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Operation Epstein Fury is achieving its goals – politicalbetting.com

SystemSystem Posts: 13,000
edited 4:14PM in General
Operation Epstein Fury is achieving its goals – politicalbetting.com

Another week where there is only one headline in town, almost all of the responses to our question about the top news story were the war in the middle east pic.twitter.com/e9MPwH13m7

Read the full story here

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Comments

  • TheScreamingEaglesTheScreamingEagles Posts: 126,822
    First?
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 61,516
    Scott_xP said:

    The US is apparently deploying 3500 marines to the gulf

    Can we start calling it a war yet?

    I think it’s only a war if declared

    Otherwise it’s a Sparkling Dry Special Military Operation
  • TheScreamingEaglesTheScreamingEagles Posts: 126,822
    edited 4:18PM
    On topic, boo and hiss.

    F1 set to cancel Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix due to war in Middle East as 2026 calendar to drop to 22 races

    https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/33694/13519254/f1-set-to-cancel-bahrain-and-saudi-arabian-grands-prix-due-to-war-in-middle-east-as-2026-calendar-to-drop-to-22-races
  • eekeek Posts: 32,855
    edited 4:18PM
    Got to ask, can Trump keep Iran at the top of the news for the next 33 months?
  • SandyRentoolSandyRentool Posts: 24,699
    BP Retail: "We have to charge that much for the petrol - it's because of what the refinery charges us for it."

    BP Refinery: "We have to charge that much for the petrol - it's because of what the oil company charges us for the crude oil."

    BP Upstream: "Our production costs are unchanged, but we sell based on a global market price. Uncork the champagne."

    (Other oil companies are available)
  • SandyRentoolSandyRentool Posts: 24,699
    Two GPs cancelled.

    There's always a silver lining.
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 90,413
    Number 10 has claimed there was “no requirement” for Keir Starmer to formally interview Peter Mandelson before appointing him as ambassador to the US. The Times revealed last night that Starmer delegated the job entirely to Morgan McSweeney and Matthew Doyle.

    Amazing how nothing ever hits his desk.
  • Pro_RataPro_Rata Posts: 6,069
    TheScreamingEagles said:

    On topic, boo and hiss.

    F1 set to cancel Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix due to war in Middle East as 2026 calendar to drop to 22 races

    https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/33694/13519254/f1-set-to-cancel-bahrain-and-saudi-arabian-grands-prix-due-to-war-in-middle-east-as-2026-calendar-to-drop-to-22-races

    They could get the F1 drivers to race tankers as quickly as they'll go through the Straits of Hormuz on those free weekends.
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 90,413
    Photo shows Andrew, Jeffrey Epstein and Peter Mandelson together for first time

    https://www.thetimes.com/article/andrew-jeffrey-epstein-peter-mandelson-picture-photograph-first-rxxs7sxp8
  • Scott_xPScott_xP Posts: 42,830
    The press reported the Strait of Hormuz is closed because the US failed to plan for this eventuality

    Both Whiskey Pete and now Nazi Barbie have been adamant they absolutely planned for this to happen...

    Ummmm
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 90,413
    TheScreamingEagles said:

    On topic, boo and hiss.

    F1 set to cancel Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix due to war in Middle East as 2026 calendar to drop to 22 races

    https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/33694/13519254/f1-set-to-cancel-bahrain-and-saudi-arabian-grands-prix-due-to-war-in-middle-east-as-2026-calendar-to-drop-to-22-races

    Could have made it much more interesting than your average F1 race as drivers have to dodge the incoming drones.
  • LeonLeon Posts: 67,068
    FPT for @MoonRabbit


    "The Siegfried Idyll is a short standalone piece, composed for his wife, he sneaked musician’s in on Christmas morning for the musics world premier so his wife would awake to the sound of the music."

    ++++


    I've been to Wagner's house near Lucerne in Switzerland, where the Siegfried Idyll was composed, and I listened to it for the first time standing on the same stairs where it was first performed, on Christmas Day 1870

    Say what you like about Wagner being a raging anti-Semite, he was great at real estate. The location of his house is absolutely stunning, gazing over the lake to the Alps

    Probably the "best located" of any "famous artist's house" I've ever visited. And I've visited lots
  • dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 31,664
    Brent at $102.
    US gas prices up 22% in a month.
    $43m cost per day.
    Not convinced this is positive for Trump and his mates.
  • SandyRentoolSandyRentool Posts: 24,699
    TheScreamingEagles said:

    On topic, boo and hiss.

    F1 set to cancel Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix due to war in Middle East as 2026 calendar to drop to 22 races

    https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/33694/13519254/f1-set-to-cancel-bahrain-and-saudi-arabian-grands-prix-due-to-war-in-middle-east-as-2026-calendar-to-drop-to-22-races

    They could always add a replacement GP in Wales, but at 20 mph it would be even more tedious than usual.
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 61,516
    Leon said:

    FPT for @MoonRabbit


    "The Siegfried Idyll is a short standalone piece, composed for his wife, he sneaked musician’s in on Christmas morning for the musics world premier so his wife would awake to the sound of the music."

    ++++


    I've been to Wagner's house near Lucerne in Switzerland, where the Siegfried Idyll was composed, and I listened to it for the first time standing on the same stairs where it was first performed, on Christmas Day 1870

    Say what you like about Wagner being a raging anti-Semite, he was great at real estate. The location of his house is absolutely stunning, gazing over the lake to the Alps

    Probably the "best located" of any "famous artist's house" I've ever visited. And I've visited lots

    {Ken Livingstone mode}

    And let me tell another thing about artists with a great sense for mountain retreats....
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 134,647
    This is why I think Trump might keep the war going on longer than he suggests. Not least as as soon as he ends it the Democrats will try and pounce on his presence in the Epstein files. Indeed, Trump doesn't really want regime change and to end the war on that basis either, using ground troops to ensure that would be unpopular at home while strikes alone can keep the conflict on as long as he wants
  • LeonLeon Posts: 67,068
    FrancisUrquhart said:

    Photo shows Andrew, Jeffrey Epstein and Peter Mandelson together for first time

    https://www.thetimes.com/article/andrew-jeffrey-epstein-peter-mandelson-picture-photograph-first-rxxs7sxp8

    it's like one of those photos where you see Picasso, Joyce and Beckett having a coffee in the same Paris cafe, or maybe David Bowie, Mick Jagger and Bob Dylan sharing a joint in Soho in 1969

    Except it's the anti-version of that. The negative fame
  • TheScreamingEaglesTheScreamingEagles Posts: 126,822
    Leon said:

    FPT for @MoonRabbit


    "The Siegfried Idyll is a short standalone piece, composed for his wife, he sneaked musician’s in on Christmas morning for the musics world premier so his wife would awake to the sound of the music."

    ++++


    I've been to Wagner's house near Lucerne in Switzerland, where the Siegfried Idyll was composed, and I listened to it for the first time standing on the same stairs where it was first performed, on Christmas Day 1870

    Say what you like about Wagner being a raging anti-Semite, he was great at real estate. The location of his house is absolutely stunning, gazing over the lake to the Alps

    Probably the "best located" of any "famous artist's house" I've ever visited. And I've visited lots

    You sad boring centrist dad.
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 134,647
    Leon said:

    FrancisUrquhart said:

    Photo shows Andrew, Jeffrey Epstein and Peter Mandelson together for first time

    https://www.thetimes.com/article/andrew-jeffrey-epstein-peter-mandelson-picture-photograph-first-rxxs7sxp8

    it's like one of those photos where you see Picasso, Joyce and Beckett having a coffee in the same Paris cafe, or maybe David Bowie, Mick Jagger and Bob Dylan sharing a joint in Soho in 1969

    Except it's the anti-version of that. The negative fame
    As I said on the last thread, Epstein was evil but also genius in the sense of the number of rich and powerful men in the US and UK he managed to socialise and party with and get a photo with so if he went down they might go down with him
  • Big_G_NorthWalesBig_G_NorthWales Posts: 70,639
    HYUFD said:

    This is why I think Trump might keep the war going on longer than he suggests. Not least as as soon as he ends it the Democrats will try and pounce on his presence in the Epstein files. Indeed, Trump doesn't really want regime change and to end the war on that basis either, using ground troops to ensure that would be unpopular at home while strikes alone can keep the conflict on as long as he wants

    It is all just too horrible to contemplate
  • Big_G_NorthWalesBig_G_NorthWales Posts: 70,639
    10 year bond rates not good

    https://www.marketwatch.com/investing/bond/tmbmkgb-10y?countrycode=bx
  • LeonLeon Posts: 67,068
    edited 4:36PM
    HYUFD said:

    Leon said:

    FrancisUrquhart said:

    Photo shows Andrew, Jeffrey Epstein and Peter Mandelson together for first time

    https://www.thetimes.com/article/andrew-jeffrey-epstein-peter-mandelson-picture-photograph-first-rxxs7sxp8

    it's like one of those photos where you see Picasso, Joyce and Beckett having a coffee in the same Paris cafe, or maybe David Bowie, Mick Jagger and Bob Dylan sharing a joint in Soho in 1969

    Except it's the anti-version of that. The negative fame
    As I said on the last thread, Epstein was evil but also genius in the sense of the number of rich and powerful men in the US and UK he managed to socialise and party with and get a photo with so if he went down they might go down with him
    My supposition is that Epstein was genuinely bright, charming and charismatic. His interests in politics, arts, technology, etc, were deep and sincere, and he honestly enjoyed funding advanced scientific research, it seems

    So on the one hand he was this handsome, gifted Renaissance man who could make all sorts of people like him - from the worlds of banking to the law, music to the military - and yet on the other he was a genuinely evil and prodigious sexual predator

    He's quite unique in world history, I reckon
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 70,662
    Big_G_NorthWales said:

    10 year bond rates not good

    https://www.marketwatch.com/investing/bond/tmbmkgb-10y?countrycode=bx

    Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said at a news conference that the disruptions in the strait were “something we are dealing with,”

    adding: “Don’t need to worry about it.”

    NY Times
  • Big_G_NorthWalesBig_G_NorthWales Posts: 70,639
    rottenborough said:

    Big_G_NorthWales said:

    10 year bond rates not good

    https://www.marketwatch.com/investing/bond/tmbmkgb-10y?countrycode=bx

    Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said at a news conference that the disruptions in the strait were “something we are dealing with,”

    adding: “Don’t need to worry about it.”

    NY Times
    They are utterly bonkers
  • Scott_xPScott_xP Posts: 42,830
    @paleofuture.bsky.social‬

    Hegseth: "We will keep pushing, keep advancing. No quarter, no mercy for our enemies."

    No quarter is the refusal to take prisoners and instead just execute everyone. It's been considered a war crime for over a century.
  • algarkirkalgarkirk Posts: 16,785
    Leon said:

    FrancisUrquhart said:

    Photo shows Andrew, Jeffrey Epstein and Peter Mandelson together for first time

    https://www.thetimes.com/article/andrew-jeffrey-epstein-peter-mandelson-picture-photograph-first-rxxs7sxp8

    it's like one of those photos where you see Picasso, Joyce and Beckett having a coffee in the same Paris cafe, or maybe David Bowie, Mick Jagger and Bob Dylan sharing a joint in Soho in 1969

    Except it's the anti-version of that. The negative fame
    The Immortal Dinner - Wordsworth, Keats and Lamb, 28th December 1817, London.

  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 61,516
    Leon said:

    HYUFD said:

    Leon said:

    FrancisUrquhart said:

    Photo shows Andrew, Jeffrey Epstein and Peter Mandelson together for first time

    https://www.thetimes.com/article/andrew-jeffrey-epstein-peter-mandelson-picture-photograph-first-rxxs7sxp8

    it's like one of those photos where you see Picasso, Joyce and Beckett having a coffee in the same Paris cafe, or maybe David Bowie, Mick Jagger and Bob Dylan sharing a joint in Soho in 1969

    Except it's the anti-version of that. The negative fame
    As I said on the last thread, Epstein was evil but also genius in the sense of the number of rich and powerful men in the US and UK he managed to socialise and party with and get a photo with so if he went down they might go down with him
    My supposition is that Epstein was genuinely bright, charming and charismatic. His interests in politics, arts, technology, etc, were deep and sincere, and he honestly enjoyed funding advanced scientific research, it seems

    So on the one hand he was this handsome, gifted Renaissance man who could make all sorts of people like him - from the worlds of banking to the law, music to the military - and yet on the other he was a genuinely evil and prodigious sexual predator

    He's quite unique in world history, I reckon
    No, not really.

    Smart, charming conmen with really nasty back stories are quite common through history.
  • SandyRentoolSandyRentool Posts: 24,699
    BBC: "Twenty kilos of suspected stolen cornflakes have been seized by police alongside £750,000 worth of drugs."

    Bizarre.
  • LeonLeon Posts: 67,068
    Malmesbury said:

    Leon said:

    HYUFD said:

    Leon said:

    FrancisUrquhart said:

    Photo shows Andrew, Jeffrey Epstein and Peter Mandelson together for first time

    https://www.thetimes.com/article/andrew-jeffrey-epstein-peter-mandelson-picture-photograph-first-rxxs7sxp8

    it's like one of those photos where you see Picasso, Joyce and Beckett having a coffee in the same Paris cafe, or maybe David Bowie, Mick Jagger and Bob Dylan sharing a joint in Soho in 1969

    Except it's the anti-version of that. The negative fame
    As I said on the last thread, Epstein was evil but also genius in the sense of the number of rich and powerful men in the US and UK he managed to socialise and party with and get a photo with so if he went down they might go down with him
    My supposition is that Epstein was genuinely bright, charming and charismatic. His interests in politics, arts, technology, etc, were deep and sincere, and he honestly enjoyed funding advanced scientific research, it seems

    So on the one hand he was this handsome, gifted Renaissance man who could make all sorts of people like him - from the worlds of banking to the law, music to the military - and yet on the other he was a genuinely evil and prodigious sexual predator

    He's quite unique in world history, I reckon
    No, not really.

    Smart, charming conmen with really nasty back stories are quite common through history.
    At the Epstein level??? No, they're really not

    Yes he was of a type, but he was an outstandingly "gifted" example of the type

    He is to conmen what Mozart is to musicians

  • dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 31,664
    edited 4:43PM
    Scott_xP said:

    @paleofuture.bsky.social‬

    Hegseth: "We will keep pushing, keep advancing. No quarter, no mercy for our enemies."

    No quarter is the refusal to take prisoners and instead just execute everyone. It's been considered a war crime for over a century.

    Difficult to take prisoners when you don't have the balls to commit anyone on the ground to actually do it.
    So in that sense he's correct.
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 61,516
    SandyRentool said:

    BBC: "Twenty kilos of suspected stolen cornflakes have been seized by police alongside £750,000 worth of drugs."

    Bizarre.

    It's a Guy Ritchie moment.

    "Right, Turkish. Go and get 100 kilos of cocaine, 10 submachine guns. And My Fucking Cornflakes."
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 38,033
    edited 4:46PM
    HYUFD said:

    This is why I think Trump might keep the war going on longer than he suggests. Not least as as soon as he ends it the Democrats will try and pounce on his presence in the Epstein files. Indeed, Trump doesn't really want regime change and to end the war on that basis either, using ground troops to ensure that would be unpopular at home while strikes alone can keep the conflict on as long as he wants

    If he can keep it running until November he will doubtless insist on Martial Law and cancel the midterms. The timing of the war isn't fantastic for the mid terms. If Bibi had kept his powder dry until mid September it could have all been over in two months. I suspect there won't be much of Iran left by then.
  • LeonLeon Posts: 67,068
    algarkirk said:

    Leon said:

    FrancisUrquhart said:

    Photo shows Andrew, Jeffrey Epstein and Peter Mandelson together for first time

    https://www.thetimes.com/article/andrew-jeffrey-epstein-peter-mandelson-picture-photograph-first-rxxs7sxp8

    it's like one of those photos where you see Picasso, Joyce and Beckett having a coffee in the same Paris cafe, or maybe David Bowie, Mick Jagger and Bob Dylan sharing a joint in Soho in 1969

    Except it's the anti-version of that. The negative fame
    The Immortal Dinner - Wordsworth, Keats and Lamb, 28th December 1817, London.

    Nice one

    Or Byron Shelley and Mary Shelley in the Villa Diodati

  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 58,575
    SandyRentool said:

    TheScreamingEagles said:

    On topic, boo and hiss.

    F1 set to cancel Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix due to war in Middle East as 2026 calendar to drop to 22 races

    https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/33694/13519254/f1-set-to-cancel-bahrain-and-saudi-arabian-grands-prix-due-to-war-in-middle-east-as-2026-calendar-to-drop-to-22-races

    They could always add a replacement GP in Wales, but at 20 mph it would be even more tedious than usual.
    Porthmadog.

    They'd have to back up waiting for the steam trains to pass through too.
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 61,516
    Leon said:

    Malmesbury said:

    Leon said:

    HYUFD said:

    Leon said:

    FrancisUrquhart said:

    Photo shows Andrew, Jeffrey Epstein and Peter Mandelson together for first time

    https://www.thetimes.com/article/andrew-jeffrey-epstein-peter-mandelson-picture-photograph-first-rxxs7sxp8

    it's like one of those photos where you see Picasso, Joyce and Beckett having a coffee in the same Paris cafe, or maybe David Bowie, Mick Jagger and Bob Dylan sharing a joint in Soho in 1969

    Except it's the anti-version of that. The negative fame
    As I said on the last thread, Epstein was evil but also genius in the sense of the number of rich and powerful men in the US and UK he managed to socialise and party with and get a photo with so if he went down they might go down with him
    My supposition is that Epstein was genuinely bright, charming and charismatic. His interests in politics, arts, technology, etc, were deep and sincere, and he honestly enjoyed funding advanced scientific research, it seems

    So on the one hand he was this handsome, gifted Renaissance man who could make all sorts of people like him - from the worlds of banking to the law, music to the military - and yet on the other he was a genuinely evil and prodigious sexual predator

    He's quite unique in world history, I reckon
    No, not really.

    Smart, charming conmen with really nasty back stories are quite common through history.
    At the Epstein level??? No, they're really not

    Yes he was of a type, but he was an outstandingly "gifted" example of the type

    He is to conmen what Mozart is to musicians

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidney_Reilly - he still lives in the heads of the Russians, rent free, a century later.
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 58,575
    Scott_xP said:

    @paleofuture.bsky.social‬

    Hegseth: "We will keep pushing, keep advancing. No quarter, no mercy for our enemies."

    No quarter is the refusal to take prisoners and instead just execute everyone. It's been considered a war crime for over a century.

    Hegseth won't even given them a dime, let alone a quarter.
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 70,662
    edited 4:47PM
    dixiedean said:

    Scott_xP said:

    @paleofuture.bsky.social‬

    Hegseth: "We will keep pushing, keep advancing. No quarter, no mercy for our enemies."

    No quarter is the refusal to take prisoners and instead just execute everyone. It's been considered a war crime for over a century.

    Difficult to take prisoners when you don't have the balls to commit anyone on the ground to actually do it.
    So in that sense he's correct.
    A unit of marines is on its way to the Middle East apparently.
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 58,575
    Leon said:

    FrancisUrquhart said:

    Photo shows Andrew, Jeffrey Epstein and Peter Mandelson together for first time

    https://www.thetimes.com/article/andrew-jeffrey-epstein-peter-mandelson-picture-photograph-first-rxxs7sxp8

    it's like one of those photos where you see Picasso, Joyce and Beckett having a coffee in the same Paris cafe, or maybe David Bowie, Mick Jagger and Bob Dylan sharing a joint in Soho in 1969

    Except it's the anti-version of that. The negative fame
    The interesting question is: who is the hidden fourth person, behind Mandy?
  • LeonLeon Posts: 67,068
    Malmesbury said:

    Leon said:

    Malmesbury said:

    Leon said:

    HYUFD said:

    Leon said:

    FrancisUrquhart said:

    Photo shows Andrew, Jeffrey Epstein and Peter Mandelson together for first time

    https://www.thetimes.com/article/andrew-jeffrey-epstein-peter-mandelson-picture-photograph-first-rxxs7sxp8

    it's like one of those photos where you see Picasso, Joyce and Beckett having a coffee in the same Paris cafe, or maybe David Bowie, Mick Jagger and Bob Dylan sharing a joint in Soho in 1969

    Except it's the anti-version of that. The negative fame
    As I said on the last thread, Epstein was evil but also genius in the sense of the number of rich and powerful men in the US and UK he managed to socialise and party with and get a photo with so if he went down they might go down with him
    My supposition is that Epstein was genuinely bright, charming and charismatic. His interests in politics, arts, technology, etc, were deep and sincere, and he honestly enjoyed funding advanced scientific research, it seems

    So on the one hand he was this handsome, gifted Renaissance man who could make all sorts of people like him - from the worlds of banking to the law, music to the military - and yet on the other he was a genuinely evil and prodigious sexual predator

    He's quite unique in world history, I reckon
    No, not really.

    Smart, charming conmen with really nasty back stories are quite common through history.
    At the Epstein level??? No, they're really not

    Yes he was of a type, but he was an outstandingly "gifted" example of the type

    He is to conmen what Mozart is to musicians

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidney_Reilly - he still lives in the heads of the Russians, rent free, a century later.
    No, that's a very different human type

  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 38,033
    MarqueeMark said:

    Scott_xP said:

    @paleofuture.bsky.social‬

    Hegseth: "We will keep pushing, keep advancing. No quarter, no mercy for our enemies."

    No quarter is the refusal to take prisoners and instead just execute everyone. It's been considered a war crime for over a century.

    Hegseth won't even given them a dime, let alone a quarter.
    Trump and Hegseth are very brave when it comes to the lives of other people's children. If I were an American of fighting age I'd be culturing my bone spurs like fury!
  • LeonLeon Posts: 67,068
    MarqueeMark said:

    Leon said:

    FrancisUrquhart said:

    Photo shows Andrew, Jeffrey Epstein and Peter Mandelson together for first time

    https://www.thetimes.com/article/andrew-jeffrey-epstein-peter-mandelson-picture-photograph-first-rxxs7sxp8

    it's like one of those photos where you see Picasso, Joyce and Beckett having a coffee in the same Paris cafe, or maybe David Bowie, Mick Jagger and Bob Dylan sharing a joint in Soho in 1969

    Except it's the anti-version of that. The negative fame
    The interesting question is: who is the hidden fourth person, behind Mandy?
    Is there a fourth person?! Looks like a barbecue, to me

    As for the photographer, I bet its Ghislaine Maxwell. Her job was to take lots and lots of kompromat, sorry, photographs
  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 58,411
    rottenborough said:

    dixiedean said:

    Scott_xP said:

    @paleofuture.bsky.social‬

    Hegseth: "We will keep pushing, keep advancing. No quarter, no mercy for our enemies."

    No quarter is the refusal to take prisoners and instead just execute everyone. It's been considered a war crime for over a century.

    Difficult to take prisoners when you don't have the balls to commit anyone on the ground to actually do it.
    So in that sense he's correct.
    A unit of marines is on its way to the Middle East apparently.
    "Well, that's great. That's just fuckin' great, man! Now what the fuck are we supposed to do? We're in some real pretty shit now, man!"
  • OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 36,892
    edited 4:52PM
    MarqueeMark said:

    Scott_xP said:

    @paleofuture.bsky.social‬

    Hegseth: "We will keep pushing, keep advancing. No quarter, no mercy for our enemies."

    No quarter is the refusal to take prisoners and instead just execute everyone. It's been considered a war crime for over a century.

    Hegseth won't even given them a dime, let alone a quarter.
    the Guardian did a piece yesterday on "Dismay as ancient heritage sites across Iran damaged in US-Israel bombing
    Golestan Palace world heritage site in Tehran and palace in Isfahan harmed despite Unesco sending coordinates."

    Barbarians.
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 63,496
    TheScreamingEagles said:

    On topic, boo and hiss.

    F1 set to cancel Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix due to war in Middle East as 2026 calendar to drop to 22 races

    https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/33694/13519254/f1-set-to-cancel-bahrain-and-saudi-arabian-grands-prix-due-to-war-in-middle-east-as-2026-calendar-to-drop-to-22-races

    That's ridiculous.

    It's health and safety gone mad.
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 38,033
    rottenborough said:

    dixiedean said:

    Scott_xP said:

    @paleofuture.bsky.social‬

    Hegseth: "We will keep pushing, keep advancing. No quarter, no mercy for our enemies."

    No quarter is the refusal to take prisoners and instead just execute everyone. It's been considered a war crime for over a century.

    Difficult to take prisoners when you don't have the balls to commit anyone on the ground to actually do it.
    So in that sense he's correct.
    A unit of marines is on its way to the Middle East apparently.
    Look on the bright side. At least by the time Starmer gets around to mobilising our troops for the ground invasion the US Marines will have already killed all the Iranians.
  • AnneJGPAnneJGP Posts: 4,915
    Scott_xP said:

    @paleofuture.bsky.social‬

    Hegseth: "We will keep pushing, keep advancing. No quarter, no mercy for our enemies."

    No quarter is the refusal to take prisoners and instead just execute everyone. It's been considered a war crime for over a century.

    Quite possible he doesn't know what it means.
  • Brixian59Brixian59 Posts: 1,402
    Mexicanpete said:

    rottenborough said:

    dixiedean said:

    Scott_xP said:

    @paleofuture.bsky.social‬

    Hegseth: "We will keep pushing, keep advancing. No quarter, no mercy for our enemies."

    No quarter is the refusal to take prisoners and instead just execute everyone. It's been considered a war crime for over a century.

    Difficult to take prisoners when you don't have the balls to commit anyone on the ground to actually do it.
    So in that sense he's correct.
    A unit of marines is on its way to the Middle East apparently.
    Look on the bright side. At least by the time Starmer gets around to mobilising our troops for the ground invasion the US Marines will have already killed all the Iranians.
    What troops, all hollowed out.
  • CookieCookie Posts: 17,048
    Leon said:

    FrancisUrquhart said:

    Photo shows Andrew, Jeffrey Epstein and Peter Mandelson together for first time

    https://www.thetimes.com/article/andrew-jeffrey-epstein-peter-mandelson-picture-photograph-first-rxxs7sxp8

    it's like one of those photos where you see Picasso, Joyce and Beckett having a coffee in the same Paris cafe, or maybe David Bowie, Mick Jagger and Bob Dylan sharing a joint in Soho in 1969

    Except it's the anti-version of that. The negative fame
    And also in dressing gowns.
    It is impossible not to look undignified anf faintly risible in a dressing gown.
  • Scott_xPScott_xP Posts: 42,830
    AnneJGP said:

    Scott_xP said:

    @paleofuture.bsky.social‬

    Hegseth: "We will keep pushing, keep advancing. No quarter, no mercy for our enemies."

    No quarter is the refusal to take prisoners and instead just execute everyone. It's been considered a war crime for over a century.

    Quite possible he doesn't know what it means.
    Not a defence he can rely upon in court
  • TazTaz Posts: 25,921
    rcs1000 said:

    TheScreamingEagles said:

    On topic, boo and hiss.

    F1 set to cancel Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix due to war in Middle East as 2026 calendar to drop to 22 races

    https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/33694/13519254/f1-set-to-cancel-bahrain-and-saudi-arabian-grands-prix-due-to-war-in-middle-east-as-2026-calendar-to-drop-to-22-races

    That's ridiculous.

    It's health and safety gone mad.
    Could an F1 car outrun a drone 🤔
  • Brixian59Brixian59 Posts: 1,402
    rcs1000 said:

    TheScreamingEagles said:

    On topic, boo and hiss.

    F1 set to cancel Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix due to war in Middle East as 2026 calendar to drop to 22 races

    https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/33694/13519254/f1-set-to-cancel-bahrain-and-saudi-arabian-grands-prix-due-to-war-in-middle-east-as-2026-calendar-to-drop-to-22-races

    That's ridiculous.

    It's health and safety gone mad.
    Might as well call the season off anyway.

    Last 2 seasons great racing, new regs, like before, totally ruined the spectacle.

    Journeyman George will be World Champ.

  • williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 58,206
    rcs1000 said:

    TheScreamingEagles said:

    On topic, boo and hiss.

    F1 set to cancel Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix due to war in Middle East as 2026 calendar to drop to 22 races

    https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/33694/13519254/f1-set-to-cancel-bahrain-and-saudi-arabian-grands-prix-due-to-war-in-middle-east-as-2026-calendar-to-drop-to-22-races

    That's ridiculous.

    It's health and safety gone mad.
    It's when they cancel all the others due to the lack of fuel that we need to worry.
  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 58,411
    Mexicanpete said:

    rottenborough said:

    dixiedean said:

    Scott_xP said:

    @paleofuture.bsky.social‬

    Hegseth: "We will keep pushing, keep advancing. No quarter, no mercy for our enemies."

    No quarter is the refusal to take prisoners and instead just execute everyone. It's been considered a war crime for over a century.

    Difficult to take prisoners when you don't have the balls to commit anyone on the ground to actually do it.
    So in that sense he's correct.
    A unit of marines is on its way to the Middle East apparently.
    Look on the bright side. At least by the time Starmer gets around to mobilising our troops for the ground invasion the US Marines will have already killed all the Iranians.
    "All right, sweethearts, what are you waiting for? Breakfast in bed? Another glorious day in the Corps! A day in the Marine Corps is like a day on the farm. Every meal's a banquet! Every paycheck a fortune! Every formation a parade! I *love* the Corps!"
  • viewcodeviewcode Posts: 27,967
    rottenborough said:

    dixiedean said:

    Scott_xP said:

    @paleofuture.bsky.social‬

    Hegseth: "We will keep pushing, keep advancing. No quarter, no mercy for our enemies."

    No quarter is the refusal to take prisoners and instead just execute everyone. It's been considered a war crime for over a century.

    Difficult to take prisoners when you don't have the balls to commit anyone on the ground to actually do it.
    So in that sense he's correct.
    A unit of marines is on its way to the Middle East apparently.
    The problem is...US marines repositioned themselves a few years ago to be a force that takes ground via marine landings, not a force that holds ground via protracted land warfare. This is why they got rid of their Abrams tanks (we should have bought them, btw). What do the Marines legitimately hope to achieve in the area that the Army is not better suited for?
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 38,033
    Brixian59 said:

    Mexicanpete said:

    rottenborough said:

    dixiedean said:

    Scott_xP said:

    @paleofuture.bsky.social‬

    Hegseth: "We will keep pushing, keep advancing. No quarter, no mercy for our enemies."

    No quarter is the refusal to take prisoners and instead just execute everyone. It's been considered a war crime for over a century.

    Difficult to take prisoners when you don't have the balls to commit anyone on the ground to actually do it.
    So in that sense he's correct.
    A unit of marines is on its way to the Middle East apparently.
    Look on the bright side. At least by the time Starmer gets around to mobilising our troops for the ground invasion the US Marines will have already killed all the Iranians.
    What troops, all hollowed out.
    We were a World beating fighting force under Sir Boris in 2022, and now after eighteen months of Starmer we are a military husk!
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 61,516
    a
    Sunil_Prasannan said:

    Mexicanpete said:

    rottenborough said:

    dixiedean said:

    Scott_xP said:

    @paleofuture.bsky.social‬

    Hegseth: "We will keep pushing, keep advancing. No quarter, no mercy for our enemies."

    No quarter is the refusal to take prisoners and instead just execute everyone. It's been considered a war crime for over a century.

    Difficult to take prisoners when you don't have the balls to commit anyone on the ground to actually do it.
    So in that sense he's correct.
    A unit of marines is on its way to the Middle East apparently.
    Look on the bright side. At least by the time Starmer gets around to mobilising our troops for the ground invasion the US Marines will have already killed all the Iranians.
    "All right, sweethearts, what are you waiting for? Breakfast in bed? Another glorious day in the Corps! A day in the Marine Corps is like a day on the farm. Every meal's a banquet! Every paycheck a fortune! Every formation a parade! I *love* the Corps!"
    Somebody wake up Hudson.
  • Brixian59Brixian59 Posts: 1,402
    Mexicanpete said:

    Brixian59 said:

    Mexicanpete said:

    rottenborough said:

    dixiedean said:

    Scott_xP said:

    @paleofuture.bsky.social‬

    Hegseth: "We will keep pushing, keep advancing. No quarter, no mercy for our enemies."

    No quarter is the refusal to take prisoners and instead just execute everyone. It's been considered a war crime for over a century.

    Difficult to take prisoners when you don't have the balls to commit anyone on the ground to actually do it.
    So in that sense he's correct.
    A unit of marines is on its way to the Middle East apparently.
    Look on the bright side. At least by the time Starmer gets around to mobilising our troops for the ground invasion the US Marines will have already killed all the Iranians.
    What troops, all hollowed out.
    We were a World beating fighting force under Sir Boris in 2022, and now after eighteen months of Starmer we are a military husk!
    Have you been in the Guinness
  • Brixian59Brixian59 Posts: 1,402
    Leon said:

    MarqueeMark said:

    Leon said:

    FrancisUrquhart said:

    Photo shows Andrew, Jeffrey Epstein and Peter Mandelson together for first time

    https://www.thetimes.com/article/andrew-jeffrey-epstein-peter-mandelson-picture-photograph-first-rxxs7sxp8

    it's like one of those photos where you see Picasso, Joyce and Beckett having a coffee in the same Paris cafe, or maybe David Bowie, Mick Jagger and Bob Dylan sharing a joint in Soho in 1969

    Except it's the anti-version of that. The negative fame
    The interesting question is: who is the hidden fourth person, behind Mandy?
    Is there a fourth person?! Looks like a barbecue, to me

    As for the photographer, I bet its Ghislaine Maxwell. Her job was to take lots and lots of kompromat, sorry, photographs
    Leon Brittain
  • carnforthcarnforth Posts: 8,462
    SandyRentool said:

    BBC: "Twenty kilos of suspected stolen cornflakes have been seized by police alongside £750,000 worth of drugs."

    Bizarre.

    Frosted, one presumes.
  • Sean_FSean_F Posts: 40,737
    Leon said:

    Malmesbury said:

    Leon said:

    HYUFD said:

    Leon said:

    FrancisUrquhart said:

    Photo shows Andrew, Jeffrey Epstein and Peter Mandelson together for first time

    https://www.thetimes.com/article/andrew-jeffrey-epstein-peter-mandelson-picture-photograph-first-rxxs7sxp8

    it's like one of those photos where you see Picasso, Joyce and Beckett having a coffee in the same Paris cafe, or maybe David Bowie, Mick Jagger and Bob Dylan sharing a joint in Soho in 1969

    Except it's the anti-version of that. The negative fame
    As I said on the last thread, Epstein was evil but also genius in the sense of the number of rich and powerful men in the US and UK he managed to socialise and party with and get a photo with so if he went down they might go down with him
    My supposition is that Epstein was genuinely bright, charming and charismatic. His interests in politics, arts, technology, etc, were deep and sincere, and he honestly enjoyed funding advanced scientific research, it seems

    So on the one hand he was this handsome, gifted Renaissance man who could make all sorts of people like him - from the worlds of banking to the law, music to the military - and yet on the other he was a genuinely evil and prodigious sexual predator

    He's quite unique in world history, I reckon
    No, not really.

    Smart, charming conmen with really nasty back stories are quite common through history.
    At the Epstein level??? No, they're really not

    Yes he was of a type, but he was an outstandingly "gifted" example of the type

    He is to conmen what Mozart is to musicians

    Beria was at one level, charming and gifted, as well as being a serial rapist and mass murderer.
  • Brixian59Brixian59 Posts: 1,402
    MarqueeMark said:

    SandyRentool said:

    TheScreamingEagles said:

    On topic, boo and hiss.

    F1 set to cancel Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix due to war in Middle East as 2026 calendar to drop to 22 races

    https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/33694/13519254/f1-set-to-cancel-bahrain-and-saudi-arabian-grands-prix-due-to-war-in-middle-east-as-2026-calendar-to-drop-to-22-races

    They could always add a replacement GP in Wales, but at 20 mph it would be even more tedious than usual.
    Porthmadog.

    They'd have to back up waiting for the steam trains to pass through too.
    Birmingham Super Prix Course would be ideal.

    It's very similar to Bahrain and Saudi.

    Passes at least 4 Mosques

    Got a beach by the Floosie in the Jacuzzi and you can have 18 holes at St Andrews...
  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 58,411
    Malmesbury said:

    a

    Sunil_Prasannan said:

    Mexicanpete said:

    rottenborough said:

    dixiedean said:

    Scott_xP said:

    @paleofuture.bsky.social‬

    Hegseth: "We will keep pushing, keep advancing. No quarter, no mercy for our enemies."

    No quarter is the refusal to take prisoners and instead just execute everyone. It's been considered a war crime for over a century.

    Difficult to take prisoners when you don't have the balls to commit anyone on the ground to actually do it.
    So in that sense he's correct.
    A unit of marines is on its way to the Middle East apparently.
    Look on the bright side. At least by the time Starmer gets around to mobilising our troops for the ground invasion the US Marines will have already killed all the Iranians.
    "All right, sweethearts, what are you waiting for? Breakfast in bed? Another glorious day in the Corps! A day in the Marine Corps is like a day on the farm. Every meal's a banquet! Every paycheck a fortune! Every formation a parade! I *love* the Corps!"
    Somebody wake up Hudson.
    "Hicks, sir!"
  • Big_G_NorthWalesBig_G_NorthWales Posts: 70,639
    edited 5:17PM
    Brixian59 said:

    Leon said:

    MarqueeMark said:

    Leon said:

    FrancisUrquhart said:

    Photo shows Andrew, Jeffrey Epstein and Peter Mandelson together for first time

    https://www.thetimes.com/article/andrew-jeffrey-epstein-peter-mandelson-picture-photograph-first-rxxs7sxp8

    it's like one of those photos where you see Picasso, Joyce and Beckett having a coffee in the same Paris cafe, or maybe David Bowie, Mick Jagger and Bob Dylan sharing a joint in Soho in 1969

    Except it's the anti-version of that. The negative fame
    The interesting question is: who is the hidden fourth person, behind Mandy?
    Is there a fourth person?! Looks like a barbecue, to me

    As for the photographer, I bet its Ghislaine Maxwell. Her job was to take lots and lots of kompromat, sorry, photographs
    Leon Brittain
    You should retract that now

    I did not flag it but it is simply outrageous
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 63,496
    algarkirk said:

    Leon said:

    FrancisUrquhart said:

    Photo shows Andrew, Jeffrey Epstein and Peter Mandelson together for first time

    https://www.thetimes.com/article/andrew-jeffrey-epstein-peter-mandelson-picture-photograph-first-rxxs7sxp8

    it's like one of those photos where you see Picasso, Joyce and Beckett having a coffee in the same Paris cafe, or maybe David Bowie, Mick Jagger and Bob Dylan sharing a joint in Soho in 1969

    Except it's the anti-version of that. The negative fame
    The Immortal Dinner - Wordsworth, Keats and Lamb, 28th December 1817, London.

    The Immoral Dinner?
  • Brixian59Brixian59 Posts: 1,402
    Big_G_NorthWales said:

    10 year bond rates not good

    https://www.marketwatch.com/investing/bond/tmbmkgb-10y?countrycode=bx

    FrancisUrquhart said:

    Number 10 has claimed there was “no requirement” for Keir Starmer to formally interview Peter Mandelson before appointing him as ambassador to the US. The Times revealed last night that Starmer delegated the job entirely to Morgan McSweeney and Matthew Doyle.

    Amazing how nothing ever hits his desk.

    The obvious question is, how many of the last 10 US Ambassadors been interviewed by the sitting PM??

    If the answer is 10 he has serious questions to answer

    If the answer is more than 5, he should explain why not

    If its less than 5, their is nothing to see here.

  • occasionalranteroccasionalranter Posts: 849
    Brixian59 said:

    Leon said:

    MarqueeMark said:

    Leon said:

    FrancisUrquhart said:

    Photo shows Andrew, Jeffrey Epstein and Peter Mandelson together for first time

    https://www.thetimes.com/article/andrew-jeffrey-epstein-peter-mandelson-picture-photograph-first-rxxs7sxp8

    it's like one of those photos where you see Picasso, Joyce and Beckett having a coffee in the same Paris cafe, or maybe David Bowie, Mick Jagger and Bob Dylan sharing a joint in Soho in 1969

    Except it's the anti-version of that. The negative fame
    The interesting question is: who is the hidden fourth person, behind Mandy?
    Is there a fourth person?! Looks like a barbecue, to me

    As for the photographer, I bet its Ghislaine Maxwell. Her job was to take lots and lots of kompromat, sorry, photographs
    Leon Brittain
    PB already has a resident edgelord
  • LeonLeon Posts: 67,068
    Sean_F said:

    Leon said:

    Malmesbury said:

    Leon said:

    HYUFD said:

    Leon said:

    FrancisUrquhart said:

    Photo shows Andrew, Jeffrey Epstein and Peter Mandelson together for first time

    https://www.thetimes.com/article/andrew-jeffrey-epstein-peter-mandelson-picture-photograph-first-rxxs7sxp8

    it's like one of those photos where you see Picasso, Joyce and Beckett having a coffee in the same Paris cafe, or maybe David Bowie, Mick Jagger and Bob Dylan sharing a joint in Soho in 1969

    Except it's the anti-version of that. The negative fame
    As I said on the last thread, Epstein was evil but also genius in the sense of the number of rich and powerful men in the US and UK he managed to socialise and party with and get a photo with so if he went down they might go down with him
    My supposition is that Epstein was genuinely bright, charming and charismatic. His interests in politics, arts, technology, etc, were deep and sincere, and he honestly enjoyed funding advanced scientific research, it seems

    So on the one hand he was this handsome, gifted Renaissance man who could make all sorts of people like him - from the worlds of banking to the law, music to the military - and yet on the other he was a genuinely evil and prodigious sexual predator

    He's quite unique in world history, I reckon
    No, not really.

    Smart, charming conmen with really nasty back stories are quite common through history.
    At the Epstein level??? No, they're really not

    Yes he was of a type, but he was an outstandingly "gifted" example of the type

    He is to conmen what Mozart is to musicians

    Beria was at one level, charming and gifted, as well as being a serial rapist and mass murderer.
    A pretty good example

    Also Goebbels. Apparently very funny and charming, even to people disposed to hate him. And a notorious, relentless womanizer

    Also one of the most cruelly ideological of all Nazis, to the extent of killing not only himself but his wife and SIX kids, in the bunker
  • boulayboulay Posts: 8,467
    Leon said:

    HYUFD said:

    Leon said:

    FrancisUrquhart said:

    Photo shows Andrew, Jeffrey Epstein and Peter Mandelson together for first time

    https://www.thetimes.com/article/andrew-jeffrey-epstein-peter-mandelson-picture-photograph-first-rxxs7sxp8

    it's like one of those photos where you see Picasso, Joyce and Beckett having a coffee in the same Paris cafe, or maybe David Bowie, Mick Jagger and Bob Dylan sharing a joint in Soho in 1969

    Except it's the anti-version of that. The negative fame
    As I said on the last thread, Epstein was evil but also genius in the sense of the number of rich and powerful men in the US and UK he managed to socialise and party with and get a photo with so if he went down they might go down with him
    My supposition is that Epstein was genuinely bright, charming and charismatic. His interests in politics, arts, technology, etc, were deep and sincere, and he honestly enjoyed funding advanced scientific research, it seems

    So on the one hand he was this handsome, gifted Renaissance man who could make all sorts of people like him - from the worlds of banking to the law, music to the military - and yet on the other he was a genuinely evil and prodigious sexual predator

    He's quite unique in world history, I reckon
    Possibly like some of the Medicis or Borgia’s with their patronage of culture and science whilst being suitably brutal when they felt or needed to be.
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 63,496
    Taz said:

    rcs1000 said:

    TheScreamingEagles said:

    On topic, boo and hiss.

    F1 set to cancel Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix due to war in Middle East as 2026 calendar to drop to 22 races

    https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/33694/13519254/f1-set-to-cancel-bahrain-and-saudi-arabian-grands-prix-due-to-war-in-middle-east-as-2026-calendar-to-drop-to-22-races

    That's ridiculous.

    It's health and safety gone mad.
    Could an F1 car outrun a drone 🤔
    Yes.

    But the drone could cut corners. Also, the car is restricted to the race track.

    It would be a fascinating battle. And in the old days, when racing drivers would regularly die in fiery infernos, I'm sure they'd be up for it.
  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 58,411
    rcs1000 said:

    Taz said:

    rcs1000 said:

    TheScreamingEagles said:

    On topic, boo and hiss.

    F1 set to cancel Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix due to war in Middle East as 2026 calendar to drop to 22 races

    https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/33694/13519254/f1-set-to-cancel-bahrain-and-saudi-arabian-grands-prix-due-to-war-in-middle-east-as-2026-calendar-to-drop-to-22-races

    That's ridiculous.

    It's health and safety gone mad.
    Could an F1 car outrun a drone 🤔
    Yes.

    But the drone could cut corners. Also, the car is restricted to the race track.

    It would be a fascinating battle. And in the old days, when racing drivers would regularly die in fiery infernos, I'm sure they'd be up for it.
    "Gladiators, I salute you!"
  • kinabalukinabalu Posts: 49,419
    "Iran Supreme Leader likely disfigured" ... Hegseth

    I've had enough of this, I think.
  • williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 58,206
    https://x.com/visegrad24/status/2032502614709899599

    REPORTER:

    “Are the Ukrainians helping us with drone defense?”

    TRUMP:

    “We don’t need their help in drone defense. We know more about drones than anybody. We have the best drones in the world, actually”
  • Big_G_NorthWalesBig_G_NorthWales Posts: 70,639
    kinabalu said:

    "Iran Supreme Leader likely disfigured" ... Hegseth

    I've had enough of this, I think.

    As he is filmed walking down a street shaking hands with the public

    Only question - when?
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 63,496
    williamglenn said:

    https://x.com/visegrad24/status/2032502614709899599

    REPORTER:

    “Are the Ukrainians helping us with drone defense?”

    TRUMP:

    “We don’t need their help in drone defense. We know more about drones than anybody. We have the best drones in the world, actually”

    Well, if Trump said so, then it must be... must be... must be... something.
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 63,496
    This is a surprisingly good article on the Iran 'war':

    https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2026/03/iran-trump-war-us-oil-strait-of-hormuz-hegseth.html
  • CookieCookie Posts: 17,048
    Brixian59 said:

    Big_G_NorthWales said:

    10 year bond rates not good

    https://www.marketwatch.com/investing/bond/tmbmkgb-10y?countrycode=bx

    FrancisUrquhart said:

    Number 10 has claimed there was “no requirement” for Keir Starmer to formally interview Peter Mandelson before appointing him as ambassador to the US. The Times revealed last night that Starmer delegated the job entirely to Morgan McSweeney and Matthew Doyle.

    Amazing how nothing ever hits his desk.

    The obvious question is, how many of the last 10 US Ambassadors been interviewed by the sitting PM??

    If the answer is 10 he has serious questions to answer

    If the answer is more than 5, he should explain why not

    If its less than 5, their is nothing to see here.

    But there would be a secondary question of how many of the last ten ambassadors were notorious loosr cannons.

    AFAIUI, it was customary for the ambassador to the US to be a career diplomat with a track record in Not Fucking Things Up.
  • kinabalukinabalu Posts: 49,419
    Big_G_NorthWales said:

    kinabalu said:

    "Iran Supreme Leader likely disfigured" ... Hegseth

    I've had enough of this, I think.

    As he is filmed walking down a street shaking hands with the public

    Only question - when?
    Well I don't know. Hegseth says he's disfigured.
  • MelonBMelonB Posts: 16,873
    edited 5:40PM
    williamglenn said:

    https://x.com/visegrad24/status/2032502614709899599

    REPORTER:

    “Are the Ukrainians helping us with drone defense?”

    TRUMP:

    “We don’t need their help in drone defense. We know more about drones than anybody. We have the best drones in the world, actually”

    Trumps exclusive use of the superlative is an unusual grammatical tic. And I think it’s probably that, rather than something he does consciously. He presumably developed it during his time working in property development, as part of the sales patter.

    He rarely uses the comparative in his speech or writing. That’s as true of bad, worse, worst as it is of good, better, best.
  • MoonRabbitMoonRabbit Posts: 15,443
    edited 5:43PM
    Big_G_NorthWales said:

    kinabalu said:

    "Iran Supreme Leader likely disfigured" ... Hegseth

    I've had enough of this, I think.

    As he is filmed walking down a street shaking hands with the public

    Only question - when?
    That was the President on the streets, not the person in charge.

    My mum likes Hesketh.

    The whole conflict has changed now, from what it was last weekend. UK didn’t have much of a stake in it last weekend, but now it’s about the straits of hormooz and keeping the oil flowing, US are committing ground troops up to five thousand of them. The UK is now going to have to put Warships in the gulf to play active role keeping the oil flowing, and grounds troops alongside the Americans in order to go after where the threats to tankers are coming from. Arn’t we?
  • kinabalukinabalu Posts: 49,419
    williamglenn said:

    https://x.com/visegrad24/status/2032502614709899599

    REPORTER:

    “Are the Ukrainians helping us with drone defense?”

    TRUMP:

    “We don’t need their help in drone defense. We know more about drones than anybody. We have the best drones in the world, actually”

    I sense you turning on him, William. Taking the piss now as he loses cred and becomes a bit of a joke. Is it the start of the Fall?
  • BartholomewRobertsBartholomewRoberts Posts: 28,065
    williamglenn said:

    https://x.com/visegrad24/status/2032502614709899599

    REPORTER:

    “Are the Ukrainians helping us with drone defense?”

    TRUMP:

    “We don’t need their help in drone defense. We know more about drones than anybody. We have the best drones in the world, actually”

    The guy is a moron.
  • Daveyboy1961Daveyboy1961 Posts: 5,361
    rcs1000 said:

    Taz said:

    rcs1000 said:

    TheScreamingEagles said:

    On topic, boo and hiss.

    F1 set to cancel Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix due to war in Middle East as 2026 calendar to drop to 22 races

    https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/33694/13519254/f1-set-to-cancel-bahrain-and-saudi-arabian-grands-prix-due-to-war-in-middle-east-as-2026-calendar-to-drop-to-22-races

    That's ridiculous.

    It's health and safety gone mad.
    Could an F1 car outrun a drone 🤔
    Yes.

    But the drone could cut corners. Also, the car is restricted to the race track.

    It would be a fascinating battle. And in the old days, when racing drivers would regularly die in fiery infernos, I'm sure they'd be up for it.
    I think they'd only die once...
  • Big_G_NorthWalesBig_G_NorthWales Posts: 70,639
    kinabalu said:

    Big_G_NorthWales said:

    kinabalu said:

    "Iran Supreme Leader likely disfigured" ... Hegseth

    I've had enough of this, I think.

    As he is filmed walking down a street shaking hands with the public

    Only question - when?
    Well I don't know. Hegseth says he's disfigured.
    Iranian Professor speaking from Tehran says why would the new leader appear in public and says it is reported he has been injured
  • MelonBMelonB Posts: 16,873
    Has anyone considered building oil tanker submarines?

    Could be a winning business idea.
  • bigjohnowlsbigjohnowls Posts: 23,369
    Rewards for Justice

    @RFJ_USA
    Got information on these Iranian terrorist leaders?

    Send us a tip. It could make you eligible for a reward and relocation.
  • BartholomewRobertsBartholomewRoberts Posts: 28,065
    kinabalu said:

    williamglenn said:

    https://x.com/visegrad24/status/2032502614709899599

    REPORTER:

    “Are the Ukrainians helping us with drone defense?”

    TRUMP:

    “We don’t need their help in drone defense. We know more about drones than anybody. We have the best drones in the world, actually”

    I sense you turning on him, William. Taking the piss now as he loses cred and becomes a bit of a joke. Is it the start of the Fall?
    He is not losing cred.

    He has none to lose.
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 61,516
    rcs1000 said:

    This is a surprisingly good article on the Iran 'war':

    https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2026/03/iran-trump-war-us-oil-strait-of-hormuz-hegseth.html

    How many times?

    It's not a War.

    It's a Dry Sparkling Special Military Operation.

  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 58,575
    williamglenn said:

    https://x.com/visegrad24/status/2032502614709899599

    REPORTER:

    “Are the Ukrainians helping us with drone defense?”

    TRUMP:

    “We don’t need their help in drone defense. We know more about drones than anybody. We have the best drones in the world, actually”

    Saudi, UAE, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain beg to differ.

    Acknowledging that Ukraine has a world-beating skill makes him look a prat when he fulminates that "Ukraine has no cards."

    And nobody can be allowed to make the President look a prat.

    Only he can do that.
  • Big_G_NorthWalesBig_G_NorthWales Posts: 70,639
    MoonRabbit said:

    Big_G_NorthWales said:

    kinabalu said:

    "Iran Supreme Leader likely disfigured" ... Hegseth

    I've had enough of this, I think.

    As he is filmed walking down a street shaking hands with the public

    Only question - when?
    That was the President on the streets, not the person in charge.

    My mum likes Hesketh.

    The whole conflict has changed now, from what it was last weekend. UK didn’t have much of a stake in it last weekend, but now it’s about the straits of hormooz and keeping the oil flowing, US are committing ground troops up to five thousand of them. The UK is now going to have to put Warships in the gulf to play active role keeping the oil flowing, and grounds troops alongside the Americans in order to go after where the threats to tankers are coming from. Arn’t we?
    Naval assistance possibly but even that may not be possible

    The French have more naval ships in the area

    However, it only takes a couple of tankers to be sunk in the narrow navigable channel to close the straits indefinitely
  • BartholomewRobertsBartholomewRoberts Posts: 28,065
    Daveyboy1961 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    Taz said:

    rcs1000 said:

    TheScreamingEagles said:

    On topic, boo and hiss.

    F1 set to cancel Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix due to war in Middle East as 2026 calendar to drop to 22 races

    https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/33694/13519254/f1-set-to-cancel-bahrain-and-saudi-arabian-grands-prix-due-to-war-in-middle-east-as-2026-calendar-to-drop-to-22-races

    That's ridiculous.

    It's health and safety gone mad.
    Could an F1 car outrun a drone 🤔
    Yes.

    But the drone could cut corners. Also, the car is restricted to the race track.

    It would be a fascinating battle. And in the old days, when racing drivers would regularly die in fiery infernos, I'm sure they'd be up for it.
    I think they'd only die once...
    Sean Connery is not impressed.
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 61,516
    MelonB said:

    Has anyone considered building oil tanker submarines?

    Could be a winning business idea.

    1) The strait of Hormuz is quite shallow. A small submarine is fun enough there. A large one can't dive
    2) The largest submarine ever built, the Typhoon class were an absolute pig to handle underwater.
    3) A submarine 10 times that size would be entertaining to drive around.
    4) Someone actually proposed this to Shell at the end of the Cold War - visions of tankers going under the ice cap. The guys in STASCO did their research and laughed.
    5) Get all of that to work, and the cost per tanker would be an order of magnitude more. Maybe 2 orders of magnitude.
  • Sean_FSean_F Posts: 40,737
    rcs1000 said:

    This is a surprisingly good article on the Iran 'war':

    https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2026/03/iran-trump-war-us-oil-strait-of-hormuz-hegseth.html

    Excellent article.
  • dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 31,664
    rcs1000 said:

    This is a surprisingly good article on the Iran 'war':

    https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2026/03/iran-trump-war-us-oil-strait-of-hormuz-hegseth.html

    Yes it is, thanks.
  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 58,411
    MelonB said:

    Has anyone considered building oil tanker submarines?

    Could be a winning business idea.

    Japan built a few aircraft carrier submarines in WW2:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I-400-class_submarine
  • LeonLeon Posts: 67,068
    Physicists on X are claiming they have evidence the universe is a Simulation, and that very soon it will be turned off, annihliating all "existence" as we know it

    So at least I can stop worrying about Making Tax Digital
  • dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 31,664
    MoonRabbit said:

    Big_G_NorthWales said:

    kinabalu said:

    "Iran Supreme Leader likely disfigured" ... Hegseth

    I've had enough of this, I think.

    As he is filmed walking down a street shaking hands with the public

    Only question - when?
    That was the President on the streets, not the person in charge.

    My mum likes Hesketh.

    The whole conflict has changed now, from what it was last weekend. UK didn’t have much of a stake in it last weekend, but now it’s about the straits of hormooz and keeping the oil flowing, US are committing ground troops up to five thousand of them. The UK is now going to have to put Warships in the gulf to play active role keeping the oil flowing, and grounds troops alongside the Americans in order to go after where the threats to tankers are coming from. Arn’t we?
    No.
  • TazTaz Posts: 25,921
    Brixian59 said:

    MarqueeMark said:

    SandyRentool said:

    TheScreamingEagles said:

    On topic, boo and hiss.

    F1 set to cancel Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix due to war in Middle East as 2026 calendar to drop to 22 races

    https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/33694/13519254/f1-set-to-cancel-bahrain-and-saudi-arabian-grands-prix-due-to-war-in-middle-east-as-2026-calendar-to-drop-to-22-races

    They could always add a replacement GP in Wales, but at 20 mph it would be even more tedious than usual.
    Porthmadog.

    They'd have to back up waiting for the steam trains to pass through too.
    Birmingham Super Prix Course would be ideal.

    It's very similar to Bahrain and Saudi.

    Passes at least 4 Mosques

    Got a beach by the Floosie in the Jacuzzi and you can have 18 holes at St Andrews...
    I used to hate that. Solely because of the delays getting the track ready and dismantling it caused me to and from work.
  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 58,411
    Oh and the Brits built some Aircraft Carrier Tankers:

    4 Empire McCabe types
    and
    9 Rapana types

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merchant_aircraft_carrier
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