TorquayFan

Hanaguma - very strange reply . . . The reason I argue that Musk should get back to Tesla, is precisely for the concerns you expound. Tesla is an important USA Company, facing serious issues. They need their 'CEO' to be there to save/stabilise/take it forward. You say blah blah ' this would not be happening' if. What's this - you say - the Public Worldwide are on a 'reflexive' or a 'shibboleth' ? I don't think you can defend Tesla's situation Worldwide by talking about that ! It's the public reputation of his product because of his Political antics, poor quality aspects in the cars and the fact that Chinese cars, have overtaken him. So he should manage the Tesla Company and leave Politics. AIMHO of course . . .

Yellowtail. No. What Trump said was 'just a claim' ! The 'More or Less' analysis has researched the available statistics. Listen to the link I sent you. I think you'll find it credible . . .

Hanaguma - in the wider perspective, Musk's political clowning has alienated customers and potential customers around the World and in the USA itself - that's undeniable. Tesla sales are collapsing and the Cybertruck has been banned in many Countries on road safety grounds, (they also have problems with panels detaching from the body). You trawl around to find an upside but Musk needs to get back to the office and try to sort Tesla out ! There may be irony revenue from critical 'hits' on his social media but that $ will be peanuts against his Tesla losses. Which will inevitably worsen 😗

Hello Yellowtail. It was on a BBC programme "More or Less", the first feature on 12th March 2025 starting at about 4 mins 50 seconds in. It's a program whose writer is dedicated to looking at statistics and debunking them if necessary. You might like to look back - they have 722 episodes on file. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0028swz They also dealt with Trump/Vance desperate claims that the USA has given Ukraine $350 billion, which turns out to be, from memory, $122 billion, 16% of which was loans. Europe has sent about $20 billion more than that. If you have a VPN I expect you can access the programme from Thailand. ATB

TBL - there are many kinds of hormone therapy and it has many uses. According to the Report I heard, gender matters were not the subject of any part of the $8 million spent. So as usual, the Trump/Musk spin was basically, lies. Thanks for reply.

Transam - yes I've always found Toyota, (on the Sukhumvit, east of Chantaburi), to be fair. Last week, I also change the front disc pads and the rear brake shoes. The pads were getting low and one was very low - they were last changed at 160k km. The shoes were changed for the first time, at 320k and would have gone for another 100k IMO. I wondered if 320k was a record !

Yes well done NASA and SpaceX I'm sure everyone will be delighted at the Astronauts return, including Bannork of course. The core point in this thread was spot on. Musk can be as constructive in his Companies as he is DESTRUCTIVE in the political arena. So he should get back to his Companies, including the ailing Tesla.

OK thanks.

Yes they did, but I wouldn't know how to examine it . . . cost of the new manifold was just B4949 Thanks for your reply.

We all recall the Trump/Vance meeting with Zelensky recently . . . . . Trump repeatedly claimed that the USA had sent $350 billion in aid to Ukraine whilst 'Europe' had contributed around $120 billion. The figure of $350 billion cannot be substantiated, (like much else that Trump says). According to the Ukraine Support Tracker Institute in Germany, these are the figures:- USA aid : total $122 billion including $20 billion of loans, (repayment term unknown) Europe aid : $142 billion including $46 billion of loans, (repayment over 35 years) You can scarcely believe a word that comes out of Trump's mouth - the Guy is a scoundrel . . .

Riclag - you refer to the $8 million that DOGE/Trump claim had been spent on making mice transgender. That claim is just slimey self-serving nonsense. Bear in mind that $8 million is anyway, a paltrey sum in the USA budget. Here are some of the Research projects included in that sum :- e.g. the impact of hormone therapy and oestrogen supplements in respect of breast cancer. e.g. the impact of hormone therapy and it's possible affect on an HIV vaccine development. e.g. looking at the possible links between hormone therapy and asthma. I don't have a background in medical science but evenso, it's evident that DOGE/Trump and the Trumptie Numpties have got this wrong. Wilful and misleading nonsense - the hallmark of Chief Numptie, Trump ! Listen to this at 4 mins 50 secs in https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0028swz (you may need to copy this link and search to make it work - good luck)

Any point there Blaze ?

'Humptie Trumptie sat on a wall, Humptie Trumptie had a great fall . . . ' (One day) . . . Let's hope the idiot doesn't take half the World with him !!!

Biden at his worst still had more sense than the adulterer and criminal Trump that was 'elected'. And Trump will be older than Biden if he ever completes his term . . . . he's already more dotty than Biden ever was. Typical SILLY Trumpist angle. Of course Biden knew what he was signing - totally UNLIKE most of the carp coming off Trump's pen on these 'Executive Orders'. AAaaaaggghhhhhh !! Trumptie numpties 🫢

Trump never thinks anything through - thus unintended consequences arise from everything he does. Some points nicely put below :- - "Rooted in ignorance, error, wilful blindness and self-defeating prediction, Trump’s rash actions produce contradictory, harmful and often opposite results to those he says he wants". "US tariffs are to American prosperity what the Titanic was to ocean travel. Defiant foreign retaliation has brought stock market crashes and inflation fears". "Trump’s Ukraine surrender policy is another calamity. Russia is the aggressor, yet he punishes the victim . . . The prospective, unintended, consequences of an unjust peace are the undeserved rehabilitation of Russia, de facto amnesty for Putin’s war crimes, a precedent-setting ceding of sovereign territory seized by force, and a deep US-Europe split". "Perhaps the scariest unlooked-for consequence of Trump’s serial blunders is accelerating nuclear weapons proliferation. Alarmed by his threats to withdraw US protection, and shocked at the betrayal of Ukraine, Germany, Poland and South Korea are all urgently talking about obtaining an atomic bomb". Extracts from here https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/mar/15/honeymoon-is-over-trump-ukraine-war-tariffs IN conclusion - "Until him, no US president had been so ignorant of the lessons of history. Until him, no US president had been so incompetent in putting his own ideas into practice . . ." It's a undeserved 'compliment' to liken Trump to a 'Mafia Boss'. So if you voted for Trump, supported him or support him now, take a look at yourself. Slinging inane comments about 'lefties' won't save you too, from the ongoing consequences of putting Trump into office.

My Vigo is 15 years old and has done 320k km. I've had it from new and try to keep it in best condition - (at that age, it soon becomes a 'banger' if let slip!). When accelerating from low speed, there was a marked hesitation before the sudden surge of the turbo. I asked Toyota to check out the turbo, which had been serviced once before. I was surprised that Toyota replaced the 'inlet manifold' and gasket of course. I'm not complaining but I don't understand how this impressive casting, could have been the problem. Can the manifold warp with time? FWIW, the manifold, for what it is, seems cheap at the price. Any comments would be appreciated . . . .

That's right TBL. And at the Koffe House, Chantaburi, the resident Band will play the 9 minutes of 'Eye in the Sky' when asked nicely. The Alan Parsons Project were brilliant, I agree.

We visited Koh Chang at Christmas and stayed at the Chai Chet resort in the Klong Prao beach area, a large bay just South of Whitesands. They offer bungalows at beach fronts or hillside. Good swimming in sheltered waters, an excellent and inexpensive restaurant and prices include breakfast. No need to stray far from the Resort but there are other Restaurants/Bars on the 'main' road, (100 metres away). We are planning another trip soon!

Riclag I can't make that link work - can you please repost? I doubt that the mural is a sign of 'marxism' but it might be unduly 'woke'.

Thingy - I've heard this allegation before but never seen any evidence of it. You are obviously well informed so please can you post something, other than a conspiracy theory, that substantiates the matter. Thanks.

Bannork - I see it's actually the Trump administration that's behind the deletion of this photo. There are moves to DELETE the photo, in all the 26,000 times it reportedly appears in the Pentagon website. The lovely Rachel Maddow reports

Bannork - IF that's true it's bloody silly of course and one for DT to tackle, (to get him doing something useful LOL). 'Gay' is a great word and it has fallen into disuse for general purposes as a casualty of PC nonsense. (I enjoyed OMD's track of the same name - perhaps the song should be rewritten, 'Enola Tibbetts'). I confess to being GAY, I'm quite a happy fellow, (straight though). And GAIETY is important in life IMO. ATB

Blaze - do you have anything relevant to the thread itself ? Moving on, hard to believe anything vile said about Trump could be unjustified, but I agree calling for his assasination is criminal. And calling for Trump's imprisonment for his 34 (++++) felonies, would be fair enough. In fact, JUST ! Bannork - thanks. Meat on the bone ! ATB

And Yag - get your head around this one . . . I see ripples, (if you look around, you can see too), that Musk has been told that it's the 'Cabinet', that make job cuts, not he as the Tesla nutcase. I don't see a happy ending to this tilt of fortune.

Yagoda - typical of your cant. Zelensky is a long term Prime minister now, not a comedian like you are. He was NOT negotiating in front of the cameras as you say. You mock, him seeing his towns and cities smashed, losing Soldiers, kids being expatriated, (15000) now, people dying around him everyday. I doubt that any other 'Press Call' in history has been such a set up. Z was just trying to stand up in a tsunami of weirdness. The VP behaved in a quite insane way - we have 2 mad bullies in charge. Well voted USA ! What a dumb and terrible Poster you are Yag.