@Daniel said in What about this 'house'?: I have an appointment. I'll watch it later. Why these bargains in the UK and France? What's up with that? Attractive building, but maintenance, investment in upgrading heating etc. will be a deterrent to purchase however lovely the property. Probably loads of rules to comply with for such an historic monument. If we ever move again the next home will need nothing doing to it beyond buying a new mattress.

A simple case of mistaken identity. (“ I THOUGHT that cop was a prostitute… “)

Response from the six: We are veterans and national security professionals who love this country and swore an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. That oath lasts a lifetime, and we intend to keep it. No threat, intimidation, or call for violence will deter us from that sacred obligation. What’s most telling is that the President considers it punishable by death for us to restate the law. Our servicemembers should know that we have their backs as they fulfill their oath to the Constitution and obligation to follow only lawful orders. It is not only the right thing to do, but also our duty. But this isn’t about any one of us. This isn’t about politics. This is about who we are as Americans. Every American must unite and condemn the President’s calls for our murder and political violence. This is a time for moral clarity. In these moments, fear is contagious, but so is courage. We will continue to lead and will not be intimidated. Don’t Give Up the Ship!

The U.S. Border Patrol is monitoring millions of American drivers nationwide in a secretive program to identify and detain people whose travel patterns it deems suspicious, The Associated Press has found. The predictive intelligence program has resulted in people being stopped, searched and in some cases arrested. A network of cameras scans and records vehicle license plate information, and an algorithm flags vehicles deemed suspicious based on where they came from, where they were going and which route they took. Federal agents in turn may then flag local law enforcement. Suddenly, drivers find themselves pulled over — often for reasons cited such as speeding, failure to signal, the wrong window tint or even a dangling air freshener blocking the view. They are then aggressively questioned and searched, with no inkling that the roads they drove put them on law enforcement’s radar. https://apnews.com/article/immigration-border-patrol-surveillance-drivers-ice-trump-9f5d05469ce8c629d6fecf32d32098cd I know, I'm Little Miss Cheerful, aren't I?

Federal prosecutors moved Thursday to dismiss charges against Marimar Martinez, a woman who was shot by a Border Patrol agent multiple times after allegedly using her car to assault and impede federal law enforcement six weeks ago in Chicago. Martinez and co-defendant Anthony Ian Santos Ruiz pleaded not guilty last month to Justice Department charges that they used “their vehicles to assault, impede, and interfere with the work of federal agents in Chicago.” Andrew S. Boutros, the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, filed court documents Thursday morning to dismiss the charges. Prosecutors said Border Patrol agent Charles Exum shot Martinez in self-defense after she and Santos Ruiz allegedly rammed their cars into a federal vehicle on Oct. 4. “After striking the agents’ vehicle, the defendants’ vehicles boxed in the agents’ vehicle, the complaint states,” prosecutors said in a statement when charges were announced last month. “The agent was unable to move his vehicle and exited the car, at which point he fired approximately five shots from his service weapon at Martinez, the complaint states.” Martinez’s legal team had argued that it was federal agents who rammed her car with their vehicle and that the shooting was unjustified and an excessive use of force. The motion to dismiss comes after it was revealed last week at a court hearing that the Customs and Border Protection agent who shot Martinez multiple times had bragged about it in messages to other officers. According to Reuters, records presented at the hearing showed that in a group Signal chat with other agents, Exum wrote: “I fired 5 rounds and she had 7 holes. Put that in your book boys.” In a message to another recipient, Exum sent a news article about the event followed by the message: “Read it. 5 shots, 7 holes,” Reuters reported. Apparently the agent's bodycam video showed him ramming her car, not the other way around. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/chicago-woman-shot-border-patrol-marimar-martinez-charges-dismissed-rcna244979

@ShiroKuro I tried it and it works relieves the swollen feeling, though the discomfort comes back. Shall be doing it again this evening. They do say ending a hot shower with a very brief cold rinse is good for you but I'm not a fan.

@CHAS said in This month's piano recording: may have to wake up the Clavinova that is here definitely!!

Passive voice FTW, as always.

Check out NJ. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/15/us/politics/latino-voters-new-jersey.html?unlocked_article_code=1.1U8.3k6_.6xwphnf-_S_V&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

Larry, Larry, Larry… https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2025/11/20/summers-leaves-teaching-at-harvard/

@jon-nyc That looks great. I have a kabocha squash that needs cooking; I wonder if I could use it instead of the butternut.

Ha! There is something blooming around here after all. Mr wtg and I went for a brief walk which took us past our friends' house, and lo and behold, their witch hazel is in fragrant full bloom!! I smelled it before I saw it. I love both the scent and the delicate spidery-looking flowers. [image: 20251119_151929.jpg] [image: 20251119_151941.jpg] edit: About witch hazels. https://www.thespruce.com/witch-hazel-growing-guide-5191457

Yahoo!

Congratulations!

@Daniel Not just in the US. Canada has a similar housing crisis. I bought our house in 2011 for $150,000. The (conservative) estimated value today is $450,000. Nothing about our neighbourhood has changed. No new services or anything that would have increased the property value. My kid and his girlfriend pay $2400 a month to rent a small two bedroom apartment in a nearby small city/large town. That’s almost twice my mortgage payment, yet even if they could save up enough for a down payment (while also paying that ridiculous amount in rent), they would never be approved for a mortgage because paying rent does nothing for your credit score.

Mary Bruce from ABC News. https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/video/trump-saudi-crown-prince-murder-jamal-khashoggi-127650855