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Donnie desperately wants adulation. Boy, does he ever get it. And, boy oh boy, does he know how to get it. Amongst many other other things for which he earnestly craves adulation, he wants to be adored as a peacemaker. 

He clearly doesn’t give a shit about individual human lives. As his policies elsewhere – see immediately below – make abundantly clear. And he’s always banging on about loving ‘strong men’, and winners. So why this desperate desire to be seen as something he quite clearly isn’t?

Narcissism. Plain and simple.

Also, and crucially, like most ultra-capitalists, his thinking about everything, inc. problem-solving, is incredibly short-term and shortsighted. Appearances matter far more than substance. 

Just look at his political appointees, particularly the ladies. Leavitt and Noem owe more to their physical allure than their competency in their roles.  And likewise his insults: ‘Look at that face! Would anyone vote for that?’*

*re Carly Fiorina.

Unsurprisingly, the Orange Felon’s constant bragging about ending eight wars simply doesn’t stand up to scrutiny. In fact almost nothing in Trump’s entire life does. It’s all about bravado, bluster, and bullying. 

If we were to go by what comes out of Trump’s mouth, then he would seem to literally believe that whatever he says is true. Not because it really is. But because he says it is. The ultimate in solipsistic narcissism. He thinks that if he says water is made of steel, the fact he said so makes it real. 

Now this is so incomprehensibly ridiculous to anyone with a remotely normal functioning brain or mind, that the immediate thought is – he can’t possibly really think like that!? And perhaps beneath all his bluster he does know it’s all BS?

But the key thing is that whatever he really thinks, feels or believes, his public and outward persona is that of a kind of Old-Testament Biblical God: by His words, He maketh the World. 

To rational free-thinking minds this is – and ought to be – a very very frightening thing. But to legions of Americans, perhaps especially so-called Christian Americans (incredibly un-Christ like, but extremely zealously religious), this resembles the Saviour/Führer aspect of Nazism’s peculiarly atavistic pseudo-religious appeal. 

It’s the certainty of blind faith. Immovable belief in spite of the all too real facts. Anything that appears to be against the ‘Holy Writ’ (unholy rot, in truth), is Satanic. The work of the Great Deceiver. The levels of irony here are waaay off the chart. 

One can see this in how Caroline Leavitt responds to a journalist, when he asks about the ‘correctness’ of ICE’s behaviour:

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1ALFncweZe/?mibextid=wwXIfr

But let’s return to the main theme, and list Trumps ‘8 Wars Ended’ claims. They are:

1. Israel and Iran
2. Pakistan and India
3. Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo
4. Thailand and Cambodia
5. Armenia and Azerbaijan
6. Egypt and Ethiopia 
7. Serbia and Kosovo
8. Israel and Hamas

Now let’s take each in turn and see if these claims hold up…

ISRAEL vs IRAN

Duration – 12 day conflict. ‘… what we have is more of a de facto ceasefire than an end to war… There is no agreement on a permanent peace or on how to monitor Iran’s nuclear programme going forward.’

O’Hanlon [who?]

Verdict – overclaim.

INDIA vs PAKISTAN

Duration – 4 days. ‘Talks regarding cessation of military action were held directly between India and Pakistan under the existing channels established between both militaries.’ Vikram Misri (Indian Foreign Secretary) 

Verdict – overclaim.

RWANDA vs DRC

Duration – long-term (many years). ‘There’s still fighting between Congo and Rwanda – so that ceasefire has never really held.’ Margaret MacMillan, history professor (University of Oxford?) 

Verdict – false.

THAILAND vs CAMBODIA

Duration – long-term; roots of conflict centuries old. Recent escalation, in 2025. The peace Trump boasts about (posting on Truth, 26/7/25) quickly collapsed: ‘The agreement proved short-lived, however, as heavy fighting resumed in early December. A second ceasefire agreement was reached on December 27 following mounting pressure from the international community, though its durability remained uncertain.’ (my italics) Enc. Brittania. 

Verdict – overclaim.

ARMENIAN vs AZERBAIJAN 

Duration – c. 40 years of conflict. Leaders of both nations credit Trump with helping secure peace. Maybe we can give him this one? 

Verdict – true.

EGYPT vs ETHIOPIA

Duration – no actual war! Tensions, yes. But not an actual National states conflict. 

‘Egypt welcomed Trump’s words, but Ethiopian officials said they risked inflaming tensions. No formal deal has been reached between Egypt and Ethiopia to resolve their differences.’ BBC

Verdict – false.

SERBIA vs KOSOVO

Duration – no actual war! ‘Serbia and Kosovo haven’t been fighting or firing at each other, so it’s not a war to end.’ Prof MacMillan. Trump’s claims are based on his threats to end trade with these nations if they did go to war. 

Verdict – false.

GAZA, ISRAEL vs HAMAS

Duration – long-standing (years). Well, given the two parties are still killing each other, this one can’t be counted a success!

Verdict – false.

Soo… having looked beyond the soundbite rhetoric of Trump’s self proclaimed ‘world’s greatest ever peacemaker’, only one of these claims – Armenia vs Azerbaijan – stands. 

Besides this one truthful claim, we have three massive exaggerations, and four outright falsehoods. Not such a great record to boast of, frankly.

What does this tell us? What I stated already. Trump’s claims are at a very generous best hugely exaggerated, but – closer to the truth – largely mendacious. Their purpose is basically to act as good PR for his ‘brand’.

He’s not thinking like a genuine peacemaker, but as a corporate salesman, looking to make himself look good. 

Hannah and co gave me this model for Xmas. Thanks!

The above photo is my source of visual ref’ in this latest build. I like it because the tank is in pristine condition, but has her exhausts/mufflers, and sundry other bits, removed.

This – and the zimmerit – allows me to customise the model a bit, without too much work. Also I put together the simple but clever road-wheels/track assembly first. In the instructions it’s one of the last steps!

Below is a gallery of images showing how I scraped off certain rear plate details, filled some holes, made some newer/larger holes (exhaust ports, etc.), and masked off where there’s no zimmerit.

The running gear in this kit is interesting. Each side is put together from two very simple blocks that incorporate both wheels and track. The wheels don’t suffer at all from this arrangement. The tracks, however, do. some detail is lost. What will I do about this, I wonder?

In the two detailed close-ups of my ref’ photo, above, you can see a few interesting details. The towing cleats are attached to the rear chassis eyelets; a towing cable lolls over the rear deck; the jack has been removed, as has over of the (?); and the rear-traverse gun lock is in an up and open position.

I take an almost perverse sado-masochistic pleasure in doing milliput zimmerit on a good number of my models. This anti-magnetic mine paste just adds a real zing to things. But it’s a mother to emulate.

Well, that’s it for this post. This has been great fun so far. My first kit build in aeons. I do hope I can see this one through to completion? Thanks, Hannah et al.

*Left to glue overnight, the UHU bond only lasted about 20 minutes. Back to tape!

I bought myself this, as a birthday present. Partially funded by Amazon voucher giftage (thanks to those who helped).

I first saw it in Topping Books, Ely, at the list price of £40. I bought it via Amazon, at closer to £30. I’d prefer to support Topping, not Bezos, in all honesty. But sometimes, alas, economics dictate…

The above images are just a few from the first wee of chunk of this absolute treasure trove. As Diarmaid MacCulloch so rightly says, on the back cover blurb:

‘What fortunate isles are these, to boast thousands of local sculpture galleries, scattered through towns and villages, nearly all accessible for free: churches that host funeral monuments and memorials spanning more than a millennium.’

Amen to that, aulde fruit!

I’ve only just started in on this weighty and handsome but not oversized tome. So this is hardly a full on review. Just a few initial thoughts, notes, and snaps.

There are, it says in the intro, 365 monuments, covered here. One for every day of the year. Culled from visiting nearly nine thousand parish churches! I can’t wait to really dig in…

I bought this lectern from a local reclamation yard. £20, or poss’ £25? I lovingly restored it, after it having being left outdoors for months, poss’ years.

I call it ‘Hannibal’. Is that wrong!? Well, anyway, I love him. And doesn’t he look just fabulous, with a big book on Gothic art and architecture on display?

Teresa and I are watching a BBC Gardener’s World Winter Special (Ep. 4). I adore Frances Tophill’s outfit, which mirrors the hollies she’s looking at.

Arit visits a fabulous garden, in Buckinghamshire, belonging to James and Sue, with numerous wonderful features, such as the ‘river of twigs’…

I liked how the camera focus changes, on some of the above shots. A d the river of twigs is wonderful. The snowdrops look amazing…

Some very inspiring ideas to be had, looking at this garden…

I think we may take a few leaves from their book, so to speak.

I finally have both of my self-built snare drums set up as part of my drum kit. And, to my immense relief and satisfaction, they sound – to my ears – as good as they look.

Decided to get both drums set up. I’m not usually a two snares guy. But for the sake testing these two out, it’s a good set up. 

I’m still very rusty, playing wise. I want to get back in the saddle a bit more, before committing any recordings of these drums to any public spaces.

I was feeling rather miserable today. In part due to trouble with bandsaws, both at home and at Shedders. Playing drums – and in particular my two DIY snares – lifted my spirits somewhat.

I bought a punch, specifically for this job. And it worked well. Somewhat annoyingly, despite this, the holes weren’t all aligned as desired. I think it’s ’cause the drill has issue with a circular hoop; it cause the drill bit to deflect a bit.

Anyway, with lots of filing, the two slot were achieved. I may want to work a little more on them… hmmm? Not sure!

So, with these slots cut, I could finally put the new Evans head on. And that means – aside from possible further fettling – she’s done. Yay!!! She certainly looks fab. Tomorrow I’ll see how she sounds.

Is this Fury, only set in a panzer? And on the Eastern rather Western Front? Well, yes and no. Mostly no.

The IMDB blurb for the film sums up the basics very succinctly: ‘The five-man crew of a German Tiger tank is sent on a secret mission far behind the fiercely contested front line. Fueled by the Wehrmacht’s methamphetamine, their mission increasingly becomes a journey into the heart of darkness.’

The ‘yes’ aspects are the stock war movie clichés (at least of this era): a bleakly elegiac score; taciturn gruffly spoken men covered in grease, mud and blood; and slightly laboured attempts to confront moral issues.

The ‘no’s are more varied: the all German cast are unfamiliar, at least to a non-German audience (and very much as opposed to Fury’s star-studded all American roll-call); it also looks like the budget was, by many orders of magnetite, far smaller; this movie also has what hints of what seem at first to be supernatural elements, but which finally resolve as more metaphysical, or even philosophical aspirations.

Overall this film seems to me to suffer from falling between stools, so to speak. Is it a straight ahead WWII action film? Well, mostly/kind of. Or is it perhaps aspiring to be a German version of Elem Klimov’s awesomely powerful Come And See? Partially, perhaps. And if so, much less successfully or powerfully.

It’s certainly of interest in terms of a German made film dealing with WWII and their own Nazi ‘I was only obeying orders’ history, as well as the nature of war more generally, and war of a type that was particularly virulent on the Ostfront, where two horrifically barbarous empires spent lives in a statistical race to the top coupled with a moral race to the bottom.

It also quite literally shares a few elements with Come And See: the village massacre by fire, and the innocent animal, glimpsed amidst war’s carnage (a deer here, and a strange bird in C&S).

Ultimately this was, to me, a bit what I call lustlacquer… a bit flaccid and off the mark. But it certainly wasn’t utterly shite. Indeed, I kind of enjoyed it.

NB As a panzer-buff, I was impressed with the authentic looking armour. I read, somewhere, that the tank used in this film is a Russian tank – poss a T-55?* – dressed up as a Tiger. If that’s really so, they did a very good job.

*For another war film centred on a German tank crew that uses a T-55 as a tiger, but without the ‘make up’, check out Wheels of Terror.

Every time I’ve opened the boot, in the last couple of months, the handle has practically fallen off. So I’ve had to load and unload mostly through the side doors. Far from ideal!

Above, various images showing where the anchoring points were broken, or, as in the final two pics, still hanging on, just.

I’ve had a kit for fixing the broken handle of our Nissan Qashqai – it’s been falling apart for several months now – for quite a while now (a few weeks!).

But there hasn’t been a decent chance to do the job until today. And that’s only arisen because the car is currently undriveable!* Cars, eh!?

The kit, by X8R Ltd, is terrific. It was simple to install. And there’s an excellent video showing how to do the installation on YouTube. I watched that several times, to prepare.

As can be seen above, several of the parts that should have been holding the handle to the boot, or ‘tailgate’, have gone AWOL.

The new parts are much better than the little fragile and mostly broken parts they replace. And they are bonded – plastic to plastic – using the supplied acetone.

The hardest part of this job – which I did a week or two back – was to remove the internal boot trim panel. That still needs putting back.

Anyway… it’s now working better than ever before. It’s not just working. It’s a nicer tighter fit, with a lesser and much smoother action. Dead chuffed!

*Something in the drive-train is disintegrating, very noisily. Took it to Tyre Pros, locally (my normal garage is closed till Jan 5th), and they’ve told me it’s too dangerous to drive.

Still sans new snare side head, snare wires (& snare bed). But in situ. She sounds fabulous, tuned high, tight and dry. I’m really happy!

A much more pleasing sound right off the bat than my Keruing snare. I can see that drum will need some serious fettling. Poss’ recutting the snare beds?

A 12” snare is noticeably dinky. And, to my eyes and ears, actually quite cute.

Very chuffed! Will post videos with audio when both drums are properly finished.