xylophone

I wonder what other World Leaders think when they meet a president wearing make up?? Lol.

I bought a Saab 9-5 and later on a new 9-5 Aero and although the Aero was a good looking and fast car, the first 9-5 I bought still sticks in my mind as probably the best car I've ever owned, and the most memorable because it was such well-built and smooth to drive car, that nothing else I had ever owned came close to it.

I sincerely hope the AN posters don't wear make up!!!!!

They've got the wrong photograph.....here is one with trump without his makeup on. You can see why he wears it!!

The best, most cogent and elegantly simple explanation into the inexplicably destructive negotiating processes of the president, by Prof. David Honig of Indiana University. Everybody should read this accurate and enlightening piece...... “I’m going to get a little wonky and write about Donald Trump and negotiations. For those who don't know, I'm an adjunct professor at Indiana University - Robert H. McKinney School of Law and I teach negotiations. Okay, here goes. Trump, as most of us know, is the credited author of "The Art of the Deal," a book that was actually ghost written by a man named Tony Schwartz, who was given access to Trump and wrote based upon his observations. If you've read The Art of the Deal, or if you've followed Trump lately, you'll know, even if you didn't know the label, that he sees all dealmaking as what we call "distributive bargaining." Distributive bargaining always has a winner and a loser. It happens when there is a fixed quantity of something and two sides are fighting over how it gets distributed. Think of it as a pie and you're fighting over who gets how many pieces. In Trump's world, the bargaining was for a building, or for construction work, or subcontractors. He perceives a successful bargain as one in which there is a winner and a loser, so if he pays less than the seller wants, he wins. The more he saves the more he wins. The other type of bargaining is called integrative bargaining. In integrative bargaining the two sides don't have a complete conflict of interest, and it is possible to reach mutually beneficial agreements. Think of it, not a single pie to be divided by two hungry people, but as a baker and a caterer negotiating over how many pies will be baked at what prices, and the nature of their ongoing relationship after this one gig is over. The problem with Trump is that he sees only distributive bargaining in an international world that requires integrative bargaining. He can raise tariffs, but so can other countries. He can't demand they not respond. There is no defined end to the negotiation and there is no simple winner and loser. There are always more pies to be baked. Further, negotiations aren't binary. China's choices aren't (a) buy soybeans from US farmers, or (b) don't buy soybeans. They can also (c) buy soybeans from Russia, or Argentina, or Brazil, or Canada, etc. That completely strips the distributive bargainer of his power to win or lose, to control the negotiation. One of the risks of distributive bargaining is bad will. In a one-time distributive bargain, e.g. negotiating with the cabinet maker in your casino about whether you're going to pay his whole bill or demand a discount, you don't have to worry about your ongoing credibility or the next deal. If you do that to the cabinet maker, you can bet he won't agree to do the cabinets in your next casino, and you're going to have to find another cabinet maker. There isn't another Canada. So when you approach international negotiation, in a world as complex as ours, with integrated economies and multiple buyers and sellers, you simply must approach them through integrative bargaining. If you attempt distributive bargaining, success is impossible. And we see that already. Trump has raised tariffs on China. China responded, in addition to raising tariffs on US goods, by dropping all its soybean orders from the US and buying them from Russia. The effect is not only to cause tremendous harm to US farmers, but also to increase Russian revenue, making Russia less susceptible to sanctions and boycotts, increasing its economic and political power in the world, and reducing ours. Trump saw steel and aluminum and thought it would be an easy win, BECAUSE HE SAW ONLY STEEL AND ALUMINUM - HE SEES EVERY NEGOTIATION AS DISTRIBUTIVE. China saw it as integrative, and integrated Russia and its soybean purchase orders into a far more complex negotiation ecosystem. Trump has the same weakness politically. For every winner there must be a loser. And that's just not how politics works, not over the long run. For people who study negotiations, this is incredibly basic stuff, negotiations 101, definitions you learn before you even start talking about styles and tactics. And here's another huge problem for us. Trump is utterly convinced that his experience in a closely held real estate company has prepared him to run a nation, and therefore he rejects the advice of people who spent entire careers studying the nuances of international negotiations and diplomacy. But the leaders on the other side of the table have not eschewed expertise, they have embraced it. And that means they look at Trump and, given his very limited tool chest and his blindly distributive understanding of negotiation, they know exactly what he is going to do and exactly how to respond to it. From a professional negotiation point of view, Trump isn't even bringing checkers to a chess match. He's bringing a quarter that he insists of flipping for heads or tails, while everybody else is studying the chess board to decide whether its better to open with Najdorf or Grünfeld.” — David Honig

You still don't understand do you, so read carefully and try to take this in, difficult I know for a trumpie..........I was pleased (joy according to you) that the woman who killed the mother of two has been jailed. There you go that's made it easier for you. And nowhere did I boast about a woman dying, that's just in your MAGA alternate universe mind, and on the subject of that, it's time to stop believing the myth: –

PS. I forgot to mention that I have also been investigating stem cell treatment and even visited a clinic which treats various ailments with different sorts of stem cells, but even though there have been some good results when the selected stem cells are injected into various sites (such as tendonsetc) it appears that stem cells delivered intravenously are a bit hit and miss. That is to say that if I received IV stem cells for my neurogenic bladder, there is no method by which they can be directed to the bladder, so this avenue is a no-go for me, and even if I wanted to try it on the very, very slim chance there might be an improvement, it's a big risk to take because it's very expensive. Hence the reason I'm exploring other avenues.

As regards prostatitis......looking through my files I found a reply I got from the London Prof who I was in touch with, regarding my treatment for prostatitis and he did say that for stubborn cases, which they sometimes encountered, I should continue with the Monural, one 3 gram sachet every three days, three times, and I should add doxycycline 100 mg once a day for a couple of weeks to see if that combination worked. As he said, sometimes infections of the prostate are very hard to deal with because of the biofilm and also the fact that the prostate is designed to keep out "unwanted" elements, although the bacteria seem to find a way in! This worked for me, but as others have said, everyone is different.

Well, I'm not a doctor so I can't offer medical advice, and as I said they didn't work for me, but there again everyone is different. I did some quite extensive research on them and the results were not encouraging, and that's putting it mildly, with some research suggesting that some urologists had stopped prescribing them because the results were poor. In my opinion, based on my own experiences, it would not hurt to stop this medication for a period of time to see if you notice any change in your urinary problems and it helps if you keep a record of any changes. You did say in your post that "I'm not peeing any significant amounts, but it's obviously doing the job" so I'm not quite sure what you mean by this – – what is doing the job? The tablets or your bladder? For the record I'm still researching ways to treat my neurogenic bladder, ranging from neuro modulation to peripheral/percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation and I will also give hyperbaric chamber oxygen treatment a look. However for the first two I may well have to travel to Malaysia or similar to get the treatment, but I'm still waiting on a response from my urologist in Bumrungrad, after I asked him if my underactive detrusor muscle was fixable – – still waiting for a reply after three weeks so I'll try again tomorrow. I think the main point for you is that you are dealing with your problems, and I can't say the same about mine, still having to use the catheter every night, and even if I miss that out, I can't sleep and just getting out of bed to have a pee is impossible because my bladder won't work – – Catch-22. Good luck and keep looking into it and doing your research and I will post anything of any note that I find.

You truly are one of trumps favourite people (look it up) because I was pleased that the MAGA woman was jailed for that crime...........please pay attention and learn to read and understand. Difficult I know for a trumpie.

Ah the MAGA alternate universe in action. Do you really believe that, really??? If so then You need to seek help. So the people smashing in the windows (which can be clearly seen) are actually Democrats. You really do need to seek help. Actual unedited footage of the Capitol Riot…….And there are many other video clips that can be found online, so the assertion by the MAGA goobers on AN that the clip below was “doctored” is complete and utter nonsense. Perhaps the graphic violence has been edited out, also cannot see the guy with the cable ties in these clips. This footage shot in real time is most disturbing and shows the violence perpetrated by the rioters. Chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson presented graphic video from police body cameras and audio of law enforcement calling for assistance as Trump supporters stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-jan-6-committee-shows-new-footage-of-capitol-attack PS. Karma is a bitch…….Emily Hernandez, a Missouri woman convicted in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot who President Trump pardoned, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for killing a mother of two in a drunk driving crash in 2022. KSDK reports.......don't ya love it!

No point really in talking to a Maga goober to try and explain it, so I won't waste my time but you might want to read the 14th amendment section 3 of the constitution which covers insurrection, but then again you are one of "Trump's favourite people" so it would be lost on you.

True, and had this capital riot, the link to which I posted, succeeded in stopping the lawful election of a new president, then the whole foundation upon which the USA exists would have been shattered. Now that is a sense of perspective and relativity!

Guess you didn't see the actual footage recently released........but then again facts are not the Maga's strong points. This was a sad day for America and Democracy:- Actual unedited footage of the Capitol Riot. This footage shot in real time is most disturbing and shows the violence perpetrated by the rioters. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-jan-6-committee-shows-new-footage-of-capitol-attack

I loved her singing "The Ballad of Lucy Jordan" as IMO it mirrored her life in some way. RIP MF.

Who is from Pattaya??

Well, he's already cheated on his other wives and has been shown to be a serial liar, so one more revelation about his foray into hookers or younger women, won't be a surprise to anybody. It would seem to be quite obvious that Melania has never really forgiven him for cheating on her just after she gave birth, so he's got nothing to lose in that regard – – she already despises him!

Because trump was one of them?

Amazing @dddave because although I live in Patong, I could have written exactly what you have written about Pattaya, the big bikes screaming up and down the road outside of my condo and the inability/laziness of the police to do anything about it. I do go out on my Honda Click, but only short distances and even then I am very wary of what is around me, and many is the time when I have stopped at a pedestrian crossing to let people cross, only to find other motorbikes zipping past and not giving a hoot about those on the crossing itself. So now I look in my mirrors and if there is anything close to me I drive on, slowly but surely. It is an idiot's paradise with poor policing here in Thailand, and it's been like that for ages, however I will add that it seems to have gotten worse over the recent past, sad to say.

I started watching it and something fired a neuron in this ageing brain of mine, and I couldn't quite remember what it was – – until a little later I realised that a version of this was done in around 2010 and starred Mel Gibson. It didn't follow exactly the same path, but close enough in many respects, however I will keep on watching it because I want to see what the original was like. Thanks to @RayWright for the heads up on this series.

Life in rural OZ....... Dear Mum & Dad, I am well. Hope youse are too. Tell me big brothers Doug and Phil that the Army is better than workin' on the farm - tell them to get in bloody quick smart before the jobs are all gone!! I wuz a bit slow in settling down at first, because ya don't hafta get outta bed until 6am. But I like sleeping in now, cuz all ya gotta do before brekky is make ya bed and shine ya boots and clean ya uniform. No bloody cows to milk, no calves to feed, no feed to stack - nothin'!! Ya haz gotta shower though, but it’s not so bad, coz there's lotsa hot water and even a light to see what ya doing! At brekky ya get cereal, fruit and eggs but there's no kangaroo steaks or possum stew like wot Mum makes. You don't get fed again until noon and by that time all the city boys are buggered because we've been on a 'route march' - geez its only just like walking to the windmill in the back paddock!! This one will kill me brothers Doug and Phil with laughter. I keep getting medals for shootin' - dunno why. The bullseye is as big as a bloody possum's bum and it don't move and it's not firing back at ya like the Johnsons did when our big scrubber bull got into their prize cows before the Ekka last year! All ya gotta do is make yourself comfortable and hit the target - it's a piece of piss!! You don't even load your own cartridges, they comes in little boxes, and ya don't have to steady yourself against the rollbar of the roo shooting truck when you reload! Sometimes ya gotta wrestle with the city boys and I gotta be real careful coz they break easy - it's not like fighting with Doug and Phil and Jack and Boori and Steve and Muzza all at once like we do at home after the muster. Turns out I'm not a bad boxer either and it looks like I'm the best the platoon's got, and I've only been beaten by this one bloke from the Engineers - he's 6 foot 5 and 15 stone and three pick handles across the shoulders and as ya know I'm only 5 foot 7 and eight stone wringin' wet, but I fought him till the other blokes carried me off to the boozer. I can't complain about the Army - tell the boys to get in quick before word gets around how bloody good it is. Your loving daughter, Sheila

Now you are being deliberately obtuse because it's the way this hush money payment was treated, because in doing so trump falsified business records to hide the payments and falsifying business records is illegal and an offence. Read again: – the charge was that Trump worked to falsify and illegally categorise reimbursements to his lawyer to cover up the payment.

I mean.............. The case stems from a "hush money" payment of $130,000 to adult film star Stormy Daniels in 2016. Prosecutors from the Manhattan District Attorney's Office allege Trump worked to falsely and illegally categorize reimbursements to his lawyer to cover up the payment. With the help of his former fixer Michael Cohen, Trump would allegedly pay Stormy Daniels $130,000 in 2016 to keep quiet about her story. After Trump became president, prosecutors say, he started reimbursing Cohen for the payment, which he would record in his financial records as legal fees to Cohen. These payments could land Trump in prison. Prosecutors allege that Trump broke the law by falsifying these business records to hide illegal hush-money payments and protect Trump’s chances during the presidential election. The former president faces 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. Trump pleaded not guilty to all counts last April. The charges carry a maximum of four years in prison. He is a crook who escaped justice, but still a crook!

Jeez........trying to cover up his payment to a hooker by "cooking the books/accounting fraud" is SO much more than a mere "misstep". Reality please...........