Yes Palladium you are right, there seems to be a large contingent of us humans who take great pride in sidelining facts which , by contradicting our beliefs, serve to hurt our egos - reality cannot be made to change depending on our whims. I hope that the ceasefire in Gaza will prove to be a turning point for the Middle East and for our whole species, but I.m not holding my breath - and by the way, nice to see Trump happy to take credit for something which has been engineered by a number of people - business as usual.

Palladium, thankfully you have a conscience, which, of course, makes you an enemy of the 'righteous' - naturally.

I found Trumps' UN address to be yet another indication of the increasingly terrifying road which we are making worldwide - yet instead of denouncing him, international politicians are indulging him, which is, of course, truly wonderful - isn't it?

The higher and hotter are the flames of hatred and destruction, the colder and darker our world becomes. Now I'll be told I've got this all wrong.

Something which I read recently may be of interest - that apparently, the No 1 anti-trans 'guru' considered the idea of changing their body form to appease their fathers' desire for a child of the other gender - (because, naturally, being trans is a choice); if true, this would explain a lot, but does nothing to diminish or excuse the enormity of their actions.

Today is Hungary Pride - all concerned are , under the circumstances, brave, and I wish everyone a wonderful day and hope that there is no interference from the Vitriol Brigade.

Well, he's done it, hasn't he? Trump has proved himself to be The Peacemaker - crapwit.

It would seem that the already horrific situation in the Middle East may be on the verge of being worsened by Our Donald - I give up.

I agree Palladium - it would seem that for many people, the notion of objective and demonstrable truth is something of a hindrance to their agendas; the situation in California is awful and I am deeply impressed by those who are standing up to you-know-who.

I received notification of a comment regarding this post which read that, apparently, I 'haven't a clue' - sadly, as said comment was deleted, I now have no idea what I am getting wrong on this subject; this is frustrating as I understand the need to correct myself and increase my knowledge. I did fact-check (repeatedly), as my wonderful late sister used to say, and am puzzled as to what mistakes I have made.

My title for this post was 'what next?', and now we have our answer - America is on the verge of Trump declaring martial law - this is beyond insane.

David, once again, you are right - at the risk of being mocked, I feel that our species needs to educated ourselves beyond our mistakes, but this is difficult when we seem, in general, to see ourselves as being 'perfect'. I raised this subject because I detest bullying, lies and persecution. I know that had I been born in the wrong body for my spirit, my vile late parents would have made my life impossible, and this must be a situation which is suffered by many- stay strong.

David, yes of course you are right. It would seem that many people may feel a sense of satisfaction at creating and disenfranchising an 'out' group - a Ryuichi Sakamoto title was 'Thatness and thereness' - which is, of course, self explanatory, and, I think, wholly applicable to this worsening situation.

Former First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon has expressed her dismay at the 'informed' decision of the British Government regarding the definition of a 'real' woman - she has said that this will make the lives of many trans people virtually unlivable - music to the ears of those who are reactionary.

Alec, Trump sure has been a busy boy once again, and this is yet more weirdness - (has he missed a trick in not turning the prison into an exclusive luxury apartment complex?). Then there is his alleged 'suggestion' that the whole of Ukraine be handed to Putin and in the same week as VE Day remembrance, the 100% tariffs to be imposed on any non-US made movies and, finally, Trumps' maladministration has berated the German government for trying to curb the toxic influence of AfD, stating that this would be 'undemocratic' -irony, anyone?

Well, Palladium, I suppose this validates the reason for Trump being made Time Magazines' Person of The Year, I suppose.

Alan, I agree completely - it would seem that hatred and prejudice are taught in to many, and that there seems to be a sense of ennoblement amongst those who 'know what they know and that's what they know' - piffle. The vile anti-trans agenda seems to be aimed solely at those who are MTF, and reminds me of the equally horrific propaganda regarding homosexual men and children, ( despite evidence which proves these claims to be vicious lies), yet those lies are allowed to persist - well, it's the story that counts, -more phallocentric self-righteous cobblers. As for the ever-insightful Mark Twain, I suppose he didn't account for those globetrotters who travel with their eyes shut - and as it is Easter Sunday, may I make reference to Pope Francis who said 'we should be building bridges, not fences', and Dr King who said that 'we should each be judged on the content of our character', but, Alan, as you have written, things do seem pretty grim.

I agree, Alan - maybe this increasingly horrific situation will get us all moving in a better direction.

Are we now seeing an increasingly polarised world - will decency triumph over sh*t? Apparently this is growing worldwide. Apparently this is growing worldwide.

Perhaps it is long overdue for Melania to shuffle the Donmeister off to the Bide-A-Wee home for bewildered despots and tyrants - it can't happen too soon !!!