old man emu

With temperatures like that I bet there wasn't much civility in Seville.

I wonder how much the Chinese Government holds as investments in Taiwanese companies nad others worldwide. In the 21st Century, the Chinese are not teh zealous devotees of Maoist Communism. They like a little bit of this, and a little bit of that and are prepared to let time heal any wounds.

The Trump administrtation is the greatest threat to world peace, ever. Hitler, Stalin, Mao and many others don't hold a candle to him. What is a further worry are the warhawks controlling the US military. Trump's threats to Iran are nothing more than extortion. And if Israel isn't hauled in, teh Middle East will still be a bubbling cauldron. Have you caught up with the new QANTAS route to London beginning late next year? It is a non-stop flight to London, avoiding the need for a stop in teh Middle East, of even overflying that part of the world.

Gee! Who's fault its that? Wall Street chasing the bottom line?

I have given some thought to the effect of the USA withdrawing its military from foreign bases. I'm ignoring the military aspects of such a withdrawal. Ever since 1945 American military personnel have been in Germany. Remember the Elvis movie G.I.Blues ? Can you imagine the economic impact on communities around US bases if those military personnel suddenly were taken away? Those military personnel would have spent billions over the years, and would spend millions annually on food, entertainment, recreational activities (vertical and horizontal). Oh what a tangled web are military alliances!

No, and that's a big problem. People with mental illness, especially those whose illness has made them homeless usuyally have had very traumatic interactions with police whose lack of training in dealing with the minds of the mentally ill exacerbates bad interactions. The feeling of helplessness in the police to be able to reach a satisfactory solution to the problem presented by a mental illness situation is demoralising. Remember,too, that for the constables called out to a mental illness situation there are likely to be aware that at the same time calls are coming in for them to deal with all the other types of situations that normally occur durig a shift. There are never enough police on duty at a given time to deal with all the calls coming in. So while police are stuck in an A&E unit with a mentally ill person, some arsehole is beting his partner and some drunk has wrapped his car around a pole. Which job gets priority? As dramatist W. S. Gilbert's lyric in The Pirates of Penzance song "When a felon's not engaged in his employment" sung by the Sergeant and Chorus of Police, "A policeman's lot is not a happy one ..."

Often when I was performing constabulary duties, I had to take mental patients to the local hospital which had a psych unit. Like the ambos, I had to stay with the patient in the corridors of the A&E until the patient could be asessed by a doctor for admission. You can imagine how fustrating that was when I knew that my partner and I were the only crew available to attend to calls in our patrol. And it usually happened during evening shift on weekends when there was lots going on out on the streets.

To paraphrase an old saying, He who lives by the Law, dies by the Law. There is a law in the USA which says that if a terrorist organisation attacks US interests with drones, that organisation cannot be removed from the list of terrorist organisations for four years. In April 2026, the US Administration informed the Congress that an Iranian organisation ws hitting US interests with drones. The nett result is that the US cannot lift sanctions against Iran as promised in the current peace agreement. This video explains it.

Trump has debunked the adage that wisdom comes with age.

Two television celebrities put themselves up as candidates in elections to find a leader for their countries. One did it as a joke, and became a respected leader. The other did it to become the leader, and became a joke.

No. I feel sorry for all Americans whose ability to celebrate an milestone in their country's history has been diminished by the effects of Trump's policies. I reckon that the ability for celebration belongs to every one of them.

GON, the rest of your post makes me think that the traditional Americans who might reply to that question seem are zealous MAGA members. I'm sure that if you posed the same question to any other American the response would be quite different. Fabian socialist: Fabian socialists believe in achieving socialist goals—such as social justice, economic equality, and universal public services—through gradual, democratic reform rather than revolutionary upheaval. The movement emphases that systemic change is best accomplished through incremental legislative and institutional policies.

Don't forget that the fuel excise cut is still in force. You'd have to add 25 cents/litre if the old rate was returned. However, the crude oil price seems to have dropped since Trump's declaration of peace the other day.

Here is an example of how the manipulation of information can effect decisions by small communities about the application of renewable energy in those small communities. This video is a report by the ABC. It centres on a local council's approach to the installation of a community solar battery in its town. I think there is a smidge of pro-battery bias in the story, but it's not so much a story about the technology as about how perceptions are created and how those perceptions frame public opinion.

As the 4th July 2026 approaches, I feel sorry for the average American. That will be the day they celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, which they hold as being the date of the creation of their nation. Actually, independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain was gained on 3rd September, 1783 with the signing of the Treaty of Paris, whereby the British monarchy acknowledged the independence of the Thirteen Colonies, leading to the establishment of the United States as an independent and sovereign nation. Be that as it may, sometime in 2026 the American people get to celebrate the creation of their nation. From 1775 to 1781 battles were fought by the residents of the Thirteen Colonies to gain independence from Great Britain. From 1783 those residents and millions of migrants who arrived as free persons or slaves built a nation that by the 20th Century became the most powerful amongst nations, held in awe by all others. That was until the begining of 2025 when a freely elected government set about destroying it through avarice which led to the engaging in all sorts of activities considered to be corrupt and/or authoritarian. As a result of those activities, the shining light that was American Democracy has been dulled. I well remember how in 1976 the American people celebrated the 200th anniversary of their Nation's founding. It was a time of great happiness. I am so sad that in 2026, the American people cannot celebrate this further milestone with the same degree of happiness, all due the the actions of a narcissist who never possessed the abilities required of the leader of a Nation. One can only hope that by the 275th anniversary, the American nation has recovered from its present situation.