Are they appointing the most incompetent people they can as an insult to America? It sure looks that way from the outside. This is kakistocracy.

I think the most famous description of Durian is “like eating custard in a sewer”. I’ve never tried it, since we don’t get it in the UK, but I’m curious. I had a Malaysian friend who loved it, but said many businesses and public transport would have signs up saying no Durian due to the smell.

Not true, the pins are sleeved so if it is improperly plugged in, you still can’t touch live parts.

and then what? She has no credibility as she is being either coerced or bribed. Neither does the current US government. Whatever she or any of them say at this point, it cannot be trusted.

The word “confabulation” is what you are describing - and it’s also a huge symptom of dementia.

“Losing it” ? The guy never had it! His speeches have been word salad and lies for at least 10 years.

I was very strongly against us leaving, and I would love the UK to rejoin, but give up the pound? That is absolutely not happening.

Slipped getting out of the bath when I was about 12. My foot hit one of the metal poles supporting the sink, with my little toe going one side and the rest of my foot the other. My foot tore on impact, leaving my little toe hanging off.

I bandaged it up, and kept changing the bandage when it was soaked through with blood and it eventually stopped bleeding. I have a scar on my foot, but other than that no lasting damage.

At least Scale AI isn’t 700 Indians in a trenchcoat like that company Microsoft poured money into.

My little brother’s was both the best and the worst wedding I’ve ever been to in many ways. The mother of the bride stood up to make a speech and it was just insane. She opened with “eeee would have been giving this speech” (pointing at the bride’s stepfather), “but he’s just had a gastric band fitted”. She finished by saying how she didn’t feel she was losing a daughter, but she was gaining a friend … in (daughter’s name).

The bride’s family didn’t speak to any of us for most of the reception, there was an invisible line across the room with the two families on each side. The bride’s little brother with learning difficulties destroyed the cake by punching it repeatedly before anyone could get a piece. My family all got drunk and had a food fight during the reception. My little brother slept with someone else the night before the wedding and they separated the week after the wedding.

This was nearly 20 years ago, but we still laugh about it. God I wish someone had filmed that speech from the bride’s lunatic mother, it was amazing.

imagine it was the wife, mine also complained that I was spending too much time with the guests we’d invited to our wedding. With hindsight, it was not a great indicator for the rest of the marriage.

Who Will love My Children? 1983

Mask 1985

I defy anyone to get to the end of either movie without being a total mess.

Tom Hanks is amazing in it.

US democracy dies cause Dems can’t/won’t fight effectively or message appropriately.

Really? It looks to me like US democracy dies because a majority of Americans voted for the overt fascists, largely based on disinformation, propaganda and prejudice, and helped along by a dollop of voter suppression.

Correct me if I’m wrong, I’m not American.

“Justice will prevail”. Not until the whole rotten US administration is behind bars it won’t.

Most people book this kind of holiday a year in advance. The people still coming to the US booked their holidays last year. There’s going to be an enormous impact by next year.

I love the US, spent a lot of time there, worked there for years, I have family there. I’m not going back until Trump is gone and there is some kind normality returned - which might be a long time.

I still find it absolutely wild that the president of the US has this much power, that the president can be an unqualified, incompetent drooling fucking moron and they are allowed to veto sensible knowledgeable people and do dangerous, stupid things like control the dumping of reservoirs.

WTF is wrong with America? In my country we have a parliamentary democracy and a civil service of qualified, intelligent people. We don’t allow one total fucking imbecile to ride roughshod over everything and ruin anything they like. US congress is like some useless appendix right now when it should be in charge of making these decisions.