Not completely analogous, but sometime towards the end of first agent-orange affliction I read Atwoods “A Handmaidens Tale” I didn’t like it. I don’t usually mind a bit of dystopian fiction. But this was too close for comfort, even then. I have the sequel but no urge to read it! Religion can be a force for the good. Seems to me that more often it is the opposite though. I don’t have the religion gene.

Confessions and regrets. I was a card carrying member of the Reform Party of Canada back in 1993 when they almost won enough seats to form the official opposition. At the time, I also fell for the Christian Nationalist agenda. They were closely tied together. Just as the MAGA's are in the US.  In 1997, they won enough votes to form the official opposition. They really hammered the Progressive Conservative Party. After that there were attempts made to "consolidate the Conservatives". First the "Conservative Alliance" and then "The Conservative Party of Canada. The problem is that rather than merging what we called "small C Conservatives" and "large C conservatives" and ending up with a centrist Conservative party, the party leadership has been constantly Ex-Reform Party adherents. And they've constantly picked leaders - like Pierre Poilievre - who pretended to be centrists but were still pushing far right ideology.  The result is similar to the US. The CPC is now run by far right conservatives and I believe only around 35% of Conservative voters support that. That's why the Liberals won with Mark Carney. A lot of centrist conservatives want no part of the "Maple MAGA" crap Pierre is pushing. We've seen what it did to the US. I lean Conservative but I'm truly glad Carney won after seeing him in action.  I truly hope the UK Reform Party doesn't do the same to the UK. I'll hazard a guess though that UK Reform might well split the Conservative vote, and imploded or not, Labour may win again.  It's sad to see such rifts developing between the left and right, in the US, then in Canada, and potentially in the UK in the future. Heavily divided politics is a curse IMO. Nothing gets done for the people, while politicians on both sides spend all their time blaming their opponents for the current problems. Rather than fixing them. Maybe getting older has made me wiser as I regret past affiliations with far right politics and Christianity 30 years ago.  Or I've gotten to the point I just don't give a damn anymore. 🙄  

I’d say that the occasional smoke signals indicate the pump may have had a tweak. Nothing excessive though. 

Rimmer sell rubbish but are good on delivery charges. Moss sell better rubbish but charge heavily for delivering it. Try the TRShop next time.   Roger

Thank you Steve, you filled me with both terror and then the answer - phew. Sadly our rather delicare bodies will wear out. But some of ot can be sorted.   Roger    

Can someone tell me what the Moss Rimmer shipping policy is based on? I live in France and needed a couple of small parts so I thought just order them from moss France, all going well till I hit the order button and the shipping charge from Paris to where I live in France was 27 euros! Being tighter than a ducks nether region I wondered what it would cost from Rimmers UK. Even with me paying the import duties up front and a 2-3 day fast delivery rate it was still cheaper to buy from Rimmers in the UK! 🙃😳by over 15 euros for a few small parts 🤔

Roger, A quick heads up and a caution notice for the future. Back while Covid 19 in 2021 was sweeping the world, I too had an eye problem. I was having a distortion in my left eye which caused a pincushion effect. Lines, both horizontal and vertical were not straight but had wiggles. My eye doctor explained it asa form of macular degeneration/retinal issues), which causes straight lines to look wavy or blurry due to retinal damage, though he was quite clear to state, YOU DON'T HAVE MACULAR DEGENERATION. I breathed a sigh of relief when he said it could be fixed. In order to repair the retina, they would first have to remove the cornea. Simply put, I needed a cataract surgery as well as repairing the retina. Four years later I gradually became aware that the vision in my surgical eye was not as clear and crisp.  I thought I needed a new pair of glasses. I was VERY wrong. Turns out that the majority of people who have cataract surgery and a new lens implanted develop this situation ... though it takes time for it to develop ... years in some cases. My Retinal doctor sent me to a a specialist who used a laser to obliterate a thing called a capsule which is often left in place during cataract surgery. For a few days afterward I used a steroid eye drop. Low and behold, my vision is back completely, sharp and clear. Steve

The thing is, the ENTIRE WORLD WAS FOREWARNED about the coming of DOOM in america. Project 2025 actually put it all in print prior to the 2024 USA election ... the orange ape denied ever hearing of it and yet most of his cabinet had their fingerprints on it and ALL of his advisors teamed up to write it. Now he is implementing terror on Americans and even trying to remove citizenship from some born in AMERICA https://www.aclu.org/project-2025-explained This is paramount to making the British Magna Carter of 1215 nonexistent.  

If only !!