used to do, physically. Your muscle strength declines, your balance declines, your eyesight and hearing and other faculties decline. It's subtle and slow, but it keeps up steadily. As a result, you must ensure you have less and less heavily physical tasks to do. Reducing the acreage you own, and the area you need to maintain, becomes a priority - unless you can afford to pay someone to do it for you. Moving into a house or accommodation that is newer, is important in old age, as it reduces maintenance worries and costs. If you look at most old peoples houses, where they have lived for decades, they are generally run-down, as they fail to keep up the maintenance due to costs they can't afford or because they're no longer physically capable of carrying out the work. The other angle to keep in mind is assets that might affect any pension you're entitled to. Keep those asset values in your home, and it's an asset that is not counted when you apply for the pension.

Oh dear, it looks like Andrews problems are not going to go away - in fact they're getting worse. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/feb/19/police-former-prince-andrew-mountbatten-windsor-sandringham

It'll be a long time before I rush in and buy a Chinese Taiyota. There will be a time coming soon when all these people who rushed into buying Chinese vehicles will start to realise they were only cheap for a number of reasons - build quality, resale value (very low), and poor parts and service backup. And they'll find the model they bought is now utterly and totally obsolete, because the East Wind brand is now the owner of ten other Chinese car brands, and the management has decided that nine of the brands have to go, because they're unprofitable. So those makes will just disappear overnight, like Holden did. Some car guru wrote a little while back that the Chinese Govt will soon force all the 57 different Heinz brands of Chinese car manufacturers to amalgamate into about 5 brands, because only a couple of the manufacturers are actually profitable. Meantimes, Toyota plug along happily with manufacturing reliable and sought after cars, that have high resale value - and they're still the worlds biggest manufacturer by volume, and have billions in cash in the kitty tin.

Yeah, but bulldozers don't have legs. They have their own "rail track" each side, and each track is simply twisted by stopping power going to that track, and by applying a brake on the track for a tight turn.

She's a polarising shit-stirrer in the extreme, with inflammatory statements, and to say outright, "there's no good Muslims", is unacceptable to most Australians. However, it's probably a good thing she opens her mouth like this regularly, because it brings about discourse on how we should treat immigrants from vastly different cultures to the original Anglo-Saxon European culture. When I was a kid, it was untrustworthy, "Dings", "Dagos", "Slavs", "Gyppos", "Wogs", "Slant-eyes", "Japs", and other cultures that were foreign to us that brought about a lot of friction. In Kalgoorlie in 1934, there was a major 3 day race riot, that took major numbers of police reinforcements from Perth to quell. 3 people were killed. Migrants homes and tents and even Hotels were burnt, and many migrants left the Goldfields for good after the riot. The riot was caused by festering cultural hatred of Southern and Eastern Europeans, and the belief that these migrants were securing local mining jobs by working for less money or by paying bribes to managers. A lot of that was true. However, the W.A. Goldfields settled down after better enforcement of job conditions and a requirement for naturalisation before taking up jobs. There was still simmering resentment for years afterwards, until the migrants children grew to adulthood and considered themselves Australian. The problem with the Islamic religion is that there are many conflicts in their Imams teachings. And the primary conflict in their teaching that goes against our Anglo-Saxon culture is that only Allah can make laws for Man. All man-made laws are therefore regarded as being able to be broken without punishment, as Muslims are not beholden to them. In addition, the Imam is regarded as having the ultimate position on decision-making as regards rights or wrongs. This places Imams as a defacto power broker, wielding greater power than any politician, policeman, magistrate, or judge. Until the day comes when the Imams abandon those teachings, we will continue to have problems with Muslims.

The legs appear to have no ability to push outwards, as that's how cows turn. Anyone who has ever milked a cow will tell you just how far a cow can kick sideways.

The answer is in the link below. Their whole body is very flexible, and their tailfeathers do multiple jobs. I took a shot at a Ringneck parrot with a .22 many years ago, and the bullet grazed the parrots body, at the base of his tail feathers. He took off, but couldn't fly properly, wobbling all over the place, and he ended up making a crash landing. It was very obvious he'd lost the ability to control his tail feathers. https://aviation.stackexchange.com/questions/100763/how-do-birds-coordinate-their-turns#:~:text=2 Answers,1

I don't know what that steering wheel is supposed to do. And the farmers twiddling with it, for zero result.

It's a whole lot more than just a straight colour/race question. Surprisingly, support for Trump amongst African-Americans is still at a stable level of support. A lot of black Americans side with white conservative leaders, as they see them as having the ability to improve blacks living standards - more so than any Democrat leader. It's a sad reflection on American politics that America has Trump as a leader, simply because the Dems are unable to provide any leader of strength or ability, with good future plans for the country. Google AI tells me this much .... Black Voices for Trump was established as an outreach initiative to boost support for Donald Trump among African Americans, with supporters citing the economy, job growth, and a preference for his direct communication style. While still a minority, support among Black voters for Trump grew from 8% in 2016 to 12% in 2020 and showed further potential increases in 2024, particularly among Black men. Key Reasons for Support: Pro-Trump Black voters often point to economic performance during his term, including low unemployment rates and funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Some voters feel he speaks his mind, offers a necessary alternative to the Democratic Party, and aligns with conservative values regarding family structure. Targeted Outreach: The movement focuses on the "success" of the Trump economy and argues that traditional Democratic policies have not served the Black community. Demographic Trends: Polls and election data indicate that while the majority of Black voters align with the Democratic party, a growing segment, particularly younger Black men in urban areas like Atlanta and Detroit, have expressed support for Trump due to concerns over inflation, cost of living, and a desire for different political representation. Opposition Views: Conversely, critics argue that Trump's policies and rhetoric are harmful, pointing to issues such as potential declines in Black homeownership and healthcare access during his administration. The movement highlights a divide in political opinion, with some Black voters expressing disillusionment with the Democratic Party's platform and seeking alternative political representation.

Almost without fail, anytime I see a H-D approaching on the highway, and I have my window down, I wind it up. The owners seem to specialise in ensuring they damage your hearing as they overtake or pass. No Jap bike comes anywhere near them.

I'd expand on that to say the Least Classy and Most Uncouth, so-called "world leader". He wouldn't even know the meaning of Statesmanship - but he knows all about Showmanship.

A mate volunteers at Vinnys in Bunbury a couple of days a week, sorting incoming secondhand goods and clothing. He says they're overwhelmed with secondhand stuff, and fill about 3 big skip bins a week with stuff they can't use or pass on. Most of what they bin is quite usable, but they have no room to store it, not enough people to oversee sales, giveaways or deliveries of it, and very few people actually want the smaller household items. So it goes to landfill. The Chinese have a lot to answer for, we should send all the unwanted Chinese crap back to where it came from, and stop creating massive landfills here.

Don't fret - Donny's working on a new plan involving his ICE Gestapo, to round up every black person in America, and deport them as illegal immigrants. None of their ancestors ever applied to emigrate to the U.S., so this plan to ensure America ends up a 100% WASP-peopled nation, is foolproof! Go Donny! MAGA rules!