Mailwatch(ed) Forum

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.

Here we go - it's another step to WEF Davros fifteen minute cities.

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/

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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...

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.

"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...

American fighter jet shot down over Iran, US and Iranian media report

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cgj0gn36px8t

Iran's news agency is also claiming that a US search & rescue helicopter was hit by a projectile.

Tr*mp & Hegseth are getting close to the second bit of FAFO.

I thought he controlled all Iranian airspace?

Tubby Isaacs wrote: ↑Fri Apr 03, 2026 4:50 pm I thought he controlled all Iranian airspace?

Yes, Iranian air defence systems were decimated weeks ago.

How long before he blames the aircrew...pilot was a liberal trained by Biden etc etc?

Might be a black pilot, I hadn't thought of that.

Tubby Isaacs wrote: ↑Fri Apr 03, 2026 5:08 pm Might be a black pilot, I hadn't thought of that.

Or a woman.

Trump supporters pointed in his first term that he was the only POTUS since Jimmy Carter not to go to war. Now he's the first president since Carter to down a pilot in a balls up in Iran.

Oboogie wrote: ↑Fri Apr 03, 2026 4:59 pm

Tubby Isaacs wrote: ↑Fri Apr 03, 2026 4:50 pm I thought he controlled all Iranian airspace?

Yes, Iranian air defence systems were decimated weeks ago.

Might be the only time he'll have used "decimated" correctly - he only got a tenth of it.

There have been several stories claiming that Trump is being kept in the dark about how badly the war is going in Iran. This would probably explain why he keeps making these silly claims about how it could be over in a couple of weeks. He also seems to be sacking several generals simply because they have raised concerns about sending troops into Iran.