Definitely Over Thirty

Try setting your VPN to use a location in the USA if you're getting a 403 (Forbidden) response.

So good that it's forbidden outside the USA, eh?

Everybody who's been sending advanced munitions into the fight is getting technical data back as part of the deal, which unfortunately will give us more effective killing machines over time. I suppose that that fact wasn't part of team Trump's calculations.

It seems that Russians have been feeding back technical improvements to Iran, such as adding rocket motors rather than propellers. These refinements will make newer Shaheds more dangerous to Americans then they were before.

The best solution is "enough software", and anybody who's worked with enterprise computing knows how tricky it is to define that amount - especially as situations always keep changing.

One might ask how much funding she gets from groups that are backed by America's religious right-wingers, because those people are eager to bring about the Rapture, the End Times and the second coming of Christ. They'd get the same radioactive holocaust as the rest of us, but they think otherwise...

YouTube video by Monte Mader The link between conflict and Christian nationalism.

I wouldn't normally say this, but maybe it's time for an Inquisition? (Cue the Monty Python jokes, because I wouldn't have expected that.)

youtube.com/shorts/0rm1t...

Any military officer who utters the phrase, "President Donald Trump has been anointed by Jesus to light the signal fire in Iran to cause Armageddon and mark his return to Earth," should be relieved of their command. Especially so when their country has nuclear weapons.

Thank you, I really needed a laugh amidst the current insanity.

I had wondered about the relative level of preparations of the two sides, and it seems to me that although the US has a technological advantage (not necessarily an overwhelming one) the Iranians had planning on their side.

The 1970s had lifestyle advice on home decor, handcrafts and cooking; the 1980s, on fitness and career success; and in the 1990s, people advised us on diet and emotional intelligence. I can't honestly say that I'm a fan of the 2020s, but at least people are trying to meet the needs of the decade.

I had wondered about that possibility. One has to wonder what the response of the average American is going to be when faced with a war against a country that is much larger than Afghanistan or Iraq, and which can interdict a major shipping lane, but I doubt that Trump will stop any time soon.

If they're not combatants, and they're not politically active, and they're not hiding money for the regime, then they don't get touched. Europe has a long and needlessly bloody history to learn from, and a Christian tradition to follow - which doesn't mean that these people shouldn't be watched.

Take better care of your dog.

And now, the genie is out of its bottle: We have a world with paramilitary access to missile strikes through drone technology.

So what you're saying here is that Russia will be happy because it has a better chance to sell oil at a break-even price?

Thousands of guards, poised to meet an invasion that never quite happens as predicted, yet also - paradoxically - drains the money out of everyday life in the United States.

You'd think that people might adapt their system to that situation, but that's not where the money is for big business.

Aren't we people who leave someone's relatives unharmed until those relatives raise their hands against us?

For a moment there, I thought that you meant that there was a social event because those main characters are following their romantic inclinations. "My goodness," I thought, "that must be a very popular book."

might have changed their minds overnight. Iranian proxies are, hopefully, still on their leashes - but if their handlers were killed last night, that may no longer be the case. "Epic Fury" - a typically childish choice of operation name - may just start World War 3.

Safer?! I do hope you're right, but the US just killed a head of state while negotiating with his country. That will make it harder for local powers to align with the USA, and create distrust of US diplomatic efforts. And if Iran truly didn't feel a need for nuclear weapons before, some of them

I respect your empathy for those civilians. Isn't it strange that all these evils are unleashed by those who've never been touched by real hardship?

That'll do it over time, although not in one go for an adult.

Are you thinking about vitamin-A overdose, or copper overload? (Also, how much meat do the people around you eat daily?)

There's nothing wrong with a nice bit of liver, and the French do a surprisingly good tripe gallette (specifically, gallette d'andouille) although I draw the line at lung.

The avoidant turning-away of the senator's gaze was enough to give me pause all on its own: I'm unsure that he's all there. The way that the young man rolled him into the lift, though - his body-language - made it seem as though he didn't think of his charge as someone who'd have anything to say.

Why would he wants to regenerate Clacton when it serves his purposes to have the people there poor and angry? Happy, safe, prosperous people don't fear foreigners.

"Deny, deflect, dismiss" - it seems that he hasn't evolved much over the years, except in his refined ability to create a distraction from his own failings. Don't devote overmuch attention to antics like this, and you'll soon see him impeached and held to account for what he did to those poor girls.

I grew up with that continual threat. In the end, one becomes strangely numb to such fear.

If Russia starts a nuclear war, then the last action of France and Britain will be to scorch them off the map as a favour to the rest of the world. But that's Russia's choice to make.

Or perhaps he was there to burn the evidence, like the incinerator that was supposedly installed at the Zorro Ranch?