xylophone

LOL. Too much Kool Aid consumed on the way down the rabbit hole!! A book that trump didn't write, and according to sources, probably never even read and much more about trumps poor command of language and grammar can be found regarding this..... Schwartz (the writer) later admitted that his motivation was purely financial. He needed the money to support his new family. According to Schwartz in July 2016, Trump did not write any of the book, choosing only to remove a few critical mentions of business colleagues at the end of the process. His singular skill is convincing people that what they are observing with their own eyes isn’t true. We’ve seen that vividly around his decades-long claims of success as a business executive despite his myriad failures and then, as president, in his insistence that we’re “rounding the corner” as coronavirus cases soar and his false proclamations of innocence as he was impeached.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trump:_The_Art_of_the_Deal

Wonderful......thank you for the links and many thanks to @pauku1 for the spreadsheet and info.

I may have mentioned this before but I have just watched, IMO, a very good movie on iPlayer, called "Mr Jones" and it is very pertinent with what is happening with regard to Russia's war against Ukraine right now. Well worth seeking out as it is a cut above some of the other rubbish out at the moment.

Reaping what you sow springs to mind............... The U.S. helped Iran create its nuclear program in 1957 by providing Iran its first nuclear reactor and nuclear fuel, and after 1967 by providing Iran with weapons grade enriched uranium. The relationship had been been close, but it has been punctuated first by the involvement of the CIA in the coup of 1953 which overthrew a popular prime minister, Mohammed Mossadegh.....and the CIA was said to be involved with the assassination of JFK. The US getting involved in nefarious activities speaks volumes how it gets involved in areas that it has no business being in. PS. Fire away with your typical GOP replies but I won't see them as I have put you on ignore.

"maybe time for a new thread" Or not, as the case may be, because although I haven't been out to Bangla or its environs of a night time, in three months, I did venture out yesterday to catch up with an Aussie friend at Starbucks (the one almost attached to Big C). We hadn't been seated for long before a group of Chinese consisting of around five adults and just as many children if not more, came into the place and just a few minutes later it was impossible to hear my friend speaking, with the noise, loud speaking/shouting and screams drowning out any chance of conversation. I let that go on for a few minutes and because the noise didn't abate, and I was getting totally pi$$ed off about it, I turned to this group and shouted at the top of my voice for them to "shut up" gesturing with my hand across my mouth at the same time. They did take notice and immediately decided to move out of the place and I wondered about the "frightened" look on the male's face, and it was then that I realised that I had my knife in my hand (I was eating a muffin at the time) so perhaps that scared him? Having said that, I have experienced this, year upon year since the Chinese invasion and they just have no manners, no social skills and no concern for others around them, in whatever they do – – and to top the lot, my mind keeps flashing back to the same Starbucks a few years back when a Chinese guy decided to clip his toenails on one of the tables. Absolutely unbelievable and disgusting. Jumping around a little here, I have found that the prepared food counter in the Tops supermarket provided me with an outlet for an evening meal without having to cook it, so on a few occasions I put some items together and took them home to eat with my red wine. Made for a nice change, however just a couple of days ago when I went back to do the same thing, imagine my surprise when the prices had increased some 40% over my previous visit about a week prior. I shall be very careful about what I pick and choose from the selection, although I can afford it, I don't like being ripped off. What with all of the idiots and their lack of road manners or etiquette, the last thing one needs is for the condition of the roads to deteriorate even further, but that has happened in Soi Banzaan where it appears a drain under the road has collapsed and the concrete covering it has also dropped because of this collapse and it has become decidedly unsafe for anyone on a motorbike, or even a car for that matter. So with all of the revenue which is supposedly coming in from the tourists, I am waiting to see how long it is before something is done about it, or the whole lot collapses into a very large hole – – I wait with bated breath. With the state of the roads in Patong it wouldn't surprise me if any funds allocated to road maintenance have been "spirited away" by the powers that be.

Similar...........

I have watched three movies over the past week and of them, "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" was the best by a long shot. For some strange reason I downloaded and watched, "Furiosa: a Mad Max saga" not really thinking about it and the good thing about the movie was that I didn't have to think because it was an absolute load of codswallop, probably good for the stuntmen and women to earn their salary, but for little else. They should leave the original Mad Max to rest in peace! Then there was a movie which had one of my favourite actors in it, Kristen Stewart, called, "Love Lies Bleeding" and it wasn't brilliant but it was okay apart from the last two or three minutes when it appears that the director had run out of ideas on how to finish the movie, so came up with something totally unrealistic and "unworldly". There seems to be a dearth of good movies around at the moment, but I will keep searching.

Helium container.

You never know: even the best laid plans.......

This was money belonging to Iran which had been frozen......so in effect they gained access to their own money!!!! Don't let the facts get in the way of your storytelling!!

For those who wish to know more about this subject, read the following (also sulphur dioxide is used as a prerservative and bacteria killer and the amount added in wine is strictly controlled. It also prevents any unwanted secondary fermentation)........ First, there is the “red wine headache” myth. For some people, red wine causes headaches, and these headaches are often blamed on sulfites (Gaiter and Brecher 2000). American and French consumers of wine hold this belief (Remaud and Sirieix 2012). However, studies suggest that histamines and biogenic amines are the actual culprits (Jarisch and Wantke 1996) https://agrifoodecon.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40100-015-0038-1 Also of interest with regard to sulphites in wine….. https://www.uwe-hofmann.org/The%20use%20of%20Sulphur%20Dioxide.pdf What causes wine headaches? Headaches are a possible side effect people may have from wine. People may develop a headache from drinking wine because of several factors. Some may have more than one factor that leads to a headache after drinking wine. FactorsTrusted Source that may explain why some people have wine headaches include: the presence of histamine tyramine tannins dehydration

Thanks for your concern GOM, and am on the mend although the fractured coxxyx still gives me a bit of pain, making sleeping and sitting a little difficult. i would love to be out singing a song or two in Red Hot or Blue Beach Cafe and restaurant, but sitting on hard stools/chairs is painful after a few minutes, so have not ventured out since my accident at the end of April, although I keep promising to catch up with friends in Bangla.......but to be perfectly honest, Bangla has lost its allure for me now and I enjoy staying in my new condo, enjoying a nice meal and sampling one of the red wines from my collection. If I do go out then I will post here.....but as you say, maybe time for a new thread????

That is a strange post??? Epworth hospital in Melbourne, Australia in 2009, so why the strange/odd post of yours??? Have you been drinking? And for the record, I flew Business Class with my G/F from Melbourne to Phuket.

I stated that I had the op in Melbourne!

If it was bottled by Mont Clair then the chances are it had some frit juice added........just saying!!

No problem if one has health insurance, as you say, however I had my TURP in Melbourne and although things did not go that smoothly, I flew back here with an in-dwelling catheter and a bag, and although there is a risk of the events you describe, in the main it is a fairly straight forward operation. AND if Urolift is available, then I would go for it in a heartbeat!!

Good luck with whatever you choose......and have you thought of checking the prices at good hospitals in India? As I recall there was a poster who went there and had his op done and he was very pleased with it and the price. Also check to see if Urolift is available anywhere, as that would be my number one choice and doesn't need surgery per se.

Just as you say.....Elderberry wine, Blackberry Wine and so on, but cannot be sold as just "wine". Quite how the Mont Clair producers have gotten away with that here, because their bottles/boxes used to state "Fruit Wine", but that now seems to have "disappeared" from their labelling???

Definition of "Wine" and a link which has some details of the "Fruit wine" sold here and elsewhere........ Wine is the beverage resulting exclusively from the partial or complete alcoholic fermentation of fresh grapes, whether crushed or not, or of grape must. Its actual alcohol content shall not be less than 8.5% vol. https://www.wineandabout.com/business/fruit-appearing-shelves/ Despite what has been posted, Shiraz does not contain more preservatives than other red wines AND despite popular misconceptions even so-called organic wines do have some pest help in the vineyard from sulphur, which is explained away by being "natural/organic". PS. For the record I have been drinking wine for over 55 years now and collecting it for almost as long, having constructed winecellars in houses I had in the UK and NZ. My consumption used to be one bottle of red per night, with perhaps a small glass of Portuguese port to round off the evening. Now my consumption would be about half a bottle of red wine per night, followed by the port, and that seems to do me these days, and I don't get a hangover unless I overindulge a little, which can very occasionally happen. Suffice it to say that if one decides to drink some of the Australian wines which can be up to 14.5%, then one is more likely to suffer the next morning, from both the alcohol and the preservative aspects.

There was a thread on this subject with quite a few respondents, me included, so try to seek that out as it may answer some of your questions.

I have never considered myself a racist (maybe I am and don't know it?) However after having seen some of the comments made by the far right party and the reason they are going in "to bat" for what they believe in, I have to say I also believe they have a point or three. Looking after the customs and lifestyles of the country must be of paramount importance to a government, I believe, and also the supporting and paying out of monies to nonworking immigrants, in my opinion is a no-no – – look after your own first must surely be first on the agenda. I can see why the far right party is strong in France and Germany, though not going as far as the Nazis or extremists, and the message to the migrants wanting to come into those countries is "apply through the correct/lawful channels" and your application will be considered, however if you don't have the necessary skills or background to complement our society, then your application will be refused. As for illegal immigrants, send them back from whence they came.

Watched the movie "The Holdovers" last night and struggled to stay with it, as I found it very average despite its good reviews!! Also noticed the Paul Giamatti has a strange "gait" or a gammy right foot??? Never noticed it before?

Bad debate by Biden but strange that hours later he seemed a different man................. The country is struggling to reconcile Biden's cognitive impairment during the debate with his obvious recovery well into the night and the next day. The most probable explanation for this transient period of cognitive impairment in an older person with a cold is a side effect of cold medications. If this is so, the hand-wringing should cease, and we should use the debate as a reminder of how common such reactions are rather than an indication that the president is chronically debilitated. In recent weeks, Biden has made several high-profile public appearances on the world stage. He commemorated the 80th anniversary of D-Day in Normandy, France, attended press briefings at the G7 Summit in Italy, and engaged with the public and world leaders. Journalists who have been beside Biden closely these past few weeks reported no such impairment, aligning with bullish sentiment from the Biden debate prep team. Everyone would have noticed if Biden exhibited even a fraction of what he displayed at the debate. The next day, he delivered a fiery speech in North Carolina without missing a beat. Dont dismiss him just yet, esp as trump could still open his lying mouth and fall into it! https://www.newsweek.com/did-cold-medications-affect-bidens-debate-performance-1919099

Have tried many of them and what works for me anywhere in the world is "Smart DNS Proxy".....once set up, it does its stuff automatically.