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By Boiler
#108344
Jeremy Bowen on Trump's war of distraction.

Trump is waging war based on instinct and it isn't working
Far from capitulating or collapsing after Israel and the US killed Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on the first air strike of the war, the regime in Tehran is functioning and fighting back. It is playing a weak hand well.

In contrast, Trump has given the impression that he is making it up as he goes along. He follows gut instincts, not the pages of intelligence and strategic advice that other presidents have ploughed through.
Well worth a read.
User avatar
By Boiler
#108429
Yet these days, it'd be unthinkable if fuel rationing were to be introduced, as it very nearly was in 1973. How many here are of an age where they can remember the coupons being issued? I remember them - and as my father part-exchanged his Vauxhall Victor for a Ford Zodiac (a car with twice the engine size of the Victor!) in August 1973, the Victor was snapped up by the garage.

https://old.thememoryboxfoundation.co.u ... ooks-1973/
By Youngian
#108431
First started buying albums in 1980 and noticed how thinner records were compared to chunky remainder stock selling Deep Purple and such like from the early 70s.
Perhaps that's why I don't share widely held nostalgia for records, they warped and were poor quality in that period as a result of the oil crisis.
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By Killer Whale
#108432
Yep. I often wondered if 12" singles in particular would start to suffer sound bleed from the other side of the disk if they got much thinner.
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By Yug
#108433
A toddler gets tired of playing with his expensive toys when the other kids won't let him win


Donald Trump says US military action in Iran could end in "two to three weeks"

He says the US will "leave whether we have a deal or not" once he's certain the regime cannot build a nuclear weapon "for years"

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c36r5p1l7w3t
Boiler liked this
User avatar
By kreuzberger
#108434
I still own some "hard vinyl" records. 70s Jamaican reggae pressings which had been fashioned out of recycled tyres and whatnot. Oh my, that sound - it was wafer thin and as toppy as frost but beautifully crystal clear.
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By Boiler
#108435
Youngian wrote: Wed Apr 01, 2026 7:27 am First started buying albums in 1980 and noticed how thinner records were compared to chunky remainder stock selling Deep Purple and such like from the early 70s.
Perhaps that's why I don't share widely held nostalgia for records, they warped and were poor quality in that period as a result of the oil crisis.
The early 80s was a period when recycled vinyl was being used for 'normal' pressings and as you noticed, often of poor quality: my brother and I both had good systems and returning an album to get a playable pressing was all too common.

It also gave birth to a premium product of half-speed masters on virgin vinyl sold by weight.
Youngian liked this
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By Boiler
#108436
Yug wrote: Wed Apr 01, 2026 8:10 am A toddler gets tired of playing with his expensive toys when the other kids won't let him win


Donald Trump says US military action in Iran could end in "two to three weeks"

He says the US will "leave whether we have a deal or not" once he's certain the regime cannot build a nuclear weapon "for years"

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c36r5p1l7w3t
So, it wasn't a walkover like Venezuela and now he's worrying about the mid-terms and what might come from that - which I suspect will be nothing, sadly. What makes anyone think impeachment will change anything? He's been impeached twice before...
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By Yug
#108443
Trump keeps talking about deals all the time. His presidency has been one long practical demonstration of why "The Art of the Deal" has sold 30 copies in 40 years, while Michelle Obama's memoir sold a million copies in its first week.
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By Boiler
#108446
"The Art of the Deal" has sold 30 copies in 40 years
Well. about 1.1 million copies in all that time but yes, Michelle Obama's book Becoming has subsequently sold over ten million copies...
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